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  • Outer Space

    Recently, the UK hosted the fourth summit for Space Sustainability in London in collaboration with the Secure World Foundation.

    What does Sustainability in Outer Space mean?

    • One of the hot issues when it comes to space sustainability is orbital crowding.
    • With the emergence of large constellations and complex satellites, there is a risk of collisions and interference with radio frequencies.
    • It poses a direct threat to the operations and safety of a mission and is likely to cause legal and insurance-related conflicts.
    • Space debris is another prominent issue.
    • After the completion of a mission, an ‘end-of-life protocol’ requires space objects to be moved to the graveyard orbit or to a low altitude.
    • Other causes of concern are solar and magnetic storms which potentially damage communication systems.
    • Such space weather threats need to be addressed along with the efforts to identify the terrestrial carbon footprint of outer space missions.

    Why was a conference held in the UK?

    • Long-term sustainability looks toward space research and development of technology to ensure the reuse and recycling of satellites at every stage.
    • The UK plan proposes active debris removal and in-orbit servicing.

    Policy measures so far

    • As the outer space is considered a shared natural resource, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 2019 adopted a set of 21 voluntary, non-binding guidelines.
    • They aim to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

    What does the UK plan for space sustainability entail?

    • The UK calls for an “Astro Carta” for space sustainability, based on the Artemis Accords model for sustainable space exploration.
    • The UK Space Sustainability plan mentions four primary elements:
    1. To review the regulatory framework of the UK’s orbital activity
    2. To work with organisations such as the G-7 and the UN to emphasise international engagement on space sustainability
    3. To try and develop safety and quality-related metrics that quantify the sustainability of activities; and
    4. To induce additional funding of $6.1 million on active debris removal
    • The UK also confirmed investments in its National Space Surveillance and Tracking Programme, which works on collision assessment services for UK-licenced satellite operators.

    Where does India stand on space sustainability?

    • India is well on its way to create a subsystem that addresses global sustainability questions.
    • The headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (In-SPACe) was formally inaugurated last month.
    • One can expect an increased role of the private sector in India’s space activities.
    • The ISRO has initiated ‘Project NETRA’ to monitor space debris.
    • To provide in-orbit servicing, ISRO is developing a docking experiment called ‘SPADEX’.
    • It looks at docking a satellite on an existing satellite, offering support in re-fuelling and other in-orbit services while enhancing the capability of a satellite.

    Way forward

    • Outer space in the 2020s can no longer be considered a ‘space race’ because of the cost, when compared to the beginning of this century.
    • Today, any entity (government or private) with the necessary access to resources and technology can invest in outer space.
    • Sustainable practices in outer space would directly help reduce orbital crowding and collision risk while nurturing future technologies.
    • As the natural course of evolution, the Plan for Space Sustainability, which includes private industries, is a timely move.
    • This would serve as a model for other space programmes.

     

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  • Hotels cannot force customers to pay Service Charge: Centre

    The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued guidelines asking hotels and restaurants not to collect service charge from customers.

    We often get to hear in news. Once a person had used a loo at a hotel in our national capital. She was charged ₹499 as a service charge in return of purchasing a water bottle!

    What is the news?

    • Under the guidelines, consumers can lodge complaints against hotels and restaurants by calling the number 1915.
    • The CCPA has issued guidelines under Section 18 (2) (I) of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
    • The CCPA was established in July 2020 to promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers as a class, and to investigate, prosecute, and punish violators.

    What are the guidelines?

    • The CCPA has issued five major guidelines regarding the levy of service charge by restaurants and hotels, which has for long been a contentious issue and has periodically triggered complaints from consumers.
    • The guidelines say:
    1. No hotel or restaurant shall add service charge automatically or by default in the bill;
    2. Service charge shall not be collected from consumers by any other name;
    3. No hotel or restaurant shall force a consumer to pay service charge and shall clearly inform the consumer that service charge is voluntary, optional, and at the consumer’s discretion;
    4. No restriction on entry or provision of services based on collection of service charge shall be imposed on consumers; and
    5. Service charge shall not be collected by adding it along with the food bill and levying GST on the total amount.

    What can a consumer do in case of a violation of these guidelines?

    • The consumer has four options at different levels of escalation in case she spots the levy of service charge in her bill.
    • First, she can make a request to the hotel or restaurant to remove the service charge from her bill.
    • Second, she can lodge a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), which works as an alternative dispute redressal mechanism at the pre-litigation level.
    • The complaint can be lodged by making a call on the number 1915, or on the NCH mobile app.
    • Third, the consumer can complain to the Consumer Commission, or through the edaakhil portal, http://www.edaakhil.nic.in.
    • Fourth, she can submit a complaint to the District Collector of the concerned district for investigation and subsequent proceedings by the CCPA.
    • A consumer can complain directly to the CCPA by sending an e-mail.

    What are the components of a food bill?

    • A restaurant bill in India comprises food charge (from the menu), with an addition of service charge (anywhere between 5 to 15 per cent) and a 5 per cent GST on this amount (IGST+SGST).
    • This is for all kinds of standalone restaurants.
    • In case a restaurant is located inside a hotel wherein room rate is upwards of Rs 7,500 (mostly in case of five-stars), the GST would be 18 per cent.

    Nature of Service charge

    • While the GST is a mandatory component as per law, the service charge is supposed to be optional.
    • It is the equivalent of what is known as gratuity around the world, or tip, in casual parlance.
    • Most restaurants decide the service charge on their own, and print it at the bottom of the menu with an asterisk.

    What do the restaurants say?

    • The levy of service charge by a restaurant is a matter of individual policy to decide if it is to be charged or not.
    • There is no illegality in levying such a charge.
    • Once the customer is made aware of such a charge in advance and then decides to place the order, it becomes an agreement between the parties, and is not an unfair trade practice.
    • GST is also paid on the said charge to the Government.

    Where does the fund go?

    • Restaurants claim that a major chunk of the service charge thus collected goes to the staff, while the rest goes towards a welfare fund to help them out during good and bad times.
    • It’s a default billing option, even as customers can choose not to pay it if they don’t want to.
    • Of course, they are paid the salaries but the service charge works as an incentive for them.
    • Restaurateurs also say that patrons can decide not to pay the charge and tip the server directly, but in this case, the backroom staff doesn’t get anything.
    • A service charge ensures all staff members are rewarded evenly.

    What is the issue then?

    • The issue is that almost all restaurants have put service charge (fixed at their own accord) as a default billing option.
    • And if a consumer is aware that it is not compulsory and wants it removed or wants to tip the server directly, the onus is on them to convince the management why they don’t want to pay it.
    • The department says they received several complaints saying it leads to public embarrassment and spoils the dining experience since at the end of it, they either pay the charge quietly and exit the place feeling cheated, or have to try hard to get it removed.
    • Also, there is no transparency as to where this charge goes.
    • The officials also say that collecting service charge on their own and paying GST on it to the government doesn’t make it authorised.

    Problems faced by customers

    • It is this component which has come under dispute from time to time, with consumers arguing they are not bound to pay it.
    • It also said that hotels and restaurants charging tips from customers without their express consent in the name of service charges amounts to unfair trade practice.

     

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  • Enforcing the Single-Use Plastic Ban

    A ban on the use of single-use plastics that was notified by the Union Environment Ministry on August 2021 came into effect on July 1 this year.

    What is the news?

    • The national and State-level control rooms would be set up to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single use plastic items.
    • The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, will also prohibit manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of plastic carry bags.
    • This is for plastics having thickness less than 120 microns with effect from December 31, 2022.

    What is Single-Use Plastic?

    • The Centre defines it as an object made of plastic that is intended to be used “only once” before being disposed off or recycled.
    • Single-use plastic items such as these had “low utility and high littering potential,” it noted.

    What is now included in SUPs?

    • For the purposes of the ban, there is a list of 21 items that come under the definition of single-use plastic including ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, thermocol for decoration etc.
    • It also includes plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 microns, stirrers.
    • These objects were listed by the Environment Ministry in August when it notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.

    How will the ban be implemented?

    • So far 32 States/UTs have reportedly constituted a dedicated Task Force to eliminate the use of single-use plastics.
    • Of these 14 states/UTs and 12 Central Ministries, as of March, had developed action plans describing how they would be enforcing this.
    • A few States, for example Maharashtra, already have legislation banning the manufacture and storage of such plastic.
    • But implementing it wasn’t always successful as there was regular supply from States where such bans were not in force.
    • An all-India ban, it’s hoped, would make enforcement more effective.

    Penal provisions

    • According to the Environment Protection (EP) Act, violating the ban could invite “punitive action”.
    • Manufacturers and distributors of single-use plastic goods were directed to have zero inventory by June 30.
    • The EP Act says that violating the ban could invite a five-year imprisonment and a fine of upto ₹1 lakh, or both.
    • If the violations are repeated, it could mean additional fines up to ₹5000 for each day.
    • There are different penalties for companies, organisations, and government departments under the EP Act.

    What is the history of the single use plastic ban in India?

    • The Environment Ministry told the Rajya Sabha last July of its plan to phase out some categories of single use plastic by 2022.
    • A draft outlining the manner in which the ban was to be implemented was issued in March and involved amending the PWM Rules, 2016.
    • Before the amendments came into force, the Rules only prohibited the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags and plastic sheets less than 50 microns in thickness in the country.
    • There is a ban on sachets using plastic material used for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala.
    • Since October 2021, there is a ban on carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than 75 microns as opposed to 50 microns under the earlier version of the rules.

    Is there popular support for the ban?

    • The All India Plastic Manufacturers Association has said that the ban would shutter 88,000 units in the plastic manufacturing business.
    • These employ close to a million people and contribute to exports worth ₹25,000 crore.
    • Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies (FMCG) would be severely affected by the the ban due to their dependence on plastic straws, plates.
    • Their replacements, industry representatives say, are available but cost much more than their plastic alternatives.
    • There is also limited capacity in India to provide biodegradable replacements.

    What is the environmental damage from SUPs?

    • Unlike thicker and denser plastic material, single-use plastic objects being light and flexible are less amenable to being recycled.
    • While 99% of plastic is recycled, they constitute heavier plastics that are likely to be collected by ragpickers and plastic waste recyclers.
    • Single use plastics do not provide an incentive enough for the effort needed to collect them and hence they lie around, leach their toxins into the soil and cause environmental damage in both land and sea.

     

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  • What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?

    The world’s most powerful particle collider, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will begin smashing protons into each other at unprecedented levels of energy beginning July 5.

    What is the LHC?

    • The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.
    • Structurally, it is a 27-km-long track-loop buried 100 metres underground on the Swiss-French border.
    • In its operational state, it fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.
    • The LHC’s second run (Run 2) began in 2015 and lasted till 2018. The second season of data taking produced five times more data than Run 1.
    • The third run will see 20 times more collisions as compared to Run 1.

    How does it work?

    • The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.
    • Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to ‘squeeze’ the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions.
    • The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 km apart with such precision that they meet halfway.

    Extreme conditions involved

    • Since the LHC’s powerful electromagnets carry almost as much current as a bolt of lightning, they must be kept chilled.
    • The LHC uses a distribution system of liquid helium to keep its critical components ultracold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius, which is colder than interstellar space.
    • Given these requirements, it is not easy to warm up or cool down the gigantic machine.

    What is the latest upgrade?

    • Three years after it shut down for maintenance and upgrades, the collider was switched back on this April.
    • This is the LHC’s third run, and it will operate round-the-clock for four years at unprecedented energy levels of 13 tera electron volts.

    Note: A TeV is 100 billion, or 10-to-the-power-of-12, electon volts. An electron volt is the energy given to an electron by accelerating it through 1 volt of electric potential difference.

    Targets this year

    • It now aims to be delivering 1.6 billion proton-proton collisions per second.
    • The last time, the proton beams will be narrowed to less than 10 microns — a human hair is around 70 microns thick — to increase the collision rate.
    • ATLAS is the largest general purpose particle detector experiment at the LHC.
    • The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history, with the same goals as ATLAS, but which uses a different magnet-system design.

    Previous runs & ‘God Particle’ discovery

    • Ten years ago, in 2012, scientists at CERN had announced to the world the discovery of the Higgs boson or the ‘God Particle’ during the LHC’s first run.
    • The discovery concluded the decades-long quest for the ‘force-carrying’ subatomic particle, and proved the existence of the Higgs mechanism, a theory put forth in the mid-sixties.
    • This led to Peter Higgs and his collaborator François Englert being awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 2013.
    • The Higgs boson and its related energy field are believed to have played a vital role in the creation

     

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  • Species in news: Chenkurinji

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

    Chenkurinji

    • Chenkurinji (Gluta travancorica) is a species endemic to the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.
    • Belonging to the Anacardiaceae family, the tree was once abundant in the hills on the southern parts of the Aryankavu Pass in Kerala’s Kollam district.
    • The Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary derives its name Chenkurinji (Gluta travancorica), a species endemic to the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.

    Why in news?

    • It is very susceptible to climate change and the present condition of the species is quite bad with low regeneration performance.
    • Though there are seemingly enough number of the tree, most are not productive, generating a negative trend in its population.
    • The majority of the trees is old with poor flowering and fruiting rates.
    • Though the flowering usually happens in January, of late, the species has reported a tendency to extend the process due to climate change.

    Significance of Chenkurinji

    • It is reported to have medicinal properties and is used to lower blood pressure and treat arthritis.

     

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  • The inflation tightrope

    Context

    The Indian economy has been hit by inflationary shocks of late.

    Inflation story so far

    • RBI mandate: The inflation target of the Reserve Bank of India is 4 per cent, with a band of 2 per cent on either side.
    • Inflation was at or above the upper threshold of 6 per cent since the beginning of this year.
    • Only after inflation hit 7 per cent did the RBI raise the repo rate.
    • Increase in interest rate: The RBI has raised the cost of borrowing (by 90 basis points so far), with a promise of more to come.
    • Fuel taxes reduced: The central government has cut fuel taxes with alacrity, and has banned the export of certain items.

    Role of monetary authorities

    • Monetary authorities raise interest rates if inflation is above the preferred target, and vice versa.
    • What should be the interest rate? Interest rates should rise more than inflation so the “real” interest rates rise, causing a compression in demand (and a fall in economic activity), which in turn will reduce inflation.
    • The RBI embraced this idea. In 2016, an independent monetary policy committee was constituted.

    Effects of global inflation

    • Some part of inflation is coming from abroad is an added complication.
    • Outflow of fund: There has also been a steady outflow of foreign funds from the stock market.
    • Depreciation of rupee: This could cause the rupee to depreciate, in turn, raising the prices of imported goods thereby adding to the inflationary woes.

    Two ways in which the Indian economy is different

    1] Role of agriculture in Indian economy

    • India’s non-food and non-oil components of the consumer price index CPI are about 47 per cent.
    •  In comparison, for the ECB, it is less than one-third of the CPI.
    • Of course, the RBI has no control over international prices of food and oil, so it must squeeze less than 50 per cent of the domestic economy to lower inflation.
    • The real interest rise works through demand compression.
    • But the problem is on the supply side.
    • Also, as compared to the RBI, the ECB would suffer a lower rise in inflation, and has a larger menu on which to apply demand compression.

    2] Exchange rate and its effect on output

    • Until the 1970s, the accepted wisdom was that an economy had to achieve both internal balance and external balance.
    • Internal balance consisted of full employment and low inflation using monetary and fiscal policies.
    • Over time, the internal balance has come to mean, from a policy perspective, low inflation, since “the market” will ensure full employment.
    • External balance required a balanced current account over some horizon (“don’t get too much into foreign debt”), by using, for example, the exchange rate.
    • For the OECD countries, the external balance was not a constraint any longer, since they had made their currencies fully convertible, and international capital flows were unrestricted.
    • But this is not the case with India.
    • If it were so, no one would be interested in discussing the country’s foreign exchange reserves, because these could be generated instantaneously by exchanging the domestic currency for foreign exchange.

    India’s foreign reserves and its impact on competitiveness of Indian products

    • Until 2020, India had seen massive portfolio capital inflows when OECD interest rates were low, and its current account deficits were financed by foreign reserves.
    • But portfolio inflows can, and do, reverse themselves.
    • FII inflows also contribute to India’s lack of competitiveness.
    • The RBI bought foreign exchange (with rupees).
    • But fearing this would stoke inflation, it sold government bonds, and removed the excess liquidity.
    • This “sterilised intervention” saw the RBI’s foreign exchange assets going up, matched by a reduced holding of government bonds.
    • Thus, India’s foreign exchange reserves were not its “own”— there were liabilities against it.
    • India’s Dutch Disease: The RBI could have let the rupee appreciate or have accumulated foreign reserves.
    • It chose an intermediate solution — a mix of an appreciation and accumulation of reserves.
    • The appreciation caused by inflows reduced international competitiveness for Indian products.
    • In effect, we had our own episode of the “Dutch Disease”.

    Way forward

    • As the RBI raises interest rates, outflows will possibly slow down with the rupee appreciating.
    • That is not good for external balance.
    •  It is easy to see that inflation targeting could be at odds with external balance.

    Conclusion

    If inflation does prove stubborn, and fighting inflation is all that the authorities in India worry about, we could see an external crisis.

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    Back2Basics: What is Dutch Disease?

    • Dutch disease is an economic term for the negative consequences that can arise from a spike in the value of a nation’s currency.
    • It is primarily associated with the new discovery or exploitation of a valuable natural resource and the unexpected repercussions that such a discovery can have on the overall economy of a nation.
    • Symptoms include a rising currency value leading to a drop in exports and a loss of jobs to other countries.

  • Towards a single low tax regime

    Context

    The introduction of a uniform GST was a watershed moment in India since the country’s earlier regime of taxes and cesses. However, GST is still a complicated tax regime with different slabs.

    Unified single tax

    • Empirical data from across the world on the benefits of a unified single tax is incontrovertible
    • This needs bold and clear reformist thinking at the political level.
    • Imposing a high GST in some areas does not make sense.
    • ‘Sin’ taxes are at cross purposes with the government’s policy of generating growth and creating jobs under ‘Make in India’.
    • High taxes on air-conditioners, air conditioned restaurants, chocolates and luxury cars create an economic ripple effect downstream, in a complex web of businesses that have symbiotic relationships.
    • The effect finally reaches down to the bottom of the employment pyramid.
    • Distrust between State and centre: There is distrust between the States and the Centre on revenue sharing.
    • There is also anger at the Centre for riding roughshod over the States’ autonomy and disregarding the federal structure.

    Multiple rates: A major shortcoming in the structure of GST

    • One of the most important shortcomings in the structure of GST is multiple rates.
    • The committee headed by the Chief Economic Adviser estimated the tax rate at 15-15.5 per cent.
    • It further recommended that in keeping with growing international practice, India should strive towards a single rate in the medium-term to facilitate administrative simplicity and compliance, but in the immediate context, it should have a three-tier structure (excluding zero).
    • The structure finally adopted was to have four rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent besides zero, though almost 75 per cent of the revenues accrue from the 12 and 18 per cent slabs.
    • Why single rate structure? The reasons for adopting a single rate structure in most countries are:
    • To have a simple tax system,
    • To prevent misclassifications and litigations arising therefrom,
    • To avoid an inverted duty structure of taxes on inputs exceeding those on outputs requiring detailed scrutiny and refunds.
    • Why multiple rates? The main reason for rate differentiation is equity.
    • But it is argued that this is an inefficient way of targeting benefits for the poor. 
    • Although the exempted and low-rated items are consumed relatively more by the poor, in absolute terms, the consumption may be more by the rich.

    Way forward

    • Move people up the value chain: The plan must be to figure out how to rev up the economy by making the rich and upper middle class spend and move more people up the value chain instead of designing a tax system that keeps these products out of the new consumer class’s reach.
    • The same lack of logic applies to taxes on wine, rum and beer, which generate large-scale employment and are the backbone of grape and sugarcane farming and the cocoa industry.
    • In the automobile sector, the GST on electric cars, tractors, cycles, bikes, low-end and luxury cars ranges anywhere from 5% to 50%.
    • The sale of automobiles is the barometer of an economy.
    • Single tax slab: A directive to the bureaucracy is necessary to come up with just two categories: goods eligible for zero tax and goods that will fall under a single rate, say 10% or 12%.
    • Then there are items that are exempt from GST.
    • Bring fuels under GST:  Petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel are not under the purview of GST, but come under Central excise and State taxes.
    • A single low tax regime will ensure compliance, widen the tax net, improve ease of doing business, boost the economy, create jobs, increase tax collections and reduce corruption

    Conclusion

    The Finance Minister should take a cue from the Prime Minister, who hinted at major reforms in the aftermath of COVID-19, and do away with all the confusing tax slabs in one fell swoop.

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  • Mega Seminar LIVE| MPSC changes pattern from 2023, aligns with UPSC | How to prepare for both? Attend Mega Seminar in Pune by Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from Maharashtra | Free registration

    Mega Seminar LIVE| MPSC changes pattern from 2023, aligns with UPSC | How to prepare for both? Attend Mega Seminar in Pune by Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from Maharashtra | Free registration

    Free Entry: Limited Seats | Registrations open for Mega Seminar at Kale auditorium, Gokhale Institute, Pune | UPSC + MPSC Preparation Strategy | Aspirants from Maharashtra are Invited | Meet our Toppers from Maharashtra | Register Now

    (click and register)Mega Seminar in pune: Integrated preparation for MPSC and UPSC | Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from maharashtra

    Table of content:

    1. Changed pattern of MPSC
    2. Implications of this change
    3. CivilsDaily’s Maharashtra students and their performance in UPSC 2021
    4. CivilsDaily IAS in Pune
    5. Tackle MPSC with UPSC: Mega Seminar in Pune by Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from Maharashtra
    6. How the Pune Center will help aspirants from Maharashtra?
    7. Some of the UPSC rankers from Maharashtra
    8. Register for the Mega Seminar and 1-1 discussion with Sajal sir and UPSC rankers.

    MPSC changes pattern: Aligned with UPSC, to be implemented from 2023

    Maharashtra PSC has recently released a notification citing changes in the pattern. Now the main examination will be subjective/descriptive in nature (essay type answers) instead of objective (MCQ type) questions. Also, an Ethics paper has also been introduced, modern history will also be included.

    From earlier 6 papers in MPSC Mains now we will have 9 papers, with total marks now standing at 1750 in Mains, closely resembling UPSC’s pattern.

    PapersSubjectsMarksNature of papers
    Paper 1Marathi300Descriptive (Qualifying)
    Paper 2English300Descriptive (Qualifying)
    Paper 3Essay (Marathi or English)250Descriptive
    Paper 4GS 1250Descriptive
    Paper 5GS 2250Descriptive
    Paper 6GS 3250Descriptive
    Paper 6GS 4250Descriptive
    Paper 8Optional Paper 1250Descriptive
    Paper 9Optional Paper 2250Descriptive
    1750 Marks
    Closely resembling the UPSC pattern

    Implications of this change

    It has certainly made MPSC mains more comprehensive, requiring a wide-based knowledge just like UPSC.

    • It will be easier for UPSC aspirants to prepare for MPSC and vice-versa.
    • It improve the percentage of Marathi candidates appearing and clearing UPSC as the paper pattern is almost the same.
    • It will give equal opportunity to those from rural as well as urban areas. Now every candidate must play on a level playing field.
    • For those UPSC aspirants who have exhausted their attempts, they would find it easier to appear and crack MPSC.
    • Aspirants who will reappear in 2023 will have to consider it as a fresh attempt as they have to study almost from scratch.

    All these pose an opportunity as well as a challenge for aspirants but for sure it calls for a change in strategy.

    (click and register)Mega Seminar in pune: Integrated preparation for MPSC and UPSC | Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from maharashtra

    Attend Mega Seminar by Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from Maharashtra. Register here and align your strategy

    CivilsDaily’s performance in UPSC 2021 and an overwhelming number of our Rankers from Maharashtra

    UPSC 2021 results were released a few days back and it was a major validation of CivilsDaily’s student-centric approach, personalized mentorship, and commitment to your goal – cracking the UPSC IAS exam.

    ..amazing observation was the overwhelming number of rankers from Maharashtra.

    This was evident from 200+ rankers, including 30+ in the top 50 in the UPSC 2021 exam. Another amazing observation was the overwhelming number of rankers from Maharashtra. 

    Moreover, we have thousands of CivilsDaily students from the state.

    On the insistence of CivilsDaily’s alumni (ex-rankers) and our students from the state, we will be opening our first center in Maharashtra very soon, in Pune.

    How is the Pune center going to help UPSC and Civil Services Aspirants from Maharashtra?

    Saves you from the trauma of relocation

    Aspirants have to leave their home state to Delhi, Karol Bagh for UPSC prep. It seriously dismantles their mental peace and continuity in preparation.

    Now you no longer have to leave your state and come to Delhi for UPSC preparation.

    Financially

    Financially, by saving huge expenditure incurred in Karol Bagh on renting and tuition fees.

    Now prepare for both: UPSC and MPSC

    Recently the notification for MPSC was released and since the pattern is similar to UPSC now, we will be helping you prepare for MPSC as well.

    Live lectures, Offline 1:1 Mentorship, Testing centre in Pune

    We will be providing the best classroom lectures; UPSC-relevant tests and study material; experienced mentors and dedicated faculty. 

    CivilsDaily will always remain committed to a personalized and student-centric approach and will live for its vision of making UPSC and government service exam preparation simpler, effective, result-oriented, and affordable to every aspiring student.

    Mega Seminar on 5th July, at Gokhale Institute, Pune: Sajal sir and UPSC Rankers from Maharashtra

    Get a golden chance to meet and discuss 1-1 with Rankers and Sajal sir at Pune center.

    (click and register)Mega Seminar in pune: Integrated preparation for MPSC and UPSC | Sajal sir and UPSC rankers from maharashtra

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  • Why rice and wheat bans aren’t the answer to inflation

    Context

    There are reports suggesting that the government is mulling a ban on rice exports to tame inflation.

    Background

    • This is surely not the first time an attempt is being made to ban wheat and rice exports.
    • It was also done in 2007-08, in the wake of the global financial crisis.
    • Perhaps government will also impose stocking limits on traders for a host of commodities, suspend futures trading in food items, and even conduct income tax raids on traders of food.

    Issues in India’s rice export strategy

    • Highest ever volume: India exported the highest-ever volume of 21 million metric tonnes (MMT) of rice in 2021-22 (FY22) in a global market of about 51.3 MMT, which amounts to about 41 per cent of global exports.
    • Reduces price: Such large volumes of rice exports brought down global prices of rice by about 23 per cent in March (YoY), when all other cereal prices, be it wheat or maize, were going up substantially in global markets.
    • In fact, in FY22, the unit value of exports of common rice was just $354/tonne, which was lower than the minimum support price (MSP) of rice.
    • Below MSP buying or leakage from PMGKAY: This meant that rice exporters were either buying rice (paddy) from farmers and millers at below the MSP or that quite a substantial part of rice was given free under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) was being siphoned away for exports at prices below MSP.
    • Artificial competitive advantage: Free electricity for irrigation in several states, most notably Punjab, and highly subsidised fertilisers, especially urea, create an artificial competitive advantage for Indian rice in global markets.
    • Suggestion: This is a perfect case for “optimal export tax” — not a ban — on rice exports.
    • If we can’t raise the domestic price of urea, which is long overdue, we should at least recover a part of the urea subsidy from rice exports by imposing an optimal export tax.

    Why export ban on wheat and rice is not a solution

    • Small contribution of cereals in inflation: In May, the consumer price index (CPI) inflation was 7.04 per cent (YoY). The cereals group as a whole contributed only 6.6 per cent to this inflation.
    • Within that, wheat, other than through PDS, contributed just 3.11 per cent and non-PDS rice contributed 1.59 per cent.
    • So, by imposing a ban on wheat and rice exports, India can’t tame its inflation as more than 95 per cent of CPI inflation is due to other items.
    • Interestingly, inflation in vegetables contributed 14.4 per cent to CPI inflation, which is more than three times the contribution of rice and wheat combined. And within vegetables, tomatoes alone contributed 7.01 per cent.
    • What all this indicates is that agri-trade policies need to be more stable and predictable, rather than a result of knee-jerk reactions.
    • Irresponsible behaviour: Export bans on food items also show somewhat irresponsible behaviour at the global level, unless there is some major calamity in the country concerned.
    • The recently concluded WTO ministerial meeting as well as the G-7 meet expressed concerns about food security in vulnerable nations.

    Way forward

    • Efficient value chain and processing facilities: In commodities like vegetables, most of which are largely perishable, we need to build efficient value chains and link these to processing facilities.
    • The same would go for onions, which often bring tears to kitchen budgets when prices shoot up.
    • A switch to dehydrated onion flakes and onion powder would be the answer.
    • Our food processing industry, especially in perishable products, is way behind the curve compared to several Southeast Asian nations.

    Conclusion

    If India wants to be a globally responsible player, it should avoid sudden and abrupt bans and, if need be, filter them through transparent export taxes to recover its large subsidies on power and fertilisers.

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  • Custodial deaths

    Context

    The recent spate of custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu has yet again highlighted the methods used by the police during interrogation.

    Custodial deaths in India

    • It is not uncommon knowledge that the police, when they grow increasingly frustrated with the trajectory of their interrogation, sometimes resort to torture and violence which could lead to the death of the suspect.
    • Custodial deaths are common despite enormous time and money being spent on training police personnel to embrace scientific methods of investigation.
    • This is because police personnel are humans from different backgrounds and with different perspectives.

    Use of technology by law enforcement agencies

    • There is no doubt that technology can help avert police custodial deaths. For example, body cameras could hold officers liable.
    • Deception detection tests (DDTs), which deploy technologies such as polygraph, narco-analysis and brain mapping, could be valuable in learning information that is known only to a criminal regarding a crime.
    • Among the DDTs, the Brain Fingerprinting System (BFS) is an innovative technology that several police forces contemplate adding to their investigative tools.
    • The technique helps investigative agencies uncover clues in complicated cases.
    • With informed consent, however, any information or material discovered during the BFS tests can be part of the evidence.
    • Police departments are increasingly using robots for surveillance and bomb detection.
    • Many departments now want robotic interrogators for interrogating suspects.
    • Use of robots: Police departments are increasingly using robots for surveillance and bomb detection.
    • Use of robots for interrogation: Many departments now want robotic interrogators for interrogating suspects.
    • Many experts today believe that robots can meet or exceed the capabilities of the human interrogator, partially because humans are inclined to respond to robots in ways that they do to humans.
    • Robots equipped with AI and sensor technology can build a rapport with the suspects, utilise persuasive techniques like flattery, shame and coercion, and strategically use body language.
    • Use of AI/ML: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are emerging as tool of interrogations. AI can detect human emotions and predict behaviour.
    • Therefore, these are also options.
    • ML can in real-time alert superiors when police are meting out inhumane treatment to suspects.

    Issues with the use of technologies

    • Informed consent: In 2010, the Supreme Court, in Selvi v. State of Karnataka, rendered the BFS evidence inadmissible.
    • The court observed that the state could not perform narco analysis, polygraph, and brain-mapping tests on any individual without their consent.
    • High cost of technology: As the BFS is high-end technology, it is expensive and unavailable in several States.
    • There is a lot of concern about AI or robot interrogations, both legally and ethically.
    • Risk of bias: There exists the risk of bias, the peril of automated interrogation tactics, the threat of ML algorithms targeting individuals and communities, and the hazard of its misuse for surveillance.

    Way forward

    • Multi-pronged strategy: What we need is the formulation of a multi-pronged strategy by the decision-makers encompassing legal enactments, technology, accountability, training and community relations.
    • Onus of proof on police: The Law Commission of India’s proposition in 2003 to change the Evidence Act to place the onus of proof on the police for not having tortured suspects is important in this regard.
    • Strict implementation of D.K. Basu case guidelines: Besides, stringent action must be taken against personnel who breach the commandments issued by the apex court in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997).
    • Law against custodial torture: The draft bill on the Prevention of Torture, 2017, which has not seen the day, needs to be revived.

    Conclusion

    While the technology available to the police and law-enforcement agencies is constantly improving, it is a restricted tool that can’t eradicate custodial deaths. While it might provide comfort and transparency, it can never address the underlying issues that lead to these situations.

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    Back2Basics:  Supreme Court judgement in DK Basu case

    • The DK Basu judgment since 1987 is crucial in dealing with issue of custodial deaths.
    • The judgement has origin from a letter complaint in 1986, which was converted into PIL.
    • 4 crucial and comprehensive judgments — in 1996, twice in 2001 and in 2015 — lay down over 20 commandments, forming the complete structure of this judgement.

    Details of judgment:

    First 11 commandments in 1996, focused on vital processual safeguards:

    • All officials must carry name tags and full identification, arrest memo must be prepared, containing all details regarding time and place of arrest, attested by one family member or respectable member of the locality.
    • The location of arrest must be intimated to one family or next friend, details notified to the nearest legal aid organisation and arrestee must be made known of DK Basu judgement.
    • All such compliances must be recorded in the police register, arrestee must get periodical medical examination, inspection memo must be signed by arrestee also and all such information must be centralised in a central police control room.
    • Breach to be culpable with severe departmental action and additionally contempt also, and this would all be in addition to, not substitution of, any existing remedy.
    • All of the above preventive and punitive measures could go with, and were not alternatives to, full civil monetary damage claims for constitutional tort.

    8 other intermediate orders till 2015:

    • Precise detailed compliance reports of above orders to be submitted by all states and UT and any delayed responses to be  looked into by special sub-committees appointed by state human rights body.
    • Also where no SHRC existed, the chief justice of the high courts to monitor it administratively.
    • It emphasised that existing powers for magisterial inquiries under the CrPC were lackadaisical and must be completed in four months, unless sessions court judges recorded reasons for extension.
    • It also directed SHRCs to be set up expeditiously in each part of India.

    The third and last phase of judgment ended in 2015:

    • Stern directions were given to set up SHRCs and also fill up large vacancies in existing bodies.
    • The power of setting up human rights courts under Section 30 of the NHRC Act was directed to be operationalised.
    • All prisons had to have CCTVs within one year.
    • Non-official visitors would do surprise checks on prisons and police stations.
    • Prosecutions and departmental action to be made unhesitatingly mandated.

  • [Sansad TV] India’s World – Strategic Importance of Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

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    The strategic importance of IOR is ever increasing to the world order in general and Indian sub-continent in particular.

    What is IOR?

    • The IOR broadly defines areas consisting of littoral states of the Indian Ocean.
    • IOR comprises a number of sub-regions, such as Australia, South East Asia, South Asia, Horn of Africa and the Southern and Eastern Africa.
    • It is marked by a glaring cultural, social, political and economic diversity.

    Significance of IOR

    • Biggest market: The IOR littorals house more than one-third of world’s population.
    • Trade significance: In addition, more than half of the global seaborne trade and commerce passes through the Indian Ocean out of which, almost 70 per cent goes to countries external to the region.
    • Rich in natural resources: The IOR littoral states are rich in producing various raw materials, primarily oil, which are key to development of major manufacturing industries of developed as well as developing nations.
    • Ample marine resources: Complementary to this is the enormous seabed resources possessed by IOR comprising oil and natural gas reserves, minerals and abundance of fishes.
    • Maritime choke-points: The presence of major maritime choke points and Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) in the IOR lends it a strategic importance of gigantic magnitude.

    Geo-Strategic Importance of IOR to India

    • India is at the centre: India’s central position in the IOR gives her an immense advantage and at the same time presents far greater challenges.
    • Energy Security: Taking into account the total oil imports by sea, offshore oil production and petroleum exports, the country’s cumulative ‘sea dependence’ for oil is estimated to be about 93 per cent.
    • Dependence on seas: Today, almost 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 68 per cent of trade by value are routed via the Indian Ocean.
    • Fishing and aquaculture: India depends heavily on Indian Ocean resources with her fishing and aquaculture industries being a major source of export as well as providing employment to more than 14 million people.
    • Huge maritime boundary: Militarily, the presence of such long coastline makes India vulnerable to potential threats emerging from the sea.
    • Hostile neighborhood: One of the worst terrorist attacks on India in recent memory – the 2008 Mumbai attack – was perpetrated by terrorists arriving by sea.
    • Unforeseen and non-conventional threats: The presence of non-traditional threats like piracy, smuggling, illegal fishing and human trafficking also present major challenges and hence, a secure Indian Ocean is key to securing India’s national interests.

    Net Security Provider: To Be or Not to Be

    • Peaceful seas: India has been fortunate to have experienced largely peaceful seas for past several decades.
    • Conventional threats: The threats were mostly non-traditional like piracy, drug trafficking, IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing and human trafficking to name a few.

    Reasons to take up the role

    • Obligation for the West: The acceptance of this role, as net security provider, has now become a strategic obligation rather than a matter of choice.
    • US internal crisis: Amidst a turbulent global economic environment marred by industrial recession in European block and a looming threat of trade wars between China and US.
    • Wisdom of Responsibility:  India has been acknowledged as the emerging global power in the international arena. This acknowledgement brings with itself, a commensurate level of international responsibility.
    • Void in capability: considering the perceptible void in the existing capability, the ongoing internal debate echoes in the remarks made by India’s former NSA, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, when he said, “There is a demand that India be a net provider of security and we need to take a call on that”.

    IOR Threat Mosaic: From Indian Prism

    A quick scan over the IOR brings forth challenges of varied dimensions from India’s perspective. Critical of these areas under:

    • Growing PLAN Presence: Chinese presence on theports like Gwadar, Hambantota, Djibouti to name a few, in guise of maritime Silk Road needs no elaboration.
    • Modernisation of Pakistan Navy (PN): PN has embarked upon a rapid modernisation process with thrust on Undersea Warfare garnering assistance from Turkey and her all-weather friend China.
    • Shifting US Policy: US policies, since Trump, have seen stark deviation from her erstwhile policies on Indo-Pacific Region (IPR).
    • Non-traditional Threats: The challenges from non-state forces to include, piracy, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, illicit weapons trafficking, illegal migrants, poaching etc. as well as, vagaries of climate change falls within the ambit of non-traditional threat spectrum of conflict..  

    Impediments to India Becoming a Net Security Provider

    • Resource Availability vs. Requirement: The inglorious status of India as the second most populated country in the world with finite resources can muster in the present era of global downtrend.
    • Financial capabilities: Intents cannot be materialised into reality without a robust financial backing. Achieving the status of net security provider calls for manifold increase in existing military hardware.  
    • Existing Civil-Military Relationship: There have been numerous instances of missing out on strategic gains due to differing views of various ministries as well as between civil and military leadership.
    • Nascent Jointmanship: Turf war between three Services has not helped the vision of jointsmanship required for India achieving the status of net security provider.  
    • Non-alignment Policy: India has ideologically followed the principle of military non-alignment with any super power so as to retain its strategic autonomy.  
    • Primacy of Land Operations: India has been persistently focused on dealing with its land boundary with China and Pakistan, and her full-fledged participation in ongoing proxy war.  

    Various steps taken

    • Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and naval exercise MILAN have been a few welcome steps by India in manifesting a coherent strategic intent.
    • This has been further augmented by initiatives like Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), project MAUSAM and the proposed Asia-Africa Growth Corridor.
    • There is an increased participation of Indian Navy in bilateral / multilateral naval exercises and CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) with Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
    • India is already involved in training of naval personnel from various IOR nations as part of exchange programmes.
    • Further, India has also been supplying naval assets to countries like Mauritius, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Seychelles.

    Way Forward

    • Formulation of a National Defence Policy: It is a miraculous paradox that India, a growing regional power and an aspirant global power, doesn’t have a National Defence Policy.
    • Coherent IOR Strategy: India needs to formulate and adhere to a coherent IOR strategy involving complementary intents and actions in dealing with IOR nations.
    • Strategic Development of Islands:  The world miraculously watched the Chinese expertise in dredging and creating small islets. God’s grace, we have the Andaman, Nicobar and the Lakshadweep Islands.
    • Capability Enhancement of IOR Nations: A thrust on capability enhancement of IOR nations, particularly their respective navies, would accrue immense benefit for the entire IOR.
    • Capability Development and Technical Upgradation: When it comes to indigenisation, the IN has gone way ahead vis-à-vis other two Services i.e. army and air force.

    Conclusion

    • Indian core values of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence generate immense goodwill and inspire confidence in the entire IOR.
    • The smaller nations of the IOR have recognized the genuine intent of the Indian Navy in ensuring freedom of navigation and use of global waters as per existing International Laws.
    • However, this intent needs to be firmly backed by a matching capability and a clearly spelt-out strategy.
    • In the absence of the same, it would be a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ India would find itself struggling to secure its own maritime (and in turn, national) interests.  

  • After Ukraine, the new energy disorder

    Context

    Our long-standing “friend“ (Russia) is now in the bad books of our other friends (the US and Europe) and in a deepening relationship with our adversary (China). The Gulf countries are crucial for our energy security but Russia has replaced them as our principal supplier

    How Ukraine war is changing the energy policies

    • Six months back before the start of the Ukrainian conflict, there was a deepening sense that fossil fuels and the industry built around them were in terminal decline.
    • After the Ukraine war began, the petroleum market is tight and prices are ratcheting up.
    • Oil prices are close to $120/bbl and gas prices have jumped 500 per cent year on year in Europe.
    • The regulatory constraints on petroleum exploration and distribution infrastructure have been eased and several countries have removed the output limits on thermal power generation and reopened the coal mines that were closed.
    • The share prices of the oil majors are trading at multi-year highs.

    Three issues that influences India’s energy policy

    1] Long term implications of buying oil from Russia

    • India is now a major purchaser of Russian crude.
    • Last month, it reportedly purchased an average of 1.2 mbd.
    • If this figure is correct, Russia is now our largest provider of crude oil surpassing Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
    • The reason for this ramp-up is the price discount offered by Russia.
    • The decision is driven by good economics and energy security.
    • The Western world does not, however, see it this way.
    •  The question does arise: What might be the medium to longer-term implications of our “support” to Russia on relations with Capitol Hill, the UK and the European Commission?

    2] Increased economic and energy ties of Russia and China

    •  Russia and China have, for long, shared the view that the US is their biggest security threat.
    • China also increased the purchase of Russian oil and gas.
    • This tightened economic and energy embrace has implications for India.
    • Several questions will need to be addressed.
    • Russia’s role in India-China conflict: How might a post-Ukraine weakened Russia that is in hock to China respond to India in the event matters deteriorate on our border with China?
    • Will they be reliable providers of crude oil, military equipment, minerals, and metals essential for our green transition?
    • Will they be politically autonomous or client states?

    3] Important role of the Gulf states

    • The Ukrainian crisis has forced a presidential u-turn. Later this month, President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia.
    • Several other European leaders will also beat a path to the Gulf, all in the hope of extracting a promise of higher production to lower oil prices and some to negotiate gas supply deals.
    • India needs the Gulf producers for supply security. But it also wants oil prices to come down.
    •  The position of these producers in the reordered post-Ukraine energy landscape is, therefore, of relevance.
    • Will they respond positively to the courtship of Russia/China, move back into the Western fold, or stay outside both orbits, neutral and opportunistic?
    • The answer will bear on India’s energy security.

    Way forward

    • Integrated energy policy: What we need is a mechanism for the development and execution of an integrated energy policy.
    • This is because currently there is no executive authority responsible for energy.
    • There are ministries responsible for components of energy policy but no formal mechanism for aligning their separate approaches.
    • The Ukraine war has disrupted the existing energy order.
    • The new energy (dis) order has created fissures that impact our national security, economic growth, trade, clean energy supply lines, transfer of technology and international relations.
    • We cannot, therefore, afford to continue with our existing siloed approach.

    Conclusion

    The Ukrainian crisis has radically altered the contours of the global energy landscape and created a tangle of relationships and issues for India. To smoothen this tangle and address the issues India should adopt “a whole of the system” approach to energy policy.

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  • 4th July 2022| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1        Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone. etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes. 

    GS-2        Executive and Judiciary; Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

    GS-3        Agriculture and related issues, Industrial Policy

    GS-4        Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; 

    Question 1)

     

    Q.1 What is a cloudburst and what are its effects? Why are they more frequent in the Himalayan region? (10 Marks)

     

    Question 2)

    Q.2 Is technology a solution to the deal with the custodial deaths? What are the issues with the use of technologies by law enforcement agencies? (10 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3 India exported the highest ever volume of rice in 2021-22. What are the concerns with this? Suggest the way forward. (10 Marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4 Identifying the issues associated with utilization of public funds, discuss the various ethical principles which can help devise strategies for better utilization of public funds in India. (10 Marks)

     

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

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  • Q.4 Identifying the issues associated with utilization of public funds, discuss the various ethical principles which can help devise strategies for better utilization of public funds in India. (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Briefly write about the concept of public funds.
    • Bring out the various issues associated with utilization of public funds.
    • State the various ethical principles which can help in better utilization of public funds in India.
    • Conclude accordingly.

  • Q.3 India exported the highest ever volume of rice in 2021-22. What are the concerns with this? Suggest the way forward. (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s comment-
    • https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ashok-gulati-and-ritika-juneja-write-high-costs-of-agri-trade-bans-rice-wheat-exports-8007017/lite/
    • In the intro, mention the recently imposed export ban on wheat.
    • In the body, mention India’s increase in rice export to 21 MMT, which is around 40 per cent of global market. As a result of this high export price of rice decreases in the market. As a result India has to export more rice for the same amount. Also, there is issue of subsidies artificially making the Indian rice artificially competitive. Also mention the issue of water export. In the suggestion mention need for optimum tax, checking the leakage from PDS etc.
    • Conclude by mentioning the need for shifting to the other crops from rice.

  • Q.2 Is technology a solution to the deal with the custodial deaths? What are the issues with the use of technologies by law enforcement agencies? (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s comment-

  • Q.1 What is a cloudburst and what are its effects? Why are they more frequent in the Himalayan region? (10 Marks)

    Mentor’s Comments-

    • Explain what you understand by cloudbursts.
    • Highlight the effects of the cloudbursts.
    • Explain the mechanism behind the phenomenon of cloudbursts.
    • Highlight reasons behind their greater frequency in the Himalayan region.
    • Conclude by mentioning steps that can be taken to mitigate their effects.

  • Strains on India-Russia Defence Cooperation

    As the war in Ukraine stretches over four months with no end in sight, it has given rise to apprehensions on Russia’s ability to adhere to timely deliveries of spares and hardware to India.

    History of the bilateral defence ties

    • India was reliant, almost solely on the British, and other Western nations for its arms imports immediately after Independence.
    • However, this dependence weaned, and by the 1970s India was importing several weapons systems from then USSR, making it the country’s largest defence importer for decades.

    A major chunk of India’s strategic arms

    • Russia has provided some of the most sensitive and important weapons platforms that India has required from time to time including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, tanks, guns, fighter jets, and missiles.
    • According to one estimate, the share of Russian-origin weapons and platforms across Indian armed forces is as high as 85%.
    • Russia is the second-largest arms exporter in the world, following only the United States.
    • For Russia, India is the largest importer, and for India, Russia is the largest exporter when it comes to arms transfer.

    What saw the decline?

    • Between 2000 and 2020, Russia accounted for 66.5% of India’s arms imports.
    • Russia’s share in Indian arms imports was down to about 50% between 2016 and 2020, but it still remained the largest single importer.

    Present status of defence cooperation

    • When the war began, Indian armed forces had stocks of spares and supplies for eight to ten months and the expectation was that the war would end quickly.
    • However, as it stretches on with no clear endgame, there are apprehensions on Russia’s ability to adhere to the timelines for both spares as well as new deliveries.
    • Armed forces are looking at certain alternative mitigation measures and identifying alternate sources from friendly foreign countries.
    • However, in the long term, this is also an opportunity for the private industry to step up production and meet the requirements.

    Impact of the war

    • While some timeline lapses and shipping delays were possible, there would not be any dent on the Army’s operational preparedness along the borders.
    • In addition, the armed forces have also made significant emergency procurements since the standoff in Eastern Ladakh and have stocked up on spares and ammunition.
    • However, Russia has assured India that it would adhere to delivery timelines.
    • Since the war sees no end, Russian industry would be caught up in replenishing the inventories of their own armed forces.

    What is the status of deals underway/new deals pending with Russia?

    • The defence trade between India and Russia has crossed $15 billion since 2018, in the backdrop of some big deals including the $5.43 billion S-400 long range air defence systems.
    • Other major contracts currently under implementation are construction of four additional stealth frigates in Russia and India,
    • There is a licensed production of the Mango Armor-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds for the T-90S tanks as also additional T-90S tanks, AK-203 assault rifles among others.

    Deferred deals in downtime

    • There are several big deals deferred by the Defence Ministry as part of the review of all direct import deals.
    • This is in conjunction with efforts to push the ‘Make in India’ scheme in defence.
    • Russian deals have also been deferred including the one for 21 MiG-29 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) along with the upgradation of 59 existing Mig-29 jets.
    • This also includes the deferment of the manufacture of 12 SU-30 MKI aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

    What is the status of payments?

    • While India continues to remain Russia’s largest arms buyer with a major chunk of legacy hardware from Russia and the Soviet Union, the volume of imports has reduced in the last decade.
    • With Russia being shut out of the global SWIFT system for money transfers, India and Russia have agreed to conduct payments through the Rupee-Rouble arrangement.
    • With several big ticket deals including the S-400 under implementation, there are large volume of payments to be made.

     

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  • Earthquake in Afghanistan

    Recently a powerful earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale struck a remote town in Afghanistan, killing over a thousand and injuring many more.

    How do earthquakes happen?

    • According to the theory of plate tectonics, the Earth’s crust and upper mantle are made of large rigid plates that can move relative to one another.
    • Slip on faults near the plate boundaries can result in earthquakes.
    • The point inside the Earth where the earthquake rupture starts is called the focus or hypocentre.
    • The point directly above it on the surface of the Earth is the epicentre.

    What are Seismic Waves?

    • Any elastic material when subjected to stress, stretches in a proportional way, until the elastic limit is reached.
    • When the elastic limit is crossed, it breaks.
    • Similarly, the Earth also has an elastic limit and when the stress is higher than this limit, it breaks.
    • Then there is a generation of heat, and energy is released. Since the material is elastic, the energy is released in the form of elastic waves.
    • These propagate to a distance determined by the extent of the impact. These are known as seismic waves.

    Why Earthquake in Afghanistan?

    • Afghanistan is earthquake-prone because it’s located in the mountainous Hindu Kush region, which is part of the Alpide belt — the second most seismically active region in the world after the Pacific Ring of Fire.
    • The Alpide belt runs about 15,000 kilometers, from the southern part of Eurasia through the Himalayas and into the Atlantic.
    • Along with the Hindu Kush, it includes a number of mountain ranges, such as the Alps, Atlas Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains.
    • Additionally, the Earth’s crust is especially lively in Afghanistan because it is where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
    • The boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates exists near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.

    How are earthquakes measured?

    • Earthquakes are measured by seismographic networks, which are made of seismic stations, each of which measures the shaking of the ground beneath it.
    • In India, the National Seismological Network does this work.
    • It has a history of about 120 years and its sensors can now detect an earthquake within five to ten minutes.

    Issues with Earthquake measurement

    • Everywhere, the wave parameters are measured, not the total energy released.
    • There is a direct relationship between the quantum of energy released and the wave amplitude.
    • The amplitude of the wave is a function of the time period of the wave.
    • It is possible to convert the measured wave amplitude into the energy released for that earthquake.
    • This is what seismologists call the magnitude of the earthquake.

    What is the Richter magnitude scale?

    • This is a measure of the magnitude of an earthquake and was first defined by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology, U.S., in 1935.
    • The magnitude of an earthquake is the logarithm of the amplitude of the waves measured by the seismographs.
    • Richter scale magnitudes are expressed as a whole number and a decimal part, for example 6.3 or 5.2.
    • Since it is a logarithmic scale, an increase of the whole number by one unit signifies a tenfold increase in the amplitude of the wave and a 31-times increase of the energy released.

    How are zones designated?

    • Based on seismicity, intensity of earthquakes experienced, and geological and tectonic qualities of a region, countries are divided into several zones.
    • In India, for example, there are four zones, designated Zone II-Zone V. Among these, Zone V is the most hazardous and Zone II the least hazardous.

    Can we predict Earthquakes?

    • Since parameters of the earthquake are unknown, it is near impossible to predict an earthquake.
    • The problem with earthquakes is that they are heavily dependent on the material property, which varies from place to place.
    • If there are elastic waves propagating through a material, there are two kinds of waves — the primary wave which reaches first, and the second one called the secondary wave, which is more destructive.
    • If it is known that the amount of energy released is extremely high, trains and power grids can be shut down and the damage minimised.
    • This has worked in some locations, but not on a large commercial basis.

    Successful attempts made so far

    • The most successful early warning systems are in Japan.
    • They have several hundreds of thousands recording devices.
    • Responses are sent to a central point where they estimate whether it is large enough to form a tsunami or some other hazard, and precautionary steps are taken.

     

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  • Functioning of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the terrible beheading of a person in Udaipur by Jihadi radicalists.

    What is the NIA?

    • Headquartered in Delhi, the NIA has its branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna.
    • It is a central agency mandated to investigate all the offences affecting:
    1. Sovereignty, security and integrity of India
    2. Friendly relations with foreign states
    3. Offences under the statutory laws enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations
    • The offense include terror acts and their possible links with crimes like smuggling of arms, drugs and fake Indian currency and infiltration from across the borders.
    • The agency has the power to search, seize, arrest and prosecute those involved in such offences.

    When did the NIA come into being?

    • In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, which shocked the entire world, the then United Progressive Alliance government decided to establish the NIA.
    • In December 2008, former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram introduced the National Investigation Agency Bill.
    • The agency would deal with only eight laws mentioned in the schedule and that a balance had been struck between the right of the State and duties of the Central government to investigate the more important cases.
    • The agency came into existence on December 31, 2008, and started its functioning in 2009.
    • Till date, the NIA has registered 447 cases.

    What are the scheduled offences?

    The list includes the

    1. Explosive Substances Act,
    2. Atomic Energy Act,
    3. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
    4. Anti-Hijacking Act,
    5. Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act,
    6. SAARC Convention (Suppression of Terrorism) Act,
    7. Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act,
    8. Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and
    9. Relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and
    10. Information Technology Act
    • In September 2020, the Centre empowered the NIA to also probe offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act that are connected to terror cases.

    How wide is NIA’s jurisdiction?

    • The law under which the agency operates extends to the whole of India.
    • It also applies to:
    1. Indian citizens outside the country;
    2. Persons in the service of the government wherever they are posted;
    3. Persons on ships and aircraft registered in India wherever they may be;
    4. Persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against the Indian citizen or affecting the interest of India.

    How does the NIA take up a probe?

    • As provided under Section 6 of the Act, State governments can refer the cases pertaining to the scheduled offences registered at any police station to the Central government (Union Home Ministry) for NIA investigation.
    • After assessing the details made available, the Centre can then direct the agency to take over the case.
    • State governments are required to extend all assistance to the NIA.
    • Even when the Central government is of the opinion that a scheduled offence has been committed which is required to be investigated under the Act, it may, suo motu, direct the agency to take up/over the probe.

     

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