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  • RERA

    The Supreme Court has asked the Chief Secretaries of the States to respond to queries raised by the Centre on the implementation of rules framed under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (RERA) Act, 2016 in their respective jurisdictions.

    What is RERA, 2016?

    • The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate industry.
    • It establishes a Real Estate Regulatory Authority- RERA in each state for regulation of the real estate sector and also acts as an adjudicating body for speedy dispute resolution.
    • It was enacted under Entry 6 and 7 (dealing with contracts and the transfer of property) of the Concurrent List.
    • It is followed by the principle “buyer is the king and builders will have to ensure compliances to avoid punishment”.
    • Its main objective is to reduce delay in the work or timely delivery of the project without compromising the quality.

    Objectives of this Act

    It has the following objectives:

    • To protect the interest of the allottees and ensure their responsibility
    • To maintain transparency and reduce the chances of fraud
    • To implement Pan-India standardization and bring about professionalism
    • To enhance the flow of correct information between the home buyers and the sellers
    • To impose greater responsibilities on both the builders and the investors
    • To enhance the reliability of the sector and thereby increase confidence amongst the investors

    Key Provisions of RERA Act

    • Compulsory registration: According to the central act, every real estate project (where the total area to be developed exceeds 500 sq mtrs or more than 8 apartments is proposed to be developed in any phase), must be registered with its respective state’s RERA.
    • Establishment of state level regulatory authorities: It provides for State governments to establish more than one regulatory authority such as RERA to:
    1. Register and maintain a database of real estate projects; publish it on its website for public viewing
    2. Protection of interest of promoters, buyers and real estate agents
    3. Development of sustainable and affordable housing
    4. Render advice to the government and ensuring compliance with its Regulations and the Act
    • Establishment of Real Estate Appellate Tribunal: Decisions of RERAs can be appealed in these tribunals.
    • Mandatory Registration: All projects with plot size of a minimum 500 sq.mt or eight apartments need to be registered with Regulatory Authorities.
    • Deposits: Developers needs to keep 70% of the money collected from a buyer in a temporary pass through account held by a third party (escrow account) to meet the construction cost of the project.
    • Liability of the developer: A developer’s liability to repair structural defects would be for 5 years.
    • Cap on Advance Payments: A promoter cannot accept more than 10% of the cost of the plot, apartment or building as an advance payment or an application fee from a person without first entering into an agreement for sale
    • Carpet Area over super built-up: Clearly defines Carpet Area as net usable floor area of flat. Buyers will be charged for the carpet area and not super built-up area.
    • Punishment for non-compliance: Imprisonment of up to three years for developers and up to one year in case of agents and buyers for violation of orders of Appellate Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities.

    Which projects can get RERA approval?

    • Commercial and residential projects including plotted development.
    • Projects measuring more than 500 sq mts or 8 units.
    • Projects without Completion Certificate, before the commencement of the Act.
    • The project is only for the purpose of renovation/repair / re-development which does not involve re-allotment and marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment of any apartments, plot or building in the real estate project, will not come under RERA.
    • Each phase is to be treated as standalone real estate project requiring fresh registration.

    Benefits offered by the RERA Act

    Industry

    Developer

    Buyer

    Agents
    • Governance and transparency
    • Project efficiency and robust project delivery
    • Standardization and quality
    • Enhance the confidence of investors
    • Attract higher investments and PE funding
    • Regulated Environment
    • Common and best practices
    • Increase efficiency
    • Consolidation of sector
    • Corporate branding
    • Higher investment
    • Increase in organized funding
    • Significant buyers protection
    • Quality products and timely delivery
    • Balanced agreements and treatment
    • Transparency – sale based on carpet area
    • Safety of money and transparency on utilization
    • Consolidation of the sector (due to mandatory state registration)
    • Increased transparency
    • Increased efficiency
    • Minimum litigation by adopting best practices

     

     

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  • The Process of Cartelisation

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.

    What is a Cartel?

    • According to CCI, a “Cartel includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services”.
    • The three common components of a cartel are:
    1. an agreement
    2. between competitors
    3. to restrict competition

    What is Cartelization?

    • Cartelization is when enterprises collude to fix prices, indulge in bid-rigging, or share customers, etc. But when prices are controlled by the government under law, that is not cartelization.
    • The Competition Act contains strong provisions against cartels.
    • It also has the leniency provision to incentivize a party to a cartel to break away and report to the Commission, and thereby expect total or partial leniency.
    • This has proved a highly effective tool against cartels worldwide.

    Philosophy behind

    • Cartels, which involve a group of businesses colluding to keep prices high, have been viewed by economists as a significant threat to the market economy.
    • When businesses cooperate with each other rather than compete against each other, there could be many adverse consequences to consumers.
    • For one, consumers will have to pay higher prices for goods and services.
    • It should be noted that the way cartels keep prices high is by limiting the supply of their output. Further, in the absence of any threat from competition, cartels also have very little reason to innovate or cater to consumers in better ways.
    • In other words, they essentially act like a monopoly.
    • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the most well-known international cartel that influences the price of oil globally through coordinated efforts to limit supply.

    How do they work?

    • Four categories of conduct are commonly identified across jurisdictions (countries). These are: price-fixing, output restrictions, market allocation and, bid-rigging
    • In sum, participants in hard-core cartels agree to insulate themselves from the rigors of a competitive marketplace, substituting cooperation for competition.

    How do cartels hurt?

    • They not only directly hurt the consumers but also, indirectly, undermine overall economic efficiency and innovations.
    • A successful cartel raises the price above the competitive level and reduces output.
    • Consumers choose either not to pay the higher price for some or all of the cartelized product that they desire, thus forgoing the product, or they pay the cartel price and thereby unknowingly transfer wealth to the cartel operators.

    Are there provisions in the Competition Act against monopolistic prices?

    • There are provisions in the Competition Act against abuse of dominance.
    • One of the abuses is when a dominant enterprise “directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory prices” in the purchase or sale of goods or services.
    • Thus, excessive pricing by a dominant enterprise could, in certain conditions, be regarded as abuse and, therefore, subject to investigation by the Competition Commission if it were fully functional.
    • However, where pricing is a result of normal supply and demand, the Competition Commission may have no role.

    What is the penalty for cartelization?

    • The Competition Act calls for a penalty on each member of the cartel, which is up to three times its profit for each year of anti-competitive behavior, or 10% of turnover for each year of its continuance, whichever is higher.
    • However, in case of a leniency petition, CCI can waive the penalty depending on the timing and usefulness of the disclosure  and  full cooperation  in  the  probe.

    How might cartels be worse than monopolies?

    • Monopolies are bad for both individual consumer interests as well as society at large.
    • Monopolist completely dominates the concerned market and, more often than not, abuse this dominance either in the form of charging higher than warranted prices or by providing lower than the warranted quality of the good or service in question.

    How to stop the spread of cartelization?

    • Strong deterrence to those cartels that are found guilty of being one.
    • Typically this takes the form of a monetary penalty that exceeds the gains amassed by the cartel and it is not always easy to ascertain the exact gains from cartelization.
    • The threat of stringent penalties can be used in conjunction with providing leniency — as was done in the beer case.

    Back2Basics: Competition Commission of India (CCI)

    • The CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
    • It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
    • It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 in order to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.

     

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  • What is the UK-Rwanda Asylum Plan?

    The United Kingdom has signed a deal with Rwanda to send some asylum seekers to the East African nation — a move that PM Boris Johnson said will “save countless lives” from human trafficking.

    Immigrants crisis in UK

    • Since 2018, there has been a marked rise in the number of refugees and asylum seekers that undertake dangerous crossings between Calais in France and Dover in England.
    • Most such migrants and asylum seekers hail from war-torn countries like Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, or developing countries like Iran and Iraq.
    • The Britain that has adopted a hardline stance on illegal immigration, these crossings constitute an immigration crisis.
    • The Nationality and Borders Bill, 2021, which is still under consideration in the UK, allows the British government to strip anyone’s citizenship without notice under “exceptional circumstances”.
    • The Rwanda deal is the operationalization of one objective in the Bill which is to deter illegal entry into the United Kingdom.

    What is the Rwanda Deal?

    • The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership or the Rwanda Deal is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two governments.
    • Under this deal, Rwanda will commit to taking in asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on or after January 1, 2022, using illegally facilitated and unlawful cross border migration.
    • Rwanda will function as the holding centre where asylum applicants will wait while the Rwandan government makes decisions about their asylum and resettlement petitions in Rwanda.
    • Rwanda will, on its part, accommodate anyone who is not a minor and does not have a criminal record.

    Rationale of the deal

    • The deal aims to combat “people smugglers”, who often charge exorbitant prices from vulnerable migrants to put them on unseaworthy boats from France to England that often lead to mass drownings.
    • The UK contends that this solution to the migrant issue is humane and meant to target the gangs that run these illegal crossings.

    What will the scheme cost the UK?

    • The UK will pay Rwanda £120 million as part of an “economic transformation and integration fund” and will also bear the operational costs along with an, as yet undetermined, amount for each migrant.
    • Currently, the UK pays £4.7 million per day to accommodate approximately 25,000 asylum seekers.
    • At the end of 2021, this amounted to £430 million annually with a projected increase of £100 million in 2022.
    • The Rwanda Deal is predicted to reduce these costs by outsourcing the hosting of such migrants to a third country.

    Will the Rwanda Deal solve the problem of illegal immigration?

    • This deal will be implemented in a matter of weeks unless it is challenged and stayed by British courts.
    • While Boris Johnson’s government is undoubtedly bracing for such legal challenges, it remains unclear if the Rwanda Deal will solve the problem of unlawful crossings.
    • Evidence from similar experiences indicates that such policies do not fully combat “people smuggling”.

    Criticisms of the deal

    • Several activists, refugee and human rights organizations have strongly opposed the new scheme.
    • There are dangers of transferring refugees and asylum seekers to third countries without sufficient safeguards.
    • The refugees are traded like commodities and transferred abroad for processing.
    • Such arrangements simply shift asylum responsibilities, evade international obligations, and are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention.
    • Rwanda also has a known track record of extrajudicial killings, suspicious deaths in custody, unlawful or arbitrary detention, torture, and abusive prosecutions, particularly targeting critics and dissidents.

    Do any other countries send asylum seekers overseas?

    • Yes, several other countries — including Australia, Israel and Denmark — have been sending asylum seekers overseas.
    • Australia has been making full use of offshore detention centres since 2001.
    • Israel, too, chose to deal with a growing influx of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from places like Sudan and Eritrea by striking deals with third countries.
    • Those rejected for asylum were given the choice of returning to their home country or accepting $3,500 and a plane ticket to one of the third countries.
    • They faced the threat of arrest if they chose to remain in Israel.

     

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  • WHO & Traditional Medicine

    PM Modi, along with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, will perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the first-of-its-kind WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

    What is Traditional Medicine?

    • The WHO describes traditional medicine as the total sum of the “knowledge, skills and practices indigenous and different cultures have used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness”.
    • Its reach encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines.
    • According to WHO estimates, 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine.

    Traditional medicine in India

    • It is often defined as including practices and therapies — such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha — that have been part of Indian tradition historically, as well as others — such as homeopathy — that became part of Indian tradition over the years.
    • Ayurveda and yoga are practised widely across the country.
    • The Siddha system is followed predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
    • The Sowa-Rigpa System is practised mainly in Leh-Ladakh and Himalayan regions such as Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, Lahaul & Spiti.

    What will the GCTM be about?

    • The GCTM will aim to focus on evidence-based research, innovation, and data analysis to optimise the contribution of traditional medicine to global health.
    • Its main focus will to develop norms, standards and guidelines in technical areas relating to traditional medicine.
    • It will seek to set policies and standards on traditional medicine products and help countries create a comprehensive, safe, and high-quality health system.
    • The GCTM will support efforts to implement the WHO’s Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014-23).
    • It will serve as the hub, and focus on building a “solid evidence base” for policies and “help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems”.

    Why has the WHO felt the need to advance knowledge of traditional medicine?

    • Almost all WHO members have reported widespread use of traditional medicine.
    • These member states have asked for its support in creating a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products.
    • The WHO has found that the national health systems and strategies do not yet fully integrate traditional medicine workers, accredited courses and health facilities.
    • It has stressed the need to conserve biodiversity and sustainability as about 40% of approved pharmaceutical products today derive from natural substances.
    • It has referred to modernization of the ways traditional medicine is being studied. Artificial intelligence is now used to map evidence and trends in traditional medicine.

     

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  • Who was Guru Tegh Bahadur?

    The government will celebrate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur with a two-day event at the Red Fort.

     Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

    • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
    • His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
    • There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
    • He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
    • He was publicly executed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
    • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

    Impact of his martyrdom

    • The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
    • His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
    • Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community that came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.
    • In the words of Noel King of the University of California, “Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom was the first-ever martyrdom for human rights in the world.
    • He is fondly remembered as ‘Hind di Chaadar’.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

     

     

    Post your answers here.

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  • Festivals in news: Karaga Festival

    The centuries-old Karaga (temple fair) festival was recently held at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Bengaluru.

    Karaga Festival

    • It is celebrated annually in the Chaitra month (March/April) according to the Hindu calendar.
    • The festival has found its roots in the epic Mahabharata.
    • It honours Draupadi as the ideal woman and Goddess Shakti.
    • The word ‘Karaga’ translates to an earthen pot, supporting a floral pyramid and an idol of Goddess.
    • The Karaga is carried on the head of the bearer without touching it.
    • The carrier wears a woman’s attire with bangles, mangal-sutra, and vermillion on his forehead.

    Cultural significance of Karaga

    • The Karaga procession makes a customary halt at Astana e-Hazrath Tawakkal Mastan Shah Saharwardi Dargah to pay obeisance to Tawakkal Mastan.
    • The Dargah, a symbol of syncretic Sufism, has been taken care by the Muzavvar family for several generations.
    • According to them, the history of the Dargah goes back to at least 300 years when Tawakkal Mastan, who came to Bengaluru with his horses looking for business opportunities, was adored as a saint.
    • Hyder Ali, who was the ruler then, was a patron of Mastak for his good deeds.

     

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  • [Burning Issue] Artificial Intelligence and Climate change

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    Context

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have been often thought as a gateway to a future written in chrome, operating on a virtual cloud.

    Even in Budget 2022-23, AI was described as a sunrise technology that would “assist sustainable development at scale and modernize the country.”

    In terms of climate change, AI can prove to be immensely helpful in developing environment-friendly infrastructure, making climate predictions and decarbonizing industries. However, ironically, AI with itself brings an environmental cost to the development of the technology.

    What is Climate Change?

    • It deals with the global phenomenon of climate transformation that significantly impacts the earth’s usual climatic conditions (temperature, precipitation, wind, etc.). 
    • They are mainly caused due to human-made activities.
    • The major source of climate change is global warming, which is primarily caused by the greenhouse effect.
    • Rapid urbanization and industrial revolution are the other main causes that lead to the risk of climate change with increased energy demand and production, especially in the form of fossil fuels.
    •  The growing risk of climate change has a disastrous impact on earth organisms, including human beings and earth’s flora and fauna.
    • It further leads to the destruction of the food chain and economic resources.

    Social and Economic Impact of Climate Change

    • The cost of adapting coastal areas to rising sea levels.
    • Relocation of whole towns.
    • Shrinking productivity of harvests.
    • Loss of the capacity to work due to heat.
    • More wars to gain access to limited resources.
    • Freshwater will be short in the supply.
    • Spread of diseases due to higher temperatures.
    • Inflation in food and consumer goods.
    • The extreme meteorological phenomenon will cause widespread poverty.

    Artificial Intelligence

    • Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.
    • In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states.
    • AI programming focuses on three cognitive skills: learning, reasoning and self-correction.

    How can AI help in the mitigation of Climate Change?

    • AI is a disruptive paradigm that has greater potential to assess, predict, and mitigate the risk of climate change with the efficient use of data, learning algorithms, and sensing devices.
    • It performs a calculation, makes predictions, and takes decisions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
    • By developing effective models for weather forecasting and environmental monitoring, AI makes us better understand the impacts of climate change across various geographical locations.
    • It interprets climatic data and predicts weather events, extreme climate conditions, and other socio-economic impacts of climate change and precipitation.
    • From a technical perspective, AI offers better climatic predictions, shows the impacts of extreme weather, finds the actual source of carbon emitters and includes numerous other reasonable contributions. 
    • This enables the policymakers to be aware of the rising sea levels, earth hazards, hurricanes, temperature change, disruption to natural habitats, and species extinction.

    Applications of AI for Climate Change mitigation

    The following are the few areas in which AI can directly help mitigate the risks posed by climate change:-

    • AI-assisted prediction models for climate change mitigation
    • Role of machine vision in climate informatics and forecasting
    • Recent trends in AI to reduce carbon footprints for a sustainable environment
    • AI for earth hazard management
    • AI to promote eco-friendly energy production and consumption
    • AI-assisted expert systems for climate change risk prediction and assessment
    • AI-assisted big data analytics Synergy of IoT, big data, cloud computing, and AI techniques in climate change prediction and mitigation
    • Machine learning for a sustainable green future
    • AI in reducing the impacts of global warming
    • Deep learning for sustainable earth surveillance and earth informatics

    AI Can Accelerate Our Response to Climate Change

    • Improve Energy Efficiency– According to the Capgemini Research Institute, artificial intelligence should improve power efficiency by 15% in the next three to five years.
    • Optimize Clean Energy Development- AI computational models can find sites for dams that can produce the lowest amounts of GHG emissions.
    • Avoid Waste- Companies, governments, and leaders frequently deploy AI solutions to avoid waste, reduce energy waste from buildings or understand supply and demand.
    • Make Transportation More Efficient- AI is already the technology that powers autonomous vehicles, including shared cars and smart transportation systems in some cities.
    • Tools to Help Understand Carbon Footprint- AI can help build tools to help individuals and companies understand their carbon footprint and what actions they can take to reduce it.
    • Create New Low-Carbon Materials- If AI could develop new materials with similar properties but with a smaller carbon footprint, it could help slow climate change.

    What are the Global Trends for the Development of AI Technology?

    • Unfair Start- A few developed economies possess certain material advantages right from the start, they also set the rules.
    • They have an advantage in research and development, and possess a skilled workforce as well as wealth to invest in AI.
    • West vs the World- North America and East Asia alone account for three-fourths of global private investment in AI, patents and publications.
    • Political Advantage- The current state of inequity in AI in terms of governance raises concerns about the technological fluency of policymakers in developing and underdeveloped countries and their representation and empowerment at the international bodies that set rules and standards on AI.
    • Benefits for few- The developing and underdeveloped countries have not been much benefitted by the technology as AI’s social and economic benefits are accruing to a few countries only.

    India & AI

    • In Budget 2022-23, AI was described as a sunrise technology that would “assist sustainable development at scale and modernize the country.”
    • Research ecosystem- India has 386 of a total of 22,000 Ph.D. educated researchers worldwide and ranked 10th globally in research.  AI research concentrated mostly at institutes, like IITs, IIITs and IISc.
    • Present Use of AI- Presently, AI is used in India in sectors such as Smart Mobility and Transportation, Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Cities & Infrastructure.
    • AI adoption across sectors-
    1. COREs– Centres of Research Excellence in Artificial Intelligence will focus on core research of AI.
    2. ICTAI– International Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence will provide the ecosystem for application-based technology development and deployment.
    3. AIRAWAT (AI research, analytics and knowledge assimilation platform will be a cloud platform for Big Data Analytics and Assimilation, with a large, power-optimized AI Computing infrastructure using advanced AI processing.

    AI in India: Opportunities

    AI has the potential to drive growth by enabling:

    • Intelligent automation i.e. ability to automate complex physical world tasks that require adaptability and agility across industries,
    • Labor and capital augmentation: enabling humans to focus on parts of their role that add the most value, complementing human capabilities and improving capital efficiency
    • Innovation diffusion i.e. propelling innovations as it diffuses through the economy

    What is the Impact of AI Technology on Climate?

    • Carbon Footprint- The climate impact of AI can be majorly attributed to the energy use of training and operating large AI models.
    • Emissions- In 2020, digital technologies accounted for between 1.8% and 6.3% of global emissions.
    • At this same time, AI development and adoption across sectors skyrocketed and so did the demand for processing power associated with larger and larger AI models.
    • Quantification– A main problem to tackle in reducing AI’s climate impact is to quantify its energy consumption and carbon emission, and to make this information transparent.
    • UNESCO’s Efforts- The idea of sustainability is rapidly entering mainstream debates on AI ethics and sustainable development.
    • Recently, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.”

    Way Forward

    • Research: Dedicated studies, more investments in R&D, and better policy interventions are required in this field. AI needs to be developed and deployed so it can meet society’s needs and protect the environment by saving more energy than it expends.
    • Technology + Sustainable Development:  To make sure AI is used to help, and not hinder society, it’s time to merge the two big debates of the present time – digital technology and sustainable development (in particular, the environment). If we use the former to save the latter, this could be the best possible use made out of the resources available to us.
    • Opportunities for the Developing World: Governments of developing countries, including India, should assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs.
    • Recommendation of WEF: The AI developers “must incorporate the health of the natural environment as a fundamental dimension.”

    Conclusion

    Governments of developing countries, India included, should also assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs. It is argued that as developing nations are not plagued by the legacy infrastructure it would be easier for them to “build up better”. These countries don’t have to follow the same AI-led growth paradigm as their Western counterparts.

    It may be worth thinking through what “solutions” would truly work for the unique social and economic contexts of the communities in our global village.

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  • In case you missed it! UPSC CSE 2023: How to Begin Preparation From Scratch || Access recorded Webinar by Parth sir here

    In case you missed this amazing session by Parth sir on starting preparation from scratch for UPSC 2023, you can still watch it.

    Just register and we’ll email you the link to the recorded session.

    Target 2023 webinar by parth sir | Register to access recorded session (FREE)

    Webinar Details

    Don’t miss the chance to get value addition inputs to score better in the examination! This webinar is absolutely free. All aspirants are welcome to attend.

    What will you Learn in This Free Live Webinar by Parth Sir?

    TARGET 2023 WEBINAR BY PARTH SIR | REGISTER TO ACCESS RECORDED SESSION (FREE)

    1. The significance of PYQs and an examination of toppers’ copies for your own preparation.

    2. Breaking myths: The syllabus, not the books, must be completed.

    3. What are the best book to refer? Based on a last 10-year UPSC-CSE paper analysis.

    4. Recognize the UPSC requirement. What kinds of test series are useful? Which mock test series should be avoided?

    5. Complete UPSC-CSE Preparation Timeline for a Working Professional

    6. The skill of taking notes. What topics necessitate notes and which do not?

    7. Working hard in the right direction vs. working hard in the wrong direction: Is it possible to be successful solely by studying hard?

    8. There are only two consolidated sources for current events. What exactly are they?

    9. Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?

    About Parth Sir

    Our Civilsdaily Mentor, Mr Parth has been mentoring students since 2017. He has an admirable experience of attending UPSC-CSE interview two times. Parth sir has always scored 400+ in all the 4 GS Mains Subjects. The secret of success according to him is consistency and time-management.

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  • [Sansad TV] Perspective: INDIA-USA Dialogue

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    India and USA have reaffirmed their commitment to promote regional stability and rule of law at the fourth 2 +2 Ministerial Dialogue held in Washington recently.

    Outcome of the dialogue

    • India’s Defence and EAM and their US counterparts undertook a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda related to Foreign Policy, Defence and Security.
    • PM Modi and US President Biden also held a virtual meeting before the 2+2 dialogue where both leaders discussed the destabilizing impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
    • Modi also pointed out that India placed importance on the safety of the civilian population in Ukraine and the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to them including medicines and relief materials.
    • Both sides also expressed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship through cooperation.

    Major Outcome: Both agreed to differ on Ukraine

    • India stood firm in its stand despite what appeared to be growing pressure from the US.
    • New Delhi continued to promote dialogue to end the war.
    • It didn’t criticise Russia directly but chose some strong words about the need to respect the sovereignty of each nation.
    • In a candid remark, Mr Blinken agreed that India’s relationship with Russia has developed over decades at a time when the United States was not able to be a partner to India.

    What is the 2+2 talks between India and allies?

    • The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
    • A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides.
    • This helps to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
    • India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: US, Australia, Japan, and RUSSIA.

    Inception of the idea

    • The inaugural 2+2 dialogue with Australia was held in September 2021 when Jaishankar and Singh met with their counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi.
    • India held its first 2+2 dialogue with Russia in December last year, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited India.
    • The first India-Japan talks in the 2+2 format were held on November 30, 2019 in New Delhi.

    Dialogue with the US

    • The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
    • The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration.
    • It hosted then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and then-Secretary of Defence James Mattis and the late Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in September 2018.
    • The second and third editions of the 2+2 dialogues were held in Washington DC and New Delhi in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

    Defence and strategic agreements

    • Over the years, the strategic bilateral relationship with its partners, including the dialogues held in the 2+2 format, have produced tangible and far-reaching results for India.
    • India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, beginning with the:
    1. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016
    2. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018, and
    3. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020

    Deterrents in the dialogue

    • Bullying India: For the first time since the Biden administration came to office, the US has raised the issue of India’s human rights record in a public forum.
    • No defined protocol: There is little doubt as to how beneficial this mechanism has been.
    • Progress in Indo-Pacific: On one side, the ‘two plus dialogue’ is expected to abate, if not resolve, highly problematic issues such as Chinese aggression.
    • Russia factor: This time, the US is sceptical of India’s mammoth oil import from Russia. Another problematic pointer is India’s voluminous weaponry sanctions from Russia.

    Holding 2+2 with Russia

    Russia is one of those countries with which a 2+2 format talk “fits perfectly” in India’s foreign policy.

    • Traditional partners: Having a 2+2 with Russia also means that India is “not in anyone’s camp” and that bilateral ties between Moscow and New Delhi are “traditional and comprehensive”.
    • Strategic partnership: India and Russia have shared a strategic relationship since October 2000, which later got upgraded to ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ in December 2010. To be sure, the India-Russia 2+2 does have a particularly strong signalling component when seen against the backdrop of the S400 controversy.
    • Non-Alignment: Holding the 2+2 talks with Russia is much needed. This gives out a strong message to the world that India sees everyone to be on the same level.
    • National interests: This is visible messaging that India cannot be compelled to choose partners. India pursues an independent foreign policy serving its national and non-allied interests.

    Onus lies on the US

    • It’s clear that there is a lot more ground to cover for the US to replace Moscow as India’s largest partner.
    • Washington acknowledged that Russia is India’s biggest defence supplier – accounting for more than 50% of its imports.
    • In contrast, the US was India’s second-largest supplier between 2011 and 2015 after Russia, but fell behind France and Israel in the period between 2016 and 2021.
    • India continues to import from Russia because it gets good value for money, and, crucially, transfers of technology in some areas.
    • The US needs to give commitments on technology transfers to be able to get a bigger share of India’s defence imports.

    Way forward

    • India and the US don’t set ‘red lines’ and are pushing for “an honest dialogue”, the ongoing 2+2 dialogue is an opportunity for both India and the US.
    • The US also understands that India is one of the few countries that could leverage its relationship with Russia to bring the two warring parties to the negotiating table through a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution.
    • For Delhi, it is a season for careful and adroit diplomacy.

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  • UPSC CSE 2023: How to Begin Preparation From Scratch || Last chance to Register || Attend the Free Webinar by Parth Sir

    UPSC CSE 2023: How to Begin Preparation From Scratch || Last chance to Register || Attend the Free Webinar by Parth Sir

    Target 2023 and register for the free webinar by parth sir

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    About Parth Sir

    Our Civilsdaily Mentor, Mr Parth has been mentoring students since 2017. He has an admirable experience of attending UPSC-CSE interview two times. Parth sir has always scored 400+ in all the 4 GS Mains Subjects. The secret of success according to him is consistency and time-management.

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