DNA 09 JULY

PMO, NSA tracking impact of Chinese FDI in South Asia

• In the backdrop of the tense border stand-off in Sikkim with China, the Centre has begun its first ever in-depth assessment of Chinese investments in India’s neighbouring countries.
• Informal discussions have already been held with the concerned Ministries, including the Commerce and Industry Ministry — the nodal body for foreign trade and foreign investment. 

Dynamic mandate 

• Given the increasing influence of China in the Indian sub-continent and South Asia, the study will be dynamic and is, among other things, expected to look into various trends, tracking a surge, if any, in Chinese FDI in the region. 
• For instance, Pakistan government data shows that FDI from China jumped from $256.8 million in 2014-15 to $878.8 million in 2016-17 ( July-May). Pakistan’s financial year follows a July to June calendar.
• The study will also analyse the impact of these Chinese investments including those being made as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt One Road or OBOR) — on India’s national security, sources said requesting anonymity.
• In addition to assessing the nature and impact of Chinese FDI in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the study will track Chinese investments in Afghanistan and Maldives too.
• However, the major challenge in the study will be the lack of detailed, countrywise data on overall FDI (year-wise) and Chinese FDI, in particular
• Chinese investments in countries like Pakistan could, in turn, set the stage for Pakistan to make inroads into markets in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and challenge the presence of Indian firms in these markets, where India is currently the major player. 
• The CPEC/OBOR projects can also better link Pakistan with the Central Asian Republics (CAR) and help the country establish a footprint in those markets 

  Twenty-five giant radio galaxies found

A team of six scientists has discovered the presence of a large number of what are known as giant radio galaxies (GRGs) across the universe. Such galaxies are, as the name suggests, huge, and the smallest one in this batch that has been discovered could big enough to hold 33 copies of the Milky Way placed next to each other

The galaxies have a supermassive black hole, which could be even billions of times as massive as the Sun, at their centre. 

Jets of charged particles are ejected from this black hole at very high speeds, close to that of light. 

In fact, the jets reach out to a distance even larger than the giant galaxies which host them, making the galaxy prominent when imaged with a radio telescope.

Significance of the Discovery 

Since GRGs extend to Mpc [megaparsec] scales (which is almost the size of a galaxy cluster), they can be used as a probe of the medium between galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Finding them at a larger distance from us means finding them in the older universe. GRGs are very useful in understanding the growth and evolution of radio galaxies

Related: the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) located near Pune, India

S Vijay Kumar Panel calls for ‘light regulation’ of NGOs

A high-power committee appointed by the Central government on the orders of the Supreme Court has recommended several steps to ensure the “light regulation” of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) so as to reduce their harassment.

Framework of guidelines 

The committee has drawn up a framework of guidelines for :

[i]Accreditation of NGOs

[ii]Audit of their accounts, and 

[iii]procedures to initiate action for recovering grants in case of misappropriation

[iv], a nodal body to oversee the various interfaces between NGOs and the government, and has                 recommended that NITI Aayog be vested with the power

[v]A separate law for voluntary agencies engaged in activities of a charitable or “public good” 

     nature to enable more effective and efficient regulation of the sector. 

[vi] Regulation should be ‘light’ and consistent with the fundamental rights, so as to give effect to the objects for which voluntarism is being promoted