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  • Plea seeks GI tag for Arunachal Apatani textile product

    An application seeking a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Arunachal Pradesh Apatani textile product has been filed by a firm.

    Apatani textile

    • The Apatani weave comes from the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh living at Ziro, the headquarters of lower Subansiri district.
    • The woven fabric of this tribe is known for its geometric and zigzag patterns and also for its angular designs.
    • The community weaves its own textiles for various occasions, including rituals and cultural festivals.
    • The tribe predominantly weaves shawls known as jig-jiro and jilan or jackets called supuntarii.
    • The traditional handloom of this tribe is a type of loin loom, which is called Chichin, and is similar to the traditional handloom of the Nyishi tribe.

    What makes it special?

    • The people here use different leaves and plant resources for organic dying the cotton yarns in their traditional ways.
    • Only women folk are engaged in weaving.

     

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

     

    Q.Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?

    1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees
    2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
    3. Tirupathi Laddu

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”3krodtowqp” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    About Geographical Indication

    • A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
    • Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
    • India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
    • GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
    • GI is granted for a term of 10 years in India. As of today, more than 300 GI tags has been allocated so far in India (*Wikipedia).
    • The tag stands valid for 10 years.

     

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  • Supreme Court clarifies on abuse linked to Dowry Deaths  

    Dowry death can be presumed if the wife was harassed, mentally and physically close before her death in the marital home, the Supreme Court has held.

    Section 304B, IPC

    • A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana was interpreting Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (dowry death).
    • The provision mandates that the death of a married woman could be linked to the crime if she had been harassed for dowry “soon before her death”.

    What is the recent judgment?

    Ans. Bridges the gap between extreme Harassment and Death

    • The cruelty has to be proved during the close proximity of time of death. It should be continuous.
    • Such continuous harassment, physical or mental, by the accused should make life of the deceased miserable which may force her to commit suicide, ruled Justice Hima Kohli.
    • The court said the expression “soon before her death” would normally imply that the interval should not be much between the cruelty or harassment concerned and the death in question.
    • In other words, there exists a proximate and live link between the effect of cruelty based on dowry demand and the death concerned.

    Other takeaways

    • Frequent incidents of cruelty disturb the mental equilibrium of the women concerned, ruled the court.
    • However, the presumption of dowry death was also rebuttable, observed the court.

    Dowry System : A Backgrounder

    • The dowry system in India incorporates payments in the form of capital, durable goods, real estate among others, made to the bridegroom from the family of the bride as a condition for marriage.
    • The abuse for the demand for dowry can be in the form of verbal and the most serious can take the shape of death of the victim or dowry death.

    Dowry Deaths in India

    • Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by their husbands and in-laws.
    • This is mainly over the demand of dowry, making the women’s homes the most dangerous place for them to be.

    What numbers reveal?

    • In 2020, reported dowry death cases in India amounted to nearly seven thousand.
    • This was a gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this number was approximately 8.5 thousand.

    Why is dowry so much prevalent?

    • Bride pricing: There exists a system of “bride price”, whereby the family of the groom had to give some gifts to the family of the women before marriage.
    • Property inheritance: Until its amendment in 2005, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was biased towards the male next of kin when it came to property inheritance.  The amendment stated that women had the right to their parents’ property irrespective of being married.
    • Financial dependency: In practice, the inheritance of the woman is socially imparted to her as dowry in marriage leading to financial dependence on the husband or the in-laws.

    Factors contributing to its continuance

    • Traditions and historicity: It has been a preconceived notion of the people that the dowry system has been existing since centuries back and it is quintessential to be followed by the two families.
    • Social status associated with Dowry: It is a belief among people that dowry giving or receiving gives a lot of merit in reputation and honor within the society.
    • Illiteracy: Although dowry is something that is even practiced by the literates of our society, it becomes a lot difficult to make them understand the laws.
    • Bridegroom coercion: The demand for the well-earned bridegroom in prestigious workplaces often encourages brides families to pay hefty dowries leading to the continuance of such evil customs.

    Legal measures against dowry

    • Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Dowry death is a non-bailable offence and the person cannot be acquitted without court’s order.
    • Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961: It was passed by the government which prohibits the giving or taking of dowry in India.

    Dysfunctions created by the Dowry system

    • Defamation: There have been many instances where these laws have been used to defame or slander one’s name.
    • Fights for property inheritance: This go ugly when the girl involves into interfaith marriage. This often leads to honor killing.

    Way forward

    • The dignity, modesty and safety of women must be prioritized by all. Abusing them just for dowry or any other financial favour is a shameful act in itself.
    • To prevent such heinous crimes stringent provisions and measures need to be undertaken by the government.

     

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  • Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in India

    Six Maoists including four women cadres were killed morning in an “exchange of fire” with a joint team of Telangana and Chhattisgarh police in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

    What is Naxalism?

    • The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name from the village Naxalbari of district Darjeeling in West Bengal, where the movement originated in 1967 under the leadership of Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal.
    • It refers to the use of violence to destabilize the state through various communist guerrilla groups.
    • Naxalites are far-left radical communists who derive their political ideology from the teachings of Mao Zedong.

    History and evolution

    • Russian Revolution: Naxalism in India, like any other leftist movement around the globe draws its ideological basis from the Russian revolution.
    • Overthrowing Tsarist Regime: Lenin successfully fought against the Czarist Rule through a combination of peasant movement and an armed struggle.
    • Marxian ideology of class struggle: The prime intent was to bestow power in the hands of the exploited and marginalized and enforce societal control over governance and nation building.
    • Neo-Marxism: After the success of the Lenin-led revolution in Russia, the intellectual class in many countries got inspired. Prominent amongst them were Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong.

    Root cause of origin in India

    • Corporate exploitation: Since Eastern India is rich in natural resources including forests, minerals and mines, tribal face exploitation and harassment from government and corporate bodies targeting to extract those resources.
    • Tribal alienation: Tribal communities have been systematically alienated from their traditional rights over natural resources after independence.
    • Livelihood losses: Tribal livelihood is at stake due to depletion of natural resource base.
    • Forceful displacement: Forceful displacement from their homeland destroys their traditional governance system.
    • Absence of governance: In such exploited areas, the absence of governance becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since the delivery systems are extinguished through killings and intimidation.
    • Foreign provocations: Many of LWE outfits are supported by external forces inimical to India and the Maoists consider such alliances as strategic assets.

    Other factors:

    1. Oppression and HR violations by Security Forces e.g. AFSPA
    2. Violation of Constitutional Protections under PESA and FRA
    3. Prevalence of Acute Poverty

    Impact of LWE

    • Romanticism without a cause: Some sections of the society, especially the younger generation, have romantic illusions about the Maoists, arising out of an incomplete understanding of their ideology of Class –Struggle.
    • Extreme violence: Their doctrine glorifies violence as the primary means to overwhelm the existing socio-economic and political structures.
    • Destruction of governance mechanism: LWEs aims at creating a vacuum at the grassroots level of the existing governance structures by killing lower-level government officials, police personnel of the local police stations and the people’s representatives of the PRIs.
    • Radicalization of youths: After creating a political and governance vacuum, they coerce the local population to join the movement.
    • Urban-Maoism: Many extremists have facilitated mass-mobilization in semi-urban and urban areas through ostensibly democratic means often led by well-educated intellectuals.

    Outcomes of perpetrating LWE

    The Leftist organizations skilfully use state structures and legal processes to further the Maoist agenda and weaken the enforcement regime through:

    1. Recruitment of ‘professional revolutionaries’
    2. Raising funds for the insurgency
    3. Creating urban shelters for underground cadres
    4. Providing legal assistance to arrested cadres and
    5. Mass- mobilization by agitating over issues of relevance/ convenience

    Govt initiatives for LWE affected areas

    • Aspirational Districts: The MHA has been tasked with the monitoring of the Aspirational districts programme in 35 LWE affected districts.
    • HRD measures: Building of schools under the Eklavya model.
    • Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II): This aims for improving road connectivity in LWE affected States. Under this, 9279 km of roads and 392 bridges are sanctioned.
    • Naxal Surrender Policy: It aims to wean away misguided youth and hardcore naxalites who have strayed into the fold of the naxal movement and cannot find a way back.

    SAMADHAN doctrine: It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-

    • S- Smart Leadership
    • A- Aggressive Strategy
    • M- Motivation and Training
    • A- Actionable Intelligence
    • D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas)
    • H- Harnessing Technology
    • A- Action plan for each Theatre
    • N- No access to Financing

    Way forward

    • Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses. This will need institutional overhauls.
    • States must do more to synergize their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for maneuverability.
    • On parallel grounds, it is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.
    • The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.

     

    With inputs from:

    https://www.mha.gov.in/division_of_mha/left-wing-extremism-division

     

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  • Status of 5G Rollout in India

    Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune will be the first places to get 5G services next year in 2022, informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] 5G Technology

    What is 5G technology?

    • 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
    • It’s a unified platform which is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum.

    5G spectrum

    5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.

    (1) Low band spectrum

    • It has a great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange but the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • So Telcos can use and install it for commercial cell phone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialized needs of the industry.

    (2) Mid-band spectrum

    • It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
    • This band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.

    (3) High-band spectrum

    • It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
    • Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (giga bits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

    Stipulated bands for roll-out

    • While the low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of Internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • This means that while telecoms can use and install it for commercial cellphone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed Internet.
    • However the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
    • The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.

    Where does India stand in the 5G technology race?

    • Like other global players, India had, in 2018, planned to start 5G services as soon as possible, with an aim to capitalise on the better network speeds and strength that the technology promised.
    • India’s private telecom players have been urging the DoT to lay out a clear road map of spectrum allocation and 5G frequency bands.

    Issues in roll-out

    • Monopoly: One big hurdle, however, is the lack of flow of cash and adequate capital with some players due to an existing monopoly.
    • AGR dues: There is an ongoing dispute between the telecoms and the government mainly over the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue.
    • Device upgrade: As far as commercial smartphones are concerned, some newer devices in the market claim to be 5G-ready but are much costlier.

    Why is there early roll-out in big cities?

    • Services penetration: One of the reasons why the bigger cities were chosen for these trials is their telecom services penetration, making it easier to convince more people to upgrade from 4G.
    • Cost management: Since the costs for 5G services are initially going to be on the higher side, it would be wise to test the service in areas where more consumers would find them affordable.
    • Testing ground: A third reason is that cities provide all kinds of locations, such as walled complexes and open spaces, that are suitable for testing of various 5G bands.

    What is the global progress on 5G?

    More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis.

    • South Korea: Samsung, which had started researching on 5G technology way back in 2011, has taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.
    • USA: In countries like the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead when it comes to rolling out commercial 5G for their users.
    • China: In other countries such as China, some of the telecoms such as China Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.

    What changes for consumers with 5G?

    • One of the major changes will be in terms of rich experiences on their phones and other connected devices.
    • For instance, users will be able to stream videos with multiple camera angles during sports matches or even play immersive video games using VR headsets or other accessories.
    • This next-generation telecom network will also enable a mesh of connected Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices and services with zero-fail rate, as in the case of connected cars.
    • 5G could also draw high-speed mobile broadband connectivity to replace existing broadband services, especially in locations where these services are constrained, provided there isn’t a huge price differential.

     

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

     

    With reference to communication technologies, what is/are the difference/differences between LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution)?

    1. LTE ‘is commonly marketed as 3G and VoLTE is commonly marketed as advanced 3G.
    2. LTE is data-only technology and VoLTE is voice-only technology.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”nqicad1d3m” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

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  • Missionaries of Charity denied FCRA nod

    The Union Home Ministry has refused to renew the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) set up by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa.

    About Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)

    • The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
    • First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
    • The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
    • It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
    • The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.

    Why was FCRA enacted?

    • The FCRA sought to consolidate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals, associations or companies.
    • It sought to prohibit such contributions from being used for activities detrimental to national interest.

    What was the recent Amendment?

    • The FCRA was amended in September 2020 to introduce some new restrictions.
    • The Government says it did so because it found that many recipients were wanting in compliance with provisions relating to filing of annual returns and maintenance of accounts.
    • Many did not utilise the funds received for the intended objectives.
    • It claimed that the annual inflow as foreign contributions almost doubled between 2010 and 2019.
    • The FCRA registration of 19,000 organisations was cancelled and, in some cases, prosecution was also initiated.

    How has the law changed?

    There are at least three major changes that NGOs find too restrictive.

    • Prohibition of fund transfer: An amendment to Section 7 of the Act completely prohibits the transfer of foreign funds received by an organisation to any other individual or association.
    • Directed and single bank account: Another amendment mandates that every person (or association) granted a certificate or prior permission to receive overseas funds must open an FCRA bank account in a designated branch of the SBI in New Delhi.
    • Utilization of funds: Fund All foreign funds should be received only in this account and none other. However, the recipients are allowed to open another FCRA bank account in any scheduled bank for utilisation.
    • Shared information: The designated bank will inform authorities about any foreign remittance with details about its source and the manner in which it was received.
    • Aadhaar mandate: In addition, the Government is also authorised to take the Aadhaar numbers of all the key functionaries of any organisation that applies for FCRA registration or for prior approval for receiving foreign funds.
    • Cap on administrative expenditure: Another change is that the portion of the receipts allowed as administrative expenditure has been reduced from 50% to 20%.

    What is the criticism against these changes?

    • Arbitrary restrictions: NGOs questioning the law consider the prohibition on transfer arbitrary and too heavy a restriction.
    • Non-sharing of funds: One of its consequences is that recipients cannot fund other organisations. When foreign help is received as material, it becomes impossible to share the aid.
    • Irrationality of designated bank accounts: There is no rational link between designating a particular branch of a bank with the objective of preserving national interest.
    • Un-ease of operation: Due to Delhi based bank account, it is also inconvenient as the NGOS might be operating elsewhere.
    • Illogical narrative: ‘National security’ cannot be cited as a reason without adequate justification as observed by the Supreme Court in Pegasus Case.

    What does the Government say?

    • Zero tolerance against intervention: The amendments were necessary to prevent foreign state and non-state actors from interfering with the country’s polity and internal matters.
    • Diversion of foreign funds: The changes are also needed to prevent malpractices by NGOs and diversion of foreign funds.
    • Fund flow monitoring: The provision of having one designated bank for receiving foreign funds is aimed at making it easier to monitor the flow of funds.
    • Ease of operation: The Government clarified that there was no need for anyone to come to Delhi to open the account as it can be done remotely.

     

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  • NITI Aayog releases fourth edition of State Health Index

    NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20.

    State Health Index

    • The State Health Index is an annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs. It is being compiled and published since 2017.
    • The index is part of a report commissioned by the NITI Aayog, the World Bank, and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
    • The reports aim to nudge states/UTs towards building robust health systems and improving service delivery.

    Components of the index

    • It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’.
    1. Health outcomes: It includes parameters such as neonatal mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, and sex ratio at birth.
    2. Governance: This includes institutional deliveries, average occupancy of senior officers in key posts earmarked for health.
    3. Key inputs: It consists of the proportion of shortfall in healthcare providers to what is recommended, functional medical facilities, birth, and death registration, and tuberculosis treatment success rate.

    Performance of the states

    • For the fourth year in a row, Kerala has topped a ranking of States on health indicators. Uttar Pradesh has come in at the bottom.
    • Kerala is followed by Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which improved its ranking.

     

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  • Places in news: Carmichael Mine in Australia

    The Adani Group will begin exporting high quality, low sulphur coal from its Carmichael mine in Australia as early as this week, tapping a new multi-decade source to meet energy needs.

    Carmichael Mine

    • The Carmichael mine is located in the North Galilee Basin, more than 300 kilometers from the Queensland coastline and approximately 160 km north-west of Clermont in regional Queensland.
    • The Carmichael project, proposed in 2010, had provoked a sustained campaign by climate activists in Australia and other places globally, forcing banks and insurers not to work with the Adani group.
    • The conglomerate run by India’s second-richest man Gautam Adani has planned an initial production of 10 million tonnes a year from the mines in the Galilee Basin.
    • The Coal mined here has low sulfur content and high calorific value.

     

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  • Issues with Health Surveys in India

    This article discusses the feasibility of conducting a single comprehensive survey for collecting health-related data in India.

    Context

    • In a country perennially thirsty for reliable health data, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is like an oasis.
    • It has a large volume of data that is openly accessible.
    • The report of the fifth round of the NFHS was recently released. Since then, we had many articles covering different aspects (malnutrition, fertility, and domestic violence to name a few).

    What is NFHS?

    • The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
    • Three rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93.
    • Currently, the survey provides district-level information on fertility, child mortality, contraceptive practices, reproductive and child health (RCH), nutrition, and utilization and quality of selected health services.
    • The Ministry of Health has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.

    Issues with health surveys in India

    • Multiple surveys: The NFHS is not the only survey. In the last five years, there has been the National NCD Monitoring Survey (NNMS), the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) etc.
    • Huge cost: Each survey funding for different rounds of NFHS costs upto ₹250 crore.
    • Huge chunk of data: The size of the survey has obvious implications for data quality.
    • Different estimates: Multiple surveys also raise the problem of differing estimates, as is likely, due to sampling differences in the surveys.
    • Limited respondents: The respondents are largely women in the reproductive age group (15-49 years) with husbands included.
    • Global obligations: Some of these surveys are done to meet the global commitments on targets (NCDs, tobacco, etc.).
    • Undefined purpose The health surveys have confusing research with programme monitoring and surveillance needs. Ex. Questions on domestic violence in NFHS.

    Need of the hour

    • Alignment of purpose: There have been previous attempts to align these surveys but they have failed as different advocates have different “demands” and push for inclusion of their set of questions.
    • Regularity of surveys: NFHS is the only major survey that India has a record of doing regularly. One does not know if and when the other surveys will be repeated.

    One-stop solution

    • National health data architecture: With diverse aspects of health, there is a need to plan the public health data infrastructure for the country.
    • Budgetary outlay: We also need to ensure that these data are collected in an orderly and regular manner with appropriate budgetary allocation.
    • Purpose definition: This requires clarity of purpose and a hard-nosed approach to the issue that randomized activities.
    • National-level indicators: We have to identify a set of national-level indicators and surveys that will be done using national government funds at regular intervals.

    How should surveys be done?

    • There should be three national surveys done every three to five years in a staggered manner:
    1. NFHS focuses on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) issues
    2. Behavioral Surveillance Survey (focusing on HIV, NCD, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related and other behaviors) and
    3. Nutrition-Biological Survey (entails collection of data on blood pressure, anthropometry, blood sugar, serology, etc.)

    We need to look at alternate models and choose what suits us best.

    Way forward

    • Important public health questions can be answered by specific studies conducted by academic institutions on a research mode based on availability of funding.
    • States have to become active partners including providing financial contributions to these surveys.
    • It is also very important to ensure that the data arising from these surveys are in the public domain.

    Conclusion

    • We are ready to establish public health data architecture for our complexity of needs.
    • We have the technical capacity to do so.
    • All it requires now is the political will.

     

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  • [Burning Issue] India-Japan Ties in Recent Times

    Introduction

    India’s growing economic strength in recent years has seen it adopting its foreign policy to increase its global influence and status and to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the past few years, New Delhi has expanded its strategic vision, most noticeably in Asia, and has broadened the definition of its security interests. As a result, India-Japan relations have undergone a paradigmatic shift which has seen an attempt to build a strategic and global partnership between the two countries.

    Background of India-Japan Ties

    [I] Ancient times

    • The friendship between India and Japan has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilization ties dating back to the visit of Indian monk Bodhisena in 752 AD.
    • The people of India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism, which spread indirectly from India to Japan, via China and Korea.

    [II] India’s freedom movement

    • Independence movement: The leader of the Indian Independence Movement, Rash Behari Bose was instrumental in forging India–Japan relations during India’s independence movement.
    • During World War II, The British occupiers of India and Japan were enemies during World War II.  Subhas Chandra Bose used Japanese sponsorship to form the Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army (INA).

    [III] Present times

    • Pokhran nuclear test: In 1998, Japan imposed sanctions on India following the Pokhran-II, an Indian nuclear weapons test, which included the suspension of all political exchanges and the cutting off of economic assistance. These sanctions were lifted three years later.
    • Both nations share core values of democracy, peace, the rule of law, tolerance, and respect for the environment in realising pluralistic and inclusive growth of the region

    Post cold war relations

    • The end of cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the inauguration of economic reforms in India seemed to mark the beginning of a new era in Indo-Japanese relationship.
    • India’s “Look East Policy” posited Japan as a key partner.
    • Japan being the only victim of nuclear holocaust, Pokhran –II tests of India in May 1998 brought bitterness in the bilateral relations where Japan asked India to sign NNPT.
    • Tokyo’s relation with India showed signs of an upswing when Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori came on an official 5 day visit to India in August 2000.

    Recent developments in India-Japan Relationship

    (1) India-Italy-Japan trilateral partnership

    • Recently, Italy has also begun to signal its intention to enter the Indo-Pacific geography.
    • It has done so by seeking to join India and Japan in a trilateral partnership.
    • Italy has become more vocal on the risks emanating from China’s strategic competitive initiatives.
    • On the Indian side, there is great interest in forging new partnerships with like-minded countries interested in preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

    (2) 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

    • The 2+2 ministerial dialogue is seen as an upgrade of the meeting between foreign and defense secretaries of the two countries, the first round of which took place in 2010.
    • The ministerial level meeting was held after a decision to institute a Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue was taken during the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit held in Japan in 2018.
    • 2+2 meeting aimed to give further momentum to their special strategic partnership, particularly in the maritime domain.

    (3) Supply Chain Resilience Initiative

    • Recently India, Australia and Japan formally launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative. The initiative was launched to counter the dominance of China in the Global Supply Chain.
    • It aims to prevent disruptions in the supply chain as seen during COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The initiative will mainly focus on diversification of investment and digital technology adoption.

    (4) Other MEA led-bilateral dialogues

    • The Act East Forum, established in 2017, aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under the rubric of India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision”.
    • At the Second meeting of the Act East forum, both sides agreed to focus on expanding of Japanese language in North East, training of caregivers under Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), capacity building in area of bamboo value chain development and Disaster Management.
    • The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was held in Delhi for enhancing bilateral cooperation in outer space and information exchange on the respective space policies.

    (5) Currency Swap Agreement

    • Japan and India have entered into a $75-billion currency swap arrangement that will bolster the country’s firepower as it battles a steep drop in the rupee’s value.
    • A currency swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange a series of cash flows denominated in one currency for those denominated in another for a predetermined period of time.
    • The deal will help the two countries to swap their currencies for U.S. dollars to stabilise the rupee which has witnessed the steepest fall in recent years.

    Areas of cooperation

    (1) Economic and Commercial relations

    • Japan is regarded as a key partner in India’s economic transformation.
    • Japan’s interest in India is increasing due to a variety of reasons including India’s large and growing market and its resources, especially the human resources.
    • India’s bilateral trade with Japan stood at US$ 16.95 billion in FY 2019-20. India’s imports during this period were US$ 12.43 billion and exports were US$ 4.52 billion.
    • India’s primary exports to Japan are petroleum products, chemicals, elements, compounds, non-metallic mineral ware, fish & fish preparations, metalliferous ores & scrap, clothing & accessories, iron & steel products, textile yarn, fabrics and machinery etc.
    • India’s primary imports from Japan are machinery, electrical machinery, iron and steel products, plastic materials, non-ferrous metals, parts of motor vehicles, organic chemicals, etc.

    Investment and Official Development Assistance (ODA)

    • From 2000 until September 2020, the Japanese investments in India cumulatively stands at around US$ 34.152 billion (Japan ranks fifth among the largest source of investment).
    • Japanese FDI during FY 2019-2020 increased to US$ 3.226 billion compared to US$ 2.96 billion in FY 2018-19.
    • The number of Japanese companies registered in India stands at more than 1460. Similarly, number of Indian companies operating in Japan is also increasing, with the number now over 100.
    • The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with twelve industrial townships, Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) are some mega project with Japanese cooperation on the anvil.

    (2) Security and Defence

    • India-Japan Defence and Security partnership has evolved over the years and today forms an integral pillar of bilateral ties.
    • QUAD: Formed in 2007 and revived in 2017 The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD, also known as the Quad) is an informal strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.
    • The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar.
    • The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power.
    • In spite of the pandemic, complex exercises in all domains were conducted including MALABAR 2020, Japan India maritime exercise (JIMEX 2020) and PASSEX, showcasing the trust and interoperability between the navies.

    (3) Strategic

    • After the cold war Japan looked out to extend its diplomatic options beyond US and India became the best option possible.
    • 2+2 dialogue is taking place between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries to deepen the global partnership.
    • It is also agreed to establish the India–Japan–United States trilateral dialogue on regional and global issues of shared interest.
    • Both countries also reiterated their determination to work together under the UNFCCC, WTO, etc.
    • Japan and India are working together to realize the reform of Security Council at the earliest.
    • There is a beginning of India-Japan-Australia trilateral dialogue to evolve an open, inclusive, stable and transparent economic, political and security architecture in the indo-pacific region.

    (4) India-Japan Digital Partnership (IJDP) and Start-up Hub

    • The MOC on Digital Partnership envisaged cooperation in five sub-areas:

    1) Start-up Initiative

    2) Corporate Partnership

    3) ESDM promotion

    4) Digital talent exchange

    5) R&D Cooperation

    6) Security related strategic collaboration

    (5) Disaster Risk Reduction

    • An Agreement on joint research in the field of Earthquake Disaster Prevention was signed between Fujita Corporation and Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT-R).

    (6) Skill Development

    • India-Japan MoC signed in 2016 to train 30,000 shop floor leaders over 10 years thereby also contributing to India’s flagship initiatives such as “Skill India” and “Make in India”.
    • Japanese companies have established 13 Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM) in India and 5 Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in Indian Engineering Colleges.

    (7) Health-care

    • In view of the similarities and synergies between the goals and objectives of India’s AYUSHMAN Bharat Programme and Japan’s AHWIN, both sides consulted with each other to identify projects to build the narrative of AHWIN for AYUSHMAN Bharat.
    • Japan is supporting India to contain COVID-19 and mitigate its adverse socioeconomic impacts by extending budgetary support to the GoI and implementing emergency response programs for the health sector.

    (8) Education Cooperation

    • As on December 2020, there were over 300 academic and research partnerships (including student exchanges) between more than 70 universities/institutes of Japan and around 105 universities/institutes of India.
    • These partnerships range from liberal arts to management & business studies, legal studies, international studies, linguistics, ayurveda, STEM including fast emerging frontier technologies.
    • The students & teacher exchange and scholarship programmes, especially short-term, are enabling a large number of Indian students and teachers to visit and experience Japan and vice versa.

    (9) S&T Cooperation

    • Bilateral S&T cooperation was formalized through an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in 1985.
    • Recent initiatives – three India-Japan Joint Laboratories in the area of ICT (AI, IoT and Big Data) and initiation of Dept. of Science and Tech (DST)-Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship Programme for the young researchers.

    (10) Energy

    • The two sides have launched an Energy Dialogue to promote cooperation in the energy sector in a comprehensive manner.
    • The areas of cooperation include oil and natural gas, coal, electric power, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and other relevant sectors.
    • In 2015, India and Japan reached on substantive Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. India becomes the first non NPT signed country to do so.

    What lies at the fulcrum of ties?

    • First of all, Japan is the most mature economy in this region. In terms of maturity, sophistication, and experience in international economic engagements, Japan excels every other country of the Indo-Pacific region, excluding the United States.
    • Its technological marvels, business strategies, and management skills are second to none.
    • Japan rarely hits the international headlines and it is actually Japan’s feebleness in the world of political advertisements.
    • Japan sooner than later will be a leading player in the political economy as well as security fields of the Indo-Pacific region.
    • Its aging population is a major concern and Japan very well acknowledges this fact. While increasing the domestic birth rate will always be important, it is a position to devise a new immigration policy that would largely benefit Indians.
    • Japan has the distinction of being the only foreign power that has been allowed to undertake infrastructure and other projects in India’s sensitive northeast.
    • Finally, Japan has never been an adversary of India and the current global as well as regional distribution of power and strategic scenario necessitate a deeper and expansive Indo-Japan strategic teamwork.

    Way forward

    • Taking advantage of its considerable assets — the world’s third-largest economy, substantial high-tech skills, and a military freed of some legal and constitutional constraints — Japan is largely perceived as a natural ally to India.
    • At a time of global geopolitical flux, the two are among the important countries that have taken up the baton to champion freedom, international norms and rules, inclusivity, and free and fair trade.
    • If Japan and India continue to add concrete security content to their relationship, their strategic partnership could potentially be a game-changer in Asia.
    • The emphasis on boosting trade and investment must be balanced with greater strategic collaboration.
    • Both countries can contribute to the larger effort to build strategic equilibrium, power stability and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
    • India and Japan have forged a special relationship, which is set to strengthen and deepen in the coming years.

  • Extending outpatient health care coverage

    Context

    Over the past two decades, initiatives announced to extend health care coverage to the indigent sections have come under criticism due to their near-exclusive focus on hospitalisation (inpatient, IP) care.

    Significance of outpatient health care

    • What is outpatient health care: Outpatient (OP) health care, mainly comprising doctor consultations, drugs, and tests, can be called ‘the elephant in the room’ of Indian public health care policy.
    • OP expenses have the majority share in total out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure on health.

    Why do we need to extend OP care coverage?

    • How IP care differs from OP care? IP care comprises high-impact and unavoidable episodes that are less prone to misuse than OP care, for which demand is considerably more sensitive to price and is thus more prone to overuse under health insurance.
    • IP insurance prioritised: This logic, among other reasons, has led to IP insurance schemes being prioritised.
    • [1] OP care and preventive care is neglected: While a price-sensitive demand for OP care entails that it could be misused under insurance, it also means that OP care is the first to come under the knife when there is no insurance.
    • In India, where there are many public IP insurance schemes but no OP coverage, this incentive is further amplified.
    • The mantra of ‘prevention is better than cure’ thus goes for a toss.
    • [2] Against economic sense: It defies economic sense to prioritise IP care over OP care for public funds.
    • Preventive and primary care services which often come with externalities, elicit little felt need and demand, and must therefore be the primary recipients of public investment.
    • Not conducive to epidemiological profile: Greater investments in IP care today translate to even greater IP care investments in future, further reduction in primary care spending, and ultimately lesser ‘health’ for the money invested.
    • None of these are conducive to the epidemiological profile that characterises this country.

    Issues with using private commercial insurance to extend OP care coverage nationwide

    • Some recent policy pronouncements by the Centre have conveyed an inclination to expand healthcare coverage with little fiscal implications for the government.
    • Challenges:
    • [1] The OP practices are under-regulated and there is a lack of standards.
    • [2] The difficulty to monitor OP clinical and prescribing behaviours and the concomitant higher likelihood of malpractices.
    • [3] Low public awareness of insurance products and a low ability to discern entitlements and exclusions.
    • [4] Add to it the inexperience that a still under-developed private OP insurance sector brings.
    • All these entail tremendous and largely wasteful costs and administrative complexity, and it would be of little help even if the government was to step in with considerable subsidies.

    Suggestion

    • Need for fiscal and time commitment: Significant improvements in healthcare are implausible without significant fiscal and time commitments.
    • No perfect model: There is no ‘perfect’ model of expanding healthcare — the emphasis must be on finding the best fit.
    • Implementing even such a best fit could involve adopting certain modalities with known drawbacks.
    • Expand public spending: The focus must be on expanding public OP care facilities and services financed mainly by tax revenues.
    • For India, wisdom immediately points to successful countries that are (or were, at one point) much closer to its socioeconomic fabric, such as Thailand, than countries like the U.S. which we currently look to emulate.
    • Now, the sparse number and distribution of public facilities offers various modes of rationing care, and their expansion is likely to result in a considerable spike in demand.
    • Contracting with private players: Contracting with private players based on objective and transparent criteria would also be called for, with just enough centralised supervision to deter corruption while preserving local autonomy.
    • To deter supply-side malpractices, low-powered modes of provider payment, such as capitation, may be considered for private providers wherever possible.

    Conclusion

    There are several compelling reasons for extending outpatient health care coverage even though there are several challenges to overcome to achieve this.

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