BECA

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 13, Oct 2021

What is BECA?

• The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement largely pertains to geospatial intelligence, and sharing information on maps and satellite images for defence.
• BECA will provide Indian military systems with a high-quality GPS to navigate and missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary.
• It will give access to topographical and aeronautical data and products that will aid navigation and targeting.

Other Foundational Agreements

The BECA follows three other agreements:

• The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed by the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee back in 2002.

It aims to protect the military information shared by the US.

• The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) was signed a full 14 years later in 2016.
• It aims to provide mutual logistics support around the world.
• The Communication Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed in 2018
• It aims to facilitate communication between the weapons platforms of the two armed forces.

Significance of Signing of BECA:

• Converging Indo-Pacific Strategies:Signing of BECA will fast-forward the integration of the Indo-Pacific strategies of their two countries.

• • Further, this is in sync with increasing formalization of QUAD, which can be seen in the recent joining of Australia in the Malabar naval exercises.
  • India will be able to keep a close watch on the movements of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean.
  • Moreover, its signing comes at a time when India is locked in one of its most hostile standoffs with China along their disputed border in the Himalayan region.

FACTS FOR PRELIMS

30 by 30’ agenda:

A bold vision for the future: Protect 30 percent of lands and waters in the United States by 2030 to meet the challenge of climate change and provide space for wildlife and communities to thrive.

Biodiversity fund:

• China on Tuesday pledged to inject $233 million into a new fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries during a key UN conservation summit, despite disagreements among major donors on the initiative. Beijing —
• the world’s biggest polluter — has sought to play a more prominent role internationally on biodiversity conservation in recent years.

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM:

• Formed by an ordinance, “Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020”, in October 2020. The Commission will be a statutory authority.
• It will supersede bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.