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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    Financing economic recovery

    The article analyses the issue of socioeconomic disruption caused by the pandemic and response by regionally coordinated response to it.

    Context

    • With continued lockdown measures and restricted borders, countries in Asia and the Pacific have been experiencing sharp drops in foreign exchange inflows due to declines in export earnings, remittances, tourism and FDI.

    Financing 3 key areas by the U.N.

    • The United Nations is contributing through a global initiative, Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.
    • The initiative aims at comprehensive financing strategy to safeguard the Sustainable Development Goals.
    • Governments are united to ensure that adequate financial resources are available to steer an inclusive, sustainable and resilient post-COVID-19 recovery.
    • In the Asia-Pacific region, several countries have already adopted financing plans in following three key areas.
    • 1) To address the challenge of diminished fiscal space and debt vulnerability 2) To ensure sustainable recovery, consistent with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda 3) To harness the potential of regional cooperation in support of financing for development.

    Regional Conversation series by ESCAP

    • The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has recently launched its first-ever Regional Conversation Series on Building Back Better.
    • In this series ministers, decision-makers, private sectors and heads of international agencies participate.
    • Their participation results in sharing of collective insights on sharing pathways to resilient recovery from health pandemic and economic collapse.

    Debt Service Suspension initiative

    • To manage high levels of debt distress global initiatives like the Debt Service Suspension initiative is timely.
    • Central banks can continue to keep the balance of supporting the economy and maintaining financial stability.
    • This further involves enhancing tax reforms and improving debt management capacities, while using limited fiscal space to invest in priority sectors.
    • Exploring sustainability-oriented bonds and innovative financing instruments options such as debt swaps for SDG investment should be explored further.
    • Policy paradigm must mainstream affordable, accessible and green infrastructure standards.
    • We should also scale up the use of digital technology and innovative applications.
    • The financing support of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises must go hand in hand with these national job-rich recovery strategies.

    Role of regional cooperation

    • Regionally coordinated financing policies can restart trade, reorganise supply chains and revitalise sustainable tourism in a safe manner.
    • Across Asia and the Pacific, governments must pool financial resources to create regional investment funds.
    • Role of egional cooperation platforms to ensure  all countries receive an equitable number of doses of the vaccine is essential.

    Conclusion

    Through ESCAP, we can scale these efforts across the region, working closely with our member states, the private sector and innovators to build a collective financing response to mobilise the necessary additional resources.

  • Indian Missile Program Updates

    Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

    The DRDO has successfully demonstrated the hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV).

    Take note of close dissimilarities between Ramjet and Scramjet engines.

    About HSTDV

    • HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet vehicle with a capability to travel at six times the speed of sound.
    • The scramjets are a variant of a category of jet engines called the air-breathing engines.
    • The ability of engines to handle airflows of speeds in multiples of the speed of sound gives it a capability of operating at those speeds.
    • Hypersonic speeds are those which are five times or more than the speed of sound.
    • The unit tested by the DRDO can achieve upto six times the speed of sound or Mach 6, which is well over 7000 km per hour or around two km per second.

    Its development

    • The DRDO started on the development of the engine in the early 2010s.
    • The ISRO has also worked on the development of the technology and has successfully tested a system in 2016. DRDO too has conducted a test of this system in June 2019.
    • The special project of the DRDO consisted of contributions from its multiple facilities including the Pune headquartered Armament and Combat Engineering Cluster.

    Back2Basics: Ramjet V. Scramjet

    • A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor.
    • Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites.
    • A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.
    • Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6.
    • However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.
    • A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet or Scramjet.
  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    In news: Malabar Rebellion

    A report submitted to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in 2016 has termed the Malabar Rebellion leaders as ‘rioters’.

    Try this question from CSP 2015:

    Q. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for a tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century?

    (a) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation- of tribal products

    (b) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas

    (c) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas

    (d) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities

    What is the Malabar Rebellion?

    • The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
    • There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
    • The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.

    Why is it contentious?

    • It largely took the shape of guerrilla-type attacks on janmis (feudal landlords, who were mostly upper-caste Hindus) and the police and troops.
    • Mappilas had been among the victims of oppressive agrarian relations protected by the British.
    • But the political mobilization in the region in the aftermath of the Khilafat agitation and Gandhi’s non-cooperation struggle served as an opportunity for an extremist section to invoke a religious idiom to express their suffering.
    • There were excesses on both sides — rebels and government troops. Incidents of murder, looting and forced conversion led many to discredit the uprising as a manifestation of religious bigotry.
    • Moderate Khilafat leaders lamented that the rebellion had alienated the Hindu sympathy.
  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Chushul Valley and its Significance

    The Chushul sub-sector has come into focus in the standoff between the Indian and PLA troops.

    Tap to read more about Himalayan River System

    What is the Chushul Valley?

    • The Chushul sub-sector lies south of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.
    • It comprises high, broken mountains and heights of Thatung, Black Top, Helmet Top, Gurung Hill, and Magger Hill besides passes such as Rezang La and Reqin La, the Spanggur Gap, and the Chushul valley.
    • Situated at a height of over 13,000 feet close to the LAC, the Chushul Valley has a vital airstrip that played an important role even during the 1962 War with China.

    What is its strategic importance to India?

    • Chushul is one among the five Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China.
    • It enjoys tremendous strategic and tactical importance because of its location and terrain, which make it a centre for logistics deployment.
    • This sector has plains that are a couple of km wide, where mechanized forces, including tanks, can be deployed. Its airstrip and connectivity by road to Leh add to its operational advantages.
    • Indian troops have now secured the ridgeline in this sub-sector that allows them to dominate the Chushul bowl on the Indian side, and Moldo sector on the Chinese side.
    • They also have a clear sight of the almost 2-km-wide Spanggur gap, which the Chinese used in the past to launch attacks on this sector in the 1962 War.

    How is Chushul important to China?

    • Simply put, Chushul is the gateway to Leh. If China enters the Chushul, it can launch its operations for Leh.
    • After the initial attacks, including on the Galwan valley by the Chinese in October 1962, the PLA troops prepared to attack Chushul airfield and the valley to get direct access to Leh.
    • However, just before the attacks were launched, the area was reinforced by the 114 Brigade in November 1962, which also had under its command two troops of armour and some artillery.

    What are the challenges in this area?

    • An immediate challenge is of a flare-up as troops of the two countries are deployed within a distance of 800 to 1,000 metres of each other at Black Top and Reqin La.
    • Logistics also pose a major challenge. There is a need to carry water and food to the top which soldiers cannot do.
    • The harsh winter that lasts for eight months of the year poses a big challenge.
    • It is very difficult to dig in and make shelters on the ridgeline. The temperature falls to minus 30 degrees Celsius, and there are frequent snowstorms.
  • Start-up Ecosystem In India

    [pib] Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

    The SVEP is propelling enterprises in rural areas and building rural entrepreneurs during this pandemic.

    Try this PYQ 2015:

    How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission seek to improve livelihood options of rural poor?

    1. By setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centres in rural areas.
    2. By strengthening ‘self-help groups’ and providing skills development
    3. By supplying seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-set sand micro-irrigation equipment free of cost of farmers.

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    About SVEP

    • The SVEP is implemented by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana –National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, as a sub-scheme since 2016.
    • Its aims are to support the rural poor come out of poverty, supporting them set up enterprises and provide support till the enterprises stabilize.
    • SVEP focuses on providing self-employment opportunities with financial assistance and training in business management and soft skills while creating local community cadres for promotion of enterprises.
    • It addresses three major pillars of rural start-ups namely – finances, incubation and skill ecosystems.

    Key elements of SVEP

    • Create a Block Resource Centre – Enterprise Promotion (BRC-EP); The BRC should act as a nodal centre to implement SVEP. Block Level Federation (BLF) to come up under NRLM could be one of the institutional platforms for BRC.
    • Cluster Level Federation (CLF) /VOs shall hold the entity till BLF comes into existence. BRC should follow a self-sustaining revenue model.
    • BRC to be assisted by CRP-EP and the Bank Coordination System (Bank Mitra). BRC to provide resource and reference material including videos, manuals etc.
    • Help enterprises get bank finance using tablet-based software for making the business feasibility plan, doing credit appraisal and tracking business performance.
    • Use the Community Investment Fund (CIF) to provide seed capital for starting the business until it reaches a size where bank finance is needed.
  • Judicial Reforms

    Judiciary and challenges ahead

    The relations between the judiciary and executive have always been tumultuous. This article analyses the changes in the judiciary’s relations with the executive after 2014.

    Relations with executive

    • In 2014 government blocked the elevation of Gopal Subramanium as a judge of the apex court.
    • A month later, the government introduced a bill to create the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).
    • The NJAC Act was passed by Parliament in December 2014.
    • In October 2015, the SC struck down the NJAC Act, ruling that it would affect the independence of the judiciary vis-à-vis the executive.
    • Following striking down of the NJAC Act, the SC directed the government to propose a new memorandum of procedure (MoP) for appointments to the higher judiciary.
    • The draft government sent to the Court allowed the government to reject any name recommended by the Collegium on grounds of national security and made it compulsory for the Collegium to justify its selection.
    • The Collegium rejected these clauses and the MoP could never be finalised.
    • The government sat on the appointments that the Collegium had recommended months ago.
    •  In April 2016, 170 proposals for appointments to the high courts were pending at that time.

    SC’s perceived reluctance  to question executive after 2017

    • Appointments and transfers ceased to be a problem because the Collegium accepted the appointments and transfers.
    • The Court considered that the Aadhaar Bill could be passed as a Money Bill, validated the Electoral Bonds Act.
    • The SC also abstained from dealing with sensitive issues like the abolition of Article 370 or the Citizenship Amendment Act.
    • This modus operandi of the court, when applied to Aadhaar, created a fait accompli.

    3 questions over the SC’s role

    • 1) The court’s reluctance to question the government on contentious issues — from J&K to misuse of sedition law or the NRC — is disturbing.
    • 2) The manner in which the judiciary has addressed allegations against itself — Kalikho Pul or Prasad Education Trust or on sexual harassment — gives a handle to those in power.
    • 3) The independence of the judiciary is inevitably affected by the acceptance of post-retirement jobs.

    Consider the question “While playing its role, judiciary faces several challenges from the other organs of the democracy. In light of this, examine the challenges judiciary in India faces from the executive.”

    Conclusion

    Supreme Court’s apparent reluctance to question government on consequential issues affects its moral authority.

  • Judicial Reforms

    Kesavananda Bharati: The petitioner who saved democracy

    Kesavananda Bharati (80), the sole unwitting petitioner in the historic Fundamental Rights case which prevented the nation from slipping into a totalitarian regime has passed away.

    Who was Kesavananda Bharati?

    • Kesavananda Bharati was the head seer of the Edneer Mutt in Kasaragod district of Kerala since 1961.
    • He left his signature in one of the significant rulings of the Supreme Court when he challenged the Kerala land reforms legislation in 1970.

    What was his case?

    • A 13-judge bench was set up by the Supreme Court, the biggest so far, and the case was heard over 68 working days spread over six months.
    • The Bench gave 11 separate judgments that agreed and disagreed on many issues but a majority judgment of seven judges were stitched together by then CJI SM Sikri on the eve of his retirement.
    • However, the basic structure doctrine, which was evolved in the majority judgment, was found in the conclusions of the opinion written by one judge — Justice H R Khanna.

    What was the case about?

    • The case was primarily about the extent of Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution.
    • First, the court was reviewing a 1967 decision in Golaknath v State of Punjab which, reversing earlier verdicts, had ruled that Parliament cannot amend fundamental rights.
    • Second, the court was deciding the constitutional validity of several other amendments.
    • Notably, the right to property had been removed as a fundamental right, and Parliament had also given itself the power to amend any part of the Constitution and passed a law that it cannot be reviewed by the courts.
    • The executive vs judiciary manoeuvres displayed in the amendments ended with the Kesavananda Bharati case, in which the court had to settle these issues conclusively.
    • Politically, the case represented the fight for supremacy of Parliament led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

    What did the court decide?

    • In its majority ruling, the court held that fundamental rights cannot be taken away by amending them.
    • While the court said that Parliament had vast powers to amend the Constitution, it drew the line by observing that certain parts are so inherent and intrinsic to the Constitution that even Parliament cannot touch it.
    • However, despite the ruling that Parliament cannot breach fundamental rights, the court upheld the amendment that removed the fundamental right to property.
    • The court ruled that in spirit, the amendment would not violate the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
    • Kesavananda Bharati, in fact, lost the case. But as many legal scholars point out, the government did not win the case either.

    What is the basic structure doctrine?

    • The origins of the basic structure doctrine are found in the German Constitution which, after the Nazi regime, was amended to protect some basic laws.
    • The original Weimar Constitution, which gave Parliament to amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority, was in fact used by Hitler to his advantage to made radical changes.
    • Learning from that experience, the new German Constitution introduced substantive limits on Parliament’s powers to amend certain parts of the Constitution which it considered ‘basic law’.
    • In India, the basic structure doctrine has formed the bedrock of judicial review of all laws passed by Parliament. No law can impinge on the basic structure.
    • What the basic structure is, however, has been a continuing deliberation. While parliamentary democracy, fundamental rights, judicial review, secularism are all held by courts as the basic structure, the list is not exhaustive.

    What was the fallout of the verdict?

    • Politically, as a result of the verdict, the judiciary faced its biggest litmus test against the executive.
    • Then government did not take kindly to the majority opinion and superseded three judges —J M Shelat, A N Grover and K S Hegde — who were in line to be appointed CJI after Justice Sikri.
    • The supersession resulted in a decades-long continuing battle on the independence of the judiciary and the extent of Parliament’s power to appoint judges.
    • But the ruling has cemented the rejection of majoritarian impulses to make sweeping changes or even replace the Constitution and underlined the foundations of modern democracy.

    Significance of the Judgement

    • The judgment introduced the Basic Structure doctrine which limited Parliament’s power to make drastic amendments that may affect the core values enshrined in the Constitution like secularism and federalism.
    • The verdict upheld the power of the Supreme Court to judicially review laws of Parliament.
    • It evolved the concept of separation of powers among the three branches of governance — legislative, executive and the judiciary.
    • The Emergency was proclaimed shortly after the judgment was delivered on April 24, 1973.
    • It proved timely and thwarted many an attempt on democracy and dignity of an individual during those dark years.
  • Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction

    What is the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and why is it contentious?

    After the Rajapaksas’ win in the November 2019 presidential polls and the August 2020 general election, the spotlight has fallen on two key legislations in Sri Lanka’s Constitution.

    Sri Lankan amendments in news

    • One, the 19th Amendment was passed in 2015 to curb powers of the Executive President, while strengthening Parliament and independent commissions.
    • The Rajapaksa government has already drafted and gazetted the 20th Amendment.
    • The other legislation under sharp focus is the 13th Amendment passed in 1987, which mandates a measure of power devolution to the provincial councils established to govern the island’s nine provinces.

    What is the 13th Amendment?

    • It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve the ethnic conflict and civil war.
    • The 13th Amendment, which led to the creation of Provincial Councils, assured a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
    • Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
    • But because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
    • In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.

    Why is it contentious?

    • The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years. It was opposed vociferously by both Sinhala nationalist parties and the LTTE.
    • The opposition within Sri Lanka saw the Accord and the consequent legislation as an imprint of Indian intervention.
    • It was widely perceived as an imposition by a neighbour wielding hegemonic influence.
    • The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th Amendment sufficient in its ambit or substance. However, some find it as an important starting point, something to build upon.

    Why is it significant?

    • Till date, the Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
    • In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism.

    Its criticism

    • Critics argue that in a small country, the provinces could be effectively controlled by the Centre.
    • The opposition camp also includes those fundamentally opposed to sharing any political power with the Tamil minority.
    • All the same, all political camps that vehemently oppose the system have themselves contested in provincial council elections.
    • The councils have over time also helped national parties strengthen their grassroots presence and organisational structures.
  • International Criminal Court (ICC)

    The U.S. has announced sanctions including asset freezes and visa bans against two officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

    International Criminal Court

    • The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands.
    • It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
    • It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals.
    • The ICC lacks universal territorial jurisdiction, and may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the Court by the UNSC.

    Issues with ICC

    The ICC has faced a number of criticisms from states and society, including objections about-

    • its jurisdiction, accusations of bias, questioning of the fairness of its case-selection and trial procedures, and doubts about its effectiveness

    Implications of US sanction

    • The US action is perceived as a setback to the international rules-based multilateral order, and the decision to sanction anybody assisting the ICC will deter victims of violence in Afghanistan from speaking out.
    • The unilateral sanctions would encourage other regimes accused of war crimes to flout the ICC’s rulings.

    B2BASICS

  • Indian Army Updates

    Assam Rifles and the tussle between MoD and MHA

    The Delhi High Court has granted 12 weeks to the Union government to decide on whether to scrap or retain the dual control structure for Assam Rifles. Presently it comes under both the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

    What is the Assam Rifles?

    • Assam Rifles is one of the six central armed police forces (CAPFs) under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
    • The other forces being the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
    • It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North East along with the Indian Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border in the region.
    • It has a sanctioned strength of over 63,000 personnel and has 46 battalions apart from administrative and training staff.

    Making of the regiment

    • Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force raised way back in 1835 in British India with just 750 men.
    • Since then it has gone on to fight in two World Wars, the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and used as an anti-insurgency force against militant groups in the North East.
    • Raised as a militia to protect British tea estates and its settlements from the raids of the NE tribes, the force was first known as Cachar Levy.
    • It was reorganized later as Assam Frontier Force as its role was expanded to conduct punitive operations beyond Assam borders.

    How is it unique?

    • It is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of the force is with the MHA, its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the MoD.
    • This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force is provided by the MHA, but the deployment, posting, transfer and deputation of the personnel is decided by the Army.
    • All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters, are manned by officers from the Army. The force is commanded by Lt. General from the Indian Army.
    • The force is the only central paramilitary force (CPMF) in a real sense as its operational duties and regimentation are on the lines of the Indian Army.
    • However, its recruitment, perks, promotion of its personnel and retirement policies are governed according to the rules framed by the MHA for CAPFs.

    Why do both MHA and MoD want full control?

    • MHA has argued that all the border guarding forces are under the operational control of the ministry and so Assam Rifles coming under MHA will give border guarding a comprehensive and integrated approach.
    • MHA sources also say that Assam Rifles continues to function on the pattern set during the 1960s and the ministry would want to make guarding of the Indo-Myanmar border on the lines of other CAPFs.
    • The Army, for its part, has been arguing that there is no need to fix what isn’t broken.
    • Sources say the Army is of the opinion that the Assam Rifles has worked well in coordination with the Army and frees up the armed forces from many of its responsibilities to focus on its core strengths.
    • It has argued that giving the control of the force to MHA or merging it with any other CAPF will confuse the force and jeopardize national security.

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