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Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890 and its significance
The skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops at Naku La in Sikkim that is considered settled may be Beijing’s way of attempting a new claim. Defence experts highlighted the historical Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890 as proof of India’s ownership of the territory.

Practice question for mains:

Q. China’s actions on dormant areas mask a hidden agenda of broader assertiveness in the entire Asia-Pacific. Comment.

China creates a new flashpoint
- Referring to a major scuffle that took place at Naku La in May, it was unusual for Chinese troops to open up a part of the LAC that has not been in contention before.
Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890
- Of the entire 3,488km Sino-Indian border, the only section on which both countries agree that there is no dispute is the 220km Sikkim-Tibet section of the boundary.
- This is because under the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890, the Sikkim-Tibet border was agreed upon and in 1895 it was jointly demarcated on the ground.
- Not only that but the new government of People’s Republic of China, which took power in 1949, confirmed this position in a formal note to the government of India on 26 December 1959.
Chinese claims
- Prior to Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975, the Chinese side accepted the Watershed based alignment of the International Border (IB).
- The Sikkim – Tibet boundary has long formally been delimited and there is neither any discrepancy between the maps nor any dispute in practice.
- The Chinese reiterate that, as per para (1) of the Convention of 1890, the tri-junction is at Mount Gipmochi.
India’s stance
- The geographic alignment of the features was so prominent that it could easily be identified and recognized.
- Even analysing the available Google images of the past, the location of Naku La could be discerned by anyone as the watershed parting line in the area was very prominent. “
- There exist no ambiguity with respect to the location of the pass, since geographic realities cannot be altered.
How Sikkim came into the picture?
- Earlier, Sikkim came into the limelight in 1965 during the India-Pakistan conflict, when the Chinese suddenly and without any provocation sent a strongly-worded threat.
- Then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri neatly sidestepped the issue by stating that if the bunkers were on the Chinese side they were well within their rights to demolish them.
- The point that the Chinese were trying to make was not military, but political, for they wanted to bolster the Pakistani spirit, which by then was rapidly losing steam.
- As India stood firm with the backing of USSR and the US, nothing emerged from Chinese threats on the Sikkim-Tibet border.
Series of activity since then
- In 1967, the Chinese again activated the Sikkim-Tibet border and on 11 September, suddenly opened fire on an Indian patrol party near Nathu La pass. The main point was that India did not lose any position, nor did it yield any ground.
- The next important episode was in 2003. When PM Vajpayee conceded during his visit to China in 2003 that “the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) was a part of the PRC” with the expectation that China would recognize Sikkim as a part of India.
- This did not materialize then but in the joint statement issued by premier Wen Jiabao and prime minister Manmohan Singh on 11 April 2005.
- In part 13, the Chinese recognized “Sikkim State of the Republic of India”. Wen even handed over an official map of the People’s Republic of China to Singh, showing Sikkim as a part of India.
Nothing new about the skirmishes over Sikkim
- History would thus indicate that the present stand-off between India and China over the Sikkim-Tibet boundary is nothing new.
- The latest episode after a road construction party entered Doklam area, despite Bhutanese attempts to dissuade them.
Ignoring usual behaviour
- The clearly orchestrated actions on an otherwise dormant area mask a hidden agenda.
- The Chinese push at several points along the LAC and also the ongoing aggression in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits are testimony to this.
- The timeline of initiating this incident indicates a high level of pre-planning, possibly at senior levels of the PLA as well as the Chinese government.
Way forward
- There is no question of India bending to Chinese “demands”, for like in 1967, it must stand its ground firmly.
- That would be a sufficient lesson for the Chinese that the Indian Army is no pushover and this is perhaps the only way to deal with China that likes to flaunt its economic and military prowess.
June 12, 2020
12th June 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

[WpProQuiz 459]

June 12, 2020
Reservation not fundamental right: SC refuses to hear pleas by TN parties
What did the Hon’ble Supreme Court rule?
- Article 16 (4) and 16 (4-A) are in the nature of enabling provisions, vesting a discretion on the State Government to consider providing reservations, if the circumstances so warrant.
- It is settled law that the State Government cannot be directed to provide reservations for appointments in public posts.
- Similarly, the State is not bound to make reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in matters of promotions.
- The judgment added that it is for the State Government to decide whether this was necessary.
What do the precedents say?
- There are several major Supreme Court judgments that have, in the past, ruled that Articles 15(4) and 16(4) does not provide a fundamental right per se.
- A five-judge apex court bench, as early as 1962 in the R. Balaji v. the State of Mysore had ruled that Article 15(4) is an “enabling provision”, meaning that “it does not impose an obligation, but merely leaves it to the discretion of the appropriate government to take suitable action, if necessary”.
- The court was hearing a challenge to an order passed by the erstwhile state of Mysore reserving 68 percent of seats in engineering and medical colleges for educationally and socially backward classes and SCs and STs.
- Five years later, in 1967, another five-judge bench in A. Rajendran v. Union of India reiterated this position, holding that the government is under no constitutional duty to provide reservations for SCs and STs, either at the initial stage of recruitment or at the stage of promotion.
- Article 16(4), it said, does not confer any right on the citizens and is an enabling provision giving discretionary power to the government to make reservations.
- The position went on to be reiterated in several other decisions, including the nine-judge bench ruling in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) and the five-judge bench decision in M Nagaraj v. Union of India (2006).
What does the judgment mean?
- Reservations are not rights: The latest judgment is a reminder that affirmative action programs allowed in the Constitution flow from “enabling provisions” and are not rights as such.
- Not a new legal position: This legal position is not new. Major judgments- these include those by Constitution Benches-note that Article 16(4), on the reservation in posts, is enabling in nature.
- The state is not bound to provide reservation: In other words, the state is not bound to provide reservations. But if the state provides reservations, it must satisfy the following two criteria-
  - For the backward class: It must be in favor of sections that are backward.
  - Inadequately represented: And inadequately represented in the services based on quantifiable data.
Consequences of this judgment
- Possibility of the unequal system: Some may even read into this an inescapable state obligation to extend reservation to those who need it, lest its absence renders the entire system unequal.
- Possibility of perceptible imbalance: For instance, if no quotas are implemented and no study on backwardness and extent of representation is done, it may result in a perceptible imbalance in social representation in public services.
Why reservation needed?
- To correct the historical injustice faced by backward castes in the country.
- To provide a level playing field for backward section as they can not compete with those who have had the access of resources and means for centuries.
- To ensure adequate representation of backward classes in the services under the State.
- For advancement of backward classes.
- To ensure equality as basis of meritocracy i.e all people must be brought to the same level before judging them on the basis of merit.
Argument Against Reservation
- Reservation in state services led to divisions and enmity among government employees, vitiating the atmosphere at workplace.
- Eradication, not perpetuation of caste was the objective of the reservation policy but Caste Based Reservation only perpetuate the notion of caste in society.
- Reservation was introduced to ensure that the historically underprivileged communities were given equal access to resources but irrespective of the economic progress they continue to remain socially disadvantaged.
- Reservation destroys self-respect, so much so that competition is no longer on to determine the best but the most backward.
- Reservations are the biggest enemy of meritocracy which is the foundation of many progressive countries.
- It has became a tool to meet narrow political ends through invoking class loyalties and primordial identities.
- The dominant and elite class within the backward castes has appropriated the benefits of reservation and the most marginalised within the backward castes have remained marginalised.
- Reservation has become the mechanism of exclusion rather than inclusion as many upper caste poors are also facing discrimination and injustice which breeds frustration in the society.
Way forward
- Meanwhile, calls for reform and rethinking reservation policies get louder; one question is whether there’s a need to continue with reservation and if benefits have reached targets.
- The challenge for India is that while many sections of the society remain disadvantaged, political action has resulted in the relative discrimination within reserved groups.
- As the reservation pie grows larger, in effect, it becomes a method of exclusion rather than inclusion.
- It is time that India has to make a critical assessment of its affirmative action programs.
- Simplification, legislative sunsets, and periodic reviews should be important principles in the redesign.
June 12, 2020
Guidelines for Import of Exotic Species
The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has issued an advisory saying people importing “exotic live species” will have to make a voluntary disclosure.

Practice questions for mains:

Q. What are Zoonotic Diseases? Discuss how the illicit trade in wildlife has resulted in the spread of zoonotic diseases of the scale of the ongoing COVID-19?

What is the new Advisory?
- According to the advisory, the phrase “exotic live species” includes “animals named under the Appendices I, II and III of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”.
- It does not include species from the Schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
- This will create a process where all imports will be screened.
- As of now, the imports are being made through the Director-General of Foreign Trade and State Forest departments are not kept in the loop.
- For new “exotic live species”, the importer should obtain a no-objection certificate from the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the State.
- For existing species, stocks shall be declared by the owner/ holder (stock, as on 1 January 2020) to the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the concerned State or UT.
Why need such advisory?
- Many exotic species of birds, reptiles and amphibians are imported into India for commercial purposes.
- Some of the most sought after exotic species in India are Ball python, Scarlet Macaw, sea turtles, sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps), marmoset and grey African parrots.
- These imports were happening through the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), but they were beyond the purview of the forest departments and the chief wildlife wardens weren’t aware of them.
- Wildlife experts have long been asking for stringent laws and guidelines to document and regulate numbers of exotic species being kept as pets by individuals and breeders in India.
Significance
- The move comes as the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has raised global concern about illegal wildlife trade and zoonotic diseases.
- Often these species are illegally trafficked into the country to avoid lengthy documentation and scrutiny.
Issues with guidelines
- Matters such as the spread of invasive species as well as zoonotic diseases had not been taken care of in the advisory.
- There is a growing domestic trade in exotic species of wildlife that is unfortunately not listed under the various appendices of CITES (such as sugar gliders, corn snakes).
- Hence limiting the scope of the latest advisory to only those species covered under CITES drastically limits the scope of the advisory itself.
- It does not have the force of law and could potentially incentivize illegal trade by offering a long amnesty period.
Back2Basics: CITES
- CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
- It is as an international agreement aimed at ensuring “that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival”.
- It was drafted after a resolution was adopted at a meeting of the members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1963.
- It entered into force on July 1, 1975, and now has 183 parties.
- The Convention is legally binding on the Parties in the sense that they are committed to implementing it; however, it does not take the place of national laws.
- India is a signatory to and has also ratified CITES convention in 1976.
CITES Appendices
- CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls.
- All import, export, re-exports and introduction from the sea of species covered by the convention has to be authorized through a licensing system.
It has three appendices:
- Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade-in specimens of these species are permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
- Appendix II provides a lower level of protection.
- Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling trade.
June 12, 2020
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ‘India Rankings 2020’
The National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking list has been released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

Practice question for mains:

Q. What is NIRF? Discuss the parameters and methodology used in the ranking. Also, discuss its key features and limitations.

About NIRF
- The NIRF is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of HRD to rank institutions of higher education in India.
- The Framework was approved and on 29 September 2015.
- There are separate rankings for different types of institutions depending on their areas of operation like universities and colleges, engineering institutions, management institutions, pharmacy institutions and architecture institutions.
- The ranking framework evaluates institutions on five broad generic groups of parameters, i.e. Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR).
Why need such rankings?
- Rankings help universities to improve their performance on various ranking parameters and identify gaps in research and areas of improvement.
- The ranking is necessary for transparency and healthy competition.
Highlights of the 2020 rankings
- IIT Madras retains 1^st Position in Overall Ranking as well as in Engineering,
- Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the University list.
- IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management Category and AIIMS occupies the top slot in Medical category for a third consecutive year.
- Miranda College retains 1^st position amongst colleges for a third consecutive year.
- Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Delhi secures 1^st position in “Dental” category, dental institutions included for the first time in India Rankings 2020.
June 12, 2020
NITI Aayog bats for Border Adjustment Tax (BAT)
A notable NITI Aayog member has favoured imposing a Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) on imports to provide a level-playing field to domestic industries.

Note how BAT is different from the Custom Duties on imports. Refer to our B2B section.

What is the proposed Border Adjustment Tax?
- BAT is a duty that is proposed to be imposed on imported goods in addition to the customs levy that gets charged at the port of entry.
- It is proposed to be a non-creditable levy on imported goods. The idea is to bring similar goods in the imported and domestic baskets at par.
Why need BAT?
- Generally, BAT seeks to promote “equal conditions of the competition” for foreign and domestic companies supplying products or services within a taxing jurisdiction.
- The Indian industry has been complaining to the government about domestic taxes like electricity duty, duties on fuel, clean energy cess, mandi tax, royalties, biodiversity fees that get charged on domestically produced goods as these duties get embedded into the product.
- But many imported goods do not get loaded with such levies in their respective country of origin and this gives such products price advantage in the Indian market.
Will it be WTO compatible?
- Countries that are members of Geneva-based global watchdog WTO have locked the upper limits of customs levies for product lines that they trade-in.
- Any additional duty that gets imposed by WTO members are scoffed upon and in many instances, extra customs duties led to countries being dragged to international arbitration under WTO.
- Commerce Ministry believes that the proposed extra customs duty through the Border Adjustment Tax is compatible with global trade norms.
- Officials maintain that Article II: 2(a) of GATT allows for import charge that is equal to the internal tax of the country with respect to a “Like Product” or an item from which the imported product is made. Legal opinion on the proposed levy has also been taken.
Back2Basics: Customs Duty
- It refers to the tax imposed on the goods when they are transported across international borders.
- The objective behind levying customs duty is to safeguard each nation’s economy, jobs, environment, residents, etc., by regulating the movement of goods, especially prohibited and restrictive goods, in and out of any country.
Customs duties are charged almost universally on every good which are imported into a country. Some of these are:
- Basic Customs Duty (BCD)
- Countervailing Duty (CVD)
- Protective Duty
- Anti-dumping Duty etc.
June 12, 2020
Nature Index, 2020
India has ranked twelfth, globally in science research output as per the recently-released Nature Index table 2020. The top five positions have gone to the United States of America, China, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan.

Note: This nature index has nothing to do with nature conservation. It has only mentioned the rankings of research institutes in natural and physical sciences.

What is the Nature Index?
- The Nature Index is a database of author affiliation information collated from research articles published in an independently selected group of 82 high-quality science journals.
- It serves as an indicator of high-quality research in the Natural and Physical Sciences.
- The database is compiled by Nature Research, a division of the international scientific publishing company Springer Nature that publishes academic journals.
- The index provides a close to the real-time proxy of high-quality research output and collaboration at the institutional, national and regional level.
India’s achievements
- Globally the top-rated Indian institutions in this list are CSIR, a group of 39 institutions at the 160th position and IISc Bangalore at the 184^th
- Three of the autonomous institutions of the DST have found their place among the top 30 Indian Institutions.
- Keeping out CSIR, which is a cluster of institutions, IACS Kolkata is among the top three institutions in quality Chemistry Research in India.
- NCASR Banglore ranks 4^th among academic institutions in life sciences, 10^th in Chemistry and Physical Sciences, 10^th among Indian academic institutions, and 469^th in the global ranking.
June 12, 2020
Species in news: Indian Gaur
The first population estimation exercise of the Indian gaur carried out in the Nilgiris Forest Division has revealed that more than an estimated 2,000 Indian gaurs inhabit the entire division.

Try this question from CSP 2012:

Q. Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?(2012)

(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda and Asiatic Wild Ass

(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetal, Blue Bull and Great Indian Bustard

(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey and Saras (Crane)

(d) Lion-tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur and Cheetal

Indian Gaur
- The Indian Gaur also called the Indian bison is one of the largest extant bovines found in India.
- It is native to South and Southeast Asia and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986.
- The global population has been estimated at maximum 21,000 mature individuals by 2016.
- It declined by more than 70% during the last three generations, and is extinct in Sri Lanka and probably also in Bangladesh.
- In Malaysia, it is called Seladang and Pyaung in Myanmar. The domesticated form of the gaur is called Gayal (Bos frontalis) or Mithun.
- They are highly threatened by poaching for trade to supply international markets, but also by opportunistic hunting, and specific hunting for home consumption.
June 12, 2020
Lonar Lake colour changes to pink
The colour of water in Maharashtra’s Lonar Lake, formed after a meteorite hit the Earth some 50,000 years ago, has changed to glaring.

Make a note of all saltwater lakes in India. Few of them are Pulicat, Pangong Tso, Chilika, and Sambhar Lakes etc.

About Lonar Lake
- Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, saline (pH of 10.5), Soda Lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra.
- It was created by an asteroid collision with earth impact during the Pleistocene Epoch.
- It is one of the four known, hyper-velocity, impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth.
- It sits inside the Deccan Plateau—a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock created by eruptions some 65 million years ago.
- Its location in this basalt field suggested to some geologists that it was a volcanic crater.
Why there’s a color change?
- The salinity and algae can be responsible for this change.
- There is no oxygen below one meter of the lake’s water surface.
- There is an example of a lake in Iran, where water becomes reddish due to increase in salinity.
- The level of water in the Lonar Lake is currently low as compared to the few past years and there is no rain to pour fresh water in it.
- The low level of water may lead to increased salinity and change in the behaviour of algae because of atmospheric changes.
June 12, 2020
Eye-Opener Coming Up! Catch the First Basic Polity Prelims Test (13th June) to Re-imagine How You Look At UPSC Prelims
Click here to enroll for the Prime Prelims TS 2021

What was it that initially made Great Britain bleed but subsequently helped it to secure a smashing victory in the second world war? Enigma it was. Alan Turing built the “Turing Machine” that helped decrypt the seemingly unbreakable German Code. Then something very astonishing followed. Great Britain exploited the loopholes of the Enigma itself and the Germans lost without having the slightest hint of Enigma being compromised.

For a UPSC Aspirant, isn’t the “unpredictable” paper setting pattern of UPSC a modern-day Enigma? But what if there was a “Turing Machine” that could break into this “Unbreakable” code of UPSC? For your amusement, there is one.

Talking about UPSC Civil Services Prelims, mock test series has become a Categorical Imperative. But which one truly breaks the “UPSC Enigma”? How about one made by Frontline Warriors themselves (Veteran Aspirants) who have successfully cleared prelims five or six times consecutively? Isn’t the collective wisdom of these “Alan Turings” the closest version of a “UPSC Turing Machine”?

Now, Let me speak about the test in question. It’s the first test of the newly launched Prelims Test Series for 2021 by CivilsDaily. It’s a Basic Polity Test. Let’s see how it is the first step towards breaking the “UPSC Enigma”:
1. CD Special Questions:
These questions are special due to their;
- Mind-Twisting Nature (Deceptive questions that fool you exactly as UPSC does in the real exam)
- Exclusiveness (These Perspectives / Themes are only available in CD tests).
Have a look –

Q.1) Consider the following statements with reference to Political parties:
1. The Constitution of India explicitly recognizes political parties as power-wielding institutions.
2. The Constitution of India provides criteria to determine National Party Status.
Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Try guessing the right answer to this seemingly simple question.

2. Tikdams:

These are Logical Solving Techniques that help you attempt questions despite having little or no idea about the question. It’s almost like getting a master key to the prelims paper. Have a look –

Q.2) Consider the following statements regarding a joint sitting of Parliament:
1. The provision of joint sitting is not applicable to a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
2. In the absence of the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha presides over the Joint Sitting.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

The test explains this basic question by using a Technique we call “Master Shifu” (assuming you don’t know the correct answer).

3. Evidence-Based Question Framing:

To keep close to the real demand of the exam. Have a look –

Q.3) Which of the following is/are not the Directive Principles of State Policy based on Socialist principles?
1. Free legal aid to the poor.
2. Participation of workers in the management of industries.
3. Protection and improvement of the environment.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 2 only

c. 2 and 3 only

d. 3 only

Now, UPSC has asked multiple questions on the orientation of DPSPs. You can’t afford to err on a probable question that may be asked on similar lines.

4. Is the test really BASIC?

Framing random questions irrespective of the difficulty level of the tests is like serving the same wine in different bottles. Have a look –

Q.4) Consider the following articles of the Indian Constitution:
1. Article 16
2. Article 29
3. Article 14
Which of the above articles reveal the Secular character of the Indian state?

a. 1 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 1 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

The motive to incorporate such questions in the basic test is to garner a general idea of the topics before you as an aspirant are mentally ready to face the advanced tests.

5. Conceptual vs Factual Categorisation:

It lets you realize your comparative strength in different types of questions. Have a look –

Q.5) Consider the following statements with reference to Directive Principles of State Policy:
1. The basic aim of DPSPs is to set up political democracy.
2. They put positive obligations on the state.
Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Now, this is a basic Conceptual question. If you get this wrong, you need to rework the concepts of DPSPs.

Now, look at this question –

Q.6) Which of the following statements with reference to the Emergency Powers of the President is/are correct?
1. He can declare National Emergency even before the onset of war.
2. He must be communicated in writing for declaration of National Emergency by the Union Cabinet.
3. He can suspend Fundamental Rights during the National Emergency.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

a. 1 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 1 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

This is a plain factual question. If you get this wrong, you need to memorize Emergency Provisions even more meticulously.

So come be a part of our “UPSC Enigma” Breaking Endeavour. Like Great Britain, we shall emerge VICTORIOUS.

Click here to enrol for the Prime Prelims TS 2021
June 12, 2020

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