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  • Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

    Intra-national COP: An innovative approach of cooperation

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    national

    Context

    • India revised its target to reduce the carbon intensity of its GDP to 45 percent by 2030, more ambitious than the earlier target of 34 percent. These National carbon emission targets were globally appreciated and have further strengthened its leadership position in climate action.

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    Spirit of cooperative federalism is needed to achieve this target

    • In order to effectively address climate change, India needs to involve all of its states and Union Territories. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants.
    • A new approach to cooperation between states and UTs on climate action is needed, similar to the cooperation used in the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will lead to better results in public sector actions to tackle climate change.

    Role of states

    • Power of States and UTs: Provisions in the Constitution of India, legislations of the Parliament, executive orders, and judicial decisions enable states/UTs to have a substantial influence on matters pertaining to land, electricity, mobility, labour, pollution control, skill building, law and order, financial incentives for commercial activities, etc.
    • Role of States and UTs in Policy Implementation: States/UTs can become prime movers in the last mile through interventions in policy, regulation, and project implementation.
    • Potential of India’s Cooperative Federalism: During the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the Prime Minister of India also emphasised the potential of India’s cooperative federalism in becoming ‘a torch bearer of the world’ in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while addressing its Rajya Sabha.

    How India’s model of ‘Intranational COP’ will work?

    • Utilizing GST council model for climate action: Climate action is a unifying theme, and creating a forum similar to the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) council, which created successful engagement models during the pan-India roll-out of GST, can be helpful.
    • Facilitating cross-party dialogue: This intra-country group, Intranational COP, can offer opportunities for sharing a stage across parties in a neutral setting where outcome-oriented conversations can take place.
    • Promoting cooperative and competitive federalism for Net Zero: It can kindle the friendly spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism with each state/UT committing to bolder actions towards net zero.
    • Measuring stakeholder performance through consensus building: It can potentially introduce new evaluation parameters for measuring the performance of stakeholders based on their ability to build consensus across boundaries while keeping aside their myopic and constricted vote-bank-centered politics.
    • Learning and Leveraging Best Practices: Climate change is a new and dynamic topic for all stakeholders. It is an equaliser where no state/UT has any inherent advantageous positions. States/UTs can learn best practices from each other to implement, achieve, and measure the outcomes of their actions.

    Electricity distribution: A case of cooperation

    • Today, though a project is conceived, financed, and implemented by central agencies, site-specific mobilisation of resources requires the active cooperation of the states/UTs.
    • An important case in point can be electricity distribution, where states can exponentially augment India’s clean energy ambitions.
    • Furthermore, they can directly support municipal corporations/village panchayats in innovating customised approaches for faster and inclusive adoption of national climate goals in line with the socioeconomic and cultural sensitivities of the region.

    ‘Intranational COP’ for common but differentiated responsibilities

    • Forum for addressing Climate Change within India: It is well-established that some parts of India are economically more developed as compared to others. This translates to the fact that the relatively more prosperous regions contribute more to India’s carbon emissions. Such states are better positioned to initially invest in expensive low-carbon technologies and disseminate them to achieve economies of scale.
    • Addressing Regional Imbalances in Carbon Emissions: IndiaCOP can can unleash creative mechanisms to offset regional imbalances while respecting local cultural sensitivities.
    • Platform for States/UTs to Forge Mutual Cooperation Agreements: It can provide a platform for states/UTs to forge MOUs that complement each other’s strengths while filling up the gaps in technical/financial/people resources. For e.g., small hilly states have good hydroelectric power potential, but they may lack financial wherewithal; states like Rajasthan have good solar energy potential but currently lack sufficient trained manpower, etc.

    Way ahead

    • Intranational COP can be a dedicated flagship platform to thrash out a national consensus on India’s climate goals and the means to achieve them. For example, the Finance Commission can play a role in allocating capital based on the climate actions and needs of states.
    • The mechanisms of climate funding and allocation, led by the Finance Commission, can be debated and agreed upon on this platform. Such a consensus will enjoy double legitimacy as it is arrived at collectively by the union and state/UT governments.

    Conclusion

    • The success of India’s model of “Intra-national COP” can become a template for federal nations across the world to engage with provincial/local governments with diverse socio-political and economic challenges. It can score a big win in promoting India’s soft power, especially as it takes on the presidency of the G20.

    Mains question

    Q. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants. In this backdrop how India’s model of Intra-national COP will be helpful?

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  • Police Reforms – SC directives, NPC, other committees reports

    Police conference: Highlighting the Challenges and solutions

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Civil Service,Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    conference

    Context

    • A conference of the Directors General of Police of all the states and union territories is being held in Delhi from January 20 to 22. The Prime Minister will be attending all the sessions of the three-day conference.

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    All you need to know about the Conference

    • This conference of the Directors General of Police is an annual feature.
    • It is organised by the Intelligence Bureau and its deliberations are presided over by the Director, IB, who is considered primus inter pares among the senior-most police officers of the country.
    • This year’s conference, according to media reports, will be discussing emerging trends in militancy and hybrid militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, counter-terrorism, cryptocurrency, drug trafficking, radicalisation and other important matters.

    What is missing in the agenda?

    • Problems at grass root are rarely discussed: The agenda, year after year, reflects the security-related problems of the country at the macro level. So far so good. But the grass roots problems are seldom taken up or deliberated upon.
    • Dismal picture of Police stations: The strength of a chain, as they say, is determined by its weakest link, and the weakest link today is the police station. Leaving aside the model police stations and some in the metro cities, the average police station presents a dismal picture dilapidated building, case property like motorcycles and cars littered all over the compound, no reception room, filthy lockup, and so on.
    • Overburdened staff: The staff, overworked and fatigued, is generally unresponsive, if not rude.
    • Available resources are limited resources: They may not have access to vehicles or have run out of fuel as per the allotted quota.
    • Political influence: Even if you are able to speak with a responsible sub-inspector, they may be pressured by politicians to change their actions.

    For instance: The data according to the Status of Policing in India Report 2019

    • Shortage of personnel: According to the report, police in India work at 77% of their sanctioned strength and these personnel work for 14 hours a day on average.
    • Lack of equipment and technology: There are 70 police stations which have no wireless, 214 police stations that have no telephone and 240 police stations that have no vehicles.
    • Poor housing and training facilities: Housing facilities for police are unsatisfactory. Training of personnel is inadequate, the training institutions have not kept pace with the changing paradigm on the law or crime front and are manned generally by unwanted, demotivated officers.
    • Technology gap: Technology support leaves much to be desired; the criminals are, in fact, way ahead of the police.

    Hard fact and the concerns over the police duties in India

    • Police Officer’s Duties and Expectations: The demanding role and expectations of police officers as first responders to any crime, 24/7 duty and assisting other departments with their duties. The public has no obligation to assist police officers. For instance, ASI was stabbed to death in Delhi, bystanders were just standing and watching the scene.
    • High death toll among Police Personnel: It is estimated that 36,044 police personnel have died in the performance of their duties since India’s independence. It is pointed out that the corresponding figure for all the countries of Europe taken together is much less.
    • Duties to become more challenging in future: It is acknowledged that police duties in India are tougher than in any other part of the world, and that these duties are likely to become even more challenging in the future, with the rise of new forms of crime such as terrorist crimes, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, and cryptocurrency.

    What improvements are suggested?

    1. The Need to Prioritize Basic Matters: It is important to prioritize basic police matters and ensure that they are effectively dealt with. Once the police station is able to inspire confidence among the people, many other issues will fall into place.
    2. Division of Conference into Two Parts: The format of police conferences should be changed by dividing it into two parts – one dealing with intelligence matters and the other dealing with crime and law and order issues.
    3. Roles of DBI and CBI: It is proposed that the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) preside over the intelligence-related matters, and the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) assisted by a senior-most Director General of a state police nominated by the Ministry of Home Affairs should conduct the proceedings of the conference dealing with crime and law and order matters.
    4. Need for Specialized Treatment of Crime: the crime is becoming increasingly complex and requires specialized treatment, and that this bifurcation is necessary in order to effectively address the different aspects of crime.

    Do you know the concept of SMART police?

    • The Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the concept of SMART Police.
    • SMART stands for: S: Strict but sensitive, M: Modern and mobile, A: Alert and accountable, R: Reliable and responsive, and  T: Trained and tech-savvy.
    • It also aims to make the police more responsive to the needs of the people, and to address issues of police brutality, corruption, and lack of accountability to citizens.

    Conclusion

    • The Prime Minister’s concept of SMART Police, which aims to create a force that is strict and sensitive, modern and mobile, alert and accountable, reliable and responsive, techno-savvy and trained, has the potential to bring about a significant change in the working of the police and a new era for the people of the country. It’s important for the conference to review the progress made in implementing this transformation in the police and work towards achieving these objectives to bring about a much-needed change in the police force.

    Mains question

    Q. What are the major challenges faced by the Indian police force? Discuss improvements suggested to address them?

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  • Indian Army Updates

    Women to get Command Roles in the Indian Army

    Explained | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    women

    As many as 108 women officers in the Army are set to be cleared for the rank of Colonel (selection grade) which will make them eligible to command units and troops in their respective arms and services for the first time.

    What exactly does Commanding a unit mean?

    • Once promoted to a Colonel, an officer is eligible to command troops directly in the Army, which is an acknowledgment of the leadership qualities of the officer.
    • It is considered a coveted appointment because in no other rank — including higher ranks like Brigadier or Major General — does an officer interact directly with troops on the ground.
    • Women officers in many streams of the Army, including the Army Air Defence, Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, EMEs, Army Ordnance Corps, and Intelligence Corps will be commanding units.

    Women in commands: Significance

    • Leadership opportunity: Despite working at the grassroots level as junior officers, women officers hitherto did not get an opportunity to prove their leadership skills as they were not eligible to command a unit.
    • Gender parity: Most importantly, it grants women officer’s parity with their male counterparts.
    • Higher ranks: Earlier promotions were staff appointments — which are more administrative in nature and not purely command appointments in which an officer commands troops on ground.
    • Benefits after permanent commission: With a longer career in the Army, women officers will be considered for promotions, including to the rank of Colonel and beyond.

    Why did their Colonel promotions come so late?

    • An officer in the Army is promoted to the rank of Colonel only after serving between 16 and 18 years, based on certain criteria such as annual confidential reports and various courses.
    • Women officers who were inducted into the Army were inducted as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in 1992 and in the years after did not have the choice to opt for permanent commission.

    Supreme Court order affirming Permanent Commission

    • In 2019, the Army changed its rules allowing SSC women officers to opt for permanent commission who would have otherwise retired after 14 years of service.
    • However, this was not retrospective and applied only to the batches of women officers starting their career in the Army in 2020.
    • With the landmark Supreme Court judgment of February 2020, permanent commission was granted to women officers with retrospective effect.
    • This opened the doors for their further growth and promotions in the Army, which has been of late opening leadership and higher management courses for women.

    How are women still discriminated?

    • Women are still not eligible in core combat arms such as Infantry, Mechanised Infantry and Armoured Corps.
    • Indian Army is not open to women fighting wars at the borders as foot soldiers.
    • Much of this resistance stems from past instances of male soldiers being taken as prisoners of war and tortured by the enemy.
    • However, the Army has recently decided to open the Corps of Artillery, a combat support arm, to women.

    What about the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force?

    • Women officers have been inducted into all branches of the Navy, and they will be eligible for permanent commission in the future.
    • Women officers can command shore-based units and, as they join the service and become eligible for permanent commission, they would be able to command ships and air squadrons.
    • The IAF has opened all branches for women officers, including the fighter stream and the new weapon systems branch.
    • As they are granted permanent commission based on eligibility and vacancies, they will be eligible to command units in the future.

    How many women serve in the Indian armed forces?

    • The Army, being the largest of the three services, has the largest number of women officers at 1,705, followed by 1,640 women officers in the IAF, and 559 in the Navy.
    • This data was submitted by the government to Parliament last year.

     

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

    Forex Reserves zoom by $10.417 billion to $572 billion

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    India’s forex reserves zoomed by $10.417 billion to $572 billion, making it one of the biggest weekly jumps in recent times.

    Recent trends in FOREX Reserves

    • In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped by $1.268 billion to $561.583 billion.
    • In October 2021, the country’s forex reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
    • The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
    • In October 2022, the reserves had swelled by $14.721 billion during a week.

    What is Foreign Exchange (Forex) Reserve?

    • Foreign exchange reserves are important assets held by the central bank in foreign currencies as reserves.
    • They are commonly used to support the exchange rate and set monetary policy.
    • In India’s case, foreign reserves include Gold, Dollars, and the IMF’s quota for Special Drawing Rights.
    • Most of the reserves are usually held in US dollars, given the currency’s importance in the international financial and trading system.
    • Some central banks keep reserves in Euros, British pounds, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan, in addition to their US dollar reserves.

    India’s forex reserves cover:

    1. Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs)
    2. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
    3. Gold Reserves
    4. Reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

    Countries with the highest foreign reserves

    • Currently, China has the largest reserves followed by Japan and Switzerland.
    • India earlier overtook Russia to become the fourth-largest country with foreign exchange reserves. (Data from August 2022)
    1. China – $3,349 Billion
    2. Japan – $1,376 Billion
    3. Switzerland – $1,074 Billion
    4. Russia – $597.40 Billion

    Why are these reserves so important?

    • All international transactions are settled in US dollars and, therefore, required to support India’s imports.
    • More importantly, they need to maintain support and confidence for central bank action, whether monetary policy action or any exchange rate intervention to support the domestic currency.
    • It also helps to limit any vulnerability due to sudden disturbances in foreign capital flows, which may arise during a crisis.
    • Holding liquid foreign currency provides a cushion against such effects and provides confidence that there will still be enough foreign exchange to help the country with crucial imports in case of external shocks.

    Initiatives taken by the government to increase forex

    • To increase the foreign exchange reserves, the Government of India has taken many initiatives like AatmaNirbhar Bharat, in which India has to be made a self-reliant nation so that India does not have to import things that India can produce.
    • Other than AatmaNirbhar Bharat, the government has started schemes like Duty Exemption Scheme, Remission of Duty or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme, etc.
    • Apart from these schemes, India is one of the top countries that attracted the highest amount of Foreign Direct Investment, thereby improving India’s foreign exchange reserves.

     

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  • North-East India – Security and Developmental Issues

    PM greets people on Statehood day of Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    state

    Prime Minister has greeted people of three northeast states- Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya on their Statehood Day.

    What is the news?

    • Today marks the 51st anniversary of the formation of the states, which were created on this day in 1972.
    • While Manipur and Tripura were princely states which were absorbed into India in October 1949, Meghalaya, on the other hand, was part of Assam.
    • The states came into being the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, enacted on December 30 that year.

    Quick backgrounder

    • These states attained statehood under the North Eastern Region (Reorganization) Act of 1971.
    • The NE composition consisted of Assam plains from the old Assam Province, the hill districts, and the North Eastern Frontier Tracts (NEFT) of the North-Eastern borderland.
    • Later on the NE region was turned into seven sisters with the statehood of Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.

    [1] Meghalaya

    • Apart from accounts of the more essential Khasi kingdoms in the chronicles of the neighbouring Ahoms and Kacharis, little is known of Meghalaya prior to the British rule.
    • However, in the early 19th century, the British desire to build a road through the region to link Bengal and Assam led to a treaty with the ruler (Syiem) of the Khasi principality of Nonkhlaw.
    • In 1829, opponents of the treaty persuaded the Syiem to repudiate it, and a subsequent attack on Britishers led inevitably to its military operations against the Khasis.
    • By the mid-1830s, most local rulers had submitted to the British.
    • For the next century, the British exercised its political control over the area, then known as the Garrows and Cossiya (Khasi) States, but the tribals who were left to fend themselves managed to preserve their traditional culture in seclusion.

    Integration into India

    • In 1947, the rulers of the region acceded to the newly independent India.
    • The first PM Nehru evolved a policy to preserve and protect the culture of the tribal people.
    • The region was given special protection in the Indian constitution along with other tribal areas, and it retained a great deal of autonomy.
    • In 1960, when Assamese became the state’s official language, agitation for autonomy and self-rule gathered strength.
    • Unlike many other hill regions in north-eastern India, this movement was largely peaceful and constitutional.
    • In 1970, Meghalaya became an autonomous state within Assam and achieved full statehood on January 21, 1972.

    [2] Manipur

    • Over 500 princely states had negotiated their accession to the Indian union before independence.
    • According to News Nine, the rulers of these states signed a document called the ‘Instrument of Accession’.
    • On August 11, 1947, Bodhachandra Singh, then Maharaja of Manipur, signed the document. He had been assured that the autonomy of Manipur would be maintained.
    • Elections were held in Manipur in June 1948, but its legislative assembly had differences of opinion on the merger.
    • However, the Maharaja signed a Merger Agreement with India in September 1949.

    [3] Tripura

    • Maharajas of the Manikya dynasty ruled the former princely state of Tripura.
    • It was an independent administrative unit under the Maharaja even during British rule in India.
    • However, according to Tripura State Portal, this independence was qualified, subject to the Britishers’ recognition, as the paramount power of each successive ruler.
    • As per Rajmala, in the royal chronology of Tripura, around 184 kings ruled over the state before it merged with the Indian Union on October 15, 1949.
    • Since then, the history of Tripura has been interspersed with various political, economic and social developments.

    Attainment of full statehood

    • On January 26, 1950, Tripura was accorded the status of a ‘C’ category state, and on November 1, 1956, it was recognized as a Union Territory.
    • With its people’s sustained efforts and struggle, it gained full statehood on January 21, 1972, as per the North-East Reorganisation Act, 1971.
    • Its democratic set-up further stretched to the village level in 1978 with an election to the local bodies that ultimately culminated in introducing a three-tier Panchayati Raj System.

     

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  • Tribes in News

    What are Hakku Patras or Title Deeds?

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    hakku patra

    PM has distributed Hakku Patra (land title deeds) to five Lambani (Banjara) tribes, a nomadic Scheduled Caste group, during a launch programme in Karnataka.

    What are Hakku Patras?

    • A title deed is a property ownership document, and the bearer of the document owns the land.
    • The title deeds enable owners to avail of bank loans with the said document.
    • They will also be eligible to buy or sell land to which the title deed is granted by the government.
    • This Hakku Patra will secure the future of thousands of people living in the “Tandas” (Lambani habitats) in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgiri, Raichur and Vijayapura districts.

    Benefits of Hakku Patra 

    Hakku Patra, like every legal property document, offers a great set of benefits.

    • It makes one the legitimate owner of your land or property by giving an up-to-date and official record of who owns the land.
    • The individual does not have to research as the government issues the document.
    • It is a state-guaranteed document.
    • Hakku Patra registration resolves all types of disputes regarding the ownership or rights over the land.
    • The document helps in preventing any encroachment via trespassing on the boundaries.

    Who are the Banjaras?

    • The Banjara, also known as Lambadi, Gour Rajput, Labana, are a historically nomadic trading caste who may have origins in the Mewar region of what is now Rajasthan.
    • According to the National Informatics Centre, the name Banjara /Banjari probably had come from two different sources: ‘Banijya’ – trade or ‘Banachara’, the forest dwellers.
    • Their principal group’s name Laban/Labana is derived from the Sanskrit word lavanah, meaning salt as they were salt traders.
    • Although considered a tribal group given the life they lead, the Banjaras are a key scheduled caste sub-group in Karnataka.
    • Despite the community adopting a multitude of languages, Banjara is used throughout India, although in Karnataka the name is altered to Banijagaru.

    Questions of a political move 

    • The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes together make up nearly 24 per cent of the state population, becoming an important group for political parties.
    • The expenses incurred for the programme were funded by the state exchequer.

     

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  • Intellectual Property Rights in India

    What constitutes a Trademark Violation?

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Intellectual Property Rights

    trademark

    The Delhi High Court dismissed a case of trademark infringement brought by the global fast food chain against a Delhi-based restaurant.

    What is a trademark?

    • A trademark is a symbol, design, word or phrase that is identified with a business.
    • When a trademark is registered, its owner can claim “exclusive rights” on its use.
    • The Trademark Act, 1999, governs the regime on trademark and its registration.
    • The Act guarantees protection for a trademark that is registered with the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, also known as the trademark registry.
    • A trademark is valid for 10 years, and can be renewed by the owner indefinitely every 10 years.

    Violation of trademark

    • Using a registered trademark without authorization of the entity that owns the trademark is a violation or infringement of the trademark.
    • Using a substantially similar mark for similar goods or services could also amount to infringement.
    • In such cases, courts have to determine whether this can cause confusion for consumers between the two.
    • There are several ways in which a trademark can be infringed. However, the trademark owner has to show that the trademark has a distinct character-
    1. Deceptive similarity: The law states that a mark is considered deceptively similar to another mark if it nearly resembles that other mark, confusing the consumer in the process. Such deception can be caused phonetically, structurally or visually.
    2. Passing off: Say, a brand logo is misspelt in a way that’s not easy for the consumer to discern. The Supreme Court has ruled that passing off is a “species of unfair trade competition or of actionable unfair trading by which one person, through deception, attempts to obtain an economic benefit of the reputation which other has established for himself in a particular trade or business”.

     

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    Economic growth and the government disintermediation

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    • Between spending and saving, governments are generally better at the former. High growth comes with the advantage that government revenue expands and gets spent, as is happening this fiscal. But this is also habit-forming. If growth tapers down as is expected in FY 2024 cutting back government spending will be politically rocky just before a general election. Better then, to get selective on spending early on.

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    Current economic indicators

    • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took over the hot seat in May 2019. True to character, she resolved to pick up this rolling can by tabling in the FY 2021 budget, an amount of INR 2.64 trillion (1.2 percent of GDP) to pay these overdues.
    • India, yet again, in an era of high inflation and high oil import prices. It has taken courage and sagacity to reduce the FD from 9.2 percent (FY 2021—the COVID-19 year) to a targeted 6.4 percent this fiscal.

    Challenges to establish a declining trend back towards an FD of 3.5 percent of GDP

    • The oil slick of global uncertainty and inflation: Oil price uncertainties, created by the Ukraine standoff, which was partially cushioned via nimble Indian diplomacy resisting the boycott of cheaper Russian oil, has kept imported oil at US$77.7 per barrel in January 2023. But the ongoing opening up of China could firm up oil prices.  
    • India’s high-debt burden compromises fiscal resilience: Interest payments in FY 2023 (budgeted) at INR 9.4 trillion, are the largest expense outlay bucket, accounting for 43 percent of budgeted Union net revenue receipts, up from 41.7 percent in FY 2021. Defence and domestic security services at 15 percent come next, followed by subsidies (food, fertilizers, and fuel) at 14 percent and inflation-indexed government pensions at 9 percent.
    • Infrastructure lags: Infrastructure remains a drag on growth although intercity highways have improved. Multimodal transport solutions remain underdeveloped as do train stations and bus terminals in most towns and rural areas. The competitiveness of major Indian ports in 2018 was ranked 42nd well below China, Malaysia and Thailand- pulled down by low outcomes in infrastructure and turn-around time. The gas grid remains nascent with just 10.1 million connections versus 309 million users for LPG canisters a more volatile substitute for cooking fuel, than piped natural gas.

    What is the worrying situation?

    • Inflation: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects retail inflation, assessed at 5.78 percent (December 2022) to trend downwards in FY 2024. But signals of embedded inflation via core inflation (other than volatile food and fuel) above 6 percent are worrying.
    • Disrupted energy supply: A disruption in energy supplies could upset sanguine inflation expectations.
    • Taming inflation would increase fiscal crunch: Taming the resulting inflation by reducing taxes on the retail supply of petroleum products would increase the fiscal crunch.
    • Interests funded by additional borrowings is risky strategy: High-growth economies can afford to fund by borrowings as can start-ups, which borrow against their future growth prospects. For a large, lower middle-income economy like India, with historically moderate long-term growth rates (4 to 6 percent), it compromises reserve fiscal capacity to respond, through counter-cyclical measures, to economic downturns induced by economic shocks a risk-laden strategy.

    What India should do?

    • Resume much delayed disinvestment: Resume the much-delayed privatisation and disinvestment of public sector enterprises and government-owned financial sector entities.
    • Make Indian railway and autonomous entity: Second, make Indian Railway an autonomously regulated, commercially run entity, providing a surplus to the government rather than looking for budgetary support.
    • Encourage public finance outlays: Maximise the economic impact by encouraging public finance outlays to be driven by competitive metrics of allocative efficiency across investment options and program/project implementation models.

    Conclusion

    • For a new phase of growth, government disintermediation is appropriate. It allows for increased competition and innovation in the private sector, leading to greater efficiency and economic growth. India has momentum. What it needs is for the reins to be lightly held.

    Mains question

    Q. What obstacles does the Indian economy face as it enters a new era of growth, and what should India do?

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Herpetofauna and the Impact of crop pesticides

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Herpetofauna

    Context

    • The demand for land for food production always results in an uncomfortable trade-off between agricultural expansion and species conservation. One can see an example of this trade-off in paddy fields, whose unique combination of wet and drylands provide ideal habitats for amphibians and reptiles. However, Amphibians and reptiles are bearing the brunt of crop intensification.

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    Ecological services provided by herpetofauna

    • Herpetofauna: Amphibians and reptiles are cold-blooded animals, together referred to as herpetofauna, provide immense ecological services.
    • As biological control agents: Frogs and toads, for instance, act as biological control agents by feeding on crop pests. Several salamanders and tadpoles of frogs help in controlling mosquito and mosquito-borne diseases by feeding on the larvae.
    • Efficient pollinators and improves soil quality: They also help improve soil quality and aeration, aid in dispersal of seeds and in pollination. There are almost 40 species of lizards including skinks and geckos that are efficient pollinators.

    Threats faced by herpetofauna

    • Increased use of pesticides and fertilizers: The diversity and abundance of these herpetofauna are rapidly declining with increased use of pesticides, fertilisers, land conversion, changes in cropping systems and the reduced proportion of natural vegetation.
    • Threatened by agriculture and management practices: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 1,532 species of Anurans (frogs) and 825 species of reptiles in the world are critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable due to agriculture and its management practices.
    • Particularly threatened in India: They appear to be particularly threatened in India which has a high amphibian diversity most of them are endemic to the region and, as per the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, had the largest cropland area over the last decade, followed by the US and China.
    • Being cold-blooded, amphibians and reptiles have unique physiological demands: They are extremely sensitive to microclimates (with a narrow range of soil humidity, moisture, light flux, acidity, air and soil temperature) and microhabitats (they have small habitats like grass cover and low dispersal range; maximum lifetime dispersal for frogs and toads is 12 km). This makes them particularly susceptible to agricultural intensification. However, the researchers find a distinct difference in the way it affects amphibians and reptiles.

    Survey to understand the impact of crop intensification

    • To understand the impact of crop intensification on the populations and diversity of herpetofauna, researchers from the University of Calcutta conducted a year-long survey of farm lands in Odisha’s Baleswar district.
    • Almost 90 per cent of the 250,550 hectares of cultivable land in the district is under paddy.

    Did you know?

    • Baleswar district, of Odisha is known as “Rice bowl of the state”.

    Comment if any place in your state is recognized as such

    Findings of the Survey

    • Low diversity in high cropping intensity: The abundance of amphibians was almost half and their diversity was low in areas with high cropping intensity, pesticide application and low natural vegetation when compared with areas where less-intensive farming is practised.
    • Amphibians are more exposed to pesticides: The difference is because amphibians are more exposed to pesticide contamination than reptiles as their skin is highly permeable and performs both respiration and water uptake.
    • Species are going through an extinction debt: The researchers suggest the species are rather going through an extinction debt wherein there is a lag between the impact of agricultural intensification on them and their response to it.
    • Reptiles face a higher threat from conflicts with humans: The real impact of the current intensification of agriculture on reptiles would be felt much later. When compared with amphibians, reptiles like snakes face a higher threat from conflicts with humans. Encroachment of forest areas and misconceptions and myths result in the indiscriminate killing of snakes irrespective of them being venomous or harmless.
    • Intraguild predation: The researchers also find that in areas where the diversity of the frog population is lesser, the numbers of beneficial arthropods have reduced due to intraguild predation. If this reduction in populations of both predators continues, it will disrupt the natural system of suppressing crop pest abundance.

    What is mean by intraguild predation?

    • A phenomenon where more than one species feed on the same prey and therefore competitors feed on each other.
    • For example, when one predator, like a lion, hunts and kills another predator, like a hyena, for food.
    • It’s when animals that are both hunters, compete against each other for the same prey.
    • It is just like how two kids might fight over a candy bar.

    Way ahead

    • The study shows unless a threshold abundance of frogs is maintained, their impacts will be far from beneficial to agriculture.
    • Semi-natural and natural vegetation and buffer strips such as ditches, provide chances to increase numbers of alternate prey, intermediate hosts of target pests and increase the availability of nutritional plant resources.
    • Semi-natural patches are beneficial for arthropod communities and can raise their numbers to enhance crop pest regulation.

    Conclusion

    • To optimize the benefits from existing farmland, the researchers recommend that biodiversity research be holistic so more organisms get targeted ecological services.

    Mains question

    Q. What are herpetofauna? Highlight the Ecological services provided by herpetofauna and discuss the threats faced by herpetofauna.

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  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

    Indo-pacific and the New Eurasia

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

    pacific

    Context

    • Japan, which invented the contemporary geopolitical idea of the Indo-Pacific, is now well on its way to changing the way we think about the relationship between Asia and Europe. In his swing through Europe last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s message was simple, the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific is indivisible.

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    How Japan shaped the idea of Indo-pacific?

    • Japan is not alone for Indo-pacific anymore: Building on the ideas of his predecessor, the late Shinzo Abe, Kishida is determined to build strong military partnerships with Europe. Together Japan, South Korea and Australia are bridging the divide between Asia and Europe long seen as separate geopolitical theatres.
    • South Korea raising profile in Europe: South Korea, which does not always see eye to eye with Japan, is also joining the party by raising its profile in Europe. for example, Seoul, is selling major weapons platforms in Poland.
    • Australia eager to bring Europe in Indo pacific: Australia, which has joined the US and UK in the AUKUS arrangement, is equally eager to bring Europe into the Indo-Pacific.
    • Accelerated by Ukraine war: This process has been accelerated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the alliance between Moscow and Beijing.

    The idea of Eurasia

    • Many used it as a neutral term: The idea of Eurasia is not new, many used it as a neutral term to describe the vast landmass that connected Europe and Asia.
    • Separate political spheres: Despite continental continuity, Europe and Asia emerged as separate political and cultural spheres over the millennia.
    • Russia as European and Asian: Russia, which straddles this space, saw itself as both a European and Asian power but had trouble becoming a part of either. When post-Soviet Russia’s effort to integrate with the West soured in the 2000s, it developed Eurasia and Greater Eurasia as new geopolitical constructs.
    • Putin’s Eurasian strategy: Consolidating the former Soviet space, restoring influence in Central Europe, building a strong alliance with China, and limiting Western influence in the continental heartland became part of Putin’s Eurasian strategy.

    China-Russia alliance

    • Altering geopolitical dynamics: Well before Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol turned to Europe, it was Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin who altered the geopolitical dynamic in Eurasia.
    • Alliance without limits: Days before he ordered his armies into Ukraine, Putin travelled to Beijing last February to sign an agreement declaring an alliance without limits and no forbidden areas.
    • China’s tilt towards Russia: China, which had made a largely successful effort to cultivate Europe since the 1990s, deliberately avoided taking sides in Europe’s conflicts with Russia. But on the eve of the Ukraine war, Xi chose to tilt towards Moscow by blaming NATO for the crisis in Ukraine.
    • New kind of Eurasian alliance: Together, Putin and Xi unveiled a Eurasian alliance that they might have hoped would deliver the long-awaited coup de grace to the global hegemony of the West. What it did instead was to not only strengthen the Western alliance in Europe but also provide the basis for a new kind of Eurasia an alliance between China’s East Asian neighbours and Russia’s West European neighbours.

    What are the Challenges for India?

    • For India, the rise of Eurasia is making it harder to ride on two boats at the same time: Until now, India could easily hunt with the maritime coalition the Quad in the Indo-Pacific and run at the same time with the continental coalitions led by Russia and China.
    • US Europe and Japan on the one hand and China, Russia on the other: The conflict between the US, Europe, and Japan on the one hand and China and Russia on the other is now acute and shows no signs of immediate amelioration.
    • India’s security challenge on Himalayan frontier: On the downside, then, India’s mounting security challenges from China on the Himalayan frontier and the tightening embrace between Moscow and Beijing will mean the shadow over India’s continental strategy will become darker in the days ahead.
    • Strategic capabilities in partnership: On the upside, the possibilities for strengthening India’s strategic capabilities in partnership with the US and Europe as well as Japan, South Korea and Australia have never been stronger.

    Opportunities for India may include

    • Economic cooperation: Increased economic cooperation and trade between India and countries in Europe and Asia
    • India’s larger role in global affairs: The potential for India to play a larger role in regional and global affairs as a result of increased connectivity and cooperation
    • To address security concerns in Indo-Pacific: Opportunities for India to strengthen its ties with Japan and other countries in the region to address security concerns in the Indo-Pacific

    Conclusion

    • Japan’s strategy of promoting greater connectivity and cooperation between Europe and Asia could present both opportunities and challenges for India in terms of economic cooperation and geopolitical influence. India will have to carefully navigate and balance its relationships with various countries and groups in the region to maximize the opportunities and minimize the challenges.

    Mains question

    Q. Japan is now well on its way to changing the way we think about the relationship between Asia and Europe. In this backdrop discuss opportunities and challenges for India.

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