Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Coalition with the European middle powers
The article explains the shift in India’s foreign policy in its relations with the European middle powers against the backdrop of churn in the geopolitics.
India’s changing perception of Europe
- Three recent developments underline India’s changing perceptions of Europe.
- 1) India’s support for France’s membership of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
- 2) India’s backing for a larger European role in the Indo-Pacific.
- Delhi has welcomed the interest of Germany and the Netherlands in building a new geopolitical architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
- 3) Security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific is also emerging as an important theme in partnership between India and the U.K.
Reasons for India’s shift
- India is looking beyond the bipolar geopolitical competition between the US and China.
- Delhi also wants to insure against the inevitable volatility in the complex dynamic between Washington and Beijing.
- To cope with the uncertain political trajectory of the US, Delhi is already supplementing its American partnership with a network of multilateral groups with other middle powers, such as the India-Australia-Japan forum and the trilateral dialogue with France and Australia.
Rebuilding ties with Europe and challenges
- Rebuilding ties with Europe needs a significant corrective to Delhi’s traditional strategic neglect of the continent.
- The bipolar Cold War dynamic and the North-South framework developing world versus the developed prevented Delhi from taking a more nuanced view of Europe’s political agency after WWII.
- Attempts to impart strategic momentum after the Cold War did not really succeed.
- As the economic gap between China and India widened, so did the scale of European interest in both countries.
- It is also true that the European ability to project military power into the Indo-Pacific is limited.
- But in combination with Asian democracies, Europe can certainly make a difference.
- It can mobilize massive economic resources, wield political influence, and leverage its significant soft power to shape the Indo-Pacific discourse.
An exceptional relationship with Frace
- France has been an exception in Europe in its connection with India.
- India’s partnership with France now has a strong regional anchor — the Indo-Pacific as it has its territories in the Western Indian Ocean and the South Pacific.
- France and Britain have lingering disputes leftover from the era of decolonization in parts of the Western Indian Ocean.
- India will have to contribute to the amicable resolution of those problems.
Consider the question “A strong coalition with the European middle powers should be the indispensable element of India’s foreign policy in the face of changing geopolitical circumstances. Comment.”
Conclusion
As China transforms the Eurasian landmass as well as the Indo-Pacific, it is abundantly clear that the US alone cannot redress the imbalance. A strong coalition of Asian and European middle powers must now be an indispensable element of the geopolitics of the East. Such a coalition can’t be built overnight. But India could push for a solid start in 2021.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TRAI
Mains level: Paper 3- Ensuring the success of radio spectrum
The article analyses the factors influencing the outcome of the spectrum auction and suggests the measures to ensure the success and avoid the repeat of 2016 auction.
Details of the auction
- Based on the recommendation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the government is planning to auction spectrum in the sub GHz bands of 700, 800, and 900 MHz along with mid-band frequencies in bands of 1800, 2100, 2300, and 2500 MHz across the 22 Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) of the country.
- The cumulative reserve price — and hence the potential revenue accrual to the government at reserve prices — is about $50 billion.
- The total reserve price of spectrum put on auction in 2016 was about $90 billion while the realized value was just about one-tenth of that.
- Hence, while the 2016 auction could be considered as a failure from the auctioneer’s point of view.
Factors determining the success of the spectrum auction
1) Right reserve price
- Research on a cross-country spectrum database shows that the reserve price significantly and positively correlated to the winning bid price.
- However, a higher reserve price also inhibits bidders from bidding for more spectrum blocks.
- If the quantity effect is more than the price effect, then it results in reduced revenues for the government exchequer, as happened in 2016.
2) Role of Over The Top (OTT) provider
- Over The Top (OTT) providers who are providing substitute goods such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP); and capturing a greater mind share of customers while remaining relatively invisible to government regulators.
- The rise of VoIP subscribers could have a positive effect on winning bid prices.
- However, the erosion of the position of telcos in the overall digital value network of devices, connectivity, and apps, could result in a lower willingness to pay.
3) Allocation of unlicensed spectrum for WiFi
- By off-loading mobile data, Wi-Fi supplements the carrier network and reduces the demand for mobile network capacity.
- A number of countries including the United States have unlicensed the V-band spectrum in 60 GHz — pencil beam band.
- Referred to as “wireless fiber”, the 60 GHz spectrum provides huge capacities in a limited area.
- Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. IEEE 802.11 ax) that operates in the 2.4/5 GHz unlicensed band requires additional unlicensed spectrum allocation to provide Gigabit speeds.
- The more the unlicensed spectrum allocation, the lower will be the demand for licensed spectrum.
4) Clarity on the availability of spectrum for auction
- While there is an indication by the government that the spectrum for the 5G auction, namely 3.4-3.6 GHz, will be held in late 2021, the amount of spectrum that will be made available is not clear.
- There is still uncertainty about the release of 26 GHz by the Department of Space for mobile services.
- With this limited visibility, the bidders will be in a quandary whether to acquire the spectrum now or wait for subsequent auctions.
- Further, some part of the current spectrum holding of all the operators is coming up for renewal in mid-2021, and hence there is additional pressure on them to retain them in the forthcoming auction.
Steps need to be taken
- A re-visit of reserve prices and lower it further, especially that of 700 MHz which is the “golden band” for covering the hinterlands of the country.
- Releasing more unlicensed spectrum in 2.4/5/60 GHz for proliferating Wi-Fi as a suitable complement to [the] carrier network.
- This will also augment the deployments of the Public Wi-Fi project which the cabinet approved recently.
- Provide visibility of future auctions, especially the quantum of the spectrum that can be put on the block in 3.3/3.6/26/28 GHz.
- The government should release guidelines on how OTT platforms will be regulated and what will be regulated so that the telcos and OTTs can join hands to provide superior services for the benefit of the consumers.
Conclusion
The government should follow the steps mentioned here to make the auction of the spectrum a success.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Winter Solstice
Mains level: Summer and Winter Solstice
Yesterday, December 21, was Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, conversely, it was Summer Solstice, the year’s longest day.
Try this MCQ:
Q.On 21st June, the Sun
(a) Does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
(b) Does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
(c) Shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
(d) Shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn
Why are the hours of daylight, not the same every day?
- The explanation lies in Earth’s tilt.
- And it’s not just the Earth — every planet in the Solar System is tilted relative to their orbits, all at different angles.
- The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to its orbital plane.
- This tilt — combined with factors such as Earth’s spin and orbit — leads to variations in the duration of sunlight than any location on the planet receives on different days of the year.
Impact of the tilted axis
- The Northern Hemisphere spends half the year tilted in the direction of the Sun, getting direct sunlight during long summer days.
- During the other half of the year, it tilts away from the Sun, and the days are shorter.
- Winter Solstice, December 21, is the day when the North Pole is most tilted away from the Sun.
- The tilt is also responsible for the different seasons that we see on Earth.
- The side facing the Sun experiences day, which changes to night as Earth continues to spin on its axis.
Un-impacted regions
- On the Equator, day and night are equal. The closer one moves towards the poles, the more extreme the variation.
- During summer in either hemisphere, that pole is tilted towards the Sun and the polar region receives 24 hours of daylight for months.
- Likewise, during winter, the region is in total darkness for months.
Celebrations associated with the Winter Solstice
- For centuries, this day has had a special place in several communities due to its astronomical significance and is celebrated in many ways across the world.
- Jewish people call the Winter Solstice ‘Tekufat Tevet’, which marks the start of winter.
- Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus, the son of Isis (divine mother goddess) for 12 days during mid-winter.
- In China, the day is celebrated by families coming together for a special meal.
- In the Persian region, it is celebrated as Yalda or Shab-e-Yalda. The festival marks the last day of the Persian month of Azar and is seen as the victory of light over darkness.
- Families celebrate Yalda late into the night with special foods such as ajeel nuts, pomegranates and watermelon, and recite works of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafiz Shirazi.
In Vedic tradition
- In Vedic tradition, the northern movement of the Earth on the celestial sphere is implicitly acknowledged in the Surya Siddhanta.
- It outlines the Uttarayana (the period between Makar Sankranti and Karka Sankranti). Hence, Winter Solstice is the first day of Uttarayana.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kosi River
Mains level: Floods in India
The Bihar government will try to divert the course of the mighty Kosi River in Bhagalpur district to save an archaeological site discovered recently.
Tap to read more about the Himalayan Drainage System:
Drainage System | Part 3
Kosi River: The Sorrow of Bihar
- The Kosi is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, Nepal and India.
- The river crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
- Its unstable nature has been attributed course changes and the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season, and flooding in India has extreme effects.
- It is also known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” as the annual floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy.
Why change its course?
- Several priceless artefacts have been found at the Guwaradih village in Naugachhia sub-division of Bhagalpur district during the excavation of a mound.
- These items could be 2,500-years-old and could be of interest for historians if conserved.
- The historical sites are facing threats from the Kosi floods.
- The Kosi currently flows around 300-400 metres from the site, while its old course is about two kilometres from the village.
Threats posed by the move
- Environmentalists have warned that changing the Kosi’s course could be disastrous for Bihar as seen in 2008.
- At that time, the river had breached its mud embankments at Kushaha in Nepal.
- The Kosi frequently changes its course naturally. If its course is artificially changed, it will cause floods and erosion in new areas, leading to massive displacement of people.
- It then caused extensive damage to life and property downstream in five densely populated districts of northeast Bihar.
- Some 500 people were killed and four million rendered homeless.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Role of intermediaries in governance
The article highlights the important role played by the intermediaries in connecting the citizens with the government.
Addressing the connect between government and citizens
- By exploring how digitally excluded communities engage with governance we understand that humans are significant in brokering trust between governments and citizens.
- This is true even for the ‘Digital India’.
- However, only a few States have built a cadre of individuals for last mile governance.
- Andhra Pradesh, for instance, rolled out a ward secretariat programme with over 16,000 ward secretaries and volunteers for delivering government services at citizens’ doorstep.
Understanding the role played by intermediaries
- Intermediaries help citizens overcome barriers to awareness of availability of digital services and rights from the state and ability.
- Intermediaries support individuals by placing complaints, directing them to the right authorities, and following up.
- Intermediaries are crucial offline architectures that enable the state to do its work better.
- Community-based organisations and NGOs see their work as allied to their core work.
Way forward
- Various types and forms of intermediation emerge based on regional, social, cultural and economic contexts.
- Equally, it is essential to pay attention to the varying incentives of intermediaries and not romanticise the benefits.
- We need to see intermediaries as crucial to the realisation of governance outcomes.
- India has formalised intermediation in traditional markets such as mutual funds from which we can learn.
- In these areas, formal governance mechanisms, structured capacity building, widespread awareness campaigns, and process re-engineering enabled growth and usage.
- At a broader level, increasing digitisation of governance across domains including healthcare, financial inclusion, justice and social services should be considered.
Conclusion
By acknowledging the role of intermediaries and supporting them, we will be able to support the process of responsible, responsive and data-driven governance across domains.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chillai Kalan
Mains level: Not Much
People in the Kashmir valley are finding unique ways to celebrate the start of ‘Chillai Kalan’, a local term for the 40-day period of harshest winter that begins annually from December 21.
Tap here to read all about:
Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News
Chillai Kalan
- Chillai Kalan is the coldest 40-day period of harsh winter of winter in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
- It is traditionally defined as a seasonal period of harsh winter accompanied by a change in increase in both frequency and quantity of precipitation usually snow.
- It begins from December 21 and ends on January 31 next year.
- It is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
- According to Persian tradition, the night of 21st December is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda-“Night of Birth”, or Shab-e Chelleh “Night of Forty”.
Its’ celebration
- In the Persian tradition, the night of December 21, the longest of the year, is celebrated as Shab-e-Yalda (night of birth) or Shab-e-Chelleh.
- Dozens of netizens from Kashmir named it the ‘Pheran Day’, after the long woollen gown worn during the winters in Kashmir.
- Use of a traditional firing pot called Kangri increases.
- Tap water pipelines partially freeze during this period. The Dal Lake also freezes.
- The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg receives heavy snow which attracts skier’s from every part of the world.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Rights to the Electricity Consumers
The Ministry of Power has for the first time laid down Rights to the Electricity Consumers through “Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020”.
Q.What are the new Rights to the Electricity Consumers as envisaged under Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020?
Rights to the Electricity Consumers: A highlight
Following key areas are covered in the Electricity (Rights of consumers) Rules:
- Rights of consumers and Obligations of Distribution licensees
- Release of new connection and modification in an existing connection
- Metering arrangement
- Billing and Payment
- Disconnection and Reconnection
- Reliability of supply
- Consumer as Prosumer
- Standards of Performance of licensee
- Compensation Mechanism
- Call Centre for Consumer Services
- Grievance redressal mechanism
(1) Rights and Obligations
- It is the duty of every distribution licensee to supply electricity on request made by an owner or occupier of any premises in line with the provisions of the Act.
- It is the right of the consumer to have minimum standards of service for the supply of electricity from the distribution licensee.
(2) Release of new connection and modification in an existing connection
- Transparent, simple, and time-bound processes,
- The applicant has an option for online application,
- The maximum time period of 7 days in metro cities and 15 days in other municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas identified to provide new connections and modify existing connections.
(3) Metering
- No connection shall be given without a meter;
- Meter shall be the smart pre-payment meter or pre-payment meter;
- Provision of Testing of meters;
- Provisions for replacement of defective or burnt or stolen meters specified.
(4) Billing and payment
- Transparency in applicable consumer tariff and bills;
- A consumer shall have the option to pay bills online or offline;
- Provision for advance payment of bills.
(5) Reliability of supply
- The distribution licensee shall supply 24×7 powers to all consumers. However, the Commission may specify lower hours of supply for some categories of consumers like agriculture;
- The distribution licensee shall put in place a mechanism, preferably with automated tools to the extent possible, for monitoring and restoring outages.
(6) Consumer as prosumer
- The prosumers will maintain consumer status and have the same rights as the general consumer.
- They will also have the right to set up RE generation units including rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems – either by themselves or through a service provider.
- Net metering for loads up to ten kW and for gross metering for loads above ten kW.
(7) Standards of Performance
- The Commission shall notify the standards of performance for the distribution licensees;
- Compensation amount to be paid to the consumers by the distribution licensees for violation of standards of performance.
(8) Compensation mechanism
- Automatic compensation shall be paid to consumers for which parameters on standards of performance can be monitored remotely;
- The standards of performance for which the compensation is required to be paid by the distribution licensee.
(9) Call Centre for Consumer Services
- Distribution licensee shall establish a centralized 24×7 toll-free call center;
- Licensees shall endeavor to provide all services through a common Customer Relation Manager (CRM) System to get a unified view.
(10) Grievance redressal mechanism
- Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) to include consumer and prosumer representatives;
- The consumer grievance redressal has been made easy by making it multi-layered and the number of consumer’s representatives has been increased from one to four.
- The licensee shall specify the time within which various types of grievances by the different levels of the forums are to be resolved. Maximum timeline of 45 days specified for grievance redressal.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Leopard populations in India
Mains level: Tiger and leopard conservation: A success
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released the Status of Leopards Report.
Confused over Leopard and Cheetah?
The most common difference between these two animals is the patterns on their coat. At first glance, it may look like they both have spots, but in actual fact, a leopard has rosettes which are rose-like markings, and cheetahs have a solid round or oval spot shape.
Indian Leopards
- The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent.
- It is one of the big cats occurring on the Indian subcontinent, apart from the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, snow leopard and clouded leopard.
- It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because populations have declined following habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching for the illegal trade of skins and body parts.
Leopards in India
- India now has 12,852 leopards as compared to the previous estimate of 7910 conducted 2014.
- More than 60% increase in population has been recorded.
- The States of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra recorded the highest leopard estimates at 3,421, 1,783 and 1,690 respectively.
- India’s world record tiger survey also estimated the population of leopards and the tiger range was found a home to 12,852 (12,172-13,535) leopards.
Significance
- The increase in Tiger, Lion & Leopards numbers over the last few years is a testimony to the conservation efforts and of the fledgeling wildlife & biodiversity of the country.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now