| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NMP

Mains level: Paper 3- How NMP is different from PPP

Context

The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), a bold initiative was recently announced by the Finance Minister.

PPP model and issues with it

BOT: The PPP was about attracting private parties to build, operate and then transfer ‘greenfield’ or new infrastructure projects under build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession agreements.
More risks for the private sector: The winning private bidder had to take not only the operating risk, but also the development and construction risk of the project, such as a toll road, from scratch.
Why it was prone to delays?: It involved the acquisition of land. This process became controversial and was subject to delay.
It involved securing environmental and other regulatory approvals. These proved challenging to obtain.
Undermining the trust: Compliance with these became a source of friction between the concessioning authority and the concessionaire.
All this undermined trust between the public and private parties and led to a huge volume of disputes for which there was no readily available resolution mechanism.

How NMP is different from PPP?

Brownfield assets: The NMP is about leasing out ‘brownfield’ infrastructure assets such as an already operating inter-State toll highway under a toll-operate-transfer (TOT) concession agreement.
No land acquisition: In such an arrangement no acquisition of land is involved.
No construction risk: Nor does the concessionaire need to take any of the construction risk.
It is also certain to attract a different class of private capital.
To be successful in the BOT bids required a proven ability to navigate and manage the system.
Under the NMP, what will be required is operational experience in running a particular class of infrastructure assets and a strong understanding of the potential cash flows generated over the life of the concession.
This is certain to attract the largest global pension funds.

Way forward

Allow flexibility: Given the long tenure of these concession agreements, they must be designed to allow for some flexibility so that each party has the opportunity to deal with unforeseen circumstances (such as climate-related disasters).
Performance standards: Contracts must also incorporate clear key performance indicators expected of the private party and clear benchmarks for assets as they are handed over by the government at the start of the concession.
Ensure effective implementation: No matter how well a contract is crafted, it still needs to be implemented effectively.
No opacity in concessional agreements: Experience shows that there is a tendency for government departments to inject opacity so that they have more power over the concessionaire.
To avoid this, it would be useful if the responsibility for administering the concession agreements did not lie directly with the line ministries and/or their agencies.
Dispute resolution mechanism: It is vital to put in place a robust dispute resolution mechanism.
Institute for contracts: There is a strong case to set up a centralised institution with the skills and responsibility to oversee contract design, bidding and implementation.
An institution such as ‘3 PPP India’, first mooted in the 2014 Budget, is needed.
Set up tribunal: It would also be advisable to set up an Infrastructure PPP Adjudication Tribunal along the lines of what was recommended by the Kelkar Committee (2015).
Start with predictable sectors: The government could start with sectors that offer the greatest cash flow predictability and the least regulatory uncertainty before expanding the experiment.

Conclusion

The NMP significantly differs from the PPP model and seeks to avoid its shortcomings through various changes.

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Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

What the Q1 GDP numbers say

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Private Final Consumption Expenditure

Mains level: Paper 3- Measures to sustain the growth momentum

Context

India’s GDP data for Q1 of 2021-22 was released on August 31, 2021. The data revealed the real GDP growth at 20.1% in Q1.

Making sense of the growth

Base effect: Real GDP growth at 20.1% in Q1 of 2021-22 is largely because of the contraction of 24.4% in the corresponding quarter of the first COVID-19 year, that is, 2020-21.
The Q1 2021-22 output and GDP growth data reflect a strong base effect since the corresponding levels of Q1 of 2020-21 were significantly adversely impacted by the first wave of COVID-19.
Fall in magnitude: The magnitude of real GDP fell short of the corresponding level in 2019-20 by a margin of ₹3.3 lakh crore.
Required rate: A growth rate of 32.3% was required in Q1 of 2021-22 for achieving the same level of real GDP as in Q1 of 2019-20.
To achieve the annual growth of 9.5% as forecast by both the Reserve Bank of India and the International Monetary Fund for 2021-21, an average growth of 6.8% in the remaining part of the year would be required.
The task would become relatively more demanding in Q3 and Q4 considering that the real GDP growth was positive at 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively, in the corresponding quarters of 2020-21.

Analysing the demand side

1) Private consumption growth lagging overall GDP growth

Largest segment: The largest segment of GDP viewed from the demand side is private final consumption expenditure (PFCE).
Its average share over the last three years (2018-19 to 2020-21) was 56.5%.
If PFCE were to reach back the 2019-20 level, it should have grown by 35.5% in this quarter.
The recovery in private consumption demand is lagging behind the overall GDP growth.
Way forward: Private consumption depends largely on income growth and its distribution.
Therefore, it would be useful to focus on further supporting income and employment levels for the MSMEs and informal sectors of the economy which have a higher propensity to consume.

2) Export and investment: positive outcome in Q1

Noticeable positive outcomes in Q1 of 2021-22 came from exports and to some extent, from investment as reflected by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF).
Exports grew by 39.1% over a contraction of 21.8% in Q1 of 2020-21.
This differential is reflected in a positive growth of 8.7%.
Investment: In the case of GFCF, the base effect was quite large.
Despite a growth of 55.3% in Q1 of 2021-22, its magnitude was still 17.1% lower than the corresponding level in Q1 of 2019-20.

3) Contraction in government final consumption

The only demand segment which contracted even with reference to Q1 of 2020-21 was government final consumption expenditure (GFCE).
This contraction was by a margin of (-) 4.8%.

Analysing the output side

1) Key service sectors

The key service sector — namely trade, transport, storage grew by 34.3% in Q1 of 2021-22 as compared to a contraction of 48.1% in Q1 of 2020-21.
However, relative to its level in Q1 of 2019-20, the output of this large service sector was significantly lower by 30.2% in Q1 of 2021-22.
Though public administration, defence and other services showed a growth of 5.8% in Q1 of 2021-22 over Q1 of 2020-21, they actually reflected a contraction of 5.0% as compared to Q1 of 2019-20.

2) Agriculture

The key positive news came from the agricultural sector which showed a growth of 4.5% in Q1 of 2021-22, in continuation of annual growth of 3.6% in 2020-21.
Given agriculture’s positive growth in all the quarters of 2020-21, further contribution from this sector to the overall growth may not be expected.
Its average weight to the overall output is also low at about 15%.
It is the high weight manufacturing sector and the two substantive service sectors — trade, transport et. al and financial, real estate et al. — which will have to support growth in the remaining part of the year.

Way forward

Government should raise the demand: The Centre’s fiscal deficit in the first four months of 2021-22 amounted to only 21.3% of the budgeted target as compared to the corresponding average level of 90% over the last four years.
Clearly, significant policy space is opening up for the government to raise its demand and its contribution to output in the remaining part of the current fiscal year.
Dealing with likely third wave: Attempts should be made either to bypass or at least curb the adverse impact of COVID-19’s likely third wave.
Vaccination and investment in health infra: Both the coverage of vaccination and the pace of investment in health infrastructure should be accelerated.
As revenues improve, expenditures can be increased.
There is no need to reduce the fiscal deficit below the budgeted level of 6.8% of GDP.

Consider the question “To make up for the loss of output in the last two years India needs to embark on the path of high growth trajectory. Suggest the measure to achieve this objective.”

Conclusion

We need a faster rate of growth to make up for the loss of output in the previous two years from the trend rate. We must lay the foundation for faster growth in this year itself.

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Nuclear Diplomacy and Disarmament

Stand-off over North Korea reinforces the hollowness of the doctrine of deterrence

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: International Institutions

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Light water reactor

Mains level: Paper 2- North Korea's nuclear program

Context

The resumption of North Korea’s largest fissile material production reactor, has sparked speculation about its real and symbolic significance.

Background of North Korea’s nuclear weapons development

In 1994, Pyongyang barred IAEA access to the Yongbyon complex amid suspicions that the country was generating plutonium from spent fuel.
1994 Agreed Framework, an executive agreement signed by President Bill Clinton, required Pyongyang to freeze all nuclear activity and allow inspection of its military sites in return for the construction of two light water reactors.
The accord broke down in 2002.
In June 2008, in order to express its denuclearisation commitment to the U.S. and four other countries, Pyongyang blew up the cooling tower at the Yongbyon complex.
A few months in 2008, Pyongyang barred IAEA inspectors access to its reprocessing plant in the Yongbyon complex and eventually expelled them the following April.
In November 2010 American scientist Siegfried Hecker confirmed accounts that North Korea had rapidly built a uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon.

Why does resumption nuclear reactor matter?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has underlined that the restart of activity in Yongbyon constitutes a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Reprocessing of fuel: The reactor at the Yongbyon complex has been central to the North Korean reprocessing of spent fuel rods to generate plutonium.
Enrichment of fuel: Besides the production of highly enriched uranium for the development of atomic bombs.

Way forward

Negotiations: The Biden administration has adopted a pragmatic path of declaring its readiness to resume negotiations with Pyongyang.
UN treaty on complete abolition of nuclear arms: The UN treaty on complete abolition of atomic arms, whose deliberations were boycotted by all nuclear weapons states, is the morally superior alternative.

Conclusion

The protracted stand-off over North Korea reinforces the hollowness of the doctrine of deterrence and begs the question whether proliferation can ever be prevented just because nuclear weapons states want to perpetuate their dominance.

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Back2Basics: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.
It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The IAEA was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology.
The Agency’s genesis was U.S. President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953.

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Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

National Edible Oil Mission (OP)

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Issues Related To Farm Subsidies & Msp

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NEOM-OP)

Mains level: Edible oil scarcity in India

Last week, the government announced the minimum support prices (MSP) of rabi crops for the marketing season 2022-23.

Key Highlight: Hike for Oilseeds MSPs

The MSP for wheat is up by 2 per cent while that of rapeseed-mustard is up by 8.6 per cent.
This indicates that the government wants to focus more on edible oils/oilseeds than on wheat.
It is important to note that PM recently announced a Rs 11,000-crore National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NEOM-OP), as a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

About NEOM-OP

This is a bold step to augment domestic edible oil supplies, given that 60 per cent of the edible oil consumed in the country is imported — more than half of this is palm oil followed by soybean and sunflower.
In FY 2020-21, edible oil imports touched $ 11 billion or about Rs 80,000 crore (for 13.5 million tonnes).
Despite these imports, edible oil inflation remains very high (July 2021 was 32.5 per cent).
Against this backdrop, the move to promote oil palm is a step in the right direction.

Reasons for oil price hikes

Effective duty for rapeseed and cottonseed oils ranges from 38.5 per cent for crude and 49.5 per cent for refined oils.
It’s this high import duty, at a time when global edible oil prices have gone up by almost 70 per cent (y-o-y), that has caused high domestic inflation (32.5 per cent) in edible oils.

Why Oil Palm?

It is the only crop that can give up to four tonnes of oil productivity per hectare under good farm practices.
But it is a water-guzzling crop, loves humidity (requires 150 mm rainfall every month) and thrives best in areas with temperatures between 20 and 33 degrees Celsius.
The National Re-assessment Committee (2020) has identified 28 lakh hectares suitable for oil palm cultivation in the country — the actual area under oil palm cultivation, as of 2020, is only 3.5 lakh hectares.
Much of this (34 per cent) is in the Northeastern states, including Assam, followed by Andhra Pradesh (19 per cent) and Telangana (16 per cent).
A large potential is thus waiting to be tapped.

No reasons for farmers to switch

The government has a massive procurement programme for wheat, but a very meagre one for rapeseed-mustard even when the prices rule below MSP.
This relative incentive structure remains in favour of wheat.
So, we doubt if farmers will switch from wheat to mustard in any meaningful manner to bridge the edible oil deficit.

What can be done to make NEOM-OP more effective?

The NEOM-OP intends to focus on productivity and area expansion by supporting the farmers in the following ways:

(A) Financial assistance

Input assistance for planting material, additional assistance to cover maintenance/opportunity costs of farmers, with no limits on acreage.
Big-budget assistance to industries that plan to set up a five tonnes/hour processing unit.
Such a comprehensive assistance package will attract farmers as well as incentivize the industry to work with agriculturists and augment domestic edible oil production.

(B) Pricing mechanism for OP

There will be no MSP, but the FFB price for farmers would be fixed at 14.3 per cent of average landed crude palm oil price of the past five years, adjusted with the wholesale price index.
This is the most critical part of the pricing policy and the formula needs to be carefully calibrated.
However, the litmus test of pricing will be dovetailing it with the import tariff policy to protect the farmers in case landed prices fall below the cost of production.

Way forward

(1) Rationalizing import duties

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP, which recommends MSP) recommended that India should keep an import duty trigger at $800/tonne (say).
If the import price falls below $800/tonne, the import tariff needs to go up in countercyclical manner.
Thus, import duty needs to be in sync with rational domestic price policy.
It is a necessary condition to give a fillip to aatmanirbharta in edible oils.

(2) Neutral incentive structure

But the sufficient condition would be revisiting the existing incentive structure that unduly favours rice, wheat and sugarcane through heavy subsidisation of power, fertilisers and open-ended procurement.
The need is to devise a crop-neutral incentive structure where cropping patterns are aligned with demand patterns, and the crops are produced in a globally competitive manner.

Conclusion

There is a huge deficit in edible oil production in the country.
Achieving self-sufficiency in edible oil production through the other oilseeds complex would require adding about 45 million hectares under oilseed cultivation.
This is not possible without drastically cutting down the area under cereal crops.
The best alternative is, therefore, to ensure proper care of palm oil crops, provide good planting material, better irrigation management, fertilizers and other inputs to raise productivity to four tonnes of oil/hectare.

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Important Judgements In News

Allahabad HC verdict disqualifying then PM

SC Judgements | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: National Emergency

Mains level: Important judgments

The 1975 verdict of Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad high court, disqualifying then PM Indira Gandhi on charges of electoral malpractices was a judgment of “great courage” that “shook” the nation, said CJI in his speech.

What was the case?

It all started with the 1971 Lok Sabha elections, where the Congress (R), which was the newly formed faction of the Congress party floated by Indira Gandhi after her expulsion from the party in 1969, won a landslide victory securing 352 out of the 518 seats in the lower house.
An election petition was filed directly before a High Court challenging the election of Indira Gandhi.

What is an Election Petition?

Election Petition has to be filed within 45 days from the date of declaration of the election results.
The Representation of People (RP) Act of 1951 lists out the grounds on which the election of a candidate can be called into question.
Section 123 of the RP Act lists certain corrupt practices which, if proved successful, can be grounds to declare the election of a candidate void.
While hearing an election petition, the High Court being the court of first instance, exercises powers similar to a trial court.
Thus, there is cross-examination of witnesses and detailed examination of evidence which is normally employed in trial courts and not High Courts.

Findings against Gandhi

Use of government machinery to set up stage, loudspeakers
Use of gazetted officer as an election agent

A case that led to the promulgation of National Emergency

The verdict is widely believed to have led to the imposition of Emergency on June 25, 1975.

A vacation bench of the Supreme Court allowed a partial stay of the judgment after Gandhi had appealed against the High Court verdict.
Then Justice VR Krishna Iyer, said that she could continue as Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha and could attend the House, but could not participate in its proceedings or vote as MP.
She also could not draw any remuneration as an MP.
Importantly, the apex court allowed her to continue as Prime Minister and allowed her to speak and participate in the proceedings of the House and to draw salary in her capacity as Prime Minister.
The order by the apex court, while not completely against Gandhi, did not satisfy her.
She wanted a blanket stay on the Allahabad High Court judgment.
Since the Supreme Court did not grant her that, National Emergency was proclaimed the very next day, June 25.

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Back2Basics: National Emergency

The Constitution employs the expression ‘proclamation of emergency’ to denote National Emergency under Article 352.
Under Article 352, the president can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
The President can declare a national emergency even before the actual occurrence of war or armed rebellion or external aggression
When a national emergency is declared on the grounds of ‘war’ or ‘external aggression’, it is known as ‘External Emergency’.
On the other hand, when it is declared on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’, it is known as ‘Internal Emergency’.
The term ‘armed rebellion is inserted from the 44th amendment. Before this term, it was known as an internal disturbance.

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Terrorism and Challenges Related To It

National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)

| Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NATGRID

Mains level: Not Much

The PM is soon expected to launch the National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID that aims to provide cutting-edge technology to enhance India’s counter-terror capabilities.

What is 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 is a counter terrorism measure that 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 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.
As of 2019, NATGRID is headed by an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashish Gupta.

Its establishment

The 26/11 terrorist siege in Mumbai back in 2008 exposed the deficiency that security agencies had no mechanism to look for vital information on a real-time basis.

Access to NATGRID

Prominent federal agencies of the country have been authorized to access the NATGRID database.
They are the:

Central Bureau of Investigation
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
Enforcement Directorate
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Central Board of Direct Taxes (for the Income Tax Department)
Cabinet Secretariat
Intelligence Bureau
Directorate General of GST Intelligence
Narcotics Control Bureau
Financial Intelligence Unit, and
National Investigation Agency

Future prospects

According to the first phase plan, 10 user agencies and 21 service providers will be connected with the NATGRID, while in later phases, about 950 additional organizations will be brought on board.
In the following years, more than 1,000 organizations will be further integrated into the NATGRID.
These data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions, and telecommunications.

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Nuclear Diplomacy and Disarmament

Iran to allow nuclear surveillance under IAEA

| International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Mains level: IAEA standards

Iran has agreed to allow international inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to install new memory cards into surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there, potentially averting a diplomatic showdown this week.

Try this question from CSP 2020:

Q.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not?

(a) Some use Uranium and others use thorium.

(b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies.

(c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises.

(d) Some are State- owned and others are privately-owned.

Post your answers here.

What is IAEA?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
As the preeminent nuclear watchdog under the UN, the IAEA is entrusted with the task of upholding the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970.
It was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC.

What are its safeguards?

Safeguards are activities by which the IAEA can verify that a State is living up to its international commitments not to use nuclear programs for nuclear weapons purposes.
Safeguards are based on assessments of the correctness and completeness of a State’s declared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.
Verification measures include on-site inspections, visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Basically, two sets of measures are carried out in accordance with the type of safeguards agreements in force with a State.

One set relates to verifying State reports of declared nuclear material and activities.
Another set enables the IAEA not only to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material but also to provide assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.

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Trade Sector Updates – Falling Exports, TIES, MEIS, Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

Container shortage and its impact on international trade

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Read the attached story

The government is in talks with exporters to help them deal with an international container shortage that has led to freight rates rising by over 300 per cent in the past year for key shipping routes.

Why is there an international container shortage?

The reduction in the number of shipping vessels operating as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to fewer empty containers being picked up.
This has left many containers in inland depots and stuck at ports for long durations.
Long waiting times at key ports such as those in the US due to congestion are also contributing to lengthening turnaround time for containers.
A sustained global economic recovery has added to the impetus to trade.
Some countries are willing to pay a premium for empty containers and that this was further adding to the container shortage.

Freight rate impact

The lack of availability of containers and the faster than expected recovery in international trade has pushed up freight rates significantly over the past year.
Some key international routes are seeing an increase in freight rates of over 500 per cent compared to September last year.
Structural problems such as the high turnaround time for ships in India also add to the container shortage issue that exporters are currently facing.

How is the container shortage impacting Indian exporters?

Delay: Indian exporters are facing major delays in their shipments and consequent liquidity issues as they have to wait longer to receive payment for exported goods.
Liquidity crunch: Exporters noted that shipments that used to take 45 days are now taking 75-90 days leading to a 2–3-month delay in payments leading to liquidity crunch particularly for small exporters.

How can the government help address this issue?

Exporters are calling on the government to regulate the export of empty containers.
Exporters have asked the government to curb the export of empty containers at all Indian ports in line with a move by the Kolkata port which restricted the number of empty containers permitted to be exported to 100 per vessel for a three month period.
Exporters are also calling on the government to release about 20,000 containers that have been abandoned or are detained by government agencies so that they can augment supply.
Indian exporters has also called on the government to notify a freight support scheme for all exports till the end of the fiscal when freight rates are expected to normalise.
They are also asking the government to push back on a move by shipping lines to offer priority bookings at higher rates, asking that shipping lines revert to taking bookings on a first come first serve basis.
In the medium term, exporters have called on the government to take steps to boost the manufacturing of containers in India.

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

124 years of the Battle of Saragarhi

Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Battle of Saragarhi

Mains level: Anglo-Afghan Wars

This September 12 marks the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi that has inspired a host of armies, books and films, both at home and abroad.

What is the Battle of Saragarhi?

The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikhs), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.

What was Saragarhi, and why was it important?

Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan.
The two forts in the rugged North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers.

What transpired on that day?

Around 9 am that day, the sentry at Saragarhi saw a thick haze of dust and soon realized that it was caused by a large army of tribals marching towards the fort.
The 8,000 and 15,000 tribals wanted to isolate the two forts by cutting off the lines of communication between them.
Unfortunately, the Pathans had cut the supply route between Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi.

Who was Havildar Ishar Singh who led the troops?

Havildar Ishar Singh was born in a village near Jagraon.
He joined the Punjab Frontier Force in his late teens after which he spent most of his time on various battlefields.
Soon after it was raised in 1887, Ishar was drafted into the 36th Sikhs.
He was in his early 40s when he was given independent command of the Saragarhi post.
Ishar Singh was quite a maverick who dared to disobey his superiors but he was loved by his men for whom he was always ready to go out on a limb.

How was the news of the battle received in Britain?

Making a departure from the tradition of not giving gallantry medals posthumously, Queen Victoria awarded the 21 dead soldiers — leaving out the non-combatant/
They were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (comparable with the Victoria Cross) along with two ‘marabas’ (50 acres) and Rs 500 each.

How are the slain soldiers remembered?

In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on September 12 as a holiday.
Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.

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Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

Thamirabarani Civilization is 3200 years old

Places in news Prelims Only | History and Art & Culture | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Thamirabarani Civilization

Mains level: Ancient Indian Civilizations

A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the Thamirabarani civilization dates back to 3,200 years.

About Thamirabarani River

The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of the Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats.
It flows through the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India into the Gulf of Mannar.
It was called the Tamraparni River in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka.
The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.

Its history

Its many name derivations of Tan Porunai include Tampraparani, Tamirabarni, Tamiravaruni.
Tan Porunai nathi finds mention by classical Tamil poets in ancient Sangam Tamil literature Purananuru.
Recognised as a holy river in Sanskrit literature Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana, the river was famed in the Early Pandyan Kingdom for its pearl and conch fisheries and trade.
The movement of people, including the faithful, trade merchants and toddy tapers from Tamraparni river to northwestern Sri Lanka led to the shared appellation of the name for the closely connected region.
One important historical document on the river is the treatise Tamraparni Mahatmyam.
It has many ancient temples along its banks. A hamlet known as Appankoil is located on the northern side of the river.

Significance of the carbon dating

This has provided evidence that there was a city civilisation in south India as long back as 3,200 years ago, the later part of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Vicinity to the ancient port of Muziris, now known as Pattanam, in Kerala add another significance to the trade history of this site.
Now, research would be conducted at Quseir al-Qadim and Pernica Anekke in Egypt, which were once part of the Roman empire, as well as in Khor Rori in Oman, to establish the Tamils’ trade relations with these countries.
Potsherds bearing Tamil scripts have been found in these countries.
Studies would also be conducted in Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, where King Rajendra Chola had established supremacy.

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Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study

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Textile Sector – Cotton, Jute, Wool, Silk, Handloom, etc.

Catching up on PLI scheme for textile sector

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: MMF vs natural fibre

Mains level: Paper 3- PLI for textile sector

Context

The Cabinet approved the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the textile sector that is expressly targeted at the man-made fibre (MMF) and technical textiles segments.

Why India needs to focus on Man-made fibre (MMF) in textile trade

Preference for MMF: The MMF surpassed cotton as the fibre of choice in the 1990s.
The MMFs share in worldwide textile consumption is about 75%.
Dominance of natural fibre in India’s export: India’s textile and clothing exports have continued to remain dominated by cotton and other natural fibre-based products.
The MMF have contributed less than 30% of the country’s $35.6 billion in overall sectoral exports in 2017-18.
While policy makers have been cognisant of the need to bolster support for the MMF segment.

About the scheme

The PLI scheme has a budgeted outlay of ₹10,683 crore.
Incentive at two levels: The incentives have been categorised into two investment levels.
First level: Firms investing at least ₹300 crore into plant and machinery over two years would need to hit a minimum turnover of ₹600 crore before becoming eligible to receive the incentive over a five-year period.
Second level: At a second level an investment of ₹100 crore with a pre-set minimum turnover of ₹200 crore would enable qualification for the incentive.
Intermediate products included: The aim of the scheme is to specifically focus investment attention on 40 MMF apparel product lines, 14 MMF fabric lines and 10 segments or products of technical textiles.
The inclusion of intermediate products reflects the Government’s keenness to ensure the scheme ultimately delivers on the broader policy objectives.

Conclusion

Operational success of the scheme is likely to hinge on how new entrepreneurs and existing companies weigh the risk-reward equation, especially at a time when the pandemic-spurred uncertainty has already made private businesses leery of making fresh capital expenditure.

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Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

Why we must focus on Human Development not GDP growth?

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: GDP computation and various terminologies

Mains level: Growth vs Development debate

The much-anticipated estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021-22 were released on 31 August. This has seen an unprecedented decline in GDP at 24.4%.

Why debate this?

An increasing GDP is often seen as a measure of welfare and economic success.
However, it fails to account for the multi-dimensional nature of development or the inherent short-comings of capitalism, which tends to concentrate income and, thus, power.
The real issue thriving the Indian Economy is the relevance of GDP estimates as the sole or most important indicator of a recovery.
Our economy was slowing down even before the pandemic and was then devastated by it.

GDP as an indicator

Economic growth assesses the expansion of a country’s economy.
Today, it is most popularly measured by policymakers and academics alike by increasing gross domestic product or GDP.
This indicator estimates the value-added in a country which is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country minus the value of the goods and services needed to produce them.
It is common to divide this indicator by a country’s population to better gauge how productive and developed an economy is – the GDP per capita.

A brief history of Growth and GDP

The concept of economic growth gained popularity during the industrial revolution, when market economies flourished.
In the 1930s, Nobel laureate, Simon Kuznets wrote extensively about national statistics and propagated the use of GDP as the measure of the national income of the US.
Against the backdrop of a bloody world wars, governments were on the look for analytical tools to raise taxes to finance the newly minted war machine.
It was at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference that GDP became the standard tool for measuring a country’s economy.
Right from the classicals to the neo-classicals, the idea of development was intertwined with economic growth, i.e. accumulation of wealth and production of goods and services.

Prominence of GDP today

GDP as a measure of economic growth is popular because it is easier to quantify the production of goods and services than a multi-dimensional index can measure other welfare achievements.
Precisely because of this, GDP is not, on its own, an adequate gauge of a country’s development.
Development is a multi-dimensional concept, which includes not only an economic dimension, but also involves social, environmental, and emotional dimensions.

Limitations of GDP

One of the limitations of GDP is that it only addresses average income, failing to reflect how most people actually live or who benefits from economic growth.
There is also a possibility that the wealth of a society becomes more concentrated and why this is counterproductive to development.
If left unchecked, growing inequalities can not only slow down growth, but also generate instability and disorder in society.

Therefore, a growing GDP cannot be assumed to necessarily lead to sustainable development.

Relevance since COVID times

(a) Failure to capture informal economy

A decline in economic activity, as captured by GDP data, is only one part of the distress caused by the slowdown and covid.
GDP estimates hardly capture the extent of depressed economic activity in the informal sector.
This makes it irrelevant to the cause of understanding the changing fortunes of workers and others who are dependent on these activities.
India’s informal sector is not only a significant part of the overall economy but is crucial for generating broad demand, given the significantly large proportion of our population that depends on it.

(b) Rise in distress employment

Most worrisome is a reversal of the trend of non-farm diversification due to reverse migration.
After more than five decades, we have seen an actual increase in the proportion of workers employed in agriculture.

(c) Farmers losses

Farmers have fared badly. Already suffering from low output prices, the majority of farmers have seen incomes decline as input costs rose (such as on diesel and fertilizers).
Even though our farm sector appears relatively unaffected by covid, the ground reality of farmer incomes is at complete variance with the aggregate statistics from the national accounts.
The failure to capture livelihood and income losses in the informal sector is only one aspect of our GDP data inadequacy.

GDP can never account this

This failure to reflect the economic conditions of our population’s majority is partly a result of the way data on GDP is calculated, but also due to infirmities of the database itself.
But its limitations at the conceptual level are far more serious.

Alternate measures

One expanded indicator, which attempts to measure the multi-dimensional aspect of development, is the Human Development Index (HDI) by UNDP.
It incorporates the traditional approach to measuring economic growth, as well as education and health, which are crucial variables in determining how developed a society is.
In 2018, the World Bank launched the Human Capital Index (HCI).
This index ranks countries’ performances on a set of four health and education indicators according to an estimate of the economic productivity lost due to poor social outcomes.

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Back2Basics:

National Income Accounting

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Terrorism and Challenges Related To It

Two decades of 9/11

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: US and the global war on terror

Twenty years later, the 9/11 terror attacks look a lot less epochal than they seemed in the heat of the moment.

Why was 9-11 a major breakthrough?

One major inference in the wake of 9/11 was about the power of non-state actors — demonstrated by al Qaeda’s massive surprise attack on the world’s lone superpower at its zenith.
Al Qaeda’s rise seemed to fit in with the age of economic globalization and the internet, which heralded the weakening of the state system and the arrival of a borderless world.
Two decades later, though, the system of nation-states looks quite robust after enduring the challenge from international terrorism.

Implications of the attack

The state system adapted quickly to the disruptions created by 9/11.
There was much anxiety about terror groups gaining access to weapons of mass destruction or leveraging new digital technologies to increase their power over states.
The state system has succeeded in keeping nuclear weapons and material away from terrorists.
It has also become adept at using digital tools to counter extremism.
If 9/11 made air travel risky, the states quickly developed protocols to de-risk it.

Humiliating end for the US everywhere

Marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11 days after the humiliating US retreat from Kabul and domestic turmoil might suggest that Al-Qaeda and its associates did succeed in ending America’s unipolar moment.
The choice of targets in the 9/11 attacks — the World Trade Center and the Pentagon — was not accidental.
They were designed to strike at the very heart of American capitalism and its famed military power.
American capitalism met its greatest threat not in 2001 but in the 2008 financial crisis that was triggered by the reckless ideology of deregulation.
America lost in Afghanistan and the Middle East because it over-determined the terror threat and put security approaches above political common sense.

Today’s agenda for terror

And the ambition of the jihadists — who organized the 9/11 attacks, to destroy America has risen to a higher extent:

To overthrow the Arab regimes
Unleash a war with Israel
Pit the believers against the infidels

To be sure, terrorist organizations and the religious extremism that inspires them to continue to be of concern.

Age of ideological warfare

Sectarian schisms, ideological cleavages, internecine warfare, and the messiness of the real world have cooled the revolutionary ardor that the world was so afraid of after 9/11.
In the battle between states and non-states, the former have accumulated extraordinary powers in the name of fighting the latter.
All nations, including liberal democracies, have curtailed individual liberty by offering greater security against terrorism.
Abuse of state power has inevitably followed.

Security narratives by the US since then

After 9/11, President George W Bush turned his attention to confronting an imagined “global axis of evil” — Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
None of the three countries was involved in 9/11.
And the US rewarded Pakistan with billions of dollars in military and economic assistance that actively nurtured the Taliban and succeeded in bleeding and defeating the US in Afghanistan.

Threats earned by the US

This blinded the US to an emerging challenger — China — on the horizon. Washington’s obsession with the Middle East gave Beijing two valuable decades to consolidate its rise without any hindrance.
Although America’s unipolar moment may have ended, the US will continue to remain the most powerful nation in the world, with the greatest capacity to shape the international system.

What about the jihadist agenda for the Middle East?

The Islamist effort to destroy the Gulf kingdoms spluttered quite quickly as the Arab monarchs cracked down hard on the jihadi groups.
Many Arab states do not see al Qaeda and its offshoots as existential threats.
They worry more about other Muslim states like Turkey, Qatar, and Iran that seek to leverage Islam for geopolitical purposes.
These fears have pushed smaller Gulf kingdoms towards Israel and shattered the jihadi hope to trigger the final Islamic assault on the Jewish state.
Developments in China and Pakistan reinforce the proposition that politics among nation-states is more significant than the power of the transcendental religious forces.

How did India Respond?

India has been facing the problem of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism since 1989. Unfortunately, the USA and the UK sided with Pakistan during this time.
However, this changed after India’s 2^nd nuclear test and the 9/11 attack in the USA. Though the USA continued to rely on Pakistan, it considered Pakistan as an unreliable partner. This was further proved when Osama bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan.
Indian response to terror attacks had been that of “strategic restraint”.
It was limited to diplomatic actions. This was evident in attacks on the Indian Parliament (December 2001) and the Kaluchak massacre (May 2002).
However, now we witness that India has adopted a policy of imposing costs on Pakistan by striking across the border, e.g. Balalkot airstrikes.
This capacity of India has been built over its strong economy and strong global linkages. Despite the economic disaster of 1991, India emerged stronger after LPG reforms.

Conclusion

The trans-national nature of the new terror groups is now countered by better border controls and greater international cooperation on law enforcement.
However, in the subcontinent, as elsewhere, violent religious extremism thrives only under state patronage.
The answers to the challenges presented by the return of the Taliban and the likely resurgence of jihadi terrorism are not in the religious domain but in changing the geopolitical calculus of Pakistan’s deep state.

B2BASICS

Violent Non-state actors

In international relations, violent non-state actors (VNSA), also known as non-state armed actors or non-state armed groups (NSAGs), are individuals and groups that are wholly or partly independent of governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals.
VNSAs vary widely in their goals, size, and methods. They may include narcotics cartels, popular liberation movements, religious and ideological organizations, corporations (e.g. private military contractors), self-defence militia, and paramilitary groups established by state governments to further their interests.

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International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

What is a Solar Storm?

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Solar Storm

Mains level: Not Much

Studies have found that a powerful solar storm can cause a disruption of the internet, damage submarine cables, and communication satellites.

What is a Solar Storm?

A solar storm or a Coronal Mass Ejection as astronomers call it is an ejection of highly magnetized particles from the sun.
These particles can travel several million km per hour and can take about 13 hours to five days to reach Earth.
Earth’s atmosphere protects us, humans, from these particles.
But the particles can interact with our Earth’s magnetic field, induce strong electric currents on the surface and affect man-made structures.

History of solar storms

The first recorded solar storm occurred in 1859 and it reached Earth in about 17 hours.
It affected the telegraph network and many operators experienced electric shocks.
A solar storm that occurred in 1921 impacted New York telegraph and railroad systems and another small-scale storm collapsed the power grid in Quebec, Canada in 1989.
A 2013 report noted that if a solar storm similar to the 1859 one hit the US today, about 20-40 million people could be without power for 1-2 years, and the total economic cost will be $0.6-2.6 trillion.

Why is it a cause of concern?

The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle – cycles of high and low activity.
It also has a longer 100-year cycle.
During the last three decades, when the internet infrastructure was booming, it was a low period.
And very soon, either in this cycle or the next cycle, we are going towards the peaks of the 100-year cycle.
So it is highly likely that we might see one powerful solar storm during our lifetime.

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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

First Dugong Conservation Reserve to be built in India

Species | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Dugong

Mains level: Not Much

India’s first Dugong conservation reserve will be built in Tamil Nadu for the conservation of Dugong, a marine mammal.

Try answering this PYQ:

With reference to ‘dugong’, a mammal found in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?

It is a herbivorous marine animal.

It is found along the entire coast of India.

It is given legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1974.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 3 only

Post your answers here.

Dugong Conservation Reserve

The reserve will spread over an area of 500 km in Palk Bay on the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu.
Palk Bay is a semi-enclosed shallow water body with a water depth maximum of 13 meters.
Located between India and Sri Lanka along the Tamil Nadu coast, the dugong is a flagship species in the region.

Dugong: The sea cow

Dugong or the sea cow is the State animal of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
This endangered marine species survive on seagrass and other aquatic vegetation found in the area.
It is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine and is the only extant species in the family Dugongidae.
Dugongs are usually about three-meter long and weigh about 400 kg.
Dugongs have an expanded head and trunk-like upper lip.
Elephants are considered to be their closest relatives. However, unlike dolphins and other cetaceans, sea cows have two nostrils and no dorsal fin.

Their habitat

Distributed in shallow tropical waters in the Indo-Pacific region, in India, they are found in the Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Dugongs are long-living animals, that have a low reproductive rate, long generation time, and high investment in each offspring.
The female dugongs do not bear their first calf until they are at least 10 and up to 17 years old.
A dugong population is unlikely to increase more than 5% per year. They take a long time to recover due to the slow breeding rate.

Causes of extinction

Having being declared vulnerable, the marine animal calls for conserving efforts.
Studies have suggested the reasons for the extinction of the animal such as slow breeding rate, fishing, and the loss of habitat.
They are also known to suffer due to accidental entanglement and drowning in gill-nets.

Conservation in India

The conservation reserve can promote growth and save vulnerable species from the verge of extinction.
Dugongs are protected in India under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Act 1972 which bans the killing and purchasing of dugong meat.
IUCN status: Vulnerable

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Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

Festival in news: Nuakhai

Prelims Only | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Diversity Of India

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Nuakhai

Mains level: Not Much

In Odisha, Nuakhai, an important agrarian festival in the State is being celebrated today.

Nuakhai

Nuakhai or is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha and Southern Chhattisgarh in India.
It is observed to welcome the new rice of the season.
As per the customary practice, people offer the new grains of crops to the deities before their own consumption.
According to the calendar it is observed on Panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
This is the most important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand, where the culture of Western Odisha is much predominant.
It is also a festival of social cohesion as all the members of the family come together to celebrate Nuakhai.

Try this PYQ:

Consider the following pairs:

Tradition State

Chapchar Kut Festival — Mizoram

Khongjom Parba ballad — Manipur

Thang-Ta Dance — Sikkim

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2

(c) 1 and 2

(d) 2 and 3

Post your answers here.

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Trade Sector Updates – Falling Exports, TIES, MEIS, Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

[pib] Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for Specified Agriculture Products

PIB | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Transport and Marketing Assistance Scheme

Mains level: Export promotion schemes in India

The Centre has revised “Transport and Marketing Assistance” (TMA) scheme for Specified Agriculture Products’.

What is the TMA Scheme?

The TMA Scheme was introduced in 2019 to provide assistance for the international component of freight, to mitigate the disadvantage of higher freight costs faced by the Indian exporters of agriculture products.
All exporters, duly registered with relevant Export Promotion Council as per Foreign Trade Policy, of eligible agriculture products, shall be covered under this scheme.
The assistance, at notified rates, will be available for the export of eligible agriculture products to the permissible countries, as specified from time to time.
Assistance would be provided in cash through a direct bank transfer as part reimbursement of freight paid.

Following major changes have been made in the revised scheme:

Dairy products, which were not covered under the earlier scheme, will be eligible for assistance under the revised scheme.
Rates of assistance have been increased, by 50% for exports by sea and by 100% for exports by air.

List of ineligible products

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The national security discourse is changing

| Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: External State & Non-State Actors: Challenges To Internal Security.,Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)

Mains level: Paper 3- Interplay between national security and domestic policies

Context

From a rising China to the pressures of climate change; from the challenges of counter-terrorism to the COVID-19 pandemic (the four Cs), the old order is collapsing much faster than the ability of nations to create the foundations of a new one.

The reduced difference between the domestic and foreign policy of the U.S.

The idea that foreign and domestic policies are tightly intertwined is not a novel one.
All serious grand strategic thinking in democracies looks for sustenance in popular public support.
A process that was started by former U.S. President Donald Trump has been taken forward by the Biden Administration.
Asserting that “foreign policy is domestic policy and domestic policy is foreign policy,” the new administration has suggested that their task is to re-imagine American national security for the unprecedented combination of crises they face at home and abroad.
These crises include the pandemic, the economic crisis, the climate crisis, technological disruption, threats to democracy, racial injustice, and inequality in all forms”.
There is a growing bipartisan acknowledgment in the U.S. today that the requirements of American national security today are different from what they were during the Cold War.
Today’s strategic environment requires a different response for national security: one that shores up domestic industrial base helps in maintaining pre-eminence in critical technologies, makes supply chains for critical goods more resilient, protects critical infrastructure from cyberattacks and responds with a sense of urgency to climate change.

Indian situation: Dependence on the external supply chain is the national security challenge

In India too, there is greater recognition of the challenges emanating on national security from domestic vulnerabilities.
Dependence on Chinese manufacturing: One of the most significant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to reveal how deeply India has been dependent on Chinese manufacturing for critical supplies.
At a time when Indian armed forces were facing the People’s Liberation Army, this exposed India to a new realization that dependence on overseas supply chains is a national security challenge of the highest order.
Dimensions of national security: The Indian Army chief has argued that “national security comprises not only warfare and defence but also financial security, health security, food security, energy security, and environmental security apart from information security”.

Way forward for India

Shore up domestic capacities: India has since moved towards increasing domestic capacities in critical areas and also started looking at free trade agreements through a new lens.
Whole-of-government approach: Army Chief had suggested that instead of viewing national security “primarily from the perspective of an armed conflict, there is a need to take a whole-of-government approach towards security”.
Investment in armed forces: The Army chief has pointed out that investment in the armed forces contributes to the national economy.
Therefore, indigenization of defence procurement provides an impetus to indigenous industries, aid to civil authorities, or Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
Demand for hi-tech military products by the armed forces helps entire industries.
Transportation and logistics capacities of the armed forces are acting as force enablers for the Government in times of emergencies.

Consider the question “The idea that foreign and domestic policies are tightly intertwined is not a novel one. In light of this, examine the challenges facing India’s national security that are linked with its domestic vulnerability. Suggest the ways forward.”

Conclusion

As nations across the world reconceptualise their strategic priorities, policymakers will need to think more creatively about the roles of various instruments of statecraft. National security thinking is undergoing a shift. India cannot be left behind.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Afghanistan

The fall of Afghanistan, the fallout in West Asia

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood - Relations

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Geopolitical dynamics with Taliban's formation of legitimate govt

Three weeks after they walked into Kabul without any resistance, the Taliban now has announced an interim Council of Ministers.

Chord with Pakistan: Crowing of its puppets

Pakistan appears to have got its way. This government formation has tightly controlled the head of its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Afghanistan’s acting PM is Mullah Hassan Akhund, a close associate of former Taliban founder Mullah Omar.
Abdul Ghani Baradar is his deputy, but again, this could be a token position.
Baradar had been arrested in 2010 by the Pakistanis for pursuing a dialogue with the Hamid Karzai government without Pakistani sanction and jailed for eight years.
Pakistan’s true proteges are Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister, and Mohammed Yaqoob, the acting defence minister, a son of Mullah Omar, who is also close to Haqqani.

The West Asian players

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran have been direct role-players in Afghan affairs for over 25 years.

Sheikhdom involvement: In the 1990s, the first two were supporters and sources of funding for the Taliban, while Iran was an antagonist. After 9/11, all three countries became deeply involved with the Taliban. Since 2005, the Gulf sheikhdoms have contributed millions of dollars to different Taliban leaders and factions.
Iran’s defiance of the US: Iran began a substantial engagement with various Taliban leaders from 2007 and provided funding, weapons, training and refuge when required. It wanted the Taliban to maintain pressure on the U.S. forces to ensure their speedy departure from the country.
Regional competition: In the 2010s, when the US began to engage with Iran on the nuclear issue, Saudi Arabia became more directly involved in Afghan matters to prevent Iran’s expanding influence among Taliban groups. Thus, besides Syria and Yemen, Iran and Saudi Arabia have also made Afghanistan an arena for their regional competitions.
Earliest acknowledgment of the Taliban: In 2012, Qatar, on U.S. request, allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha as a venue for their dialogue with the Americans. This has made Qatar an influential player in Afghan affairs, with deep personal ties with several leaders, many of whom keep their families in Doha.

Competitions for influence

The low-key reactions of the Gulf countries to recent developments in Kabul reflect the uncertainties relating to the Taliban in power.

Nature of the govt: Their ability to remain united, their policies relating to human rights, and, above all, whether the Taliban will again make their country a sanctuary for extremist groups.

Fractionalization within terror groups: The country already has several thousand foreign fighters, whose ranks could swell with extremists coming in from Iraq and Syria, and threaten the security of all neighbouring states.

Three sets of regional players are active in Afghanistan today:

Pakistan-Saudi coalition: This has been the principal source of support for the Taliban-at-war. They would like to remain influential in the new order, but neither would like to see the Taliban revert to their practices of the 1990s that had justifiably appalled the global community.
Turkey and Qatar: They represent the region’s Islamist coalition and, thus, share an ideological kinship with the Taliban. Both would like to see a moderate and inclusive administration.
Iran: While many of its hardliners are overjoyed at the U.S. “defeat”, more reflective observers recall the earlier Taliban emirate which was viscerally hostile to Shias and Iran. Iran also sees itself as the guardian of the Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara minorities in the country.

Options Available: The outlook for security

Linking with Israel-Palestine Conflict: The region now has two options: one, an Israel-centric security order in which the Arab Gulf states would link themselves with Israel to confront Iran. This is being actively promoted by Israeli hawks since it would tie Israel with neighbouring Arab states without having to concede anything to meet Palestinian aspirations.

Comprehensive regional security arrangement: The other option is more ambitious: The facilitators and guarantors of this security arrangement are likely to be China and Russia: over the last few years, both have built close relations with the major states of the region. i.e., Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Consensus to ward away the US

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states led by Saudi Arabia lifted the over three-year blockade of Qatar.
The discussions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and plans are in place for the next meetings.
Turkey has initiated diplomatic overtures towards Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
None of these initiatives involves the Americans.

Conclusion: A new order is in making

These developments suggest that the germ of a new regional security order in West Asia is already sown in fertile ground.

Way forward for India

The Indian policies are at a crossroads. Continued bandwagoning with the US makes no sense.
Indian diplomacy should harmonize with the regional capitals, including Beijing, which can be a natural ally on issues of terrorism.
The bottom line is that India’s vital interests remain to be secured.
Demonizing the Taliban can only be counterproductive.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India – Germany

How India and Germany can work together to tackle climate change?

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: India-Germany relations

Both nations, India and Germany with innovative economies and many highly-trained people can tackle the climate challenge.

India-Germany Relations: A backgrounder

Freedom struggle: Subhas Chandra Bose, a prominent freedom fighter for Indian independence, made a determined effort to obtain India’s independence from Britain by seeking military assistance from the Axis powers. The Indische Legion was formed to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India principally made up of Indian prisoners of war.

Diplomacy: India maintained diplomatic relations with both West Germany and East Germany and supported their reunification in 1990. Contrary to France and the UK, Germany has no strategic footprint in Asia.

Past contentions: Germany condemned India for liberating Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961 and supported Portugal’s dictatorial regime under Salazar against India. It was critical of India for intervening in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. It rejected India’s 1998 nuclear tests.

Quest for UNSC: India and Germany both seek to become permanent members of the UNSC and have joined with Japan and Brazil to coordinate their efforts via the G4 collective.

Cultural ties: Germany has supported education and cultural programs in India. Germany helped establish the IIT Madras after both governments signed an agreement in 1956 and increased its cooperation and supply of technology and resources over the decades to help expand the institution

Trade and investment: Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe. Germany is the 8th largest foreign direct investor (FDI) in India.

Common concerns

In South Asia and Europe, we have become used to extremely hot weather, flooding, dramatic depletion of groundwater tables, and drought.
The EU has adopted an ambitious Green Deal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to decouple economic growth from the consumption of natural resources.

Why the two?

India is one of few countries that looks set to deliver on the national goals it set itself as part of the Paris agreement.
Compared to other G20 countries, its per capita emissions are very low.
Germany recently adopted laws on reducing greenhouse gases more quickly, achieving climate neutrality by 2045 and stopping the use of coal for electricity production by 2038.

Collaborated efforts to date

In 2015, India’s PM and Germany’s Federal Chancellor agreed to further strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership.
On this basis, Germany and India have succeeded in building up a cooperation portfolio worth almost 12 billion euros.
Already, nine out of 10 measures support climate goals and SDGs together.

Indo-German development cooperation focuses on three areas:

Transition to renewable energies
Sustainable urban development and
Sustainable management of natural resources

What does Germany have to offer?

As a pioneer of the energy transition, Germany is offering knowledge, technology transfer, and financial solutions.
The pandemic has shown global supply chains are vulnerable.
Yet, when it comes to agriculture and natural resources, there are smart solutions that are being tested in India and Germany for more self-reliance, including agroecological approaches and sustainable management of forests, soils, and water.
Experience in India has shown that these methods also boost incomes for the local population and make them less dependent on expensive fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.

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