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GS Paper: GS2

  • Tracking the epidemic

    This article suggests the innovative indicators for the classification of areas. Also, the need for decentralisation of science and governance is stressed. So, how could decentralisation help? What should form the basis of indicators at the local level? Such questions are answered in this article.

    States are better placed to deliver on public health

    • They are, of course, better placed to deliver on public health and welfare. They are also generally more accountable.
    • According to the recent ICMR serological sample study conducted in mid-May, barely 1 per cent of non-metropolitan India was infected.
    • Thus, as the infection spreads and eventually stabilises, there is a lot of heavy lifting that the states must do.

    The measure of prevention and containment zone

    • After lockdown,  the message of prevention and the device called containment zones are the only ways left to manage the epidemic.
    • This includes allied activities: The demarcation of the boundary, testing, treatment, tracing and quarantine.
    • Hidden inside this box of practices are the answers to questions such as: Why is Karnataka doing better than Maharashtra in terms of mortality?

    What went wrong with colour-coded zones at district levels?

    • The older colour-coded zone label, introduced by the Centre on April 14, was at the district scale.
    • That quickly became a collective punishment with little measurable benefits.
    • One consequence was that districts were unhappy with the return of migrants simply because that could change their colour.
    • The second problem was that the red-ness of a region was equated with the need for lockdowns, since that was the only visible instrument.

    Let’s explore the ward and community level base strategy

    • Well designed metrics at the ward and community scale will help the science develop.
    • They can guide the people and the administration and allow the states to compare practices and learn from each other.

    Let us see what can be achieved within this framework: Focusing on measurement

    1. Classified should include socio-economic and demographic factors

    • Any area classification must include key socio-economic and demographic determinants, for example, the density of the area, number of people in dwellings with one room or less, or the fraction of people using community toilets.
    • As we know, much of the infection is spreading within dense clusters.
    • Such metrics would indicate vulnerable areas and the limits to reduction in contact rate through policing.
    • Here, decongestion measures such as out-migration may be required.
    • This will also serve as a guide to the future of the locality or ward.

    2. Designing indicator from data collected so far

    • An important document is the Specimen Referral Form (SRF) designed by the ICMR which must be filled to undertake the PCR Corona Test.
    •  In that, the possible patient backgrounds for recommending the test, are recorded.
    •  In that, symptomatic cases with no known contact are already a large fraction of those infected.
    • This and other fields in the SRF such as age, location and symptoms, would give us substantial insights into the dynamics and severity of the disease and the efficacy of our procedures.
    • This data should be made available immediately.

    3. Measuring the risk from migrants

    • The recent inclusion of migrants in the SRF is indeed welcome.
    • This, coupled with other quarantine data in the SRF, gives us the risk from migrants to the community at large.
    • Also welcome is the setting up of a National Migrant Information System (NMIS) on the NDMA database.
    • Hopefully, we may now know the fraction of migrants who have safely reached home and the state-wise status of those who haven’t and the reasons for the same.
    • In any case, the number of infected migrants, if suitably quarantined, must be subtracted from the total number of positive cases for that area/district, for they did not arise there and they are outside the infective load in the area.
    • This will help reduce the stigma on migrants and instead put more focus on quarantine arrangements for them.

    4. Measuring preparedness

    • Ensuring that our villages and towns are prepared to meet the disease is an important objective.
    • One metric to measure preparedness is the number of beds, doctors and ambulances per 1,000.
    • This may then be compared with the active cases in the region.
    • In fact, the adverse mortality in some areas is directly correlated with the local shortage of medical care.
    • For most districts in Maharashtra, shortages would start biting at about 200 cases per day.
    • An important addition would be village-level data on the running of the local quarantine, the functioning of the PDS and availability of drinking water.

    5. Measuring the prevalence and social distance

    • Coming to prevention, the importance of masks, distance and open ventilation is still not appreciated.
    • A simple statistical metric is to measure the prevalence of masks in an area.
    • This can be done by installing cameras in suitable locations and counting people with masks.
    • Social distance measures are also amenable to indicators.
    • For example, the fraction of buses which have installed a sheet between the driver and the passengers, or recording innovative ways of ticket vending.

    The popularity of the colour-coding based on such indicators may be effective in social mobilisation.

    Social comprehension and local solution

    • Mitigation and adaptation require social comprehension and local solutions.
    • These need scientific studies by regional institutions and partnerships with civil society.
    • Creating and supporting good metrics and providing data is an important step in that direction.
    • This will not only save lives, it will reduce fear and help re-start normal life.

    Decentralisation of science and governance

    • The epidemic has underlined that publicness and decentralisation of science and governance is the only way of creating knowledge and the professional ability to solve our own problems.
    • Without this, the post-corona Indian society would be an unhappy attempt at making the old arrangement work in a degraded reality of fearful and angry people.

    Consider the question “Corona pandemic and subsequent measures to contain it has highlighted the need for decentralisation of governance. Elaborate.”

    Conclusion

    We must learn to live with the virus, but we must also find joy. Only through constant engagement and adaptation will we overcome fear and forge a new society that will sustain both life and happiness.

  • MOOC can’t be the substitute for learning in the classroom

    Massive open online courses (MOOC) could not be panacea for the problems education faces. It can’t be the replacement for the learning in the classrooms. This article highlights the issues with adoption of MOOC and why it can’t be the replacement for learning in the classrooms.

    UGC circular to adopt MOOC

    • In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Grants Commission had issued a circular to universities.
    • Through this circular, it encouraged them to adopt massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered on its SWAYAM platform for credit transfers in the coming semesters.
    • But the move poses a great danger.
    • But why it’s danger? Because it is also being seen as an instrument to achieve the country’s target Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education.
    • GER in higher education is envisioned to be 30% by 2021; it was 25.8% in 2017–18.

    Issues with MOOC and what classrooms offers

    • MOOC-based e-learning platforms tend to reinforce a top-down teacher-to-student directionality of learning.
    • This misses the point that teaching and learning are skills that are always in the making.
    • The teacher is after all “an intellectual midwife” who facilitates in the birth of students’ ideas and insights through engaging in critical dialogue.
    • In a conducive classroom environment, this role is often switched and the student plays intellectual midwife to the teacher’s ideas.
    • Moving to a MOOC-based degree system would rob young teachers and students of these essential lessons in teaching and learning from each other.
    • Policymakers behind the SWAYAM platform have left out courses in engineering, medicine, dental, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, agriculture, and physiotherapy on the grounds that they involve laboratory and practical work.
    • This move makes sense.
    • But it seems to suggest that the pure sciences, the arts, the social sciences, and humanities curricula are largely lecture- and theory-based, and, therefore, readily adaptable to the online platform.
    • Nothing can be farther from such a misconception.
    • Implicit in every curriculum is the tacit assumption that the classroom is a laboratory for hands-on testing of ideas, opinions, interpretations, and counterarguments.
    • A diverse and inclusive classroom is the best litmus test for any theory or insight.
    • Multidisciplinarity happens more through serendipity — when learners across disciplines bump into each other and engage in conversations.
    • Classroom and campus spaces offer the potential for solidarity in the face of discrimination, social anxiety, and stage fear, paving the way for a proliferation of voluntary associations that lie outside the realm of family, economy, and state.
    • In the absence of this physical space, teaching and learning would give way to mere content and its consumption.
    • Without a shared space to discuss and contest ideas, learning dilutes to just gathering more information.
    • This could also dilute norms of evaluation, whereby a “good lecture” might mean merely a lecture which “streams seamlessly, without buffering”. 

    Online mode: add more value to the classroom education

    • One could think of greater value-sensitive and socially just architectures and technologies that further foster classroom engagement.
    • It also makes it accessible for students of various disabilities and challenges, thereby adding more value to the existing meaning of education.
    • But public education modelled on social distancing is a functional reduction and dilution of the meaning of education.
    • It could add value only as an addendum to the classroom. 

    Consider the question “Examine the issues with wide adoption of the MOOC to address the problems education  sector in India faces.”

    Conclusion

    Such platforms must be seen only as stop-gap variants that help us get by under lockdown situations and complement classroom lectures.

  • Sahakar Mitra Scheme

    The Union Ministry for Agriculture has launched Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP).

    Note: Article 19 states that the Right to form co-operative societies is a Fundamental Right and DPSP Article 43-B provides for the promotion of co-operative societies.

    Sahakar Mitra Scheme

    • The scheme is an initiative by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the cooperative sector development finance organization.
    • It aims to help cooperative institutions access innovative ideas of young professionals while the interns will gain experience of working in the field to be self-reliant.
    • The scheme is expected to assist cooperative institutions to access new and innovative ideas of young professionals while the interns gain experience of working in the field giving the confidence to be self-reliant.
    • Professional graduates in disciplines such as Agriculture and allied areas, IT etc. will be eligible for an internship.
    • Professionals who are pursuing or have completed their MBA degrees in Agri-business, Cooperation, Finance, International Trade, Forestry, Rural Development, Project Management etc. will also be eligible.
    • Each intern will get financial support over a 4 months internship period.

  • FSSAI Food Safety Index for 2019-20

    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recently released its Food Safety report for 2019-20.

    Food safety has been in news this year quite frequent. Do make a note of following – Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Red Octagon, Eat Right Movement, Food Safety Mitra etc.

    The Food Safety Index

    • The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment.
    • This is the second index on food safety, which FSSAI released on the occasion of World Food Safety Day with the theme “Food Safety is everyone’s business”.
    • It was dedicated to those in the supply chain who have ensured the uninterrupted availability of safe food during this COVID-19 pandemic.

    Highlights of the report

    • Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have topped an index that ranked states ensuring food safety in 2019-20.
    • Among the smaller states, Goa came first followed by Manipur and Meghalaya.
    • Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and the Andaman Islands secured top ranks.

    Back2Basics: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

    • The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
    • It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
    • It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
    • It is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

  • A case for quiet diplomacy to resolve standoff

    Apart from the recent one, there had been several stand-offs between India and China over the border issue. The use of quiet diplomacy to diffuse the situation underlies all these stand-offs. However, politicisation of stand-off could make the situation difficult to resolve. This article explains the use of quiet diplomacy and problems posed by the politicisation of the stand-offs.

    Process to diffuse tension began but not at all points

    •  Both sides have agreed on a broad plan to defuse four of the five points of discord.
    • The situation at the fifth, Pangong Lake remains uncertain as also in Galwan valley and north Sikkim.
    • At Pangong Tso, the Chinese have entrenched their positions with tents and remain on India’s side of the LAC.
    • There is a major point of difference which will not be easy to resolve.

    Let’s look into the strategy used by India in the past to resolve stand-offs

    • The pattern of resolution of past stand-offs underlines the key role played by quiet diplomacy in unlocking complicated stand-off situations.
    • Both the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments have followed an approach that has coupled quiet diplomacy with a strong military posture, while at the same time allowing the adversary a way out.
    • This has been the broad strategy in dealing with challenges from China across the LAC.
    • And this strategy has generally worked.

    Let’s look into three specific incidents

    1) 2013-Depsang plains

    • In 2013, when Chinese troops pitched tents on India’s side of the LAC on the Depsang plains, similar to Pangong Tso.
    • The UPA government was under fire, both for being weak on China and for its reticence.
    • While the government was being publicly attacked for doing nothing, it had privately conveyed to China that if the stand-off didn’t end, an upcoming visit by Premier Li Keqiang would be off.
    • If that demand had been made public at the time, China would have only dug in its heels, even if the government may have won the headlines of the day.

    2) Chumar stand-off

    • The government adopted a similar strategy during the 2014 stand-off at Chumar, which coincided with President Xi Jinping’s visit to India.
    • Mr. Xi’s visit went ahead, while India quietly but forcefully stopped the Chinese road-building and deployed 2,500 soldiers, outnumbering the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
    • The PLA withdrew.
    • Both sides disengaged and followed a moratorium into patrolling into contested areas, which was observed for many months thereafter.

    Ultimately, in both cases, the objective was achieved. China, faced with firm resistance, was prevented from changing the status quo.

    3) Doklam stand-off in 2017

    • In 2017, the government came under particularly intense fire because it stayed studiously silent through a 72-day stand-off at Doklam.
    • Indian troops crossed over into Bhutan to stop a Chinese road construction on territory India sees as Bhutanese but China claims.
    • By extending the road, India argued, China was unilaterally altering the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.
    • Beijing demanded an unconditional withdrawal.
    • When both finally disengaged, neither divulged the terms.
    • It would later emerge that the deal struck involved India withdrawing first.
    • China then stopped construction, and the status quo at the face-off site was restored.

    Stand-off politics in the country

    • Politics over border stand-offs is not new.
    •  The Opposition and the media are certainly right to hold the government to account.
    • Indeed, neither the Opposition nor the media would be doing its job if they weren’t.
    • The tensions on the LAC are neither the first nor likely to be the last.
    • With every incident, they are, however, getting increasingly politicised in an environment where there is a 24/7 demand on social media for information — and unprecedented capacity for disinformation.
    • Rather than wish away this reality — and adopt a stand that it is above questioning — the government needs to come to terms with it. 

    Dealing with the politicisation of stand-offs

    •  First, it needs to keep the Opposition informed, which it is clear it hasn’t.
    • Second, it needs to proactively engage with the media, even if that may be through low-key engagement as was the case on June 9, that does not escalate into a public war of words.
    • At the same time, expectations of having a public debate about the intricacies of every border stand-off — or for the Prime Minister to weigh in even while negotiations are ongoing — need to be tempered.
    • This will only risk inflaming tensions, and reduce the wiggle room for both sides to find an off-ramp.
    • The broader objective shouldn’t get lost in political debates.
    • That objective is to ensure India’s security interests remain protected — and that the status quo on India’s borders isn’t changed by force.

    Consider the question “Border issue between India and China has several times resulted in the stand-off between the two countries but the use of quiet diplomacy helped defuse the tension. But the politicisation of such issue could complicate the situation in the future. Comment.

    Conclusion

    • Past incidents have shown that quiet diplomacy, coupled with strong military resolve that deters any Chinese misadventures, has been more effective than public sabre-rattling, even if we may be inhabiting a media environment that misconstrues loudness as strength, and silence as weakness.

  • Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890 and its significance

    The skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops at Naku La in Sikkim that is considered settled may be Beijing’s way of attempting a new claim. Defence experts highlighted the historical Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890 as proof of India’s ownership of the territory.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. China’s actions on dormant areas mask a hidden agenda of broader assertiveness in the entire Asia-Pacific. Comment.

    China creates a new flashpoint

    • Referring to a major scuffle that took place at Naku La in May, it was unusual for Chinese troops to open up a part of the LAC that has not been in contention before.

    Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890

    • Of the entire 3,488km Sino-Indian border, the only section on which both countries agree that there is no dispute is the 220km Sikkim-Tibet section of the boundary.
    • This is because under the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890, the Sikkim-Tibet border was agreed upon and in 1895 it was jointly demarcated on the ground.
    • Not only that but the new government of People’s Republic of China, which took power in 1949, confirmed this position in a formal note to the government of India on 26 December 1959.

    Chinese claims

    • Prior to Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975, the Chinese side accepted the Watershed based alignment of the International Border (IB).
    • The Sikkim – Tibet boundary has long formally been delimited and there is neither any discrepancy between the maps nor any dispute in practice.
    • The Chinese reiterate that, as per para (1) of the Convention of 1890, the tri-junction is at Mount Gipmochi.

    India’s stance

    • The geographic alignment of the features was so prominent that it could easily be identified and recognized.
    • Even analysing the available Google images of the past, the location of Naku La could be discerned by anyone as the watershed parting line in the area was very prominent. “
    • There exist no ambiguity with respect to the location of the pass, since geographic realities cannot be altered.

    How Sikkim came into the picture?

    • Earlier, Sikkim came into the limelight in 1965 during the India-Pakistan conflict, when the Chinese suddenly and without any provocation sent a strongly-worded threat.
    • Then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri neatly sidestepped the issue by stating that if the bunkers were on the Chinese side they were well within their rights to demolish them.
    • The point that the Chinese were trying to make was not military, but political, for they wanted to bolster the Pakistani spirit, which by then was rapidly losing steam.
    • As India stood firm with the backing of USSR and the US, nothing emerged from Chinese threats on the Sikkim-Tibet border.

    Series of activity since then

    • In 1967, the Chinese again activated the Sikkim-Tibet border and on 11 September, suddenly opened fire on an Indian patrol party near Nathu La pass. The main point was that India did not lose any position, nor did it yield any ground.
    • The next important episode was in 2003. When PM Vajpayee conceded during his visit to China in 2003 that “the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) was a part of the PRC” with the expectation that China would recognize Sikkim as a part of India.
    • This did not materialize then but in the joint statement issued by premier Wen Jiabao and prime minister Manmohan Singh on 11 April 2005.
    • In part 13, the Chinese recognized “Sikkim State of the Republic of India”. Wen even handed over an official map of the People’s Republic of China to Singh, showing Sikkim as a part of India.

    Nothing new about the skirmishes over Sikkim

    • History would thus indicate that the present stand-off between India and China over the Sikkim-Tibet boundary is nothing new.
    • The latest episode after a road construction party entered Doklam area, despite Bhutanese attempts to dissuade them.

    Ignoring usual behaviour

    • The clearly orchestrated actions on an otherwise dormant area mask a hidden agenda.
    • The Chinese push at several points along the LAC and also the ongoing aggression in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits are testimony to this.
    • The timeline of initiating this incident indicates a high level of pre-planning, possibly at senior levels of the PLA as well as the Chinese government.

    Way forward

    • There is no question of India bending to Chinese “demands”, for like in 1967, it must stand its ground firmly.
    • That would be a sufficient lesson for the Chinese that the Indian Army is no pushover and this is perhaps the only way to deal with China that likes to flaunt its economic and military prowess.

  • Reservation not fundamental right: SC refuses to hear pleas by TN parties

    What did the Hon’ble Supreme Court rule?

     

    • Article 16 (4) and 16 (4-A) are in the nature of enabling provisions, vesting a discretion on the State Government to consider providing reservations, if the circumstances so warrant.
    • It is settled law that the State Government cannot be directed to provide reservations for appointments in public posts.
    • Similarly, the State is not bound to make reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in matters of promotions.
    • The judgment added that it is for the State Government to decide whether this was necessary.

    What do the precedents say?

    • There are several major Supreme Court judgments that have, in the past, ruled that Articles 15(4) and 16(4) does not provide a fundamental right per se.
    • A five-judge apex court bench, as early as 1962 in the R. Balaji v. the State of Mysore had ruled that Article 15(4) is an “enabling provision”, meaning that “it does not impose an obligation, but merely leaves it to the discretion of the appropriate government to take suitable action, if necessary”.
    • The court was hearing a challenge to an order passed by the erstwhile state of Mysore reserving 68 percent of seats in engineering and medical colleges for educationally and socially backward classes and SCs and STs.
    • Five years later, in 1967, another five-judge bench in A. Rajendran v. Union of India reiterated this position, holding that the government is under no constitutional duty to provide reservations for SCs and STs, either at the initial stage of recruitment or at the stage of promotion.
    • Article 16(4), it said, does not confer any right on the citizens and is an enabling provision giving discretionary power to the government to make reservations.
    • The position went on to be reiterated in several other decisions, including the nine-judge bench ruling in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) and the five-judge bench decision in M Nagaraj v. Union of India (2006).

    What does the judgment mean?

    • Reservations are not rights: The latest judgment is a reminder that affirmative action programs allowed in the Constitution flow from “enabling provisions” and are not rights as such.
    • Not a new legal position: This legal position is not new. Major judgments- these include those by Constitution Benches-note that Article 16(4), on the reservation in posts, is enabling in nature.
    • The state is not bound to provide reservation: In other words, the state is not bound to provide reservations. But if the state provides reservations, it must satisfy the following two criteria-
      • For the backward class: It must be in favor of sections that are backward.
      • Inadequately represented: And inadequately represented in the services based on quantifiable data.

    Consequences of this judgment

    • Possibility of the unequal system: Some may even read into this an inescapable state obligation to extend reservation to those who need it, lest its absence renders the entire system unequal.
    • Possibility of perceptible imbalance: For instance, if no quotas are implemented and no study on backwardness and extent of representation is done, it may result in a perceptible imbalance in social representation in public services.

    Why reservation needed?

    • To correct the historical injustice faced by backward castes in the country.
    • To provide a level playing field for backward section as they can not compete with those who have had the access of resources and means for centuries.
    • To ensure adequate representation of backward classes in the services under the State.
    • For advancement of backward classes.
    • To ensure equality as basis of meritocracy i.e all people must be brought to the same level before judging them on the basis of merit.

    Argument Against Reservation

    • Reservation in state services led to divisions and enmity among government employees, vitiating the atmosphere at workplace.
    • Eradication, not perpetuation of caste was the objective of the reservation policy but Caste Based Reservation only perpetuate the notion of caste in society.
    • Reservation was introduced to ensure that the historically underprivileged communities were given equal access to resources but irrespective of the economic progress they continue to remain socially disadvantaged.
    • Reservation destroys self-respect, so much so that competition is no longer on to determine the best but the most backward.
    • Reservations are the biggest enemy of meritocracy which is the foundation of many progressive countries.
    • It has became a tool to meet narrow political ends through invoking class loyalties and primordial identities.
    • The dominant and elite class within the backward castes has appropriated the benefits of reservation and the most marginalised within the backward castes have remained marginalised.
    • Reservation has become the mechanism of exclusion rather than inclusion as many upper caste poors are also facing discrimination and injustice which breeds frustration in the society.

    Way forward

    • Meanwhile, calls for reform and ret­hinking reservation policies get louder; one question is whether there’s a need to continue with reservation and if benefits have reached targets.
    • The challenge for India is that while many sections of the society remain disadvantaged, political action has resulted in the relative discrimination within reserved groups.
    • As the reservation pie grows larger, in effect, it becomes a method of exclusion rather than inclusion.
    • It is time that India has to make a critical assessment of its affirmative action programs.
    • Simplification, legislative sunsets, and periodic reviews should be important principles in the redesign.

  • National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ‘India Rankings 2020’

    The National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking list has been released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. What is NIRF? Discuss the parameters and methodology used in the ranking. Also, discuss its key features and limitations.

    About NIRF

    • The NIRF is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of HRD to rank institutions of higher education in India.
    • The Framework was approved and on 29 September 2015.
    • There are separate rankings for different types of institutions depending on their areas of operation like universities and colleges, engineering institutions, management institutions, pharmacy institutions and architecture institutions.
    • The ranking framework evaluates institutions on five broad generic groups of parameters, i.e. Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR).

    Why need such rankings?

    • Rankings help universities to improve their performance on various ranking parameters and identify gaps in research and areas of improvement.
    • The ranking is necessary for transparency and healthy competition.

    Highlights of the 2020 rankings

    • IIT Madras retains 1st Position in Overall Ranking as well as in Engineering,
    • Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the University list.
    • IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management Category and AIIMS occupies the top slot in Medical category for a third consecutive year.
    • Miranda College retains 1st position amongst colleges for a third consecutive year.
    • Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Delhi secures 1st position in “Dental” category, dental institutions included for the first time in India Rankings 2020.

  • Expanding the G7

    There has been a call for expansion of G7 by the U.S. President. Against this backdrop, this article examines the historical background in which the group emerged. But a lot has changed since. So, it would be appropriate for G7 to adjust to the new reality. But what would be the focus of a new mechanism? What are the areas in which India would be interested? All such questions are answered in this article.

    Call for expansion of G7 and China’s objection

    • Recently, the U.S. President proposed the expansion of G7 to G10 or G11,  with the inclusion of India, South Korea, Australia and possibly Russia.
    • Elaborating this logic, the White House Director of Strategic Communications said the U.S. President wanted to include other countries, including the Five Eyes countries.
    • Five Eye is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
    • The U.S. also stressed said the expanded group should talk about the future of China.
    • A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official immediately reacted, labelling it as “seeking a clique targeting China”.

    Should India care about China’s objection if invited to join?

    • China’s objection to an expanded G7 is no reason for India to stay away from it, if invited to join.
    • India has attended several G7 summits earlier too, as a special invitee for its outreach sessions.
    • India’s Prime Minister was guest invited to Biarritz, France to the G7 summit last year, along with other heads of government.

    The historical background of G7

    • The G7 emerged as a restricted club of the rich democracies in the early 1970s.
    • The quadrupling of oil prices just after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, when  OPEC imposed an embargo against Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States, shocked their economies.
    • Although the French were spared the embargo, the chill winds of the OPEC action reverberated around the world.
    • So, French President invited the Finance Ministers of five of the most developed members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom, for an informal discussion on global issues.
    • This transformed into a G7 Summit of the heads of government from the following year with the inclusion of Canada in 1976.
    • And the European Commission/Community (later Union) joined as a non-enumerated member, a year later.
    • On the initiative of U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the G7 became the G8, with the Russian Federation joining the club in 1998.
    • This ended with Russia’s expulsion following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

    Declining share G7 and rising of E7 in world GDP

    • When constituted, the G7 countries accounted for close to two-thirds of global GDP.
    • According to the 2017 report of the accountancy firm, PwC, “The World in 2050”, they now account for less than a third of global GDP on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis.
    • And less than half on market exchange rates (MER) basis.
    • The seven largest emerging economies (E7, or “Emerging 7”), comprising Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey, account for over a third of global GDP on purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
    • And over a quarter on MER basis.

    Predictions for India

    • India’s economy is already the third largest in the world in PPP terms, even if way behind that of the U.S. and China.
    • By 2050, the PwC Report predicts, six of the seven of the world’s best performing economies will be China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia.
    • Two other E7 countries, Mexico and Turkey, also improve their position.
    • It projects that India’s GDP will increase to $17 trillion in 2030 and $42 trillion in 2050 in PPP terms, in second place after China, just ahead of the United States.
    • This is predicated on India overcoming the challenge of COVID-19, sustaining its reform process and ensuring adequate investments in infrastructure, institutions, governance, education and health.

    Limitations of G7

    • The success or otherwise of multilateral institutions are judged by the standard of whether or not they have successfully addressed the core global or regional challenges of the time.
    • The G7 failed to head off the economic downturn of 2007-08.
    • This failure led to the rise of the G20.
    • In the short span of its existence, the G20 has provided a degree of confidence, by promoting open markets, and stimulus, preventing a collapse of the global financial system.
    • The G7 also failed to address the contemporary issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the challenge of the Daesh, and the crisis of state collapse in West Asia.
    • It had announced its members would phase out all fossil fuels and subsidies, but has not so far announced any plan of action to do so.
    • And their coal fired plants emit “twice more CO2 than those of the entire African continent”.

    Turmoil in West Asia and failure of Europe to act

    • Three of the G7 countries, France, Germany, and the U.K., were among the top 10 countries contributing volunteers to the ISIS.
    • West Asia is in a greater state of turmoil than at any point of time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
    • This turmoil has led to a migrants crisis.
    • Migrant crisis persuaded many countries in Europe to renege on their western liberal values, making the Mediterranean Sea a death trap for people fleeing against fear of persecution and threat to their lives.

    So, to deal with the unprecedented challenge, we need new institution

    • The global economy has stalled and COVID-19 will inevitably create widespread distress.
    • Nations need dexterity and resilience to cope with the current flux, as also a revival of multilateralism, for they have been seeking national solutions for problems that are unresolvable internally.
    • Existing international institutions have proven themselves unequal to these tasks.
    • A new mechanism might help in attenuating them.
    • It would be ideal to include in it the seven future leading economies, plus Germany, Japan, the U.K., France, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, and Australia.
    •  The 2005 ad hoc experiment by Prime Minister Tony Blair in bringing together the G7 and the BRICS countries was a one-off.

    What should be the focus of this new institution?

    • A new international mechanism will have value only if it focuses on key global issues.
    • A related aspect is how to push for observing international law and preventing the retreat from liberal values on which public goods are predicated.
    • Global public health and the revival of growth and trade in a sustainable way -that also reduces the inequalities among and within nations- would pose a huge challenge.

    What should be India’s priority in new institution?

    • India would be vitally interested in three: 1) international trade, 2) climate change, 3) the COVID-19 crisis.
    • Second order priorities for India would be cross-cutting issues such as counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation.
    • An immediate concern is to ensure effective implementation of the 1975 Biological Weapons Convention .
    • And the prevention of any possible cheating by its state parties by the possible creation of new microorganisms or viruses by using recombinant technologies.
    • On regional issues, establishing a modus vivendi with Iran would be important to ensure that it does not acquire nuclear weapons and is able to contribute to peace and stability in Afghanistan, the Gulf and West Asia.
    • The end state in Afghanistan would also be of interest to India.
    • And also the reduction of tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

    Consider the question “There has been a clamour for expanding G7 and India is being considered as one of the prospective candidates in the expanded group. In light of this examine the challenges and opportunities for India if it gets entry into the expanded group.”

    Conclusion

    The decaying influence in geopolitics and declining share in the world GDP calls for the formation of the new institution. IF and when that institution comes into being India should try to address its immediate concern with the help of new mechanism based on values.

  • Strategic importance of Daulat Beg Oldie, Ladakh

    In the reporting on the LAC stand-off, the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road has often appeared in news.

    Practice questions for mains:

    Q. Discuss how India’s all-weather border infrastructure has created new festering points for the Sino-Indian border skirmished.

    Daulat Beg Oldie

    • DBO is the northernmost corner of Indian Territory in Ladakh, in the area better known in Army parlance as Sub-Sector North.
    • DBO has the world’s highest airstrip, originally built during the 1962 war but abandoned until 2008 when the Indian Air Force (IAF) revived it as one of its many Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) along the LAC.

    The DSDBO Road

    • DSDBO is an all-weather 255-km long road 255-km long built by India over nearly 20 years.
    • Running almost parallel to the LAC, the DSDBO road, meandering through elevations ranging between 13,000 ft and 16,000 ft, took India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) almost two decades to construct.
    • Its strategic importance is that it connects Leh to DBO, virtually at the base of the Karakoram Pass that separates China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region from Ladakh.

    A trigger for PLA incursions

    • Of the possible triggers cited for the PLA targeting of Indian Territory along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, the construction of DSDBO all-weather road is possibly the most consequential.
    • The Chinese build-up along the Galwan River valley region overlooks and hence poses a direct threat to the DSDBO road.

    Significance of DSDBO Road

    • The DSDBO highway provides the Indian military access to the section of the Tibet-Xinjaing highway that passes through Aksai Chin.
    • The road runs almost parallel to the LAC at Aksai Chin, the eastern ear of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state that China occupied in the 1950s, leading to the 1962 war in which India came off worse.
    • The DSDBO’s emergence seemingly panicked China, evidenced by the 2013 intrusion by the PLA into the nearby Depsang Plains, lasting nearly three weeks.
    • DBO itself is less than 10 km west of the LAC at Aksai Chin. A military outpost was created in DBO in reaction to China’s occupation of Aksai Chin.
    • It is at present manned by a combination of the Army’s Ladakh Scouts and the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

    Other strategic considerations

    • To the west of DBO is the region where China abuts Pakistan in the Gilgit-Baltistan area, once a part of the erstwhile Kashmir principality.
    • This is also the critical region where China is currently constructing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), to which India has objected.
    • As well, this is the region where Pakistan ceded over 5,180 sq km of PoK to China in 1963 under a Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement, contested by India.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-india-china-skirmish-in-ladakh/