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Bangladesh is discussing an almost $1 billion loan from China for a comprehensive management and restoration project on the Teesta river. These discussions with China come at a time when India is particularly wary about China following the standoff in Ladakh.
The project is aimed at managing the river basin efficiently, controlling floods, and tackling the water crisis in summers.
India and Bangladesh have been engaged in a long-standing dispute over water-sharing in the Teesta.
How has the Teesta dispute progressed?
The two countries were on the verge of signing a water-sharing pact in September 2011, when PM Manmohan Singh was going to visit Bangladesh.
But, West Bengal CM objected to it, and the deal was scuttled.
After the regime change in 2014, the government hoped that it could reach a “fair solution” on the Teesta through cooperation between central and state governments.
Five years later, the Teesta issue remains unresolved.
Trends in India’s relationship with Bangladesh
New Delhi has had a robust relationship with Dhaka, carefully cultivated since 2008, especially with the Sheikh Hasina government at the helm.
Security: India has benefited from its security ties with Bangladesh, whose crackdown against anti-India outfits has helped the Indian government maintain peace in the eastern and Northeast states.
Trade: Bangladesh has benefited from its economic and development partnership. Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia.
Bilateral trade has grown steadily over the last decade: India’s exports to Bangladesh in 2018-19 stood at $9.21 billion, and imports from Bangladesh at $1.04 billion.
Visas:India also grants 15 to 20 lakh visas every year to Bangladesh nationals for medical treatment, tourism, work, and just entertainment.
Recent irritants in ties
There have been recent irritants in the relationship.
These include the proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed in December last year.
Bangladesh had insisted that while the CAA and the proposed nationwide NRC were “internal matters” of India, the CAA move were “not necessary”.
Chinese affinity with Bangladesh
China is the biggest trading partner of Bangladesh and is the foremost source of imports.
In 2019, the trade between the two countries was $18 billion and the imports from China commanded the lion’s share. The trade is heavily in favour of China.
Recently, China declared zero duty on 97% of imports from Bangladesh. The concession flowed from China’s duty-free, quota-free programme for the Least Developed Countries.
This move has been widely welcomed in Bangladesh, with the expectation that Bangladesh exports to China will increase.
China has promised around $30 billion worth of financial assistance to Bangladesh.
Additionally, Bangladesh’s strong defence ties with China make the situation complicated. China is the biggest arms supplier to Bangladesh and it has been a legacy issue — after its liberation.
Recently, Bangladesh purchased two Ming class submarines from China.
India’s engagement post CAA
Over the last five months, India and Bangladesh have cooperated on pandemic-related moves.
Hasina supported Modi’s call for a regional emergency fund for fighting Covid-19 and declared a contribution of $1.5 million in March 2020. India has also provided medical aid to Bangladesh.
The two countries have also cooperated in railways, with India giving 10 locomotives to Bangladesh.
The first trial run for trans-shipment of Indian cargo through Bangladesh to Northeast states under a pact on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports took place in July.
Bangladesh gave its readiness to collaborate in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, including its trial, and looks forward to early, affordable availability of the vaccine when ready.
Among other issues
The two sides agreed that Implementation of projects should be done in a timely manner and that greater attention is required to development projects in Bangladesh under the Indian Lines of Credit.
Bangladesh sought the return of the Tablighi Jamaat members impacted by the lockdown in India.
Bangladesh requested for the urgent reopening of visa issuance from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, particularly since many Bangladeshi patients need to visit India.
India was also requested to reopen travel through Benapole-Petrapole land port which has been halted by the West Bengal government in the wake of the pandemic.
Way forward
While the Teesta project is important and urgent from India’s point of view, it will be difficult to address it before the West Bengal elections due next year.
What Delhi can do is to address other issues of concern, which too are challenging.
Now, the test will be if India can implement all its assurances in a time-bound manner.
Or else, the latent anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh, which has been revived after India’s CAA -NRC push can permanently damage the historic ties.
Opposing the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project and staking claim to Yamuna’s waters, Punjab CM warned about the repercussions. Here is a look at the decades-old issue and why it has come up again now.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched? (CSP 2017)
Dam/Lake River
(a) Govind Sagar: Satluj
(b) Kolleru Lake: Krishna
(c) Ukai Reservoir: Tapi
(d) Wular Lake: Jhelum
What is the SYL canal issue?
At the time of reorganization of Punjab in 1966, the issue of sharing of river waters between both the states emerged.
Punjab refused to share waters of Ravi and Beas with Haryana stating it was against the riparian principle.
Before the reorganization, in 1955, out of 15.85 MAF of Ravi and Beas, the Centre had allocated 8 MAF to Rajasthan, 7.20 MAF to undivided Punjab, 0.65MAF to Jammu and Kashmir.
Out of 7.20 MAF allocated, Punjab did not want to share any water with Haryana.
In March 1976, when the Punjab Reorganization Act was implemented, the Centre notified fresh allocations, providing 3.5 MAF To Haryana.
Inception of the canal project
Later, in 1981, the water flowing down Beas and Ravi was revised and pegged at 17.17 MAF, out of which 4.22 MAF was allocated to Punjab, 3.5 MAF to Haryana, and 8.6 MAF to Rajasthan.
Finally, to provide this allocated share of water to southern parts of Haryana, a canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna, cutting across the state, was planned.
Finally, the construction of 214-km SYL was started in April 1982, 122 km of which was to run through Punjab and the rest through Haryana.
Haryana has completed its side of the canal, but work in Punjab has been hanging fire for over three decades.
Why has the SYL canal come up again now?
The issue is back on centre stage after the Supreme Court directed the CMs of Punjab and Haryana to negotiate and settle the SYL canal issue.
The apex court asked for a meeting at the highest political level to be mediated by the Centre so that the states reach a consensus over the completion of the SYL canal.
The meeting remained inconclusive with the Centre expressing the view that the construction of the SYL canal should be completed. But Punjab CM refused categorically.
Punjab’s resentment with the project
The dispute is based on the bloody history around the SYL canal. The trouble-torn days of terrorism in Punjab started in the early 1980s when work on the SYL started.
Punjab feels it utilized its precious groundwater resources to grow the crop for the entire country and should not be forced to share its waters as it faces desertification.
It is feared that once the construction of the canal restarts, the youth may start feeling that the state has been discriminated against.
The Punjab CM fears Pakistan and secessionist organisations could exploit this and foment trouble in the state.
Water crisis in Punjab
Punjab is facing severe water crisis due to over-exploitation of its underground aquifers for the wheat/paddy monocycle.
According to the Central Underground Water Authority’s report, its underground water is over-exploited to meet the agriculture requirements in about 79 per cent area of the state.
Out of 138 blocks, 109 are “over-exploited”, two are “critical” five are “semi-critical” and only 22 blocks are in “safe” category.
Punjab expects a new tribunal
The state wants a tribunal seeking a fresh time-bound assessment of the water availability.
The state has been saying that till date there has been no adjudication or scientific assessment of Punjab river waters.
In the last week, India’s online pharmacy market saw two significant merger and acquisition deals. This has suddenly caused activity in a sector from which large investors have shied away due to lack of proper regulations.
Try this easy question:
Q. Discuss the prospects and benefits of online pharmacy in India. (150W)
How is the pharmacy market in India currently shaped?
Unlike the US, where the top three pharmaceutical distributors have a 90 per cent share in the market, India’s is a fragmented market with over 8 lakh pharmacies.
This gives online pharmacies an opportunity to capture their space without opposing large traditional retailers.
Currently, companies in the Indian e-pharmacy space mainly operate three business models — marketplace, inventory-led hybrid (offline/online) and franchise-led hybrid (offline/online) — depending on the way the supply chain is structured.
Rules governing the pharma sector
Work on regulations specifically for e-pharmacies has been in progress for several years now.
In the absence of clear regulations, online pharmacies currently operate as marketplaces and cater to patients as a platform for ordering medicines from sellers that adhere to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules of India.
Other regulations, like the Information Technology Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, also apply.
What do the draft e-pharmacy regulations propose?
Draft rules for e-pharmacies sought to define the online sale of medicines, what an e-prescription means and what type of licences online firms would need to get from regulators to operate.
The draft had proposed to allow e-pharmacies to get a central licence to operate from the country’s apex drug regulator, which could be used to allow it to operate across the country.
It also proposed to define e-pharmacies in a way that would allow them to distribute, sell and stock medicines.
The proposed regulations prevent them from selling habit-forming drugs like cough syrups specified in Schedule X of the Indian drug regulations.
Current status
Regulations for online pharmacy players have been in the works since 2016 but are yet to come out.
The last attempt to clear these regulations saw the draft rules being pushed through two expert committees under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation–India’s apex drug regulatory body–in June 2019.
Online pharma is growing in scale
While Covid-19 and the subsequent behavioural shift towards e-commerce may have catalyzed growth for online pharmacies, the sector was already poised to grow seven-fold by 2023 to $2.7 billion.
This was mainly on account of the challenges faced by physical pharmacies that gave their online counterparts a problem to solve.
Experts believe that e-pharmacies will be able to solve the problems that traditional pharmacies couldn’t.
But for this, they need to have a large-scale presence that calls for either huge investments or consolidation.
Conclusion
The e-pharmacy sector holds immense potential to address the persisting issue of affordability and accessibility of medicines in India.
Steps should be taken to foster the e-pharmacy sector with sufficient safeguards and under regulatory control to protect the interest of the consumers.
The National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE): 2020-2025 documents has been released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Try this question for mains:
Q.What is the role of Financial Education in ensuring financial inclusion in India?
What is the Strategy?
The NSFE for the period 2020-2025, the second one after the 2013-18 NSFE, has been prepared by the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) in consultation with all the Financial Sector Regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA.
Other stakeholders include (DFIs, SROs, IBA, and NPCI) under the aegis of the Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy (TGFIFL) under the Chairmanship of Deputy Governor, RBI.
Key recommendations
The strategy recommends the adoption of a multi-stakeholder approach to achieve financial well-being of Indians.
The document has recommended a ‘5 C’ approach for dissemination of financial education in the country. These include an emphasis on:
development of relevant content in the curriculum in schools, colleges and training establishments,
developing capacity among the intermediaries involved in providing financial services,
leveraging on the positive effect of the community-led model for financial literacy through appropriate communication strategy, and
enhancing collaboration among various stakeholders
Other objectives
The strategic objective is also towards improving usage of digital financial services in a safe and secure manner; as well as bringing awareness about rights, duties and avenues for grievance redressal.
To achieve the vision of creating a financially aware and empowered India, certain strategic objectives have been laid down including:
Inculcating financial literacy concepts among various sections of the population through financial education to make it an important life skill
Encouraging active savings behaviour and developing credit discipline
Indore was declared the cleanest city in India for the fourth consecutive time in the Swachh Survekshan, 2020 — India’s annual survey on cleanliness.
Note the following things about Swachh Survekshan:
1) Nodal Ministry (It is Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs)
2) Authority carrying out the survey
3) Various parameters of the survey
Swachh Survekshan
It is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India.
It ranks India’s cities, towns and states based on sanitation, waste management and overall cleanliness.
It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free of open defecation by 2 October 2019.
The first survey was undertaken in 2016 and covered 73 cities; by 2019 the survey had grown to cover 4237 cities and was said to be the largest cleanliness survey in the world.
Survey methodology
The surveys are carried out by the Quality Council of India. The criteria and weightage for different components of sanitation-related aspects used for the survey were:
a) Municipal documentation (solid waste management including door-to-door collection, processing, and disposal, and open defecation free status. These carried 45 per cent of the total 2,000 marks.
b) Citizen feedback – 30 per cent (450 + 150 marks)
c) Independent observation – 25 per cent (500 marks)
Highlights of the 2020 Rankings
Surat in Gujarat and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra bagged the second and third spot respectively among the cleanest cities with more than a million populations.
Maharashtra’s Karad, Saswad and Lonavala bagged the first three positions for cities having a population less than one lakh.
Among the cities with a population between one and 10 lakh, Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur was declared the cleanest, followed by Mysore in Karnataka.
In fact, Chhattisgarh has ranked the cleanest state in the category of states having more than 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULB). It was followed by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
In 2019, Chhattisgarh was in the third position in the category. The survey found that Chhattisgarh is the first and only state where every city achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF)++ status.
Namath Basai, the State government’s unique programme of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue, has become a runaway hit in Kerala’s tribal districts.
Try this MCQ:
Q. The Namath Basai Programme recently seen in news is related to:
Tribal Education/ Women SHGs/ Forest Produce/ Tribal Health
Namath Basai Programme
The NBP is implemented by the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK).
It has succeeded in retaining hundreds of tribal children in their online classes by making them feel at home with the language of instruction.
The SSK has distributed some 50 laptops exclusively for Namath Basai. Pre-recorded classes are offered through a YouTube channel.
The direct question in the exam from this article is not expected. Nevertheless, it is important to get a general understanding of the important role dollar plays in the world economy and the reasons for any viable alternative to it.
Context
The dollar fell in July to a two-year low against the euro.
When the covid-19 pandemic went global in March, the dollar strengthened on the back of safe-haven flows into US Treasury bonds.
What the depreciation of dollar indicate?
The dollar’s subsequent depreciation reflects the changing prospects of the US and European economies.
Some observers point instead to the agreement by European leaders to issue €750 billion ($884 billion) of European Union (EU) bonds.
With the spread of covid-19 investors expect the Fed to keep interest rates low for longer.
In the eurozone, the virus is under better control, and data from purchasing managers’ surveys are surprising on the upside.
This improving outlook doesn’t mean that the European Central Bank (ECB) will start raising its policy rate in the near future.
Interest rates determine the exchange rates as per the “interest parity” theory.
Factors responsible for holding currency
1) Normally, investors hold a currency when the issuer’s policies are sound and stable.
2) Banks and firms hold a currency when it is useful for invoicing and settling trade with the issuing country.
But President Donald Trump’s administration has done more than any in living memory to disrupt US trade.
3) Governments, for their part, hold and use the currencies of their alliance partners.
Resilience of dollar
The most striking takeaway from recent experience is the dollar’s resilience.
US policy has been risky and erratic.
But President Donald Trump’s administration has done more than any in living memory to disrupt US trade.
Under Trump, the US today is no longer the reliable alliance partner it once was.
Despite all this, countries continue to hold the dollar.
The currency’s international role has not diminished significantly.
It has declined only along select dimensions—its share in central banks’ foreign-exchange reserves, for example—and even there, only marginally.
No alternative
The euro is not an alternative to the dollar.
The stock of safe euro assets remains segmented along national lines.
Nor is the renminbi a viable alternative.
Given heightened tensions with China, no Western government will encourage its residents to depend on the People’s Bank of China for liquidity.
Conclusion
The only solution to this conundrum is more resources for the International Monetary Fund, so that it can supply countries in a crisis with the dollars that a future Fed fails to provide. This, of course, is the solution that John Maynard Keynes offered in 1944, albeit by another name-Bancor.
The Supreme Court in its latest judgement clarified that women’s right to their parents’ property is their birthright and clarified the air of confusion surrounding the issue due to previous judgements.
What was said in the judgement
The judgement highlighted the patriarchal practices of the Mitakshra School of Hindu law — the guiding force of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
It settled the confusion created by two of its own antagonistic judgments.
In Prakash vs Phulawati (2016), it had ruled that the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act (2005) applied only to women whose parents were alive on September 9, 2005, the date of the notification of the act.
In Danamma @ Suman Surpur vs Amar (2018) cases, it inferred that coparcenary rights were birthrights.
The Supreme Court has now set forth the idea that coparcenary rights are birthrights free from limitations imposed by the dates of any legal notifications.
Issues that need to be addressed
1) Stree dhan issue
Section 14 (1) of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 provides that women can acquire property as a full owner, and it can be carried over or retained post marriage as stree dhan.
There are cases where the movable property may have been given to a daughter by her father as an intentionally undeclared and informal settlement between his descendants.
At the same time, it is quite true that stree dhan over time gave way to the unethical and illegal practices of dowry.
But the issue of stree dhan needs to be explained further in the light of this judgment.
The ruling might impact dowry transactions that continue despite stringent anti-dowry laws.
2) Issues in claiming the right to property
In the rural context, where most of the property is in the form of agricultural land claiming the property may not be easy.
With patriarchy, it is doubtful if male heirs will share property-related documents, information.
3) Challenge of societal change
On occasion, the law and courts may turn out to be progressive.
However, we can not expect society to readily accede to progressive reforms.
The challenge for economically dependent women in far-flung rural areas who are denied literacy, dignity and, sometimes, even a name and identity, in securing their rights is immense.
In parts of Bihar, there are areas where women are still addressed by their village names or more commonly as someone’s wife.
Conclusion
Women are asserting their rights, both in conjugal and property matters. However, there are significant cultural, religious, educational barriers and caste and class inequalities that require a massive overhauling of social attitudes to overcome.
Back2Basics: Mitakshra School of Hindu law
In the Mitakshara School, the allocation of parental property is based on the rule of possession by birth.
Moreover, a man can leave his property in his will.
The joint family property goes to the group known as coparceners.
Ther are the people who belong to the next three generations.
Hence, the joint family property by partition can be, at any time, converted into a separate property.
Therefore in Mitakshara School, sons have an exclusive right by birth in the joint family property.
Coparcener
Coparcenary is a term often used in matters related to the Hindu succession law, and coparcener is a term used for a person assumes a legal right in his ancestral property by birth.
