Foreign Policy Twist In Modi’s Swearing-In Ceremony: After SAARC In 2014, BIMSTEC Leaders Invited In 2019 by Swarajya Staff - May 27 2019, 7:18 pm,



  • Foreign Policy Twist In Modi’s Swearing-In Ceremony: After SAARC In 2014, BIMSTEC Leaders Invited In 2019


  • After inviting SAARC leaders for his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, Narendra Modi shall be inviting BIMSTEC leaders, reports Hindustan Times. BIMSTEC, a grouping of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand , Nepal and Bhutan, the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal, is a major foreign policy of the NDA dispensation.


  • “The President will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of the Union council of ministers at 7pm on May 30, 2019, at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” read the statement issued on Sunday. The NDA has a strength of 353 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha out of which the BJP has a majority of 303 MPs




World Wildlife Fund (WWF)



  • These include the Saiga antelope, the gyrfalcon, the Persian leopard, the spoon-billed sandpiper, the Sakhalin sturgeon and the kaluga, also a type of sturgeon.


  • About WWF: It is an international non-governmental organization Founded in 1961 Headquarter — Gland (Switzerland). Aim : wilderness preservation & the reduction of human impact on the environment It is the world’s largest conservation organization


  • Objectives: Conserving the world’s biological diversity Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption


  • Reports & programmes: Living Planet Report— published every two years by WWF since 1998; it is based on a Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation


  • Earth hour Debt-for-nature swaps–financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation’s foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental conservation measures. Marine Stewardship Council(MSC) — independent non-profit organization which sets a standard for sustainable fishing Healthy GrownPotato — eco-brand that provides high-quality, sustainably grown, packaged, and shipped potatoes to consumers by leveraging integrated pest management(IPM) farming practices on large scale farms




Minimum Support Price (MSP)



  • What necessitated This? Water depletion in Haryana over the years has led to 60 dark zones in the State, which include 21 critical ones in 10 districts.


  • Challenges: The government wants to save water but it seems to be unaware of the ground realities. If the government wants farmers to give up rice and cultivate some other crop then there needs to be a mechanism to purchase the alternative crop at MSP. The State government should enact a law, which guarantees that the produce of farmer is purchased at MSP . Farmers will only leave rice cultivation if they are sure of reaping more profit with the alternative crop (maize and tuar), which the government is suggesting.


  • About MSP: What is it? In theory, an MSP is the minimum price set by the Government at which farmers can expect to sell their produce for the season. When market prices fall below the announced MSPs, procurement agencies step in to procure the crop and ‘support’ the prices.


  • Who announces? The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs announces MSP for various crops at the beginning of each sowing season based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The CACP takes into account demand and supply, the cost of production and price trends in the market among other things when fixing MSPs.


  • Why is it important? Price volatility makes life difficult for farmers. Though prices of agri commodities may soar while in short supply, during years of bumper production, prices of the very same commodities plummet. MSPs ensure that farmers get a minimum price for their produce in adverse markets. MSPs have also been used as a tool by the Government to incentivise farmers to grow crops that are in short supply.




Institutes of Eminence Scheme



  • What is Institutions of Eminence scheme? The institutes of eminence scheme under the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry aims to project Indian institutes to global recognition. The selected institutes will enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy.


  • The government will run 10 of these and they will receive special funding. The selection shall be made through challenge method mode by the Empowered Expert Committee constituted for the purpose. Eligibility: Only higher education institutions currently placed in the top 500 of global rankings or top 50 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) are eligible to apply for the eminence tag. The private Institutions of Eminence can also come up as greenfield ventures-provided the sponsoring organisation submits a convincing perspective plan for 15 years.


  • Implications : Institutions with the eminence tag would be allowed greater autonomy without having to report to the University Grants Commission (UGC); they would be able to admit foreign students and recruit faculty from abroad, and follow a flexible course and fee structure to enable them to vault to the ranks of the top global institutions.


  • Need for world-class institutes: India lacks world-class universities according to international rankings, and Indian academics, compared internationally, are rather poorly paid. Students also suffer an immense shortage of places in top academic institutions and throughout the higher education system. India today educates only half as many young people from the university age group as China and ranks well behind most Latin American and other middle-income countries.




Elephant Bonds :



  • Context: A high level government-appointed committee on trade and industry has suggested it to issue ‘Elephant Bonds’ to people for declaring undisclosed income to mandatorily invest 50%.


  • Elephant Bonds: Elephant Bonds are the 25-year sovereign bonds in which people declaring undisclosed income will be bound to invest 50 per cent. The fund, made from these bonds, will be utilized only for infrastructure projects.




Mount Agung volcano:



  • Why in News? Locate on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, it erupted recently.


  • Mount Agung or Gunung Agung is a currently active volcano in Bali, Indonesia, southeast of Mt Batur volcano, also in Bali. Gunung Agung stratovolcano is the highest point on Bali. It dominates the surrounding area, influencing the climate, especially rainfall patterns.