25 th January

Free Movement Regime

Why in News

 Home Minister Amit Shah said the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border would soon be fenced. 

 He also said the Free Movement Regime (FMR) agreement with Myanmar would be reconsidered 

to stop border residents from moving into each other’s country without any paperwork.

 What is the FMR?

 The Free Movement Regime (FMR) was established in 2018 as part of India’s Act East 

policy. It allows people living on either side of the India-Myanmar border to travel up to 16 

km inside each other’s country without a visa.

 Border residents can obtain a border pass valid for a year to stay in the other country for 

about two weeks per visit.

 The FMR also aims to promote local border trade through customs stations and designated 

markets, facilitating economic interactions between the border regions of India and Myanmar.

 The FMR seeks to improve access to better education and healthcare facilities on the 

Indian side of the border for the people of Myanmar, enhancing cross-border cooperation and 

regional development.

 Why is the FMR being Reconsidered?

 Except for a 10 km stretch in Manipur, the India-Myanmar border, particularly through hills 

and jungles, remains unfenced. This has posed security challenges for both countries.

 Extremist groups have been operating from clandestine bases in the Chin and Sagaing regions 

of Myanmar.

 The ease of cross-border movement was exploited for various illegal activities, including 

drug traffi cking into India and the traffi cking of wildlife body parts out of India.

 The confl ict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur in May 2023 

prompted a reconsideration of the FMR.

 Why are Mizoram and Nagaland opposed to ending the FMR?

 Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma expressed his opposition to the fencing .

 He highlighted the ethnic ties shared by Mizos with the Chin people across the border 

and argued for the right to live together.

 The Nagaland government, in which the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is a stakeholder, has 

not yet reacted to the developments. However, the infl uential Naga Students’ Federation 

condemned the Centre’s decision to fence the border and end the               FMSWEDEN 32nd Member of NATO Alliance

 Turkiye’s Parliament ratifi ed Sweden’s NATO membership after more than a year of delays. 

 This ratifi cation was seen as crucial to Western eff orts to demonstrate unity in response to Russia’s 

war on Ukraine.

 Lawmakers voted 287-55 in favor of Sweden’s membership, signaling strong support for the 

Nordic nation’s bid to become the 32nd member of the NATO alliance.

The pandemic treaty can help the world brace for Disease X: WHO Director-General

 ‘Disease X’ represents an unknown disease that could cause a potential epidemic or pandemic, 

with an unprecedented impact on health infrastructure and mortality.

 It is most likely to be a zoonotic disease with a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus, having a far worse 

eff ect on mortality rates than the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 RNA viruses have a high mutation rate. They are therefore highly infectious.

 COVID-19 was the fi rst ‘Disease X’

 A key way to tackle this head-on is through the pandemic agreement. 

 This can bring all the experience, challenges faced by the world, and all the solutions onto one 

platform. 

 “The agreement can help prepare us for the future in a better way because this is about a 

common enemy and without a shared response, starting from preparedness, we will face the 

same problem as COVID,’.

 The deadline for the pandemic agreement is at the 77th World Health Assembly in May 

2024. 

LANGURS

 Langurs are monkeys that belong to the subfamily 

Colobinae.

 They are leaf-eating primates with a large belly and a multi-

chambered stomach that allows them to digest tough plant 

material. 

 Langurs are also known as leaf monkeys and are mainly 

herbivores. 

 Their diet includes leaves, shrubs, shoots, roots, fruit, seeds, 

spider webs, termite mounds, and insect larvae. 

 Invasive plant species are causing damage to forests in Uttarakhand, reducing the availability of food 

for wildlife. These invasive species are taking over natural habitats and aff ecting the ecosystem.

 The invasion of invasive plants has led to changes in the behavior and food habits of wildlife in the 

region. 

 Animals such as deer, sambar, langur, and elephants have started consuming these invasive 

plants as native species become less available.

Albatrosses are threatened with extinction — and climate change could put their nesting 

sites at risk

 The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the world’s largest fl ying bird, with a wingspan 

reaching an incredible 3.5 metres.These birds are oceanic nomads: they spend most of 

their 60 years of life at sea and only come to land to breed 

approximately every two years once they have reached 

sexual maturity.

 Their playground is the vast Southern Ocean — the region 

between the latitude of 60 degrees south and the continent 

of Antarctica — and the scattered islands within this ocean 

where they make their nests.

 Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, about 2,300km 

south of South Africa, are some of the only land masses for thousands of kilometres in the Southern 

Ocean.

 Together, these two islands support about half of the entire world’s wandering albatross breeding 

population, estimated at around 20,000 mature individuals.

 Every year scientists from South African universities survey Marion Island to locate and record 

each wandering albatross nest.

 The species, listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, faces 

huge risks while in the open ocean, in particular due to bycatch from longline fi shing trawlers. 

What is Graphene Technology?

 Graphene is one layer of carbon atoms organised in a honeycomb structure.

 Graphene is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to expand markets and possibly 

displace current methods of production.

 Because it is strong, adaptable, light, and has a high resistance, graphene stands out. 

 The production of rechargeable batteries using graphene could represent a signifi cant advance in 

energy effi ciency.

Advanced Chemistry Cells

 Advanced chemistry cells are the new generation technologies that can store electric energy 

either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when 

required. 

 They are used in lithium-ion batteries and are considered a key technology in the fi ght against 

global warming.