3 February 2024

• Budget (day 3): Deep-dive on welfare scheme data and the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund.
• International: India and UAE signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty. The treaty aims to enhance manufacturing and FDI flows.
• Security: Volt Typhoon, a Chinese state-backed cyber threat actor, was found to be targeting critical infrastructure globally via a botnet of compromised devices.
• Ecology: A Black-crowned Night Heron banded in Beijing was sighted in Manipur, confirming its migration route.

GS area: International Relations

The Union Cabinet approved India's Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with the United Arab Emirates. A BIT is a treaty between two countries that establishes rules protecting investors from each country against arbitrary government action in the other country.

• Context: India and UAE already have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in May 2022, which covers trade in goods and services.
• What a BIT adds: Protections for investments already made: fair and equitable treatment, protection against expropriation without compensation, and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.
• India's BIT template: After terminating most of its old BITs following an adverse arbitration ruling, India adopted a new model BIT in 2016. The UAE treaty follows this model.
• Strategic objective: Attracting UAE sovereign wealth fund investment into Indian manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat framework.

Static linkage: International Relations (trade agreements, FDI policy, India-UAE relations).

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Animal Husbandry)

The AHIDF was set up as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in 2020. It provides incentive-linked loans through banks to support private investment in:

• Dairy processing: Setting up or upgrading milk processing plants.

• Meat processing: Abattoirs and meat processing units.

• Animal feed plants: To improve feed quality and reduce costs.

• Vaccine and pharmaceutical production: For livestock disease management.

• Fund size: 15,000 crore rupees at inception.

• Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

• Interest subvention: 3 per cent per annum on loans for eligible projects.

Static linkage: Economy (animal husbandry, food processing, rural infrastructure).

GS area: Internal Security (Cyber Security)

Volt Typhoon is a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group identified by cybersecurity agencies in the United States and allied nations. The group builds and operates a botnet, which is a network of internet-connected devices (routers, cameras, storage devices) that have been compromised without their owners' knowledge.

• Method: The botnet routes attacks through ordinary household and business devices, making the traffic appear legitimate.
• Targets identified: US naval ports, internet service providers, and electric utilities. These are all critical infrastructure components.
• Indo-Pacific implication: If conflict erupted, this pre-positioned access could be used to disrupt military logistics and civilian infrastructure.
• India's relevance: India is expanding its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific and relies on increasingly networked infrastructure. Pre-positioned cyber access by state actors is a direct security threat.
• CERT-In: India's Computer Emergency Response Team coordinates responses to such threats domestically.

Static linkage: Internal Security (cyber security, critical infrastructure protection).

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity, Migratory Species)

A Black-crowned Night Heron bearing a band placed by Beijing researchers was sighted and photographed in Manipur. The sighting confirms the bird's migration route between China and Northeast India.

• IUCN status: Least Concern.
• Habitat: Freshwater wetlands, swamps, marshes, and rice paddies.
• Behaviour: Nocturnal or crepuscular feeder; roosts in dense vegetation during the day.
• Why it matters for prelims: Bird banding (ringing) is the standard method for tracking migratory routes. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) provides the international framework for protecting migratory animals.

Static linkage: Environment (migratory species, Northeast India biodiversity, CMS).

GS area: Environment, Governance

The Supreme Court mandated regular performance audits for India's environmental regulatory bodies. In the same order, the Court made the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) a permanent body rather than an ad hoc one.

• CEC: Formed in 2002 by the Supreme Court to examine matters relating to forests and environment, particularly illegal mining and encroachment. It functions as a fact-finding and advisory body to the Court.
• The audit mandate: Regulatory bodies like the State Pollution Control Boards and the Central Pollution Control Board must submit to periodic performance audits. The Court's concern is that these bodies frequently fail to enforce standards.

Static linkage: Environment (pollution control, regulatory bodies), Polity (Supreme Court, judicial oversight).

• Rooftop solar in Budget: PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was announced on 15 February 2024 (formally) building on the budget announcement. One crore households to receive rooftop solar with a subsidy structure: 60 per cent subsidy for systems up to 2 kW, additional 40 per cent for capacity between 2 and 3 kW. Total outlay: 75,021 crore rupees.
• e-NAM integration: The budget highlighted that 1,361 mandis across India are now integrated into the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform. The platform enables farmers to sell their produce online across mandis in different states, widening the market.