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  • 5 deadly mistakes you must avoid in your UPSC IAS preparation | Fill Samanvaya for IAS 2021-22 and discuss with us.

    5 deadly mistakes you must avoid in your UPSC IAS preparation | Fill Samanvaya for IAS 2021-22 and discuss with us.

    Fill Samanvaya form given below to discuss and resolve your UPSC IAS preparation issues and doubts with us. Get FREE Tikdam e-book and IAS starter material after form submission.

    There are some fundamental mistakes that many serious aspirants make. And no, we’re not talking about ignoring daily current affairs, not writing answers, or attempting tests.

    Based on our interaction with 2500 aspirants in the past two months who have not been able to clear this exam after multiple attempts, there are five deadly mistakes for an UPSC aspirant. Before we start fill Samanvaya form if not done already.

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    Fill the Samanvaya form and get all your preparation issues like timetable, strategy, planning, sources, etc resolved.

    We’ll call you within 24 hours. (Free Tikdam e-book and material will be emailed to you post form submission.)

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    Starting with our list of deadly mistakes you should avoid.

    1. Ignoring or failing to understand what UPSC expects from you.

    UPSC through this exam has to maintain the merit in the Indian administration. For that, they are constantly evolving w.r.t. the exam process – questions and the manner in which they ask questions. Just go through the last three years’ UPSC Prelims question papers and you will realize it yourself.

    Just knowing the syllabus and sources is not enough. Neither is it about finishing the syllabus only. It has to be done in a certain manner. Only when you know what UPSC wants you can make an effort in that direction. Fill Samanvaya form below to discuss the expectations of UPSC and more.

    Samanvaya: FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION (click)
    How to prepare for upsc 2021? Strategy for upsc 2021? Answer writing for 2020 Abhishek Saraf rank 8 Civilsdaily
    Abhishek has benefited from Civilsdaily’s approach, so did 70+ candidates who cleared UPSC IAS 2019

    2. Not having a workable strategy

    Internet and youtube are flooded with IAS toppers’ strategy. While it worked for the toppers, what will work for you is a strategy that is based on your situation (UPSC experience, education, background, etc.), your learning style, the time you have, consideration for your job commitments, etc.

    In short, your strategy has to be unique. Just for you. Moreover, it has to be organic and adaptable. Else it won’t work. Let us help make one for you or improve your strategy. (Just fill in the Samanvaya form)

    3. No mechanism to identify your mistakes

    Even if you’ve taken multiple attempts you are bound to make some mistakes, much more for UPSC beginners. These are inevitable. And this makes it essential for you to put up a mechanism to find out and highlight those mistakes in your preparation on a regular basis.

    Eg. Finished Modern History (or any subject), only to realize after a month that you don’t seem to remember a thing or solve a UPSC level MCQ. This realization that you’re doing it wrong should have come to you on the first or second day itself. You could’ve saved your precious time, efforts and attempt.

    Discussing your approach with mentors is one of them. Don’t have a mentor? Yes, you have one at Civilsdaily. Fill in this Samanvaya form.

    Civilsdaily’s Hall of Fame.

    4. Inability to rectify your mistakes

    Maybe due to inertia or ignorance or fear of change, most of the aspirants are not able to rectify their mistakes.

    Eg. Even after finishing Laxmikant for Polity a couple of times you can’t understand why you are scoring miserably low marks in Polity pre-mocks. Or, not able to improve your mains answers.

    Only those who are able to rectify their mistakes on a frequent basis are able to clear this exam. What issues with your preparation you feel are difficult to resolve? Fill Samanvaya and let us help you resolve them.

    5. Integrate these learnings in your preparation

    After you have developed the awareness of the mistakes and what should be done, you must integrate it asap with your preparation. The required unlearning and re-learning must take on a regular basis.

    Eg. You were scoring less in answer writing and realized that it was due to either missing out on the demand of the question or not giving examples to support your arguments. Don’t stall the process of improvement. Do it asap.

    Instead of regressing or stopping, you should always be moving forward, closing the loops of progress, and returning to the most effective path.

    Whatever be the stage of your IAS exam preparation, these mistakes must be avoided at all costs and nipped-in-the-bud.

    Samanvaya: FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION (click)

    More than 10.5 lakh applied, but only 796 are going to clear UPSC IAS 2020. It is going to be much more challenging in 2021 and 2022.

    It is not just about walking. It is about walking in the right direction. If you don’t have these above issues sorted you are bound to make more mistakes.

    Fill the Samanvaya form given above to discuss your strategy and issues that you are facing.

    Why mentorship?

    See, broadly six factors determine your success in cracking this prestigious IAS exam and the most important being understanding the expectations of UPSC and according to that planning and strategizing; other being, Learning – Knowledge and information; Analyzing – making linkages, connections, etc.; Executing and utilizing information; and Constant course correction – because mistakes are inevitable, need to rectify them asap.

    These are the areas where most of the aspirants fail to create a balance. Where are you facing an issue?

    Integrate them in your preparation. We’ll tell you how to do it

    To address the problems in your preparation, guidance and mentorship are the first steps. And here comes our three tiered mentorship.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION: Samanvaya

    Our 3 tier mentoring:

    1. First step starts with this Samanvaya call: Once you fill in the form, our senior mentors will have a 1-to-1 detailed discussion (on-call) with you to understand your prep level, working/ study constraints, current strategies, and create a step by step plan for next week, next month and so on.

    2. You are given access to our invite-only chat platform, Habitat where you can connect with mentors, ask your daily doubts, discuss your test-prep questions and have real-time live sessions on news and op-eds, and find your optional groups.

    How to prepare for upsc 2021? Strategy for upsc 2021? Answer writing for 2020
    Daily target monitoring.

    3. The third and the most personalized tier is the dedicated 1 on 1 mentor allotment who stays with you through the course of your UPSC preparation – always-on chat and on scheduled calls to help you assess, evaluate, and chart the next milestone of your IAS 2021/2022 journey.

    Daily target monitoring on Habitat
    Samanvaya: CLICK HERE FOR A FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION

    Who are you?

    1. Working Junta? If you are preparing for IAS 2021/2022 and working simultaneously, we can help you strategize and decipher the IAS exam and design a timetable that fits right in your hectic schedule.
    2. First-time prep? If you are in the last year of college or thinking of dropping a year and preparing for IAS 2021/2022 full time, we’ll help you pick the right books and craft a practical & personal strategy.
    3. Have appeared before? and weren’t successful. We’ll help you identify your mistakes, rectify them for the necessary course correction. Let this be your final and successful attempt.

    You just have to take 5 minutes out and fill this form: Samanvaya For IAS 2021/2022

    Talk to senior mentors from Civilsdaily: Fill Samanvaya form for IAS 2021 and IAS 2022. Once done, we will call you within 24 hours or so.

    Fill up the following details in the Samanvaya form to schedule a free one-on-one mentorship session with senior mentors from Civilsdaily. We’ll call you within 24 hours.
    Samanvaya: click here for a free 1-on-1 mentorship session

  • [Burning Issue] India-Pakistan Peace Talks

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    The winds of a tentative peace are once again blowing from Pakistan. India and Pakistan surprised the world last month with a rare joint commitment to respect a 2003 cease-fire agreement.

    Background

    • Pakistan has been aggressively pushing for ‘peace’ talks with India.
    • The selected PM Imran Khan says peace with Pakistan will give India direct access to Central Asia.
    • His master General Bajwa wants India to ‘bury the past’.
    • Much earlier, Pakistan, in a change, stuck to the topic of the Covid-19 pandemic in a virtual SAARC meeting called by PM Modi.
    • Pakistan did not make the usual rhetorical reference to the Kashmir issue at the meet.

    The 2003 Ceasefire

    • Currently, what stops India and Pakistan from opening fire at each other is a 2003 ‘ceasefire offer’ made by the then PM of Pakistan, Zafarullah Jamali, on 23 November 2003 on the eve of the Eid-al-Fitr holiday.
    • The agreement remains a milestone as it brought peace along the LoC until 2006.
    • Between 2003 and 2006, not a single bullet was fired by the jawans of India and Pakistan.
    • It is this ceasefire agreement that is referred to as having been violated whenever Pakistan fires at Indian posts along the LoC. Not the one made during Kargil War.

    To borrow and twist any phrase from the disclaimers in mutual fund advertisements, if the past is the only guide to future performance, there is no point talking about Pakistan. Just buy more sniper rifles and sit on the LoC. So, how do we break the deadlock?

    Reason behind Pakistani soft-tone

    Pakistan’s call for cooperation has some undeniable and immediate reasons:

    (1) FATF sword

    • There are very low chances of Pakistan exiting the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
    • A research paper by an Islamabad-based think tank has revealed that Pakistan sustained a total of $38 billion in economic losses due to FATF’s decision to thrice place the country on its grey list.  
    • Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list since June 2018 and the government was given a final warning in February 2020 to complete the 27 action points by June in the same year. 

    (2) Pariah at OIC

    • The OIC statements of 2020 had made no specific mention of Kashmir in the agenda announced in Riyadh.
    • Pakistani rhetoric over Kashmir these days is backed only by Turkey as part of Ankara’s strategy to oppose Saudi-UAE dominance in the OIC.
    • The Gulf in turns has alienated Pakistan and are recalling their loans.

    (3) US resentment over Daniel Pearl case

    • US President Joe Biden had said he was “outraged” after Pakistan’s top court upheld the acquittal and ordered the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.
    • This terrorist was convicted of masterminding the 2002 beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl which was filmed and streamed across the world.
    • In 2018, the Pentagon cancelled $300 million in aid to Pakistan because of Islamabad’s inaction against terror groups.

    (4) Sovereign insolvency 

    • The World Bank has approved a USD 300 million loan to help cash-strapped Pakistan address issues of climate change, health emergency and manage solid waste.
    • Pakistan received $500 million from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank each in June this year to prop up its struggling economy.
    • Pakistan’s total public debt, domestic and external, was recorded at Rs36.3 trillion in the financial year 2019-20, up 154 per cent (or Rs22 trillion) since FY13, when it was recorded at Rs 14.3 trillion.

    (5) Sinking economy

    Pakistan’s economy is in the doldrums, plunging to new lows every day with inflation at an all-time high.

    • In January, Pakistan had witnessed 12-year high inflation at 14.6 per cent which is among the highest in the world.
    • The East Asia forum calls 2020 a forgettable year for Pakistan’s economy as its GDP fell to -0.4 per cent.
    • According to the World Economic Forum, the youth unemployment rate in Pakistan stands at 8.5 per cent in a country where 64 per cent of the population is below the age of 30.

    Like anything, Pakistani political elites (preferably the Pak Army and ISI) had to make a call. Either to make peace with India, or continue fighting it and become a military protectorate and economic colony of China; Peace with India is the only way ahead.

    How should India react?

    The first reaction among informed Indians to Pakistan would be a big yawn.

    Wait! India seems resilient …

    We saw coordinated statements by the director-general of military operations (DGMOs) on both sides that they had solemnly agreed to once again abide by the 2003 agreement all of sudden. Something has gone on between the two sides for several weeks, if not months, behind the scenes.

    • What that means is a stop to those madcap, aimless spells of firing heavy ordnance at each other’s posts and villages. It achieved nothing, except take out some frustration.
    • Besides, it made great pictures and TV for commando comic channels on either side, which could then, with the help of angry grey moustaches, declare victory for their respective armies.
    • But the armies know the truth. As do their governments. At some point, they knew they needed to move on.

    Bombing isn’t the answer and was never

    We know that after Kargil, Op Parakram and Pulwama/Balakot.

    • In the 20 years since, the US has bombed large parts of Afghanistan to the Stone Age several times over. But it is the Americans who are retreating in defeat.
    • Militarily, diplomatically, politically or economically, achieving anything by force is out of the question.
    • Former Army chief General V.P. Malik has outrightly said that it isn’t possible today to achieve any of our territorial objectives, PoK or Aksai Chin, by military force.
    • Besides the capability question, any such adventure would immediately run into global disapproval and force a ceasefire earlier than you can advance a few miles.
    • Especially when we live in a neighbourhood with strong, competing nationalism and robust, nuclear-armed militaries.

    We need to think creatively

    • In negotiations to end the Cold War, Ronald Reagan had famously used a line with Mikhail Gorbachev: ‘Trust, but verify’.
    • While dealing with Pakistan, we could turn it inside out: ‘Distrust, but verify’.
    • What that means is, while you view every new move coming from Rawalpindi (preferring this over Islamabad is deliberate) with the highest degree of suspicion, you check it out nevertheless.

    That’s why, while we hold our deep scepticism close to our hearts, we apply our CS aspirants minds to read between the lines of Pakistan.

    Two things stand out in that written speech-

    1. First, a commitment to non-interference in the internal affairs of any country in the neighbourhood or the region
    2. Second, they did not leave out the mention of Kashmir. But there was nuance. They said progress in relations of course depends on India creating a ‘conducive environment’ on its side of Kashmir.

    What should India consider?

    We have enough evidence by now to know that this is not a dispensation that looks forward to any conflict.

    In seven years, and across eight budgets, the allocation for defence has remained the same or marginally declined. They are not preparing for war.  Similarly, Pathankot, Uri, Pulwama, Galwan all tell us they are also not about to be knee-jerked into a conflict.

    Distrust-but-verify

    • India and Pakistan signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it had hardly been followed in letter and spirit over the past several years with more violations than observance of the pact.
    • Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country.
    • Subsequent attacks, including one on the Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.
    • The ties dipped further after India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on Feb 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

    History tells us that India-Pak peace is littered with many false dawns and this report explores why there is not any guarantee of any amity anytime soon.  This is not the first time India and Pakistan are trying to make peace.  So there is a reason to be skeptical.

    What has changed in the last six years is India’s response.

    Recent backstabs

    • In 2014, the oath taking ceremony of Indian PM had attendance from dignitaries of all SAARC nations, including the then PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.
    • This was the first time that a Pakistani leader was attending the oath-taking of an Indian prime minister-designate. There was optimism in the air.
    • In 2015, New Delhi returned the courtesy, and in a surprise visit, Modi stopped over in Lahore shortly after his visit to Afghanistan.
    • But Pakistan’s army generals were miffed with the growing camaraderie and exactly a year later, the weather changed dramatically.  On January 2, 2016, there was a terror attack in Pathankot.

    No reasons to trust

    • There’s no guarantee that it would sustain because nothing much has changed materially on the ground.
    • On the diplomatic front, the rhetoric hasn’t been toned down either.  Islamabad in collusion with other nations has kept the rhetorical fire on Kashmir alive on global platforms.
    • On the security front, Pakistan is openly trying to resurrect the Khalistan movement.
    • Pakistan Army’s drones have been seized in Punjab and new terror groups have emerged in Kashmir with more secular names like “The Resistance Front”. 

    There is neither any evidence of a fundamental shift in its policy on terror nor on the main bone of contention between the two countries: Kashmir. 

    Lessons to India from the Ladakh

    • In 2019, the official rhetoric was promising India to retake PoK and putting more military pressure on Pakistan.
    • In contrast, the discourse on foreign policy since the Chinese pressure on the LAC has been one of marked sobriety scaling back all expectations of flippant militarism.
    • The standoff with China has brought home some stark realities. We can speculate on Chinese motives.
    • The LAC standoff considerably released the pressure on Pakistan.
    • We were reminded that the LAC and LoC can be linked; that the zone around Kashmir was a trilateral and not a bilateral contest, and that India will need significant resources to deal with China.

    Way forward

    Nevertheless, India and Pakistan have no other option but to negotiate their disputes sooner or later.

    Formalizing the ceasefire agreement

    The leadership in both countries must understand that the first point in their agenda during their next meeting must be the formalization of the 2003 ceasefire as it will keep jeopardizing the future of the peace process if left unresolved.

    • A durable, guaranteed formal ceasefire must be the first step on the pyramid of peace with Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) being the second and terrorism the final step for peace between the two.
    • There is no doubt that Pakistan should ever be given any locus standi on the Indian state of Kashmir.

    We cannot change our neighbours

    • New Delhi can build on a no-war policy because it is strong enough to do so and Pakistan has no courage to initiate.
    • A weaker government would’ve been under much greater pressure in east Ladakh, and earlier with Pakistan, to do something more adventurous.
    • Many taunted Indian leadership for not going to war with China, unlike Nehru who “at least fought, even if he lost”.

    Conclusion

    India should seize the moment and build on the permanent de-escalation at LOC. The pandemic offers an opportunity for greater economic cooperation.

    The onus is on Pakistan

    • Both countries should go beyond diplomatic spates and media warfare.
    • Hence, if the 2003 ceasefire is formalized with clear rules and regulations, demilitarized zones, neutral observers and joint commissions, it should reduce the chances of future ceasefire violations.
    • But the success of ceasefires in most of the conflict situations depends heavily on political will much heavily leaning on the other side of LOC.

    References

    https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/why-pakistan-is-offering-peace-with-india-371510

    https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/what-led-to-india-pakistan-ceasefire-at-loc-and-will-it-hold-for-long-1773379-2021-02-26

    https://theprint.in/national-interest/why-distrust-but-verify-is-a-prudent-response-to-pakistan-gen-bajwas-call-to-bury-the-past/625108/
    Foreign Policy Watch: India-Pakistan

  • PM-Kisan: Income support to farmers needs to be more inclusive

    The article highlights the challenge of exclusion error in the PM-KISAN and suggests measures to deal with the issue by drawing on the success of KALIA and Rythu Bandhu.

    Exclusion in PM-KISAN

    • Budget FY22 announced an allocation of Rs 65,000 crore to the PM-Kisan scheme.
    • Since 2019, the PM-Kisan has been the largest component of the agriculture budget each year.
    • The scheme is targeted at farmers who own cultivable land as per land records of the state.
    • Unfortunately, this leaves out vulnerable sections such as tenant farmers, women farmers, tribal families and landless labourers.
    • The exclusion is the result of the challenge of first identifying these people, since our existing systems do not formally recognise them as farmers.

    The need to identify farmers

    • Despite 73.2% of rural women engaging in agriculture, only 12.8% are reported to own land.
    •  Among tribal communities, of the 20 million tribal families, less than 2 million have received individual forest rights pattas; the rest are ‘invisible’ and left out of government safety nets.
    • Landless agricultural labourers and tenant farmers account for close to 150 million people in rural India, and they too are not part of state land records.
    • Although there are multiple welfare schemes for farmers, there is no standard government definition of a farmer.
    • The 2007 MS Swaminathan Committee called out that the term ‘farmer’ would include any person actively engaged in growing crops and other agricultural commodities, and would include not only landholders, but also cultivators, labourers, sharecroppers, tenants and tribal families, amongst others.

    Learning from KALIA and Rythu Bandhu

    • Odisha has been a frontrunner in implementing an inclusive farmer welfare scheme, the KALIA.
    • The KALIA provides an unconditional income support of Rs 12,500 to landless agricultural households and an annual Rs 10,000 to small and marginal land-owning farmers as well as tenant farmers.
    • Odisha leveraged existing databases such as the Paddy Procurement Automation System, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the National Food Security Act, and deployed close to 50,000 government staff at state, district and block levels to conduct extensive on-ground verification to identify eligible beneficiaries.
    • Telangana took a different approach prior to rolling out the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, a direct benefit transfer scheme for land-owning farmers.
    • The Rythu Bandhu Scheme targeted only land-owning farmers.
    • But the state took on the onus of updating land records before implementing the scheme.
    • The revenue and agriculture departments partnered to undertake a state-wide Land Records Updation Programme (LRUP).
    • This shows that updating and digitising land records databasse is possible with focused efforts.

    Way forward

    • Instead of every scheme having its own farmer beneficiary database, the ideal solution would be to leverage the existing land records databases in every state.
    • The design should ensure women’s names are not excluded.
    • Implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 needs to be accelerated so that tribal families receive forest rights pattas and become part of the land records database.
    • The next challenge is to build in incentives in the process to encourage the maintenance of the land record database, such that all future transactions such as sale, gift etc. are regularly updated to increase the reliability of the records.

    Consider the question “How lack of definition of farmer leads to inclusion and exclusion errors in the schemes for farmers. Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    The pandemic, more so than anything else, has highlighted the need for the government to have robust social security mechanisms to reach the most vulnerable sections of the population, and making PM-Kisan more inclusive is an important step in that direction.

    Source:

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/pm-kisan-income-support-to-farmers-needs-to-be-more-inclusive/2217436/

  • (Launched) Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021 with Parth Verma| Program starting 1st Apr. Join here

    (Launched) Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021 with Parth Verma| Program starting 1st Apr. Join here

    Enroll here in Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021

    With great alignment between UPSC and UPPSC prelims pattern and syllabus it becomes essential for aspirants to prepare for both the exams.

    UPPSC Prelims 2021 is around the corner and less than 3 months are left. To help you ace the exam we are excited to announce Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021 program.

    What is Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021?

    It is an intensive program for UPPSC Prelims 2021 that ensures full coverage of the current affairs syllabus, UP-specific topics, test series, intensive discussions, toppers’ sessions, and mentorship. It is a Habitat program.

    https://youtu.be/pPHB7z-Ra6s

    We’re going more intensive and comprehensive to make sure that you comfortably go beyond the cut-off and literally decimate prelims.

    Program inclusion

    • Exclusive member to Habitat club
    • 6 days a week Habitat session (chat-based)
    • 1 yr current affairs (including UP)
    • Uttar Pradesh specific topics and GK
    • UPPSC Prelims test series-8 tests
      1. 4 Theme and current affairs based
      2. 4 Full syllabus
    • A weekly session with UPPSC toppers (Shweta Mishra, Kunal Gaurav, others)
    • PDF notes
    Enroll here in Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021

    How Habitat sessions will be held?

    Habitat is an innovative chat-based platform where you can discuss, learn, get material, connect with mentors and peers.

    Six days a week sessions will be held as per a plan with one day reserved for test discussion and another one for UPPSC topper’s session (Shweta Mishra Rank 23, Kunal Gaurav Rank 4, others)

    You’ll be given access to an exclusive Habitat club for Decimate UPPSC prelims 2021. The group is administered by Parth sir and  UPPSC toppers like Shweta ma’am (Rank 23, UPPSC 2019).

    A detailed timetable has also been shared below. 

    Enroll here in Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021

    Where to find the Habitat club?

    Habitat club’s link will be emailed to you as soon as you enroll in the program. You can also access the link in the Curriculum section of the course.

    All the discussions, PDFs of notes, and reference material will be shared in the Habitat club.

    Timetable

    Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021 Timetable (click) 

    Note: Check your registered email inbox for the Habitat link. You can also access the link from the Curriculum section above.

    Enroll here in Decimate UPPSC Prelims 2021

  • Iran deal could be rescued by the IAEA

    The article explains how IAEA could play an important role in finding a solution to the stalemate between the U.S. and Iran on JCPOA.

    Issue of Iran’s return to JCPOA

    • There is uncertainty between the U.S. and Iran on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as to whether Iranian compliance comes first or the lifting of sanctions by the U.S.
    • In this context, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is back on the stage to rescue the JCPOA.
    • The U.S. tried to pressurise Iran by proposing a resolution in the IAEA Board of Governors meeting criticising Iranian non-compliance with the JCPOA and its alleged IAEA safeguards violations.
    • This comes amidst rumours that Iran might withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

    Iran may follow Indian model on creating a deterrent

    • Foreign Policy recently noted that Iranian society increasingly see the weapon not just as an ultimate deterrent but as a panacea for Iran’s chronic security problems and challenges to its sovereignty by foreign powers.
    • If the stalemate continues on JCPOA, because of the U.S. pressure, public opinion may shift towards the Indian model of creating a deterrent and then seeking a special dispensation to avoid severe sanctions.
    • But the risks involved in such a policy will be grave, including the possibility of military action by Israel.

    Relation between IAEA and NPT

    • The IAEA is neither the Secretariat of the NPT nor is it empowered to request States to adhere to it.
    • . It does, however, have formal responsibility in the context of implementing Article III of the Treaty.
    • At the broadest level, the IAEA provides two service functions under the NPT.
    • 1) It facilitates and provides a channel for endeavours aimed at further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
    • 2) It administer international nuclear safeguards, in accordance with Article III of the Treaty, to verify fulfilment of the non-proliferation commitment assumed by non-nuclear-weapon States party to the Treaty.
    • The NPT assigns to the IAEA the responsibility for verifying, at the global level, through its safeguards system, that non-nuclear weapon States fulfil their obligations not to use their peaceful nuclear activities to develop any nuclear explosive devices of any kind.

    How IAEA could play role in JCPOA

    • Accordingly, the Iranian file could go back to the IAEA to start fresh negotiations to restrain Iran to remain within the permissible level of enrichment of uranium.
    • This may mean going back to the pre-six nation initiative, when the IAEA could not certify that Iran was not engaged in weapon activities.
    • With the experience of the JCPOA, any new arrangement has to ensure the following:
    • 1) Iran must have sanctions relief.
    • 2) The stockpile of enriched uranium should not exceed the limits established.
    • 3) There should be guarantees that Iran will not violate the safeguards agreement.
    • The test is whether these can be accomplished within the framework of the IAEA.

    Way forward

    • Since the IAEA is a technical body, its deliberations may be kept at the technical level.
    • At the same time, since it is open for the IAEA to report to the Security Council for necessary action, the IAEA will have the necessary clout to insist on the implementation of the NPT and its additional protocol.
    • A new avenue may open for Iran to continue its peaceful nuclear activities as permitted in the NPT.

    Consider the question “Examine the role played by IAEA under NPT. How this role can help IAEA in breaking the ice between Iran and the U.S. on JCPOA?” 

    Conclusion

    Thus, IAEA can play an important role in ending the statement JCPOA finds itself in and ensure compliance from Iran on JCPOA and lifting sanctions by the U.S.

    Back2Basics: Article III of NPT

    • This article provides for the application of safeguards to ensure that nuclear material in non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) isn’t diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
    •  NNWS must place all nuclear materials in all peaceful nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards.
    • Each nuclear weapon state (NWS) will not provide nuclear materials or equipment to a NNWS without an IAEA safeguards agreement.
    • The safeguards should comply with Article IV of the NPT, and should not hamper peaceful uses of nuclear technology or economic/technical development in general.
    • Safeguards agreements can be concluded on an individual or group basis.
    • After the entry into force of the NPT, state parties had 180 days to commence negotiation of a safeguards agreement. Currently, state parties must begin negotiations by the date they deposit their instruments of ratification or accession.

  • 22nd March 2021| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 23rd March-

    GS-1  Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms.

    GS-4 Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators;

    Question 1)

    The time has come to insist that the work women perform for the family should be valued equally with men’s work during the continuance of marriage. Do you think that women should be paid ‘salary’ for the domestic household work they perform? Debate. 10 marks

    Question 2)

    The Quad’s ideology of a “diamond of democracies” can only succeed if it does not insist on exclusivity in India’s strategic calculations given that India shares a special place among the Quad members when it comes to its relationship with China. Comment. 10 marks

    Question 3)

    Even as India experienced one of the world’s sharpest economic contractions, it also saw the fastest growth in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows among all the major economies last year. In light of this, examine the factors that are making India an essential part of their growth story? 10 marks

    Question 4)  

    Buddhist teachings can be a good lesson in developing ethics related to use and application of Artificial Intelligence. Comment. 10 marks

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

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  • Factors driving FDI in India

    The article explains the four factors that explain the FDI inflows in India.

    India’s economic decade

    • Almost every major global company is either contemplating or operating on the assumption that India is a key part of their growth story.
    • Google, Facebook, Walmart, Samsung, Foxconn, and Silver Lake have been just a handful of the firms that made huge investments in Inda.
    • As a result, India saw the fastest growth in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows among all the major economies last year.
    • Meanwhile, India’s latest FDI totals still lags behind the highest tallies in other markets such as China and Brazil.

    Issues faced by investors and factors driving investment

    • Frequent shifts in the policy landscape and persistent market access barriers are standard complaints levied against India by the business community.
    • The government’s push to build a “self-reliant” India has also rattled skittish investors and smaller companies that lack the resources to navigate on-the-ground hurdles.
    • Still, investors recognise that doing business in India — or any emerging market  — comes with inherent risks but that adaptation in approach is critical to success.
    • Four core dynamics drive this calculus and explain why multinational companies are making India an essential part of their growth story.

    4 Factors driving FDI in India

    1) India’s population

    • What India offers through its nearly 1.4 billion people and their growing purchasing power is uniquely valuable for multinationals with global ambitions.
    • No other country outside of China has a market that houses nearly one in six people on the planet and a rising middle class of 600 million.

    2) Shifting geopolitics

    •  Rising U.S.-China competition is forcing multinationals to rethink their footprints and production hubs.
    • Savvy countries such as Vietnam have capitalised on this opportunity to great effect, but India is finally getting serious about attracting large-scale production and exports.

    3) Digital connectivity

    • Cheap mobile data have powered a revolution across India’s digital economy and connected an estimated 700 million Indians to the Internet.
    • More than 500 million Indians still remain offline, this is a key reason why leading global tech companies are investing in India and weathering acute policy pressure.
    • Domestic Indian companies have also demonstrated their ability to innovate and deliver high quality services at scale.
    • The partnerships and FDI flows linking multinationals and Indian tech firms will continue to unlock shared market opportunities for years to come.

    4) National resilience

    • Despite facing the scourge of the novel coronavirus head on, India has managed the pandemic better than many of its western peers and restored economic activity even before implementing a mass vaccination programme.
    • These are remarkable developments, and yet they speak to India’s underlying resilience even in the face of historic challenges.

    Shared value creation

    • Unlocking opportunities in the Indian market cannot take the form of a one-way wealth transfer.
    • Companies need to demonstrate their commitment to India.
    • Successful companies do this by placing shared value creation at the heart of their business strategy.
    • They tie corporate success to India’s growth and development.
    • They forge enduring partnerships and lasting relationships, elevate and invest in Indian talent, align products with Indian tastes, and ultimately tackle the hardest problems facing India today.

    Consider the question “Despite the issues faced by the investors, India witnessed the fastest growth in the FDI inflows among all the major economies amid pandemic. In light of this, examine the factors driving the FDI in India.”

    Conclusion

    For leading companies with global ambitions and a willingness to make big bets, the rewards of investing in the Indian market are substantial and well worth pursuing.

  • Myanmar Refugees Issue

    India has sealed all entry points along the border with the southeast Asian neighbour and is closely monitoring to prevent any Myanmar nationals from entering the country.

    Issue: Problem with refugees

    • At least 1,000 people from the adjoining Chin State of Myanmar are said to have crossed over to Mizoram, fearing a military crackdown.
    • The Mizoram government favours providing refuge to the Chins that are ethnically related to the majority Mizos in the State.
    • However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has made it clear that “India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol theron”.

    When did the refugees start arriving?

    • Mizoram began feeling the heat a month after the military coup when three police personnel crossed over to Lungkawlh village in Serchhip district.
    • The influx of Myanmar nationals was reported from Hnahthial, Champhai, Saitual and Serchhip districts.
    • Most of the refugees waded across the Tiau River that runs along much of Mizoram’s 510-km border with Myanmar.

    Try answering this:

    The cross-border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in North-East India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges. (15 Marks)

    Is this the first time this has happened?

    • Extremism, counter-insurgency and sectarian violence have driven people out of Myanmar into India in the past as well.
    • More than 1,200 Buddhists and Christians from Myanmar’s Arakan State had taken refuge in Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district in 2017.
    • They fled their homes after the Myanmar Army clashed with the extremist Arakan Army.
    • The refugees stayed back for more than a year. Thousands of Chins are said to be living in Mizoram for more than 40 years now.

    How porous is the border?

    Unlike India’s border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, much of the border with Myanmar is without any fence.

    • The Assam Rifles personnel guard the border but a tough terrain comes in the way of maintaining airtight vigil.
    • There have been calls to fence the border. Fencing the border would also help in checking the movement of extremist groups to and from Myanmar.
    • Some are against the idea, insisting that a fence would make the “free movement” of border residents into each other’s country difficult.
    • The two countries had in 2018 agreed to streamline the movement of people within 16 km of the border on either side.

    Note: Myanmar has indefinitely stalled the agreement to streamline the free movement of people within 16 km along the border citing domestic issues.

    Mizoram welcomes the refugees

    • As a humanitarian gesture, the Mizoram government has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to Deputy Commissioners of border districts to facilitate the entry of refugees and migrants.
    • The SOP stated that all Myanmar nationals entering Mizoram in connection with the political developments in the country shall be properly identified.
    • The government said those facing a threat to their lives should be treated as refugees, given medical care, relief and rehabilitation and security.

    Where do the Centre and Mizoram stand now?

    • The SOP was revoked on March 6 after the Centre conveyed its displeasure to the State over the development.
    • The State governments have no powers to grant “refugee status to any foreigner”.

  • Emerging crisis of obtaining Helium in India

    India imports helium for its needs and with the U.S. appearing set to cut off exports of helium since 2021, the Indian industry stands to lose out heavily.

    Helium is not just for balloons but it is the key ingredient for India’s high technology and the most sophisticated medical diagnosis.

    Helium on Earth

    • Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2.
    • It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas, the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is the lowest among all the elements.

    Its discovery

    • In 1906 a young Englishman by the name of Moris Travers arrived in Bangalore, to take up the position of the Director of Indian Institute of Science.
    • Travers extracted helium in small quantity by heating up monazite sand abundantly available in Kerala beach, in a pioneering effort.
    • Dutch physicist Kamerlingh Onnes liquefied Helium by cooling the gas to -270 degrees Celsius.
    • It is known that Onnes collected helium gas from the springs of Bath in Baden Baden, Germany for his liquefaction experiment.

    Helium in India

    • India’s Rajmahal volcanic basin is the storehouse of helium trapped for billions of years, since the very birth of our Earth from the Sun.
    • At present, researchers are mapping the Rajmahal basin extensively for future exploration and harnessing of helium.

    Why India needs Helium?

    • Every year, India imports helium worth Rs 55,000 crores from the U.S. to meet its needs.
    • Helium is used in medicine, scientific research, for blimp inflation, party balloons as well as having welding applications.
    • It finds many applications, mainly in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, in rockets and in nuclear reactors.

    US monopoly in Helium

    • The U.S. became the most important exporter of helium across the world.
    • It was soon realized that the U.S. was also the biggest storehouse of helium.
    • The US is now planning to switch off the export of helium from 2021.
    • Qatar is a possible exporter but acute political and diplomatic wrangles have made Qatar unreliable.

  • Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled present day Australia’s

    Using leaf fossils, researchers have found that the Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled present-day Australia’s.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following is the appropriate reason for considering the Gondwana rocks as the most important rock systems of India?

    (a) More than 90% of limestone reserves of India are found in them

    (b) More than 90% of India’s coal reserves are found in them

    (c) More than 90% of fertile black cotton soils are spread over them

    (d) None of the reasons given above is appropriate in this context

    India’s drift

    • About 180 million years ago, India separated from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana and took a long northward journey of about 9,000 km to join Eurasia.
    • During this journey, the subcontinent moved from the southern hemisphere, crossed the Equator to reach its current position in the northern hemisphere.
    • Due to these changing latitudes, it experienced different climatic conditions, and a new study has now tried to map these climatic variations using leaf fossils.

    Clueless over the evolution of monsoon

    • The evolution of the monsoonal climate in India is still debatable and not fully understood.
    • Though recent data indicates that the monsoon system we experience now dates back to about 25 million years, it is still unclear how the climate was during its long voyage.

    Indian research

    • The researchers analysed the morphological characters of fossil leaves collected from Deccan Volcanic Province, East Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Gurha mine in Rajasthan and Makum Coalfield in Assam.
    • The four fossil assemblages were found to be from four different geological ages.
    • It has been observed from across the globe that plant leaf morphological characters such as apex, base and shape are ecologically tuned with the prevailing climatic conditions.
    • The research applied this model to characterize the past monsoon from fossil leaves.

    It’s finding

    • The results indicated that the fossil leaves from India were adapted to an Australian type of monsoon and not the current Indian monsoon system during its voyage.
    • The reconstructed temperature data show that the climate was warm (tropical to subtropical) at all the studied fossil sites with temperatures varying from 16.3–21.3 degrees C.
    • All the fossil sites experienced high rainfall, which varied from 191.6 cm to 232 cm.

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