Note4Students
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 âAxomiya janaganâ (Assamese people), âkhilonjiaâ (indigenous) and âadi basindaâ (original inhabitants) were yet to be determined.
- The context is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which promises âconstitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese peopleâ.
- However, it doesnât  provide clear cut definitions to identify who would be the âAssamese peopleâ.
- 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 âAssameseâ definition difficult?
- Because Assamâs 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 âAssameseâ 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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Note4Students
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 Centreâs 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 â 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.
Centreâs 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 donât follow a predetermined, arched trajectory and can maneuver on the way to their destination.
- The term âhypersonicâ 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 âtremendousâ stresses as it pushes through the atmosphere.
Types of hypersonic weapons
- There are two main types of these weapons â 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 airâs 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 2,100â2,300 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 Putinâs 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: Â 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 âdiplomatic groupingâ 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 â 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 nationsâ 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.
- Indiaâs 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 ânew form of capitalismâ 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.Â
- For Japan, India is certainly the best partner to have when seeking to realise a ânew form of capitalism,â as showcased in Indiaâs 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
- Â Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force.
- Â 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.
- Â In the recent Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) Leadersâ 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 leadersâ summit is under coordination.
- Cultural bond: As the name âSpecial Strategic and Global Partnershipâ 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 âJapan-India Special Strategic, and Global Partnershipâ 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.
Indiaâs 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.
- Russiaâs 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?
Indiaâs 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 Indiaâs 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 Indiaâs 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.
Howâreâthe 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 bankâopening shop on each otherâs soil.
- Another option is routing payments via a bankâwithâlimitedâoverseasâexposure so that it will not attract curbs.
- For additional Russian oil shipments, India needs access to more vessels and containers.
- Indian refinersâ ability to process larger quantities ofâcrudeâoilâalsoâneedsâtoâbeâassessed.
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. Ltdâs investment in Russiaâs 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 â actors, standup comics, senior journalists â 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 womenâs 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 âof any age whether employed or notâ, who âalleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassmentâ.
- 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 âany one or moreâ of the following âunwelcome acts or behaviourâ 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 personâs 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 âunwelcome behaviourâ 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 âillegal, demeaning, invading, one-sided and power basedâ.
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 âmayâ do so â OR any member of the ICC âshallâ render âall reasonable assistanceâ to her to complain in writing.
- If the woman cannot complain because of âphysical or mental incapacity or death or otherwiseâ, her legal heir may do so.
- Under the Act, the complaint must be made âwithin three months from the date of the incidentâ.
- However, the ICC can âextend the time limitâ if âit is satisfied that the circumstances were such which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the said periodâ.
- It provides that âno monetary settlement shall be made as a basis of conciliationâ.
- The ICC may either forward the victimâs 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 âin accordance with the provisions of the service rulesâ 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, âas it may consider appropriateâ.
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 âmay recommendâ to the employer that it take action against the woman, or the person who has made the complaint, in âaccordance with the provisions of the service rulesâ.
- The Act, however, makes it clear that action cannot be taken for âmere inabilityâ to âsubstantiate the complaint or provide adequate proofâ.
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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 Ministersâ meet in Islamabad.
What is OIC?
- The OIC â formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference â is the worldâs second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
- The OICâs stated objective is âto safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the worldâ.
- 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 Ministersâ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the worldâs Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
- In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistanâs 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 Ministersâ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a âguest of honorâ.
- 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 OICâs stand on Kashmir?
- It has been generally supportive of Pakistanâs 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 Pakistanâs surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE â both top leaders among the Muslim countries â 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 â Turkey and Malaysia â 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 âconsistent and well knownâ 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 âwhich has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism, and persecution of minoritiesâ.
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 Indiaâs 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 Pakistanâs 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 governmentâs 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
Parliamentâs 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 â 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 âOthersâ category, which includes the âGeneralâ 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 âaccurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groupsâ.
- Last year, a process of âstreamliningâ 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 â 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 30â69.
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 âWomen Winning Against TBâ 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 â public or private sector â build the capacity of healthcare workers to educate the patientâs 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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Note4Students
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.Â
- The âde-dollarisationâ 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 worldâs 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 havenât sufficed to effectively shield âfortress Russiaâ.
- 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 Peopleâs Bank of China submitted a âGlobal Sovereign Digital Currency Governanceâ 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 Chinaâs 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 âsafe-havenâ 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.
- Â 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: âNational securityâ 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 countryâs 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 â such as a chemical compound, or a process, for example â 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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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Daylight Saving Time (DST), Equinoxes
Mains level: Not Much
The United States Senate unanimously passed a law making daylight saving time (DST) permanent, scrapping the biannual practice of putting clocks forward and back coinciding with the arrival and departure of winter.
What does this imply?
- With clocks in the US going back an hour, the time difference between New York and India will increase from the current nine and a half hours to ten and a half hours.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite has happened, where countries have âsprung forwardâ, and time difference with India has reduced.
What is DST?
- DST is the practise of resetting clocks ahead by an hour in spring, and behind by an hour in autumn (or fall).
- During these months, countries that follow this system get an extra hour of daylight in the evening.
- Because the spring to fall cycle is opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, DST lasts from March to October/November in Europe and the US, and from September/October to April in New Zealand and Australia.
- Dates for this switch, which happens twice a year (in the spring and autumn) are decided beforehand.
- By law, the 28 member states of the EU switch together â moving forward on the last Sunday of March and falling back on the last Sunday in October.
- In the US, clocks go back on the first Sunday of November.
Now try this PYQ:
Q.On 21st June, the Sun
(a) Does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
(b) Does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
(c) Shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
(d) Shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn
How many countries use DST?
- DST is in practice in some 70 countries, including those in the European Union.
- India does not follow DST; since countries near the Equator do not experience high variations in daytime hours between seasons.
- There is, however, a separate debate around the logic of sticking with an only one-time zone in a country as large as India.
What does this system mean to achieve?
- The key argument is that DST is meant to save energy.
- The rationale behind setting clocks ahead of standard time, usually by 1 hour during springtime, is to ensure that the clocks show a later sunrise and later sunset â in effect a longer evening daytime.
- Individuals will wake an hour earlier than usual, complete their daily work routines an hour earlier, and have an extra hour of daylight at the end.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SWIFT
Mains level: Paper 2- Effectiveness of sanctions
Context
Economic measures to cut Russia off from the worldâs financial arteries are the most powerful implements a West unwilling to meet a nuclear adversary on the battlefield has dared wield in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Use of sanctions
- The use of sanction has boomed over the past few decades.
- Since 2000 the number of individuals and entities on Americaâs sanctions list has risen more than tenfold to 10,000.
- Ever more governments, keen to punish military aggression or human-rights abuses but reluctant to go to war over them, have embraced the tactic.
Sanctions against Russia
- Â After debating whether to make it much harder for Russian banks to process international payments by shutting them out of SWIFTâsome European countries feared it would hurt their own banks, tooâWestern allies agreed to try targeting seven of them, though it has steered clear of Sberbank, Russiaâs largest by assets, which plays a big role in processing energy payments.Â
- The most potent financial sanctions, though, have been aimed not at Russiaâs commercial banks but at its central bank.
- In the eight years since annexing Crimea made Russia the target of a first wave of sanctions, Russia has built up reserves (they now total $630bn) and shifted their composition away from dollars to help insulate the economy from further punishment.
- But reserves become moot, whatever the currency in which they are held, if they cannot be used.
- America, acting with Europe, has banned a range of parties from transactions with Russiaâs central bank.
- The West has also frozen most of the bankâs assets outside Russia.
How it will affect Russian economy
- Within hours of the sanctions taking effect, Russia’s central bank raised its main interest rate from 9.5% to 20% in an attempt to shore up the currency.
- Â Export controls will limit the components Russia can buy for its military and high-tech sectors, denying it goodies ranging from cutting-edge machinery to microchips.
- The measures apply not just to goods made in America, but to those containing American technology that are made in and shipped from third countries, such as China.
- For now, consumer goods dear to ordinary Russians like smartphones and home appliances are exempted from such measures.
- But Apple is no longer selling iPhones or other kit in Russia. It is one of a fast-growing number of Western companies getting out.
Effectiveness of sanctions
- Measuring sanctionsâ success is hard, not least because of the difficulty of disentangling their effects from other economic, and on occasion military, forces, but there have been few outright successes.
- A recent success was the squeeze on Libya by America and allies in the 1990s and early 2000s.
- A mix of sanctions and financial inducements persuaded Muammar Qaddafi to end his wmd programme and stop funding terrorism.
- The apparent failures of sanctions are many.
- Sometimes this is because they are fundamentally symbolic, or weakened by interest groups in the countries imposing them.
- Though the point of sanctions is to exploit asymmetries, doing much more harm to the adversary than to yourself, there are always burdens to be borne by some.
- There is also a loss to the economy as a whole.
- The cost of compliance with sanctions for banks and companies has rocketed over the past decade.
- Financial institutions alone spent over $50bn worldwide in 2020 on screening clients for sanctions risks, according to LexisNexis, a data firm.
- One thing which weakens sanctions is leakiness. Despite Americaâs maximum-pressure measures, Iran manages to export an estimated 1m barrels of oil per day as middlemen find ways to disguise the origin of shipments.
Risks associated with sanctions
- Collateral damage: The more powerful sanctions are, the greater the risk of collateral damage, particularly when targeted regimes are indifferent to the suffering of citizens.
- Work in favour of regime: Increasing the harm done can work at least in part in the governmentâs favour.
- In Venezuela, a significant number of those opposed to President NicolĂĄs Maduro and his henchmen also oppose the American sanctions putatively aimed at dislodging them.
- Increase the closeness between countries: Sanctions can also push countries they target into each otherâs arms.
- Russia and Chinaâhit with American sanctions over its mistreatment of Uyghurs as well as its suspected tech-spyingâare enjoying their friendliest relations for decades.
- Alternative infrastructure: It encourages those who fear them to develop alternative financial and technological infrastructures.
- China is pushing hard in that direction.
- As well as trying to boost its chip-making, it is creating its own version of swift, called cips, which simplifies cross-border payments in yuan, and developing a digital currency.
- It has a long way to go.
- Though usage of the yuan as a currency for international payments is at an all-time high, at just over 3% of the total it still pales beside the dollar, at 40%.
- As the world economy reels from financial crises, nationalism, trade wars and a global pandemic, sanctions are aggravating existing tensions within globalisation.
Conclusion
When used in earnest, sanctions can inflict heavy economic costs on both sides on top of the deprivation inflicted in targeted countries. Even then, they do not always work.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ballistic and cruise missile
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for mechanisms in the time of crisis
Context
The accidental firing of an Indian missile into Pakistan highlights the sorry state of bilateral mechanisms for crisis management between the two nuclear adversaries where there is a missile flight time of barely a few minutes.
Balance response from both side
- The Pakistani response to the accidental firing of the missile was a balanced one.
- While New Delhi maintained a silence over the issue until it was brought up on March 11, the Indian response was also far from denial.
- In that sense then, the Indian and Pakistani responses to the missile (mis)firing were the best possible outcome under the circumstances given that there is little bilateral mechanism for crisis management.
- The two sides do not have high commissioners on the other side, there is no structured bilateral dialogue, and, most importantly, the two sides have not held âExpert Level Talks on Nuclear Confidence Building Measuresâ or âExpert Level Talks on Conventional Confidence Building Measuresâ for several years now.
Lack of strategic stability regime
Following are the reasons why the strategic stability regime in South Asia is hardly prepared for dealing with accidents such as the one that just happened, or enhancing effective crisis management and deterrence stability.
1] Pre-notification agreement does not include cruise missiles
- For one, although India and Pakistan signed a âPre-Notification of Flight Testing of Ballistic Missilesâ agreement in October 2005, it does not include cruise missiles.
- Notably, the missile that was misfired by the Indian side earlier this month, suspected to be the BrahMos, was a cruise missile (even though it was a misfire, and not a flight test).
- Way forward: Given the many sophisticated cruise missiles that are now a part of each sideâs arsenal, it is important to include them in the pre-notification regime.
2] No structured meetings on nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs)
- The two sides have not held their structured meetings on nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs) and conventional CBMs for several years now.
- Given the nature of the India-Pakistan relationship â adversarial, nuclear-armed, crisis prone, and suffering from trust deficit â there is an urgent need, especially in the wake of the recent incident, to revive these two dialogue mechanisms.
3] China has so far refused to engage in strategic stability discussions with India
- The third state with nuclear weapons in the region, China, has so far refused to engage in strategic stability discussions with India even though China today is involved in the India-Pakistan conflict more than ever before, apart from being in a military standoff with India.
Way forward: Mechanisms for communicating sensitive information during crisis periods
- India and Pakistan should consider setting up mechanisms such as nuclear risk reduction centres (NRRCs), established between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
- The primary objective of NRRCs, or similar structures that can be set up on either side, is risk reduction by providing a structured mechanism for timely communication of messages and proper implementation of already agreed-upon confidence-building measures.
- Such a body could routinely exchange messages, provide timely clarifications, and review compliance to agreements, among others.
Consider the question “The incident of the accidental firing of a missile by India highlights the issues with the strategic stability regime in South Asia. Discuss the issues and suggest the measures needed?Â
Conclusion
New Delhi should provide assurances to Pakistan that efforts will be made to avoid such mistakes in the future. And both sides should use risk reduction mechanisms.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)
Mains level: Paper 3- What are Special situation funds (SSFs)
Context
India suffers from a chronic bad debt problem. Â To overcome this problem, banks and financial institutions were initially allowed to sell their stressed loans only to ARCs. Now they can sell to SSFs too.
How bad debt affects the credit supply in economy?
- Higher bad debt requires higher provisioning, locking up more capital in the banking system.
- This reduces credit supply and hurts economic growth.
- To overcome this problem, banks and financial institutions were initially allowed to sell their stressed loans only to ARCs.Â
- Â Transfer of stressed loans would release capital locked-up in the banking system and help improve credit supply.
Two crucial reforms in financial markets
- Indian financial markets witnessed two crucial reforms earlier this year.
- 1] SSF: SEBI came out with a dedicated regulatory framework for special situation funds (SSFs).
- 2] Dual structure bad bank: The RBI approved the new dual-structure bad bank, NARCL-IDRCL.
- While the bad bank is an upgraded version of the existing asset restructuring companies (ARCs) model, the SSF is a relatively novel concept.
Understanding AIFs and SSF
- SEBI has introduced SSFs as a distinct sub-category of Category I Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).Â
- AIFs manage privately pooled funds raised from sophisticated investors with deep pockets.
- AIFs in equity market: While AIFs have traditionally played a prominent role in equity markets, their participation in distressed debt markets has been limited.
- No participation in secondary market for corporate loans: Regulations did not permit AIFs to participate in the secondary market for corporate loans extended by banks and NBFCs.
- The new regulations now create a special sub-category of AIFs, namely SSFs, which are allowed to participate in the secondary market for loans extended to companies that have defaulted on their debt obligations.
What is Syndicated lending?
- Syndicated lending is a financial instrument where a group of lenders, known as a syndicate, work together to provide a large loan to a single borrower.
- This collaborative approach allows lenders to share the risk of borrower default, making it more manageable for individual lenders.
- The syndicate typically includes a lead bank or underwriter, which plays a crucial role in assembling the syndicate and managing administrative tasks.
Why SSFs must be allowed full participation across the entire spectrum of secondary market for corporate debt
- Default is a lagging indicator of financial stress.
- Lesser haircut: If lenders and bond investors could offload potentially stressed assets to SSFs before defaulting in the secondary market, they would benefit from a lesser haircut.
- SSFs would also get adequate time for debt aggregation before default, reducing the collective action problems that may arise after default during insolvency or restructuring.
- It would improve the liquidity: Allowing SSFs to purchase investment-grade loans would also improve the liquidity in the secondary market for corporate loans.
- Traditionally, banks originated loans and held them till maturity.
- Over time, lending moved from involving a single lender to multiple lenders via syndicated lending.
- As volumes in the primary syndication market increased, demand for secondary trading also developed to allow liquidity, risk and portfolio management.
- Suggestion by RBI task force: Secondary trading of loans is now institutionalised in international financial markets.
- The RBI task force on secondary markets for corporate loans, chaired by T N Manoharan, made this suggestion in 2019.
- These markets are liquid precisely because they are open to a wide variety of non-bank participants including insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds and private equity funds.
- SSFs are unlikely to jeopardise financial stability: SSFs cannot borrow funds or engage in any leverage except for temporary funding requirements.
- Consequently, risks associated with liquidity, credit or maturity transformation and asset-liability mismatches are unlikely to arise.
- Given their structure, SSFs are likely to acquire sufficient debt in a distressed company to acquire control or to influence its subsequent insolvency or restructuring process to maximise its value through business turnaround or sale.
Consider the question “What are special situation funds (SSFs)? Suggest the changes needed in the secondary trading of loans in India’s.”
Conclusion
Overall, the introduction of SSFs promises to usher in a modern era of distressed debt investing in India. To realise their true potential, SSFs must be allowed full participation across the entire spectrum of secondary market for corporate debt and not just be confined to the post-default stage.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Articles 25, 26
Mains level: Hijab Row
The Karnataka High Court has upheld the ban on the wearing of hijab (head scarf) by students in schools and colleges in the State.
[Burning Issue] Freedom of religion and attire
The Judgment
- The judgment was delivered by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice J.M. Khazi.
- It rejected all the petitions filed by girl students of pre-university colleges in Udupi district.
Key takeaways
- The HC held that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam and is not, therefore, protected under by the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution.
- The court said it was a reasonable restriction that was constitutionally permissible.
- The Bench also upheld the legality of the order prescribing guidelines for uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges under the provisions of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.
- The court said that school uniform will cease to be a uniform if hijab is also allowed.
What else did the court observe?
- The Bench also spoke about the possibility of some âunseen handsâ behind the hijab row to engineer social unrest and disharmony.
- It expressed dismay over the issue being blown out of proportion by the powers that be.
Reactions on the Judgment
- Some factions have said that the order is a blow to right to education for Muslim women.
- Other see it as an empowerment of women.
- Feminists says that itâs not about an item of clothing, itâs about the right of a woman to choose how she wants to dress.
- The Leftists perceived it as a blow against the universal right to education without discrimination, guaranteed by the law and the Constitution of India.
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