The Central government has decided to rope in the private sector to commence production of concentrated poppy straw from India’s opium crop.
What is the move?
The move aims to boost the yield of alkaloids, used for medical purposes and exported to several countries.
Among the few countries permitted to cultivate the opium poppy crop for export and extraction of alkaloids, India currently only extracts alkaloids from opium gum at facilities controlled by the Revenue Department.
This entails farmers extracting gum by manually lancing the opium pods and selling the gum to government factories.
The Ministry has now decided to switch to new technologies after trial cultivation reports submitted last year by two private firms showed higher extraction of alkaloids using the concentrated poppy straw (CPS).
Opium Poppy
The milky fluid that seeps from cuts in the unripe poppy seed pod has, since ancient times, been scraped off and air-dried to produce what is known as opium.
The seedpod is first incised with a multi-bladed tool.
This lets the opium “gum” ooze out.
The semi-dried “gum” is harvested with a curved spatula and then dried in open wooden boxes.
The dried opium resin is placed in bags or rolled into balls for sale.
Why such a move?
India’s opium crop acreage has been steadily declining over the years.
The CPS extraction method is expected to help cut the occasional dependence on imports of products like codeine (extracted from opium) for medical uses.
Amendments to NDPS Act
Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the three traditionally opium-growing States, where poppy crop cultivation is allowed based on licences issued annually by the Central Bureau of Narcotics.
While roping in private players in producing CPS and extracting alkaloids from it is likely to require amendments to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The Revenue Department has decided to appoint a consultant to help frame the bidding parameters and concession agreements for the same.
A Union Minister has launched NanoSniffer, the world’s first Microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup.
Can you name some explosives?
NanoSniffer
NanoSniffer is a 100% Made in India product in terms of research, development & manufacturing.
It can detect explosives in less than 10 seconds and it also identifies and categorizes explosives into different classes. It detects all classes of military, conventional and homemade explosives.
It gives visible & audible alerts with a sunlight-readable colour display.
NanoSniffer provides trace detection of the nano-gram quantity of explosives & delivers result in seconds.
It can accurately detect a wide range of military, commercial and homemade explosives threats.
Further analysis of the algorithms also helps in the categorization of explosives into the appropriate class.
When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders meet later this year, they will debate the recommendations from a group of experts that advocates, among other things, extending a formal offer of partnership to India.
Such an idea has been discussed before but has always delayed on India’s aversion to entanglement in rival geopolitical blocs.
NATO: A backgrounder
NATO was found in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its purpose was to secure peace in Europe, to promote cooperation among its members and to guard their freedom – all of this in the context of countering the threat posed at the time by the Soviet Union.
NATO is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949.
It sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.
Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
NATO has spread a web of partners, namely Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Finland.
Why was it founded?
Communist sweep in Europe post-WWII and rise of Soviet dominance
After World War II in 1945, Western Europe was economically exhausted and militarily weak, and newly powerful communist parties had arisen in France and Italy.
By contrast, the Soviet Union had emerged from the war with its armies dominating all the states of central and Eastern Europe.
By 1948 communists under Moscow’s sponsorship had consolidated their control of the governments of those countries and suppressed all non-communist political activity.
What became known as the Iron Curtain, a term popularized by Winston Churchill, had descended over central and Eastern Europe.
And the US (the torchbearer of individual liberty and the master of democracy) had to enter (for no reasons) …
In 1948 the United States launched the Marshall Plan.
It infused massive amounts of economic aid to the countries of western and southern Europe on the condition that they cooperate with each other and engage in joint planning to hasten their mutual recovery.
As for military recovery, under the Brussels Treaty of 1948, the UK, France, and the Low Countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—concluded a collective-defense agreement called the Western European Union.
It was soon recognized, however, that a more formidable alliance would be required to provide an adequate military counterweight to the Soviets.
Ideology of NATO
The NATO ensures that the security of its European member countries is inseparably linked to that of its North American member countries.
It commits the Allies to democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law, as well as to peaceful resolution of disputes.
It also provides a unique forum for dialogue and cooperation across the Atlantic.
The Article 5
The heart of NATO is expressed in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, in which the signatory members agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.
NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in 2001, after the September 11 attacks organized by exiled Saudi Arabian millionaire Osama bin Laden destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City and part of the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., killing some 3,000 people.
NATO and its present relevance: China on radar
The end of the Cold War precipitated NATO’s identity crisis. With the US at the centrestage, the organization pivoted away from its longtime focus on collective defence against Moscow.
In December 2019, US made it clear that China is now on NATO’s radar screen.
Following continuous pressure by the Trump administration, the alliance agreed in April 2019 to initiate a study of China’s more assertive role on the international stage.
This culminated in NATO formally acknowledging, in its December 2019 summit declaration about China’s growing influence and international policies present both opportunities and challenges.
Why NATO should focus on China?
China presents a novel and complex challenge for NATO and it cannot rush into a confrontation. Four important considerations dominate NATO’s approach.
(1) China is not the Soviet Union
Beijing has far greater economic clout; modern Chinese citizens, unlike their earlier Soviet (and Chinese) counterparts, now live in a more market-oriented society.
The US and Chinese economies are intertwined in a way that differ markedly from the US and Soviet experience in the Cold War.
Despite talk of “decoupling,” China is continuing to integrate into global financial markets, which is something the Soviet Union never did.
(2) It dwells on new tasks
NATO is well-suited to take on new responsibilities thanks to the ambiguity of its founding text.
That is not, however, the case with China. Aside from internal difficulties, NATO is not facing an immediate threat to its survival, nor does it need new functions to justify its relevance.
(3) Repairing Transatlantic Divisions
There has been some limited transatlantic convergence in recent years, as the European Union has toughened its stance, labeling China a “systemic rival” in 2019.
Furthermore, the pandemic’s origins in China and the Beijing government’s initial response to the virus have given more voice to those who see China as a threat.
Recently, the United States and Europe have quietly increased their cooperation when trying to tackle China, such as over the Belt and Road Initiative.
India and NATO
During the Cold War, India’s refusal was premised on its non-alignment. That argument had little justification once the Cold War ended during 1989-91. Since then, NATO has built partnerships with many neutral and non-aligned states.
Reasons for India’s reluctance
India’s real problem is not with NATO, but with Delhi’s difficulty in thinking strategically about Europe. This inhibition has deep roots.
Through the colonial era, Calcutta and Delhi viewed Europe through British eyes. After Independence, Delhi tended to see Europe through the Russian lens.
In the last few years, Delhi has begun to develop an independent European framework but has some distance to go in consolidating it.
Talking to NATO ought to be one important part of India’s European strategy.
As the Cold War enveloped the world, nuancing Europe became harder in Delhi. India began to see West Europe as an extension of the US and Eastern Europe as a collection of Soviet satellites.
Why should India join NATO?
Core to NATO’s future is its standing as an alliance of democracies, particularly given that its principal strategic competitors are China and Russia, major authoritarian powers.
(1) Non-alignment is irrelevant
Non-alignment is a worn-out misnomer. India is under no illusions that a truly non-aligned path remains a viable option.
China’s meteoric rise has dramatically heightened India’s need for closer security relationships with politically reliable, like-minded states.
India’s policy of equidistance, with tilts towards Russia and China, is not viable enough to meet the juggernaut of China’s power in Indo-Pacific.
(2) India is already partner with its members
An India-NATO dialogue would simply mean having regular contact with a military alliance, most of whose members are well-established partners of India.
India has military exchanges with many members of NATO — including the US, Britain, and France — in bilateral and minilateral formats.
(3) Strategic benefits
Longer-term, India would derive military-strategic benefits from partnership with the world’s most powerful alliance.
In the event of a conflict, India would benefit from having prior planning and arrangements in place for cooperating with NATO and its Mediterranean partners.
(4) Technological benefits
Partnering with NATO also carries technological benefits.
Under a US Act, India now enjoys the same technology-sharing and cost-sharing perks as other non-NATO US allies for purposes of the Arms Export Control Act.
It could also help to offset the growing concerns and negative scrutiny that India is increasingly attracting in Congress for its disproportionate reliance on Russian military equipment.
(5) Membership would not corner ties with Russia
Russia has not made a secret of its allergy to the Quad and Delhi’s alliance with Washington.
Putting NATO into that mix is unlikely to make much difference. Delhi, in turn, can’t be happy with the deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing.
As mature states, India and Russia know they have to insulate their bilateral relationship from the larger structural trends buffeting the world today.
Way forward
To play any role in the Indo-Pacific, Europe and NATO need partners like India, Australia and Japan.
Delhi, in turn, knows that no single power can produce stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. India’s enthusiasm for the Quad is recognition of the need to build coalitions.
More broadly, an institutionalized engagement with NATO should make it easier for Delhi to deal with the military establishments of its 30 member states.
On a bilateral front, each of the members has much to offer in strengthening India’s national capabilities.
India’s continued reluctance to engage a major European institution like NATO will be a stunning case of strategic self-denial.
Conclusion
NATO is not offering membership to India; nor seems New Delhi interested. At this issue is the question of exploring potential common ground.
A pragmatic engagement with NATO must be an important part of India’s new European orientation, especially amidst the continent’s search for a new role in the Indo-Pacific.
Treaties are concluded in the national interest purely. Hence India should think of NATO.
UPSC Interviews 2020 schedule is out and it’s going to start from 26th April. Transcend 2020’s mock interviews will start from 11th April.
A one-to-one session on DAF analysis with VP sir is also planned for 10th April. You will get an opportunity to discuss your DAF and get an idea on how to improve upon the weak areas. Click here to book your slot.
About Transcend 2020: IGP mock interviews
Mock Interviews at Civilsdaily form a crucial part of UPSC interview preparation. The quality and diversity of the panel help prepare an aspirant for the actual interview at UPSC.
Aspirants have benefited greatly from the mock interview and the feedback they get from the panel members after their mock interview. At the same time, we work with the aspirants to improve upon the areas highlighted by the panel.
Aspirants will also get a personalized DAF-based questionnaire based on extensive research and linkages with the issues of national and international importance.
Upcoming Mock interview and session
1-1 session with VP sir: 10th April
First mock interview- 11th April (Book your slot)
Time: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Mode:Online
Interview slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tentative: Shri Harsh V. Pant (Observer Research Foundation), Shri SN Tripathi, IAS (Director IIPA), Shri Yogesh Narain (Retd. Defence Secretary), Shri Dipankar Gupta (Indian Sociologist), and others.
You all are supposed to submit your DAFs and selfie videos answering four questions provided to you. These will form the basis for mock interviews, DAF analysis, and personalized DAF-based questionnaire.
Interview Club on Habitat brings together senior bureaucrats, serving officers, UPSC mentors, toppers and peers under one roof for a collaborative and cohort based learning and preparation for the UPSC interviews.
From today onwards our we are starting a special session on Habitat’s Transcend: Interview Guidance Club to take up activities directed towards specific dimensions of the Personality Test.
This week’s schedule for these sessions is as follows:
Thursday 08/04/2021: Hobby discussion
Friday: Home state discussion
Saturday: Prizes, Sports, leadership position
Monday: Roleplaying & Situation Reaction Test (SRT)
The article deals with the counterinsurgency strategies to deal with the issues of left wing extremism in India
Threat of left-wing extremism
The killing of 22 security personnel by Maoists serves as a grim reminder that left-wing insurgency continues to be one of the biggest internal security threats for the country.
In the past few years, Maoist violence seemed to have been on a downward spiral.
The figures associated with the key indicators of violence like the number of incidents also support the contention that “insurgency is on the downward spiral”.
But the attack should thus serve as a wake-up call to those who had begun to get complacent about the Maoist threat.
Approach in counterinsurgency strategy
One school believes that given the Maoist insurgency posturing itself as a “people’s war”, the mandate is for a people-centric approach of “winning hearts and minds”.
Others argues that an enemy-centric approach predicated on kinetic operations is best suited for the Maoist insurgency, where the fear of the population seceding from India is remote.
The success of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh in curbing the Maoist problem is often attributed to this enemy-centric approach.
However, there is robust scholarly work available that shows that the Andhra government based its counterintelligence strategy on a judicious mix of the enemy-centric and population-centric approaches.
Andhra Pradesh had successfully implemented short-gestation-period developmental works in the Maoist-affected rural areas.
Moreover, the erstwhile state is also the first state to have a comprehensive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy.
After the 2014 guidelines of the central government were brought out, many states have crafted attractive surrender and rehabilitation policies.
Another important question is whether the government should keep the option of talking to Maoists open.
The willingness to talk to rebel groups seems to incentivise insurgents and may demonstrate that violence pays.
But bringing an end to civil war invariably involves negotiating with the enemy.
Way forward
Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses.
This will need institutional overhauls.
In the last decade or so, insurgency-affected states have started to raise special forces on the lines of Greyhounds.
These forces are being given rigorous training in “counter-guerrilla” tactics and jungle warfare.
Besides, the jungles around the interstate borders have always been the preferred hiding spaces for the Maoists.
States must do more to synergise their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for manoeuvrability.
These efforts need to be supplemented by well-crafted development schemes.
It is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.
The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.
But the bigger challenge would be to create a system where the tribal population feels that the government is representative, not repressive.
Opening negotiation channels and policies like surrender and rehabilitation can give such a representative sense to the rebels.
Consider the question “Discuss the causes of left wing extremism in India. Suggest the way forward to deal with the issue.”
Conclusion
The government needs to follow these policies to end the challenge of left wing extremism from India.
A tradition of a century and a half is set to be broken in Jammu and Kashmir, with only “sensitive records” being taken from Jammu to Srinagar this summer during the “Durbar Move”.
Discuss the feasibility, benefits and constraints caused by multiple administrative capitals in Indian states with special context to Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Andhra Pradesh. (250W)
Durbar Move
Durbar Move is a bi-annual shifting of the Civil Secretariat and other offices of the state government from Jammu to Srinagar in summer, and vice versa in winter.
This is done as Jammu & Kashmir has two capitals: Kashmir during summer and Jammu during winter.
In Jammu, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of April and reopen in Srinagar on the first Monday after a gap of a week.
In Kashmir, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of October, to reopen in Jammu on the first Monday after a week’s gap, in November.
The reasons why
Durbar Move is a tradition started 149 years ago started by the erstwhile Dogra rulers who hailed from Jammu but had expanded their boundaries to Kashmir including what is now Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are very different from one another geographically, linguistically and culturally, and in those days were poorly connected by road.
It is generally understood that the Durbar Move was started to take the administration to the doorstep of the people of Kashmir which is closer to Ladakh.
During summer, ruling from Kashmir also helped in ensuring adequate supplies to Ladakh, which is closer to Kashmir than Jammu, before the winter snowfall would cut off Ladakh.
The practice also enabled greater interaction and bonding among the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
The effort
Until 2019, the administration used to engage hundreds of trucks and buses for carrying office records and officials from one capital city to another.
For safe transportation, the Jammu & Kashmir police and paramilitary forces would dominate the entire Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Apart from the expenses incurred on hiring trucks and buses, the moving staff also used to be paid TA and DA, besides arrangements for their accommodation.
The criticism
Voices of protest started during the late 1980s, over the amount of money and time spent on the exercise.
However, the practice also enjoyed public support.
In recent years, many criticised the government for spending nearly Rs 200 crore on this exercise every year when it did not have enough funds even to pay salary to its employees.
Last year, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court observed that there was no legal justification or constitutional basis for the Darbar Move tradition.
The court recommended that in case the practice was rationalized, the resources and time saved could be utilized towards the welfare and development of the UT.
The money saved could also be used to address Covid-related issues like food shortage, unemployment and healthcare.
What next?
The UT government has decided to switch to e-governance, will all office records converted into digital format.
As a result, while the Secretariat employees and some offices will move from Jammu to Srinagar, as usual, this year, only sensitive records will be shifted from one place to another.
The CVC has modified the guidelines pertaining to the transfer and posting of officials in the vigilance units of government organisations, restricting their tenure to three years at one place.
Revise all statutory and constitutional bodies from your Polity Book at least 2-3 times before the prelims.
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
CVC is an apex governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption.
In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC.
It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India.
It advises various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
Its establishment
It was set up by the Government Resolution on 11 February 1964, on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam.
N Srinivasa Rau was selected as the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.
Composition
The Commission shall consist of:
A Central Vigilance Commissioner – Chairperson;
Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners – Members.
The CVC and other VCs shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of the PM (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs (Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
The Supreme Court has unveiled its Artificial Intelligence (AI) portal SUPACE, designed to make research easier for judges, thereby easing their workload.
SUPACE
A pet project of the former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, the SUPACE is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.
The Supreme Court’s system is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for input for a decision.
The CJI had then said that AI is to the intellect, what muscle memory is to the mind.
Its’ utility
SUPACE will produce results customized to the need of the case and the way the judge thinks.
This will be time-saving. It will help the judiciary and the court in reducing delays and pendency of cases.
AI will present a more streamlined, cost-effective and time-bound means to the fundamental right of access to justice.
It will make the service delivery mechanism transparent and cost-efficient.
The results from the Muon g-2 experiment show that fundamental particles called muons behave in a way that is not predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
After genetics, AI and the blockchain, Particle Physics is making several headlines these days. This is something intuitive.
What is Muon?
Fermilab, the American particle accelerator, has released first results from its “muon g-2” experiment.
These results spotlight the anomalous behaviour of the elementary particle called the muon.
The muon is a heavier cousin of the electron and is expected to have a value of 2 for its magnetic moment, labelled “g”.
Now, the muon is not alone in the universe.
It is embedded in a sea where particles are popping out and vanishing every instant due to quantum effects.
So, its g value is altered by its interactions with these short-lived excitations.
Main characteristic: Anomalous magnetic moment
The Standard Model of particle physics calculates this correction, called the anomalous magnetic moment, very accurately.
The muon g-2 experiment measured the extent of the anomaly and announced that “g” deviated from the amount predicted by the Standard Model.
That is, while the calculated value in the Standard Model is 2.00233183620 approximately, the experimental results show a value of 2.00233184122.
They have measured “g” to an accuracy of about 4.2 sigma when the results are combined with those from a 20-year-old experiment.
This makes physicists sit up and take note, but it is not yet significant enough to constitute a discovery – for which they need a significance of 5 sigma.
The g factor
The muon is also known as the fat electron.
It is produced copiously in the Fermilab experiments and occurs naturally in cosmic ray showers.
Like the electron, the muon has a magnetic moment because of which, when placed in a magnetic field, it spins and processes, or wobbles, slightly, like the axis of a spinning top.
Its internal magnetic moment, the g factor, determines the extent of this wobble.
As the muon spins, it also interacts with the surrounding environment, which consists of short-lived particles popping in and out of a vacuum.
The article highlights the important role played by the Lok Adalats in dispute resolution and raises concerns over underminig of justice for the sake of speedy disposal.
Background of Lok Adalat
The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, inserted Article 39A to ensure “equal justice and free legal aid”.
To this end, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, was enacted by Parliament and it came into force in 1995.
The Act seeks “to provide free and competent legal services to weaker sections of the society” and to “organise Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity”.
As an alternative dispute resolution tool, Lok Adalats are regularly organised to help parties reach a compromise.
Motor-accident claims, disputes related to public-utility services, cases related to dishonour of cheques, and land, labour and matrimonial disputes (except divorce) are usually taken up by Lok Adalats.
Significance of Lok Adalats
As per the National Judicial Data Grid, 16.9% of all cases in district and taluka courts are three to five years old.
For High Courts, 20.4% of all cases are five to 10 years old, and over 17% are 10-20 years old.
Furthermore, over 66,000 cases are pending before the Supreme Court, over 57 lakh cases before various HCs, and over 3 crore cases are pending before various district and subordinate courts.
Moreover, Lok Adalats are economically affordable, as there are no court fees for placing matters before the Lok Adalat; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed.
As a result, litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party-driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement.
Why Lok Adalats are fast
When compared to litigation, and even other dispute resolution devices, such as arbitration and mediation, Lok Adalats offer parties speed of settlement.
Cases are disposed of in a single day.
The speed is due to procedural flexibility, as there is no strict application of procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
More importantly, the award issued by a Lok Adalat, after the filing of a joint compromise petition, has the status of a civil court decree.
Some figures about cases disposed
In 2015 and 2016, ten National Lok Adalats (NLAs) were held each year that disposed of 1,83,09,401 and 1,04,98,453 cases respectively.
In 2017 and 2018, the number of NLAs dropped to five, with 54,05,867 and 58,79,691 cases settled respectively.
In 2019, four NLAs were organised, and they disposed of 52,93,273 cases.
In 2015, the average number of cases settled per NLA was 18,30,940, which came down to 10,81,174 in 2017, but rose to 11,75,939 in 2018, and 13,23,319 cases in 2019.
This throws up questions about the efficiency of NLAs.
The data show that the average number of cases disposed of per NLA since 2017 has gone up even when the number of NLAs organised each year has reduced.
This proves that on average, the system is certainly efficient.
Concerns
The Supreme Court, inState of Punjab vs Jalour Singh (2008), held that a Lok Adalat is purely conciliatory and it has no adjudicatory or judicial function.
As compromise is its central idea, there is a concern that in the endeavour for speedy disposal of cases, it undermines the idea of justice.
In a majority of cases, litigants are pitted against entities with deep pockets, such as insurance companies, banks, electricity boards, among others.
In many cases, compromises are imposed on the poor who often have no choice but to accept them.
Similarly, poor women under the so-called ‘harmony ideology’ of the state are virtually dictated by family courts to compromise matrimonial disputes under a romanticised view of marriage.
Even a disaster like the Bhopal gas tragedy was coercively settled for a paltry sum, with real justice still eluding thousands of victims.
Consider the question “Examine the significance of Lok Adalats as an alternative dispute resolution tool. What are the concerns with speedy disposal of cases by Lok Adalats?”
Conclusion
A just outcome of a legal process is far more important than expeditious disposal, so what we need is concrete and innovative steps in improving the quality of justice rendered by National Lok Adalats.
