Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Vision for Defence Technology and Industrial Base
Context
Given its successive abstentions during votes on Ukraine in the UN Security Council and elsewhere, New Delhi has attracted criticism and even reproach from many quarters. While India’s abstentions may be hard to justify on moral grounds, they are certainly rooted in “realpolitik”.
Reasons for India’s stance
- There is irrefutable logic in the argument that safeguarding the source of 60-70 per cent of its military hardware constitutes a prime national interest for India.
- Any interruption in the supply of Russian arms or spares could have a devastating impact on our defence posture vis-à-vis the China-Pak axis.
- Even after diversification of sources, India remains trapped in the Russian bear’s jaws, jeopardising the credibility of its “strategic autonomy”.
Implications of India’s position
- The stance adopted by India has placed it amongst a minority of nations, alongside China and Pakistan.
- Seen widely as pro-Russian, this posture is likely to affect India’s international standing and bears reflection.
Suggestion
- The answers to India’s agonising dilemma lie in two drastic imperatives, which must receive the closest attention of decision-makers. They are:
- The “de-Russification of the armed forces” and the genuine “indigenisation of India’s defence technological and industrial base (DTIB)”.
- Russia’s military-industrial complex, in oligarch hands, has been struggling against inefficiency, poor quality control and deficient customer support.
- It is time to initiate a process of progressive “de-Russification” of Indian armed forces; not to switch sources, but of becoming self-reliant.
- It may be uplifting to see battle-tanks, warships and jet-fighters held up as examples of self-reliance, but what is never mentioned is that vital sub-systems like engines, guns, missiles, radars, fire-control computers, gear-boxes and transmission are either imported or assembled under foreign licences.
- Atmanirbhart requires selective identification of vital military technologies in which we are deficient and demands the initiation of well-funded, time-bound, mission-mode projects to develop (or acquire) the “know-how” as well as “know-why” of these technologies.
Conclusion
Having failed for 75 years after independence to attain a degree of self-reliance in military hardware that would have undergirded our “strategic autonomy,” it is time for India to zero in on the reasons why we have failed, where peer-nations like China, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan and even Singapore have succeeded spectacularly.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for focus on China
Context
The Russian offensive on Ukraine on the night of February 23-34 shocked the world. The trigger for the conflict has been the rise of anti-Russia/Putin and pro-Europe lobby in Ukraine, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and with the tacit support of the US and the West.
Background of the conflict
- The situation became deeply polarised after battle lines were drawn in 2015, with Ukraine’s breakaway Donbas region seeking a merger with Russia, after Crimea’s unification with the latter.
- Russia has, over the years, quite correctly questioned the relevance of NATO — a grouping of the Cold War era — and its expansion eastwards.
- For instance, NATO included the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries of Georgia and Ukraine, earlier part of the Soviet Union, in its “Partnership for Peace” programme, despite Russian objections.
Implications of war for geopolitics and role of China
- Geopolitics will never be the same, especially with Germany and Japan announcing militarisation initiatives, polarisation in Europe and the strengthening of the anti-US nexus of China- Russia-Turkey-Iran.
- Focus moves away from China: A matter of concern is that once again, the attention of the US and the West has been diverted from China, the main adversary, to a war that should not have taken place.
- Possibility of annexation of Taiwan: In the current conflict, the ineptitude of the US/NATO to support Ukraine with “boots on the ground” is bound to embolden China in its nefarious design to annex Taiwan.
- This could also lead to increased hostility by China in the resolution of land disputes with the neighbouring countries, as well as in the South and East China seas.
Consider the question “With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the geopolitics will never be the same again.”Comment.
Conclusion
For India, the greatest lesson is that it will have to meet the Chinese challenge on its own. There is no likelihood of the US or any other nation getting involved in India’s fight with China. Let us focus on atmanirbharta in all its dimensions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Reasonable Accommodation
Mains level: Not Much
The Karnataka High Court decision effectively upheld the denial of entry to students wearing the hijab. The court rejected an argument in support of permitting Muslim girls wearing head-scarves that was based on the principle of ‘reasonable accommodation’.
What is Reasonable Accommodation?
- ‘Reasonable accommodation’ is a principle that promotes equality, enables the grant of positive rights and prevents discrimination based on disability, health condition or personal belief.
- Its use is primarily in the disability rights sector.
- The provision plays a major role in addressing these barriers and thus contributes to greater workplace equality, diversity and inclusion.
Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) defines:
- Reasonable accommodation is “necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
International Labour Organization (ILO), in its recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, defines:
- It is “any modification or adjustment to a job or to the workplace that is reasonably practicable and enables a person living with HIV or AIDS to have access to, or participate or advance in, employment”.
How does the principle work?
- The general principle is that reasonable accommodation should be provided, unless some undue hardship is caused by such accommodation.
- A modified working environment, shortened or staggered working hours, additional support from supervisory staff and reduced work commitments are ways in which accommodation can be made.
- Suitable changes in recruitment processes — allowing scribes during written tests or sign language interpreters during interviews — will also be a form of accommodation.
What is the legal position on this in India?
- In India, the Rights of People with Disabilities Act, 2016, defines ‘reasonable accommodation’ as “necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments, without imposing a disproportionate or undue burden in a particular case, to ensure to PwD the enjoyment or exercise of rights equally with others”.
- The definition of ‘discrimination’ in Section 2(h) includes ‘denial of reasonable accommodation’.
- In Section 3, which deals with equality and non-discrimination, sub-section (5) says: “The appropriate Government shall take necessary steps to ensure reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.”
Judicial interpretation of Reasonable Accommodation
- In Jeeja Ghosh and Another v. Union of India and Others (2016), the Supreme Court, awarded a compensation of ₹10 lakh to a passenger with cerebral palsy who was evicted from a flight after boarding.
- It said: “Equality not only implies preventing discrimination …, but goes beyond in remedying discrimination against groups suffering systematic discrimination in society.
- In concrete terms, it means embracing the notion of positive rights, affirmative action and reasonable accommodation.
- The Supreme Court elaborated on the concept in Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021).
- This was a case in which the court allowed the use of a scribe in the Union Public Service Commission examination for a candidate with dysgraphia, or writer’s cramp.
- It said failure to provide reasonable accommodation amounts to discrimination.
Context to the recent K’taka verdict
- In the recent Karnataka verdict on wearing the hijab, the High Court did not accept the argument for allowing minor variations to the uniform to accommodate personal religious belief.
- The HC meant that the court did not favour making any change or adjustment to the rule that could have enabled the students to maintain their belief or practice even while adhering to the uniform rule.
- The appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court provides an opportunity to see if the concept can be used in the realm of belief and conscience too.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NPPA
Mains level: Drugs price regulation
Consumers may have to pay more for medicines and medical devices if the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) allows a price hike of over 10% in the drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), this coming month.
Who regulates Drugs prices?
- The NPPA was set up in 1997 to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995-2013.
- Its mandate is:
- To implement and enforce the provisions of the DPCO in accordance with the powers delegated to it
- To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the NPPA
- To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages and to take remedial steps
- The NPPA is also mandated to collect/maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc., for bulk drugs and formulations and undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals.
How does the pricing mechanism work?
- Prices of Scheduled Drugs are allowed an increase each year by the drug regulator in line with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the annual change is controlled and rarely crosses 5%.
- But the pharmaceutical players pointed out that over the past few years, input costs have flared up.
- The hike has been a long-standing demand by the pharma industry lobby.
- All medicines under the NLEM are under price regulation.
Do you know?
As per the Drugs (Prices) Control Order 2013, scheduled drugs, about 15% of the pharma market, are allowed an increase by the government as per the WPI while the rest 85% are allowed an automatic increase of 10% every year.
How are the prices determined?
- The ceiling price of a scheduled drug is determined by first working out the simple average of price to retailer in respect of all branded and generic versions of that particular drug formulation.
- It should have a market share of more than or equal to 1%, and then adding a notional retailer margin of 16% to it.
- The ceiling price fixed/revised by the NPPA is notified in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) from time to time.
When are the prices revised?
- Prices are revised when there is a rise in the price of bulk drugs, raw materials, cost of transport, freight rates, utilities like fuel, power, diesel, and changes in taxes and duties.
- The cost rises for imported medicines with escalation in insurance and freight prices, and depreciation of the rupee.
- The annual hike in the prices of drugs listed in the NLEM is based on the WPI.
- The NLEM lists drugs used to treat fever, infection, heart disease, hypertension, anaemia etc and includes commonly used medicines like paracetamol, azithromycin etc.
Why are inputs costs high?
- One of the challenges is that 60%-70% of the country’s medicine needs are dependent on China.
- WPI is dependent on price rise in a basket of a range of goods that are not directly linked with the items that go into the cost of medicines.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Asiatic Cheetah
Mains level: Wildlife re-introduction and issues
The cheetah, which became extinct in India after Independence, is all set to return with the Union Government launching an action plan in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
According to the plan, about 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years, from the Africa savannas, home to cheetahs, an endangered species.
Distribution of cheetahs in India
- Historically, Asiatic cheetahs had a very wide distribution in India.
- There are authentic reports of their occurrence from as far north as Punjab to Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu, from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east.
- Most of the records are from a belt extending from Gujarat passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
- There is also a cluster of reports from southern Maharashtra extending to parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- The distribution range of the cheetah was wide and spread all over the subcontinent. They occurred in substantial numbers.
- The cheetah’s habitat was also diverse, favouring the more open habitats: scrub forests, dry grasslands, savannahs and other arid and semi-arid open habitats.
What caused the extinction of cheetahs in India?
- The major reasons for the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India:
- Reduced fecundity and high infant mortality in the wild
- Inability to breed in captivity
- Sport hunting and
- Bounty killings
- It is reported that the Mughal Emperor Akbar had kept 1,000 cheetahs in his menagerie and collected as many as 9,000 cats during his half century reign from 1556 to 1605.
- The cheetah numbers were fast depleting by the end of the 18th century even though their prey base and habitat survived till much later.
- It is recorded that the last cheetahs were shot in India in 1947, but there are credible reports of sightings of the cat till about 1967.
Conservation objectives for their re-introduction
- Based on the available evidence it is difficult to conclude that the decision to introduce the African cheetah in India is based on science.
- Science is being used as a legitimising tool for what seems to be a politically influenced conservation goal.
- This also in turn sidelines conservation priorities, an order of the Supreme Court, socio-economic constraints and academic rigour.
- The issue calls for an open and informed debate.
What is the officially stated goal?
- To establish viable cheetah meta-population in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator
- To provide space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts
Issues in re-introduction
- Experts find it difficult whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
- The habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.
Back2Basics: Asiatic Cheetah
- Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
- The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
- It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
- From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Assam Accord
Mains level: Not Much
Last week, the Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord, and around 30,000 of them had been deported to their country of origin.
Who is a foreigner under the Assam Accord?
- The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the Assam government with the All Assam Student Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
- This movement had spearheaded the 1979-85 Assam Movement against migration from Bangladesh.
- It was against all migrants from Bangladesh, irrespective of religion.
- The Accord set March 24, 1971 as a cut-off. (The Assam Movement had demanded 1951 as the cut-off.)
- Anyone who had come to Assam before midnight on that date would be an Indian citizen, while those who had come after would be dealt with as foreigners.
- The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
What are the expressions for which the definitions have not been determined? Why are they important?
- The definitions of phrases mentioned in the Accord such as ‘Axomiya janagan’ (Assamese people), ‘khilonjia’ (indigenous) and ‘adi basinda’ (original inhabitants) were yet to be determined.
- The context is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which promises “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.
- However, it doesn’t provide clear cut definitions to identify who would be the “Assamese people”.
- Clause 6 is important because many felt the 1971 cut-off was inadequate.
Issues with the cut-off date
- The cut-off for the rest of India is 1948, many noted that the Assam Accord would grant citizenship to a section of migrants who would be counted as foreigners elsewhere in the country.
- Clause 6 was, therefore, seen as a protective provision which would guarantee certain benefits to the Assamese people, while excluding some sections among those granted citizenship on the basis of the 1971 cut-off.
Why is the ‘Assamese’ definition difficult?
- Because Assam’s demography has been shaped by decades of migration.
- Many of the migrants had settled here during the colonial era.
- While they might not be native speakers of an indigenous language, such as Assamese or Bodo or Karbi, the question was whether the definition of “Assamese” could exclude someone, for example, whose family might have lived in Assam for 100 years.
Have any definitions been proposed?
- A key committee came in 2019, when Assam was rocked by protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which proposes to grant citizenship to various categories of foreigners including Hindus from Bangladesh.
- The government set up the committee as a means to quell the protests.
This committee recommended following persons as Assamese:
- All citizens who are part of the Assamese community
- Any person of indigenous tribal community of Assam
- Any other indigenous community of Assam
- Any other citizens of India residing in the territory or Assam on or before January 1, 1951 and
- Descendants of these categories
- In essence, this definition includes not only the indigenous people but also all other Indian citizens, irrespective of mother tongue, as long as their ancestors were staying in Assam before 1951.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Par Tapi Narmada river-linking project
Mains level: Not Much
The tribals in Gujarat held a public meeting in Kaprada in Valsad district to protest against the Centre’s Par Tapi Narmada (PTN) river-linking project.
Par Tapi Narmada river-linking project
- The PTN link project was envisioned under the 1980 National Perspective Plan under the former Union Ministry of Irrigation and the Central Water Commission (CWC).
- The project proposes to transfer river water from the surplus regions of the Western Ghats to the deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.
- It proposes to link three rivers — Par, originating from Nashik in Maharashtra and flowing through Valsad, Tapi from Saputara that flows through Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat, and Narmada originating in Madhya Pradesh and flowing through Maharashtra and Bharuch and Narmada districts in Gujarat.
Components of the project
- The link mainly includes the construction of seven dams (Jheri, Mohankavchali, Paikhed, Chasmandva, Chikkar, Dabdar and Kelwan), three diversion weirs and two tunnels.
- Of these, the Jheri dam falls in Nashik, while the remaining dams are in Valsad and Dang districts of South Gujarat.
Centre’s role
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Gujarat, Maharashtra and the central government on May 3, 2010.
- It envisaged that Gujarat would get the benefit of the Par Tapi Narmada link project through en-route irrigation from the link canal and in the drought-prone Saurashtra Kutch region by way of substitution.
Issues with the Project
- About 6065 hectares of land area will be submerged due to the proposed reservoirs.
- A total of 61 villages will be affected, of which one will be fully submerged and the remaining 60 partly.
- The total number of affected families would be 2,509 of which 98 families would be affected due to the creation of the Jheri reservoir, the only one in Maharashtra, spread over six villages.
- The affected families may lose their lands or houses or both in the submergence when the reservoirs are created.
- The districts where the project will be implemented are largely dominated, by tribals who fear displacement.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kinzhal Missile
Mains level: Not Much
Russia said that it had unleashed hypersonic missiles against an arms depot in Ukraine, the first use of the next-generation weapons in combat.
Kinzhal Missile
- It is a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems. Kinzhal means ‘dagger’.
- The missile has a range of approximately 1,500-2,000km and can carry a nuclear payload or conventional payload of 480 kg.
- The Kinzhal was one of an array of new weapons Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled in his state-of-the-nation address in 2018. Putin had termed Kinzhal as “an ideal weapon”.
- This is the first time that Russia has admitted to using the high-precision weapon in combat.
- Following launch, the Kinzhal rapidly accelerates to Mach 4 (4,900 km/h), and may reach speeds of up to Mach 10 (12,350 km/hr).
What is a hypersonic weapon?
- They are normally defined as fast, low-flying, and highly manoeuvrable weapons designed to be too quick and agile for traditional missile defence systems to detect in time, according to Bloomberg.
- Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons don’t follow a predetermined, arched trajectory and can maneuver on the way to their destination.
- The term “hypersonic” describes any speed faster than five times that of sound, which is roughly 760 miles (1,220 kilometers) per hour at sea level.
- At hypersonic speeds, the air molecules around the flight vehicle start to change, breaking apart or gaining a charge in a process called ionization.
- This subjects the hypersonic vehicle to “tremendous” stresses as it pushes through the atmosphere.
Types of hypersonic weapons
- There are two main types of these weapons — glide vehicles and cruise missiles.
- Most of the attention is focused on the former, which are launched from a rocket before gliding to their target, because of the challenges of achieving hypersonic propulsion of missiles.
- The missiles have engines called scramjets that use the air’s oxygen and produce thrust during their flight, allowing them to cruise at a steady speed and altitude.
Who has these weapons?
- US, China and Russia have the most advanced capabilities.
- Several other countries are investigating the technology, including India, Japan, Australia, France, Germany and North Korea, which claims to have tested a hypersonic missile.
- In fact, India is also closing in on having such weapons in its arsenal.
- Last year, India successfully tested its hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV), powered by a scramjet engine.
- The HSTDV will serve as a crucial building block in the development of long-range hypersonic weapons, which will take at least another four to five years to become a reality.
Back2Basics: Types of Missiles
(1) Subsonic missiles
- They travel at a rate slower than the speed of sound.
- Most well-known missiles, such as the US Tomahawk cruise missile, the French Exocet, and the Indian Nirbhay, fall into this category.
- These travel at about Mach-0.9 (705 mph), and are slower and easier to intercept, but they continue to play a significant role in modern battlefields.
- They significantly less expensive to produce because the technological challenges have already been overcome and mastered.
- Due to their low speed and small size, subsonic missiles provide an additional layer of strategic value.
(2) Supersonic missiles
- They are the one that travels faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1) but not faster than Mach-3.
- Most supersonic missiles travel at speeds ranging from Mach-2 to Mach-3, or up to 2,300 mph.
- The Indian/Russian BrahMos, currently the fastest operational supersonic missile capable of speeds of around 2,100–2,300 mph, is the most well-known supersonic missile.
(3) Hypersonic Missiles
Explained above
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quad
Mains level: Paper 2- Lessons for Quad from Russia-Ukraine war
Context
The Russian invasion of Ukraine offers several lessons to the Quad countries.
Negligence on part of NATO
- This article is admittedly written in hindsight, but there is a continuing thread to the western blunders in the approach to dealing with Moscow, particularly concerning Putin.
- He has had a dramatic rise in the political hierarchy of Moscow, with many of his successes unexplained but for the strong behind-the-scenes backing of the FSB.
- Unfortunately, it was ignored in the West, and particularly in Europe, which was busy with civilianising and militarily downgrading NATO.
- The western leaders were overcome with hubris and dismantled the military intellectual content of NATO headquarters, reducing NATO forces to a rapid reaction force under the political control of a civilian secretary-general.
- The West, therefore, failed to connect Putin’s invasion of Georgia with his continuing vision to fight the regime change in Ukraine in 2015.
What can Quad learn?
- War in Indo-Pacific will be maritime war: War in the Indo-Pacific will be a maritime war fought in accordance with maritime strategy and space assets.
- The greatest difference is that peaceful maritime reconnaissance is a legitimate activity with the help of which situational awareness can be built up, enabling the delivery of a crippling conventional first strike in the first stages of a possible conflict.
- Avoid making Quad a diplomatic grouping: To call the Quad a “diplomatic grouping” is a catastrophic error.
- Implication of calling Quad a diplomatic grouping: In actual fact, the Quad, is all about maritime domain awareness, underwater domain awareness, and information sharing — all of them purely naval activities, which need continuous communication (that is catered for), a command organisation and a secretariat, neither of which we have because Quad is a diplomatic grouping.
- The military is trained to think structurally, cast future scenarios, do contingent planning, find alternatives and plan for victory. Diplomats have no such background.
- Confusing Beijing by calling it a diplomatic grouping will certainly lead to a misunderstanding of the Quad nations’ resolve and possible Chinese adventurism.
Way forward
- The Quad needs to be represented by the owners of the maritime assets used to obtain domain awareness and a staff with command communications and a depth of intellectual planning.
- The great maritime strength of the Quad is its force of Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
- Japan and the US are particularly rich in those resources.
- India’s force of P-81s is substantial and with the help of Australia, a maritime domain awareness can be built up that denies the PLA navy the chance to hide in the vastness of the ocean.
- The Indo-US communication agreement was presumably established to keep the four-nation search group on a common grid.
- Quad meetings should be headed by naval officers, with diplomatic support.
Conclusion
West failed to read Putin’s ambitions and downgraded NATO. The same mistakes should not be repeated in Indo-Pacific by the Quad.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quad
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Japan relations
Context
Seventy years after diplomatic relations were established, here in India today, a metro system built with the support of Japanese official development assistance (ODA) is in operation, cars built by Japanese companies run on the streets, and a high-speed rail will make its debut in the future.
The realisation of new form of capitalism
- Japan has been concentrating on measures to overcome Covid-19, and working towards the realisation of a “new form of capitalism” that will revive the economy through a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.
- As part of such measures, it is focusing on finding solutions to various social challenges, including digital, climate change and economic security in the growth strategy.
- For Japan, India is certainly the best partner to have when seeking to realise a “new form of capitalism,” as showcased in India’s contribution in response to the global health crisis as a major manufacturing base, leadership in decarbonisation efforts, including through the International Solar Alliance, engagement in advanced digital society initiatives such as Aadhaar, and the promotion of economic security initiatives, including measures for supply chain resilience.
Challenges to the global order
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force.
- Upholding the core principles of the international order is indispensable from the perspective of diplomacy and security in the Indo-Pacific, where the situation has been rapidly worsening.
- In the recent Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) Leaders’ Video Conference, leaders concurred that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, such as this time, must not be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific region.
- There is a challenge of protecting the rules-based international order, building resilient supply chains and reinvigorating the economy.
- We need strategies to respond to new international challenges like cybersecurity and climate change.
- Both Japan and India are committed to taking bold measures to tackle such challenges.
Way forward for India-Japan relations
- People to people contact: Although the Covid-19 situation remains challenging, people-to-people exchanges between two countries are also being advanced.
- Cooperation in security: Cooperation has also taken great strides in the area of security, including joint exercises between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Indian Armed Forces.
- Quad: Cooperation is also rapidly developing between Japan, Australia, India and the United States, four countries that share fundamental values, and the next leaders’ summit is under coordination.
- Cultural bond: As the name “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” suggests, Japan-India relations have evolved into an inclusive and multi-layered relationship based on cultural bonds, firm friendship, and common universal values.
Conclusion
As Japan’s prime minister comes on visit to India, his visit to India will open a new chapter in bilateral relations that will deepen the “Japan-India Special Strategic, and Global Partnership” even further.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Crude Oil imports of India
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has bought two million barrels of Russian crude oil as Indian energy majors forge ahead with attempts to secure a part of the Russian energy supply.
What is the news?
- India is exploring alternative payment channels for trade with Russia and the possibility of sourcing additional oil at a discount, even as the West reduces its exposure to Russian oil.
- Now India needs to make some necessary adjustments in the financial front because of the challenges posed by the American sanctions.
India’s import dependence and Russia
- India is heavily dependent on oil imports, the bulk of which comes from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and South-East Asia.
- Russia’s oil-related exports to India are only about $1 billion.
- However, Russia is keen to scale this up even as the US has announced a ban on oil imports from the country and the UK has adopted a more gradual reduction.
- This offers the opportunity for a lucrative supply deal with the second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.
Do you know?
India’s nuclear power project in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu is built with Russian collaboration.
What is at stake in oil trade with Russia?
- India, however, needs to find alternative payment channels due to the evolving crisis.
- This is also crucial for bilateral non-oil trade.
Risks posed by payment crisis
- Western curbs cutting off some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system has proven to be a setback for bilateral trade.
- Many payments worth $500 million to Indian exporters for goods already shipped reportedly being stuck.
- A steady supply of critical commodities such as fuel and fertilizer from Europe is crucial in India’s efforts to manage inflation.
- A spike in natural gas in global markets is pushing up the cost of procuring commonly used urea, which is sold at a subsidized price to farmers.
Why is oil supply from Russia important?
- As much as 85% of India’s oil requirement is met through imports.
- The government has tried diversifying its supply sources.
- This would add more gas into the energy basket, giving a strong push to electric mobility, building strategic reserves and blending ethanol in auto fuel to reduce oil import dependence.
- Extra oil supplies from Russia could aid in this effort.
How’re the two nations handling the situation?
- India and Russia are exploring a Rupee-Rouble trade mechanism using currency of a third country as a reference.
- This would allow Indian exporters to be paid in rupees.
- This would need an Indian and a Russian bank opening shop on each other’s soil.
- Another option is routing payments via a bank with limited overseas exposure so that it will not attract curbs.
- For additional Russian oil shipments, India needs access to more vessels and containers.
- Indian refiners’ ability to process larger quantities of crude oil also needs to be assessed.
Extending the collaborations
- New Delhi has for long followed the policy of acquiring energy assets abroad to reduce risks related to heavy import dependence on oil.
- Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd’s investment in Russia’s Sakhalin project is one example.
- Besides, Russian company PJSC Rosneft Oil Co. is a stakeholder in Nayara Energy Ltd that runs the second largest single-site refinery in Gujarat.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: POSHA Act
Mains level: Preventing SHW
The Kerala High Court has asked organizations associated with the film industry to take steps to constitute a joint committee to deal with cases of sexual harassment of women, in line with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.
Why in news?
- During the #MeToo movement, a number of women in India called out influential men — actors, standup comics, senior journalists — for alleged sexual harassment.
- Hence the HC underlined that film production units must comply with the law against sexual harassment, commonly known as the prevention of sexual harassment at workplace (SHW) or POSH Act.
What is the POSH Act?
- The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013.
- It defined sexual harassment, lay down the procedures for a complaint and inquiry, and the action to be taken.
- It broadened the Vishaka Guidelines, which were already in place.
What are Vishakha Guidelines?
- The Vishakha guidelines were laid down by the Supreme Court in a judgment in 1997. This was in a case filed by women’s rights groups, one of which was Vishakha.
- In 1992, she had prevented the marriage of a one-year-old girl, leading to the alleged gangrape in an act of revenge.
Guidelines and the law
- The Vishakha guidelines, which were legally binding, defined sexual harassment and imposed three key obligations on institutions :
- Prohibition
- Prevention
- Redress
- The Supreme Court directed that they should establish a Complaints Committee, which would look into matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace.
The POSH Act broadened these guidelines:
- It mandated that every employer must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.
- It lay down procedures and defined various aspects of sexual harassment, including the aggrieved victim, who could be a woman “of any age whether employed or not”, who “alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment”.
- This meant that the rights of all women working or visiting any workplace, in any capacity, were protected under the Act.
Definition of Sexual Harassment
Under the 2013 law, sexual harassment includes “any one or more” of the following “unwelcome acts or behaviour” committed directly or by implication:
- Physical contact and advances
- A demand or request for sexual favours
- Sexually coloured remarks
- Showing pornography
- Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.
The Ministry of Women & Child Development has published a Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with more detailed instances of behaviour that constitutes sexual harassment at the workplace. These include, broadly:
- Sexually suggestive remarks or innuendos; serious or repeated offensive remarks; inappropriate questions or remarks about a person’s sex life
- Display of sexist or offensive pictures, posters, MMS, SMS, WhatsApp, or emails
- Intimidation, threats, blackmail around sexual favours; also, threats, intimidation or retaliation against an employee who speaks up about these
- Unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones, commonly seen as flirting
- Unwelcome sexual advances.
Unwelcome behavior
- The Handbook says “unwelcome behaviour” is experienced when the victim feels bad or powerless; it causes anger/sadness or negative self-esteem.
- It adds unwelcome behaviour is one which is “illegal, demeaning, invading, one-sided and power based”.
Circumstance amounting to SHW
The Act mentions five circumstances that amount to sexual harassment implied or explicit:
- Promise of preferential treatment in her employment
- Threat of detrimental treatment
- Threat about her present or future employment status
- Interference with her work or creating an offensive or hostile work environment
- Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety
Procedure for complaint
- Technically, it is not compulsory for the aggrieved victim to file a complaint for the ICC to act.
- The Act says that she “may” do so — OR any member of the ICC “shall” render “all reasonable assistance” to her to complain in writing.
- If the woman cannot complain because of “physical or mental incapacity or death or otherwise”, her legal heir may do so.
- Under the Act, the complaint must be made “within three months from the date of the incident”.
- However, the ICC can “extend the time limit” if “it is satisfied that the circumstances were such which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the said period”.
- It provides that “no monetary settlement shall be made as a basis of conciliation”.
- The ICC may either forward the victim’s complaint to the police, or it can start an inquiry that has to be completed within 90 days.
- The identity of the woman, respondent, witness, any information on the inquiry, recommendation and action taken, the Act states, should not be made public.
After the ICC report
- If the allegations of sexual harassment are proved, the ICC recommends that the employer take action “in accordance with the provisions of the service rules” of the company.
- These may vary from company to company.
- It also recommends that the company deduct from the salary of the person found guilty, “as it may consider appropriate”.
Compensation is determined based on five aspects:
- Suffering and emotional distress caused to the woman;
- Loss in career opportunity;
- Her medical expenses;
- Income and financial status of the respondent;
- Feasibility of such payment.
Appeal in Court
- After the recommendations, the aggrieved woman or the respondent can appeal in court within 90 days
- Section 14 of the Act deals with punishment for false or malicious complaint and false evidence.
- In such a case, the ICC “may recommend” to the employer that it take action against the woman, or the person who has made the complaint, in “accordance with the provisions of the service rules”.
- The Act, however, makes it clear that action cannot be taken for “mere inability” to “substantiate the complaint or provide adequate proof”.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OIC
Mains level: Hypocrisy of OIC
In a highly notorious move, the OIC has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders in the Foreign Ministers’ meet in Islamabad.
What is OIC?
- The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
- The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
- OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.
Do you know?
Guyana and Suriname (from South America) are members of OIC.
India and OIC: A Backgrounder
- At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
- In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
- Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.
Recent developments
- In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
- This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
- Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.
What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?
- It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
- Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
- To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
- Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.
A group of hippocrats
- The OIC has been making factually incorrect and unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir.
- The so-called religious group is covertly silent over the persecution of Rohingyas, Uighurs, Kurds etc.
How has India been responding?
- India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
- The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
- It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
- This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism, and persecution of minorities”.
OIC members and India
- Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
- The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
- Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.
Way ahead
- India sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
- But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
- India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue has hardly any takers in the international community.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PM UJJWALA Scheme
Mains level: Outcomes of the Scheme
Greater penetration and usage of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented at least 1.5 lakh pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone, according to the first independent impact assessment of the government’s flagship Ujjwala program.
About the PM Ujjwala Yojana
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in 2016, with the aim to provide Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to five crore women members of below poverty line (BPL) households in the first phase.
- he scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands).
- In the second phase the target was expanded to eight crore LPG connections.
Why was this scheme launched?
- Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children.
- Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.
- This measure has empowered women and protected their health. It reduced drudgery and the time spent on cooking.
- It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
Ujjwala 2.0
- Under Ujjwala 2.0 migrant workers would no longer have to struggle to get address proof documents to get the gas connections.
- Now migrant workers would only be required to submit a self-declaration of their residential address to get the gas connection.
- Along with a deposit-free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and a hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries.
Significance of Ujjwala 2.0
- LPG infrastructure has expanded manifold in the country due to the Ujjwala scheme.
- In the last six years, more than 11,000 new LPG distribution centres have opened across the country.
- The LPG coverage in India is now very close to becoming 100 per cent.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MGNREGS
Mains level: Wage payment issues in MGNREGS
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others.
Back in news: MGNREGA
What is the caste-based payment system?
- Last year, the Rural Development Ministry sent an advisory to states asking them to take necessary action for payment of wages to NREGS workers according to their categories — SC, ST, and Others.
- Under the new system, if 20 individuals (say, six SCs, four STs and 10 others) work together at a site under MG-NREGA, a single muster roll would be issued.
- But payment would be done by issuing three separate Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), one for each of the three categories.
- Due to this, some beneficiaries started complaining that despite working at the same site and registering on the same muster roll, they were getting their wages at different times depending on their categories.
- Beneficiaries in the ‘Others’ category, which includes the ‘General’ and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, especially complained of delays.
What was the earlier system of payment?
- The Rural Development Ministry notifies wage rates for states and Union Territories under Section 6(1) of The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
- Until 2020-21, the wages were being paid to NREGS beneficiaries through a single funds transfer order.
- In other words, if 20 beneficiaries, including SCs, STs and Others work at a site under MGNREGA, all received their wages at the same time, through a single muster roll and a single funds transfer order.
Why was the system of caste-based wage payment introduced?
- According to the Ministry, the system of category-wise payment of wages was introduced to “accurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groups”.
- Last year, a process of “streamlining” of the new system was taken up.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BARC, TRP
Mains level: Not Much
The BARC India had temporarily suspended the viewership ratings of news channels in October 2020, amid the allegations of a Television Rating Point (TRP) scam. Now it has resumed the ratings.
What is TRP?
- In simple terms, anyone who watches television for more than a minute is considered a viewer.
- The TRP or Target Rating Point is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate this viewership.
- In India, the TRP is recorded by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) using Bar-O-Meters that are installed in televisions in selected households.
- As on date, the BARC has installed these meters in 44,000 households across the country. Audio watermarks are embedded in video content prior to broadcast.
- These watermarks are not audible to the human ear, but can easily be detected and decoded using dedicated hardware and software.
- As viewing details are recorded by the Bar-O-Meters, so are the watermarks.
What is BARC?
- It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by The Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.
- Though it was created in 2010, the I&B Ministry notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014, and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.
How are the households selected?
- Selection of households where Bar-O-Meters are installed is a two-stage process.
- The first step is the Establishment Survey, a large-scale face-to-face survey of a sample of approximately 3 lakh households from the target population. This is done annually.
- Out of these, the households which will have Bar-O-Meters or what the BARC calls the Recruitment Sample are randomly selected. The fieldwork to recruit households is not done directly by BARC.
- The BARC on its website has said that the viewing behaviour of panel homes is reported to BARC India daily. Coincidental checks either physically or telephonically are done regularly.
Vigilance activities by BARC
- Certain suspicious outliers are also checked directly by BARC India.
- BARC India also involves a separate vigilance agency to check on outliers that it considers highly suspicious.
- And as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, these households rotate every year.
- This rotation is in such a manner that older panel homes are removed first while maintaining the representativeness of the panel.
- The Ministry guidelines further say that the secrecy and privacy of the panel homes must be maintained, and asked the BARC to follow a voluntary code of conduct.
What are the loopholes in the process?
- Several doubts have been raised on many previous occasions about the working of the TRP.
- As per several reports, about 70% of the revenue for television channels comes from advertising and only 30% from subscriptions.
- It is claimed that households were being paid to manipulate the TRP.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nikshay Poshan Yojana
Mains level: Paper 2- TB's impact on women
Context
As India steadily steers its way through the pandemic to safer shores, we must foreground a disease which has been impacting our country for years, and disproportionately affecting women – tuberculosis.
Toll of TB
- In India, the TB case fatality ratio increased from 17 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent in 2020.
- According to a joint report (2010-13) of the Registrar General of India and the Centre for Global Health Research, TB was the fifth-leading cause of death among women in the country, accounting for nearly 5 per cent of fatalities in women aged 30–69.
How TB affects women more than men
- Much steeper socio-economic price: While both men and women suffer the consequences of this debilitating disease, women patients pay a much steeper socio-economic price.
- Beyond clinical metrics: From social ostracisation and lack of family support to the negative impact on marital prospects, women absorb the repercussions of TB beyond the clinical metrics.
- Stigma also acts as a strong deterrent when it comes to health-seeking behaviour.
- Fewer women, therefore, get included in the available cascade of care for TB.
Measures by government
- In 2019, the Health Ministry-Central TB Division developed a national framework for a gender-responsive approach to TB in India.
- The document takes cognisance of the challenges faced by women in accessing treatment and offers actionable solutions.
- Gender-responsive policy interventions: In December 2021, a parliamentary conference on ‘Women Winning Against TB’ was organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development where gender-responsive policy interventions were discussed.
- The Vice-President of India urged states to take proactive steps such as ensuring nutritional support to women and children and the doorstep delivery of TB services, especially for women from socio-economically weaker backgrounds.
Suggestions
1] Highlight the issue at the relevant forum
- One, as elected representatives, we need to come together more to highlight the issue at all relevant forums and spaces.
- These meetings see increased participation of women leaders from all walks of life in the community going forward.
2] Strengthen counselling network
- We need to strengthen counselling networks for women patients and their families.
- Irrespective of where the patient seeks care – public or private sector – build the capacity of healthcare workers to educate the patient’s family about the importance of providing her a supportive environment during the course of her treatment.
3] Nutritional needs
- We need to ensure that the nutritional needs of women are being met.
- Undernutrition is a serious risk factor for TB and research indicates such risks are higher for women.
- It is commendable that the government, through Nikshay Poshan Yojana, has effectively provided a monthly benefit of Rs 500 to enable a nutritious diet for TB patients in the last few years.
- For the 2020 cohort, the total amount paid under NPY via DBT has been over Rs 200 crore.
- Additionally, we can look to further strengthen inter-departmental coordination, wherein the Public Distribution System can explore appropriate linkages with relevant departments of the MoHFW and even include a protein-rich diet for TB patients.
4] Amplify accurate TB messaging
- At a community level, we must amplify accurate TB messaging and showcase how gender plays a role in determining the course of action on the ground.
Conclusion
These are universal problems that must transcend gender binaries. Only when equitable solutions are offered to vulnerable sections of society will we be able to realise the dream of TB-Mukt Bharat.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SDR
Mains level: Paper 3- Diversification away from dollar
Context
The war in Ukraine and the subsequent economic sanctions will trigger central banks to go back to their drawing boards to reassess their dependency on the greenback.
How sanctions on Russia could lead to de-dollarisation
- The imposition of sanctions and the exclusion from SWIFT by the US could trigger a faster de-dollarisation.
- The “de-dollarisation” by several central banks is imminent, driven by the desire to insulate them from geopolitical risks, where the status of the US dollar as a reserve currency can be used as an offensive weapon.
- This can also trigger a shift in the overall global forex market framework.
- The US dollar, which is the world’s reserve currency, can see a steady fall in the current context as leading central banks may look to diversify their reserves away from it to other assets or currencies like the Euro, Renminbi or gold.
How China and Russia are responding?
- Efforts are already underway for the possible introduction of a new Russia-China payment system, bypassing SWIFT and combining the Russian SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages) with the Chinese CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System).
- Russia had started its three-pronged efforts towards de-dollarisation in 2014 when sanctions were imposed on it for the annexation of Crimea.
- However, these steps haven’t sufficed to effectively shield “fortress Russia”.
- China, on the other hand, aims to use trading platforms and its digital currency to promote de-dollarisation.
- China has established RMB trading centres in Hong Kong, Singapore and Europe.
- In 2021, the People’s Bank of China submitted a “Global Sovereign Digital Currency Governance” proposal at the Bank for International Settlements to influence global financial rules via its digital currency, the e-Yuan.
- The IMF has already added Yuan to its SDR (Special Drawing Rights) basket in 2016.
- In 2017, the European Central Bank exchanged EUR 500 million worth of its forex reserves into Yuan-denominated securities.
- However, the lack of full RMB convertibility will hinder China’s de-dollarisation ambition.
Why the dominance of the dollar continues and how the US benefits from its dominance
- Currently, about 60 per cent of foreign exchange reserves of central banks and about 70 per cent of global trade is conducted using USD.
- The status of the dollar was enhanced by the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which essentially eliminated other developed market currencies from competing with the USD.
- The association of the USD as a “safe-haven” asset also has a psychological angle to it and like old habits, people continue to view the currency as a relatively risk-free asset.
- This status of the reserve currency allows the US government to refinance its debt at low costs in addition to providing foreign policy leverage.
- Additionally, sudden dumping of dollar assets by adversarial central banks will also pose balance sheet risks to them as it will erode the value of their overall dollar-denominated holdings.
Consider the question “Examine the factors that explain the dominance of the dollar in the global economy? How such dominance benefits the US?”
Conclusion
While the frequent use of the US dollar as a potential weapon for achieving foreign policy objectives will no doubt accelerate the process of de-dollarisation, there is still a long road ahead.
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Back2Basics: What is Special Drawing Rights?
- The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserves of its member countries.
- The SDR is not a currency.
- It is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.
- As such, SDRs can provide a country with liquidity.
- A basket of currencies defines the SDR: the US dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and the British Pound.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FCRA
Mains level: Amendment to the FCRA
The Union Home Ministry has placed a US based NGO on its watchlist following an investigation that foreign contributions it sent were being used for climate awareness campaigns, an activity not permissible under the FCRA [Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act].
About Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
- The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
- First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
- The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
- It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
- The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
Why was FCRA enacted?
- The FCRA sought to consolidate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals, associations or companies.
- It sought to prohibit such contributions from being used for activities detrimental to national interest.
What was the recent Amendment?
- The FCRA was amended in September 2020 to introduce some new restrictions.
- The Government says it did so because it found that many recipients were wanting in compliance with provisions relating to filing of annual returns and maintenance of accounts.
- Many did not utilise the funds received for the intended objectives.
- It claimed that the annual inflow as foreign contributions almost doubled between 2010 and 2019.
- The FCRA registration of 19,000 organisations was cancelled and, in some cases, prosecution was also initiated.
How has the law changed?
There are at least three major changes that NGOs find too restrictive.
- Prohibition of fund transfer: An amendment to Section 7 of the Act completely prohibits the transfer of foreign funds received by an organisation to any other individual or association.
- Directed and single bank account: Another amendment mandates that every person (or association) granted a certificate or prior permission to receive overseas funds must open an FCRA bank account in a designated branch of the SBI in New Delhi.
- Utilization of funds: Fund All foreign funds should be received only in this account and none other. However, the recipients are allowed to open another FCRA bank account in any scheduled bank for utilisation.
- Shared information: The designated bank will inform authorities about any foreign remittance with details about its source and the manner in which it was received.
- Aadhaar mandate: In addition, the Government is also authorised to take the Aadhaar numbers of all the key functionaries of any organisation that applies for FCRA registration or for prior approval for receiving foreign funds.
- Cap on administrative expenditure: Another change is that the portion of the receipts allowed as administrative expenditure has been reduced from 50% to 20%.
What is the criticism against these changes?
- Arbitrary restrictions: NGOs questioning the law consider the prohibition on transfer arbitrary and too heavy a restriction.
- Non-sharing of funds: One of its consequences is that recipients cannot fund other organisations. When foreign help is received as material, it becomes impossible to share the aid.
- Irrationality of designated bank accounts: There is no rational link between designating a particular branch of a bank with the objective of preserving national interest.
- Un-ease of operation: Due to Delhi based bank account, it is also inconvenient as the NGOS might be operating elsewhere.
- Illogical narrative: ‘National security’ cannot be cited as a reason without adequate justification as observed by the Supreme Court in Pegasus Case.
What does the Government say?
- Zero tolerance against intervention: The amendments were necessary to prevent foreign state and non-state actors from interfering with the country’s polity and internal matters.
- Diversion of foreign funds: The changes are also needed to prevent malpractices by NGOs and diversion of foreign funds.
- Fund flow monitoring: The provision of having one designated bank for receiving foreign funds is aimed at making it easier to monitor the flow of funds.
- Ease of operation: The Government clarified that there was no need for anyone to come to Delhi to open the account as it can be done remotely.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPRs, Patents
Mains level: Not Much
The World Trade Organization chief has hailed a breakthrough between the EU, the United States, India and South Africa on waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines.
What is a Patent?
- A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention.
- In other words, a patent is an exclusive right to a product or a process that generally provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
- To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
- The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms.
- The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent.
- Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain; that is, anyone can commercially exploit the invention without infringing the patent.
Terms of Patent
- Patents may be granted for inventions in any field of technology, from an everyday kitchen utensil to a nanotechnology chip.
- An invention can be a product – such as a chemical compound, or a process, for example – or a process for producing a specific chemical compound.
- Patent protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application.
- Patents are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region.
Back2Basics: Intellectual Properties
- IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.
- By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.
Types of IP:
(1) Copyright
- Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works.
- Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps and technical drawings.
(2) Patents
Discussed above
(3) Trademarks
- A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises.
- Trademarks date back to ancient times when artisans used to put their signature or “mark” on their products.
(4) Geographical Indications
- Geographical indications and appellations of origin are signs used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, a reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that place of origin.
- Most commonly, a geographical indication includes the name of the place of origin of the goods.
(5) Trade secrets
- Trade secrets are IP rights on confidential information which may be sold or licensed.
- The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of such secret information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices by others is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade secret protection.
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