DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ARTICLE 08/07/2021 1. Project Seabird Q. Why is this in news? A. Defence Minister has recently visited the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka to inspect infrastructure development under Phase II of “Project Seabird”. Q. What is Project Seabird? A. The largest naval infrastructure project for India, Project Seabird involves the creation of a naval base at Karwar on the west coast of India. INS Kadamba is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The first phase of construction of the base was code-named Project Seabird and was completed in 2005. INS Kadamba is currently the third-largest Indian naval base and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after the completion of expansion Phase IIB. Q. Why need such a base? A. During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists. At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns Upon completion, it will provide the Indian Navy with its largest naval base on the west coast and also the largest naval base east of the Suez Canal. The Navy’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is based at Karwar. 2 Green Hydrogen Q. Why is this in news ? A. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is investing Rs 75,000 crore in its new business focused on clean energy, which includes solar and green hydrogen. The company will build four giga factories focusing on solar, storage battery, green hydrogen and a fuel cell factory, which can convert hydrogen into mobile and stationary power. Q. What is green hydrogen? A. Hydrogen when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as Green Hydrogen which has no carbon footprint. The hydrogen that is in use today is produced using fossil fuels, which is the primary source. Organic materials such as fossil fuels and biomass are used for releasing hydrogen through chemical processes. Q. What is the significance of Green Hydrogen? A. 1. Green hydrogen energy is vital for India to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) Targets and ensure regional and national energy security, access and availability. 2. Green Hydrogen can act as an energy storage option, which would be essential to meet intermittencies (of renewable energy) in the future. 3. In terms of mobility, for long distance mobilisations for either urban freight movement within cities and states or for passengers, Green Hydrogen can be used in railways, large ships, buses or trucks, etc. Q. What are the applications of green hydrogen? A. 1. Green Chemicals like ammonia and methanol can directly be utilized in existing applications like fertilizers, mobility, power, chemicals, shipping etc. 2. Green Hydrogen blending up to 10% may be adopted in CGD networks to gain widespread acceptance. Q. What are its benefits? A. It is a clean-burning molecule, which can decarbonize a range of sectors including iron and steel, chemicals, and transportation. Renewable energy that cannot be stored or used by the grid can be channelled to produce hydrogen. Q. What are the steps the Indian government has taken in the production of green hydrogen? A. 1. During the budget speech in February 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the Hydrogen Energy Mission to produce hydrogen from renewable sources. 2. In the same month, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation signed an agreement with Greenstat Norway for setting up a Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen (CoE-H). It will promote R&D projects for the production of green and blue hydrogen between Norwegian and Indian R&D institutions/universities. 3. Recently, India and the US have set up a task force under the aegis of the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) to mobilise finance and speed up green energy development. 3. Chemical Weapons Convention Why is it in News . Recently, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) informed the United Nations (UN) that in 17 cases chemical weapons were likely or definitely used by Syria. OPCW was formed under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) 1997. About Chemical Weapons: o A Chemical Weapon is a chemical used to cause intentional death or harm through its toxic properties. o Munitions, devices and other equipment specifically designed to weaponize toxic chemicals also fall under the definition of chemical weapons. About Chemical Weapons Convention: It is a multilateral treaty banning chemical weapons and requiring their destruction within the stipulated time. Negotiations for the CWC began in 1980 at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. The convention was drafted in September 1992 and opened for signature in January 1993. It became effective from April 1997. It makes it mandatory to destroy old and abandoned chemical weapons. Members should also declare the riot-control agents (sometimes referred to as ‘tear gas’) in possession of them. o Members: It has 192 state parties and 165 signatories. India signed the treaty in January 1993. o Convention Prohibits: The development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, or retention of chemical weapons. Transferring of chemical weapons. Using chemical weapons. Assisting other States to indulge in activities that are prohibited by the CWC. Using riot-control devices as ‘warfare methods’. About Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: It is an international organization established by the CWC in 1997 to implement and enforce the terms of the CWC. By the 2001 Relationship Agreement between the OPCW and the UN, the OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the Secretary General. The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. o Headquarters: Hague, Netherlands. o Functions: It is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention. This includes a commitment to grant inspectors full access to chemical weapons sites. It also performs testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks. It also provides for assistance to and protection of States attacked or threatened with chemical weapons, cooperation in the peaceful use of chemicals. Indian Initiative: o The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 was passed to implement the CWC. o It provided for the establishment of a National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention or NACWC. This institution, formed in 2005, is the chief liaison between the government of India and the OPCW. It is an office in the Cabinet Secretariat of the GoI. Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (Hazardous Chemicals and Wastes) . The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions are multilateral environmental agreements, which share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. The Basel Convention o It came into force in 1992, intended to reduce transboundary movements of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs), and ensure their safe disposal as closely as possible to the source of generation. India is a member. Rotterdam Convention: o It was adopted in September 1998 by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Rotterdam, Netherlands and entered into force in February 2004. India is a member. o It covers pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons by Parties and which have been notified by Parties for inclusion in the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. o The Convention creates legally binding obligations for the implementation of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. The Stockholm Convention: o It is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). India is a member. The Convention entered into force in May, 2004. POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to humans and wildlife. .