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  • Species in news: Great Indian Bustard

    The critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has adopted an altogether new behaviour of giving clutch of two eggs at a time after getting additional protein diet during the monsoon season.

    Great Indian Bustards

    • GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India, the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican, and the Bengal florican.
    • GIBs’ historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent but it has now shrunken to just 10 percent of it. Among the heaviest birds with flight, GIBs prefer grasslands as their habitats.
    • GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland.

    Protection accorded

    • Birdlife International: uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
    • Protection under CITES: Appendix I
    • IUCN status: Critically Endangered
    • Protection under Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule I

    Threats

    • Overhead power transmission
    • Poor vision: Due to their poor frontal vision, can’t detect powerlines in time and their weight makes in-flight quick maneuvers difficult.
    • Windmills: Coincidentally, Kutch and Thar desert are the places that have witnessed the creation of huge renewable energy infrastructure.
    • Noise pollution: Noise affects the mating and courtship practices of the GIB.
    • Changes in the landscape: by way of farmers cultivating their land, which otherwise used to remain fallow due to frequent droughts in Kutch.
    • Cultivation changes: Cultivation of cotton and wheat instead of pulses and fodder are also cited as reasons for falling GIB numbers.

    On the brink of extinction

    • The GIB population in India had fallen to just 150.
    • Pakistan is also believed to host a few GIBs and yet openly supports their hunting.

    Supreme Court’s intervention

    • The Supreme Court has ordered that all overhead power transmission lines in core and potential GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat should be undergrounded.
    • The SC also formed a three-member committee to help power companies comply with the order.

    Conservation measures

    • In 2015, the Central government launched the GIB species recovery program.
    • Under the program, the WII and Rajasthan Forest departments have jointly set up conservation breeding centers where GIB eggs are harvested from the wild.
    • They have been incubated artificially and hatchlings raised in a controlled environment.

    Try this PYQ

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    Protected Area: Well-known for

    1. Bhiterkanika, Odisha — Salt Water Crocodile
    2. Desert National Park, Rajasthan — Great Indian Bustard
    3. Eravikulam, Kerala — Hoolock Gibbon

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched? (CSP 2014)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    Post your answers here.

     

     

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  • Labour policies need to change for better quality livelihoods

    Context

    • One of the biggest economic fallout of the pandemic has been the deteriorating labour market conditions.
    • Given the ebb and flow of the pandemic, the growth recovery is likely to be fragmented and will weigh on the number and types of jobs available.

    What is quality and sustainable livelihood?

    • “A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.’’

    Sustainable livelihoods objectives

    • improved access to high-quality education, information, technologies and training and better nutrition and health;
    • a more supportive and cohesive social environment;
    • more secure access to, and better management of, natural resources;

    Definition of labour welfare

    • Labour welfare relates to taking care of the well-being of workers by employers, trade unions, governmental and non-governmental institutions and agencies.
    • Welfare includes anything that is done for the comfort and improvement of employees and is provided over and above the wages.

    Why labour law is needed

    • Labour law aims to correct the imbalance of power between the worker and the employer; to prevent the employer from dismissing the worker without good cause; to set up and preserve the processes by which workers are recognized as ‘equal’ partners in negotiations about their working conditions etc.

    Constitutional mandate

    • Article 41 – The state shall within the limits of its economic capacity and development make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of underserved want.
    • Article 42 – The state shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.

    Challenges in labour welfare in India

    • Technical glitches: Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the concurrent list where both the Central and State Governments are competent to enact legislations. As a result, a large number of labour laws have been enacted catering to different aspects of labour e.g. occupational health, safety, employment etc.
    • Loopholes: Because of the predominantly heavy handed labour regulations (also called as Inspector Raj) with exploitable gaps, the MNCs and domestic organizations have resorted to alternate ways i.e. employing contract labour at less than half the payroll of a permanent employee.
    • Gaps in labour laws: One of the main reasons for labour reforms is the concept of contract labour. Trade Unions suggest that this concept itself should be removed. There is stringent hiring and firing process defined in Industry Disputes Act. It makes it mandatory for the organization to seek Government permission before removing an employee.

    Global best practices  

    • Universal basic income pilot project: For two years Finland’s government gave 2,000 unemployed citizens €560 a month with no strings attached. It was the first nationwide basic income experiment. The concept is slowly becoming difficult for people to ignore.

    How will dynamic policies and labour codes respond?

    • Labour productivity: It is likely to improve with both employees and employers developing a sense of being partners in wealth creation.
    • Labour reform: A transparent environment in terms of workers’ compensation, clear definition of employee rights and employer duties.
    • Compliance un-burdening: Simplified labour codes making compliance easier are likely to attract investments.
    • Formalization of the economy: With more workers in the organized sector, leakage in terms of direct as well as indirect taxes may be plugged.

    Conclusion

    • The guiding principle for India’s labour policy reformers should not merely be ring fencing jobs but safeguarding workers through social assistance, re-employment support (such as that which is provided in several Western nations) and skill building, and supporting employers in employee training and development.

    Mains question

    Q. Why there is need to make labour policies more dynamic? Do you think universal basic income approach will be the best way forward for achieving quality livelihood?

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  • Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

    The Supreme Court has ordered status quo on the implementation of a Delhi High Court order to hand over the affairs of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to a Committee of Administrators (CoA).

    Why in news?

    • The FIFA had recently gone ahead and suspended the AIFF, citing “third party interference”, leaving an air of uncertainty on the prospect of India hosting the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in October.
    • The governance of the AIFF had similarly been transferred to a CoA by the Supreme Court.

    Delhi HC case

    • The high court had passed the order on a petition seeking a direction for redrafting of the IOA constitution in accordance with the National Sports Code, 2021.

    Controversy with IOC

    • According to IOC rules, if any national body is governed by a non-elected body, it is seen as interference by a third party.
    • The moment the CoA takes charge, there is 99 per cent chance that India and our sportspersons will get suspended from all international events and Olympic Games.

    Olympics and India

    • India first participated in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris.
    • The country was represented by Norman Pritchard, an Anglo Indian who was holidaying in Paris during that time.
    • The seeds for creation of an organisation for coordinating the Olympic movement in India was related to India’s participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.
    • Back then, Sir Dorabji Tata suggested the need for a Sports body at National level for promoting Olympic Sport in united India.
    • After the 1920 Games, the Committee sending the team to these Games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorabji Tata, invited Dr. A.G. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to also join them.

    Establishment of Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

    • Subsequently, in 1923-24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was set-up, which organised the All India Olympic Games in February 1924.
    • Eight athletes from these Games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck.
    • This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was formed, with Sir Dorabji Tata as its founding President and Dr. A.G. Noehren as Secretary.
    • The same year as it was formed, 1927, the Indian Olympic Association was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

    Also read

    Better time for Sports in India: PM

     

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  • Long road ahead: Towards women empowerment

    Context

    • Gender parity is not recovering, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022. It will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap.
    • As crises are compounding, women’s workforce outcomes are suffering and the risk of global gender parity backsliding further intensifies.

    Why in news?

    • India has one of the world’s lowest female labour force participation rates (LFPR).
    • This means the productive potential of half of the population goes unutilized.

    What is women’s empowerment all about?

    • Women’s empowerment can be defined to promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.

    Why it is needed?

    • Human resource: Empowerment of women is a necessity for the very development of a society, since it enhances both the quality and the quantity of human resources available for development.
    • Sustainable development: Women’s empowerment and achieving gender equality is essential for our society to ensure the sustainable development of the country.

    Constraints in women empowerment

    • Illiteracy: Illiteracy has been found as major constraints for the attainment of women Empowerment in the nation. It is the rate of literacy which governs the reservation, takeover and competition among women for their right in country. Female child are less privileged for attaining schools.
    • Discriminatory nature of male towards female: In India, since the olden days, the men have been in control of politics, social, economical as well as cultural and traditional spheres of life.
    • Religious and cultural beliefs: This is another important constraint of women’s empowerment in India which tightens up the female population. It is because of unknowing believes and following superstitions.
    • Less participation of women in political field: In particular, women them self involves less in the political filed. Their participation is very insignificant in political issues and right as compared to male population.

    What happens if we don’t act?

    • Economical losses: Evidence shows that economic disempowerment of women can result in losses of 10% of GDP in industrialized economies and over 30% in South Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa.
    • Work opportunities: India’s GDP could grow by nearly ₹3 trillion if women were brought into the labour market and given access to formal, ‘decent’ work opportunities.

    Case study

    Mahila Sanatkar a craftswomen cooperative located in Hyderabad.

    Economic and social  effects: It  is  noticeable  some  social  results  such  as  skill building, self-confidence  enhancement,  the  mobility acquired  by the  women.

    What is needed to improve women’s welfare?

    • Community sensitization: Persistent effort must be directed toward community sensitization to root out patriarchal social norms.
    • Directional efforts: In addition to enforcing existing regulations like minimum wages, there must be supportive ancillary policies including childcare; secure transport; lighting; safety at work; and quotas in hiring, corporate boards, and politics to foster more  women  in  leadership.
    • Universal social mobilization: Identification and inclusion of the poor remains a challenge. There is need to develop community resource persons for participatory identification of poor.
    • Training, Capacity Building & Skill Upgradation: There is lack of appropriate training plans, quality training and availability of expert training institutions.
    • Universal Financial Inclusion: Lack of uniform financial management systems at all tiers of SHGs has impacted the growth in bank accounts, improvement in financial literacy, and absorption capacity of community members.
    • Multiple & Diversified Livelihoods: There is lack of progressive leadership for inclusiveness of small-sized enterprises at the federal level. Market/ forward linkages, is largely missing.

    Conclusion

    • If we improve women’s labour force participation, not only do we harness the massive productive potential of half of the population, but their earnings will yield enormous dividends for the future of the country and economy.

    Mains question

    Q. What do you consider as true women empowerment? Assess the constraints for the same and give directional efforts needed to overcome it.  

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  • Lessons for India from the Taiwan standoff

    Context

    The brief visit by the United States House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, against stern warnings issued by China, has the potential to increase the already deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China. For those of us in India watching the events as they unfold around Taiwan, there are valuable lessons to be learnt.

    Background

    • The crisis that began with the visit of Ms. Pelosi to Taipei is still unfolding and there is little clarity today on how it will wind down.
    •  For China, its claims about a rising superpower might ring hollow if it is unable to unify its claimed territories, in particular Taiwan.
    • For the U.S., it is about re-establishing steadily-diminishing American credibility in the eyes of its friends and foes.
    • For Taiwan, it is about standing up to Chinese bullying and making its red lines clear to Beijing.
    • Lessons for India: To be fair, there is growing recognition in New Delhi that it is important to meet the challenge posed by a belligerent China, but there appears to be a lack of clarity on how to meet this challenge.
    • To that extent, the Taiwan crisis offers New Delhi three lessons, at the very least.

    Takeaways for India

    1] Articulate red lines

    • The most important lesson from the Taiwan standoff for policymakers in New Delhi is the importance of articulating red lines and sovereign positions in an unambiguous manner.
    •  New Delhi needs to unambiguously highlight the threat from China and the sources of such a threat.
    • Any absence of such clarity will be cleverly utilised by Beijing to push Indian limits, as we have already seen.
    • Stop confusing international community: Even worse, ambiguous messaging by India also confuses its friends in the international community.
    • If India does not clearly articulate that China is in illegal occupation of its territory, how can it expect its friends in the international community to support India diplomatically or otherwise?
    • In other words, India’s current policy amounts to poor messaging, and confusing to its own people as well as the larger international community, and is therefore counterproductive.

    2] Avoid appeasement

    • Taiwan could have avoided the ongoing confrontation and the economic blockade during Chinese retaliatory military exercises around its territory by avoiding Ms. Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, or perhaps even keeping it low key.
    • Appeasement of China, Taiwan knows, is not the answer to Beijing’s aggression.
    •  India’s policy of meeting/hosting Chinese leaders while the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continue(d) to violate established territorial norms on the LAC is a deeply flawed one.
    • Unilaterally catering to Chinese sensitivities even during the standoffs between the two militaries is a mistake.
    • For instance, the parliamentary delegation visits and legislature-level dialogues between India and Taiwan have not taken place since 2017.
    • Soft-peddling of the Quad was a mistake: During the 2000s, India (as well as Australia) decided to soft-peddle the Quad in the face of strong Chinese objections.
    • It is only in the last two years or so that we have witnessed renewed enthusiasm around the Quad.
    • In retrospect, appeasing Beijing by almost abandoning the Quad was bad strategy.

    3] Economic relationship is a two way process

    • Given that the economic relationship is a two-way process and that, as a matter of fact, the trade deficit is in China’s favour, China too has a lot to lose from a damaged trade relationship with India.
    • More so, if the Taiwan example (as well as the India-China standoff in 2020) is anything to go by, trade can continue to take place despite tensions and without India making any compromises vis-à-vis its sovereign claims.
    • India for sure should do business with China, but not on China’s own terms.

    Conclusion

    The recent crisis offers valuable lessons for India in its dealing with China.

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  • A new global vision for G20

    Context

    While India has taken a clear view of the role of the G20, there is concern that the agenda, themes and focus areas which India will set for 2023 lack vision.

    What is G-20?

    • Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
    • Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
    • To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
    • In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
    • The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.

    Significance of G20 in shaping global order

    • The G20 plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.
    • It recognises that global prosperity is interdependent and economic opportunities and challenges are interlinked.
    • The challenge is to craft new approaches to overcome the acute global discord.

    Why we need new model of cooperation

    • Multilateral commitments are faltering: Governance in a world that is steadily becoming more equal needs institutional innovation.
    • This is because the role of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in securing cooperation between donor and recipient country groups is losing centrality.
    •  There are now three socio-economic systems — the G7, China-Russia, and India and the others — and they will jointly set the global agenda.
    • Strategic competition: Ukraine conflict, rival finance, the expanding influence of the trade and value chains dominated by the U.S. and China, and the reluctance of developing countries to take sides in the strategic competition as they have a real choice requires fresh thinking.
    • Preventing the clash of ideas through reorientation: The primary role of the G20, which accounts for 95% of the world’s patents, 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and 65% of the world population, needs to be reoriented to prevent a clash of ideas to the detriment of the global good.
    • The solution lies in a new conceptual model seeking agreement on an agenda limited to principles rather than long negotiated anodyne text.

    What should be on agenda when India hosts G20 in 2023

    1] Underlining the need for new framework

    • Redefining common concerns: First, the presumed equality that we are all in the same boat, recognised in the case of climate change, needs to be expanded to other areas with a global impact redefining ‘common concerns’.
    • Second, emerging economies are no longer to be considered the source of problems needing external solutions but source of solutions to shared problems.
    • Third, the BRICS provides an appropriate model for governance institutions suitable for the 21st century where a narrow group of states dominated by one power will not shape the agenda.
    • Ensuring adequate food, housing, education, health, water and sanitation and work for all should guide international cooperation.
    • Principles of common but differentiated responsibilities for improving the quality of life of all households can guide deliberations in other fora on problems that seem intractable in multilateralism based on trade and aid.

    2] Collaboration around science and technology

    •  The global agenda has been tilted towards investment, whereas science and technology are the driving force for economic diversification, sustainably urbanising the world, and ushering the hydrogen economy and new crop varieties as the answer to both human well-being and global climate change.
    •  A forum to exchange experiences on societal benefits and growth as complementary goals would lead to fresh thinking on employment and environment.

    3] Redefining digital access as universal service

    • Harnessing the potential of the digital-information-technology revolution requires redefining digital access as a “universal service” that goes beyond physical connectivity to sharing specific opportunities available.
    • For global society to reap the fruits of the new set of network technologies, open access software should be offered for more cost-effective service delivery options, good governance and sustainable development.

    4] Collaboration in space technology

    • Space is the next frontier for finding solutions to problems of natural resource management ranging from climate change-related natural disasters, supporting agricultural innovation to urban and infrastructure planning.
    • Analysing Earth observation data will require regional and international collaboration through existing centres which have massive computing capacities, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

    5] Collaboration in health sector

    • Public health has to learn from the COVID-19 fiasco with infectious diseases representing a market failure.
    • A major global challenge is the rapidly growing antimicrobial resistance which needs new antibiotics and collaboration between existing biotechnology facilities.

    6]  Avoiding strategic competition

    • Overriding priority to development suggests avoiding strategic competition.
    • Countries in the region will support building on the 1971 UNGA Declaration designating for all time the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace and non-extension into the region of rivalries and conflicts that are foreign to it.

    7] Reviving Global Financial Transaction Tax

    •  A Global Financial Transaction Tax, considered by the G20 in 2011, needs to be revived to be paid to a Green Technology Fund for Least Developed Countries.

    Conclusion

    Given the significance of G20 for the global order it should lead the way in formulating the new framework based on collaboration in areas such as science and technology, innovation and away from aid and trade.

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  • 18th August 2022| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1        Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

    GS-2        Devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

    GS-3        Internal Security

    GS-4      Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.

    Question 1)

    Q.1 Tribals in India continue to face myriad challenges with regard to healthcare. Discuss the issues faced by them in this context and suggest remedial measures. (10 Marks)

    Question 2)

    Q.2 Stating the sources of finance for local self-governments in India, suggest ways to strengthen their financial position. (10 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3 Discuss the factors that have helped sustain Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in India. What steps has the government taken in recent times to counter LWE? (10 Marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4 Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service: (a) Transparency (b) Accountability (c) Fairness and Justice (d) Courage of Conviction (e) Spirit of service. (10 Marks)

    HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

    1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

    2. A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.

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  • Q.4 Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service: (a) Transparency (b) Accountability (c) Fairness and Justice (d) Courage of Conviction (e) Spirit of service. (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Explain the meaning of the terms.
    • Mention their relevance in civil services.

  • Q.3 Discuss the factors that have helped sustain Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in India. What steps has the government taken in recent times to counter LWE? (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Give a brief introduction about history of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in India.
    • Briefly discuss the factors which help in the sustenance of LWE.
    • Enlist the measures taken by the government in this regard.
    • Conclude accordingly.

  • Q.2 Stating the sources of finance for local self-governments in India, suggest ways to strengthen their financial position. (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Briefly state the Constitutional provisions related to local self-governments in India.
    • Highlight their sources of finance.
    • Suggest measures to strengthen the finances of the local self-governments in India.
    • Conclude accordingly.

  • Q.1 Tribals in India continue to face myriad challenges with regard to healthcare. Discuss the issues faced by them in this context and suggest remedial measures. (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Introduce with a note on the status of tribal health in India.
    • Elaborate on various healthcare-related challenges faced by tribals.
    • Suggest remedial measures for these challenges.
    • Give a brief conclusion.

  • India’s response to Sri Lanka and Myanmar crises is a study in contrast

    Context

    There is a stark contrast contrast between the Indian response to the crisis in Sri Lanka and the dawning civil war in Myanmar.

    Crisis in Myanmar

    • According to UN human rights monitors, over 2,000 people have been killed, around 14,000 are in prison, including 90 lawmakers, over 7,00,000 are refugees and half a million internally displaced.
    • Humanitarian aid to coup opponents is blocked.
    • The economy is in free fall.
    • Though the international community has not accepted the junta or its nominees as official representatives of Myanmar, it has not recognised the unity government as the legitimate successor of the pre-coup elected administration either.
    • Its armed wing, the recently-formed People’s Defence Force (PDF), exists in a shadowy limbo.
    • If it is too weak to impose significant costs on the junta, one root cause is the lack of support from neighbours.
    • As against Europe’s military support for Ukraine’s defence, no Asian country has stepped up to support the unity government and PDF.
    • Role of ASEAN:  It is ASEAN which shouldered the responsibility to mediate in Myanmar, whereas India took the initiative with Sri Lanka.
    • But ASEAN has been largely unsuccessful.
    • The five-point consensus that the junta agreed on with the regional grouping included an immediate end to violence and resumption of negotiations between the ousted administration and the Tatmadaw.
    • ASEAN’s reaction has been weak at best.
    • The US, EU, Australia and Canada announced targeted sanctions on the junta, and the EU imposed an embargo on arms sales to the country. ASEAN did not.

    India’s response and issues with it

    • The contrast between the Indian response to the crisis in Sri Lanka and the dawning civil war in Myanmar could not be starker.
    • There is no support from the India administration for Mizoram’s aid effort, and apparently there is no Indian policy vis a vis the coup either.
    • Cooperation against cross-border insurgency: Given our land and sea borders with Myanmar, and the troubled history of cross-border insurgencies between our two countries, the India’s inertia is alarming, though not entirely surprising.
    • Successive Indian administrations maintained relations with the junta in the hope that they would cooperate against cross-border Indian armed groups.
    • But these insurgencies have reduced.
    • In fact, over the 10 years of Myanmar’s partial democracy, from 2011 to 2021, cross-border support for Indian insurgents dipped sharply.
    • Direct security interest: In other words, we have a direct security interest in the restoration of our neighbour’s democracy.

    Way forward

    • Stringent sanctions: Sanctions that will starve the junta are a first step that Myanmar’s neighbours are yet to try.
    • While ASEAN has the initiative, all Myanmar’s neighbours need to unite on sanctions, especially nations such as Japan, Australia and India that are members of the Quad along with the US.
    • Myanmar ought to have topped the recent Quad summit’s agenda and it is shameful that it did not.
    • It is still not too late to call a virtual emergency meeting of Quad heads of state, along with ASEAN heads of state, to agree to stringent sanctions.

    Conclusion

    Our neighbourhood is more unstable today than it has been for decades. Four of our bordering countries are in free fall, while China’s grip comes closer to our shores by the hour. Can India afford to fiddle while wildfires ignite around us?

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  • 19th August 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    19th August 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 1090]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 1090]

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  • 18th August 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    18th August 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 1089]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 1089]

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  • India, Bangladesh, Pakistan: What east can teach west

    Context

    The bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh dominated by endless contentions at the turn of the millennium has transformed into a very productive partnership.

    Contrast between India’s relations with Bangladesh and Pakistan

    • The persistence of cross-border terrorism, the conflict over Kashmir, the militarisation of the frontier, little connectivity, poor trade relations and no formal inter-governmental negotiations paint a bleak picture of the India-Pak border.
    • The inability of successive generations of Indian and Pakistani leaders to bring a closure to Partition in the west makes the talk of a “100-year war” credible.
    • The only trend that can counter this pessimism is the good news from India’s eastern frontier with Bangladesh.
    • In contrast to the talk of a 100-year war between India and Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have proclaimed a “sonali adhyay” or “golden chapter” in bilateral relations.
    • While the unresolved land and maritime territorial disputes constitute one of the main problems in India’s relations with Pakistan, their resolution with Bangladesh transformed the context of bilateral relations.
    • For both Delhi and Dhaka, the reinvention of the bilateral relationship has been one of the most significant successes of their recent foreign policies

    Rebuilding the Bangladesh-India ties after 2010

    • The work on rebuilding ties began in earnest in 2010, when Sheikh Hasina came to India after taking charge of Bangladesh as prime minister for the second time in 2009.
    • Addressing bilateral problems: Both sides embarked on an extraordinary effort to address most bilateral problems—including border settlement, river water sharing, cross-border terrorism, market access to Bangladeshi goods, and connectivity.
    • The land boundary deal got parliamentary approval in 2015 in India.
    • India also accepted the award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on settling the maritime boundary dispute between Delhi and Dhaka. 
    • Security cooperation: Cooperation on cross-border terrorism that began a couple of years earlier helped build much-needed political trust between the two national security establishments.
    • Connectivity: On the connectivity front, we have seen a substantive movement towards reopening the border that was largely shut down after the 1965 war between India and Pakistan.
    • Trans-boundary bus services, reopening of railway lines, and the revitalisation of waterways are restoring connectivity in the eastern subcontinent that was severed.
    • Bilateral trade: Bilateral trade volumes have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years touching nearly $16 billion last year.
    • Bangladesh is one of India’s top export markets.
    •  India and Bangladesh have also developed inter-connected power grids facilitating Dhaka’s purchase of power from India.
    • It currently buys about 1200 MW of power from India and an additional 1500 MW is in the pipeline.
    • Development of the northeastern India: Today the northeastern states have realised the immense benefits of deeper economic engagement with Bangladesh — none of them more important than ending the geographic isolation of the region.
    • Assam today is at the forefront of imagining a bolder agenda for deepening economic ties with Bangladesh.
    • Peace and prosperity in the region: For India, the expansive partnership with Bangladesh has significantly eased its security challenges and laid the basis for peace and prosperity in the eastern subcontinent.
    • For Bangladesh, discarding the temptation to balance India and embark on a cooperative strategy has allowed Dhaka to focus on its economic growth and lift itself in the regional and global hierarchy.

    Way forward

    • Consolidating the gains: Rather than regret the unfortunate dynamic on the western frontier and bemoan Pakistan’s reluctance to let the SAARC become a vehicle for regional cooperation, Delhi should focus on consolidating the “golden moment” in the east.
    • The issues that need resolution are protecting the rights of minorities, sharing the waters of more than 50 rivers, promoting cross-border investments, managing one of the longest borders in the world, facilitating trade and preventing illegal migration, countering forces of religious extremism, promoting maritime security in the Bay of Bengal, expanding defence cooperation, and mitigating climate change in the shared regional environment to name a few.
    • Solving problems and tending to the relationship must necessarily be a continuous effort rather than episodic.

    Conclusion

    Nor can Delhi and Dhaka take each other for granted and let domestic politics overwhelm the logic of bilateral cooperation. The 75th anniversary of independence offers Delhi and Dhaka a special opportunity to elevate the ambition for their bilateral partnership.

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  • Macrovariable projections in uncertain times

    Context

    The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate again by a whopping 0.75%. The Reserve Bank of India has also been forced to raise interest rates further but also take other steps.

    Two challenges for policymakers

    • Decisions in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting are based on what the members of the MPC see as the likely course of the economy in the months ahead.
    • But, the trajectory of the world economy, and its likely impact on the Indian economy, is imponderable.
    • So, Indian policymakers would face two crucial problems.
    • 1] Uncertainty due to war and Covid-19: First, the main uncertainty is due to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the resultant economic sanctions on Russia, as well as the zero-COVID-19 policy in China that repeatedly implements lockdowns leading to global supply bottlenecks.
    • 2] Uncertainty in data: Policy has to base itself on data.
    • If it is deficient, it introduces additional uncertainty, making projections for the future difficult and causing policies to fail.
    • This will compound the problem that results from the global uncertainty.

    Role of uncertainties related to Covid and Ukraine war

    • Since early 2020, the SARS-COV-2 virus has caused global uncertainty.
    •  In a globalised interdependent world, production was hit resulting in price rise (inflation) and loss of real incomes.
    • This has resulted in decline in demand and, in a vicious cycle, a further slowing down of the economy.
    • As prices have risen globally and economies slowed down, many countries have faced stagflation.
    • Decline in uncertainty: The uncertainty due to the novel coronavirus has declined in spite of waves of attack persisting because the impact of new virus mutants of the virus is milder and there is also immunity due to vaccination.
    • However, China is an exception with its zero-COVID policy.
    •  It has been implementing strict lockdowns in the last six months, even when only a few cases of the disease have been detected.

    The uncertainties due to Ukraine conflict

    • The war in Ukraine and western sanctions on Russia have caused huge uncertainty since February 2022 (when Russia invaded Ukraine) and displaced the disease-related uncertainty, i.e., COVID-19.
    • The reason is that the war is a proxy war between two powerful capitalist blocs.
    • There is needless continuing suffering of the people of Ukraine, with a bombardment of cities, and this could escalate.
    • The war and the sanctions have already affected the world economy and the Europeans in particular.
    • The U.S. economy has entered technical recession with two quarters of GDP decline.
    • As supplies of critical items supplied by Russia and Ukraine have been hit, prices have soared.
    • Europe, the United States and India have experienced or are experiencing high inflation.
    • The biggest disruption is in energy supplies from Russia, impacting production.
    • The availability of food, fertilizers, metals, etc., have been hit as Ukraine and Russia are important sources.
    • To weaken Russia, sanctions may be imposed on countries that carry out trade with it.
    • Many Indian entities may face the heat since India has increased its imports from Russia, which undermines sanctions.
    • China may also face sanctions since it has increased trade with Russia and is backing it.

    Data related uncertainties

    • Indian policymakers also face data-related issues.
    • It is not only available with a big lag on most macroeconomic variables but for many variables, data are either not available or has huge errors.
    • Errors in data: Policymakers rely on high frequency data to proxy for actual data.
    • For example, very little data are available for quarterly GDP data which is used to calculate the growth rate of the economy.
    • First, except for agriculture, unorganised sector data is not available.
    • Second, for the organised sector, very limited data are available.
    • Third, projections from the previous year or proxies are used — both these introduce errors when there are repeated shocks to the economy, such as the pandemic and now the war.
    • Issues with price data: Price data too are problematic.
    • The services sector is under-represented.
    • Prices of many services have risen and expenditures on them have increased dramatically, thus changing their weight in the consumption basket.
    • Common CPI: Further, the consumer price index is common for the upper classes and the poor.
    •  Earlier, there was a different index for various categories of people, which reflected the differential impact of inflation on people.
    • This gave a truer picture of the economy and peoples’ distress.

    Conclusion

    Indian policymakers face the unenviable task of predicting the course of the economy for the next few months and even the year (or years) ahead because of the shocks and faulty and inadequate data. The problem is compounded by international factors.

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  • China’s problem with top US senator visiting Taiwan

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, landed in Taiwan, ignoring Chinese threats and a warning by President Xi Jinping to “not play with fire”.

    Why in news?

    • Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is the highest-level visit by an American official to the island in a quarter century.
    • The senior US politician has been critical of China on multiple fronts over the decades.

    US defiance of One China Policy

    • The US has maintained a ‘One China’ policy since the 1970s, under which it recognises Taiwan as a part of China.
    • But it has unofficial ties with Taiwan as well — a strategy that is known as strategic or deliberate ambiguity.
    • Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China, threatens it frequently, and has not ruled out taking the island by military force at any time.

    Why does China have a problem with Pelosi visiting Taiwan?

    • For China, the presence of a senior American figure in Taiwan would indicate some kind of US support for Taiwan’s independence.
    • This move severely undermined China’s perception of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    Brief history of China-Taiwan Tensions

    • Taiwan is an island about 160 km off the coast of southeastern China, opposite the Chinese cities of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen.
    • It was administered by the imperial Qing dynasty, but its control passed to the Japanese in 1895.
    • After the defeat of Japan in World War II, the island passed back into Chinese hands.
    • After the communists led by Mao Zedong won the civil war in mainland China, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the nationalist Kuomintang party, fled to Taiwan in 1949.
    • Chiang Kai-shek set up the government of the Republic of China on the island, and remained President until 1975.
    • Beijing has never recognised the existence of Taiwan as an independent political entity, arguing that it was always a Chinese province.

    Taiwanese stance

    • Taiwan says that the modern Chinese state was only formed after the revolution of 1911.
    • It was not a part of that state or of the People’s Republic of China that was established after the communist revolution.
    • While the political tensions have continued, China and Taiwan have had economic ties.
    • Many migrants from Taiwan work in China, and China has investments in Taiwan.
    • No doubt, cultural ties are indispensable.
    • In recent years, Taiwan’s government has said only the island’s 23 million people have the right to decide their future and that it will defend itself when attacked.
    • Since 2016, Taiwan has elected a party that leans towards independence.

    How does the world, and US, view Taiwan?

    • The UN does NOT recognise Taiwan as a separate country; in fact, only 13 countries around the world — mainly in South America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and the Vatican — do.
    • In June, President Biden said that the US would defend Taiwan if it was invaded, but it was clarified soon afterward but America does not support Taiwan’s independence.
    • While the US has no formal ties with Taipei, it remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

     

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  • India-Bangladesh River Disputes

    India and Bangladesh are likely to ink at least one major river agreement later this month.

    It is gauged that India has agreed to offer Bangladesh a package on river waters-related deals that will be considered a significant advancement in terms of sharing of river resources with Dhaka.

    Why in news?

    • There is a strong possibility that an agreement on the River Kushiyara that flows from Assam into Bangladesh is part of one such agreement.
    • This river got its fame in recent Assam floods.
    • Water sharing is considered a sensitive subject given the fact that it often takes political meaning.

    Rivers between India and Bangladesh

    • Overall, India and Bangladesh have 54 transboundary rivers between them, all of which are part of the drainage system of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin.
    • The Padma (the Ganga), the Jamuna (the Brahmaputra) and the Meghna (the Barak) and their tributaries are integral in maintaining food and water security in Bangladesh.
    • In most of these cases, Bangladesh is the lower riparian.
    • This causes concern in Bangladesh that India—being both the upper riparian and first to develop the water resources—can have far more disproportionate control over the rivers.
    • Compounded by the lack of transparent data regarding trans-boundary rivers, such concern can lead to a more serious conflict between the two otherwise friendly neighbours.

    Genesis of the disputes

    • The issues between India and Bangladesh regarding water resource allotment can be traced to the time Bangladesh was still East Pakistan.
    • In 1961, India began construction of the Farakka Barrage—which was to be operational by April 1975—to divert a portion of the dry-season flow and increase the navigability of Kolkata port.
    • When India began its preliminary planning for the project in 1950-51, Pakistan immediately expressed concerns over the potential effect of the project on East Pakistan.

    Moves for disputes resolution: Joint River Commission

    • Soon after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Joint River Commission was formed between India and Bangladesh in 1972.
    • In a joint declaration issued on 16 May 1974, the PM of Bangladesh and India acknowledged the need for the flow augmentation of the Ganga in the lean season to meet the requirements of both countries.

    Often in news: Teesta River Dispute

    • The Bangladesh government has been insistent on sealing the Teesta Waters Agreement, which has eluded settlement so far.
    • Teesta River is a 315 km long river that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal.
    • It is a tributary of the Brahmaputra (known as Jamuna in Bangladesh), flowing through India and Bangladesh.
    • It originates in the Himalayas near Chunthang, Sikkim and flows to the south through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.
    • Originally, it continued southward to empty directly into the Padma River but around 1787 the river changed its course to flow eastward to join the Jamuna river.
    • The Teesta Barrage dam helps to provide irrigation for the plains between the upper Padma and the Jamuna.

    What is the dispute about?

    • The point of contention between India and Bangladesh is mainly the lean season flow in the Teesta draining into Bangladesh.
    • The river covers nearly the entire floodplains of Sikkim while draining 2,800 sq km of Bangladesh, governing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
    • For West Bengal, Teesta is equally important, considered the lifeline of half-a-dozen districts in North Bengal.
    • Bangladesh has sought an “equitable” distribution of Teesta waters from India, on the lines of the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996, but to no avail.
    • The failure to ink a deal had its fallout on the country’s politics, putting the ruling party of PM Sheikh Hasina in a spot.

    Q.The hydrological linkages between India and Bangladesh are a product of geography and a matter of shared history. Discuss this statement in line with the Teesta water sharing dispute.

    The deal

    • Following a half-hearted deal in 1983, when a nearly equal division of water was proposed, the countries hit a roadblock. The transient agreement could not be implemented.
    • Talks resumed after the Awami League returned to power in 2008 and the former Indian PM Manmohan Singh visited Dhaka in 2011.
    • In 2015, PM Modi’s visit to Dhaka generated more ebullient lines: deliberations were underway involving all the stakeholders to conclude the agreement as soon as possible.

    Issues from the Indian side

    • It remains an unfinished project and one of the key stakeholders — West Bengal CM is yet to endorse the deal.
    • Her objection is connected to “global warming. Many of the glaciers on the Teesta basin have retreated.
    • The importance of the flow and the seasonal variation of this river is felt during the lean season (from October to April/May) as the average flow is about 500 million cubic metres (MCM) per month.
    • The CM opposed an arrangement in 2011, by which India would get 42.5% and Bangladesh 37.5% of the water during the lean season, and the plan was shelved.

    Why does this deal matters?

    • India and Bangladesh have resolved border problems through the Land Boundary Agreement of 2015.
    • However, both nations have locked horns over the sharing of multiple rivers that define the borders and impact lives and livelihoods on both sides.

     

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  • What is causing Arctic Amplification?

    Finnish researchers have found that the Arctic is heating four times faster than the rest of the planet.

    Arctic is warming faster

    • The warming is concentrated in the Eurasian part of the Arctic, where the Barents Sea north of Russia and Norway is warming at an alarming rate — seven times faster than the global average.
    • Other studies indicate that the Arctic amplification is four times the global rate.

    What is Arctic Amplification?

    • Global warming has hastened due to anthropogenic forces or human activities since pre-industrial times and has increased the planet’s average temperature by 1.1 degrees Celsius.
    • While changes are witnessed across the planet, any change in the surface air temperature and the net radiation balance tend to produce larger changes at the north and south poles.
    • This phenomenon is known as polar amplification; these changes are more pronounced at the northern latitudes and are known as the Arctic amplification.

    What causes amplification?

    • Among the many global warming-driven causes for this amplification, the ice-albedo feedback, lapse rate feedback, water vapour feedback and ocean heat transport are the primary causes.
    • Sea ice and snow have high albedo (measure of reflectivity of the surface), implying that they are capable of reflecting most of the solar radiation as opposed to water and land.
    • In the Arctic’s case, global warming is resulting in diminishing sea ice.
    • As the sea ice melts, the Arctic Ocean will be more capable of absorbing solar radiation, thereby driving the amplification.
    • The rate at which the temperature drops with elevation i.e. lapse rate decreases with warming.
    • Studies show that the ice-albedo feedback and the lapse rate feedback are responsible for 40% and 15% of polar amplification respectively.

    What do the previous studies say?

    • The extent of Arctic amplification is debated, as studies show various rates of amplification against the global rate.
    • Studies have shown that the Arctic was warming at twice the global rate prior to the beginning of the 21st century.
    • Already the Arctic surface air temperature has likely increased by more than double the global average over the last two decades.

    What are the consequences of Arctic warming?

    • The causes and consequences of Arctic amplification are cyclical — what might be a cause can be a consequence too.
    • The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate, and the rate of accumulation of sea ice has been remarkably low since 2000.
    • This is also marked by young and thinner ice replacing the old and thicker ice sheets.
    • Greenlandic ice sheet holds the second largest amount of ice, after Antarctica, and therefore it is crucial for maintaining the sea level.
    • In 2019, this was the single biggest cause for the rise in the sea level, about 1.5 metres.

    Visible impacts

    • If the sheet melts completely, the sea level would rise by seven metres, capable of subsuming island countries and major coastal cities.
    • The warming of the Arctic Ocean and the seas in the region, the acidification of water, changes in the salinity levels, are impacting the biodiversity, including the marine species and the dependent species.
    • The warming is also increasing the incidence of rainfall which is affecting the availability and accessibility of lichens to the reindeer.
    • The Arctic amplification is causing widespread starvation and death among the Arctic fauna.
    • The permafrost in the Arctic is thawing and in turn releasing carbon and methane which are among the major greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
    • Experts fear that the thaw and the melt will also release the long-dormant bacteria and viruses that were trapped in the permafrost and can potentially give rise to diseases.

    What is the impact on India?

    • In recent years, scientists have pondered over the impact the changing Arctic can have on the monsoons in the subcontinent.
    • The link between the two is growing in importance due to the extreme weather events the country faces, and the heavy reliance on rainfall for water and food security.
    • A study says that reduced sea ice in the Barents-Kara sea region can lead to extreme rainfall events in the latter half of the monsoons — in September and October.
    • The changes in the atmospheric circulation due to diminishing sea ice combined with the warm temperatures in the Arabian Sea contribute to enhanced moisture and drive extreme rainfall events.

    Steps taken by India

    • In 2014, India deployed IndARC, India’s first moored-underwater observatory in the Kongsfjorden fjord, Svalbard.
    • It aims to monitor the impact of the changes in the Arctic Ocean on tropical processes such as the monsoons.

     

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  • India as a ‘developed’ country: where we are, and the challenges ahead

    In his Independence Day address, PM asked Indians to embrace the “Panch Pran” — five vows — by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of independence.

    What are the Panch Prans?

    • Calling it the ‘panch pran‘ — the five resolutions to help India become a developed nation in the next 25 years — PM said:
    1. Every Indian should focus on developing the country;
    2. 100 per cent freedom from slavery (100% Azadi from Ghulami);
    3. Taking pride in Indian heritage;
    4. Ensuring importance is given to unity and integrity and
    5. Every citizen should be responsible

    What is a “developed” country?

    • Different global bodies and agencies classify countries differently.
    • The ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ of the United Nations classifies countries into three broad categories: developed economies, economies in transition, and developing economies.
    • The idea is “to reflect basic economic country conditions”, and the categories “are not strictly aligned with the regional classifications”.
    • So, it isn’t as though all European countries are “developed”, and all Asian ones are “developing”.
    • To categorise countries by economic conditions, the United Nations uses the World Bank’s categorisation, based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (in current US dollars).

    Issues with such categorization

    • But the UN’s nomenclature of “developed” and “developing” is being used less and less, and is often contested.
    • Former US President Donald Trump had criticised the categorisation of China as a “developing” country, which allowed it to enjoy some benefits in the World Trade Organization.
    • If China is a “developing” country, then the US should also be “made” one, Donald Trump once said.

    But why is the United Nations classification contested?

    • It can be argued that the UN classification is not very accurate and, as such, has limited analytical value.
    • Only the top three mentioned in chart 3 alongside — the US, the UK and Norway — fall in the developed country category.
    • Today, there are 31 developed countries according to the UN in all.
    • All the rest — except 17 “economies in transition” — are designated as “developing” countries, even though in terms of proportion, China’s per capita income is closer to Norway’s than Somalia’s.
    • China’s per capita income is 26 times that of Somalia’s while Norway’s is just about seven times that of China’s.
    • Then there are countries — such as Ukraine, with a per capita GNI of $4,120 (a third of China’s) — that are designated as “economies in transition”.

    Where does India stand?

    • As chart 2 shows, India is currently far behind both the so-called developed countries, as well as some developing countries.
    • Often, the discourse is on the absolute level of GDP (gross domestic product).
    • On that metric, India is one of the biggest economies of the world — even though the US and China remain far ahead.
    • However, to be classified as a “developed” country, the average income of a country’s people matters more.
    • And on per capita income, India is behind even Bangladesh.
    • China’s per capita income is 5.5 times that of India, and the UK’s is almost 33 times.

    India’s progress

    • India has made a secular improvement on HDI metrics.
    • For instance, the life expectancy at birth (one of the sub-metrics of HDI) in India has gone from around 40 years in 1947 to around 70 years now.
    • India has also taken giant strides in education enrolment at all three levels — primary, secondary, and tertiary.

    What is the distance left to cover?

    • When compared to the developed countries or China, India has a fair distance to cover.
    • Even though India is the world’s third-largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, most Indians are still relatively poor compared to people in other middle income or rich countries.
    • Ten per cent of Indians, at most, have consumption levels above the commonly used threshold of $10 (PPP) per day expenditures for the global middle class.
    • Other metrics, such as the food share of consumption, suggest that even rich households in India would have to see a substantial expansion of their total consumption to reach levels of poor households in rich countries.

    How much can India achieve by 2047?

    • One way to make this assessment is to look at how long other countries took to get there.
    • For instance, in per capita income terms, Norway was at India’s current level 56 years ago — in the year 1966.
    • Comparing India to China is more useful. China reached that mark in 2007.
    • Theoretically then, if India were to grow as fast as China did between 2007 and 2022, then, broadly speaking, it will take India another 15 years to be where China is now.
    • But then, China’s current per capita income was achieved by the developed countries several decades earlier — the UK in 1987, the US and Norway in 1979.

    Where does India lag?

    • India’s current HDI score (0.64) is much lower than what any of the developed countries had even in 1980.
    • China reached the 0.64 level in 2004, and took another 13 year to reach the 0.75 level — that, incidentally, is the level at which the UK was in 1980.

    What can India achieve by 2047?

    • The World Bank’s 2018 report had made a mention of what India could achieve by 2047.
    • By 2047 — the centenary of its independence — at least half its citizens could join the ranks of the global middle class.
    • By most definitions, this will mean that households have access to better education and health care, clean water, improved sanitation, reliable electricity, a safe environment, affordable housing, and enough discretionary income to spend on leisure pursuits.

    Way forward

    • Fulfilling these aspirations requires income well above the extreme poverty line, as well as vastly improved public service delivery.
    • To see this in perspective, note that at the last count, as of 2013, India had 218 million people living in extreme poverty — which made India home to the poorest people in the world.

     

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