Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CEPA
Mains level: Paper 2- India-South Korea ties
Context
- During the past five years, India and South Korea have experienced considerable divergence in their respective national objectives.
Background
- Bilateral relations between India and South Korea, officially known as the Republic of Korea, were established in 1962 and upgraded to Ambassador-level in 1973.
- South Korea’s open market policies found resonance with India’s economic liberalization, and its ‘look east policy’ and ‘act east policy’.
- The relations has become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high level exchanges.
- During PM Modi’s visit to ROK in May 2015, the sides elevated the ties to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’.
- President Moon’s India visit marked the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Why India is important for South-Korea?
- One of the points that the Koreans have been making to India is that they see India as a country that is now strategically important to them
- South Korea also finds in India a very acceptable partner.
- India doesn’t have edges which can create problems for them. They are aware of one factor which they have grown up with, which is the Pakistan factor.
- With new issues cropping up in ties with China and America, export-driven South Korea must find new markets.
- South Korea’s economic growth has slowed, presenting it with important challenges.
- South Korea is targeting economies with the greatest growth potential like India.
- South Korea is too heavily dependent on China’s market. So diversification is essential for South Korea..
- Need cooperation for development in third countries, like capacity building programmes in Africa
India – South Korea Relations
- Political:
- In May 2015, the bilateral relationship was upgraded to ‘special strategic partnership’.
- India has a major role to play in South Korea’s Southern Policy under which Korea is looking at expanding relations beyond its immediate region.
- Similarly, South Korea is a major player in India’s Act East Policy under which India aims to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific.
- Regional Stability:
- The regional tensions in South Asia especially between India and China create a common interest for India and South Korea.
- This could be a collaborative approach for regional stability.
- Nuclear:
- South Korea’s key interest in managing their nuclear neighbour (North Korea) is similar to India’s considerations toward Pakistan.
- The US alliance system, established with South Korea and Japan, puts pressure on North Korea to cap its nuclear programme.
- Containing North Korea is beneficial to India’s economic and regional ambit in East Asia.
- It also adds to its approach to the nuclear non-proliferation regime as a responsible nuclear state.
- Economic:
- The current bilateral trade between India and South Korea is at USD 21 billion and the target that has been set is USD 50 billion by the year 2030.
- India and South Korea have signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), 2010 which has facilitated the growth of trade relations.
- To facilitate investment from Korea, India has launched a “Korea Plus”facilitation cell under ‘Invest India’ to guide, assist and handhold investors.
- Diplomatic:
- There is a long-lasting regional security dilemma with the continued verbal provocations and a conventional arms race.
- Thus, despite the alliance system, Seoul appears to be searching for a stronger diplomatic stand on imminent regional issues beyond the alliance system.
- South Korea’s approach to India comes with strategic optimism for expanding ties to ensure a convergence of interest in planning global and regional strategic frameworks.
- Cultural:
- Korean Buddhist Monk Hyecho or Hong Jiao visited India from 723 to 729 AD and wrote the travelogue “Pilgrimage to the five kingdoms of India” which gives a vivid account of Indian culture, politics & society.
- Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore had composed a short but evocative poem – ‘Lamp of the East’ – in 1929 about Korea’s glorious past and its promising bright future.
Challenges
- Stagnation in Economic relationship:
- The economic partnership is struck at $22 billion annually.
- Also, the defence partnership appears to have receded from great all-round promise to the mere sale and purchase of weapon systems.
- Trade between the two countries was sluggish and there was no major inflow of South Korean investment into India.
- No upgrade in CEPA: India and South Korea were also trying to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) agreement, but to no avail.
- Cultural Prejudices on both sides preventing people-to-people ties
- Cold War Era perception: There may be a widespread perception among South Koreans of India as a third world country, rife with poverty and hunger.?
- Indian Diaspora: Within South Korea, the integration of Indians in the local population is far from complete, with some instances of racial prejudice or discrimination toward Indians
- Inadequate acknowledgment of Korean Culture: To a certain extent Indians are unable to distinguish between the cultural and social characteristics of South Koreans from that of Japanese/Chinese.
- Unfulfilled potential of Cultural Centres
- Indian Culture Centre (ICC) was established in Seoul 10 years ago?to promote people-to-people contacts.
- However, ICC has to reach an exponentially wider audience and its focus has to expand beyond the urban, English-speaking elite of Seoul.
- The same may be applicable to South Korean culture centres in India.
- Divergence in objectives
- During the past five years, India and South Korea have experienced considerable divergence in their respective national objectives.
- There was a clear drift by South Korea away from multilateral security initiatives led by the United States, such as the Quad (the U.S., Australia, India and Japan); meanwhile, India has been actively participating in them.
Change in Korean foreign and security policies and opportunities for India
- The newly elected Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, has brought about a paradigm shift in South Korean foreign and security policies.
- He has proposed that South Korea should step up to become a “global pivotal state, anchored in liberal values and a rules-based order”.
- Opportunities for India: South Korea’s new willingness to become a global pivotal state and play an active role in regional affairs is bound to create multiple opportunities for a multi-dimensional India- Korea partnership.
- South Korea’s strategic policy shift to correct its heavy tilt towards China is bound to bring new economic opportunities for both countries.
- The trade target of $50 billion by 2030, which looked all but impossible a few months ago, now seems within reach.
- Convergence of capabilities: The emerging strategic alignment is creating a new convergence of capabilities and closer synergy in new areas of economic cooperation such as public health, green growth, digital connectivity, and trade, among others.
- With the strategic shift in South Korea’s defence orientation, new doors of cooperation for defence and security have emerged.
- Defence cooperation: Advanced defence technologies and modern combat systems are the new domains for the next level of defence cooperation between the two countries.
- A Roadmap for Defence Industries Cooperation between the Republic of India and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was signed in 2020.
- Maritime security: South Korea’s participation in additional maritime security activities in the Indian Ocean, such as the annual Malabar and other exercises with Quad countries, will further strengthen India’s naval footprint in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Defence policy coordination: The shift in South Korean policies will enable a strong India, South Korea and Japan defence policy coordination that could effectively forge new joint regional security policies.
Challenges
- Chinese pressure: The Chinese leadership is adversely impacted by policy changes brought in by the Yoon administration.
- The real challenge for global geopolitics is this: can South Korea withstand the inevitable Chinese pressure and stick to its new alignment?
- Tension with North Korea: South Korea’s peace process with North Korea has completely collapsed.
- In the coming days, as North Korea conducts more missile and nuclear tests, it may lead to regional tension.
- Any breakout of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula can derail South Korea’s Indo-Pacific project.
Way forward
- Strategic partnership: India has evolved excellent strategic partnerships with Japan, Vietnam and Australia.
- South Korea could be the fourth pillar in India’s Indo-Pacific strategy along with Japan, Australia, and Vietnam.
- This can bring about a paradigm shift in India’s position and influence in the region.
- The time has come for the Indian and South Korean bilateral partnership to be strategically scaled up at the political, diplomatic and security domain levels.
- With South Korea’s emergence as a leader in critical technologies, cybersecurity and cyber-capacity building, outer space and space situational awareness capabilities, South Korea can contribute immensely to enhance India’s foundational strengths in the Indo-Pacific.
- India can help South Korea withstand Chinese pressure and North Korean threats.
- This new partnership can have a long-term positive impact for both countries and the Indo-Pacific region.
- It is an opportunity that neither country can afford to miss.
Conclusion
An independent, strong, and democratic South Korea can be a long-term partner with India, that will add significant value to India’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 53
Mains level: Paper 2- Role of the President as envisage by the Indian Constitution
Context
India is going to elect its new President on July 18. The new President will be sworn in on July 25. Choosing the presidential candidate is an intensely political exercise.
Election of the President
- Direct or indirect election: The main question debated therein was whether India should have a directly elected President or an indirectly elected one.
- The Assembly opted for an indirectly elected President.
- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said: “Our President is merely a nominal figurehead. He has no discretion; he has no powers of administration at all.”
- Article 53 of the Constitution says that “the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.”
- It means the President exercises these powers only on the aid and the advice of the Council of Ministers.
People’s presence in the election of the President
- It is an indirect election in the sense that the people do not directly elect the President.
- Under Article 54, the President is elected by an electoral college consisting of only the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the State and Union Territory Assemblies.
- A matter of importance in this context is the vote value of Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and the formula for its computation.
- The vote of an MLA, though one, is assigned a certain higher value.
- This value is calculated by first dividing the total population of the State (as per the 1971 Census) by the total strength of the Assembly, and then the quotient is divided by one thousand.
- In the computation of the value, the population of the State figures in a significant way.
- In other words, the population of the country is a crucial factor in the election of the President, which means the people’s presence in the process of electing the President is very much visible.
Moral authority of the President
- Wider base: The people’s presence in the election of the President gives a wider base to the President than a mere vote by the legislators on the basis of one member, one vote.
- This also gives the President a greater moral authority.
- So, the Indian President is not and cannot be a mere rubber stamp.
- Reconsideration of decision: He does not directly exercise the executive authority of the Union, but he can disagree with the decision of the Council of Ministers, caution them, counsel them, and so on.
- The President can ask the Cabinet to reconsider its decisions.
- However, the Cabinet, after such reconsideration, sends the same proposal back without any change, the President will have to sign it.
Role of the President as envisage by the Constitution
- Broader view of the things: The Constitution of India wants the President to be vigilant and responsive, and gives the freedom to him or her to take a broader view of things uninfluenced by the narrow political view of the executive.
- Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution: The above point becomes clearer when we take a look at the oath the President takes before entering office.
- The oath contains two solemn promises.
- First, the President shall preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
- Second, the President shall devote himself or herself to the service and the well-being of the people of India.
- Thus, it is possible for a President to disagree with the government or intervene on behalf of the citizenry against the tyranny of the executive and persuade it to give up its ways.
Conclusion
The method adopted for the election of the President and the promises made in the oath makes it clear that the President cannot act as a gramophone of the Prime Minister as mentioned by professor K.T. Shah.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JJ Act
Mains level: Prevention of juvenile crimes
The Supreme Court has given some guidelines for the delicate task of deciding whether juveniles aged between 16 and 18, accused of heinous offences such as murder can be tried like adults as per the JJ Act, 2005.
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
- The JJ Act, 2015 replaced the Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
- It allows for juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous Offences, to be tried as adults.
- The Act also sought to create a universally accessible adoption law for India.
- The Act came into force from 15 January 2016.
Key features
- Change in nomenclature from ‘juvenile’ to ‘child’ or ‘child in conflict with law’, across the Act to remove the negative connotation associated with the word “juvenile”
- Inclusion of several new definitions such as orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children; and petty, serious and heinous offences committed by children;
- Setting up Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district. Both must have at least one woman member each.
- Special provisions for heinous offences committed by children above the age of 16 years: This was in response to the juvenile convict in Nirbhaya Case.
- Inclusion of new offences committed against children: Sale and procurement of children for any purpose including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, use of child by militant groups, offences against disabled children and, kidnapping and abduction of children.
- Penalties for cruelty against a child: Offering a narcotic substance to a child, and abduction or selling a child has been prescribed.
What is the recent Supreme Court assessment?
- The “delicate task” of deciding whether juveniles aged between 16 and 18, accused of heinous offences such as murder, can be tried like adults should be based on meticulous psychological investigation.
- They should not left to the discretion and perfunctory “wisdom” of juvenile justice boards and children’s courts across the country, the Court held.
What delicate tasks does the apex court is referring to?
(1) Preliminary Assessment
- Section 15 of the JJ Act requires a “preliminary assessment” to be done of the mental and physical capacity of juveniles, aged between 16 and 18, who are involved in serious crimes.
- The assessment is meant to gauge a child’s ability to understand the consequences of the offence and the circumstances in which he or she allegedly committed the offence.
- If the Juvenile Justice Board is of the opinion that the juvenile should not be treated as an adult, it would not pass on the case to the children’s court and hear the case itself.
- If the Board decides to refer the case to the children’s court for trial as an adult, the juvenile, if guilty, would even face life imprisonment.
(2) Mental capacity
- The evaluation of ‘mental capacity and ability to understand the consequences’ of the child in conflict with law can should not be relegated as a routine task.
- The process of taking a decision on which the fate of the child in conflict with law precariously rests, should not be taken without conducting a meticulous psychological evaluation.
- The court said the Board which conducts the assessment of the child should have at least one child psychologist.
Way forward
- The court discovered that there were neither guidelines nor a specific framework in place for conduct of the preliminary assessment.
- The court left it open for the Centre and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to consider issuing guidelines or directions in this regard.
- It should further take the assistance of experienced psychologists or psychosocial workers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-China trade imbalance
India’s imports from China reached a record $57.51 billion in the first half of the year, according to China’s trade figures.
India-China Bilateral Trade
- China is India’s largest trading partner.
- Major commodities imported from China into India were: electronic equipment; machines, engines, pumps; organic chemicals; fertilizers; iron and steel; plastics; iron or steel products; gems, precious metals, coins; ships, boats; medical, and technical equipment.
- Major commodities exported from India to China were: cotton; gems, precious metals, coins; copper; ores, slag, ash; organic chemicals; salt, sulfur, stone, cement; machines, engines, and pumps.
Recent measures to curb imports from China
- Blame it on the pandemic and the border dispute, but the result is the same: some Indian businesses are boycotting China.
- The government is now asking Indian e-commerce companies like Flipkart and Amazon India to label country of origin for all products sold on its websites.
- The govt banned many Chinese mobile applications, including top social media platforms such as TikTok, Helo and WeChat and games such as PUBG.
Can we completely boycott Chinese products?
- Trade deficits are not necessarily bad: Both Indian consumers and Chinese producers are gainers through trading.
- Will hurt the Indian poor the most: This is because the poor are more price-sensitive.
- Will punish Indian producers and exporters: Several businesses in India import intermediate goods and raw materials, which, in turn, are used to create final goods — both for the domestic Indian market as well as the global market.
- Pharma sector could be worst hit: For instance, of the nearly $3.6 billion worth of ingredients that Indian drug-makers import to manufacture several essential medicines, China catered to around 68 per cent.
- Will barely hurt China: According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data for 2018, 15.3% of India’s imports are from China, and 5.1% of India’s exports go to China.
- Chinese money funds Indian unicorns: India and China have also become increasingly integrated in recent years.
- India will lose policy credibility: It has also been suggested that India should renege on existing contracts with China.
Way forward
- In the long term, under the banner of self-reliance, India must develop its domestic capabilities and acquire a higher share of global trade by raising its competitiveness.
- The government’s “Atmanirbhar” focus is expected to help ministries handhold industries where self-reliance needs to be built.
- For the long run, a more effective strategy needs to be built to provide an ecosystem that addresses the cost disability of Indian manufacturing leading to such imports.
We would love to see you attempting these questions. Post your answer snaps in the comment box.
Q. India’s quest for self-reliance is still a distant dream. Critically comment in light of the popular sentiment against the Chinese imports in India.
Q.“Curbing Chinese imports to India will do more harm than any good”. Analyse.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Anti-defection law
A political party in Maharashtra has approached the Election Commission of India (ECI), requesting it to hear its side before deciding claims to the party’s bow-arrow symbol.
What is the news?
- A party has lost a large number of members in the rebellion that eventually caused the fall of the government in Maharashtra.
- The rebel has claimed to be the only original leader of the party on the basis of the support of more than two-thirds of the party’s legislators in the Maharashtra Assembly.
Options for ECI
- The ECI in all likelihood can freeze the symbol so that neither of the two sides is able to use it until a final decision is made.
- EC hearings are long and detailed, and may take at least six months.
EC’s powers in Election Symbol Dispute
- The question of a split in a political party outside the legislature is dealt by Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968.
- It states that the ECI may take into account all the available facts and circumstances and undertake a test of majority.
- The decision of the ECI shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups emerged after the split.
- This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
- For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.
How did the EC deal with such matters before the Symbols Order came into effect?
- Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
- The most high-profile split of a party before 1968 was that of the CPI in 1964.
- A breakaway group approached the ECI in December 1964 urging it to recognise them as CPI(Marxist). They provided a list of MPs and MLAs of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal who supported them.
- The ECI recognised the faction as CPI(M) after it found that the votes secured by the MPs and MLAs supporting the breakaway group added up to more than 4% in the 3 states.
What was the first case decided under Para 15 of the 1968 Order?
- It was the first split in the Indian National Congress in 1969.
- Indira Gandhi’s tensions with a rival group within the party came to a head with the death of President Dr Zakir Hussain on May 3, 1969.
Is there a way other than the test of majority to resolve a dispute over election symbols?
- In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
- Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation (because of disputes regarding the list of office bearers), it fell back on testing the majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.
What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?
- The EC in 1997 did not recognise the new parties as either state or national parties.
- It felt that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
- The EC introduced a new rule under which the splinter group of the party — other than the group that got the party symbol — had to register itself as a separate party.
- It could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Gender Gap Index
Mains level: Women empowerment
India ranks 135 among a total of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index, 2022, released by the World Economic Forum.
What is Global Gender Gap Index?
- The report is annually published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- It benchmarks gender parity across four key dimensions or sub-indices — economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
- It measures scores on a 0-to-100 scale, which can be interpreted as the distance covered towards parity or the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed.
- The report aims to serve “as a compass to track progress on relative gaps between women and men on health, education, economy and politics”.
- According to the WEF it is the longest-standing index, which tracks progress towards closing these gaps over time since its inception in 2006.
How has India fared on different sub-indices?
Here’s how it stands on different sub-indices:
(1) Political Empowerment
- This includes metrics such as the percentage of women in Parliament, the percentage of women in ministerial positions etc.
- Of all the sub-indices, this is where India ranks the highest (48th out of 146).
- However, notwithstanding its rank, its score is quite low at 0.267.
- Some of the best-ranking countries in this category score much better.
- For instance, Iceland is ranked 1 with a score of 0.874 and Bangladesh is ranked 9 with a score of 0.546.
- Moreover, India’s score on this metric has worsened since last year – from 0.276 to 0.267.
- The silver lining is that despite the reduction, India’s score is above the global average in this category.
(2) Economic Participation and Opportunity
- This includes metrics such as the percentage of women who are part of the labour force, wage equality for similar work, earned income etc.
- Here, too, India ranks a lowly 143 out of the 146 countries in contention even though its score has improved over 2021 from 0.326 to 0.350.
- Last year, India was pegged at 151 out of the 156 countries ranked.
- India’s score is much lower than the global average, and only Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are behind India on this metric.
(3) Educational Attainment
- This sub-index includes metrics such as literacy rate and the enrolment rates in primary, secondary and tertiary education.
- Here India ranks 107th out of 146, and its score has marginally worsened since last year.
- In 2021, India was ranked 114 out of 156.
(4) Health and Survival
- This includes two metrics: the sex ratio at birth (in %) and healthy life expectancy (in years).
- In this metric, India is ranked last (146) among all the countries.
- Its score hasn’t changed from 2021 when it was ranked 155th out of 156 countries.
- The country is the worst performer in the world in the “health and survival” sub-index in which it is ranked 146.
Where does India stand amongst its neighbour?
- India ranks poorly among its neighbours and is behind Bangladesh (71), Nepal (96), Sri Lanka (110), Maldives (117) and Bhutan (126).
- Only the performance of Iran (143), Pakistan (145) and Afghanistan (146) was worse than India in South Asia.
- In 2021, India ranked 140 out of 156 nations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paracel Islands
Mains level: Not Much
A US destroyer sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, drawing an angry reaction from Beijing, which said its military had “driven away” the ship.
About Paracel Islands
- The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands and the Hoang Sa Archipelago are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
- The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group.
What is the South China Sea Dispute?
- It is a dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas, and the Paracels and the Spratlys – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries.
- China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei all have competing claims.
- Alongside the fully-fledged islands, there are dozens of rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks, and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal.
- China claims by far the largest portion of territory – an area defined by the “nine-dash line” which stretches hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.
- Beijing says its right to the area goes hundreds of centuries to when the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation.
- It showed the two island groups falling entirely within its territory. Those claims are mirrored by Taiwan.
Spat over Chinese claims
- China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols.
- The US says it does not take sides in territorial disputes but has sent military ships and planes near disputed islands, calling them “freedom of navigation” operations to ensure access to key shipping and air routes.
- Both sides have accused each other of “militarizing” the South China Sea.
- There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences.
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