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  • Trade Protectionism in India

    Context

    India’s efforts for deepening India’s trade ties with several countries could be scuttled by rising trade protectionism at home.

    Increasing protectionism by India

    • Increase in average tariffs: As Arvind Panagariya has argued, the simple average of India’s tariffs that stood at 8.9 per cent in 2010-11 has increased by almost 25 per cent to 11.1 per cent in 2020-21.
    • These increases in tariff rates have reversed the political consensus on tariff liberalisation that India followed since 1991.
    • Initiator of anti-dumping measures: India is the highest initiator of anti-dumping measures aimed at shielding domestic industry from import competition.
    • According to the WTO, from 2015 to 2019, India initiated 233 anti-dumping investigations, which is a sharp increase from 82 initiations between 2011 and 2014 (June).
    • The anti-dumping initiations by India from 1995 (when the WTO was established) till 2020 stand at 1,071.
    • Expanding the scope of Article 11(2)(f): India recently amended Section 11(2)(f) of the Customs Act of 1962, giving the government the power to ban the import or export of any good (not just gold and silver, as this provision applied earlier) if it is necessary to prevent injury to the economy. 
    • Expanding the scope of Article 11(2)(f) to cover any good is inconsistent with India’s WTO obligations.
    • WTO allows countries to impose restrictions on imports in case of injury to domestic industry, not to the “economy”.
    • Restrictive rules of origin: Finance Minister in her budget speech of 2020 said that undue claims of FTA benefits pose a threat to the domestic industry.
    •  Subsequently, India amended the rules of origin requirement under the Customs Act.
    • Rules of origin determine the national source of a product.
    • This helps in deciding whether to apply a preferential tariff rate (if the product originates from India’s FTA partner country) or to apply the most favoured nation rate (if the product originates from a non-FTA country).
    • But India has imposed onerous burdens on importers to ensure compliance with the rules of origin requirement.
    • The intent appears to be to dissuade importers from importing goods from India’s FTA partners.
    • Impact of vocal for local: The clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “vocal for local” is creating an ecosystem where imports are looked at with disdain, upsetting competitive opportunities and trading partners.

    What are the implications?

    • Protectionist steps are justified on the ground that they would help domestic companies grow into viable competitors.
    • But the fact is that protectionism does not benefit the domestic economy.
    • It rather encourages inefficiency of domestic manufacturers.
    • It is likely to hurt exports, make domestic goods costlier and reduce benefits to consumers from increased competition.
    • So in the long term, protectionism is likely to have only a negative effect on industry’s ability to compete globally.
    • For India to reap the benefits of the summits and partnerships like Quad, there needs to be a fundamental shift in policy.
    • Amore pragmatic approach in line with the recent initiatives to reverse the retrospective tax legislation and provide support to the flailing telecom sector must be expanded.

    Conclusion

    India can’t maximise its interests at the expense of others. Its experiment with trade protectionism in the decades before 1991 was disastrous. We should recall Winston Churchill’s warning: “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

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  • Farmers have Right to Protest, but can’t block roads: SC

    The Supreme Court has said farmers protesting at Delhi borders against the three farms laws have the right to agitate but they cannot block roads indefinitely.

    For students with Sociology optional, can someone list the differences between- Dissent, Protest, Agitation and Movement?

    What is Protest?

    • When a group, community, or even a person goes up to protest, it is usually to showcase their disapproval or demur against any action, policy, statement, etc of state or government or any organization.
    • Mostly the flow of protest is driven through political waves that also demonstrate the collective organization of people to make the government or state address their issues and take steps to overcome them.

    Issues with ongoing protest in Delhi

    • The question as to the absolute nature of the right to protest is not even a question in the true sense here.
    • We have seen the vandalism protest at Red Fort last year.
    • Hence the rights mentioned above are subject to reasonable restrictions under 19 (2) and 19 (3) on grounds such as sovereignty and integrity of India, and public order.

    Right to Protest in India

    • The right to protest is the manifestation of three FRs:
    1. Right to Freedom of Assembly
    2. Right to Freedom of Association and
    3. Right to Freedom of Speech
    • The Constitution of India provides the right of freedom, given in Article 19 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution.
    • The Right to protest peacefully is enshrined in Article 19(1) (a) guarantees the freedom of speech and expression; Article 19(1) (b) assures citizens the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

    In detail: Article 19(1)

    It states that All citizens shall have the right:

    • (a) to freedom of speech and expression;
    • (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
    • (c) to form associations or unions;
    • (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
    • (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
    • (f) omitted
    • (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business

    Do you know?

    Right to Internet is a fundamental right and is an essential part of freedom of speech and expression. One might get confused if it is an FR under Article 21.

    Reasonable restrictions do exist in practice

    • Fundamental rights do not live in isolation. The right of the protester has to be balanced with the right of the commuter. They have to co-exist in mutual respect.
    • Article 19(2) imposes reasonable restrictions on this.
    • The court held it was entirely the responsibility of the administration to prevent encroachments in public spaces.

    Conclusion

    • Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone.
    • The present case was not even one of the protests taking place in an undesignated area but was a blockage of a public way which caused grave inconvenience to commuters.

     

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  • Need for Strategic Reserves of Coal and Gas

    The Centre has stressed the need to build strategic reserves of imported coal and gas as was being done for petroleum products.

    Why need strategic reserves for Coal and Gas?

    • Many countries have started keeping strategic reserves, because when it comes to a crunch, every country will meet its needs first.
    • Russia has curtailed gas supply to Europe because they want more gas to be consumed within their country.
    • There is a surge in power demand combined with a fall in imports due to high global coal prices have led to supply disruptions.

    Do you know?

    In 1998, the AB Vajpayee administration proposed building petroleum reserves as a long-term solution to managing the oil market.

    What are Strategic Reserves?

    • Indian refiners maintain 64.5 days of crude storage, so India has overall reserve oil storage of 74 days
    • Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) is an Indian company responsible for maintaining the country’s strategic petroleum reserves.
    • ISPRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB), which functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
    • It maintains an emergency fuel store of total 5.870 million cubic meters of strategic crude oil enough to provide 9.5 days of consumption.

    SPRs in India

    S. No. Location Capacity
    1 Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 1.33 million tonnes
    2 Mangalore, Karnataka 1.5 million tonnes
    3 Padur, Karnataka 2.5 million tonnes and an additional 2.5 million tonnes under construction
    4 Chandikhol, Odisha 4 million tonnes (under construction)

     

    Why were SPRs created?

    • Gulf War, 1990: It caused a sharp rise in oil prices and a massive increase to India’s imports.
    • Forex fluctuations: During the subsequent 1991 Indian economic crisis, foreign exchange reserves could barely finance three weeks’ worth of imports while the government came close to defaulting on its financial obligations.
    • Price volatility: India was able to resolve the crisis through policies that liberalized the economy. However, India continued to be impacted by the volatility of oil prices.

    How are they constructed?

    • The crude oil storages are constructed in underground rock caverns and are located on the East and West coasts of India.
    • Crude oil from these caverns can be supplied to the Indian Refineries either through pipelines or through a combination of pipelines and coastal movement.
    • Underground rock caverns are considered the safest means of storing hydrocarbons.

     

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  • What are Non-Transgenic Gene Editing techniques?

    The Centre is yet to decide on a research proposal from scientists which would allow plants to be genetically modified without the need for conventional transgenic technology.

    What is Genome Editing?

    • Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA.
    • These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome.
    • Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.

    Techs for Genome Editing

    The core technologies now most commonly used to facilitate genome editing are

    1. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)- associated protein 9 (Cas9)
    2. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs)
    3. Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs)
    4. Homing endonucleases or meganucleases

    Newer technologies

    • The Institute has now moved to newer technologies such as Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2.
    • They aim to bring precision and efficiency into the breeding process using gene-editing tools such as CRISPR, whose developers won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020.

    About CRISPR

    • CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria.
    • The bacteria capture snippets of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments known as CRISPR arrays.
    • The CRISPR arrays allow the bacteria to “remember” the viruses (or closely related ones).
    • If the viruses attack again, the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays to target the viruses’ DNA.
    • The bacteria then use Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the virus DNA apart, which disables the virus.
    • This method is faster, cheaper, more accurate, and more efficient than other existing genome editing methods.

    What is Non-Transgenic Gene Editing?

    • Unlike the older GM technology which involves the introduction of foreign DNA, the new proposal involves the use of gene editing tools to directly tweak the plant’s own genes instead.
    • It does not involve inserting any foreign DNA.

    Use in India

    • Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are in the process of developing resilient and high-yield rice varieties using such gene editing techniques.
    • However, this proposal has been pending with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for almost two years.

    Why need such technique?

    • Similar to natural mutation: But in this case, this protein is right there in the plant, and is being changed a little bit, just as nature does through mutation.
    • Faster and cheaper: It is much faster and far more precise than natural mutation or conventional breeding methods which involve trial and error and multiple breeding cycles.
    • Safe for consumption: When a protein comes from an outside organism, then you need to test for safety.
    • Pathbreaking: It is potentially a new Green Revolution.

    No approval issues

    • The SDN 1 and SDN 2 categories of genome-edited plants do not contain any foreign DNA when they are taken to the open field trials.
    • The US, Canada, Australia and Japan are among the countries which have already approved the SDN 1 and 2 technologies as not akin to GM.
    • So, such varieties of rice can be exported without any problem.
    • The European Food Safety Authority has also submitted its opinion that these technologies do not need the same level of safety assessment as conventional GM.

     

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  • Pakistan, Turkey on FATF greylist

    The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on the grey list yet again since 2018. The FATF also announced the ‘greylisting’ of Jordan, Mali and Turkey.

    What is the FATF?

    • FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
    • The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
    • It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.
    • As of 2019, FATF consisted of 37 member jurisdictions.

    India and FATF

    • India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, it had been working towards full-fledged membership.
    • On June 25, 2010, India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.
    • The EAG (Eurasian Group) is a regional body comprising nine countries: India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.

    What is the role of FATF?

    • Watchdog on terror financing: The rise of the global economy and international trade has given rise to financial crimes such as money laundering.
    • Recommendation against financial crimes: The FATF makes recommendations for combating financial crime, reviews members’ policies and procedures, and seeks to increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe.

    What is the Black List and the Grey List?

    • Black List: The blacklist, now called the “Call for action” was the common shorthand description for the FATF list of “Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories” (NCCTs).
    • Grey List: Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.

    Consequences of being in the FATF grey list:

    • Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
    • Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
    • Trade sanctions: Reduction in international trade
    • International boycott

    Pakistan and FATF

     

    • Pakistan, which continues to remain on the “grey list” of FATF, had earlier been given the deadline till June to ensure compliance with the 27-point action plan against terror funding networks.
    • It has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
    • FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.

     

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  • Why India needs an international development cooperation agency

    Context

    Enhancing the efficacy of India’s development cooperation endeavours has been a challenging issue for the past several decades. The country, therefore, needs to expedite work on a specialised agency for proficient delivery of outcomes.

    Development assistance and lack of institutional foundation

    • In the last couple of years, India’s assistance to other developing countries has multiplied several times.
    • India’s development cooperation has converged to an all-encompassing integrated framework, a development compact that has five modalities — capacity building, concessional finance, technology sharing, grant and trade wherein duty-free and quota-free access to the Indian market is provided.
    •  India’s benevolent image does yield tremendous goodwill globally, but quality project delivery is yet to become the country’s USP.
    • On average, India provides development assistance of $6.48 billion and receives assistance of $6.09 billion annually from key partners as Official Development Assistance (ODA).
    • Under Indian Cooperation Mission (ICM) — India partners for development cooperation and does not give aid like OECD members.
    • India has been supporting the developmental endeavours of several partner countries in Africa and Asia, even before Independence.
    • However, this process lacks a firm institutional foundation.

    Efforts to form an institutional framework

    • The first effort by India to shape a framework was in 2003 with the announcement of the India Development Initiative (IDI).
    • Subsequently, the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) was launched in 2005 for managing credit lines.
    • The IDI was suspended in 2007 and the announcement about the setting up of the India International Development Cooperation Agency (IIDCA), which never took off.
    • Meanwhile, in 2018, China founded its international development cooperation agency.

    Changes in concessional financing

    • At this point, concessional financing in India’s development cooperation portfolio is close to 70 per cent.
    • So any major change would require alterations in the way LOCs (Line of Credit) have been working.
    • In 2015, the government made efforts to bring in operational changes in the way credit lines work.
    •  As of now, the EXIM Bank raises global resources and the Government of India absorbs the interest differential.

    Way forward

    • Countries have sovereign and non-sovereign windows for promoting infrastructure financing abroad — both have their own place.
    • A non-sovereign window would provide greater flexibility and bandwidth.
    • To become a leading strategic investor in commercially viable and financially attractive public-private partnership infrastructure projects, the fund may build an investment ecosystem in Africa with support from leading Indian firms.
    • The proposed new entity may also provide handholding to select performing Indian social enterprises to operate in other countries as well.
    • Besides making an immediate economic impact, these enterprises can facilitate development partnerships between India and other countries.
    • Post-pandemic, countries worldwide are exploring ways to reinvigorate their development cooperation efforts.
    • India’s own development experience is also evolving with programmes like the JAM trinity, Ayushman Bharat and other initiatives like Gati Shakti — the learnings from which should be absorbed in the portfolio to be shared with fellow developing countries.

    Conclusion

    It is high time India restructures its development finance apparatus for deeper and effective engagement and to address the rapidly evolving newer competitive development financing landscape.

  • Historical Significance of Kushinagar

    The Prime Minister has inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh, which will help connect key Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

    About Kushinagar

    • Kushinagar is a town in the Kushinagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
    • It is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana after his death.
    • It is an international Buddhist pilgrimage centre.
    • It is also at the centre of a Buddhist tourist circuit, which includes Lumbini (Nepal), Sarnath and Bodhgaya.
    • Other Buddhist destinations nearby include Nalanda, Sravasti and Kapilavastu.

    History of Kushinagar

    The present Kushinagar is identified with Kusavati (in the pre-Buddha period) and Kushinara (in the post-Buddha period).

    [A] Ancient

    • Kushinara was the capital of Mallas which was one of the sixteen mahajanpada of the 6th century BCE.
    • Since then, it remained an integral part of the erstwhile empires of Maurya, Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Harsha, and Pala dynasties.

    [B] Medieval

    • In the medieval period, Kushinagar had passed under the suzerainty of Kultury Kings.
    • Kushinara continued to be a living city till the 12th century CE and was thereafter lost into oblivion.
    • It was believed to be ruled over by a Rajput adventurer, Madan Singh, in the 15th century CE.

    [C] Modern

    • Kushinagar came into prominence in the 19th century with archaeological excavations carried out by Alexander Cunningham, the first Archaeological Surveyor of India.
    • It was later followed by C.L. Carlleyle who exposed the main stupa and also discovered a 10 meters long statue of reclining Buddha in 1876.
    • Excavations continued till 1907 under J. Ph. Vogel, uncovering a wealth of Buddhist materials.
    • Chandra Swami, a Burmese monk, came to India in 1903 and made Mahaparinirvana Temple into a living shrine.

    What is the Buddhist Tourist Circuit?

    • In 2016, the Ministry of Tourism announced the Buddhist Circuit as the country’s first transnational tourism circuit, covering sites in Nepal and Sri Lanka alongside those in India.
    • The map of the Buddhist Circuit includes Bodh Gaya, Vaishali, and Rajgir in Bihar, Kushinagar, Sarnath, and Shravasti in UP, and Lumbini in Nepal.

    Significance of these places

    • The Buddha was born as the prince Siddhartha Gautama in c. 563 BC in Lumbini, and he lived until the age of 29 with his parents in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu.
    • He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, and gave his first sermon at Sarnath near Varanasi.
    • He taught in the area around Rajgir, where he was built a forest monastery by king Bimbisara of Magadha, and he lived the largest part of his life as the Buddha in Shravasti.
    • He delivered his last sermon in Vaishali and got parinirvana at Kushinagar.

    Significance of this Circuit

    Ans. Cultural Diplomacy

    • Look East: There is an awareness in the government that the absence of tourist infrastructure is a major reason why India loses out to Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Thailand.
    • Employment through Tourism: The hope is that world-class facilities will be able to attract Buddhist tourists to India, and boost revenues and employment generation.
    • Gaining soft power: The push is intended to assert and consolidate India’s position as the original centre of Buddhism, against the claims from China.

    Questions based on either Buddhism or Jainism,  are all-time favourite of UPSC and are equally invincible.

    They no more seem to be based on NCERT or other standard references available in market.

    Stay connected if you expect us to resolve this issue. Do let us know in the comment box.

     

    Meantime, try this PYQ:

     

    Which of the following kingdoms were associated with the life of the Buddha?

    1. Avanti
    2. Gandhara
    3. Kosala
    4. Magadha

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1, 2 and 3

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 3 and 4

    (d) 3 and 4 only

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”j943nzzsu8″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Explained: Election of Deputy Speaker

    There is an ongoing row in Uttar Pradesh Assembly over the election of Dy Speaker, the post which was lying vacant for two years.

    Read each and every bit of this newscard. It can source you many MCQs.

    Constitutional mandate for Deputy Speaker

    • Article 93 talks about the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker for Lok Sabha and the case for their vacancies.
    • Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.

    Is it mandatory under the Constitution to have a Deputy Speaker?

    • Constitutional experts point out that both Articles 93 and 178 use the words “shall” and “as soon as may be”.
    • This indicates that not only is the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker mandatory, it must be held at the earliest.
    • All that the Constitution says is the election must be held as soon as possible.

    Time-frame and rules for their Election

    • Generally speaking, the practice in both Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies has been to elect the Speaker during the first session of the new House.
    • This usually falls on the third day after oath-taking and affirmations take place over the first two days.
    • The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session, even though there is no bar on having this election too in the first session.
    • However, the election of Deputy Speaker is generally not delayed beyond the second session without genuine and unavoidable constraints.

    Rules for the elections

    • In Lok Sabha, the election of Deputy Speaker is governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
    • According to the Rule, the election “shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix”, and the Deputy Speaker is elected once a motion proposing his name is carried.
    • There are similar provisions in the State Legislative Assembly Rules.

    Their tenure

    • Once elected, the Deputy Speaker usually continues in office until the dissolution of the House.
    • Under Article 94 (Article 179 for state legislatures), the Speaker or Dy Speaker “shall vacate his office if (S)he ceases to be a member of the House”.
    • They may also resign (to each other), or “may be removed by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House”.

    Do the powers of the Speaker extend to the Deputy Speaker as well?

    • Article 95(1) says: While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker.
    • After the first Speaker, G V Mavalankar died, M Ananth Ayyangar officiated as Acting Speaker for the remaining tenure of the House and was then elected Speaker of the second Lok Sabha.
    • There is another such incident.
    • 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.
    • It has been repeatedly held that no appeal lies to the Speaker against a ruling given by the Deputy Speaker or any person presiding over a sitting of the House in the absence of the Speaker.

    Note: UPSC has now gone person-specific in these matters. Kindly refer this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. In India, there is no law restricting the candidates from contesting in one Lok Sabha election from three constituencies.
    2. In 1991 Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies.
    3. As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of bye-elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her in the event of him/her winning in all the constituencies.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2021)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3

    (d) 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”9d1defsm9a” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    Does being Deputy Speaker protect an MP or MLA from the law of disqualification?

    Ans. No- with one specific exemption.

    • The Tenth Schedule says that a person who has been elected Speaker/ Deputy Speaker shall NOT be disqualified if he voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party to which he belonged.
    • This exemption applies to the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Chairman/ Deputy Chairman of a state Legislative Council, and Speaker/ Deputy Speaker of a state Legislative Assembly as well.

    Can courts intervene in cases of a delay in electing the Deputy Speaker?

    • In general, the courts do not intervene in the procedural conduct of Parliament.
    • Article 122(1) says: The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.
    • A petition before the Delhi High Court has argued that the delay in the election of the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker violates Article 93 of the Constitution.
    • There is no precedent of a court forcing the legislature to elect the Deputy Speaker.
    • However, the courts do have jurisdiction to at least enquire why there has been no election to the post of Deputy Speaker since the Constitution does envisage an election “as soon as maybe”.

     

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  • Extending BSF’s powers won’t resolve policing problems, security threats

    Context

    The Union home ministry’s order to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Forces (BSF) has caused furore.

    Justification for the order

    • Increased threats: The Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has revived serious threats of cross-border infiltration from Pakistan, while China, our other tense neighbour, has been increasingly aggressive over the past year.
    • Change in the jurisdiction: The BSF’s powers have not altered, only its jurisdiction has changed from 15 to 50 kilometres and that is for the purposes of uniformity.

    Issues raised by the order

    • Lack of clarity: That India is facing heightened security threats is undeniable.
    • What is unclear is how the BSF’s extended jurisdiction helps counter these threats.
    • The recent drug seizures in Gujarat’s Adani port were successfully conducted by the customs department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence — not by the BSF, despite their jurisdiction depth of 80 kilometres in the state.
    • No need for uniformity: In the security context, arguments about uniformity are patently absurd.
    • There is no uniformity between coastal smuggling in Gujarat, cross-border infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, smuggling and drone drops in Punjab.
    • Risk of civilian resentment: The order raises the risk of civilian resentment, even clashes, given that the BSF is not trained to operate in residential and/or market areas, it will also undermine the state police forces’ morale even further.
    • Overstretching BSF: The BSF is likely to be overstretched by its new tasks.
    • Once again, that could weaken rather than strengthen the BSF’s security capabilities.

    Tackling illegal migration

    • Curbing illegal migration requires coordinated action between India and its neighbours, first at the political and then at the security level.
    • The administration’s migration policies — the Citizenship Amendment Act, deporting Myanmar refugees even when they were locally welcomed, cancelling Afghan visas have made cooperation more difficult and impacting negatively on border security.
    • To think that the BSF can plug what is a government-to-government policy gap is prone to failure.

    Way forward

    • Coordination: The underlying issue when it comes to tackling both smuggling and infiltration threats is coordination between our security agencies.
    • Police reform: The state police forces have weakened, therefore, the solution lies in putting police reforms on an emergency footing, not in extending the BSF’s jurisdiction.
    • That we have a grave policing problem across India is undeniable.
    • But the answer is not to write them off; it is to insulate them from political misuse while holding them accountable for rule of law lapses.
    • Moreover, to strengthen police capabilities it is vital that other security forces cooperate with local police forces, not bypass them.
    • The BSF has had a relatively good record of local police cooperation thus far.
    • When it comes to cross-border infiltration, intelligence is the key.

    Conclusion

    Strengthening police capabilities, improving coordination between security agencies and cooperation with state law enforcement are needed to address these issues.

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  • Punjab farmers create Bio-Enzymes from Kinnow

    Some farmers in Punjab, especially in the Kinnow belt, have started making Bio-Enzymes (BEs) from this waste fruit — peel and ‘D’ grade, very small kinnows.

    What is a Kinnow?

    • The ‘Kinnow’ is a high yield citrus fruit cultivated extensively in the wider Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
    • It is a year-long duration crop and the main harvesting period is from November-end to March.
    • It looks similar to orange but is smaller in size.

    Agricultural significance of Kinnows

    • Fallen fruit is a major challenge for kinnow farmers in the state as one needs to dig up small pits to bury them, otherwise the fallen fruit rot and invite a fly attack on the healthy fruit still on the plants.
    • But now, some farmers are using this waste kinnow to improve the pH level and soil fertility of their land by making BEs from this waste fruit.

    What are Bio-Enzymes?

    • Chemically, the Bio Enzymes are a mixture of complex organic substances such as proteins, salts and other materials that are by-products of the bacteria/yeast.
    • They produced through fermentation of organic waste including various fruits, vegetable peels and flowers, by mixing in sugar, jaggery/molasses and water.
    • BE’s also have a lot of usage in our daily lives. They can be used as natural cleansers.

    Benefits offered by BEs

    • BEs have a lot of good microbes and one of the major methods which helps overall improvement of our ecology.
    • It helps in mitigating the imbalance occurred due to overuse of chemicals, in our soil, air and water.
    • In a state like Punjab where water table is depleting fast and water contamination is also major issue, BEs can bring the soil back to life.
    • It helps in better water recharging and also stops the contamination of water by improving the health of soil.

     

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