Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CAPF, ITBP
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues faced by the police and paramilitary forces
Context
In memory of these and other colleagues killed, all the police forces of the State and Centre observe October 21 as Police Commemoration Day.
Casualties among the police forces
- As the CRPF is deployed in the highly disturbed areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and the Left-Wing Extremist-affected States, the highest casualties (82) were seen in this force.
- The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh at forbidding heights, lost 54 of its personnel.
- The Border Security Force lost 47 personnel.
- Among the State Police forces, Chhattisgarh, which is combating the Maoist menace, lost the most personnel (32) followed by J&K (17) and Karnataka (17).
Neglect of the police and paramilitary personnels
- They get paid low salaries, have a poor quality of life and are often deprived of basic facilities.
- The morale of the paramilitary personnel is not of the desired level.
- Those who cleared recruitment exams in 2003 but joined the force in 2004 or later are not eligible for pension under the old norms.
- Canteen and medical facilities are dismal.
- Items sold through the Central Police Canteens are not exempted from GST.
- There are notable variations in the ex-gratia amounts given to the next of kin of the police who are killed.
- The Centre and the States need to bring about uniformity in the amount paid.
- Care should be taken to ensure that the next of kin are not deprived of a decent living.
- Payments from the public exchequer need to be made judiciously.
Conclusion
It is high time the government takes note of the grievances of the police and paramilitary personnel and not let their sacrifices go in vain.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GATT
Mains level: Paper 3- Rising trade protectionism
Context
India’s efforts for deepening India’s trade ties with several countries could be scuttled by rising trade protectionism at home.
Increasing protectionism by India
- Increase in average tariffs: As Arvind Panagariya has argued, the simple average of India’s tariffs that stood at 8.9 per cent in 2010-11 has increased by almost 25 per cent to 11.1 per cent in 2020-21.
- These increases in tariff rates have reversed the political consensus on tariff liberalisation that India followed since 1991.
- Initiator of anti-dumping measures: India is the highest initiator of anti-dumping measures aimed at shielding domestic industry from import competition.
- According to the WTO, from 2015 to 2019, India initiated 233 anti-dumping investigations, which is a sharp increase from 82 initiations between 2011 and 2014 (June).
- The anti-dumping initiations by India from 1995 (when the WTO was established) till 2020 stand at 1,071.
- Expanding the scope of Article 11(2)(f): India recently amended Section 11(2)(f) of the Customs Act of 1962, giving the government the power to ban the import or export of any good (not just gold and silver, as this provision applied earlier) if it is necessary to prevent injury to the economy.
- Expanding the scope of Article 11(2)(f) to cover any good is inconsistent with India’s WTO obligations.
- WTO allows countries to impose restrictions on imports in case of injury to domestic industry, not to the “economy”.
- Restrictive rules of origin: Finance Minister in her budget speech of 2020 said that undue claims of FTA benefits pose a threat to the domestic industry.
- Subsequently, India amended the rules of origin requirement under the Customs Act.
- Rules of origin determine the national source of a product.
- This helps in deciding whether to apply a preferential tariff rate (if the product originates from India’s FTA partner country) or to apply the most favoured nation rate (if the product originates from a non-FTA country).
- But India has imposed onerous burdens on importers to ensure compliance with the rules of origin requirement.
- The intent appears to be to dissuade importers from importing goods from India’s FTA partners.
- Impact of vocal for local: The clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “vocal for local” is creating an ecosystem where imports are looked at with disdain, upsetting competitive opportunities and trading partners.
What are the implications?
- Protectionist steps are justified on the ground that they would help domestic companies grow into viable competitors.
- But the fact is that protectionism does not benefit the domestic economy.
- It rather encourages inefficiency of domestic manufacturers.
- It is likely to hurt exports, make domestic goods costlier and reduce benefits to consumers from increased competition.
- So in the long term, protectionism is likely to have only a negative effect on industry’s ability to compete globally.
- For India to reap the benefits of the summits and partnerships like Quad, there needs to be a fundamental shift in policy.
- Amore pragmatic approach in line with the recent initiatives to reverse the retrospective tax legislation and provide support to the flailing telecom sector must be expanded.
Conclusion
India can’t maximise its interests at the expense of others. Its experiment with trade protectionism in the decades before 1991 was disastrous. We should recall Winston Churchill’s warning: “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 19
Mains level: Farmers protests and related issues
The Supreme Court has said farmers protesting at Delhi borders against the three farms laws have the right to agitate but they cannot block roads indefinitely.
For students with Sociology optional, can someone list the differences between- Dissent, Protest, Agitation and Movement?
What is Protest?
- When a group, community, or even a person goes up to protest, it is usually to showcase their disapproval or demur against any action, policy, statement, etc of state or government or any organization.
- Mostly the flow of protest is driven through political waves that also demonstrate the collective organization of people to make the government or state address their issues and take steps to overcome them.
Issues with ongoing protest in Delhi
- The question as to the absolute nature of the right to protest is not even a question in the true sense here.
- We have seen the vandalism protest at Red Fort last year.
- Hence the rights mentioned above are subject to reasonable restrictions under 19 (2) and 19 (3) on grounds such as sovereignty and integrity of India, and public order.
Right to Protest in India
- The right to protest is the manifestation of three FRs:
- Right to Freedom of Assembly
- Right to Freedom of Association and
- Right to Freedom of Speech
- The Constitution of India provides the right of freedom, given in Article 19 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution.
- The Right to protest peacefully is enshrined in Article 19(1) (a) guarantees the freedom of speech and expression; Article 19(1) (b) assures citizens the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
In detail: Article 19(1)
It states that All citizens shall have the right:
- (a) to freedom of speech and expression;
- (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
- (c) to form associations or unions;
- (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
- (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
- (f) omitted
- (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
Do you know?
Right to Internet is a fundamental right and is an essential part of freedom of speech and expression. One might get confused if it is an FR under Article 21.
Reasonable restrictions do exist in practice
- Fundamental rights do not live in isolation. The right of the protester has to be balanced with the right of the commuter. They have to co-exist in mutual respect.
- Article 19(2) imposes reasonable restrictions on this.
- The court held it was entirely the responsibility of the administration to prevent encroachments in public spaces.
Conclusion
- Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone.
- The present case was not even one of the protests taking place in an undesignated area but was a blockage of a public way which caused grave inconvenience to commuters.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Strategic Reserves
Mains level: Coal crisis in India
The Centre has stressed the need to build strategic reserves of imported coal and gas as was being done for petroleum products.
Why need strategic reserves for Coal and Gas?
- Many countries have started keeping strategic reserves, because when it comes to a crunch, every country will meet its needs first.
- Russia has curtailed gas supply to Europe because they want more gas to be consumed within their country.
- There is a surge in power demand combined with a fall in imports due to high global coal prices have led to supply disruptions.
Do you know?
In 1998, the AB Vajpayee administration proposed building petroleum reserves as a long-term solution to managing the oil market.
What are Strategic Reserves?
- Indian refiners maintain 64.5 days of crude storage, so India has overall reserve oil storage of 74 days
- Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) is an Indian company responsible for maintaining the country’s strategic petroleum reserves.
- ISPRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB), which functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
- It maintains an emergency fuel store of total 5.870 million cubic meters of strategic crude oil enough to provide 9.5 days of consumption.
SPRs in India
| S. No. |
Location |
Capacity |
| 1 |
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh |
1.33 million tonnes |
| 2 |
Mangalore, Karnataka |
1.5 million tonnes |
| 3 |
Padur, Karnataka |
2.5 million tonnes and an additional 2.5 million tonnes under construction |
| 4 |
Chandikhol, Odisha |
4 million tonnes (under construction) |
Why were SPRs created?
- Gulf War, 1990: It caused a sharp rise in oil prices and a massive increase to India’s imports.
- Forex fluctuations: During the subsequent 1991 Indian economic crisis, foreign exchange reserves could barely finance three weeks’ worth of imports while the government came close to defaulting on its financial obligations.
- Price volatility: India was able to resolve the crisis through policies that liberalized the economy. However, India continued to be impacted by the volatility of oil prices.
How are they constructed?
- The crude oil storages are constructed in underground rock caverns and are located on the East and West coasts of India.
- Crude oil from these caverns can be supplied to the Indian Refineries either through pipelines or through a combination of pipelines and coastal movement.
- Underground rock caverns are considered the safest means of storing hydrocarbons.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Non-Transgenic Gene Editing
Mains level: Hazards of using GMO crops
The Centre is yet to decide on a research proposal from scientists which would allow plants to be genetically modified without the need for conventional transgenic technology.
What is Genome Editing?
- Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA.
- These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome.
- Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
Techs for Genome Editing
The core technologies now most commonly used to facilitate genome editing are
- Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)- associated protein 9 (Cas9)
- Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs)
- Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs)
- Homing endonucleases or meganucleases
Newer technologies
- The Institute has now moved to newer technologies such as Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2.
- They aim to bring precision and efficiency into the breeding process using gene-editing tools such as CRISPR, whose developers won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020.
About CRISPR
- CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria.
- The bacteria capture snippets of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments known as CRISPR arrays.
- The CRISPR arrays allow the bacteria to “remember” the viruses (or closely related ones).
- If the viruses attack again, the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays to target the viruses’ DNA.
- The bacteria then use Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the virus DNA apart, which disables the virus.
- This method is faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more efficient than other existing genome editing methods.
What is Non-Transgenic Gene Editing?
- Unlike the older GM technology which involves the introduction of foreign DNA, the new proposal involves the use of gene editing tools to directly tweak the plant’s own genes instead.
- It does not involve inserting any foreign DNA.
Use in India
- Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are in the process of developing resilient and high-yield rice varieties using such gene editing techniques.
- However, this proposal has been pending with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for almost two years.
Why need such technique?
- Similar to natural mutation: But in this case, this protein is right there in the plant, and is being changed a little bit, just as nature does through mutation.
- Faster and cheaper: It is much faster and far more precise than natural mutation or conventional breeding methods which involve trial and error and multiple breeding cycles.
- Safe for consumption: When a protein comes from an outside organism, then you need to test for safety.
- Pathbreaking: It is potentially a new Green Revolution.
No approval issues
- The SDN 1 and SDN 2 categories of genome-edited plants do not contain any foreign DNA when they are taken to the open field trials.
- The US, Canada, Australia and Japan are among the countries which have already approved the SDN 1 and 2 technologies as not akin to GM.
- So, such varieties of rice can be exported without any problem.
- The European Food Safety Authority has also submitted its opinion that these technologies do not need the same level of safety assessment as conventional GM.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FATF
Mains level: Globar terror financing
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on the grey list yet again since 2018. The FATF also announced the ‘greylisting’ of Jordan, Mali and Turkey.
What is the FATF?
- FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
- The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.
- As of 2019, FATF consisted of 37 member jurisdictions.
India and FATF
- India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, it had been working towards full-fledged membership.
- On June 25, 2010, India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.
- The EAG (Eurasian Group) is a regional body comprising nine countries: India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
What is the role of FATF?
- Watchdog on terror financing: The rise of the global economy and international trade has given rise to financial crimes such as money laundering.
- Recommendation against financial crimes: The FATF makes recommendations for combating financial crime, reviews members’ policies and procedures, and seeks to increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe.
What is the Black List and the Grey List?
- Black List: The blacklist, now called the “Call for action” was the common shorthand description for the FATF list of “Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories” (NCCTs).
- Grey List: Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
Consequences of being in the FATF grey list:
- Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
- Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
- Trade sanctions: Reduction in international trade
- International boycott
Pakistan and FATF
- Pakistan, which continues to remain on the “grey list” of FATF, had earlier been given the deadline till June to ensure compliance with the 27-point action plan against terror funding networks.
- It has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
- FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
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