Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Geopolitics in Arabian Peninsula
The royal household in Jordan has recently seen intense drama, with the King’s popular half-brother and former crown prince was placed under de facto house arrest.
Study the map; especially, the Israel-Jordan border and Dead Sea.
Signs of a Coup
- Jordanian government statements have has stated that there had been an attempted coup to destabilize the country, mentioning unnamed “foreign entities” involved in the plot.
- The events have thus put a spotlight on Jordan’s unique position as one of the most stable countries in the Arab world, and given rise to questions about who could stand to benefit from the alleged coup.
Jordan’s stability matters
- Jordan, which this year celebrates 100 years since its creation after World War I, has for decades remained stable in a part of the world that is prone to conflict and political uncertainty.
- For its allies in the West and in the Gulf, Jordan is a strategic partner which can be relied upon for furthering political objectives in the region, which includes war-torn Syria and Iraq as well as conflict-prone Israel and Palestine.
- The support of Jordanian intelligence has proven critically important in the fight against terrorism.
- Though impoverished, the country of about a crore people has served as a haven for refugees in the conflict-ridden region.
The asylum giver
- After the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967, Jordan received waves of refugees, to the point that about half of Jordan’s population today is made up of Palestinians.
- It has also welcomed refugees after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and currently hosts over 10 lakh from Syria, where a protracted civil war is going on.
- Jordan is also considered important to any future peace deal between Israel and Palestine.
How does Jordan get along with regional powers?
(1) West
- Traditionally, Jordan has maintained close relations with the US, and the fellow Sunni Muslim powers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which together stand against Shia Iran.
- It also has diplomatic relations with Israel, and the two countries have been bound by a peace treaty since 1994.
(2) Within Gulf
- In recent years, however, Jordan’s relations with the Saudis and UAE have seen ups and downs.
- It has been particularly since the rise of their respective crown prince’s Mohammed bin Salman (known by initials MBS) and Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ).
- One of the points of friction was Saudi-UAE’s blockade of Qatar in 2017.
- It caused further consternation in Saudi and Emirati circles by maintaining strong ties with Turkey.
(3) Ties with Israel
- Jordan’s role as the region’s interlocutor has also diminished since last year, after the UAE normalized relations with Israel.
What have the powers said of the alleged coup?
- Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have expressed full support for King Abdullah. The US has called the ruler a “key partner”.
- To drive home the point, Saudi Arabia sent its foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to Jordan’s capital Amman to express complete solidarity with Jordan’s King and his government.
- Saudi and the UAE have little to gain by destabilizing Jordan, a country that has long served as a dependable ally.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATO
Mains level: Relevance of NATO
Ukrainian President has urged NATO to speed up his country’s membership in the alliance, saying it was the only way to end fighting with pro-Russia separatists.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- The NATO, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries.
- The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
- NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
- NATO’s Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.
Its members
- Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30.
- The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
- NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.
- An additional 20 countries participate in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs.
Why NATO matters?
- The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global nominal total.
- Members agreed that their aim is to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least 2% of their GDP by 2024.
Also read:
India & NATO
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: E9 Initiative
Mains level: Digital learning coalitions
Nine countries including India, China and Brazil will explore the possibility of co-creating and scaling up digital learning to achieve the UN sustainable goal on quality education under the E9 initiative.
The E9 is the first of its kind global collaboration for digital learning. Note the participating countries.
E9 Initiative
- It is the first of a three-phased process to co-create an initiative on digital learning and skills, targeting marginalised children and youth, especially girls.
- The initiative aims to accelerate recovery and advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems.
- It is spearheaded by the UN, the E9 countries – Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan.
- It will have the opportunity to benefit from this global initiative and accelerate progress on digital learning, according to UNESCO.
Various functions
- The initiative will discuss the co-creation of the Digital Learning initiative by the nine countries.
- This Consultation will highlight progress, share lessons and explore opportunities for collaboration and scale-up to expand digital learning and skills.
- In addition, a Marketplace segment, for public-private partnership will focus on promising local and global solutions and opportunities for digital learning to strengthen local ecosystems.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Gender Gap Index
Mains level: Gender disparities in India
India has slipped 28 places to rank 140th among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, becoming the third-worst performer in South Asia.
For the 12th time, Iceland is the most gender-equal country in the world. The top 10 most gender-equal countries include Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Rwanda, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland.
Global Gender Gap Index
- The report is annually published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- It benchmarks countries on their progress towards gender parity in four dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment.
- The report aims to serve “as a compass to track progress on relative gaps between women and men on health, education, economy and politics”.
Highlights of the 2021 report
Indian prospects
According to the report, India has closed 62.5% of its gender gap to date.
- Economic participation: India’s gender gap on this dimension widened by 3% this year, leading to a 32.6% gap closed to date.
- Political empowerment: India regressed 13.5 percentage points, with a significant decline in the number of women ministers.
- Income: Further, the estimated earned income of women in India is only one-fifth of men’s, which puts the country among the bottom 10 globally on this indicator.
- Health: Discrimination against women is also reflected in the health and survival subindex statistics. With 93.7% of this gap closed to date, India ranks among the bottom five countries in this subindex.
- Violence: Wide gaps in sex ratio at birth are due to the high incidence of gender-based sex-selective practices. In addition, more than one in four women has faced intimate violence in her lifetime, the report said.
India’s neighbourhood
- In South Asia, only Pakistan and Afghanistan ranked below India.
- Among India’s neighbours, Bangladesh ranked 65, Nepal 106, Pakistan 153, Afghanistan 156, Bhutan 130 and Sri Lanka 116.
- Among regions, South Asia is the second-lowest performer on the index, with 62.3% of its overall gender gap closed.
- Within the region, a wide gulf separates the best-performing country, Bangladesh, which has closed 71.9% of its gender gap so far, from Afghanistan, which has only closed 44.4% of its gap.
- Because of its large population, India’s performance has a substantial impact on the region’s overall performance.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process
Mains level: Afghan peace process
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has attended the Heart of Asia Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The 9th Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) ministerial conference is part of the Istanbul Process – a regional initiative on security and cooperation for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan – that was launched on November 2, 2011, in Turkey.
Note the participating countries from the logo itself.
Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process
- The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) is an initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey, which was officially launched at a conference hosted by Turkey in Istanbul on 2 November 2011.
- Since then, Afghanistan supported by fourteen participating countries and supporting countries beyond the region as well as 12 Regional and International Organizations is leading and coordinating this Process.
Goals of the Process
- The HoA-IP aims at promoting and strengthening peace, security, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and in the region.
- The HoA-IP has become one of the most interactive voluntary state-groupings in the HoA Region.
- It brings Afghanistan’s immediate and extended neighbours as well as international supporters together through the following focus areas:
- Political Consultations
- Implementation of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)
- Cooperation with Regional Organizations
Note: India too, has held the Ministerial Conferences of HoA-IP back on 4 December 2016 at Amritsar.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GHI
Mains level: Poverty and Hunger
Union Minister of State for Agriculture has questioned the methodology and data accuracy of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, which has placed India at 94th (out of 107 countries) rank in 2020.
About GHI
- GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide, an Ireland-based humanitarian group, and Welthungerhilfe, a Germany-based NGO.
- It is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
- It says the aim of publishing the report is to trigger action to reduce hunger around the world.
- According to the GHI website, the data for the indicators come from the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, including the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.
Various indicators used
- UNDERNOURISHMENT: the share of the population that is undernourished (that is, whose caloric intake is insufficient);
- CHILD WASTING: the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (that is, who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition);
- CHILD STUNTING: the share of children under the age of five who are stunted (that is, who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition); and
- CHILD MORTALITY: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (in part, a reflection of the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).
What is the concern?
- India was ranked below countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar when it was among the top 10 food-producing countries in the world.
Actual scenario
- The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) compiled in 2017-18 showed an improvement of 4%, 3.7% and 2.3% in wasted, stunted and malnourished children respectively.
- The first-ever CNNS was commissioned by the government in 2016 and was conducted from 2016-18, led by the Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with the UNICEF.
- The findings were published in 2019. CNNS includes only nutrition data, whereas NFHS encompasses overall health indicators.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CDRI
Mains level: India's leadership in Climate change mitigation
The Prime Minister has recently addressed the third edition of the annual conference of the Coalition for Disaster resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
What is CDRI?
- The CDRI is an international coalition of countries, UN agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, and academic institutions that aim to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure.
- Its objective is to promote research and knowledge sharing in the fields of infrastructure risk management, standards, financing, and recovery mechanisms.
- It was launched by the Indian PM Narendra Modi at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.
- CDRI’s initial focus is on developing disaster-resilience in ecological, social, and economic infrastructure.
- It aims to achieve substantial changes in member countries’ policy frameworks and future infrastructure investments, along with a major decrease in the economic losses suffered due to disasters.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants is a unique initiative of G20 group of countries
- The CCAC focuses on methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Its inception
- PM Modi’s experience in dealing with the aftermath of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake” as the chief minister led him to the idea.
- The CDRI was later conceptualized in the first and second edition of the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in 2018-19.
- It was organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in partnership with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the UN Development Programme, the World Bank, and the Global Commission on Adaptation.
Its diplomatic significance
- The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being the International Solar Alliance.
- Both of them are seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters and were termed as part of India’s stronger branding.
- India can use the CDRI to provide a safer alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: World Air Quality Report
Mains level: Air pollution in Delhi
Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world but India, on the whole, had improved its average annual PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to a report from World Air Quality Report Air.
Try this question from CS Mains 2015:
Q.Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three megacities of the country but air pollution is a much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?
World Air Quality Report
- It is released by a Swiss air quality technology company IQAir.
- IQAir is an air quality technology company that since 1963 seeks to empower individuals, organizations and communities to breathe cleaner air through information, collaboration and technology solutions.
- The 2020 Report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries that have been measured by ground-based monitoring stations.
Highlights of the report
- Of the 14 most polluted cities, 13 were in India.
- When ranked by cities, Hotan in China was the most polluted, with an average concentration of 110.2 µg/m³, followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh at 106.
- Delhi’s concentration level, based primarily on data from the Central Pollution Control Board, was 84.1 µg/m³ in 2020, a 15% improvement from the 98.6 µg/m³ recorded in 2019 — a consequence of the lockdown.
- Bangladesh and Pakistan were the countries in 2020 with worse average PM 2.5 levels than India, says the report.
- China ranked 11th in the latest report, a deterioration from the 14th in the previous edition of the report. In the 2020 report, 106 countries were evaluated.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ACT-Accelerator
Mains level: Coronovirus outbreak
ACT-Accelerator, a global coalition formed in April 2020 to fight the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is facing a severe fund crunch to meet its goals for 2020-21.
ACT-Accelerator
- The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT Accelerator) is a G20 initiative announced on 24 April 2020.
- A call to action was published simultaneously by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- The ACT Accelerator is a cross-discipline support structure to enable partners to share resources and knowledge.
- It comprises four pillars, each managed by two to three collaborating partners:
- Vaccines (also called “COVAX”)
- Diagnostics
- Therapeutics
- Health Systems Connector
- India is an active donor in this alliance.
Try this PYQ based on a global coalition:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants is a unique initiative of G20 group of countries.
- The CCAC focuses on methane, black carbon and Hydrofluorocarbons.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Map marking of these countries
Mains level: Issues in Africa
In a move that is set to further undermine stability in East Africa, Kenya has said that it will not take part in proceedings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its maritime border dispute with neighbouring Somalia.
Can you recall the terms like “Scramble for Africa”, “Paper Partition of Africa”? If yes, then you know very well the malady of the present-day Continent of Africa.
What is the news?
- Nairobi has accused the top UN body of bias.
- The move comes after Somalia’s decision to sever diplomatic relations with Kenya in December after it accused Nairobi of meddling in its internal affairs.
- The maritime dispute is said to form a crucial part of the diplomatic quarrel between the two countries.
The disputed area
- The main point of disagreement between the two neighbours is the direction in which their maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean should extend.
- According to Somalia, the sea border should be an extension of the same direction in which their land border runs as it approaches the Indian Ocean, i.e. towards the southeast.
- Kenya, on the other hand, argues that the territorial southeast border should take a 45-degree turn as it reaches the sea, and then run in a latitudinal direction, i.e. parallel to the equator.
- Such an arrangement would be advantageous for Kenya, whose coastline of 536 km is more than 6 times smaller than Somalia’s (3,333 km).
Why is this area important?
- The triangular area thus created by the dispute is around 1.6 lakh sq km large and boasts of rich marine reserves.
- It is also believed to have oil and gas deposits.
- Both Somalia and Kenya have accused each other of auctioning off blocks from this area, Al Jazeera reported.
How have Kenya and Somalia tried to resolve the dispute?
- After negotiations to resolve the issue bilaterally failed, Somalia in 2014 asked the ICJ to adjudicate.
- Kenya resisted, arguing that the world court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
- In 2009 both countries had a commitment to settle the dispute out of court.
- However, in February 2017, the ICJ ruled that it did have the right to rule in the case, and in June 2019 said that it would begin public hearings.
- These hearings never took place, as Kenya successfully applied to have them postponed thrice– the last one being in June 2020, when it cited difficulties due to the Covid-19.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PCA
Mains level: Cairn Issue
In December 2020, a three-member tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands ruled against India in its long-running tax dispute with the U.K.-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy.
PCA Ruling against India
- The tribunal ordered India to pay about $1.4 billion to the company.
- Following this, Cairn Energy has successfully moved courts in five countries, including the US and the UK to recognise its claim as per the arbitration award.
- The Netherlands, France, and Canada are the other three countries.
- Such recognition by courts opens the door for Cairn Energy to seize assets of the Indian government in these jurisdictions by way of enforcing its claim, in case the latter doesn’t pay its dues.
What is the dispute about?
- The dispute started in early 2014 when Indian tax authorities started questioning Cairn Energy requesting information on the group’s reorganization in the financial year 2006-07.
Issue over the tax due
- This escalated, and by 2015, the authorities had sent the company a draft assessment order, assessing in the process that there was a principal tax amount of $1.6 billion that was due.
- The year in reference, 2006-07, was one in which big corporate changes and developments took place in Cairn Energy.
Basis of the tax demand: Sale of Shares
- It was the year in which it not only undertook a corporate reorganization but also floated an Indian subsidiary, Cairn India, which in early 2007 got listed on the Indian Stock Market.
- Through the corporate reorganization process, Cairn Energy had transferred all of its India assets, which were until then held by nine subsidiaries in various countries, to the newly-formed Cairn India.
- But the tax authorities claimed that in the process of this reorganization, Cairn Energy had made capital gains worth ₹24,500 crores.
- This, the department asserted, was the basis of the tax demand.
Is this case similar to Vodafone’s battle with the government?
- The Vodafone case in 2007 was triggered by Hong Kong’s Hutchinson Telecommunications’ sale of its stake in India’s Hutchinson Essar to Vodafone based out of the Netherlands.
- The Hong Kong firm made a capital gain on this, which the Indian tax authorities deemed fit to tax.
- They held that Vodafone should have withheld the tax, and therefore imposed liability on it.
- The Supreme Court quashed the taxman’s demand that the sale of shares, in this case, would amount to transfer of a capital asset within the meaning of Section 2(14) of the Indian Income Tax Act”.
What governs the Sale of Shares?
- In the Union Budget of 2012, the Income Tax Act, 1961 was amended to make sure that even if a transfer of shares takes place outside India, such a transfer can be taxed.
- This was done when the value of those shares is based on assets in India. And this was applied retrospectively.
Cairn won over Retrospection
- The action against Cairn Energy was based on this move.
- India lost its arbitration case against Vodafone as well, with the government being asked to fork out around ₹80 crores.
What happened after the tax claims in the Cairn Energy dispute?
- After receiving a draft assessment order from the tax authorities, Cairn UK Holdings Ltd. appealed before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
- The tribunal, while providing the company relief from back-dated interest demands, however, upheld the main tax demand.
- The company had initiated proceedings of arbitration under the U.K.-India bilateral investment treaty.
- But during this time, the government sold Cairn’s almost 5% holding and seized dividends totalling ₹1,140 crore due to it from those shareholdings and set off a ₹1,590-crore tax refund against the demand.
What was the main argument of Cairn Energy during the arbitration?
- The claimants, Cairn Energy and Cairn UK Holdings argued that till the amendment was made to tax retrospectively in 2012, there was no tax on indirect transfers.
- Indirect transfers here meant transfer by a non-resident of shares in non-Indian companies which indirectly held assets in India.
- The application of the 2012 amendments, they alleged, constituted “manifest breaches” of the U.K.-India bilateral investment treaty.
What was India’s defence during the arbitration?
- India’s counter to the main charge of Cairn Energy was that its 2006 transactions were taxable irrespective of the 2012 amendments.
- It argued that “Indian law has long permitted taxation where a transaction has a strong economic nexus with India”.
- It said even if it is retrospective, it is “valid and binding applying the longstanding constitutional, legislative and legal framework in which the claimants have invested”.
What did the arbitration tribunal rule?
- The tribunal said the tax demand violated the U.K.-India bilateral investment treaty.
- The tribunal said India “failed to accord Cairn Energy’s investments fair and equitable treatment” under the bilateral protection pact it had with the United Kingdom.
- It also ordered India to compensate Cairn Energy and its subsidiary for “the total harm suffered” as a result of the breaches of the treaty.
India’s way ahead
- It has been reported in the media that India will appeal against the tribunal’s decision.
- If enforcement proceedings are initiated, India is confident of addressing them and will strongly defend its interests.
Back2Basics: Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
- It is an intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands.
- It is not a court in the traditional sense but provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise out of international agreements between member states, international organizations or private parties.
- The cases span a range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade.
- The PCA is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a combined membership of 122 states.
- The organization is not a United Nations agency, but the PCA is an official United Nations Observer.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OPEC+
Mains level: India's oil import
India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, has said that the decision by major producers to continue with output cuts as prices move higher could threaten the consumption led-recovery in some countries.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The term ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of
(a) Crude oil
(b) Bullion
(c) Rare earth elements
(d) Uranium
What is the news?
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed not to increase supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the COVID-19.
- Crude prices rose after the announcement and are up 33% this year (meanwhile India flaring up prices to 100 Rs/litres for Petrol).
What is OPEC+?
- The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
- OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
- Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.
Concerns for India
- Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs, threatening the demand-driven recovery.
- India imports about 84% of its oil and relies on West Asian supplies to meet over three-fifths of its demand.
- As one of the largest crude-consuming countries, India is concerned that such actions by producing countries have the potential to undermine consumption-led recovery.
- This would hurt consumers, especially in our price-sensitive market.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Freedom of speech
Mains level: Free speech related issues
The Freedom House report titled “Democracy under Siege” in which it has been claimed that India’s status as a free country has declined to “partly free”, is misleading, incorrect, and misplaced.
The US who claims to be the champion of Human Rights has turned another sermon to India through its Freedom House Report. This report presents an inherently flawed and biased analysis of Indian democracy.
Rebuttal to specific points
(1) Discriminatory policies against Minorities
- The GoI treats all its citizens with equality as enshrined under the Constitution of the country and all laws are applied without discrimination.
- Due process of law is followed in matters relating to law and order, irrespective of the identity of the alleged instigator.
- With specific reference to the North East Delhi riots in February 2020, the law enforcement machinery acted swiftly in an impartial and fair manner.
- Proportionate and appropriate actions were taken to control the situation.
- Necessary legal and preventive actions were taken by the law enforcement machinery on all complaints/calls received, as per law and procedures.
(2) Use of Sedition Law
- “Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects under India’s federal structure of governance.
- The responsibility of maintaining law and order, including investigation, registration, and prosecution of crimes, protection of life and property, etc., rests primarily with the concerned State governments.
- Therefore, measures as deemed fit are taken by law enforcement authorities to preserve public order.
(3) Government response to COVID-19 through Lockdown
- Between March 16 to 23, most State governments/UT resorted to partial or full Lockdown in their respective State/ UT based on their assessment of the COVID-19 situation.
- Any mass movement of people would have spread the disease rapidly throughout the country.
- The government was fully conscious that during the period of an inevitable Lockdown, people should not face undue distress.
- India has, on a per capita basis, registered one of the lowest rates of active COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths globally.
(4) Government response on human rights organizations
- The Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes, including the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 for ensuring the protection of human rights.
- This Act provides for the constitution of an NHRC and SHRC in the States for better protection of human rights and for matters connected to this subject.
(5) Intimidation of academics and journalists and crackdown on expressions of dissent by media
- The Indian Constitution provides for freedom of expression under Article 19. Discussion, debate, and dissent are a part of Indian democracy.
- The GoI attaches the highest importance to the safety and security of all residents of the country, including journalists.
- It has issued a special advisory to States and UTs on the safety of journalists requesting them to strictly enforce the law to ensure the safety and security of media persons.
(6) Internet shutdowns
- Temporary suspension of the telecom services, including the internet, is governed under the provisions of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017.
- Hence, the temporary suspension of telecom/internet services is resorted to with the over-arching objective of maintaining law and order under strict safeguards.
(7) FCRA amendment leading to freezing of Amnesty International’s assets has led to declining in ranking
- Amnesty International had received permission under the FCRA Act only once and that too 20 years ago.
- Since then Amnesty International, despite its repeated applications, has been denied FCRA approval by successive governments since as per law it is not eligible to get such approval.
- However, in order to circumvent the FCRA regulations, Amnesty U.K. remitted large amounts of money to four entities registered in India, by misclassifying the remittance as FDI.
- A significant amount of foreign money was also remitted to Amnesty India without MHA’s approval under FCRA.
- This malafide rerouting of money was in contravention of extant legal provisions.
- Owing to these illegal practices of Amnesty, the previous government had also rejected the repeated applications of Amnesty to receive funds from overseas.
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The Food Waste Index Report 2021 was recently released by the UNEP.
Even though the world produces enough food to feed twice the world’s present population, food wastage is ironically behind the billions of people who are starving.
Food Waste Index
- The Food Waste Index is released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partner organisation WRAP.
- It measures tons of wasted food per capita, considering a mixed stream of products from processing through to consumption.
- It was prepared by using data from 54 countries and then extrapolated to the remaining countries.
- Contrary to belief, the study by the UNEP revealed that food waste was a global problem and not that of just the developed world.
Highlights of the 2021 report
- The report has revealed that 17 per cent of all food available at consumer levels was wasted in 2019.
- That year, some 690 million people had to go hungry.
- The food waste amounted to a whopping 931 million tonnes of food sold to households, retailers and restaurants.
- Waste at household, foodservice and retail amounted to 79, 26 and 13 kilogram /capita / year respectively.
- The data, though scarce, revealed that food waste was substantial, regardless of income level.
Data on India
- The report notes that food waste at the consumer level happens in almost every country, regardless of income level.
- In South Asia, while 50 kilograms of food is wasted per person each year at the household level in India.
- Others include- 65 kilograms of this happening in Bangladesh, 74 kilograms in Pakistan, 76 kilograms in Sri Lanka, 79 kilograms in Nepal and 82 kilograms in Afghanistan.
Why it is important to prevent food wastage?
- Food waste also has a substantial environmental, social and economic impact.
- Food loss and waste cause about $940 billion per year in economic losses. Reductions can save money for farmers, companies, and households.
- For example, 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed.
- Reducing food waste would cut greenhouse gas emissions, slow the destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, enhance the availability of food and thus reduce hunger and save money.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Freedom of speech
Mains level: Free speech related issues
US-based human rights watchdog Freedom House has accused the present government of driving India toward authoritarianism with a lockdown scapegoating of minorities and a crackdown on critics, and downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’, in its annual report.
Freedom in the World Report
- It is Freedom House’s flagship annual report, assessing the condition of political rights and civil liberties around the world.
- It is composed of numerical ratings and supporting descriptive texts for 195 countries and 15 territories.
- The report has been published since 1973, allowing Freedom House to track global trends in freedom over more than 40 years.
- Freedom House, which is largely funded through U.S. government grants, has been tracking the course of democracy since 1941.
What did the report say?
Political and civil rights
- India’s freedom score, calculated using indicators of political rights and civil liberties, dropped four points to 67 this year, pulling the country down into the ‘Partly Free’ category.
- India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all.
Reference to Kashmir
- In a year when social media censorship has been hotly seated, while the government shut down Internet connectivity in Kashmir as well as on Delhi’s borders, India’s Internet freedom score dropped to just 51.
Crackdown on protesters
- Last year, the government intensified its crackdown on protesters opposed to a discriminatory citizenship law and arrested dozens of journalists who aired criticism of the official pandemic response.
Judicial Independence
- It noted that judicial independence had also come under strain.
- It pointed to the case of a Delhi HC judge who was transferred immediately after reprimanding the police for taking no action during riots in the capital that leftover 50 people dead.
Religious freedom
- Minorities were disproportionately blamed for the spread of the virus and faced attacks by vigilante mobs.
- Uttar Pradesh’s law prohibiting forced religious conversion through interfaith marriage was also listed as a concern.
Rising Authoritarianism
- Rather than serving as a champion of democratic practice and a counterweight to authoritarian influence from countries such as China, the government is tragically driving India itself toward authoritarianism, the report stated.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021
Mains level: Gender bias in India
The Opportunity Index 2021 highlights the difference in perception of available opportunities in the market for men and women in India.
LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021
- The report seeks to understand how people perceive opportunities and the barriers that stand in the way of achieving them.
- This year’s report dives deep to understand how women perceive opportunities, and how the gender gap is further slowing down career progress for working women in India amid the pandemic.
LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is mainly used for professional networking and allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs
Highlights of the report
India’s working women still face the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries.
- Covid impact: Nine in 10 (89%) women state they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- General Bias: 1 in 5 (22%) working women in India said their company’s exhibit a ‘favourable bias’ towards men at work when compared to the regional average of 16%.
- Work opportunity: While 37% of India’s working women say they get fewer opportunities than men, only 25% of men agree with this.
- Pay: This disparity in perception is also seen in conversations about equal pay, as more women (37%) say they get less pay than men, while only 21% of men share this sentiment.
- Promotion: In India, more than 4 in 5 working women (85%) claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60%.
- Family burden: Lack of time and family care stop 7 in 10 Indian women from progressing in their careers.
- Maternity: Consumer sentiment from the report shows that more than 7 in 10 working women (71%) and working mothers (77%) feel that managing familial responsibilities often come in their way of career development.
Scope for equality
- The report shows that even though 66% of people in India feel that gender equality has improved compared to their parents’ age.
- In India, the top three job opportunities sought by both men and women are job security, a job that they love, and a good work-life balance.
- But despite having similar goals, more women (63%) think a person’s gender is important to get ahead in life when compared to men (54%).
Barriers faced by Indian women
- Lack of required professional skills and a lack of guidance through networks and connections are also some of the other barriers that get in the way of career development for working women in India.
What next?
- Organisations should step up to provide robust maternity policies and flexibility programs.
- Reduced and flexible schedules, more sabbaticals, and new opportunities to upskill and learn are critical offerings that can help organizations attract, hire, and retain more female talent.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IAEA
Mains level: Irritants in the deal and threats posed by Iran's nuclear programme
The move by the US administration under Biden to revive the Iran nuclear deal has once again turned the spotlight on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which played a key role in enforcing the original nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew the US in 2018.
Try this question from CSP 2020:
Q.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not?
(a) Some use Uranium and others use thorium.
(b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies.
(c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises.
(d) Some are State- owned and others are privately-owned.
What is IAEA?
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
- As the preeminent nuclear watchdog under the UN, the IAEA is entrusted with the task of upholding the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970.
- It was established as an autonomous organisation on July 29, 1957, at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
- Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC.
What are its safeguards?
- Safeguards are activities by which the IAEA can verify that a State is living up to its international commitments not to use nuclear programmes for nuclear-weapons purposes.
- Safeguards are based on assessments of the correctness and completeness of a State’s declared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.
- Verification measures include on-site inspections, visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Basically, two sets of measures are carried out in accordance with the type of safeguards agreements in force with a State.
- One set relates to verifying State reports of declared nuclear material and activities.
- Another set enables the IAEA not only to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material but also to provide assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.
Why in news again?
- The IAEA and Iranian diplomats struck a “temporary” deal to continue inspection of Iran’s nuclear plants for three more months, which keeps at least the diplomatic path to revive the deal open.
- However, there have always been questions about the Agency’s ability to work independently, without being drawn into big power rivalries.
IAEA success: Civil nuclear solution
- The IAEA is active in championing civil nuclear solution to a number of areas like health, which is one of the main areas of peaceful application of nuclear know-how.
- That apart, in recent years, the IAEA is also active in dealing with climate change, pandemic containment and in the prevention of Zoonotic diseases.
- The IAEA was the first to announce that the North Korean nuclear programme was not peaceful.
- North Korea finally expelled IAEA observers and as a result, there are no on-the-ground international inspectors in North Korea.
- The world is reliant on ground sensors and satellite imageries to observe North Korea’s nuclear actions.
Issues with IAEA
- What the IAEA missed in terms of real authority over sovereign states, it compensated for that by cultivating some tall leadership whose actions kept the issue of non-proliferation on the multilateral table.
- It proved to be ineffective to prevent power politics from influencing nuclear negotiations.
- This was particularly visible when Pakistan pursued a nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s and despite overwhelming evidence in possession of the American authorities.
- They did not pursue the case effectively through the IAEA because of the cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan on the Afghan front.
- IAEA does not have any power to override the sovereign rights of any member nation of the UN.
- The uneven authority produced results when in the case of Iran when the Agency’s efforts were backed by big powers.
- One major criticism of the IAEA is that it never challenges the nuclear dominance of the five permanent members of the UNSC, who themselves hold some of the biggest nuclear arsenals of the world.
IAEA and India
- The IAEA-certified the nuclear power plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in 2012, which drew criticism as the power plant had two incidents of leakage of nuclear material earlier that year.
- The second incident affected at least four workers who worked in the nuclear power plant and had caused concern among the scientific community.
Iran challenge
- The coming weeks will, however, test the 63-year old organisation as Iran remains suspicious of the exact intentions of the Biden administration.
- The current episode, which involves regional political concerns like Saudi-Iran and Iran-Israel rivalries as well as the American interests in the region, will certainly test the IAEA.
- It will also test the ability of the IAEA to deal with powerful states from its position of “uneven authority”.
- The main negotiation on this front is dependent on Tehran’s demand for lifting American sanctions. Iran has said its compliance will depend on the lifting of sanctions.
Future prospects
- The issues involved between Iran and the U.S. indicate that they are not part of the mandate of the IAEA.
- Iran also requires assurance that once activated, the deal will not be abandoned in future by an American President in the way that Trump had done in 2018.
- Tying all the loose ends of this difficult negotiation will be the biggest challenge for all parties.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TRIPS Agreement
Mains level: TRIPS regulations
India and South Africa have jointly moved a proposal at the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) council for a waiver to help more countries get access to medicines and vaccines during the pandemic.
Q.WTO and multilateralism is dying in the face of a greater reliance on plurilateral and bilateral trade pacts. Discuss. (250W)
What is the TRIPS Agreement?
- The TRIPS is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- It establishes minimum standards for the regulation by national governments of different forms of intellectual property (IP) as applied to nationals of other WTO member nations.
- Its agreement was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1989 and 1990 and is administered by the WTO.
- The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the multilateral trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property to date.
Why did India move such a proposal?
- TRIPS waiver would deal with the question of equity along with global growth and livelihoods.
- It is not only that we are coming in the way of life but it is very simple economics, asserted India’s ambassador.
- For a commercial business of $30-40 billion of annual vaccine output of a few companies, we are coming in the way of $6-7 trillion of global GDP output in one year.
Premise behind it
- In 2001, developing countries, concerned that developed countries were insisting on an overly narrow reading of TRIPS, initiated a round of talks that resulted in the Doha Declaration.
- The Doha declaration is a WTO statement that clarifies the scope of TRIPS, stating for example that TRIPS can and should be interpreted in light of the goal “to promote access to medicines for all.”
Global response for the move
- Fifty-seven WTO members have backed the proposal brought out by India.
- But the EU, U.S., Japan and Canada have opposed the idea stressing the importance of intellectual property for innovation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICOLD
Mains level: NA
The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium was inaugurated by the Minister for Jal Shakti.
What is the news?
- ICOLD in collaboration with Central Water Commission (CWC) has organised a Symposium on “Sustainable Development of Dams and River Basins”.
- The symposium is being organised to provide an excellent opportunity to Indian Dam Engineering Professionals and Agencies to share their experiences, ideas and latest developments.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
Dam: Lake River
(a) Govind Sagar: Satluj
(b) Kolleru Lake: Krishna
(c) Ukai Reservoir: Tapi
(d) Wular Lake: Jhelum
About ICOLD
- The ICOLD is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the sharing of professional information and knowledge of the design, construction, maintenance, and impact of large dams.
- It was founded in 1928 and has its central office in Paris, France.
- It consists of 100 member national committees which have a total membership of about 10,000 individuals.
- The official languages of the commission are English and French.
Key initiatives: World Register of Dams
For the purpose of inclusion in the World Register of Dams, a large dam is defined as any dam above 15 metres in height OR any dam between 10 and 15 metres in height that meets at least one of the following conditions:
- the crest length is not less than 500 metres
- the capacity of the reservoir formed by the dam is not less than one million cubic metres
- the maximum flood discharge dealt with by the dam is not less than 2 000 cubic metres per second
- the dam had especially difficult foundation problems
- the dam is of unusual design
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India Energy Outlook Report, 2021
Mains level: India energy sector
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recently released the India Energy Outlook 2021 report.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The Global Energy Transition Index recently seen in news is released by:
a) International Energy Agency (IEA)
b) World Economic Forum (WEF)
c) International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
d) International Solar Alliance
Highlights of the India Energy Outlook Report
(1) Energy consumption
- India at present is the fourth-largest global energy consumer behind China, the United States and the European Union.
- It will overtake the European Union as the world’s third-largest energy consumer by 2030.
- It will account for the biggest share of energy demand growth over the next two decades.
(2) Energy demand
- India accounts for nearly one-quarter of global energy demand growth from 2019-40 — the largest for any country.
- Its share in the growth in renewable energy is the second-largest in the world, after China.
- A five-fold increase in per capita car ownership will result in India leading the oil demand growth in the world.
- Also, it will become the fastest-growing market for natural gas, with demand more than tripling by 2040.
(3) Industrial consumption
- By 2040, India is set to account for almost 20 per cent of global growth in industrial value-added, and to lead global growth in industrial final energy consumption, especially in steelmaking.
- The nation accounts for nearly one-third of global industrial energy demand growth to 2040.
(4) Dependence on fossil fuels
- To meet its energy needs, India will be more reliant on fossil fuel imports as its domestic oil and gas production stagnates.
- India’s oil demand is seen rising by rising by 74 per cent to 8.7 million barrels per day by 2040 under the existing policies scenario.
- The natural gas requirement is projected to more than triple to 201 billion cubic meters and coal demand is seen rising to 772 million tonnes in 2040 from the current 590.
(5) Coal trade
- India currently accounts for 16 per cent of the global coal trade.
- Many global coal suppliers were counting on growth in India to underpin planned export-oriented mining investments.
(6) Per-capita emission
- On a per-capita basis, India’s energy use and emissions are less than half the world average, as are other key indicators such as vehicle ownership, steel and cement output.
- India will soon become the world’s most populous country, adding the equivalent of a city the size of Los Angeles to its urban population each year.
About International Energy Agency
- The IEA is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
- It was initially dedicated to responding to physical disruptions in the supply of oil, as well as serving as an information source on statistics about the international oil market and other energy sectors.
- At the end of July 2009, IEA member countries held a combined stockpile of almost 4.3 billion barrels of oil.
- They are required to maintain total oil stock levels equivalent to at least 90 days of the previous year’s net imports.
- The IEA acts as a policy adviser to its member states but also works with non-member countries, especially China, India, and Russia.
- The Agency’s mandate has broadened to focus on the “3Es” of effectual energy policy: energy security, economic development, and environmental protection.
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