Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WANA region
Mains level: Paper 2- Engagement with Gulf countries
Context
A controversial remark by the ruling party spokesperson against the Prophet has snowballed into a diplomatic row. Against this backdrop, New Delhi should not stop engaging the Gulf countries and strive to move beyond damage control.
International reaction against the remarks
- The United Arab Emirates, Oman, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Jordan, Libya and Bahrain have joined the growing list of countries in the Islamic world that have condemned the remarks.
- Earlier, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar had called Indian ambassadors to register their protest, and Saudi Arabia had issued a strongly-worded statement.
- Campaigners (including a few GCC regimes) demand that Prime Minister of India should tender an apology for all that happened.
- But New Delhi’s stance is categorial and legitimate insofar as the Union government has nothing to do with such unsolicited comments.
Why WANA is important for India
- Engagement with WANA: Countries in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region do not have a fixed position vis-à-vis India.
- Delhi has vibrant economic and strategic ties with almost all regimes in the region.
- That’s precisely the reason these countries are unwilling to join the Islamabad-led chorus or go beyond passing resolutions.
- India’s signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UAE and the ongoing negotiations for a wider FTA with the GCC could be an eye-opener for the country’s detractors.
- India’s energy needs: As much as 40 per cent of oil and an equal share of gas requirements are met through India’s strategic cooperation with the Gulf regimes.
- Mutuality of interests: India and the WANA regimes know that there is a mutuality of interests in these transactions which cannot be substituted by any other segments of the world system.
- Indian diaspora: Equally important is the role of the more than eight million-strong Indian diaspora in the WANA region.
- The “Gulf remittance” is an important part of the Indian economy, as important as the Indian investment in the GCC and GCC investment in India.
Way forward
- India’s foreign policy strategy — which includes strategic bargaining with regional and international actors — would fetch reasonable dividends.
- The response to its Ukraine war strategy has convinced South Block that it has adequate manoeuvrability in global affairs.
Conclusion
New Delhi should not stop engaging the countries, especially the ones in the WANA region, as both have shared interests. Therefore, South Block must go beyond a mere damage-control exercise.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tendu Leaves, NTFP
Mains level: Not Much
Tribal residents in Chhattisgarh have decided to file an FIR against an official of the state forest department after he confiscated the tendu leaves that they had collected.
Tendu Leaves
- Leaves of tree species Diospyros melanoxyion are used as wrappers of tobacco to produce bidi.
- This tree is commonly known as “tendu,” but also called “abnus” in Andhra Pradesh, “kendu” in Orissa and West Bengal, “tembru” in Gujarat, “kari” in Kerala, “tembhurni” in Maharahstra, and “bali tupra” in Tamil Nadu.
- This leaf is considered the most suitable wrapper on account of the ease with which it can be rolled and its wide availability.
- Tendu is also called ‘green gold’ and is a prominent minor forest produce in India.
How it is traded?
- In 1964, the trade in tendu leaves was nationalised in then-undivided Madhya Pradesh.
- Until then, people were free to sell tendu leaves in markets across the country.
- Maharashtra adopted the same system in 1969, undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1971, Odisha in 1973, Gujarat in 1979, Rajasthan in 1974 and Chhattisgarh in 2000.
- Under this arrangement, the state forest department collects tendu leaves, allows their transportation and sells them to traders.
Why is there a dispute?
- The dispute is essentially about who has the right to sell the leaves.
- State governments say only they can do so due to nationalization.
- On the other hand, tendu leaf collectors cite The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the 2013 Supreme Court verdict in the Niyamgiri Case to say private collectors can sell them on their own.
- Tendu leaf collectors allege that the government gives them a lower price for the leaves, while it fetches a higher price in the open market.
What do the tribals want?
- The tribals, after having obtained forest rights leases under the FRA 2006, now want to sell tendu leaves on their own, with the permission of Gram Sabhas and make good profits.
- Many types of minor forest produce like Mahua, Salbeej or the seeds of the Sal tree (Shorea robusta) and Chironji or Almondette kernels (Buchanania lanzan) are collected and sold by tribals.
- Hence, there should not be a dispute over tendu leaves.
Back2Basics: Forest Produce in India
- Forest produce is defined under section 2(4) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Its legal definition includes timber, charcoal, catechu, wood-oil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, mahua flowers, trees and leaves, flowers and fruit, plants (including grass, creepers, reeds and moss), wild animals, skins, tusks, horns, bones, cocoons, silk, honey, wax, etc.
- Forest produce can be divided into several categories.
- From the point of view of usage, forest produce can be categorized into three types: Timber, Non-Timber and Minor Minerals.
- Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are known also as minor forest produce (MFP) or non-wood forest produces (NWFP).
- The NTFP can be further categorized into medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), oilseeds, fibre & floss, resins, edible plants, bamboo, reeds and grasses
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TVS-2M Nuclear Fuel
Mains level: Not Much
Russia has supplied the first batches of more reliable and cost-efficient nuclear fuel over the existing one, the TVS-2M nuclear fuel, to India for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).
What is TVS-2M Nuclear Fuel?
- The TVS-2M FAs contain gadolinium-oxide which is mixed with U-235 enrichments.
- The core does not contain BARs (Burnable Absorbers Rods).
How are they prepared?
- Once the uranium is enriched, it is ready to be converted into nuclear fuel.
- At a nuclear fuel fabrication facility, the UF6, in solid form, is heated to gaseous form, and then the UF6 gas is chemically processed to form uranium dioxide (UO2) powder.
- The powder is then compressed and formed into small ceramic fuel pellets.
- The pellets are stacked and sealed into long metal tubes that are about 1 centimetre in diameter to form fuel rods.
- The fuel rods are then bundled together to make up a fuel assembly.
- Depending on the reactor type, each fuel assembly has about 179 to 264 fuel rods.
- A typical reactor core holds 121 to 193 fuel assemblies.
Benefits offered
- TVS-2M fuel assemblies have a number of advantages making them more reliable and cost-efficient.
- The new fuel has increased uranium capacity – one TVS-2M assembly contains 7.6% more fuel material as compared to UTVS.
- Besides, the special feature of the Kudankulam fuel in particular is the new generation anti-debris filter ADF-2, efficiently protecting fuel assemblies.
- Once the new TVS-2 M fuel is used in the next refuelling, the reactor will start operations with an 18-month fuel cycle.
- It means the reactor, which has to be stopped for every 12 months for removing the spent fuel and inserting the fresh fuel bundles and allied maintenance, will have to be stopped for every 18 months.
Back2Basics: India-Russia Energy Cooperation
- The Soviet Union supplied India with nuclear reactors and fuel when India was denied technologies and was hit with sanctions from the West for its refusal to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
- In 1988, the Soviet Union agreed, allegedly without an official deal, to build two nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. The deal was made official in 1992.
- In 2000, Russia and India signed another secret MoU, to cooperate on “peaceful uses” of nuclear energy, and for Russia to supply India with low-enriched uranium fuel for the Tarapur reactor in Maharashtra.
- In 2009, the two countries entered into a major nuclear deal, with Russia agreeing to install four nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, and one in West Bengal.
- Two units at Kudankulam are currently operational, and the third and fourth units are being prepared for installation.
- Russia is also aiding with the ongoing construction of the fifth and sixth units.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IN-SPACE
Mains level: Commercial space activities in India
The Prime Minister inaugurated the headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) at Bopal, Ahmedabad.
What is IN-SPACe?
- The establishment of IN-SPACe was announced in June 2020.
- It is an autonomous and single window nodal agency in the Department of Space for the promotion, encouragement and regulation of space activities of both government and private entities.
- It also facilitates the usage of ISRO facilities by private entities.
- It comprises technical experts for space activities along with safety expert, academic experts and legal and strategic experts from other departments.
- It also comprises members from PMO and MEA of Government of India.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Space activities including building of launch vehicles and satellites and providing space based services as per the definition of space activities.
- Sharing of space infrastructure and premises under the control of ISRO with due considerations to on-going activities.
- Establishment of temporary facilities within premises under ISRO control based on safety norms and feasibility assessment
How is it different from ANTRIX?
- Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly-owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space.
- It is as a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
- Antrix is engaged in providing Space products and services to international customers worldwide.
What about New Space India Limited (NSIL)?
- It functions under the administrative control of the Department of Space (DOS).
- It aims to commercially exploit the research and development work of ISRO Centres and constituent units of DOS.
- The NSIL would enable Indian Industries to scale up high-technology manufacturing and production base for meeting the growing needs of the Indian space program.
- It would further spur the growth of Indian Industries in the space sector.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATGRID
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has curtailed the tenure of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and moved him to the Border Security Force (BSF).
What is NATGRID?
- NATGRID is an intelligence-sharing network that collates data from the standalone databases of the various agencies and ministries of the Indian government.
- It is a counter terrorism measure that collects and collates a host of information from government databases including tax and bank account details, credit/debit card transactions, visa and immigration records and itineraries of rail and air travel.
- It will also have access to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), a database that links crime information, including First Information Reports, across 14,000 police stations in India.
- As of 2019, NATGRID is headed by an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashish Gupta.
Its establishment
- The 26/11 terrorist siege in Mumbai back in 2008 exposed the deficiency that security agencies had no mechanism to look for vital information on a real-time basis.
Access to NATGRID
- Prominent federal agencies of the country have been authorized to access the NATGRID database.
- They are the:
- Central Bureau of Investigation
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
- Enforcement Directorate
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (for the Income Tax Department)
- Cabinet Secretariat
- Intelligence Bureau
- Directorate General of GST Intelligence
- Narcotics Control Bureau
- Financial Intelligence Unit, and
- National Investigation Agency
Future prospects
- According to the first phase plan, 10 user agencies and 21 service providers will be connected with the NATGRID, while in later phases, about 950 additional organizations will be brought on board.
- In the following years, more than 1,000 organizations will be further integrated into the NATGRID.
- These data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions, and telecommunications.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GDP and inflation
Mains level: Paper 3- India's growth rate
Context
The Provisional Estimates of Annual National Income in 2021-22 just released show that GDP grew 8.7% in real terms and 19.5% in nominal terms (including inflation). It makes India the fastest growing major economy in the world.
What data implies
- Just 1.51% larger: Provisional Estimates of Annual National Income in 2021-22 also indicate that, the real economy is 1.51% larger than it was in 2019-20, just before the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
- In nominal terms it is higher by 17.9%.
- Inflation: These numbers imply that the rate of inflation was 10.8% in 2021-22 and 16.4% between the two years, 2019-20 and 2021-22.
- Almost no growth: This picture implies almost no growth and high inflation since the pre-pandemic year.
- So, the tag of the fastest growing economy means little.
- Quarterly growth rate: The quarter to quarter growth currently may give some indication of the present rate of growth.
- In 2020-21, the quarterly rate of growth increased through the year.
- In 2021-22, the rate of growth has been slowing down.
- Of course in 2020-21, the COVID-19 lockdown had a severe impact in Q1 (-23.8%); after that the rate of growth picked up.
- In 2021-22, the rate of growth in Q1 had to sharply rise (20.3%).
- Ignoring the outliers in Q1, growth rates in 2021-22 have sequentially petered out in subsequent quarters: 8.4%, 5.4% and 4.1%.
- Going forward, while the lockdown in China is over, the war-related impact is likely to persist since there is no end in sight.
- Thus, price rise and impact on production are likely to persist.
Issues with the data
- The issue is about correctness of data.
- The annual estimates given now are provisional since complete data are not available for 2021-22.
- There is a greater problem with quarterly estimates since very limited data are available for estimating it.
- No data for Q1 of 2020-21: The first issue is that during 2020-21, due to the pandemic, full data could not be collected for Q1.
- No data for agriculture: Further, for agriculture, quarterly data assumes that the targets are achieved.
- Agriculture is a part of the unorganised sector.
- Very little data are available for it but for agriculture — neither for the quarter nor for the year.
- It is simply assumed that the limited data available for the organised sector can be used to act as a proxy.
- The non-agriculture unorganised sector is represented by the organised sector.
- Changes in non-agriculture unorganised: The method using the organised sector to proxy the unorganised non-agriculture sector may have been acceptable before demonetisation (2016) but is not correct since then.
- The reason is that the unorganised non-agriculture sector suffered far more than the organised sector and more so during the waves of the pandemic.
- Shift in demand to the organised sector: Large parts of the unorganised non-agriculture sector have experienced a shift in demand to the organised sector since they produce similar things.
- This introduces large errors in GDP estimates since official agencies do not estimate this shift.
- All that is known is that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has faced closures and failures.
- If GDP data are incorrect, data on its components — private consumption and investment — must also be incorrect.
- Further, the ratios themselves would have been impacted by the shock of the lockdown and the decline of the unorganised sectors.
- Private consumption data is suspect since according to the data given by the Reserve Bank of India which largely captures the organised sector, consumer confidence throughout 2021-22 was way below its pre-pandemic level of 104 achieved in January 2020.
- In brief, neither the total nor the ratios are correct.
Possible corrections
- In the best possible scenario, assume that the organised sector (55% of GDP) and agriculture (14% of GDP) are growing at the official rate of growth of 8.2% and 3%, respectively.
- Then, they would contribute 4.93% to GDP growth.
- The non-agriculture unorganised component is declining for two reasons: first, the closure of units and the second the shift in demand to the organised sector.
- Even if 5% of the units have closed down this year and 5% of the demand has shifted to the organised sector, the unorganised sector would have declined by about 10%; the contribution of this component to GDP growth would be -3.1%.
Conclusion
Clearly, recovery is incomplete and India is not the fastest growing big economy of the world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPEF countries
Mains level: Paper 2- IPEF opportunities and challenges
Context
The official launch of the Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the US’s de facto foreign economic policy for Asia, has been lauded and welcomed.
About IPEF
- Seen as a means to counter China in the region, it is a U.S.-led framework for participating countries to solidify their relationships and engage in crucial economic and trade matters in the region.
- The member nations include Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
- It includes seven out of 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), all four Quad countries, and New Zealand.
- Together, these countries account for 40 per cent of the global GDP.
- Not a free trade agreement: The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is not a free trade agreement.
- No market access or tariff reductions have been outlined, although experts say it can pave the way for future trade deals.
- The IPEF is also seen as a means by which the US is trying to regain credibility in the region after former President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership TPP.
- IPEF countries value its purpose and potential, particularly given some doubts over whether the US administration could sustain its focus in Asia as war broke out in Europe.
- The IPEF empowers the Biden administration to shape rules across several critical pillars that will condition America’s economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific amid competing economic paradigms, notably the Chinese through the BRI and Europe through digital policies and standards.
- Countering China: Besides Ukraine, the IPEF’s importance also owes to China’s patent economic footprint across Asia that could be checked by an alternative economic paradigm that emphasises openness, flexibility, and integration.
Significance of IPEF
- Boost supply chain resilience: Globally, the IPEF signifies the first multilateral attempt to boost supply chain resilience to ease global inflationary pressures and mitigate effects of future disruptions, particularly key raw materials, critical minerals, and semiconductors.
- Four key pillars: It’s a framework or a starting point to regulate trade and commerce across four key pillars: Digital economy, supply chains, clean energy, and governance.
- Negotiating high standard rules: The IPEF also represents an effort to negotiate “high-standard” rules between like-minded countries to govern the digital economy, particularly data flows, climate mitigation, global tax, anti-money laundering and anti-bribery provisions.
Challenges
- Impact on domestic companies: IPEF commitments and standards that other signatories like India have to accede to, will likely facilitate US MNCs’ access to Asian economies at the expense of domestic preferences.
- Impact on policy preference of countries: The IPEF’s pillars — climate, digital, supply chains, and governance reforms — could clash with and supersede these countries’ policy preferences on such issues.
- For instance, the US’ preference to allow free and open data flows under the digital economy pillar will constrict India’s ability to regulate data for domestic purposes.
Way forward for India
- The IPEF remains attractive for India given its flexibility and open nature, allowing Delhi to demonstrate its political commitment to the United States to jointly shape the rules governing the Indo-Pacific’s economic future even as competitors lurk.
- Tough policy choices, like the one on data and taxation, must be made by Indian officials while negotiating the terms of the IPEF accession.
Conclusion
What’s clear is that the IPEF represents both a mirage and aspiration. Collectively, it represents a leap into an unknown that has to be negotiated amongst partners that share interests and some values.
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