Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NCSK
Mains level: Manual scavenging in India
The Union Cabinet has approved a three-year extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) that was set to end on March 31.
About National Commission for Safai Karamcharis
- The commission was set up in 1993 under the NCSK Act 1993 for a period of three years, which has been extended since then.
- The NCSK Act is however ceased to have effect from February 29, 2004.
- After that, the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time through resolutions.
Why was NCSK set up?
- The commission helps in coming up with programmes for the welfare of sanitation workers.
- It also monitors the implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
- Till December 31, 2021, 58,098 manual scavengers had been identified.
Need for eliminating Manual Scavenging
- Undignified life (all the 6 Fundamental Rights are compromised, directly or indirectly).
- It directly perpetuates castism.
- Modern, Secular India has no place for such “professions”.
- It no way suits India’s rising global profile – ‘super power’ aspirations.
- Women are mostly disprivileged since most manual scavengers are dalit women.
What else needs to be done?
- Though the government has taken many steps for the upliftment of the safai karamcharis, the deprivation suffered by them in socio-economic and educational terms is still far from being eliminated.
- Although manual scavenging has been almost eradicated, sporadic instances of their deaths do occur.
Way forward
- There is a continued need to monitor the various interventions and initiatives of the government for welfare of safai Karamcharis.
- The govt must strive to achieve the goal of complete mechanization of sewer/septic tanks cleaning in the country and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
Try this question from CSP 2016:
Q.’Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to:
(a) rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable sources of livelihood
(b) release the sex workers from their practice and provide them with alternative sources of livelihood
(c) eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers
(d) release the bonded labourers from their bondage and rehabilitate them
Post your answers here:
Also try this question from our AWE initiative:
Manual scavenging has been called as a worst surviving symbol of untouchability. Critically discuss the measures taken by Government to eradicate this practice? (250 W)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Active Volcanoes in Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’
Mains level: Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano which massively erupted lies along the Pacific ‘Ring of fire’, and is just over 60 kilometers from the island nation of Tonga.
What is the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’?
- The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ or Pacific rim, or the Circum-Pacific Belt, is an area along the Pacific Ocean that is characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
- Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Ring of Fire.
- It is home to about 75 per cent of the world’s volcanoes – more than 450 volcanoes.
- Also, about 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur here.
Its spread
- Its length is over 40,000 kilometres and traces from New Zealand clockwise in an almost circular arc covering Tonga, Kermadec Islands, Indonesia.
- It is moving up to the Philippines, Japan, and stretching eastward to the Aleutian Islands, then southward along the western coast of North America and South America.
Seismic activity of the region
- The area is along several tectonic plates including the Pacific plate, Philippine Plate, Juan de Fuca plate, Cocos plate, Nazca plate, and North American plate.
- The movement of these plates or tectonic activity makes the area witness abundant earthquakes and tsunamis every year.
- Along much of the Ring, tectonic plates move towards each other creating subduction zones.
- One plate gets pushed down or is subducted by the other plate.
- This is a very slow process – a movement of just one or two inches per year.
- As this subduction happens, rocks melt, become magma and move to Earth’s surface and cause volcanic activity.
What has happened in recent eruption in Tonga?
- In the case of Tonga, the Pacific Plate was pushed down below the Indo-Australian Plate and Tonga plate, causing the molten rock to rise above and form the chain of volcanoes.
- Subduction zones are also where most of the violent earthquakes on the planet occur.
- The December 26, 2004 earthquake occurred along the subduction zone where the Indian Plate was subducted beneath the Burma plate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nusantara
Mains level: NA
Indonesia passed a bill replacing its capital Jakarta with East Kalimantan, situated to the east of Borneo island. The new capital city of the country will be called Nusantara.
About Nusantara
- The New State Capital Law Bill has been drafted by a special committee set up by Widodo’s government and makes Nusantara, also called IKN, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia.
- The transfer of the status of Jakarta as Indonesia’s capital to Nusantara, where 256,142 hectares of land has been set aside for the project, will take place in the “first semester” of 2024.
- East Kalimantan, where the new capital will be, as per the bill is said to have a world-city vision.
- It will be designed and managed with the objective of becoming a sustainable city in the world.
Why is Indonesia changing its capital city?
- The new location is very strategic – it’s in the centre of Indonesia and close to urban areas.
- The burden Jakarta is holding right now is too heavy as the centre of governance, business, finance, trade and services.
- Jakarta is also infamous for being the worlds’ first sinking capital city due to rising sea levels.
- The city’s pollution levels are so bad that it has been ranking as one of the most polluted cities in the world for years.
- Another important reason to shift the capital from Java island to Borneo island has been the growing inequality – financial and otherwise.
Where is East Kalimantan?
- East Kalimantan is 2,300 kilometres from Jakarta on the eastern side of Borneo island, shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
- The new capital will be located in the North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regions.
- East Kalimantan is an area with immense water resources and habitable terrain.
- East Kalimantan is rich in flora and fauna.
Why Nusantara?
- Nusantara is an old Javanese term that means ‘archipelago’.
- Nusantara has historical, sociological, and philosophical aspects attached to the name.
- The name would represent Indonesia as a whole and would show the potential of the nation.
What are the other countries that have changed capitals?
- Indonesia is not the first country to change its capital city.
- There has been a long list of countries that have changed their capitals for various reasons. Brazil changed its capital city from Rio De Janerio to Brasilia, a more centrally-located city, in 1960.
- In 1991, Nigeria hanged the country’s capital from Lagos to Abuja.
- Kazakhstan moved its capital city from Almaty, which is still its commercial centre, to Nur-Sultan in 1997.
- Myanmar changed its capital from Rangoon to Naypyidaw in 2005.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chintamani Padya Natakam
Mains level: Not Much
The Andhra Pradesh government has brought the curtains down on the popular Telugu play ‘Chintamani Padya Natakam’, which has enthralled people for almost 100 years.
Chintamani Padya Natakam
- It is a stage play penned by social reformer, writer and poet Kallakuri Narayana Rao about 100 years ago.
- In the play, the writer explains how people neglect their families by falling prey to certain social evils.
- It was aimed to create awareness on the Devadasi system and how the flesh trade was ruining many families at that particular period.
- Subbisetty, Chintamani, Bilvamangaludu, Bhavani Shankaram, and Srihari are some of the characters in the play.
Its performance
- The play is named after the main character, Chintamani, a woman born into a family involved in the flesh trade.
- The play focuses on how she attained salvation after repentance.
- Subbi Shetty, a character in the play, loses his wealth to Chintamani and his character is utilised in a way that engages the audience.
- Chintamani play is popular across the state. It has been performed at thousands of places.
- The play continues to engage the audience even today and has become a must stage play in villages during Dasara celebrations.
Why it got banned?
- Began as a social sermon, this play has been increasingly going vulgar.
- Subbi Shetty, who resembles a person of a transgender community, is used to portray the social group in a bad way.
- Obscene dialogues are added to the play in the name of creativity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Swamp Deer
Mains level: NA
The population of the vulnerable eastern swamp deer, extinct elsewhere in South Asia, has dipped (from 907 in 2018 to 868 in 2020 ) in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Swamp Deer
- The swamp deer also called as barasingha is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent.
- Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal.
- It has been locally extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and its presence is uncertain in Bhutan.
- In Assamese, barasingha is called dolhorina; dol meaning swamp.
Note: Swamp deers do occur in the Kanha National Park of Madhya Pradesh, in two localities in Assam, and in only 6 localities in Uttar Pradesh.
Conservation status
- IUCN Red List: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix I
- Wildlife Protection Act of 1972: Schedule I
Try this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following fauna of India:
- Gharial
- Leatherback turtle
- Swamp deer
Which of the above is/are endangered?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Miss Kerala
Mains level: Illicit trade of exotic species
A section of aquarists and ornamental fish breeders are surprised that the Denison barb (Miss Kerala), a native freshwater fish species commonly found in parts of Karnataka and Kerala, has been included in Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1982 (amendment bill).
Miss Kerala
- Miss Kerala is also known as Denison barb, red-line torpedo barb and roseline shark.
- Its scientific name is Sahyadria denisonii.
- The fish is featured with red and black stripes on its body.
- It is found in the States of Kerala and Karnataka.
- It has been listed on the IUCN Redlist as Vulnerable, in 2010.
- This species is known to inhabit fast-flowing hill streams and is often found in rocky pools with thick vegetation along river banks.
Why included in Schedule I of WPA?
- Ironically, its beauty is the biggest threat to its survival, as it is highly sought-after in the international aquarium trade, constituting 60 – 65% of the total live ornamental fish exported from India.
- Its numbers are also decreasing owing to habitat degradation due to deforestation, mining, agriculture, urban expansion and hydro-electric projects.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- How can budget address the issues of informal sector
Context
We need to insure the most vulnerable against shocks such as Covid, but even more, we need to create good job opportunities for the unskilled. What can the budget do?
Impact on informal economy
- The last two quarters have seen a substantive recovery in the Indian economy.
- Corporate profitability of our largest firms has hit a new record this year.
- So have GST collections, another indicator of the formal economy, with an average monthly collection of Rs 1.2 trillion in the second and third quarters.
- The glass though is half full, the informal economy was particularly badly hit by Covid and its associated lockdowns.
- Small enterprises, retail, hospitality, and construction were all hammered.
- These were our main source of recent employment growth.
- Agricultural employment has risen in the last year-and-a-half, while manufacturing and services employment has fallen — this is the opposite of development.
- Informal service sector jobs may not seem like great jobs to us, but they are greatly prized relative to eking out a marginal existence in agriculture.
- We need to insure the most vulnerable against such shocks, but even more, we need to create good job opportunities for the unskilled, equip people at all levels to participate more fully in the modern economy, and systemically promote wider policies of inclusion.
What can the budget do?
- Create good jobs for unskilled: The way it can do so directly is through accelerating spending on infrastructure.
- The National Infrastructure Pipeline has identified a good set of projects.
- The government should be complimented for its intention and ambition; what we need now is implementation.
- Labour-intensive manufacturing: Most countries developed by putting millions to work in labour-intensive manufacturing.
- We do not have the huge firms in export-oriented labour-intensive sectors that employ millions in China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
- Bangladesh has thrived by putting millions to work in manufacturing.
- A booming garment sector employs 4.4 million.
- As 80 per cent of those employed in garment factories are women, Bangladesh has twice the female labour force participation ratio of India.
- Implement labour laws: In June and September 2020, the government passed four labour laws.
- These laws have since been left dormant.
- The budget should announce a time frame for implementation, notification by the Union government and then by the states.
- Investment in education and skilling: India has among the least skilled workforces in the world.
- Under 5 per cent of our workforce is formally skilled, compared to 96 per cent in South Korea, 75 per cent in Germany and 52 per cent in the US.
- That is why the work of the National Skills Development Corporation is so important.
- Can the budget specify it as an independent entity controlled and run by the private sector that is then held accountable for delivering on our skilling targets.
- Education is even more important, especially primary education.
- Pratham’s education reports make for sobering reading.
- The New Education Policy has a proposal that every second standard child should be able to read and do arithmetic at the second standard level as a foundation for further education.
- This welcome initiative must receive greater dedication and focus from both government and industry.
- School education is a state subject, so the Union budget can at best incentivise states to do the right things, say by linking the flow of additional funds to those that demonstrate improved second standard learning outcomes.
- As a part of CSR, many companies work actively with schools.
- Education is already the largest single area for CSR spending, accounting for one-third of the Rs 9,000 crore spent by the top 100 companies.
Conclusion
Other policies for economic inclusion must go beyond social inclusion. These include measures like reducing tariffs to benefit millions of consumers instead of thousands of firms. Industrial policies that help all firms such as the ease of doing business, instead of incentivising a selected few.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICJ
Mains level: Paper 2- Genocide prevention issue
Context
Incendiary speeches at a religious assembly include calls for the genocide of Muslims in India and can be seen as part of an ongoing pattern of targeting minorities.
Background of the convention against genocide
- India’s role: India has signed and ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948.
- In 1946, Cuba, India and Panama co-sponsored General Assembly Resolution 96(I), which affirmed genocide as a ‘crime under international law’.
- As a result of this resolution, a convention on the prohibition of genocide was drafted, which was passed by the General Assembly in 1948 and came into effect in 1951, with more than 150 states party to the convention presently.
- Legal obligation: Legal obligations on states that are party to the convention include:
- the obligation not to commit genocide,
- to prevent genocide, and to punish genocide(Article I),
- to enact legislation to give effect to the provisions of the convention (Article V);
- to provide for effective penalties for those found guilty of criminal conduct (Article V); and
- the obligation to try those charged with genocide in a competent tribunal (Article VI).
No legislation enacted by India
- Since signing the Genocide Convention and ratifying it, to date India has not enacted any legislation in accordance with Article VI of the Genocide Convention.
- At the outset, India is in violation of its international obligation to criminalise genocide within its domestic law per Articles V, VI and VII, and to take all means to ensure the prevention of genocide.
- Indian domestic law shows that there are no comparable provisions for the prosecution of any mass crimes, least of all genocide.
- Indian Penal Code provisions relating to rioting, unlawful assembly and ‘promoting enmity between different groups’ do not embody the basic elements of the crime of genocide, which is against a collectivity or a group, with the specific intent to cause its destruction.
- These also do not pertain to another key aspect of the Genocide Convention – that of prevention, and creating the conditions in which such hate speech and other associated acts are not allowed to flourish.
Significance of the Gambia’s proceedings before the ICJ against Myanmar
- The Gambia has initiated proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar on the basis of the Convention.
- The ICJ, relying on a previous case of Belgium v. Senegal, stated, “It follows that any State party to the Genocide Convention, and not only a specially affected State, may invoke the responsibility of another State party with a view to ascertaining the alleged failure to comply with its obligations erga omnes partes, and to bring that failure to an end.”
Conclusion
It is more imperative than ever that international legal protections against genocide are incorporated in domestic legislation. Furthermore, the fact that India has international legal obligations under the Genocide Convention which it is not adhering to must be rectified.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WEF and its various reports
Mains level: Read the attached story
PM Modi has made a special address ahead of the theme-setting World Economic Forum (WEF) Agenda on the ‘State of the World’ at Davos.
About World Economic Forum (WEF)
- WEF is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland.
- It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab.
- The foundation, which is mostly funded by its 1,000 member companies – typically global enterprises with more than five billion US dollars in turnover – as well as public subsidies.
- It aims at improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
Major reports released:
- Engaging Tomorrow Consumer Report
- Inclusive growth & Development Report
- Environmental Performance Index
- Global Competitive Index
- Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report
- Global Gender Gap Report
- Global Information Technology Report
- Human Capital Report
- Inclusive growth & Development Report
- Global Risk Report
- Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report by WEF
Important agenda: Davos meeting
- The WEF is mostly known for its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.
- The meeting brings together some 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among which are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists.
Why is WEF important?
- Common platform: The WEF summit brings together the who’s-who of the political and corporate world, including heads of state, policymakers, top executives, industrialists, media personalities, and technocrats.
- Influence global decision-making: Deliberations at the WEF influence public sector and corporate decision-making.
- Discusses global challenges: It especially emphasizes on the issues of global importance such as poverty, social challenges, climate change, and global economic recovery.
- Brings in all stakeholders: The heady mix of economic, corporate, and political leadership provides an ideal opportunity for finding solutions to global challenges that may emerge from time to time.
What are the main initiatives?
- Agenda 2022 will see the launch of other WEF initiatives meant for:
- Accelerating the mission to net-zero emissions
- Economic opportunity of nature-positive solutions
- Cyber resilience
Criticisms of WEF
- WEF has been criticized for being more of a networking hub than a nebula of intellect or a forum to find effective solutions to global issues.
- It is also criticized for the lack of representation from varied sections of the civil society and for falling short of delivering effective solutions.
Way forward
- WEF sees large-scale participation of top industry, business leaders, civil society, and international organizations every year.
- This collaboration is necessary for addressing global concerns such as climate change and pandemic management.
- It is one of such few platform, that provides an opportunity for collaboration through comprehensive dialogue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Conflict-ridden towns in news
Mains level: Extremism across the world
A suspected drone attack on Monday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, caused multiple explosions in which three Indians were reportedly killed.
Who is behind the attack?
- The Shia Houthi rebels of Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Who are the Houthis?
- The roots of the Houthi movement can be traced to “Believing Youth” (Muntada al-Shahabal-Mu’min).
- It is a Zaydi revivalist group founded by Hussein al-Houthi and his father, Badr al-Din al-Houthi, in the early 1990s.
- Badr al-Din was an influential Zaydi cleric in northern Yemen.
- This group is inspired by the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the rise of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in the 1980s.
- Badr al-Din and his sons started building vast social and religious networks among the Zaydis of Yemen, who make up roughly one-third of the Sunni-majority country’s population.
What led to the Houthis’ rise?
- When protests broke out in Yemen in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring protests that felled Tunisian and Egyptian dictators.
- The Houthis, now confident from their military victories and the support they enjoyed in Sadah, backed the agitation.
Why did Saudi Arabia attack Yemen?
- The rapid rise of the Houthis in Yemen set off alarm bells in Riyadh which saw them as Iranian proxies.
- Saudi Arabia, under Mohammed Bin Salman, started a military campaign in March 2015, hoping for a quick victory against the Houthis.
- But the Houthis had dug in, refusing to leave despite Saudi Arabia’s aerial blitzkrieg.
- With no effective allies on the ground and no way-out plan, the Saudi-led campaign went on with no tangible result.
- In the past six years, the Houthis have launched multiple attacks on Saudi cities from northern Yemen in retaliation for Saudi air strikes.
Not a one-way proxy war
- There are serious allegations against both the Saudis and the Houthis in the war.
- While the Saudi bombings caused a large number of civilian deaths, the Houthis were accused, by rights groups and Governments, of preventing aid, deploying forces in densely populated areas.
- Houthis have been using excessive force against civilians and peaceful protesters.
Why did the Houthis target the UAE?
- This is not the first time the Houthis attacked the UAE. In 2018, when the UAE-backed forces were making advances in Yemen, the Houthis claimed attacks against the Emirates.
- They stayed focussed entirely on Saudi Arabia and Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following pairs:
Towns sometimes mentioned in news: Countries
- Aleppo: Syria
- Kirkuk: Yemen
- Mosul: Palestine
- Mazar-i-sharif: Afghanistan
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 3 and 4 only
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smog Tower
Mains level: Effectiveness of smog towers
Some researchers in New Delhi have observed paradoxical phenomena near the smog towers. The air closest to the tower should be cleanest, but the device recorded the opposite in several instances.
What are Smog Towers?
- Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers. They are fitted with multiple layers of air filters and fans at the base to suck the air.
- After the polluted air enters the smog tower, it is purified by multiple layers before being re-circulated into the atmosphere.
Structure of the Delhi smog tower
- The structure is 24 m high, about as much as an 8-storey building — an 18-metre concrete tower, topped by a 6-metre-high canopy. At its base are 40 fans, 10 on each side.
- Each fan can discharge 25 cubic metres per second of air, adding up to 1,000 cubic metres per second for the tower as a whole. Inside the tower in two layers are 5,000 filters.
- The filters and fans have been imported from the United States.
How does it work?
- The tower uses a ‘downdraft air cleaning system’ developed by the University of Minnesota.
- Polluted air is sucked in at a height of 24 m, and filtered air is released at the bottom of the tower, at a height of about 10 m from the ground.
- When the fans at the bottom of the tower operate, the negative pressure created sucks in air from the top.
- The ‘macro’ layer in the filter traps particles of 10 microns and larger, while the ‘micro’ layer filters smaller particles of around 0.3 microns.
- The downdraft method is different from the system used in China, where a tower uses an ‘updraft’ system — air is sucked in from near the ground, and is propelled upwards by heating and convection.
- Filtered air is released at the top of the tower.
Likely impact
- Computational fluid dynamics modelling suggests the tower could have an impact on the air quality up to 1 km from the tower.
- The actual impact will also determine how the tower functions under different weather conditions, and how levels of PM2.5 vary with the flow of air.
Issues with smog towers
- Many experts say that the smog towers are not a viable method to clean city’s air.
- The government had talked about 80% pollution reduction at inlet and outlet of the tower but never mentioned about the effect of distance from the tower.
- Instead of spending ₹40 crore on two towers, the government could have spent the funds on several other options such as replacing the small and polluting industrial boilers or chimneys etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Unemployment since the pandemic
Global unemployment is projected to stand at 207 million in 2022 (21 million more than in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began) says ILO World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022.
World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2022
- The report examines the impacts of the crisis on global and regional trends in employment, unemployment and labour force participation, as well as on job quality, informal employment and working poverty.
- It also offers an extensive analysis of trends in temporary employment both before and during the COVID-19 crisis.
Key highlights
(1) Job Losses in 2022
- It is estimated that in 2022 around 40 million people will no longer be participating in the global labour force.
- The downgrade in the 2022 forecast reflects the impact of ever new variants of COVID-19 on the world of work.
- Global working hours in 2022 will be almost two per cent below their pre-pandemic level.
- This is equivalent to the loss of 52 million full-time jobs.
(2) Pauperization
- The pandemic has pushed millions of children into poverty.
- It is estimated that in 2020, an additional 30 million adults fell into extreme poverty (living on less than $1.90 per day in purchasing power parity) while being out of paid work.
- The number of extreme working poor — workers who do not earn enough through their work to keep themselves and their families above the poverty line — rose by eight million.
(3) Impact on women
- Women have been worse hit by the labour market crisis than men and this is likely to continue.
- The closing of education and training institutions will have long-term implications for young people, particularly those without internet access.
Key suggestions
- There is the need for a broad-based labour market recovery — the recovery must be human-centred, inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
- The recovery must be based on the principles of decent work — including health and safety, equity, social protection and social dialogue.
Back2Basics: International Labour Organization (ILO)
- The ILO is a UN agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards.
- Founded in 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN.
- The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
- The ILO’s international labour standards are broadly aimed at ensuring accessible, productive, and sustainable work worldwide in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity.
Its Governing Body
- The Governing body is the apex executive body of the ILO which decides policies, programmes, agenda, budget and elects the Director-General.
- It meets three times a year, in March, June and November.
Major reports released:
- World Employment and Social Outlook
- World Social Protection Report
- Global Wage Report
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Making sense of new security policy of Pakistan
Context
The national security policy statement issued last week by the government of Pakistan acknowledges the need for change.
Why does it matter for India?
- India’s stakes in a stable Pakistan are higher than anyone else in the world.
- Therefore, Delhi must pay close attention to the internal debates within Islamabad on the imperatives of major change in Pakistan’s national direction.
- But as critics in Pakistan insist, the policy offers no clues on how to go about it.
- The classified version probably has a clear strategy on how to accelerate economic growth, build national cohesion, and revitalise its foreign and security policies.
Overview of India’s transformation after 1990s
- The crises that Pakistan confronts today are quite similar to those Delhi faced at the turn of the 1990s.
- Economic challenge: India’s post-Independence old economic model was on the verge of collapse.
- Political instability: The era of massive domestic political mandates was over and weak coalitions government were in place.
- Challenges in International relations: The Soviet Union, India’s best friend in the Cold War, fell off the map and the Russian successor was more interested in integrating with the West.
- India found that its political ties with all other major powers — the US, Europe, China and Japan — were underdeveloped at the end of the Cold War.
- Pakistan, meanwhile, was running proxy wars in India even as it mobilised international pressures against Delhi on Kashmir.
- Within a decade, though, India was on a different trajectory.
- . Its reformed economy was on a high growth path.
- India was hailed as an emerging power that would eventually become the third-largest economy in the world and a military power to reckon with.
- Delhi also cut a deal with Washington to become a part of the global nuclear order on reasonable terms.
- This involved a series of structural economic reforms, the recasting of foreign policy, and developing a new culture of power-sharing within coalitions and between the Centre and the states.
The economic transformation of Bangladesh
- The economic transformation of Bangladesh has been equally impressive.
- Since Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 2009, Bangladesh focused on economic development, stopped support to terrorism, and improved ties with the larger of its two neighbours — India.
- As a result, Bangladesh’s economy in 2021 (GDP at $350 billion) is well ahead of Pakistan ($280 billion).
How Pakistan missed the opportunity
- Pakistan chose a different path.
- Having ousted the Soviet superpower from Afghanistan in the late 1980s, Pakistan was ready to apply the model of cross-border terrorism to shake Kashmir loose from India and turn Afghanistan into a protectorate.
- Supporting jihadi groups was seen as a low-cost strategy to achieve Pakistan’s long-standing strategic objectives in the neighbourhood.
- These grand geopolitical obsessions left little bandwidth for the much-needed economic modernisation of Pakistan.
- Islamabad, which relentlessly pursued parity with Delhi, now finds that the Indian economy at $3.1 trillion is more than 10 times larger than that of Pakistan.
Factors that explain change in Pakistan’s policy
- Diminishing role in geopolitics: In the past, Pakistan had much success in pursuing a foreign policy that not only balanced India with the support of the West, but also carved out a large role for itself in the Middle East and more broadly the Muslim world.
- Today, barring the United Kingdom, Pakistan’s equities in the West have steadily diminished.
- Weakened ties in the Middle East: Meanwhile, it has weakened its traditionally strong ties in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- Weakened ties with the US: Although its all-weather ties with China have gone from strength to strength, the unfolding conflict between Washington and Beijing has put Pakistan in an uncomfortable strategic situation.
- Pakistan’s support for violent religious extremism has also begun to backfire.
- A permissive environment for terrorism has now attracted severe financial penalties from the international system.
India’s changed approach towards Pakistan
- Delhi, which was prepared to make concessions on Kashmir in the 1990s and 2000s, has taken Kashmir off the table and is ready to use military force in response to major terror attacks.
- Delhi’s attitude towards Islamabad now oscillates between insouciance and aggression.
- Unlike in the past, the West is no longer pressuring India to accommodate Pakistan on Kashmir.
- The US is eager for India’s support in balancing China in the Indo-Pacific.
Conclusion
All these shifts together have compelled Pakistan to rethink its policies. There is no guarantee that the change will be definitive and for the good. But if it is, Delhi should be prepared to respond positively.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Pandemic and inequality
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened economic inequalities across the world says the Inequality Kills Report.
Try substantiating this:
Q. Extreme inequality is a form of ‘economic violence’—where structural and systemic policy and political choices are skewed in favor of the richest and the most powerful people. Critically examine.
What is the “Inequality Kills” Report?
- “Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of COVID-19” is a report released in January 2022 by Oxfam, a U.K.-based consortium.
- The report argues for sustained and immediate action to end the pandemic, address global inequality and initiate concerted measures to tackle the climate emergency.
- The central argument of the report is that inequality is a death sentence for people that are marginalized by social and economic structures and removed from political decision-making.
Key highlights
- Billionaire variants: Identifying this process as “the billionaire variant”, the report says that this vertical aggregation of global wealth into the hands of a few is “profoundly dangerous for our world”.
- Pauperization: 160 million people were rendered poor during the pandemic, while the ten richest people doubled their fortunes since the start of the pandemic.
- Vaccine apartheid: Holding governments to account the report identifies “vaccine apartheid” (unequal access to vaccines between countries) and the lack of universal vaccination programs in many countries.
- Inflation: It also demonstrates how emergency government expenditure (estimated at $16 trillion) that was meant to keep economies afloat during this crisis, inflated stock prices.
- Collective: This resulted in billionaires’ collective wealth increasing by $5 trillion during the pandemic.
Why does the report say that inequality kills?
- For the writers of the report inequality is not an abstract theory.
- Instead, they see it as institutionalized violence against poorer people.
- Extreme inequality is a form of ‘economic violence’—where structural and systemic policy and political choices that are skewed in favor of the richest and the most powerful people.
- This results in direct harm to the vast majority of ordinary people worldwide.
Implications of inequality
- Crime and violence: The report identifies higher inequality with more crime and violence and less social trust.
- Impact on marginalized: The brunt of inequality and the violence is borne, for instance, by women across the world, Dalits in India, Black, Native American and Latin persons in the US and indigenous groups in many countries.
- Victimization of women: Pointing to the example of women, the problem runs a lot deeper as 13 million women have not returned to the workforce and 20 million girls are at risk of losing access to education.
Way ahead
The “Inequality Kills” report proposes far-reaching changes to structures of government, economy and policy-making to fight inequality.
- Vaccine sharing: It urgently asks for “vaccine recipes” to be made open-source so that every qualified vaccine manufacturer can manufacture them.
- Taxing the opportunists: The report then asks for governments to claw back the wealth from billionaires by administering solidarity taxes higher than 90% especially on the billionaires that have profited during pandemic.
- Taxation reforms: The report asks for permanent cancellation of tax havens, progressive taxation on corporations and an end to tax dodging by corporations.
- Welfare: The report then suggests that this regained wealth be redirected towards building income safety nets, universalizing healthcare for everyone, investing in green technologies and democratizing them, and, investing in protecting women from violence.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IRWD Act
Mains level: Interstate river water disputes
Karnataka CM has said irrigation projects are bogged down by river water sharing disputes and asked the Centre to ‘revisit the Inter-State River Water Disputes (IWRD) Act since the law is creating more disputes than resolving them’.
About IWRD Act
- The IWRD Act, 1956 aims to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and distribution of an interstate river or river valley.
- Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides a role for the Central government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding inter-state rivers that arise among the state/regional governments.
- This act is confined to states of India and not applicable to union territories.
- Only concerned state governments are entitled to participate in the tribunal adjudication and non-government entities are not permitted.
Jurisdictions over Rivers
- River waters use / harnessing is included in states jurisdiction.
- However, Union government can make laws on regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent such water resources are directly under its control when expedient in the public interest.
- When union government wants to take over a interstate river project under its control by law, it has to take approval of the riparian states’ legislature assemblies before passing such bill in the Parliament per Article 252 of the constitution.
- When public interest is served, President may also establish an interstate council as per Article 263 to inquire and recommend on the dispute that has arisen between the states of India.
Resolution of disputes
- Dispute resolution is a layered process, as mandated by the ISWD Act.
- After receiving a complaint from a state, the Union government first tries to mediate. It is only when negotiations fail that the Centre is required to form a tribunal to adjudicate the dispute.
- If a State Government makes a request regarding any water dispute and the Central Government is of opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, then a Tribunal is constituted.
Constitution of Tribunal
- Whenever the riparian states are not able to reach amicable agreements on their own in sharing of an interstate river waters, section 4 of IRWD Act provides for a Tribunal.
- The tribunal shall not only adjudicate but also investigate the matters referred to it by the central government and forward a report setting out the facts with its decisions.
- The tribunal responsibility is not limited to adjudication of issues raised by the concerned states and but investigation of other aspects such as water pollution, water quality deterioration, flood control etc.
Time-frame for dispute resolution
- The tribunals have been allotted three years to arrive at a final decision, extendable by two years.
- The 2002 Amendment to the ISWD Act specified a one-year limit on the timeline allowed to carry out the process of dispute resolution.
Active tribunals in India
- Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal (1986) – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
- Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II (2004) – Karnataka, Telangana, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra
- Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (2010) – Goa,Karnataka, Maharashtra
- Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (2010) – Andra Pradesh & Odisha
- Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (2018) – Odisha & Chattisgarh
Need for the IWRD Act
- Major inter-state river basins: India has 25 major river basins, with most rivers flowing across states.
- Equitable distribution of water: As river basins are shared resources, a coordinated approach between the states is necessary for the preservation, equitable distribution and sustainable utilization of river water.
- Hydro-politics: Much recently, interstate rivers in India have become sites of contestations, fuelled by conflicting perceptions of property rights, flawed economic instruments for food security.
- Sustainability: This has led to a lack of an integrated ecosystems approach, and the prevalence of reductionist hydrology for water resource development.
Issues with IRWD Act
- Centre’s dilemma: Since river water falls within the ambit of State Subjects, its governance remains confined to the limits of the state political discourse.
- Interference of Judiciary: The apex court has limited the role of the tribunals to quantification and allocation of water between riparian states, and its own role is to be an interpreter of the awards and agreements.
- Colonial award: The history of colonial rule has led to the creation of asymmetries between states, and the present water disputes stem from the reproduction of this imperial and colonial power relation.
- Structural issues: Various operational characteristics of the tribunals as problematic, since they do not adhere to any established system.
- Operational issues: For instance, the sittings are not routine, the functioning is outside the regular court system, and day-to-day or week-to-week hearings are few and far in between.
Why this has become a sensitive topic?
- Associated ethnicity: At the state level, river water is politically perceived as part of the larger issue of “regional sharing of resources,” which is linked with the ethnic and cultural identity of the state and its people.
- Matter of autonomy: The political narrative around river disputes is subsumed within the question of regional rights, and any possibility of water sharing is seen as a compromise or infringement on the regional autonomy of a state.
- Identity politics: Hence, the political narrative around the river disputes jumps to a larger scale of identity politics.
Way forward
- For such dispute resolution, all other recourses such as mediation and conciliation must remain viable options.
- These should operate simultaneously along with adjudication and political consensus among the riparian states.
- Directly approaching the Supreme Court may result in adversarial outcomes, with the conflict reaching a point of no return.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Forex reserves, BoP
Mains level: Balance of Payment/Trade
A recent report by the RBI shows that India received support of $17.86 billion in August 2021 by way of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) has helped cushion the worsening current account deficit.
What are Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)?
- SDRs, created by the IMF in 1969, are an international reserve asset and are meant to supplement countries’ reserves.
- Adding SDRs to the country’s international reserves makes it more financially resilient.
- Providing liquidity support to developing and low-income countries allows them to tide over the balance of payments (BOP) situations like the one India has been experiencing due to the pandemic and the one it faced earlier in 1991.
- SDRs being one of the components of foreign exchange reserves (FER) of a country, an increase in its holdings is reflected in the BOP.
What are the key components of BOP?
The BOP divides transactions of a country with the rest of the world into two accounts:
- Current Account: It consists of net trade of exports and imports of products and services, net earnings on cross-border investments and net transfer payments.
- Capital Account: It constitutes a country’s transactions in financial instruments i.e. assets and liabilities constituting of direct investment, portfolio investment, loans, banking capital, and other capital.
What does the SDR support signify?
- Pandemic impact: Countries worldwide are going through one of the worst health and economic crises, and India has been no exception.
- Domestic business underperformance: It is also indicative of the fact that the domestic business environment is failing to attract foreign direct investment.
Is dependence on SDR a matter of concern?
A BOP dependent on an SDR-dependent capital account surplus to cushion the country’s widening current account deficit is not a comfortable position to be in.
- Compulsion for reforms: Importantly, IMF support comes with a baggage of conditions as was the case in 1991—the support came with the condition that India initiates big-ticket economic reforms.
- Sovereign decisions: Any democratic country would be more comfortable with sovereign rights to design its policy strategy.
Back2Basics: 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.
India’s forex reserves cover:
- Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs)
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
- Gold Reserves
- Reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Significance of these reserves
- Import support: 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.
- USD reserves: All international transactions are settled in US dollars and, therefore, required to support India’s imports.
- Exchange rate regulation: 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.
- Cushion against inflation: It also helps to limit any vulnerability due to sudden disturbances in foreign capital flows, which may arise during a crisis.
Initiatives taken by the government to increase forex
- Self reliance: To increase the foreign exchange reserves, the GoI has taken many initiatives like Atmanirbhar 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.
- Duty remission: 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.
- FDI and EoDB: 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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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Republic Day celebration
Mains level: Not Much
Recently, West Bengal’s tableau for the Republic Day parade was rejected without assigning any reasons or justifications.
Who manages the R-Day Parade?
- The Defence Ministry is the responsible authority for the Republic Day parade and the celebrations.
- Around September, it invites all the states, the UTs, Central Government departments, and a few constitutional authorities to participate in the parade through tableaux.
Managing Tableaux
- The Defence Ministry shares the basic guidelines about what all the tableaux can or should include.
- The tableaux of two different states/ UTs cannot be too similar, as the tableaux, together, should showcase the diversity of the country.
- The tableaux cannot have any writing or use of logos, except for the name of the state/ UT/ department, which should be written in Hindi on the front, English on the back, and a regional language on the sides.
- The Ministry also asks the participants to use eco-friendly material for the tableaux, and avoid the use of plastic or plastic-based products.
How are the tableaux selected?
- The selection process is elaborate and time-consuming.
- The Defence Ministry constitutes an expert committee of distinguished persons from fields like art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc.
Process of selection
(1) Submission of sketches
- First, the submitted sketches or designs of the proposals are scrutinised by this committee, which can make suggestions for any modifications in the sketch or design.
- The sketch should be simple, colourful, easy to comprehend and should avoid unnecessary detail.
- It should be self-explanatory, and should not need any written elaboration.
(2) Music and Visuals
- If there is a traditional dance involved with the tableau, it should be a folk dance, and the costumes and musical instruments should be traditional and authentic.
- The proposal should include a video clipping of the dance.
(3) 3D Models
- Once approved, the next stage is for the participants to come up with three-dimensional models for their proposals.
- These are again examined by the expert committee for final selection, taking in view several criteria.
- In making the final selection the committee looks at a combination of factors, looking at the visual appeal, impact on the masses, idea/ theme of the tableaux, degree of detail involved.
Do they have to be of a particular size?
The Defence Ministry provides each participant with one tractor and one trailer, and the tableau should fit on that.
- The ministry prohibits use of any additional tractor or trailer, or even any other vehicle to be part of it.
- However, the participant can replace their ministry-provided tractor or trailer with other vehicles, but the total number should not be more than two vehicles.
- The tractor has to be camouflaged in harmony with the tableau’s theme, and the ministry stipulates a distance of around six feet between the tractor and the trailer for turning and manoeuvering.
- The dimensions of the trailer on which the tableau will be placed is 24 feet, 8 inches long; eight feet wide; four feet two inches high; with a load-bearing capacity of 10 tonnes.
- The tableaux should not be more than 45 feet long, 14 feet wide and 16 feet high from the ground.
(Republic Day celebrations from this year will start on January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kathak
Mains level: NA
Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj has recently passed away.
About Kathak
- Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.
- The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in of ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers.
- The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word Katha which means “story”, and Kathakar which means “the one who tells a story”, or “to do with stories”.
- Wandering Kathakars communicated stories from the great epics and ancient mythology through dance, songs and music.
Its origin
- Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hand movements and extensive footwork, their body movements and flexibility but most importantly through their facial expressions.
- It evolved during the Bhakti movement, particularly by incorporating the childhood and stories of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms.
- Kathak is unique in having both Hindu and Muslim gharanas and cultural elements of these gharanas.
- Kathak performances include Urdu Ghazals and commonly used instruments brought during the Mughal period.
Major gharanas
- Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called “gharanas”, named after the cities where the Kathak dance tradition evolved – Jaipur, Banaras and Lucknow.
- While the Jaipur gharana focuses more on the foot movements, the Banaras and Lucknow gharanas focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand movements.
Performance details
- It involves both Nritta (pure dance) and Nritya (expressive dance).
- Stylistically, the Kathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot movements, adorned with small bells (Ghungroo) and the movement harmonized to the music.
- The legs and torso are generally straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper body movement, facial expressions, neck movements, eyes and eyebrow movement, stage movements, bends and turns.
- The main focus of the dance becomes the eyes and the foot movements.
- The eyes work as a medium of communication of the story the dancer is trying to communicate. With the eyebrows the dancer gives various facial expressions.
- A Kathak performance can be solo, duo or team. In a technical performance, the speed and energy the dancers exchange with the audience increases in multiples, that is the tempo doubles or quadruples.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CAATSA
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges facing India in 2022
Context
Risks in 2022 could be both domestic and geopolitical, with many precepts that the world has been accustomed to being at risk. Democracy itself could face serious headwinds this year.
Challenges to democracy
- The world has recently seen the rise of authoritarian rulers in many countries.
- What is worrisome is that democratic tenets which have been under attack in recent years appear set to face more onslaughts this year.
- The United States, which was widely viewed as a major bulwark for democracy, appears to have developed certain pathological infirmities.
Geopolitical challenges and risks
[1] Disruption by China
- The role of China is possibly the most disrupting one, given the challenge it poses to the existing international order.
- Militarily, China is openly challenging U.S. supremacy in many areas, including ‘state-of-the-art weaponry’ such as hyper-sonic technology.
- China is now threatening Taiwan, which could well become one of the flashpoints of conflict in 2022.
- The dip in China’s economic profile in the past year and more could also lead to new tensions in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022.
[2] Russia-Ukraine conflict
- The other major risk of a war in 2022, stems from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine — the latter being backed by the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces.
- During the past three decades, NATO has expanded its reach almost a 1,000 miles to the east in violation of an earlier tacit understanding.
- Russia appears determined that Ukraine should be the ‘last frontier’ and, if need be, ensure this through military force.
- The situation has grave possibilities and could result in a series of cyclical outcomes with considerable damage potential.
[3] Instability in the vast region
- Unrest in Kazakhstan: The current unrest in Kazakhstan, which till recently was one of the more stable Central Asian nations, is perhaps symptomatic of what is in store.
- Recent events in Kazakhstan demonstrates a sharper cleavage between the U.S.-led West and its principal opponents, Russia and China.
- This is not a good sign for the world already wracked by a series of coups or internecine strife as in Ethiopia, Libya and certain regions of West Asia and North Africa.
[4] Return of Taliban and security implications for India
- Shift in balance of power: Of particular significance to India is that the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has led to a material shift in the balance of power in India’s periphery.
- Developments in Afghanistan have fuelled the ambitions of quite a few ‘anti-state militant groups’ across the region.
- Even in Pakistan, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has become energised and is enlarging its sphere of action to other parts of Asia, notably Kazakhstan.
- This will have an unsettling effect across large parts of Asia.
- New evidence suggests that on India’s eastern flank, viz. Indonesia, a resurgence of radical Islamist activities is taking place.
- The Jemaah Islamiyah has reportedly become more active in Indonesia.
[5] India’s border issue with China
- The most serious issue that India confronts today is how to deal with a China that has become more confrontational.
- India’s membership of the Quad still rankles as far as China’s psyche is concerned, and during 2022, may well result in China embarking on new adventurist actions at many more points on the Sino-Indian border compelling India to react.
- Additionally, India will need to determine how best to respond to China’s provocations.
- Strengthen military posture: India would need to strengthen its military posture, both as a means to deter China and also to convince India’s neighbours that it can stand up to China.
Challenges ahead for India
- Challenge in Central Asia: Diplomatically, in 2022, India may find itself vulnerable in dealing with the turmoils which have occurred in two areas of strategic interest to it, viz. Central Asia and West Asia.
- Challenge in West Asia: In West Asia, the challenge for India is how to manage its membership of the Second Quad (India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S.) with the conflicting interests of different players in the region.
- Limits to balancing: There is a limit to the kind of balancing act that India can perform, whether it be with regard to buying S-400 missile systems from Russia, risking potential sanctions from Washington under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) or manoeuvering between the Arab States, Israel, Iran and the U.S. in West Asia.
Conclusion
Facing a host of unprecedented challenges, India’s leaders and diplomats must not only take stock of the dangers that exist but also be ready on how to manage the risks that are well evident.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Japan relations
Context
The year 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India.
Historical background of India-Japan relationship
- We have a long history of people-to-people exchanges that can be traced back to the sixth century.
- Buddhism was brought to Japan and, in 752.
- During Meiji Restoration in the late 19th Century — Japan needed natural resources to modernise its industry.
- Many Japanese travelled to India to purchase cotton, iron ore, etc.
- Formal relations between Japan and India began in 1952.
- After the Second World War, instead of signing the multilateral San Francisco Peace Treaty, India opted for concluding a bilateral peace treaty with Japan, considering that honour and equality should be ensured for Japan to rejoin the international community.
- But even before the establishment of diplomatic relations, the goodwill between the people of the two countries was deeply rooted through business, academic and cultural exchanges.
- After 70 years of multi-layered exchanges, the relationship between our two countries grew into a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.
Future possibilities
[1] As democratic countries, contribute to global peace and prosperity
- As democratic countries in Asia, India and Japan can cooperate to contribute to global peace and prosperity.
- We share political, economic and strategic interests based on the firm foundations of common values and traditions.
- We are continuing our efforts to build a rules-based free and open international order.
[2] Cooperation in security
- There are a plethora of fields that we can cooperate in security issues including cyber security, outer space and economic security.
[3] Augmenting economic relations
- For long, Japan has been the largest ODA (Official Development Assistance) donor to India.
- One of the most recent and ongoing examples of our collaboration is the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project.
- Japan is also one of the largest investors in India.
- Both countries have also promoted economic cooperation in other countries to enhance social infrastructure and connectivity.
- Our economic partnership can further strengthen the economy of the Indo-Pacific, as well as the world economy.
[4] Cultural exchange
- Cultural exchanges including literature, movies, music, sports and academics are essential for our relations, enabling a better understanding.
Consider the question “The year 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India. The future offers enormous possibilities for the partnership. In context of this, examine the future possibilities the two countries can explore.”
Conclusion
India-Japan ties will continue to flourish. Our long history substantiates that.
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Meiji Restoration in Japan
- In Japanese history, the political revolution in 1868 that brought about the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (military government)—thus ending the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867)—and, at least nominally, returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito (the emperor Meiji).
- In a wider context, however, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 came to be identified with the subsequent era of major political, economic, and social change—the Meiji period (1868–1912)—that brought about the modernization and Westernization of the country.
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