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.
