Exit Polls

Paper 2 – Polity

Why You Should Know?

Exit polls generate a lot of curiosity and sometimes predict election results most accurately

In detail –

What are exit polls?

• An exit poll asks voters which political party they are supporting after they have cast their votes in an election.
• In this, it differs from an opinion poll, which is held before the elections.
• An exit poll is supposed to give an indication of which way the winds are blowing in an election, along with the issues, personalities, and loyalties that have influenced voters.
• Today, exit polls in India are conducted by a number of organisations, often in tie-ups with media organisations.
• The surveys can be conducted face to face or online.

Exit poll good or bad?

• Some common parameters for a good, or accurate, opinion poll would be a sample size that is both large and diverse, and a clearly constructed questionnaire without an overt bias.
• Political parties often allege that these polls are motivated, or financed by a rival party.
• Critics also say that the results gathered in exit polls can be influenced by the choice, wording and timing of the questions, and by the nature of the sample drawn.

History

• In 1957, during the second Lok Sabha elections, the Indian Institute of Public Opinion had conducted such a poll.

GoverningRules

• The issue of when exit polls should be allowed to be published has gone to the Supreme Court thrice in various forms.
• Currently, exit polls can’t be telecast from before voting begins till the last phase concludes.
• For the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections, the Election Commission notified that publishing any exit poll would be prohibited between 8am on November 12 and 5.30pm on December 5.
• While Himachal Pradesh voted on November 12, Gujarat voted in two phases on December 1 and December 5. Results for both states are out on December 8.

Sources – IE

Law for Google, Facebook

Paper 2 –International Issues

Why You Should Know?

New Zealand is planning to bring in a law mandating Big Tech firms, such as Alphabet Inc (which owns Google) and Meta Platforms Inc (Facebook), to pay media firms for the local news content that appears on their feed.

In detail –

Need for law

• Facebook and Google are platforms from where a very large number of readers, globally, consume their news.
• The tech firms influence what sort of news, and from what publications, a user gets to see on her feed.
• The platforms gain in terms of clicks, engagement and revenue from the content produced by news media organisations.
• This, when the media firms themselves, especially if they are small newspapers, are struggling financially, with more and more advertising going online.
• Over the years and in different corners of the world, there have been calls for Big Tech “fairly compensating” news media firms.

New Zealand’s step

• The New Zealand Minister of Broadcasting, Willie Jackson, said Recently that the law would be on the lines of similar rules in Australia and Canada.
• Minister Jackson said he hoped the law would act as an incentive for digital platforms to reach deals with local news outlets.
• New Zealand news media, particularly small regional and community newspapers, are struggling to remain financially viable as more advertising moves online.
•  It is critical that those benefiting from their news content actually pay for it.
• The legislation will now be introduced in Parliament, where the ruling party with its majority is expected to pass it.

Australia’s landmark law

• In 2021, Australia brought in a landmark law to make tech giants pay for news content, amid stiff opposition from Google and Facebook.
• The legislation set a precedent in regulating social media across geographies, and its progress was watched the world over.
• According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website -The Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Act 2021 (the code) is a mandatory code of conduct which governs commercial relationships between Australian news businesses and ‘designated’ digital platforms who benefit from a significant bargaining power imbalance.
• The ACCC considers that addressing this imbalance is necessary to support the sustainability of the Australian news media sector, which is essential to a well-functioning democracy.
• The website adds, “Following the introduction of the code, Google and Facebook (now Meta) have reached voluntary commercial agreements with a significant number of news media organisations.”
• The law was brought in in March 2021. In January of that year, Google threatened to remove its search engine from Australia.
• In February, Facebook briefly blocked users from sharing news and other links on the platform.
• In the process, it also silenced some emergency services, and reportedly removed posts from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, state health departments, emergency and crisis services, etc.

Source – IE

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Rankings

Paper 3 – Infrastructure

Why You Should Know?

India is among the top 50 countries with best aviation safety in the latest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rankings.

In detail –

• India is now at the 48th position, a “quantum leap” from the 102nd rank it had in 2018.
• The rankings are for 187 countries and assessments were done at different points of time.
• Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16.
• With a score of 85.49 per cent each, India and Georgia are at the 48th position.
• Neighbouring Pakistan is at the 100th spot with a score of 70.39 per cent.
• The rankings are topped by Singapore with a score of 99.69 per cent.
• It is followed by the UAE at the second position with a score of 98.8 per cent and the Republic of Korea is at the third place (98.24 per cent).
• Others in the top ten are France (4th; 96.42 per cent), Iceland (5th; 95.73 per cent), Australia (6th; 95.04 per cent), Canada (7th; 94.95 per cent), Brazil (8th; 94.72 per cent), Ireland (9th; 94.6 per cent) and Chile (10th; 93.9 per cent).

About ICAO

• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations.
• It  was set up on 4 April 1947 and Headquarterd in  Montreal, Canada.
• Currently it has 193 Members countries.
• The ICAO is dedicated to developing safe and efficient international air transport for peaceful purposes and ensuring a reasonable opportunity for every state to operate international airlines.
• The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation.
• ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation that are followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
• It also conducts educational outreach, develops coalitions, and conducts auditing, training, and capacity building activities worldwide per the needs and priorities governments identify and formalize.

Objectives

• In its ongoing mission to support and enable a global air transport network that meets or surpasses the social and economic development and broader connectivity needs of global businesses and passengers, and acknowledging the clear need to anticipate and manage the projected doubling of global air transport capacity by 2030 without unnecessary adverse impacts on system safety, efficiency, convenience or environmental performance,
• ICAO has established five comprehensive Strategic Objectives:
• Safety
• Air Navigation Capacity and Efficiency
• Security and Facilitation
• Economic Development of Air Transport
• Environmental Protection

Sources – TOI

St Edward’s Crown

Paper 2 –International Issues

Why You Should Know?

On December 3, the Royal Family of Britain announced that the St Edward’s Crown would be worn by the king.

In detail –

What is the St Edward’s Crown?

• St Edward’s Crown is the crown historically used at the moment of Coronation, and was worn by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at her Coronation in 1953.
• It was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the medieval crown which had been melted down in 1649.
• The original was thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor – the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
• Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042-66), who deposited his Royal ornaments for safe-keeping in Westminster Abbey, may have been the first monarch to assemble the regalia, or the distinct objects worn exclusively by royals.
• Britain is the only European monarchy still using its regalia for the consecration ceremony of crowning the Sovereign.
• Other items included in the regalia are the Coronation Chair (used at every coronation since 1300), the two Royal maces, three swords and St Edward’s Staff (dating from 1661).
• Since 1661, Sir Edward’s Crown has been used in the coronations of all successive monarchs.
• The St Edward’s Crown is only worn once by a monarch, another crown that is part of the event, the Imperial State Crown, is worn on other occasions too.

what is the Imperial State Crown?

• The magnificent Imperial State Crown is worn by the monarch at the end of the coronation ceremony and at formal occasions like the State Opening of Parliament, reminding us the Crown Jewels is a working collection.
• This crown was also placed atop the coffin of the Queen during her funeral service this year.
• It has the Cullinan diamond (also known as the Star of Africa) embedded in it, considered among the biggest diamonds ever discovered.
• It was found in South Africa, and while the Royals’ website states it was presented as a gift to Edward VI, the Queen’s death this year was followed by some calls for its return.
• Another stone featured in it is the Black Prince’s Ruby, believed to have origins in or around Afghanistan.

Source – IE

Road Traffic Injuries

Paper 2 – Health

Why You Should Know?

Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of death among children aged 5-14 years, according to a new analysis released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In detail –

• Around 96,559 children in the age group lost their lives in 2019 due to road traffic injuries, according to the report, Preventing injuries and violence: An overview.
• Road traffic injuries were the leading cause of death among youth aged 15-29 years with 271,990 losing their lives, said the document released November 28, 2022.
• It was released during the 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, held in Adelaide, Australia.
• An estimated 4.4 million people globally lost their lives in 2019 owing to injuries from unintentional causes and violence, accounting for eight per cent of all deaths.
• Of the 4.4 million injury-related deaths in 2019, unintentional injuries took the lives of 3.16 million people and violence-related injuries killed 1.25 million.
• One in three of these deaths happened due to road traffic crashes, one in six from suicide, one in nine from homicide and one in 61 from war and conflict, according to the document.
• Three of the top five causes of death, in people aged five-29, are injury related — road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide.
• While in the age group of 5-14 years, road traffic injuries were the second leading cause of death and drowning the sixth leading cause of death.
• Falls accounted for over 684,000 deaths in 2019 and are a growing and under-recognised public health issue, the WHO report stated.

Distribution of injuries

• Violence and injuries account for a sizable portion of global disease burden and mortality.
• However, they are not evenly distributed across or within countries. Some people are more vulnerable than others, depending on — birth, development, work, life and age.
• The risk of injury and the chances of “being a victim or perpetrator of serious physical violence” gets enhanced if one is young. And the risk of fall-related injuries increases with age, the document said.
• In terms of gender, twice as many men as women die each year due to injuries and violence.
• Globally, about three-quarters of deaths from road traffic injuries, four-fifths from homicide and nearly two-thirds of deaths from war (direct deaths from conflicts and executions) are among men.
• In many low-and middle-income countries, however, women and girls are more likely to be burned than men and boys — the main reason being their exposure to unsafe cooking arrangements and energy poverty.
• Across all ages, the three leading causes of death from injuries for males are road traffic injuries, suicide and homicide, while for females, they are road traffic injuries, falls and suicides.
• Poverty increased the risk of injury and violence, with almost 90 per cent of injury-related deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries.
• Across the world, injury-related death rates are higher in low-income countries than in high income countries.
• And even within countries, people from poorer economic backgrounds have higher rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries than people from wealthier economic backgrounds. This holds true in high-income countries as well
• There has been a significant rise in road traffic injuries in the African region since 2000, with a 75 per cent increase of healthy life-years lost to disability.
• India ranked first in the number of road accident deaths in 199 countries. The country accounted for almost 11 per cent of global accident-related deaths, according to Report on Road accidents in India 2019.
• The accident-related deaths in India in 2019 was a whopping 151,113.

A SDG target

• Preventing injuries and violence will facilitate the achievement of several United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal targets.
• “Injuries and violence place a massive burden on economies — costing countries billions of dollars each year,” the WHO report said.
• The report noted that many effective and low-cost interventions are available. For instance, Spain set the default speed limit for cities at 30 kilometres per hour, improving road safety.
• In Bangladesh, teaching school children swimming and rescue skills “returned $3,000 per death averted”.
• The social benefits of injuries prevented through home modification to prevent falls have been estimated to be at least six times the cost of intervention.

Sources – DE

 

Pamban bridge

Paper 3 –Infrastructure

Why You Should Know?

Construction of the country’s first vertical-lift railway sea bridge at Pamban, connecting the Indian mainland with Rameswaram Island, will be completed by March 2023.

In detail –

• The existing Pamban railway bridge was built in 1914 to connect the Mandapam and Rameswaram islands situated in the Gulf of Mannar.
• It was the sole link connecting the two locations until a parallel road bridge was built in 1988.
• The new 2.05-km long bridge is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 535 crore by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, considering the run-down condition of the existing rail bridge.
• It will allow the Indian Railways to operate trains at a higher speed and will enable better accessibility between Rameswaram and the mainland.
• Around 84% of the construction work has been completed.The sub-structure work, including 333 piles and 101 pile caps, has been completed.
• Fabrication of 99 approach spans has also been completed, while fabrication of the vertical lift span girder is nearing completion. Track-laying work is also underway.
• According to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, the work on the bridge started in February 2020 and was estimated to be completed by December last year.
• The peculiarity of the new bridge is its 72-metre-long vertical lift span, which can be lifted by 17 metres to allow the ships to pass below it.

New technology

• While the current bridge has the ‘Scherzer’ rolling lift technology in which the bridge opens up horizontally, to let ships pass through, the new bridge will lift vertically upwards remaining parallel to the deck.
• It will be done using sensors at each end.

About Pamban Island

• Pamban Island also known as Rameswaram Island, is an island located between peninsular India and Sri Lanka, on the Rama Setu archipelago.
• The second largest island in the latter, Pamban Island belongs to India and forms the Rameswaram taluk of the Ramanathapuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu.
• It is the largest island in Tamil Nadu by area. The principal town in the island is the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram.
• The chain formed by Pamban Island, the shoals of Adam’s Bridge, and Mannar Island of Sri Lanka separate Palk Bay and the Palk Strait in the northeast from the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest.
• Pamban Island extends for around 30 km in width from the township of Pamban in the west to the remains of Dhanushkodi towards the south-east.
• Pamban Island constitutes a separate taluk of Ramanathapuram district with four administrative divisions, Okarisalkulam, Mahindi, Pamban and Rameswaram.
• There are two administrative villages, Pamban and Rameswaram.
• Pamban Island has a few hillocks and elevated physical features in the vicinity of Rameswaram of which Mt. Gandamadana is the tallest.
• It is believed that this was the hillock from whose summit Lord Rama observed Sri Lanka and conceived the idea of constructing a bridge between India and Sri Lanka. A temple commemorates the site.

Sources – TH

The Kaziranga project

Paper 3–Envrionment

Why Should You Know?

The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) for which the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has committed funding of €80.2 million for a 10-year period, between 2014-2024.

In details –

• Artificial highlands where animals can escape during floods; more than 200 anti-poaching camps; alternate livelihood training for local communities — these measures at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam will form the cornerstone of an Indo-French initiative announced earlier this year.
• With French and Indian technical and financial support, the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership will facilitate partnership activities for interested natural parks of the Indo-Pacific region.
• These activities include biodiversity conservation, wildlife management and engagement with local communities.
• The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) for which the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has committed funding of €80.2 million for a 10-year period, between 2014-2024.
• The project conceptualised the reforestation of 33,500 hectares of land and the training of 10,000 community members in alternate livelihoods by 2024.
• But it is the 457 sq km Kaziranga National Park that remains the heart of the programme.

AFD cooperation

• The population of animals in the park is the healthiest it has ever been. With the aid of AFD funding, conservation has been ramped up with few poaching cases recorded in the past five years.
• The AFD programme has been most effective in is the skilling of communities in the area, particularly forest-dwelling communities.
• Many of the community members would sometimes be engaged in illegal tree felling by middlemen for illegal timber trade, and would also give shelter to poachers, which no longer happens.
• The illegal timber trade is one of the main reasons for the degradation of forests around the reserve. The Assam government has now begun a massive reforestation drive with the help of the AFD.
• protection strategy” adopted by Kaziranga involves setting up 223 anti-poaching camps across the park.
• There are 35 six-seven foot tall embankments or highlands that have been constructed in various areas around the park, that animals can climb on to and seek refuge during the annual flooding.
• The project has also developed infrared-based early warning systems, triggered by elephant footfall, to either scare off herds from human habitat or to warn villagers.

About Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve

• Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India.
• The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site.
• Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests, criss-crossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park includes numerous small bodies of water.
• The park area is circumscribed by the Brahmaputra River, which forms the northern and eastern boundaries, and the Mora Diphlu, which forms the southern boundary. Other notable rivers within the park are the Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri.
• The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest.
• Kaziranga is one of the largest tracts of protected land in the sub-Himalayan belt, and due to the presence of highly diverse and visible species, has been described as a “biodiversity hotspot”.

Fauna

• Kaziranga contains significant breeding populations of 35 mammalian species, of which 15 are threatened as per the IUCN Red List.
• The park has the distinction of being home to the world’s largest population of the Indian rhinoceros, wild water buffalo and eastern swamp deer.
• Kaziranga has the largest population of the Wild water buffalo anywhere accounting for about 57% of the world population.
• The One-Horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and swamp deer are collectively known as ‘Big Five’ of Kaziranga.
• Kaziranga is one of the few wild breeding areas outside Africa for multiple species of large cats, such as Bengal tigers and Indian leopard.
• Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 and has the highest density of tigers in the world (1 per 5 km2), with a population of 118, according to the latest census.
• Assamese macaques, capped and golden langurs, as well as the hoolock gibbon, the only monkey found in India, are specialties here.
• The rivers of Kaziranga are also home to the endangered Gangetic dolphin.
• Kaziranga has been identified by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area.It is home to a variety of migratory birds, water birds, predators, scavengers, and game birds.

Sources – IE

Strep A Bacterial Infection

Paper 2 – Health

Why You Should Know?

The number of Strep A infection cases have increased in the last month in the UK.

In detail –

• Following the deaths of six children in the United Kingdom, health officials are advising parents and schools to watch out for Strep A infections. The number of Strep A infection cases have increased in the last month in the UK, especially after COVID-19 restrictions such as masking and social distancing are no longer mandatory.

What is Strep A?

• Strep A, also known as Group A Streptococcus, is a bacterium found in the throat and on the skin.
• It can cause many different infections, ranging from mild to serious. Some of these diseases include:Strep throat, Scarlet fever, Impetigo, Necrotizing fasciitis, Cellulitis, Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, Rheumatic fever, Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
• Some people can get infected with group A strep and exhibit no symptoms. Usually it leads to fever and throat infections.
• These are communicable and can spread through coughs, sneezes and close contact.

Health risks

• in very rare circumstances when the bacterium produces a toxin it can gain access to the bloodstream and cause really serious illness.
• Some of these serious illnesses include sepsis, heart inflammation and toxic shock with organ failure.

Treatment

• The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) explains the term invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) on its website.
• It is used when the bacteria invades the body and overcomes its natural defenses to enter areas such as the blood.
• It can be dangerous for the infected person. The UKHSA added that the increase in invasive Group A Streptococcus cases this year has mostly been observed in children under 10 years of age.
• Antibiotics are usually effective at treating Strep A or iGAS infections. Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent them.

Sources – DE

 

Advisory group for Bamboo sector development

Paper 3 – Economy

Why You Should Know?

The Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar had approved the formation of an Advisory Group for streamlining the development of the Bamboo sector.

In detail –

National Bamboo Mission (NBM)

• The restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was launched during 2018-19 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• NBM mainly focuses on the development of complete value chain of Bamboo sector to link growers with consumers starting from planting material, plantation, creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing, micro, small & medium enterprises, skilled manpower and brand building initiative in a cluster approach mode.

Phase changes in bamboo industry

• Over the years of the interventions through policy, facilitations and awareness creations, the bamboo industry is witnessing a phase change by the opening of multiple avenues of the resource utilization.
• Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated the new terminal of the Bengaluru (Kempagowda) Airport in which the versatility of bamboo as an architectural and structural material has been proved and the destiny of this green resource defined as the ‘green steel’.
• Apart from using in the construction sector as design and structural element, the potential of bamboo is multifaceted.
• Ecofriendly mouldable granules from bamboo can replace the use of plastic.
• Bamboo is a reliable source for the ethanol and bio-energy production due to its fast rate of growth and abundance.
• The market of Bamboo based lifestyle products, cutleries, home decors, handicrafts and cosmetics also is in a growth path.
• The National Bamboo Mission is striving to bring the benefits of this growing sector to the farmers and human resources of the Nation.

Sources – PIB

 

New Naval Ensign

Paper 3 – Security & Internal Security

Why You Should Know?

The Hon’ble President of India has approved introduction of a new design for the President’s Standard and Colour and Indian Navy Crest for the Indian Navy, which were unveiled at Visakhapatnam on Navy Day on 04 Dec 2022.

In detail –

New Naval Ensign

• Resonant to the ongoing National endeavour to move away from the colonial past, the Naval Ensign was amended to a new Design that draws inspiration from our history where in the Red Horizontal and Vertical Lines on the White Ensign were replaced with an Blue Octagon with Twin Golden Borders encompassing the National Emblem atop a clear anchor and ‘National Emblem ‘Satyamev Jayate’ inscribed on the stock of the Anchor. Further, the National Flag was retained on the upper left canton.
• The erstwhile design of the President’s Standard and Colour for the Indian Navy was instituted on 06 Sep 2017.
• The design comprised one each horizontal and vertical red bands intersecting at the centre and the National Emblem inserted at their intersection.
• The National Flag was at the upper left canton adjacent to the staff and a Golden Elephant was at the lower right canton on the fly side. This design was inspired from the erstwhile Naval Ensign.
• The Indian Navy adopted a new Naval Ensign on 02 Sep 2022, and the new design of the President’s Standard and President’s Colour awarded to the Indian Navy incorporates this change.

President’s Standard and Colour

• The new design of the President’s Standard and Colour comprises three main constituents – the National Flag in the upper left canton adjacent to the staff, the State Emblem underscribed with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in Golden Colour on the upper right canton on the fly side, and a Navy Blue – Gold Octagon below the Golden State Emblem.
• The Octagon has twin golden octagonal borders, encompassing the golden National Emblem (Lion Capital of Ashoka – underscribed with ‘Satyamev Jayate’ in blue Devnagri script) resting atop an anchor; and superimposed on a shield.
• Below the shield, within the octagon, in a golden bordered ribbon, on a Navy Blue background, is inscribed the motto of the Indian Navy ‘Sam No Varunah’ in golden Devnagri script.
• The Golden State Emblem signifies ‘Power, Courage, Confidence and Pride’ whilst the Navy Blue – Golden Octagon shape draws inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj Rajmudra or the Seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and represents the eight directions (four cardinal and four inter cardinal), symbolising the Indian Navy’s maritime outreach.
• The new design of President’s Standard and Colour highlights India’s glorious maritime heritage and also symbolises a powerful, courageous, confident and proud Indian Navy.

Indian Navy Crest

• The Indian Navy Crest has been amended to replace the foul anchor with a Clear Anchor. The clear anchor depicts steadfastness of the Indian Navy to deter any challenge in maritime domain, and represents clarity in vision, mission and aspirations of its sailors.
• The Clear Anchor also depicts Indian Navy’s commitment towards securing the Coast and Maritime Interest of India. 
• The change would imply removal of the symbolic nautical rope in the Crest Designs. 
• The Modified Indian Navy Crest has been introduced with effect from 04 Dec 22 on the occasion of the Navy Day 2022.
• The New Naval Crest has a traditional naval clear anchor below the Ashoka Lion Head with ‘शंनोवरुणा:’ inscribed below it, which is an invocation from the Vedas meaning ‘May the Ocean God be Auspicious unto us’.
• The phrase was adopted as the motto of the Indian Navy on the suggestion of Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General of Independent India. 
• The National Motto ‘सत्यमेवजयते’ meaning ‘Truth Always Triumphs’  is inscribed on the Stock of the Clear Anchor.
• In line with the change in the Indian Navy Crest, minor amendment to the Crest of the Indian Naval Command Headquarters (which has the Indian Navy Crest in the inset) has also been approved by the Hon’ble President of India.

Background

• The President’s Standard and President’s Colour are awarded to static and mobile formations of the Indian Navy respectively, to acknowledge their distinguished and meritorious service to the Nation.
• The Indian Navy was the first among the three Services to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951 by the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
• In the Indian Navy, the President’s Colour has been awarded to the Western, Southern, and Eastern Naval Commands, both Western and Eastern Fleets, the Submarine Arm, the Naval Air Arm, INS Shivaji, INS Valsura and the Indian Naval Academy.
• The 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron was the first Naval Combatant Squadron to be honoured with the President’s Standard.

Sources – PIB