Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: The offset clause
Mains level: Paper 3- Implications of dilutions of offset clause in defence procurement
The ‘offset clause’ could help the country achieve the technological expertise and consequently self-reliance. However, India recently relaxed some norms in the policy. The article discusses the stated reasons for tweaking and its implications for the defence manufacturing industry in India.
Context
- Recently, the government diluted the âoffsetâ policy in defence procurement, reportedly in response to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Indiaâs report tabled in Parliament last month.
Let’s understand ‘offset’ policy
- Â In order to safeguard national interest, most countries restrict trade in defence equipment and advanced technologies.
- Yet, for commercial gains and for global technological recognition, governments and firms do like to expand the trade through negotiated bilateral sales.
- Restrictions are often imposed on the buyer country on use, modification and resale of such equipment and technologies.
- The product and technology compel buyers to stick to them for: the advantages of bulk purchase, and dependence on the supplier for spares and upgrades.
- The price and the terms of the contract often reflect the governmentâs relative bargaining strength and also domestic political and economic considerations.
- Large buyers such as India seek to exercise their âbuying powerâ to secure not just the lowest price but also try to acquire the technology to upgrade domestic production and build R&D capabilities.
- The offset clause â used globally â is the instrument for securing these goals.
Changes in the offset policy
- Initiated in 2005, the offset clause has following requirements:
- 1) Sourcing 30% of the value of the contract domestically.
- 2) Indigenisation of production in a strict time frame.
- 3) Training Indian professionals in high-tech skills, for promoting domestic R&D.
- However, the policy has been tweaked many times since.
- According to the recent CAG report, between 2007 and 2018, the government reportedly signed 46 offset contracts worth âš66,427 crore of investments.
- However, the realised investments were merely 8%, or worth âš5,457 crore.
- Reportedly, technology transfer agreements in the offsets were not implemented, failing to accomplish the stated policy objective.
- Recently, the government has changed this policy further so that the offset clause will not be applicable to bilateral deals and deals with a single (monopoly) seller, to begin with.
Implications of the changes in offset policy
- The dilution means practically giving up the offset clause, and a setback to Indiaâs prospects for boosting defence production and technological self-reliance.
- The government, however, has defended the decision by claiming a cost advantage.
- Howver, price is but one of many factors in such deals, as explained above.
- The higher (upfront) cost of the agreement due to the offset clause would pay for itself by: reducing costs in the long term by indigenisation of production and the potential technology spill-overs for domestic industry.
- Hence, giving up the offset clause is undoubtedly a severe setback.
How did offset policy work for aerospace industry?
- Despite the heft of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India is a lightweight in global civilian aircraft manufacturing, as the public sector giant mostly devotes itself to defence production.
- The National Civil Aircraft Development (NCAD) project â to come up with an indigenously designed Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) â has remained a non-starter from day one.
- However, with the introduction of the offset policy in 2005, things changed dramatically.
- For contracts valued at âš300 crore or more, 30% of it will result in offsets, implemented through Indian offset partners.
- As aerospace imports rose rapidly, so did the exports via the offsets, by a whopping 544% in 2007, compared to the previous year.
- By 2014, exports increased to $6.7 billion from a paltry $62.5 million in 2005, according to the United Nations Comtrade Database.
- The offset clause enabled India to join the league of the worldâs top 10 aerospace exporters; the only country without a major domestic aerospace firm.
- However, exports reduced after the offset clause was relaxed, primarily when the threshold for the policy was raised from the hitherto âš300 crore to âš2000 crore, in 2016.
- The offset exports fell to $1.5 billion by 2019.
- The 2005 policy helped promote a vibrant aerospace cluster, mostly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around Bengaluru.
Consider the question “How far has the offset clause been successful in enhancing the domestic capabilities of India in defence manufacturing? What are the challenges in achieving the objectives of the policy?”
Conclusion
There are successful examples to draw lessons from, as the aerospace industry episode demonstrates. India needs to re-conceive or re-imagine the offset clause in defence contracts with stricter enforcement of the deals, in national interest, and in order to aim for âAtma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaanâ, or a self-reliant India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Police reforms
The article highlights the challenges facing the police force in India and suggests the measures to deal with them.
Urgency of the police reforms
- In a well-ordered democracy, the police are supposed to be a disciplined force trained to uphold the law and enforce the functioning of democracy on constitutional lines.
- However, police in India suffers from a triad of malaises:
- 1) The lack of sensitisation of police personnel.
- 2) Absence of accountability.
- 3) Politicisation of the police.
Objectives of the reforms:
1) Police sensitisation about their role in society
- The sensitisation module should aim at bringing about attitudinal change in police â especially pertaining to gender and power relations and police behaviour.
- There has to be promptness of action and decency of behaviour.
- They need to be trained in body language and strictly advised to refrain from abusive behaviour.
- It is necessary to increase public confidence in the police by upgrading levels of police service delivery as well as by investigating and acting in cases of police misconduct.
2) Increasing accountability
- Public confidence in police decreases when the public perceives that police abuses are not investigated effectively.
- Enhancing accountability will improve police legitimacy and increase public confidence, which, in turn, will reinforce the integrity of the system.
- The Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, the Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority are some examples of mechanisms for accountability of the police for acts of abuse of power.
3) De-politicisation of the police
- Linked to accountability is de-politicisation of the police force.
- This is a must for the effective functioning of the countryâs criminal justice system.
- The police, as the custodian of maintenance of law and order, must stay away from agenda-driven politics.
Need to resolve the structural issues
In order to achieve the above-stated objectives, structural issues within the force must be given priority.
1) Vacancies and fair representation to women
- According to a report by Common Cause in 2019, the Indian police force is at only 77 per cent of its sanctioned strength.
- India has 144 police personnel for one lakh population and, in some states, the figure is less than 100.
- One in every five posts sanctioned in the Indian Police Service remains vacant.
- In low and middle-rank posts, the vacancies of 5.28 lakh personnel account for nearly one-fourth of the total sanctioned strength of over 22 lakh.
- A fully-staffed police force would only increase Indiaâs police-to-population ratio to 185 against the UN recommended ratio of 222.
- The police-to-people ratio should be improved by at least 50 per cent to meet the challenges faced by the force.
- Women are grossly underrepresented in our police force at less than 7 per cent of our total police strength.
- With the increase in the number of gender crimes, it has become a necessity to augment the strength of police by recruiting more and more women police personnel.
- The situation in Uttar Pradesh is the worst where police are at roughly 50 per cent of sanctioned strength.
- When the numbers are inadequate, police personnel are stretched, leading to shoddy policing.
2) Lack of in-service training
- The existing police personnel are also not adequately trained. Less than 7 per cent police get in-service training.
- Gujarat scores the lowest, with less than one per cent having received any in-service training.
3) Implementation of guidelines and recommendations
- After the National Police Commission in 1977, several committees were set up, including the Gore Committee, Padmanabhaiah Committee and Malimath Committee.
- These commissions and committees have made far-reaching recommendations.
- The top police leadership should be selected by apolitical representatives and an impartial body as suggested by Dharma Vira Commission have farsighted implications.
- It was a strong antidote to opportunistic appointments and transfers.
- Recommendations of the commission, if implemented, along with the Supreme Court directives of 2006 by Justice Sabharwal, in true letter and spirit, will go a long way in police reform.
4) Reforms in criminal justice system
- Reforms in the criminal justice system and separation of law and order from investigation and prosecution are the other areas that need the attention of the authorities.
- These aspects have been highlighted by many commissions and committees constituted by the Centre.
Consider the question “What are the challenges facing the police force in the country? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”
Conclusion
A new role and new philosophy have to be defined for the police to not only make it a capable and effective body but also one accountable to the law of the land and to the people whom they serve.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ceilings on Election expenditure
Mains level: Election expenditure and associated issues
The Law Ministry has increased the ceiling on poll expenditure for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections by 10% following a recommendation by the Election Commission in view of curbs imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Try answering this question:
Q.Ceiling on election expenses ends up being counterproductive and encourages candidates to under-report their expenditure. Critically analyse.
New ceiling on poll expenditure
- The ceiling on poll expenditure varies across States, with candidates in Assembly elections in bigger States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu now allowed to spend up to âš30.8 lakhs as against âš28 lakhs earlier.
- For a candidate contesting a Lok Sabha poll in these States, the revised ceiling on poll expenditure is now âš77 lakhs instead of the earlier amount of âš70 lakhs.
- Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and a few Union Territories, based on the size of their constituencies and population, have a lower ceiling on poll expenditure.
- Here while the enhanced ceiling for a Lok Sabha candidate is now âš59.4 lakhs those contesting an Assembly can spend up to âš22 lakhs.
How are such ceilings made?
- Such changes are made by amending the Conduct of Elections Rules.
- The last time the expenditure ceiling was enhanced was in 2014 just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
What doesnât account to Election expenditure?
- The expenditure incurred by leaders of a political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for propagating programme of the political party is not considered to be the election expenditure.
- Any expenditure which is done for service of the Government and discharge of official duty is also not considered to be election expenditure.
Role of Election Commission
- The EC imposes limits on campaign expenditure incurred by a candidate and not political parties.
- However, it does not cover expenses incurred either by a party or the leader of a party for propagating the partyâs programme.
- Also, candidates must mandatorily file a true account of election expenses with the EC.
- An incorrect account or expenditure beyond the ceiling can attract disqualification for up to three years as per Section 10A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Special provisions for North-east India
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked Assam and Mizoram to maintain peace and display âno aggressive posturingâ after violent clashes took place at the border between the two States on Saturday night.
Can you recall the chronology of reorganization of the entire North-East region?
What is the issue?
- Assam has had a boundary dispute with Mizoram for decades and several rounds of talks have been held since 1994-95 to solve the issue.
- Till 1972, Mizoram was a part of Assam and acquired full statehood in 1987.
- The 164.6 km-long border between the States runs along with Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts in Assam and Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts in Mizoram.
- There are several border areas where violence have been reported.
How complex is this dispute?
- In the Northeastâs complex boundary equations, showdowns between Assam and Mizoram residents are less frequent than they are.
- The boundary between present-day Assam and Mizoram, 165 km long today, dates back to the colonial era when Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills, a district of Assam.
- The dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
- Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873.
- Mizo leaders have argued in the past argued against the demarcation notified in 1933 because Mizo society was not consulted.
Other boundary disputes in North-East
During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which became separate state one by one. Today, Assam has boundary problems with each of them.
- Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary with Assam.
- In two major incidents of violence in 1979 and 1985, at least 100 persons were killed. The boundary dispute is now in the Supreme Court
- On the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary (over 800 km), clashes were first reported in 1992, according to the same research paper.
- Since then, there have been several accusations of illegal encroachment from both sides, and intermittent clashes. This boundary issue is being heard by the Supreme Court.
- The 884-km Assam-Meghalaya boundary, too, witnesses flare-ups frequently. As per Meghalaya government statements, today there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FTTH, Ghar tak fibre
Mains level: Internet connectivity, Digital divide
The governmentâs ambitious âGhar Tak Fibreâ scheme â which aims to connect all the villages with high-speed internet â is off to a slow start in poll-bound Bihar.
Note the features of FTTH connections. They make a perfect case for a statement based prelims question. Also, try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements regarding optical fibres:
- A layer called the cladding, which has a refractive index more than that of the core, surrounds the core of the optical fibre.
- Light is propagated in an optical fibre by refraction and internal reflection.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ghar Tak Fibre scheme
- The Scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- It aims to connect all 45,945 villages of Bihar with high-speed optical fibre internet by 31st March 2021.
- Under the scheme, Bihar has to provide at least five fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections per village and at least one WiFi hotspot per village.
What is FTTH?
- Fiber to the home (FTTH), also called fibre to the premises (FTTP), is the installation and use of optical fibre from a central point directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses to provide high-speed internet access.
- FTTH dramatically increases connection speeds available to computer users compared with technologies now used in most places.
- FTTH promises connection speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ayushman Sahakar Scheme
Mains level: Impact of coronovirus outbreak
The Agriculture Ministry has rolled out the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme to assist cooperatives in the creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.
Can you find the peculiarity of this scheme? Yes. Itâs the Agriculture and not the Health Ministry.
Ayushman Sahakar Scheme
- The scheme is formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the apex autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- The scheme would give a boost to the provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
- It specifically covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure.
Why need such a scheme?
- There is a huge need for medical and nursing education in rural areas. But the problem is a lack of infrastructure.
- Co-ops find it difficult to access credit for such projects as banks may not give them loans for non-agricultural purposes.
Financing the scheme
- NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs 10000 Crore in the coming years.
- Any Cooperative Society with a suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare-related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund.
- NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives.
- Apart from working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements, the scheme will also provide interest subvention of 1% to women majority cooperatives.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shravathi river, Macaque
Mains level: Not Much
The Union government allowed a geotechnical investigation that involved drilling of 12 boreholes inside Sharavathi Valley Lion-tailed Macaque Sanctuary in the Western Ghats in Karnataka.
Try this PYQ:
Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?
(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass
(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.
(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)
(d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah
About Lion-tailed Macaque
- Endemic to rainforests of the Western Ghats, the Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca Silenus) is an Endangered species, according to IUCN assessment.
- It is listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
- It is a Schedule 1 species under WPA, 1972 and thereby, accorded the highest protection under the Indian law.
- Their total (global) population is 2,500 mature individuals.
Why in news?
- Sharavathi is likely one of the most exploited rivers.
- It flows for mere 132 km, but four major power projects on it produce 40 per cent of all hydroelectric power in Karnataka.
- Yet, in an attempt to squeeze more power from the river flowing through the Western Ghats, a new pumped hydro-storage project has been proposed.
- This will only intensify the cumulative adverse impact of previous projects on the biodiversity of the Sharavathi valley.
- In particular, the impacts on the iconic Lion-tailed Macaque are likely to be huge.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Gains against HIV
The article highlights the achievement in the fight against AIDS. Most significant are the achievements in the prevention of transmission from mother-to-child.
Significant gains
- As per recently released 2019 HIV estimates by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)/Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the technical support of UNAIDS there has been a 66.1% reduction in new HIV infections among children and a 65.3% reduction in AIDS-related deaths in India over a nine-year period.
- The number of pregnant women living with HIV has reduced from 31,000 in 2010 to 20,000 in 2019.
- Overall, antenatal coverage has expanded, and HIV testing has increased over time and within target range.
- Treatment coverage has also expanded.
Progress in preventing mother to child transmission
- Under the leadership of NACO, a âFast-Tracking of EMTCT (elimination of mother-to-child transmission) strategy-cum-action planâ was outlined by June 2019.
- The plan entailed mobilisation and reinforcement of all national, State and partnersâ collective efforts to achieve the EMTCT goal.
- Additionally, in March 2020, we began efforts to minimise challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- From 2010 to 2019, India made important progress in reducing the HIV impact on children through prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
- This was done through education and communication programmes; increased access to HIV services with innovative delivery mechanisms for HIV testing; counselling and care; and treatment and follow-ups.
- India made HIV testing for all pregnant women free and HIV treatment is offered the same way nationwide without cost to pregnant mothers living with HIV through the national âtreat allâ policy.
- For two years UNICEF has worked with the World Health Organization and NACO to identify high burden districts (in terms of density of pregnant women living with HIV) as the last mile towards disease elimination.
- Since 2002, when the EMTCT of HIV programmes were launched in India, a series of policy, programmatic and implementation strategies were rolled out so that all pregnant women can access free HIV testing and free treatment regimens for life to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to babies.
- This has been made possible in government health centres and grass-root level workers through village health and nutrition days and other grass-roots events under the National Health Mission.
- Indeed, the approach being promoted by UNICEF in focusing attention and resources in high burden districts is supported by the HIV strategic information division of NACO and UNAIDS to better understand the locations and populations most HIV affected, so that technical support and HIV services can be directed towards these areas.
Conclusion
Using data-driven and decision-making approaches it is certain that AIDS will no longer be a public health threat for children in India by the end of 2030, if not before.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BBIN, SAARC
Mains level: Paper 2- Economic progress of Bangladesh and its implications for the subcontinent
Bangladesh is expected to cross India in terms per capita income. This speaks volumes about the achievements of Bangladesh when contrasted with Pakistan. At the same time, it has several implications for the region. The elaborates on such implications.
What other countries can learn from Bangladesh
- The International Monetary Fundâs latest World Economic Outlook published recently predicts that Bangladeshâs per capita GDP will overtake that of India this year.
- The projected difference is rather small â $1,888 to $1,877 â and unlikely to last beyond this year.
- International development institutions are convinced that the rest of the subcontinent and developing countries around the world can learn much from Dhakaâs experience â the so-called âBangladesh modelâ.
5 Implications for the region
1) Rising global interest in the subcontinent
- Rapid and sustained economic growth in Bangladesh has begun to alter the worldâs perception of the subcontinent.
- India and Pakistan dominated the region and other countries were considered small.
- But Bangladesh was far from being small, demographically it’s  the eighth-largest nation in the world.
- The economic rise of Bangladesh is changing some of that.
2) Changing economic weights of Bangladesh and Pakistan
- This year, Bangladeshâs GDP is expected to reach about $320 billion.
- The IMF did not have the 2020 numbers from Pakistan to report but in 2019, Pakistanâs economy was at $275 billion.
- The IMF suggests that Pakistanâs economy will contract further this year.
- Bangladesh has controlled its population growth and Pakistan has not.
- Dhaka has a grip over its inflation and Islamabad does not.
- There is no question that Pakistanâs negative geopolitical weight in the world will endure.
- But Bangladesh’s growing economic muscle will help Dhaka steadily accumulate geopolitical salience in the years ahead.
3) Accelerate regional integration
- Bangladeshâs economic growth can accelerate regional integration in the eastern subcontinent.
- The regionâs prospects for a collective economic advance are rather dim.
- Due to Pakistanâs opposition to economic cooperation with India and its support for cross-border terror, the main regional forum for the subcontinent, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), is dormant.
- Instead of merely praying for the revival of Saarc, Delhi could usefully focus on the BBIN.
- BBIN is sub-regional forum among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, activated in the middle of last decade â has not advanced fast enough.
- It is time for Delhi and Dhaka to take a fresh look at the forum and find ways to widen the scope and pace of BBIN activity.
- Meanwhile, there is growing interest in Bhutan and Nepal for economic integration with Bangladesh.
4) Increasing importance of Bangladesh in geopolitics of Indo-Pacific
- The economic success of Bangladesh is drawing attention from a range of countries in East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
- The US, which traditionally focused on India and Pakistan, has woken up to the possibilities in Bangladesh.
- Bangladesh does not want to get into the fight between Beijing and Washington, but the great power wooing of Dhaka is bound to intensify in the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.
5) Development of India’s eastern and north-eastern states could accelerate
- Bangladeshâs economy is now one-and-a-half times as large as that of West Bengal; better integration between the two would provide a huge boost for eastern India.
- Also, connectivity between Indiaâs landlocked Northeast and Bangladesh would provide a boost to the development of north-eastern states.
- Delhi and Dhaka are eager to promote greater cooperation, but there has been little political enthusiasm in Kolkata.
- In Assam, the issue of migration continues to impose major political constraints.
Way forward
- Parliamentary approval of the boundary settlement in 2015, despite the opposition, was a step in the right direction from India.
- So was the acceptance of the 2014 international arbitration award on the maritime boundary dispute between India and Bangladesh.
- But the positive dynamic surrounding the bilateral relationship acquired a negative tone in the second amidst the poisonous rhetoric in India around the Citizenship Amendment Act.
- There is much room for course correction in Delhi and to shift the focus from legacy issues to future possibilities.
Conclusion
Both the countries need to jointly develop and pursue with Dhaka an ambitious framework for shared prosperity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Doha Accord
Mains level: Paper 3- Threat of terrorism
We have been spared of some unfortunate news of terrorist attacks in the recent past, however, it would be mistake to discount the threat posed by the terrorist organisations especially when we consider the backdrop of Doha Accord. The article deals with the threat of terrorism.
Declining support
- Terrorist organisations like Taliban, al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been dormant during a pandemic.
- This is partly explained by the fact that open terror attacks have been reducing, presumably because:
- 1) Terror outfits lack resources.
- 2) Because of temporary loss of support from those normally hostile to the non-Islamic world and tolerant Muslims.
- However, given their past resilience, they continue to pose threats to modern society, especially to India and its neighbourhood.
But threat persists
- These terrorist organisations continue to be attractive to misguided youth in India whose loyalties are extraterritorial.
- Their numbers may not be formidable, but they can cause a ripple effect that cannot be underestimated.
- Terrorist cells are probably engaged in the quiet process of collecting resources for future lethal assaults against India and other countries in the neighbourhood.
- Once the pandemic eases, we may see a resurgence of terror.
- The aggravation of poverty in developing nations due to COVID-19 could offer a fertile ground for recruitment.
- The al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are carrying out their recruitment undiminished by the problems posed by the pandemic.
- Only these two outfits have an impressive global reach backed by global ambitions.
What are the implications of Doha Accord?
- The Doha Accord signed this year between the Taliban and the U.S., which has brought about an improved relationship between the two.
- The U.S. has agreed to a near-total withdrawal of its troops in return for the Talibanâs promise to preserve peace in Afghanistan.
- The Taliban and the al-Qaeda need each other in many areas.
- Both are friendly towards Pakistan and could pose a problem or two to India in the near future.
- Many recent raids by the National Investigation Agency point to an al-Qaeda network in India.
- Once the situation gets better, the al-Qaeda, in cahoots with other aggressive Islamic outfits in and around Pakistan, is bound to escalate the offensive against India.
- This is one factor that makes the al-Qaeda and other terror outfits still relevant to Indiaâs security calculus.
Consider the question “What are the implications of Doha Acord for India’s security architecture?”
Conclusion
The threat posed by the changing geopolitical landscape is bound to increase in the coming days and hence India should prepare itself to tackle the challenge.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Regulatory sandbox
Mains level: Paper 3- Regulatory sandbox
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has introduced a framework for Regulatory Sandbox to tap into innovative Fin-tech solutions.
Try answering this simple question:
Q.What is Regulatory Sandbox? What are its salient features?
Regulatory Sandbox
- A regulatory sandbox usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.
- The objective of the sandbox is to foster responsible innovation in financial services, promote efficiency and bring benefit to consumers.
- It provides a secure environment for fintech firms to experiment with products under supervision of a regulator.
- It is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch, saving start-ups time and cost.
Its inception
- The concept of a regulatory sandbox or innovation hub for fintech firms was mooted by a committee headed by then RBI executive director Sudarshan Sen.
- The panel submitted its report in Nov 2017 has called for a regulatory sandbox to help firms experiment with fintech solutions, where the consequences of failure can be contained and reasons for failure analysed.
- If the product appears to have the potential to be successful, it might be authorised and brought to the broader market more quickly.
What is the new framework?
- IFSCA has introduced a framework for âRegulatory Sandboxâ.
Under this Sandbox framework, entities operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and financial services space shall be granted certain facilities and flexibilities.
- It will experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real customers for a limited time frame.
- These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation. The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City (Gandhinagar).
- IFSCA shall assess the applications and extend suitable regulatory relaxations to commence limited purpose testing in the Sandbox.
Other propositions
- As additional steps towards creating an innovation-centric ecosystem, the IFSCA has proposed the creation of an âInnovation Sandboxâ.
- It will be a testing environment where Fin-tech firms can test their solutions in isolation from the live market.
- This would be based on market related data made available by the Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) operating in the IFSC.
- The Innovation Sandbox will be managed and facilitated by the MIIs operating within the IFSC.
Back2Basics: GIFT City, Gandhinagar
- GIFT city is India’s first operational smart city and international financial services centre (much like a modern IT park).
- The idea for GIFT was conceived during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2007 and the initial planning was done by East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI).
- Currently approximately 225 units/companies are operational with more than 12000 professionals employed in the City.
- The entire city is based on concept of FTTX (Fibre to the home / office).The fiber optic is laid in fault tolerant ring architecture so as to ensure maximum uptime of services.
- Every building in GIFT City is an intelligent building. There is piped supply of cooking gas. India’s first city-level DCS (district cooling system) is also operational at GIFT City.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Countries participating in exerciese
Mains level: Paper 3- Defence exercises
Upping the ante against China amid the ongoing LAC confrontations, Australia has formally accepted Indiaâs invite for the upcoming Malabar Exercise.
About Ex. Malabar
- Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
- Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.
- Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
- The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.
Significance of Australiaâs inclusion
- Earlier, India had concerns that it would give the appearance of a âquadrilateral military allianceâ aimed at China.
- Now both look forward to the cooperation in the âIndo-Pacificâ and the strengthening of defence ties.
- This has led to a convergence of mutual interest in many areas for a better understanding of regional and global issues.
- Both are expected to conclude the long-pending Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) as part of measures to elevate the strategic partnership.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cultivation of heeng
Mains level: Paper 3- Heeng cultivation in India
Farmers of the remote Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh are taking up cultivation of asafoetida (Heeng) to utilize vast expanses of waste land in the cold desert conditions of the region.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following reflects back more sunlight as compared to other three?
(a) Sand desert
(b) Paddy crop land
(c) Land covered with fresh snow
(d) Prairie land
Asafoetida cultivation in India
- Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high-value spice crop in India.
- Raw asafoetida is extracted from the fleshy roots of Ferula assafoetida as an oleo-gum resin.
- Although, there are about 130 species of Ferula found in the world, but only Ferula asafoetidais the economically important species used for the production of asafoetida.
Why cultivate it?
- Heeng is not cultivated in India.
- Government data states that India imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw heeng worth Rs 600 crore from Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Regions for its cultivation
- Asafoetida best grows in dry and cold conditions.
- The plant can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degree, whereas during winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degree.
- During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.
- Regions with sandy soil, very little moisture and annual rainfall of not more than 200mm are considered conducive for heeng cultivation in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: District Development Councils
Mains level: Paper 2- DDCs in J and K
The Centre has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, to facilitate the setting up of District Development Councils (DDC).
Tap to read more about: Reorganization of J&K
What are DDCs?
- DDCs structure will include a DDC and a District Planning Committee (DPC).
- The J&K administration has also amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, to provide for establishment of elected District Development Councils in J&K.
- This system effectively replaces the District Planning and Development Boards in all districts, and will prepare and approve district plans and capital expenditure.
Composition of DDCs
- Their key feature, however, is that the DDCs will have elected representatives from each district.
- Their number has been specified at 14 elected members per district representing its rural areas, alongside the Members of
- Legislative Assembly chairpersons of all Block Development Councils within the district.
Term of reference
- The term of the DDC will be five years, and the electoral process will allow for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.
- The Additional District Development Commissioner (or the Additional DC) of the district shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the District Development Council.
- The council, as stated in the Act, will hold at least four âgeneral meetingsâ in a year, one in each quarter.
What will be the process here onward?
- The 14 constituencies for electing representatives to the DDC will have to be delimited.
- These constituencies will be carved out of the rural areas of the district, and elected members will subsequently elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the DDC from among themselves.
Within the third tier, where do the DDCs fit in?
- The DDCs replace the District Planning and Development Boards (DDBs) that were headed by a cabinet minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- For Jammu and Srinagar districts, as winter and summer capitals, the DDBs were headed by the Chief Minister.
However, for Leh and Kargil districts, the Autonomous Hill Development Councils performed the functions designated for the DDBs.
How will DPC work, then?
- For every district there will be DPC comprising MPs representing the area, Members of the State Legislature representing the areas within the District etc. among others.
- The MP will function as the chairperson of this committee.
- The committee will âconsider and guideâ the formulation of development programmes for the district.
- It would indicate priorities for various schemes and consider issues relating to the speedy development and economic uplift of the district.
- It would function as a working group for formulation of periodic and annual plans for the district; and formulate and finalise the plan and non-plan budget for the district.
Centreâs objective behind this new structure
- The J&K administration in a statement said that the move to have an elected third tier of the Panchayati Raj institution marks the implementation of the entire 73rd Amendment Act in J&K.
- The idea is that systems that had been made defunct by earlier J&K governments such as the panchayati raj system are being revived under the Centreâs rule in the state through the Lieutenant Governorâs administration.
- In the absence of elected representatives in the UT, senior government officials argue that DDCs will effectively become representative bodies for development at the grassroots in the 20 districts of the UT.
- They hope that this may draw some former legislators in as well.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Constitutional provisions related to the Governor
Mains level: Paper 2- Misuse of discretionary power by the Governor
The article deals with the role of Governor in the state and issue of misuse of discretionary power vested in him.
Constitutional provision related to Governor
- Various Raj Bhavans have become embroiled in controversies over the decade.
- This is partly because the Constitution of India does allow a certain discretion to the Governor.
- And a discretion invariably does get abused.
- The framers of the Constitution had rejected an elected Governor because they were unambiguously clear that political power would only be vested with elected executives.
- Yet, they were not inclined to put in a formal Instrument of Instructions for the Governors and were content to believe that political decencies and correctness would be observed both by the Governor and the Chief Minister.
As the distinguished constitutional expert, Nani A. Palkhivala explained it âthe Constitution intended that the Governor should be the instrument to maintain the fundamental equilibrium of the people of the State and to ensure that the mandates of the Constitution are respected in the Stateâ.Â
Misuse of ‘discretion’ by Governors
- As an appointee of the Union Government, the Governors have been prone to act on the instructions by ruling party at the Centre.
- Inevitably the âdiscretionâ in choosing a Chief Minister, or requiring a Chief Minister to prove his/her majority, or dismissing a Chief Minister, dissolving the legislature, recommending Presidentâs Rule â came to be tainted with partisan political considerations.
- More often than not, the governor’s discretion was abused, sometimes absurdly, even whimsically.
- In the S.R. Bommai case, the Supreme Court did try through its judgment to prevent the misuse of power.
Conclusion
The guidelines given in the S.R. Bommai case should be adhered to by the Governor and should avoid conflict with the elected governments in the States.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Police reforms
The police have been in the news for incidents involving violence and killings. These instances points to the urgent need for the implementation of the Supreme Court directives given in the Prakash Singh case. The article deals with the issues of delay in the implementation.
Need for immediate remedial measures
- Police has been in the news for incidents involving police brutalities like thrashing of a Dalit Ahirwar couple by the police Madhya Pradesh, torture and killing of father-son duo in Tamil Nadu and killing of gangster in UP.
- These incidents and several others show that we need immediate remedial measures.
Past attempts for police reforms
- The first serious attempt was when the National Police Commission (NPC) was set up in 1977.
- The NPC submitted eight reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs between 1979 and 1981.
- Seven of these reports were circulated to the States in 1983.
Prakash Sing Case
- No action was taken on the reports of the reports until 1996.
- In 1996 Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer, filed a PIL in the apex court in 1996 demanding the implementation of the NPCâs recommendations.
- In 2006, the Supreme Court issued a slew of directives on police reform.
Status of implementation of directives by Staes
- The one directive that would hurt the most is the setting up of a State Security Commission (SSC) in each State.
- State Security Commission would divest the political leaders of the unbridled power that they wield at present.
- Of the States that constituted an SSC, only Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have made SSC recommendations binding on the State government.
- Only six States provided a minimum tenure of two years to the Director General of Police (DGP).
- Many States have not implemented a single directive of the Supreme Court.
Way forward
- Expecting political will to implement police reforms is difficult to come by, it is for the judiciary to step in and enforce the directives it had passed.
- Fourteen years is too long a period for any further relaxation.
- The Court has to ensure that its directives are not dismissed lightly.
Consider the question “What are the issues facing police administration? What are the reasons for lack of full implementation of the directives given by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case?
Conclusion
A bold step towards bringing down crimes is possible only when the politicians-criminals-police nexus is strangled.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Buldana pattern
Mains level: Water coservation models
Maharashtra’s ‘Buldana Pattern’ of water conservation’ has won national recognition and the NITI Aayog is in the process of formulating National Policy on water conversation based on it.
Refer this link to read more about traditional water conservations systems in India:
https://geographyandyou.com/ten-traditional-water-conservation-methods/
What is âBuldhana Patternâ?
- It is based on the synchronization of national highway construction and water conservation.
- It was achieved for the first time in Buldana district of drought-prone Vidarbha region, by using soil from the water bodies, nallas and rivers.
- This consequently leads to the increase in capacity of water storage across the water-bodies in Buldana district and it came to be known as ‘Buldana Pattern’.
- Creation of State Water Grid and adopting water Conservations works under this pattern will increase the agriculture production and bring prosperity in farmerâs economic life in Vidarbha.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SLINEX
Mains level: Not Much
The Eighth Edition of annual Indian Navy (IN) â Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 is scheduled off Trincomalee.
About SLINEX-20
- SLINEX-20 aims to enhance inter-operability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
- In addition, the exercise will also showcase the capabilities of our indigenously constructed naval ships and aircraft.
- SLINEX series of exercise exemplifies the deep engagement between India and Sri Lanka which has strengthened mutual cooperation in the maritime domain.
- Interaction between the SLN and IN has also grown significantly in recent years, in consonance with Indiaâs policy of âNeighbourhood Firstâ and the vision of âSecurity and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR)â.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Himalayan orogeny
Mains level: Not Much
A recent survey has found that a tectonic fault line that runs through Ladakh, all along the Indus river, is not inactive as was previously thought and is, in fact, moving northward.
Tap here to read more about Himalayan orogeny:
Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)
- A suture zone is a linear belt of intense deformation, where distinct terranes, or tectonic units with different plate tectonic, metamorphic, and paleogeographic histories, join together.
- The ISZ represents a belt of tectonic compression caused by the underthrusting of the Indian shield/ plate against the Tibetan mass.
- It marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
- The suture zone stretches from the North-Western Himalayan syntaxis bordering the Nanga Parbat to the East as far as the Namche Barwa Mountain.
Its tectonic activity
- The Karakoram Range and the Ladakh plateau lie to the north of ISZ and originally formed a part of the European plate.
- The zone has been neo-tectonically active for the past 78,000-58,000 years.
- While the frontal and central parts of the Himalayas â the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim â are still known to be active and moving.
- The fault line runs all along the Indus river, from China through India and Pakistan.
- The study was conducted in Ladakh from the north of Ladakhâs capital, Leh, to the Tso Moriri lake, a distance of 213 kilometres.
Why the Ladakh region is more vulnerable?
- Fault lines weaken the rock formation in the region through which it runs, making the area vulnerable to excessive erosion and landslides.
- What makes the Ladakh region vulnerable is that unlike other areas in the Himalayas and the rest of the country, there is very little vegetation here and very few trees that can root the soil down.
- So, in the case of a flash flood or a cloud burst, this can have a widespread impact.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Seaplanes
Mains level: Seaplane connectivity in India
The first of the five seaplane services in Gujarat, connecting Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Narmada district, will be inaugurated on October 31
Indiaâs first seaplane
- A seaplane is a fixed-winged aeroplane designed for taking off and landing on water. It offers the public the speed of an aeroplane with the utility of a boat.
- The first seaplane project of the country is part of a directive of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
- As per the directive, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested state governments of Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the administration of Andaman & Nicobar to propose potential locations for setting up water aerodromes to boost the tourism sector.
Where will the seaplane connect?
- In Kevadia, the proposed Terminal will be spread over 0.51 acres in the premises of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd., located in the Panchmuli lake (Dyke 3) of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Limdi village.
- It is approximately 90 km from Vadodara, 150 km from Surat and 200 km from Ahmedabad â with an aerial distance of 74.6km from Vadodara airport.
What impact will it have on the environment?
- The water aerodrome is not a listed project/activity in the Schedule to the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and its amendments.
- However, the activities proposed under the water aerodrome project may have a similar type of impact as that of an airport.
- There has to be a bathymetric and hydrographic survey by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
- During seaplane operations, there will be turbulence created in the water while takeoff and landing of seaplanes. This will lead to more operation process i.e. mixing of oxygen in the water.
- This will have a positive impact on the aquatic ecosystem near seaplane operations increasing oxygen content and decreasing carbon content in this system.
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