As Pakistan goes through a major political convulsion, India must resist the temptation to see the changes across our western frontiers through the narrow prism of bilateral relations.
Why Pakistan matters
Pakistan is an important regional piece in the power play between the US, China and Russia.
Given its location at the crossroads of the Subcontinent, Middle East, Eurasia, and China, Pakistan has always been a vital piece of real estate that was actively sought by contending geopolitical blocs.
The internal and external have always been tightly linked in Pakistan.
Today, Pakistan’s internal battles are tied to external geopolitical rivalry.
Two important factors in the political trajectory of Pakistan
Any Indian strategy in dealing with the new government in Islamabad would depend on an assessment of Pakistan’s post-Imran political trajectory.
Two important factors stand out.
1] First is the changing nature of civil military relations in Pakistan.
It is part of a serious intra-elite struggle that transcends the well-known military dominance over Pakistan’s polity.
One of the more interesting questions to come out of the current episode is whether the army’s famed internal coherence and unity of command might endure the crisis.
2] Second is the growing fragility of Pakistan’s polity triggered by the deepening economic crisis and sharpening social contradictions.
There is no guarantee that the army’s ties with new civilian rulers will be smooth nor can we assume that the civilian coalition against Imran Khan will survive the many challenges ahead as it confronts difficult policy challenges on multiple fronts.
Geopolitical challenges of Pakistan
Engaging India is unlikely to be a high priority for the new government in Islamabad.
Today, Pakistan has many other things to worry about — reviving its flagging economic fortunes, stabilising the Durand Line with Afghanistan, and rebalancing its ties with the major actors in the Middle East, including Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Pakistan, which traditionally enjoyed good relations with the West as well as China, is finding it hard to maintain a balance in its great power relations.
While the army and the new government are eager to restore ties with the US, Imran Khan has made it hard for them.
Imran Khan’s repeated praise for India’s independent foreign policy was in essence a critique of the Pakistan army that has long steered Islamabad’s international relations.
Way forward
Delhi should focus on the potential shifts in Pakistan’s strategic orientation triggered by the current crisis.
The good news from Pakistan is that India is not part of the argument between the political classes or between Imran Khan and the “deep state” represented by the army.
Conclusion
An India that gets an accurate sense of Pakistan’s changing geopolitics will be able to better deal with Islamabad.
The first bi-monthly meeting of the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the current financial year reaffirmed its focus on inflation management.
Towards the normalisation of monetary policy
The MPC voted to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4 per cent and retained its accommodative stance.
However, the wording was changed to “remain accommodative while focusing on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth.”
This statement sets the stage for a shift to a neutral stance in the next meeting and policy rate hikes in subsequent meetings.
RBI has announced the withdrawal of some of the steps taken during the pandemic to support the economy.
These will foster the normalisation of monetary policy.
Inflation challenge
The central bank has acknowledged that the disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis have upended their growth and inflation outlook.
It has steeply revised its inflation projection from 4.5 per cent earlier to 5.7 per cent now for the current financial year.
The projection is based on an average global crude oil price of $100 per barrel.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) Food Price Index, a gauge of global food prices, posted a record growth of 12.6 per cent from February.
Formalisation of Liquidity Adjustment Framework (LAF)
The RBI has been managing liquidity infused into the system during the pandemic through the Variable Rate Reverse Repo Auctions (VRRR) to withdraw liquidity and Variable Rate Repo auctions to inject liquidity.
RBI has now formalised the Liquidity Adjustment Framework (LAF).
The LAF is a framework to absorb and inject liquidity into the banking system.
The LAF is now a symmetric corridor with a width of 50 basis points.
The policy repo rate is at the centre of the corridor, with the MSF 25 basis points above the policy rate and the SDF 25 basis points below the policy rate.
What is a Standing Deposit Facility
The RBI has introduced the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) as the lower bound of the LAF corridor to absorb liquidity.
The idea of the SDF was first mooted by the Urjit Patel Committee report on the monetary policy framework.
The RBI Act was amended through the Finance Act of 2018 to allow RBI to use this instrument.
The SDF will be a facility available to banks to park their funds.
The SDF will serve as the standing liquidity absorption facility at the lower end of the LAF corridor.
At the upper end of the corridor is the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) to inject liquidity.
Through the SDF, the RBI can absorb liquidity without placing government securities as collateral, hence it will give greater flexibility to the central bank.
The change also marks a shift away from reverse repo being the effective policy rate.
Key takeaways
While on the face of it, there are no rate hikes, the shift from the reverse repo rate to the SDF signals a tightening of monetary policy.
There is a 40 basis points increase in the floor rate.
In the medium run, the call money rate would move towards the new LAF corridor, thus bringing orderly conditions in the money market.
As RBI begins to normalise liquidity in a calibrated manner, its ability to manage bond yields will likely be limited.
Yields on bonds are likely to inch up and remain above the 7 per cent mark.
Going forward, the trade-off between managing inflation and the borrowing programme of the government will become challenging.
Conclusion
For now the RBI has rightly decided to place top priority on inflation management. This will help in maintaining the credibility of the inflation targeting framework.
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The Supreme Court has decided to examine a plea to simplify the legal process for the adoption of children in the country.
Why in news?
The petition filed said that there were only 4,000 child adoptions annually though there were 3 crore orphan children in the country.
The Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance (CARING) System ought to appoint trained “adoption preparers” who could help the prospective parents to complete the cumbersome paperwork required for adoption.
What is Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)?
CARA is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development set up in 2015.
It functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
It is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, ratified by India in 2003.
Why was CARA established?
Some people are offering infants for instant adoption by stating how the children have lost their parents to pandemic.
However, such adoptions are illegal.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) law was enacted in 2015.
The Juvenile Justice Act is a secular law, all persons are free to adopt children under this law.
The Juvenile Justice Rules of 2016 and the Adoption Regulations of 2017 followed to create the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
Adoption Process
The eligibility of prospective adoptive parents living in India, duly registered on the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), irrespective of marital status and religion, is Procedure for adoption adjudged by specialised adoption agencies preparing home study reports.
The specialized adoption agency then secures court orders approving the adoption.
All non-resident persons approach authorized adoption agencies in their foreign country of residence for registration under CARINGS.
Their eligibility is adjudged by authorised foreign adoption agencies through home study reports.
CARA then issues a pre-adoption ‘no objection’ certificate for foster care, followed by a court adoption order.
A final ‘no objection’ certificate from CARA or a conformity certificate under the adoption convention is mandatory for a passport and visa to leave India.
Harmonization created by CARA
India has multiple adoption laws.
Traditionally, the 1956 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA), adoption, subject to the requirements and rigors of the Act, is available in India to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, and others subject to Hindu family law or custom.
For others, the 1890 Guardians and Wards Act applies, but which provides only guardianship, not adoption, for those not subject to Hindu family law or custom.
CARA primarily deals with the adoption of “orphaned, abandoned and surrendered” children through recognised adoption agencies.
In 2018, CARA has allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt childrenfrom and within India.
Preference Controversy
As required by the 1993 Hague Convention, Article 4(b), children residing in India are always offered to Indian families before any foreigner.
However, after taking office in 2014, PM Modi changed the law to put Non-Resident Indian (NRI) citizens and couples on par with Indians residing in India.
From this point on, all adoptable children are offered to Indian families in order of seniority instead of distinguishing between resident and non-resident Indians.
Way forward
CARA must conduct an outreach programme on social media, newspapers and TV, warning everyone not to entertain any illegal adoption offers under any circumstances whatsoever.
The National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights must step up their roles as vigilantes.
Social activists, NGOs and enlightened individuals must report all the incidents that come to their notice.
Respective State Legal Services Authorities have the infrastructure and machinery to stamp out such unlawful practices brought to their attention.
The media must publicise and shame all those involved in this disreputable occupation.
At the same time, the police authorities need to be extra vigilant in apprehending criminals.
Recently the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed in the Lok Sabha.
What is the WMD Bill?
The Bill amends the WMD and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005 which prohibits the unlawful manufacture, transport, or transfer of WMD (chemical, biological and nuclear weapons) and their means of delivery.
It is popularly referred to as the WMD Act.
The recent amendment extends the scope of banned activities to include financing of already prohibited activities.
The WMD and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act came into being in July 2005.
What was the purpose of the original WMD Act?
Its primary objective was to provide an integrated and overarching legislation on prohibiting unlawful activities in relation to all three types of WMD, their delivery systems and related materials, equipment and technologies.
It instituted penalties for contravention of these provisions such as imprisonment for a term not less than five years (extendable for life) as well as fines.
The Act was passed to meet an international obligation enforced by the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 of 2004.
What is the UNSCR 1540?
In April 2004 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1540 to address the growing threat of non-state actors gaining access to WMD material, equipment or technology to undertake acts of terrorism.
In order to address this challenge to international peace and security, UNSCR 1540 established binding obligations on all UN member states under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
Nations were mandated to take and enforce effective measures against proliferation of WMD, their means of delivery and related materials to non-state actors.
It was to punish the unlawful and unauthorised manufacture, acquisition, possession, developmentand transport of WMD became necessary.
UNSCR 1540 enforced three primary obligations upon nation states —
To not provide any form of support to non-state actors seeking to acquire WMD, related materials, or their means of delivery;
To adopt and enforce laws criminalising the possession and acquisition of such items by non-state actors;
To adopt and enforce domestic controls over relevant materials, in order to prevent their proliferation.
What has the Amendment added to the existing Act?
The Amendment expands the scope to include prohibition of financing of any activity related to WMD and their delivery systems.
To prevent such financing, the Central government shall have the power to freeze, seize or attach funds, financial assets, or economic resources of suspected individuals (whether owned, held, or controlled directly or indirectly).
It also prohibits persons from making finances or related services available for other persons indulging in such activity.
Why was this Amendment necessary?
India echoes these developments for having made the Amendment necessary.
Two specific gaps are being addressed-
As the relevant organisations at the international level, such as the Financial Action Task Force have expanded the scope of targeted financial sanctions and India’s own legislation has been harmonised to align with international benchmarks.
With advancements in technologies, new kinds of threats have emerged that were not sufficiently catered for in the existing legislation.
These notably include developments in the field of drones or unauthorised work in biomedical labs that could maliciously be used for terrorist activity.
Therefore, the Amendment keeps pace with evolving threats.
What more should India do?
India’s responsible behaviour and actions on non-proliferation are well recognised.
It has a strong statutory national export control system and is committed to preventing proliferation of WMD.
This includes transit and trans-shipment controls, retransfer control, technology transfer controls, brokering controls and end-use based controls.
Every time India takes additional steps to fulfil new obligations, it must showcase its legislative, regulatory and enforcement frameworks to the international community.
It is also necessary that India keeps WMD security in international focus.
Setting up a precedence
There is no room for complacency.
Even countries which do not have WMD technology have to be sensitised to their role in the control framework to prevent weak links in the global control system.
India can offer help to other countries on developing national legislation, institutions and regulatory framework through the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) or on bilateral basis.
Could the Amendment become troublesome to people on account of mistaken identity?
In the discussion on the Bill in Parliament, some members expressed concern on whether the new legislation could make existing business entities or people in the specific sector susceptible to a case of mistaken identity.
The External Affairs Minister, however, assured the House that such chances were minimal since identification of concerned individuals/entities would be based on a long list of specifics.
What is the international significance of these legislation?
Preventing acts of terrorism that involve WMD or their delivery systems requires building a network of national and international measures in which all nation states are equally invested.
Such actions are necessary to strengthen global enforcement of standards relating to the export of sensitive items and to prohibit even the financing of such activities.
Way forward
Sharing of best practices on legislations and their implementation can enable harmonization of global WMD controls.
India initially had reservations on enacting laws mandated by the UNSCR.
This is not seen by India as an appropriate body for making such a demand.
However, given the danger of WMD terrorism that India faces in view of the difficult neighbourhood that it inhabits, the country supported the Resolution and has fulfilled its requirements.
Conclusion
It is in India’s interest to facilitate highest controls at the international level and adopt them at the domestic level.
Having now updated its own legislation, India can demand the same of others, especially from those in its neighbourhood that have a history of proliferation and of supporting terrorist organisations.
The impression that “judges appoint judges” in India is wrong. It is the government which “finally appoints the judges in the name of the President of India, the head of our state”, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said in conversation with US Supreme Court judge.
What did the CJI say??
There is an impression that in India judges appoint judges. It is a wrong impression.
The appointment is done through a lengthy consultative process known as collegium system. Many stakeholders are consulted.
What is Collegium System?
The Collegium of judges is the Indian Supreme Court’s invention.
It does not figure in the Constitution, which says judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President and speaks of a process of consultation.
In effect, it is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges.
After some judges were superseded in the appointment of the CJI in the 1970s, and attempts made subsequently to effect a mass transfer of High Court judges across the country.
Hence there was a perception that the independence of the judiciary was under threat. This resulted in a series of cases over the years.
Evolution: The Judges Cases
First Judges Case (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective.
However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion, albeit carrying great weight, should have primacy.
Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the Supreme Court.
Third Judges Case (1998): On a Presidential Reference for its opinion, the Supreme Court, in the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.
The procedure followed by the Collegium
Appointment of CJI
The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
In practice, it has been strictly by seniority ever since the supersession controversy of the 1970s.
The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the PM who, in turn, advises the President.
Other SC Judges
For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI.
The CJI consults the rest of the Collegium members, as well as the senior-most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
The consultees must record their opinions in writing and it should form part of the file.
The Collegium sends the recommendation to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister to advise the President.
For High Courts
The CJs of High Courts are appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States. The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.
High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.
Does the Collegium recommend transfers too?
Yes, the Collegium also recommends the transfer of Chief Justices and other judges.
Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a judge from one High Court to another.
When a CJ is transferred, a replacement must also be simultaneously found for the High Court concerned. There can be an acting CJ in a High Court for not more than a month.
In matters of transfers, the opinion of the CJI “is determinative”, and the consent of the judge concerned is not required.
However, the CJI should take into account the views of the CJ of the High Court concerned and the views of one or more SC judges who are in a position to do so.
All transfers must be made in the public interest, that is, “for the betterment of the administration of justice”.
Loopholes in the Collegium system
Lack of Transparency: Opaqueness and a lack of transparency, and the scope for nepotism are cited often.
Judges appointing Judge: The attempt made to replace it with a ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission’ was struck down by the court in 2015 on the ground that it posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
Criteria: Some do not believe in full disclosure of reasons for transfers, as it may make lawyers in the destination court chary of the transferred judge.
Way ahead
In respect of appointments, there has been an acknowledgment that the “zone of consideration” must be expanded to avoid criticism that many appointees hail from families of retired judges.
The status of a proposed new memorandum of procedure, to infuse greater accountability, is also unclear.
Even the majority opinions admitted the need for transparency, now Collegiums’ resolutions are now posted online, but reasons are not given.
Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah suggested that states should communicate with each other in Hindi rather than English, while stressing that Hindi should not be an alternative to local languages.
This again sparked the debate of “Hindi imposition”.
How widely is Hindi spoken in India?
The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue.
The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count (Chart 2).
In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.
Has it always been this widespread?
Hindi has been India’s predominant mother tongue over the decades, its share in the population rising in every succeeding census.
In 1971, 37% Indians had reported Hindi as their mother tongue, a share that has grown over the next four censuses to 38.7%, 39.2%, 41% and 43.6% at last count (Chart 1).
This begs the question as to which mother tongues have declined as Hindi’s share has risen.
A number of mother tongues other than Hindi have faced a decline in terms of share, although the dip has been marginal in many cases.
For example, Bengali’s share in the population declined by just 0.14 percentage points from 1971 (8.17%) to 2011 (8.03%).
In comparison, Malayalam (1.12 percentage points) and Urdu (1.03 points) had higher declines among the mother tongues with at least 1 crore speakers in 2011.
Punjabi’s share, on the other hand, rose from 2.57% to 2.74%.
At the other end of the scale (among the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) were Malayalam, whose numbers rose by under 59% in four decades, and Assamese, rising just over 71% (Chart 3).
What explains Hindi’s high numbers?
One obvious explanation is that Hindi is the predominant language in some of India’s most populous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
Another reason is that a number of languages are bracketed under Hindi by census enumerators.
In 2011, there were 1,383 mother tongues reported by people, and hundreds were knocked out.
These mother tongues were then grouped into languages.
You will find that under Hindi, they have listed nearly 65 mother tongues.
Among them is Bhojpuri, and 5 crore people have reported Bhojpuri as their mother tongue, but the census has decided that Bhojpuri is Hindi.
If one were to knock out the other languages merged with Hindi, the total figure goes down to 38 crore.
And how widely is English spoken?
Although English, alongside Hindi, is one of the two official languages of the central government, it is not among the 22 languages in the 8th Schedule; it is one of the 99 non-scheduled languages.
In terms of mother tongue, India had just 2.6 lakh English speakers in 2011 — a tiny fraction of the 121 crore people counted in that census.
That does not reflect the extent to which English is spoken.
It was the second language of 8.3 crore respondents in 2011, second only to Hindi’s 13.9 crore.
If third language is added, then English was spoken — as mother tongue, second language or third language — by over 10% of the population in 2011, behind only Hindi’s 57%.
It is still not a scheduled language in India, when it should be.
Where is English most prevalent?
As mother tongue, Maharashtra accounted for over 1 lakh of the 2.6 lakh English speakers.
As second language, English is preferred over Hindi in parts of the Northeast.
Among the 17.6 lakh with Manipuri (an 8th Schedule language) as their mother tongue in 2011, 4.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 1.8 lakh for Hindi.
Among the non-scheduled languages spoken in the Northeast, Khasi, predominant in Meghalaya, was the mother tongue of 14.3 lakh, of whom 2.4 lakh declared their second language as English, and 54,000 as Hindi.
The trends were similar for Mizo, and for various languages spoken in Nagaland, including Ao, Angami and Rengma.
Beyond the Northeastern languages, among 68 lakh with Kashmiri as their mother tongue, 2.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 2.2 lakh who declared Hindi.
Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution
The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.
‘Classical’ languages in India
Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
How are they classified?
According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:
High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms o
Gujarat has topped the list for larger States in the NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index–Round 1 that has ranked States and Union Territories (UTs) on certain parameters.
State Energy and Climate Index
The States have been categorized based on size and geographical differences as larger and smaller States and UTs.
The index is based on 2019-20 data.
It ranks the states’ performance on 6 parameters, namely
DISCOM’s Performance
Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy
Clean Energy Initiatives
Energy Efficiency
Environmental Sustainability; and
New Initiatives
The parameters are further divided into 27 indicators. Based on the composite SECI Round I score.
The states and UTs are categorized into three groups: Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants.
Performance by the states
Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger States, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three States.
Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur.
Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers.
Punjab was the best performer in discom performance, while Kerala topped in access, affordability and reliability category.
Haryana was the best performer in clean energy initiative among larger States and Tamil Nadu in the energy efficiency category.
The discovery of a number of megalithic stone jars in Assam’s Dima Hasao district has brought to focus possible links between India’s Northeast and Southeast Asia, dating back to the second millennium BC.
What is the news?
According to a study in Asian Archaeology, the jars are a “unique archaeological phenomenon”.
It calls for more research to understand the “likely cultural relationship” between Assam and Laos and Indonesia, the only two other sites where similar jars have been found.
About the Megalithic Jars
The jars of Assam were first sighted in 1929 by British civil servants James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton.
They recorded their presence in six sites in Dima Hasao: Derebore (now Hojai Dobongling), Kobak, Kartong, Molongpa (now Melangpeuram), Ndunglo and Bolasan (now Nuchubunglo).
More such sites were later discovered in 2016 and 2020.
Researchers documented three distinct jar shapes (bulbous top with conical end; biconcial; cylindrical) on spurs, hill slopes and ridge lines.
Their significance
While the jars are yet to be scientifically dated, the researchers said links could be drawn with the stone jars found in Laos and Indonesia.
There are typological and morphological similarities between the jars found at all three sites.
Dating done at the Laos site suggests that jars were positioned at the sites as early as the late second millennium BC.
The other takeaway is the link to mortuary practices with human skeletal remains found inside and buried around the jars.
In Indonesia, the function of the jars remains unconfirmed, although some scholars suggest a similar mortuary role.
Back2Basics: Megalithic Burials in India
Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
Taken together, these monuments lend these disparate peoples the common traits of what we know as megalithic culture, one which lasted from the Neolithic Stone Age to the early Historical Period (2500 BC to AD 200) across the world.
In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.
Since its inception, UPSC-CSE has had toppers from various academic and socio-economic backgrounds who have cracked the exam with flying colours. It’s clear that one doesn’t have to go to Delhi or a coaching centre to crack UPSC-CSE.
If education, geographical and economic background doesn’t matter, then what does? Attitude, or precisely consistency. If you are persistent and adamant to clear UPSC- CSE and have given more than two attempts till now, then you must replace that with consistency. Because, being persistent might lead you to the door, but it’s consistency that unlocks it.
In last month’s Samanvaya 1-on-1 counselling sessions, our expert Civilsdaily mentors reached out to aspirants to address their concerns regarding UPSC-CSE preparation. These are the responses they often heard from them —
How do I start preparing after a gap of 3-4 months?
It’s easy for me to maintain consistency in GS Preparation but not Revision
I study daily, but can only remain focused for 2-3 hours. How do I improve?
My long working hours don’t allow me to study daily.
Why am I losing interest in completing a subject? It’ s easier to read a new subject everyday.
This week, we have decided to answer all these questions and take additional questions in our personalised & motivational counselling session.
Key-Takeaways from This Week’s Samanvaya, Free 1-on-1 Counselling Session?
If you want to experience the same mentorship as Rishab Sharma, then here’s the good news – your first UPSC mentorship is on us and is absolutely free! All you have to do is confirm your slot now.
This prompted us to reach out to one of our students who is currently an IPS officer, Rishabh Sharma. He cleared the exam in 2020 with AIR 454. After his first attempt, Rishabh had enrolled in Smash Mains program underSajal sir and also attended our free interview program. Cracking the mighty UPSC-CSE the second time, Rishabh explains what consistency means to him —
UPSC doesn’t just test your intellect. It tests your patience, mental strength, your emotions, the very character of yours . As far as the journey of CSE is concerned you might know when to start, but you never know when the journey will come to an end. So be consistent and enjoy the journey.
Every topper follows a plan, a method or strategy that makes it easier for them to study on a daily basis and complete the traget modules of the day. In this free live counselling session, we will explain the many ways you can do to avoid faltering on your preparation.
1. The difference between a consistent study pattern v/s an inconsistent one. How UPSC-CSE becomes easier over time with consistency?
2. Social media distraction. How to avoid spending long hours on social media?
3. Number of ideal breaks everyday. Why is it necessary to reward yourself with a short break from time to time?
4. Best way to plan your timetable in advance? Why daily timetable should not be rigid but yearly timetable should be well defined?
5. How to remain consistent when you are not opting for coaching?
6. What are the practical methods to maintain regularity in studies. Tips to sustain the fire and passion for studies.
7. Why using Public Libraries is a way to remain consistent in UPSC-CSE preparation?
8. What are the 4 factors that determine if you can remain consistent for a year? If not, then why should you work on them first before starting UPSC-CSE preparation?
Get Motivated to Maintain Overall Consistency for UPSC
It’s understandable we are humans and not programmable robots who can maintain the same level of interest everyday. However, maintaining an overall consistency throughout our preparation is neccessary to clear this competitive and vast exam.
Our philosophy behind MENTORSHIP is to get you out of this Snooze cycle. This ensures that you are the BEST VERSION of yourself in this journey. If you are under the impression that mentorship is weekly calls you attend, then you are mistaken, my friend. Trust us, your mentor will be your ‘FRIEND, PHILOSOPHER AND GUIDE’.
TO EACH THEIR OWN – Every aspirant is different. Their strengths and weaknesses are different. Their time availability is also different. Identifying this is important so you don’t end up making unrealistic targets and lose momentum. Your mentor will make sure you start slow but remain consistent to build your confidence. Making your schedule structured based on our experience of working with 2500+ students is our first priority.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS – When you see yourself grow, it becomes easier to motivate yourself to push boundaries. Tracking your progress can happen in many ways like mentorship calls or chat sessions or by regular tests. The idea is to ensure that you don’t go off track in your preparation, and even if you do, we have your back.
EVOLUTION – A constant guidance is important to bring consistency to your UPSC preparation. Guidance is not about clearing your doubts or asking you to study when you don’t. It is also about the evolution of your preparation. This is where you and your mentor work as a team. A constant effort to PLAN AND BUILD UP YOUR ABILITY to learn in a faster and more efficient way.
TALK IT OUT – The biggest hurdle in achieving your highest level of consistency is the emotional part. Every now and then, you. surround yourself with negative thoughts, you feel scared and depressed. Instead of resolving these emotional issues, you avoid them as it seems like a waste of your precious time. You have to understand that ignoring emotional troubles does not solve them. What your doing is building an emotional time bomb that may burst a week before your mains or prelims! This is where your MENTOR AS A FRIEND comes in. All our mentors have been through this journey. We understand your fears and anxieties. So, TALK IT OUT.
Don’t let inconsistency keep you away from your dreams.
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How has Civilsdaily Mentorship, helped Aspirants become Toppers?
The most difficult challenge faced by EVERY candidate is inconsistency. Be it inconsistency in studies, answer-writing practice, covering the syllabus, or revision, every candidate finds it difficult to cope with. Buthow do successful candidates manage to FIGHT Inconsistency so consistently?
In UPSC 2020, Civilsdaily helped 80+ students secure ranks in their exams. In the top 100, every 3rd ranker was a Civilsdaily student.
A very recent success story would be Vishwa Shah, student of Civilsdaily Mentor, Sukanya Ma’am. Vishwa has cleared the GPSC exam to become the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Gujarat. He has penned a thank-you note yesterday. Heartiest Congratulations to Vishwa!
One of our other Civilsdaily Student, Shubham Nagargojecleared the exams in 2020 to become an IPS Officer. Shubham was gracious enough to let us know how he felt about Civilsdaily Samanvaya Guidance under Parth sir.
To know how all of them cleared the exam with our mentorship, visit the UnherdPodcast.
Now that results are announced for UPSC 2021 Prelims, out of 15 out of 25 students of Santhosh Gupta sir have been recommended to Mains. One such student, Rahul expresses his gratitude and extends his appreciation.
Most of our Mentors like Sudhanshu sir, Sajal sir, Santhosh sir, Pravin sir, Parth Verma sir and Sukanya Ma’am were UPSC aspirants themselves and have attended UPSC Mains more than five times and UPSC Interview more than twice. Hence their mentorship is always a blend of the best test series, comprehensive notes and current affairs knowledge.
All of them dedicate their time weekly to give 1-on-1 mentorship to every student where they discuss last week’s performance and next week’s approach.
Be it Telegram, Whatsapp or Habitiat channels, they are always available and clear student’s doubts in a turnaround time of 24 Hours.
Why Civilsdaily Mentors are the GPS for Your UPSC-CSE Preparation
Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you want to get out of the tunnel you have to follow the direction of the light! Our mentors’ give you direction which is divided into daily modules. All you have to do is study and complete them on time.
As every year passes by, we don’t get confident by the previous years’ performance and become laidback. Instead, we become more hungry to convert all our students into toppers.REGISTER HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FIRST FREE SAMANVAYA COUNSELLING SESSION IN NEXT 24 HOURS
How are Current Civilsdaily Students Gearing up for UPSC-CSE 2022?
Initially, our Civilsdaily student Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE back in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 35 marks out of 200 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelims’ and 110+ in mains’ papers.
In Smriti’s own words she describes her Samanvaya Mentorship Experience to be —
“Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support for UPSC. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants. That’s when my mentor, Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end mentorship via value added notes, classes, test series and detailed evaluation.”
Similarly our another Civilsdaily student, Ashishsums up his Samanvaya experience with Civilsdaily mentor,Pravin Sir, “Because of Pravin sir’s support, I am able to understand a topic in lesser time.”
This is how Pravin sir evaluates Ashish’s Mains Test Series every week. After every test series evaluation, Pravin sir schedules a 1 hour call to discuss how Ashish can improve his marks and the sources he can refer for key topics.
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At the core of Civilsdaily UPSC mentorship, lies the fact that each one of you will have a unique journey while preparing for the exam. Some will get through on the first attempt without much effort while others will take both more time and more effort.
We want to understand you better to help you optimize your journey so you can focus on the right things and not waste time on the wrong ones. We are asking you to tap into the valuable experiences of mentors who underwent the same grind and realize the pitfalls and understand the shortcuts to make it.
In the first counselling session, we will understand your weaknesses. We then help you to stick to one plan or strategy throughout your preparation. We will then follow up with you on a daily basis to check if you are right on track. TALK TO OUR MENTORS & CLARIFY YOUR DOUBTS NOW
Enters Arunachal Pradesh as Dihang River at Sadiya, emerging from the mountains
Joined by Dibang river from the north & Lohit river from the south → Known as Brahamputra
Turns at Dhubri to enter into Bangladesh
After joining Teesta, known as Jamuna in BD
Joins Ganga & Megna → Merges to BOB.
Forms many river island of which Majuli is world 2nd largest one
Major tributaries → Dihang, Lohit, Subansiri, Teesta, Meghna (Barack in Assam), Manas
Teesta
Major tributary of Brahmaputra
Rises from Sikkim
Known as lifeline of Sikkim
Lohit
Tributary of Brahmaputra
Flows through Arunachal Pradesh
Along with river, Dihang merges into Brahmaputra, at Sadia town (Arunachal Pradesh)
Peninsular Rivers India – Flowing East to West
Luni
Desertic river, also known as the Sagarmati
Rises from the western slopes of the Aravalli Range near Ajmer
Ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat
Inspite of high salinity, it is a major river in region
Serves as a primary source of irrigation
Sabarmati
Rises from Dhebar lake in Aravalli Range of the Udaipur (Rajasthan)
Flow Route: Udaipur → Gulf of Khambat → Arabian Sea via Estuary
Mahi
Rises from Vindhya range (MP)
flows through MP, Rajasthan & Gujrat & drains in Gulf of Cambay
Famous Projects → Banswara Dam & Kadana dam
Narmada
Origin → Amarkantak, Shahdol, MP
Also known as Rewa River
Flows through rift valley of Vindhya & Satpura
Flow Route: MP → Bharuch (Gujrat) → Gulf of Khambat (Gujrat) → Arabian Sea via Estuary
Longest among all east to west flowing rivers
Known as Life line of MP
Forms Duandhar falls at Jabalpur
Only tributary → Hiran River
Aliabet → Largest Island in Estuary
Famous projects →Sardar Sarovar Dam, Maheshwar Dam, Indira Gandhi Sagar Dam
Tawa
Rises in the Satpura Range of Betul (MP)
Narmada’s longest tributary
Tapi
Origin → Mahadev hills, Satpura range, Betul district, MP
Flow Route: MP → Maharashtra → Gulf of Khambat or Cambay → Arabian Sea via Estuary
Famous projects → Kakrapar Dam & Ukai Dam
Periyar
Rises from Western Ghats in Kerala
Flows towards west & drains in Arabian Sea via an estuary
Peninsular Rivers India – Flowing West to East
Mahanadi
Origin → Dandakaranya Hills, Raipur
Flow Route: Chhattisgarh → Orissa → EGs → BOB
Famous Project : Hirakund Dam
Godavari
Origin → Triambakeshwar Plateau, Nashik, WGs
Largest Peninsular River
Known as Dakshina / Vriddha Ganga
Flow Route: Nashik → Andhra Pradesh → BOB
Famous Tributaries → Penganga, Sabri, Wardha & Indravati
Famous Projects→ Poochampad, Jayakwadi, Polavaram
Penganga
Rises from Ajanta hills (Maharashtra)
a tributary of River Wardha which finally merges into Godavari
Krishna
Origin → Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, WGs
Flow Route: Maharashtra → Andhra Pradesh → BOB
Famous Projects → Koyna, Tugrabhdra, Srisailam & Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
Tungabhadra
a major tributary of Krishna
Rises from Western Ghats
Bhima
Rises from Balaghat range (Maharashtra)
Tributary of Krishna
Kaveri
Origin → Brahamgiri hills, Karnataka, WGs
Flow Route: Karnataka → Kaveripatnam (TN) →BOB
Perrenial River
Forms Shivasundaram Waterfalls
Famous projects→ Krishnaraja Sagar & Mettur
Penner
Rises from Karnataka
Flows b/w Krishna & Kaveri
Drains into BOB
Vaigai
Rises from Palni hills (TN)
A seasonal river flows through TN
Drains in Gulf of Mannar
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The Prime Minister of Nepal made his first bilateral visit abroad to India since taking his oath in July 2021. The visit was a success in terms of launching connectivity projects and signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Bilateral dialogues, strengthened economic connections and more sensitization towards the people of Nepal is what India needs to pursue to fulfil the objectives of its ‘neighborhood first policy’.
Historical Background
Ancient ties: The relationship between India and Nepal goes back to the times of the rule of the Sakya clan and Gautama Buddha.
Initially, Nepal was under tribal rule and only with the coming of Licchavi rule in Nepal did its feudal era truly begin.
Cultural relations: From 750 to 1750 AD period saw a shift from Buddhism to Hinduism in Nepal and witnessed widespread cultural diffusion.
India and Nepal share similar ties in terms of Hinduism and Buddhism with Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini located in present-day Nepal.
India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal.
Nepal is an important neighbor of India and occupies a special significance in its foreign policy because of the geographic, historical, cultural and economic linkages/ties that span centuries.
In recent years, India’s relations with Nepal have witnessed some ‘lows’.
The relationship between the two took a nosedive in 2015, with India first getting blamed for interfering in the Constitution drafting process and then for an “unofficial blockade” that generated widespread resentment against India.
Highlights of the recent visit
Important Projects in discussion:
The operationalization of the 35 kilometre cross-border rail link from Jayanagar (Bihar) to Kurtha (Nepal) will be further extended to Bijalpura and Bardibas.
The 90 km long 132 kV double circuit transmission line connecting Tila (Solukhumbu) to Mirchaiya (Siraha) is close to the Indian border.
Agreements signed:
Agreements providing technical cooperation in the railway sector,
Nepal’s induction into the International Solar Alliance, becoming the 105th country to become a signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA.
Between Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation ensuring regular supplies of petroleum products were also signed.
India called for taking full advantage of opportunities in the power sector, including through joint development of power generation projects in Nepal and the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure.
Launch ofIndian RuPay card in Nepal: This would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages between India and Nepal.
Various facets of India-Nepal ties
1. Cultural ties
While enjoying their own peculiarities, both India and Nepal share a common culture and ways of life.
Religion is perhaps the most important factor and plays a predominant role in shaping the cultural relations between these two countries, marked by a cross country pilgrimage on Char Dham Yatra, Pashupatinath Temple and some Buddhist sites.
A considerable section of Nepalese comprises of Madhesi population which has familial & ethnic ties with states of Bihar, UP.
2. Strategic ties
Nepal is a buffer state between India and China.
Several Nepali Citizens are also deployed in Indian defence forces as well.
3. Political ties
Constitutional turmoil is not new in Nepal. India has played a vital role in the democratic transition in Nepal against the monarch King Gyanendra.
Nepali Congress (NC) is one of the country’s oldest parties which supports relations with India, but the communist parties show a tilt towards China.
4. Economic ties
Nepal is an important export market for India. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner.
Himalayan rivers flowing through Nepal can be used for Hydroelectric power projects which will benefit border states of UP, Bihar and other adjacent areas.
There are three major water deals between Nepal and India, namely the Kosi Agreement, the Gandak Treaty and the Mahakali Treaty. India also exports Power to Nepal.
Also, Nepal is the largest borrower of Indian Currency in South Asia.
Nepal has escalating trade deficit with India. Nepal and India have concluded bilateral Treaty of Transit, Treaty of Trade and the Agreement of Cooperation to Control Unauthorized Trade.
5. Connectivity
The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship was sought by the Nepali authorities in 1949 to provide for an open border and for Nepali nationals to have the right to work in India.
The BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) in which Nepal is a partner will permit the member states to ply their vehicles in each other’s territory for transportation of cargo and passengers.
6. Multilateral and Regional Fora
Both Nepal and India work in tandem in the United Nations, Non-aligned Movement and other international fora on most of the important international issues.
Both the countries have been deeply engaged in the regional and sub-regional frameworks of SAARC, BIMSTEC and BBIN for enhancing cooperation for greater economic integration.
China’s role in Nepal – a matter of concern
Once considered a buffer state between India and China, Nepal is now showing an inclination towards Beijing. China is trying to stimulate and tempt Nepal with multiple aids, economic growth and acquisition.
China is pursuing a more assertive foreign policy and considers Nepal as an important element in its growing South Asian footprint and being a key partner in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In 2016, Nepal negotiated an Agreement on Transit Transportation with China and in 2017, China provided a military grant of $32 million to Nepal.
In 2019, a Protocol was concluded with China providing access to four seaports and three land ports to Nepal. China is also engaged with airport expansion projects at Pokhara and Lumbini.
China has overtaken India as the largest source of foreign direct investment with the annual development assistance being worth $120 million.
Recently, the ratification of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose project saw street protests and big-time social media campaigns supported by China.
Indo-Nepal Border Disputes
India and Nepal share about an 1800 Km long border. There are 2 major border or territorial disputes:
1) Kalapani
The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal.
The Treaty of Sugauli signed by the Kingdom of Nepal and British India (after the Anglo-Nepalese War) in 1816 located the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India.
The discrepancy in locating the source of the Kali River led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims.
However, India has control of Kalapani since the 1962 Indo-Sina War.
Kalapani is a valley that is administered by India as a part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. It is situated on the Kailash Mansarovar route.
Why is Lipulekh important for India?
For India, the Lipulekh pass has security implications.
After its disastrous 1962 border war with China, it was concerned about a possible Chinese intrusion through the pass and has been keen to hold on to the strategic Himalayan route to guard against any future incursions.
The link road via Lipulekh Himalayan Pass is also considered one of the shortest and most feasible trade routes between India and China.
2) Susta Region
It is about 140 sq. km of land in Uttar Pradesh at the Nepal border in the Terai area. India has control of the territory. Nepal claims this territory.
The change of course by the Gandak river is the main reason for disputes in the Susta area.
Susta is located on the bank of the Gandak river.
It is called the Narayani river in Nepal.
It joins Ganga near Patna, Bihar.
Issue of Simultaneous floods in Bihar and Nepal
Some of Nepal’s biggest river systems originate in the Himalayan glaciers which then flow into India through Bihar.
During the monsoons, these river systems flood causing many problems for Bihar.
It is a necessity that there is process-driven coordination between the Centre and the Government of Bihar to handle the flooding in Nepal’s Terai and North Bihar (largely the Mithilanchal region).
Which are those flooding rivers?
Nepal’s three biggest river systems—Kosi, Gandaki and Karnali—originate in the high mountain glaciers, flow through the country and then enter India through the state of Bihar.
During the monsoon season, these river systems often get flooded due to heavy rains/landslides in Nepal which create floods in India’s most flood-prone state—Bihar.
Why Nepal is Important to India?
It acts as a strategic buffer against the aggression of China.
The Pakistan factor: peddling of FICN, drugs and terrorism through the Indo-Nepal border. It makes the cooperation of Nepal important.
India and Nepal share common culture: There are huge Nepali communities in Darjeeling and Sikkim. Many marital relations across the border exist.
National Security: There is a lot of interdependence. Gurkha Regiment in Indian Army is known for its valiance.
Nepal could play in the hands of China which could be detrimental to Indian interests. Hence they need to be kept as close as possible.
Ministry of External Affairs term India-Nepal Relation as “Roti-Beti ka Rishta” (Relation of food and marriage)
Energy Security: Nepal has the potential of 80 GW of hydroelectricity. But only 600 MW potential is realized so far.
Nepal’s lack of cooperation in this regard has hindered development. The surplus could be used for Indian border states.
Major Irritants in bilateral ties
1) Nepali nationalism and Anti-India sentiments
Anti-India Sentiment in Nepal is largely politically motivated as it is wrongly perceived as India’s backing to Monarchy.
The widening gap in understanding each other’s concerns has helped feed Nepali nationalism and create a dense cloud of distrust and suspicion between the two countries.
The gap widened after India chose to impose an economic blockade in response to Nepal’s sovereign decision to promulgate a democratic constitution.
2) China factor
Increasing Chinese presence in Nepal is one of the major concerns for India. China’s move to extend the rail link to its border with Nepal can reduce its dependence on India.
Fundamentally these Chinese agencies are building up anti-India sentiments in Nepal.
Nepal’s assent for the ‘One Belt One Region’ (OBOR) initiative of China is viewed by India with suspicion.
Nepal has been slowly fallen prey to China’s inroad debt trap policy.
3) India has ignored the changing political narrative for long
The reality is that India has ignored the changing political narrative in Nepal for far too long.
For too long India has invoked a “special relationship”, based on shared culture, language and religion, to anchor its ties with Nepal.
The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship which was sought by the Nepali authorities in 1949 is viewed as a sign of an unequal relationship, and an Indian imposition.
4) Open borders
The issue of open borders has also been a point of debate in Nepal in recent years- Nepalese people argue that India is benefiting more from it than Nepal.
It has an open border with India which leads to problems such as illegal migrants, counterfeit currency entry, drug and human trafficking.
5) Madhesis Issue
Madhesis share extensive cross-border ethnic and linguistic links with India. India’s involvement in Nepali politics and the upsurge in Madhesi have deep roots in history and unless resolved.
Madhesis protest and India’s blockade soured the relations for the worst.
Way Forward
1) Dialogues for Territorial Disputes
In the best spirit of friendship, Nepal and India should restart the water dialogue and come up with policies to safeguard the interests of all those who have been affected on both sides of the border.
India needs to be a sensitive and generous partner for the neighbourhood first policy to take root.
The dispute shall be negotiated diplomatically under the aegis of International law on Trans-boundary Water Disputes.
2) Sensitising Towards Nepal
The onus is on India to rethink on a long-term basis how to recalibrate its relationship with Nepal provided Nepal should not ignore its relations with India.
It should maintain the policy of keeping away from the internal affairs of Nepal, meanwhile, in the spirit of friendship, India should guide the nation towards more inclusive rhetoric.
3) Strengthening Economic Ties
The power trade agreement needs to be such that India can build trust in Nepal. Despite more renewable energy projects (solar) coming up in India, hydropower is the only source that can manage peak demand in India.
For India, buying power from Nepal would mean managing peak demand and also saving the billions of dollars of investments that would have to be invested in building new power plants, many of which would cause pollution.
4) Investments from India
The Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) signed between India and Nepal needs more attention from Nepal’s side.
The private sector in Nepal, especially the cartels in the garb of trade associations, are fighting tooth and nail against foreign investments.
It is important that Nepal conveys this message that it welcomes Indian investments.
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Detailed Application Form (DAF) is one of the most important documents that you might have filled for UPSC interviews. A major part of the interview will revolve around the information and details provided in the DAF. It is more than your CV.
Your ability to defend your DAF before the panel is going to decide your success. Anticipating and preparing for the questions based on your DAF is an essential part of the interview preparation.
It is always a proud moment for us when our students succeed, and we feel humbled when they thank us for our guidance. Karishma Nair (AIR 14, 2020) wrote a personal note to Sajal sir and Civilsdaily after securing AIR 14 and in the letter she explained how our mentorship helped her succeed!
Under the guidance of Sajal sir, Karishma Nair received regular detailed feedback. Each and every answer was analysed and every mistake removed. She says in the letter that the feedback helped her improve every day.
Not only that, her mentor was always available to guide her. She received a structured approach to the UPSC syllabus and answer-writing along with help and motivation throughout her preparation. With time, she was able to improve her performance and was able to secure AIR 14 in UPSC 2020. You can read her letter below:
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The importance of care work is now widely acknowledged and covered in various international commitments such as the SDGs. However, the investment in the care economy has not matched the pace.
Significance of care work
Care work encompasses direct activities such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner, and indirect care activities such as cooking and cleaning’.
Whether paid or unpaid, direct or indirect, care work is vital for human well-being and economies.
Unpaid care work is linked to labour market inequalities, yet it has yet to receive adequate attention in policy formulation.
Paid care workers, such as domestic workers and anganwadis in India, also struggle to access rights and entitlements as workers.
Greater investment in care services can create an additional 300 million jobs globally, many of which will be for women.
In turn this will help increase female labour force participation and advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.
This year, to commemorate International Women’s Day, the ILO brought out its new report titled, ‘Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work’.
The report highlights the importance of maternity, paternity, and special care leave, which help balance women’s and men’s work and family responsibilities throughout their lives.
Gaps in the current policies
Bridging the gaps in current policies and service provisions to nurture childcare and elderly care services will deliver the benefits of child development, aging in dignity and independent living as the population grows older and also generate more and better employment opportunities, especially for women.
Maternity leave: Maternity leave is a universal human and labour right.
Yet, it remains unfulfilled across countries, leaving millions of workers with family responsibilities without adequate protection and support. India fares better than its peers in offering 26 weeks of maternity leave, against the ILO’s standard mandate of 14 weeks that exists in 120 countries.
However, this coverage extends to only a tiny proportion of women workers in formal employment in India, where 89% of employed women are in informal employment (as given by ILOSTAT, or the ILO’s central portal to labour statistics).
While paternity leave is recognised as an enabler for both mothers and fathers to better balance work and family responsibilities, it is not provided in many countries, including India.
Access to quality and affordable care services such as childcare, elderly care and care for people with disabilities is a challenge workers with family responsibilities face globally.
Limited implementation: While India has a long history of mandating the provision of crèches in factories and establishments, there is limited information on its actual implementation.
Domestic workers, on whom Indian households are heavily reliant, also face challenges in accessing decent work.
According to the Government’s 2019 estimates, 26 lakh of the 39 lakh domestic workers in India are female.
Ensure decent work for domestic workers: While important developments have extended formal coverage to domestic workers in India, such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and the minimum wage schedule in many States, more efforts are required to ensure decent work for them.
Way forward
Increase spending: India spends less than 1% of its GDP on the care economy; increasing this percentage would unfurl a plethora of benefits for workers and the overall economy.
Strategy: In consultation with employers’ and workers’ organisations and the relevant stakeholders, the Government needs to conceptualise a strategy and action plan for improved care policies, care service provisions and decent working conditions for care workers.
5R Framework: The ILO proposes a 5R framework for decent care work centred around achieving gender equality. The framework urges the Recognition, Reduction, and Redistribution of unpaid care work, promotes Rewarding care workers with more and decent work, and enables their Representation in social dialogue and collective bargaining.
Conclusion
A human-centred and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that benefits workers, employers, and the government, requires a more significant investment in and commitment to supporting the care economy, which cares for the society at large.
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UPSC panelists are going to ask unsettling communal/community-based questions. You need to be prepared for such questions. How Ravi Kumar, AIR 84, UPSC 2020 tackled a bouncer of a question, watch the video.
As a part of Transcend Interview Guidance Program for UPSC 2021 we’ve prepared and compiled a high-quality comprehensive questionnaire.
Social media platforms have adopted design choices that have led to a proliferation and mainstreaming of misinformation while allowing themselves to be weaponised by powerful vested interests for political and commercial benefit.
Problems created by social media and issues with response to it
The consequent free flow of disinformation, hate and targeted intimidation has led to real-world harm and degradation of democracy in India: Mainstreamed anti-minority hate, polarised communities and sowed confusion have made it difficult to establish a shared foundation of truth.
Political agenda: Organised misinformation (disinformation) has a political and/or commercial agenda.
Apolitical and episodic discourse in India: The discourse in India has remained apolitical and episodic — focused on individual pieces of content and events, and generalised outrage against big tech instead of locating it in the larger political context or structural design issues.
Problematic global discourse: The evolution of the global discourse on misinformation too has allowed itself to get mired in the details of content standards, enforcement, fact-checking, takedowns, de-platforming, etc.
Moderating misinformation vs. safeguarding freedom of expression: Such framework lends itself to bitter partisan contest over individual pieces of content while allowing platforms to disingenuously conflate the discourse on moderating misinformation with safeguards for freedom of expression.
The current system of content moderation is more a public relations exercise for platforms than being geared to stop the spread of disinformation.
Framework to combat disinformation
Consider it as a political problem: The issue is as much about bad actors as individual pieces of content.
Content distribution and moderation are interventions in the political process.
Comprehensive transparency law: There is thus a need for a comprehensive transparency law to enforce relevant disclosures by social media platforms.
Bipartisan political process for content moderation: Content moderation and allied functions such as standard setting, fact-checking and de-platforming must be embedded in the sovereign bipartisan political process if they are to have democratic legitimacy.
Regulatory body should be grounded in democratic principles: Any regulatory body must be grounded in democratic principles — its own and of platforms.
Three approaches to distribution that can be adopted by platforms: 1) Constrain distribution to organic reach (chronological feed);
2) take editorial responsibility for amplified content;
3) amplify only credible sources (irrespective of ideological affiliation).
Review of content creator: The current approach to misinformation that relies on fact-checking a small subset of content in a vast ocean of unreviewed content is inadequate for the task and needs to be supplemented by a review of content creators itself.
Conclusion
Social media cannot be wished away. But its structure and manner of use are choices we must make as a polity after deliberation instead of accepting as them fait accompli or simply being overtaken by developments along the way.
In a case that the SC is currently hearing, the petitioner has challenged a notification issued by the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities (Department).
About the notification
The impugned notification exempts all categories of posts in the Indian Police Service, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service, as well as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service from the mandated 4 per cent reservation for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 [RPwD Act].
Issues with the notification
1] Against combat and non-combat classification
On the same day as the issuing of the impugned notification, the Department also issued another notification exempting from the purview of reservation under the RPwD Act posts only of “combatant” nature in the paramilitary police.
This classification between combat and non-combat posts was premised on a clear recognition of the fact that persons with disabilities are capable of occupying non-combat posts in the central forces.
The Department has offered no justification as to why this classification would not hold good as regards the services covered in the impugned notification.
2] Against the identification of posts suitable for reservation for the disabled
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had identified a range of ministerial/civilian posts as being suitable for reservation for the disabled.
The impugned notification goes against this identification exercise, by virtue of its blanket character.
Further, on November 22, 2021, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs released Draft Accessibility Standards/Guidelines for built infrastructure under its purview (police stations, prisons and disaster mitigation centres) and services associated with them.
These Draft Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.
3] Exercise of power
As per the RPwD Act, the grant of any exemption has to be preceded by consultation with the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
However, the office of the chief commissioner has been lying vacant for many years, with the secretary in the Department officiating in that role.
Conclusion
This case presents the SC with the opportunity to rule that the disabled are not a monolithic entity. Every disabled person is different, and it is unfair to paint all disabled people with the same broad brush, based on a stereotypical understanding of what they can do.
