Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CSTO
Mains level: Russia military moves in erstwhile USSR countries
A Moscow-led military alliance called Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan.
Ongoing situation in Kazakhstan
- Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis.
- There are ongoing protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.
- The nationwide protests are also signifying a wider, region-wide longing for political change.
- Under increasing pressure, Kazakh President appealed to the Russia for CSTO army to be deployed in Kazakhstan.
Concerns over CTSO troop’s deployment
- It is argued that domestic turmoil could be utilized by Russian nationalists for asserting their claims in Northern Kazakhstan.
What is CSTO?
- The CSTO is a Russia-led military alliance of seven former Soviet states that was created in 2002.
- Current CSTO members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.
- Afghanistan and Serbia hold observer status in the CSTO.
- Its purpose is to ensure the collective defence of any member that faces external aggression.
Outlined functions of CSTO
- Version of NATO: It has been described by political scientists as the Eurasian counterpart of NATO, which has 29 member states, while the CSTO has just six.
- Arms trade and mutual defense: CSTO supports arms sales and manufacturing as well as military training and exercises, making the CSTO the most important multilateral defence organization in the former Soviet Union.
- Non- proliferation of weapons: CSTO also coordinates efforts in fighting the illegal circulation of weapons among member states and has developed law enforcement training for its members in pursuit of these aims.
What does CSTO membership provide?
- Barring relations with NATO: While CSTO membership means that member states are barred from joining other military alliances, limiting, for example, their relationship with NATO.
- Benefits in arms import from Russia: Its members receive discounts, subsidies, and other incentives to buy Russian arms, facilitating military cooperation.
- Assurance against military conquest: In the CSTO, aggression against one signatory is perceived as aggression against all. It however remains unclear whether this feature works in practice.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Scheduled Banks, Payment Banks
Mains level: Banking system in India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that Airtel Payments Bank Ltd. has been categorized as a Scheduled Bank.
Why such a move?
- With this, the bank can now pitch for government-issued Requests for Proposals (RFP) and primary auctions.
- It can undertake both Central and State Government businesses participating in government-operated welfare schemes.
What are Scheduled Banks?
- Scheduled Banks refer to those banks which have been included in the Second Schedule of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in turn includes only those banks in this Schedule which satisfy the criteria laid down vide section 42(6)(a) of the said Act.
- Every Scheduled bank enjoys two types of principal facilities: it becomes eligible for debts/loans at the bank rate from the RBI; and, it automatically acquires the membership of clearing house.
- Banks not under this Schedule are called Non-Scheduled Banks
Types of Scheduled Banks
There are two main categories of commercial banks in India namely:
- Scheduled Commercial banks
- Scheduled Co-operative banks
Scheduled commercial Banks are further divided into 5 types as below:
- Nationalised Banks
- Development Banks
- Regional Rural Banks
- Foreign Banks
- Private sector Banks
Payment bank (currently four banks Airtel Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank have been granted Scheduled bank status).
Scheduled Co-operative banks are further divided into 2 types namely:
- Scheduled State Co-operative banks
- Scheduled Urban Co-operative banks
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Rock System
Mains level: NA
The Ministry of Science & Technology has inaugurated India’s first open rock museum displaying different types of rocks gathered from different States of ages ranging from 3.3 billion years to around 55 million years.
Rock System in India
Based on this complex and varied geological history, the Geological Survey of India has classified rock systems of the country into 4 major divisions:
- Archaean Rock System
- Dravidian Rock System
- Purana Rock System
- Aryan Rock System
[I] Archaean Rock System:
The Archaean group of rocks consists of two systems-(a) Achaean granites and gneisses, and (b) Dharwarian sedimentary:
Archaean Gneisses and Schists (pre-2500 million years)
- The Archean System contains the first formed rocks of the earth.
- The rocks are primarily gneisses and granites, having no marks of fossils.
- They often underlie the strata formed subsequently and the system is generally known as the basement complex or fundamental gneisses.
- The Archaean rocks cover two-thirds of peninsular India. They also occur in the roots of the mountain peaks all along the Greater Himalayas, trans-Himalayan ranges of Zaskar, Ladakh and Karakoram.
Dharwar System (2500-1800 million years ago)
- The weathering of the Archaean rocks yielded the earliest sediments and formed the oldest sedimentary strata, the Dharwar system.
- These are found today in metamorphic forms and do not contain fossils.
- These rocks occur in scattered patches in parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, central and eastern parts of Chotanagpur plateau, Meghalaya plateau, Aravalis, Himalayan region etc
Mineral contents:
- They contain gneisses (which range from granite to gabbro) and schists (crystalline rocks such as mica, talc etc.).
- These rocks have metallic and non-metallic minerals like copper, tin, graphite, lead, zinc, etc.
[II] Dravidian Rock System:
- This is also known as carboniferous rock system and formed during the Paleozoic era, i.e., from 600- 300 million years ago.
- They are not much abundant in India.
- They have plentiful fossils and beginning of coal formation can be seen in this period. The quality of carboniferous coal is high.
- They are found in extra- Peninsular regions of the Himalayas and the Gangetic plains.
Mineral content
- This type of rock system comprises of limestones, shale and quartzite and Mount Everest is formed of upper Carboniferous limestones.
- Most of the coal is not of the Carboniferous period, which is found in India.
- The meaning of Carboniferous in geology is coal-bearing.
[III] Purana Rock System:
The Purana rock system has two divisions: Cuddapah system and Vindhyan system. The word ‘Purana’ was used in place of a Proterozoic era in India.
Cuddapah Rock system:
- They are observed in Cuddapah districts of Andhra Pradesh.
- The non-fossiliferous clay, slates, sandstones and limestones were accumulated in the depression between two-fold mountains which is known as synclinal basins.
- They also have a large accumulation of building purpose cement grade limestones and quartzites.
- This type of rock contains ore of iron, cobalt, nickel, manganese etc.
Vindhya Rock System:
- This type of rock system is also ancient or old sedimentary rocks which are superimposed on the Archaean rock base and derived its name from Vindhya mountains.
- The recognition of fossils is negligible, only traces of few animal and plant life were found.
- This rock system has diamond-bearing regions from which Golconda and Panna diamond mined.
[IV] Aryan Rock System
The Aryan rock system in India has the following four subsystems:
- Gondwana rock system
- Jurassic Rock System
- Cretaceous system/ Deccan Trap
- Tertiary rock system
(1) Gondwana Rock System:
- These are found mainly in Raniganj, Jharia regions of Jharkhand, Damodar valley, Pench valley in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
- They are called so after the name of Gondwana tribe (indigenous people especially residing in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh region).
- In this type of rock system, you found metallic minerals like iron, manganese, uranium etc. other than coal.
- They have low carbon content as it is much younger than Carboniferous coal. These rocks have nearly 98% of India’s coal reserve.
(2) Jurassic Rock System
- During the latter part of Jurrasic when sea level rises as compared to land and shoreline moves towards ground or land which result in a flood. In geology, this phenomenon is called marine transgression.
- This gives rise to a thick series of shallow-water deposits kin Rajasthan and Kutch. Between the Guntur and Rajamundry, another transgression in the east coast of Peninsula.
- In Kuchchh, coral limestone, shales and conglomerates are found.
(3) Deccan traps
- These are formed by the flow of magma over the solidified rock system in layers.
- Deccan trap gets rise due to volcanic outburst over a major area of Peninsular India from the end of Cretaceous till the beginning of Eocene.
- The meaning of trap is “stair” or “step” in Swedish and called due to deposition of the volcanic outburst which has a flat top and steep sides.
- It is mainly found in parts of Kuchchh, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, the Malwa plateau and Northern Karnataka and presently cover near 5 lakh sq. Km.
- Regur, which is black soil, is formed due to the weathering of these rocks for a long time.
(4) Tertiary rock system
- The formation of this type of rock system occurs from 60 to 7 million years ago.
- It is the most noteworthy period in India’s geological history as the Himalayas were born and recent form came in this period.
Also read:
The Geological Structure of India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CERT-IN
Mains level: Paper 2- Cybercrimes against women
Context
The open-source app, Bulli Bai, hosted on the web platform GitHub for “auctioning Muslim women” has laid bare the harassment women face online.
Cybercrimes against women
- As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) there were around 825 million internet users in India at the end of March 2021.
- The minuscule amount of rogue elements among these internet users have the lethal capability to create havoc in the nation, its polity, economy and the personal and professional lives of citizens.
- Reluctance to file case: Many times, police officers are approached by anxious parents, days before marriage, seeking help about fake profiles or morphed photographs of their daughters on the internet.
- A formal police case is thus never lodged.
- The stark reality is that cyber blackmailing, stalking and bullying is a humongous issue, causing a lot of stress to women and their families.
- NCRB statistics show that total cyber crimes in India during 2020 were 50,035, and those specifically against women were only 10,405.
Steps need to be taken
- Promt reporting and registration: To find out the true magnitude of cyber crime, prompt reporting and registration are the only options.
- International cooperation through treaties: There are many international gangs which successfully avoid detection as “servers” used by them are located outside India.
- International cooperation through formal treaties and informal channels has to be pursued.
- CERT-IN has been doing commendable work in this regard.
- Registering a criminal case is the first crucial step as it sets the law into motion, leading to tracing, arresting and prosecuting the rogues even if they are located outside the country.
- Increase awareness: There is need to increase awareness about cyber safety and security so that youth, especially young girls and women, take proper precautions while surfing the virtual world.
- Better policing: As for the police, we do need better infrastructure, more special cyber cells and police stations, regular training, and collaboration with cyber experts on a continuous basis.
- Strengthening the capability of forensic laboratories can lead to timely collection of evidence of cyber bullying, threatening, morphing and profiling.
- Many state labs do not have sufficient numbers of cyber experts to seize, preserve and store images of digital evidence essential for securing conviction in courts.
- The central government has given funds to states and Union territories under the Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme to start “cyber forensic-cum-training laboratories”.
- Fast trial: Fast trial of cyber crimes would indeed help. As per the NCRB, during 2020, court trials were completed in only nine cases of cyber blackmailing and threatening with a 66.7 per cent conviction rate — 393 such cases are pending in courts.
- Systematic training of prosecutors and judicial officers in dealing with cyber crimes would definitely speed up trials.
Conclusion
Prompt reporting of cyber crime by citizens, technically proficient investigation by police adequately supported by forensics, and time-bound completion of court trials are essential for catching cyber offenders who are terrorising people, especially women, in the virtual as well as the real world.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Antrix
Mains level: Read the attached story
A Canadian court has ordered the seizure of more than $30 million worth of Airport Authority of India’s assets.
Background
- In 2005, Devas Multimedia signed an agreement with Antrix —a commercial arm of the IISRO —to provide multimedia services to mobile users using the leased S-band satellite spectrum to be provided by Antrix.
- In 2011, the UPA-2 government canceled this agreement on the ground that it needed the S-band satellite spectrum for national security and other social purposes.
- This led to arbitration between Antrix and Devas at the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) and two bilateral investment treaty (BIT) arbitrations. India lost all three disputes.
India’s non-compliance
- AAI and Air India are being targeted because they are Indian public sector entities with overseas assets and serve as a proxy for the government of India.
- The Canada court can do so through the concept of restrictive immunity.
- In the meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (India) ordered the liquidation of Devas Multimedia on the ground that the affairs of the company were being carried on fraudulently.
Why did India cancel the deal?
- The scandal first came to light when in 2011, the news reported that there were some irregularities in the agreement between Antrix and Devas.
- They reported the findings of a draft audit report and pointed out discrepancies including financial mismanagement, conflict of interest, non-compliance of rules, and favoritism.
- This revelation came at the heel of the 2G spectrum scam which was condemned for the high level of corruption.
How can a Canadian court order the attachment of Indian assets?
- State immunity — a well-established principle of international law — shields a state and its property against legal proceedings in the courts of other countries.
- This covers immunity from both jurisdiction and execution.
- However, there is no international legal instrument in force dealing with state immunity in the municipal legal systems of different countries, which has created an international void.
- Consequently, countries have filled this void through their national legislations and domestic judicial practices on state immunity.
- Typically, prominent jurisdictions such as Canada follow the concept of restrictive immunity (a foreign State is immune only for sovereign functions) and not absolute immunity.
How can assets of AAI be seized when the claim is against India?
- In execution proceedings, assets of an entity can be seized if that entity is an alter ego of the State that fails to comply with the arbitral award.
- In other words, if the foreign sovereign exercises such extensive control over the entity, then the presumption that the entity has a separate corporate character is set aside.
- Thus, the Canadian court must have concluded that the Indian government extensively controls AAI.
What options does India have?
- The first option is to comply with the two adverse BIT awards. However, it is highly unlikely that India would do so.
- The second option is to challenge this decision in an appellate court in Canada as per Canadian law where India can try proving that the ‘extensive control requirement’ is not met in the case of AAI.
- However, state immunity from execution is purely a procedural hurdle to the enforcement of the BIT award.
- It cannot justify India’s breach of its international law obligations enshrined in the two BITs and the continued failure to comply with the arbitral awards.
Back2Basics: New Space India Limited (NSIL)
- It functions under the administrative control of the Department of Space (DOS).
- It aims to commercially exploit the research and development work of ISRO Centres and constituent units of DOS.
- The NSIL would enable Indian Industries to scale up high-technology manufacturing and production base for meeting the growing needs of the Indian space program.
- It would further spur the growth of Indian Industries in the space sector.
ANTRIX
- Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly-owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space.
- It is as a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
- Antrix is engaged in providing Space products and services to international customers worldwide.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 348
Mains level: Official language of Judiciary
A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court has asked a convict to speak only in English as that was the language in the higher judiciary referring to Article 348 of the Constitution which mandates that the language of the High Court would be English.
What is Article 348?
- It provides for languages to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills, etc
- Article 348 (1) provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High court shall be in English Language until Parliament by law otherwise provides.
- Under Article 348 (2), the Governor of the State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorize the use of the Hindi language or any other language used for any official purpose of the State.
- It states that in the proceedings of the High Court having its principal seat in that State provided that decrees, judgments or orders passed by such High Courts shall be in English.
When is use of other languages permitted?
- Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, provides that the use of Hindi or official language of a State in addition to the English language may be authorized.
- This has to be done with the consent of the President of India, by the Governor of the State for purpose of judgments etc. made by the High Court for that State.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Takhts in Sikhism
Mains level: Not Much
The Delhi Assembly has passed an amendment Bill to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1971, recognizing Takht Damdama Sahib as the fifth Takht of Sikhs.
What is a Sikh Takht?
- A Takht, which means a throne, is a seat of temporal authority for Sikhs.
- There are five Sikh Takhts, three in Punjab and one each in Maharashtra and Bihar.
(1) Akal Takht
- Located in Amritsar, it is the oldest of the Takhts, and considered supreme among the five.
- It was set up in 1606 by Guru Hargobind, whose succession as the sixth Guru after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan Dev, is considered a turning point in Sikh history.
- The Akal Takht, a raised platform that he built in front of the causeway leading to the sanctum sanctorum of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).
- It symbolised the coming together of the temporal authority and the political sovereignty of the Sikh community (miri) with the spiritual authority (piri).
- It is seen as the first marker of Sikh nationalism.
The other four Takhts are linked to Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.
(2) Takht Keshgarh Sahib
- Located in Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. It was here that Guru Gobind Singh raised Khalsa, the initiated Sikh warriors, in 1699.
(3) Takht Patna Sahib
- Guru Gobind Singh was born here in 1666.
(4) Takht Hazur Sahib
- In Nanded, where Guru Gobin Singh spent time and where he was cremated in 1708.
(5) Takht Damdama Sahib
- In Talwandi Sabo of Bathinda. Guru Gobind Singh spent several months here.
What does the amendment to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act mean?
- Simply put, it adds one more ex officio member in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managament Committee (DSGMC) house.
- Earlier, there were four ex officio members in the house — the chiefs (jathedars) of the other four Sikh Takhts.
Is it the first time it has been recognised as the fifth Takht?
- It was back in 1999 that Takht Damdama Sahib was recognised as the fifth Sikh Takht by the Union Home Ministry.
- It included it as such in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 (Punjab Act VIII of 1925) with a notification dated April 23, 1999.
- Before that, an SGPC sub-committee had declared it the fifth Takht of Sikhs back in November 1966 after Punjab was carved out as a separate state through the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
How politically significant is the move?
- It comes ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, where the, Delhi’s ruling party, has high stakes.
What is the role of the Sikh Takhts?
- The Takhts are known to issue hukumnamas (morality orders) from time to time on issues that concern the Sikh community.
- Akal Takht is supreme among them because it is the oldest and was created by a Sikh Guru himself, say Sikh scholars.
- Any edict or order concerning the entire community is issued only from Akal Takht.
- It is from Akal Takht that Sikhs found to be violating the Sikh doctrine and code of conduct are awarded religious punishment (declared tankhaiya).
Who appoints the jathedars of the Takhts?
- The three Takhts in Punjab are directly controlled by the SGPC, which appoints the jathedars.
- The SGPC is dominated by SAD members.
- It is widely understood that SAD puts the final seal on the appointment of these three jathedars.
- The two Takhts outside Punjab have their own trusts and boards.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pangong Tso
Mains level: LAC ambiguities
China is building a bridge across the Pangong Tso area connecting the North and South Banks which will significantly reduce the time for moving troops and equipment between the two sides.
About Pangong Tso
- Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m.
- It is 134 km long and extends from India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China.
- Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies within the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
- The lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point. All together it covers 604 sq.km.
- During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water.
- It is not a part of the Indus river basin area and is geographically a separate landlocked river basin.
- Earlier, Pangong Tso had an outlet to Shyok River, a tributary of Indus River, but it was closed off due to natural damming.
Tactical significance of the lake
- It lies in the path of the Chushul approach, one of the main approaches that China can use for an offensive into Indian Territory.
- During the 1962 war, this was where China launched its main offensive — the Indian Army fought heroically at Rezang La under Maj. Shaitan Singh.
- Not far away, to the north of the lake, is the Army’s Dhan Singh Thapa post, named after Major Dhan Singh Thapa who was awarded the country’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra.
- Major Thapa and his platoon were manning the Sirijap-1 outpost which was essential for the defense of the Chushul airfield.
Connectivity in the region
- Over the years, the Chinese have built motorable roads along their banks of the Pangong Tso. This points to the importance accorded by the Chinese to the area.
- Even during peacetime, the difference in perception over where the LAC lies on the northern bank of the lake makes this contested terrain.
- In 1999, when the Army unit from the area was moved to Kargil for Operation Vijay, China took the opportunity to build 5 km of a road inside the Indian Territory along the lake’s bank.
- From one of these roads, Chinese positions physically overlook Indian positions on the northern tip of the Pangong Tso Lake.
What is the importance of the bridge over Pangong Tso?
- The bridge over Pangong Tso is located around 25 kms ahead of the LAC in Chinese territory and will significantly reduce the time for movement of Chinese army.
- The Indian Army gained tactical advantage over the PLA on the south bank in end August 2020 by occupying several peaks lying vacant since 1962 gaining a dominating view.
- This has prompted China to build deep alternate roads behind the friction points away from the line of sight.
How is India responding to developments on the ground?
- The bridge is well within Chinese territory.
- The implications of this new bridge will have to be factored in the Indian Army’s operational planning for the future.
- On its part, over the last few years India has been focusing on infrastructure development in forward areas and improving connectivity to the forward areas.
- Large-scale construction of roads, bridges and tunnels is underway all along the LAC.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Types of vaccines
Mains level: Effectiveness of various vaccines against COVID
Vaccines like Biological E’s Corbevax and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin that are made by traditional methods are “just as effective” as the latest mRNA technology-based vaccines a/c to US scientists.
What are Vaccines?
- A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease.
- It typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.
Types of Vaccines
There are several types of vaccines, including:
- Inactivated vaccines
- Live-attenuated vaccines
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines
- Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines
- Viral vector vaccines
[1] Inactivated vaccines
- Inactivated vaccines use the killed version of the germ that causes a disease.
- Inactivated vaccines usually don’t provide immunity (protection) that’s as strong as live vaccines.
- So you may need several doses over time (booster shots) in order to get ongoing immunity against diseases.
- Inactivated vaccines are used to protect against: Hepatitis A, Flu (shot only), Polio (shot only), Rabies etc.
[2] Live-attenuated vaccines
- Live vaccines use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the germ that causes a disease.
- Because these vaccines are so similar to natural infection that they help prevent, they create a strong and long-lasting immune response.
- Just 1 or 2 doses of most live vaccines can give you a lifetime of protection against a germ and the disease it causes.
- They need to be kept cool in refrigerated conditions.
- Live vaccines are used to protect against Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Rotavirus, Smallpox, Chickenpox, Yellow fever
[3] Messenger RNA vaccines
- Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades and this technology was used to make some of the COVID-19 vaccines.
- mRNA vaccines make proteins in order to trigger an immune response.
- mRNA vaccines have several benefits compared to other types of vaccines, including shorter manufacturing times and, because they do not contain a live virus, no risk of causing disease in the person getting vaccinated.
How does mRNA vaccine work?
- The mRNA vaccines function differently from traditional vaccines.
- Traditional vaccines stimulate an antibody response by injecting a human with antigens.
- mRNA vaccines inject a fragment of the RNA sequence of a virus directly into the cells, which then stimulate an adaptive immune response mRNA fragment is a specific piece of the virus that carries instructions to build the antigen of the virus.
- An advantage of RNA vaccines is that they stimulate cellular immunity.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blue Dot network
Mains level: Paper 2- Indo-Pacific region
Context
The visit by United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to Southeast Asia in December 2021 underscores the importance that is being accorded to this region by the Joe Biden administration.
Take aways from the visit
[1] Projecting the US as reliable partner
- The idea was to present the U.S. as a reliable partner in meeting the challenges that the Indo-Pacific region is facing.
- For instance, completely aware that the Southeast Asian nations are averse to choosing sides in this U.S.-China competition, Mr. Blinken made it a point to mention that “individual countries will be able to choose their own path and their own partners.
[2] Tackling China challenge
- Both China and the U.S. are trying to lure the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries to their side — China with its grand economic infrastructure investment deals and the U.S. through recent high profile official visits as well as through the Build Back Better World initiative and Blue Dot Network.
- In Southeast Asia, the U.S.-China competition is most visible in two areas; one is the South China Sea and the second is the investment in fulfilling the infrastructure development needs of Southeast Asian countries.
- The U.S. has continued its Freedom of Navigation operations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
- In his remarks in Indonesia, Mr. Blinken stressed America’s determination “to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s aggressive actions there threaten the movement of more than $3 trillion worth of commerce every year”.
[3] Closing the gap on infrastructure
- Southeast Asia has been one of the top recipients of Chinese investments under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- How these investments have driven countries such as Cambodia and Laos to do China’s bidding in the ASEAN even at the cost of compromising ASEAN’s unity is a known fact.
- Mr. Blinken reiterated that the U.S. remains committed to help close the gap on infrastructure.
- The infrastructure coordination group launched by the Quad members is seeking to catalyse even more investment and is looking to partner with Southeast Asia on infrastructure and many other shared priorities.
- Washington is promising to do more under the Build Back Better World initiative and the Blue Dot Network.
Way forward
- The ASEAN countries, even after the release of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, do not have a uniform approach when it comes to dealing with the U.S. and China.
- These differing approaches are also challenging the much vaunted ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific.
- Though external players will have a limited role in ensuring that the unity within ASEAN is restored, providing proper alternative models of investments for development in sectors such as infrastructure, digital economy, supply chain, and health for the Southeast Asian nations will be critical.
Conclusion
The economic framework, investment plans and promises outlined need to be made operational quickly if Washington is to show that it is indeed serious about sustained commitment toward the Indo-Pacific.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Regulatory challenges faced by civil society organisations
Context
Recently, the Missionaries of Charity established by Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa was in the news for the cancellation of its permission under the FCRA.
Detailed scrutiny delaying permission for grant
- The levels of due diligence and the information sought on the one hand and the annual declarations to be given by the board members of civil society organisations on the other have increased significantly.
- The mandatory opening of bank accounts for foreign contributions has been centralised in one branch of the State Bank of India.
- The linking of Permanent Account Number (PAN), Aadhaar number and mapping it with the bank account/s of the individual board members are happening.
- The registrations under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) have been long necessitated in order to undertake due diligence of the causes for which the organisation is working for and also to have a handle on the traceability of funds.
- The dashboard shows a little under 17,000 active organisations — which have either got permission or will know their fate by March 2022, while around 33,000 organisations have either lost their permission or it has expired.
Various restrictions
- Restriction on sub-grant: In the past, the amendments in the FCRA that restricted the ability to sub-grant, killed many of the niche organisations working in very remote areas which had no direct access to international funding but were doing it through larger non-governmental organisations.
- Restriction on administrative expenses: The other amendment restricting the proportion of expenses on administration almost choked organisations that worked for the rights of the disposed.
- The increasing level of surveillance type of data sought has resulted in many organisations losing people on their governance structure and resulting in problems in funding.
Why do we need Civil Society Organisations?
- We need them because they usually work on what can be called an unreasonable agenda.
- This unreasonableness falls in three large verticals.
- [1] Ensuring efficiency and accountability from state: The first is that they ask for greater efficiency, delivery and accountability from the state.
- Whether is it about rehabilitation and compensation in the case of land acquisition or setting up a great accountability framework as was done through the movement led by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan for the Right to Information.
- [2] Correcting extractive nature of market: The second vertical is in correcting the extractive nature of markets.
- The groups asking for environmental accountability are looking at inter-generational justice on a matter that is not very precisely measurable but is palpable.
- [3] Picking up niche causes: The third is basically picking up causes that are so niche that it is beyond the capability of the state to come up with such initiatives.
- For example, a drama school set up in a village called Heggodu, Karnataka, or an idea of distributing clothing for work as done by Goonj.
- These initiatives cannot be put into specific business plans, spreadsheets or government schemes.
- They, therefore, need a grant-based, cause-based revenue stream model.
Should these organisations accept foreign funding?
- Causes have no boundaries: “Causes” have no boundaries and funding for such socially desirable belief systems could come from beyond borders.
- Some causes carried out by organisations such as Doctors Without Borders, or Reporters Without Borders are by definition international in nature.
- Similar is the case with the Jaipur foot provided by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti.
- The humanitarian work by the Missionaries of Charity is beyond the capability of a state.
- Such causes do not have a rational basis to be explained in terms of a financial model; how do you put a price tag to press freedom?
- The niche funding will happen from agencies that may be beyond the borders.
- The duality of welcoming foreign investments (which takes away capital gains and dividends) while actively discouraging foreign aid to charities is staring us in the face.
Conclusion
The government needs to ensure that the regulations do not create hurdles for the civil society organisations in their functioning and receiving fundings.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Commitment to net-zero emission targets
Mains level: Paper 3- Transition towards clean energy
Context
At a time when our planet faces an existential crisis, there is little doubt that we need innovative, scientific and urgent steps to secure humanity’s future.
India’s climate commitment
- We need to act decisively to reach global net-zero, restricting future cumulative emissions to the remaining carbon budget — as COP26 noted — if the rise in temperature is to remain within the limits of the Paris Agreement.
- At COP26, India announced its climate commitments — the “Panchamrit”, including a commitment to reach net-zero by 2070.
- India’s announcement of its net-zero goal is a major step considering that our country is not the cause of global warming.
- Its historical cumulative emissions are a mere 4.37 per cent of the world’s total.
India’s steps to achieve the targets
[1] India’s renewable energy targets and achievements
- India’s renewable energy targets have steadily become more ambitious, from the 175 GW by 2022 declared at Paris, to 450 GW by 2030 at the UN Climate Summit, and now 500 GW by 2030, announced at COP26.
- India has also announced the target of 50 per cent installed power generation capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030, raising the existing target of 40 per cent, which has already been almost achieved.
- Renewable technologies: India will not lag in terms of new cutting-edge renewable technologies and has already announced a Hydrogen Energy Mission for grey and green hydrogen.
- In energy efficiency, the market-based scheme of Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) has avoided 92 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions during its first and second cycles.
[2] India’s E-mobility transtion
- FAME: India is accelerating its e-mobility transition with the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles Scheme to support the electric vehicle market development and enable its manufacturing ecosystem to achieve self-sustenance.
- Incentives for customers and companies: The government has also announced a slew of incentives for customers and companies to promote e-vehicles.
- Adoption of BS-VI: India leapfrogged from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms by April 1, 2020.
- Scrapping policy: A voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles now complements these schemes.
- Electrification of railway routes: Indian Railways is charging ahead, targeting the full electrification of all broad-gauge routes by 2023.
[3] Ujjwala Yojana and UJALA
- The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has benefitted 88 million households with LPG connections.
- More than 367 million LED bulbs have been distributed under the UJALA scheme, leading to energy savings of more than 47 billion units of electricity per year and a reduction of 38.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
- With these and many other initiatives, India has already achieved a reduction of 24 per cent in the emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2016, and is on track to meet its target of 33 to 35 per cent by 2030.
Role of private sector
- Since industries also contribute to GHG emissions, any climate action will need to reduce or offset emissions that emerge from industrial and commercial activity.
- The public and private sectors in India are already playing a key role in meeting the climate challenge, helped by growing customer and investor awareness, as well as increasing regulatory and disclosure requirements.
- Enterprises are well-positioned to not just adapt to but also gain from the low-carbon transition.
- The low-carbon transition challenge is bigger for companies that are largely coal-powered and contribute more than half of our country’s emissions.
- The business fraternity must make the best possible use of this opportunity to invest in climate technologies and expand the use of renewable energy sources.
- The Indian cement industry has taken pioneering measures and achieved one of the biggest sectoral low carbon milestones worldwide.
Way forward
- India’s journey on the low-carbon pathway towards net-zero requires the active participation of all stakeholders.
- Sustainable lifestyles and climate justice are at the core of this journey.
Conclusion
With cooperation from the private sector, India will be able to responsibly use its fair share of the global carbon space and contribute to reaching the global net-zero goal to build a more environmentally sustainable planet.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Western Disturbances
Mains level: Not Much
Under the influence of two consecutive western disturbances, New Delhi is in for a wet spell.
Western Disturbances
- A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
- It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
- The moisture in these storms usually originates over the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
- Extratropical storms are global phenomena with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere.
- In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas.
- Western disturbances are more frequent and strong in the winter season.
Impact: Winter Rainfall and Extreme Cold
- Western disturbances, specifically the ones in winter, bring moderate to heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow to mountainous areas of the Indian Subcontinent.
- They are the cause of most winter and pre-monsoon season rainfall across northwest India.
- An average of four to five western disturbances forms during the winter season.
Its significance
- Precipitation during the winter season has great importance in agriculture, particularly for the rabi crops.
- Wheat among them is one of the most important crops, which helps to meet India’s food security.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following statements:
- The winds which blow between 30°N and 60°S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
- The moist air masses that cause winter rains in the North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MAC, NATGRID
Mains level: Counter-terrorism ops and security agencies
The Union government has asked the States to share more intelligence inputs through the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), a common counter-terrorism grid under the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Why in news?
- States are often reluctant to share information on the platform.
- There are several gaps in sharing critical information at the right time.
- Plans are afoot for more than a decade to link the system up to the district level.
About MAC
- The Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) was formed in December 2001 following the Kargil intrusion and the subsequent overhaul of the Indian national security apparatus suggested by the Kargil Review Committee report.
- Accordingly, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was authorized to create a multi-agency centre (MAC) in New Delhi.
- Now functioning 24×7 as the nodal body for sharing intelligence inputs, MAC coordinates with representatives from numerous agencies, different ministries, both central and state.
- Various security agencies share real-time intelligence inputs on the MAC.
- The state offices have been designated as subsidiary MACs (SMACs).
- As many as 28 organisations, including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and State police, are part of the platform.
Back2Basics: NATGRID
- NATGRID is an intelligence-sharing network that collates data from the standalone databases of the various agencies and ministries of the Indian government.
- It collects and collates a host of information from government databases including tax and bank account details, credit/debit card transactions, visa and immigration records and itineraries of rail and air travel.
- It came into existence after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
- It is accessible to only authorized people from 10 security agencies on a case-to-case basis for investigations into suspected cases of terrorism.
- It will also have access to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems, a database that links crime information, including First Information Reports, across 14,000 police stations in India.
Note: NATGRID data will be made available to 11 central agencies, which are: Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Directorate General of GST Intelligence.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IC15 Crypto Index
Mains level: Cryptocurrencies market in India
Superapp CryptoWire recently launched India’s first cryptocurrency index, IC15, which will measure the performance of the 15 most widely traded cryptocurrencies listed on leading crypto exchanges by market capitalization.
What is IC15?
- CryptoWire constituted an Index Committee of domain experts, industry practitioners, and academicians that will select cryptocurrencies from the top 400 coins in terms of market capitalization.
- The eligible cryptocurrency should have traded on at least 90% of the days during the review period and be among the 100 most liquid cryptocurrencies in terms of trading value.
- Also, the cryptocurrency should be in the top 50 in terms of the circulating market capitalization.
- The committee will then select the top 15 cryptocurrencies. The index will be reviewed quarterly.
What is its significance?
- IC15 can be replicated for creating index-linked products such as index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
- Usually, the performance of a mutual fund scheme is assessed with reference to a benchmark, which could be a total return index of the Nifty or the Sensex.
- IC15 is the first index in India that can act as a benchmark of the underlying cryptocurrency market and the performance benchmark for fund managers.
- Moreover, robo-advisors, which provide financial advice with moderate to minimal human intervention, can use this index to create investment products at lower costs.
How does IC15 correlate with other market indicators?
- IC15’s base value as on 1 April 2018 was 10,000.
- It would mean that the index has gained 615% in absolute terms to 71,475.48 till 31 December 2021.
Can index-based crypto investment reduce risks?
- Index investing can be an effective way to diversify against risks as a fund invests in a basket of assets against a few limited coins.
- However, index-based investing may not fully remove risks associated with investing in crypto assets.
- Case in point: IC15 saw a 50% plunge in 2018, whereas other asset classes have seen a maximum drop in the range of 3-4%.
- Further, bitcoin and ethereum have a combined weightage of 77% in the index, making it highly vulnerable to any volatility in these two coins.
Can crypto funds be launched in India?
- SEBI has recently asked mutual fund houses not to launch crypto-based funds until the Centre comes out with clear regulations.
- This means asset management companies for now won’t be able to launch crypto funds based on IC15.
- However, in the absence of any regulations, crypto platforms can offer products based on the index.
- Global crypto investment platform Mudrex last year launched Coin Sets—crypto funds based on themes such as decentralized finance or market cap.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nai Talim
Mains level: Not Much
The Vice President of India has said that the New Education Policy follows the ‘Nai Talim’ of Mahatma Gandhi by giving importance to the mother tongue as the medium of instruction at the school level.
What is Nai Talim?
- The phrase Nai Talim is a combination of two words- Nai Means ‘New’ and Talim – a Urdu word-means ‘Education’.
- In 1937, Gandhiji introduced the concept of Nai Talim in India. It aimed to achieve Gram Swaraj (liberation of villages).
- In short, Gandhiji dreamed to make all villages independent; and self-reliant.
- It is an approach to the total personality development of body, mind and spirit and was based on four principles namely:
- Education or learning in mother tongue along with handicraft work,
- Work should be linked with most useful vocational needs of the locality,
- Learning should be linked with vocational work, and
- Work should be socially useful and productive needed for living.
Gandhiji and Education
- Gandhi’s first experiments in education began at the Tolstoy Farm ashram in South Africa.
- It was much later, while living at Sevagram (Wardha) and in the heat of the Independence struggle, that Gandhi wrote his influential article in Harijan about education.
- In it, he mapped out the basic pedagogy (or teaching) with focus on:
- Lifelong character of education,
- Social character and
- A holistic process
- Thus, for Gandhi, education is ‘the moral development of the person’, a process that is by definition ‘lifelong’.
- He believed the importance of role of teacher in the learning process.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
Q. One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is
(a) The final goal of a stateless society
(b) Class struggle
(c) Abolition of private property
(d) Economic determinism
Post your answers here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Role of Non-state actors
Context
The collaborative effort of markets and the Government are key to the development of a country.
How CSR law aids citizenry-private partnerships
- Section 135 of the Companies Act mandates corporates who are beyond a certain level of profits and turnover to pay at least 2% of their net profits before tax to the development space.
- Scope for collaboration with Non-state actors: This law gives corporates the necessary impetus to collaborate with non-state actors like Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
- Using the depth of engagement of non-state actors: Non-state actors, because of their depth of engagement with communities, bring patient capital to corporate board rooms and help the state, too, by engaging in welfare activities.
- Role of NGOs: A key pillar of democratic governance is citizens’ power to question the state.
- NGOs and voluntary groups/organisations have played a significant role in building capacities of citizens to hold governments accountable.
- Hence, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grants, have assumed importance to provide the much-needed sustenance to NGOs and CSOs as key players in non-state governance.
How Non-state actors differ from Governments
- Risk-averse nature of bureaucracy: The Indian bureaucratic elite have little appetite for risk-taking and innovation because of the constant changing goalposts of their politician-bosses or because the quantum of work is more than what they can efficiently handle.
- Bureaucrats, therefore, often take recourse to the status quo even if it is to at least get some work done and not stall everything by campaigning for change, especially in the realm of governance.
- Fear of failure: There is also the fear of failure, with its deep-rooted consequence of non-risk-takers smoothly sailing to the top posts.
- In such contexts, it is the non-state actor who innovates and creates breakthrough models of community engagement.
- They also become the vehicle to carry the demands of people to formal institutions.
- We saw this in the case of the Right to Information (RTI) campaign, which became a law after decades-long efforts by NGOs.
- It is common knowledge that the District Collector calls on vetted NGOs/CSOs to implement various schemes during the normal course of the day or to step in at short notice when calamities strike.
- When non-state actors take a large load off the state’s shoulder, the state can focus more on governance.
- Research shows that it is the synergy of NGOs, Government and corporates which is the key to the development.
Conclusion
The CSR law has made the corporate world not only clean its own mess but has also created a legal framework for corporates to work with NGOs and CSOs. NGOs and CSOs in India, will play a major role in mobilising citizen action to right various wrongs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Capex boom in India
Context
Economists are predicting a potential virtuous capital investments (capex) cycle to kick in globally as we emerge from the pandemic.
Why do analysts think that capital investment cycle is about to start?
- Less leveraged: Corporates are less leveraged today compared to 2008.
- Indian corporates repaid debts of more than Rs 1.5 trillion.
- Fiscal and monetary support: Companies are also more confident of durable fiscal and monetary support.
- Increased savings: Households have large excess savings built during Covid — $1.7 trillion in the US and roughly $300 billion in India as per a UBS report.
- Cash: Lastly, corporates are sitting on a large cash pile – S&P 500 firms’ cash has soared from $1 trillion pre-pandemic to $1.5 trillion now.
Why capex wave is difficult in India?
- Fall in capital formation: India’s fixed capital formation rate has steadily fallen from 36 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 26 per cent in 2020.
- For a set of 718 listed companies for which data is consistently available from 2005, the capex growth rate has decreased from 7 per cent in 2008 to around 2 per cent in 2020.
- Low return on invested capital: The return on invested capital in FY21 is still low at 2-3 per cent compared with 16-18 per cent returns in 2005-08.
- Structural issues: Land acquisition is still tough, changes to labour laws have been slow, and reform uncertainty has resurfaced with the rollback of the agriculture reform laws.
- Discouraging current data: As per CMIE data, the quarter ending in June 2021 saw Rs 2.72 lakh crore worth of new projects announced. This fell to Rs 2.22 lakh crore for the September 2021 quarter.
- This is much below the average of Rs 4 lakh crore a quarter of new project announcements during 2018 and 2019.
- Further, new projects are concentrated in fewer industries (power, and technology) with the top three accounting for 44 per cent of the total of new projects announced.
- Low capacity utilisation: At the same time, capacity utilisation for corporate India is at an all-time low.
- From a peak of 83 per cent in 2010, when capex was running hot, utilisation levels declined to 70 per cent just before the pandemic, and further to 60 per cent in June 2021 as per the RBI’s latest OBICUS data.
- Capex is funded either from fresh debt or equity issues or from accumulated cash. Large firms are repaying debt.
Conclusion
It is too early in the cycle to predict anything with confidence, but we need more evidence to predict a capex cycle.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: LAC disputes
China’s new law on land borders has come into effect on January 1.
Key takeaways of the Border Law
China passed the law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”.
- Sacrosanct nature of Borders: Under the law, “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are sacred and inviolable”.
- Border defense: It mandates the state to take measures “to strengthen border defense, support economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas.
- Habitation near borders: It seeks to improve public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support people’s life and work there.
- Consultations with neighbors: The law asks the state to follow the principles of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation, handle land border related-affairs with neighboring countries.
Why did China bring it?
Several factors may have led to China’s move.
- Aggressive actions: The new law is a tool the Chinese government will use if it wants, as its actions have been aggressive even before this law.
- Maritime assertion: This law reflects Beijing’s renewed concerns over the security of its land border while it confronts a slew of unsettled disputes on its maritime front (in the South China Sea).
- Land boundary issues: The confrontations on the Sino-Indian borders in recent years may have reminded Beijing about this law.
- Fear of radicalization: Afghanistan under the Taliban may become a hotbed for terrorism and extremism that could spread to Xinjiang amongst Uyghurs.
- One-China Policy: China officially (constitutionally) claims mainland China and Taiwan as part of their respective territories. It has similar assertions for Hong Kong.
Does it concern India?
- No specific mention: Although the law is not meant specifically for India, it is bound to have some impact.
- May hamper disengagement: The date for the round meeting is still awaited, amid concerns that the Chinese delegation can use the new law to try to bolster their existing positions.
- Possible misadventures: The new law provides for the construction of permanent infrastructure close to the border. This has been observed in Arunachal Pradesh.
What impact can it have on India-China relations?
- Onus on China: The view is still divided. Much depends on China’s actions, regardless of the new law.
- Unilateral action: The new law might be the latest attempt by China to unilaterally delineate and demarcate territorial boundaries with India and Bhutan.
- Maintain status-quo: The new law will make China dig its heels in, on the ongoing standoff as well as for the resolution of the larger boundary issue.
- Permanent demarcation of borders: There is also a possibility that Beijing appears to be signaling a determination to resolve the border disputes on its preferred terms.
Recent mis-adventures
- China has been building “well-off” border defense villages across the LAC in all sectors, which the new law encourages.
- President Xi visited a village in Tibet near the border with Arunachal Pradesh followed by renamings.
- China has constructed a bridge in Eastern Ladakh connecting the North and South Banks of Pangong Tso.
Conclusion
- The law only “states the obvious” as “every country is in the business of protecting its territorial integrity.
- The big question is what your territory is, and there we don’t agree with each other.
[RSTV Archive] India-China Ties Post-Galwan
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAARC
Mains level: Revival of SAARC
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah has said that his country was ready to host the 19th SAARC Summit and invited India to join it virtually if it is not willing to visit Islamabad.
About SAARC
- The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
- Members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- It was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- The organization promotes the development of economic and regional integration.
- It maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.
Formation of SAARC
- After the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the security situation in South Asia rapidly deteriorated.
- In response, the foreign ministers of the initial seven members met in Colombo in 1981.
- At the meeting, Bangladesh proposed forming a regional association that would meet to discuss matters such as security and trade.
- While most of the countries present were in favour of the proposal, India and Pakistan were skeptical.
- Eventually, both countries relented and in 1983 in Dhaka, joined the other five nations in signing the Declaration.
Economic significance of SAARC
- The SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2019.
- It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.
Major accomplishments
- Forum for discussions: It has provided a platform for representatives from member countries to meet and discuss important issues, something that may have been challenging through bilateral discussions.
- Diplomatic tool: India and Pakistan for example would struggle to publicly justify a meeting when tensions between the two are particularly high, but both countries often come together under the banner of SAARC.
- Crisis management: The bloc has also made some headway in signing agreements related to climate change, food security and combating the Covid-19 crisis.
- Technology: It has been another avenue of cooperation marked by the launch of South Asia Satellite by India.
Limitations to SAARC
- Small scale: Despite its lofty ambitions, SAARC has not become a regional association in the mould of the European Union or the African Union.
- Internal divisions: Its member states are plagued by internal divisions, most notably the conflict between India and Pakistan.
- Trade disputes: This in turn has hampered its ability to form comprehensive trade agreements or to meaningfully collaborate on areas such as security, energy and infrastructure.
- Terrorism: The last SAARC summit to be held in Pakistan has been cancelled several times due to many nations pulling out of the summit citing fears of regional insecurity.
Why must India rethink on SAARC?
- Extended diplomacy: India continued to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings along with their Pakistani counterparts.
- Pandemic mitigation: Reviving SAARC is crucial to countering the common challenges brought about by the pandemic.
- Economic cooperation: Apart from the overall GDP slowdown, global job cuts has led to fall in revenue for migrant labour and expatriates from South Asian countries.
- Countering China: While dealing with China, a unified South Asian platform is a crucial countermeasure for India.
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