Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Role of Non-state actors
Context
The collaborative effort of markets and the Government are key to the development of a country.
How CSR law aids citizenry-private partnerships
- Section 135 of the Companies Act mandates corporates who are beyond a certain level of profits and turnover to pay at least 2% of their net profits before tax to the development space.
- Scope for collaboration with Non-state actors: This law gives corporates the necessary impetus to collaborate with non-state actors like Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
- Using the depth of engagement of non-state actors: Non-state actors, because of their depth of engagement with communities, bring patient capital to corporate board rooms and help the state, too, by engaging in welfare activities.
- Role of NGOs: A key pillar of democratic governance is citizens’ power to question the state.
- NGOs and voluntary groups/organisations have played a significant role in building capacities of citizens to hold governments accountable.
- Hence, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grants, have assumed importance to provide the much-needed sustenance to NGOs and CSOs as key players in non-state governance.
How Non-state actors differ from Governments
- Risk-averse nature of bureaucracy: The Indian bureaucratic elite have little appetite for risk-taking and innovation because of the constant changing goalposts of their politician-bosses or because the quantum of work is more than what they can efficiently handle.
- Bureaucrats, therefore, often take recourse to the status quo even if it is to at least get some work done and not stall everything by campaigning for change, especially in the realm of governance.
- Fear of failure: There is also the fear of failure, with its deep-rooted consequence of non-risk-takers smoothly sailing to the top posts.
- In such contexts, it is the non-state actor who innovates and creates breakthrough models of community engagement.
- They also become the vehicle to carry the demands of people to formal institutions.
- We saw this in the case of the Right to Information (RTI) campaign, which became a law after decades-long efforts by NGOs.
- It is common knowledge that the District Collector calls on vetted NGOs/CSOs to implement various schemes during the normal course of the day or to step in at short notice when calamities strike.
- When non-state actors take a large load off the state’s shoulder, the state can focus more on governance.
- Research shows that it is the synergy of NGOs, Government and corporates which is the key to the development.
Conclusion
The CSR law has made the corporate world not only clean its own mess but has also created a legal framework for corporates to work with NGOs and CSOs. NGOs and CSOs in India, will play a major role in mobilising citizen action to right various wrongs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Capex boom in India
Context
Economists are predicting a potential virtuous capital investments (capex) cycle to kick in globally as we emerge from the pandemic.
Why do analysts think that capital investment cycle is about to start?
- Less leveraged: Corporates are less leveraged today compared to 2008.
- Indian corporates repaid debts of more than Rs 1.5 trillion.
- Fiscal and monetary support: Companies are also more confident of durable fiscal and monetary support.
- Increased savings: Households have large excess savings built during Covid — $1.7 trillion in the US and roughly $300 billion in India as per a UBS report.
- Cash: Lastly, corporates are sitting on a large cash pile – S&P 500 firms’ cash has soared from $1 trillion pre-pandemic to $1.5 trillion now.
Why capex wave is difficult in India?
- Fall in capital formation: India’s fixed capital formation rate has steadily fallen from 36 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 26 per cent in 2020.
- For a set of 718 listed companies for which data is consistently available from 2005, the capex growth rate has decreased from 7 per cent in 2008 to around 2 per cent in 2020.
- Low return on invested capital: The return on invested capital in FY21 is still low at 2-3 per cent compared with 16-18 per cent returns in 2005-08.
- Structural issues: Land acquisition is still tough, changes to labour laws have been slow, and reform uncertainty has resurfaced with the rollback of the agriculture reform laws.
- Discouraging current data: As per CMIE data, the quarter ending in June 2021 saw Rs 2.72 lakh crore worth of new projects announced. This fell to Rs 2.22 lakh crore for the September 2021 quarter.
- This is much below the average of Rs 4 lakh crore a quarter of new project announcements during 2018 and 2019.
- Further, new projects are concentrated in fewer industries (power, and technology) with the top three accounting for 44 per cent of the total of new projects announced.
- Low capacity utilisation: At the same time, capacity utilisation for corporate India is at an all-time low.
- From a peak of 83 per cent in 2010, when capex was running hot, utilisation levels declined to 70 per cent just before the pandemic, and further to 60 per cent in June 2021 as per the RBI’s latest OBICUS data.
- Capex is funded either from fresh debt or equity issues or from accumulated cash. Large firms are repaying debt.
Conclusion
It is too early in the cycle to predict anything with confidence, but we need more evidence to predict a capex cycle.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: LAC disputes
China’s new law on land borders has come into effect on January 1.
Key takeaways of the Border Law
China passed the law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”.
- Sacrosanct nature of Borders: Under the law, “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are sacred and inviolable”.
- Border defense: It mandates the state to take measures “to strengthen border defense, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas.
- Habitation near borders: It seeks to improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there.
- Consultations with neighbors: The law asks the state to follow the principles of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighboring countries.
Why did China bring it?
Several factors may have led to China’s move.
- Aggressive actions: The new law is a tool the Chinese government will use if it wants, as its actions have been aggressive even before this law.
- Maritime assertion: This law reflects Beijing’s renewed concerns over the security of its land border while it confronts a slew of unsettled disputes on its maritime front (in the South China Sea).
- Land boundary issues: The confrontations on the Sino-Indian borders in recent years may have reminded Beijing about this law.
- Fear of radicalization: Afghanistan under the Taliban may become a hotbed for terrorism and extremism that could spread to Xinjiang amongst Uyghurs.
- One-China Policy: China officially (constitutionally) claims mainland China and Taiwan as part of their respective territories. It has similar assertions for Hong Kong.
Does it concern India?
- No specific mention: Although the law is not meant specifically for India, it is bound to have some impact.
- May hamper disengagement: The date for the round meeting is still awaited, amid concerns that the Chinese delegation can use the new law to try to bolster their existing positions.
- Possible misadventures: The new law provides for the construction of permanent infrastructure close to the border. This has been observed in Arunachal Pradesh.
What impact can it have on India-China relations?
- Onus on China: The view is still divided. Much depends on China’s actions, regardless of the new law.
- Unilateral action: The new law might be the latest attempt by China to unilaterally delineate and demarcate territorial boundaries with India and Bhutan.
- Maintain status-quo: The new law will make China dig its heels in, on the ongoing standoff as well as for the resolution of the larger boundary issue.
- Permanent demarcation of borders: There is also a possibility that Beijing appears to be signaling a determination to resolve the border disputes on its preferred terms.
Recent mis-adventures
- China has been building “well-off” border defense villages across the LAC in all sectors, which the new law encourages.
- President Xi visited a village in Tibet near the border with Arunachal Pradesh followed by renamings.
- China has constructed a bridge in Eastern Ladakh connecting the North and South Banks of Pangong Tso.
Conclusion
- The law only “states the obvious” as “every country is in the business of protecting its territorial integrity.
- The big question is what your territory is, and there we don’t agree with each other.
[RSTV Archive] India-China Ties Post-Galwan
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAARC
Mains level: Revival of SAARC
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah has said that his country was ready to host the 19th SAARC Summit and invited India to join it virtually if it is not willing to visit Islamabad.
About SAARC
- The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
- Members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- It was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- The organization promotes the development of economic and regional integration.
- It maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.
Formation of SAARC
- After the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the security situation in South Asia rapidly deteriorated.
- In response, the foreign ministers of the initial seven members met in Colombo in 1981.
- At the meeting, Bangladesh proposed forming a regional association that would meet to discuss matters such as security and trade.
- While most of the countries present were in favour of the proposal, India and Pakistan were skeptical.
- Eventually, both countries relented and in 1983 in Dhaka, joined the other five nations in signing the Declaration.
Economic significance of SAARC
- The SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2019.
- It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.
Major accomplishments
- Forum for discussions: It has provided a platform for representatives from member countries to meet and discuss important issues, something that may have been challenging through bilateral discussions.
- Diplomatic tool: India and Pakistan for example would struggle to publicly justify a meeting when tensions between the two are particularly high, but both countries often come together under the banner of SAARC.
- Crisis management: The bloc has also made some headway in signing agreements related to climate change, food security and combating the Covid-19 crisis.
- Technology: It has been another avenue of cooperation marked by the launch of South Asia Satellite by India.
Limitations to SAARC
- Small scale: Despite its lofty ambitions, SAARC has not become a regional association in the mould of the European Union or the African Union.
- Internal divisions: Its member states are plagued by internal divisions, most notably the conflict between India and Pakistan.
- Trade disputes: This in turn has hampered its ability to form comprehensive trade agreements or to meaningfully collaborate on areas such as security, energy and infrastructure.
- Terrorism: The last SAARC summit to be held in Pakistan has been cancelled several times due to many nations pulling out of the summit citing fears of regional insecurity.
Why must India rethink on SAARC?
- Extended diplomacy: India continued to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings along with their Pakistani counterparts.
- Pandemic mitigation: Reviving SAARC is crucial to countering the common challenges brought about by the pandemic.
- Economic cooperation: Apart from the overall GDP slowdown, global job cuts has led to fall in revenue for migrant labour and expatriates from South Asian countries.
- Countering China: While dealing with China, a unified South Asian platform is a crucial countermeasure for India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gaganyaan Mission
Mains level: Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (IHSP)
After a rather muted 2021 in terms of satellite launches, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up for a number of missions in 2022 including the launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan.
Gaganyaan Mission
- Gaganyaan is crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (IHSP).
- The IHSP was initiated in 2007 by ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
- The first uncrewed flight, named Gaganyaan 1, is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 2022 on a GSLV Mark III rocket.
- ISRO had been working on related technologies and it performed a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment and a Pad Abort Test for the mission.
- If completed in meantime, India will become the fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after the Russia, US and China.
Details of the project
- The spacecraft is being designed to carry three people, and a planned upgraded version will be equipped with rendezvous and docking capability.
- In its maiden crewed mission, this capsule will orbit the Earth at 400 km altitude for up to seven days with a two or three-person crew on board.
- This Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured crew module had its first un-crewed experimental flight in 2014.
- DRDO will provide support for critical human-centric systems and technologies like space-grade food, crew healthcare, radiation measurement and protection, parachutes for the safe recovery of the crew module and fire suppression system.
Other missions this year
- Earth Observation Satellites: EOS-4 and EOS-6
- Flights for Crew Escape System of Gaganyaan
- Chandrayaan-03
- Aditya Ll
- XpoSat
New projects
- Venus mission
- DISHA –a twin aeronomy satellite mission
- TRISHNA, an ISRO-CNES [Centre national d’études spatiales] mission
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Offline E-payments
Mains level: Not Much
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with the framework for facilitating small-value digital payments in offline mode, a move that would promote digital payments in semi-urban and rural areas.
Offline E-payments
- Offline digital payment does not require Internet or telecom connectivity.
- Such payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets and mobile devices.
- Such transactions would not require an Additional Factor of Authentication.
- Since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and/or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag.
- There is a limit of ₹200 per transaction and an overall limit of ₹2,000 until the balance in the account is replenished.
Conditions applied
- Payment instruments shall be enabled for offline transactions only after the explicit consent of the customer.
- That apart, these transactions using cards will be allowed without a requirement to turn on the contactless transaction channel.
- The customers shall have recourse to the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, as applicable, for grievance redressal.
- RBI retains the right to stop or modify the operations of any such payment solution that enables small value digital payments in offline mode.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q. With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements:
- BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account.
- While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, BHIM app has only two factors of authentication.
Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? (CSP 2018)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Velu Nachiyar
Mains level: Not Much
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth anniversary.
Velu Nachiyar (1730-1796)
- Rani Velu Nachiyar was a queen of Sivaganga estate from c. 1780–1790.
- She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India.
- She is widely known as Veeramangai (“brave woman”).
Her legend
[A] Early life
- Velu Nachiyar was the princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of the Ramnad kingdom.
- Nachiyar was trained in many methods of combat, including war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam, horse riding, and archery.
- She was a scholar in many languages and was proficient in languages like French, English and Urdu.
[B] Battles fought
- During this period, she formed an army and sought an alliance with Hyder Ali with the aim of launching a campaign against the East India Company in 1780.
- When her husband, Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar was killed in a battle with EIC soldiers, she was drawn into the conflict.
- When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some of their ammunition, she arranged a suicide attack on the location, blowing it up.
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