Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GPT-4
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: OpenAI announced GPT-4 as the next big update to the technology that powers ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing.
What is GPT-4?
- GPT-4 is a large multimodal model created by OpenAI that accepts images as input, making it a more advanced version of GPT-3 and GPT-3.5.
- It exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks, and it can solve difficult problems with greater accuracy.
How is GPT-4 different from GPT-3?
- GPT-4 is multimodal, allowing it to understand more than one modality of information, unlike GPT-3 and GPT-3.5, which were limited to textual input and output.
- It is harder to trick than previous models, and it can process a lot more information at a time, making it more suitable for lengthy conversations and generating long-form content.
- It has improved accuracy and is better at understanding languages that are not English.
GPT-4’s abilities
- GPT-4 can use images to generate captions and analyses, and it can answer tax-related questions, schedule meetings, and learn a user’s creative writing style.
- It can handle over 25,000 words of text, opening up a greater number of use cases that include long-form content creation, document search and analysis, and extended conversations.
- It significantly reduces hallucinations and produces fewer undesirable outputs, such as hate speech and misinformation.
Multilingual abilities of GPT-4
- GPT-4 is more multilingual and can accurately answer thousands of multiple-choice questions across 26 languages.
- It handles English best, with an 85.5% accuracy, but Indian languages like Telugu aren’t too far behind either, at 71.4%.
Availability of GPT-4
- GPT-4 has already been integrated into products like Duolingo, Stripe, and Khan Academy for varying purposes.
- Image inputs are still a research preview and are not publicly available.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Same-sex marriage, Issues, constitutional provisions , Read the attached article
Central idea
- Recently, the Supreme Court referred a batch of petitions seeking the legal recognition of same-sex marriages to a Constitution Bench. The Union government has opposed the petitions. Law Minister Kiren said that marriage is a matter of policy to be decided by Parliament and the executive alone.
What is mean by Same-sex marriage?
- Same-sex marriage is the legal recognition of a marriage between two individuals of the same sex.
- It grants same-sex couples the same legal and social recognition, rights, and privileges that are traditionally associated with marriage, including property rights, inheritance rights, and the ability to make decisions for each other in medical emergencies.
- The recognition of same-sex marriage varies around the world, with some countries legalizing it while others do not.
- The issue has been the subject of much debate and controversy, with arguments for and against same-sex marriage based on religious, cultural, social, and legal considerations.
Same-sex marriage in India
- Same-sex marriage is currently not legally recognized in India.
- Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized homosexuality, was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2018, which was a landmark decision for LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
- However, there is still no law that allows same-sex couples to legally marry or have any legal recognition of their relationships.
- In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the government argued that the traditional concept of marriage, consisting of a biological man, woman and child, cannot be disrupted.
- It claimed that recognising same-sex marriages could cause havoc in the system of personal laws.
- As different from many liberal democracies, in India, aspects of marriage, succession and adoption are governed by religious personal laws.
What petitioners are claiming?
- Same-sex marriage as a matter of rights
- Any social policy is liable to judicial interference if rights are violated.
- The petitioners rely on the rights to equality and non-discrimination as laid out in Articles 14 and 15.
- The Constitution prohibits the state from discriminating on the basis of sex.
- Sex has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar (2018) to include sexual orientation. Granting the right to marry to heterosexual couples and not to homosexual couples clearly discriminates on the basis of their sexual orientation.
- Same-sex marriage is a matter of privacy
- Right to privacy: Supreme Court recognised this right to be part of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution in the celebrated Puttaswamy (2017) verdict.
- What court said on privacy: Privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation.
- State currently denies this right: The right to privacy entails the right of the citizens to make decisions about their family life and marriage. The state currently denies same-sex couples this right.
- The Special Marriage Act: The Special Marriage Act is a secular law which works alongside religious personal laws. Same-sex marriages can be recognised under the Special Marriage Act. The Act already speaks of marriages between any two persons which are solemnised under it. Any two persons can include two persons of the same sex.
Special Marriage Act
- The Special Marriage Act is a law in India that allows individuals of different religions or nationalities to marry each other.
- It was enacted in 1954 and came into effect from 1955.
- The Special Marriage Act allows for inter-caste and inter-religious marriages, and couples who register under this act are not required to change their religion or follow any religious rites or rituals.
- The act also provides for divorce on certain grounds and maintenance to the spouse and children.
Consider the situation in the United States
- In Obergefell v Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court of the United States held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage.
- Thirty-one out of the 50 states in the United States have marriage laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Conclusion
- The debate on legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India continues to be a contentious issue, with the government and petitioners presenting opposing views. However, given the complex social, cultural, and legal considerations, any decision regarding same-sex marriage should be carefully evaluated to ensure that it is inclusive and respects individual rights. Ultimately, it is important to arrive at a balanced and just solution that upholds the principles of equality and non-discrimination for all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Mains Question
Q. What do you understand by same-sex marriage? Describe same sex marriage situation in India by highlighting both the arguments.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Women empowerment, Reforms to thrive Women leadership
Central Idea
- Today the world is home to a transformative generation of 900 million adolescent girls and young women poised to shape the future of work and growth. If this cohort of young women could be equipped with the right resources and opportunities to nurture the 21st century skills, they would become the largest segment of women leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in history.
- India is home to one of the largest generations of girls and young women, has made significant progress across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.
- To unleash the gender dividend and create conditions for female leadership to flourish, women at all levels of society must have inclusion in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), bodily autonomy and safety, shared responsibility within the household, and equal participation in decision-making spaces.
What are the necessary conditions that must be in place for Women leadership to thrive?
- Cultivating Agency:
- Given the socio-economic barriers that adolescent girls confront from their earliest years that the work to cultivate their agency must begin early.
- India’s initiatives across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.
- Inclusion in ICT:
- Inclusion in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for women at all levels of society is very important.
- As access to digital technology increasingly becomes an arena of opportunity and basic service, EdTech can bridge the accessibility gap in education through hybrid learning models, even where girls’ access to schooling is restricted by harmful norms.
- STEM Education:
- The prevailing stereotypes that characterize STEM education as a traditionally masculine domain, even though over 43% of Indian STEM graduates are women.
- The gender norms that disproportionately allocate domestic and care responsibilities to women, representation of men as leaders of STEM, finance, and entrepreneurial fields in the public perception, and institutional mechanisms are some of the barriers that explain why increased women’s representation in STEM education does not translate into work participation.
- There is need of inclusion of grade-appropriate STEM, financial education, and entrepreneurship syllabi into the educational curriculum for girls to counter these stereotypes actively.
- Bodily Autonomy and Safety
- Empowering women to make decisions about their bodies and be free from all forms of violence and harassment is very important.
- These basic conditions are critical to enable women and young girls to chart the trajectory of their personal and professional lives.
- Sport for Leadership
- The sporting activities can promote leadership, self-sufficiency, and teamwork. The inclusion of adolescent girls and young women in sports can build their self-confidence, strengthen self-belief, and impart the nuances of teamwork.
- The National Sports Policy and inclusion programs for children from vulnerable communities, which have seen remarkable success.
- Redistribute Care Work
- The backbone of thriving families, communities, and economies largely falls on women, increasing in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It is crucial to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work, so that women may enjoy economic opportunities and outcomes on an equal footing to men.
- The policies that provide services, social protection and basic infrastructure, promote sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and create more paid jobs in the care economy, which are urgently needed to accelerate progress on women’s economic empowerment.
Do you know? STEM education
- STEM education refers to a curriculum that focuses on four academic disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
- STEM education is designed to promote and enhance the critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills of students, while also encouraging their creativity and innovation.
- The curriculum typically integrates these four subjects to show how they are interconnected and applicable to real-world problems.
- STEM education is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, as technology continues to advance and the demand for skilled workers in these fields grows.
Conclusion
- Nurturing the leadership abilities of adolescent girls and young women is crucial for breaking down restrictive gender norms and barriers and accelerating progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. By working together to empower girls and women, we can create a more gender equal world and unlock the full potential of the next generation of female leaders.
Mains Question
Q. What are the necessary conditions that must be established for female leadership to flourish in India?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-china Trade, development and Bilateral Relations
Central idea
- China’s recent developments in steady growth, people’s well-being, opening up, and win-win cooperation, as well as its willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with India, can provide new opportunities for all countries in the world, especially neighbouring countries. importance of China-India relations and their role in facilitating an Asian Century.
China’s focus areas of development
- Modernization: China is currently advancing modernization in all fronts, based on its practices, and a focus on high-quality development.
- Overall development: The country aims to modernize its huge population, ensuring common prosperity for all, material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development.
- New opportunities: China’s development will create new opportunities for all countries, especially neighbouring countries.
The development of China in recent years
- Steady Growth:
- In 2022, China’s economy grew by 3%, and the country added a total of 12.06 million urban jobs.
- The country’s GDP increased to 121 trillion yuan (approximately $18 trillion), registering an annual growth rate of 5.2% over the past five years and an annual growth of 6.2% over the past decade, with GDP increasing by nearly 70 trillion yuan.
- China’s economic strength is steadily reaching new heights.
- People’s Well-being:
- China has historically resolved absolute poverty, with the alleviation of close to 100 million rural residents from poverty.
- Over 70% of the government’s expenditure went toward ensuring people’s well-being.
- Basic old age insurance covers 1.05 billion people, an increase of 140 million. Living standards continue to witness new improvements.
- Opening Up:
- In 2022, China’s total volume of trade in goods exceeded 40 trillion yuan, registering an annual growth rate of 8.6%.
- China’s actual use of foreign capital was up by 8%, and the country remained one of the top destinations for foreign investors.
- The overall tariff level continues to fall, from 9.8% to 7.4%. China’s doors to the outside world are opening even wider.
- Win-Win Cooperation
- In the period 2013-2021, China’s contribution to global economic growth averaged 38.6%, higher than that of G7 countries combined (25.7%).
- More than 100 countries have expressed their support, and over 60 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) since Chinese President, Xi Jinping, proposed it in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.
- Emerged as Representatives: As neighboring and ancient civilizations, China, and India are representatives of developing countries and emerging economies.
- National rejuvenation: Both countries are currently in the process of national rejuvenation and a crucial period of modernization where challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be solved.
- Interests than differences: China and India have far more common interests than differences.
China- India Trade
- China and India are important trading partners, with bilateral trade volume reaching $135.984 billion in 2022.
- Although there is a trade deficit, India’s import of equipment and materials from China reduces the overall cost of Made-in-India products, benefits Indian downstream industries and consumers, enhances the competitiveness of Indian exports, and in turn facilitates India’s integration into global industrial and supply chains.
Facilitating an Asian Century
- Chinese Foreign Minister recently stated that the development and revitalization of China and India embody a boost to the force of developing countries, which will change the destiny of a third of the world’s population and have a bearing on the future of Asia and beyond.
- This echoes what India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had expressed in 2022 that the Asian Century will happen when China and India come together.
Conclusion
- China’s development and its relationship with India are important for the region and the world. Both countries are in the process of modernization and face challenges that need to be overcome. China and India are important trading partners, and their cooperation can facilitate an Asian Century and contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Mains Question
Q. Provide your insights on the role of China and India in shaping the destiny of the developing countries and their impact on the future of Asia and beyond
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bar Council
Mains level: Foreign legal professionals in India
Central Idea: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has opened up law practice in India to foreign lawyers and law firms. It has framed the ‘Bar Council of India Rules for Registration of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2021’.
About Bar Council of India (BCI)
- The BCI is a statutory body established under the section 4 of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India.
- Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents the Indian bar.
- It prescribes standards of professional conduct, etiquettes and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar.
- It also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to universities whose degree in law will serve as a qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates upon graduation.
History
- In March 1953, the ‘All India Bar Committee’, headed by S. R. Das, submitted a report which proposed the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body.
- It was suggested that the all-India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education.
- The Law Commission of India was assigned the job of assembling a report on judicial administration reforms and helps India to reform justice and equity to whole country.
- In 1961, the Advocates Act was introduced to implement the recommendations made by the ‘All India Bar Committee’ and ‘Law Commission’.
Functions
The functions of the Bar Council are to:
- Lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
- Lay down procedure to be followed by disciplinary committees
- Safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates
- Promote and support law reform
- Deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred by a State Bar Council
- Promote legal education and lay down standards of legal education.
- Determine universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrollment as an advocate.
- Conduct seminars on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest.
- Organise and provide legal aid to the poor.
- Recognise foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for admission as an advocate.
- Manage and invest funds of the Bar Council.
- Provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.
Constitution
- As per the Advocates Act, the BCI consists of members elected from each state bar council, and the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India who are ex officio members.
- The council elects its own chairman and vice-chairman for a period of two years from among its members.
- Assisted by the various committees of the council, the chairman acts as the chief executive and director of the council.
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Why such move?
- The BCI notification also stated that the Rules would help to address the concerns expressed about the flow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country.
- The Rules would also help make India a hub for international commercial arbitration.
Move to benefit Indian lawyers
- The rules enable foreign lawyers and law firms to “practice foreign law, diverse international law and international arbitration matters in India on the principle of reciprocity in a well-defined, regulated and controlled manner”.
- The BCI said that the move would benefit Indian lawyers, whose standards of proficiency in law are comparable with international standards.
- The legal fraternity in India is not likely to suffer any disadvantage since the move would be mutually beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad.
How foreign lawyers can begin operating in India?
- The Rules prescribe that foreign lawyers and firms would not be entitled to practice law in India without registration with the BCI.
- Foreign lawyers and law firms are not allowed to practice Indian law in any form or before any court of law, tribunal, board or any other authority legally entitled to record evidence on oath.
- However, the restriction does not apply to law practice by a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm on a ‘fly in and fly out basis’ for the purpose of giving legal advice to a client in India on foreign law or international legal issues.
- In such a case, the lawyer or firm cannot have an office in India, and their practice cannot exceed 60 days in any 12-month period.
Requirements for foreign lawyers and firms
A primary qualification required from foreign lawyers and firms is-
- Certificate from the competent authority of their country that they are entitled to practice law in that country.
- Undertaking that they shall not practice Indian law in any form or before any court of law, tribunal, board or any other authority legally entitled to record evidence on oath.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Foreign Trade Policy
Mains level: India's foreign trade policy
Central idea: The revision of India’s Foreign Trade Policy, which has been unchanged since 2015 and due for three years, may finally be announced by the end of this month.
What is a Foreign Trade Policy?
- India’s Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) is a set of guidelines for goods and services imported and exported.
- These are developed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s regulating body for the promotion and facilitation of exports and imports.
- FTPs are enforceable under the Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act 1992.
What is India’s Foreign Trade Policy?
- In line with the ‘Make in India,’ ‘Digital India,’ ‘Skill India,’ ‘Startup India,’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business initiatives, the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) was launched on April 1, 2015.
- It provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services, creating jobs, and increasing value addition in the country.
- The FTP statement outlines the market and product strategy as well as the steps needed to promote trade, expand infrastructure, and improve the entire trade ecosystem.
- It aims to help India respond to external problems while staying on top of fast-changing international trading infrastructure and to make trade a major contributor to the country’s economic growth and development.
Issues with FTP (2015-2020)
- Acting on Washington’s protest, a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled in 2019 that India’s export subsidy measures are in violation of WTO norms and must be repealed.
- Tax incentives under the popular Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) (now renamed as RODTEP Scheme)and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) programmes were among them.
- The panel found that because India’s per capita gross national product exceeds $1,000 per year, it may no longer grant subsidies based on export performance.
Why such a delay in Foreign Trade Policy?
- Geopolitical uncertainty: The geo-political situation is not suitable for long-term foreign trade policy, said Union Commerce Minister.
- Global recession: Currently, fears of a recession in major economies like the US and Europe have escalated a panic among investors.
- Decline in USD inflows: Foreign investors have begun to pull back their money from equities.
- Rupee depreciation: The US Dollar is at a 22-year high, while the Rupee hit a new all-time low of $81.6.
- Huge trade deficit: The trade deficit widened by more than 2-folds to $125.22 billion (April – August 2022) compared to $53.78 billion in the same period last year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smart Cities Mission
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: The Govt asks 20 worst-performing cities to improve as June 2023 Smart Cities Mission deadline nears.
What is the Smart Cities Mission?
- The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry that was launched by PM on June 25, 2015.
- Cities across the country were asked to submit proposals for projects to improve municipal services and to make their jurisdictions more liveable.
- Between January 2016 and June 2018 (when the last city, Shillong, was chosen), the Ministry selected 100 cities for the Mission over five rounds.
Deadline of the project
- The projects were supposed to be completed within five years of the selection of the city.
- However, in 2021 the Ministry changed the deadline for all cities to June 2023, which was earlier the deadline for Shillong alone.
What kinds of projects were proposed?
- Project proposals ranged from making certain stretches of roads more accessible and pedestrian-friendly to more capital-intensive ones like laying water pipelines and constructing sewage treatment plants.
- All 100 cities have constructed Integrated Command and Control Centres.
- These centres monitor all security, emergency and civic services.
- During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these centres were converted into emergency response units by the cities.
What is the status of the projects?
- As of March 3, 100 cities have issued work orders for 7,799 projects worth Rs 1.80 lakh crore.
- Out of these, 5,399 projects worth Rs.1.02 lakh crore have been completed, and the rest are ongoing.
- Only around 20 cities are likely to meet the June deadline. The rest will need more time.
- Shillong has completed just one of its 18 proposed projects.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: McMahon Line
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: Republican and Democrat senators introduced a resolution in US Congress reiterating that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh.
Significance of such move
- This resolute confirms US (both ruling and opposition) stand with India at a time when China poses a threat to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
- The resolution reaffirms India’s position that Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls ‘South Tibet’, is an integral part of India.
What is the McMahon Line?
- The McMahon Line serves as the de facto boundary between China and India in the Eastern Sector and represents the boundary between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.
- China disputes the boundary and claims the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
Under what circumstances was the McMahon Line drawn?
- The McMahon Line was drawn during the Simla Convention of 1914, officially described as the Convention between Great Britain, China, and Tibet.
- The British led an expedition into Tibet and signed the Convention of Lhasa in 1904, alarmed at the growing Russian influence in the region.
- China invaded at the same time, taking control of the southeastern Kham region and pushing British officials to advocate extending British jurisdiction into the tribal territory.
- The convention attempted to settle the question of Tibet’s sovereignty and avoid further territorial disputes in the region.
What happened at the Simla Convention of 1913-14?
- The Tibetan government in Lhasa was represented by its plenipotentiary Paljor Dorje Shatra, and Britain by Sir Arthur Henry McMahon, foreign secretary of British India at Delhi.
- The Chinese plenipotentiary was Ivan Chen.
- The treaty divided the Buddhist region into “Outer Tibet” and “Inner Tibet” and determined the border between China proper and Tibet as well as Tibet and British India.
- The final convention was only signed by McMahon on behalf of the British government and Shatra on behalf of Lhasa.
- Ivan Chen did not consent to the convention, arguing that Tibet had no independent authority to enter into international agreements.
How was the border between British India and China decided?
- The 890-km border from the corner of Bhutan to the Isu Razi Pass on the Burma border was drawn largely along the crest of the Himalayas, following the “highest watershed principle”.
- However, exceptions were made, such as Tawang, which was included in British India due to its proximity to the Assam Valley.
What has the status of the McMahon line been since 1914?
- While there were disputes regarding the McMahon line from the beginning, after the communists took power in 1949, they pulled China out of all international agreements.
- The McMahon line was not mentioned during the Bandung Conference of 1955, which was held in Indonesia and saw Asian and African leaders agree to a common stand against colonialism and the Cold War.
- However, the Chinese have recently raised the issue of the McMahon line, and in 2017, Beijing officially renamed six places in the Arunachal Pradesh region, including the disputed area of Tawang.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-Italy Bilateral relations
Central Idea
- The recent summit between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and India. It also marked a significant turning point in the relations between the two countries, as they have established a strategic partnership for the first time.
- Now strategic partners: India and Italy have decided to elevate the ties to the level of strategic partnership and identified defence as one of the areas where they can start a new chapter.
- Boost to startups: The meet led to the establishment of a ‘Startup Bridge’ between India and Italy.
- Bilateral defence exercise: Another important area of mutual cooperation is defence. They also decided to organise joint military exercises and training courses on a regular basis.
- Enhance people’s mobility: India and Italy also signed a Declaration of Intent on migration and mobility and inked a memorandum of understanding between Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and Italian Consulate General; and Morarji Desai Institute of Yoga and Sarva Yoga International, Italy.
India-Italy Flourishing Partnership
- Bilateral Trade: Italy and India have intensified their collaboration in recent years, resulting in a record figure of around 15 billion euros in 2022, doubling the figure recorded in 2020.
- Five-Year Action Plan: In 2020, a five-year action plan was adopted with a well-defined range of priorities including energy transition, food processing, advanced manufacturing, creative industry, and infrastructure.
- Multilateral Initiatives: Italy has joined all the multilateral initiatives promoted by India, from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to the Coalition for Disaster Relief Infrastructure (CDRI), to the International Solar Alliance.
- Cultural Collaboration: Italy and India have enhanced their collaboration in the cultural field, from the heritage front to the creative industry, including fashion, design, cinema, etc.
- Scientific Research and Technology: The partnership between the two countries has registered the launch of 13 new joint projects in scientific research and technology.
- Mobility: In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the flow of Indian students and workers in Italy, where an Indian community that exceeds a figure of 2,00,000 is already actively operating in the Italian economy.
- Health Sector: During the pandemic, Italy and India collaborated by exchanging experiences and practices, with humanitarian initiatives and promoting joint research projects.
- Strategic Partnership: The Joint Declaration approved in the last summit affirms the commitment of the two governments to develop a strategic partnership that will also focus on sectors such as defence, cybersecurity, space, and energy.
- Indo-Pacific and Enlarged Mediterranean: A connection was identified between the Indo-Pacific and the enlarged Mediterranean where Italy is a front-line player in terms of energy security, investments, and commerce.
- Support for G20 Presidency: Italy offered full support to the Indian Presidency of the G20, contributing around issues that were at the centre of Italy’s G20 Presidency in 2021.
- Ukraine Conflict: Italy and India will be engaged in trying to find a cessation of the conflict in Ukraine.
- European-Indian Strategic Partnership: Both the Prime Ministers expressed their commitment to enhancing the European-Indian strategic partnership and their support for the ongoing negotiations for Free Trade Agreements and agreements on investment protection and geographical indication protection.
What makes Italy a crucial partner for India?
- Economic Cooperation: Italy is one of the largest economies in the European Union and is home to several global corporations. India has a growing economy, and both countries have strong economic ties.
- Trade and Investment: Italy is the 13th largest investor in India with around 700 Italian companies having a presence in India. Italian companies are investing in various sectors in India, including infrastructure, energy, automotive, and textiles.
- Cultural Ties: India and Italy share a rich cultural heritage, and their cultural ties go back centuries. Both countries have a long history of art, literature, music, and architecture. Italy is known for its classical art, and India is renowned for its rich cultural diversity.
- Strategic Cooperation: Both have a shared vision of a multi-polar world order, and are committed to promoting peace and security. Both countries work closely on global issues such as climate change, counter-terrorism, and UN reform.
- People-to-People Contacts: Italy and India have a significant number of people-to-people contacts, with a large Indian diaspora in Italy. There are over 150,000 people of Indian origin living in Italy, and they contribute significantly to the cultural, social, and economic fabric of the country. The growing tourism sector is also promoting more significant people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Conclusion
- The strategic partnership between Italy and India is based on respect for international law, freedom of navigation, and territorial integrity. It aims to strengthen bilateral relations and focus on sectors such as defence, cybersecurity, space, and energy. In these challenging times, the two countries aim to give a strong impulse to their relations based on the common recognition of the value of true friendship and solidarity.
Mains Question
Q. What are the key highlights of the recent visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to India, and how does it mark a significant turning point in the relations between Italy and India? Also Discuss the factors that make Italy a crucial partner for India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Online Public Hearings and In person Public hearings
Central Idea
- The scale of operations of electricity distribution companies is clear from the fact that their annual revenue requirement is 20% of the Union Budget. The article discusses the importance of public participation in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies and the role of public hearings conducted by Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERCs) in this regard. The central ERC recently issued a public notice where it announced that hearings would resume through in-person mode.
- Independent body: ERCs are independent statutory bodies established by the government to regulate the generation, transmission, distribution, and trading of electricity in a particular state or region.
- Role: The primary role of ERCs is to protect the interests of electricity consumers by ensuring that electricity is supplied to them at reasonable and affordable rates while ensuring the financial viability of the electricity sector.
- Powers: ERCs also have the power to issue licenses to power generation and distribution companies, set tariffs, and adjudicate disputes between stakeholders in the electricity sector.
- To ensure transparent framework: ERCs are an essential part of the electricity sector, ensuring that there is a fair and transparent regulatory framework that promotes competition, efficiency, and innovation.
Importance of Public Participation in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies
- Transparency: Public participation promotes transparency in the decision-making process, It ensures that stakeholders are informed about the decisions being made, the rationale behind them, and the potential impact on the community.
- Accountability: It creates a system of checks and balances that helps ensure that decisions made are in the best interest of the public.
- Improved Decision Making: Public participation can provide DISCOMs with valuable insights and perspectives from the community. This can help improve decision-making by ensuring that decisions are made based on a comprehensive understanding of the issues and the needs of the community.
- Increased Trust: When the public is involved in the decision-making process, it helps build trust between the community and the DISCOM. This can lead to increased support for the decisions made, greater acceptance of the outcomes, and reduced potential for conflict or opposition.
- Community Empowerment: Public participation can empower the community to have a voice in the decisions that affect their daily lives. This can lead to a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the outcomes, as well as increased engagement and participation in future decision-making processes.
In-person Public Hearings
- Pros of In-person Public Hearings
- Greater sense of community: In-person hearings provide a greater sense of community and allow for face-to-face interactions, which can help build trust and foster dialogue.
- Physical presence: In-person hearings allow participants to physically be present in the room, which can make it easier for them to be heard and have their concerns addressed.
- Better understanding: In-person hearings may be more effective at conveying complex information and data, as participants can ask questions and seek clarification in real-time.
- Increased transparency: In-person hearings can increase transparency as they allow the public to see and hear the proceedings first-hand, and hold regulators and utilities accountable.
- Cons of In-person Public Hearings
- Accessibility: In-person hearings may not be accessible to all members of the public, especially those who are physically unable to attend, live far away, or have other commitments.
- Time-consuming and expensive: In-person hearings can be time-consuming and expensive to organize and attend, which can deter participation and limit the diversity of voices represented.
- Limited participation: In-person hearings may limit participation to those who are comfortable with public speaking or who have the means to travel and attend the hearing, potentially excluding some marginalized groups.
Online Public Hearings
- Pros of Online Public Hearings
- Accessibility: Online hearings are more accessible to a wider audience, as participants can attend from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Convenience and flexibility: Online hearings provide more convenience and flexibility for participants as they can attend from the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace.
- Increased participation: Online hearings may increase participation from diverse groups and those who may not be comfortable with public speaking or traveling to attend an in-person hearing.
- Cost-effective: Online hearings can be less expensive to organize and attend, which can allow for more resources to be dedicated to other aspects of the regulatory process.
- Cons of Online Public Hearings
- Technical difficulties: Online hearings may be subject to technical difficulties, such as poor internet connection or difficulties with the online platform, which can hinder participation and the effectiveness of the hearing.
- Limited sense of community: Online hearings may lack the sense of community that in-person hearings provide, potentially limiting the opportunity for dialogue and relationship building.
- Digital divide: Online hearings may be inaccessible to those who do not have reliable internet access or the necessary technology to participate.
- Privacy concerns: Online hearings may raise privacy concerns, as participants may be uncomfortable sharing personal information or speaking out in a public forum.
What could be the best option?
- A hybrid mode with both in-person and online options is the best approach to ensure quality public participation.
- Moving back to the pre-pandemic practice of only in-person hearings takes away a convenient avenue for consumer engagement and impacts meaningful interactions that are possible in the in-person platform.
- The provision of online mode in addition to in-person hearings would strengthen public participation and plug access gaps, provide flexibility of participation to the citizen, and enable a robust avenue for public participation.
Conclusion
- Public hearings conducted in hybrid mode, with the choice of mode being left to the citizen, are best suited to improving access and ensuring quality public participation. There is a need for institutions to continue to build infrastructure and experience toward online hearings and make improvements in how online hearings are conducted.
Mains Question
Q. What is the role of Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERCs) in the electricity sector, and why is public participation important in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies?
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The Kochi landfill site has caught fire. This is a stark reminder that Indian cities need to be prepared for more such incidents as summer approaches.
What are Landfills?
- Garbage landfills, also known as waste disposal sites or dumps, are areas where waste materials are disposed of by burying them in the ground.
- They are designed to contain and isolate the waste from the surrounding environment, preventing the spread of pollutants and contamination of soil and water sources.
- Garbage landfills are commonly used for the disposal of non-hazardous municipal solid waste, such as household trash, construction debris, and yard waste.
- However, they can also be used for the disposal of hazardous waste and other types of industrial waste, depending on the regulations and restrictions in place.
Is landfilling best way for waste management?
- Landfilling is not considered the best way for garbage disposal, as it can have negative environmental impacts.
- Landfills take up space
- Release harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, and
- Contaminate groundwater and soil if not properly managed
- Landfills can emit odours and create noise pollution, which can impact nearby communities.
Alternative methods for garbage disposal
- Recycling: This involves the separation of waste materials such as plastics, glass, metals, and paper from the general waste stream, and processing them into new products.
- Composting: This is the process of breaking down organic waste materials such as food scraps, yard waste, and paper into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
- Waste-to-energy: This involves the conversion of waste into energy through incineration, gasification, or pyrolysis. The energy produced can be used to generate electricity or heat.
- Landfill gas recovery: This involves the collection and use of methane gas produced by decomposing waste in landfills to generate electricity or heat.
- Mechanical biological treatment: This is a process that combines mechanical and biological processes to separate and treat waste materials, producing compost and recyclable materials.
- Anaerobic digestion: This is a biological process that breaks down organic waste in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas and fertilizer.
Landfills in India
- Indian municipalities collect more than 95% of the waste generated in cities.
- The efficiency of waste processing is 30-40% at best.
- Indian municipal solid waste consists of about 60% biodegradable material, 25% non-biodegradable material, and 15% inert materials.
- Municipalities are expected to process wet and dry waste separately and have recovered by-products recycled.
Why do Indian landfills often catch fire in summers?
- The rate of processing in India’s cities is far lower than the rate of waste generation.
- Unprocessed waste remains in open landfills for long periods.
- Openly disposed waste includes flammable material like low-quality plastics and rags and clothes.
- In summer, the biodegradable fraction composts much faster, increasing the temperature of the heap.
- Higher temperature and flammable material increase the chance for the landfill to catch fire.
- Some fires have been known to go on for months.
Is there a permanent solution?
There are two possible permanent solutions to manage landfill fires.
- Completely cap the material using soil and close landfills in a scientific manner: This solution is unsuitable in the Indian context as the land can’t be used again for other purposes. Closed landfills have specific standard operating procedures, including managing methane emissions.
- Clear the piles of waste through bioremediation: Excavate old waste and use automated sieving machines to segregate the flammable refuse-derived fuel (RDF), such as plastics, rags, clothes, etc., from biodegradable material. The recovered RDF can be sent to cement kilns as fuel, while the bio-soil can be distributed to farmers to enrich soil. The inert fraction will have to be landfilled.
Some immediate measures to manage landfill fires
- Divide the site into blocks: Based on the nature of waste, separate fresh waste from flammable material and capping portions with soil to reduce the chance of fire spreading across blocks.
- Cap the most vulnerable part of the landfill: That contains lots of plastics and cloth, with soil.
- Provide enough moisture to the fresh-waste block: By sprinkling water and regularly turn the material for aeration to cool the waste heap.
- Classify incoming waste: On arrival and dispose of it in designated blocks rather than dumping mixed fractions.
- Send to kilns on time: Send already segregated and baled non-recyclable and non-biodegradable waste to cement kilns instead of allowing it to accumulate at the site.
Way forward
- Sites should be equipped with water tankers with sprinklers for immediate action.
- The municipality should work with the nearest fire department and have a plan of action in advance.
- Waste-processing workers (plant operators, segregators, etc.) should have basic fire safety and response training.
- People around landfill sites should also be trained and equipped to safeguard themselves during fires.
- The municipality should have routine round-the-clock video surveillance of the most flammable portion of the landfill.
- Flammable material like chemical waste, match sticks, and lighters should not enter the site.
- Machines at the site, like sieves and balers, should be cleaned and moved away from the flammable material.
- On-site staff and security personnel should be housed away from the flammable portion.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AUKUS
Mains level: AUKUS as a response to China
Australia will buy up to 5 US nuclear-powered submarines and build a new model with US and British technology under the AUKUS.
AUKUS: A Backgrounder
- This new partnership is known as AUKUS and the major highlight of this arrangement is the sharing of US nuclear submarine technology with Australia.
- The first major initiative of AUKUS would be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia thereby giving it a nuclear heft in the Pacific where China has been particularly aggressive.
- Apart from this AUKUS will also involve the sharing of cyber capabilities and other undersea technologies.
- This alliance is considered to be most significant security arrangement between these three nations.
Ripples created by AUKUS
(A) US shift of focus
- AUKUS is both an acknowledgment of and a concession to the loss of US strategic primacy.
- It gives justification for the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan — to be able to better focus on the strategic rivalry and trade competition with China.
(B) Resentment in the EU and France
- The deal has complicated the relations between France and Australia, and also France and the US. France is upset as it has been kept out of the loop.
- France has even ordered the recall of its ambassadors to Washington and Canberra.
(C) Chinese offensive reception
- China, expectedly, has strongly criticised AUKUS and the submarine deal as promoting instability and stoking an arms race.
(D) Confusion among the SE nations
- The new great power contestation might actually generate much room for the Southeast Asian states to manoeuvre, as they are wooed simultaneously by China, AUKUS, and the Quad.
- They realise that AUKUS is a challenge to the hallowed notion of “ASEAN centrality”, a totemic rhetorical device which seeks to have others acknowledge its relevance.
Why such an alliance?
(A) Deteriorating China-AU relations
- Tensions have been high between Australia and an increasingly assertive China, its largest trade partner.
- Australia banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei in 2108 and its PM called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 last year.
- China retaliated by imposing tariffs on or capping Australian exports.
(B) US act of counterbalancing
- China has nuclear-powered submarines, as well as submarines that can launch nuclear missiles.
- The three signatories to the AUKUS deal have made it clear though, that their aim is not to arm the new subs with nuclear weapons.
(C) Bringing Australia at the centrestage of Indo-Pacific
- In the context of the AUKUS agreement, nuclear-powered submarines will give the Royal Australian Navy the capability to go into the South China Sea.
- This is primarily because a nuclear-powered submarine gives a navy the capability to reach far out into the ocean and launch attacks.
- A nuclear-powered submarine offers long distances dives, at a higher speed, without being detected gives a nation the ability to protect its interests far from its shores.
Exactly, How?
- To go from a diesel-electric fleet to a nuclear fleet is thus a change of strategy, not just of propulsion.
- It provides a way to project power from the shipping lanes which feed the all-important Malacca Strait to the waters off Taiwan.
- Add on the capacity to launch much longer-range missiles—a submarine could deliver missiles to China’s mainland while sitting to the east of the Philippines—and the country has a greatly expanded offensive capacity.
AU: Another US Base
- If Australia’s strategic stance is changed by the deal, so is America’s.
- Since the Second World War the US has projected power across the region called as an archipelago of empire.
- There are the island bases from Hawaii in the east to Guam, Okinawa in Japan and, in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia, leased from Britain without the consent of its natives.
- In Australia, America has now, in effect, a beefed-up continent-sized base for its own operations as well as a reinvigorated ally.
Outcomes of AUKUS
(A) Offensive front against China
- There is no gainsaying the fact that rapid accretion in China’s economic and military capacities, but more particularly its belligerence, has led to a tectonic shift in regional security paradigms.
- Several countries have been obliged to review their defence preparedness in response to China’s rising military power and its adverse impact on regional stability.
(B) India as a bridge in Anglosphere
- The transatlantic fissure has also pointed to something inconceivable—that India could emerge as a potential bridge between different parts of the West.
- Our PM was on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirming India’s strong commitment to the Indo-Pacific partnership with France.
- India’s solidarity with France at a difficult moment is rooted in New Delhi’s conviction that preserving the West’s unity is critical in shaping the strategic future of the Indo-Pacific.
(C) Exposed Chinese double standards
- China has the world’s fastest-growing fleet of sub-surface combatants.
- This includes the Type 093 Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) and the Type 094 nuclear-powered Jin-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).
- Its nuclear submarines are on the prowl in the Indo-Pacific.
- Yet, China denies Australia and others the sovereign right to decide on their defence requirements.
Implications on QUAD
- Not superseding: This alliance does not and will not supersede or outrank existing arrangements in the Indo-Pacific region such as the Quad, which the US and Australia form with India and Japan, and ASEAN.
- Complimentary to QUAD: AUKUS will complement these groups and others.
Opportunities for India
While the Quad and Washington’s Indo-Pacific pivot generate much interest and anxiety, it is easy to forget that the two ideas are, in essence, about India.
- India’s role has enhanced: Balancing China is the challenge confronting the United States, and Washington has recognized that India is an indispensable part of the answer.
- Just another alliance: New Delhi has no reason to complain if Australia, Britain, and the United States raise the military capabilities of their coalition. The submarine deal is an undiluted example of strategic defence collaboration.
- Intimidating China: The introduction of nuclear-powered submarine through AUKUS has a complicating impact on the Chinese maritime calculus. Anything that maintains a balance of power in the region is desirable.
- Focusing inside on land border: AUKUS also leaves India with a less of a headache in securing its maritime flank from Chinese aggression and New Delhi may focus more fully on the threat emanating from the land border with China.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Economic indicators, GDP and current trends
Mains level: India's GDP growth
Central Idea
- The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released a new set of data on India’s annual and quarterly national income, providing a final assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the country’s GDP growth. The latest numbers and sector-wise performance, highlighting areas of growth and contraction.
- Advance estimates: NSO’s second advance estimate (SAE) shows a contraction of (-) 5.7% in 2020-21, lower than its first advance estimate (FAE) at (-) 7.7%.
- Benefited sectors: Manufacturing, construction, and financial sectors benefited the most in the revised estimate.
- GDP growth: Real GDP in the COVID-19 year amounted to ₹136.9 lakh crore, higher than the earlier assessment of ₹134.4 lakh crore. GDP grew by 9.1% in 2021-22 and 7% in 2022-23.
- Negative growth in 2020: The compound annual average growth rate between 2019-20 and 2022-23 was 3.2%. Comparison with other countries, including China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, shows India’s negative growth rate in 2020.
Back to basics: Advanced estimates
- Advance estimates refer to the preliminary projections made by the government regarding the likely economic growth, inflation, or other macroeconomic indicators of a country for a given period. These estimates are usually released a few months before the actual data for the period becomes available.
- Advance estimates are based on various economic indicators such as industrial production, agricultural output, exports, and consumption expenditure, among others. These indicators are used to extrapolate the economic activity for the full period, based on which the government makes its initial projections.
Sector-wise Performance
- Overall GVA in 2022-23 is higher by 11.3% compared to 2019-20.
- Mining and quarrying sector still shows a contraction at (-) 0.3%.
- Trade, hotels, transport, etc., show weak growth of 4.3%.
- Construction sector shows higher-than-average growth at 18.6%.
- Manufacturing sector also shows robust growth at 14.8%.
- Financial, real estate, etc., grew at 14.3%.
- Agriculture sector grew at 12%.
- Government final consumption expenditure (GFCE) grew at 7.4%.
- Gross fixed capital formation and private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) increased by 17.7% and 13.1%, respectively.
Investment and Capacity Utilization
- Gross fixed capital formation to GDP ratio in nominal terms increased to 29.2% in 2022-23 from 28.6% in 2019-20.
- Real investment rates increased to 34% in 2022-23 from 31.8% in 2019-20.
- Estimated incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) decreased to 4.9 in 2022-23 from 8.5 in 2019-20.
- Capacity utilization ratio in the manufacturing sector was only 70.3% in 2019-20, but it increased to 73.5% in the first half of 2022-23.
- Subdued growth implies lower capacity utilization and higher ICOR.
Quarterly Growth and Projections
- Q3 2022-23 saw a decline in real GDP growth to 4.4% from 6.3% in Q2 and 13.2% in Q1.
- Growth rate in Q3 and expected growth rate in Q4 are quite low.
- High frequency indicators point towards improved economic activity.
- PMI manufacturing in January and February 2023 remained above its long-term average.
- PMI services increased to a near 12-year
Conclusion
- the NSO’s latest data on India’s GDP growth provides a final assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the country’s economy. The NSO’s data shows that India’s economy is recovering, albeit at a slower pace, from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Antiquities
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: Indian authorities are pushing for restitution of stolen antiquities and ancient religious artefacts.
What is an antiquity?
- An antiquity is defined by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 as-
- Any coin, sculpture, painting, epigraph or other work of art or craftsmanship;
- Any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave;
- Any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in bygone ages;
- Any article, object or thing of historical interest that has been in existence for not less than one hundred years.
- For manuscripts, records or other documents of scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value, this duration is not less than seventy-five years.
What do international conventions say?
- The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property defined “cultural property” as the property designated by countries having “importance for archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science.”
- The Convention further stated that “the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property is one of the main causes of the impoverishment of the cultural heritage of the countries of origin of such property and that international co-operation constitutes one of the most efficient means of protecting each country’s cultural property.”
- The General Assembly of the UN and the UN Security Council in 2015 and 2016 also raised concerns about the illicit international traffic of cultural items and related offenses.
- An INTERPOL report in 2019 indicated that almost 50 years after the UNESCO convention, the illicit international traffic of cultural items and related offenses is increasingly prolific.
What do Indian laws say?
- In India, Item-67 of the Union List, Item-12 of the State List, and Item-40 of the Concurrent List of the Constitution deal with the country’s heritage.
- The Antiquities (Export Control) Act was passed in April 1947 to ensure that no antiquity could be exported without a license.
- The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act was enacted in 1958.
- The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (AATA) was implemented on April 1, 1976, after an uproar in Parliament over the theft of a bronze idol from Chamba and some important sandstone idols from other places.
- Under the AATA, it is not lawful for any person other than the Central Government or any authorized agency to export any antiquity or art treasure, and no person shall carry on the business of selling or offering to sell any antiquity except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a license granted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
What is the provenance of an antiquity?
- Provenance includes the list of all owners from the time the object left its maker’s possession to the time it was acquired by the current owner.
How is ownership proved?
- The requesting party needs to furnish, at its expense, the documentation and other evidence necessary to establish its claim for recovery and return, according to the UNESCO 1970 declaration.
- In India, the first thing in order to prove ownership is the complaint (FIR) filed with the police. In many cases, there is no FIR for missing antiquities.
- However, other proof such as details mentioned by reputed scholars in research papers can also be helpful.
How to check for fake antiquities?
- Every person who owns, controls or is in possession of any antiquity shall register such antiquity before the registering officer and obtain a certificate in token of such registration under section 14(3) of the AATA.
- The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, launched in March 2007, has registered
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CSTO, Nagorno Karabakh region
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: Armenia’s PM accused the Moscow-dominated security alliance Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) of leaving Armenia in the cold amid renewed hostilities with Azerbaijan.
What did Armenia say?
- Armenia has repeatedly criticized the CSTO for its failure to protect itself.
- Russia has maintained a delicate diplomatic balancing act between Armenia and Azerbaijan, avoiding any forceful action.
What is CSTO?
- The CSTO is a Russia-led military alliance of seven former Soviet states that was created in 2002.
- Current CSTO members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. Afghanistan and Serbia hold observer status in the CSTO.
- Its purpose is to ensure the collective defense of any member that faces external aggression.
- It has been described by political scientists as the Eurasian counterpart of NATO, which has 29 member states, while the CSTO has just six.
Outlined functions of CSTO
- CSTO supports arms sales, manufacturing, and military training and exercises, making the CSTO the most important multilateral defense organization in the former Soviet Union.
- Beyond mutual defense, the CSTO also coordinates efforts in fighting the illegal circulation of weapons among member states and has developed law enforcement training for its members in pursuit of these aims.
What does CSTO membership provide?
- While CSTO membership means that member states are barred from joining other military alliances, limiting, for example, their relationship with NATO.
- Its members receive discounts, subsidies, and other incentives to buy Russian arms, facilitating military cooperation.
- Most importantly, membership presumes certain key security assurances – the most significant of which is deterring military aggression by third countries.
- In the CSTO, aggression against one signatory is perceived as aggression against all.
- It however remains unclear whether this feature works in practice.
Armenia’s Concerns and Threats
- The PM emphasizes the threat of escalation along Armenia’s border and in Nagorno-Karabakh, citing increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Azerbaijan.
- Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan increased in December when Azerbaijani protesters blocked the Lachin corridor, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh residents short of food and basic supplies.
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since a separatist war in 1994.
- In 2020, Azerbaijani troops routed Armenian forces in six weeks of fighting.
- They claimed a significant part of Nagorno-Karabakh and nearby areas which had been in Armenian hands for nearly two decades.
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Back2Basics: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
- NATO was established in the aftermath of the Second World War.
- Its purpose was to secure peace in Europe, to promote cooperation among its members and to guard their freedom – all of this in the context of countering the threat posed at the time by the Soviet Union.
- It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949.
- It sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.
- Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- NATO has spread a web of partners, namely Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Finland.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Alluri Sitharama Raju and Komaram Bheem
Mains level: Not Much
A Telugu movie with its story and characters rooted in the lives of Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitharama Raju and Komaram Bheem is garnering attention on the global stage.
Who was Alluri Sitharama Raju?
- Raju is believed to have been born in Andhra Pradesh in 1897 or 1898.
- He is said to have become a sanyasi at the age of 18 and gained a mystical aura among the hill and tribal peoples with his austerity, knowledge of astrology and medicine, and his ability to tame wild animals.
- At a very young age, Raju channelled the discontent of the hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari into an effective guerrilla resistance against the British.
Advent into revolutionary activities
- Colonial rule threatened the tribals’ traditional podu (shifting) cultivation, as the government sought to secure forest lands.
- The Forest Act of 1882 banned the collection of minor forest produce such as roots and leaves, and tribal people were forced into labour by the colonial government.
- While the tribals were subjected to exploitation by muttadars, village headmen commissioned by the colonial government to extract rent, the new laws and systems threatened their way of life itself.
- Strong anti-government sentiment, shared by the muttadars who were aggrieved by the curtailment of their powers by the British, exploded into armed resistance in August 1922.
Contribution to freedom struggle
- The Rampa or Manyam Rebellion continued in the form of a guerrilla war until May 1924, when Raju, the charismatic ‘Manyam Veerudu’ or Hero of Jungle, was finally captured and executed.
- The Rampa Rebellion coincided with Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Raju often talked of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi, said he was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement, and persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
- But at the same time, he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
Who was Alluri Sitharama Raju?
- Raju is believed to have been born in Andhra Pradesh in 1897 or 1898.
- He is said to have become a sanyasi at the age of 18 and gained a mystical aura among the hill and tribal peoples with his austerity, knowledge of astrology and medicine, and his ability to tame wild animals.
- At a very young age, Raju channelled the discontent of the hill people in Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari into an effective guerrilla resistance against the British.
Advent into revolutionary activities
- Colonial rule threatened the tribals’ traditional podu (shifting) cultivation, as the government sought to secure forest lands.
- The Forest Act of 1882 banned the collection of minor forest produce such as roots and leaves, and tribal people were forced into labour by the colonial government.
- While the tribals were subjected to exploitation by muttadars, village headmen commissioned by the colonial government to extract rent, the new laws and systems threatened their way of life itself.
- Strong anti-government sentiment, shared by the muttadars who were aggrieved by the curtailment of their powers by the British, exploded into armed resistance in August 1922.
Contribution to freedom struggle
- The Rampa or Manyam Rebellion continued in the form of a guerrilla war until May 1924, when Raju, the charismatic ‘Manyam Veerudu’ or Hero of Jungle, was finally captured and executed.
- The Rampa Rebellion coincided with Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Raju often talked of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi, said he was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement, and persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
- But at the same time, he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
And who was Komaram Bheem?
- Komram Bheem was born in the Gond tribal community at Sankepally village in Komarambheem District, which was renamed after him in 2016.
- Bheem’s family’s land was occupied by a jagirdar who was an informer of the Nizam, which led to him killing the jagirdar in a fit of rage.
- To avoid authorities, he went to Assam and worked as a labourer in coffee and tea plantations for five years.
- Despite being illiterate, Bheem learned to read and write and became aware of movements like Birsa Munda’s.
Resistance against the Nizam government
- The Nizam government collected taxes in the name of “Bambram” and “Dupapetti” from people grazing cattle and collecting firewood for cooking.
- Bheem spread the message of “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” among tribal people in opposition to this tax collection.
- He trained tribal people to fight with weapons, and villages in Adilabad were ready with the help of a guerrilla army composed of Gond and Koya communities’ men.
Death and legacy
- Despite their efforts, Nizam’s army overwhelmed the tribal resistance.
- Bheem died at their hands in the Jodeghat forest.
- Bheem’s message of “Jal, Jangal, Zameen” has become a clarion call for indigenous people’s rights to natural resources, used in many parts of India to date.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Iran-Saudi Arabia Reconciliation
Central idea: Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of West Asia’s major powers that have been at odds with each other for decades, agreed to restore diplomatic relations last week in an agreement brokered by China.
Saudi-Iran Ties: A timeline
- Pre-1979: Saudi Arabia and Iran compete for regional dominance.
- 1979: Iranian Revolution brings down the monarchy and turns Iran into a Shia theocratic republic.
- 1980-1988: Iran-Iraq war sees Saudi Arabia support Iraq.
- 1990-1991: Saudi Arabia supports Iraq against Iran in the Gulf War.
- 1996: Iranian-backed Hezbollah bombs Saudi military housing complex in Khobar, killing 19 US soldiers.
- 2011-2015: Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.
- 2015: Saudi Arabia launches military intervention in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
- January 2016: Saudi Arabia executes prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, leading to protests in Iran and the burning of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
- 2016: Saudi and several Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Iran.
- 2019: Saudi oil facilities are attacked, leading to increased tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
- 2021: Both begin direct talks, brokered by China.
- March 2023: Both nations announce an agreement to restore diplomatic ties, brokered by China.
Reasons for hostile relations
The hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran has its roots in a complex mix of historical, geopolitical, religious, and ideological factors.
- Religious contradictions: Historically, the rivalry between the two countries dates back to the seventh century when the Prophet Muhammad died without a clear successor, leading to a dispute over the leadership of the Muslim community. This dispute ultimately resulted in the split between Sunni Islam (which dominates in Saudi Arabia) and Shia Islam (which dominates in Iran).
- Geopolitical tensions: The two countries are located in a strategically important region, with both seeking to exert influence and maintain dominance in the Middle East. Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979 posed a challenge to Saudi Arabia’s status as the leading Islamic power in the region, and the two countries have been competing for regional influence ever since.
- Sectarian tensions: Saudi Arabia and Iran have long had competing visions for the role of Islam in society. Saudi Arabia promotes a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, while Iran supports Shia Islam and the principle of the “Guardianship of the Jurist,” which asserts that a senior Shia cleric should have political power and authority over all Muslims.
- Ties with west: The two countries have fundamentally different views on a range of issues, including democracy, human rights, and regional security. Saudi Arabia is a conservative monarchy with close ties to the United States, while Iran is an Islamic republic that has been at odds with the West since the 1979 revolution.
All these factors have contributed to the ongoing hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the tensions between the two countries continue to have a destabilizing effect on the region.Top of Form
What are the terms of the agreement?
- The details of the agreement are yet to be unveiled.
- Iran has reportedly agreed to prevent further attacks against Saudi Arabia from Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen while Saudi Arabia has agreed to rein in Iran International, a Farsi news channel critical of the Iranian regime.
- Foreign Ministers of both countries will meet soon to thrash out the terms of the reconciliation before reopening embassies in each other’s capitals in two months.
- China is planning to host a cross-Gulf conference of Iran and the six Gulf monarchies to further strengthen peace in the region.
Why did Saudi Arabia reach out to Iran (defying the US)?
Ans. Iran’s Rise, and Changing Alliances
- Internal Security: When Saudi oil facilities were attacked in 2019, the US looked away, prompting the Saudis to look for alternative solutions for the Iran problem, such as reaching out to the Iranians.
- Differences over Palestine: The US was trying to broker a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel to bring the two pillars of its West Asia policy together against Iran.
- US negligence of West Asia: The US deprioritized West Asia due to bigger foreign policy challenges, such as the Russian war in Ukraine and China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific.
- Obsolesce of ties with US: Relations between Saudi Arabia and the US have been rocky in recent years, as the US is not as dependent on Gulf Arabs as it used to be during the Cold War.
- Shared opinions over Israel: Saudi Arabia has been hesitant to reconcile with Israel, and its relations with the US have been rocky in recent years.
What led Iran to accept the deal?
- Isolation and Domestic pressure: Tehran is aware that getting relief from Western sanctions is not a near-term possibility. Despite crackdown, protests in Iran refuse to die down.
- Crumbling economy: Iran’s economy is deteriorating and its currency, the rial, is struggling. A deal with Saudi Arabia, under China’s mediation, could open economic lifelines for Iran
- China factor: Iran wanted Chinese investments and support for the rial. China allowed Iran to withdraw parts of the $20 billion funds frozen with Chinese banks due to US sanctions.
- Fouling American efforts: Iran knows that such a deal could complicate American efforts to rally Arab countries and Israel against it. A reconciliation with Saudi is beneficial for Iran, at least in a tactical sense.
Why is China brokering the deal?
- Securing its oil supplies: China has an interest in promoting stability in the Middle East region, which is a major source of oil and natural gas for China.
- Side-lining the US: By brokering a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, China can position itself as a mediator and gain goodwill from both sides.
- Create alternative axis: China has longstanding relationships with both countries. The US since Trumps departure is distancing itself from the US, whereas China is also getting closer to Russia amid the war.
- Image building as a leader: While the US is busy rallying the Western world to arm Ukraine to push back Russia and weaken Moscow through sanctions, China is quietly brokering peace in the Global South.
US reception of this deal
- Welcomed the move: The public narrative is that the peace deal would help stabilize the region and benefit the global energy market.
Key implications for the US
- Hegemony decline: The US would not like to lose its influence in West Asia even when it is deprioritizing the region.
- Saudi drifts away: US sees an ally (Saudi Arabia) drifting further away, a rival it wanted to contain (Iran) making new friends, and China spreading and deepening its influence in a region the US has dominated historically.
- Iran Sanctions going loose: The Iran nuclear deal is practically dead and the US wants Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel and put up a joint front against Iran.
What inferences can be drawn from all these?
- Strategic realignments in West Asia: It can be inferred that West Asia is currently undergoing significant strategic realignments, with the UAE normalizing relations with Israel and other Arab countries deepening their partnerships.
- Shifted US focus on Ukraine and Indo-Pacific: The US, which traditionally held significant power in the region, has deprioritized West Asia due to bigger foreign policy challenges such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific.
- China occupying power vacuum: This deprioritization has created a power vacuum that has allowed Iran to rise as a challenge, prompting the US to try to bring Israel and the Arab world together against Iran.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: China's presence in the Middle east and Implications for India
Central Idea
- In an unexpected turn of events on March 10, the National Security Advisors of Iran and Saudi Arabia declared, in the presence of Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi in Beijing, that they have come to a mutual understanding to address their issues, and will reopen their embassies within a span of two months.
Background: Iran- Saudi rivalry
- Since January 2016, when the Saudi kingdom severed diplomatic ties with Iran after the attack on the former’s embassy in Tehran, the two countries have been engaged in a rivalry for regional geopolitical influence, prolonging conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
- Only a few months ago, Iran’s top military officials were threatening Saudi Arabia with consequences unless it controlled its Persian-language media outlets zealously covering anti-government protests in Iran. Riyadh had raised alert levels citing a credible threat of attack from Iran.
Iran’s Strategic Partnership with China
- Iran considers China its most important strategic partner, and was alarmed when the joint statement issued at the first China-GCC Summit in Riyadh in December 2022 called on Iran to maintain the non-proliferation regime and respect the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of states.
- The China-brokered agreement coming a month after Raisi’s visit to Beijing shows how Beijing has successfully leveraged its ties with an Iran struggling with domestic pressure, sanctions, and deteriorating ties with Europe over its military support to Russia.
The Dialogue Process
- The Iran-Saudi Security Dialogue: This refers to the ongoing talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia aimed at improving security in the region, particularly in Yemen. These talks were facilitated by then-Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in 2021, and have continued in fits and starts since then.
- Biden Administration’s Conflict Management Measures: The Biden administration has taken steps to end American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arm sales, as a conflict management measure. This move helped to make Riyadh see the logic of dialogue with Iran.
- Chinese Role in Brokering the Final Agreement: China has played a key role in brokering the final agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Beijing has adopted a balanced approach of strengthening ties with all players based on common interests and mutual respect rather than geopolitical alignments with specific countries.
- China’s Growing Regional Engagement: China’s growing regional engagement in the Middle East is driven by its desire to distinguish itself from the US-led interventions in the region. Beijing has supported Gulf countries in setting up multilateral dialogue platforms and taking the initiative in regional issues, including those involving Iran.
What are India’s concerns?
- Impact on India’s Energy Security: Any improvement in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia could impact India’s energy security. India is heavily dependent on oil imports from both countries, and any conflict or tension between them could lead to disruptions in oil supplies and increased prices.
- Potential for regional destabilization: The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has fueled conflicts in the Middle East, including the ongoing war in Yemen. Any escalation of tensions between the two countries could lead to further destabilization in the region, which could have implications for India’s security interests.
- China’s growing influence in the Middle East: China’s role in brokering the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia highlights its growing political capital in the region, which could have implications for India’s strategic interests. India has traditionally maintained good relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia, and any shift in the regional balance of power could impact India’s interests.
- Impact on India’s Chabahar port project: India has invested heavily in the development of the Chabahar port in Iran as a gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Any improvement in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia could impact India’s plans for the port, which could have implications for India’s strategic interests in the region.
Conclusion
- India will now have to deal with the new reality where China has been able to translate its economic influence in West Asia into diplomatic heft. The agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia could have positive implications for the region’s stability, but India will need to carefully monitor the evolving dynamics and assess how it can leverage its own relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other regional players to secure its strategic interest.
Mains Question
Q. Evaluate China’s growing influence in the Middle East and its impact on India’s traditional ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Essential stats mentioned
Mains level: India's import dependence for defence
Central idea
- India is the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year period during 2018-22, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- However, India’s arms imports have dropped by 11% between 2013–17 and 2018–22.
Top Arms Suppliers to India
- Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India in both 2013–17 and 2018–22.
- France emerged as the second largest supplier from 2018-22, and its share of total Indian arms imports increased significantly.
- Among the top 10 arms exporters for the period 2018-22, India was the biggest arms export market to three countries — Russia, France and Israel and the second-largest export market to South Korea.
- India was also the third largest market for South Africa, which was ranked 21 in the list of arms exporters.
Arms import by Country
- For the same period, India remained the largest arms importer followed by Saudi Arabia.
- Russia accounted for 45% of India’s imports followed by France (29%) and the US (11%).
- India was the third largest arms supplier to Myanmar after Russia and China, accounting for 14% of its imports.
Reasons for India’s Arms Imports
- Complexities with neighborhood: “India’s tensions with Pakistan and China largely drive its demand for arms imports. With an 11% share of total global arms imports, India was the world’s biggest importer of major arms in 2018–22,” says SIPRI.
- Procurement bottlenecks: India’s slow and complex arms procurement process, efforts to diversify its arms suppliers, and attempts to replace imports with major arms that are designed and produced domestically have contributed to the decrease in arms imports.
Russia’s position as India’s Main Arms Supplier
- India diversifying its imports: Russia’s position as India’s main arms supplier is under pressure due to strong competition from other supplier states.
- Self-arming for ongoing war: This is due to increased Indian arms production, and constraints on Russia’s arms exports related to its invasion of Ukraine.
Global Arms Transfers
- Arms imports by Pakistan increased by 14% between 2013–17 and 2018–22 and accounted for 3.7% of the global total with China supplying 77% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2018–22.
- While the global level of international arms transfers decreased by 5.1%, imports of major arms by European states increased by 47% between 2013–17 and 2018–22 in the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
- The U.S. share of global arms exports increased from 33% to 40% while Russia’s fell from 22% to 16%.
What we can conclude from this?
- Security concerns: India has long-standing tensions with neighboring countries such as Pakistan and China, which have led to security concerns and a perceived need for a strong military.
- Slow and complex procurement process: India’s procurement process for arms is often slow and complex, leading to delays in acquiring weapons and equipment. This has resulted in India relying on imports to meet its defense needs.
- Lack of domestic production: India’s domestic arms production capabilities are still limited, which makes it difficult for the country to produce high-tech weapons and equipment. This has forced India to rely on imports to meet its defense requirements.
- Diversification of suppliers: While Russia has been the traditional supplier of arms to India, in recent years India has been diversifying its sources of weapons and equipment to countries such as France, Israel, and the United States.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ESG
Mains level: Read the attached story
Central idea: Regulators and corporations worldwide now measure businesses on ESG criteria. ESG criteria is crucial for investors to assess a company’s risk profile accurately. India is still in the nascent stage of ESG laws and regulations.
What is ESG?
- ESG Regulations are a set of standards used by investors to evaluate a company’s environmental and social impact, as well as its corporate governance practices.
- They require companies to be transparent about their environmental and social performance, as well as their governance structure.
- ESG factors are increasingly being used by investors to make investment decisions, and ESG ratings are becoming an important metric for companies seeking to attract investment.
- The ESG regulations differ by country, but many require companies to disclose information on environmental and social issues, as well as on their governance practices.
- ESG regulations are becoming increasingly important as investors and consumers demand greater transparency and accountability from companies.Top of FormBottom of Form
Features of ESG Mechanism
- Environmental factors: These include a company’s impact on climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, waste management, and natural resource conservation.
- Social factors: These include a company’s impact on society, such as labor practices, human rights, community relations, customer satisfaction, and product safety.
- Governance factors: These include a company’s management structure, board diversity, executive compensation, shareholder rights, and business ethics.
- ESG ratings and metrics: Companies are evaluated based on ESG ratings and metrics, which can help investors assess a company’s overall sustainability and ethical impact.
- ESG investing: ESG investing refers to investing in companies that meet certain ESG criteria, with the aim of generating financial returns while also having a positive impact on society and the environment.
- ESG reporting: Many companies are now required to disclose their ESG performance and report on their sustainability practices, in order to meet regulatory requirements and respond to growing investor demand for transparency and accountability.Top of FormBottom of Form
Corporate Social Responsibility: ESG-like mechanism in India
- India has a robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy that mandates that corporations engage in initiatives that contribute to the welfare of society.
- This mandate was codified into law with the passage of the 2014 and 2021 amendments to the Companies Act of 2013.
How ESG differs from CSR?
- ESG regulations differ from CSR regulations in their process and impact
- For example, the U.K. Modern Slavery Act requires companies with business in the U.K. and with annual sales of more than £36 million to publish their efforts in identifying and analysing the risks of human trafficking, child labour and debt bondage in their supply chain.
- It seeks to establish internal accountability procedures, evaluate supplier compliance, and train supply chain managers regarding these issues
- The EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation requires financial market participants to disclose how they have integrated sustainability risks into their investment decision-making processes
- There are scores of such regulations at the state, national and transnational level.
Why is ESG relevant in India?
Ans. Existing mechanisms serve ESG purpose
- India has long had a number of laws and bodies regarding environmental, social and governance issues, including the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
- It has quasi-judicial organisations such as the National Green Tribunal, a range of labour codes and laws governing employee engagement and corporate governance practices.
- These initiatives established guidelines that emphasise monitoring, quantification and disclosure, akin to ESG requirements found in other parts of the world.
ESG for Indian companies
Here are some key considerations for Indian companies in relation to ESG:
- Compliance with global ESG regulations: Compliance in the US, UK, EU and elsewhere is critical for Indian companies to take full advantage of the growing decoupling from China and play a more prominent role in global supply chains and the global marketplace overall.
- Due diligence: This will play a key role in ESG risk management, which means going beyond questionnaires and conducting deeper assessments that may include looking at company records, interviewing former employees, and making discreet visits to observe operations to ensure that measures to comply with international ESG standards are in effect.
- Revamp organizations: ESG due diligence should be supported within the company with detailed procedures for assessing risks and controls for assuring that no corners are cut. Companies that wish to maximise their opportunities in the global economy need to embrace these new requirements and adjust their organisations accordingly.
Way forward
- Encouraging and incentivizing companies: To adopt ESG practices voluntarily through education, training and awareness-raising programs.
- Developing national guidelines and standards for ESG: To promote consistency and comparability of ESG performance data among Indian companies.
- Tailor-made Policy catering to domestic needs: Implementing ESG regulations that are tailored to the specific needs and challenges of Indian companies, with a focus on promoting transparency, accountability and stakeholder engagement.
- Facilitating access to capital for companies that demonstrate strong ESG performance: By establishing ESG-focused investment funds and credit facilities.
- Promoting international collaboration and harmonization of ESG standards: To facilitate global trade and investment while ensuring that ESG risks are appropriately addressed.
Conclusion
- Overall, a comprehensive and collaborative approach is needed to ensure that Indian companies can effectively manage ESG risks and opportunities and contribute to sustainable development.
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