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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Africa

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Mains level: Horn of Africa Region

Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have agreed on to resume negotiations to resolve their decade-long complex dispute over the Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project in the Horn of Africa.

Note: You never know when UPSC might switch map based questions away from the Middle East and SE Asia.

Considering this news, the UPSC may ask a prelim question based on the countries swept by River Nile/ various dams constructed/ landlocked countries in the African continent etc.

Also read

[Burning Issue] Ethiopian Crisis and the Geopolitics

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

  • Spearheaded by Ethiopia, the 145-meter-tall (475-foot-tall) Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project, when completed, will be Africa’s largest.
  • Its construction was initiated in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary of the river that runs across one part of Ethiopia.
  • The Nile is a necessary water source in the region and Egypt has consistently objected to the dam’s construction, saying it will impact water flow.
  • The long-standing dispute has been a cause of concern for international observers who fear that it may increase conflict between the two nations and spill out into other countries in the Horn of Africa.

What is the dispute about?

  • The Nile, Africa’s longest river, has been at the centre of a decade-long complex dispute involving several countries that are dependent on the river’s waters.
  • At the forefront of this dispute are Ethiopia and Egypt, with Sudan having found itself dragged into the issue.
  • The main waterways of the Nile run through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, and its drainage basin runs through several countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia.

Concerns over the dam

  • Given the dam’s location on the Blue Nile tributary, it would potentially allow Ethiopia to gain control of the flow of the river’s waters.
  • Egypt lies further downstream and is concerned that Ethiopia’s control over the water could result in lower water levels within its own borders.
  • In addition, Egypt proposed a longer timeline for the project over concerns that the water level of the Nile could dramatically drop as the reservoir fills with water in the initial stages.
  • Sudan’s location between Egypt up north and Ethiopia down south has caused it to become an inadvertent party to this dispute.
  • But that isn’t all; Sudan to is concerned that if Ethiopia were to gain control over the river, it would affect the water levels Sudan receives.

Why does Ethiopia want this dam?

  • Ethiopia’s goal is to secure electricity for its population and to sustain and develop its growing manufacturing industry.
  • Addis Ababa anticipates that this dam will generate approximately 6,000 megawatts of electricity when it is completed, that can be distributed for the needs of its population and industries.
  • In addition to its domestic requirements, Ethiopia may sell surplus electricity to neighbouring nations like Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea and South Sudan, that also suffer from electricity shortages, to generate some revenue.

What lies ahead?

  • Despite previous talks, the point of contention hasn’t changed: Egypt and Sudan are concerned about the filling and the operation of the dam.
  • Ethiopia continues to insist that the dam is required to meet the needs of its population and has said that downstream water supplies will not be adversely affected.
  • Cairo insists that the dam would cut its water supplies — concerning for a country that depends on the Nile for approximately 97% of its drinking water and irrigation supplies.
  • Sudan believes that the dam will reduce flooding, but is concerned about the path forward if the negotiations end at a stalemate.

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Electric and Hybrid Cars – FAME, National Electric Mobility Mission, etc.

India to explore Lithium reserves in Argentina

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Global Lithium production

Mains level: Lithium ion batteries and their significance

India has inked a pact with an Argentine firm to jointly prospect lithium in the South American country.

Why such a move?

  • Currently, India is heavily dependent on import of these cells and the move to ink sourcing pacts for lithium is seen as another salvo in the front against China, a key source of both the raw material and cells.
  • India is seen as a late mover as it attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
  • And 2021 is likely to be an inflexion point for battery technology, with several potential improvements to the Li-ion technology.

About Lithium

  • Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.
  • It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
  • Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
  • When cut, it exhibits a metallic lustre, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery grey, then black tarnish.
  • Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
  • It is a crucial building block of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.

Global producers of lithium

  • Australia and Chile have swapped positions as the world’s leading lithium-producing country over the past decade. In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium producers were:
  1. Australia – 52.9% of global production
  2. Chile – 21.5%
  3. China – 9.7%
  4. Argentina – 8.3%
  5. Zimbabwe – 2.1%
  • The U.S. ranked 7th with 1.2% of the world’s lithium production.
  • In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium reserves by country were:
  1. Chile – 55.5% of the world’s total
  2. Australia – 18.1%
  3. Argentina – 11.0%
  4. China – 6.5%
  5. U.S. – 4.1%

Lithium-ion batteries

  • A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery.
  • They are commonly used for portable electronics and electric vehicles and are growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications.
  • A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, based on earlier research by John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Rachid Yazami and Koichi Mizushima during the 1970s–1980s.
  • In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to this trio “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.

How does it work?

  • In the batteries, lithium ions move from the negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging.
  • Li-ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as the material at the positive electrode and typically graphite at the negative electrode.
  • The batteries have a high energy density, no memory effect and low self-discharge.

Try this PYQ:

Q.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce one of the following as “exhaust”:

(a) NH3

(b) CH4

(c) H2O

(d) H2O2

Limitations

  • Despite the improvements in lithium-ion batteries over the last decade, long charging times and weak energy density are still barriers.
  • The Li-ion batteries are seen as sufficiently efficient for applications such as phones and laptops, in case of EVs.
  • They still lack the range that would make them a viable alternative to internal combustion engines.
  • A number of alternatives are being fostered to achieve more optimal options.

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Policy Wise: India’s Power Sector

[pib] Six successful years of UJALA Scheme

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: PM UJALA scheme

Mains level: Not Much

The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) Scheme and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) marks their sixth anniversary today.

Do not get confused with PM-UJJWALA Scheme.

UJALA Scheme

  • Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched by our PM on 1 May 2015, replacing the “Bachat Lamp Yojana”.
  • The project is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
  • In non-subsidized LED lamp distribution projects, this program is considered the world’s largest.
  • In May 2017, the Government of India announced that they were expanding the LED distribution project to the United Kingdom.
  • Both the programmes are being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, Government of India since their inception.

A roaring success

  • Under UJALA, EESL has distributed over 36.69 crores LED bulbs across India.
  • This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes CO2 per year.
  • Additionally, over 72 lakh LED tube lights and over 23 lakh energy efficient fans have also been distributed at an affordable price under this programme.

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Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

Quality gigs, a solution to urban unemployment

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Unemployment

Mains level: Paper 3- Support to gig workers

With the lack of NREGA equivalent in the urban area government has to find ways to provide income support and employment. The article suggests ways to do the same.

Slowdown in employment recovery

  • The Indian economy has been gradually recovering from historic contraction of negative 23.9%.
  • This recovery has shifted focus away from the employment question, considered resolved after a sharp rally following the collapse in employment numbers in April.
  • More recent data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, however, point to a gradual slowdown in employment recovery.

NREGA: employment support in rural area

  • For labour coming back to rural India, employment support came in the form of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), which witnessed a 243% increase in person workdays.
  • This increased dependency on NREGA, has seen the Rural Development Ministry spend nearly 90% of its increased ₹86,4000 crore allocation by the month of November.
  • In several Indian cities, however, closed businesses have meant that millions of workers have either had to leave or have had to take up new forms of work.

Supporting gig workers

With no urban equivalent to the NREGA on the horizon, there must be an increased impetus on evaluating, regulating and supporting new forms of employment.

1) Evaluation

  •  Our current understanding of gig work is based on the limited disclosures made by the platforms themselves.
  • Furthermore, most regulators continue to remain in the dark on basic questions surrounding platform labour.
  • As of now, there exists no authoritative estimate on the total number of gig workers in India.
  • The centralised nature of the platforms and the larger platform labour market should make the collating of this data relatively straightforward for the Labour Ministry.

2) Regulation

  • The next step is significantly more sensitive and involves regulation.
  • The reason for the sensitivity primarily revolves around the varied nature of gig work.
  • While some workers use these platforms as a “side hustle”, for others it continues to serve as a primary source of employment.
  • This dynamic is further complicated by the risk of a one-size-fits-all regulatory strategy.
  • Such regulatory strategies are unintentionally hurting the similar, yet distinct, market for highly skilled (and highly paid) freelancers.

Way forward

  • A more viable strategy then would involve conditional government partnerships with platforms under some of its flagship schemes.
  • The successful pilot of Swiggy’s Street Food Vendors programme under the PM SVANidhi, or PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme, may prove to be an illustrative example.
  •  Creation of jobs, alongside the voluntary adoption of quality standards, is an example of a mutually beneficial partnership between the state and platforms.
  • Similar collaborations on urban employment, that require labour platforms to comply with disclosure norms and worker compensation standards to access government support, could create jobs while ensuring compliance.
  • Collaborating with platforms to employ workers, would bring down costs significantly (for both the state and their partners)  it would also create an environment where firms would be more likely to cooperate with the state.

Conclusion

Limited fiscal space and a growing need to fuel the country’s consumption base, must push the government to build symbiotic relationships with new partners.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-United States

New horizon of India-U.S. ties

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 2- India-U.S. relations and area of cooperation

The article explores the area of cooperation for India and the U.S. under a new administration in U.S. amid changing geopolitical realities.

China: Shared cause of concern

  • The Biden administration’s approach to India will be shaped by its position towards China.
  • There is a bipartisan change in the US’s attitude to China.
  • The Biden administration will continue Trump administrations trade policy- reducing the trade deficit, ensuring a level-playing field, keeping a keen eye on technology rivalry etc.
  • There are parallels in the concerns of India and the U.S. — invigorating the domestic economy and dealing with a rising rival.
  • These concerns can translate into opportunities for both countries.

How India and U.S can convert concerns into opportunities

1) Cooperation in healthcare

  • Healthcare is clearly an area that India can play up in bilateral relations.
  • The two countries can also work with multilateral agencies across the spectrum of vaccine (including Covid vaccine) development, logistics and distribution.
  • India produces around 20 per cent of the global requirement for generic drugs by volume and every third tablet of generics consumed in the US.
  • The President-elect has indicated his commitment to providing better and affordable healthcare
  • This could be an opportunity for the Indian pharma sector to play a role in reducing health costs of the American consumer.
  • India can benefit from advancements in medical technologies, devices, new medicines and R&D capabilities, presenting opportunities for American companies.

2) Job creation through trade and exports

  • Biden has set an ambitious target for US-India trade.
  • Businesses in both countries are also looking for diversifying their manufacturing supply chains.
  • This portends well for the creation of employment in manufacturing.
  • An area where strategic considerations and imperatives of job creation converge is defence, especially since India has been designated a Major Defence Partner of the US.

3) Focus on infrastructure in both countries

  • For the US, this can mean opportunities in India in transportation, power and other urban amenities.
  • The US’s renewed focus on climate change should lead to greater cooperation with India in energy-related areas.
  • Cooperation in energy-related areas includes more efficient energy dissemination and management (such as smart grids) to renewable energy technologies.

4) Enhance opportunities in 5G tech

  • There is potential to enhance mutual opportunities in the 5G tech sector.
  • Increased partnership between the two nations can accelerate the development of technology solutions, promote vendors in the 5G open ecosystem and drive economic growth.
  • The two countries should engage in shaping the rules of a new order in this space.
  • This also has an important strategic element when seen in the light of developments in the Indo-Pacific as well as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

5) Multilateralism for cooperation in wider areas

  • Once the Biden administration assumes office, we should expect the U.S.’s return to multilateralism.
  • The Trans-Pacific Partnership aimed to create a rules-based order that all parties could subscribe to.
  • With the ascendancy of the Indo-Pacific paradigm and the Quad and Quad Plus, a successor to the TPP could include a wider canvas.
  • For India, this could mean cooperation beyond defence and security, including economics, technology and developments pertaining to the regional order.

Conclusion

Both countries should treat the economic and commercial dimension with as much priority as the strategic dimension. Both governments should embrace the prosperity-creating potential of such an approach.

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Iran’s Nuclear Program & Western Sanctions

Iran steps up Uranium Enrichment

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Uranium Enrichment

Mains level: Iran's hostile nuclear ambitions and its global threat

Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 20% at an underground facility and seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, further escalating tensions in West Asia between Tehran and the West.

Scratch your school basics to answer this PYQ:

Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force.

With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2012)

(a) Gravity is the strongest of the four

(b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge

(c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity

(d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.

What is Uranium Enrichment?

  • Uranium enrichment is a process that is necessary to create an effective nuclear fuel out of mined uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium-235 which undergoes fission with thermal neutrons.
  • Nuclear fuel is mined from naturally occurring uranium ore deposits and then isolated through chemical reactions and separation processes.
  • These chemical processes used to separate the uranium from the ore are not to be confused with the physical and chemical processes used to enrich the uranium.
  • Naturally occurring uranium does not have a high enough concentration of Uranium-235 at only about 0.72% with the remainder being Uranium-238.
  • Due to the fact that uranium-238 is fissionable and not fissile, the concentration of uranium-235 must be increased before it can be effectively used as a nuclear fuel.

Why is the West concerned?

  • Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% purity a decade ago nearly triggered an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal.
  • A resumption of 20% enrichment could see that brinksmanship return as that level of purity is only a technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

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Primary and Secondary Education – RTE, Education Policy, SEQI, RMSA, Committee Reports, etc.

School Bag Policy, 2020

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not Much

Mains level: School Bag Policy, 2020

The Directorate of Education has issued a circular asking school to follow the new ‘School Bag Policy, 2020’ released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

Q.What are the features of the School Bag Policy, 2020? Discuss how heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and learning capability of students.

School Bag Policy, 2020

  • According to the circular, schoolteachers should inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day.
  • They frequently need to check their bags to ensure that they are not carrying unnecessary material.
  • It adds that the teachers should take the responsibility of checking the weight of school bags of the students every three months on a day selected for the whole class.
  • It also holds that any information about heavy bags should be communicated to the parents.
  • The circular also says that it is the duty and the responsibility of the school management to provide quality potable water in sufficient quantity.
  • It adds that files and thin/light exercise books should be preferred to thick/heavy ones.

Prescribed weights

The weight of the school bags, as per the policy, should be

  • 6 to 2.2 kg for students of Classes I and II
  • 7 to 2.5 kg for Classes III, IV and V
  • 2 to 3 kg for Classes VI and VII
  • 5 to 4 kg for Class VIII
  • 5 to 4.5 kg for Classes IX and X
  • 5 to 5 kg for Classes XI and XII

Why heavy school bags are a curse?

  • Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of students.
  • A heavy backpack can pull on the neck muscles contributing to headache, shoulder pain, lower back pain and neck and arm pain.
  • Not just this, carrying backpacks over one shoulder is a wrong practice as it makes muscles strain.
  • The spine leans to the opposite side, stressing the middle back, ribs, and lower back more on one side than the other and this muscle imbalance can cause muscle strain, muscle spasm, and back pain.
  • Heavy school bags are also one of the major reasons for cervical and lumbar pains.
  • The posture of the body also gets affected to a great extent which in the long term develops imbalances in the body and affects the health of the nervous system.

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Urban Floods

Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient

Mains level: Flood management

To understand if a coastal city is more prone to floods caused by tidal events or extreme rainfall, a team from the IIT Bombay devised a new metric or measure called the Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient.

Try this PYQ:

The 2004 Tsunami made people realize that mangroves can serve as a reliable safety hedge against coastal calamities. How do mangroves function as a safety hedge?

(a) The mangrove swamps separate the human settlements from the sea by a wide zone in which people neither live nor venture out

(b) The mangroves provide both food and medicines which people are in need of after any natural disaster

(c) The mangrove trees are tall with dense canopies and serve as art excellent shelter during a cyclone or tsunami

(d) The mangrove trees do not get uprooted by storms and tides because of their extensive roots

Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient

  • Using the past rainfall data, tidal data, and topography of the region one can apply this framework to pinpoint the major factor at play.
  • This quotient helps understand the main driver of the flooding events for effective disaster management.
  • It considers three geographically diverse flood-prone coastal regions – Mithi Catchment in Mumbai, , Jagatsinghpur District in Odisha, and Greater Chennai to test their new metric.
  • The new method helped classify these regions into ‘storm-tide dominated’ or ‘pluvial (rainfall) dominated’ regions.
  • In Mithi, they found a devastating impact of storm-tide reaching even up to a distance of 7 km from the coastal boundary.
  • It concluded that Mithi catchment was ‘storm-tide dominated’, while Jagatsinghpur and Chennai were ‘pluvial dominated’

A tool for flood management

  • This metric can help disaster management experts in framing better flood risk management systems directed towards long term planning.
  • For storm-tide dominated regions, severe flood hazard can be alleviated by building coastal defence structures such as closure dams, tide breakers, and storm-surge barriers at appropriate locations.
  • The tide and surge forecasting systems in these regions should be equipped with state-of-the-art ocean circulation models.
  • On the other hand, for pluvial dominated regions, structural measures such as rainwater storage structures, lakes, and detention basins should be prioritized in the flood management plans.

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

Bird Flu Outbreak

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Bird Flu

Mains level: Not Much

An outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan and Himachal.

Try this question from our AWE initiative:

There is been an increase in occurance of zoonotic human infectious diseases are zoonotic . Give reasons for this. Also suggest ways to contain and decrease the frequency of such events.(250 Words)

What is Bird Flu?

  • Bird flu is an infection caused by avian influenza viruses, which are of different types A, B and C.
  • Type A avian influenza viruses are the most frequently associated with avian influenza epidemics and pandemics.
  • There are 16 hemagglutinin (H1 to H16) and 9 neuraminidase types (N1 to N9) identified till date.
  • There are various modes of transmission of human influenza including inhalation, direct or indirect contact etc. can have manifestations ranging from mild to severe or fatal disease.
  • Avian influenza A (H5N1) results in a high death rate amongst infants and young children.
  • The first outbreak of human infection by avian influenza viruses (H5N1) was observed in 1997 in Hong Kong. Since then a large number of outbreaks have been reported in different parts of the world.

The H5N8 strain

  • The presence of the H5N8 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks in parts of Kerala.
  • While it can prove lethal for birds, the H5N8 strain of avian influenza has a lower likelihood of spreading to humans compared to H5N1.
  • While the source of infection is yet to be pinpointed, the role of migratory birds in passing on the virus is suspected.

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Promoting Science and Technology – Missions,Policies & Schemes

[pib] 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA)

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: India's polar mission

Mains level: Climate change impact on cryosphere

40th Indian Scientific Expedition is set to depart for Antarctica from Mormugao Port, Goa.

Try this question:

Q.How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (150W, CSM 2018)

Indian mission on the Antarctic

  • The Indian Antarctic Program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
  • It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica.
  • The program gained global acceptance with India’s signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1990.
  • The newest base commissioned in 2015 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers.

Its significance

  • This 40th expedition is procuring fuel from India after about 22 years. Till the last expedition, fuel was being obtained from outside the country.
  • Indian Oil Co. Ltd. has supplied aviation fuel, Jet A1 in bulk and packed form to a non-aviation customer and is delivered to an ocean-going vessel for the first time.

Why need such a mission?

  • Polar Regions are crucially important in answering key questions about global climate change.
  • It contributes towards the global sea-level rise, the background aerosol properties, variability in the sea ice cover and phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations.
  • Attempts to address some of these issues are helping in mitigating several important problems concerning human life and well-being.

Back2Basics: India’s polar missions

  • The first Indian expedition to Antarctica sailed from Goa on December 6, 1981, and reached the shores of this polar continent on January 9, 1982.
  • India has two stations in the polar continent of Antarctica – Maitri and Bharati, which are being operated under NCPOR, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Indian mission on the Arctic

  • Himadri Station is India’s first Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. It is located at the International Arctic Research base, Ny-Ålesund.
  • It was inaugurated on the 1st of July, 2008 by the Minister of Earth Sciences. It is followed by IndARC.
  • The United States Geological Survey estimates that 22% of the world’s oil and natural gas could be located beneath the Arctic.
  • ONGC Videsh has signed joint-venture with Russia for oil exploration there.

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Tax Reforms

Faceless Tax Scheme

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Faceless Tax Scheme

Mains level: Ease of IT returns

The government’s faceless tax assessment scheme has managed to deliver about 24,000 final orders since its introduction in August 2020.

Try this PYQ:

Q. With reference to India’s decision to levy an equalization tax of 6% on online advertisement services offered by non-resident entities, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. It is introduced as a part of the Income Tax Act.
  2. Non-resident entities that offer advertisement services in India can claim a tax credit in their home country under the “Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements”.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Faceless Tax Scheme

  • The Central Government introduced the Faceless Assessment Scheme to provide greater transparency, efficiency and accountability in Income Tax assessments.
  • It is an attempt to remove individual tax officials’ discretion and potential harassment for income taxpayers.
  • All provisions introduced under Faceless Assessment, under the Income Tax Act, 1961, are introduced to-
  1. Eliminate the interface between the Assessing Officer and the assesses during the course of proceedings, to the extent that is technologically feasible
  2. Optimize the utilization of resources through the economies of scale and functional specialization and
  3. Introduce a team-based determination of arm’s length price with dynamic jurisdiction.

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Intellectual Property Rights in India

PATENTS (AMENDMENT) RULES, 2020

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Patent Act 1970

Mains level: Paper 3- Amendment to patent working disclosure rule and its implications

A recent amendment to a unique feature in patent law under which patentee/licensee has to disclose information regarding the extent to which they have worked patent in India, could have several implications.

Why the changes in rules matter

  • Indian patent law grants a 20-year patent monopoly to an inventor.
  • In exchange for such monopoly, India’s patent law imposes a duty on the patentee to commercially work the invention in India to ensure that its benefits reach the public.
  • Accordingly, section 146(2), a unique provision not found in patent laws of most other countries, requires every patentee and licensee to submit to the Patent Office an annual statement (Form 27 format) explaining the extent to which they have worked the invention in India.
  • This statement is meant to help the Patent Office, potential competitors, etc. to determine whether the patentee has worked the invention in India and made it sufficiently available to the public at reasonable prices.
  • A failure of this duty could trigger compulsory licensing or even subsequent revocation of the patent under the Patents Act, 1970. 
  • The central government recently amended the format of a statement that patentees and licensees are required to annually submit to the Patent Office.
  • The amendment has significantly watered down the disclosure format.
  • This could hamper the effectiveness of India’s compulsory licensing regime.
  • This in turn could hinder access to vital inventions including life-saving medicines, thereby impacting public health.
  • There has been significant pressure from multinational corporations and the United States government to do away with this requirement.

What changes were made through the amendment

  • The recent amendment to the form was made in response to a PIL filed by Shamnad Basheer before the Delhi High Court in 2015.
  • The PIL brought to the Court’s attention the rampant non-filing and defective filing of Form 27 and sought a direction to strictly enforce the patent working disclosure rules and take action against the violators.
  • The PIL also called for a reform of Form 27, arguing that the information it sought was grossly insufficient to ascertain the extent of the working of the patent.
  •  However, instead of strengthening the form, the amendment has significantly weakened it further, thereby defeating the entire purpose of the amendment exercise.
  • The amended form has removed the requirement of submitting a lot of important information.
  • It is no longer required to provide any information in respect of the quantum of the invention manufactured/imported into India, the licenses and sub-licenses granted during the year and the meeting of public requirement at a reasonable price.
  • It no longer requires quantum or the total units of the invention manufactured/imported in India.
  • The deletion of this requirement of its disclosure is shocking.
  • This is because,  it is the disclosure of this data by Bayer in Form 27 that played a crucial role in grant of India’s first compulsory license to Natco for the anti-cancer drug Sorafenib/Nexavar.
  • The removal of the requirement of submitting any licensing information, including the disclosure of even the existence of licenses means that the patentees/licensees can just self-certify that they’ve worked the patent.
  • The omission to mandate disclosure of details makes it extremely difficult to ascertain whether the invention has been made available to the public in sufficient quantity and at an affordable price.

Conclusion

The government has significantly weakened the critical duty imposed by the law on patentees/licensees to disclose patent working information. Therefore, the government must reconsider its amendments to the form taking into account the PIL recommendations and re-amend it to restore as well as strengthen its spirit.

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Blueprint of post covid development model

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 3- Post-covid development model

The article discusses the themes of the post-covid world which will be somewhat more aware and mindful of the dangers of global dimension.

Collaborative model and public-private partnership

  • A few weeks back, Prime Minister visited the private companies involved with the formulation of the anti-COVID vaccine.
  • The PM’s visit was one more reminder of the critical importance of public-private partnerships.
  • The PM signalled the government’s receptivity to external expert advice.
  • The CEOs reaffirmed their commitment to partnering with the state to help address not just this medical crisis but also the many other social and humanitarian problems.
  • The government has appreciated that the model for sustainable development in a post-COVID world must be a collaborative one.
  • Businesses will repurpose their goals and look beyond profits.

Working together to deal with the crises of global dimensions

  • COVID-19 was not the first, nor will it be the last crisis of global dimensions.
  • The threat of global warming, for instance, hangs over our heads.
  • Its impact is less immediate and for the present, at least less palpable.
  • But it looms and its consequences are existential.
  • COVID has offered, it is the tangible evidence that no one entity or group — the state, markets, businesses, entrepreneurs, scientists — can tackle existing and emergent economic and social problems on their own.
  • They have to work together to resolve them.

Business uncertainties

  • Businesses has been the uncertainty of operating in the post-COVID digital world.
  • Every business leader has, in some form or other, expressed three types of uncertainties.
  • 1) Is their business facing a hinge moment, necessitating the reimagining and re-engineering of their strategy and product portfolio?
  • Or are they witnessing no more than another turn of the business cycle and that, once the vaccine is developed and distributed, the market will return to business as usual?
  • Or will conditions necessitate a middle of the road approach: Stay the pre- COVID course but at the same time, speed up the pivot toward a new business model.
  • Most business leaders are adopting this third hybrid path.
  • The key to corporate success in a digital world in which a distinct incident could influence it, is the capability of leaders to think out of the box and to handle the unexpected.
  • Financial, technological and human resources will be necessary, but they will not be sufficient.

Consider the question “The post-covid development model must be based on the cooperation underscored by the public-private partnership as the challenges that could emerge are not possible to be tackled by any on entitiy. Comment”

Conclusion

COVID has “obliterated the one remaining obstacle to a digital future — human attitudes”. Covid forced them to adopt and adapt. The challenge for our business leaders will be to navigate a pathway that sustains the benefits of these tools but without deepening the existing social and economic inequalities. Life is not digital for millions in our country.

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Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

Carrying out transformational reforms in military

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: CDS and Department of Military Affairs

Mains level: Paper 3- Creation of Theatre Commands and issues with it

The article examines issues of national security like the recent creation of a Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and also some focus areas like Threatre Command. 

Understanding the significance of  DMA and CDS

  • Through the creation of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the management of the armed forces, so far which was assigned to the civilian Defence Secretary, was brought under a military officer, the CDS.
  • The designation of CDS as Secretary DMA made him the first military officer to be recognised as a functionary of the Government of India (GoI).
  • With the DMA is now a part of the GoI, it would aid the resolution of organisational, hierarchical and financial issues faced by the military.

Recent steps taken by DMA

  • The responsibility for accruing savings to fund defence expenditure has been placed on the DMA.
  • DMA has floated two schemes aimed at reducing the defence pensions bill.
  • One penalises officers seeking early release from service and another envisages a three-year “Tour of Duty” for jawans.
  • Issues with these ideas:
  • Penalising officers for early release is likely to harm morale.
  • “Tour of Duty” will degrade the military’s combat-capability in today’s technology-intensive battle-space.
  • The need here is that DMA must focus on military matters and leave the plans of financing national defence to finance ministry or the Niti Aayog. It will better serve it’s purpose.

Another area of needed reform – Theatre Command

  • Theatre Commands stands for jointness and integration in the Indian military are varying degrees of synergy and cross-service cooperation between the military wings of Indian armed forces.
  • Objectives of the creation of theatre command should be:
  • To hand over the military’s warfighting functions to the Theatre Commanders, while retaining the support functions with service HQs.
  • To combine India’s 17 widely-dispersed, single-service Commands into four or five mission/threat-oriented, geographically contiguous “Joint” or “Theatre Commands”.
  • To place the appropriate warfighting resources of all three services directly under the command of the designated Theatre Commanders; and
  • To achieve efficiency/economy by pooling of facilities and resources of the three services.

Advantages of Theatre Commands

  • The Theatre Commanders and their staff will be trained and groomed in jointness.
  • With that jointness, they will be able to plan operations and to employ land, maritime and air forces, regardless of the service to which they belong.
  • For this to happen, radical changes are required in the content of our system of professional military education.
  • The Theatre Commander will also have the benefit of advice from commanders representing each service.

Issues with Theatre Commands

  • Two thorny issues are the chain of command of the Theatre Commanders and the relationship of the CDS (or his equivalent) with the service Chiefs.
  • To avoid over-concentration of power in any single military functionary, the system followed by the US ensures that the chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary (Minister) of Defence and then, directly to the Theatre Commander.
  • In India, the peacetime management of the armed forces is left to the MoD and the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
  • However, during war, strategic guidance to the military,  has always come from the PM.
  • In the system of higher defence under implementation, ideally, the Defence Minister needs to be brought into the command/operational chain of the Theatre Commanders, with the CDS acting as his adviser.
  • Due to frequency of elections and intensity of politics in India that no Defence Minister has had the time or inclination to devote his/her undivided attention to complex national security issues.

Consider the question “Examine the implications of the creation of Theatre Commands. What are the challenges in its creation.”

Conclusion

India’s military reforms are complex, the GoI needs to seriously consider the constitution of a Parliamentary Committee, with military advisers, to oversee and guide this transformational process.

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Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Produce

Agricultural policy monitoring and evaluation by OECD

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: OECD , various parameters mentioned

Mains level: Concerns of farmers other than MSP

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has provided five sets of data on the issue of agriculture support and India trails on most counts:

The ongoing debate about farmers protest has brought to light some of the key support mechanisms for agriculture in India. And it is being argued that the government has preferred the welfare of Indian consumers over the Indian farmers.

Lets’ have a look at various OECD’s parameters:

(1) Producer Support Estimates (PSE)

  • These are transfers to agricultural producers and are measured at the farm gate level.
  • They comprise market price support, budgetary payments and the cost of revenue foregone.

(2) Consumer Support Estimates (CSE)

  • These refer to transfers from consumers of agricultural commodities. They are measured at the farm gate level.
  • If negative, the CSE measures the burden (implicit tax) on consumers through market price support (higher prices), that more than offsets consumer subsidies that lower prices to consumers.

 (3) General Services Support Estimates (GSSE)

  • GSSE transfers are linked to measures creating enabling conditions for the primary agricultural sector through the development of private or public services, institutions and infrastructure.
  • GSSE includes policies where primary agriculture is the main beneficiary but does not include any payments to individual producers.
  • GSSE transfers do not directly alter producer receipts or costs or consumption expenditure.

(4) Total Support Estimate (TSE)

  • The TSE transfers represent the total support granted to the agricultural sector, and consist of producer support (PSE), consumer support (CSE) and general services support (GSSE).

(5) Producer protection

  • Lastly, the OECD also provides data on “producer protection”.
  • The PP is the ratio between the average price received by producers (measured at the farm gate), including net payments per unit of current output, and the border price (measured at the farm gate).
  • For instance, a coefficient of 1.10, which China has, suggests that farmers, overall, received prices that were 10% above international market levels.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

CPEC- The corridor of uncertainty

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Gilgit-Baltistan Region, CPEC

Mains level: CPEC and India's sovereignty concerns

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has turned five.

What is CPEC?

  • China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.
  • It is an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative of China.
  • It intended to upgrade Pakistan’s required infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects, and special economic zones.
  • On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to Gwadar Port for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.

Why in news?

  • The viability of some of the CPEC’s projects, and how they were going to be paid for in a pandemic-hit economy, had come under renewed attention in Pakistan.
  • China had sought additional guarantees before sanctioning a $6 billion loan for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, which includes upgrading a 1,872 km rail line from Peshawar to Karachi.
  • This is due to the “weakening financial position of Pakistan” and had “proposed a mix of commercial and concessional loans against Islamabad’s desire to secure the cheapest lending”.

An overrated project

  • The CPEC, to some degree, has been a victim of its own hype.
  • Its economic figure may never materialise as the plan has been “considerably slimmed-down” from the scope that was first imagined.
  • This largely due to the ever-deteriorating financial situation of Pakistan and a visible debt-trap.
  • Pakistan had established a CPEC authority to speed up the execution of several projects that were mired in delays (and to give the military a greater role in the project).

Threats of Baloch insurgency

  • Gwadar, the heartland of CPEC certainly faces serious threats.
  • The city is a prime target for Baloch nationalist insurgents. Hence Pakistan has decided to fence the area.
  • This has sparked a new furore among the local residents.

India’s concerns with CPEC

  • CPEC passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (Gilgit-Baltistan) which is an Indian territory illicitly occupied by Pakistan.
  • Thus CPEC undermines India’s strategic interests and territorial integrity.
  • More importantly, with CPEC, China will get access to the western Indian Ocean through Gwadar port.
  • This will help China in controlling maritime trade and would affect the freedom of navigation and trade-energy security of India.

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Food Safety Standards – FSSAI, food fortification, etc.

FSSAI slashes limit for Trans Fats level in food

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Trans fats

Mains level: Health threats posed by Trans Fats

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has capped the amount of trans fatty acids (TFA) in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5%.

New FSSAI norms

  • FSSAI has acted in response to the amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations.
  • The country’s food regulatory body notified the amendment on December 29, more than a year after it issued a draft on the subject for consultation with stakeholders.
  • The revised regulation applies to edible refined oils, vanaspati (partially hydrogenated oils), margarine, bakery shortenings, and other mediums of cooking such as vegetable fat spreads and mixed fat spreads.
  • It was in 2011 that India first passed a regulation that set a TFA limit of 10% in oils and fats, which was further reduced to 5% in 2015.

What are Trans Fats?

  • Artificial Trans fats are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.
  • Since they are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time, and give foods a desirable taste and texture, they are still widely used despite their harmful effects being well-known.

Why such a regulation?

  • Trans fats are associated with increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease.
  • As per the WHO, approximately 5.4 lakh deaths take place each year globally because of intake of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids.
  • The WHO has also called for global elimination of trans fats by 2023.

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Wetland Conservation

Places in news: Deepor Beel

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Ramsar Convention, Wetlands

Mains level: Ramsar wetlands in India

Assam has prohibited community fishing at Deepor Beel, a wetland on the south-western edge of Guwahati and it’s the only Ramsar site.

Try this PYQ:

In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?

(a) Biosphere reserves

(b) National parks

(c) Wetlands declared under Ramsar convention

(d) Wildlife sanctuaries

Deepor Beel

  • Deepor Beel is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam, India.
  • It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
  • It is a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has listed since November 2002, for undertaking conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance.
  • Considered as one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra valley of Lower Assam, it is categorised as a representative of the wetland type under the Burma monsoon forest biogeographic region.
  • It is also an important bird sanctuary habituating many migrant species.
  • Freshwater fish is a vital protein and source of income for these communities; the health of these people is stated to be directly dependent on the health of this wetland ecosystem.

Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

  • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
  • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
  • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
  • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
  • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
  • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.

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Oil and Gas Sector – HELP, Open Acreage Policy, etc.

[pib] Kochi – Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Natural Gas

Mains level: Natural gas as an alternative fuel

PM will today dedicate the Kochi – Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline to the nation.

Try this PYQ:

Q. Consider the following statements:

  1. Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds.
  2. Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma.
  3. Dharwars are famous for petroleum.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) None

Kochi – Mangaluru Pipeline

  • The 450 km long pipeline has been built by GAIL (India) Ltd.
  • It has a transportation capacity of 12 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per day.
  • It will carry natural gas from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Regasification Terminal at Kochi (Kerala) to Mangaluru (Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka).
  • It will pass through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

Its significance

  • The event marks an important milestone towards the creation of ‘One Nation One Gas Grid’.
  • The pipeline will supply environment-friendly and affordable fuel in the form of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to households and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the transportation sector.
  • It will also supply Natural Gas to commercial and industrial units across the districts along the pipeline.
  • Consumption of cleaner fuel will help in improving air quality by curbing air pollution.

Back2Basics: Natural Gas

  • Natural gas is a fossil fuel source consisting primarily of methane.
  • It is the cleanest among all the available fossil fuels.
  • It is used as a feedstock in the manufacture of fertilizers, plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals as well as used as a fuel for electricity generation, heating purpose in industrial and commercial units.
  • Natural gas is also used for cooking in domestic households and a transportation fuel for vehicles.

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Issues with U.P. religious conversion ordinance

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Article 213, Article 123

Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with U.P. government's ordinance on religious conversion

The article examines the provision of U.P. governments religious conversion ordinance and issues with these provision.

Power to promulgate an ordinance

  • As per Article 213(1) of the Constitution of India, there are three pre-conditions to be satisfied before the Governor promulgates an ordinance, these are:
  • 1) The State Legislature should not be in session.
  • 2) Circumstances should exist for promulgating an ordinance and importantly.
  • 3) Those circumstances must warrant immediate action.

Scrutiny of the circumstances

  • There is no established practice requiring the Governor (or the President under Article 123) to state the circumstances for promulgating the Ordinance.
  • The reason for immediate action is, as yet, not justiciable.
  • But the Supreme Court of India has held that the existence of circumstances leading to the satisfaction of the Governor can be inquired into.
  • A healthy convention should develop and the preamble to any ordinance should state the immediacy for promulgating it when the Legislature is not in session.
  • This would greatly enhance transparency in legislation.
  • This would also help legislators to understand why they are by-passed and why a procedures in the Legislature could not be awaited.

Issues with the U.P. ordinance

  • The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance records the satisfaction of the Governor of the existence of circumstances and the necessity for “him/her to take immediate action.
  • If one fraudulent or coercive inter-faith marriage is taking place, the police can certainly prevent it.
  • An ordinance is not required for it.
  • Section 3 prohibits conversion or attempt to convert any person from one religion to another by coercion or fraud etc. or by marriage.
  • But, nobody gets converted by marriage.
  • The offense of attempting to convert poses a bigger rights issue.
  • Under Section 7, on receiving the information a police officer is authorized to arrest a person without orders from Magistrate or warrant.
  • The nature of information includes an allegation of allurement which includes an offer of any temptation in the form of a gift or gratification.
  • Under Section 8, if someone genuinely desires to convert but not get married, that person would have to inform the District Magistrate (DM) two months in advance of the plan through a declaration.
  • Assuming conversion is not objected to, even thereafter the DM must be informed by the converted through a declaration under Section 9.
  • Section 12 provides that the burden to prove the conversion was not on account of coercion, fraud, etc., or by marriage will be on the person who has caused the conversion.
  • But, how the person causing the conversion expected to know the mind of the converted?

Conclusion

The ordinance vilifies all inter-faith marriages and places unreasonable obstacles on consenting adults in exercising their personal choice of a partner, mocks the right to privacy and violates the right to life, liberty, and dignity. In short, it is unconstitutional.

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