Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solomon Islands
Mains level: Chinese expansion in Pacific
After refusing access to US and UK ships to its ports earlier this month, the Solomon Islands has now temporarily halted all naval visits.
Why in news?
- The country’s move is a departure from the norm and is been seen as an attempt to appease China.
- This raises concerns about China’s growing influence in the country and the region at large.
Where is the Solomon Islands located?
- The Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
- It is part of the ethnically Melanesian group of islands in the Pacific and lies between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
- The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (a part of Papua New Guinea).
- It excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
Quick recap of its past
- The islands, which were initially controlled by the British Empire during the colonial era, went through the hands of Germany and Japan.
- It then went back to the UK after the Americans took over the islands from the Japanese during World War II.
- The islands became independent in 1978 to become a constitutional monarchy under the British Crown, with a parliamentary system of government.
- Nevertheless, its inability to manage domestic ethnic conflicts led to close security relations with Australia, which is the traditional first responder to any crisis in the South Pacific.
How did China enter the picture?
- Earlier this year, the Solomon Islands established a security agreement with China, saying it needed Beijing’s assistance with its domestic security situation.
- But the announcement had rattled the west, esp. the US, Australia and others in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The concerns were that the agreement could potentially lead to a Chinese military base on the island nation and a gain in power-projection capabilities.
- At that time, following intense scrutiny, the Solomon Islands had denied that the agreement would allow China to establish a naval base.
- The Island insisted that the agreement was only to assist the Solomon Islands with what he called “hard internal threats”.
What is the Solomon Islands’ stance?
- The government has asked all partner countries with plans to conduct naval visits or patrols to put them on hold until a revised national mechanism is in place.
- The revised national mechanism applied to all foreign vessels seeking access to the country’s ports.
- The nation wanted to build up its own naval capacity.
- It has some unfortunate experiences of foreign naval vessels entering its waters without any diplomatic clearance.
What is behind China’s growing influence in the region?
- There is no dispute that China has been rapidly increasing its presence and influence in the region for over three decades, particularly in the South Pacific.
- Certainly Beijing views the Pacific Island region as an important component of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- Specifically, it sees the region as a critical air freight hub in its so-called Air Silk Road, which connects Asia with Central and South America.
Concerns of the West
- The United States and its regional allies, such as Australia and New Zealand, are concerned that the China-Solomon Islands security pact allows Chinese naval vessels to replenish there.
- That could open the door to a Chinese naval base, which would significantly extend China’s military reach in the South Pacific.”
- It is likely that this security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands has been driven by, what the CFR calls, Beijing’s “sense of vulnerability” in the region.
What is the rationale for the Solomon Islands’ increasing proximity to China?
- The Solomon Islands had cultivated strong ties with Taiwan, which ended with the emergence of the current government in Honiara.
- In 2019, the regime change switched Taiwan for China.
- This was supposedly after Beijing offered half a billion US dollars in financial aid, roughly five times what Taiwan spent on the islands in the past two decades.
- It has been alleged by the pro-Taiwan Opposition that the incumbent government has been bribed by China.
Why is China interested in the Solomon Islands?
- Isolating Taiwan: The Solomon Islands was one among the six Pacific island states which had official bilateral relations with Taiwan.
- Supporter in UN: The small Pacific island states act as potential vote banks for mobilising support for the great powers in international fora like the United Nations.
- Larger EEZ: These states have disproportionately large maritime Exclusive Economic Zones when compared to their small sizes.
- Natural resources: Solomon Islands, in particular, have significant reserves of timber and mineral resources, along with fisheries.
- Countering US: But more importantly, they are strategically located for China to insert itself between America’s military bases in the Pacific islands and Australia.
What does this mean for the established geopolitical configuration in the region?
- Diminishing western influence: The Pacific islands, in the post-World War II scenario, were exclusively under the spheres of influence of the Western powers, in particular, the US, UK, France and Australia and New Zealand.
- Inserting into western hegemony: All of them have territorial possessions in the region, with the three nuclear powers among them having used the region as a nuclear weapons testing ground.
- Shifting of dependencies: The smaller island nations of the region are heavily dependent on them, especially Australia as it is a resident power.
Damage control by West
- Australia has reacted with boosted finances, and by extending its current security mission till 2023 when the islands will host the Pacific Games.
- The US has responded by considering reopening its embassy in Honiara after a long 29-year gap.
- New Zealand has shed its typical restraint about China and has criticised it for attempting to militarise the Pacific islands.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ASI
Mains level: heritage conservation
Context
- Despite all the public talk of the importance of conserving our national heritage, the budget of the ASI, the primary institutional guardian of monuments, in 2021-22 has been reduced by more than Rs 200 cr.
How do you define heritage?
- Heritage is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture. Most important, it is the range of contemporary activities, meanings, and behaviours that we draw from them.
Threats to Indian Heritage
- Theft: The incidents of thefts have been observed usually from unprotected monuments, ancient temples. The thefts cases have also been seen in the protected monuments and museums as well. It is due to negligence of security guards in museums, monuments etc.
- Smuggling: illicit traffic and smuggling in antiquities. Illicit traffic is motivated often by profit and sometimes by the demand for luxuries.
- Tourism: Unregulated tourism, tourist activities run by touts, private agents have affected the art heritage places. The Culture Ministry of India has reported that up to 24 Indian monuments have been declared “untraceable” or “missing” by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
- Issues with security of museums: Most of the museums are poorly guarded due to shortage of manpower leading to theft of artifacts, fire accidents etc.
- Duplication: Fakes paintings and art forms leading to threat to livelihoods of artists.
- Poor Maintenance: The state of the wall paintings in Ajanta caves is continuously getting worse, which can be attributed to humidity as well as to a lack of care.
- Encroachment on monuments: Another miss from the ministry has been encroachments of monuments. Over 278 centrally protected monuments have been encroached upon or have illegal occupants, as per government data.
Why should we protect our heritage?
- Evolution of human consciousness is a continuous process: History here serves as a laboratory and the past serves as a demarcation to understand the regional laws and social structures. This understanding helps in our progress towards an ideal society.
- Pride of country: The art heritage is the identity and pride of our country. It is duty of every citizen to protect, preserve and perpetuate the cultural richness.
- Tourism potential: for art monuments and museums is very high. Tourism generates revenue for the state as well as private artists due to the money-multiplier quality.
- Infrastructure development: takes place in and around the areas. Eg. Hampi despite being a small town has excellent infrastructure.
- Jobs: It creates jobs for a lot of people from art industry and tourism industry as well
- Sense of belonging: It creates a feeling of oneness and a sense of attachment by enhancing a sense of belonging to a culture or a region.
- Strengthen conviction: Every historical site has an important story to tell and these stories have inspired many people to strengthen their convictions and commitment to fight injustice and oppression.
- Soft power: Art and culture is also a part of soft power in world politics.
About Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
- The ASI is an attached office of the Ministry of Culture.
- It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.
- Under the provisions of the AMASR Act of 1958, the ASI administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
- These can include everything from temples, mosques, churches, tombs, and cemeteries to palaces, forts, step-wells, and rock-cut caves.
Initiatives by ASI
- Museums: ASI’s museums are customarily located right next to the sites that their inventories are associated with “so that they may be studied amid their natural surroundings and not lose focus by being transported”. A dedicated Museums Branch maintains a total of 44 museums spread across the country.
- Publications by ASI: Epigraphia Indica, Ancient India, Indian Archaeology: A Review (Annually).
- Library: Central Archaeological Library in the National Archives building in Janpath, New Delhi.
Issues and Challenges ahead of ASI
- To restore or not: Issue is that technically speaking- ruins are seldom “restored” in original state. This is because in absence of documentation- archaeologists are left to conjecture what buildings may have looked like when they were originally built.
- Personnel Management Issues: Higher Authorities of ASI are traditionally from IAS Cadre. In-house specialist must be promoted for better coordination b/w technical and managerial aspects of restoration
- Issues explored in CAG Report: 92 monuments are untraceable with no database on artifacts. Poor Documentation of Protected Monuments/Artifacts. Paucity of funds (Eg- Red fort gardens lie unkempt).
Conclusion
- It is the duty of every citizen to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. Preservation and conservation of India’s rich cultural heritage and promotion of all forms of art and culture, both tangible and intangible, is essential and assumes a lot of importance.
Mains question
Q. Safeguarding the Indian heritage is the need of the moment. What are the challenges faced in safeguarding them? What steps would you suggest to protect them?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NDPS Act
Mains level: Issues with NDPS Act
While granting bail to a man arrested on June 1 for possessing 29 kg of bhang and 400 g of ganja, Karnataka High Court recently observed that nowhere in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is bhang referred to as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug.
What is Bhang?
- Bhang is the edible preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant, often incorporated into drinks such as thandai and lassi, along with various foods.
- Bhang has been consumed in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, and is frequently consumed during the festivals of Holi and Mahashivratri.
- Its widespread use caught the attention of Europeans, with Garcia da Orta, a Portuguese physician who arrived in Goa in the 16th century, noting that, “Bhang is so generally used and by such a number of people that there is no mystery about it”.
Bhang and the law
- Enacted in 1985, the NDPS Act is the main legislation that deals with drugs and their trafficking.
- Various provisions of the Act punish production, manufacture, sale, possession, consumption, purchase, transport, and use of banned drugs, except for medical and scientific purposes.
- The NDPS Act defines cannabis (hemp) as a narcotic drug based on the parts of the plant that come under its purview. The Act lists these parts as:
- Charas: “The separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish.”
- Ganja: “The flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops), by whatever name they be known or designated.”
- “Any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom.”
- The Act, in its definition, excludes seeds and leaves “when not accompanied by the tops”.
- Bhang, which is made with the leaves of the plant, is not mentioned in the NDPS Act.
Cannabis and criminal liability
- Section 20 of the NDPS Act lays out the punishment for the production, manufacture, sale, purchase, import and inter-state export of cannabis, as defined in the Act.
- The prescribed punishment is based on the amount of drugs seized.
- Contravention that involves a small quantity (100 g of charas/hashish or 1 kg of ganja), will result in rigorous imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year and/or a fine which may extend to Rs 10,000.
- For a commercial quantity (1 kg charas/ hashish or 20 kg ganja), rigorous imprisonment of not less than 10 years, which may extend to 20 years, including a fine that is not less than Rs 1,00,000 but may extend to Rs 2,00,000.
- Where the contravention involves quantity less than commercial, but greater than small quantity, rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years is prescribed, along with a fine which may extend to Rs 1,00,000.
Also read:
[Burning Issue] Substance Abuse in India
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vizhinjam Port Project
Mains level: Port-led development in India
Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram, is on the boil due to the under-construction Vizhinjam Port Project, from both sea and land.
Vizhinjam Port Project
- The Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deep-water Multipurpose Seaport is an ambitious project taken up by Government of Kerala.
- It is designed primarily to cater container transhipment besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo.
- The port is being currently developed in landlord model with a Public Private Partnership component on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (“DBFOT”) basis.
Why protests are erupted?
- The protestors have been opposing the construction work by the Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited.
- Adani group is developing the port on DBFOT basis.
What lies at the heart of the protest?
- According to fisherfolk, the port work has aggravated the coastal erosion along the coast of Thiruvananthapuram.
- A scientific study to assess the impact of the port work on the shoreline has to be conducted urgently by stopping the construction.
- Further, around 300 families along the coastline were shifted to relief camps after their houses were destroyed due to high-intensity coastal erosion.
- The protesters demand a comprehensive rehabilitation package, an assured minimum wage when the sea turns rough due to inclement weather and subsidised kerosene for boats.
Why the Vizhinjam project is considered important?
- The port is located on the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula, just 10 nautical miles from the major international sea route and east-west shipping axis.
- It has a natural water depth of more than 20 m within a nautical mile from the coast.
- The Vizhinjam port is likely to play a pivotal role in the maritime development of the country and Kerala.
- The commissioning of the port is expected to leverage the growth of 17 minor ports in the State along with creating thousands of employment opportunities.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dunaliella tertiolecta
Mains level: Not Much
A team of researchers at the IIT — Guwahati has developed an edible coating using marine alga that coated on vegetables and fruits, substantially extends their shelf-life.
Dunaliella tertiolecta: The Edible coating
- The team used a mix of an extract of a marine microalga called Dunaliella tertiolecta and polysaccharides to produce it.
- The microalga is known for its antioxidant properties and has various bioactive compounds such as carotenoids and proteins.
- It is also used to produce algal oil, a non-animal source of omega-3 fatty acid and is considered a good source of biofuel.
- After the oil is extracted, the residue is usually discarded.
- The researchers used extracts from this residue in formulating their film, in combination with chitosan, which is a carbohydrate.
- It also has antimicrobial and antifungal properties and can be made into an edible film.
Benefits of this Edible coating
- The films displayed superior antioxidant activity, thermal stability, mechanical strength, total phenolic content and water vapour barrier property.
- They also had excellent UV-Vis light-blocking properties.
- The researchers also tested the biosafety of these coatings.
Why is it viable?
- The new coatings can be mass-produced.
- They are very stable to light, heat, and temperature up to 40C, edible, and can be safely eaten as part of the product formulation and do not add unfavourable properties to it.
- They retain texture, colour, appearance, flavour and nutritional value.
- The material can be either directly coated on the vegetables and fruits or made into a vegetable storage pouch.
- In both cases, the shelf-life of the vegetables can be extended.
- It is a simple dip coating technique with no significant cost added to the post-harvest processing.
Economic significance of Edible coating
- According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, between 4.6 and 15.9 per cent of fruits and vegetables go waste post-harvest, partly due to poor storage conditions.
- In fact, post-harvest loss in certain produce items like potato, onion, and tomato could even be as high as 19%, which results in high prices for this highly consumed commodity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: elderly welfare
Context
- India’s old age poverty will be big by 2050. Only 2% informal workers have invested in NPS.
What is the real definition of poverty?
- Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is more, much more than just not having enough money.
Why is age a cause of poverty?
- The “oldest-old”, aged 80 years or over, are less able to work than younger older persons; are more likely to have spent their savings; and are most in need of age-appropriate health and long-term personal care services.
How age induces poverty in India?
- India has no legal provisions for income security of the elderly, making the impacts of ageing far harsher for those who are already economically vulnerable.
- Deteriorating brain and muscle capacity are largely non-negotiable facts of life, limiting one’s ability to get a job or remain employed.
Reasons for old age poverty
- Dependency: A large section of the senior population in India is still dependent on the joint family set up for their senior care and post-retirement needs, with financial planning for retirement taking a back seat.
- High population: An increase in the number of seniors in India will reduce the percentage of India’s human resource capital and its ability to drive economic growth.
- Low insurance penetration: This highlights the inadequacy and underscores the critical need to streamline retirement planning schemes and strengthen the pension programs in the country. There is a lacks of social security framework.
Data to remember
People employed in the unorganised sector form around 90 per cent of India’s workforce.
How to assure wellness and dignity to elders?
- Income security in the form of monthly pensions either state-assured or employment-linked has been one of the most prevalent modes of assuring continued wellness and dignity against the life-shock of ageing.
Addressing the roadblock
- Universal pension program: Income security in later years stems from multiple sources such as pensions, insurances (medical and life), Investments. This provides an opportunity for India to create a universal pension program for its 1.3 billion people.
- Financial incentives: There is a pressing need to promote and facilitate fiscal planning in the early years and supplement it with senior-friendly tax structures and integrated insurance products. Such measures can help provide multiple income options to seniors to help them embrace a lifestyle of their choice.
- Regulatory mechanism: A regulatory mechanism will set a viable base rate for the interest accrued on senior citizen deposits and ensure market dips don’t affect retirement income and senior-specific saving plans.
Case study
- Rwanda has achieved roughly 2 million voluntary micro-pension enrolments (30 per cent of its adult population) within three years by making digital account activation easy and simple for informal workers.
- A strong and sustained political commitment,
- A statutory pension sector regulator,
- A well-designed and low-cost NPS product architecture,
- Credible and well-regulated NPS intermediaries,
- Securities market capable of delivering high returns,
- Near-universal banking and mobile penetration,
- The India Stack infrastructure with Aadhaar for easy eKYC, and UPI for secure digital payments.
Conclusion
- The government, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the NPS industry now need to urgently put their heads together and address the obvious supply and demand side barriers. Every day is precious. After all, pension exclusion is akin to climate change. It needs immediate attention. By 2050, India’s problem of old age poverty will have become way too large, too late, too expensive and entirely irreversible.
Mains question
Q. Nearly 400 million young, economically active Indians are slowly walking towards extreme old age poverty in this context how will you explain and analyse the term old age poverty? Suggest some dynamic measures to address this problem.
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