Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rath Yatra
Mains level: NA
Lakhs of devotees thronged the coastal town of Puri town to witness the annual Rath Yatra with three decorated chariots of sibling deities Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra towed in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple.
About Jagannath Rath Yatra
- Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
- It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
- The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
- It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.
Back2Basics: Puri Temple Architecture
- Jagannath Temple is a very big temple and covers an area of 37000m2. The height of the outer wall is 6.1m.
- It is surrounded by a high fortified wall 6.1 m high is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
- The main portion of the temple is also surrounded by a wall known as Kurma Bheda.
- The temple is built in Rekha Deula style and has four distinct sectional structures, namely –
- Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls)
- Mukhashala (Frontal porch)
- Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
- Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
(a) Chalukya (b) Chandela (c) Rashtrakuta (d) Vijayanagara
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Schedules of the Constitution
Mains level: Paper 2- Strengthening anti-defection law
Context
The political developments in Maharashtra throw up troubling questions about how the political class is weakening the anti-defection law.
Background of the anti-defection law
- It was enacted as the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, in 1985, under Rajiv Gandhi’s premiership.
- The law as it was enacted provided for the disqualification of a legislator belonging to a political party if he voluntarily gave up his membership of his party or if he defied the whip of his party by voting contrary to its directions in the legislative house.
- Two exceptions: Initially, there were two exceptions provided in the schedule which would exempt a legislator from disqualification.
- 1] Split: The first exception was a split in their original political party resulting in the formation of a group of legislators.
- If the group consisted of one third of such legislators of that party, they were exempted from disqualification.
- This exception was deleted from the schedule through a Constitution Amendment Act of 2003 because of frequent misuse.
- 2] Merger: The second exception was ‘merger’ which can be invoked when the original political party of a legislator merges with another party and not less than two thirds of its legislators agree to such a merger.
Interpretation of term ‘merger’ and issues with it
- It is this second exception contained in paragraph four of the schedule which has been taken recourse to by a large number of legislators across States and even in Parliament to defect to the ruling party.
- These legislators interpreted for themselves the term ‘merger’ to mean the merger of two thirds of legislators.
- Now, the same is being repeated in Maharashtra.
- But there is a little difference here.
- It appears that the dissidents of Shiv Sena believed that if they get the two third number they can form a separate group and topple the government and then form a government with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
- The law imposes the condition of merger of the original political party.
- However, a recent judgment of the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court ( Girish Chodankar vs The Speaker, Goa State Legislative) that held that the merger of two thirds of Members of the Legislative Assembly is deemed to be the merger of the original party seems to have given them a ray of hope.
- So, the legal position is if the dissidents do not merge with another party they will be disqualified now or later.
Question of disqualification
- Disqualification petitions have been filed by the Shiv Sena against 16 of the dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) on the ground that they have voluntarily given up the membership of the party.
- The question of whether they have voluntarily given up the membership of the party is decided on the basis of the conduct of a member.
- In Ravi S. Naik vs Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court had said “an inference can be drawn from the conduct of a member that he has voluntarily given up the membership of the party.
Weakening the anti-defection law
- Unprincipled defection: The ongoing developments in Maharashtra have once again brought before the country the reality of what the Supreme Court also described as the political evil of unprincipled defection.
- But the order of the Supreme Court, on June 27, on petitions from the dissidents in the Shiv Sena, gives undue advantage to the dissident legislators.
- The Court has granted them a longer time to submit replies than the rules mandate.
- This order is going to set in motion certain political developments which will resurrect in a big way what the Supreme Court characterised as political evil.
- The intervention by the Supreme Court too has thrown up some crucial question.
- Kihoto Hollohan case: The first question is whether the Court can intervene at a stage prior to the decision by the Deputy Speaker.
- A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had held in Kihoto Hollohan (1993) that judicial review cannot be available prior to the making of a decision by the Speaker nor at an interlocutory stage of the proceeding.
- The notice of no-confidence against the Deputy Speaker has added another piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
- Nabam Rebia case: The Supreme Court had held in Nabam Rebia (2016) that the Speaker shall not decide the disqualification cases till the no-confidence motion against him is disposed of.
- The House rules clearly say that the notice of no-confidence against the Speaker/Deputy Speaker needs to be admitted in the first place which is done only by the Speaker.
- But it is the House which takes the final decision on the motion. If the notice of no-confidence does not contain specific charges, it can be disallowed by the Speaker.
- Further, the notice can be given only if the House is summoned.
- When the notice was given, the Assembly was not convened. So, the notice against the Deputy Speaker can have no validity under the rules.
Conclusion
The law, though not perfect, is a serious attempt to strengthen the moral content of democracy. There will be shortcomings in this Bill but as we see and identify those shortcomings we should try to overcome them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Reproductive rights in India
Context
Contrary to the grandstanding since the overturning of the landmark Roe V. Wade judgment, the truth is that India is not ahead of the West in terms of reproductive rights.
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.
Issues with legal provisions related to reproductive rights in India
- Lack of rights based approach: The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 is far from ideal and has been criticised for not taking a rights-based approach.
- According to the Act, a pregnancy can be terminated on the following conditions: Grave danger to the physical/mental health of the pregnant woman; foetal abnormalities; rape/coercion; and contraceptive failure.
- A woman’s right to choose to end the pregnancy even in the first few weeks is still not recognised in India.
- Systemic barriers: It doesn’t give the pregnant person complete autonomy in ending the pregnancy, instead making them go through various systemic barriers.
- The final decision falls not on the pregnant person, but on registered medical practitioners (RMP).
- The constitution of a medical board, a requirement by the Act, is considered a barrier by the World Health Organisation.
- Excludes transgenders and non-binary persons: Additionally, it uses the word “woman”, thereby leaving out pregnant transgender and non-binary persons who are biologically capable of bearing children.
- It forces them to identify themselves in the gender-binary ignoring their gender identity.
Social factors and lack of medical facilities
- It is important to look through an intersectional lens, and factor in class and caste privilege.
- Abortion facilities in private medical centres are expensive, available only for those who have the resources.
- Lack of access: Not all public health centres, especially in rural India, provide abortion facilities.
- Most unmarried women end up resorting to unsafe abortions in illegal clinics or at home.
- According to the latest National Family Health Survey 2019-2021, 27 percent of the abortions were carried out by the woman herself at home.
- According to United Nations’ Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report 2022, around 8 women die each day in India due to unsafe abortions.
- It also found that between 2007-2011, 67 percent of the abortions were classified as unsafe.
- Unsafe abortion was one of the top three causes of maternal deaths.
Discussion on reproductive rights in India are incomplete without mentioning surrogacy.
Issues in the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021
- While well-intentioned, leaves much to be desired.
- The plethora of regulations one must undergo is antithetical to a dignified standard of living.
- Exclusionary in nature: Experts have pointed out that the Act is exclusionary in nature, disregards privacy, and also exploits women’s reproductive labour.
- Only a heterosexual married couple (with certain preconditions) can be the intending parents.
- It strips the reproductive autonomy of LGBTQ+ persons and single, divorced, and widowed intending parents. It can be seen as a violation to the fundamental right to equality.
- Experts also believe that regulations, rather than a complete ban on commercial surrogacy, should have been the way forward.
- Violates right to privacy: The Act requires the intending couple to declare their infertility and reveals the identity of the surrogate, both of which violate the right to privacy.
- The landmark Puttaswamy judgment discusses bodily privacy – the right over one’s body and “the freedom of being able to prevent others from violating one’s body.”
- The current reproductive rights regulatory framework falls short in guaranteeing bodily privacy.
Conclusion
The situation in India is far from perfect and we should take this moment to reflect and learn from progressive practices around the world. We should strive for inclusivity, complete bodily autonomy, and reproductive equity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BNAP, GNAP
Mains level: Read the attached story
The government is planning a new car assessment programme (NCAP) in India, to be called the Bharat NCAP or BNCAP.
What is Bharat NCAP?
- Bharat NCAP is a new car safety assessment programme which proposes a mechanism of awarding ‘Star Ratings’ to automobiles based upon their performance in crash tests.
- BNCAP standard is aligned with global benchmarks and it is beyond minimum regulatory requirements.
- The proposed Bharat NCAP assessment will allocate Star Ratings from 1 to 5 stars.
- The testing of vehicles for this programme will be carried out at testing agencies, with the necessary infrastructure.
Its implementation
- BNCAP will be rolled out from April 1, 2023.
- It will be applicable on type-approved motor vehicles of category M1 with gross vehicle weight less than 3.5 tonnes, manufactured or imported in the country.
- M1 category motor vehicles are used for the carriage of passengers, comprising eight seats, in addition to driver’s seat.
Significance of Bharat NCAP
- BNCAP rating will provide consumers an indication of the level of protection offered to occupants by evaluating the vehicle in the areas of:
- Adult occupant protection
- Child occupant protection
- Safety assist technologies
- It will serve as a consumer-centric platform, allowing customers to opt for safer cars based upon their Star-Ratings.
- It will also promote a healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India to manufacture safer vehicles.
- It will ensure structural and passenger safety in cars, along with increasing the export-worthiness of Indian automobiles.
- It will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Aatmanirbhar.
Why does India need to crash-test vehicles?
- Indian vehicles have historically not been crash-tested in the country.
- Despite being home to only 1% of the world’s vehicles, India shoulders 11% of the global road crash fatality burden.
What about existing testing standards?
- India’s Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) mandate a safety and performance assessment, including a basic conformity crash test by agencies like the ARAI and ICAT when vehicles go in for type approvals.
- However, this does not involve a crash test rating.
- Many international automakers have been found to sell products in India which score much lower on safety and structural performance parameters.
- This is done to reduce costs in the price-sensitive Indian market.
- However, safety is moving up nowadays the list of key purchase criteria in India as well.
How will a homegrown NCAP help?
- Global NCAP (GNCAP) crash tests for many best-selling Indian vehicles have dismal ratings, many of them rated zero in a bias.
- The government hopes that by facilitating these tests by in-house agencies, more automakers will voluntarily undergo safety assessments and build vehicles that hold up to global standards.
How will it compare with GNCAP?
- The government wants the two tests to be in congruence with each other.
- It intends to design the BNCAP to resemble the GNCAP, the global gold standard, as closely as possible, including the speed for crash testing at 64kmph.
- Central Motor Vehicle rules encompass standards with respect to pedestrian protection and seat belt reminders among others and will be retained in the testing under the BNCAP.
- The government hopes the move will increase the export-worthiness of Indian automobiles.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Road safety issues in India
The United Nations is holding a high-level meeting on Global Road Safety on June 30 and July 1, 2022 to review the progress and challenges.
Road Accidents in India: A lookover
- In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area.
- Total 1,47,913 lives lost to road traffic accidents in 2017 as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways statistics.
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figure for the same year is 1,50,093 road accident deaths.
Why in news?
- The persistently high annual death toll brings into question the country’s ability to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6.
- This aims to halve the fatalities and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
Lancet’s findings on road safety
- A new analytical series on road safety worldwide, published by The Lancet, proposes that India and other countries could cut accident-related deaths by 25 to 40%.
- This is based on evidence that preventive interventions produce good outcomes when applied to four well-known risk factors:
- High speed
- Driving under the influence of alcohol
- Not using proper helmets
- Not wearing seat-belts and not using child restraints
Issues highlighted in developing countries
- The structural problems linked to unplanned motorisation and urbanisation remain.
- In India, speedy highway construction takes place without reconciling fast and slow-moving traffic.
- There is a rampant presence of ramshackle vehicles, wrong-side driving, absence of adequate traffic police forces etc.
Why are there so many road fatalities in India alone?
- Weak enforcement of traffic laws: People hardly oblige to traffic rules and find easier to bribe policemen rather than paying hefty challans.
- Speeding issue: More accidents on the highways have been attributed to higher vehicle speeds and higher volume of traffic on these roads.
- Engineering bottlenecks: Issues such as gaps in the median on the national highways, untreated intersections, and missing crash barriers are some of the biggest engineering issues.
- Behavioural issue: Driver violations such as wrong-side driving, wrong lane usage by heavy vehicles, and mass violation of traffic lights, intoxication are the biggest behavioural issues.
- Lack of Golden hour treatment: Lack of rapid trauma care on highways leads to such high fatalities.
Various steps taken by India
- India amended Motor Vehicles Act in 2019, but its implementation by State governments is not uniform or complete.
- A National Road Safety Board was constituted under the Act, with advisory powers to reform safety.
- The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support for India State Support Programme for Road Safety.
Issues with implementation
- The focus of State governments, however, remains conventional, with an emphasis on user behaviour (drivers and other road users), education and uneven enforcement.
- Low emphasis is placed on structural change such as raising engineering standards for roads, signages, signals, training for scientific accident investigation, raising policing skills and fixing responsibility on government departments for design, creation and maintenance of road infrastructure.
What can be done to cut death and injury rates?
- The ambitious amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act in 2019 (MV Act) have not yielded significant results.
- Major interventions in India, first suggested by the Sundar Committee (2007) and ordered by the Supreme Court in Rajasekaran vs Union of India have not made a dent in the problem.
Key findings of Sundar Committee
- The Sundar Committee pointed out that India lacked a technically competent investigation arm that could determine the cause of accidents.
- There is little clarity on whether the States have formed such units to aid traffic investigation, or whether the insurance industry has pressed for these to accurately determine fault.
- In the absence of scientific investigation, perceptions usually guide the fixing of liability.
Solutions provided by the Lancet
- The Lancet calculated that 17% of road traffic injury-related deaths could be avoided if trauma care facilities improved.
- This is significant as several accidents take place in rural areas on highways, and victims are taken to poorly-equipped district hospitals or medical college hospitals.
- While positive user behaviour — slower travel, wearing of helmets, seat belts and so on — could save thousands of lives.
- In the short term, slowing down traffic, particularly near habitations, segregating slower vehicles, enforcing seat belt and helmet use and cracking down on drunken drivers could produce measurable gains.
Imbibing road safety: Way forward
- Road safety education
- Better road design, maintenance and warning signage
- Crackdown on driving under influence of alcohol and drugs
- Strict enforcement of traffic rules
- Encouraging better road behaviour
- Ensuring road worthiness of a vehicle
- Better first aid and paramedic care
Do you know?
The ‘golden hour’ has been defined as ‘the time period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UAPA
Mains level: Terrorism and radicalization in India
A Union Minister has said it was necessary to have certain laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) so that action could be taken against terrorists and those who “behead other people”.
Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)
- The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.
Major feature: Designation of Terrorists
- The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
- Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
- Section 15 of the UAPA defines a “terrorist act” as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
- The original Act dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.
Who makes such designation?
- The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a “terrorist” if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
- A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a “terrorist organisations”.
How individuals are declared terrorists?
- The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
- The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
- At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
- While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.
What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?
- The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
- The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
- It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.
Removing the terrorist tag
- The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
- The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
- If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
- The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
- The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists “terrorists” if it considers the order to be flawed.
- Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts to challenge the government’s order.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: POEM
Mains level: Not Much
The ISRO has launched three Singaporean satellites in precise orbit through the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module or ‘POEM’.
What is POEM?
- The POEM is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
- The PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) — after launching the satellite into orbit — ends up as space junk.
- However, in PSLV-C53 mission, the spent final stage will be utilised as a “stabilised platform” to perform experiments.
- POEM is carrying six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups Digantara and Dhruva Space.
Features of POEM
- POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system for attitude stabilisation, which stands for controlling the orientation of any aerospace vehicle within permitted limits.
- The NGC will act as the platform’s brain to stabilize it with specified accuracy.
- POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery.
- It will navigate using four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros & NavIC.
- It carries dedicated control thrusters using Helium gas storage. It is enabled with a telecomm and feature.
Has ISRO repurposed and used PS4 rocket junk earlier?
- The Indian space agency first demonstrated the capability of using PSLV-C44 as an orbital platform in 2019.
- It injected Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2 satellites into their designated orbits.
- The fourth stage in that mission was kept alive as an orbital platform for space-based experiments.
- While in that mission, the fourth stage had Li-Ion batteries, solar panels are an addition this time.
- The latest repurposing and upgrade of the fourth stage of the PSLV rocket involves the stabilization of the orbital platform.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Snake Island
Mains level: Russia-Ukraine War
Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island, in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen the grip of Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian ports.
I will give you a trick to remember countries bordering Black Sea. It is ‘GURRBUT’.
Now please take effort to write those names of countries here.
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: Anti-defection law
Mains level: Paper 2- Paragraph 4 of Tenth Schedule
Context
The ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, and many others before it, are grim reminders of what the Tenth Schedule can and cannot do.
About 10th Schedule
- In 1985 the Tenth Schedule, popularly known as the anti-defection law, was added to the Constitution.
- But its enactment was catalyzed by the political instability after the general elections of 1967.
- This was the time when multiple state governments were toppled after MLAs changed their political loyalties.
- The purpose of the 1985 Constitution Amendment was to bring stability to governments by deterring MPs and MLAs from changing their political parties on whose ticket they were elected.
- The penalty for shifting political loyalties is the loss of parliamentary membership and a bar on becoming a minister.
Provisions of the 10th Schedule
- Instances of floor crossing have long gone unchecked and unpunished.
- In part, this can be attributed to the exemption given to mergers between political parties which facilitate bulk defections.
- Disqualification provision: The second paragraph of the Tenth Schedule allows for disqualification of an elected member of a House if such member belonging to any political party has voluntarily given up membership of their party, or if they vote in the House against such party’s whip.
- Exceptions: Paragraph 4 creates an exception for mergers between political parties by introducing three crucial concepts — that of the “original political party”, the “legislature party”, and “deemed merger”.
- What is the legislature party? It means the group consisting of all elected members of a House for the time being belonging to one political party.
- Original political party: An “original political party” means the political party to which a member belongs (this can refer to the party generally, outside of the House).
- Paragraph 4 does not clarify whether the original political party refers to the party at the national level or the regional level.
How Paragraph 4 of the 10th Schedule deals with mergers?
- Paragraph 4 is spread across two sub-paragraphs, a conjoint reading of which suggests that a merger can take place only when an original party merges with another political party, and at least two-thirds of the members of the legislature party have agreed to this merger.
- It is only when these two conditions are satisfied that a group of elected members can claim exemption from disqualification on grounds of merger.
- The second sub-paragraph (of Paragraph 4) says that a party shall be “deemed” to have merged with another party if, and only if, not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislature party concerned have agreed to such merger.
- However, in most cases there is no factual merger of original political parties at the national (or even regional) level.
- Creation of legal fiction: Paragraph 4 seems to be creating a “legal fiction” so as to indicate that a merger of two-third members of a legislature party can be deemed to be a merger of political parties, even if there is no actual merger of the original political party with another party.
- In statutory interpretation, “deemed” has an established understanding.
- The word “deemed” may be used in a law to create a legal fiction, and give an artificial construction to a word or a phrase used in a statute.
- In other cases, it may be used to include what is obvious or what is uncertain.
- In either of these cases, the intention of the legislature in creating a deeming provision is paramount.
Merger exception and issues with it
- The merger exception was created to save instances of the principled coming together of political groups from disqualification under the anti-defection law, and to strike a compromise between the right of dissent and party discipline.
- In the absence of mergers of original political parties, the deeming fiction could, presumably, be used as a means to allow mergers of legislature parties.
- Encouraging defection: Reading Paragraph 4 in this manner would empower legislature parties to solely merge with another party, and thus, practically ease defection.
What if sub-paragraphs are read conjunctively?
- For a valid merger then, an original political party has to first merge with another political party, and then two-thirds of the legislature party must support that merger.
- Given the politics of current times, stark differences in parties’ respective ideologies, and deep-seated historical rivalries, it is unimaginable how a merger between major national or regional parties would materialise.
Way forward
- Remove Paragraph 4: In a situation where either reading of Paragraph 4 in its current form yields undesirable results, its deletion from the Tenth Schedule is a possible way forward.
- The Law Commission in 1999 and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) in 2002 made similar recommendations.
- Revisiting by Supreme Court: Till that happens, an academic revisiting of the Tenth Schedule by the Supreme Court, so as to guide future use of the anti-defection law, is timely and should happen soon.
Conclusion
Neither of these two interpretations of Paragraph 4complements the ‘mischief’ that the Tenth Schedule was expected to remedy — that of curbing unprincipled defections. Amending it is the need of the hour.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-UAE relations
Context
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE on June 28 was his fourth, having visited the country earlier in August 2015, in February 2018 and again in August 2019.
Why do the Gulf and UAE matters to India?
- The UAE has given crucial support to India in the Islamic world, first by inviting our late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as a guest of honour at an OIC foreign ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi.
- The UAE stood with us on Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.
- The Gulf is our third-largest trading partner.
- The Gulf region is our principal source of hydrocarbons.
- It is also a major source of foreign investment.
- The region is home to some 8 million Indians who send in over $50 billion annually in remittances.
Deepening bilateral ties
- CEPA: In a virtual summit with Sheikh Mohamed in February 2022, both sides signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
- CEPA is a significant milestone that was negotiated and finalised in just 88 days and promises to increase bilateral trade from $60 billion to $ 100 billion in five years.
- It is expected to help Indian exports in areas ranging from gems and jewellery and textiles to footwear and pharmaceuticals, apart from enhanced access for Indian service providers to 11 specific sectors.
- Vision statement: An ambitious, forward-looking Joint Vision Statement titled, “Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestones” was also issued.
- The Dubai-based DP World and India’s National Skills Development Council signed an agreement to set up a Skill India Centre in Varanasi to train local youth in logistics, port operations and allied areas so that they can pursue overseas employment.
New avenues for multilateral cooperation
- The rapid normalisation of ties between the UAE and Israel following the Abraham Accords of August 2020 has also opened new avenues of trilateral and multilateral cooperation.
- Technology, capital and scale: Some Israeli tech companies are already establishing a base in Dubai and seeking to marry niche technologies with Emirati capital and Indian scale.
- 2I2U: The US has announced that President Joe Biden’s forthcoming visit to West Asia will see a virtual summit of what it calls the 2I2U, a new grouping that brings together India, Israel, the US and UAE.
Conclusion
The UAE today is India’s closest partner in the Arab world. Both countries need to expand the areas of cooperation and deepen their engagement.
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Back2Basics: Abraham Accords
- The Israel–UAE normalization agreement is officially called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.
- It was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
- The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so.
- Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank.
- The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Office of the VP
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Election Commission has announced that the election to the post of the Vice-President (VP) will be held on August 6, as M. Venkaiah Naidu’s term was coming to an end on August 10.
About Vice President of India
- The VP is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, the President of India.
- His/her office is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
- The vice president is also a member of the Parliament as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Qualifications
- As in the case of the president, to be qualified to be elected as vice president, a person must:
- Be a citizen of India
- Be at least 35 years of age
- Not hold any office of profit
- Unlike in the case of the president, where a person must be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, the vice president must be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
- This difference is because the vice president is to act as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Roles and responsibilities
- When a bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the vice president decides whether it is a money bill or not.
- If he is of the opinion that a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a money bill, he shall refer it to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- The vice president also acts as the chancellor of the central universities of India.
Election procedure
- Article 66 of the Constitution of India states the manner of election of the vice president.
- The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament and NOT the members of state legislative assembly.
- The election is held as per the system of proportional representation using single transferable votes.
- The voting is conducted by Election Commission of India via secret ballot.
- The Electoral College for the poll will comprise 233 Rajya Sabha members, 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members and 543 Lok Sabha members.
- The Lok Sabha Secretary-General would be appointed the Returning Officer.
- Political parties CANNOT issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.
Removal
- The Constitution states that the vice president can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an Effective majority (majority of all the then members) and agreed by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority( Article 67(b)).
- But no such resolution may be moved unless at least 14 days’ notice in advance has been given.
- Notably, the Constitution does not list grounds for removal.
- No Vice President has ever faced removal or the deputy chairman in the Rajya Sabha cannot be challenged in any court of law per Article 122.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PACS
Mains level: Rural banking in India
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a proposal to digitise around 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies (PACS).
What are the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)?
- PACS is a basic unit and smallest co-operative credit institutions in India.
- In 1904 the first Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) was established.
- It works on the grassroots level (gram panchayat and village level).
- PACS is the final link between the ultimate borrowers, i.e., rural people, on the one hand, and the higher agencies, i.e., Central cooperative bank, state cooperative bank, and Reserve Bank of India, on the other.
Who regulates PACS?
- PACS are registered under the Co-operative Societies Act and also regulated by the RBI.
- They are governed by the “Banking regulation Act-1949” and Banking Laws (Co-operative societies) Act 1965.
Various objectives of PACS
- To raise capital for the purpose of making loans and supporting members’ essential activities.
- To collect deposits from members with the goal of improving their savings habit.
- To supply agricultural inputs and services to members at reasonable prices,
- To arrange for the supply and development of improved breeds of livestock for members.
- To make all necessary arrangements for improving irrigation on land owned by members.
- To encourage various income-generating activities through supply of necessary inputs and services.
Functions of PACS
- As registered cooperative societies, PACS have been providing credit and other services to their members.
- PACS typically offer the following services to their members:
- Input facilities in the form of a monetary or in-kind component
- Agriculture implements for hire
- Storage space
Who can form PACS?
- A primary agricultural credit society can be formed by a group of ten or more people from a village. The society’s management is overseen by an elected body.
- The membership fee is low enough that even the poorest agriculturist can join.
- Members of the society have unlimited liability, which means that each member assumes full responsibility for the society’s entire loss in the event of its failure.
What capitalizes PACS?
- The primary credit societies’ working capital is derived from their own funds, deposits, borrowings, and other sources.
- Share capital, membership fees, and reserve funds are all part of the company’s own funds.
- Deposits are made by both members and non-members.
- Borrowings are primarily made from central cooperative banks.
Why need digitization?
- PACS account for 41 % (3.01 Cr. farmers) of the KCC loans given by all entities in the country and 95 % of these KCC loans (2.95 Cr. farmers) through PACS are to the small and marginal farmers.
- The other two tiers viz. State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) have already been automated by the NABARD and brought on Common Banking Software (CBS).
- Majority of PACS have so far been not computerized and still functioning manually resulting in inefficiency and trust deficit.
Significance of digitization
- Computerization of PACS will increase their transparency, reliability and efficiency, and will also facilitate the accounting of multipurpose PACS.
- Along with this, it will also help PACS to become a nodal centre for providing services such as direct benefit transfer (DBT), Interest subvention scheme (ISS), crop insurance scheme (PMFBY), and inputs like fertilizers and seeds.
Try this PYQ from CSP 1999:
Q.The farmers are provided credit from a number of sources for their short and long term needs. The main sources of credit to the farmers include-
(a) the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, commercial banks, RRBs and private money lenders
(b) the NABARD, RBI, commercial banks and private money lenders
(c) the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCB), the lead banks, IRDP and JRY
(d) the Large Scale Multi-purpose Adivasis Programme, DCCB, IFFCO and commercial banks
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: New GST slabs
Mains level: Rationalization of GST
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to hike and lower GST on certain commodities.
What is the news?
- From July 18, tax hikes will kick in for over two dozen goods and services, ranging from unbranded food items, curd and buttermilk to low-cost hotels, cheques and maps.
- Tax rates will be lowered for about half-a-dozen goods and services, including ropeways and truck rentals where fuel costs are included.
- It scrapped GST for items imported by private vendors for use by defence forces.
What is GST?
- GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
- It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
- For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
- GST, being a consumption-based tax, resulted in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.
What are GST Slabs?
- In India, almost 500+ services and over 1300 products fall under the 4 major GST slabs.
- There are five broad tax rates of zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, plus a cess levied over and above the 28% on some ‘sin’ goods.
- The GST Council periodically revises the items under each slab rate to adjust them according to industry demands and market trends.
- The updated structure ensures that the essential items fall under lower tax brackets, while luxury products and services entail higher GST rates.
- The 28% rate is levied on demerit goods such as tobacco products, automobiles, and aerated drinks, along with an additional GST compensation cess.
Why rationalize GST slabs?
- From businesses’ viewpoint, there are just too many tax rate slabs, compounded by aberrations in the duty structure through their supply chains with some inputs are taxed more than the final product.
- These are far too many rates and do not necessarily constitute a Good and Simple Tax.
- Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6% from the original revenue-neutral rate of 15.5%.
- Merging the 12% and 18% GST rates into any tax rate lower than 18% may result in revenue loss.
Haven’t GST revenues been hitting new records?
- Yes, they have – GST revenues have scaled fresh highs in three of the first four months of 2022, going past ₹1.67 lakh crore in April.
- But there is another key factor — the runaway pace of inflation.
- Wholesale price inflation, which captures producers’ costs, has been over 10% for over a year and peaked at 15.1% in April.
- Inflation faced by consumers on the ground has spiked to a near-eight year high of 7.8% in April.
- The rise in prices was the single most important factor for higher tax inflows along with higher imports.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G7, G12, G20
Mains level: Not Much
India is expected to host the G-20 summit in Delhi, while a number of States, including Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States, have been asked to suggest venues for about 100 “preparatory” meetings.
Why in news?
- The clarifications came in response to questions being raised over reports in the media about the possibility of holding the summit itself in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Pakistan had issued a strong protest last week, sent formal demarches to Foreign Ministries in G-20 member-states, asking them not to attend such meetings.
- Pakistan (alone) believes J&K is internationally recognised disputed territory.
Why such move?
- The participation of the delegates from G-20 countries will be a major boost to the efforts of the Centre to project the situation in J&K as normal.
- This is especially after J&K’s special constitutional position was ended in 2019.
What is G-20?
- Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
- Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
- To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
- In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
- The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.
Aims and objectives
- The Group was formed with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
- The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil on financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
- It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.
Members of G20
The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European Union (EU).
- The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
- The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.
Its significance
- G20 is a major international grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s major economies and the European Union.
- Its members account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of trade and 60% of population.
India and G20
- India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CAPSTONE satellite
Mains level: Not Much
NASA has launched CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds (25 kg).
What is CAPSTONE?
- CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is designed to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit.
- It aims to help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies, and by verifying the dynamics of the halo-shaped orbit.
Its launch
- It is heading toward an orbit intended in the future for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program.
- The orbit is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO).
- It is significantly elongated, and is located at a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon.
- This offers stability for long-term missions like Gateway, NASA said on its website.
Mission details
- CAPSTONE will enter NRHO, where it will fly within 1,600 km of the Moon’s North Pole on its near pass and 70,000 km from the South Pole at its farthest.
- The spacecraft will repeat the cycle every six-and-a-half days and maintain this orbit for at least six months to study dynamics.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- G-7 and India
Context
The meeting of G7 leaders that concluded in Bavaria was attended by India as an observer.
About G7
- 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.
- The G7 is trying hard not to be yesterday’s club.
- It is still a powerful grouping, with seven of its members in the top 10 economies of the world, three of them permanent members of the UNSC.
Important outcomes of the G7 meeting
- Statement on support for Ukraine: A standalone G7 Statement on Support for Ukraine was issued.
- There was an unconditional commitment that the grouping will provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
- Russia was also warned that any use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons would be met with severe consequences.
- Further intensification of sanctions against Russia was contemplated.
- Tough language on China: Significantly, the G7 final communique has tough language on China as well.
- It says there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, it calls on China to press Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine and expresses grave concern about the country’s human rights situation.
- It calls on China to respect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms in both Tibet and Xinjiang, highlighting the issue of forced labour in the latter.
Significance of India’s observer status
- The fact is that even the G7 knows its clout has declined compared to, say, 20 years ago.
- That explains the move to invite key G20 countries as observers to its summits.
- As for India, its importance lies in the undeniable truth that no global problem can be seriously tackled without New Delhi’s involvement.
- For India, G7 summits have always been an invaluable opportunity to exchange views not just in a plurilateral format but also in the bilateral meetings on the margins of the main meetings.
- 2 statements: India has lent its name to two statements issued by the G7. One is titled “Resilient Democracies Statement” and the other is “Joining Forces to Accelerate Clean and Just Transition towards Climate Neutrality”.
- The first statement talks of democracies as reliable partners seeking to promote a rules-based international order and supporting democracy worldwide including through electoral assistance.
- The other statement to which India is a signatory is the one on clean and just transition towards carbon neutrality.
Conclusion
India’s participation in this meeting as an observer serves to advance its foreign and security policy objectives and will keep it in good stead when it assumes the G20 presidency in December.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Horn of Africa Region
Mains level: Geostrategic significance of HOA
China recently held the first China-Horn of Africa Peace, Governance and Development Conference.
Why in news?
- China has been investing across the African continent throughout the last decade.
- The conference held in Ethiopia witnessed the participation of foreign ministries from the following countries of the Horn: Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.
Major objectives
- No doubt that china predates small nations with debt-trapping the countries.
- It focuses on increasing the infrastructural investments in African countries and converting them to security assets.
- It asserted three objectives in Africa:
- Controlling the pandemic
- Implementing a Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) outcomes, and
- Upholding common interests while fighting hegemonic politics
What is FOCAC?
- The FOCAC promotes China’s role in the infrastructural and societal development of the Horn.
- In the 2021 forum, the entire region of the Horn participated and four resolutions were adopted:
- Dakar Action Plan
- China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035
- Sino-African Declaration on Climate Change
- Declaration of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC
How has China garnered goodwill in HOA?
- HOA have benefited from China’s vaccine diplomacy.
- Beijing has also initiated the “2035 vision for China-Africa cooperation”; it aims to transform the health sector, alleviate poverty, promote trade and investments, and expand digital innovation.
- The vision also focuses on green development, capacity building, improving people-to-people exchanges and facilitating peace and security in the continent.
What are China’s primary interests/investments in the Horn of Africa?
China’s interests are related to four major areas: infrastructural projects, financial assistance, natural resources and maritime interests.
(1) Infrastructure
- Looking at Chinese investments in infrastructure, one of its landmark projects was fully funding the $200 million African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.
- It has also made significant investments in railways; it is building the Addis-Djibouti railway line connecting the land-locked country with Eritrean ports in the Red Sea.
- China has also invested in the Mombasa-Nairobi rail link in Kenya, and has already delivered on railway projects in Sudan.
- It also has a viable military hardware market in Ethiopia and has built over 80 infrastructural projects in Somalia, including hospitals, roads, schools and stadiums.
(2) Debts and ‘assistances’
- With respect to financial assistance, Ethiopia, is one of the top five African recipients of Chinese investments, and also has a debt of almost $14 billion.
- China accounts for 67% of Kenya’s bilateral debt.
- In 2022, China promised to provide $15.7 million assistance to Eritrea.
(3) Mineral explorations
- The third major Chinese interest in Africa is the presence of natural resources — oil and coal. Beijing has invested $400 million in Mombasa’s oil terminal.
- China is also interested in minerals such as gold, iron-ore, precious stones, chemicals, oil and natural gas in Ethiopia.
- South Sudan, a source for petroleum products, has had continued Beijing investment in the industry since the latter’s initial entry in 1995.
(4) Maritime interest
- China’s first and only military base outside its mainland is in Djibouti.
- During his visit in early 2022, Wang hinted at China’s willingness to develop Eritrea’s coast which would connect to China’s investments in land-locked Ethiopia.
- The US has speculated that China wishes to build another military base in Kenya and Tanzania, thereby increasing its military presence in the region.
Has the Horn of Africa been welcoming of China’s presence?
- Africa has been keen on interacting with China.
- Despite the wariness surrounding China’s projects in Africa, the governments have mostly been welcoming.
- When conflict broke out in Tigray in November 2020, Addis Ababa appreciated Beijing for respecting Ethiopia’s sovereignty.
- In December 2021, Kenya defended Chinese projects in the country; President Uhuru Kenyatta maintained that China-Africa partnership was mutually beneficial.
- Similarly, in May 2022, the East African Community (EAC) welcomed Chinese investors to work in East Africa for the prosperity of the people.
Beijing’s principle of non-intervention
- Peace and stability is a mutual requirements for China and Africa.
- For Africa, Chinese investments could lead to stable environments which could help the countries achieve their peace and development objectives.
- For China, conflict in the region comes at a heavy cost.
- In Ethiopia. when the conflict broke out, over 600 Chinese nationals, working on different projects, were evacuated, putting several investments at risk.
- From a trading perspective, the region plays a significant role in achieving the objectives of the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035.
Why is HOA important?
- In the last decade, the region lying between Suez Canal and the Seychelles has emerged as a new geopolitical hotspot.
- It has factors like impressive economic growth of regional countries, emergence of new security threats, and the ensuing major power rivalry driving the strategic trajectory of the region.
- The straits of Bab el-Mandeb, which lies at the heart of this region, connects the energy-rich Middle East to Europe and, along with the Suez Canal, is considered a jugular vein for global trade.
Indian footprints in the region
- India has been paying greater attention to the region but still lags behind China.
- India has bolstered defence cooperation with Oman and France (which holds territories in the Southwestern Indian Ocean).
- It has signed logistics support agreements with these countries to ensure greater naval access in the region.
- Reportedly, India was in talks with Japan to grant access to Indian naval vessels at the Japanese base in Djibouti.
- India has also sought to open a military base in the Seychelles and plans to further enhance its naval presence in the Western Indian Ocean.
These efforts are directed to increase Indian leverage and limit Chinese influence in the region.
Lessons for India
- China’s move towards peace in Africa indicates a shift in its principle of non-intervention.
- It is China’s message that its presence in the continent has a larger objective and is not likely to be limited to the Horn of Africa.
- This includes an aim to project itself as a global leader and boost its international status.
- Further, the recent developments imply that China is focussing on a multifaceted growth in the continent for the long run.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-UAE Relations
PM Modi expressed gratitude to President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) al Nahyan for taking great care of 3.5 million Indian community in the UAE during the pandemic.
India- UAE Relations: A backgrounder
- The relation has greatly flourished especially after the accession of H. H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966.
- The greater push has been achieved in bilateral relations when the visit of Indian PM’s to the UAE in August 2015.
- It marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries.
- Further, the Crown Prince was invited in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
- In 2017 the two sides signed the agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
Significance of ties
- Indian Diaspora in UAE: Around 3 million Indians are living harmoniously in the UAE.
- UAE – A willing partner: As India seeks to enhance economic engagement and deepen security cooperation with the Gulf, it finds a willing partner in the UAE.
- India being a natural partner: UAE’s ‘Look East’ find partners for its economic growth and with security concerns emanating from turmoil in West Asia and growing threat from terrorism.
- Investments: UAE has a special place due to its business-friendly atmosphere, willingness to invest in the Indian economy.
- India’s West Asia policy: The UAE occupies a key place in India’s West Asia policy. The high-level visit from both sides has given a new impetus to this partnership.
Why UAE is tilting toward India?
- Turmoil in West Asia: Geopolitical conditions as Iran is threatening continuously to close the Strait of Hormuz in case there is a conflict with Saudi Arabia or US.
- Disappointment from Pakistan: UAE saw Pakistan as a partner and incorporated a deep economic and security relationship with it. But in the present day, Pakistan does not seem to be of much help to UAE.
- India as a market: India is an important destination for oil and energy purchase. UAE also recognizes exhaustible nature of its fossil fuel reserves.
- Returns on investment: UAE’s massive sovereign wealth funds can act as a great resource in the development of infrastructure in India.
- Addressing Terrorism: There has been a rising convergence between India and UAE on the terror issue and both the countries talked of the need to combat terror groups without any discrimination.
- Lack of regional consensus: Countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are suffering from violent conflicts. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has not produced expected results.
Economic Significance of the UAE
- UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
- In recent years, the UAE, through its ‘Vision 2021’, has sought to diversify its economy and reduce its dependency on oil.
- Although the UAE has diversified its economy, the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
- Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.
India-UAE trade and investment ties
- India is UAE’s third largest trade partner after China and the United States.
- The UAE accounts for 8 percent of India’s oil imports and was fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
- The aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above U.S.$100 billion and services trade to U.S.$15 billion in five years.
- As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
- The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around U.S.$11.67 billion, which makes it the ninth biggest investor in India.
Advanced technology and the knowledge economy
(1) Technology
- In 2018, India and UAE signed a MoU to generate an estimated $20 billion in the span of a decade.
- The Emirates have stepped up efforts to invest in the development of the knowledge economy by expanding the “golden visa”.
- Space is a new arena in which India and the UAE have collaborated through the work of the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
- Space cooperation between India and the UAE gained quick momentum during PM Modi’s visit to the Emirates in 2015.
- The two countries are likely to work together on Emirates’ ‘Red planet Mission’.
(2) Security and Defence Cooperation
- Another significant pillar of India-UAE ties is reflected in their growing cooperation in security and defense sector.
- With the spread of radicalism in Gulf and South Asia, India looks to enhance security cooperation with UAE to counter terrorist threats and combat radicalization.
- ‘Desert Eagle II’, a ten day air combat exercise, was held between the air forces of India and UAE.
Way Forward
(1) Needs to ensure the execution of the investment projects with the required expertise
- Potential areas to enhance bilateral trade include defence trade, food and agricultural products as well as automobiles.
- Indian companies with expertise in renewable energy sector can invest in UAE.
- In defence sector, there is a need to further enhance cooperation through joint training programmes.
(2) Manifold Benefits of India-UAE Trade Agreements
- With India’s newfound strength in exports, a trade agreement with an important country such as the UAE would help sustain the growth momentum.
- As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
(3) Improving the relations with the GCC
- As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman and shares a common market and customs union with these nations.
- This FTA with the UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE’s strategic location, and have relatively easy access to the Africa market and its various trade partners.
- This can help India to become a part of that supply chain especially in handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma.
(4) Solving the issue of UAE’s Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)
- The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC (applied average tariff rate is 5%), therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
- The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) mostly covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATO
Mains level: Read the attached story
Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden joining the NATO military alliance after weeks of angering partners by insisting it would veto the Scandinavian countries’ accession.
What is NATO?
- NATO 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.
Expansion of NATO: Transforming Europe
- The war in Ukraine has already changed the geopolitics of Europe and the world.
- The admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO would bring about a transformation in the continent’s security map by giving NATO a contiguous long frontier in western Russia.
- Finland and Russia share a 1,300-km border — and doubling it from the present 1,200 km, parts of it in northern Norway, Latvia and Estonia, and Poland and Lithuania.
- In addition, Sweden’s island of Gotland in the middle of the Baltic Sea would give NATO a strategic advantage.
- Furthermore, when Sweden and Finland join NATO, the Baltic Sea — Russia’s gateway to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean — would be ringed entirely by NATO members.
Why Nordic countries are willing to join NATO?
- Although the debate over joining NATO was ongoing in both countries for nearly three decades, Russia’s annexation of Crimea pushed both towards NATO’s “open door” policy.
- Still, there was little political consensus in either country, especially in Sweden where the Social Democrats have long been against the idea.
- However, February 24 changed everything the date on which Russia invaded Ukraine.
A knee jerk reaction?
- If Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was meant to deter NATO’s eastward expansion, the war has had the opposite effect.
- If admitted, Sweden and Finland will become its 31st and 32nd members.
Russian response
- Back in March, Russia had evoked a threatening response to take retaliatory measures by stationing its nuclear and hypersonic weapons close to the Baltic Sea.
- Russia denounced the problems with Finland and Sweden but the NATO’s expansion at the expense of these countries does not pose a direct threat to us.
- But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly provoke their response, warned Mr Putin.
- Sweden had already said it would not allow NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.
Hurdles for Finland, Sweden
- At the moment the main obstacle to their applications in Turkey, a member since 1952 and which has NATO’s second-largest army after the US.
- Turkish president Erdogan has objected to their applications on the ground that the two countries had provided safe haven to the leaders of the Kurdish group PKK.
- Many Kurdish and other exiles have found refuge in Sweden over the past decades.
- PKK is an armed movement fighting for a separate Kurdistan, comprising Kurdish areas in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
- Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisation.
What could Turkey gain?
- Turkey is expected to seek to negotiate a compromise deal to seek action on Kurdish groups.
- Erdogan could also seek to use Sweden and Finland’s membership to wrest concessions from the United States and other allies.
- Turkey wants to return to the US-led F-35 fighter jet program — a project it was kicked out of following its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
- Alternatively, Turkey is looking to purchase a new batch of F-16 fighter jets and upgrade its existing fleet.
How does this affect Turkey’s image in the West?
- Turkey is reinforcing an image that is blocking the alliance’s expansion for its own profit.
- It also risks damaging the credit it had earned by supplying Ukraine with the Bayraktar TB2 armed drones that became an effective weapon against Russian forces.
Is Turkey trying to appease Russia?
- Turkey has built close relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has been trying to balance its ties with both.
- It has refused to join sanctions against Russia — while supporting Ukraine with the drones that helped deny Russia air superiority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST Council
Mains level: Read the attached story
The 47th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council began in Chandigarh, almost marking five years of the tax system coming into effect on July 1, 2017.
What is the GST Council?
- The GST regime came into force after the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016.
- More than 15 Indian states then ratified it in their state Assemblies, after which the President gave his assent.
- The GST Council – a joint forum of the Centre and the states — was set up by the President as per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.
- The members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre.
- Each state can nominate a minister in-charge of finance or taxation or any other minister as a member.
Why was the Council set up?
- The Council, according to Article 279, is meant to “make recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws”.
- It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.
- For instance, an interim report by a panel of ministers has suggested imposing 28 per cent GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing.
- A decision on this will be taken at the Council meeting.
What has changed this time?
- The ongoing meeting is the first since a decision of the Supreme Court in May this year, which stated recommendations of the GST Council are not binding.
- The court said Article 246A of the Constitution gives both Parliament and state legislatures “simultaneous” power to legislate on GST .
- Recommendations of the Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States.
- This was hailed by some states, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who believe states can be more flexible in accepting the recommendations as suited to them.
Agenda in this meet
- The council’s meeting is also likely to focus on the issue of extension of the GST compensation regime beyond June 2022.
- This was a special mechanism by which states were assured that their revenues would not be affected by the new GST system.
- Some states are already demanding that the compensation be continued.
- Earlier, the Council had agreed to extend the levy of compensation cess till 2026, but only for repayment of the borrowings made in the aftermath of the pandemic to provide compensation to states.
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