15.07.23

The Bill, which seeks to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 proposes to exempt certain categories of lands from the legal purview to fast-track strategic and security-related projects of national importance. The forest land it proposes to exclude (from legal protection) are those notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or that in government records after the formulation of the 1980 Act.

The Bill also seeks to redefine the reach of non-forest purpose exemptions under Section 2 of the Forest conservation Act.

The new law would exclude, forest land within a distance of 100 km along Indias international borders including the Line of Actual Control (LAC), from its ambit so that the land can be used by the government for national security projects, public roads and other strategic projects.

The Bill also seeks to remove the protection given by the present law to forests located along RAILWAY lines or public roads maintained by the government.

Under the new law, the would be required to get the prior permission of the Centre to assign any forest land to a private entity. The terms and conditions for the approved entity would be set by the Centre.

Under the new Act, the government would be able to build check posts, fences and bridges and run zoos, safaris as well as eco-tourism activities included in the Forest Working Plan/Wildlife Management Plan/Tiger Conservation Plan, inside forests.

Some rights groups and Opposition parties have criticised the provisions of the Bill, asserting that these will compromise safeguards for the countrys forests.

The Congress had earlier vociferously opposed the decision to send the bill to a JPC instead of sending the same to a standing committee on Science and Technology, Environment, forests and Climate-change”>Climate Change.

Paving the way for an international campus, IIT-Delhi on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Education ministry and Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) to set up its campus in theUAEcapital.

The MoU was signed in the presence of PMNarendra Modiand UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Setting up of an IIT campus in the UAE was envisioned in the Comprehensive Economic PARTNERSHIP Agreement (CEPA) signed between the top Leadership of the two countries in early 2022. IIT-Delhi was identified to roll out this effort of strategic importance to the country IIT-D-Abu Dhabi is envisioned to be a research centric campus of the IIT, which will offer degrees at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level.

Saudi Arabia has become the 51st country to sign the ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

The signing was conducted on the sidelines of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM).

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi noted that the signing of the TAC by Saudi Arabia reflected the country’s commitment to obeying ASEAN values and principles, namely to cooperate, consistently uphold international law, and contribute to peace and stability in the Southeast Asia region and beyond.

The minister emphasized that those values and principles are essential to continuously be implemented amid the current geopolitical dynamics.

The TAC, which was established in 1976, aims to create political stability and security in Southeast Asia by regulating the peaceful resolution of conflicts between countries.

US treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday backed reforms of the multilateral (MDBs), including leveraging private sector finance to deal with global challenges such as Climate-change”>Climate Change, but suggested that the $100-billion Equity infusion proposed by the independent expert group could wait till other steps are taken a position that is going to be discussed in the coming days.

US support for equity to MDBs is seen to be critical as a $1 support, given its 16% shareholding, will result in $6 expansion in the equity base. This is estimated to result in $90 external funding.
The estimates are based on the expert groups calculations, which suggest that $1 equity at the overall level, will support $15 additional external funding around $7direct lending by the MDBs and $8 in additional direct and indirect mobilisation of external private capital.