[CA/GEOG] Naming of cyclones

Why name cyclones?

·       Traditionally, cyclones were named by weather bodies, according to latitude-longitude method.

·       But it was difficult to remember and communicate the names in numerical or combination of altitude-longitude data.

·       Naming them after a person/flower/animal etc. makes it easier for the media to report on tropical cyclones, increases community preparedness, also helps in quick information exchange between faraway stations, ships etc.

How are cyclones named?

·       Initially, a committee of WMO (World Meteorological Organization) started preparing and maintaining the names of cyclones of Atlantic Ocean.

·       Then WMO divided the world Oceans into Basins and assign the responsibility of naming the Cyclones to the respective regional bodies.

·       Today, there are 5 such regional bodies, called Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMC)

·       They all follow their own rules in naming cyclones. Some rotate the same list every 6 years while some are not. Some alternate names between boy and girl, others don’t.

How are cyclones named around Indian Ocean?

The regional body for North Indian Ocean (8 countries)

1)     Oman

2)     Pakistan

3)     India

4)     Sri Lanka

5)     Maldives

6)     Bangladesh

7)     Myanmar

8)     Thailand

·       They all suggest names. Finally India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi assigns the name.

·       They select short names so that people can remember easily. Names are selected which are not associated with any person or religious or any controversial issue.

·       This method is only for North Indian Ocean cyclones. In the Australian region they’ve separate system i.e. alternate naming after boy and girl, and so on.

·       But one rule is common among all five bodies: if a storm causes extreme damage- its name is removed from the list (so it cannot be used again for naming another storm/cyclone). Example: Katrina, Mitch and Tracy.

List of Cyclonic Names in North Indian Ocean

Nations	Bangladesh	India	Maldives	Myanmar
List I	Onil	Agni	Hibaru	Pyarr
List II	Ogni	Akash	Gonu	Yemyin
List III	Nisha	Bijli	Aila	Phyan
List IV	Giri	Jal	Keila	Thane
List V	Helen	Lehar	Madi	Nanauk
List VI	Chapala	Megh	Roanu	Kyant
List VII	Ockhi	Sagar	Mekunu	Daye
List VIII	Fani	Vayu	Hikaa	Kyarr
Shaded portions names are already coined

	Oman	Pakistan	Sri Lanka	Thailand
List I	Baaz	Fanoos	Mala	Mukda
List II	Sidr	Nargis	Rashmi	Khai Muk
List III	Ward	Laila	Bandu	Phet
List IV	Murjan	Nilam	Viyaru	Phailin
List V	Hudhud	Nilofar	Ashoba	Komen
List VI	Nada	Vardah	Maarutha	Mora
List VII	Luban	Titli	Gaja	Phethai
List VIII	Maha	Bulbul	Pawan	Amphan
Shaded portions names are already coined

 World Meteorological Organisation

Ø  Formed in 1950

Ø  HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Ø  World Meteorological Day: March 23

Indian Meter logical Department (IMD)

Ø  Formed in 1875

Ø  Under the Ministry of Earth Sciences

Ø  HQ: New Delhi

Ø  IMD is responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf

Ø  Operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.

Ø  IMD has 6 Regional Meteorological Centers (Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi)

Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology or IITM @ Pune

New Set of "Cyclonic Names"

[CA/ECON] EAS 2019

East Asia Summit (EAS) 2019 was held in Bangkok.

About East Asia Summit:

·       EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.

·       It is a forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions.

·       EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings.

·       The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.

·       There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS. These are – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and ASEAN Connectivity. India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.

Ø EAS, representing nearly 50 per cent of the world’s population and over 20 per cent of global trade, is a mega gathering and is a testimony to the rise of Asia.

Ø EAS is a region of strong and fast growing economies. It is considered the third pole of world economy after the US and Europe. Its four major economic players namely Japan, China, India and Korea are among the twelve largest ranking global economies.

Ø Financial and monetary cooperation between ASEAN+6 or EAS countries could be an area of fruitful cooperation in view of the fact that their combined foreign exchange reserves exceed $ 3 trillion.

[CA/GK/ECON] RCEP

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a free trade agreement originally devised to consist of 16 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. The pact looks to drop tariffs and duties between the members so that goods and services can flow freely between them.

RCEP = 10 ASEAN countries + 6 countries

At the RCEP’s administrative core is ASEAN: an intergovernmental grouping of 10 Southeast Asian countries –

1)    Brunei

2)    Cambodia

3)    Indonesia

4)    Laos

5)    Malaysia

6)    Myanmar

7)    The Philippines

8)    Singapore

9)    Thailand and

10)                       Vietnam

It was proposed that the ASEAN bloc will be joined with six dialogue partners:

1)    China

2)    Japan

3)    India

4)    South Korea

5)    Australia and

6)    New Zealand.

[CA] India opts out of RCEP

In the recently held Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit in Thailand, India decided not to finalize the RCEP trade deal.

India has expressed its concerns over lowering and elimination of tariffs on products from other countries, as it would negatively affect the domestic agricultural and industrial sector.

<<<<Countries in RCEP>>>>

Why India didn’t sign?

Ø Domestic industry and dairy farmers had strong reservations about the trade pact.

Ø India’s trade deficit with the RCEP nations is $105 billion, of which China alone accounts for $54 billion.

Ø The worry is also over Chinese manufactured goods and dairy products from New Zealand flooding Indian markets, hurting domestic interests.

Ø The trade agreement was also seen as being detrimental to the government’s Make in India initiative.

Ø India was looking for specific rules of origin to ensure the trade pact wasn’t abused by non-partner countries and an auto-trigger mechanism to protect it from a surge in imports.

Ø Ecommerce and trade remedies were among other key areas of concern that failed to find satisfactory redressal.

Ø India was also worried about keeping 2014 as the base year for tariff reductions.

[GK] Vijnana Bharati and Vigyan Prasar

Vijnana Bharati or VIBHA, previously known as ‘Swadeshi Science Movement’ is a non-profit organisation, working for science popularization & implementation of modern technology & ancient sciences in India. It was founded by the eminent scientists of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru led by Prof. K.I. Vasu.

Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, was set up in 1989 to take on large-scale science and technology popularisation programmes. Vigyan Prasar’s mandate is to promote and propagate - as widely as possible - a scientific and rational outlook in society. Its broad objectives include undertaking, promoting and co-ordinating science popularization programmes and inculcation of scientific temper among the people. It’s also responsible for the development of software for various media - audio, visual, audio-visual & print and different modes of communication to enable the masses to understand, appreciate and comprehend scientific principles and practices.

[CA] NIOT

Vice President Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu urged scientists to come up with innovative solutions to conserve water resources and tackle problems like climate change and pollution.

Vice President inaugurated the silver jubilee celebrations of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), the Vice President said technology was needed for protection of coastal areas from negative impacts of climate change and for development of blue coastal infrastructure for the benefit of society. The Vice President pointed out that blue economy includes intangible economic benefits such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection, cultural values and biodiversity.

On the occasion, the Vice President also launched the Coastal Flood Warning System app for Chennai (CFLOWS- CHENNAI) developed by the NIOT. He also released a commemorative postal stamp brought out on the occasion.

The NIOT was established in November 1993 as an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India by the then Department of Ocean Development.

NIOT has established itself as one of the premier institutes in the world, working on various ocean technologies. During this period, NIOT has demonstrated several technologies for societal applications such as Desalination plants, Data and Tsunami Buoy Network in Indian waters for collecting real time oceanic data, sea cage culturing in open sea, shore protection. NIOT is also working on continuous expansion to take benefits of these technologies to the doorsteps of common citizens of country.

NIOT has developed niche technologies to mine manganese nodules from deep sea, has developed several deep sea systems like remotely operable vehicles, etc. and is striving hard to bring India on par with developed Nations in the area of Ocean Technology. NIOT has to its credit many technologies which have been transferred to Indian industry as part of “Make in India” programme of Govt. of India, like the floating drifter, robo coastal observer, remotely operable vehicle etc. The infrastructure at NIOT includes hyperbaric chamber for testing of underwater systems and state-of-the-art research ships.

NIOT will be the nodal institution for implementing the proposed Deep Ocean Mission, which encompasses all the areas of Ocean technology like development of manned submersible, offshore large scale desalination, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), extensive survey of the oceans, acquisition of new ships etc.

[CA] 16th India - ASEAN Summit

Prime Minister, Mr.  Narendra Modi attended the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Prime Minister said that India wants to strengthen cooperation in the areas of maritime security and blue economy. He also welcomed the recent decision to review India ASEAN FTA saying it will improve economic partnership between the two countries.

 Prime Minister highlighted that last year’s Commemorative Summit and Singapore Informal Summit’s Decisions implementation has brought India and ASEAN closer.

Prime Minister also said that, India is willing to increase cooperation and partnership in areas mutually beneficial to India and ASEAN and expressed readiness to improve partnership and capacity building in the areas of agriculture, research, engineering, science and ICT.