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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    Importance of Gilgit-Baltistan

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Pakistan government has recently announced that it would give the Gilgit-Baltistan region “provisional provincial status”. When that happens, G-B will become the sixth official province of Pakistan.

    Tap to read more about: Reorganization of J&K

    Gilgit-Baltistan

    • Gilgit-Baltistan is the northernmost territory administered by Pakistan, providing the country’s only territorial frontier, and thus a land route, with China, where it meets the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
    • The region is an illegally occupied Indian territory as it was the part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu & Kashmir as it existed in 1947 at its accession to India.
    • To G-B’s west is Afghanistan, to its south is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and to the east J&K.

    Its current status

    • Though Pakistan, like India, links G-B’s fate to that of Kashmir, its administrative arrangements are different from those in PoK.
    • While PoK has its own Constitution that sets out its powers and their limits vis-à-vis Pakistan, G-B has been ruled mostly by executive fiat.
    • Until 2009, the region was simply called Northern Areas.
    • It had a Northern Areas Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly. The NALC was an elected body, but had no more than an advisory role to the Islamabad.

    Why the separate status?

    • Pakistan’s separate arrangement with G-B goes back to the circumstances under which it came to administer it. On November 1 1947, after J&K ruler Hari Singh had signed the Instrument of Accession with India.
    • Gilgit had been leased to the British by Hari Singh in 1935. The British returned it in August 1947.
    • Pakistan did not accept G-B’s accession although it took administrative control of the territory.
    • India went to the UN and a series of resolutions were passed in the Security Council on the situation in Kashmir.
    • Pakistan believed that neither G-B nor PoK should be annexed to Pakistan, as this could undermine the international case for a plebiscite in Kashmir.
    • It also reckons that in the event a plebiscite ever takes place in Kashmir, votes in G-B will be important too. This is why it is only being called “provisional” provincial status.

    Move for a status-quo?

    • The plan to grant G-B provincial status is linked to CPEC and Chinese interest as well as a response to India’s abrogation of Art. 370.
    • While India has objected to the plan to make G-B a province of Pakistan and in the recent past asserted that it will take control of G-B, there is a realization that it is impossible to change the map now.
    • In this sense, it can be argued that the merger of G-B with Pakistan is a move that could help both countries put the past behind and move forward on the Kashmir issue, sometime in the future.

    What do the people in G-B want?

    • The people of G-B have been demanding for years that it be made a part of Pakistan since there is virtual no connect with India.
    • Some have in the past demanded a merger with PoK, but the people of G-B have no real connect with Kashmir either.
    • They belong to several non-Kashmiri ethnicities and speak various languages, none of these Kashmiri.
    • A majority of the estimated 1.5 million G-B residents are Shias. There is anger against Pakistan for unleashing extremist sectarian militant groups that target Shias.
    • There is a movement for independence, but it has very little traction.

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  • Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

    WWF Water Risk Filter

    IOCR | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Urbanization, Their Problems & Remedies

    Nearly a third of the 100 cities in the world susceptible to ‘water risk’ — defined as losses from battling droughts to flooding — are in India, according to the WWF Water Risk Filter.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.For Indian cities to break away from the vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer an alternative. Examine.

    What is Water Risk Filter?

    • This is an online tool, co-developed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature that helps evaluate the severity of risk places faced by graphically illustrating various factors that can contribute to water risk.
    • Launched in 2012, it is a practical online tool that helps companies and investors assess and respond to water-related risks facing their operations and investments across the globe.
    • After a major upgrade in 2018, the Water Risk Filter 5.0 enables companies and investors to Explore, Assess, Value and Respond to water risks.
    • Lately, the Water Risk Filter provides scenarios of water risks for 2030 and 2050, integrating climate and socio-economic changes in different pathways.

    Highlights of the recent analysis

    • It reported 30 Indian cities that would face a ‘grave water risk’ by 2050 due to a dramatic increase in their population percentage to 51 per cent by 2050, from 17 per cent in 2020.
    • Jaipur topped the list, followed by Indore and Thane. Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi also featured on the list.
    • The global list includes cities such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro. China accounts for almost half the cities.

    Major recommendations

    • The future of India’s environment lies in its cities. As India rapidly urbanizes, cities will be at the forefront both for India’s growth and for sustainability.
    • For cities to break away from the current vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer solutions.
    • Urban watersheds and wetlands are critical for maintaining the water balance of a city, flood cushioning, micro-climate regulation and protecting its biodiversity, the report notes.

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  • Hunger and Nutrition Issues – GHI, GNI, etc.

    Distribution of Fortified Rice under ICDS

    Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Poverty & Hunger

    In a bid to combat chronic anaemia and undernutrition, the government is planning to distribute fortified rice through the Integrated Child Development Services and Mid-Day Meal schemes across the country.

    What is Fortified Rice?

    • Rice can be fortified by adding a micronutrient powder to the rice that adheres to the grains or spraying of the surface of ordinary rice grains with a vitamin and mineral mix to form a protective coating.
    • Rice can also be extruded and shaped into partially precooked grain-like structures resembling rice grains, which can then be blended with natural polished rice.
    • Rice kernels can be fortified with several micronutrients, such as iron, folic acid and other B-complex vitamins, vitamin A and zinc.
    • These fortified kernels are then mixed with normal rice in a 1:100 ratio, and distributed for consumption.

    Note: Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that Biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during the processing of the crops.

    What was the earlier initiative?

    • The centrally-sponsored pilot scheme was approved in February 2019 for a three-year period from 2019-20 onwards.
    • However, only five States — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh — have started the distribution of fortified rice in their identified pilot districts.

    Need for expansion

    • Currently, there are only 15,000 tonnes of these kernels available per year in the country.
    • To cover PDS, anganwadis and mid-day meals in the 112 aspirational districts, annual supply capacity would need to be increased to about 1.3 lakh tonnes.
    • To cover PDS across the country, 3.5 lakh tonnes of fortified kernels would be needed.

    Regulating fortification

    • FSSAI has formulated a comprehensive regulation on fortification of foods namely ‘Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016’.
    • These regulations set the standards for food fortification and encourage the production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of fortified foods.
    • The regulations also provide for the specific role of FSSAI in promotion for food fortification and to make fortification mandatory.
    • WHO recommends fortification of rice with iron, vitamin A and folic acid as a public health strategy to improve the iron status of population wherever rice is a staple food.

    Back2Basics: Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

    • The ICDS aims to provide food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
    • The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
    • The tenth FYP also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
    • The ICDS provide for anganwadis or day-care centres which deliver a package of six services including:
    1. Immunization
    2. Supplementary nutrition
    3. Health checkup
    4. Referral services
    5. Pre-school education (Non-Formal)
    6. Nutrition and Health information

    Implementation

    • For nutritional purposes, ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12-15 grams of protein) every day to every child below 6 years of age.
    • For adolescent girls, it is up to 500-kilo calories with up to 25 grams of protein every day.
    • The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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  • Judicial Reforms

    Pardoning Powers of Governor

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The Supreme Court has recently said that the investigation into the conspiracy behind Ex-PMs assassination in 1991 need not deter the Governor from deciding the plea for pardon of convicts.

    What did the court say exactly?

    • The court made it clear that it was reluctant to exercise its jurisdiction when the Governor was already seized of convict’s plea for a pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution.

    Try this PYQ now:

    Q.Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State?

    1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule
    2. Appointing the Ministers
    3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
    4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 1 and 3 only

    (c) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Pardoning Powers of Governor

    • Article 161 deals with the Pardoning Power of the Governor.
    • The Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishments or suspend, remit and commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
    • The Governor cannot Pardon a Death Sentence. (The President has the power of Pardon a death Sentence).
    • The Governor cannot grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension, remission or commutation in respect to punishment or sentence by a court-martial. However, the President can do so.

    Back2Basics:

    • Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free. The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen.
    • Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence.
    • Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation.
    • Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc.
    • Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing twenty-year rigorous imprisonment to ten years.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Punjab Connection of the Irish freedom movement

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Ireland is commemorating 100 years of the mutiny by a British Army battalion stationed in Jalandhar and Solan in Punjab in support of the Irish freedom movement.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events:

    1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy
    2. Quit India Movement launched
    3. Second Round Table Conference

    What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

    (a) 1-2-3

    (b) 2-1-3

    (c) 3-2-1

    (d) 3-1-2

    Irish mutiny in India

    • The Connaught Rangers were raised during the British Army reforms of 1881.
    • A British Army battalion belonging to the Connaught Rangers was the one in which Irish soldiers mutinied in Jalandhar and Solan in Punjab.
    • Solan now lies in Himachal Pradesh but in 1920 it was part of Punjab. The Ist Battalion of the Connaught Rangers was stationed in Jalandhar since January 1920 after it had taken part in the First World War.

    Why did the mutiny take place?

    • The troops were protesting against the behaviour of the ‘Black and Tans’ during the Irish War of Independence (1919-22).
    • The Black and Tan were members of the Irish constabulary which had been recruited from Great Britain and mostly comprised demobilized soldiers who had fought in the First World War.
    • The Irish soldiers felt that they must rise in solidarity with their compatriots back in Ireland and hence in June and July 1920 some of the regiment’s men mutinied.
    • Some of the mutinied soldiers were later put through a court-martial.

    Who were the Black and Tans?

    • They were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence.
    • Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920 and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflict.
    • The vast majority were unemployed former soldiers from Great Britain who fought in the First World War, although some were from Ireland.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-United States

    Consolidation of quad reflects India’s political will

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Quad as new feature of Indo-Pacific

    • Australia’s participation in the Malabar exercises marks the emergence of the Quad as a new feature of the Indo-Pacific geopolitics.
    • The question is India’s ability to take full advantage of the possibilities after the US elections to construct a wide range of new international coalitions.
    • Likely changes could envelop a range of old institutions like the Five Eyes and the G-7 grouping that coordinates Western policies on global economic management.
    • We could also see the creation of a new League of Democracies that will addres issues like including the defence of shared values, commerce, corruption, taxation, climate change and digital governance.

    Phases of India’s international aspiration

    • The consolidation of the Quad reflects the political will in Delhi to break free from old shibboleths and respond to security imperatives.
    • The post-Quad era opens a new phase in which India, for the first time, can help shape global institutions.
    • First phase: Idealism was the hallmark of India’s internationalism in the 1950s, the harsh politics of the Cold War quickly dampened it.
    • Second phase: In the 1970s, India embraced the radical agenda of a New International Economic Order, as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. The results were meagre.
    • Third phase began with the end of the Cold War.
    • And as India’s own economic model collapsed, India had to focus on economic reform and prevent the world from intruding too much into its internal affairs.
    • The fear of the US activism on Kashmir and nuclear issues saw Delhi turn to Russia and China in search of a “multipolar world” that could constrain American power.
    • The BRICS forum with Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa became emblematic of this strategy.
    • Delhi also figured out that it was not possible for BRICS to constrain Beijing, since China was so much bigger than the other four members put together.
    • Fourth phase in India’s multilateralism is marked by three features — the relative rise in Delhi’s international standing, the breakdown of the great power consensus on economic globalisation, and the breakout of the US-China rivalry.

    Efforts to tackle China

    • The Trump administration has already sought to imagine the Quad’s possibilities beyond the defence domain.
    • The invitation to India to join a Five Eyes meeting came amidst the bipartisan calls in the US Congress for the expansion of the forum and the inclusion of India.
    • The “Quad Plus” dialogue has variously drawn in Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea, and Vietnam for consultations with the Quad members on coordinating the responses to the pandemic.
    • India is also engaged with Japan and Australia in developing resilient supply chains to reduce the reliance on China.
    • President Trump has proposed the expansion of G-7 grouping to include Australia, India, Russia and South Korea.
    • The last few months has seen the Trump administration promote a “Clean Network” that eliminates untrustworthy vendors from telecom systems, digital apps, trans-oceanic cables and cloud infrastructure.
    • Clean Network is now a broader effort to build secure technology ecosystems among like-minded countries.
    • Britain is said to be developing plans to convene a coalition of 10 democracies, including India, that can contribute to the construction of secure 5G networks and reduce the current dependence on China.
    • France and Canada have invited India to join the Global Partnership on artificial intelligence that now includes 15 countries.
    • The objective is to promote responsible development of AI that is consistent with shared democratic values.

    Conclusion

    Delhi’s participation in the sweeping rearrangement of the global structures will have major consequences for India’s economic prosperity and technological future. Unlike in the past, Delhi now has the resources, leverage and political will to make a difference to the global order

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  • Monetary Policy Committee Notifications

    Reinforcing the RBI’s accountability

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Inflation targeting and legal provisions

    • The inflation target, notified in August 2016, is 4%.
    • The upper tolerance level was set at 6% and the lower tolerance level at 2%.
    • Inflation was 6.7% in the January-March quarter, 6.6% in the April-June quarter and 6.9% in the July-September quarter.
    • Breaching limits for any three consecutive quarters constitutes a failure to achieve the inflation target.
    • In such an event, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is required to send a report to the Centre, stating the reasons for the failure to achieve the inflation target, the remedial actions it proposes to initiate, and an estimate of the time-period within which it expects to achieve the inflation target through the corrective steps proposed.
    • Through amendments passed by Parliament in 2016, these new provisions were written into the RBI Act.
    • They are aimed at ensuring enhanced transparency and accountability of the central bank.

    Reason given by the RBI for missing the target

    • The normal data collection exercise of the National Statistics Office was disrupted during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • The minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting after its August policy review suggest that the RBI’s defence for the breach of the 4% inflation target and 6% upper tolerance limit was the handicap of data limitations.

    Issues with the reason given by the RBI

    • The range around the inflation target that the Ministry provided to the RBI is for accommodating constraints and challenges like data limitations.
    • The whole point of the range around the target, the statement emphasised, is that it “accommodates data limitations, projection errors, short-run supply gaps and fluctuations in the agriculture production”.

    Way forward

    • RBI should be made to explain what it plans to do to control inflation.
    • The central bank should be allowed to state expressly what support by way of government policy it needs to meet the inflation target.
    • This can only strengthen the RBI’s hand; it should not let go of the opportunity to reinforce the MPC framework.

    Conclusion

    Transparency can enable more informed decision-making within the government, greater public scrutiny of the RBI’s performance, and an improved inflation-targeting regime. To slack off on it would be to compromise with the credibility, transparency and predictability of monetary policy.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Australia

    Explained: Malabar Exercise

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: External State & Non-State Actors: Challenges To Internal Security.

    Phase 1 of the Malabar Naval Exercise has kicked begun with the participation of Australian navy for the first time since 2007.

    Go through the list for once. UPSC may ask a match the pair type question asking exercise name and countries involved.

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/prelims-spotlight-defence-exercises/

    What is Malabar Exercise?

    • It is a multilateral naval exercise that includes simulated war games and combat manoeuvres.
    • It started in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian and US navies. Japan joined in 2015.
    • This year the exercise will be held in two phases, the first from Tuesday off the coast near Visakhapatnam, and the second in the Arabian Sea in mid-November. Last year it was held in early September off the coast of Japan.

    Major highlight: Quad Participation

    • For the first time in over a decade, the exercise will see the participation of all four Quad countries.
    • This will be the second time Australia will participate. In 2007, there were two Malabar Exercises.
    • The first was held off Okinawa island of Japan in the Western Pacific — the first time the exercise was held away from Indian shores — and the second in September 2007.
    • The following year, Australia stopped participating. Japan became a regular participant only in 2015, making it a trilateral annual exercise since then.

    Why is Australia’s participation important?

    • The 2+2 dialogue ended with an agreement to uphold the rules-based international order, respect for the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
    • As the standoff in eastern Ladakh continues, the participation of four large navies from the Indo-Pacific region will send a message to China.
    • It was the possibility of riling up China that had prevented India from expanding the Malabar Exercise, and from Australia joining it.

    Quad is an exception

    • Over the last few months, the Indian Navy has conducted a number of Passage Exercises (PASSEX) with navies from Japan, Australia and the US.
    • But those were basic exercises to increase operability between the navies, while Malabar involves simulated war games.

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  • Indian Army Updates

    What is Army Aviation Corps?

    | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    The Army Aviation Corps (AAC), the youngest Corps of the Indian Army, has celebrated its 35th Corps Day.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q. Discuss why high-altitude warfare is challenging. Also, discuss India’s preparedness for a long-term war.

    The Army Aviation Corps

    • The origin of the AAC can be traced back to the raising of the Army Aviation wing of the Royal Air Force in India in 1942, and the subsequent formation of the first Indian Air Observation Post in August 1947.
    • The Air Observation Post units primarily acted as artillery spotters – which are the elements that help the artillery in directing the fire and also giving air support to ground forces.
    • In the wars of 1965 and 1971, the Air Observation Post helicopters played a key role in the battlefields by flying close to the enemy lines and helping ground assets spot targets.
    • The Corps was raised as a separate formation on November 1 in 1986. The AAC now draws its officers and men from all arms of the Army, including a significant number from the artillery.

    Significant battles

    • Immediately after raising, the units of the Corps were pressed into action in Operation Pawan by the Indian Peacekeeping Forces, in the mostly jungle areas of Sri Lanka.
    • Ever since AAC helicopters have been an inseparable part of fighting formations in all major conflict scenarios and a life-saving asset in peace times.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Maharani Jindan Kaur?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Maharani Jindan Kaur, the last wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is in news for the auction of some of her jewellery in London.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Who was Rani Jindan (1817-1863)?

    • She was the youngest wife of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire, whose boundaries stretched from Kabul to Kashmir and the borders of Delhi.
    • She was also the mother of Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the empire, who was raised by the British.
    • Duleep Singh was five years old when he was placed on the throne in 1843 after the death of two heirs to Ranjit Singh. Since he was just a child, Maharani Jindan was made the regent.
    • Not a rubber stamp, she took an active interest in running the kingdom, introducing changes in the revenue system.

    Anglo-Sikh War and Jindan

    • The British declared war on the Sikh empire in December 1845. After their victory in the first Anglo-Sikh war, they retained Duleep Singh as the ruler but imprisoned Jind Kaur.
    • She escaped and arrived at Kathmandu on April 29, 1849, where she was given asylum by Jung Bahadur, the prime minister.
    • She was given a house on the banks of river Bhagmati. She stayed in Nepal till 1860, where she continued to reach out to rebels in Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir.

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