PIB Summary- 20th April, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

MoU between the India and Bangladesh

Context: MoU between India and Bangladesh on the establishment of a framework of cooperation in the area of trade remedial measures.

Details

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the MoU that was signed between the Director General of Trade Remedies, India and the Bangladesh Trade & Tariff Commission.
• The primary objective of the MOU is to promote cooperation between the two countries in the area of Trade Remedies, covering the broad activities related to exchange of information, undertaking capacity building activities and activities in accordance with various provisions of World Trade Organization in the area of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures in bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh.
• The MOU seeks to foster better cooperation between the relevant authorities of both the countries so as to discourage unfair trade practices and promote rule based bilateral trading between the two countries.

Minimising loss during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF)

Context: An IIT Kanpur strategy put forth a strategy to reduce loss of lives during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF).

Details

• According to the study, satellite-based real-time monitoring of Himalayan glacial catchments would improve understanding of flood risk in the region and help inform an early flood warning system that could help curb disaster and save human lives.
• The study has been carried out by scientists from IIT Kanpur with support from the Department of Science & Technology.
• The IIT Kanpur team suggests that efforts to help mitigate GLOF events in the future should include the creation of a network of satellite-based monitoring stations that could provide in situ and real-time data on GLOF risk.

Background

• Temperature and the numbers of extreme rainfall events are rising at an increased rate because of climate change.
• Suitably called Earth’s “Third Pole”, the Himalayan region is home to the largest ice mass outside of the planet’s Polar Regions.
• The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at a faster rate creating new lakes and expanding the existing ones.
• Besides, the rising temperatures and extreme precipitation events make the region increasingly prone to a variety of natural hazards, including devastating glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
• GLOFs occur when either a natural dam containing a glacial lake bursts or when the lake’s level suddenly increases and overflows its banks, leading to catastrophic downstream destruction.
• With climate change, these events are likely to increase in frequency and magnitude throughout the Himalayas.