Information Fusion Centre
- Indian Navy is going to inaugurate the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- IFC has been established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram.
- IFC will help in exchanging information on white shipping or commercial shipping with countries in region.
- It is to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.
- All countries that have already signed white shipping information exchange agreements with India are the partners of IFC.
- The information is available primarily through the Automatic Identification System (AIS) fitted on merchant ships as mandated by the International Maritime Organisation.
- Indian navy is mandated to conclude white shipping information exchange agreements with 36 countries and three multi-national constructs.
White Shipping
- White shipping information refers to exchange of relevant advance information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant vessels.
- Advance information of the vessels like destination and planned itinerary, etc. is extremely helpful towards collating an effective Maritime Domain Awareness.
- This information is likely to be available with the country from whose port it sails and is equally relevant for the destination country and those it passes enroute.
- India has signed white shipping agreements with several countries including United States and Singapore and is seeking similar agreement with more countries.
Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN)
- It facilitates information exchange on the movement of commercial traffic on the high seas.
- It is a multilateral agreement comprises 30 countries and is steered by Italy.
- India has recently signed the ascension agreement to the T-RMN.
GSAT – 7A
- ISRO is planning to launch a dedicated communication satellite GSAT-7A for defence purposes.
- GSAT-7A is a communications satellite which can be used by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army.
- The satellite weigh 2.2 tonnes and will placed in in the geostationary orbit.
- It is the 35th communication satellite built by ISRO and will be the first one built primarily for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
- It will be launched by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk II).
- It will help IAF interlink different ground radar stations, airbases and AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) aircraft.
- It will also enhance network-centric warfare capabilities of the IAF and therefore enhance its global operations.
- It is also expected to give a major push for drone operations as it would reduce the reliance on ground-based control states and take satellite control of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
- The GSAT 7 series was launched in 2013 as a dedicated communications satellite for the Indian Navy, which made the Navy completely independent of relying on foreign satellites.
- GSAT 7 currently has a 2,000 nautical mile footprint and provides real-time inputs to Indian warships, submarines and maritime aircraft.
Great Indian Bustard
- The great Indian bustard (or simply Indian bustard), a large, white-and-brown bird with wing markings, is native to India and Pakistan.
- India effectively the only home of the bustards, now harbours less than 150 individuals in five States.
- It is listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act.
- It has almost lost its 90% of its original habitat.
- Hunting was one of the first factors that caused the decline of its population.
- Recently, several threats are including power lines are decimating its populations.
- The arid grassland that bustards thrive in are being made productive by increasing water availability and expansion of agricultural lands.
- More recently, their grassland homes are now sites of renewable power projects (wind turbines).
- Poor frontal vision and heavy bodies of bustards cannot manoeuvre away from cables in time.
Click here to know about sanctuaries that conserve Indian Bustard.
Source: The Hindu
