Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ZAPAD 2021
Mains level: Not Much
A contingent of 200 Army personnel will participate in the multinational Exercise ZAPAD 2021 being held at Nizhniy, Russia.
ZAPAD 2021
- ZAPAD is one of the theatre-level exercises of Russian armed forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists.
- The NAGA Battalion group participating in the exercise will feature an all arms combined task force.
- The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.
- In all, 17 countries have been invited by Russia for the exercise. Of these nine are Participating countries which include Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Russia, India, and Belarus.
- The other eight countries are Observers which include Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka.
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Must read:
[Prelims Spotlight] Various Defence Exercises in News
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MGNREGA
Mains level: Paper 3- Managing natural resources
Context
A project in Meghalaya empowers communities to take informed action pertaining to their environment.
Depletion of natural resources in Meghalaya
- In recent years, many parts of Meghalaya have witnessed the loss of forest cover and natural resources have rapidly deteriorated.
- The State, known to have spots designated as the ‘wettest places’ on earth, is now facing a severe water crisis.
- Natural resource management becomes critical in this context.
Challenges in natural resource management
- Traditional practices on sustainable use of natural resources have been passed down from one generation to another.
- Overexploitation: This indigenous knowledge began to slowly fade, however, owing to population growth, the quest for unsustainable developmental activities, and indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources.
- Inaccessibility of knowledge: Another roadblock to natural resource management was knowledge inaccessibility among rural communities.
Providing knowledge: Landscape Management Project
- The government wanted to see if, when provided with the correct knowledge, solutions to problems can be devised and even implemented by community members themselves.
- The World Bank-supported Meghalaya Community-Led Landscape Management Project seeks to reactivating the community’s connection to natural resources and enabling them to tackle the resource crisis.
- How the project worked: cross-functional teams with diverse expertise were set up.
- The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme became the main scheme channelizing resources to impact poor households so that there was systematic convergence of all line departments such as agriculture, horticulture, soil, and water conservation.
- The programme leverages technology and the youth population.
- Leveraging technology, more than 2,000 village community facilitators have already been trained and are working towards climate change reversal.
- Autonomy: To build autonomy, simple tools are used.
- They have been designed keeping in mind many things: creating community agency, building the capacities of all persons in the programme, and ensuring frequent interactions among them.
- Leveraging technology: Technology empowers them with real-time data, which in turn results in better programme governance, transparency, and accountability.
- Communities are now able to articulate the complexities of their problems through a scientific lens and create their own natural resource management plans.
- To carry forward this momentum, there is a plan to launch a Centre of Excellence in Meghalaya, a one-stop centre for natural resources management.
Conclusion
The project intends to empower thousands of village community facilitators and enable them to articulate the complexities of their problems through a scientific lens and create their own natural resource management plans.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Panjshir valley
Mains level: Paper 2- India's approach towards Taliban
Context
After the collapse of the government in Kabul, India has adopted a wait and watch approach in its dealing with the Taliban.
Taliban’s position in Afghanistan
- The Taliban grip over Afghanistan will only strengthen unless there is a popular revolt against it in the cities.
- The Panjshiri defiance is unlikely to go anywhere without considerable and abiding support from the US and a firm commitment from Tajikistan.
- After a talk between leaders of the extinguished Afghan Republic and the Taliban on central government formation, there has been no news of the process for more than a week.
- There is continuous pressure on Taliban leaders and Pakistan from the Western donor community for the formation of a government acceptable to it.
- Some Taliban leaders would want financial flows to continue to prevent a collapse of the Afghan economy.
The approach of the international community toward the Taliban
- Assurances would be sought from the Taliban not only by the West but also by Russia and China that there will be no attempt to put in place the 1990s practices of the Islamic Emirate on gender issues and the more medieval manifestations of the Sharia.
- Commitment to anti-terrorism: US will keep close scrutiny on the Taliban to honor its commitment to al Qaeda and will demand that it continues to cooperate on ISIS-K extermination, an objective shared by Russia.
- Diplomatic recognition of a Taliban government, including allowing it to occupy the United Nations seat in the forthcoming future will depend on its acceptability.
- However, the US and EU will not be reluctant to maintain open and direct contact with a Taliban government.
Issues with India’s wait and watch policy
- India continues to “wait and watch” Afghan developments.
- What is being overlooked is that “strategic patience” cannot be an alibi for inaction.
- The invocation of the British Raj policy of “masterly inactivity” by some scholars defies logic for it applied in a completely different context.
- Recognition v. legitimacy: Besides, while diplomatic recognition or its denial is a specific act of a country in inter-state relations, “legitimacy” is more applicable in the internal jurisdiction of countries.
- India “waited and watched” Afghan developments from the sidelines, at least since the US-Taliban deal.
- How long will India continue to “wait and watch”?
Way forward
- Establish open contact: To explore the Taliban’s approaches towards India there is an obvious need to establish open and direct contacts with it.
- That will also allow India to convey its red lines.
- This should not be confused with diplomatic recognition.
- Welcome Afghans: The establishment of open contacts with the Taliban will not be contradictory to actively welcome those Afghans, irrespective of their faith, who are closely connected with India.
Consider the question “What are the implications of the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan for India? What should be India’s approach in dealing with the Taliban controlled Afghanistan?”
Conclusion
It would damage India’s reputation greatly and into the future, if perceptions grow, as they are growing, that India has abandoned its friends in Afghanistan at the time of their need.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Freedom of Movement and Residence
Mains level: Read the attached story
The rights to free movement and residence across India cannot be curtailed on flimsy grounds, a Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and V. Ramasubramanian held in a judgment.
Freedom of Movement and Residence
- Article 19(1)(d) and (e) of the Indian Constitution guarantees to every citizen of India right to move freely throughout the territory of India and to reside and settle in any Part of the of the Territory of India.
- This right is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribes.
(A) Freedom of Movement under Article 19(1)(d)
- All Citizens of India have the right “to move freely throughout the territory of India.
- This Right is, however subject to reasonable restrictions mentioned under Article 19(5).
Restrictions:
- This clause (5) empowers the State to impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interest of any Scheduled Tribe.
- Kharak Singh V. State of UP (1963) Case: The Supreme Court held that the right to move freely throughout the territory of India means the right of locomotion which connotes the right to move wherever one likes, and however one likes.
- State of UP V. Kaushalya Case (1964): In this case, the Supreme court held that the right of movement of prostitutes may be restricted on grounds of Public Health and in the interest of Public Morals.
(B) Freedom of Resident under Article 19(1)(e)
- Article 19(1)(e) of the Indian Constitution guarantees to every citizen of India, the right “to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India”.
- This right is subjected to reasonable restrictions which may be imposed by the State in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the interest of any Scheduled Tribe.
Some facts
- The Freedom of Movement and Residence apply only to citizens of India and not the Foreigners.
- A foreigner cannot claim the right to reside and settle in the country as guaranteed by Article Article 19(1)(e).
- The Government of India has the power to expel foreigners from India.
Why in news, now?
- The Supreme Court has held that the power of the State to pass an externment order or a direction barring certain people entry to specified areas should be exercised only in “exceptional cases”.
- The court said externment orders have their use in maintaining law and order.
- However, they cannot be employed as a vindictive or retaliatory measure.
- The drastic action of externment should only be taken in exceptional cases, to maintain law and order in a locality and/or prevent breach of public tranquility and peace, the court noted.
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Back2Basics: Article 19
Article 19(1) 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
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: China-Myanmar New Passage
Mains level: Chinese encroachment in India's neighborhood
The shipments on a newly-launched railway line under the China-Myanmar New Passage from the Myanmar border to the key commercial hub of Chengdu in western China have started.
China-Myanmar New Passage
- The passage provides China a new road-rail transportation channel to the Indian Ocean, were delivered last week, state media reported on Tuesday.
- The transport corridor involves a sea-road-rail link.
- It connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar, and China, and is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest China.
- Goods from Singapore reached Yangon Port, arriving by ship through the Andaman Sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean, and were then transported by road to Lincang on the Chinese side of the Myanmar-China border in Yunnan province.
- The new railway line that runs from the border town of Lincang to Chengdu, a key trade hub in western China, completes the corridor.
Why does India need to be watchful?
- From the perspective of security, India’s border with Myanmar has historically presented serious security challenges.
- Chinese troops had used the Myanmar route to threaten India’s North-eastern States prior to the 1962 war.
- In the run-up to the India-China war of 1962, Chinese troops had commissioned local muleteers in Northern Myanmar to facilitate the movement of troops and war logistics to challenge India’s Northeast.
Way forward
- The work on infrastructure projects in India’s Northeastern States needs to be expedited to ensure speedy mobilization of India’s own troops to face different contingencies.
- Monitoring of developments including deployment of space assets to ensure that India is not caught unaware would be desirable.
- Most importantly, India on its part needs to substantially step up its own game in Myanmar and proactively engage Myanmar in the realm of the infrastructure upgrade.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mumbai Climate Action Plan
Mains level: Sea level rise and threats to coastal cities
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is drafting a Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) in a bid to tackle climate challenges.
What is the Mumbai Climate Action Plan?
- Amid warnings of climate change leading to extreme weather events in the city, the civic body has started preparing the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP).
- It will look at climate resilience with mitigation and adaptation strategies by focusing on six areas —
- Sustainable waste management
- Urban greening and Biodiversity
- Urban flooding and Water Resource Management
- Building Energy Efficiency
- Air Quality and
- Sustainable Mobility
- The plan is expected to be ready by November ahead of the United Nations Climate Change (COP26) conference at Glasgow, Scotland.
Why does Mumbai need a climate action plan?
Mumbai’s climate action plan will help set a vision and implement strategies to fight these climate challenges with mitigation and adaptation steps.
- Flash floods: As per a study conducted by the World Resource Institute (WRI) India, the city will face two major climate challenges — the rise in temperature, and extreme rain events which will lead to flooding.
- Temperature rise: The city has seen a constant rise in temperature after 2007, and a substantial increase in intense rainfall and storm events in the last five years.
- Sea level rise: A recent report from the IPCC has warned that at least 12 Indian coastal cities including Mumbai will face a sea rise of 0.1 metres to 0.3 metres in the next three decades due to climate change.
What is the greenhouse gas emission of the city?
- The data show that Mumbai’s greenhouse gas emission was 34.3 million tonnes in 2019, and of which 24.23 million tonnes or 71 per cent came from the energy sector which is mainly based on coal.
- At least 24 per cent or 82,21,902 tonnes is from transport, and the remaining 5 per cent or 18,53,741 tonnes from solid waste management.
- The maximum contribution from the energy sector was mainly due to domestic and commercial usage of electricity.
- As per the data, 95 percent of Mumbai’s electricity is coal-based and needs to be shifted to renewable energy to bring down emissions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: West Nile Virus
Mains level: NA
Russia warned of a possible increase in West Nile virus infections this autumn as mild temperatures and heavy precipitation create favorable conditions for the mosquitos that carry it.
West Nile virus (WNV)
- WNV is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites and can lead to fatal neurological diseases in humans, although most people infected never develop any symptoms.
- Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall.
Its origin
- Originally from Africa, the WNV has spread to Europe, Asia, and North America.
- It was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937.
- It was identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953.
- Before 1997, WNV was not considered pathogenic for birds.
- Human infections attributable to WNV have been reported in many countries for over 50 years.
Symptoms
- Infected persons usually have no symptoms or mild symptoms.
- Some of the symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands.
- They can last a few days to several weeks and usually, go away on their own.
- Prolonged illness may cause inflammation of the brain, called encephalitis, or inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.
Treatment
- There is no vaccine against the virus in humans although one exists for horses, the WHO says.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Operation Devi Shakti
Mains level: Not Much
India has termed the evacuation operation from Afghanistan in the backdrop of the Taliban’s takeover of the country last week as “Operation Devi Shakti”.
Operation Devi Shakti
- Operation Devi Shakti is an ongoing operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals after the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
Major evacuations undertaken
- Up till now, around 400 individuals from Kabul have been evacuated that covered Indian citizens as well as Afghan nationals including Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan.
- Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul which is now under the Taliban’s control.
- India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar.
- The Indian Air Force has already evacuated around many passengers including its Ambassador to Afghanistan and all other diplomats.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Emission intensity of GDP
Mains level: Paper 3- India is right on the path to achieve NDC under Paris Agreement
Context
Despite accomplishments, global pressures are intensifying on India to commit more towards the Conference of the Parties (COP26), scheduled for November 2021 in Glasgow.
India’s accomplishments
- At the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (December 2020), India was the only G20 nation compliant with the agreement.
- India has been ranked within the top 10 for two years consecutively in the Climate Change Performance Index.
- The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme is the world’s largest zero-subsidy LED bulb programme for domestic consumers.
- India provided leadership for setting up the International Solar Alliance, a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries, and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
Why it is unfair to pressure India on climate action
We can attempt to answer the question by comparing the achievements of other countries vis-à-vis India’s performance.
- Historical perspective: World Bank data for CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) over two decades since the Kyoto protocol informs that at the current rate, both China and the U.S. could emit five times more than India in 2030.
- The U.K.’s emission levels could be more than 1.5 times that of India.
- Brazil, with its dense forests, may end up at similar levels.
- Latest efforts: Last year, China, the world’s largest GHG emitter, joined the ‘race to zero’ and targets carbon neutrality by 2060.
- Interestingly, it hopes to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 for bending the emissions curve.
- Recently, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement and committed to reducing emissions by 50%-52% in 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.
- The French government, during the novel coronavirus pandemic, set green conditions for bailing out its aviation industry.
- However, the analysts say that no baseline for reducing emissions from domestic flights was fixed.
- In Australia, complicated domestic politics prevented them from addressing the problem, despite the country being vulnerable, and stretches of the famous Great Barrier Reef having died in recent years.
India’s performance
- Exceeding the NDC commitment: India is on track (as reports/documents show) to meet and exceed the NDC commitment to achieve 40% electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources by 2030.
- Reduction in emission intensity of GDP: Against the voluntary declaration for reducing the emission intensity of GDP by 20%-25% by 2020, India has reduced it by 24% between 2005-2016.
- More importantly, we achieved these targets with around 2% out of the U.S.$100 billion committed to developing nations in Copenhagen (2009), realised by 2015.
- Renewable energy expansion: India is implementing one of the most extensive renewable energy expansion programmes to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030.
- Investment in green measures: As part of the fiscal stimulus after the pandemic, the Government announced several green measures, including:
- a $26.5-billion investment in biogas and cleaner fuels,
- $3.5 billion in incentives for producing efficient solar photovoltaic (PV)
- and advanced chemistry cell battery, and $780 million towards an afforestation programme.
- India’s contribution to global emissions is well below its equitable share of the worldwide carbon budget by any equity criterion.
Conclusion
To sum up, India has indeed walked the talk. Other countries must deliver on their promises early and demonstrate tangible results ahead of COP26.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Enduring features of international politics
Context
As the last American soldiers fly out of Kabul airport and the world adapts to the return of the Taliban, three uncomfortable but enduring features of international politics have come into sharp focus.
1) The normalisation of the Taliban by the International community
- That victories on the battlefield have political consequences is one of the fundamental features of international politics.
- There is no reason for India to be surprised at the rapid normalisation of the Taliban by the international community.
- Whether it likes the new and victorious sovereign or not, a government has the obligation to secure its national interests — ranging from the protection of its citizens and property to maintaining the regional balance of power.
- India is not immune to this essential principle of international relations and will find ways to protect its stakes in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
2) Future U.S. relations with the Taliban
- The second enduring feature of world politics — that there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.
- Convergence of interests: The US would want to explore if the Taliban can help secure long-term American interests in preventing a regrouping of international terror outfits like the al Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan.
- The Taliban on the other hand would want American and Western support in rebuilding Afghanistan.
- It is by no means clear if such a deal can be clinched, given the big risks it presents to both sides.
- The US engagement with the Taliban to counter the ISIS-K has been met with derision across the world.
- Critics say all these groups are part of the same school of terror, driven by similar religious zeal and nurtured in Pakistan’s sanctuaries.
3) Exploit the differences between adversaries: Way forward for India
- The third feature of international politics is that differences even among the closest of friends are natural and always offer openings to adversaries.
- For India, the main interest is in preventing Afghan soil from being used by anti-India terror groups.
- At least a section of the Taliban is eager to continue political and commercial engagement with India.
- This is part of a natural quest for a diversified set of international partnerships.
- India would be right to wait patiently on the Taliban’s ability to deliver on these promises and stand up against the Pakistan army’s pressures to keep India out.
- Exploit the contradictions: India should not rule out contradictions between Pakistan and the terror groups it has nurtured as well as among various jihadi organisations.
- Despite its powerful appeal, religious ideology has failed to build durable political coalitions within and across nations.
Conclusion
Given this history, it is unwise for Delhi to paint the external challenges arising from the Afghan tumult as a single coherent force. The Panchatantra has a more sensible strategy to offer — try and divide your potential adversaries and strengthen your internal unity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NMP
Mains level: Paper 3- National Monetisation Pipeline
Context
The Government has launched a National Monetisation Pipeline, or NMP to sell the revenue streams of public assets over the next four years.
About NMP
- Financing infrastructure: As outlined in the Union Budget, the NMP aims to mobilize resources for financing infrastructure.
- Type of assets: The pipeline mostly includes railway stations, freight corridors, airports, and renovated national highway segments amounting to ₹6-lakh crore, or 3% of GDP in 2020-21.
- The other two methods of raising resources are: setting up a development finance institution (DFI) and raising the share of infrastructure investment in the central and State Budgets.
Concerns
1) Not different from Disinvestment-Privatisation (D-P)
- Asset monetization as defined in NMP is the same as the net present value (NPV) of the future stream of revenue with an implicit interest rate (whether it is a sale or lease of the asset).
- Missed targets: Since D-P proceeds (revenues) have seriously missed the targets almost every year, how believable are the NMP targets? And how are they likely to perform differently?
- If the NMP attempt to shore up public finances, such distress (fire) sale would find it difficult to obtain a “fair value” for public assets.
- Would the market not factor in the dire state of the economy in beating down the prices, as in any distress sale?
- The NMP document seems silent on how to overcome past mistakes.
2) PPP mode of implementation
- The NMP outlines mainly two modes of implementing monetization: public-private partnership (PPP) and “structured financing” to tap the stock market.
- PPP in infrastructure has been a financial disaster in India, as evident from what happened after the economic boom of 2003-08.
- After the 2008 financial crisis, many PPP projects failed to repay bank loans leading to the piling up of non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks.
- Further, the bulk of the lending was too politically connected to corporate houses and firms.
- India is still reeling from the legacy of that period without any easy and credible solutions in sight.
3) Stock market crash threatens the success of InvIT
- An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is being mooted as an alternative means of raising finance from the stock market.
- In principle, InvIT is much like a mutual fund, whose performance is largely linked to stock prices.
- The disinvestment process began in 1991 in which the bundles of shares of public sector enterprises (PSEs) were sold by UTI in the booming secondary stock market to realize the best price.
- However, as the market crashed in the wake of the Harshad Mehta scam, stalling and discrediting the disinvestment process for almost the entire decade.
- Hence, it may be worth learning the lessons from the historical missteps before exploring the idea all over again by the current stock market boom
- At present, the U.S. Fed committed to reducing its assets purchase program (known as quantitative easing), the “hot money” inflow that has fuelled Indian stock prices may dry up throwing up nasty surprises.
Thus, it seems unwise to anchor the acutely needed investment revival strategy on a discredited PPP model or on fickle Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) investment in a frothy stock market.
Suggestion: Monetise debt
- With the financial system flush with liquidity with no takers for bank credit, finance the proposed investment — as envisaged in the Budget — by government borrowing.
- With a negative 0.4% real interest rate (real interest rate is nominal interest rate minus inflation rate), domestic borrowing in home currency is a steal.
- No Crowding out: Chances of crowding-out private investments are remote with a liquidity overhang in the market.
- Low inflation risk: Inflation risk is also limited with little aggregate demand pressures (barring temporary bottlenecks due to localized lockdowns).
- Rating downgrade risk: If the debt is productively used to expand GDP (the denominator), rating downgrade risk due to the rising Debt-GDP ratio seems minimal.
- Moreover, rising external debt by fickle portfolio investors perhaps carries a greater risk to external instability.
Consider the question “How the National Monetisation Pipeline seeks to implement the asset monetisation? What are the challenges in asset monetisation?”
Conclusion
If reviving investment demand quickly is the real goal, debt monetisation seems a better option than asset monetisation.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Forex reserves
Mains level: Balance of Payment/Trade
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $835 million to touch a record high of $612.73 billion in the week ended July 16, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
Forex Reserves
India’s forex reserves cover:
- Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs) (rose by $463 million to $568.748 billion)
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (up by $1 million at $1.548 billion)
- Gold Reserves (up by $377 million to $37.333 billion)
- Reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (up by $1 million at $1.548 billion)
(Note the descending order of the shares of various components of forex reserves. UPSC can go factual here.)
What is Foreign Exchange Reserve?
- Foreign exchange reserves are important assets held by the central bank in foreign currencies as reserves.
- They are commonly used to support the exchange rate and set monetary policy.
- In India’s case, foreign reserves include Gold, Dollars, and the IMF’s quota for Special Drawing Rights.
- Most of the reserves are usually held in US dollars, given the currency’s importance in the international financial and trading system.
- Some central banks keep reserves in Euros, British pounds, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan, in addition to their US dollar reserves.
Countries with the highest foreign reserves
Currently, China has the largest reserves followed by Japan and Switzerland. India has overtaken Russia to become the fourth largest country with foreign exchange reserves.
- China – $3,349 Billion
- Japan – $1,376 Billion
- Switzerland – $1,074 Billion
- India – $612.73 Billion
- Russia – $597.40 Billion
Why are these reserves so important?
- All international transactions are settled in US dollars and, therefore, required to support India’s imports.
- More importantly, they need to maintain support and confidence for central bank action, whether monetary policy action or any exchange rate intervention to support the domestic currency.
- It also helps to limit any vulnerability due to sudden disturbances in foreign capital flows, which may arise during a crisis.
- Holding liquid foreign currency provides a cushion against such effects and provides confidence that there will still be enough foreign exchange to help the country with crucial imports in case of external shocks.
Initiatives taken by the government to increase forex
- To increase the foreign exchange reserves, the Government of India has taken many initiatives like AatmaNirbhar Bharat, in which India has to be made a self-reliant nation so that India does not have to import things that India can produce.
- Other than AatmaNirbhar Bharat, the government has started schemes like Duty Exemption Scheme, Remission of Duty or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme, etc.
- Apart from these schemes, India is one of the top countries that attracted the highest amount of Foreign Direct Investment, thereby improving India’s foreign exchange reserves.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: School bubbles
Mains level: Not Much
The Karnataka government has proposed the ‘school bubble’ concept to mitigate the spread of the disease among children (aged below 18) attending offline classes at schools and pre-university colleges across the state.
It takes a village to raise a child.
-Anonymous
What are school bubbles?
- School bubbles are physical classifications made between groups comprising a small number of students.
- As per the concept, each such bubble will include students who tend to remain as a group during school hours throughout the term or an academic year.
- The concept would help managements easily isolate a fewer number of students in case anyone gets infected.
- For instance, a school bubble can include 30 students. If one among them gets infected, the others can self-isolate but the school need not be closed completely.
- This would allow uninterrupted learning to others as well.
Why are school bubbles significant?
- The concept of school bubbles, experts feel, will be more relevant to students studying in primary school or below.
- These students will have more chances of peer-to-peer interactions on a daily basis.
- With school bubbles in place, the risk assessment process to identify close contacts of a Covid-positive student will also get easier.
Is this concept completely new?
- This has been successfully implemented at schools in the United Kingdom.
- The government there has further relaxed social-distancing measures for students within a particular school bubble.
- However, all members of the bubble are mandatorily subjected to RT-PCR tests if a student is infected.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Leaded Petrol
Mains level: Not Much
The use of leaded petrol has been eradicated from the globe, a/c to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
What is Leaded Petrol?
- Tetraethyl-lead (TEL) is a petro-fuel additive, first being mixed with petrol beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that allowed engine compression to be raised substantially.
- This in turn caused increased vehicle performance and fuel economy.
- The practice of adding tetraethyl lead to petrol had spread widely to all countries soon after its anti-knock and octane-boosting properties were discovered.
- TEL is still used as an additive in some grades of aviation gasoline.
Issues with leaded petrol
- Lead is toxic, affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
- It affects the brain, liver, kidneys, and bones. Lead is measured in the blood to understand exposure.
- Lead in bone is released into the blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing foetus.
- More recent research has indicated that lead can damage the infant brain even at blood levels as low as 5 microunits per decilitre (μ/dl).
India’s tryst with leaded petrol
- India was among those countries that took early action to phase out leaded petrol. The process of phase down that had started in 1994, got completed in 2000.
- Initially, low-leaded petrol was introduced in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in 1994, followed by unleaded petrol in 1995.
- The entire country got low-leaded petrol in 1997 while leaded fuel was banned in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
- The final introduction of unleaded petrol in the entire country was mandated in April 2000.
- This decision was also catalyzed by the Supreme Court order that had directed the introduction of unleaded petrol to enable the adoption of catalytic converters in petrol cars.
Significance of phasing out
- It is a milestone that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save world economies over $2.4 trillion annually.
- It has taken 100 years to stop the use of leaded fuel finally.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q.Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead poisoning? (CSP 2012)
- Smelting units
- Pens pencils
- Paints
- Hair oils and cosmetics
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Milky Sea Phenomenon
Mains level: NA
Some researchers would use satellites to study the elusive milky sea phenomenon.
What is the Milky Sea?
- Milky seas, also called mareel, is a luminous phenomenon in the ocean in which large areas of seawater appear to glow translucently (in varying shades of blue).
- Such occurrences glow brightly enough at night to be visible from satellites orbiting Earth.
- They are a rare nocturnal phenomenon in which the ocean’s surface emits a steady bright glow.
Why do they glow?
- Luminous bacteria cause the particles they colonize to glow.
- The purpose of this glow could be to attract fish that eat them.
- These bacteria thrive in the guts of fishes, so when their populations get too big for their main food supply, a fish’s stomach makes a great second option.
How do they occur?
- It is typically caused by Noctiluca scintillans (popularly known as “sea sparkle”), a dinoflagellate that glows when disturbed and is found in oceans throughout much of the world.
- Once their population gets large enough – about 100 million individual cells per millilitre of water – a sort of internal biological switch is flipped and they all start glowing steadily.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NCRB
Mains level: Paper 2- Police reforms
Context
Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana expressed concern at the degree of human rights violations in police stations in the country. He said that “the threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations”
Deaths in police custody
- Improvement in the situation: A reality check shows that the picture is not so bleak and efforts are being made to improve the human rights protection regime in police stations.
- National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveal that though the number of custodial deaths varies year to year, on average of about 100 custodial deaths have taken place every year between 2010 and 2019.
- Of them, about 3.5 persons allegedly died due to injuries caused by policemen.
- A judicial inquiry, which is mandatory for every suspicious custodial death, was conducted in 26.4 cases.
- Though every death in custody needs to be prevented, suspicious deaths which bring disrepute to the police system must be rooted out completely.
Measures to reduce the instances of custodial violence
1) Reduce the number of arrests
- As per the law, arrest for offences punishable up to seven years of imprisonment should be made only when such arrest is necessary to prevent the person from tampering with evidence, or committing any further offence, etc.
- The Supreme Court held that each arrest must be necessary and justified; having the authority to arrest is alone not sufficient.
- In Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014), it was held that despite the offence being non-bailable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which relates to torture for dowry, arrest is not mandatory as per Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
- In Special Action Forum v. Union of India (2018), the Court further held that the police officer shall furnish to the magistrate the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest for further detention of the accused.
- The purpose of these checks is to ensure that the police does not abuse the power of arrest.
- NCRB data show that the ratio of the number of arrests to the number of IPC offences has decreased from 1.33 in 2010 to 0.96 in 2019.
2) Separate investigation from law and order
- The National Police Commission (1977-81), the Law Commission in its 154th report (1996) and the Malimath Committee Report (2003), and the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), have recommended that the investigating police should be separated from the law-and-order police to ensure better expertise in investigation.
- It is believed that a separate wing will do more professional investigation and will not use unwarranted methods to extract confession from the accused.
- Though efforts have been made by some States in this direction, more resources are required in policing to implement the Court’s directions.
3) Increase the number of investigating officers
- Unless investigating officers are increased in proportion to the number of serious offences, the quality of investigation may suffer.
- The Malimath Committee’s recommendation that an investigating officer should preferably investigate no more than 10 cases every year needs to be implemented.
- Subject expert officers: With the increase of newer types of crime like white collar crime and cybercrime, subject experts are needed to assist the police in the investigation.
4) Sensitise Police
- The police officers must know that their mandate is to protect human rights and not violate them.
- They need to be sensitised regularly and encouraged to employ scientific tools of interrogation and investigation like the lie detection test, narco test and brainfingerprinting test.
5) Display board on human rights
- The CJI’s suggestion to install display boards on human rights to disseminate information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services may deter police excesses.
Steps taken to deal with the issue
- Much has changed in the police consequent to the judgment in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1996) in which the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to check custodial torture.
- Guidelines incorporated in CrPC: Most of these guidelines such as providing information to a friend or relative about the arrest, medical examination, and permission to meet a lawyer have now been incorporated in the CrPC.
- CCTV Cameras installed: In Paramvir Singh v. Baljit Singh (2020), the Supreme Court has directed States to cover more area of each police station under CCTV cameras and have storage facility of audio-video recording for 18 months.
- Actions against guilty: NCRB data show that on average about 47.2 criminal cases were registered annually against policemen in last 10 years.
- Departmental action against errant officers is a rule in the police force, rather than an exception.
- Compensation by NHRC: The National Human Rights Commission also oversees deaths in custody due to human rights violations and recommends compensation in appropriate cases.
- Incentives linked with police reforms: The Home Ministry has recently linked the ‘police modernisation scheme’ with police reforms.
- Unless sufficient action is taken by the State governments and the police authorities, incentives in the form of additional funds will not be released.
Consider the question “Human right violations in police stations is a cause for concerns. What are the reasons for such violations? Suggest the measures to curb it.”
Conclusion
Our commitment to the protection of human rights is unconditional and total. Many steps have been taken so far to check custodial violence and no stone shall be left unturned to eliminate such violence in toto.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FOSS
Mains level: Paper 3- Potential of FOSS
Context
Recognising its potential, in 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications. However, the true potential of this policy is yet to be realized.
Advantages of FOSS
- Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) today presents an alternative model to build digital technologies for population scale.
- Freedom to modify: Unlike proprietary software, everyone has the freedom to edit, modify and reuse open-source code.
- Reduced cost and innovation: This results in many benefits — reduced costs, no vendor lock-in, the ability to customise for local context, and greater innovation through wider collaboration.
- Use in public service delivery: We have seen some great examples of public services being delivered through systems that use FOSS building blocks, including Aadhaar, GSTN, and the DigiLocker.
- FOSS communities can examine the open-source code for adherence to data privacy principles, help find bugs, and ensure transparency and accountability.
Challenges in adoption by government in GovTech
- In 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications.
- Several misconceptions remain in the understanding of FOSS, especially for GovTech.
- Trust issue: “Free” in FOSS is perceived to be “free of cost” and FOSS is often mistaken to be less trustworthy and more vulnerable, whereas FOSS can actually create more trust between the government and citizens.
- However, Many solutions launched by the government including Digilocker, Diksha, Aarogya Setu, Cowin — built on top of open-source digital platforms — have benefited from valuable inputs provided by volunteer open-source developers.
- Such inputs have immensely helped in improving solutions and making them more robust.
- Accountability issue: In the case of FOSS, there appears to be an absence of one clear “owner”, which makes it harder to identify who is accountable.
- While this concern is legitimate, there are ways to mitigate it.
- For example, by having the government’s in-house technical staff understand available documentation and getting key personnel to join relevant developer communities.
Way forward for greater adoption of FOSS in GovTech
- Here is a four-step path to make this vision a reality.
- 1) Incentivise FOSS in government: The government’s policy requires all tech suppliers to submit bids with open source options.
- Suppliers also need to justify in case they do not offer an open-source option
- Sourcing departments are asked to weigh the lifetime costs and benefits of both alternatives before making a decision.
- While this serves as a good nudge, the policy can perhaps go a step further by formally giving greater weightage to FOSS-specific metrics in the evaluation criteria in RFPs, and offering recognition to departments that deploy FOSS initiatives, such as, a special category under the Digital India Awards.
- 2) Create a repository of GovtTech ready solutions: a repository of “GovTech ready” building blocks that are certified for use in government and audited for security compliances is needed.
- Creating a repository of ready-to-use “GovTech-ised” building blocks can help departments quickly identify and deploy FOSS solutions in their applications.
- 3) Encourage FOSS innovation: FOSS innovations can be encouraged through “GovTech hackathons and challenges”, bringing together the open-source community to design solutions for specific problem statements identified by government departments.
- One such challenge — a #FOSS4Gov Innovation Challenge — was recently launched.
- 4) Create an institutional mechanism: A credible institutional anchor is needed to be a home for FOSS-led innovation in India.
- Such an institution can bring together FOSS champions and communities that are scattered across India around a shared agenda for collective impact.
- Kerala’s International Centre for Free & Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is a great example of such an institution.
Conclusion
With an IT workforce of more than four million employees, what we need is a concerted push to harness the biggest promise that FOSS holds.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Food fortification
Mains level: Paper 3- Nutrition security through food fortification
Context
On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that, by 2024, rice provided to the poor under any government scheme — PDS, mid-day-meal, anganwadi — will be fortified.
Need for nutrition security in India
- 15.3 per cent of the country’s population is undernourished.
- India has the highest proportion of “stunted” (30 per cent) and “wasted” children (17.3 per cent) below five years of age, as per the FAO’s recent publication, ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2021’.
- These figures indicate that India is at a critical juncture with respect to nutritional security.
- Other factors: Other factors like poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation, low levels of immunization and education, especially of women, contribute equally to this dismal situation.
India’s journey towards nutrition security
- As per the ICAR website, they had developed 21 varieties of biofortified staples including wheat, rice, maize, millets, mustard, groundnut by 2019-20.
- These varieties are not genetically modified.
- These biofortified crops have 1.5 to 3 times higher levels of protein, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids compared to the traditional varieties.
- A research team at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali has also developed biofortified colored wheat (black, blue, purple) that is rich in zinc and anthocyanins.
- The HarvestPlus program of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has been working closely with ICAR, to improve the access of the poor in India to iron-rich pearl millet and zinc-rich wheat.
- Globally, more than 40 countries have released biofortified crops, benefitting over 48 million people.
- Leveraging science to attack the complex challenge of malnutrition, particularly for low-income and vulnerable sections of society, can be a good intervention.
Challenges in securing nutrition security
- Access to nutritious food is only one of the determinants of nutrition.
- Other factors like poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation, low levels of immunization and education, especially of women, contribute equally to this dismal situation.
- Need for a multi-pronged approach: In the long run, India needs a multi-pronged approach to eliminate the root cause of this complex problem.
Way forward: Multi-pronged approach
1) Focus on mother’s education
- There is a direct correlation between a mother’s education and the well-being of children.
- Targeted programs for improving the educational status of girls and reducing school dropout rates need to be promoted.
- The Global Nutrition Report (2014) estimates that every dollar invested in a proven nutrition program offers benefits worth 16 dollars.
2) Scale-up innovation in biofortified food by supporting policies
- Innovations in biofortified food can alleviate malnutrition only when they are scaled up with supporting policies.
- This would require increasing expenditure on agri-R&D and incentivizing farmers by linking their produce to lucrative markets through sustainable value chains and distribution channels.
- The government can also rope in the private sector to create a market segment for premium-quality biofortified foods.
- For instance, trusts run by the TATA group are supporting different states to initiate fortification of milk with Vitamin A and D.
3) National awareness drive
- A national awareness drive on the lines of the “Salt Iodisation Programme” launched by the government in 1962 can play an important role at the individual and community levels to achieve the desired goals of poshan for all.
- Branding, awareness campaigns, social and behavioral change initiatives, can promote the consumption of locally available, nutrient-dense affordable foods among the poor and children.
Consider the question” Access to nutritious food is only one of the determinants of nutrition, and fortified food can play important role in this direction. Suggest the other measures to ensure nutrition safety in India.”
Conclusion
Biofortified food is a step in the right direction, however, other factors should also be given equal attention in securing national security in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pollution caused due to Poultry Industry
Mains level: Agricultural emission
Small and marginal poultry farmers in India will now have to take measures similar to their bigger counterparts to prevent environmental pollution, according to new guidelines issued recently by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
What are the new guidelines?
(A) Establishment
- Consent to Operate: The new guidelines state that for establishing and operating a medium-sized poultry farm of 25,000-100,000 birds, a farmer will have to obtain a certificate of Consent. Permission will be valid for 15 years.
- Designated Authority: This will have to be taken from the State Pollution Control Board or Committee under the Water Act, 1974, and the Air Act, 1981. The Animal Husbandry Department will be responsible for implementing the guidelines at the state and district level.
- Location: A farm should be set up 500 metres away from a residential area, 100 metres from rivers, lakes, canals, and drinking water sources, 100 metres from national highways, and 10-15 metres from village footpaths and rural roads.
(B) Operational directives
- Ventilated farms: The guidelines state that the poultry farm should have a ventilated room to reduce the gaseous pollution from the birds.
- Wastewater management: Also, care should be taken so that poultry feces do not mix with running water or any other pesticide.
- Manure generation: Farmers of small- and medium-sized poultry farms will have to arrange for manure. After use, the water from a poultry farm must be collected in a tank. The guidelines suggest using it in horticulture.
- Disposal of deads: Emphasis has also been given to the daily removal of birds that die, through burial, without harming the environment. Burial should be done three metres above the groundwater level.
(C) Large/ Small Farmer
The new guidelines have defined who is a ‘large’ or ‘small’ poultry farmer in India.
- Those who have 5,000-25,000 birds are small farmers.
- Those who have more than 25,000 and less than 100,000 birds are medium farmers.
- Those who have more than 100,000 birds are large farmers.
Why need such regulation?
- Poultry, hatchery and piggery were considered ‘green’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its guidelines of 2015.
- This meant they were exempt from the air, water, and environmental protection laws.
- Gaseous emissions and waste are major problems in poultry farming.
- The feces of poultry birds emit gaseous ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane, all of which produce odors.
Poultry sector of India
- According to the 20th Livestock Census 2020, there are 851.8 million poultry birds in India.
- About 30 percent (250 million) of this is ‘backyard poultry’ or small and marginal farmers.
- According to the 19th Livestock Census, the number of such farmers is about 30 million.
- Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc, are reared in poultry farms for meat and eggs. Chickens that are reared for eggs are called ‘laying hens’ or ‘layers’. Those reared for meat are called ‘broilers’.
According to the 20th Livestock Census, Tamil Nadu (120 million), Andhra Pradesh (107 million), Telangana (79 million), West Bengal (77 million), Maharashtra (74 million), Karnataka (59 million crores), Assam (46 million) and Kerala (29 million) have the highest poultry populations.
Try answering this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- Agricultural soils release nitrogen oxides into environment.
- Cattle release ammonia into environment.
- Poultry industry releases reactive nitrogen compounds into environment.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Asset Monetization
Mains level: Execution of NMP in spirit
Finance Minister has recently announced the framework for the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) and its process is under discussion.
What is Asset Monetization?
- Asset Monetization involves the creation of new sources of revenue by unlocking of the value of hitherto unutilized or underutilized public assets.
- Internationally, it is recognized that public assets are a significant resource for all economies.
- Many public sector assets are sub-optimally utilized and could be appropriately monetized to create greater financial leverage and value for the companies and of the equity that the government has invested in them.
- This helps in the accurate estimation of public assets which would help in the better financial management of government/public resources over time.
What is the National Monetization Pipeline?
- The NMP names a list of public assets that will be leased to private investors.
- Only brown-field assets, which are assets that are already operational, are planned to be leased out under the NMP.
- So, to give an example, an airport that is already operational may be leased out to an investor.
- Assets that are yet to be developed, such as an undeveloped piece of land, for example, may not be leased out.
- Importantly, there won’t be any transfer of ownership from the government to the private sector when assets are leased out.
- The government only plans to cede control over its assets for a certain period of time, after which the assets must be returned to the government unless the lease is extended.
Will NMP help the economy?
- Better control and utilization: Economists generally believe that scarce assets are better managed and allocated by the private sector than by the government. So to the extent that the NMP frees assets from government control, it can help the economy.
- Freeing Capital: The government believes that leasing out public assets to private investors will help free capital that is stuck in these assets.
- Infra generation: The government can use this money, in turn, to build fresh infrastructure under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
- Economic boost: In fact, the proceeds from the NMP are expected to account for about 14% of the total outlay for infrastructure under the NIP. The government believes all this spending will boost economic activity.
- A perfect model: Analysts also believe that the government has now through the NMP found the right model for infrastructure development.
- Source of finance: The government, they say, is best suited to tackle the ground-level challenges in building infrastructure, while the private sector can operate and offer indirect finance to these projects through the NMP.
For example, say the government has invested thousands of crores in a road project. It may take the government decades to recover its investment through the annual toll revenues. Instead, the government can recover a good chunk of its investment by leasing out the right to collect toll for the next 30 years to a private investor.
What are the risks?
- Political lobbying: The allocation of assets owned by governments to private investors is often subject to political influence, which can lead to corruption. In fact, many in the Opposition allege that the NMP will favour a few business corporations that are close to the government.
- Burden of opportunity cost: The expected boost to economic activity due to higher government spending may also need to be weighed against the opportunity costs. For one, the money that the government collects by leasing out assets comes from the pockets of the private sector. So higher government spending will come at the cost of lower private spending.
- Legal uncertainties: The NMP also does not address the various structural problems such as legal uncertainty and the absence of a deep bond market that hold back private investment in infrastructure.
- Sheer Privatization: There are also concerns that the leasing of airports, railways, roads and other public utilities to private investors could lead to higher prices for consumers. If the government merely cedes control of public utilities to private companies without taking steps to foster greater competition, it can indeed lead to poor outcomes for consumers.
- Policy compulsion: The government’s past disinvestment projects such as the sale of Air India did not catch the fancy of investors owing to the stringent conditions set by the government. In the case of Air India’s sale, the buyers were supposed to possess a certain minimum net worth and stay invested in the airline for at least three years.
What lies ahead?
- The success of the NMP will depend on the demand for brown-field government assets among private investors.
- Many analysts also believed that the government was expecting buyers to pay too much for a debt-ridden Air India.
- The pricing of assets and the terms of sale will thus determine the level of interest that private investors show for assets leased under the NMP.
- In the past, doubts have been raised about the allocation of airports and other assets to certain private business groups (say Adani Group).
- So the process that the government adopts this time to allocate assets may come under scrutiny. There is likely to be a demand for an open, competitive auction of assets.
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