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CURRENT AFFAIRS
APRIL 2018
• The new Thai Canal project comprises of two portions- The “Malacca Dilemma” is a term coined by
o The first portion is seen as a counter to the “Malacca Chinese President Hu Jintao (2003) on the over-
reliance on the Malacca Straits where 80% of
Dilemma.” The canal will link the South China Sea to
China’s energy needs (oil imports) from the
the Andaman Sea, connecting the Pacific Ocean to Middle East, Africa etc. passes through the
the Indian Ocean respectively. Malacca Straits which is also known as China’s
o The second portion is the establishment of a Special maritime lifeline.
Economic Zone (SEZ). The new zone includes the
The closest alternatives, the Straits of Lombok
addition of cities and artificial islands, which will
and Makassar, are slower and already heavily
enhance new industries and infrastructure in the utilized by the Very Large Crude Carriers that
region. This would make Thailand into a “logistic cannot safely navigate the Malaccan route.
hub” and link Thailand to countries from all over the
Thus, China is vulnerable to a wide range of
world.
potential natural and political interference due to
Impact it being highly dependent on a chokepoint that it
does not directly neighbour.
• Energy Security: The Thai canal will drastically diminish transit time across the busiest maritime shipping
route and Chinese companies are extremely
interested in speeding up the project as over 80
percent of Chinese oil imports and 30% of world
trade pass through the Malacca Strait.
• Strategic Importance: The canal will slash 1,200
km off the route Chinese warships by bypassing
Malacca straights to reach South Asian ports and
will dramatically enhance Beijing’s ability to
intervene in the region.
• Security Architecture: As China continues to
expand its presence across the maritime domain
through BRI, the establishment of infrastructure
projects, like the Kra Canal, is further likely to
influence the new emerging security
architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
• Some experts also say that the Kra Canal could
benefit India and other economies in the region
whose ships ply through the region by taking
pressure off the overcrowded Malacca Straits.
Challenges
• The division of the isthmus will have considerable environmental implications on the flora and fauna of the
region, and also on tourism and fishing industry in Thailand as the proposed canal route would run past
tourist areas in the Andaman Sea that generate about 40 per cent of the total revenue from the tourism
industry.
• It may also lead to an erosion of the country’s sovereignty as was the experience of Egypt and Panama,
where the development of Suez and Panama canals led to decades of foreign control.
More on news
The Amendments in PMLA aims at further enhancing the effectiveness of the Act, widen its scope and take care
of certain procedural difficulties faced by the Enforcement Directorate in prosecution of PMLA cases. It will also
enable exchange of information among agencies and enhance effectiveness of efforts against black money.
Key Amendments
• Amendment in definition of “proceeds of crime” so that ED can attach and confiscate proceed against
property equivalent to proceeds to crime held outside the country also.
• Amendment in bail provisions: The bail conditions will be made uniform for all the offences under PMLA,
instead of only those offences which are liable to imprisonment of more than 3 years.
• Corporate frauds included as Scheduled offence: Section 447 (Corporate Frauds) of Companies Act is being
included as scheduled offence under PMLA so that Registrar of Companies in suitable cases would be able to
report such cases for action by Enforcement Directorate under the PMLA provisions.
• Measures to enhance effectiveness of investigations – to provide further time to ED to file prosecution and
pass a provisional attachment order.
• Demand Management and Infrastructure Efficiency- Rationalizing water demand should target two
potential problems - Inefficient water networks, and Profligate water consumption.
• Improving Water System Efficiency- To be implemented successfully, such programs require technical and
operational know-how, which knowledge exchanges between utilities have proven helpful to build.
• Promoting Water Conservation which are typically mandatory (consumption restriction, constant or
seasonal water pricing, drought surcharge etc) or voluntary (providing incentives, education and public
outreach which may lead to behavioural changes).
• Building on Conventional Approaches- Innovative Surface and Groundwater Management should be
adopted such as:
➢ Optimizing Groundwater Management- Development of a clear urban water metabolism framework to
account for the stock and flows, and—in turn—sound groundwater.
➢ Water Banking and Virtual Transfers- Surplus water from one year can be stored locally—to avoid
evaporative losses—in an unconfined aquifer, withdrawn in subsequent years by the “banker,” and
transferred to supplement the water resources of the “client” when needed.
➢ Other measures may include inflatable rubber dams used to maximize groundwater infiltration build
infrastructure model to protect aquifer from saline intrusion.
• Nonconventional Water Resources such as storm water Management & Rainwater Harvesting, Wastewater
Reuse and Seawater Desalination.
• Cooperation with Other Users- This requires institutional capacity to negotiate water transfers from low-
value uses toward higher value uses and realize associated trade-offs. Good local governance and strong
coherence of water, energy, and food policies are key to the efficiency of water management programs.
• Adaptive Design and Operations: Detailed inventory of the city’s water budget and corresponding
vulnerabilities as baseline information for system planning and investments.