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GS Paper: GS2

  • PM visits United Arab Emirates (UAE)

    PM Modi expressed gratitude to President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) al Nahyan for taking great care of 3.5 million Indian community in the UAE during the pandemic.

    India- UAE Relations: A backgrounder

    • The relation has greatly flourished especially after the accession of H. H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966.
    • The greater push has been achieved in bilateral relations when the visit of Indian PM’s to the UAE in August 2015.
    • It marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries.
    • Further, the Crown Prince was invited in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
    • In 2017 the two sides signed the agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

    Significance of ties

    • Indian Diaspora in UAE: Around 3 million Indians are living harmoniously in the UAE.
    • UAE – A willing partner: As India seeks to enhance economic engagement and deepen security cooperation with the Gulf, it finds a willing partner in the UAE.
    • India being a natural partner: UAE’s ‘Look East’ find partners for its economic growth and with security concerns emanating from turmoil in West Asia and growing threat from terrorism.
    • Investments: UAE has a special place due to its business-friendly atmosphere, willingness to invest in the Indian economy.
    • India’s West Asia policy: The UAE occupies a key place in India’s West Asia policy. The high-level visit from both sides has given a new impetus to this partnership.

    Why UAE is tilting toward India?

    • Turmoil in West Asia: Geopolitical conditions as Iran is threatening continuously to close the Strait of Hormuz in case there is a conflict with Saudi Arabia or US.
    • Disappointment from Pakistan: UAE saw Pakistan as a partner and incorporated a deep economic and security relationship with it. But in the present day, Pakistan does not seem to be of much help to UAE.
    • India as a market: India is an important destination for oil and energy purchase. UAE also recognizes exhaustible nature of its fossil fuel reserves.
    • Returns on investment: UAE’s massive sovereign wealth funds can act as a great resource in the development of infrastructure in India.
    • Addressing Terrorism: There has been a rising convergence between India and UAE on the terror issue and both the countries talked of the need to combat terror groups without any discrimination.
    • Lack of regional consensus: Countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are suffering from violent conflicts. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has not produced expected results.

    Economic Significance of the UAE

    • UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
    • In recent years, the UAE, through its ‘Vision 2021’, has sought to diversify its economy and reduce its dependency on oil.
    • Although the UAE has diversified its economy, the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
    • Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.

    India-UAE trade and investment ties

    • India is UAE’s third largest trade partner after China and the United States.
    • The UAE accounts for 8 percent of India’s oil imports and was fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
    • The aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above U.S.$100 billion and services trade to U.S.$15 billion in five years.
    • As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
    • The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around U.S.$11.67 billion, which makes it the ninth biggest investor in India.

    Advanced technology and the knowledge economy

    (1) Technology

    • In 2018, India and UAE signed a MoU to generate an estimated $20 billion in the span of a decade.
    • The Emirates have stepped up efforts to invest in the development of the knowledge economy by expanding the “golden visa”.
    • Space is a new arena in which India and the UAE have collaborated through the work of the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
    • Space cooperation between India and the UAE gained quick momentum during PM Modi’s visit to the Emirates in 2015.
    • The two countries are likely to work together on Emirates’ ‘Red planet Mission’.

    (2) Security and Defence Cooperation

    • Another significant pillar of India-UAE ties is reflected in their growing cooperation in security and defense sector.
    • With the spread of radicalism in Gulf and South Asia, India looks to enhance security cooperation with UAE to counter terrorist threats and combat radicalization.
    • ‘Desert Eagle II’, a ten day air combat exercise, was held between the air forces of India and UAE.

    Way Forward

    (1) Needs to ensure the execution of the investment projects with the required expertise

    • Potential areas to enhance bilateral trade include defence trade, food and agricultural products as well as automobiles.
    • Indian companies with expertise in renewable energy sector can invest in UAE.
    • In defence sector, there is a need to further enhance cooperation through joint training programmes.

    (2) Manifold Benefits of India-UAE Trade Agreements

    • With India’s newfound strength in exports, a trade agreement with an important country such as the UAE would help sustain the growth momentum.
    • As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.

    (3) Improving the relations with the GCC

    • As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman and shares a common market and customs union with these nations.
    • This FTA with the UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE’s strategic location, and have relatively easy access to the Africa market and its various trade partners.
    • This can help India to become a part of that supply chain especially in handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma.

    (4) Solving the issue of UAE’s Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)

    • The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC (applied average tariff rate is 5%), therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
    • The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) mostly covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

     

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  • Turkey backs Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid

    Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden joining the NATO military alliance after weeks of angering partners by insisting it would veto the Scandinavian countries’ accession.

    What is NATO?

    • NATO is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949.
    • It sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.
    • Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • NATO has spread a web of partners, namely Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Finland.

    Expansion of NATO: Transforming Europe

    • The war in Ukraine has already changed the geopolitics of Europe and the world.
    • The admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO would bring about a transformation in the continent’s security map by giving NATO a contiguous long frontier in western Russia.
    • Finland and Russia share a 1,300-km border — and doubling it from the present 1,200 km, parts of it in northern Norway, Latvia and Estonia, and Poland and Lithuania.
    • In addition, Sweden’s island of Gotland in the middle of the Baltic Sea would give NATO a strategic advantage.
    • Furthermore, when Sweden and Finland join NATO, the Baltic Sea — Russia’s gateway to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean — would be ringed entirely by NATO members.

    Why Nordic countries are willing to join NATO?

    • Although the debate over joining NATO was ongoing in both countries for nearly three decades, Russia’s annexation of Crimea pushed both towards NATO’s “open door” policy.
    • Still, there was little political consensus in either country, especially in Sweden where the Social Democrats have long been against the idea.
    • However, February 24 changed everything the date on which Russia invaded Ukraine.

    A knee jerk reaction?

    • If Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was meant to deter NATO’s eastward expansion, the war has had the opposite effect.
    • If admitted, Sweden and Finland will become its 31st and 32nd members.

    Russian response

    • Back in March, Russia had evoked a threatening response to take retaliatory measures by stationing its nuclear and hypersonic weapons close to the Baltic Sea.
    • Russia denounced the problems with Finland and Sweden but the NATO’s expansion at the expense of these countries does not pose a direct threat to us.
    • But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly provoke their response, warned Mr Putin.
    • Sweden had already said it would not allow NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.

    Hurdles for Finland, Sweden

    • At the moment the main obstacle to their applications in Turkey, a member since 1952 and which has NATO’s second-largest army after the US.
    • Turkish president Erdogan has objected to their applications on the ground that the two countries had provided safe haven to the leaders of the Kurdish group PKK.
    • Many Kurdish and other exiles have found refuge in Sweden over the past decades.
    • PKK is an armed movement fighting for a separate Kurdistan, comprising Kurdish areas in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
    • Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisation.

    What could Turkey gain?

    • Turkey is expected to seek to negotiate a compromise deal to seek action on Kurdish groups.
    • Erdogan could also seek to use Sweden and Finland’s membership to wrest concessions from the United States and other allies.
    • Turkey wants to return to the US-led F-35 fighter jet program — a project it was kicked out of following its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
    • Alternatively, Turkey is looking to purchase a new batch of F-16 fighter jets and upgrade its existing fleet.

    How does this affect Turkey’s image in the West?

    • Turkey is reinforcing an image that is blocking the alliance’s expansion for its own profit.
    • It also risks damaging the credit it had earned by supplying Ukraine with the Bayraktar TB2 armed drones that became an effective weapon against Russian forces.

    Is Turkey trying to appease Russia?

    • Turkey has built close relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has been trying to balance its ties with both.
    • It has refused to join sanctions against Russia — while supporting Ukraine with the drones that helped deny Russia air superiority.

     

     

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  • What is the GST Council, what does it do?

    The 47th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council began in Chandigarh, almost marking five years of the tax system coming into effect on July 1, 2017.

    What is the GST Council?

    • The GST regime came into force after the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016.
    • More than 15 Indian states then ratified it in their state Assemblies, after which the President gave his assent.
    • The GST Council – a joint forum of the Centre and the states — was set up by the President as per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.
    • The members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre.
    • Each state can nominate a minister in-charge of finance or taxation or any other minister as a member.

    Why was the Council set up?

    • The Council, according to Article 279, is meant to “make recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws”.
    • It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.
    • For instance, an interim report by a panel of ministers has suggested imposing 28 per cent GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing.
    • A decision on this will be taken at the Council meeting.

    What has changed this time?

    • The ongoing meeting is the first since a decision of the Supreme Court in May this year, which stated recommendations of the GST Council are not binding.
    • The court said Article 246A of the Constitution gives both Parliament and state legislatures “simultaneous” power to legislate on GST .
    • Recommendations of the Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States.
    • This was hailed by some states, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who believe states can be more flexible in accepting the recommendations as suited to them.

    Agenda in this meet

    • The council’s meeting is also likely to focus on the issue of extension of the GST compensation regime beyond June 2022.
    • This was a special mechanism by which states were assured that their revenues would not be affected by the new GST system.
    • Some states are already demanding that the compensation be continued.
    • Earlier, the Council had agreed to extend the levy of compensation cess till 2026, but only for repayment of the borrowings made in the aftermath of the pandemic to provide compensation to states.

     

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  • What is SC’s ‘Kihoto Hollohan’ Judgment?

    As the political battle in Maharashtra moves to the Supreme Court, the role and powers of the Deputy Speaker are in focus.

    In the context of the crisis, references have been made to the landmark judgment in ‘Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others’ (1992).

    What is the ‘Kihoto Hollohan’ case?

    • A constitutional challenge to the Tenth Schedule was mounted, which was settled by the apex court in ‘Kihoto Hollohan’.
    • The principal question before the Supreme Court in the case was whether the powerful role given to the Speaker violated the doctrine of basic structure.
    • In this judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the sweeping discretion available to the Speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs.
    • The Supreme Court laid down the doctrine of basic principle in its landmark judgment in ‘Kesavananda Bharati vs State Of Kerala’ (1973).

    What does the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution say?

    • The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution by the Constitution (Fifty-Second Amendment) Act, 1985.
    • It provides for the disqualification of Members of Parliament and state legislatures who defect.
    • It describes the Speaker’s sweeping discretionary powers to make decisions on case of defection.

    What did the Supreme Court rule in ‘Kihoto Hollohan’?

    • The petitioners in ‘Kihoto Hollohan’ argued whether it was fair that the Speaker should have such broad powers, given that there is always a reasonable likelihood of bias.
    • The majority judgment authored by Justices M N Venkatachaliah and K Jayachandra Reddy answered this question in the affirmative. It read-
    1. The Speakers/Chairmen hold a pivotal position in the scheme of Parliamentary democracy and are guardians of the rights and privileges of the House.
    2. They are expected to and do take far reaching decisions in the Parliamentary democracy.
    3. Vestiture of power to adjudicate questions under the Tenth Schedule in them should not be considered exceptionable.
    4. The provisions were “salutory and intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary democracy by curbing unprincipled and unethical political defections.”

    What was the dissenting opinion?

    • Justices Lalit Mohan Sharma and J S Verma dissented and took a different view.
    • The tenure of the Speaker, who is the authority in the Tenth Schedule to decide this dispute, is dependent on the continuous support of the majority in the House.
    • Therefore, he does not satisfy the requirement of such an independent adjudicatory authority.
    • They advocated for an independent adjudicatory machinery for resolving disputes relating to the competence of Members of the House,
    • This is envisaged as an attribute of the democratic system which is a basic feature of our Constitution.

    What about the role of the Deputy Speaker?

    • Article 93 of the Constitution mentions the positions of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People (Lok Sabha), and Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.
    • Maharashtra has been without a Speaker since February 2021, and Deputy has been carrying out the responsibilities of the position.
    • Article 95(1) says: “While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker”.
    • In general, the Deputy Speaker has the same powers as the Speaker when presiding over a sitting of the House.
    • All references to the Speaker in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker when he presides.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following Schedules of the Constitution of India contains provisions regarding anti-defection?

    (a) Second Schedule

    (b) Fifth Schedule

    (c) Eighth Schedule

    (d) Tenth Schedule

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”yhd0einabr” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) Initiative

    To reinforce its Indo-Pacific strategy, the US – along with Australia, New Zealand, UK and Japan – announced a new Partners in Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative.

    What is Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative?

    • The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism” to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region.
    • It speaks of enhancing “prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation.
    • It simply means that through the PBP, these counties — together and individually — will direct more resources here to counter China’s aggressive outreach.
    • The initiative members have also declared that they will “elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum.
    • The areas where PBP aims to enhance cooperation include “climate crisis, connectivity and transportation, maritime security and protection, health, prosperity, and education”.

    How is China trying to transform its ties in the Pacific?

    • As China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands in April, the deal flagged serious concerns about the Chinese military getting a base in the southern Pacific.
    • This is very close to the US island territory of Guam, and right next to Australia and New Zealand.
    • The deal, which boosted Beijing’s quest to dominate crucial shipping lanes criss-crossing the region, rattled the US and its allies.
    • It also triggered urgent moves to counter China’s growing Pacific ambition amid a power vacuum fuelled by apparent lack of US attention.

    What is being done by the US and its allies to counter China?

    • Before launching the PBP this month, the US and its partners started the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).
    • Away from the Pacific, the G7 on Monday (June 27) announced a plan — Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) — to rival China’s BRI.
    • It promises to raise $600 billion to fund development projects in low and middle-income countries.

     

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  • India State Support Programme for Road Safety

    The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support the Government of India’s road safety programme for seven States.

    Programme for Road Safety

    • Under this, a single accident reporting number will be set up to better manage post-crash events.
    • It will be implemented in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
    • The $250 million variable spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18 years, with a grace period of 5.5 years.
    • The project will also establish a national harmonised crash database system in order to analyse accidents and use that to construct better and safer roads.
    • The project will also provide incentives to States to leverage private funding through public private partnership (PPP) concessions and pilot initiatives.

    Road accidents in India: Key takeaways

    • The report ‘Road Accidents in India 2020’ released by the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) provides for key stats.
    • India has only 1% of the world’s vehicles but 11% of the global deaths from road accidents occur in India.
    • About 450,000 accidents take place in India annually, of which 150,000 people die.
    • There are 53 road accidents in the country every hour and one death every four minutes.

    Why are there so many road fatalities in India alone?

    • Weak enforcement of traffic laws: People hardly oblige to traffic rules and find easier to bribe policemen rather than paying hefty challans.
    • Speeding issue: More accidents on the highways have been attributed to higher vehicle speeds and higher volume of traffic on these roads.
    • Engineering bottlenecks: Issues such as gaps in the median on the national highways, untreated intersections, and missing crash barriers are some of the biggest engineering issues.
    • Behavioural issue: Driver violations such as wrong-side driving, wrong lane usage by heavy vehicles, and mass violation of traffic lights, intoxication are the biggest behavioural issues.
    • Lack of Golden hour treatment: Lack of rapid trauma care on highways leads to such high fatalities.

    Imbibing road safety: Way forward

    • Road safety education
    • Better road design, maintenance and warning signage
    • Crackdown on driving under influence of alcohol and drugs
    • Strict enforcement of traffic rules
    • Encouraging better road behaviour
    • Ensuring road worthiness of a vehicle
    • Better first aid and paramedic care

    Do you know?

    The ‘golden hour’ has been defined as ‘the time period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care.

     

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  • Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D)

    The Ministry of Education has released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2019 which studied 83 indicators grouped in six categories.

    What is PGI-D?

    • The 83-indicator-based PGI for District (PGI-D) has been designed to grade the performance of all districts in school education.
    • The data is filled by districts through an online portal.
    • The indicator-wise PGI score shows the areas where a district needs to improve.
    • The PGI-D structure comprises a total weightage of 600 points across 83 indicators.
    • They are grouped under 6 categories, viz., Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities & Students’ Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning, and Governance Process.
    • These categories are outcomes, effective classroom transaction, infrastructure facilities and student’s entitlements, school safety and child protection, digital learning and governance process.

    How does the grading scale works?

    • The PGI-D grades the districts into 10 grades with the highest achievable grade being ‘Daksh’, which is for districts scoring more than 90% of the total points in that category or overall.
    • ‘Utkarsh’ category is for districts with score between 81-90%, followed by ‘Ati-Uttam’ (71-80%), ‘Uttam’ (61-70%), ‘Prachesta-I’ (51-60%), ‘Prachesta-II’ (41-50%) and ‘Pracheshta III’ (31-40%).
    • The lowest grade in PGI-D is called ‘Akanshi-3’ which is for scores up to 10% of the total points.

    Performance of the states

    • Rajasthan’s Sikar is the top performer, followed by Jhunjhunu and Jaipur.
    • The other States whose districts have performed best are Punjab with 14 districts in ‘Ati-uttam’ grade (scoring 71-80% on a scale of 100).
    • It followed by Gujarat and Kerala with each having 13 districts in this category.
    • However, there are 12 States and UTs which do not have even a single district in the ‘Ati-uttam’ and ‘Uttam’ categories and these include seven of the eight States from the North East region.

    Significance

    • The PGI-D will reflect the relative performance of all the districts on a uniform scale which encourages them to perform better.
    • It is expected to help the state education departments to identify gaps at the district level and improve their performance in a decentralized manner.

     

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  • G-20

    The Jammu and Kashmir administration has constituted a committee to coordinate with the delegates of G-20 countries scheduled to participate in a meeting to be held in the Union Territory (UT) next year.

    Why such move?

    • The participation of the delegates from G-20 countries will be a major boost to the efforts of the Centre to project the situation in J&K as normal.
    • This is especially after J&K’s special constitutional position was ended in 2019.

    What is G-20?

    • Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
    • Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
    • To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
    • In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
    • The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.

    Aims and objectives

    • The Group was formed with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
    • The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil on financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
    • It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.

    Members of G20

    The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European Union (EU).

    • The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
    • The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.

    Its significance

    • G20 is a major international grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s major economies and the European Union.
    • Its members account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of trade and 60% of population.

    India and G20

    • India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.

     

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  • Political crisis in Maharashtra underscores ineffectiveness of anti-defection law

    Context

    The political crisis in Maharashtra has brought focus back on the anti-defection law. By all accounts, the law has failed to shore up the stability of elected governments.

    About Anti-defection law

    • The Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution punishes MPs/ MLAs for defecting from their party by taking away their membership of the legislature.
    • It gives the Speaker of the legislature the power to decide the outcome of defection proceedings.
    • It was added to the Constitution through the Fifty-Second (Amendment) Act, 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi was PM.
    • The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

    How provisions of the law are being thwarted?

    • There are many ways to thwart provisions of the law:
    • The Speaker can sit on the defection pleas for the term of the assembly;
    • The beneficiary party can facilitate accretion of defectors to hit the magic two-thirds threshold.
    • The voters don’t seem to care about punishing the defectors either.

    Is an amendment to the law a solution?

    • Some have thus argued that the way forward is to amend the anti-defection law to fill these lacunae by mandating time-bound decisions by the Speaker and disqualifying defectors from standing for the next election as well.
    • These proposed amendments like the original law want to consolidate power without necessarily putting in the requisite politics.

    Why amendment to the law will not solve the problem

    •  Politicians are adept at subverting institutional processes for their own ends and there are many possibilities for payoff for defectors outside of elected office alone.
    • Moreover, politics has a rich history of exercise of power by proxy and the disqualified representative may simply choose to have a family member stand in their stead.
    •  The anti-defection law and proposed amendments approach the issue of defections from the prism of denying power to the defector, a framing which repeatedly comes up short in the face of a bigger and/or more punitive power.

    Way forward

    • Parties need to project power: Within this framework, if political parties want to resist defections, they must be able to project (imminent) power themselves.
    • Parties need to address organisational issues: At the same time, political parties must address organizational and ideological infirmities which have made them susceptible to mass defections in the first place.
    • Ideological clarity: Political parties need ideological clarity and the ability to attract individuals with a sense of purpose and not love for power alone.
    • This ideological depth if reflected in the party organization and its political programs will give members the ability to withstand lean periods of power.
    • Inner-party democracy: Political parties are failing to create intra-party forums where grievances can be expressed and resolved on an ongoing basis.
    • Internal mechanisms for inner-party democracy – from elections to deliberative forums – are ultimately at the discretion of the party leadership.
    • Scrap anti-defection law: Scrapping the anti-defection law would provide some institutional leverage to express intra-party dissidence and while it may be more chaotic in the short-term would lead to greater stability and political strength in the long-term.
    • Contributed to polarisation: The anti-defection law has undermined not just the very principle of representation but has also contributed to polarization in our country by making it impossible to construct a majority on any issue outside of party affiliation.
    • Avoid ceding political power to the judiciary: Political parties are repeatedly giving primacy to legal instead of political battles since these issues inevitably end up in court.
    • This repeated ceding of political power to the judiciary is a serious deviation from the democratic paradigm and must be checked.

    Conclusion

    Anti-defection law has failed to prevent the defections and subsequent toppings of the several state government. Scrapping it could provide leverage to express intra-party dissidence.

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  • How Hanoi and New Delhi are fortifying defence ties

    Context

    The two countries recently deepened bilateral cooperation with the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030 during the recent visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam.

    About the Joint Vision Statement

    • India and Vietnam Wednesday signed a Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030, “which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation”.
    • Boosting the scale and scope of defence cooperation: The Joint Vision Statement is aimed at boosting the scope and scale of the existing defence cooperation between the two nations.
    • Mutual logistic support: The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support.
    • Elevating CSP: This is the first agreement of its kind that Hanoi has entered into with any other country and elevates the standing of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) which Hanoi shares with New Delhi since 2016 (along with only Russia and China).

    Enhanced maritime cooperation

    • Both countries find convergence in their approaches towards the maintenance of stability and security of the Indo-Pacific.
    • This approach has translated into diplomatic and political support in the context of developments within the region and manifested in the form of tangible and functional cooperation instruments — the most vital being bilateral defence partnership.
    • Because of the volume of maritime trade that passes through sea lanes of communication in the Indo-Pacific and potential as well as estimated energy reserves in these waters, maritime cooperation between countries in the region have expanded exponentially.

    Emphasis on the cooperative mechanism

    • The enhanced geostrategic prominence and attendant uncertainties vis-à-vis China’s expanding and often abrasive footprints in the Indo-Pacific have resulted in an overall increase in emphasis on cooperative mechanisms and frameworks across the region.
    • Defence partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily following the signing of the Defence Protocol in 2000 and today covers extensive navy-to-navy cooperation.

    Dealing with Chinese transgression

    • Vietnam has and continues to be one of the most vocal countries with respect to China’s periodic transgressions in the South China Sea.
    • Freedom of navigation: In India, Vietnam has found an equally uncompromising partner when it comes to the question of violations of freedom of navigation and threats to sovereign maritime territorial rights as enshrined under international maritime law.
    • New Delhi has supported Vietnam’s position in the South China Sea with respect to Beijing’s destabilising actions and coercive tactics backing by reiterating the irrefutability of the UNCLOS.
    • India has also not backed down from continuing ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)’s oil exploration project in Block 128 (which is within Hanoi’s EEZ) despite China’s protests.
    • Emphasis on naval diplomacy: It is also in the last few years that Vietnam has augmented its emphasis on naval diplomacy and strengthened its ties with the US alongside the extension of its engagement with India and other ASEAN members.
    • Despite the fact that the China factor has provided impetus to the solidification of ties, it is also important to consider that mutual cooperation is not driven solely by it.
    • Support in the rubric of Indo-Pacific: Both countries have expanded areas of collaboration and are supportive of each other’s individual and multilateral involvements within the rubric of the Indo-Pacific.

    Conclusion

    Convergences between New Delhi and Hanoi has naturally found expression in bilateral relations and the two countries are poised to develop their partnership further in the coming years.

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    Back2Basics: About UNCLOS

    • UNCLOS is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty.
    • It came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
    • It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
    • It has created three new institutions on the international scene :
      1. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,
      2. International Seabed Authority
      3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf