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TAPI PIPELINE AND INSTC

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015, work on the Afghan section began in February 2018, and work on the Pakistani section was planned to commence in December 2018. The abbreviation TAPI comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States. It was established on September 12, 2000, by Iran, Russia and India. It is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

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

This corridor connects India Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, Islamic Rep., and is then connected to Saint Petersburg and North European via Russia.

SCO Summit: An Analysis

The 22nd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place in Samarkand on 15 September 2022. This was the first in-person event since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Summit took place against the backdrop of tumultuous geopolitical flux, including the war in Ukraine. The main focus of the Summit was on strengthening regional cooperation and trade connectivity in Eurasia.

Also, during this summit, India took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. During this summit, member states discussed global challenges and threats, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, challenges of economic recovery, obstacles in global supply chains, and energy and food crises.

International Trade Theories

As quoted by Wasserman and Haltman, international trade can be connoted as transactions among the inhabitants of different countries. International trade acts as a major contributing factor in global economic activity and a catalyst of economic growth in developing as well as developed countries. Differences in various conditions, like resource availability, natural climatic conditions, cost of production, etc., act as the motive behind trade between the countries. International trade has made it all possible and has provided a large number of employment opportunities as well as several goods and services for the consumer. It has been a major reason for the rising living standards of people all over the globe.

With time, economists have established theories that explain global trade. These theories explain the mechanism of international trade which is how countries exchange goods and services with each other. International trade theories help countries in deciding what should be imported and what should be exported, in what quantity, and with whom trade should be done internationally. Initially, economists developed international trade theories on the basis of the country which were termed - Classical Theories. However, these theories, later on, shifted from country-based to firm or company based by the mid-twentieth century which were termed - Modern Theories.

Space Communication

There are two types of communication systems: radio frequency (RF) and free space optical (FSO) also referred to as laser communications (lasercom).

Most spacecraft communications systems are radio frequency based - one part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. The antennas then capture those signals and process the information coming from those signals. Information can include:

• scientific data (like the pictures the satellite took),
• the health of the satellite, and
• where the satellite is currently located in space.

Mental Health in India

In India, having a mental health disorder is perceived with a sense of judgement and there is stigma associated with those having mental health issues (The Live Love Laugh Foundation, 2018). Mental disorders are also considered as being a consequence of a lack of self-discipline and willpower. The stigma associated with mental health as well as lack of access, affordability, and awareness lead to significant gaps in treatment. The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-16 found that nearly 80% of those suffering from mental disorders did not receive treatment for over a year.

Important Treaties, Conventions and Protocols

XaaS: Everything as a Service

A new concept has emerged i.e Everything as a Service (XaaS) means anything can now be a service with the help of cloud computing and remote accessing. Where cloud computing technologies provide different kinds of services over the web networks. In Everything as a Service, various tools and technologies, and services are provided to users as a service. Before XaaS and cloud services, companies had to buy licensed products and install them. They had to buy all securities on their site and provide infrastructure for business purposes. With XaaS, business is simplified as they have to pay for what they need. This Everything as a Service is also known as Anything as a Service. Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) simply denotes the increasing servitization of technology.

XaaS is a collective term that refers to the delivery of anything as a service. It encompasses the many products, tools and technologies that vendors deliver to users as a service over a network -- typically, the internet -- as an alternative to providing them locally or on-site to an enterprise.

This umbrella term refers to service offerings that are accessed as needed and financed using a pay-as-you-go cloud computing pricing model. XaaS offerings can scale up or down as needed with IT services delivered on demand by a managed service provider.

India's Auto Component Industry

India’s auto components sector has always imported more than it exported, leading to a trade deficit. For the first time ever, the industry saw a significant $700 million trade surplus in FY22.  

The turnover of the automotive component industry stood at INR 4.20 lakh crore ($56.5 billion) for the period April 2021 to March 2022, registering a growth of 23% over the previous year. This was the highest ever revenue recorded by the Indian auto component industry.

Books by Freedom Fighters of India

Waste to Energy

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery.

WtE is not without its negatives, but it is better than landfill – and for many countries under pressure to act on climate change.

So, despite some of the drawbacks of waste-to-energy technologies, they appear to be a crucial step in dealing with the negative effects of growing landfills - as long as only non-recyclable, non-repurposable materials are fed into WtE machines and the necessary measures are taken to minimize air pollutants.

How To Prepare for UPSC CSE 2022 Interview?

How Much Time is Required to Prepare for UPSC CSE Exam?

UPSC Civil Service preparation, the mother of all examinations in India, needs more patience and hard work than any other competitive exam because the examination process itself can take almost one year covering three stages of Prelims, Mains, and Interview