💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF

Talk to Mentor

Subject: International Relations

PM Modi pitches for ‘Full Transit Right’ among SCO members
With Pakistan PM listening, Prime Minister Modi urged Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states to “give each other full right to transit”.

Why in news?
- PM Modi framed the right to transit in the context of connectivity and how it could help establish reliable and resilient supply chains in the region.
Why did PM pitch this?
- Lack of transit across Pakistan’s territory has been a challenge for India to access Central Asian markets.
- Iran’s President also said that despite the impressive potential, infrastructural connections in the field of transit between members of the SCO are not so extensive.
- Iran already provides special priority to the development of the North-South Corridor and has made huge investments.
What is International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)?
- The INSTC is a 7,200 km-long multimodal transportation network encompassing sea, road, and rail routes to offer the shortest route of connectivity.
- It was established on 12th September 2000 in St. Petersburg, by Iran, Russia and India for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States.
- It links the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea via the Persian Gulf onwards into Russia and Northern Europe.
- It will move freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
Significance of INSTC
- Trade facilitation: INSTC is aimed at reducing the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30 percent and bringing down the transit time by more than half.
- New corridor in making: It has the potential to transform the economies of countries along the corridor into specialized manufacturing, logistics, and transit hubs by facilitating access to newer markets.
- Multimodal transit: The recent Suez Canal blockade, which cost the global economy hefty damage amounting to US$9 billion, has amplified the optimistic outlook towards the INSTC as a cheaper and faster alternative multimodal transit corridor.
Benefits offered to India
- Export promotion: The INSTC connects India with Central Asia, and Russia, and has the potential to expand up to the Baltic, Nordic, and Arctic regions, increasing the scope of trade multifold.
- Ease of trade: For India, it provides a shorter trade route with Iran, Russia, and beyond to Europe, creating scope for increased economic engagement.
- Alternative Route to Central Asia: It opens up a permanent alternative route for India to trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia, given the hurdles in the direct route through Pakistan.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 27, 2022
Sports as soft power
Context
- Increased interest, especially by smaller nations in the world, in investing more and doing well in elite sports in international sporting events boosts a nation’s chances of attaining soft power.
- India’s medal tally at recent International sports events demonstrate the country’s soft power on the global stage and encourage working towards the status of a great “geopolitical actor”.
What is soft power?
- Origin:
  - As far back as the 4^th century BC, Kautilya (chankyaniti) had propounded the concept of Saam(advice or cajole),daam(pay or bribe),dand(punish),bhed(exploit secrets) which acquired western touch and can be understood by Soft power, smart power, hard power, and sharp power respectively.
  - Joseph Nye introduced the concept of “soft power” in the late 1980s. For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.
- Meaning:
- Soft power is the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion.
- Soft power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.
Why Soft power is so significant?

Use of ‘Soft Power’ includes the number of cultural missions such as language schools, Olympic Medals and the quality of a country’s overall growth. Soft power produces following things:
- Familiarity: If people know more about your country, culture, sports, and its talents, businesses, and resources, then soft power is enhanced.
- Reputation: For a nation to be attractive and a role model for others, its overall reputation must be strong and positive.
- Influence: A direct measure of the perceived presence and impact that your country has in other countries
- Business/Innovation/Sports: The attractiveness of a country’s economic model, its digital engagement with the world, performance in sports etc.
- Government: Showcases the ability of country’s political leadership and what it delivers to its people in different arenas.
- Multi-Alignment: As a country rises up the ‘Soft Power’ list, more and more outside parties align themselves with the common goals of that country.
Why the Sports being used as a tool of soft power in modern international relations?

Sport can be used as tool of soft power both internationally and domestically.
- International platform: Sports provide a platform for countries to showcase their culture, values and tradition.
- Puts a Better image of a country: Sports as a tool to achieve social, political, and financial goals, and improve the image of the country.
- International exposure: The focus on culture and peaceful values in sports make it a useful tool for countries to use soft power to achieve international goals and improve their public diplomacy.
- Reducing differences: Sports provides a platform for trust-building; and reconciliation, integration and anti-racism.
- Learning from China’s Case:
- Dongfeng Liu (International Professor of Sport Management) in his survey on China’s performance in the Olympics he found that a country’s Olympic achievement has a positive effect on its national soft power.
- As china is a communist country and reputation about human rights is not good, so China uses its superiority in elite sports to build “people-to-people” relations with other countries. For example, athletes from African countries such as Madagascar are trained in swimming, badminton, table tennis, etc. in China, which helps Beijing create a positive impact on a wider population and result in better formal relations as well.
- There is also China’s memorandum of understanding with countries such as Kenya so that Chinese runners can train with Kenyan athletes, as they are among the best in the world when it comes to long-distance running.
Introspection on India’s performance at recent International Sports events
- It is being said that the golden period of Indian sports may have begun as at the Tokyo Olympics and then the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) are examples of a good performance.
- India’s medal tally in the Tokyo Olympics Games — seven — was its most decorated Olympic Games in Indian history.
- At the Commonwealth games (CWG) 2022, Indian athletes won 61 medals, including 22 gold.
- India has one of the world’s poorest population-to-medal ratios when it comes to the Olympics.
- Ensuring competent coaches, and having adequate funding and more sports academics still remain major issues even decades later
- India spends only three paise per day per capita on sports. In contrast China spends 1 per day per capita.
What can be done to increase the country’s sporting performance and soft power?
- Train Indian players overseas:
- India should concentrate on forging MoUs with nations that excel in specific sports and train Indian players overseas.
- For example, Australia and the United Kingdom can assist us in swimming given their standing here.
- When it comes to running, negotiating collaborative training agreements with African countries such as Kenya would be ideal.
- No Politics over assistance:
- There should be no politics in seeking or even offering assistance.
- For example China has requested Indian assistance in improving cricket development in China (Chongqing city).
- Private Investment:
- Private investment needs to be harnessed to develop infrastructure. The better a country performs in sporting events the greater a sports person’s interest in their sports atmosphere. This also creates a huge market for private players to invest in.
- For example, leading corporate houses in India have already shown how their active participation and investment can improve sporting performance as a result of unique corporate sports programmes.
- Public –private partnership at grass root :
- The Government should also work on a public-private partnership (PPP) model to create basic sporting infrastructure.
- As recommended by NITI Aayog, at the district level too so that talent can be captured at an early stage.
Conclusion
- Sports as a tool of soft power had always been a key element of leadership from the ancient times. Sports provide an international platform to develop an attitude of unity in a divided multi-polar modern world.
Mains Question

Q. Sports provide an international platform to develop an attitude of unity and influence others in a divided multi-polar modern world. Discuss in this context that soft power is not an end but a means to an end.
September 26, 2022
Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) formed by 5 South Asian Countries
Edible oil trade associations from five palm oil importing countries in South Asia – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal – on Thursday announced the setting up of Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA).

What is Oil Palm?
- Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palms.
- The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel.
What is APOA?
- Through APOA, the countries aim at safeguarding the economic and business interests of the palm oil consuming countries and will work towards increasing the consumption of palm oil in member countries.
- The idea is to gain collecting bargaining power and make imports sustainable.
- APOA held its first general body meeting on the side-lines of the Globoil Summit.
- The industry associations of Asian palm oil importing countries, unlike their counterparts in Europe, are not involved in shaping the global discourse on sustainable palm oil in a collective way.
- The alliance would work towards ensuring that palm oil is recognised as a high-quality, economical, and healthy vegetable oil and to change the negative image of palm oil.
Why such move?
- India’s annual imports of edible oil is around 13-14 million tonne (MT).
- Around 8 MT of palm oil is imported from Indonesia and Malaysia, while other oils, such as soya and sunflower, come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.
- Asia accounts for around 40% of the global palm oil consumption while Europe accounts for 12% of palm oil trade.
- Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest palm oil exporters in the world.
- India is the largest importer of palm oil in Asia, accounting for 15% of global imports, followed by China (9%), Pakistan (4%) and Bangladesh (2%).
Try this PYQ:

Q.Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?

(a) Spices

(b) Fresh fruits

(c) Pulses

(d) Vegetable oils

[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”wt7ixarayz” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 26, 2022
Geopolitics follows the geoeconomics and not vice-versa
Context
- Over the recent years India’s manoeuvres in indo-pacific have highlighted the India’s geopolitical and ambitions. Pandemic and Chinese incursion in Ladakh forced India to move fast to achieve its geopolitical ends. However missing link in India’s endeavour is geoeconomics.
What is mean by geopolitics and geo-economics?
- Geopolitics: is defined as the struggle over the control of geographical entities with an international and global dimension, and the use of such geographical entities for political advantage.
- Geo-economics: is defined as the combination of economic and geographic factors relating to international trade and a governmental policy guided by geoeconomics.
- Geopolitics and geoeconomics are sometimes used interchangeably.
What is the strategy to pursue geopolitical goals in indo-pacific?
- India has managed to emerge as a major pivot of the global Indo-Paciﬁc grand strategic imagination.
- Avoided the temptations to militarise/securitise the Quad (Australia, Japan, India and the United States).
- Which has ensured that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states do not feel uneasy by the ever-increasing balance of power articulations in the Indo-Pacific
What is the missing link in India’s geopolitical strategy?
- The missing link in geoeconomics is India’s decision to take to the Indo-Paciﬁc and Quad in a big way.
- While unwilling to join two of the region’s key multilateral trading agreements goes to show that geoeconomics and geopolitics are imagined and pursued parallelly in New Delhi, not as complimenting each other.
- The most recent example is India’s refusal to join the trade pillar of the Indo-Paciﬁc Economic Framework (IPEF) while deciding to join the three other pillars of the IPEF supply chains, tax and anti-corruption, and clean energy.
India also withdrew from ASEAN led RCEP.

Is the lack of geoeconomic bad for foreign policy?
- The absence of the world’s fifth largest economy from various regional trading platforms will invariably boost China’s geo-economic hegemony in Asia.
- Staying out of IPEF is a bad idea is because for India, it would be hard to integrate itself into the regional and global supply chains without being a part of important regional multilateral trading agreements.
- We have no option but to address some of the deeper challenges plaguing the investment and business environment in India.
- If India is indeed serious about its maritime grand strategy, which cannot be solely military in nature, it needs to get the states in the region to create economic stakes in India (something China has done cleverly and consistently) and vice-versa.
- Another impact of India’s hesitation about joining regional multilateral trading arrangements is its potential regional economic isolation. The less India engages with the region economically, and the more China does so, and given the Sino-Indian rivalry, India might risk getting economically isolated in the broader region.
What can be done?
- New Delhi should: rethink its geoeconomic choices if it is serious about enhancing its geopolitical inﬂuence in the region. Given that India has not closed the door on the trade pillar of the IPEF, we have an opportunity to rethink our position.
- India should: also rethink its decision not to join the RECP and seek to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Paciﬁc Partnership (CPTPP) from which the U.S. walked out and China is seeking to join.
- India should: also proactively lobby to become a part of the Minerals Security Partnership, the U.S.-led 11-member grouping to secure supply chains of critical minerals.
Conclusion
- In the words of external affairs minister Dr. Jaishankar,” geopolitics follows the geoeconomics and not vice-versa”. Geoeconomics is inclusive of geoeconomics. India should integrate itself in multilateral trading platforms and leverage its big market to bargain the best deal for itself.
Mains question

Q. Indias pursuit of geopolitics is futile without inclusion of geoeconomics. Comment.

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 26, 2022
India raises Sri Lankan Tamil issue in UN
India voiced concern over the “lack of measurable progress” in Sri Lanka’s promised political solution to the long-pending Tamil national question.

Back in news: Tamil Issue
- India has made an unexpected (for SL) reference to the crisis-hit island nation’s “debt-driven” economy in the context of its current crisis.
- Indian delegation noted the lack of measurable progress by Government of Sri Lanka on their commitments of a political solution to the ethnic issue.
- It sought for full implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, delegation of powers to Provincial Councils and holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest.
Has India retreated from supporting Sri Lanka?
- India’s statement comes ahead of a resolution on Sri Lanka that will likely face a vote at the Council.
- Since 2009, India has voted thrice in favour of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka — two were critical — and abstained twice, in 2014 and 2021.
- Irrespective of its vote, India has consistently underscored the need for a political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, ensuring justice, peace, equality and dignity for the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
Issues faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka
- According to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2016 report on Sri Lanka, Tamils report systematic discrimination in areas including government employment, university education, and access to justice.
- A large portion of the Tamil population still remains displaced.
What is the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka?
- Violent persecution against the Tamil population erupted in the form of the 1956, 1958, 1977, 1981 and 1983 anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka.
- Over 13 years since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed and disappeared, survivors continue demanding justice and accountability for war-time crimes.
- In the post-war years, Sri Lanka’s human rights defenders have frequently flagged concerns over persisting militarisation, especially in the Tamil-majority north and east; repression, and the shrinking space for dissent.
What is the 13^th Amendment?
- It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve the ethnic conflict and civil war.
- The 13th Amendment led to the creation of Provincial Councils and assured a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
- Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
Why is it contentious?
- The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years.
- It was opposed vociferously by both Sinhala nationalist parties and the LTTE.
- The opposition within Sri Lanka saw the Accord and the consequent legislation as an imprint of Indian intervention.
- It was widely perceived as an imposition by a neighbour wielding hegemonic influence.
- The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th Amendment sufficient in its ambit or substance.
- However, some find it as an important starting point, something to build upon.
Why India objects over this?
- Because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
- In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
Why is it significant?
- Till date, the Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
- In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 26, 2022
What is India’s current policy of multi alignment? Advantages and challenges
Context
- Forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is leading India to multi alignment.
Background
- India’s journey of foreign policy from being the founder of non-alignment to the multi-alignment. In his book The India Way, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar offers a critique of India’s traditional policy of “non-alignment”, where he distinguishes between the “optimistic non- alignment ” of the past, which he feels has failed, that must give way to more realistic “multiple engagements of the future”.
Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO)
- SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization.
- It is the world’s largest regional organization,
- 40% of the world population
- More than 30% of global GDP.
- Members: 8-China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
SCO SUMIIT, 2022
- Host- Uzbekistan,
- Uzbekistan will host a full house: 15 leaders including eight member states from four Central Asian States, China, India, Pakistan and Russia,
- The observer states: Belarus, Mongolia and Iran (which will become member this year) —
- Afghanistan is not invited
- Leaders of guest countries -Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan
What is non- alignment?
- It’s a policy, a brainchild of Nehru. Non-alignment movement emerged after second world war.
- Non-alignment means not having an alliance with any of superpower, either USSR or USA. Decolonized nations of Asia and Africa was largely a part of this group.
India’s policy of non-alignment
- At bandung conference in 1955 non-alignment movement started with India as one of the founding member.
- With policy of non-alignment India refused to gravitate towards USA or USSR.
- India was the leader of non-alignment.
What is India’s current policy of multi- alignment? Advantages and challenges.
- Since the start of his tenure from 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi have not attended any conference of non-alignment.
- External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in his book, The Indian way have criticized the non-alignment.
- In the words of Former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale India is no longer the non-align nation.
How it is a Multi alignment policy?
- India to truly multi aligned or all aligned by being a part of every major grouping.
- India is a part of BRICS and Prime Minister Modi is attending the SCO SUMMIT in Samarkand.
- On parallel to rival groups India is also the part of Quad and Indo pacific economic framework.
- India is buying the discounted Russian oil and reusing to buckle under pressure from west and USA.
- S-400 purchase is happening and India have dodged the bullet of sanctions from USA.
- India is choosing the bilateral Free trade agreement like with Australia and UAE and withdrew from groupings like RCEP and Most recently IPEF. This policy are is said to be in the economic interest of India.
Advantages of Multi alignment
- India no longer wants to repeat the mistake of missing out of P5 Security council (“Permanent membership in the Security Council was granted to five states based on their importance in the aftermath of World War II).
- If any group work against your interest it is better to be part of group rather than remain outside and do nothing
- With retreating USA and its collapsing hegemony world is moving towards multiple polar world order.
Disadvantages
- Major disadvantage of non-alignment is you no longer have influence over adverse policy of friendly country.
- For example. Russia sells S-400 to India but it also sold the same weapon to china.
- USA and India are strategically getting closer day by day but USA recently approved the sale of $450 million F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
Conclusion
- Multi alignment will serve India its best national interest.
- So far India has managed the rival parties at world stage to secure its foreign policy objectives but with Russian aggression and Chinese assertion and divided world will pose a significant challenge to India’s multi alignment policy.
Mains question

Q. What do you understand by non-alignment and multi-alignment? Analyze the shift In India’s foreign policy from non-alignment to multi-alignment.

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 25, 2022
Strong nuclear diplomacy brings opportunities for India
Context
- The return of nuclear weapons on the global platform. After 1998, India premised its strategy on building ‘credible minimum deterrence’. The time has come to reflect on what is ‘credible’ and redefine what ‘minimum’ might be to strengthen nuclear diplomacy.
Definition of nuclear diplomacy
- Nuclear diplomacy deals with prevention of nuclear war and peacetime proliferation. It also deals with the use of threat of nuclear warfare to achieve diplomatic goals.
Theme of article
- India, one of the world’s nuclear weapon powers, ought to be paying a lot more attention to the international nuclear discourse that is acquiring new dimensions and taking a fresh look at its own civilian and military nuclear programmes.
- Nuclear cooperation has brought a new dimension to India’s nuclear diplomacy in the 21^st India’s status as a responsible nuclear power is predicated upon the civil relationships in the nuclear domain that it has established with major powers.
What is credible minimum deterrence?
- Credible minimum deterrence is the principle on which India’s nuclear diplomacy is based. It underlines no first use (NFU) with an assured second strike capability and falls under minimal deterrence, as opposed to mutually assured destruction.
Why do countries proliferate nuclear weapons?
- Proliferation models centred on security concerns or dilemmas dominate nuclear literature.
- Nuclear weapons provide an overwhelmingly destructive force that increases a state’s relative power in comparison to its neighbours.
- It provides a powerful tool in an anarchic system where superpowers dominate other nation-states sovereignty.
- Hence weaponizing helps establish a deterrence to prevent war.
Why relook is needed?
- Possessing nuclear weapons can confer India increased leverage to conduct foreign policy in both regional and international contexts.
- There are two ways in which the possession of nuclear weapons can affect a state’s conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy.
- The first involves military and strategic signalling. This includes military-oriented functions of deterrence, coercion, and brinkmanship.
- The second, deals with non-military affairs.
Way forward
- It should be noted that India’s quest to be a “responsible nuclear state” has given it considerable diplomatic capital in the West.
- It would be unfortunate for India to squander such gain owing to the lack of carefully considered foreign policy that leverages its nuclear status for its national interest.
Conclusion
- India’s civil nuclear engagements with the global community have strengthened its position in the global civil nuclear order, there is a need for the country to push for greater engagements with more key suppliers and stakeholders to fulfill its military nuclear potential and assert its status as a responsible nuclear state.
Mains question

Q. India has been a nuclear weapons state for 22 years. Has this affected India’s foreign policy in a direct manner? Express your views in context of the return of nuclear weapons on the global platform.

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 24, 2022
Constitutional Breakdown in Nepal
Nepal is in a constitutional crisis with major organs of the state confronting each other as the Chief Justice is under undeclared house arrest and the PM openly criticizing the President.

Nepal polity in turmoil
- Prime Minister who is backed by the chiefs of four major coalition partners, is at loggerheads with President.
- The President might seek to rule as an extra-constitutional authority beyond the sanction and imagination of the Constitution that completed six years last week.
Genesis of the crisis: Row over Citizenship
- The current crisis began after President refused to ratify Nepal’s citizenship bill, which was sent to her twice after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament over the span of a month.
- The bill seeks to give citizenship by birth and by descent to an estimated 500,000 individuals.
- It was also sought to provide non-voting citizenship to non-resident Nepalis living in non-SAARC countries.
Constitutional crisis in Nepal: A backgrounder
- Nepal transitioned into a democracy beginning with the fall of the monarchy in 2006 and the subsequent election of the Maoist government in 2008.
- The emergence of the multiparty system was followed by the adoption of a constitution on September 20, 2015.
- All Nepalese citizens born before this date got naturalised citizenship.
- But their children remained without citizenship as that was to be guided by a federal law which has not yet been framed.
- This amendment Act was expected to pave the way to citizenship for many such stateless youth as well as their parents.
What are the issues with the Act?

Ans. Gender bias
- The main criticism against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2006 is that it goes against established parameters of gender justice.
- According to Article 11(2b), a person born to a father or a mother with Nepalese citizenship can get citizenship by descent.
- Another article says a person who is born to a Nepalese mother (who has lived in the country) and an unidentified father will also get citizenship by descent.
- But this section appears humiliating for a mother as she has to declare that her husband is unidentified for the child to be eligible for citizenship.
- In case of a Nepalese father, such declarations are not required.
Why has the President refused to sign the Act?
- Bhandari is the first female President of Nepal.
- Her refusal to sign the Act has drawn attention to certain sections in the constitution that thrusts greater responsibility on women.
- For example, Article 11 (5) says that a person who is born to a Nepalese mother and an unidentified father can be granted citizenship by descent.
- Next, it says that in case the unidentified father turns out to be a foreigner, the citizenship by descent would be converted to naturalised citizenship.
- Furthermore, it supports punitive action against the mother if the father is found later.
Indian connection to the issue
- There is an unarticulated concern in the orthodox sections that Nepalese men, particularly from the Terai region, continue to marry women from northern India.
- These people feel that Nepalese identity would be undermined.
- Because of this “Beti-Roti” (Nepalese men marrying Indian women) issue, many women could not become citizens of Nepal.
- They were subjected to the infamous seven-year cooling off period before they could apply for citizenship in Nepal.
- As such women were stateless, children of such families were also often found to be without Nepalese citizenship.
- However, the new amendments have done away with the cooling off period for these stateless women.
September 24, 2022
G4 countries call for UNSC reforms
The G4 nations have said that the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reform are constrained by a lack of openness and transparency.

Who are the G4 Countries?
- The G4 nations, comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
- Their primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council.
- Each of these four countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN’s establishment.
- Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members (P5).
Deterrent in their cause
- The UK and France have backed the G4’s bid for permanent seats.
- All the permanent members of P5 have supported India’s bids for permanent seat.
- However, China has previously implied that it is only ready to support India if it does not associate its bid with Japan.
- The US has sent strong indications to Brazil that it is willing to support its membership; albeit, without a veto.
What holds them back?
- There has been discontent among the present permanent members regarding the inclusion of controversial nations or countries not supported by them.
- For instance, Japan’s bid is heavily opposed by China, North Korea, Russia and South Korea who think that Japan needs to make sincere reparations for war crimes committed during World War II.
- Under the leadership of Italy, countries that strongly oppose the G4 countries’ bids have formed the Uniting for Consensus movement, also called as Coffee Club.
- In Asia, Pakistan opposes India’s bid.
Why India deserves a permanent seat?
- India has been part of UN since inception.
- It has the world’s second-largest population and is the world’s largest democracy suited to represent South Asia.
- It has contributed maximum peacekeepers to UN so far.
Why reform UNSC?
- Non-representative nature: UNSC in current form is not representative of developing world and global needs, with primacy of policy being political tool in hands of P5, is well recognised globally.
- Contention over Veto and Technical Holds: Veto power with P5 enables any one of them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” draft Council resolution, regardless of its level of international support.
- Divided institution: UNSC has become an organisation, which can pass strong resolutions against weak countries, weak resolutions against strong countries and no resolution against P5 countries.
Conclusion
- There is a possibility that if UN doesn’t reform itself, it may lose relevance and alternate global and regional groupings may assume greater importance.
- More global pressure from middle powers like G4 may force an expansion of UNSC as a possibility, but abolition of veto power in current set up is unlikely
Back2Basics: United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
- The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
- Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
- It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
- The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members.
- These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
- The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 24, 2022
Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Conflict
Nearly 100 people have been killed and scores injured in violent border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the last week.

What is the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Conflict?
- The clashes are replaying old pre- and post-Soviet era legacies.
- The borders of the two republics were demarcated under Joseph Stalin’s leadership.
- Historically, the Kyrgyz and Tajik populations enjoyed common rights over natural resources.
- The issue of the delimitation of the border is a relic of the Soviet era.
- While regular talks have tried to resolve the issue, one of the crucial points of disagreement remains over the map which should be used for demarcation purposes.
- Almost half of its close to a 1000 km border is disputed.
Genesis of the dispute
- The creation of the Soviet Union saw the large-scale redistribution of livestock to collective and state farms, which upset the existing status quo.
- Unfortunately, there was only so much land to go around.
- The Tajik territory of Batken saw their livestock increase, and with scarce grazing land, agreements were signed between the two populations over the utilisation of Kyrgyz territory by the Tajiks’ livestock.
What is happening now at the border?
- The last few weeks have seen constant shelling, violent confrontations by local communities, and active engagement by security forces on either side.
- The Batken region of Kyrgyzstan is seeing families being moved out and getting relocated.
- According to Kyrgyzstan, close to 1,50,000 people out of the 5,50,000 odd population of the Batken region have either fled the area or have been relocated by the state.
- The situation in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, is no different. The highly militarised borders also add to tensions.
Significance of Batken
- The Batken region, bordering Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the south of the country, is one of the seven regions of Kyrgyzstan with its natural underground and water resources, natural beauty, smooth transit routes and a population of around 500,000.
- Located 750 kilometers (466.02 miles) from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and in the southwest of the country, the Batken region is located on the edge of the famous Fergana Valley in Central Asia.
- Fergana Valley includes Fergana, Namangan, Andijan in Uzbekistan, Hocand in Tajikistan, Osh, Jalalabad and Batken in Kyrgyzstan.
- The Batken region borders the Republic of Uzbekistan in the northeast and the Republic of Tajikistan in the southwest and north.
- Covering 8.5% of Kyrgyzstan’s land, the region has agricultural, underground, water and energy resources, as well as oil and natural gas resources, albeit small.
What led to the current flare-up?
- The ideological basis of the current set of clashes is reinforced by developmental issues, thus providing a fertile ground for the entire geopolitical space to become a hotbed of multiple minor conflicts and clashes.
- The groups from either side planted trees in disputed areas and engaged in a physical confrontation using agricultural equipment as weapons.
Why are the clashes occurring now?
- The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent dissolution of the then-existing water and land agreements saw the creation of multiple smaller independent farms.
- This has led to a marked increase in water consumption patterns among the farmers.
- Both countries share multiple water channels with undulating trajectories and flow, which upset equitable access to water on both sides.
- As a result, small-scale conflicts occur practically every year during the crucial irrigation period.
What is the road ahead?
- The path to resolution of the conflict will require groups to agree upon a common map.
- Russia often brokers between the two.
- The international community will have to make efforts to solve the dispute by involving elders in the communities, as historically, elders have been used to resolve conflicts.
- The informal small-scale governance mechanisms would also have to be further strengthened through a concerted effort by the respective countries to stabilize the geopolitical dynamics.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
September 23, 2022