Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FDI
Mains level: Paper 3- Differentiating between trade and investment
Differentiating between trade and investment is necessary for reaping the benefits that come with foreign investment in firms. However, the concerns over the source of funds are not unfounded. So, some caution is warranted in dealing with FDI.
Let’s look into the debate
- Government is asking its citizens to aim for self-reliance.
- So, should India continue to allow investment inflows from China? This is the debate.
- China has invested $4 billion in Indian startups in the past 5 years.
- This amount would be higher if funds located in tax havens with Chinese ownership are also accounted for.
Some of the questions raised in the debate
- Is trade of products like buttons, crockery same as long-term foreign investments in high-risk new age technology-driven products?
- Is it economically prudent for a country to fulfil all its capital requirements or compromise on innovation due to lack of thereof?
Trade vs FDI
- Trade just helps the country fulfil its requirements of those goods and services (G&S) that may not available in the country.
- Investments provide the capital to build infrastructure that can plug the G&S deficit, even, sell it to other markets.
- Trade just provides entry of G&S.
- FDI inflow is a route for transferring capabilities, technology, building linkages, business capabilities etc.
- FDI helps generate employment, public assets, tax revenues and develop markets, none of this is contributed by the trade of merchandise.
- Foreign investment does have an adverse impact on domestic markets in the short-run by crowding out domestic competition or investment.
- In fact, attracting FDI in employment-intensive sectors can create positive economic and social spillovers.
- Possibilities to increase exports often arise from companies with significant levels of FDI.
- Foreign investor exposes itself to regulatory, economic and geo-political risks of the country.
Foreign investment in Indian firms: Two aspects to consider
- While discussing the funding composition of the likes of Paytm, OYO hotel chain or Ola, two aspects need to be considered.
- 1) These companies are Indian companies operating under the law of land, creating economic opportunities for the youth and contributing to the welfare of the Indian community.
- 2) Success of these ventures is not solely due to the investment, but because of the novelty of the product offering.
- Investments in start-ups involve high risk; the list of failed start-ups with Chinese investment is bound to be much longer.
- In the absence of technology giants in India, we may also end up draining the brain to countries with a stronger financial ecosystem for fresh ideas.
Apprehension over FDI in India
- Apprehensions related to investments from any country per se, are not unwarranted in India.
- This is mainly because history suggests foreign investment can potentially lead to economic colonisation.
- However, times have changed and so has the world order.
- Steady inflow of investments can exist without impacting the economic or political stability of the country.
- To do so we should practice some of the following recommendations.
How to address the concern over FDI
- Investment funds can be set up outside the home country of the investor or be routed through companies located at tax havens.
- It is not always possible to map the investor to the country.
How to solve this problem
- To solve this identify sectors based on sensitivity, the investment required, technology, employment and social impact.
- Tighten regulations related to data storage and access by companies through data localisation in these sensitive sectors.
- Modify the offset policy in defence to ensure a certain portion of the profits is invested in the SMEs.
- To further India’s interests in nascent sectors such as machine learning, HealthTech, maximum period for an investor to be invested in a greenfield should be limited to 10 years.
- All firms receiving foreign investment should have a plan to contribute to India’s exports within the product lifecycle and minimum employment generation.
- Ease listing norms for firms so that funds through public and private placement can be raised by wholly Indian owned companies.
- BSE SME & Start-ups Platform has helped 322 companies raise Rs. 3,320.48 crores from the market. Start-ups should be encouraged to make use of the platform wherever possible.
- Domestic procurement of raw material and intermediate goods has to be non-negotiable as far as possible.
Consider the question “What are the challenges and opportunities associated with foreign investment and suggest the ways to address the challenges.”
Conclusion
From being treated as a ‘dumping bazaar’ to now attracting investors, India does not need to shy away from investments; it certainly needs to be wary of pure trade which limits India’s potential and drive to produce indigenously.
Back2Basics: Offset policy
- The offset policy, introduced in 2005, mandates foreign suppliers to spend at least 30% of the contract value in India.
- It was first revised in 2006 and then again in 2011 and in 2016. Another round of tweaking is currently underway.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: APIs
Mains level: Paper 3- Indian pharmaceutical industry
Abrupt ban on import from China would harm the India pharmaceutical industry and disrupt the supply of several essential medicines. Any attempt at reducing the dependence on China for APIs should be strategies, argues the author.
Dependence of Indian pharma industry on China
- India is the third-largest producer of finished drugs in the world.
- However, India relies significantly on China for supplies of active pharmaceutical ingredients APIs.
- An estimated 70 per cent of API requirements of India’s pharmaceutical industry are sourced from China.
- For some drugs, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, this dependence is almost 100 per cent.
- This import reliance has been fuelled by environmental controls in India and competition with China, which has higher volumes of production and lower costs.
Implications of banning import from China
- Restricting or banning the import of APIs would cause significant disruption to the Indian pharmaceutical industry
- The pharmaceutical industry had $40 billion in revenues in 2018-19, according to Pharmexcil.
- Such a prospect is especially of concern to potential patients.
- Indian pharmaceutical industry annually exports $20 billion worth of medicine.
- An ad hoc or reactive decoupling could disrupt the production of a wide range of medicines in India and globally.
- Such disruption could affect the availability of Dexamethasone and painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, as well as antibiotics, such as penicillin.
- The impacts would be especially high in low and middle-income countries.
- In many African countries, in fact, India supplies almost 50 per cent of the medicines in value terms.
Lessons from the past: Policy initiative matters
- Market share of foreign-owned multinationals in India was 80-90 per cent in 1970 in the pharmaceutical industry.
- It fell to 50 per cent by the early 1980s, and down to 23 per cent today.
- The prices of medicines in India fell from being amongst the highest in the world to amongst the lowest.
- But this did not happen through sudden decoupling from foreign multinationals or a complete boycott or ban on imports.
- The 1970 Indian Patent Act removed product patent protection in pharmaceuticals.
- So, the 1970 Patent Act is widely lauded for facilitating the growth of India’s industry.
- India also benefited from the 1973 Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) and the subsequent New Drug Policy (1978).
- Thus, a series of policy initiatives succeeded in tilting the balance in favour of Indian-owned firms.
But does it mean we have to depend on China forever?
- No, but reducing dependence on China will not be easy to achieve.
- In India, any decoupling from China must be strategic, with significant policy support.
- It will take time for a paced indigenisation.
Government moves to reduce dependence for API
- In March, the government announced Rs 3,000 crore to develop three bulk drug parks.
- The government also announced Rs 6,940 crore to manufacturers of 53 bulk drugs over the next eight years.
- Planning ahead towards greater domestic production of APIs, as well as reduced dependence on China, is an understandable and sensible policy objective.
- Despite a decline in recent decades, India has a stronger starting point than most countries given the continued presence of some API production capabilities.
- Indian firms have capacities, for instance, to produce COVID-19 treatments, including Remdesivir.
Consider the question “What are the APIs? Why India depends on other countries for it and what are implications of it? Suggest ways to reduce this dependence.”
Conclusion
In the short run, boycotts or bans would be counter-productive for the Indian industry, while also affecting access to much-needed medicines to India’s citizens and beyond. In the long run, however, reducing dependence on China would be strategically prudent.
Back2Basics: What are APIs?
- Active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), is the term used to refer to the biologically active component of a drug product (e.g. tablet, capsule).
- Drug products are usually composed of several components.
- The API is the primary ingredient.
- Other ingredients are commonly known as “excipients” and these substances are always required to be biologically safe, often making up a variable fraction of the drug product.
- The procedure for optimizing and compositing this mixture of components used in the drug is known as “formulation.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ladakh and its topography
Mains level: India-China border skirmishes and their impacts on bilateral relations
With the long-standing border standoff with China, Ladakh, a rugged, high-altitude region that is generally far removed from the lives and imagination of most Indians, has become part of our daily conversations and worries.
Let’s have a look at a short primer on the region, its history, and some of the places where Indian soldiers are locked in conflict with the Chinese army. Try remembering its geographical features.
Ladakh through the History
- Lying between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and Himalayas to the south, Ladakh was originally inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.
- Historically the region included the valleys of Baltistan, Indus, and Nubra, besides Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti, Aksai Chin, Ngari and Rudok.
- Located at the crossroads of important trade routes since ancient times, Ladakh has always enjoyed great geostrategic importance.
- At the beginning of the first century AD, Ladakh was part of the Kushan Empire. Till the 15th century, it was part of Tibet and was ruled by dynasties of local Lamas.
- Later it changed hands multiple times, alternating between the kingdoms of Kashmir and Zhangzhung.
- In 1834, Gen Zorawar Singh, a general of Raja Gulab Singh who ruled Jammu as part of the Sikh empire, extended the boundaries of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom to Ladakh.
Partition, Pakistan and Chinese occupations
Immediately after India’s Partition, tribal raiders (the disguised Pakistani Army) attacked Ladakh. They captured Kargil and were heading for Leh when they were confronted by the Indian Army, who got back Kargil.
- Although India has always considered Aksai Chin to be part of Jammu and Kashmir, in the 1950s the Chinese built a highway, called western highway or NH219, connecting Tibet with Xinjiang through this region.
- It was always more easily accessible to the Chinese than to the Indians, who were across the Karakoram.
- India learnt of this road in 1957, and it was one of the causes of the 1962 India-China war, after which China strengthened its control over this region.
- China today claims Aksai Chin to be part of Hotan County of its Xinjiang province.
- Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley, which was part of the Baltistan region north of the Karakoram, to China following a Sino-Pakistani agreement signed on March 2, 1963.
Ladakh through the Chinese eyes
- China’s forays into the region began after the 1949 Communist Revolution, when Chairman Mao Zedong, a veteran of guerrilla warfare, began consolidating China’s periphery as part of his expansionist designs.
- The PLA occupied Tibet in 1951 and then began to eye Ladakh.
- The reason was that the road connecting Kashgar in Xinjiang to Lhasa in Tibet had to pass through Aksai Chin, which was held by Indians but was seldom patrolled by them.
Galwan Valley in the limelight
- The Tibetan revolt of 1959 and the Dalai Lama’s flight to India saw China further strengthening its military presence in Ladakh to ensure the security of NH 219.
- India reacted with its ‘forward policy’ as part of which it began setting up Army posts in the region to prevent Chinese expansion.
- This resulted in the initial clash between the Indian and Chinese forces in the Kongka Pass area in 1959.
- Later, Galwan Valley became the scene of action when the Indian Army established a post to cut off the Chinese post in the Samjunjling area, marking the beginning of the 1962 war.
Pangong Tso: The contested lake
- In the latest face-off, Indian troops first spied the Chinese on the banks of Pangong Tso.
- This lake, which is one-third in India and two-thirds in China, is of great tactical significance to the Chinese who have built infrastructure along both its sides to ensure the speedy build-up of troops.
- Chinese incursions in this region aim at shifting the LAC westward so that they are able to occupy important heights both on the north and the south of the lake, which will enable them to dominate the Chushul Bowl.
- The narrow Chushul valley, which lies on the road to Leh with Pangong Tso to its north, was an important target for the Chinese even during the 1962 war. It was here that the Battle of Chushul was fought.
Strategic SSN: To the far north
- The area spanning Galwan, Depsang plateau, and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), is called Sub-Sector North (SSN).
- This enclave that lies to the east of the Siachen glacier is of immense significance given its proximity to the Karakoram Pass, close to China’s western highway or NH 219 going to Aksai Chin.
- It’s the SSN that provides land access to Central Asia through the Karakoram Pass.
- Domination of this area is also crucial for the protection of the Siachen glacier, lying between the Saltoro ridge on the Pakistani side and the Saser ridge close to the Chinese claim line.
- The Galwan heights overlook the all-weather Durbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) Road, which connects Leh to DBO at the base of the Karakoram Pass that separates China’s Xinjiang Region from Ladakh.
- Domination over these heights allows China to easily interdict this road.
Why is China stubborn on Galwan?
- Occupation of Galwan will neutralize the tactical advantage India gained by building the all-weather Durbuk-DBO road over the last two decades.
- Last year, the Border Road Organisation (BRO) made this rugged terrain even more accessible by completing the 430-metre-long bridge across the Shyok River.
- With this, the Darbuk route to DBO became available round the year, and the travel time of troops to the SSN was halved.
- It was this bridge, coupled with the ongoing work on a link road to LAC in this area, prompted the PLA to enter Galwan.
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The Indian Railways has announced that it achieved 100 per cent punctuality of its passenger trains on July 1, a never-before feat.
Try this question:
Q.Discuss various issues crippling the punctuality of the Indian Railways.
A big achievement for Railways
- Usually, the Indian Railways run over 13,000 passenger trains and over 8,000 freight trains every day.
- It is important to remember the context – very few trains are running now, and the punctuality of the Railways can hardly be compared with its own performance on this count in pre-COVID times.
- The 100 per cent punctuality has been achieved when the network is running just 230 passenger trains – along with about 3,000 loaded freight trains and 2,200 empty ones.
- This is no mean achievement – it is indeed not an easy task given all the constraints that the Railways usually face while running a train on its designated path and time slot.
Why do trains get delayed in India?
- There are a number of reasons, which is also why the achievement of the Railways is significant.
- There are unforeseen situations such as a failure of assets like the signalling system and overhead power equipment.
- Several types of breakdowns can occur, related to rolling stock, tracks, etc., that make a train lose time along the way.
- Then there are external unforeseen problems like run-over cattle and humans, agitations on the tracks, and the like.
And what have the Railways been doing right?
- The maintenance of tracks was carried out in a quick time during the COVID period in various critical sections, so the average speed increased, and stretches of slowing down were minimized.
- Better and modern signalling is also making an impact.
- Another reason is better planning and operations analysis.
How do the delays impact the overall system?
- In normal times, these failures take away a lot of scheduled time when the train is detained even for a short time because making up the lost time during the remainder of the journey is a tricky business.
- It’s not as though a train can just run faster to make up for a lost time. In a network chock-a-block with trains, a train hardly ever has such leeway built into its pre-set path.
- Any train that gets delayed inordinately due to whatever reason during the journey theoretically eats into the “path” – or time slot allotted on the track – of another train.
- It then becomes a matter of which train to prioritise. Conventionally, Rajdhanis and premium trains get priority of path over ordinary mail/express trains.
- Freight trains, whose runs are not exactly time-sensitive, are usually held up to make way for passenger trains.
But why do the Railways have to juggle operations in this way?
- It’s a constantly dynamic scenario in which railway operations professionals take calls all the time.
- At the heart of the problem are network capacity constraints. It basically means that there are more trains than the network can handle in a given time bracket.
- Around 60 per cent of all train traffic is on the Golden Quadrilateral, even though it represents just about 15 per cent of the total network.
- There are projects to enhance capacity by building additional lines and modernizing signalling systems, etc.
Minimizing the delays
- The Railways are working on what is called a “zero-based timetable”.
- In this concept, which is to be introduced soon, every train that enters the network is justified based on needs and costs.
- It is expected to make train operations more seamless.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MOM, Phobos
Mains level: Quest for Mars and its possibility to host life
The Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has captured the image of Phobos, the closest and biggest moon of Mars.
Try this question from CSP 2017:
Q.Which region of Mars has a densely packed river deposit indicating this planet had water 3.5 billion years ago?
(a) Aeolis Dorsa (b) Tharsis (c) Olympus Mons (d) Hellas
About Phobos
- Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos.
- Both moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall.
- Phobos is a small, irregularly shaped object with a mean radius of 11 km and is seven times as massive as the outer moon, Deimos.
- Phobos is largely believed to be made up of carbonaceous chondrites.
- The violent phase that Phobos has encountered is seen in the large section gouged out from a past collision (Stickney crater) and bouncing ejecta.
Back2Basics: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
- The MOM also called Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- It aims at studying the Martian surface and mineral composition as well as scans its atmosphere for methane (an indicator of life on Mars).
- It is India’s first interplanetary mission and it made it the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
- It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
- It was initially meant to last six months, but subsequently, ISRO had said it had enough fuel for it to last “many years.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SBM , Prerak Dauur Samman
Mains level: SBM and its success
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) announced a new category of awards titled ‘Prerak Dauur Samman’ as part of Swachh Survekshan 2021.
Try this question:
Q. The Prerak Dauur Samman recently seen in news is related to:
a) Swachh Bharat b) Literature c) Health Services d) Visual Arts
Prerak Dauur Samman
- The Prerak Dauur Samman has a total of five additional subcategories -Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring) – with top three cities being recognized in each.
- In a departure from the present criteria of evaluating cities on ‘population category’, this new category will categorize cities on the basis of six select indicator wise performance criteria which are as follows:
1) Segregation of waste into Wet, Dry and Hazard categories
2) Processing capacity against wet waste generated
3) Processing and recycling of wet and dry waste
4) Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste processing
5) Percentage of waste going to landfills
6) Sanitation status of cities
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hagia Sophia
Mains level: World History: Turkish renaissance under Ottoman Empire
Turkey’s highest court this week convened to decide whether Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia museum can be turned into a mosque.
Try this question:
Q. The iconic Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site was recently in news. It is situated in:
a) Greece b) Turkey c) Israel d) Iran
What is the Hagia Sophia?
- The construction of this iconic structure in Istanbul started in 532 AD during the reign of Justinian I, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople.
- The structure was originally built to become the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and remained so for approximately 900 years.
- In 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II’s Ottoman forces, the Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the invading forces and turned into a mosque shortly after.
- For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbul’s most important mosque.
- The 1,500-year-old structure, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was originally a cathedral before it was turned into a mosque.
What is the controversy about?
- In the 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, shut down the mosque and turned it into a museum in an attempt to make the country more secular.
- There have been calls for long from extremists groups to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to access justice under Article 21
Mains level: Paper 2- Live-streaming of proceeding to make justice accessible
Livestreaming of the judicial proceeding goes a long way in increasing the access of justice which is granted under Article 21. This article examines the evolution in judiciary and making justice accessible.
Judiciary adapting to changes
- As the lockdown began, the Court had to quickly find the technology and create protocols for virtual courts and e-hearings.
- Before this, there was an open courtroom that the public could access.
- This protected the right to access justice, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Access to justice without physical classroom
- Now that the Court is proactively adopting technology, it must expand the right of access to justice by live-streaming proceedings.
- Further, court proceedings must also be documented and preserved for future generations.
- Both audio-visual recordings and transcripts of oral arguments should be maintained for this purpose.
Evolution of access to court
- The Supreme Court maintained no public record of its own proceedings in the past.
- Nor were its proceedings broadcast live for public viewing.
- Over time, security concerns meant that the public could only enter courtrooms in the SC with a pass.
- Due to space constraints, law students were not permitted to enter courtrooms on Mondays and Fridays when the Court heard fresh matters.
A case that led to live broadcast of the proceedings
- In its 2018 judgment in Swapnil Tripathi v Supreme Court of India, the Court recommended that proceedings be broadcast live.
- The SC held that live streaming proceedings is part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Justice DY Chandrachud noted that open courts help foster public confidence in the judiciary.
- Further, publishing court proceedings is an aspect of Article 129, per which the Supreme Court is a court of record.
- Journalists, young lawyers, civil society activists and academics would all benefit from live streaming, the Court opined.
- The guidelines proposed live-streaming cases of constitutional and national importance as a pilot project including Constitution Bench cases.
- Matrimonial cases and those involving national security could be excluded.
Recording the proceedings- Examples
- Internationally constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
- In Australia, proceedings are recorded and posted on the high court’s website.
- Proceedings of the Supreme Courts of Brazil, Canada, England and Germany are broadcast live.
- The Supreme Court of the US does not permit video recording, but oral arguments are recorded, transcribed, and available publicly.
- Democracies aside, in China, court proceedings are live streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme People’s Court of China.
India stands alone
- India stands alone amongst leading constitutional democracies in not maintaining audio or video recordings or even a transcript of court proceedings.
- Court hearings can be turning points in the life of a nation: ADM Jabalpur comes readily to mind.
- More recently, there are a number of cases where the Supreme Court’s judgments have changed citizens’ lives — Aadhaar, Section 377, Sabarimala, NRC and the triple talaq judgments are among them.
Steps to make justice accessible
- The Court started providing vernacular translations of its judgments.
- Non-accredited journalists were permitted to live-tweet court proceedings.
- During the lockdown, journalists have been permitted to view virtual court proceedings in real time.
- If that technology is available, it could be extended to members of the public, who can then view court proceedings themselves.
- Due to pandemic for the next few years, Indian courts will have to adopt a combination of virtual and in-person hearings.
Consider the question “Live-streaming and recordings of the court proceeding helps in reinforcing the public faith in the judiciary. Comment.”
Conclusion
Openness and transparency reinforce the public’s faith in the judicial system. Livestreaming and recording of the proceeding will open the door to ensure the same.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNSC
Mains level: Paper 2- India as non-permanent member of the UNSC
As a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the next two years, India will have to navigate through a tumultuous world. Anti-terrorism will be top priority for India.
India at UNSC
- India will be back in the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.
- Two-year term will be a critical time in the history of the UN.
- It is hoped that by then COVID-19 will have subsided, a U.S. President will have been elected.
- And the contours of a new world order may have emerged.
How elections take place
- The basic contest for the non-permanent seats takes place in the respective regional groups and their sub-groups.
- Voting in the General Assembly is to fulfil the requirement of countries having to secure a two-thirds majority of the member states.
- But regional endorsement is becoming difficult.
- Last time, it was Kazakhstan which vacated the place for India.
- This time, it was Afghanistan. India could not have got the endorsement without such gestures from friendly countries.
What will be India’s priorities as a member of UNSC
- India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation for a reformed multilateral system.
- How far the UN will be able to reform itself in the new situation remains uncertain.
- The UN did not succeed in either defining terrorism or in adopting the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
- Counter-terrorism will be one of the highest priorities for India at the UNSC.
Permanent member of India issue
- India’s election as a non-permanent member has understandably ignited the hope that its quest for permanent membership.
- Nothing is farther from the truth.
- Seeking to amend the Charter to add new permanent members is difficult task.
- None of the proposals has the possibility of securing two-thirds majority of the General Assembly and the votes of the five permanent members.
- A majority of the UN members are against the privileges of the permanent members, particularly the veto.
- India’s performance in the Council will not lead to its elevation to permanent membership as the opposition to any expansion is not India-specific.
Role of India as non-permanent member
- The non-permanent members have a collective veto over every resolution in the Council.
- As a part of collective veto, India will have a higher profile at the UN for the next two years
- Permanent members can prevent the adoption of resolutions by themselves through veto.
- But they need at least nine votes to get a resolution passed.
- India will also have a rare peep into the consultations chamber of the UNSC, which is closed to non-members of the Council.
- India will get involved in many issues in which it may not have any direct interest.
- Since India does not have a veto, it shall have to proceed cautiously not to offend anyone.
Consider the question “India has been chosen as the non-permanent member of the UNSC and will be there at the critical time in the history of the UNSC. What should be India’s priority and approach as a member of the UNSC?”
Conclusion
India’s mission in New York has earned a reputation that it is next only to the permanent members in influence. But whether it will be able to deal with traditional challenges in novel ways will depend on the turns and twists in an uncertain world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MGNREGA
Mains level: Paper 3- Minimum income and issues
Providing a minimum basic income post-Covid will require some novel approach. This article proposes an approach with the mix of direct cash transfer and changes in the employment guarantee scheme.
Non-universal targeted programs
- It is true that a universal schemes are easy to implement.
- Non-universal targeted programmes face the problem of identification.
- Narrowly-targeted programmes will run into complex problems of identification.
- And the problem of identification gives rise to exclusion and inclusion errors.
How to solve identification problem
- There are three proposals which meet the objective of providing a minimum basic income.
- 1) Give cash transfers to all women above the age of 20 years.
- 2) Expand the number of days provided under MGNREGA.
- 3) Have a national employment guarantee scheme in urban areas.
- In all the three proposals, there is no problem of identification.
- A combination of cash transfers and an expanded employment guarantee scheme can provide a minimum basic income.
1) Cash transfer to all women
- One way of doing it will be to give it to all women say above the age of 20.
- This is an easily identifiable criterion because the Aadhaar cards carry the age of the person.
- The female population above the age of 20 is around 42.89 crore.
- Making available a minimum of Rs 4,000 annually as a cash transfer to all of them will cost Rs 1.72 lakh crore.
- Which is 0.84 per cent of GDP.
- The cost of the scheme to the government will be less if the well-off women choose not to take the cash transfer.
2) Expanding MGNREGA
- The Act guarantees 100 days of employment.
- At present, MGNREGA is availed of only for 50 days of employment.
- One way to help the poor and informal workers is to strengthen it.
- The government needs to increase the number of days under the scheme from 100 to 150 in rural areas.
3) Employment guarantee scheme for urban areas
- Introducing Employment Guarantee Act in urban areas would help also provide income.
- Providing employment for 150 days instead of 100 days will also prove beneficial.
Some facts and figures
- In 2019-20, the government spent Rs 67,873 crore for providing 48 days of employment to 5.48 crore of rural households.
- Out of this, the wage expenditure was Rs 48,762 crore.
- The government has increased the per day wage rate from Rs 182.1 in 2019-20 to Rs 202.5 in 2020-21.
- So, the estimated expenditure for 150 days of employment to 5.48 crore households in rural areas and 2.66 crore households in urban areas — together they account for 33 per cent of total households in the country.
- The additional expenditure needed for the new proposal proposal is Rs 1.9 to 2.5 lakh crore.
- This additional expenditure is around 1 to 1.22 per cent of GDP.
- The total cost of the three proposals would be Rs 4.9 lakh crore or 2.4 per cent of GDP.
But the total cost could be lower
- As the Employment Guarantee Programme is a demand-based programme, the number of days availed could be lower.
- This is happening even now.
- Second, on cash transfers, some women, particularly from richer classes, may voluntarily drop out of the scheme.
- Alternatively, we can provide that everyone receiving cash transfer must declare that her total monthly income is less than Rs 6,000 per month.
Where the additional money will come from
- Removing all exemptions in our tax system would give enough money.
- Tax experts advocate removing exemptions so that the basic tax rate can be reduced.
- Perhaps, out of the Rs 4.2 lakh crore which is needed, Rs 1 lakh crore can come out of phasing out of some of the expenditures.
- While another Rs 3 lakh crore must come out of raising additional revenue.
- Some of the non-merit subsidies, another item of expenditure, can be eliminated.
Consider the question “What are the issues non-universal schemes faces? Suggest the ways to do with the issue of identification which such schemes face.”
Conclusion
In the post-COVID-19 situation, we need to institute schemes to provide a minimum income for the poor and vulnerable groups and trying the mixed approach of cash transfer to women and modification of Employment Guarantee Acts could do that.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CBD, BDA
Mains level: Biodiversity and its governance
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The heavy engineering division of L&T dispatched a giant Cryostat lid, to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) site in France from its Hazira unit in Gujarat.
Try this MCQ:
Q.With reference to International science projects, consider the following:
- Large Hadron Collider (LHC)– The God Particle
- Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) – The World’s Most Advanced Telescope
- International-Thermonuclear-Experimental-Reactor (ITER) – Fusion Energy
- Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) – Antiproton and Ion Research
Which of the above projects have India’s active participation?
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1, 3 and 4 only
d) All of them
ITER Project
- ITER is international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.
- The goal of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use.
Minutes of the project
- The project is funded and run by seven member entities—the European Union, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
- The EU, as host party for the ITER complex, is contributing about 45 per cent of the cost, with the other six parties contributing approximately 9 per cent each.
- Construction of the ITER Tokamak complex started in 2013 and the building costs were over US$14 billion by June 2015.
How does it work?
- ITER is the most complex science project in human history. The ITER aims to use a strong electric current to trap plasma inside a doughnut-shaped enclosure long enough for fusion to take place.
- Hydrogen plasma will be heated to 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times hotter than the core of the Sun, to enable the fusion reaction.
- The process happens in a doughnut-shaped reactor, called a tokamak 1, which is surrounded by giant magnets that confine and circulate the superheated, ionized plasma, away from the metal walls.
- The superconducting magnets must be cooled to -269°C (-398°F), as cold as interstellar space.
- Scientists have long sought to mimic the process of nuclear fusion that occurs inside the sun, arguing that it could provide an almost limitless source of cheap, safe and clean electricity.
- Unlike in existing fission reactors, which split plutonium or uranium atoms, there’s no risk of an uncontrolled chain reaction with fusion and it doesn’t produce long-lived radioactive waste.
Back2Basics: Nuclear Fusion
- Nuclear fusion is the process of making a single heavy nucleus (part of an atom) from two lighter nuclei. This process is called a nuclear reaction.
- The nucleus made by fusion is heavier than either of the starting nuclei. It releases a large amount of energy.
- Fusion is what powers the sun. Atoms of Tritium and Deuterium (isotopes of hydrogen, Hydrogen-3 and Hydrogen-2, respectively) unite under extreme pressure and temperature to produce a neutron and a helium isotope.
- Along with this, an enormous amount of energy is released, which is several times the amount produced by fission.
- Scientists continue to work on controlling nuclear fusion in an effort to make a fusion reactor to produce electricity.
How it is different from nuclear fission?
- Simply put, fission is the division of one atom into two (by neutron bombardment), and fusion is the combination of two lighter atoms into a larger one (at a very high temperature).
- Nuclear fission takes place when a large, somewhat unstable isotope (atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons) is bombarded by high-speed particles, usually neutrons.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Containment Zones
Mains level: Lockdown restrictions for COVID containment
In the current pandemic, all interventions are primarily geared towards reducing people-to-people contact, and thus breaking the chain of transmission to the extent possible. The demarcation of containment zones, which works at a more micro level, is likely to remain as long as the disease is spreading.
Practice question for mains:
Q.Discuss how the preemptive lockdowns imposed during earlier phases of coronavirus pandemic has led to reduced casualties in India.
What are Containment Zones?
- The lockdown, implemented in five phases, worked at the national level, while the classification of red, orange and green districts operated at the state and inter-district levels.
- Demarcation of containment zones is done within a town, village, or municipal or panchayat area.
- Neighbourhoods, colonies, or housing societies where infected people live are sealed, and access is restricted.
- Containment zones are where the restrictions on movement and interaction are the most severe.
- In many cities, the entire demarcated area is barricaded and the entry and exit points closed. Only the very basic supplies and services are allowed inside.
Who defines the containment zones?
- It is the district, town or panchayat authorities that decide which areas have to be marked as containment zones, how large they would be, and what kind of restrictions would apply.
- The rules for the national lockdown, for example, were set by the central government, while the state governments decided what restrictions to impose on districts.
- The district administration, Municipal Corporation or panchayat bodies exercise a great deal of discretion in the demarcation of containment zones.
- The definition and time period vary and are continuously reviewed and updated.
How are they demarcated?
- The parameters used are similar, but the exact criteria applied to vary, and usually depends on local conditions. These have also evolved with time, and are under constant review.
- In general, containment zones are getting smaller with time as the number of cases is increasing — from entire localities to colonies or neighbourhood, to streets and lanes, to particular buildings, and now just particular floors.
- As of now, in Delhi, a containment zone is declared if three or more infections are detected.
- The perimeter of the containment zone is also different in different cities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Difference between Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves
Mains level: Wildlife conservation and various policy efforts
The Maharashtra state forest department on declared 29.53 sq. km area of Dodamarg forest range in Sindhudurg district as ‘Tillari Conservation Reserve’.
Note the differences between Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves. Their shuffled meanings can be asked directly in statements based MCQs.
Tillari Conservation Reserve
- This area is known to serve as a corridor and even as a habitat for the population of tigers and elephants moving between the three states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- The 38-km-long Dodamarg wildlife corridor that connects Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka frequently witnesses elephant and tiger movement.
- Tillari will be the seventh corridor in the state to be declared as a ‘conservation reserve’.
What are Conservation Reserves?
- They denote protected areas which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests.
- Such areas are designated if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities if part of the lands is privately owned.
- Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the gram panchayat, as in the case of communal forests.
What are Community Reserves?
- They are the first instances of private land being accorded protection under the legislature.
- It opens up the possibility of communally owned for-profit wildlife resorts, and also causes privately held areas under non-profit organizations like land trusts to be given protection.
- These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
- These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Timbuktu
Mains level: NA
Timbuktu is a western African city whose name is a metaphor for a place too exotic and remote to even imagine, now is in the grasp of Covid-19.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts?
(a) Angola and Zambia
(b) Morocco and Tunisia
(c) Venezuela and Colombia
(d) Yemen and South Sudan
Timbuktu
- Timbuktu is a city in Mali, situated 20 km north of the Niger River.
- The mystique of Timbuktu owes a lot to its inaccessibility, which continues even today.
- It is located on the southern tip of the Sahara desert where there is nothing but thousands of miles of barren desert to its north.
- It was a regional trade centre in medieval times, where caravans met to exchange salt from the Sahara Desert for gold, ivory, and slaves from the Sahel, which could be reached via the nearby Niger River.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issue of custodial death
Judiciary has played a significant role in tackling the problems of police violence. Yet, we come across some incident of violence intermittently. So, what went wrong? And what needs to be done? These issues are addressed in this article.
Role played by judiciary
- Supreme Court’s interventioned against police violence came through in cases such as Joginder Kumar v. State of UP [1994] and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal [1997].
- In these cases, guidelines to secure 2 rights – a right to life and a right to know – in the context of any state action were issued.
- Through these guidelines, the Court sought to curb the power of arrest.
- It also ensured that an accused person is made aware of all critical information regarding the arrest.
- Information of arrest also has to be conveyed to friends and family immediately in the event of being taken in custody.
- It took a decade, and in the form of amendments, as the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008 to give statutory backing to these judicial guidelines.
- It remains part of the law today.
Significance of Prakash Singh Case
- The Supreme Court went even further in the case, Prakash Singh v. Union of India [2006].
- In this case, it pushed through new legislation for governing police forces to be passed by States across India.
- A key component of the new legislation was a robust setup for accountability that contemplated a grievance redress mechanism.
- However, several States are yet to legislate on the matter and remain in contempt of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Scientific investigation
- Judiciary has supported techniques such as narcoanalysis, ensuring video recording of investigations, passing orders for installing closed-circuit television cameras inside police stations.
- Through technology, one can hope to reduce the need for interacting with the body as a source of evidence.
- But how often police employ physicality to obtain evidence will remain the deciding factor.
Impeding issues
- Despite all this, there are reports suggesting that across India there are as many as five custodial deaths a day.
- Presence of continued institutional apathy towards the issue of police reform.
- Judiciary’s approach of simply passing directions and guidelines, has proven to be a failure.
- It is the ordinary magistrate, and not the constitutional court, who is the judicial actor wielding real power to realise substantial change in police practices. Hence, poor change.
- There is a gap between the highest court and the lowly police officer in India.
- Studies show despite criminal laws being struck down as unconstitutional, they continue to be enforced in various parts of the country by local police.
What can be done?
- Constitutional courts could reorient their guidelines to try and change the practices of magistrates.
- It is the local magistrate before whom all arrested and detained persons must be produced within 24 hours.
- Thus, magistrate becomes the point of first contact for a citizen with the constitutional rule of law.
- The overworked magistrate, struggling with an ever-exploding docket, is very often in a rush to get done with the remand case.
- This need to change with more involvement of Constitutional courts.
Consider the question “Custodial torture is an anathema to democracy. Examine the issues related to custodial torture and how is it against the basic fundamental rights? What steps should be taken to prevent such acts by the police functionaries?”
Conclusion
The repeated instances of custodial deaths and tortures point to the inadequacies of the legal framework and lack of implementation. So, there is an urgent need for plugging the loopholes and some changes in approach.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paris agreement
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges the global order face
The corona crisis has laid bare the fissures in the global order. This article examines the four issues that are principal global challenges. Pandemic has accentuated these challenges.
Principal global challenges
- 1) Geopolitical tensions 2) Climate crisis. 3) Global mistrust. 4) The dark side of the digital world — are four issues which U.N. Secretary-General Guterres listed as primary threats.
- The four challenges have, for now, been overshadowed by the corona pandemic crisis.
1.Climate change challenge
- The drop in emissions in 2020 is projected to be about 8 per cent down on last year.
- This drop will just put us on track to where we should be if we are to reach the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 C.
- The threat of climate change, although raising its head again, has been constrained.
2.Digital space and its dark side
- Cyberspace has been a digital saviour during the corona crisis.
- Virtual communications enhanced through various services, new apps, expanded coverage has been key to enhanced virtual lives for millions by increase of the avenues for working from home, video chat connectivity and online delivery of goods.
- Companies that have deftly used cyberspace have prospered the most: Amazons net capital gain has been over $400 billion in 2020.
- However, a surge in cybercrime and cyber fraud is anticipated, if not there already.
- The logic being that cyberspace use has expanded without commensurate growth in security features.
- Thee are dire projections of an impending “cyber Pearl Harbour”.
3.Geopolitical tensions
- Accentuation of geopolitical tensions during the corona crisis is well-documented.
- The US-China relationship was already deteriorating, the blame game over the virus has exacerbated it.
- The brazen behaviour of China in matters relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, South China Sea and the India-China border has added to the inflammable state of geopolitics.
- Rarely has the world seen such paucity of international cooperation since World War II.
- The unravelling of the international institutions and partnerships that have been built since World War II is stark.
4.Trust deficit among states
- Trust amongst states has plummeted to its worst since World War II.
- When faced with corona crisis shortages, almost all EU states responded at the national level.
- Globally, at one time, more than 70 per cent of the world’s ports of entry — air, sea and land — restricted travel.
- According to a Global Trade Alert study, nearly 90 governments blocked the export of medical supplies while 29 restricted food exports.
Efficiency to self-sufficiency
- Lack of trust is also impacting diversified supply chains.
- The corona crisis is driving a shift from efficiency to self-sufficiency.
- Japan is paying companies to relocate factories from China.
- President Emmanuel Macron has pledged “full independence” for France in crucial medical supplies by year-end.
- Prime Minister Modi has called for self-reliance and being vocal for local in India.
- In the US, support for “Buy American” benchmarks for government health spending has growing bipartisan support.
India’s role
- Challenges that transcend borders are of cardinal importance to India’s well being.
- It is, therefore, time to conceptualise, in concrete terms, pathways to address them.
- This will need to include our envisaging the new order and India’s own role in it as well as who our partners in this venture are to be.
- Others are already working on their game plans.
Consider the question “The cracks in the global order were apparent but the pandemic has accentuated the challenges to the global order. In light of this, examine the challenges to global order is facing the role that India should play.”
Conclusion
If India wants to be “rule shapers” rather than being “rule takers”, then we need to start working in partnership at blueprints for change. It is never too early to plan for the future
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Data privacy
Mains level: Paper 3- Importance of digital services for Indian economy
Pandemic has been ravaging the economies across the globe but digital services have escaped the onslaught and are thriving. For India, this could be an opportunity. This article highlights the importance of the sector and how some proposed measures could have an adverse impact on the sector.
Emerging trends in economies
- Economic growth has dropped, and the competition for foreign investment is intensifying.
- There are national campaigns to shift supply chains and the urgent necessity to reverse recessionary trends.
- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development just released its latest World Investment Report.
- The report projected that FDI to developing Asian economies could drop by as much as 45%.
Why digital services would beat this trend
- Digital services have become critical to every 21st century economy.
- Digital services are filling gaps when national or global emergencies interrupt more traditional modes of commerce.
- It enables access to and delivery of a wide array of products across multiple sectors.
How it matters for India
- India offers undeniable potential for innovative homegrown start-ups.
- India has a huge and increasingly digitised population.
- Indian government policies will be key determinants in how quickly and at what level the economy attracts new investment.
- Fostering innovation, and expanding its exporting prowess will also matter.
Three pending measure
- Three pending reform measures under consideration are-
- 1) Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB).
- 2) The e-commerce policy.
- 3) The Information Technology Act Amendments.
Issues with these measures
- These regulatory reforms seem to emphasise a focus on protecting the domestic market for domestic companies.
- It also prioritises government access to data.
- It may be difficult to reconcile these approaches with India’s strong interest in i) promoting data privacy ii) protecting its democratic institutions iii) encouraging FDI and India’s position as a global leader in information technology.
India-US trade relationship issue
- The India-U.S. trade relationship is uncertain.
- The bilateral relationship is an important factor for greater trade and investment in digital services.
- India and the U.S. are yet to conclude negotiation on a bilateral trade agreement that could address some digital services issues.
- The U.S. just initiated a “Section 301” review.
- The review seeks whether digital services taxes in 10 countries constitute “unfair” trade measures, including India’s equalisation levy.
Consider the question “Digital services have become critical to every 21st-century economy and more so for Indian economy. In light, highlight the salience of digital services for the Indian economy and what are the issues that could affect the growth trajectory of the sector in India?”
Conclusion
Post-COVID-19 international cooperation and approaches to good governance in the digital sphere will be top-priority initiatives. The steps India takes now could well establish itself as a true global leader.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: West Bank and its location
Mains level: Israeli claims over West Bank and Gaza
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli leader’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would not start on the original target date as the British PM made an extraordinary appeal to Israel to call off the plan.
The strategic location of Gaza strip, West Bank, Dead Sea etc. creates a hotspot for a possible map based prelims question.
Consider this PYQ from 2015 CSP:
Q. The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the context of the events related to:
a) Central Asia
b) Middle East
c) South-East Asia
d) Central Africa
Must read:
[Burning Issue] West Asia Peace Plan
Where is West Bank Located?
- The West Bank is located to the west of the Jordan River.
- It is a patch of land about one and a half times the size of Goa, was captured by Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- Israel snatched it back during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has occupied it ever since.
- It is a landlocked territory, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel to the south, west, and north.
- Following the Oslo Accords between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the 1990s, part of the West Bank came under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
- With varying levels of autonomy, the Palestinian Authority controls close to 40 per cent of West Bank today, while the rest is controlled by Israel.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)
Mains level: Police reforms in India
The alleged torture and custodial killing of TN father and son by police last week pointed towards a broken criminal justice system and highlighted the need for police reforms and the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).
Practice question for mains:
Q.There is an urgent need for reforming the criminal justice system in India in light of rising cases of custodial torture and killings. Comment.
United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)
- The UNCAT is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the UN and was adopted in 1984.
- It aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.
- The convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any territory under their jurisdiction and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.
- Since the convention’s entry into force, the absolute prohibition against torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment has become accepted as a principle of customary international law.
The Committee against Torture (CAT)
- It is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by State parties.
- The Committee is one of eight UN-linked human rights treaty bodies.
- All state parties are obliged under the Convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how rights are being implemented.
- Upon ratifying the Convention, states must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years.
- The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations.”
- Under certain circumstances, the CAT may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated.
Optional Protocol to CAT
- The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) was adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2002.
- It provides for the establishment of a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
India needs to ratify UNCAT
- India signed the convention in 1997 but it remains among a handful of countries including Pakistan and China which are yet to ratify the convention.
- India is in the company of 25 other nations which have not ratified.
- The National Human Rights Commission had said custodial violence and torture are already “rampant” in the country.
- About 1,731 people had died in custody in 2019 a/c to NHRC report.
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