| Governance | Mains Paper 3: PDS, Buffer Stock & Food Security

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: UNFSS 2021

Mains level: Paper 3- Reimagining food system

Context

The first and historic United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021 was held in September this year.

Significance of food system transformation

Global food systems are the networks that are needed to produce and transform food, and ensure it reaches consumers, or the paths that food travels from production to plate.
Global food systems are in a state of crisis in many countries affecting the poor and the vulnerable.
In terms of larger goals, the food system transformation is considered essential in achieving the sustainable development agenda 2030.
This makes strong sense as 11 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out of 17 are directly related to the food system.

Achievements of the Food Systems Summit

The summit created a mechanism for serious debates involving UN member states, civil society, non-governmental organisations, academics, researchers, individuals, and the private sector.
The debate and response focused on five identified action tracks namely: Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all; Shift to sustainable consumption patterns; Boost nature-positive production; Advance equitable livelihoods, and Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress.
The Statement of Action emerging from the summit offers a concise set of ambitious, high-level principles and areas for action to support the global call to “Build back better” after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lessons from India’s experience with food systems

India’s long journey from food shortage to surplus food producer offers several lessons for other developing countries.
The learnings encompassed elements of nutritional health, food safety and standards, sustainability, deployment of space technology, and the like.
Safety nets: One of India’s greatest contributions to equity in food is its National Food Security Act 2013 that anchors the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Mid-Day meals (MDM), and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
Today, India’s food safety nets collectively reach over a billion people.
Food safety nets and inclusion are linked with public procurement and buffer stock policy.
Challenge of climate change: Climate change and unsustainable use of land and water resources are the most formidable challenges food systems face today.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has set the alarm bells ringing, highlighting the urgency to act now.
Nutrition and food diversity: Dietary diversity, nutrition, and related health outcomes are another area of concern as a focus on rice and wheat has created nutritional challenges of its own.
India has taken a bold decision to fortify rice supplied through the Public Distribution System with iron.
Low nutrition: Despite being a net exporter and food surplus country at the aggregate level, India has a 50% higher prevalence of undernutrition compared to the world average.
But the proportion of the undernourished population declined from 21.6% during 2004-06 to 15.4% during 2018-20.
Food wastage: Reducing food wastage or loss of food is a mammoth challenge and is linked to the efficiency of the food supply chain. Food wastage in India exceeds ₹1-lakh crore.

Need to eliminate hunger

‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report, estimates that around a tenth of the global population was undernourished last year.
Hunger and food insecurity are key drivers of conflict and instability across the world.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2020 conferred on the United Nations WFP highlighted the importance of addressing hunger to prevent conflicts and create stability.

Way forward

Collaboration: We must collaborate to invest, innovate, and create lasting solutions in sustainable agriculture contribution to equitable livelihood, food security, and nutrition.
Lessons from India: India has so much to offer from its successes, and learning also, to prepare itself for the next 20 to 30 years.
There is a need to reimagining the food system towards the goal of balancing growth and sustainability, mitigating climate change, ensuring healthy, safe, quality, and affordable food, maintaining biodiversity, improving resilience, and offering an attractive income and work environment to smallholders and youth.

Conclusion

We are on the cusp of a transformation to make the world free of hunger by 2030 and deliver promises for SDGs, with strong cooperation and partnership between governments, citizens, civil society organisations, and the private sector.

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Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

Revealing India’s actual farmer population

op-ed snap | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: SAAH report

Mains level: Paper 3- India's farmer population and related issues

Context

Depending on the source, there is a wide variation in the number of farmers in India.

What is the extent of variation?

The last Agriculture Census for 2015-16 placed the total “operational holdings” in India at 146.45 million.
The Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme has 110.94 million beneficiaries.
National Statistical Office’s Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households (SAAH) report for 2018-19 pegs the country’s “agricultural households” at 93.09 million.

What explains the variation?

This wide variation has largely to do with methodology.
The Agriculture Census looks at any land used even partly for agricultural production, the land does not have to be owned by that person (“cultivator”), who needn’t also belong to an “agricultural household”.
The SAAH report, on the other hand, considers only the operational holdings of agricultural households.
Members of a household may farm different lands.
The SAAH takes all these lands as a single production unit.
It does not count multiple holdings if operated by individuals living together and sharing a common kitchen.
Accounting for only “agricultural households”, while not distinguishing multiple operating holdings within them, brings down India’s official farmer numbers to just over 93 million.
Expansive definition: SAAH’s definition of “agricultural households” is expansive.
It covers households having at least one member self-employed in agriculture and whose annual value of produce exceeds Rs 4,000.
Such self-employment needs to be for only 30 days or more during the survey reference period of six months.

So, what is the actual number of farmers?

The estimate of actual number is based on the following methodology.
The SAAH report gives data on agricultural household income from farm and non-farm sources, both state-wise and across different land-possessed/operational holding size classes.
From the above data, we can categorise “full-time/regular” farmers as those households whose net receipts from farming are at least 50 per cent of their total income from all sources.
The SAAH report also has state-wise estimates of agricultural households for each land-possessed size class.
By taking only those size classes in which the dependence ratios are higher than (or close to) 50 per cent, and adding up the corresponding estimated number of agricultural households, we are able to arrive at the total “full-time/regular” farmers for each state.
Following the above methodology, India’s “serious” farmer population, in turn, adds up to 36.1 million, which is hardly 39 per cent of the SAAH estimate.

Policy implications of having actual numbers of farmers significantly lower than estimated

If the actual number of farmers deriving a significant share of their income from agriculture per se is only 40 million a host of policy implications follow.
Targeted policy: One must recognise that farming is a specialised profession like any other.
“Agriculture policy” should, then, target those who can and genuinely depend on farming as a means of livelihood.
Minimum support prices, government procurement, agricultural market reforms, fertiliser and other input subsidies, Kisan Credit Card loans, crop insurance or export-import policy on farm commodities will matter mainly to “full-time/regular” farmers.
Land size matters: The SAAH report reveals that the 50 per cent farm income dependence threshold is crossed at an all-India level only when the holding size exceeds one hectare or 2.5 acres.
This is clearly the minimum land required for farming to be viable, which about 70 per cent of agricultural households in the country do not possess.
Policy for labourers: What should be done for this 70 per cent, who are effectively labourers and not farmers?
Their problems cannot be addressed through “agriculture policy”.
The scope for value-addition and employment can be more outside than on the farm — be it in aggregation, grading, packaging, transporting, processing, warehousing and retailing of produce or supply of inputs and services to farmers.

Consider the question “What explains the wide variation in the estimates of the number of farmers in India? What are the implications of such variations for agriculture policy?”

Conclusion

Agriculture policy should aim not only at increasing farm incomes but also adding value to produce outside and closer to the farms. A more sustainable solution lies in reimagining agriculture beyond the farm.

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Corruption Challenges – Lokpal, POCA, etc

Pandora Papers on Offshore Financial Trusts

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Money-Laundering & Its Prevention

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Trusts and thier establishments

Mains level: Tax evasion

There are at least 380 persons of Indian nationality in the Pandora Papers.

What are the Pandora Papers?

The Pandora papers are the largest trove of leaked data exposing tax haven secrecy in history.
They provide a rare window into the hidden world of offshore finance, casting light on the financial secrets of some of the world’s richest people.
It includes over 11.9 million leaked files from 14 global corporate services firms which set up about 29,000 off-the-shelf companies and private trusts in not just obscure tax jurisdictions.
These documents relate to the ultimate ownership of assets ‘settled’ (or placed) in private offshore trusts and the investments including cash, shareholding, and real estate properties, held by the offshore entities.

Indians included in these

There are at least 380 persons of Indian nationality in the Pandora Papers.
There are almost 60 prominent individuals and companies including the most decorated cricketer of India.

What do these papers reveal?

They reveal how the rich, the famous and the notorious, many of whom were already on the radar of investigative agencies, set up complex multi-layered trust structures for estate planning.
This is particularly in jurisdictions that are loosely regulated for tax purposes, but characterized by air-tight secrecy laws.
The purposes for which trusts are set up are many, and some genuine too.

But a scrutiny of the papers also shows how the objective of many is two-fold:

Tax Avoidance: to hide their real identities and distance themselves from the offshore entities so that it becomes near impossible for the tax authorities to reach them and,
Tax Evasion: to safeguard investments — cash, shareholdings, real estate, art, aircraft, and yachts — from creditors and law enforcers.

How is Pandora different from the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers?

The Panama and Paradise Papers dealt largely with offshore entities set up by individuals and corporates respectively.
The Pandora Papers investigation shows how businesses disguised as Trusts have created a new normal with rising concerns of money laundering, terrorism funding, and tax evasion.

What is a Trust?

A trust can be described as a fiduciary arrangement where a third party, referred to as the trustee, holds assets on behalf of individuals or organizations that are to benefit from it.
It is generally used for estate planning purposes and succession planning.
It helps large business families to consolidate their assets — financial investments, shareholding, and real estate property.

A trust comprises three key parties:

Settlor — one who sets up, creates, or authors a trust;
Trustee — one who holds the assets for the benefit of a set of people named by the ‘settlor’; and
Beneficiaries — to whom the benefits of the assets are bequeathed.

A trust is not a separate legal entity, but its legal nature comes from the ‘trustee’.
At times, the ‘settlor’ appoints a ‘protector’, who has the powers to supervise the trustee, and even remove the trustee and appoint a new one.

Is setting up a trust in India, or one offshore/ outside the country, illegal?

The Indian Trusts Act, 1882, gives legal basis to the concept of trusts.
While Indian laws do not see trusts as a legal person/ entity, they do recognise the trust as an obligation of the trustee to manage and use the assets settled in the trust for the benefit of ‘beneficiaries’.
India also recognises offshore trusts i.e., trusts set up in other tax jurisdictions.

If it’s legal, what’s the investigation about?

There are legitimate reasons for setting up trusts — and many set them up for genuine estate planning.
A businessperson can set conditions for ‘beneficiaries’ to draw income being distributed by the trustee or inherit assets after her/ his demise.
For instance, while allotting shares in the company to say, four siblings, the father promoter set conditions that a sibling can get the dividend from the shares and claim ownership of the shares.
This could be to ensure ownership of the enterprise within the family.
But trusts are also used by some as secret vehicles to park ill-gotten money, hide incomes to evade taxes, protect wealth from law enforcers.

Why are trusts set up overseas?

Overseas trusts offer remarkable secrecy because of stringent privacy laws in the jurisdiction they operate in. From the investigation, some key tacit reasons why people set up trusts are:

Maintain a degree of separation: Businesspersons set up private offshore trusts to project a degree of separation from their personal assets.

Hunt for enhanced secrecy: Offshore trusts offer enhanced secrecy to businesspersons, given their complex structures. The Income-Tax Department can get information only with the financial investigation agency or international tax authority.

Avoid tax in the guise of planning: Businesspersons avoid their NRI children being taxed on income from their assets by transferring all the assets to a trust. Further, the tax rates in overseas jurisdictions are much lower than the 30% personal I-T rate in India plus surcharges, including those on the super-rich (those with annual income over Rs 1 crore).

Prepare for estate duty eventuality: There is pervasive fear that estate duty, which was abolished back in 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi was PM, will likely be re-introduced soon. Setting up trusts in advance, business families have been advised, will protect the next generation from paying the death/ inheritance tax, which was as high as 85 per cent.

Flexibility in a capital-controlled economy: India is a capital-controlled economy. Individuals can invest only $250,000 a year under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). To get over this, businesspersons have turned NRIs, and under FEMA, NRIs can remit $1 million a year in addition to their current annual income, outside India.

The NRI angle: Offshore trusts, as noted earlier, are recognised under Indian laws, but legally, it is the trustees — not the ‘settlor’ or the ‘beneficiaries’ — who are the owners of the properties and income of the trust. An NRI trustee or offshore trustee taking instructions from another overseas ‘protector’ ensures they are taxed in India only on their total income from India.

Can offshore Trusts be seen as resident Indian for tax purposes?

There are certain grey areas of taxation where the Income-Tax Department is in contestation with offshore trusts.
After The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, came into existence, resident Indians — if they are ‘settlors’, ‘trustees’, or ‘beneficiaries’ — have to report their foreign financial interests and assets.
NRIs are not required to do so — even though, as mentioned above, the I-T Department has been sending notices to NRIs in certain cases.

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North-East India – Security and Developmental Issues

Panel set up to implement Assam Accord

| Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Population & Associated Issues

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Assam Accord

Mains level: Read the attached story

The Assam government on Saturday set up an eight-member sub-committee to examine and prepare a framework for the implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord of 1985.

What is Assam Accord?

The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement.
It the movement demanded the identification and deportation of all illegal foreigners – predominantly Bangladeshi immigrants.
They feared that past and continuing large scale migration was overwhelming the native population, impacting their political rights, culture, language and land rights.
The Assam Movement caused the estimated death of over 855 people.
It ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.

What are the major clauses of Assam Accord?

Clause 5: Foreigners Issue
Clause 6: Constitutional, Legislative & Administrative safeguards
Clause 7: Economic Development
Clause 9 : Security of International Border
Clause 10: Prevention of Encroachment of Government lands
Clause 11: Restricting acquisition of immovable property by foreigners
Clause 12: Registration of births and deaths

Which clauses are being discussed?

A sub-committee has been tasked to examine and prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of Assam Accord in general with special emphasis on Clause 6, Clause 7, Clause 9 and Clause 10.

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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

What are the concerns of digital health mission?

Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

Mains level: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), was recently launched by the PM.

About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

The pilot project of the National Digital Health Mission was announced by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.
The mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.
This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers.

The key components of the project include

Health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application,
Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)
Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine

How will it work?

In order to be a part of the ABDM, citizens will have to create a unique health ID – a randomly generated 14-digit identification number.
The ID will give the user unique identification, authentication and will be a repository of all health records of a person.
The ID can also be made by self-registration on the portal, downloading the ABMD Health Records app on one’s mobile or at a participating health facility.
The beneficiary will also set up a Personal Health Records (PHR) address for the issue of consent, and for future sharing of health records.

Major privacy issues involved

Informed Consent: The citizen’s consent is vital for all access. A beneficiary’s consent is vital to ensure that information is released.
Data leakages issue: Personalised data collected at multiple levels are a “sitting gold mine” for insurance companies, international researchers, and pharma companies.
Digital divide: Other experts add that lack of access to technology, poverty, and lack of understanding of the language in a vast and diverse country like India are problems that need to be looked into.
Data Migration: The data migration and inter-State transfer are still faced with multiple errors and shortcomings in addition to concerns of data security.

Other challenges

Existing digitalization is yet incomplete: India has been unable to standardise the coverage and quality of the existing digital cards like One Nation One Ration card, PM-JAY card, Aadhaar card, etc., for accessibility of services and entitlements.
Lack of healthcare facilities: The defence of data security by expressed informed consent doesn’t work in a country that is plagued by the acute shortage of healthcare professionals to inform the client fully.
Lack of finance: With the minuscule spending of 1.3% of the GDP on the healthcare sector, India will be unable to ensure the quality and uniform access to healthcare that it hoped to bring about.

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Electoral Reforms In India

Election Symbols after Party Split

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People's Act

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Election symbols

Mains level: Split of political parties

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has frozen an election symbol of a political party in Bihar to which a cabinet minister belonged.

What are the Election Commission’s powers in a dispute over the election symbol when a party splits?

The question of a split in a political party outside the legislature is dealt by Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968.
It states that the ECI may take into account all the available facts and circumstances and undertake a test of majority.
The decision of the ECI shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups emerged after the split.
This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.

How did the EC deal with such matters before the Symbols Order came into effect?

Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
The most high-profile split of a party before 1968 was that of the CPI in 1964.
A breakaway group approached the ECI in December 1964 urging it to recognise them as CPI(Marxist). They provided a list of MPs and MLAs of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal who supported them.
The ECI recognised the faction as CPI(M) after it found that the votes secured by the MPs and MLAs supporting the breakaway group added up to more than 4% in the 3 states.

What was the first case decided under Para 15 of the 1968 Order?

It was the first split in the Indian National Congress in 1969.
Indira Gandhi’s tensions with a rival group within the party came to a head with the death of President Dr Zakir Hussain on May 3, 1969.

Is there a way other than the test of majority to resolve a dispute over election symbols?

In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation (because of disputes regarding the list of office bearers), it fell back on testing the majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.

What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?

The EC in 1997 did not recognise the new parties as either state or national parties.
It felt that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
The EC introduced a new rule under which the splinter group of the party — other than the group that got the party symbol — had to register itself as a separate party.
It could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.

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ISRO Missions and Discoveries

IAO Hanle: A promising astronomical observatory

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: IAO Hanle

Mains level: NA

A new study shows that the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located in Hanle is one of the emerging sites for infrared and optical astronomy studies.

About IAO Hanle

The IAO, located in Hanle at Mount Saraswati near Leh in Ladakh, has one of the world’s highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes.
It was established in 2001 and is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
It is currently the ninth highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters.

Note: University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) located in the Atacama desert of Chile is the highest at an elevation of 5,640 m.

Major telescopes at Hanle include:

Himalayan Chandra Telescope (An optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar)
GROWTH-India Telescope (A robotic optical telescope)
High Altitude Gamma Ray Telescope

Distinct factors of IAO Hanle

IAO Hanle offers a clear view of space among all observatories globally.
This is due to its advantages of more clear nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition and uninterrupted monsoon.
Hanle site is as dry as Atacama Desert in Chile and much drier than Devasthal and has around 270 clear nights in a year and is also one of the emerging sites for infrared and submillimetre optical astronomy.
This is because water vapor absorbs electromagnetic signals and reduces their strength.

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Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

Langa-Manganiyar Folk Music

Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Langa-Manganiyar

Mains level: NA

Considered the repository of the Thar region’s rich history and traditional knowledge, the ballads, folklore and songs of the Langa-Manganiyar artistes are being preserved through an initiative for documentation and digitisation.

Who are the Langa-Manganiyar?

The Langas and Manganiyars are hereditary communities of Muslim musicians residing mostly in western Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and in Pakistan’s Tharparkar and Sanghar districts in Sindh.
The music of the two marginalised communities, who were supported by wealthy landlords and merchants before Independence, forms a vital part of Thar desert’s cultural landscape.
The performances are in multiple languages and dialects including Marwari, Sindhi, Saraiki, Dhatti and Thareli.
The romantic tales revolving around legendary lovers such as Umar-Marvi, Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwal, Moomal-Rana and Sorath-Rao Khangar have traditionally captivated audiences.

Instruments used

The Langa’s main traditional instrument is the sindhi sarangi; Manganiyar’s is the kamaicha.
Both are bowed stringed instruments with skin membrane sounding boards and many sympathetic strings.
Both Langas and Manganiyars sing and play the dholak (double-headed barrel drum), the kartal(wooded clappers), the morchan (jaws harp), and the ubiquitous harmonium.

Try answering this PYQ:

Q. Consider the following pairs:

Tradition: State

Chapchar Kut: festival Mizoram

Khongjom Parba ballad: Manipur

Thang Ta dance: Sikkim

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2

(c) 3 only

(d) 2 and 3

Post your answers here.

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Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

Chola inscriptions on qualifications for civic officials

Prelims Only | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Kudavolai System

Mains level: Chola Administration

In the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, some Chola-era inscriptions on Kanthaleeswarar Temple bear testimony to the qualifications required for members of the village administrative council.

Inscription details: Kudavolai System

The Kudavolai system was very vital and unique feature of administration of villages of Cholas.
In the system one representative is elected from each ward and every village had 30 wards.
The village administrative committee was called as variyam.
The election was unique as names of contestants were written on palm leaf and put in a pot.

Taxation details

The rulers were considerate while taxing agricultural produce.
For areca nuts, only 50% tax would be collected for the first 10 years after cultivation. Farmers would pay full tax only after the trees started yielding fruits.
Similarly, 50% tax was imposed on banana crops until the yield.

Though a tough one, but try answering this PYQ:

Q.In the context of the history of India, consider the following pairs:

Term: Description

Eripatti: Land revenue from which was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank

Taniyurs: Villages donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins

Ghatikas: Colleges generally attached to the temples

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3

(d) 1 and 3

Post your answers here.

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Textile Sector – Cotton, Jute, Wool, Silk, Handloom, etc.

Khadi industry in India

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Khadi Mark Regulation

Mains level: Paper 3- Issues facing khadi promotion in India

Context

The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed his support for khadi, cottage industries, crafts and handlooms.

About Khadi

Genuine khadi or khaddar is woven from short-stapled organically grown cotton.
The beauty is in its uneven texture and colours, as cotton bolls are not all pure white in every region.
Fabrics being made today in the name of khadi are modified spin-offs that look more like handloom fabric, with mill-produced yarn, screen printed and often mixed with mill-made polyester.

Issues

Restriction of scope: According to the Khadi Mark Regulations (KMR) of 2013, no textile can be sold or otherwise traded by any person or institution as khadi or a khadi product in any form if the khadi mark tag issued by KVIC is missing.
This restricts the scope of trade to a few approved entities, thereby creating recognisable barriers to enter the market for khadi.
Restrictive certification process: The certification process described in Chapter V (Clause 20 (a)) of the KMR requires accredited agencies to perform an on-site verification of hand-spinning and hand-weaving processes.”
Yarn must be procured only from KVIC depots or the Cotton Corporation of India, descriptions of mechanisation and electrification are ambiguous.
There are so many restrictions that most producers have no incentive and many small bodies are unable to pay Rs 50,000 for certification.
Multiple authorities: Hand-spinning and weaving are also part of craft skills. Only the hand-spun part is additional in khadi.
But today KVIC, on its website and in its catalogue, has visibly non-hand-spun silk-printed saris, polyester fabrics and others that seem clearly machine-printed.
The KVIC online catalogue has products like industrially-made suitcases, bags and wallets which are under MSME, but with a “khadi” label.
This points to the need for bringing khadi and all handicrafts together in one ministry.

Conclusion

Gandhi did not intend to create a police state for the khadi sector, full of acts and rules that put production in a straitjacket. Perhaps, some courageous producers can try circumventing all this by using the word “khaddar” on their labels instead.

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

Do we need to count caste in census?

DOMR | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Population & Associated Issues

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Need for and issues with Caste Census

A continuous and unabated push towards including caste in the forthcoming census enumeration has finally ended with the Union government position into the Supreme Court.
The Centre had decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Must read:

Complex count: On caste census

Existing issue: Delay in the Census itself

That a decadal exercise has faced discontinuation with the pandemic is damaging enough, which will require reconstruction for the year 2021.
We are also not sure how the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, who could not conduct the census on time, will be able to add any other additional questions including enumeration of caste.
The Election Commission did its job in conducting elections during Covid-19 but not the Census Commissioner.

Why caste cannot be included at this hour?

In the midst of an uncertain environment, conducting a census is unavoidable since it is not an overnight exercise.
Imposing the collection of caste information may dilute the exercise at the very least and send wrong signals regarding its purpose.

Why we should let the Census go its way?

There need to be sincere efforts towards putting systems in place in context to the Census.

(a) Population Enumeration

There is a need conduct the population enumeration at the earliest and providing an update of India’s population dynamics in comparable terms to be read against the past.
The absence of population enumeration and its discontinuation can have implications for gauging the evolving changes as well as its prospects.

(b) Age-sex composition

Census offer some tentative clues towards the age-sex composition of the population under varying sets of assumptions.
Besides, it offers more detailed information — on households, assets, marital status, education, migration etc since the last census of 2011.
Moreover it would provide accurate data about India’s large chunk of population which is ageing.

(c) Impact of the Pandemic

A decade of rapid fertility declines and rising mobility needs serious assessment in terms of its impact on the population dynamics.
In the absence of any clue regarding population, together with a pandemic with its devastating course of fatalities, the need for a population enumeration is all the more urgent.
Estimated and projected numbers can serve as approximations to the extent of the assumptions being realistic and accurate.

(d) Planning for the next FYP

A 14th five-year plan being in the offing makes it a crucial year to have the real numbers towards making the planning exercise effective.
Preparing our human capital of quality and adaptability to the emerging labour market is the need of the hour, and at the same time.

Impediments created by including Caste

An attribute like caste being obtained in a census exercise makes matters complex on multiple grounds such as:

Caste within Caste: Given the differences in caste hierarchies across various regions of the country, a comparative reading along with generating a common hierarchy may be a challenge.
Caste over occupation linked predicaments: Further, caste linked deprivation or adversity may not be as common as occupation linked predicaments, which become easier to compare across states/regions.
Anonymity and bias: An intimate and personalised attribute like caste may have its differential exposition between urban and rural residents. Urban residents’ need for anonymity can always bias the reporting on caste.
Identity crisis: Above all, recognition and adherence to caste identity is to a large extent shaped by progressive ideals, cosmopolitanism and education, which has its own regional divide in the country between the north and the south.

Other concerns

Accuracy of reporting: With such complexities associated with divulging caste identity, one cannot be sure of its accuracy in reporting on the one hand and the possible bias linked to other attributes on the other.
Existing status-quo: The attributes obtained in the census like age, sex, residence, occupation and religion in themselves have not received adequate exploration to add to the understanding of differential population dynamics.
Non-intervention: Considering caste with its wide-ranging count as another fresh attribute may not be of worth as neither will it offer sensible outcome differences nor facilitate identification for intervention.

Way forward

The census enumeration should be a priority and the proposed digital enumeration should become more effective in generating required data of quality and accuracy.
The upcoming census is certain to reveal interesting realities of population dynamics that go beyond the narrow and regressive outlook of the caste count to help gauge the transformation in human capital.

Conclusion

In fact, attributes like caste and religion that are not modifiable should be less important compared to modifiable attributes like education, occupation and other endowment linked attributes.
Hence, the moral lies in rising above ascribed attributes in defining outcomes to that of achieved ones.
Such an approach has a dual advantage of gauging distribution across attributes as well as their response to outcomes.

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Swachh Bharat Mission

2nd phase of SBM-U and AMRUT Mission

Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: SBM, AMRUT

Mains level: NA

The PM has launched the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.

What are the missions?

[A] Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0

The Mission will focus on ensuring complete access to sanitation facilities to serve additional populations migrating from rural to urban areas in search of employment and better opportunities over the next 5 years.

Complete liquid waste management in cities in less than 1 lakh population to ensure that all wastewater is safely contained, collected, transported, and treated so that no wastewater pollutes our water bodies.
Source segregation- Under Sustainable Solid Waste Management, greater emphasis will be on source segregation.
Material Recovery Facilities and waste processing facilities will be set up, with a focus on phasing out single-use plastic.
Construction & demolition waste processing facilities will be set up.
Mechanical sweepers deployed in National Clean Air Programme cities and in cities with more than 5 lakh population.
Remediation of all legacy dumpsites will be another key component of the Mission.

[B] AMRUT 2.0

Water management: It will build upon the progress of AMRUT to address water needs, rejuvenate water bodies, better manage aquifers, reuse treated wastewater, thereby promoting circular economy of water.
Water supply: It would provide100% coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 ULBs.
Sewerage: It will provide 100% coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities.
Rejuvenation of water bodies and urban aquifer management: It will be undertaken to augment sustainable fresh water supply.
Recycle and reuse of treated wastewater: It is expected to cater to 20% of total water needs of the cities and 40% of industrial demand.
Pey Jal Survekshan: It will be conducted in cities to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater and mapping of water bodies.

Back2Basics:

All about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

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Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST collections hit 5-month high

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Revenue receipts

Mains level: GST

India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues crossed ₹1.17 lakh crore in September, hitting a five-month high.

Take a look towards the share of GST in government earnings for the previous fiscal:

UPSC can ask about the majority component of the Revenue Receipts of the govt. See how Corporate tax is nearing the GST revenues.

Do you think it will surpass GST revenue when the economy is fully recovered?

What is the news?

September’s revenues were 23% higher than a year ago and 27.3% more than collections in the pre-pandemic month of September 2019.
Revenues from import of goods were 30% higher while indirect tax collected on domestic transactions, including the import of services, were 20% higher in September, compared to the same month in 2020.
Among the major States, GST revenues grew 29% in Karnataka, 28% in Gujarat, followed by 22% in Maharashtra and 21% each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana recorded a 25% surge in revenues, while Odisha saw a sharper 40% rise.

Significance

This clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace.
Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections.
It is expected that the positive trend in the revenues will continue and the second half of the year will post higher revenues.

Issues underlying

Though GST revenues are picking up pace after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, revenue buoyancy under GST is being seen as a concern.
This is especially after the legally mandated compensation to states for revenue shortfall from the GST implementation comes to an end in June 2022.

Back2Basics: Goods and Services Tax

The GST is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
It was launched into operation on the midnight of 1st July 2017.
It subsumed almost all domestic indirect taxes (petroleum, alcoholic beverages, and stamp duty are the major exceptions) under one head.
The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services.
GST is levied at four rates viz. 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The schedule or list of items that would fall under these multiple slabs is worked out by the GST council.

Types

The GST to be levied by the Centre is called Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the States is called State GST (SGST).
Import of goods or services would be treated as inter-state supplies and would be subject to Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) in addition to the applicable customs duties.

The GST Council

It is a constitutional body (Article 279A) for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to GST.
The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.
It is considered as a federal body where both the centre and the states get due representation.

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Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

What is Computer Tomography?

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Computer Tomography (CT) and its working

Mains level: NA

The first computed tomography image – a CT scan – of the human brain was made 50 years ago, on Oct. 1, 1971.

A few months back, almost all of us have heard about the High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan being conducted on our relatives for diagnosing the damage of lungs caused due to the Wuhan Virus.

About Computer Tomography (CT)

A CT scan is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to get detailed images of the body noninvasively for diagnostic purposes.
The multiple X-ray measurements taken from different angles are then processed on a computer using reconstruction algorithms to produce tomographic (cross-sectional) images (virtual “slices”) of a body.

How does it work?

They use a narrow X-ray beam that circles around one part of your body. This provides a series of images from many different angles.
A computer uses this information to create a cross-sectional picture. Like one piece in a loaf of bread, this two-dimensional (2D) scan shows a “slice” of the inside of your body.
This process is repeated to produce a number of slices.
The computer stacks these scans one on top of the other to create a detailed image of your organs, bones, or blood vessels.
For example, a surgeon may use this type of scan to look at all sides of a tumor to prepare for an operation.

Its development

Since its development in the 1970s, CT has proven to be a versatile imaging technique.
While CT is most prominently used in diagnostic medicine, it also may be used to form images of non-living objects.
The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to South African-American physicist Allan M. Cormack and British electrical engineer Godfrey N. Hounsfield “for the development of computer-assisted tomography”.

Threats

CT scans use X-rays, which produce ionizing radiation.
Such radiation may damage your DNA and lead to cancer.
The risk increases with every CT scan we get.
Ionizing radiation may be more harmful in children.

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New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered

Species in news: Adi Cascade

Species | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Adi cascade

Mains level: NA

Making of check dams on streams and removal of boulders may wipe out the local population of Adi cascade frogs (Amolops adicola), a recently discovered species in Arunachal Pradesh, scientists claimed.

About Adi cascade

The species was discovered while revisiting a century-old Adi expedition in 2018 and named after the land of the Adi tribe where the frogs dwell, particularly post-monsoon.
The call of the frog is quite unique with continuous notes almost like a cricket.
They are delivered at very short intervals, not long call groups — giving an impression of being continuous: A typical call lasts 485.2 milliseconds.
The species is predominantly found in open riverine landscapes and human-inhabited rural areas.
Males were mostly observed on tree saplings, fern fronds, and banana plants in and around the cultivated land.
Locally known as Juri (stream) Tatik (frog) — is considered a local delicacy.

What are Cascade Frogs?

The nomenclature ‘cascade frogs’ draws on their preference for small waterfalls.
Cascade frogs, in general, depend on the flow of water.
Both adults and tadpoles of Adi cascade frogs, the species in question, are particularly adapted to fast flowing sections of stream.

Rich biodiversity of Arunachal

Arunachal, a biodiversity hotspot, is home to many endemics, endangered and threatened species as well as to indigenous people who depend on its biological resources.
The Forest Survey of India in 2019 estimated that Arunachal had 66,688 sq km of forests — 79.6 per cent of the state’s area.
Global Forest Watch, however, estimated the forests cover at 74 per cent of its total land area.

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Electoral Reforms In India

political parties in India

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure,Representation Of People's Act

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Representation of the People Act, 1951

Mains level: Paper 2- Making political parties constitutional in India

Context

Making them constitutional will ensure in-party democracy, make them transparent, and de-communalise them.

Significance of political parties in democracy

A political party is an organised group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.
Political parties maintain a continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in government or in the opposition.
Political parties in India are extra-constitutional, but they are the breathing air of the political system.

U.S. and U.K. model

No constitutional status: The American Constitution does not presume the existence of political parties.
In Britain too, political parties are still unknown to the law.
Political parties in developed nations maintain high levels of internal democracy.
In the U.K., the Conservative Party has the National Conservative Convention as its top body.
It has a Central Council and an Executive Committee.
The Central Council elects its President, a Chairman and Vice Chairmen at its annual meeting.
It also elects an Executive Committee which meets once a month.
In the U.S., both the Democratic and the Republican Party have the National Committee as their top decision-making body.
The National Committee plays an important role in the presidential election and agenda-setting.

Issues with Indian model

No constitutional status: The Indian Constitution is the one of the longest Constitutions in the world.
It is astonishing that such a meticulous Constitution overlooked political parties, the vital players in the political system, for constitutional regulation.
Section 29A(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is the only major statutory provision dealing with political parties in India.
Most of the parties are openly caste- or religious-based.
Their finances are dubious and opaque.
Almost all the parties — the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Indian Union Muslim League, etc. — are family fiefdoms.
There are no periodical in-party elections in Indian parties except in a few like the CPI(M).

Should India follow the German model?

The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949) gives constitutional status to political parties.
Article 21 of the Basic Law deals with their status, rights, duties and functions.
It provides: Political parties shall participate in the formation of the political will of the people.
Under it, parties must publicly account for their assets and for the sources and use of their funds.
It also provides that parties that seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional.
Constitution also provides that details shall be regulated by federal laws.
The German model of constitutionalising political parties is more desirable for India than the U.S. and the U.K. models.

Consider the question “Do you agree with the view that making political parties constitutional will help deal with the many ills political parties in India suffer from? Suggest the alternative model.”

Conclusion

It is high time to constitutionalise political parties to ensure in-party democracy, to impart transparency in their finances, and to de-communalise them.

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GI(Geographical Indicator) Tags

GI ecosystem

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Intellectual Property Rights

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Geographical Indication, WTO, TRIPS

Mains level: Economic potential of GI Tagged products

This editorial discusses various economic and socio-cultural benefits offered by the Geographical Indication (GI) Tagging.

What is Geographical Indication?

A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
GI is granted for a term of 10 years in India. As of today, more than 300 GI tags has been allocated so far in India (*Wikipedia).

Why must we promote GI?

Several studies show that the patents and copyright protection of products under GIs result in higher economic gains, fostering quality production and better distribution of profits.

Lost in history: Most GI are either assigned to the dusty pages of history books or left to rural artisans to propagate and preserve.
Source of income: Today, with the emphasis on climate change and sustainability, these products can be ready revenue generators.
Demand in e-com market: A modern distribution system exists in India’s robust global e-commerce backbone which will propel the nascent GI industry onto the national and world stage.

Need for govt support

GI products need the support of governments.
The Europeans are masters at it, as seen by products such as Brie cheese and sparkling wine from Champagne. The EU has an $87 billion GI economy.
China has also done very well by GI, strengthening e-commerce in rural areas and actively promoting agricultural special product brands in lesser developed areas.

Role of GI in China’s rise

A 2017 UNCTAD report on inclusive growth and e-commerce deems China’s e-commerce-driven growth as inclusive.
That means China has successfully empowered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to compete with large companies on the same stage, with no geographic boundaries.
Likewise, despite a globally depressed market for wines, the produce from the Ningxia region of China saw exports surge 46.4 per cent in 2020, benefitting 211 wineries in Ningxia.
The output value of GI producers in China totalled $92.771 billion as of 2020.

Socio-cultural benefits offered by GI

GI protection has wider positive benefits, especially for local communities.
In particular, it encourages the preservation of biodiversity, local know-how and natural resources. And this is where India can do well.
Multiple benefits flows from a strong GI ecosystem, which can be a wellspring of economic and soft power.
It will automatically resolve the three fraught India issues of poor pay for talent, low female participation in the labour force, and urban migration.

How can GI induce economic transformation?

(1) Promotes Entrepreneurship and ‘Passion Economy’

It will convert talent into entrepreneurship with gig workers, and create a “passion” economy, that is, a new way for individuals to monetise their skills and scale their businesses exponentially.
It removes the hurdles associated with freelance work to earn a regular income from a source other than an employer.

(2) Employment generation

The labour-intensive nature of GI offers the best solution to boosting the employment-to-population ratio in India.
India presently has an abysmal 43 per cent compared with the 55 per cent global average.

(3) Women Empowerment

GI production mostly involves artisanal work-from-home culture.
Monetising this artisanal work done at home will increase India’s low female labour force participation rate, which at 21 per cent in 2019 was half the 47 per cent global average.

(4) Prevents migration

The hyper-localised nature of GI offers solutions to reverse urban migration and conserve India’s ancient crafts, culture and food.

(5) MSME Promotion

A rejuvenation of MSMEs, which account for 31 per cent of India’s GDP and 45 per cent of exports, will follow.
An estimated 55.80 million MSMEs employ close to 130 million people; of this, 14 per cent are women-led enterprises and 59.5 per cent are rural.

(6) GI Tourism

Another revenue-earner, GI tourism, is typically a by-product of a strong GI ecosystem.

Hurdles in GIs progress

(1) Credit Facilities and Capacity Building

Since GI businesses are micro, it is necessary to address the challenges of capacity-building, formal or easy access to credit.
There is a need for forming marketing linkages, research and development, product innovation and competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.

(2) Issue of Intermediaries

With the shift to digital platforms, the distribution margins of these gate keepers or mandi agents must be competitive.
They often act as countervailing agents by getting into similar businesses or product lines which will erode GI producer incomes.

(3) Ensuring smoother transition

As seen from the experience of the new farm laws, this will be a task for the central and state governments; they must ensure the transition without breaking down too many existing linkages.

Way forward

Control: Guardrails like regular audits and consultations with the GI producers must be mandated.
Cooperative management: Pulling it together will be local GI cooperative bodies or associations which can be nationally managed by a GI board.
Ministerial support: The Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Commerce department should be tasked with developing this new sector.
Digital literacy: Finally, a required skill for GI producers is digital literacy. This should be a priority agenda item for NGOs and stakeholders like the DPIIT.

Conclusion

It is an opportunity for India to redefine the future of work using automation, technology and artificial intelligence while simultaneously enhancing and adorning the country’s talented local work force.
The Indian GI economy can be a platform for India to showcase to the world a model for ethical capitalism, social entrepreneurship, de-urbanisation, and bringing women to the workforce, on the back of a robust digital system.
It recalls and attributes of multi-cultural ethos, authenticity, and ethnic diversity are potential turbochargers for the country’s economy.
It encompasses the concept of trusteeship, as advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and more recently, by our PM at the UN. It is truly Made in India.

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Monsoon Updates

Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

| Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Indian monsoon

Mains level: Economic dependency on Monsoon

The monsoon is likely to begin withdrawing from the mainland from October 6, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Let us learn all terminologies related to Monsoon.

What is Monsoon?

Indian monsoon, the most prominent of the world’s monsoon systems, which primarily affects India and its surrounding water bodies.
It blows from the northeast during cooler months and reverses direction to blow from the southwest during the warmest months of the year.

Onset of Monsoon

This process brings large amounts of rainfall to the region during June and July.
As the high-sun season (that is, the Northern Hemisphere summer) moves northward during April, India becomes particularly prone to rapid heating because the highlands to the north protect it from any incursions of cold air.
There are three distinct areas of relative upper tropospheric warmth—namely, (1) above the southern Bay of Bengal, (2) above the Plateau of Tibet, and (3) across the trunks of the various peninsulas that are relatively dry during this time.
These three areas combine to form a vast heat-source region.
In contrast, a heat sink appears over the southern Indian Ocean as the relatively cloud-free air cools by emitting long-wavelength radiation.
Monsoon winds at the surface blow from heat sink to heat source.

Peak period

The position of the easterly jet controls the location of monsoonal rains, which occur ahead and to the left of the strongest winds and also behind them and to the right.
The surface flow, however, is a strong, south-westerly, humid, and unstable wind that brings humidifies of more than 80 percent and heavy squally showers that are the “burst” of the monsoon.
The overall pattern of the advance follows a frontal alignment, but local episodes may differ considerably.

Key areas

Most spectacular clouds and rain occur against the Western Ghats in India, where the early monsoonal airstream piles up against the steep slopes, then recedes, and piles up again to a greater height.
Each time it pushes thicker clouds upward until wind and clouds roll over the barrier and, after a few brief spells of absorption by the dry inland air, cascade toward the interior.
Various factors, especially topography, combine to make up a complex regional pattern.

Break in Monsoon

During the south-west monsoon period after having rains for a few days, if rain fails to occur for one or more weeks, it is known as break in the monsoon.
These dry spells are quite common during the rainy season.
In northern India rains are likely to fail if the rain-bearing storms are not very frequent along the monsoon trough or the ITCZ over this region.
Over the west coast the dry spells are associated with days when winds blow parallel to the coast.

Withdrawal of Monsoon

By August the intensity and duration of sunshine have decreased, temperatures begin to fall, and the surge of south-westerly air diminishes spasmodically almost to a standstill in the northwest.
In September, dry, cool, northerly air begins to circle the west side of the highlands and spread over north-western India.
The easterly jet weakens, and the upper tropospheric easterlies move much farther south.
Because the moist southwesterlies at lower levels are much weaker and variable, they are soon pushed back.
The rainfall becomes extremely variable over most of the region, but showers are still frequent in the south-eastern areas and over the Bay of Bengal.
By early October, variable winds are very frequent everywhere.

Winter rains

At the end of the month, the entire Indian region is covered by northerly air and the winter monsoon takes shape.
The surface flow is deflected by the Coriolis force and becomes a north-easterly flow.
Tropical depressions and cyclones are important contributing factors.
Most of India thus begins a sunny, dry, and dusty season.
Conversely, the western slopes of the Karakoram Range and Himalayas are then reached by the midlatitude frontal depressions that come from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
The winter rains they receive, moderate as they are, place them clearly outside the monsoonal realm.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Australia

India, Australia to conclude free trade pact by end 2022

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

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Various types of trade agreements

Mains level: Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

India and Australia have agreed to conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2022.

What is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?

A FTA is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.
Under a free trade policy, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.

Key benefits offered by FTA

Reduction or elimination of tariffs on qualified: For example, a country that normally charges a tariff of 12% of the value of the incoming product will rationalize or eliminate that tariff.
Intellectual Property Protection: Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the FTA partner country is upheld.
Product Standards: FTA enhances the ability for domestic exporters to participate in the development of product standards in the FTA partner country.
Fair treatment for investors: FTA provides treatment as favourably as the FTA partner country gives equal treatment for investments from the partner country.
Elimination of monopolies: With FTAs, global monopolies are eliminated due to increased competition.

How many FTAs does India have?

India has signed it’s first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka in 1998.
Likewise, India had FTAs with: Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Singapore, ASEAN, Japan and Malaysia.
India has signed Preferential Trade Agreements such as:

Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) with Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka
Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP)
India – MERCOSUR PTA etc. with South American countries

Back2Basics: Types of Trade Agreements

(1) Free Trade Agreement – discussed above

(2) Preferential Trade Agreement

In this type of agreement, two or more partners give preferential right of entry to certain products.
This is done by reducing duties on an agreed number of tariff lines.
Here a positive list is maintained i.e. the list of the products on which the two partners have agreed to provide preferential access.
Tariff may even be reduced to zero for some products even in a PTA.
India signed a PTA with Afghanistan.

(3) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Partnership agreement or cooperation agreement are more comprehensive than an FTA.
CECA/CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and encompasses and agreement covering the regulatory issues.
CECA has the widest coverage. CEPA covers negotiation on the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership.
It may even consider negotiation on areas such as trade facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and IPR.
India has signed CEPAs with South Korea and Japan.

(4) Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

CECA generally cover negotiation on trade tariff and Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) rates only.
It is not as comprehensive as CEPA.
India has signed CECA with Malaysia.

(5) Framework Agreement

Framework agreement primarily defines the scope and provisions of orientation of the potential agreement between the trading partners.
It provides for some new area of discussions and set the period for future liberalisation.
India has previously signed framework agreements with the ASEAN, Japan etc.

(6) Early Harvest Scheme

An Early Harvest Scheme (EHS) is a precursor to an FTA/CECA/CEPA between two trading partners. For example, early harvest scheme of RCEP has been rolled out.
At this stage, the negotiating countries identify certain products for tariff liberalization pending the conclusion of actual FTA negotiations.
An Early Harvest Scheme is thus a step towards enhanced engagement and confidence building.

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Trade Sector Updates – Falling Exports, TIES, MEIS, Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

India’s Current Account Balance sees a spike

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: External sector of India, BoP, BoT

Mains level: NA

India’s current account balance saw a far lower surplus of $6.5 billion (0.9% of GDP) in the first quarter compared with a surplus of $19.1 billion (3.7% of GDP) a year earlier.

What is External Sector?

The external sector is the portion of a country’s economy that interacts with the economies of other countries.
In the goods market, the external sector involves exports and imports.
In the financial market it involves capital flows.

Various terminologies related:

[A] Balance of Payment (BoP)

BoP is the difference between all money flowing into the country in a particular period of time (e.g., a quarter or a year) and the outflow of money to the rest of the world.
These financial transactions are made by individuals, firms and government bodies to compare receipts and payments arising out of trade of goods and services.
It consists of two components: the current account and the capital account.
The current account reflects a country’s net income, while the capital account reflects the net change in ownership of national assets.

(1) Current Account

Current account of BoP consists of all transactions relating to goods, services and income, it is functionally classified into merchandise and
Current account deficit is the situation where payments on the country are more than the payments into the country.
In current account surplus, there is a net inward payment into the country on the current.

(2) Capital Account

The capital account records the net flow of investment transaction into an economy.
Investments (FDI and FII) and borrowings (ECB) are part of the capital account.

[B] Balance of Trade

Trade “balance” of a country shows the difference between what it earns from its exports and what it pays for its imports.
If this number is in negative – that is, the total value of goods imported by a country is more than the total value of goods exported by that country – then it is referred to as a “trade deficit”.
If India has a trade deficit with China then China would necessarily have a “trade surplus” with India.

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