Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EOS-01
Mains level: Not Much
India would launch its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international customer spacecraft onboard it’s PSLV-C49.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of:
(a) An indigenously developed radar system inducted into Indian Defence
(b) India’s satellite to provide services to the countries of Indian Ocean Rim
(c) A scientific establishment set up by India in Antarctic region
(d) India’s underwater observatory to scientifically study the Arctic region
EOS-01
- EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
- This is the first launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation since the COVID-19-induced lockdown came into force in March.
- This will be the 51st mission of ISRO’s workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
What is Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)?
- An EOS or remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others.
- Starting with IRS-1A in 1988, ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing satellites.
- Today, India has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation.
- Currently, *thirteen* operational satellites are in Sun-synchronous orbit and *four* in Geostationary orbit.
- The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering agriculture, water resources, urban planning, rural development, mineral prospecting, environment, forestry, ocean resources and disaster management.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pelagornithids
Mains level: Not Much
Scientists have identified the fossil of a giant bird that lived about 50 million years ago, with wingspans of up to 21 feet that would dwarf today’s largest bird, the wandering albatross.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The term “Sixth mass extinction/ sixth extinction is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
(a) Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
(b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.
(c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.
(d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.
Pelagornithids
- Called Pelagornithids, the birds filled a niche much like that of today’s albatrosses and travelled widely over Earth’s oceans for at least 60 million years.
- They are known as ‘bony-toothed’ birds because of the bony projections, or struts, on their jaws that resemble sharp-pointed teeth, though they are not true teeth, like those of humans and other mammals.
- The bony protrusions were covered by a horny material, keratin, which is like our fingernails, the researchers said.
- Called pseudoteeth, the struts helped the birds snag squid and fish from the sea as they soared for perhaps weeks at a time over much of Earth’s oceans, they said.
Their extinction
- The pelagornithids came along to claim the wingspan record in the Cenozoic, after the mass extinction and lived until about 2.5 million years ago. Around that same time, teratogens, now extinct, ruled the skies, they said.
- The newly described fossil — a 50 million-year-old portion of a bird’s foot — shows that the larger Pelagornithids arose just afterlife rebounded from the mass extinction 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs, went extinct.
- The last known pelagornithid is from 2.5 million years ago, a time of changing climate as Earth cooled, and the ice ages began.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Highlights of the report
Mains level: Household electricity supply in India
NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India have together launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.
About the report
- It is based on a primary survey conducted across 10 states––representing about 65% of the total rural population of India.
- Aimed at capturing insights from the demand (electricity customers) as well as supply-side (electricity distribution utilities), the report seeks to:
- Evaluate the status of electricity access in India across these states and distribution utilities along all dimensions that constitute meaningful access
- Benchmark utilities’ capacity to provide electricity access and identify the drivers of sustainable access
- Develop recommendations for enhancing sustainable electricity access
Key findings of the report:
- As much as 92% of customers reported the overall availability of electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises; however, not all have connections, the primary reason being the distance of households from the nearest pole.
- Overall, 87% of customers have access to grid-based electricity. The remaining 13% either use non-grid sources or don’t use any electricity at all.
- The hours of supply have improved significantly across the customer categories to nearly 17 hours per day.
- Nearly 85% of customers reported to have a metered electricity connection.
- Access to electricity is observed in 83% of household customers.
- Considering the overall satisfaction level, a total of 66% of those surveyed were satisfied––74% of customers in urban areas and 60% in rural areas.
Recommendations made
The key recommendations provided in the report are in the areas of policy and regulation, process improvement, infrastructure and capacity-building of utilities. Other recommendations included:
- prioritizing the release of new connections for non-household customers
- transfer of subsidies or other benefits directly into a customer’s account
- enhanced technology-driven customer service; ensuring 100% metering of customers
- segregation of feeder lines
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TRIPS
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with free trade
Issues with free trade are making themselves more evident in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. The article analyses the growing influence of the capital and how it is benefiting the few.
Issues with free trade
- Debates about free trade revolves around value of economic growth vs. the values of justice.
- The Economist (October 5) says “Investor-state dispute-settlement (ISDS) clauses of international trade and investment agreements give foreign investors the right to resort to a secretive tribunal to seek compensation when they are in disagreement with a host government.
- They threaten governments who want to pass laws that seem self-evidently in their country’s and even the world’s interests.
- The interests of remote financial investors are considered superior to the rights of local people represented by their own democratically elected governments.
- TRIPS (the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of International Property Rights) is another egregious example.
- Lobbies of multinational pharma companies want to protect their investors with intellectual monopolies under TRIPS, denying affordable medicines to the world’s poorer people.
- New business models are throwing more workers into short-term contractual arrangements to make it easier for investors to do business.
How it is relevant in India
- The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020 make it easier for investors to take over lands for projects by debilitating the assessment process which requires that communities be heard.
- The new labour codes passed by Parliament to simplify regulations have also weakened the rights of workers to be represented by unions.
- In India, terms of trade have been stacked against small farmers to keep prices low for consumers.
- Terms are also against small enterprises in financial markets, and also when they supply to large buyers in global supply chains.
- The terms of trade are unfair for all workers who are on the supply side of labour markets vis-à-vis those who pay them.
- Small people do not have clout in any market. Those with more money set the terms of trade.
Governance crisis
- Capitalism runs on the principle of property rights: Those who own more must have a greater say in the governance of the enterprise.
- Money is speaking too much in fixing the rules of the game: It influences elections; it controls the media; it powers lobbies for reforms at international and national levels.
Conclusion
The way the rules of the economy and trade are made must change to create a more just and resilient world. Voices of the poorest people and their associations must be heard more loudly than the opinions of the rich and their lobbies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: APMC Act
Mains level: Paper 3- Agri bills and their implications for the farmers.
Agri-bill passed by the Parliament resulted in the protest from farmers from several states. The bills have also been challenged on the legal footing as well. This article explains how the bills will benefit the farmers and also examines the legal basis used for their passage.
States trying to nullify the agri bills passed by Parliament
- Parliament has passed three bills on agriculture reform. This has evoked protests, largely in Punjab and Haryana.
- Taking recourse to Article 254 of the Constitution, the Punjab government has passed its own bills to nullify some provisions of the central acts.
- Similar action by the Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan governments seems to be on the anvil.
Legal justification for Parliament passing the laws related to agriculture
- The Constitution has placed agriculture on the state list.
- Various petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court claiming that the central laws infringe upon the jurisdiction of state governments.
- However, it is the Centre which decides and announces support prices for major crops for the entire country.
- It also decides issues such as bank loan waivers.
- International agreements and multilateral trade in agricultural products also fall in the Union government’s domain.
- Agricultural and dairy products, in fact, had a prominent role in India not joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
- Entry 33 in the concurrent list limits the power of states in agriculture, by empowering both governments to legislate on production, trade and supply of a range of agricultural foodstuffs and raw material.
Use of Article 254 to bypass Central law
- The Punjab bill has set in motion the process of states taking refuge under Article 254 to pass their own pieces of legislation.
- All state bills that seek to nullify central acts have to be approved by the President after they have received the consent of the governor of the state.
Way forward
- Reformist chief ministers and astute policy planners should grab this opportunity and encourage investment in private infrastructure to create supply chains and give the farmer the benefit of demand-led prices.
- They should also take appropriate action to create institutional mechanisms, such as farmer producer organisations or aggregators, to ensure greater farmer participation.
Conclusion
It would be in the interests of the farming community and state governments to give the much-delayed reform measures a fair chance by giving them access to competitive purchases, affording better prices.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Schemes for DisComs
Mains level: Paper 3- Financial issues faced by the DisComs
The article analyses the factors responsible for financial difficulties faced by the DisComs and suggests the ways to deal with the issues.
Important role of the DisComs
- Distribution Companies (DisComs) are the utilities that typically buy power from generators and retail these to consumers.
- For all of India’s global leadership for growth of renewable energy, or ambitions of smart energy, the buck stops with the DisComs.
- The days of scarcity of power are over.
- The physical supply situation has mostly improved.
- But the financial picture has not brightened much.
Analysing the data on liabilities of the DisComs
- ₹90,000 crore (later upgraded to ₹1,25,000 crore) was earmarked for DisComs in ₹20-lakh crore package announced in the wake of Covid-19’s economic shock.
- The Power Finance Corporation (PFC)’s Report on Utility Workings for 2018-19 showed dues to generators were ₹2,27,000 crore, and this is well before COVID-19.
- It also showed similar Other Current Liabilities.
- DisComs have delayed their payments upstream (not just to generators but others as well) — in essence, treating payables like an informal loan.
But why do DisComs not pay on time?
- Ideally, DisComs should not incur losses as they enjoy a regulated rate of return.
- While AT&C losses can explain part of any gap. Major reasons are as discussed below:
1) Regulatory issue and cash-flow gap due to it
- The first problem starts at the regulatory level where even if DisComs performed as targeted, across India, they would face a considerable cash flow gap.
- This cash flow gap was ₹60,000-plus crore in FY18-19 compared to their then annual cost structure of ₹7.23-lakh crore.
2) Payabeles issue: Due from consumers, state and regulatory gap
- These dues are of three types.
- First, regulators themselves have failed to fix cost-reflective tariffs thus creating Regulatory Assets,which are to be recovered through future tariff hikes.
- Second, about a seventh of DisCom cost structures is meant to be covered through explicit subsidies by State governments.
- Third, consumers owed DisComs over ₹1.8 lakh crore in FY 2018-19, booked as trade receivables.
- State governments are the biggest defaulters, responsible for an estimated a third of trade receivables, besides not paying subsidies in full or on time.
3) Challenge of renewable energy
- The rise of renewable energy means that premium customers will leave the system partly first by reducing their daytime usage.
- And as battery technologies mature, their dependence on DisComs may wane entirely.
- Even without batteries, regulations permitting, they may want to find third party suppliers under competitive models.
Impact of Covid pandemic
- COVID-19 has completely shattered incoming cash flows to utilities.
- The revenue implications were far worse since the lockdown disproportionately impacted revenues from so-termed paying customers, commercial and industrial segments.
- Reduced demand for electricity did not save as much because a large fraction of DisCom cost structures are locked in through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that obligate capital cost payments, leaving only fuel savings with lower offtake.
Way forward
- We will probably need a much larger liquidity infusion than has been announced thus far, but it also must go hand-in-hand with credible plans to pay down growing debt.
- We need a complete overhaul of the regulation of electricity companies and their deliverables.
- We need to apply common sense metrics of lifeline electricity supply instead of the political doleout of free electricity even for those who may not deserve such support.
- For the rest, regulators must allow cost-covering tariffs.
Consider the question “Examine the factor responsible for making the DisComs financial unviable? Sugget the pathways to deal with the issues faced by the DisComs”
Conclusion
The financial problems of DisComs have been brewing for many yearsHowever, if business as usual was not even good enough before COVID-19, it will not be workable for the current national needs of quality, affordable, and sustainable power.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: India-Myanmar relations
The Foreign Secretary and Chief of the Army Staff have recently visited Myanmar reflected India’s multidimensional interests in the country.
Try this question:
Q.Myanmar is the key in linking South Asia to Southeast Asia and the eastern periphery becomes the focal point for New Delhi’s regional outreach. Analyse.
India-Myanmar relations
- There are two lines of thinking that drive India’s Myanmar policy: engagement with key political actors and balancing neighbours.
- For Myanmar, the visit would be viewed as India’s support for its efforts in strengthening democratization amidst criticisms by rights groups over the credibility of its upcoming election.
Non-interference in internal politics
- The political logic that has shaped India’s Myanmar policy since the 1990s has been to support democratization driven from within the country.
- This has allowed Delhi to engage with the military that played a key role in Myanmar’s political transition and is still an important political actor.
- A key factor behind the military regime’s decision to open the country when it initiated reforms was, in part, to reduce dependence on China.
India as an alternative
- By engaging Myanmar, Delhi provides alternative options to Naypyidaw.
- This driver in India’s Myanmar policy has perhaps gained greater salience in the rapidly changing regional geopolitics.
Recent initiatives
- Like in other neighbouring countries, India suffers from an image of being unable to get its act together in making its presence felt on the ground.
- The inauguration of the liaison office of the Embassy of India in Naypyidaw (the capital) may seem a routine diplomatic activity.
- However, establishing a permanent presence in the capital where only a few countries have set up such offices does matter.
- Interestingly, China was the first country to establish a liaison office in Naypyidaw in 2017.
- India has also proposed to build a petroleum refinery in Myanmar that would involve an investment of $6 billion.
Strategic calculus
- This is an indication of Myanmar’s growing significance in India’s strategic calculus.
- It also shows India’s evolving competitive dynamic with China in the sector at a time when tensions between the two have intensified.
- Another area of cooperation that has expanded involves the border areas.
- Furthermore, the recent announcement that India was transferring a Kilo-class submarine to Myanmar demonstrates the depth of their cooperation in the maritime domain.
The balancing act
- For Delhi, the balancing act between Bangladesh and Myanmar remains one of the keys to its overall approach to the Rohingya issue.
- Delhi has reiterated its support for “ensuring the safe, sustainable and speedy return of displaced persons” to Myanmar.
- By positioning as playing an active role in facilitating the return of Rohingya refugees, India has made it clear that it supports Myanmar’s efforts and also understands Bangladesh’s burden.
- For Delhi, engaging rather than criticizing is the most practical approach to finding a solution.
Conclusion
- For India, Myanmar is key in linking South Asia to Southeast Asia and the eastern periphery becomes the focal point for New Delhi’s regional outreach.
- Delhi’s political engagement and diplomatic balancing seem to have worked so far in its ties with Myanmar.
- Whether it has leveraged these advantages on the ground to the full is open to debate.
- The aforementioned initiatives could be the beginning of change on the ground by establishing India’s presence in sectors where it ought to be more pronounced.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Abrogation of Art. 370
People, as well as investors outside Jammu and Kashmir, can now purchase land in the Union Territory (UT) as the Centre has notified new land laws for the region.
What is the new criterion?
- Under the newly introduced J&K Development Act, the term “permanent resident of the State” as a criterion has been “omitted”, paving the way for investors outside J&K to invest in the UT.
- Under the ‘transfer of land for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or education’, the government may now allow the transfer of land.
- According to amendments made to “The Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat, 1996”, only agriculturists of J&K can purchase agricultural land.
- No sale, gift, exchange, or mortgage of the land shall be valid in favour of a person who is not an agriculturist.
- No land used for agriculture purposes shall be used for any non-agricultural purposes except with the permission of the district collector.
- Under a new provision, an Army officer not below the rank of Corps Commander can declare an area as “Strategic Area” within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements.
Note: These laws do not apply to the UT of Ladakh. The Centre is likely to notify separate land laws for the UT of Ladakh soon.
Criticisms of the move
- Political parties have opposed the move citing the sale of the state.
- With these new laws in place, tokenism of the domicile certificate has been done away with, as purchasing non-agricultural land has been made easier.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UAPA
Mains level: UAPA
The Centre has designated 18 key operatives and leaders of extremists groups as individual terrorists under the recently-amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Try this question for mains:
Q.“Anti-terror laws should not be used as a tool to silence the critics of the government.” Discuss in context to the recent amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
About UAPA
- The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.
Recent amendments
- The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
- Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Artemis, SOPHIA, VIPER
Mains level: Study of water on moon
The Moon has water at places where none had been detected before and has potentially more water than previously believed in regions where it was already understood to exist.
Try this MCQ:
Q.NASA’s VIPER mission sometimes seen in news is related to the study of-
a)Moon
b)Venus
c)Sun
d)None of these
Water on the moon
- In two separate studies in Nature Astronomy, scientists have reported findings with potentially huge implications for sustaining humans on the Moon in the future.
- One study reports the detection of water on the Moon’s sunlit surface for the first time.
- The other estimates that the Moon’s dark, shadowy regions, which potentially contain ice, are more widespread than thought.
Why is the discovery of water important?
- Apart from being a marker of potential life, water is a precious resource in deep space.
- For astronauts landing on the Moon, water is necessary not only to sustain life but also for purposes such as generating rocket fuel.
- NASA’s Artemis programme plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon in 2024 and hopes to establish a “sustainable human presence” there by the end of the decade.
What was known about water on the Moon?
- Previous Moon studies, including by the ISRO Chandrayaan-1 mission, have provided evidence for the existence of water.
- In 2009, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 found water molecules in the Polar Regions.
What is different in the new discovery?
- This time, it is confirmed H20 molecules, discovered in Clavius Crater in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.
- And it is the first time water has been detected on the sunlit side, showing it is not restricted to the shadowy regions.
- SOFIA, which is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner that flies at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, has an infrared camera that picked up the wavelength unique to water molecules.
- The data showed water in concentrations of 100-412 parts per million trapped in 1 cubic metre of soil.
How could the water have formed?
- Space rocks carrying small amounts of water could have bombarded the Moon.
- Alternatively, the Sun’s solar wind could have carried hydrogen, which then reacted with minerals in the lunar soil to create hydroxyl, which later transformed into water.
- The sunlit surface retaining the water presents a puzzle since the Moon does not have a thick atmosphere.
- One possibility is that the water gets trapped into tiny bead-like structures that were created in the soil by impacts from space rocks.
- Alternatively, the water could be hidden between grains of lunar soil and sheltered from the sunlight, NASA said.
So, how widespread is water on the Moon?
- On the sunlit side, it is not yet known whether the water SOFIA found is easily accessible.
- On the other hand, the hidden, shadowy pockets on the lunar surface called “cold traps” are spread across a combined 40,000 sq km, the other study has reported.
- The cold traps have gone without sunlight for potentially billions of years. If they do contain ice, it means water is going to be more accessible than previously assumed.
What next?
- SOFIA will look for water in additional sunlit locations to learn more about how the water is produced, stored, and moved across the Moon.
- Meanwhile, NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will carry out a mission to create the first water resource maps of the Moon.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST
Mains level: Changes in taxation after GST regime
Officials have indicated that the government is considering bringing natural gas under the ambit of the GST regime.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Consider the following items:
- Cereal grains hulled
- Chicken eggs cooked
- Fish processed and canned
- Newspapers containing advertising material
Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Why such demands?
- Global energy MNCs have called on the government to bring natural gas under the GST regime.
- Currently petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and crude oil fall outside India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
Why is it important to bring natural gas under the GST regime?
- Bringing natural gas under the GST would lead to a reduction in the cascading impact of taxes on industries such as power and steel, which used natural gas as an input.
- This would do away with the central excise duty and different value-added taxes imposed by states.
- This would lead to an increase in the adoption of natural gas in line with the government’s stated goal to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket from 6.3% to 15%.
Back2Basics: GST
- GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
- It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
- For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
Must read:
https://www.civilsdaily.com/goods-and-services-tax-2/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Contrasting India and China's engagement with West Asia
The article draws parallels in the past in India and China’s engagement with West Asia and contrasts it with the present approach adopted by China in dealing with the region.
Strategic autonomy
- According to a former Foreign Secretary of India, Vijay Gokhale, the ideation of ‘strategic autonomy’ is much different from the Nehruvian era thinking of ‘non-alignment’.
- Speaking in January 2019, Mr. Gokhale said: “The alignment is issue based, and not ideological.”
India’s engagement with West Asia
- Pre-dating 2020, India’s outreach to West Asia sharpened since 2014.
- Oil-rich Gulf states looked at India as investment alternative away from the West to deepen their own strategic depth.
- India also doubled down on its relations with the likes of Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, giving open economic and political preference to the larger Gulf region.
- While engagements with Israel moved steadily forward, Iran lagged behind, constrained by U.S. sanctions, which in turn significantly slowed the pace of India-Iran engagements.
China’s engagement with West Asia
- China’s overtures have been steadily more adventurous as it realises two major shifts that have taken place in West Asia.
- First, the thinking in the Gulf that the American security safety net is not absolute.
- Second, the Gulf economies such as Saudi Arabia, even though trying to shift away from petro dollar, will still need growing markets to sell oil to in the coming decade as they reform their economic systems.
- The obvious two markets here are China and India.
Similarity in India and China’s approach to West Asia
- Both India and China employed similar versions of ‘non-alignment’ thinking is in West Asia based on equitable engagement with the three poles of power in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel.
- Both countries did it without getting involved into the region’s multi-layered conflicts and political fissures.
- However, deteriorating U.S.-China ties, the COVID-19 pandemic that started in China, followed by the Ladakh crisis, is forcing a drastic change in the geopolitical playbooks of the two Asian giants, and, by association, global security architectures as well.
Changing approach of China
- A report in September shone a light on a $400 billion, 25-year understanding between Iran and China, with Beijing taking advantage of abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal.
- China is no longer happy with a passive role in West Asia, and through concepts such as “negative peace” and “peace through development”.
- In concert with tools such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing is now ready to offer an alternative model for “investment and influence”.
- It remains to be seen, however, how China balances itself between the poles of power while backing one so aggressively.
Stability of the region and opportunity for India
- From India’s perspective, the overt outreach to the Gulf and the ensuing announcements of multi-billion-dollar investments on Indian shores by entities from Saudi Arabia and the UAE is only New Delhi recognising the economic realities of the region.
- Despite entanglements in the Yemen war and general tensions between the Gulf states and Iran, the likes of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and so on have maintained relatively strong and stable economic progression.
- Israel’s recent peace accords with the UAE and Bahrain add much further weight towards a more stable Gulf region — the caveats withstanding that the operationalisation of the accords is smooth and long-lasting.
Consider the question “Despite turbulence in the region, India’s engagement with West Asia has always been characterised by non-alignment and ethos of equitable engagement. In light of this, elaborate on India’s approach to the region and region’s importance for India.”
Conclusion
While in the recent past, the Indo-Pacific, with the development of the Quad, has taken centre stage, other geographies such as West Asia have also started to showcase bolder examples of New Delhi and Beijing’s metamorphosing approaches towards the international arena.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-US relations
Changing geopolitical factors have accelerated further the deepening of India-US ties. The article analyses the current circumstances and evolution of the bilateral relations.
Background against which 2+2 dialogue taking place
- The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States in Delhi this week marks an important moment in bilateral relations.
- The 2+2 dialogue comes just three weeks after the foreign ministers of the Quad — or the Quadrilateral Security Framework — met in Tokyo.
- It also takes place amidst a profound structural shift in great power politics as well as turbulence in the international economic order intensified by the coronavirus pandemic.
- The dialogue follows India’s first-ever participation in a meeting of the exclusive Five Eyes grouping that facilitates intelligence-sharing among the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
- A few days ago, Delhi announced the much-awaited expansion of the annual Malabar exercises to include Australia.
Background of the past engagements
- Signing the historic civil nuclear initiative ended India’s prolonged atomic isolation in the world laid the outline of a broader framework for security cooperation.
- Due to the deep divisions within the national security establishment, the leadership and some political constraints faced by the government, the coalition broke up.
- The focus was on keeping visible distance from the US in the name of non-alignment, strategic autonomy, and the quest for a multipolar world.
- The relationship survived those years, thanks to the US’s perseverance.
3 Factors responsible for rapid progress in the US-India ties
1) Chines aggression on northern border
- The huge military crisis on the northern borders with China that is well into the sixth month is the first factor.
- In the past, India avoided closer security ties with the US in deference to Beijing’s sensitivities.
- In contrast, the government now has refused to pay heed to Chinese sensitivities over its policy on security cooperation with the US.
2) Disruption caused by the corona pandemic
- The coronavirus has sharpened the US debate on the dangers of excessive economic interdependence on China.
- Meanwhile, India has begun to reduce its commercial ties to Beijing in response to the PLA’s Ladakh aggression.
- This has created the conditions for a new conversation between India and the US on rearranging global supply chains away from China.
- So, the Quad Plus conversations have drawn in Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam with a view to rearrange the global supply chain.
3) Focus on critical technologies
- Third factor is critical technologies like artificial intelligence that promise to transform most aspects of modern life — including security, political economy and social order.
- Delhi and Washington are now focused on finding ways to collaborate on the critical technologies of the 21st century and work with their partners in setting new global rules for managing them.
Conclusion
As the regional and global order faces multiple transitions, the incentives for Delhi and Washington to sustain and advance India-US partnership are stronger than ever before and will continue into the next administration.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Transparent and accessible judicial proceedings
Attorney General of India has pushed for live-streaming court proceedings to make hearings accessible to all. But CJI sounded a cautionary note, saying it was susceptible to “abuses.”
Why such demands?
- In a first in India, the Gujarat High Court has begun live streaming of Court Proceedings on YouTube.
- The issue of live-streaming came up as a Special Bench led by the CJI was taking stock of the virtual court system initiated soon after the pandemic lockdown.
Live-streaming of Court
- Justice Chandrachud was one of the three judges on the Bench that gave the verdict on live-streaming in September 2018.
- In fact, he had noted in his separate opinion that live-streaming of proceedings would be the true realization of the “open court system.”
- His suggestions were later adopted as guidelines in the September 2018 judgment.
Why there should be live-streaming?
- Improved accountability: Live-streaming of court proceedings would serve as an instrument for greater accountability and formed part of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
- Living up the expectation of Constitution: Live Streaming of Court proceedings is manifested in public interest. Public interest has always been preserved through the Constitution article 19 and 21
- Empowering the masses: It will enable the legal system to deliver on its promise of empowering the masses.
- More transparency: It will encourage the principle of open court and reduce dependence on second-hand views. It will effectuate the public’s right to know.
- This would inspire confidence in the functioning of the judiciary as an institution and help maintain the respect that it deserved as a co-equal organ of the state.
- Academic help: Live streaming may also be a help for academic purposes.
Issues with live-courts
The Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) of the Department of Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice have tabled its report on the functioning of Virtual Courts and Digitization of Justice Delivery in Parliament.
Following are the four key considerations and recommendations of the committee as far as mainstreaming of virtual courts is concerned:
(1) The question of access:
- A large number of litigants and advocates lack internet connectivity and requisite infrastructure and means to participate in virtual hearings and the process. This has serious implications.
- The obvious one being that a large chunk of our citizenry is vulnerable to being excluded from the process of justice delivery owing to factors beyond their control.
- The committee also opined that the judiciary considers solutions such as mobile video conferencing facilities to allow for meaningful participation from those living in remote geographies.
(2) The degree of comfort:
- A highly underrated but equally consequential factor is whether everyone, even if access to reliable internet connectivity is universal, is comfortable and well versed with the new tools and mediums of justice delivery.
- Big, well-to-do law firms and advocates in urban areas would face no issues as compared to those participants in rural areas given the digital divide.
(3) The idea of open courts itself:
- Virtual courts allegedly threaten the constitutionality of Court proceedings and undermine the importance of Rule of law which forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
- Expressing concern over the opaqueness of such hearings, critics state that virtual courts are antithetical to the open court system given the limited access that they allow for.
(4) The question of Privacy and Data Security:
- This is where the report makes some interesting and innovative suggestions vital to the performance of any digital justice delivery mechanism.
- It also took note of the fact that most virtual court proceedings in India currently take place using third-party software or platforms and a few of them have already been rejected earlier on grounds of being unsafe to use.
- The committee noted how courts across the world have had instances of intrusion and data privacy or security concerns while adapting to an entirely virtual mode of conducting hearings.
Still, digital records are necessary
- Litigants depend on the information provided by lawyers about what has transpired during the course of hearings.
- When the description of cases is accurate and comprehensive; it serves the course of open justice.
- Again, if a report on a judicial hearing is inaccurate, it impedes the public’s right to know.
Best examples
- Internationally, constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
- In Australia, proceedings are recorded and posted on the high court’s website.
- Proceedings of the Supreme Courts of Brazil, Canada, England and Germany are broadcast live.
- The Supreme Court of the US does not permit video recording, but oral arguments are recorded, transcribed, and available publicly.
- And democracies aside, in China, court proceedings are live-streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme People’s Court of China.
Significance of open-courts
- India stands alone amongst leading constitutional democracies in not maintaining audio or video recordings or even a transcript of court proceedings.
- Court hearings can be turning points in the life of a nation: ADM Jabalpur comes readily to mind. More recently, there is any number of cases where the Supreme Court’s judgments have changed citizens’ lives.
- Ayodhya, Aadhaar, Section 377, Sabarimala, NRC and the triple talaq judgments are among them.
Various moves for accessibility
- Over the last few years, the Supreme Court has taken steps to make justice more accessible. The Court started providing vernacular translations of its judgments.
- Non-accredited journalists were permitted to live-tweet court proceedings. During the lockdown, journalists have been permitted to view virtual court proceedings in real-time.
Way forward
- There should be live-streaming cases of constitutional and national importance as a pilot project, including Constitution Bench cases.
- Matrimonial cases and those involving national security could be excluded.
- There must be a reasonable time-delay (say 10 minutes) between the live court proceedings and the broadcast to ensure any information which ought not to be shown, as directed by the court, can be edited from being broadcast.
- The judiciary must also employ a press officer to liaise with the media, and issue simultaneously one or two page summaries of its judgments to facilitate greater public understanding.
- There has to be a greater reliance on written briefs and the significance accorded to them, time limits for oral arguments, and a greater emphasis on preparation in advance.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Plasma therapy
Mains level: Efficacy of the plasma therapy
Recently published findings on convalescent plasma therapy on Covid-19 patients have triggered a debate over its efficacy.
Plasma Therapy
- Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. Convalescent plasma, extracted from the blood of patients recovering from an infection, is a source of antibodies against the infection.
- The therapy involves using their plasma to help others recover. For Covid-19, this has been one of the treatment options.
- The donor would have to be a documented case of Covid-19 and healthy for 28 days since the last symptoms.
How is it done?
- The process to infuse plasma in a patient can be completed quickly.
- It only requires standard blood collection practices, and extraction of plasma.
- If whole blood is donated (350-450 ml), a blood fractionation process is used to separate the plasma.
- Otherwise, a special machine called aphaeresis machine can be used to extract the plasma directly from the donor.
- While blood is indeed extracted from the donor, the aphaeresis machine separates and extracts the plasma using a plasma kit, and the remaining blood components are returned into the donor’s body.
WHO’s guidelines
- WHO guidelines in 2014 mandate a donor’s permission before extracting plasma.
- Plasma from only recovered patients must be taken, and donation must be done from people not infected with HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, or any infectious disease.
- If whole blood is collected, the plasma is separated by sedimentation or centrifugation, then injected in the patient.
- If plasma needs to be collected again from the same person, it must be done after 12 weeks of the first donation for males and 16 weeks for females, the WHO guidelines state.
What has happened to spark the debate?
- An ICMR study has found convalescent plasma was not associated with a reduction in progression to severe Covid-19 or all-cause mortality.
- While the use of this therapy seemed to improve the resolution of shortness of breath and fatigue in patients with moderate Covid-19, this did not translate into a reduction in 28-day mortality or progression to severe disease.
- Progression to severe disease or death at 28 days after enrolment occurred in 44 (19%) of the participants in the intervention arm as compared to 41 (18%) in the control arm.
What happens if ICMR does remove the therapy from its guidelines?
- The authorisation of convalescent plasma as a treatment for Covid-19 in India has led to questionable practices such as calls for donors on social media, and the sale of convalescent plasma on the black market.
- The ICMR has been cautious because of the trial findings.
- However, those guidelines are not necessarily binding and it is too early to dismiss convalescent plasma therapy. But there are other issues.
- The therapy involves resource-intensive processes such as plasmapheresis, plasma storage, and measurement of neutralizing antibodies.
Way ahead
- This is a new virus, and around the world, the evidence is still emerging on the best therapeutic options.
- Covid care is individualized care. Use of the right medication on the right patient does work.
- Some of the therapies can be continued on compassionate grounds.
- However, the potential harms of the non-immune components of convalescent plasma should be rigorously investigated.
- Only donor plasma with detectable titers of neutralizing antibodies should be given to trial participants, to ensure that the potential for benefit exists for all intervention arm patients.
Try this question:
Q.What is convalescent plasma therapy? Discuss its efficacy and limitations for COVID-19 treatment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bundi architecture
Mains level: Not Much
A recent episode of the Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series has focused on the architectural heritage of Bundi, Rajasthan.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to Dhrupad, one of the major traditions of India that has been kept alive for centuries, which of the following statements are correct?
- Dhrupad originated and developed in the Rajput kingdoms during the Mughal period.
- Dhrupad is primarily a piece of devotional and spiritual music.
- Dhrupad Alap uses Sanskrit syllables from Mantras.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None of the above
About Bundi
- Bundi erstwhile capital of Hada Rajput province known as Hadauti located in south-eastern Rajasthan is one such place.
- Bundi is also known as City of step walls, blue city and also as Chotti Kashi.
- In ancient times, the area around Bundi was apparently inhabited by various local tribes, of which the Parihar Tribes, Meena was prominent.
- Later the region was governed by Rao Deva, who took over Bundi from Jaita Meena in 1242, renaming the surrounding area as Haravati or Haroti.
- For the next two centuries, the Hadas of Bundi were the vassals of the Sisodias of Mewar and ruled by the title of Rao until 1569, after Emperor Akbar.
Important architecture
- The City of Bundi grew outwards Taragarh hill. A small habitat developed at the foothills of the fort itself.
- The location of the royal palace was on a steep slope overlooking the valley below, providing a view of the vast surrounding hinterland.
- Garh Mahal became the focus and an imposing landmark on the skyline of Bundi was visible from the valley below. In the next 200 years, the entire cluster was built.
- The best example of medieval Indian city exhibiting water harvesting methods adopted at settlement level as well as the finest examples of water architecture.
- Location of Baoris and Kunds outside the walled city was also influenced by social considerations as access to baoris and kunds were located within the walled city was controlled.
Architectural heritage of Bundi can be classified as:
1) Garh (Fort): Taragarh
2) Garh Mahal (Royal Palace)
- Bhoj Mahal
- Chattar Mahal
- Ummed Mahal
3) Baori (Step well)
- Khoj Darwaja ki Baori
- Bhawaldi Baori
4) Kund (Stepped tank)
- Dhabhai ji ka Kund
- Nagar Kund & Sagar Kund
- Rani Kund
5) Sagar mahal (Lake Palace)
- Moti Mahal
- Sukh Mahal
- Shikar Burj
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Echinops Sahyadricus
Mains level: Not Much
Researchers have discovered a new species of Echinops Sahyadricus (Sahyadri Globe Thistle) from the Rajgad Fort in the Sahyadri Mountains.
Echinops Sahyadricus
- Echinops is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants found in tropical and North Africa, the Mediterranean basin and West Asia, extending eastwards to China and Japan.
- The highest number of taxa (76) is concentrated in the Iranian plateau. Five species are found in India including two in Maharashtra.
- The new species is unique because of the size of its composite inflorescence which measures up to 9 cm in diameter that is relatively large compared to other Echinops species found around the world.
- It grows vegetative on open grassy slopes of mountains in four months of monsoon and blooms in November. Fruiting can be seen in December.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Soil degradation: Reasons and impact
Mains level: Paper 3- Land degradation and using land reforms to deal with it
Land ceiling laws, enacted to deal with the problems of a bygone era, remains unchanged even in most of the States. This has given rise to different problems. The article suggests the relaxation of the ceiling acts to deal with the problem of land degradation and water depletion.
Background of the ceiling laws
- India implemented land ceiling laws to deal with the ‘zamindars’ and impose landowning limits based on total production value of land—irrigated, grove, orchard, dry, etc.
- Landholdings were scrutinised at individual and family level, and large farms were discouraged.
- For most states, the ceiling ratio of dry-to-irrigated land is 3:1.
Issues with the ceiling laws
- In 2020, State land laws remain unchanged, trapping farm families in a negative ownership trap.
- As with each generation, the average landholding of individuals reduces.
- Dropping farm incomes, higher inputs costs, low sale price, soil degradation and water depletion erode production and farm value.
- A progressive farmer hits production saturation due to limited land.
- Contract farming has been no consolation either.
- The result is that the Indian farm size is very small, 86% under two hectares, and is decreasing as the average size of operational holding has declined to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16 versus 1.15 in 2010-11 (Agricultural Census 2015-16).
- The government is reticent on the Economic Survey’s recommendations to increase land ceiling limits.
- Recently, Karnataka rescinded land limit reforms.
How to deal with soil degradation and water depletion
- 30% of India’s land is degraded, bad agri-practices threaten soil health, and water-guzzling crops like paddy, sugarcane, etc, have resulted in a water crisis in many places.
- States must study soil conservation program of the US, which paid farmers subsidies for soil conservation or allowing land to be fallow.
- States should incentivise farmers for agro-ecological plantations and agro-forestry by relaxing land ceiling limits for them.
- State Acts may include organic plantations under exempt categories similar to tea/rubber plantations.
- Native biodiversity based mixed orchards, from mahua to moringa, can be encouraged and exempted by state governments.
- Policy change will have benefits—soil and water rejuvenation, increase in farmers’ incomes and new products for the free market.
- The return of organic matter and biodiversity will sustain farmland productivity.
- Plus APEDA predicts a $50 billion organic export 2030, but the cherry would be additional carbon credits.
- If 10% of arable land converts to organic grove land, India will mitigate climate change and pollution.
- Each hectare with 0.01% humus can store 80,000 litres of water. We need a central policy to bolster this drive.
- Farmers may take over waste or degraded land, beyond land ceiling limits, and restore land as a carbon sink and produce more nutrition per acre.
- As farmers will care for these lands, the government’s financial burden to restore wastelands will lessen.
Consider the question “Land degradation threatens India’s future if not dealt with in time. In light of this, examine the reasons for soil degradation and suggest the ways to deal with it”
Conclusion
As a nation, we have a choice to steer the bigger farms towards agro-ecology or allow industrial farms to take over rural India. The government needs to bring out a fourth Ordinance to free the land for healing the Earth.
Source:-
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/reform-land-ceiling-laws-incentivise-farmers-for-agro-ecological-plantations-and-agro-forestry/2113635/
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MSP
Mains level: Paper 3- Delay in agri-reforms and politics
Reforms in agriculture have been overdue. But the passage of farm bills by the Parliament has evoked opposition from several stakeholders. However, the passage of bills by the Punjab Assembly is the first from any State Assembly. The article explains how politics dominates agriculture reforms and its implications for economic growth.
States trying the negate the farm bill passed by Parliament
- By passing its farm bills, Punjab has become the first state to legislate to negate impact of legislation enacted by Parliament last month.
- Other states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, could follow suit soon.
- Notwithstanding whether President Ram Nath Kovind gives his assent to the state bills that undermine the central ones, the important issue is to determine how much of this conflict is about economics aimed at helping farmers and how much sheer politics.
Issues with Punjab’s farm bills
- Punjab’s farm bills prohibit private players from buying wheat and paddy below the MSP even outside the APMC markets.
- It doesn’t apply to other crops, say maize, cotton, pulses and oilseeds that are under the ambit of the central MSP system.
- The point is that this pertains only to wheat and paddy.
- The bill could even have been extended to milk and vegetables by declaring local MSPs for them, but it didn’t do that.
- Because the state government knows full well that it will create a fiasco in agri-markets, which might boomerang on it politically.
- Law for wheat and paddy will not help farmers as the Centre already buys more than 95 per cent of Punjab’s wheat and paddy at MSP through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state procurement agencies.
Economic roots of politics over MSP: Lessons from the past
- Demand that MSP be made a legal instrument (rather than indicative) actually exhibit deep distrust of the private sector and markets.
- In1972 government announced that the wholesale trade in wheat and rice (paddy) will be taken over by the government as traders were being unscrupulous in not giving farmers their due MSP and manipulating prices.
- The first marketing season of the government takeover of wholesale wheat trade, in 1973-74, saw a major fiasco.
- Market arrivals dropped, and wheat prices shot up by more than 50 per cent. It was a bitter lesson.
Long overdue reforms in agriculture
- Economic reforms in 1991 took some time to yield results, but, by the 2000s, India was taking 7 per cent.
- But even the 1991 economic reforms bypassed agriculture marketing reforms.
- It was only in 2003, a model act on agri-marketing was circulated to the states.
- But that model act did not go far enough.
- From 2004 to 2014 government did not pursue any major agri-marketing reforms.
- In food government enacted the National Food Security Act in 2013, giving 5 kg wheat or rice to 67 per cent of the population at Rs 2/kg and Rs 3/kg.
- A high-level committee (HLC) under Shanta Kumar was formed in 2014 to restructure the grain management system.
- The committee suggested major changes, including cash transfers in the public distribution system, and overhauling the FCI’s operations and free markets to make the system more efficient.
- But the government could not undertake bold reforms, except some marginal tinkering of labour rules in the FCI.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 crisis opened a window of opportunity to reform the agri-marketing system. The government grabbed it — this is somewhat akin to the crisis of 1991 leading to de-licensing of industry. Patience and professionalism will bring rich rewards in due course, not noisy politics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- US Presidential election and Implications for India
Though it is the election held in the US for the election of the US President, it is closely followed throughout the world given the dominant position of that country in the world and impact of the US Presidents decision on the world. This article analyses the implications for India in both the scenarios re-election of Trump or Joe Biden winning the election.
Implications for India
- Broader foreign policy decisions will have significant implications for India.
- Particularly consequential will be how a second Trump administration or a Biden administration perceive and approach China and, relatedly, the question of America’s role in the world.
- The outcome will depend on the choices that the next American president makes on key personnel and policies.
Analysing Trump administration’s approach to China from India’s perspective
- The Trump administration’s more hawkish view of China broadly converges with Indian concerns about a rising China’s actions and intentions.
- And it has facilitated the Trump administration to assign India an important role in its strategic framework, including through the Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept.
- This has laid the basis for defence and security cooperation, helped to manage differences with Delhi on trade, Russia, Iran, and human rights, and vocal American support for India in the ongoing crisis with China.
- Unlike India’s subtler approach to highlighting Beijing’s malign behaviour, the administration’s more explicit one has put a global spotlight on Chinese assertiveness.
- However, there are aspects of President Trump’s China approach that have caused concerns in Delhi.
- There has been concern about Trump striking a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since summit in April 2017.
- The administration subsequently pivoted to competition with China that summer.
- Concerns have also been raised due to neglect in the Trump administration of developments related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Huawei/ZTE.
- The other aspects of Trump’s China approach that have given Delhi pause are its ideological dimensions, as well as responses like tariffs that have hurt India too.
- On the similar lines American withdrawal from international institutions and agreements that has served to benefit Beijing.
- The China prism has had its limits — it has not, for instance, resulted in concessions to India on trade and immigration.
What would be Joe Biden’s to approach towards China and implications for India
- And there is recognition among most Democrats that the US-China relationship today is different from what it was in 2009, 2012 or 2016.
- An Obama administration China hand noted that opinion in the US on approach to China has “moved from balancing co-operation and competition, to competition and confrontation”.
- But what a Biden administration sees as the terms of strategic competition with China and how it might choose to blend in cooperation will have implications for India.
- Its outcome will depend in part on the president’s views, who holds key foreign and economic policy positions, as well as Beijing’s approach.
- India will closely watch how Biden might respond to any overtures from Beijing.
- It will particularly worry about any signs that Washington would be willing to limit competition or criticism in return for Chinese cooperation on certain administration priorities.
- More broadly, it will look at whether Biden administration’s Asia policy derives from its China policy or vice versa.
- Other aspects of Biden’s preferred approach might suit India, for instance:
- 1) acting collectively with allies and partners rather than unilaterally,
- 2) Not imposing tariffs that hit allies and partners along with China,
- 3) Recommitting to international organisations in ways that could blunt Chinese influence.
- India might also broadly approve of — and could benefit from — the 3Ds of a Biden foreign policy: Domestic (renewal), deterrence, and democracy.
- If a Biden administration sees engagement with China on climate change, global health security and non-proliferation as a priority that will complicate the Indian government’s options and require adjustments.
- Moreover, with either Trump or Biden, foreign economic policy choices and budgetary ones for example, spending at home versus abroad will have crucial implications for India.
Conclusion
India will need to consider what America’s choice on November 3 will mean for American power and purpose — because assessments of that could determine how Beijing decides to act in the region and globally.
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