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GS Paper: GS2

  • Mekedatu Project

    The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone has appointed a joint committee to look into allegations of unauthorized construction activity taking place in Mekedatu, where the Karnataka government had proposed to construct a dam across the Cauvery River.

    What is the Mekedatu Project?

    • Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru, at the Kanakapura taluk in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district.
    • In 2013, then Karnataka announced the construction of a multi-purpose balancing reservoir project.
    • The project aimed to alleviate the drinking water problems of Bengaluru and Ramanagara district.
    • It was also expected to generate hydro-electricity to meet the power needs of the state.

    Issues with the project

    • Soon after the project was announced TN has objected over granting of permission or environmental clearance.
    • Explaining the potential for damage to the lower riparian state of TN, it said that the project was in violation of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
    • It stated that the project will affect the natural flow of the river Cauvery considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in TN.

  • Tackling rural economic distress

    The disruption caused by the second Covid wave has added to the hardship faced by the migrant workers and the rural poor. Dealing with it requires strengthening of  PDS and MGNREGS.

    Distress due to second Covid wave

    • Several States have imposed lockdown amid second Covid wave which will have severe implications for the livelihoods of those in the informal sector.
    • Migrant workers and the rural poor have been facing great distress over the past one year and the crisis for food and work is only going to intensify further.
    • The migrants have again become vulnerable due to the lockdown in different cities.
    • In this context, there is an urgent need to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

    Steps need to be taken

    • The government announced 5 kg free foodgrains for individuals enlisted under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), for May and June 2021.

    1) Changes in PDS

    • Expand coverage: The government should expand PDS coverage immediately and include all eligible households under the schemes.
    • According to an independent study, about 100 million people are excluded from the ration distribution system owing to a dated database based on the 2011 Census.
    • Extend period: The Centre should also extend the free foodgrains programme to a year instead of limiting it to two months.

    2) Expand MGNREGS

    • The Centre had allocated ₹73,000 crore for 2021-22 for MGNREGS and notified an annual increment of about 4% in wages. 
    • Both these provisions are inadequate to match the requirements on the ground.
    • The central allocation for MGNREGS is about ₹38,500 crore less than last year’s revised estimate.
    • The budget for 75-80 days of employment in the year for 6.5 crore families given the current scale of economic distress.
    • By this rationale, at the current rate of ₹268/day/person, at least ₹1.3 lakh crore will have to be budgeted.
    • The government should also re-consider its decision of a mere 4% increase in MGNREGS wages and hike it by at least 10%.

    Conclusion

    A large population is facing hunger and a cash crunch. The situation is only becoming more dire as the pandemic continues to rage on. Therefore, the Union government should prioritise food and work for all and start making policy reforms right away.

  • One-state solution, the way forward in Palestine

    The article highlights the challenges in the success of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and suggests the one-state solution instead.

    Background of the two-state solution

    • It involves dividing Palestine between the state of Israel and the indigenous population of Palestine.
    • It was first offered by the British in 1937 and rejected by the Palestinians already then.
    •  In 1947 the United Nations insisted that the Palestinians should give half of their homeland to the settler movement of Zionism.
    • The two-state solution, offered for the first time by liberal Zionists and the United States in the 1980s, is seen by some Palestinians as the best way of ending of the occupation of the West Bank .
    • It will also lead to the partial fulfilment of the Palestinian right for self-determination and independence.

    Interpretation of two-state solution

    • The Israeli interpretation, until 2009, was that the two-state solution is another means of having the territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, without incorporating most of the people living there.
    • In order to ensure it, Israel partitioned the West Bank which is 20% of historical Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab part.
    • This was in the second phase of the Oslo Accords, known as the Oslo II agreement of 1995.
    • One area, called area C, which consists of 60% of the West Bank was directly ruled from 1995 until today by Israel.
    • Now, Israel is in the process of officially annexing this area.
    • 40% of the West Bank, areas A and B under Oslo II, were put under the Palestinian Authority.
    • Palestinian Authority calls itself the state of Palestine, but in essence has no power whatsoever, unless the one given to it, and withdrawn from it, by Israel.
    • In 2018 a citizenship law was passed known as the nationality law.
    • As per the citizenship law, the Palestinian citizens who live in Israel proper which is Israel prior to the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and who are supposedly equal citizens of the Jewish state, will in essence become the Africans of a new Israeli Jewish apartheid state.

    Issues with two-state solution

    • The endless negotiation on the two-state solution was based on the formula that once the two states become a reality, Israel will stop these severe violations of the Palestinian civil and human rights.
    • But while the wait continued, more Palestinians were expelled and the Jewish settler community in the West Bank grew in size.
    • The two-state solution is not going to stop the ethnic cleansing; instead, talking about it provides Israel international immunity to continue it.

    Way forward

    • The only alternative is to decolonise historical Palestine.
    • New state should a state for all its citizens all over the country, based on the dismantlement of colonialist institutions, fair redistribution of the country’s natural resources, compensation of the victims of the ethnic cleansing and allowing their repatriation.
    •  Settlers and natives should together build a new state that is democratic, part of the Arab world and not against it, and an inspiration for the rest of the region.

    Conclusion

    The one-state solution is the way forward in Palestine and that should be the state for all citizens.

  • WHO BioHub: Global Facility for Pathogen Storage

    The World Health Organization (WHO) and Switzerland have signed an MoU to launch a BioHub facility that will allow rapid sharing of pathogens between laboratories and partners to facilitate better analysis and preparedness against them.

    WHO BioHub

    • The BioHub will enable member states to share biological materials with and via the BioHub under pre-agreed conditions, including biosafety, biosecurity, and other applicable regulations.
    • The facility will help in the safe reception, sequencing, storage, and preparation of biological materials for distribution to other laboratories, so as to facilitate global preparedness against these pathogens.
    • It would be based in Spiez, Switzerland.
    • Pathogens are presently shared bilaterally between countries: A process that can be sluggish and deny the benefits to some.

    Its significance

    • This will ensure timeliness and predictability in response activities.
    • The move is significant in the view of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the need to underline the importance of sharing pathogen information to assess risks and launch countermeasures.
    • The move will help contribute to the establishment of an international exchange system for novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens.

  • As the US exits, Afghanistan finds itself at the crossroads

    The article highlights the implications of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan for the region.

    Status of the Afghanistan peace process

    • The Afghanistan peace process has been in disarray as the conference to be hosted by the United Nations in Istanbul, remains suspended due to the reluctance of Afghan’s Taliban.
    • Now there is some hope of breaking the impasse as the Taliban have expressed an openness to attend the Istanbul summit.
    • United States President Joe Biden is insistent on withdrawing the troops on September 11, even without any power-sharing deal between the warring parties.
    • Taliban leadership, who may feel the urgency to resuming negotiations than completely abandoning them for fear of losing the international legitimacy they enjoy at the moment.

    How the U.S. exit will affect Pakistan

    • After months of negotiations, the U.S.-Taliban deal was signed in February 2020, and Pakistan took full credit for it.
    • As the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan for almost two decades had kept the U.S. reliant on Pakistan for operational and other support.
    • Pakistan smartly mobilised this factor against India.
    • With the disappearance of this lethal dependence, Pakistan faces an uphill task in conducting a viable Afghan policy.
    • Pakistan cannot keep America invested in it on military, economic, and societal fronts without partnering with the U.S. to ensure a smooth transition of power in Kabul.

    Impact on China

    • The Taliban now draw support from a wide variety of regional powers, including Russia, China and Iran.
    • However, these countries too want the insurgent group to moderate its position.
    • China, which has a beneficiary of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, seems confused as the American exit looms large.
    • The U.S. exit would leave Beijing vulnerable to its spillover effects particularly in the restive Xinjiang province.
    • That is why China has remained invested in all major regional Afghan-centric negotiations.

    Implications for India

    • India has been the key regional backer of an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace process.
    • India is concerned that the Taliban-dominated regime in Afghanistan might allow Pakistan to dictate Afghanistan’s India policy.
    • That is why India has underlined the need for a genuine double peace i.e. within and around Afghanistan.
    • But despite being offered a seat at Istanbul at the U.S.’s behest, India remains a peripheral player.
    • The strategic competition between the China and the U.S.,  China’s growing rivalry with India, and New Delhi’s tense relationship with Islamabad are some of the factors which will certainly affect the situation in Afghanistan as the U.S. leaves the country.

    Consider the question “What are the implications of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan for the region? Examine its impact on India.

    Conclusion

    While the exit would bring the U.S.’s “forever war” to an end, it is unlikely to result in peace if Afghan stakeholders show their utter inability to take the process forward.

  • Why community efforts are essential for real change

    The article highlights the important role played by civil society and suggest the need for the new framework for the participation of community in the solution of problems.

    Important role played by civil society in second wave of Covid

    • We also have to realise that the state or the market cannot be the only provider for what citizens need.
    • Effective social interactions and community participation can play an important role in scaling up some of the actions that have been found useful.
    • During the second wave of Covid infections, communities emerged as resilient entities across the country.
    • Active engagement with civil society: Recently,  the Prime Minister called for an active engagement of civil society in coping with the pandemic.
    • The empowered group of secretaries has also identified the role of civil society during this period of crisis.

    Tasks for NITI Aayog: New framework

    • NITI should engage government institutions that encourage public participation and also support new frameworks for crisis management.
    • This new framework should critically look into the weaknesses and failures of the existing ones in attracting community participation in an effective manner.
    • This would also help in NITI’s own goal of localisation of development as part of its SDG strategy.
    • NITI should create mechanisms for facilitating the creation of required space for community initiatives.
    • It should leverage advanced technologies ABCD — artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data analytics for bridging demand-supply gaps.
    • It is time for NITI to apply the institutional framework where it has to, to rationalise select activities of communities and overcome the failure of the state where it is imminent.
    • NITI should partner with willing state governments to explore the launch of platforms that promote cross-learning and experience-sharing to reduce the cost of operations.
    • This may help in scaling up and, in some cases, overcome the asymmetric flow of information.
    • Opportunities for the participation of communities in decision making and their implementation at local levels may be explored.
    • The advantage for NITI is DARPAN, its portal for all voluntary organisations/non-governmental organisations engaged in development activities.
    • Several informal entities, start-ups and others, at times undefined, may also have to be engaged.

    Initiatives and micro-models

    • Several micro-models are coming up, but few have a larger footprint.
    •  In Nandurbar, for instance, a district collector could achieve what now seems a rare coordination between beds, number of critical patients and supply of oxygen.
    • At the end of the day, they had more beds with oxygen than required.
    • Breathe India and HelpNow represent an array of options, these apps have facilitated access to oxygen concentrators, hospitals and ambulances.
    • There are several such initiatives that are taking place across the country with little connection with each other.
    • These micro-models need to be scaled up.

    Consider the question “The role played by the civil society during the second covid wave highlighted its importance. What we need is a new framework for community participation. In light of this, discuss the important aspects of such framework.”

    Conclusion

    Solutions to any social problem call for an effective collective action that coordinates the aspirations of several groups of stakeholders. The present situation underlines the necessity of combined efforts to face this challenge.

    B2BASICS

    What is civil Society?

    • The society considered as a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity is a civil society.
    • It is the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens.
    • It is referred to as the third sector of the society distinct from government and business.

  • CBI

    The high-powered selection committee headed by the Prime Minister has finalized some names for the post of CBI director.

    Try answering this:

    Q.Why the CBI is called “a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”? Critically comment.

    Central Bureau of Investigation

    • The CBI is the premier investigating agency of India operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
    • It was originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption.
    • In 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organized crime, multi-agency or international cases.
    • The agency has been known to investigate several economic crimes, special crimes, cases of corruption, and other cases.
    • CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. CBI is India’s officially designated single point of contact for liaison with Interpol.

    Its composition

    • The CBI is headed by a Director, an IPS officer with a rank of Director General of Police.
    • The director is selected by a high-profile committee constituted under The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 as amended through The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and has a two-year term.
    • The Appointment Committee consists of:
    1. Prime Minister – Chairperson
    2. Leader of Opposition of Loksabha or the Leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, if the former is not present due to lack of mandated strength in the Lok Sabha – member
    3. Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge recommended by the Chief Justice – member

    Jurisdiction, powers and restrictions

    • The legal powers of investigation of the CBI are derived from the DSPE Act 1946, which confers powers, duties, privileges and liabilities on the Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI) and officers of the UTs.
    • The central government may extend to any area (except UTs) the powers and jurisdiction of the CBI for investigation, subject to the consent of the government of the concerned state.
    • Members of the CBI at or above the rank of sub-inspector may be considered officers in charge of police stations.
    • Under the DSPE Act, the CBI can investigate only with notification by the central government.

    Relationship with state police

    • The CBI was originally constituted under the DSPE Act, to operate within the territory of Delhi.
    • As policing and law is a subject that falls within state powers under the structure of Indian federalism, the CBI needs prior consent from other state governments in order to conduct investigations within their territory.
    • This consent can be in the form of a ‘general consent’ under Section 6 of the DSPE Act, which remains in operation for all investigations.
    • Once consent is granted, the CBI can investigate economic, corruption, and special crimes (including national security, drugs and narcotics, etc.)
    • Most Indian states had granted general consent to the CBI to investigate crimes within their territory.
    • However, as of 2020, several states have withdrawn their ‘general consent’ for the CBI to operate, and require special consent to be granted on a case-to-case basis.

    Issues with CBI

    • In 2013, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (and later CJI) R. M. Lodha criticized the CBI for being a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
    • This was due to its excessive political interference irrespective of which party happened to be in power.

  • [pib] Competition Commission of India

    Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs recently commemorated the 12th Annual Day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

    Competition Commission of India

    • CCI is the competition regulator in India.
    • It is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
    • It was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009.

    Its establishment

    • The idea of CCI was conceived and introduced in the form of The Competition Act, 2002 by the Vajpayee government.
    • A need was felt to promote competition and private enterprise especially in the light of 1991 Indian economic liberalization.
    • The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws.
    • The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises, and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control, and Merger and acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.

  • China’s 17+1 Cooperation Forum

    Lithuania has decided to quit China’s 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states that include other EU members, calling it “divisive”.

    About 17+ 1 Forum

    • The forum is an abbreviation for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries.
    • It is an initiative by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote business and investment relations between China and 16 countries of CEE (CEEC).
    • The countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
    • The format was founded in 2012 in Warsaw to push for the cooperation of the “17+1” (the 17 CEE countries and China).
    • Its goals are to promote the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and enhance cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, transportation, and logistics, trade and investment”.

  • What is Vaccine Tourism?

    A couple of days ago, reports emerged of a Dubai-based tour operator offering a 24-day package tour from Delhi to Moscow that has included two shots of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine.

    What is vaccine tourism?

    • In India, the term “vaccine tourism” became popular late last year when reports emerged of several tour operators offering packages to the US with the additional benefit of a vaccine shot.
    • Meanwhile, South Africans are said to be flying to Zimbabwe, Canadians and South Americans are traveling to the US for jabs, while tour operators in Europe are offering trips to Russia for Sputnik V shots.
    • It is said that Russia and the Maldives are already working on programs to offer people abroad the chance to get vaccinated during a visit; similar offerings are sprouting in the US as well.

    Why is it gaining popularity?

    • In fact, vaccine tourism is an emerging trend in countries where vaccines are in short supply, or where certain groups are still restricted from being inoculated.
    • Still, there are only a few countries in the world (parts of the US, Russia, Slovakia, Zimbabwe, etc) that don’t restrict their vaccination policy to local residents.
    • Currently, it is not illegal to travel to a foreign country to get vaccinated if air travel is allowed.
    • Recently, Seychelles announced that only vaccinated visitors from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who have completed two weeks after their second dose are permitted to travel to and enter the island nation, with proof.

    Can Indians go abroad to get vaccinated for Covid-19?

    • There may be no need for anyone from India to go abroad for vaccination since all eligible Indians will be vaccinated in the country by the end of this year – that too, at the most reasonable rates possible.
    • However, the idea of vaccine tourism is gaining momentum in India.
    • Many Indians, who fled to Dubai just before the international flight ban came into effect last month, are said to be availing of the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm shots in the UAE.

    Not to be confused with Vaccine Passport

    • Sometimes, vaccine tourism is confused with vaccine passports, which is a more regulated practice gaining currency around the world.