Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Taiwan ties
25 years of friendship
- India and Taiwan are celebrating 25 years of their partnership.
- Mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements covering agriculture, investment, customs cooperation, civil aviation, industrial cooperation and other areas.
- This growing relationship indicates that the time has come to recalibrate India-Taiwan relations.
Recalibrating relationship
1) Creating political framework
- Both partners have increasingly deepened mutual respect underpinned by openness, with democracy and diversity as the key principles for collective growth.
- To make this relationship more meaningful, both sides can create a group of empowered persons or a task force to chart out a road map in a given time frame.
2) Cooperation in healthcare
- Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic and its support to many other countries underlines the need to deepen healthcare cooperation.
- India and Taiwan already collaborate in the area of traditional medicine.
- The time is ripe to expand cooperation in the field of healthcare.
3) Bio-friendly technologies
- Stubble burning and an associated decline in air quality has become a challenge for Indian government.
- Taiwan could be a valuable partner in dealing with this challenge through its bio-friendly technologies.
- Such technologies convert agricultural waste into value-added and environmentally beneficial renewable energy or biochemicals.
- This will be a win-win situation as it will help in dealing with air pollution and also enhance farmers’ income.
- Further, New Delhi and Taipei can also undertake joint research and development initiatives in the field of organic farming.
4) Cultural exchange
- India and Taiwan need to deepen people-to-people connect.
- Cultural exchange is the cornerstone of any civilisational exchange.
- However, Taiwanese tourists in India are a very small number.
- The Buddhist pilgrimage tour needs better connectivity and visibility, in addition to showcasing incredible India’s diversity. .
- With the Taiwan Tourism Bureau partnering with Mumbai Metro, Taiwan is trying to raise awareness about the country and increase the inflow of Indian tourists.
5) Deepening economic ties
- India’s huge market provides Taiwan with investment opportunities.
- The signing of a bilateral trade agreement in 2018 was an important milestone.
- Taiwan’s reputation as the world leader in semiconductor and electronics complements India’s leadership in ITES (Information Technology-Enabled Services).
- This convergence of interests will help create new opportunities.
- Despite the huge potential, Taiwan investments have been paltry in India.
- Taiwanese firms find the regulatory and labour regime daunting.
Consider the question “Though mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements, the time has come to recalibrate India-Taiwan relations” In light of this, discuss the ways in which the two countries can deepen bilateral relations and increase cooperation.
Conclusion
The two countries have much to cooperate and build the relationship on. What is needed is the political will to recalibrate the relationship.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Provision of MTP Act
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the MTP bill
The article highlights key changes the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to make in the 1971 Act and also deals with the issues with some of these changes.
Key changes
- The 1971 Act had moral biases against sexual relationships outside marriage, adopts an ableist approach and carries a strong eugenic emphasis.
- In addition to preventing danger to the life or risk to physical or mental health of the woman, “eugenic grounds” were recognised as a specific category for legally permissible abortions.
- To deal with these issues the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by the parliament.
- The bill is being hailed for two reasons:
- First, the bill replaces “any married woman or her husband” with “any woman or her partner” while contemplating termination of pregnancies resulting from contraception failures, thus ostensibly destigmatising pregnancies outside marriage.
- Second, the time limit within which pregnancies are legally terminable is increased.
Issues with the Bill
1) Scope for executive overreach
- The bill raises the upper gestational limits for the two categories of permissible abortions envisioned in Section 3(2) of the 1971 Act.
- Limit for the first category in which pregnancies are terminable subject to the opinion of one medical practitioner is raised from 12 weeks to 20 weeks.
- The limit for the second category in which pregnancies are terminable subject to the opinion of two medical practitioners is raised to include those exceeding 20 but not exceeding 24 weeks, instead of the present category of cases exceeding 12 but not exceeding 20 weeks.
- However, the second category is left ambiguous and open to potential executive overreach insofar as it may be further narrowed down by rules made by the executive.
2) Rejection of the bodily autonomy of women
- Pregnancies are allowed to be terminated only where:
- 1) Continuance of the pregnancy would “prejudice the life of the pregnant woman.
- 2) Or cause grave injury to her mental or physical health”
- 3) Or “if the child were born it would suffer from any serious physical or mental abnormality.”
- As such, the bill seeks to cater to women “who need to terminate pregnancy” as against “women who want to terminate pregnancy.”
- By not accounting for the right to abortion at will the Bill effectively cripples women’s bodily autonomy.
3) Ableist approach
- A woman’s right to terminate the pregnancy of a child likely to suffer from physical or mental anomalies or one diagnosed with foetal abnormalities, on socio-economic grounds or otherwise, merits recognition.
- However, in treating “physical or mental disability” or “foetal abnormalities” as separate categories amounting to heightened circumstances for termination of pregnancies, the bill reveals its ableist approach.
- This evidences a presumption that certain people are by default societally unproductive, undesirable and somehow more justifiably eliminable than others.
- This ableism becomes stark when the said 24-week limit, which is purportedly dictated by scientific and legislative wisdom, is completely lifted where the termination of a pregnancy involves “substantial foetal abnormalities”.
4) Dichotomy in allowing termination beyond 24 weeks
- When read together with Section 3(2B) of the bill, a strange dichotomy emerges:
- 1) It is either the case that medical advancement is such that a safe abortion is possible at any point in the term of pregnancy, and hence, the bill allows it in case of “substantial foetal abnormalities” .
- Or that, a 24-week ceiling is scientifically essential and abortions beyond the said limit would pose risks to the health of the pregnant woman or the foetus.
- If it is the former, then allowing termination only in cases of “substantial foetal abnormalities” is a fictitious and moralistic classification.
- If it is the latter, then the secondary status of women’s safety and the dominant eugenic tenor of the bill once again becomes evident.
Need to sensitise healthcare provider
- Access to abortion facilities is limited not just by legislative barriers but also the fear of judgment from medical practitioners.
- It is imperative that healthcare providers be sensitised towards being scientific, objective and compassionate in their approach to abortions notwithstanding the woman’s marital status.
Consider the question “What are the changes the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to make in the 1971 Act. Discuss the issues with the changed provision in the Act.
Conclusion
In KS Puttaswamy v Union of India, the Supreme Court recognised women’s constitutional right to “abstain from procreating” was read into the right to privacy, dignity and bodily autonomy. The MTPA Bill falls short of meeting this constitutional standard and its own stated objectives.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- How Atmanirbhar Bharat policies can help in post-covid recovery
The article highlights how Atmanirbhar Bharat policies can play important role in India’s post-pandemic recovery.
Decline of trade-led catch-up growth
- The Asian Development Bank identifies India as an outlier, with the country’s GDP growth likely to range between eight and 10 per cent — as against 7.7 per cent for China and seven per cent for the Asian region.
- The convergence between the rich and poor countries in the 1990s and 2000s was founded on high relative growth rates driven by globalisation and export-led growth.
- The World Bank and many international think tanks are now projecting a process of de-globalisation, reduction in exports, and reduced service exports from the tourism, travel and hospitality sector in response to COVID.
- So, the phenomenon of trade-led catch-up growth is declining.
How Atmanirbhar Bharat is different from past strategies
- India’s import substituting growth strategy of the 1960s did not succeed because the high protective customs barriers led to the growth of non-competitive industries.
- The current Atmanirbhar Bharat project is different because tariffs are low and public investment is focused on non-tradable infrastructure rather than commodity production.
1) Atmanirbhar in heath: Atmirbhar Swasth Bharat
- Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat is a domestic non-trade dependent initiative which will invest over Rs 64,000 crore in setting up 17,800 rural and 11,000 urban health and wellness centres and 602 critical care hospitals in the country’s districts.
- Today India has 29 health workers per 10,000 population, while we need 60 such professionals per 10,000 people, as per WHO norms.
- Creating such a cadre will mean nearly four million new jobs, which can be self-paying.
2) Infrastructure
- China and emerging markets like Russia and Brazil have a fairly advanced transport and energy infrastructure.
- India has a huge potential to renew its railways and highways and shift to solar energy from its current dependence on coal.
- In fact, the country’s long-neglected fourth largest rail network in the world is undergoing rapid transformation.
- While rail track coverage expanded by 5,000 km during 2010 to 2014-15, nearly 7,000 km of tracks were added between 2015 and 2020.
- The Railways now aim to lay 9.5 km of track daily and have raised adequate capital for the same by leveraging domestic insurance funds.
- Railways are also aiming for 100 per cent electrification and zero carbon footprint by 2024.
- Electrified track has doubled from 20,000 km in 2012/13 to nearly 40,000 km in 2020.
- The Centre’s decision to invest heavily in urban mass transit systems since 2014 has led to the rapid expansion of such services.
- The resolution of financial problems of blocked PPP projects and smooth land acquisition process has increased the pace of construction of national highways.
- Pace of construction of the national highway increased from 3,330 km per year during 2009-20014 to nearly 9,450 km in 2020-21.
3) Renewable energy
- Today over 55 per cent of India’s energy comes from coal but the share of renewable has been steadly increasing.
- Starting with only 10 MW of solar power in 2010, India has installed nearly 35 GW of solar power by 2020.
- This has been propelled by economic reforms which drove solar power prices down from Rs 17 per unit in 2010 to Rs 2.44 per unit in 2020.
- The target of reaching 100 GW by 2022 can drive growth further.
- Currently nearly 25 per cent of India’s electricity is used for pumping underground water for irrigation.
- Providing irrigation energy from decentralised solar grids — solar power can be generated at the points on consumption.
- This will reduce huge transmission losses and the associated carbon footprint of non-renewable energy sources.
4) Privatising public sector outfits
- The Centre’s shift towards privatising public sector outfits including banks, insurance companies and other PSUs can fund the growth of rail, road and energy infrastructure.
- This will also foster efficiency in India’s credit system.
- China achieved supernormal growth in infrastructure without access to international financing in the initial decades.
- Recent studies have revealed that China’s financial decentralisation and commercial exploitation of state-owned lands was critical for the success.
- In India, too, regional development authorities like the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority and Maharashtra Industries Development Corporation have financed the metro, trans-harbour links and industrial infrastructure through a similar commercial land allocation model.
- This model can be extended throughout the country to finance infrastructure expansion.
Consider the question “How Atmanirbhar Bharat policies differ from the past import-substituting growth strategy? Examine the role Atmanirbhar Bharat can play in the post-pandemic recovery?”
Conclusion
In such a way, Atmanirbharta with its various facets will pave the road of post-pandemic recovery.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Uighurs
Mains level: Uighur's genocide by PRC
In a coordinated move, many countries imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang province.
The Uighurs
- Xinjiang has a large number of Uighurs, Muslims of Turkic descent.
- Over the past few decades, more and more Han Chinese has settled in Xinjiang, which saw violent clashes between them and the Uighurs.
The sanctions have come after a meeting between the US and Chinese officials in Alaska last week, in what Washington described as “tough and direct talks”.
This was a “Tu-Tu, Mai-Mai” conservation if you had seen the news!
Sanctions on China
- The European Union, the US, Britain, and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese Officials.
- Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement welcoming the Western action, adding they were concerned about reports of abuses from Xinjiang.
- China on the other hand has consistently denied all reports of atrocities against Uighurs, maintaining it is only “deradicalising” elements of its population in the interests of security.
Retaliation by China
- Those sanctioned by China include five Members of the European Parliament and the Political and Security Committee, the EU’s main foreign policy decision-making body, among others.
- China also summoned the EU ambassador and the UK ambassador to lodge “solemn protests”.
Why these sanctions are crucial?
- This is the first time the EU has imposed sanctions on China since an arms embargo after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. That is still in place.
- Although the EU sanctions are not very damaging, they show a hardening of stance against its largest trading partner.
- Also significant is that the Western powers moved together, in what is being seen as a result of the US push to deal with China along with its allies.
Nations that claim to be defenders of the faith or self-proclaimed Caliphates are silent on the persecution of Uighurs! They perceived the abrogation of Art. 370 as a doomsday event! This is height of hypocrisy!
Reasons behind: Crackdown on Uighurs
- China is accused of putting over a million people in internment camps to “de-Muslimise” them and make them integrate better in the Communist country.
- Allegations are that these people have been forced to leave behind their occupations, properties and families, to stay at the camps.
- Survivors, human rights organisations, and governments of other countries have alleged physical, psychological and sexual torture.
- People can be sent to the camps for showing any signs of “extremism” — sporting beards, fasting during Ramzan, dressing differently from the majority, sending Eid greetings, praying “too often” etc.
The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture because it seeks to turn other ideas – uncertainty, progress, change – into crimes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Gender sensitization of Judiciary
A judgment by the Supreme Court forbidding judges from making gender-stereotypical comments came as a corrective voice from within the highest judiciary.
Q.Discuss the need for gender sensitization of the judicial institutions.
What is the news?
- The judgment came days after the CJI, during a virtual hearing reportedly asked an alleged rapist’s lawyer to enquire whether his client would marry the survivor.
- His statement coincided with International Women’s Day.
- Days later, a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and S. Ravindra Bhat urged courts to avoid using reasoning/language which diminished a sexual offence and tended to trivialize the survivor.
What did the Court say?
- The greatest extent of sensitivity is to be displayed in the judicial approach, language and reasoning adopted by the judge.
- Even a solitary instance of such order or utterance in court, reflects adversely on the entire judicial system of the country, undermining the guarantee to fair justice to all, and especially to victims of sexual violence.
- This judgment is one among a series of interventions with which the apex court has clamped down on abuse and sex stereotyping of women.
No institution is mightier than the modesty of a woman.
SC against stereotyping
Some of the notable judgments which have lashed out at sex stereotyping include:
- The framing of the Vishaka Guidelines on sexual harassment of women in working places, and
- Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s historic judgment giving women Armed Forces officers’ equal access to Permanent Commission while debunking the establishment’s claim that women were physiologically weaker than men
- In the Anuj Garg case, the Supreme Court had rebuked “the notion of romantic paternalism”, which, “in practical effect, put women, not on a pedestal, but in a cage”
Avoid gender stereotypes such as:
The courts should desist from expressing any stereotype opinion, in words spoken during proceedings, or in the course of a judicial order, to the effect that
- women are physically weak and need protection;
- men are the “head” of the household and should take all the decisions relating to family;
- women should be submissive and obedient according to our culture;
- “good” women are sexually chaste;
- motherhood is the duty and role of every woman and assumptions to the effect that she wants to be a mother;
- being alone at night or wearing certain clothes make women responsible for being attacked;
- lack of evidence of physical harm in sexual offence case leads to an inference of consent by the woman.
Conclusion
- Stereotyping compromises the impartiality and integrity of the justice system, which can, in turn, lead to miscarriages of justice, including the re-victimization of complainants.
- Often judges adopt rigid standards about what they consider to be appropriate behaviour for women and penalize those who do not conform to these stereotypes.
There should be gender sensitization
- The court-mandated that a module on gender sensitization is included, as part of the foundational training of every judge.
- This module must aim at imparting techniques for judges to be more sensitive in hearing and deciding cases of sexual assault, and eliminating entrenched social bias, especially misogyny.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Vehicle Scrappage Policy
The much-awaited draft policy on vehicle scrappage is finally out. But the draft policy also misses an opportunity: Of designing the policy as an effective stimulus programme for green recovery in the sector to achieve deeper and quicker air quality benefits.
Background
- The policy outlines the criteria for defining end-of-life vehicles and scrapping them.
- It also makes provision for scrapping facilities for safe disposal of waste and material recovery.
- This is an important step forward towards building infrastructure for organised and scientific scrapping of old vehicles.
The proposal
- This proposed policy seeks to phase out unfit vehicles to reduce vehicular pollution, meet the climate commitments, improve road safety and fuel efficiency, formalize informal vehicle scrapping industry and recover low-cost material for the automotive, steel and electronics industry.
- The policy expects to spin jobs and attract investment as well.
- It is a big positive for supporting a network of well-equipped scrappage facilities with adequate environmental safeguards to stop unsafe dismantling that contaminates the environment.
Must read:
New Vehicle Scrappage Policy
Issues with the policy
(1) Advisory nature
- This policy has only ‘advised’ the state governments and the automobile industry to provide voluntary incentives to the owners of old vehicles.
- The central government has not committed to make it a fiscal stimulus strategy for quicker renewal of ageing, heavy-duty vehicle fleet with BS-VI vehicles — or to link other segments with targeted electrification.
(2) Achieving fleet renewal
- The focus on targeted fleet renewal for maximum emissions gains is still weak.
- The proposed policy puts the entire onus of incentivizing fleet renewal on the state governments.
- They have been advised to waive off a big chunk of road tax and registration fees on replacement vehicles.
- These are important sources of state revenue, and the reaction of the state governments is still not known.
(3) No stimulus
- The more compelling question is whether the central government would consider a centrally supported stimulus programme for post-pandemic green recovery.
- This is the global trend wherein governments have been giving conditional bailouts or tax support linked to emissions targets.
What can be an effective strategy?
(1) Transportation vehicles
- For heavy-duty vehicles, the policy can take a more nuanced approach.
- Consider that some truck owners may want to only dispose of the very old trucks without replacing them. But others may want to scrap and replace the older trucks.
- In that case, a rebate can be given to the owners of end-of-life vehicles who are interested in ‘only scrapping’ the vehicle without immediately replacing them.
- And this rebate can be given based on a scrappage certificate from authorized scrappage centres.
- Old trucks with more economic life left can get a comparatively higher incentive as that will give higher emissions benefits.
(2) Personal vehicles
- For these vehicles, the central incentive can be linked with replacement with electric vehicles.
- This can be added to the normal scrapping of end-of-life vehicles as already proposed in the draft policy. This can maximise air quality gains.
- Personal vehicles are numerous and general public support for their fleet renewal can divert a lion’s share of the allocated budget from the priority heavy-duty segment.
- Therefore, the public support for the personal vehicle segment can be linked only with voluntary electrification.
Build-in manufacturers’ responsibility
- The new policy also needs to align with the mandate for the manufacturers to meet targets for recyclability of material.
- Make this mandatory as part of the scrappage policy.
We have AIS 129
- It is encouraging that the Automotive Industrial Standard-129 (AIS 129) on reuse, recycling and material recovery from vehicles were framed in 2015.
- This requires 80-85 per cent of the material used in vehicle manufacturing by mass to be recoverable/recyclable/reusable at the end of life.
- AIS-129 also restricts the use of heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, etc, and asks for the coding of plastics to inform dismantlers.
- The requirement of recyclability should be extended to 85-95 per cent to maximise material recovery as well as energy recovery from residual waste like used oil, non-recyclable rubber etc.
Way forward
- This first-ever formal scrappage policy in India is urgently needed to help build infrastructure for safe disposal and material recovery to minimise environmental hazards.
- But India would be adopting scrappage policy during these unprecedented pandemic times, so it is necessary to leverage this targeted fleet renewal with well-designed central support for a post-pandemic green deal.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: DFI
Mains level: Key provisions of the bill
Finance Minister has introduced the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha to pave way for setting up a government-owned DFI to fund infra projects.
NaBFID Bill
- The NaBFID Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 22, 2021.
- The Bill seeks to establish the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) as the principal development financial institution (DFIs) for infrastructure financing.
What are DFIs?
- DFIs are set up for providing long-term finance for such segments of the economy where the risks involved are beyond the acceptable limits of commercial banks and other ordinary financial institutions.
- Unlike banks, DFIs do not accept deposits from people.
- They source funds from the market, government, as well as multi-lateral institutions, and are often supported through government guarantees.
Note every statement about DFIs such as – Terms of finance, Sources of funds, Savings option etc.
Key provisions of the Bill
NBFID:
- NBFID will be set up as a corporate body with an authorised share capital of one lakh crore rupees.
- Shares of NBFID may be held by (i) central government, (ii) multilateral institutions, (iii) sovereign wealth funds, (iv) pension funds, (v) insurers, (vi) financial institutions, (vii) banks, and (viii) any other institution prescribed by the central government.
- Initially, the central government will own 100% shares of the institution which may subsequently be reduced up to 26%.
Functions of NBFID:
- NBFID will have both financial as well as developmental objectives.
- Financial objectives will be to directly or indirectly lend, invest, or attract investments for infrastructure projects located entirely or partly in India.
- The central government will prescribe the sectors to be covered under the infrastructure domain.
- Developmental objectives include facilitating the development of the market for bonds, loans, and derivatives for infrastructure financing.
Functions of NBFID include:
- extending loans and advances for infrastructure projects,
- taking over or refinancing such existing loans,
- attracting investment from private sector investors and institutional investors for infrastructure projects,
- organising and facilitating foreign participation in infrastructure projects,
- facilitating negotiations with various government authorities for dispute resolution in the field of infrastructure financing, and
- providing consultancy services in infrastructure financing
Source of funds:
- NBFID may raise money in the form of loans or otherwise both in Indian rupees and foreign currencies, or secure money by the issue and sale of various financial instruments including bonds and debentures.
- NBFID may borrow money from: (i) central government, (ii) Reserve Bank of India (RBI), (iii) scheduled commercial banks, (iii) mutual funds, and (iv) multilateral institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Management of NBFID:
- NBFID will be governed by a Board of Directors.
- The members of the Board include: (i) the Chairperson appointed by the central government in consultation with RBI, (ii) a Managing Director, (iii) up to three Deputy Managing Directors among others.
- A body constituted by the central government will recommend candidates for the post of the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Directors.
- The Board will appoint independent directors based on the recommendation of an internal committee.
Support from the central government:
- The central government will provide grants worth Rs 5,000 crore to NBFID by the end of the first financial year.
- The government will also provide a guarantee at a concessional rate of up to 0.1% for borrowing from multilateral institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and other foreign funds.
- Costs towards insulation from fluctuations in foreign exchange (in connection with borrowing in foreign currency) may be reimbursed by the government in part or full.
- Upon request by NBFID, the government may guarantee the bonds, debentures, and loans issued by NBFID.
Prior sanction for investigation and prosecution:
- No investigation can be initiated against employees of NBFID without the prior sanction of (i) the central government in case of the chairperson or other directors, and (ii) the managing director in case of other employees.
- Courts will also require prior sanction for taking cognisance of offences in matters involving employees of NBFID.
Other DFIs:
- The Bill also provides for any person to set up a DFI by applying to RBI.
- RBI may grant a licence for DFI in consultation with the central government.
- RBI will also prescribe regulations for these DFIs.
With inputs from:
PRS India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indus Waters Treaty, 1960
Mains level: Indus Waters Sharing
After a gap of more than two and a half years, the Indian and Pakistani delegations began the 116th Meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission.
Indus Waters Treaty, 1960
- The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
- According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
- The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan
- The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. while laying down precise regulations for India to build projects
- India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through the run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.
Based on equitable water-sharing
- Back in time, partitioning the Indus rivers system was inevitable after the Partition of India in 1947.
- The sharing formula devised after prolonged negotiations sliced the Indus system into two halves.
- Equitable it may have seemed, but the fact remained that India conceded 80.52 per cent of the aggregate water flows in the Indus system to Pakistan.
- It also gave Rs 83 crore in pounds sterling to Pakistan to help build replacement canals from the western rivers. Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian.
- India conceded its upper riparian position on the western rivers for the complete rights on the eastern rivers. Water was critical for India’s development plans.
Significance of the treaty
- It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship.
- Well-wishers of the treaty often dub it “uninterrupted and uninterruptible”.
- The World Bank, which, as the third party, played a pivotal role in crafting the IWT, continues to take particular pride that the treaty functions.
Need for a rethink
- The role of India, as a responsible upper riparian abiding by the provisions of the treaty, has been remarkable.
- However, of late, India is under pressure to rethink the extent to which it can remain committed to the provisions, as its overall political relations with Pakistan becomes intractable.
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