Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MRTP Act
Mains level: Abortion rights debate
In a significant curtailment of women’s rights, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 landmark decision giving women in America the right to have an abortion before the foetus is viable outside the womb — before the 24-28 week mark.
What is Roe vs. Wade Case: Upholding the Right to Abortion
- Roe, short for Jane Roe, is the pseudonym for a Texas woman who in 1970 sought to have an abortion when she was five months pregnant.
- Texas then had ban on abortions except to save a mother’s life. The case then went to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
- The 7-2 majority opinion of the SCOTUS written in 1973, paved the way for the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right in the US considering foetal viability.
[Foetal viability is the point at which a foetus can survive outside the womb, at the time considered to be around 28 weeks, but today is closer to 23 or 24 weeks owing to advances in medicine and technology.]
Right to Abortion Judgment: Key takeaways
Based on the Roe vs Wade case, the framework of regulations that applied towards the right to abortion:
- Almost no limitations could be placed on that right;
- Only limitations to abortion rights that were aimed at protecting a woman’s health were permitted; and in the third trimester,
- State governments had greater leeway to limit the right to abortion except for cases in which the life and health of the mother were endangered.
What is the debate?
The abortion debate is the ongoing controversy surrounding the moral, legal, and religious status of induced abortion.
The sides involved in the debate are the self-described “pro-choice” and “pro-life” movements.
- Pro-choice emphasizes the woman’s choice whether to terminate a pregnancy.
- Pro-life position stresses the humanity of both the mother and foetus, arguing that a fetus is a human person deserving of legal protection.
Why is the judgement overturned?
- Foetuses feel the pain: If the foetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, gynaecs assume that there will be pain caused to the foetus.
- Biblical gospel: The Bible does not draw a distinction between foetuses and babies. By the time a baby is conceived, he or she is recognized by God.
- Abortions cause psychological damage: Young adult women who undergo abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression.
- Abortions reduce the number of adoptable babies: Instead of having the option to abort, women should give their unwanted babies to people who cannot conceive. Single parenthood is also gaining popularity in the US.
- Cases of selective abortion: Such cases based on physical and genetic abnormalities (eugenic termination) is overt discrimination.
- Abortion as a form of contraception: It is immoral to kill an unborn child for convenience. Many women are using abortion as a contraceptive method.
- Morality put to question: If women become pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child. People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences.
- Abortion promotes throwaway culture: The legalization of abortion sends a message that human life has little value and promotes the throwaway culture.
- Racial afflictions: Abortion disproportionately affects African American babies. In the US, black women are 3.3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.
Arguments in favour for Abortion Rights
- Upholding individual conscience and decision-making: The US Supreme Court has declared abortion to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
- Reproductive choice empowers women: The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman’s independence and ability to determine her future.
- Foetal viability occurs post-birth: Personhood begins after a foetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby.
- No proof of foetal pain: Most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception. The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a foetus’ development.
- Preventing illegal abortions: Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces maternal injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions.
- Mother’s health: Modern abortion procedures are safe and do not cause lasting health issues such as cancer and infertility.
- Child’s health: Abortion gives pregnant women the option to choose not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term.
- Prevents women’s exclusion: Women who are denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be below the poverty line, and to become victims of domestic violence.
- Reproductive choice protects women from financial disadvantage: Many women who choose abortion don’t have the financial resources to support a child.
- Justified means of population control: Many defends abortion as a way to curb overpopulation. Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict over resources are all consequences of overpopulation.
Way forward
- A search for the middle path perhaps the right of a woman to choose what to do with the foetus has to be balanced with the right of the foetus to survive.
- It is only that a foetus does not have the ability to exercise an option while the person who carries it does.
- Rather than banning abortion, lawmakers must focus on counselling, employment security, social welfare, and financial support to persuade pregnant women to give birth to their children.
- We must achieve some degree of protection for the unborn by obtaining voluntary recognition of personal responsibility and respect for the personhood of the unborn.
Back2Basics: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act
- Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.
- The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s accessibility to safe and legal abortion services.
- Abortion is covered 100% by the government’s public national health insurance funds, Ayushman Bharat and Employees’ State Insurance with the package rate for surgical abortion.
The idea of terminating your pregnancy cannot originate by choice and is purely circumstantial. There are four situations under which a legal abortion is performed:
- If continuation of the pregnancy poses any risks to the life of the mother or mental health
- If the foetus has any severe abnormalities
- If pregnancy occurred as a result of failure of contraception (but this is only applicable to married women)
- If pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or rape
These are the key changes that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, has brought in:
- The gestation limit for abortions has been raised from the earlier ceiling of 20 weeks to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors. But this termination would need the approval of two registered doctors.
- All pregnancies up to 20 weeks require one doctor’s approval. The earlier law, the MTP Act 1971, required one doctor’s approval for pregnancies upto 12 weeks and two doctors’ for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks.
- Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status. Earlier the law specified that only a “married woman and her husband” could do this.
- There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of foetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and union territories’ administrations would set up.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NITI Aayog
Mains level: Read the attached story
Parameswaran Iyer, a senior official who helmed the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, will be the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog.
What is the news?
- Iyer replaces Amitabh Kant, who completes his term in the office on June 30.
- Kant was appointed CEO of the National Institutions for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on February 17, 2016, for two years.
- He got three extensions during his tenure.
Do you know?
Under Mr. Kant, the NITI Aayog helped the Centre launch several programmes such as Digital India and Make in India.
What is NITI Aayog?
- The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the GoI.
- It was established in 2015, by the NDA government, to replace the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
- It advises both the centre and states on social and economic issues.
- It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but the outcome of an executive resolution. It was not created by the act of parliament.
Composition of NITI Aayog
- The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson/chairman of the NITI Aayog.
- The PM appoints one Vice-Chairperson, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister.
- It includes the Chief Ministers of all the states and Union territories.
- It has Regional Councils for looking after contingencies in regional areas. It is convened and chaired by the Prime Minister of India and includes concerned chief ministers and Lt. Governors.
- The Prime Minister nominates Personalities with skilled knowledge, who are experts in particular domains as special invitees.
- There are full-time members who hold the rank of ministers.
- There is a maximum of two Part-time members who are invited from leading organisations, universities, and research centres.
- The Prime Minister also appoints one Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who holds the rank of a Secretary.
Aims, Agenda, and Objectives of NITI Aayog
The purpose with which NITI Aayog was formed in place of the Planning Commission was a far-sighted vision. It was important to boost the development of India in the emerging global scenario. The objectives are:
- To generate a platform for national development, sectors and strategies with the collaboration of states and centre.
- To boost the factor of cooperative federalism between the centre and the states. For national development, it is necessary for both wings to work in synergy.
- To develop such mechanisms which work at the ground root level for progressive growth. A nation develops when its regions and states develop.
- To work on long term policies and strategies for long-term development. To set up a system for monitoring progress so that it can be used for analysing and improving methods.
- To provide a platform for resolving inter-departmental issues amicably.
- To make it a platform where the programmes, strategies, and schemes can be monitored on a day to day basis, and it could be understood which sector needs more resources to develop.
- To upgrade technological advancements in such a manner that focus can be made on iNITIatives and programmes.
- To ensure India’s level and ranking at the worldwide level and to make India an actively participating nation.
- To progress from food security towards nutrition and standardised meals and focus on agricultural production.
- To make use of more technology to avoid misadventures and corruption in governance.
- To make the working system more transparent and accountable.
NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance
- NITI Aayog works on principles like Antyodaya (upliftment of poor), inclusion (to include all sections under one head), people participation, and so on.
- NITI Aayog is a body that follows seven pillars of governance. They are:
- To look after pro-people agenda so that the aspirations and desires of no one are compromised.
- To respond and work on the needs of citizens.
- Make citizens of the nation involve and participate in various streams.
- To empower women in all fields, be it social, technical, economic, or other.
- To include all sects and classes under one head. To give special attention to marginalised and minority groups.
- To provide equal opportunity for the young generation.
- To make the working of government more accountable and transparent. It will ensure less chance of corruption and malpractices.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
In India, which of the following review the independent regulators in sectors like telecommunications, insurance, electricity, etc.?
- Ad Hoc Committees set up by the Parliament
- Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committees
- Finance Commission
- Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
- NITI Aayog
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 1, 3 and 4
(c) 3, 4 and 5
(d) 2 and 5
Post your answer here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Paper 3- Transparency in RBI's policy making
Context
Modern inflation targeting central banks are often bound by explicit statutory mandates. Critics have argued that the RBI ignored its statutory inflation targeting duty.
Why transparency and predictability of the central bank is important?
- Prior to the 1990s, central banks preferred secrecy.
- Surprising market: The common wisdom was that the efficacy of monetary policy depended on taking markets by surprise.
- This belief started changing gradually with the adoption of inflation targeting.
- Influencing the inflation expectations: Targeting inflation required central banks to influence households’ and firms’ decisions.
- Thus emerged the need for central banks to be transparent and predictable.
Independence with accountability of the Central bank
- There was growing international recognition that central banks as monetary authorities should enjoy a relatively higher degree of independence from governments.
- In a democratic polity, this could only be expected in exchange for increased accountability.
- As a result, regulatory governance gradually emerged as a relevant consideration for independent central banks over the last three decades.
Regulatory governance at the RBI
- The regulatory governance discourse in India came into the focus with the report of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission in 2013.
- Like a state, regulators usually enjoy significant legislative, executive and judicial powers and should be subject to appropriate accountability mechanisms.
- These should include internal separation of powers; a well-structured regulation making process overseen by the board, through public consultation and cost-benefit analysis; duty to explain its actions to regulated entities and public at large; regular reporting requirements; and judicial review.
- Based on these recommendations, the Ministry of Finance released a handbook in 2013 for voluntary adoption of these enhanced governance standards by all financial sector regulators.
- These developments turned the spotlight on the RBI’s regulatory governance.
Reasons for the criticism of the RBI
- Targeting exchange rate: The central bank appears to have ventured into uncharted legal territory by possibly targeting the exchange rate instead of inflation.
- Regulatory governance issues: Separately, critics have also highlighted broader regulatory governance challenges at the RBI.
- For instance, its alleged use of informal nudges to restrict a foreign player’s access to the Indian payment ecosystem goes against an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
- Such criticisms underline an urgent need to improve the credibility of the central bank’s rule of law quotient.
- Least responsive in legislative function: A 2019 research paper found the central bank’s legislative functions to be the least responsive in comparison to three other regulators – SEBI, TRAI and AERA.
- RBI’ss consultation papers usually presented only one solution and did not offer merits and demerits of multiple possible solutions.
Implications of weak regulatory governance: Judicial scrutiny
- Weak regulatory governance resulted in weak regulations, inviting judicial scrutiny.
- Changes in master circular: In 2019, the Supreme Court effectively rewrote RBI’s master circular on wilful defaulters to provide additional procedural safeguards to borrowers.
- Striking down of crypto ban: In 2020, the court struck down an RBI circular that sought to ban its regulated entities from dealing or settling in virtual currencies.
- The court found that the RBI had neither adduced any cogent evidence of the likely harm, nor had it considered any less intrusive alternative before issuing the circular.
RRA 2.0 suggestions for the RBI
- The recent report of the Regulations Review Authority 2.0 (RRA) offers useful suggestions to improve the central bank’s regulation-making process.
- The RBI had set up the Review Authority 2.0 (RRA) in April 2021 to streamline its regulations.
- Skill improvement in regulatory drafting: RRA has advocated for skill development in regulatory drafting inside the RBI.
- Public consultation: To improve regulatory governance at the RBI, RRA suggested that its regulatory instructions should be issued only after public consultation, except if they are urgent or time sensitive.
- They must contain a brief statement of objects and reasons clearly explaining the rationale behind their issuance.
- Although much softer than the FSRLC standards, RRA nevertheless signal a progressive step forward.
Conclusion
The RBI should heed these recommendations. It should ideally hardcode the suggested principles into a secondary legislation that is binding on itself. That would be the best way to signal that the central bank takes regulatory governance and rule of law seriously.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Soil Health Card
Mains level: Paper 3- Soil degradation
Context
A key element of sustainable food production is healthy soil because nearly 95 per cent of global food production depends on soil. The current status of soil health is worrisome.
The threat posed by soil degradation
- The challenge to food security: Soil degradation on an unprecedented scale is a significant challenge to sustainable food production.
- About one-third of the earth’s soils is already degraded and alarmingly, about 90 per cent could be degraded by 2050 if no corrective action is taken.
- Soil degradation in India: While soil degradation is believed to be occurring in 145 million hectares in India, it is estimated that 96.40 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the total geographical area — is affected by land degradation.
- The FAO’s latest ‘State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture’ says: “…soil pollution is also an issue. It knows no borders and compromises the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
- Globally, the biophysical status of 5,670 million hectares of land is declining, of which 1,660 million hectares (29 per cent) is attributed to human-induced land degradation, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s ‘State of Land, Soil and Water’ report.
Cause of the problem
- Use of agrochemicals: The excessive or inappropriate use of agrochemicals is one cause of the problem.
- The global annual production of industrial chemicals has doubled since the beginning of the 21st century, to approximately 2.3 billion tonnes.
- Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides led to the deterioration of soil health and contamination of water bodies and the food chain, which pose serious health risks to people and livestock.
- Salination: Another challenge comes from salinisation, which affects 160 million hectares of cropland worldwide.”
About Soil Health Card Scheme
- Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- An SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
- SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
- It will be made available once in a cycle of 2 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.
- The SHC given in the next cycle of 2 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.
- Under the programme as of date, soil health cards have been distributed to about 23 crore farmers.
- The scheme has not only helped in improving the health of the soil, but has also benefited innumerable farmers by increasing crop production and their incomes.
Progress made so far on soil restoration
- India is well on course to achieving the restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- A study conducted by the National Productivity Council in 2017 on this programme revealed that there has been a decrease in the use of chemical fertilisers in the range of 8-10 per cent as a result of the application of fertilisers and micro-nutrients as per the recommendations on the soil health cards.
- Overall, an increase in crop yields to the tune of 5-6 per cent was reported as a result.
- First organic state in the world: “A Healthy Planet for Healthy Children’’ published by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the World Future Council highlighted success stories from various countries — including Sikkim in India, which became the first organic state in the world.
Way forward
- Natural farming: Several studies have established that natural farming and organic farming are not only cost-effective but also lead to improvement in soil health and the farmland ecosystem.
- Agro-ecological practices: With the threat to food security looming large globally, the need of the hour is to adopt innovative policies and agro-ecological practices that create healthy and sustainable food production systems.
Conclusion
The time has come for collective global action involving governments and civil society to reverse the alarming trend of soil degradation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IMF
Mains level: Pakistan economic crisis, Debt trap
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have been depleting during the last one year and is heading towards a default risk as Sri Lanka did.
Pakistani economy is said to have been crippling since the discontinuance of US ‘military’ aid which it had used
What is the news?
- The Pakistani rupee has been on free fall; from 150 in April 2021 to 213 against the dollar on 21 June, an all-time low.
- This would mean high oil and electricity prices, to outrage the people who are already to the streets due to ousted PM Imran Khan.
- The government-International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks have remained complicated.
Options available for Pakistan
- Pakistan is under deep Balance of Payment (BoP) crisis (as was India in 1991).
- Pakistan has exhausted all credit options as SL did.
- Even the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is at standstill.
- Even the Saudi’s and so called ‘caliphate’ of Turkey has not come to Pakistan’s rescue.
Only option left: IMF bail out
- The immediate future of Pakistan’s economy would depend on IMF resuming its support.
- Despite an intense discussion between the two, there has not been a consensus until now.
What is IMF bail-out?
- Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat.
- When a country asks the IMF for a loan, the country is facing a major economic crisis.
- In particular, it does not have enough foreign currency (‘dollars’) to pay for imports and the repayments on its loans. In short, the country cannot pay its international bills. So, it need a bailout.
- The IMF will give the country an aid, which is ‘cash’ in the sense that it does not have to be spent on a particular project. This money can be used to pay its bills.
- But, the IMF will impose certain conditions. The basic condition is to spend less – both domestically and internationally.
- This belt-tightening is not easy – people lose jobs, prices rise, etc. And, one has to repay the loan.
- These conditions are necessary to ensure that the money is being spent where it is supposed to.
Pakistan and IMF: A track record
- Pakistan’s relationship with the IMF has remained complicated. It sees conditions laid as a breach of sovereignty.
- Though Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF repeatedly, there has been an economic nationalism, mostly jingoistic, against approaching the IMF in recent years.
- Imran Khan, the former PM made statements and fuelled the sentiments against the IMF.
- After becoming the PM in 2018, he preferred approaching friendly countries (China and Saudi Arabia) and avoiding the IMF.
- The new government is now back to the IMF; it expects the IMF to release the payments, expand the support programme, and give a longer rope to repay.
Conditions laid out by IMF for recent bail-out
- The IMF is willing to support Pakistan but has some conditions regarding macroeconomic reforms.
- It wants Pakistan to be transparent about its debt situation, including what Islamabad owes to China, as a part of the CPEC.
- Terror-financing in Pakistan is the most favored type of investment!
- The IMF may agree to support after a few more promises by the government.
- But the relief may be less than what Pakistan would hope for.
A vicious cycle
- Since its inception, Pakistan has spent more years inside an IMF programme than outside of it.
- Every leader took the money, imposed massive hardships on the population through austerity and demand suppression and then reneges on its commitment through a patchy implementation.
- Radical fanaticism and anti-India sentiments are successful tools of public appeasement.
Will Pakistan pursue macroeconomic reforms?
- In Pakistan, budgets have remained populist.
- The economic governance declined due to corruption, lack of financial institutions’ independence, and the export decline.
- The subsidies in the energy sector — fuel, oil and electricity — remain high to appease the public.
- With the present coalition government facing elections, they are less likely to take any further bold decisions.
Will “friendly countries” support Pakistan without preconditions?
- Saudi Arabia and China have been supporting Pakistan. MBS has already pulled his hands.
- Riyadh’s support is not unconditional.
- It can ask Pakistan “to return the money at any time if the two countries have divergent views regarding their relationship or ties with a third country, or some other issue.”
- China has been another significant source for Pakistan. Islamabad has been regularly seeking loans from China within and outside the CPEC projects.
- However, since the attack on Chinese citizens by Baloch Fighters, China appears to have been disgusted with Pakistan.
- CPEC is also at a standstill.
FATF clearance is no panacea
- During the latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting, there was an understanding that Pakistan has met its requirement.
- The FATF has agreed to explore the possibilities of removing Pakistan from the grey list.
- However, even when Pakistan was on the grey list, the IMF had been holding talks with Islamabad.
- The big two — China and Saudi Arabia — were not constrained by Pakistan’s listing in the FATF.
- So, the relaxation is less likely to open gates for big investments.
Will Pakistan go the Sri Lankan way?
- The situation was similar in Sri Lanka — the falling value of rupee, declining foreign exchange reserves, differences with the IMF, and rising fuel prices.
- All of them led to public protests in Sri Lanka against the government.
- The economic and energy crises in Pakistan have not snowballed into a political storm as it had happened in Sri Lanka.
- The dope of “threats to Religion” works effectively there.
Conclusion
- The experiment of Pakistan (as a separate nation) has failed on various fronts.
- To conclude, Pakistan’s economic and energy situation is serious and demands bold decisions.
- The situation will worsen in the short term before it gets better, but this has been Pakistan’s history in the last 75 years.
- With a relief from the IMF, after a protracted negotiation, a few band-aids, and the US intervention, Islamabad may muddle through this time as well, until the next crisis.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MGNREGA
Mains level: Read the attached story
Certain groups has asked to discontinue manual attendance for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) work sites with more than 20 workers and use a mobile phone-based application.
What is MGNREGA?
- The MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
- This is labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
- The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao.
Features of the scheme
- MGNREGA is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
- The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
- Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
- Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
What is so unique about it?
- MGNREGA is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
- The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
- Any Indian citizen above the age of 18 years who resides in rural India can apply for the NREGA scheme. The applicant should have volunteered to do unskilled work.
- Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
- Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee act”?
(a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households.
(b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households.
(c) Adult members of households of all backward communities.
(d) Adult members of any household.
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Snake Island
Mains level: Not Much
Ukraine has said it has caused “significant losses” to the Russian military in airstrikes on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, in the Black Sea.
Snake Island
- Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake or Serpent Island, is a small piece of rock less than 700 metres from end to end, that has been described as being “X-shaped”.
- It is located 35 km from the coast in the Black Sea, to the east of the mouth of the Danube and roughly southwest of the port city of Odessa.
- The island, which has been known since ancient times and is marked on the map by the tiny village of Bile that is located on it, belongs to Ukraine.
Why does Russia seek to control the Black Sea?
- Domination of the Black Sea region is a geostrategic imperative for Moscow.
- The famed water body is bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
- It links to the Sea of Marmara through the Bosporus and then to the Aegean through the Dardanelles.
- It has traditionally been Russia’s warm water gateway to Europe.
- For Russia, the Black Sea is both a stepping stone to the Mediterranean as well as a strategic buffer between NATO and itself.
- Cutting Ukrainian access to the Black Sea will reduce it to a landlocked country and deal a crippling blow to its trade logistics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sao Joao Festival
Mains level: Not Much
As in every monsoon, Catholics in Goa will celebrate Sao Joao, the feast of St John the Baptist.
Note: The name typically sounds like a North-Eastern festival, but it is not.
What is Sao Joao and where is it celebrated in Goa?
- In Goa, Catholics celebrate all the feasts of the Roman Catholic Church, which include the feast of St John the Baptist on June 24.
- John the Baptist is the person who he had baptised Jesus Christ on the river Jordan.
- Traditionally, there are spirited Sao Joao festivities in the villages of Cortalim in South Goa and Harmal, Baga, Siolim and Terekhol in North Goa.
- However, over the years, pool parties and private Sao Joao parties in Goa have been a “complete package of merriment and joy” for tourists.
Course of celebration
- The celebrations will include revellers sporting crowns made of fruits, flowers and leaves, and the major draw of the feast is the water bodies – wells, ponds, fountains, rivers – in which the revellers take the “leap of joy”.
- Enjoyed by children and adults alike, the festival also includes playing the traditional gumott (percussion instrument), a boat festival, servings of feni, and a place of pride for new sons-in-law.
What does jumping into water bodies symbolise?
- The youngsters in Goa celebrate this occasion with revelry and perform daredevil feats, by jumping into over flowing wells or rivulets.
- The boys are found merrily jumping into the water to commemorate the leap of joy, which St John is said to have taken in the womb of his mother St Elizabeth when virgin Mary visited her.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Green mobility
Mains level: NA
Mo Bus, the bus service of Odisha’s Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) authority, has been recognized by the United Nations as one of 10 global recipients of its annual Public Service Awards for 2022.
Mo Bus service
- The Mo Bus service was launched on November 6, 2018.
- It aimed to ensure transformation of the urban public transport scenario in the city and its hinterland through use of smart technology, service benchmarking and customer satisfaction.
- The buses are designed to integrate smart technologies such as free on-board Wi-Fi service, digital announcements, surveillance cameras, and electronic ticketing.
- CRUT says that to increase women’s participation in the workforce, and to make women riders feel safer, it is committed to ensuring that 50% of Mo Bus Guides (conductors) are women.
What is the recent award?
- The public transport service has been recognised for its role in “promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”.
- The “impact” is that 57 per cent of the city’s commuters now use the Mo Bus, the UN said.
- Mo E-Ride is estimated to reduce pollution by 30-50 per cent.
About UN Public Service Award
- The UN describes its Public Service Awards as the “most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service”.
- The first Awards ceremony was held in 2003, and the UN has since received “an increasing number of submissions from all around the world”.
- It is intended to reward the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
- Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
Mains level: Paper 2- The Ukraine conflict and BRICS
Context
China is hosting the 14th BRICS summit in virtual mode. The focus of the summit will be centred on the conflict and the association’s future.
About BRICS
- BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- The BRICS Leaders’ Summit is convened annually.
- It does not exist in form of an organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
- The grouping was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA in New York in September 2006.
- The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture.
- South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
- South Africa subsequently attended the Third BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011.
- The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
Significance of BRICS
- Economically, militarily, technologically, socially and culturally, BRICS nations represent a powerful bloc.
- 40 per cent of the world’s population: They have an estimated combined population of 3.23 billion people, which is over 40 per cent of the world’s population.
- 25 per cent of global GDP: They account for over more than a quarter of the world’s land area over three continents, and for more than 25 per cent of the global GDP.
- Two fastest growing large economies: The grouping comprises two of the fastest-growing nations, India and China.
- It has proved its mettle to an extent by establishing the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
How the Ukraine crisis creates challenges for the BRICS
- The leaders of BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will navigate the crucial dilemma of evolving a common stance on the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
- The primary agenda of BRICS was rebalancing an international system dominated by the West.
- However, the Ukraine crisis could act as a distraction from that primary agenda.
- The geopolitical considerations of its members can come in the way of attaining the grouping’s original goal.
- Target of economic warfare: Some of the BRICS members could be potential targets of the kind of economic warfare deployed by the West against Russia.
- The West has so far not expected the BRICS countries to stringently adhere to its sanctions against Russia.
- But it will be naïve to expect that they will persist with this attitude.
Way forward
1] Create institutional arrangement
- Challenging the economic might of the West in the near future might be close to impossible.
- Despite the group comprising China, India and Russia, intra-BRICS trade accounts for less than 20 per cent of global trade.
- BRICS is far from having its own payment mechanisms, international messaging systems or cards.
- The Ukraine crisis should drive home the need to create institutional arrangements that can cushion against similar financial turbulence in the future.
2] Recalibrate structure and expand
- BRICS requires a recalibration of its structure and agenda.
- Creating financial mechanisms and technological institutions could turn BRICS into a G20 for developing nations.
- It’s time to revisit the idea of expanding the grouping by inviting new members.
- This could also impart new vigour to the BRICS’s developmental goals.
3] Economic cooperation between India and China
- Economic cooperation between India and China is vital for the success of any future BRICS endeavour.
- The border conflict has created a mistrust of China in India.
- In the current situation, New Delhi is unlikely to take an anti-West stance.
- India, unlike China, is neither a UN Security Council member nor does it have major sticking points with the West.
- At the same time, India is not a part of the Western camp.
- That does open up the possibility of New Delhi taking a more proactive position in BRICS.
- The two powers need to come together for the sake of global governance reform.
Conclusion
The Ukraine crisis could be an occasion for the leaders of BRICS nations to commit themselves to the original goal of the bloc. It’s an opportunity they shouldn’t let go of.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AFS
Mains level: Paper 3- Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS)
Context
The recently concluded twelfth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) adopted the trade agreement called the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS).
About the AFS
- WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies were launched in 2001 at the Doha Ministerial Conference, with a mandate to “clarify and improve” existing WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies.
- At the 2017 Buenos Aires Ministerial Conference (MC11), ministers decided on a work programme to conclude the negotiations by aiming to adopt, at the next Ministerial Conference, an agreement on fisheries subsidies which delivers on Sustainable Development Goal 14.6.
- The recently concluded twelfth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) adopted a sustainability-driven trade agreement called the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS).
Provisions adopted in the AFS
- Prohibits three subsidies: Fundamentally, AFS prohibits three kinds of subsidies:
- First, illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing.
- Second, fishing of already over-exploited stocks.
- Third, fishing on unregulated high seas.
- Two-year transition period for developing countries: As part of special and differential treatment (S&DT), developing countries like India have been given a two-year transition period for phasing out the first two kinds of subsidies within their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
- However, the final negotiated outcome, most crucially, lacks the much-needed discipline on subsidies for fishing in other members’ waters and those that contribute to overcapacity and over-fishing (OCOF).
- Limited AFS: WTO member countries agreed to a limited AFS sans regulations disciplining OCOF subsidies, which have been pushed to the future and are expected to be completed within four years.
- If negotiations fail, the AFS will stand terminated, as provided in Article 12.
- Meanwhile, all countries can continue providing most OCOF subsidies, that is, except for fishing on unregulated high seas.
What are the implications for India?
- Longer transition period required: India has been demanding that developing countries be given a longer transition period of 25 years to put an end to OCOF subsidies within their EEZ.
- Economic growth through ocean resources: Given its long coastline of nearly 7,500 kilometres, the blue economy — sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth — occupies a cardinal place in India’s development trajectory.
- India has set a target of exporting marine products worth $14 billion by 2025.
- Policy space for marine infrastructure: India needs the policy space to invest in developing the marine infrastructure to harness the full potential of the blue economy.
- Livelihood concerns: Moreover, India needs to protect the livelihood concerns of close to four million marine farmers, the majority of whom are engaged in small-scale, artisanal fishing, which does not pose a great threat to sustainability.
- However, India’s demand for a longer transition period was not acceptable to many countries who insisted on this period being seven years
The disparity between Developed countries and Developing countries
- India rightly contends that WTO disciplines should not be developed in a manner that throttles its emerging sector while richer nations continue to negotiate exemptions for indefinite subsidisation and exclusion of horizontal, non-specific fuel subsidies in the text.
- Rich countries have historically provided massive subsidies to build capacity for large-scale fishing and fishing in distant waters, thereby contributing the most to depletion.
- India provided subsidies worth a mere $277 million in 2018, in sharp contrast to the top five subsidisers: China, EU, US, South Korea, and Japan, whose subsidies range from $7,261-$2,860 million respectively.
Way forward
- Comprehensive agreement: For the sake of sustainability, countries need to overcome their differences soon and forge a comprehensive agreement with the inclusion of meaningful S&DT, else they risk the indefinite continuation of harmful subsidies by all players.
- One balancing act could be to consider different ways to effectuate such flexibilities while accommodating the demands in a more targeted manner.
- Strengthening infrastructure: India could strengthen infrastructure and mechanisms to be able to utilise any future exemptions.
Conclusion
For India, the AFS is less-than-perfect, with a potential of no real outcome at the end of four years if the negotiations fail. But negotiations over the global commons are not easy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Anti-Defection Law
Mains level: Political turmoil in states and horse trading
The unfolding political crisis in Maharashtra has thrown the spotlight on the anti-defection law, and the roles of the Deputy Speaker and the Governor.
What is the news?
- Some legislators have aligned themselves with the party’s rebel leader and are camping in Guwahati.
- The party has warned its MLAs that their absence from the meeting would lead to the presumption they wanted to leave the political party.
- And this would therefore lead to action against them under the anti-defection law.
What is the Anti-Defection Law?
- The anti-defection law provides for the disqualification of MLAs who, after being elected on the ticket of a political party, “voluntarily give up their party membership”.
- The Supreme Court has interpreted the term broadly and ruled an MLA’s conduct can indicate whether they have left their party.
- The law is also applicable to independent MLAs.
- But the anti-defection law does not apply if the number of MLAs who leave a political party constitute two-thirds of the party’s strength in the legislature.
- These MLAs can merge with another party or become a separate group in the legislature.
How does the two-thirds rule work in the current situation in Maharashtra?
- Reports indicate that 30 MLAs are with rebel leader.
- Taking this number at face value means it does not reach the two-thirds (37) mark of the 55 MLAs the party has in the Maharashtra Assembly.
- Therefore, the protection under the anti-defection law would not be available to the rebel group.
What adds more to this high-stage political drama?
- It is the Assembly Speaker who decides whether an MLA has left a party or a group that constitutes two-thirds of a party.
- The position of the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly is, however, currently vacant.
- Article 180(1) of the Constitution states that the Deputy Speaker performs the Speaker’s duties when the office is vacant.
- Since then, the Deputy Speaker has been acting as the Speaker.
How would a decision be taken whether the anti-defection law applies in this case?
Under the current circumstances, two ways would lead to adjudication under the law.
(1) Approaching the acting Speaker to file defection petition
- First, any MLA of the Assembly can petition that certain MLAs have defected from their political party.
- Such a petition has to be accompanied by documentary evidence.
- The Deputy Speaker would then forward the petition to the MLAs against whom their colleagues are making the charge of defection.
- The MLAs would have seven days or such time that the Deputy Speaker decides is sufficient to enable them to put across their side of the story.
(2) Proving of two-third majority
- Rebel leader and MLAs supporting too can write to the Deputy Speaker with evidence claiming that they represent two-thirds of the strength and claim protection under the anti-defection law.
- In either case, Speakers will decide the matter after hearing all parties, which could take time.
How much time does it usually take? Why delay occurs?
- In recent years, one of the fastest decisions in a defection proceeding was delivered by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.
- However in state legislatures, defection petitions have taken much longer.
- For example, in 2020, the Supreme Court used its extraordinary power to remove a Manipur minister from his position.
- But whether the Speaker decides quickly or takes time, the Speaker is usually challenged in court, which further delays the decision.
- Both Venkaiah Naidu and the Supreme Court have recommended that Speakers decide on defection cases in three months.
What is the Governor’s role?
(1) Declaration of Presidents Rule (NA)
- The Governor has a crucial role when there is political instability in a state.
- Before 1994, Governors were quick to dismiss a state government, charging that it did not have a majority in the state legislature and recommending the imposition of the President’s rule in the state.
- But the Supreme Court ended this practice with its judgment in the S R Bommai case in 1994.
(2) Holding Assembly
- In this landmark case, the court ruled that the place for deciding whether a government has lost its majority was in the legislature.
- Hence, Maharashtra Governor can ask Chief Minister to convene the Assembly and prove his majority on the floor of the House.
(3) Governors Discretion
- The CM can recommend to the Governor to dissolve the legislature before the end of its five-year term and call for elections under Article 174(2)(b).
- Here, the Governor’s discretion comes into play.
- The Governor may choose not to dissolve the legislature.
- This is when if he or she believes that the recommendation is coming from a council of ministers who do not enjoy the confidence of the state legislature.
Note: In 2020, the Supreme Court, in Shivraj Singh Chouhan & Ors versus Speaker, MP Legislative Assembly & Ors, upheld the powers of the Speaker to call for a floor test if there is a prima facie view that the government has lost its majority.
(4) Floor test
- Under Article 175(2), the Governor can summon the House and call for a floor test to prove whether the government has the numbers.
- In a detailed judgment, the Court also explained the scope of the power of the Governor and the law revolving around floor tests.
- When the House is in session, it is the Speaker who can call for a floor test.
- But when the Assembly is not in session, the Governor’s residuary powers under Article 163 allow him to call for a floor test.
Conclusion
- The spectacle of rival political parties whisking away their MLAs to safe destinations does little credit to the state of our democratic politics.
- It is an unfortunate reflection on the confidence which political parties hold in their own constituents and a reflection of what happens in the real world of politics.
- Political bargaining, or horse-trading, as we noticed, is now an oft repeated usage in legal precedents.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G7, G12, G20
Mains level: G7
PM Modi will fly to the Germany as a special invitee to the meeting of G-7 countries.
Group of 7
- The G-7 or ‘Group of Seven’ includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975 by the top economies of the time as an informal forum to discuss pressing world issues.
- Initially, it was formed as an effort by the US and its allies to discuss economic issues.
- The G-7 forum now discusses several challenges such as oil prices and many pressing issues such as financial crises, terrorism, arms control, and drug trafficking.
- It does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding.
- Canada joined the group in 1976, and the European Union began attending in 1977.
Evolution of the G-7
- When it started in 1975—with six members, Canada joining a year later—it represented about 70% of the world economy.
- And it was a cosy club for tackling issues such as the response to oil shocks.
- Now it accounts for about 40% of global GDP.
- Since the global financial crisis of 2007-09 it has sometimes been overshadowed by the broader G20.
- The G-7 became the G-8 in 1997 when Russia was invited to join.
Why was Russia expelled?
- The G-7 was known as the ‘G-8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997.
- The Group returned to being called G-7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
- Since his election in 2016, President Trump has suggested on several occasions that Russia be added again, given what he described as Moscow’s global strategic importance.
Why in news now?
- New Delhi is preparing for more pressure from the G-7 countries.
- These countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and the EU) have unitedly imposed sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine.
- They want India to cooperate in restricting its purchase of Russian oil, not circumvent the sanctions by using a rupee-rouble mechanism.
- It also wants India to lift the ban on the export of wheat.
Relevance of G7 for India
- India will get more voice, more influence and more power by entering the G7.
- After UN Security Council (UNSC), this is the most influential grouping.
- If the group is expanded it will collectively address certain humongous issues in the global order.
- Diplomatically, a seat at the high table could help New Delhi further its security and foreign policy interests, especially at the nuclear club and UNSC reforms.
- It will further protect its interests in the Indian Ocean.
Challenges for India’s entry
- The decision to expand the grouping cannot be taken by the US alone.
- There needs to be a consensus.
- However, a special invitation to India is no mean achievement.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Santhal Tribe, Rebellion
Mains level: Tribal progress and successfull upliftement
The Santhal community is in the spotlight after a political alliance nominated one of its leaders for the Presidential election, Droupadi Murmu, for the election to the highest Constitutional post of India.
Santhal Tribe
- Santhal, also spelt as Santal, literally means a calm, peaceful man. Santha means calm, and ala means man in the Santhali (also spelt as Santali) language.
- Santhals are the third largest Scheduled Tribe community in India after Gonds and Bhils.
- The Santhali population is mostly distributed in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
Historical background
- The Santhals were a nomadic stock before they chose to settle in the Chotanagpur plateau.
- By the end of the 18th century, they had concentrated in the Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand (earlier Bihar).
- From there, they migrated to Odisha and West Bengal.
Demographic details
- Tribal communities, outside the Northeast, generally have lower levels of literacy.
- But the Santhals have higher – a result of a pro-school education awareness since at least the 1960s – literacy rate compared to other tribes in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
- Many of the community have entered the creamy layer of Indian society.
- For example, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren is a Santhal.
- The incumbent Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAGI) Girsh Chandra Murmu, who was the first Lt Governor of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, is also a Santhal.
Cultural features of Santhals
(1) Religion
- Despite their social upliftment, the Santhals are usually connected to their roots.
- They are nature worshippers and could be seen paying obeisance at Jaher (sacred groves) in their villages.
- River Damodar holds a special place in the religious life cycle of a Santhal.
- When a Santhal dies, his or her ashes and bones are immersed in the Damodar for a peaceful afterlife.
- Their traditional dress includes dhoti and gamuchha for men and a short-check saree, usually blue and green, for women, who generally put on tattoos.
(2) Society
- Various forms of marriage are accepted in the Santhal society – including elopement, widow remarriage, levirate, forced (rare) and the one in which a man is made to marry the woman he has impregnated.
- Divorce is not a taboo in the Santhal society. Either of the couple could divorce the other.
(3) Artforms
- Santhals are fond of their folk song and dance that they perform at all community events and celebrations.
- They play musical instruments like kamak, dhol, sarangi and flutes.
- Most Santhals are agriculturists, depending on their farmlands or forests.
- Their homes, called Olah, have a particular three-colour pattern on the outer walls.
- The bottom portion is painted with black soil, the middle with white and the upper with red.
(4) Language
- Their tribal language is called Santhali, which is written in a script called Ol chiki, developed by Santhal scholar Pandit Raghunath Murmu.
- Santhali language belongs to the Munda group.
- Santhali written in OI-Chiki script is recognised as one of the scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
Back2Basics: Santhal Rebellion
- The Santhal rebellion also known as Santhal Hool was a revolt by the Santhal in present-day Jharkhand, India, against the British East India Company and the Zamindari System.
- It began on June 30, 1855, and the East India Company declared martial law on November 10, 1855, which lasted until January 3, 1856, when martial law was lifted.
- The insurrection was put down by the Presidency soldiers.
- The four Murmu Brothers – Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, and Bhairav – spearheaded the revolt.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bedti-Varada Interlinking Project
Mains level: River interlinking and associated issues
Environmental groups in Karnataka have criticised the project to link the Bedti and Varada rivers in Karnataka, calling it ‘unscientific’ and a ‘waste of public money’.
Bedti-Varada Interlinking Project
- The Bedti-Aghanashini-Varade river-linking project was also included in the country’s major rivers project devised by the then PM Vajpayee government.
- The Central Government had created a task force to prepare action plans for interlinking the riverbeds in 2002.
- The project cost and the source of investments were ascertained and suggested that the project be taken up in 2016.
Key details
- The Bedti-Varada project was envisaged in 1992 as one to supply drinking water by the then government.
- The plan aims to link the Bedti, a river flowing west into the Arabian Sea, with the Varada, a tributary of the Tungabhadra river, which flows into the Krishna, which in turn flows into the Bay of Bengal.
- A massive dam will be erected at Hirevadatti in Gadag district under the project. A second dam will be built on the Pattanahalla river at Menasagoda in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district.
- Both dams will take water to the Varada via tunnels of length 6.3 kilometres and 2.2-km. The water will reach at a place called Kengre.
- It will then go down a 6.88 km tunnel to Hakkalumane, where it will join the Varada.
- The project thus envisages taking water from the water surplus Sirsi-Yellapura region of Uttara Kannada district to the arid Raichur, Gadag and Koppal districts.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)
Mains level: Not Much
Activists surrounding the Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) in Manipur have now taken up the cudgels to ensure that the government does not shift the proposed heritage park from the approved site.
Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP)
- The KLNP is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur in India.
- It is 40 km2 in area, the only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and an integral part of Loktak Lake.
- The national park is characterized by floating decomposed plant material locally called Phumdi at the south–eastern side of the Loktak Lake, which has been declared a Ramsar site.
- It was created in 1966 as a wildlife sanctuary to preserve the natural habitat of the endangered Eld’s deer.
- In 1977, it was gazetted as national park.
Key faunas
- KLNP is home to the last of the brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii eldii), one of the most endangered deer in the world.
- It is locally called as Sangai.
- The animal is, in fact, in danger of losing its home—most of the phumdis, or floating swamps, are unable to sustain its weight.
- In 1951, it was reported extinct, but British tea planter and naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee rediscovered it in 1953.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- New phase of globalisation and challenges ahead
Context
After the go-go 1990s and 2000s the pace of economic integration stalled in the 2010s, as firms grappled with the aftershocks of a financial crisis, a populist revolt against open borders and President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Background of globalisation
- After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, main theme of globalisation was efficiency.
- Companies located production where costs were lowest, while investors deployed capital where returns were highest.
- Governments aspired to treat firms equally, regardless of their nationality, and to strike trade deals with democracies and autocracies alike.
- Low prices: All this kept prices low for consumers and helped lift 1bn people out of extreme poverty as the emerging world, including China, industrialised.
Recent worries with globalisation
- Volatile capital flows destabilised financial markets. Many blue-collar workers in rich countries lost out.
- Recently, two other worries have loomed large.
- Cost in case of disruption is high: First, some lean supply chains are not as good value as they appear: mostly they keep costs low, but when they break, the bill can be crippling.
- Covid-19 was a shock, but wars, extreme weather or another virus could easily disrupt supply chains in the next decade.
- Dependencies on autocracies have increased: The second problem is that the single-minded pursuit of cost advantage has led to a dependency on autocracies that abuse human rights and use trade as a means of coercion.
- Hopes that economic integration would lead to reform—what the Germans call “change through trade”—have been dashed: autocracies account for a third of world gdp.
The fragile state of the international trade and beginning of new phase in globalisation
- The pandemic and war in Ukraine have triggered a once-in-a-generation reimagining of global capitalism in boardrooms and governments.
- Supply chain resilience: The supply chains are being transformed, from the $9trn in inventories, stockpiled as insurance against shortages and inflation, to the fight for workers as global firms shift from China into Vietnam.
- Preferring security over efficiency: This new kind of globalisation is about security, not efficiency: it prioritises doing business with people you can rely on, in countries your government is friendly with.
- One indication that companies are shifting from efficiency to resilience is the vast build-up in precautionary inventories: for the biggest 3,000 firms globally these have risen from 6% to 9% of world gdp since 2016.
- Many firms are adopting dual sourcing and longer-term contracts.
- Investment pattern is inverted: The pattern of multinational investment has been inverted: 69% is from local subsidiaries reinvesting locally, rather than parent firms sending capital across borders.
- Strategic autonomy: The industries under most pressure are already reinventing their business models, encouraged by governments that from Europe to India are keen on “strategic autonomy”.
- Moving towards vertical integration: The car industry is copying Elon Musk’s Tesla by moving towards vertical integration, in which you control everything from nickel mining to chip design.
- Long-term supply deals: In energy, the West is seeking long-term supply deals from allies rather than relying on spot markets dominated by rivals.
Challenges
- Protectionism: The danger is that a reasonable pursuit of security will morph into rampant protectionism, jobs schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars of industrial subsidies.
- Long-run inefficiencies: The long-run inefficiency from indiscriminately replicating supply chains would be enormous.
- Were you to duplicate a quarter of all multinational activity, the extra annual operating and financial costs involved could exceed 2% of world gdp.
Way forward
- Restraint: Because of the above challenges, restraint is crucial.
- Diversification: Governments and firms must remember that resilience comes from diversification, not concentration at home.
- Diversify in the areas controlled by autocracies: The choke-points autocracies control amount to only about a tenth of global trade, based on their exports of goods in which they have a leading market share of over 10% and for which it is hard to find substitutes.
- The answer is to require firms to diversify their suppliers in these areas, and let the market adapt.
Conclusion
Will today’s governments be up to the task? Myopia and insularity abound. But if you are a consumer of global goods and ideas—that is to say, a citizen of the world—you should hope globalisation’s next phase involves the maximum possible degree of openness.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 124
Mains level: Paper 2- Judicial reforms
Context
Following are the reforms needed in the various aspects of the higher judiciary
Removing the disparity between retirement ages of HC and SC judges
- High Court judges now retire at 62 and Supreme Court judges at 65.
- It is high time that we did away with the disparity between the retirement ages of High Court and Supreme Court judges.
- There is no good reason for this difference.
- Intense pressure and competition: The obvious negative fallout of a differential retirement age simply is intense pressure and competition to make it to the top court and thus get three more years.
- If this is done away with, several judges of mettle would prefer to be Chief Justices and senior judges in the High Courts exercising wide power of influence rather than being a junior judge on a Bench of the Supreme Court.
- There is good work to be done in the High Courts, and we need good men there.
Create a cadre of public service for retired judges
- SeveralSupreme Court judges focus on arbitrations after retirement.
- A minority of judges devote themselves to public service; sadly, this is a very small minority.
- Another lot are appointed to various constitutional posts and tribunals and commissions.
- It would be worthwhile reform to create a cadre of public service for retired judges and from this pool make appointments to the constitutional and statutory posts and special assignments.
- Such judges should receive the full pay and the facilities of a judge of the Supreme Court for life.
- We should have a culture of public service for senior judges, and those who do not fit in such culture should not be a part of senior ranks.
Reform in the process of appointment of Chief Justice of India
- No constitutional basis: It is generally assumed that the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court should be the Chief Justice of India.
- The Constitution mandates no such thing.
- Article 124 merely states that the President will appoint every judge of the Supreme Court, and this includes the Chief Justice, and each of these judges shall hold office until they attain the age of 65 years.
- The requirement about appointing the seniormost judge to be the CJI was devised in the Second Judges case (1993) and the consequent Memorandum of Procedure which is an usurpation of the President’s power.
- There is no good reason why any one particular person should have a vested interest in the top job, and we are better served by eliminating such expectation.
- Let all serve equally under the constitutional throne for the entire length of their tenure.
But who then shall be the CJI?
- As per the Constitution the judges of the High Court, senior advocates and distinguished jurists are eligible for the appointment as the judge of the Supreme Court.
- Chief Justice of HC: When a serving CJI retires, his successor should be the best reputed Chief Justice of a High Court who has proved himself worthy both in judicial office as well as administrative leadership and has those qualities of heart and head which mark a good leader.
- The same process is followed in the appointment of the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
- Security of tenure: The appointee should have a clear three-year term.
- He should not function as the primus super pares — calling the shots and having their unfettered way.
- He should instead function in a true collegiate manner, especially in regard to the roster of allotment of cases, especially the sensitive ones, and appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts and other important matters of judicial and administrative importance.
Conclusion
Though there are several issues that need reforms in the higher judiciary, the above reforms can serve as the precursor to the other reforms to come.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Exercise Talisman Sabre
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Australia relations
Context
India and Australia, which share common values and interests, must work together with resolve to shape the economic and strategic environment so that it continues to support collective security and prosperity.
India-Australia ties: A background
- The ties are a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership full of practical, tangible actions that strengthen ties and benefit the region.
- India and Australia are a small group of countries to hold annual leaders’ summits and biennial 2+2 talks involving foreign and defence ministers.
- The defence forces of both the countries are undertaking more complex activities together, such as in Exercise Malabar with the US and Japan.
- We coordinate closely on maritime domain awareness.
- This year both countries deployed P-8 surveillance aircraft to each other’s territories for joint patrols.
- Australia has also committed to a package of partnership initiatives in our update to the India Economic Strategy.
- Cooperation on climate and sustainability: India and Australia have great potential to cooperate on climate and sustainability.
Why India matters to Australia
- Securing supply chain: India’s economy, manufacturing capabilities and talent ensure it will play a key role in securing supply chains and restarting post-pandemic growth.
- Balance of power: Its military has the capacity and capability to respond to natural disasters, help stabilise an uncertain region and contribute to an effective balance of power.
- Technological and scientific capabilities: Its technological and scientific capabilities are gateways to a cleaner and more sustainable world.
- Commitment to democracy: Most of all, India’s people have the optimism, the commitment to democracy, the drive and the goodwill to make our region safer, freer and better.
Vision for open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region
- As the bilateral relationship deepens, both the countries must begin to work more together with others in the region.
- Responding to humanitarian crises and natural disasters: There is enormous potential in the Indian and Pacific oceans, where we each have vital interests in combating climate change, illegal fishing and people smuggling and responding to humanitarian crises and natural disasters.
- Australia has a vision for an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
- It is a vision for a region that is more integrated rather than divided, where trade and investment flow freely based on agreed rules and treaty commitments, where disputes are resolved through dialogue in accordance with international law, and where a strategic culture that respects the rights of all states, big and small, prevails.
- It is a vision that Australia share with partners like ASEAN, and partners like India.
- Whether through joint activities with like-minded countries, or the support of regional and multilateral architecture, Australia is ensuring the region has options and balance.
Conclusion
India and Australia’s interests don’t just align, they are inextricably entwined. Expect this relationship to grow and prosper, our cooperation to deepen.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brahmaputra River
Mains level: Flood management
Disaster struck Dima Hasao, central Assam’s hill district, in mid-May after incessant heavy rainfall.
Impacts of the disaster
- The 170 km railway line connecting Lumding in the Brahmaputra Valley’s Hojai district and Badarpur in the Barak Valley’s Karimganj district was severely affected.
- The Assam government and Railway Ministry’s assessments said the district suffered a loss of more than ₹1,000 crore, but ecologists say the damage could be irreversibly higher.
How severe has the rain been in Assam?
- Assam is used to floods, sometimes even four times a year, resultant landslides and erosion.
- But the pre-monsoon showers this year have been particularly severe on Dima Hasao, one of three hill districts in the State.
- Landslips have claimed four lives and damaged roads.
- The impact has been most severe on the arterial railway, which was breached at 58 locations leaving the track hanging in several places.
- The disruption of train services, unlikely to be restored soon, has cut off the flood-hit Barak Valley, parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
Why is the railway in focus post-disaster?
- Dima Hasao straddles the Barail, a tertiary mountain range between the Brahmaputra and Barak River basins.
- The district is on the Dauki fault (the prone-to-earthquakes geological fractures between two blocks of rocks) straddling Bangladesh and parts of the northeast.
- British engineers were said to have factored in the fragility of the hills to build the railway line over 16 years by 1899.
- The end result was an engineering marvel 221 km long over several bridges and through 37 tunnels, laid along the safer sections of the hills.
A faulty experiment
- A project to convert the metre gauge track to broad gauge was undertaken in 1996 but the work was completed only by March 2015 because of geotechnical constraints and extremist groups.
- The broad-gauge track was realigned to be straighter, but a 2009-10 audit report revealed that the project had been undertaken without proper planning and visualisation of the soil strata behaviour.
- The report gave the example of the disaster-prone Tunnel 10 on the realigned track that was pegged 8 meters below the bed of a nearby stream.
Is only the railway at fault?
- There is a general consensus that other factors have contributed to the situation Dima Hasao is in today.
- Roads in the district, specifically the four-lane Saurashtra-Silchar (largest Barak Valley town) East-West Corridor, have been realigned or deviated from the old ones that were planned around rivers and largely weathered the conditions.
- The arterial roads build over the past 20 years often cave in and get washed away by floods or blocked by landslides.
- Shortened cycles of jhum or shifting cultivation on the hill slopes and unregulated mining have accentuated the “man-made disaster”.
- Massive extraction of river stone, illegal mining of coal and smuggling of forest timbe has led to the disaster.
- These activities have increased water current besides weakening either side of riverbanks.
How vital are the rail and highway through Dima Hasao?
- Meghalaya aside, Dima Hasao is the geographical link to a vast region comprising southern Assam’s Barak Valley, parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
- Moreover, this track is vital for India’s Look East policy that envisages shipping goods to and from Bangladesh’s Chittagong port via Tripura’s border points at Akhaura and Sabroom.
- These are the last railway station near the Feni River that serves as the India-Bangladesh border.
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