THE CONTEXT: A new Pew Research Centre Report based on a survey has provided interesting findings on the gender attitude of Indians. This survey, named How Indians View Gender Roles in Families and Society has also been the basis of an earlier report of the same institution titled Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation (covered already as part of ED). This article examines the survey report in detail.

WHAT IS THE REPORT?

Based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the report looks at how Indians view gender roles at home and in society more generally. The survey was also the basis for a 2021 report on religion in India, was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages, and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. The report captures the various aspects of the gender dynamics in India.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT

WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS:

• Indians broadly accept women as political leaders. India has a long history of women holding political power, from the 1966 election of Indira Gandhi, one of the world’s first woman prime ministers, to other well-known figures, such as Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee , and Sushma Swaraj.
• The survey results reflect this comfort with women in politics.
• Most adults say that women and men make equally good political leaders (55%) or that women generally make better leaders than men (14%).
• Only a quarter of Indian adults take the position that men tend to make better political leaders than women. (SEE FIGURE 1).

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• While most Indians say that men and women should share some family responsibilities, many still support traditional gender roles.
• For instance, 62% of adults say both men and women should be responsible for taking care of children, while roughly a third of adults (34%) feel that childcare should be handled primarily by women.
• Similarly, a slim majority (54%) say that both men and women in families should be responsible for earning money, yet many Indians (43%) see this as mainly the obligation of men.
• Nearly nine-in-ten Indians (87%) completely or mostly agree with the notion that “a wife must always obey her husband.

PREFERENCE FOR THE CHILDREN:

• An overwhelming majority of Indian adults say it is very important for families to have both sons and daughters, and a substantial share is accepting of sex-selective abortion.
• Indians are united in the view that a family needs to have at least one son (94%) and, separately, a daughter (90%). Historically, in Indian society, families have tended to place a higher value on their sons than their daughters, a custom broadly referred to as “son preference.”
• One enduring manifestation of son preference has been the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions – using ultrasound or other tests to learn the sex of a foetus and terminating the pregnancy if the foetus is female.
• The survey finds that four-in-ten Indians say it is either “completely acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable” to “get a check-up using modern methods to balance the number of girls and boys in the family,” a euphemism that connotes sex-selective abortion.
• In contrast, roughly half of adults (53%) say that this practice is either somewhat or completely unacceptable.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RELIGIOUS RITES:

• Most Indians (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for parents’ last rites or burial rituals, although attitudes differ significantly across religious groups.
• Religious funeral practices for loved ones are widely seen as very important in India, and at least according to Hindu tradition, sons must perform the last rites for a parent to ensure freedom for the soul in the afterlife.
• Most Muslims (74%), Jains (67%), and Hindus (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals, but far fewer Sikhs (29%), Christians (44%), and Buddhists (46%) expect this from sons.
• Instead, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists are more likely to say that both sons and daughters should be responsible for their parents’ last rites. Very few Indians, regardless of religion, say daughters should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals.

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• Muslims are more likely than other Indians to support traditional gender roles in families, while Sikhs are often the least likely community to hold such views.
• For example, while most Indian Muslims (61%) say that men in a family should be primarily responsible for earning money, just 17% of Sikhs say this.
• And Muslims are more than twice as likely as Sikhs to assign sons the primary responsibility of caring for aging parents (43% vs. 17%).

RESPECT TO WOMEN:

• Indians favour teaching boys to respect women as a way to improve women’s safety. As described in a previous Pew Research Centre report, roughly three-quarters of Indian adults (76%) say violence against women is a “very big problem” in their country.
• About half of Indians (51%) say it is more important to teach boys to respect all women, while roughly a quarter (26%) say it is more important to teach girls to behave appropriately.

FIGURE 1: WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS

FIGURE 2: PREFERENCE FOR CHILDREN

HOW INDIA’S GENDER ATTITUDES COMPARE GLOBALLY

Pew Research Centre has asked a couple of the questions on this survey in many countries around the world, allowing a glimpse of where Indians fit globally when it comes to public opinion on these issues. Across 47 countries and territories, a global median of 70% says it is very important for women to have the same rights as men, according to data from two recent waves of the Centre’s Global Attitudes survey. This is similar to the share of Indians who feel gender equality is very important (72%).
Indians are less likely than people in North America (92% median), Western Europe (90%), and Latin America (82%) to place high importance on women and men having the same rights. But they are more likely than those living in sub-Saharan Africa (48% median) and the Middle East-North Africa region (44%) to say this. Adults in Central and Eastern Europe (69% median) are roughly similar to Indians on this question. Within South Asia, Indians are somewhat more likely than Pakistanis to say it is very important for men and women to have equal rights (72% vs. 64%). Despite broadly aligning with global public opinion on equal rights for women, Indians tend to be more conservative than people in most other countries surveyed when it comes to gender dynamics in the home and the economy.

INDIA’S CHANGING GENDER NORMS: AN ANALYSIS

THE WAY FORWARD:

THE CONCLUSION: Although there may be issues related to the sample size, methodology etc, the Pew survey report provides in-depth analysis on the gender attitude of the Indian people. Designing a lasting change in gender attitudes requires meticulous planning and implementation and the PEW Research Centre survey is a wake-up call to commence that change.

QUESTIONS:

⦁ Discuss the salient features of the Pew Report on gender.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT Pew RESEARCH CENTRE

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

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Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

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POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

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INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 

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SECURITY

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ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

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Questions for the MAIN exam

1. India has recently had bilateral trade deals with UAE and Australia and is in talks with other countries also. How will the bilateral trade agreements help India in realizing the $5T economy dream? Substantiate.
2. No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of a lack of means. Hence, a fully publicly funded healthcare system is required. Elaborate

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The next war may well bury Western civilisation forever.
• Unlike the EU, which established rules for a confidentiality ring to protect the information provider, the Competition Commission of India seems to want to protect the defendant, which is usually a large, multimillion-dollar entity.
• SDF can absorb surplus liquidity which is transient in nature. As a non-collaterised instrument, it can absorb large volumes.
• Developing and poor nations require food, not weapons. The situation is fuelling inflation and the direct repercussions are being felt the most by developing countries.
• India must divide its forex reserve into two components — a safe component with the traditional sovereign debt plus gold and a strategic component.
• India and Pakistan have continued limited contacts, but there is clearly a need for a structured dialogue to address tensions and focus on new confidence-building measures.
• Road projects without prior green clearance will be devastating for the region’s ecology.
• A destitute person who cannot afford a lawyer is denied that equal opportunity until and unless legally assisted and for free.
• To make people knowledgeable and secure online an effective mechanism for increasing information literacy and building resilience to misinformation and disinformation within communities is required.

50-WORD TALK

• Doctrine of the bulldozer has travelled from Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh to Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Madhya Pradesh. The target almost exclusively is Muslim homes and properties. In a nation of the Constitution and the laws this medieval, partisan ‘justice’ is an abomination. And judiciary watching silently is an awful institutional shame.
• India is essentially an underachieving country in every segment of governance. Certainly, the IAS has failed, just like every other institution. But the thing one can’t take away from the IAS is the quality service delivery by several members despite resource crunch and upholding the democratic principle of conceding primacy to the political executive while being the major prop of the rule of law.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. HOW WILL SRI LANKA OVERCOME ITS DEBT CRISIS?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Sri Lanka announced its decision to default on its foreign debt of $51 billion, tarnishing its track record of promptly servicing past loans. Citing the International Monetary Fund’s assessment that the country’s debt stock was “unsustainable”.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the countries Finance Ministry said its policy of repaying foreign debt on time was “no longer tenable”. It described the default move as its “last resort” to prevent “a further deterioration” of the country’s financial position, and to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all creditors.
• Sri Lanka will hold talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, on a comprehensive debt restructuring programme.

What led to the crisis?

• Sri Lanka is experiencing one of its worst economic crises. For months now, households and businesses have had to cope with severe food and fuel shortages, while the government scrambles for dollars to pay for essential imports. Emergency financial support coming in, including from India, is barely enough to sustain the country for a month.
• With authorities sharing no road map or plan, fears of hunger and starvation are growing, and thousands of people have been voicing their anger against the government. Amid mounting protests, the government took two major decisions recently — to default on the country’s debt and to seek IMF support to restructure outstanding loans and rescue its teetering economy.

Does a debt default help?

• No middle-income country other than Sri Lanka has resorted to a debt default in recent years. Usually, creditors and investors see a defaulting country as less favorable for business. This makes it harder for the country to borrow from external sources. If domestic production is low, as is in Sri Lanka’s case, it is even harder to cope.
• Sri Lanka’s pre-emptive default takes away the pressure of having to repay some $7 billion in debt this year, giving the country some time to stabilize. Further, the default move came just ahead of Colombo’s scheduled talks with the IMF, on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the Fund and World Bank, beginning in Washington DC on April 18.
• The IMF is expected to come up with a package that will allow Sri Lanka to restructure its external debt over time. Such a programme, including immediate relief of a couple of billion dollars, will also make Sri Lanka more creditworthy in the international money market.

How is Sri Lanka coping meanwhile?

• Citizens are finding it very difficult to source essentials, including cooking gas and kerosene. Fuel is in short supply and is now being rationed to customers after long periods of waiting in queues.
• Costs of all basic commodities have risen sharply making them unaffordable for most. Colombo is sourcing fuel and food supplies for the month using external help, including credit lines from India.

How could an IMF programme bail out the country?

• The way forward is neither easy nor straightforward for Sri Lanka, even with IMF assistance. Senior Sri Lankan economists have observed that the situation would likely get worse before getting better, and that there could be no gain without pain. Much would depend on the conditions imposed by the IMF and how Sri Lanka responds to them, given the government’s political compulsion to regain lost ground.
• It is widely predicted that the Fund’s recommended reforms would include greater taxation, and a reduction in state spending. What this could mean to the average citizen reeling under the shock of this economic calamity remains to be seen.
• It would be especially challenging for the Rajapaksa regime, which has lost significant political capital in the wake of this crisis, to make and implement tough policy decisions that would be inevitable at this time.

 THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2. THE GREEN AGRICULTURE PROJECT

THE CONTEXT: The Project is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Global Environment Facility, will act as a lifeline for the Desert National Park (DNP) in western Rajasthan with the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The environmentalists in the State have called for developing grasslands on vast tracts in the DNP area for grazing of animals, saying their neglect and conversion into irrigated and cultivated land would further endanger the rare species. The DNP is situated near Jaisalmer and Barmer, covering an area of 3,162 sq. km, while sand dunes comprise about 20% of the park.
• The village-wise action plans will support the rural population’s traditional methods of water management and agriculture.

BACKGROUND:

Green-Ag Project

• The Green-Ag project is designed to achieve multiple global environmental benefits in at least 1.8 million hectares (ha) of land in five landscapes, with mixed land-use systems.
• It aims to bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management.
• The project will also ensure 49 million Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) sequestered or reduced through sustainable land use and agricultural practices.

Implementing agencies

• The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility, while the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC & FW) is the national executing agency.
• Other key players involved in its implementation are the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Environment Ministry (MoEF & CC).

Regions of implementation

The project has been launched in high-conservation-value landscapes of five States namely

1. Madhya Pradesh: Chambal Landscape
2. Mizoram: Dampa Landscape
3. Odisha: Similipal Landscape
4. Rajasthan: Desert National Park Landscape
5. Uttarakhand: Corbett-Rajaji Landscape

3. THE CENTER EXTENDS THE TENURE OF GREEN PERMITS

THE CONTEXT: The Union Environment Ministry has extended the tenure of environmental clearances (EC) granted for existing or new projects.

THE EXPLANATION:

Need of Extending Environmental clearances (EC):

• An EC is a lengthy process that is required for projects larger than a certain size. It frequently entails an environmental impact assessment of a potential project, as well as public hearings with local residents who may be impacted by the project.
• The Central Government believes it is necessary to extend the validity of such ECs due to the time it takes to address local concerns, including environmental issues related to the implementation of such projects.
• One of the conditions of an EC is that the project must start construction during the period for which the EC was granted, and if it cannot, a new process must be started. As a result, projects become financially unsustainable.
• Due to “geological surprises, delays in forest clearance, land acquisition, local issues, and other factors,” nuclear power and hydro power projects had a “long gestation” period. These factors necessitate the extension of the validity of Environmental Clearance (EC) for such projects by the Central Government.

Recent Changes in Duration of Environmental Clearances:

 VALUE ADDITION:

What is Environment Impact Assessment?

• It is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural, and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.
• EIA is a tool used to assess the positive and negative environmental, economic, and social impacts of a project. This is used to predict the environmental impacts of a project in the pre-planning stage itself so that decisions can be taken to reduce the adverse impacts.

EIA PROCESS:

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5. FUELLING INFLATION IN RURAL INDIA

THE CONTEXT: The retail inflation rate surged to 6.95% this March 2022 — its highest level in nearly one and a half years, capping off six successive months of accelerating prices for consumers. With incremental fuel price hikes only kicking in during the latter half of March, the full impact of higher global oil prices being passed on to consumers will only begin reflecting in April.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Economists expect inflation to go past 7% and hover around that level till as far as September. However, across large parts of the country, the experienced price rise has already crossed 7.5% and even 8%. Official data pegs rural inflation in March at 7.66%, with several States reporting even higher inflation, including West Bengal (8.85%), Uttar Pradesh and Assam (8.19%) as well as Madhya Pradesh (7.89%).

What are the key drivers of higher inflation in the hinterland?

While food inflation was the key driver for the headline inflation rate jump in March, with the overall consumer food price index racing to 7.68% from 5.85% in February, the spike was far more pronounced in rural India where food inflation hit 8.04%. Food inflation in urban India was a full percentage point lower.

Which sections are affected the most, and what next?

• According to a noted economists, while high inflation affects the poor the most in general, the fact that price rise in food, the largest component of their consumption basket, is driving the current surge is particularly burdensome.
• Using data from official surveys, it has been estimated that the bottom 20% of the population in urban as well as rural India is facing the worst effects. The rural bottom 20% faced the highest inflation at 7% in March, while the upper 20% of the income segment in the hinterland experienced 7.6% inflation.
• “With upward pressure rising, inflation is becoming broad-based. Last year,(2021) low food inflation had contained the headline number, while fuel and core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) had risen. Now, food inflation is expected to rise along with both fuel and core inflation”.

VALUE ADDITION:

About Consumer Price Index (CPI):

• CPI measures changes in the price level of a basket of consumer goods and services bought by households.
• The base Year for CPI is 2012.

Types of CPI:

1. CPI for Industrial Workers (IW): Compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL): Compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
3. CPI for Rural Labourer (RL): Compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
4. CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined): Compiled by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Note: Changes in prices at the producer level are tracked by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

5. THE STATUS OF INDIA’S NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY

THE CONTEXT: The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has prepared a report focusing on 21 areas to ensure a safe and vibrant cyberspace for India. Some of the focus areas are large-scale digitization of public services, State-level cyber security etc.

THE EXPLANATION:

Why does India need a cyber security strategy?

• As per American cyber security firm Palo Alto Networks’ 2021 report, Maharashtra was the most targeted State in India — facing 42% of all ransomware attacks. The report stated that India is among the more economically profitable regions for hacker groups and hence these hackers ask Indian firms to pay a ransom, usually using cryptocurrencies, in order to regain access to the data. One in four Indian organisations suffered a ransomware attack in 2021. Indian organizations witnessed a 218% increase in ransomware — higher than the global average of 21%.
• Software and services (26%), capital goods (14%) and the public sector (9%) were among the most targeted sectors. An increase in such attacks has brought to light the urgent need for strengthening India’s cyber security.

What is the National Cyber Security Strategy?

Conceptualized by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the 22-page report focuses on 21 areas to ensure a safe, secure, trusted, resilient, and vibrant cyberspace for India.

The main sectors of focus of the report are:-

• Large scale digitization of public services: There needs to be a focus on security in the early stages of design in all digitization initiatives and for developing institutional capability for assessment, evaluation, certification, and rating of core devices.
• Supply chain security: There should be robust monitoring and mapping of the supply chain of the Integrated circuits (ICT) and electronics products. Product testing and certification needs to be scaled up, and the country’s semiconductor design capabilities must be leveraged globally.
• Critical information infrastructure protection: The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security should be integrated with enterprise security. A repository of vulnerabilities should also be maintained.
• Digital payments: There should be mapping and modelling of devices and platform deployed, transacting entities, payment flows, interfaces and data exchange as well as threat research and sharing of threat intelligence.
• State-level cyber security: State-level cyber security policies and guidelines for security architecture, operations, and governance need to be developed.

What steps does the report suggest?

To implement cyber security in the above-listed focus areas, the report lists the following recommendations:

• Budgetary provisions: A minimum allocation of 0.25% of the annual budget, which can be raised up to 1% has been recommended to be set aside for cyber security. In terms of separate ministries and agencies, 15-20% of the IT/technology expenditure should be earmarked for cyber security.
• The report also suggests setting up a Fund of Funds for cyber security and providing Central funding to States to build capabilities in the same field.
• Research, innovation, skill-building and technology development: The report suggests investing in modernization and digitization of ICTs, setting up a short and long term agenda for cyber security via outcome-based programs and providing investments in deep-tech cyber security innovation.
• Furthermore, a national framework should be devised in collaboration with institutions like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and ISEA (Information Security Education and Awareness) to provide global professional certifications in security. The DSCI further recommends creating a ‘cyber security services’ with cadre chosen from the Indian Engineering Services.
• Crisis management: For adequate preparation to handle crisis, the DSCI recommends holding cyber security drills which include real-life scenarios with their ramifications. In critical sectors, simulation exercises for cross-border scenarios must be held on an inter-country basis.
• Cyber insurance: Cyber insurance being a yet to be researched field, must have an actuarial science to address cyber security risks in business and technology scenarios as well as calculate threat exposures. The DSCI recommends developing cyber insurance products for critical information infrastructure and to quantify the risks involving them.
• Cyber diplomacy: Cyber diplomacy plays a huge role in shaping India’s global relations. To further better diplomacy, the government should promote brand India as a responsible player in cyber security and also create ‘cyber envoys’ for the key countries/regions.
• Cybercrime investigation: With the increase in cyber crime across the world, the report recommends unburdening the judicial system by creating laws to resolve spamming and fake news. It also suggests charting a five-year road map factoring possible technology transformation, setting up exclusive courts to deal with cyber crimes and remove backlog of cyber crimes by increasing centres providing opinion related to digital evidence under section 79A of the IT act.
• Moreover, the DSCI suggests advanced forensic training for agencies to keep up in the age of AI/ML, block chain, IoT, cloud, automation. Law enforcement and other agencies should partner with their counterparts abroad to seek information of service providers overseas.

 What is the progress in its implementation?

• In the recent Budget session of Parliament (2022), several MPs questioned the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEiTy) on when the Centre plans to introduce the policy.
• In response, the Centre clarified that it has “formulated a draft National Cyber Security Strategy 2021 which holistically looks at addressing the issues of security of national cyberspace.” Without mentioning a deadline for its implementation, the Centre added that it had no plans as of yet “to coordinate with other countries to develop a global legal framework on cyber terrorism.”

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q Which of the pairs is/are correctly matched?

1. Palamau Tiger reserve – Jharkhand
2. Valmiki Tiger Reserve – Bihar
3. Satkoshi Tiger Reserve – Chhattisgarh

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

      a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 16TH APRIL 2022

Answer: A

The Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: India is the second-largest wheat producer in the world.
• Statement 2 incorrect: Key export destinations are Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Malaysia.

[WpProQuiz 203]

THE CONTEXT: The 14^thannual bilateral summit between India and Japan has held in New Delhi in March 2022. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida participated in the summit. This article analyses the outcomes of the summit and the recent trajectory in India-Japan relations.

THE OUTCOMES OF THE SUMMIT

FOUR-POINT PLAN ON UKRAINE: India and Japan will:

• ‘not tolerate’ any unilateral and forceful change in the status quo of Ukraine or any country in the world,
• continue to push for a peaceful settlement of the conflict,
• jointly address the situation whenever needed, and
• work together in giving humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukraine.

ON INDO-PACIFIC:

• Both countries expressed their commitment to a free and peaceful Indo-Pacific. Moreover, the leaders showed their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

ON QUAD:

• The two PMs affirmed the importance of bilateral and plurilateral partnerships among like-minded countries, including the QUAD grouping between India-Australia-Japan and the United States.

ON CHINA:

• India raises China-LAC standoff with Japan.
• Japan raised the matter of the East China Sea and the South China Sea with regard to China’s growing belligerence there.

ON TERRORISM:

• Both the countries expressed deep concern about the growing threat of terrorism and underlined the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism comprehensively and sustainably.

ON INVESTMENT:

• Japan’s PMannounced an investment to the tune of $42 billion (JPY 5 trillion) in India over the next five years.

LIST OF AGREEMENTS/MOUs SIGNED

INDIA -JAPAN RELATIONS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan.
• After World War II, in 1949, India started relations with Japan warmly.
• Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April 1952. This treaty was one of Japan’s first peace treaties after World War II.
• In the post-World War II period, India’s iron ore helped a great deal in Japan’s recovery from the devastation.
• Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by the Japanese government.
• The visit of then Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko in 1960 elevated the relations to a new level. A test of the reliability of Japan as a friend was witnessed in 1991 when Japan was among the few countries that bailed India out of the balance of payment crisis.

PROGRESS IN THE RECENT PAST

RECENT RELATIONS:

• Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India in 2000 provided momentum to strengthen the Japan-India relationship.
• In 2005, Japan-India annual summit started.
• In December 2006, the relationship was elevated to the “Global and Strategic Partnership”.
• In September 2014, upgrade the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.”
• In 2015 both countries resolved to transform the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership into a deep, broad-based, action-oriented partnership, reflecting a broad convergence of their long-term political, economic, and strategic goals.
• The announcement “Japan and India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World” started a new era in Japan-India relations.
• in October 2018, both countries reiterated their unwavering commitment to working together towards a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
• In September 2021 both countries again concurred to further develop Japan-India relations and work closely toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.

COOPERATION IN SECURITY FIELDS:

• In 2008, “the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India” was issued.
• ‘2+2” meeting, annual Defense Ministerial Dialogue, and Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard dialogue.
• JIMEX, EX DHARMA GUARDIAN, SHINYUU Maitri, and Dharma Guardian are some military exercises between both countries. Apart from these, both countries are participatory in Malabar naval exercises.
• In September 2020, the Agreement concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces (so-called “Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement” or ACSA) was signed. ACSA came into force on July 11th, 2021

ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

• In recent years, the economic relationship between Japan and India has increased.
• India was the 18th largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was India’s 12th largest trading partner in 2020.
• Japan was the 4th largest investor for India in FY2020.
• Japanese private-sector’s interest in India is rising, and, currently, about 1,455 Japanese companies have branches in India. Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Hitachi are some of the major Japanese companies operating in India.
• Currency Swap Arrangement of USD 75 billion between both countries.

ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE:

• India has been the largest recipient of Japanese (Official Development Assistance) ODA loans for the past decades.
• Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation.
• Japan continues to cooperate in supporting strategic connectivity linking South Asia to Southeast Asia through the synergy between the ”Act East” policy and ”Partnership for Quality Infrastructure.”
• Besides, Japan and India had committed to building a High-Speed Railway in India by introducing Japan’s Shinkansen System, the flagship project of Japan-India relations.

CULTURAL RELATIONS:

• The year 2022 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India. Various cultural events took place in Japan and India to promote mutual understanding between the two countries, under the theme of “Resurgent Japan, Vibrant India: New Perspectives, New Exchanges.”

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF JAPAN TO INDIA?

FINANCIAL:

• Japan has invested in the $90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (1,483km high-speed rail and road line), which will set up new cities, industrial parks, ports, and airports.
• It is also backing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train service and has already released the first tranche of 5,500 crore rupees.
• Japan is the third-largest source of FDI ($28.160 billion between2000 June 2018) investment into India after Mauritius and Singapore.
• In Dedicated Freight Corridor, a project of close to Rs 50,000 crore of Japanese assistance has been about Rs 38,000 crore.
• A 75 Billion dollar currency swap agreement between countries is a significant step in enhancing economic ties.

DEFENCE:

• Japan is the most important partner in the Indo-Pacific region. Both countries are the part of QUAD group.
• After the joint army, navy, and air force exercises, the two nations are looking to allow their respective naval forces to use each other’s facilities.
• Both countries have conflicts with China and to counter its behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, they need to continue helping each other.

TECHNOLOGY:

• The introduction of  Johkasou technology in India by Japanese companies for decentralized wastewater treatment will help in sewage water management.
• The Indian PM and the then PM of Japan Mr. Abe have also announced the launch of a new digital partnership that will cover Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• In 2018, when the Indian PM visited Japan, he made a trip to FANUC Corporation, one of the world’s largest makers of industrial robots.
• FANUC facility is important in the context of India’s move towards Industry 4.0.

INFRASTRUCTURE COOPERATION:

• In 2016, India and Japan announced joint projects in Africa as part of the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor; the main aim of this project is to counter the BRI influence in South Asia and Africa.
• Apart from it, there are many joint ventures between the two countries.

THE AREAS OF CONCERNS

TRADE BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES:

• Today, India-Japan trade languishes at around $18 billion, while Japan-China trade is around $300 billion.
• India’s major exports to Japan include petroleum products, organic chemicals, fish and aquatic invertebrates, natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, and machinery and mechanical appliances.
• India’s top import items from Japan are machinery and mechanical appliances, followed by electronics, iron and steel, plastics, copper, and its articles.

RELATIONSHIP CENTRED ON COUNTERING CHINA:

• Both countries have border issues with China. So the relations generally target China.
• It is interesting fact, that China is the biggest trading partner of Japan and India.

SECURITY TIES:

• In security ties, the Indo-Japanese relationship has remained below potential, and Japan does not accord due to importance to India in its security calculus.
• Japan has offered neither military hardware nor technology to India. There seems to be a difference in perceptions about China; Japan, while highlighting its own security concerns in the East and South China Seas, is seen to play down the multiple threats that India faces from China.
• Although both countries are members of QUAD and have 2+2 talks, there is a large scope to improve the security relations that are not developed as per the demand of time.

THE UKRAINE CRISIS:

• On the issue of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, while India took a neutral stance, Japan criticized the attack openly and followed NATO. This shows that despite being the partner of QUAD, both countries follow their independent foreign policy.
• During his visit, Japan’s Prime Minister pushed Narendra Modi to take a clear stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. This shows a divergence between both countries but later, QUAD itself accepted India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia war.

THE WAY FORWARD: HOW TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF INDIA-JAPAN RELATION?

SHOULD GO BEYOND COUNTERING CHINA:

• The Indo-Japan relations are oriented toward countering Chinese Influence in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea but now both the countries should go beyond.

SHOULD FOCUS ON THE BILATERAL TRADE:

• Both governments should focus on boosting trade which is standing at just $18 billion. It shows that bilateral trade needs to be increased.
• The scope in many areas for improving trade and the fourth industrial revolution can be a landmark in this regard.

LEVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATION:

• Japan gives India an opportunity to boost its relations with Indo-Pacific countries.
• There are many other areas providing opportunities such as the African continent through the Asia Africa Growth Corridor(AAGC) whose potential needs to be utilized and scaled up.

NEED STRONG SECURITY TIES:

• India and Japan are the members of Quad and India invited Japan in Malabar Naval Exercise but these are multi-country level ventures. Both counties should focus on their own security setup in their respective regions.
• As a significant naval power with a dominant peninsular location astride shipping lanes, India plays a major role in ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean and its environs.
• Close cooperation with a democratic India, located mid-way along trade routes connecting East Asia with the Middle East and Africa, would be advantageous to Japan.
• At the same time, a technologically deficient India has much to gain from a relationship with a country like Japan.

THE CONCLUSION: No doubt, India and Japan are among the most reliable partners in bilateral relations and Japan-India relations have evolved into an inclusive and multi-layered relationship based on cultural bonds, firm friendship, and common universal values. But, there is still scope for improving the bilateral relations which should be the agenda of their future relations.

Questions

1. ‘With strong India-Japan cooperation, 21^st century will be Asia’s century. Analyze the scope for India-Japan relations in changing geopolitical scenarios.
2. Highlight the importance of strong India- Japan relations for a free and secure Indo-Pacific.
3. ‘Without enhancing trade relations, India and Japan would not be able to counter China’s influence in Indo-pacific’. Critically Analyze.

THE INDIAN ARCHITECTURE: HERITAGE SITES

1. BIHAR GOVT SEEKS FOR UNESCO’S HERITAGE TAG FOR 2,500-YR-OLD ‘CYCLOPEAN WALL’

THE CONTEXT: Bihar government has sent a fresh proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to get Cyclopean wall, a more than 2,500 years old structure at Rajgir, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is a 40 km long wall of stone which encircled the ancient city of Rajgir to protect it from external enemies and invaders, built before 3rd century BC.
• The 40-km long Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is believed to have been built in the pre-Mauryan era, using massive undressed stones. It was erected by the rulers of the Brihadratha (rawani) Dynasty using massive undressed stones. The walls are also mentioned in Buddhist works.
• It is believed that the Cyclopean Wall at Rajgir is similar to “Frontiers of the Roman Empire” that runs through Germany, UK and Northern Ireland, which was included on UNESCO’s world heritage list in 1987.
• Bihar is the home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and quite a few sites on the tentative list. Nalanda University is one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bihar and was listed in 2002. It is listed as the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Another ancient monument in the state that has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list, is Mahabodhi temple of Bodhygaya.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2. MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE LATEST INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT?

THE CONTEXT: In its latest assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has laid out several scenarios on the steps that ought to be taken to keep temperatures below 2°C. It warned that even temporarily exceeding the warming level of 1.5°C over the next two decades would mean additional severe impact, some irreversible.

THE EXPLANATION:

The latest report is the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year (2022).

What are the key messages?

• Total net anthropogenic GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions have continued to rise from 2010–2019, as have cumulative net CO2 emissions since 1850. Average annual GHG emissions during 2010-2019 were higher than in any previous decade, but the rate of growth between 2010 and 2019 was lower than that between 2000 and 2009. By 2019, the largest growth in absolute emissions occurred in carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and industry followed by
• The per-unit costs of several low-emission technologies have fallen continuously since 2010, however innovation has lagged in developing countries due to weak enabling conditions. Even if countries adhered to their promises towards reducing emissions, called Nationally Determined Contributions, warming will still exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century. Keeping warming below 2°C would then rely on a rapid acceleration of mitigation efforts after 2030.
• Tracked financial flows were still falling short of the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals across all sectors and regions. The challenge of closing gaps was largest in developing countries as a whole. Increasing financial flows can be supported by clear policy choices and signals from governments and the international community, it said. According to the scientists, limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third.
• Even if this happened, it is almost inevitable that this ceiling would be temporarily breached but, with appropriate action, it could again dip by the end of the century.
• The global temperature will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions reach net zero. For 1.5°C, this meant achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s; for 2°C, it is in the early 2070s. Even limiting warming to around 2°C would still require global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by a quarter by 2030, the report stressed.

What are the implications of this report for India?

• The report’s warning against opening new coal plants is of relevance to India. The panel finds that all coal-fired power plants, without the technology to capture and store carbon (CCS), would need to be shuttered by 2050 if the world aspired to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
• According to the Central Electricity Authority, India had about 211 GW of operational coal-fired power plants — roughly 10% of global capacity. As per Global Energy Monitor data, another 31 GW was being constructed and about 24 GW in various pre-construction phases.
• None of the existing under construction coal-fired power plants in India have CCS facilities. India has committed to a net-zero year, or when it would cease to be a CO2 emitter, of 2070 and has defined a pathway to transition to renewable energy sources but also insisted on its right to coal use given its developmental needs as well underlining that the historical responsibility of climate change from fossil fuel rested with the developed countries, who needed to shoulder much of the mitigating burden.
• The Centre has “welcomed” the report and said it recognises India’s position that developed countries must do more to mitigate climate change.

 THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

3. EGYPT TO IMPORT WHEAT FROM INDIA

THE CONTEXT: According to the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry said that Egypt has approved to import wheat from India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Egypt, one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat which has been importing the grain from Russia and Ukraine, has agreed to source wheat from India.
• In the wake of trade disruptions caused due to the Ukraine conflict, Egypt is exploring other sources to import wheat to meet its demand.

Wheat exports to Egypt

• Officials from agriculture quarantine and pest risk analysis of Egypt examined the processing units, port facilities and farms in various states in India and agreed to import wheat from India.
• India is undertaking measures to ensure that the best quality of wheat will be exported to Egypt. India is looking to export about 1 million tonnes of wheat to Egypt.
• India aims to export about 10-11 million tonnes of wheat in FY23 due to the increase in global demand post the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Also, India is having trade talks with various other countries that look to import wheat from the country.

BACKGROUND:

India – Egypt Trade Relations

• Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in Africa.
• The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since 1978.
• The bilateral trade was valued at $ 4.15 billion in 2020-21.
• Egypt’s exports to India were valued at $ 1.89 billion
• Imports from India at $ 2.26 billion
• India has a favourable trade balance of about US$ 372 million.
• Top imports from Egypt – Mineral Oil, Fertilizers, Inorganic Chemicals and Cotton
• Top exports to Egypt – Buffalo Meat, Light Vehicles and Heavy Machinery.

4. EXPLAINED: WHAT ARE OIL BONDS, AND TO WHAT EXTENT DO THEY TIE THE GOVT’S HANDS?

THE CONTEXT: The Centre has argued that it cannot reduce taxes on petrol and diesel as it has to bear the burden of payments in lieu of oil bonds issued by the previous UPA government to subsidize fuel prices.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are Oil Bonds?

• Oil bonds are special securities issued by the government to oil marketing companies (OMC) in lieu of cash subsidy.
• These bonds are typical of a long-term tenure like 15-20 years and oil companies are paid interest.
• Before the complete deregulation of petrol and diesel prices, oil marketing companies were faced with a huge financial burden as the selling price of petrol and diesel in India was lower than the international market price.
• This ‘under-recovery is typically compensated through fuel subsidies allocated in the Union budget.
• However, between 2005 and 2010, the UPA government issued oil bonds to the companies amounting to Rs 1.4 lakh crore to compensate them for these losses.

Why do governments issue such bonds?

• Compensation to companies through the issuance of such bonds is typically used when the government is trying to delay the fiscal burden of such a payout to future years.
• Governments resort to such instruments when they are in danger of breaching the fiscal deficit target due to unforeseen circumstances that lead to a collapse in revenues or a surge in expenditure.
• These types of bonds are considered to be ‘below the line’ expenditure in the Union budget and do not have a bearing on that year’s fiscal deficit, but they do increase the government’s overall debt.
• However, interest payments and repayment of these bonds become a part of the fiscal deficit calculations in future years.

Backgrounder: Deregulation of fuel prices

• Fuel price decontrol has been a step-by-step exercise, with the government freeing up prices of aviation turbine fuel in 2002, petrol in 2010, and diesel in 2014.
• Prior to that, the government would intervene in fixing the price at which retailers were to sell diesel or petrol.
• This led to under-recoveries for oil marketing companies, which the government had to compensate for.
• The prices were deregulated to make them market-linked, unburden the government from subsidizing prices, and allow consumers to benefit from lower rates when global crude oil prices tumble.
• Price decontrol essentially offers fuel retailers such as Indian Oil, HPCL, or BPCL the freedom to fix prices based on calculations of their own cost and profits.
• However, the key beneficiary in this policy reform of price decontrol is the government.

Impact: Loss of consumers

• While oil price deregulation was meant to be linked to global crude prices, Indian consumers have not benefited from a fall in global prices.
• The central, as well as state governments, impose fresh taxes and levies to raise extra revenues.
• This forces the consumer to either pay what she’s already paying or even more.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES/ INITIATIVES IN THE NEWS

5. e-DAR PORTAL TO HURRY UP ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CLAIMS

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has developed the portal named ‘e-DAR’ (e-Detailed Accident Report). Digitalized Detailed Accident Reports (DAR) will be uploaded on the portal for easy access.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It is a web portal that will help provide instant information on road accidents and accelerate accident compensation claims, bringing relief to victims’ families.
• Digitalized Detailed Accident Reports (DAR) will be uploaded on the e-DAR portal for easy access and the web portal will be linked to the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD).
• The portal will also be linked to other portals like “Vaahan” and will have access to information on driving license details and registration of vehicles.
• The e-DAR portal will be conducting multiple checks against fake claims by conducting a sweeping search of vehicles involved in the accident, the date of the accident, and the First Information Report number.
• The portal will help in geo-tagging the accident location along with the site map.
• Various information such as photos, videos of the accident spot, damaged vehicles, injured victims, eye-witnesses, etc., will be uploaded immediately on the portal.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Consider the following statements:

1. India is the second-largest wheat producer in the world.
2. Key export destinations are US, Japan, and Australia.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 15TH APR 2022

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), a monsoon is considered “normal” when rainfall falls between 96% and 104% of the LPA.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: IMD has recently revised long period average (LPA) from earlier 88 cm to 87 cm.

THE CONTEXT: In Feb-March 2022, India and Maldives have dived into a new foray into strategic relations with bilateral meetings on various fronts. There have been high-profile visits of Indian dignitaries to the Maldives. This article analyses regional security and maritime safety issues along with socio-economic development, trade and investment, and tourism at a time when the “India Out” campaign is regaining momentum in the Maldives along with challenges of Chinese influence and others.

MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONSHIPS

DEFENCE COOPERATION DIALOGUE:

• Defence Secretary of India visited the Maldives on 13-14 Feb 2022, with the primary objective of discussions on the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue(DCD).
• Both sides discussed joint efforts and capacity-building initiatives being taken by both the countries to deter trans-national crimes and bolster national security in the region.
• The Defence Secretary of India also inaugurated the Composite Training Center Phase-I Annex built with Indian grant assistance in the Maldives and handed over the refitted CGS Huravee – a made-in-India patrol vessel.

COLOMBO SECURITY CONCLAVE:

• NSA of India visited the Maldives on 7 March 2022 to attend the 5th NSA level Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) meeting.
• The four pillars of security cooperation (in CSC) include maritime safety and security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, and cyber security.
• India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka are the founding members of the Colombo Security Conclave. Mauritius was included as a new member of the conclave during the meeting, which was also attended by Bangladesh and Seychelles as observers in 2022.

CAG LEVEL BILATERAL MEET TO STRENGTHEN PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITIES IN MALDIVES:

• Steps were taken for furthering the cooperation between the two Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) by operationalizing the MoU to strengthen the professional capacities and improve audit methodology.
• Emphasized the role of technology, in today’s rapidly changing world, which constantly creates fresh avenues for audit and makes audits more efficient. The exchange of knowledge and capacity development initiatives would equip both the SAIs in the use of emerging technologies for auditing.
• The MOU is signed at the most opportune time given the strategic shift towards future relevance which requires both the countries to cater to the demands of the knowledge economy and sustainable development.

VISIT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER TO MALDIVES:

• Inauguration of National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE):
• NCPLE is one of India’s largest funded projects in the island nation – in the Maldives’ Addu City
• One of the objectives of this training academy is to address the challenges of violent extremism and prevent radicalisation.
• On the domestic level in the Maldives, the training academy would help strengthen law enforcement abilities and counter drug trafficking, a major concern in the country.
• MoU for Training: A memorandum of understanding was signed by the
• Maldives Police Service and India’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy to enhance cooperation in training and capacity building. India has also increased the number of training slots for the Maldives at the police academy to eight.
• Support for Infrastructure: The project for the creation of police infrastructure facilities across the islands of Maldives with over $40 million financing from EXIM Bank of India has also been given necessary approvals.

INDIA OUT CAMPAIGN AND INDIA OUT BILL:

• India Out campaign has cropped up every now and then within the Indian Ocean island nation, mostly on social media. The campaign is led by critics who accuse the present government of allowing Indian boots on the ground and thereby compromising the sovereignty of the island nation. The ruling administration has time and again denied any Indian military presence in the country or a threat to Maldives’s sovereignty.
• India Out Bill is a draft Bill by the present Maldivian government that criminalises public campaigns that apparently harm Maldives’ relations with foreign countries.

AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT VISITS

• The Maldives holds strategic importance for India under the present government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy due to its location in the Indian Ocean. However, the relations between the two countries were strained under the pro-China regime of their former President Abdulla Yameen. This can be reflected in the recent ‘India Out’ campaign led by Abdulla Yameen, against India’s massive developmental funding for creating physical, social, and community infrastructure, and incumbent President Solih’s government retaining two India-gifted helicopters and their operational military personnel.
• For India, the Indian Ocean is of utmost importance. Since 2014, India has taken a proactive approach to cement its role as the leader in the Indian Ocean by according priority maritime diplomacy and initiatives. This comes against the backdrop of rising Chinese assertiveness in the IOR and the growing interest of various powers in the Indian Ocean generally, and the Maldives in particular. As the pre-eminent South-Asian power and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region, India needs to cooperate in all dimensions with the Maldives. The recent bilateral meetings between India and Maldives will offer India the right opportunity.

AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONS

GEO-STRATEGIC: The Maldives, a Toll Gate in the Indian Ocean:

• Located in the southern and northern parts of this island chain lies the two important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs). These SLOCs are critical for maritime trade flow between the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Hormuz in West Asia and the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.
• Nearly 50% of India’s external trade and 80% of its energy imports transit these SLOCs in the Arabian Sea.
• The location of the Maldives, at the intersection of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean, makes it strategically important for India, particularly in light of China’s growing aggression in the region.

IMPORTANT GROUPINGS:

• Maldives is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).
• Engagement with QUAD (India, Japan, Australia, and the US)
• Maldivian engagement with the ‘Quad’, has been growing over the last year, especially in the area of defense cooperation.
• The present government signed a ‘Framework for a Defence and Security Relationship’ agreement with the United States. It was welcomed by India.

The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program set up in 2001 brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership that aims to promote regional prosperity, improve economic opportunities, and build a better quality of life for the people of the subregion. SASEC countries share a common vision of boosting intraregional trade and cooperation in South Asia, while also developing connectivity and trade with Southeast Asia through Myanmar, the People’s Republic of China, and the global market.

SECURITY COOPERATION:

• India and Maldives conduct the joint military exercise ‘Ekuverin’ every year since 2009.
• Mauritius was included as a new member of the conclave during the fifth meeting of national security advisers of the Colombo Security Conclave. It is a maritime security grouping of India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Mauritius to forge closer cooperation on maritime and security matters among these Indian Ocean countries.
• MILAN, a Multilateral Naval Exercise hosted by India, made a modest beginning in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1995 with the participation of four littoral navies. This biennial congregation of friendly navies, over the last two and a half decades, has progressively grown in magnitude with the latest edition in 2022 being attended by 42 countries including the Maldives.
• Maldives is also a member country of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The objectives of IORA are:
• To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states
• To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest, and mutual benefits
• To promote liberalization, remove impediments, and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT:

• The Maldives has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Covid-19 assistance and vaccines delivered by India among India’s all neighbouring countries. The Maldives was the first beneficiary of India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative.
• When the world supply chains were blocked because of the pandemic, India continued to provide crucial commodities to the Maldives under Mission SAGAR.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION:

• Tourism is the mainstay of the Maldives’ economy. The country is a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others.
• In August 2021 India signed a contract for the largest-ever infrastructure project in Maldives which is the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP).
• Under the bilateral agreement, India provides essential food items like rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, onion, potato, and eggs and construction material such as sand and stone aggregates to the Maldives on favourable terms.
• Blue Economy as defined by World Bank is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem. The Maldives can play a significant role in India’s Vision of New India by 2030 as the Maldives also aims to achieve a more sustainable development model by making better use of its ocean resources.

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME:

India has helped the Maldives in many diverse areas to bolster the development of the Maldives e.g.

• Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives Institute of Technical Education (now called the Maldives Polytechnic),
• India-Maldives Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies,
• Technology Adoption Programme in Education Sector in the Maldives,
• a port on Gulhifalhu,
• airport redevelopment at Hanimaadhooand a hospital and a cricket stadium in Hulhumale etc.
• Under the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) project, a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi.

DIASPORA:

• There is a significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and healthcare sectors of the Maldives economy.

IMPORTANCE OF INDIA FOR MALDIVES

FOOD SECURITY: Maldive’s food security depends a lot on imports from India. Food articles such as rice, flour, sugar, chicken, eggs, potatoes, onions, and lentils as among the basic foodstuffs consumed by Maldivians in substantial quantities and supplied by India.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Sand and gravel for construction are also supplied by India.

TOURISM: India is also a major source of the tourism sector for the Maldives, the nation’s economic mainstay.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION: India is also a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, medical treatment, recreation, and business. According to MEA more Maldivians are seeking long-term visas for pursuing higher studies/medical treatment in India.

CURRENT CHALLENGES IN INDIA-MALDIVES RELATION

CHINA’S STRATEGIC FOOTPRINT IN INDIA’S NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia. Given the uncertain dynamics of Sino-Indian relations, China’s strategic presence in the Maldives remains a concern. Also, the Maldives have started using the China card to bargain with India.

POLITICAL INSTABILITY: India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighbourhood on its security and development. The consequent political crisis and the “India Out” Campaign have posed a real diplomatic test for India’s neighbourhood policy.

RADICALISATION: Radicalisation is not a new challenge that the Maldives has been tackling, but the bomb attack on former president Mohamed Nasheed in May 2021 has put the issue into sharper focus and has become a pressing concern. The attack clearly indicates that radical groups are actively advancing their position in the Maldives. Radical ideology has strengthened itself in the Maldives and has, in the recent past, been assisted by state institutions.

UTHURU THILA FALHU (UTF) HARBOUR PROJECT: UTF Agreement was signed between India and the Maldives in February 2021. The speculation that the project would be turned into a naval base by India has also been a reason for internal political instability in the Maldives. However, the agreement was to develop a dockyard for Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and operate a Dornier aircraft for surveillance.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Mobilising ordinary citizens through the ‘India Out’ campaign is a cause for concern for India. India has to work on perception management in the Maldives.
• The potential for both countries to work together on adaptive and mitigating measures against the adverse maritime impacts of climate change is enormous. This potential must be realised through imaginative foreign policy and maritime security initiatives.
• The ‘India-First Policy’ of the Maldives and India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ are intuitively complementary, implementing these policies with cultural, geo-economics, and geostrategic sensitivity is imperative for both nations.
• India and Maldives have not yet signed a Free Trade Agreement. To reap the benefits of continued efforts in the economic cooperation and infrastructure developmental projects India should think of having an FTA with the Maldives. (Maldives have FTA with China).
• India-Maldives defense cooperation shall be enhanced to monitor Chinese maritime and naval movements along vital sea lanes of communication that run alongside the Maldives.
• Encourage the Indian private sector to deepen its engagement in the Maldivian economy.
• Countries complain that India doesn’t deliver on projects and they tend to make comparisons with China. Delivering projects on time would help India in mitigating some concerns that may exist in the Maldives.

 THE CONCLUSION: While India-Maldives relations have always been close, cordial, and multi-dimensional, recent regime instability in the Maldives has posed some limitations, especially in the political & strategic arena. Therefore, the main challenge to India’s diplomacy is balancing out all these contradictions into harmonious relations.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

1. “Recent India-First Policy of the Maldives and India’s Neighborhood First Policy are intuitively complementary”. In the light of recent agreements signed between India and Maldives discuss the strategic importance of the Maldives to India.
2. “India’s Vision of New India by 2030 and Maldives aims to achieve a more sustainable development model by making better use of its ocean resources are complementary to each other. “Elaborate in the context of the Blue Economy.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

THE GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. EXPLAINED: WHAT DOWNGRADE IN AVERAGE MONSOON RAINFALL MEANS?

THE CONTEXT: In its first-stage long-range forecast for the 2022 southwest monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast normal rainfall during the season. It has, however, downgraded the Long Period Average (LPA) for all-India monsoon rainfall — from 88.06 cm cm to 87 cm, effective from June this year.

THE EXPLANATION:

How much rainfall does India receive on average in a year?

Based on trends for 1961-2010, India’s normal annual rainfall is about 1176.9 mm. Of this, nearly 74.8%, or 880.6 mm (88.06 cm), occurs during the Southwest monsoon from June to September. This is the LPA rainfall for the monsoon, the figure that has been revised.

Before the revision, the distribution of the rest of the rainfall was 3.4% during winter (January-February); 11.2% in the pre-monsoon season (March-May), and 10.5% during the post-monsoon season (October-December).

How much rainfall does India receive on average in a year?

• Based on trends for 1961-2010, India’s normal annual rainfall is about 1176.9 mm. Of this, nearly 74.8%, or 880.6 mm (88.06 cm), occurs during the Southwest monsoon from June to September.
• This is the LPA rainfall for the monsoon, the figure that has been revised. Before the revision, the distribution of the rest of the rainfall was 3.4% during winter (January-February); 11.2% in the pre-monsoon season (March-May), and 10.5% during the post-monsoon season (October-December).

When is the LPA revised?

• It is an international convention to verify the quantum of annual and seasonal monsoon rainfall once in a decade. The monsoon season’s LPA rainfall acts as a baseline figure calculated over a 50-year period. The LPA is revised, if required, depending on any variations observed from the rainfall data obtained from the network of rain gauges.
• In 2002, the IMD operated 1,963 rain gauges located across 523 districts. As of 2020, rainfall data was being collected from 4,132 rain gauges spread uniformly across 703 districts.
• Between 2005 and 2010, India’s LPA was taken at 89.04 cm. Between 2011 and 2015, the IMD revised it to 88.75 cm. It was 88.06 cm between 2018 and 2021. From the upcoming monsoon the revised LPA will be 87 cm.

 Why has it been downgraded?

• “According to the IMD forecast, the monsoon season rainfall shows an epochal behaviour, wherein the monsoon can shift between dry and wet epochs (30-to-50-year periods) in certain decades. The reduction in the rainfall is thus due to the natural multi-decadal rainfall variability”.
• The decadal variability between 1901 and 2020 shows the southwest monsoon rainfall underwent a dry epoch between 1901 and 1921. This was followed by a wet epoch that prevailed till 1970. From 1971, the monsoon has been passing through a dry epoch that persists till date.
• “Also, it highlighted, the dry epoch started in 1971 and has continued for five decades; thus the decadal mean rainfall values have remained negative. The decadal all-India southwest monsoon rainfall has been thus reducing by 1 cm. For 2011-2020, this value is minus 3.8, below normal”.
• But the peak of this dry epoch has been surpassed with the monsoon set to revive, report noted. “The future trend suggests that the decadal mean value will reach near normal during 2021-2030. It will then turn positive, meaning that the decade 2031-2040 will be the beginning of a wet epoch”.
• The decadal mean value for the ongoing decade is predicted to be around minus 1.4 to 1.5. Normally, the realised monsoon rainfall remains below normal for most years in a decade during a dry epoch. On the other hand, rainfall is normal or above normal during most of the years in a decade when it is a wet epoch.

So, has the all-India quantitative rainfall reduced?

• There is indeed a decrease in normal monsoon rainfall between 1961-2010 (880.6 mm) and 1971-2020 (868.6 mm). The all-India annual rainfall, too, has decreased from 1176.9 mm (based on 1961-2010) to 1160.1mm (based on 1971-2020).

 According to the IMD officials, the shifting of rainfall, the otherwise dry and arid west-central India regions covering Kutch-Saurashtra, Rajasthan and parts of west Madhya Pradesh are reporting a higher number of wet days than normal. These areas had more rainfall during 1971-2020 than during 1961-2010.

“There is a positive change in western India regions with research showing an increase in days with light to moderate intensity rainfall increasing over Rajasthan,” However, on an all-India basis, rainfall reduction in some areas and increase in other areas do not contribute in a large difference in the total quantum.

2. NEPTUNE’S SUMMER TEMPERATURE DROPS DRAMATICALLY

THE CONTEXT: According to the analysis published in the Planetary Science Journal the atmospheric temperature of the eighth planet of the solar system fell to -117°C from -109°C between 2003 and 2018.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to a new study the average atmospheric temperature of Neptune fell by 8 degrees Celsius (°C) during 2003-2020.
• The period covers the first half of the summer on the planet that started in 2005. Each season on the Neptune lasts 40 years.
• Researchers from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom and NASA observed the planet’s temperature from 2003-2020 to understand how its seasons evolve with time.
• The researchers relied on a fleet of ground-based telescopes – Chile’s Very Large Telescope and Gemini South telescope, Hawaii’s Subaru Telescope, Keck Telescope, and the Gemini North telescope as well as a space telescope named Spitzer Space Telescope to study Neptune.
• The telescopes were equipped with thermal cameras with infrared eyes. The cameras calculate temperature by measuring the infrared light emitted from objects in the stratosphere  — a layer of the planet’s atmosphere.
• The analysis threw up some more surprising results: Between 2018 and 2020, temperatures in the planet’s southern pole rose by 11°C. As a result, the stratospheric temperature showed a slight uptick. The rapid changes observed in the two years are surprisingly swift for a seasonal response, the researchers noted.
• The scientists noted, unexpected reversal of the trend in the polar region suggests some interesting atmospheric dynamics are at play.
• The researchers provided a few theories for the factors driving Neptune’s fluctuating temperatures. Seasonal changes in Neptune’s atmospheric chemistry could have a role to play, they surmised.
• Alternatively, the solar cycle – variation in the Sun’s activity every 11 years – might also be involved, the researchers wrote. Previous studies also suggested that the solar cycle might affect Neptune’s visible brightness, according to the report. Research in the future should focus on observing temperature and cloud patterns, the study stressed. The researchers have their hopes pinned on the James Webb Space Telescope launched in December 2021 to provide answers to this mystery.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE:

About James Webb Space Telescope:

• JWST is a joint venture between the US (NASA), European (ESA) and Canadian space agencies (CSA).
• It is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity.
• Webb was formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST) and it was renamed in 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb.
• It will be a large infrared telescope with an approximately 6.5 meter primary mirror.

Objectives and functions of the telescope:

1. It will look deeper into the cosmos – and thus further back in time – than is possible with Hubble.
2. It will do this with a much bigger mirror (6.5m in diameter versus 2.4m) and instruments that are tuned to the infrared.
3. Scientists hope this set-up can detect the light from the very first population of stars in the Universe to switch on more than 13.5 billion years ago.

 THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3. WHO REPORT HIGHLIGHTS COLLABORATIVE ACTION TO REDUCE ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

THE CONTEXT: The strategic framework published in a report to advance a One Health response to AMR at the global, regional and country levels is a joint effort by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

THE EXPLANATION:

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major global threat to humans, animals, plants, food and the environment. This indicates the requirement of a One Health approach to effectively address the issue.
• The goal of the strategic framework is to preserve antimicrobial efficacy and ensure sustainable and equitable access to antimicrobials for responsible and prudent use in human, animal and plant health, contributing to achieving the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To achieve this goal, the objectives, mentioned in the framework are:

• Optimize the production and use of antimicrobials along the whole life cycle — from research and development to disposal — and decrease the incidence of infection in humans, animals and plants to reduce the development and spread of AMR.
• The overall impact to which the four organisations aim to contribute through their collaboration is for countries to have the capacity to design and sustainably implement evidence-informed One Health responses to AMR.

The report defined three outcomes countries should have in place:

• Policy and law support effective country-owned One Health AMR responses: Recognise AMR as a priority in the broader development agenda, acknowledging the need for capacity building to strengthen AMR-specific legislation, policy coherence and sector-specific research.
• Systems and structures, including institutional capacities, are in place to support effective implementation of country-owned One Health AMR responses: National Action Plans on AMR and guidelines to be regularly updated including monitoring and surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU). Access to good quality antimicrobials strengthened for all sectors.
• Increased, sustained resourcing is in place for country-owned One Health AMR responses: Priority actions from national action plans on AMR mainstreamed into national plans and budgets.
• The report also focuses on two intermediate outcomes that it considers interim steps, necessary for the achievement of the longer-term outcomes described above.
• The first intermediate outcome relates to the support provided at country level, while the second is focused on the tripartite (WHO, OIE and FAO) and UNEP action at global and regional levels in support of countries’ efforts.

 According to the report, these organizations work to achieve intermediate outcomes through the following mentioned outputs:

• The capacity and knowledge of countries are strengthened to prioritise and implement context-specific collaborative One Health approaches to control AMR in policies, legislation and practice
• Global and regional initiatives and programmes influence and support One Health responses to AMR and global governance structures established, resourced and function effectively.
• The strategic framework in this report broadly supports the implementation of the five pillars of the Global Action Plan on AMR, as well as strengthening global AMR governance.
• The collaboration of the four organisations on AMR is new, although they have worked together in other technical areas.

 THE SECURITY

4. THE UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES (PREVENTION) ACT (UAPA)

THE CONTEXT: After designating relatives of Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Centre has now designated Kashmiri militant Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar as a terrorist under the Act.

THE EXPLANATION:

What changes as a result of Zargar’s designation as a terrorist under UAPA?

• The designation of individuals as terrorists is in keeping with international norms and laws. The United Nations designates individuals as terrorists, and the United States Department of State has a list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations.
• The government has earlier said this would help clamp down on the financial resources and assets of terrorist individuals even if they are not associated with an organisation, or if they dissolve a banned organisation and float another with a different name and form.

 MISCELLANEOUS

5. PM INAUGURATES PRADHANMANTRI SANGRAHALAYA

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister inaugurated the ‘Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya’ (prime ministers’ museum), which is a tribute to every prime minister in the country since Independence. The museum was inaugurated on the occasion of the 131st birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The museum on 14 former prime ministers of India, built at a cost of Rs 271 crore at the Teen Murti complex in New Delhi, has been developed to create awareness about these leaders. It recognises the contributions of all the prime ministers irrespective of their ideology or tenure in office.
• Starting from the country’s freedom struggle and the making of the Constitution, the museum tells the story of how India’s prime ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured its all-round progress. The guiding principle has been to recognise the contributions of all the prime ministers in a non-partisan manner.

Design

• The design of the museum building is inspired by the story of a rising India, shaped and moulded at the hands of its leaders, according to officials.
• The design incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices. No tree has been felled or transplanted. The total area of the building is 10,491 square metres. The logo of the building represents the hands of the people of India holding the “chakra”, symbolising the nation and democracy.
• The logo of the museum represents the hands of the people of India holding the Dharma Chakra symbolising the nation and democracy.
• There are a total of 43 galleries in the Sangrahalaya that goes on to tell the story of how our Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured the all-around progress of the country.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Consider the following statements:

1. According to IMD, monsoon is considered “normal” when rainfall falls between 96% and 104% of the long period average (LPA).
2. IMD has recently revised the long period average (LPA) to 88 cm.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 14TH APRIL 2022

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Bihu festival is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam- Rongali or Bohag Bihu observed in April, Kongali or Kati Bihu observed in October, and Bhogali or Magh Bihu observed in January.
• Rongali Bihu, also known as Bohag Bihu, is celebrated by the people of Assam to mark the Assamese New Year. It is usually observed in the second week of April with the onset of spring.
• Bohag Bihu is a sowing festival, Kati Bihu is associated with crop protection and worship of plants and crops and is an animistic form of the festival, while Bhogali Bihu is a harvest festival. 

1. Align with the hukum to attain inner peace READ MORE  
2. A man with a great mind and foresight READ MORE

1. Explained: What downgrade in average monsoon rainfall means READ MORE  
2. A window for inter-State collaboration, to breathe easy READ MORE
3. Like India, Pakistan and Central Asia are reeling from unprecedented heatwaves READ MORE
4. Lack of information is holding back the fight against climate change in India READ MORE

1. Data divide between state, citizens is bad for democracy READ MORE
2. The wrong reform: Electoral bonds do not address corruption in political funding READ MORE
3. Understanding civil liberties from an Ambedkarite perspective READ MORE
4. Strength of democracy lies in its institutions READ MORE

1. Is Hindi or English beneficial as the link language? READ MORE
2. How to deal with student suicides? READ MORE
3. From the vault: Contemporary challenges before the anti-caste movement READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. PM greets people on the occasion of Bohag Bihu READ MORE
2. Nod to extend Gram Swaraj scheme READ MORE
3. India projected to grow at 8% this fiscal: World Bank READ MORE
4. IMD forecasts ‘normal’ monsoon, no El Nino READ MORE
5. Singaperumal Koil: A temple carved out of a hillock READ MORE
6. PM Modi inaugurates Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya to honour all prime ministers of country READ MORE
7. Updated estimates of the impact of COVID-19 on global poverty: Turning the corner on the pandemic in 2021? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Explained: What downgrade in average monsoon rainfall means READ MORE  
2. Is Hindi or English beneficial as the link language? READ MORE
3. How to deal with student suicides? READ MORE
4. From the vault: Contemporary challenges before the anti-caste movement READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Data divide between state, citizens is bad for democracy READ MORE
2. The wrong reform: Electoral bonds do not address corruption in political funding READ MORE
3. Understanding civil liberties from an Ambedkarite perspective READ MORE
4. Strength of democracy lies in its institutions READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. For India’s marginalised, the precarity of health READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Friends again: The recent strain in Indo-US ties has eased following the 2+2 dialogue READ MORE
2. Difficult Choices~II READ MORE
3. 2+2 meet: Delhi and DC are seeking new opportunities READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India needs an economic reboot for rapid employment-heavy growth READ MORE
2. Is it too early to celebrate our export success? READ MORE
3. Food subsidy as economic tool to fight poverty READ MORE
4. RBI tough, Govt manages with more FTAs READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 

1. A window for inter-State collaboration, to breathe easy READ MORE
2. Like India, Pakistan and Central Asia are reeling from unprecedented heatwaves READ MORE
3. Lack of information is holding back the fight against climate change in India READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. First-responders must be top priority READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Align with the hukum to attain inner peace READ MORE  
2. A man with a great mind and foresight READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Discuss the importance of data in the smooth functioning of democracy. How data divide between the state and its citizens is a threat to the smooth functioning of a democracy?
2. Discuss the importance of pressure groups to get good governance accepted as a fundamental right in the Constitution.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.
• Data on migration and development indices show that there is a stronger case for English to be the link language rather than Hindi.
• The effectiveness of state policies can be judged from the data produced by the statistical wings of the government, which have a reputation for being independent and credible.
• The data divide between the state and its citizens is a potential threat to the smooth functioning of a democracy.
• India would need a structural transformation to achieve fast GDP expansion accompanied by equally robust job generation.
• While India has had its best year with respect to outbound trade, impediments that could make this performance unsustainable need to be addressed.
• Paying attention to life expectancy disparities in India shows that inequality in health outcomes is relevant even today.
• India and the US have underscored their commitment to continue to build on the momentum of recent years and not lose sight of the larger strategic picture.
• The trigger that translates communal sentiments into violence is provided by political elements who provide deadly weapons and inflammatory slogans to crowds, design deviations in routes of processions and mark out shops, factories and households run or inhabited by the other community as ready for annihilation.
• The health facilities required for huge the patient load are also insufficient. There is a need to spread awareness amongst the parents and students by providing career counselling and family therapy.
• It is imperative that pressure of public opinion is built up to get good governance accepted as a fundamental right in the Constitution.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.

50-WORD TALK

• As more evidence of Russia’s excesses emerges, it will become tougher for India to stay middle of the road. New Delhi’s line has already evolved from lip service to ‘respect for (Ukraine’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity” to “shock” over Bucha killings and need for inquiry. Equidistance will be increasingly untenable.
• Doctrine of the bulldozer has travelled from Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh to Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Madhya Pradesh. The target almost exclusively is Muslim homes and properties. In a nation of the Constitution and the laws this medieval, partisan ‘justice’ is an abomination. And judiciary watching silently is an awful institutional shame.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 202]

THE CONTEXT: On 26 February 2022 Ukraine lodged a case against Russia at the ICJ which was centered on the interpretation of a 1948 treaty on the prevention of genocide, signed by both Russia and Ukraine. The court is named in the treaty itself as the forum for resolving disputes related to genocide and Ukraine’s suit argues that Russia has misinterpreted the treaty in several ways. This article explains the whole issue in detail and analyses the efficacy of ICJ in the present times.

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)

ABOUT ICJ:

• The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The International Court of Justice is also known as the World Court. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, ICJ is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• Its official working languages are English and French
• All members of the UN are ipso facto parties to the statute, but this does not automatically give ICJ jurisdiction over disputes involving them. The ICJ gets jurisdiction only on the basis of the consent of both parties. The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organisation and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.

Figure 1 Charter of the United Nations

ITS ORIGIN:

• The court is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was brought into being by the League of Nations, and which held its inaugural sitting at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, in February 1922.
• After World War II, the League of Nations and PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ respectively.
• The PCIJ was formally dissolved in April 1946, and its last president, Judge José Gustavo Guerrero of El Salvador, became the first president of the ICJ.

ITS COMPOSITION:

• The ICJ consists of a panel of 15 judges elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for nine-year terms. These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. The Court does not include more than one national of the same State. Moreover, the Court as a whole represents the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
• One-third of the Court is elected every three years; Judges are eligible for re-election.
• The 15 judges of the Court are distributed in the following regions:
• Three from Africa.
• Two from Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Three from Asia.
• Five from Western Europe and other states.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Court settles legal disputes submitted to it by States, in accordance with international law. It also gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies. Judgments in disputes between States are binding.
• The Court decides disputes between countries, based on the voluntary participation of the States concerned. If a State agrees to participate in a proceeding, it is obligated to comply with the Court’s decision.

WORKING OF THE COURT:

• States have no permanent representatives accredited to the Court. They normally communicate with the Registrar through their Minister for Foreign Affairs or their ambassador accredited to the Netherlands.
• The sources of law that the Court must apply are international treaties and conventions in force; international custom; the general principles of law; judicial decisions; and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists*. Moreover, if the parties agree, the Court can decide a case ex aequo et Bono, i.e., without confining itself to existing rules of international law.

A *publicist is an international law scholar or a scholarly organization (e.g., American Law Institute). However, Article 38 of the ICJ Statute indicates that only teachings (writings) of “the most highly qualified publicists” are considered to be a source of international law. Thus, not every article or book about an international law topic would be considered a source of international law.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ICJ

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the international community’s legal guardian. The ICJ is frequently called upon to defuse crisis situations, help normalize relations between states, and reactivate stalled negotiation processes. It resolves legal disputes submitted to it by States in accordance with international law, as well as provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Within its limited jurisdiction, the ICJ has resolved significant international disputes, thereby contributing to international peace and security.
• In carrying out its mandate, the Court not only contributes to the strengthening of international law’s role in international relations but also to its development and is increasingly being used as a forum for the resolution of environmental disputes, particularly those involving transboundary
• harm, as well as other disagreements affecting the conservation of living resources, environmental protection, or potentially adverse effects on human health.
• Albeit the court cannot enact new laws in the same way that a regulator can, the Court can clarify, refine, and interpret international law rules. In the present scenario of Russia’s military action on Ukraine ICJ’s decision is binding on Russia and constitutes part of its international legal obligations. If Russia continues its military actions, it will be a brazen violation of international law.

DISCOURSE ON UKRAINE’S CASE AGAINST RUSSIA AT ICJ

UKRAINE’S APPLICATION AGAINST RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

• Ukraine contends that Russian Federation has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have been committed in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine and based on such claims Russia initiated a special military action and recognized the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’.
• Ukraine “emphatically denies” that such genocide has occurred and states that Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide.
• Ukraine used the clause of the Genocide Convention of (1948) to get the ICJ to hear the case. The top court of the United Nations has ordered Russia to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Ukraine.
• It is a “provisional measures” order – an emergency ruling made before the court hears the whole case. Provisional measures are binding. It means even if Russia maintains incorrectly that the invasion is legal, it is now breaching international law anyway by failing to comply with the ICJ’s order. However, a binding ruling is not the same as an enforceable one. Just as there is no global government to give the ICJ more power, there is no global police to enforce its decisions.

Article I of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), 1948 as interpreted by the ICJ in the past makes it an obligation for any state not to commit genocide and also gives an extraterritorial scope to signatory states to prevent genocide. (This became the basis for Russia to initiate a special military action against Ukraine.) Ukraine also contends this interpretation and says that no rule in international law automatically gives one state a right to invade another state to stop genocide.

Article VIII states that any contracting party can unilaterally approach the competent organs of the United Nations in matters related to the acts of genocide.

Article IX states that “Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.” (This became the basis for Ukraine to unilaterally approach ICJ as both Ukraine and Russia are parties to the Genocide Convention.)

Russia has rejected the order by the ICJ to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine by saying that:

• Both sides had to agree to end the hostilities for the ruling to be implemented.
• The ruling was not valid as no consent from both sides can be obtained in this case.
• Though Russia boycotted a hearing on the case but argued in a written filing that the court didn’t have jurisdiction and also said it was acting in self-defense with the invasion.

STANCE OF JUSTICE DALVEER BHANDARI ON THE ISSUE:

• Bhandari was one of the two judges at the world court whose vote is contrary to their respective countries’ stance at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• At the United Nations (UN), India’s stand has been that diplomacy and dialogue are the solutions to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the UN General Assembly on 2 March 2022, India urged both sides to focus on diplomacy to end the war and abstained from voting on the matter.
• Unlike in the UN, in the ICJ, there is no option of abstention, and ICJ judges vote in their individual capacities, and they vote on the merits of that. A judge’s opinion at the world court is in his or her individual capacity and does not reflect their respective countries’ stand on the issue.

INDIA AND ICJ

ACCEPTING THE JURISDICTION OF ICJ:

• In September 2019 India declared the matters over which it accepts the jurisdiction of the ICJ. This declaration was revoked and replaced the previous declaration made in September 1974 and September 1959.
• Among the matters over which India does not accept ICJ jurisdiction are: “disputes with the government of any State which is or has been a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations”, and “disputes relating to or connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective actions taken in self-defense…”
• The declaration, which includes other exceptions as well, has been ratified by Parliament.

PARTY TO A CASE AT ICJ: India has been a party to a case at the ICJ on six occasions, four of which have involved Pakistan. They are:

• Right of Passage over Indian Territory (Portugal v. India, culminated in 1960) – Ruling in India’s favour.
• Appeal Relating to the Jurisdiction of the ICAO Council (India v. Pakistan, culminated 1972) – ICJ rejected Pakistan’s objection.
• Trial of Pakistani Prisoners of War (Pakistan v. India, culminated 1973) – Pakistan choose not to move ahead with the proceedings.
• Aerial Incident of 10 August 1999 (Pakistan v. India, culminated in 2000) – ICJ rejected Pakistan’s contention.
• Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India, culminated 2016) – The court ruled that it does not have any jurisdiction on the issue in the absence of a dispute between the two countries
• Kulbhushan Jadhav (India v. Pakistan, culminated 2019) – The ICJ held that Pakistan was in clear violation of the rights and obligations described under the Vienna Convention on Consular relations 1963 and ruled in favour of India. Jadhav still remains in Pakistan Jail.

INDIANS AS MEMBERS OF ICJ: Four Indians have been members of the ICJ so far:

• Justice Dalveer Bhandari, former judge of the Supreme Court, has been serving at the ICJ since 2012.
• Former Chief Justice of India R S Pathak served from 1989-to 91.
• Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Nagendra Singh from 1973-88. Singh was also president of the court from 1985-to 88 and vice-president from 1976-to 79.
• Sir Benegal Rau, who was an advisor to the Constituent Assembly, was a member of the ICJ from 1952-to 53.

LIMITATIONS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF ICJ

ICJ suffers from certain limitations, these are mainly structural, circumstantial, and related to the material resources made available to the Court.

JURISDICTION TO TRY INDIVIDUALS:

• It has no jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
• As it is not a criminal court, it does not have a prosecutor able to initiate proceedings.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION ALLEGATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS: The International Court of Justice differs from other courts such as:

• The Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg), whose role is to interpret European Community legislation uniformly and rule on its validity,
• The European Court of Human Rights (France) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Costa Rica), which deal with allegations of violations of the human rights conventions under which they were set up.
• These three courts can entertain applications from individuals as well as from States which is not possible for the International Court of Justice.

NOT A SPECIALIST COURT:

• The jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in general thereby differs from that of specialist international tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
• ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by UNCLOS to adjudicate disputes arising out of the convention.
• United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted in 1982 to establish jurisdictional limits over the ocean areas and regulate activities in international waters, including sea-bed mining and cable laying, etc.

NOT A SUPREME COURT:

• The Court is not a Supreme Court to which national courts can turn; it does not act as a court of last resort for individuals nor is it an appeal court for any international tribunal. It can, however, rule on the validity of arbitral awards.

CANNOT INITIATE PROCEEDING SUO MOTO:

• The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States.
• It cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative.
• Neither is it permitted, under its Statute, to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign States as it chooses.

DO NOT HAVE A COMPULSORY JURISDICTION:

• The ICJ only has jurisdiction based on consent, not compulsory jurisdiction.

DO NOT ENJOY FULL POWERS:

• It does not enjoy a full separation of powers, with permanent members of the Security Council being able to veto enforcement of cases, even those to which they consented to be bound.

ABOUT GENOCIDE CONVENTION

• The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) is an instrument of international law that codified for the first time the crime of genocide. It was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 9 December 1948.
• It signified the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ after the atrocities committed during the Second World War and its adoption marked a crucial step towards the development of international human rights and international criminal law as we know it today.
• According to the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in times of war as well as in the time of peace. The definition of the crime of genocide, as set out in the Convention, has been widely adopted at both national and international levels, including in the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Importantly, the Convention establishes on State Parties the obligation to take measures to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators, “whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals” (Article IV). Those obligations, in addition to the prohibition not to commit genocide, have been considered norms of international customary law and therefore, binding on all States, whether or not they have ratified the Genocide Convention.
• India is a signatory to this convention.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The ICJ can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States and cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative. The power of the court shall be expanded regarding international laws to take Suo moto cognizance and initiate proceedings to maintain international peace and order.
• ICJ shall also be given the power to hear the matters which have already been decided by other international tribunals.
• Though the ICJ can only hear cases by the states it shall also accept applications from individuals as well as international organizations.
• The rulings of the court are binding but not enforceable on states and the onus lies on other UN organs for their implementation. This leads to a lack of confidence in the efficacy of the court. The court shall be given some institutional powers to make it more efficient.

THE CONCLUSION: While the court did not decide on whether Russia has breached the Genocide Convention, as this is a question of merits, it did express doubt over whether a country can unilaterally use force against another country for punishing or preventing an alleged act of genocide. This indicates that Russia’s use of force is difficult to justify under the Genocide Convention. Just because authoritarian populist leaders don’t care for international law does not diminish its significance. International law, even if not sufficient, is necessary to maintain global order. The ICJ decision is an impactful step in that direction.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

1. “India has accepted the jurisdiction of International Court of Justice on various issues barring a few such as connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective actions taken in self-defense.” In the context of changing geopolitical situations elaborate on the given statement.
2. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) suffers from structural, circumstantial, and material limitations. How can the court be made more effective to help in redressing interstate disputes and in maintaining global peace?

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Difference between the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court(ICC)

THE HEALTH AND EDUCATION

1. NEW RESEARCH: HEART INFLAMMATION RISK AFTER COVID-19 JABS IS VERY LOW, FINDS STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to the latest study at National University Hospital, Singapore found no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myopericarditis following the Covid-19 vaccination and other vaccinations (56 per million).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The overall risk of heart inflammation (myopericarditis) following Covid-19 vaccination is very low, affecting 18 people per million vaccine doses, a study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine has found.
• The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myopericarditis following the Covid-19 vaccination and other vaccinations (56 per million).
• THE CONDITION: Myopericarditis is a condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscle and, in some cases, severe permanent heart damage. It is most often caused by viruses, but in rare instances can also occur after vaccination.
• DATABASE: The researchers looked at more than 400 million doses from global databses, and analysed more than 20 studies with reported incidences of myopericarditis following any type of vaccination between January 1947 and December 2021.
• Of these, 11 studies looked specifically at Covid-19 vaccinations, covering over 395 million doses – nearly 300 million of which were mRNA vaccines. The rest of the studies covered other vaccinations such as smallpox (2.9 million doses), influenza (1.5 million doses), and others (5.5 million doses).
• FINDINGS: Among COVID-19 vaccinations, the risk of myopericarditis (18 cases per million dases) was higher for those who received mRNA vaccines (22.6 per million) compared to non-mRNA vaccines (7.9 per million). Reported cases were also higher in people below 30 (40.9 per million), males (23 per million), and following the second dose (31.1 per million).
• According to the specialist,“The occurrence of myopericarditis following non-Covid-19 vaccination could suggest that myopericarditis is a side effect of the inflammatory processes induced by any vaccination and is not unique to the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins in Covid-19 vaccines or infection.

2. UGC ALLOWS ENROLLING FOR TWO DEGREES

THE CONTEXT: According to the new UGC guidelines, from the academic session 2022-23, students will have the option to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously at the higher education level.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It will essentially allow students to simultaneously opt for two programmes at the undergraduate, diploma and postgraduate levels. Both degrees can be in physical mode, or one offline and another online, or both offline. But it will be optional for the universities to adopt these guidelines.

What are the subject combinations that a student will be allowed to take up?

• According to the UGC, the permitted combination of subjects will vary from one institution to another as different institutes set different criteria for admissions. However, it will be possible for a student to pursue a degree in humanities and sciences at once, or two degrees falling in the same stream.
• For instance, if a student is already enrolled in a BSc mathematics degree and also wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree in History, He/She will be allowed to do so. If a university offers an offline BCom programme during the evening shift and a full-time BA programme during the morning shift, a student may enroll in both programmes.

What are the possible combinations in terms of modes of study?

• The move allows a student to pursue two academic programmes, one in full-time physical mode, and another in open and distance learning mode. They can also join a programme in a physical mode in a university, along with another programme in an online mode. The third choice for students is that they can pursue two online degrees simultaneously.
• On the question of attendance, particularly in case of a student choosing the purely offline mode, UGC noted that in such cases, students and colleges will ensure that class timings for one programme do not overlap with that of the other.
• Also, the guidelines will not apply to MPhil and Ph.D. programmes. Students can only pursue a degree or diploma course in distance mode/online mode at institutions that have been approved by the UGC, and concerned bodies of the Government of India.

Will admission eligibility criteria and attendance requirements be revised?

• The eligibility criteria for each of the programmes will remain unchanged and admissions will be conducted based on the existing UGC and university norms. If a student aspires to pursue a specialised degree in any domain but the minimum criteria require her to have basic knowledge of the subject, then she may not be able to enroll in that particular course.
• Since all academic programmes have minimum attendance requirements for students to be able to take the exams, universities may have to devise or revise the attendance criteria for these courses. “UGC does not mandate any attendance requirements and these are the policies of the universities.

 THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. INDIA WILL MISS ITS 2022 SOLAR POWER TARGET: REPORT

THE CONTEXT: A report, jointly prepared by two energy-research firms — JMK Research and Analytics and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis — says India will likely miss its 2022 target of installing 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity. This is because rooftop solar lagging behind.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is India’s solar policy?

• Since 2011, India’s solar sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 59% from 0.5GW in 2011 to 55GW in 2021. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), also known as the National Solar Mission (NSM), which commenced in January 2010, marked the first time the government focussed on promoting and developing solar power in India.
• Under the scheme, the total installed capacity target was set as 20GW by 2022. In 2015, the target was revised to 100GW and in August 2021, the government set a solar target of 300GW by 2030.
• India currently ranks fifth after China, U.S., Japan and Germany in terms of installed solar power capacity. As of December 2021, the cumulative solar installed capacity of India is 55GW, which is roughly half the renewable energy (RE) capacity (excluding large hydropower) and 14% of the overall power generation capacity of India. Within the 55GW, grid-connected utility-scale projects contribute 77% and the rest comes from the grid-connected rooftop and off-grid projects.

What does the report say?

• As of April, 2022 only about 50% of the 100GW target, consisting of 60GW of utility-scale and 40GW of rooftop solar capacity, has been met. Nearly 19 GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 — 15.8GW from utility-scale and 3.5GW from rooftop solar. Even accounting for this capacity would mean about 27% of India’s 100GW solar target would remain unmet, according to JMK Research.
• A 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target, is expected compared to 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target by December 2022. Thus, it is in rooftop solar that the challenges of India’s solar-adoption policy stick out.

What are the reasons for rooftop solar adoption not meeting targets?

• In December 2015, the government launched the first phase of the grid-connected rooftop solar programme to incentivise its use in residential, institutional and social areas. The second phase, approved in February 2019, had a target of 40GW of cumulative rooftop solar capacity by 2022, with incentives in the form of central financial assistance (CFA).
• As of November 2021, of the phase 2 target of 4GW set for the residential sector, only 1.1GW had been installed. The disruption in supply chains due to the pandemic was a key impediment to rooftop solar adoption.
• In its early years, India’s rooftop solar market struggled to grow, held back by lack of consumer awareness, inconsistent policy frameworks of the Centre/State governments and financing. Recently, however, there has been a sharp rise in rooftop solar installations thanks to falling technology costs, increasing grid tariffs, rising consumer awareness and the growing need for cutting energy costs.
• These factors are expected to persist giving a much-needed boost to this segment, the report notes. Going ahead, rooftop solar adoption is expected to proportionally increase as land and grid-connectivity for utility solar projects are expected to be hard to come by.

Challenges:

• Factors impeding rooftop-solar installation include pandemic-induced supply chain disruption to policy restrictions, regulatory roadblocks; limits to net-metering (or paying users who give back surplus electricity to the grid); taxes on imported cells and modules, unsigned power supply agreements (PSAs) and banking restrictions; financing issues plus delays in or rejection of open access approval grants; and the unpredictability of future open access charges, the report notes.

How critical is solar power to India’s commitment to mitigate climate change?

• Solar power is a major prong of India’s commitment to address global warming according to the terms of the Paris Agreement, as well as achieving net-zero, or no net carbon emissions, by 2070.
• Prime Minister at the United Nations Conference of Parties meeting in Glasgow, in November 2021, said India would be reaching a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 and meet half its energy requirements via renewable energy by 2030.
• To boost the renewable energy installation drive in the long term, the Centre in 2020 set a target of 450GW of RE-based installed capacity to be achieved by 2030, within which the target for solar was 300GW.
• Given the challenge of integrating variable renewable energy into the grid, most of the RE capacity installed in the latter half of this decade is likely to be based on wind-solar hybrid (WSH), RE-plus-storage and round-the-clock RE projects rather than traditional solar/wind projects, according to the report. On the current trajectory, the report finds, India’s solar target of 300GW by 2030 will be off the mark by about 86GW, or nearly a third.

The study speculates that the government, in the short term, will aggressively push for expediting solar capacity addition to achieve the 100GW target by 2022 by re-allocating some of the unmet rooftop targets to utility-scale projects.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4. INDIA TO GROW AT 8%: WORLD BANK

THE CONTEXT: According to World Bank, India is projected to grow at 8% over the current fiscal year (April 1- March 31), and 7.1% over the next (FY 2023-24) fiscal year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The country is estimated to have grown at 8.3% in the fiscal year that just passed, following a contraction of 6.6% in the year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• For the South Asia region, growth is expected to be slower than projected, by 1 percentage point, at 6.6% in 2022 and 6.3% next calendar year.
• This is due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has impacted the region, when it was already experiencing “uneven and fragile” growth, rising commodity prices, bottlenecks to supply and financial sector vulnerabilities.

External shocks

• “Given these challenges, governments need to carefully plan monetary and fiscal policies to counter external shocks and protect the vulnerable, while laying the foundation for green, resilient and inclusive growth”.
• It highlighted, that there is limited space for fiscal stimulus and supply bottlenecks are of greater significance than insufficient effective demand.
• The impact of sanctions on Russia would be on the South Asian region, the report noted the impact was indirect, rather than direct, given the relatively low proportion of imports and exports that go to and from Russia and Ukraine. The indirect impact was via the global impact of sanctions on commodity and financial markets.
• All countries in the region will face challenges ahead, despite “solid” GDP growth during recovery, as per the report. In the case of India, household consumption will be constrained due to the incomplete recovery of the labour market and inflationary pressures.

Greener fuels

• The report suggests that countries in the region move towards greener fuels and commodities as a response to rising fuel prices and the introduction of green taxes. This would also be a new source of government revenue. Also, It noted that the green tax recommendation applied to both firms that were polluting as well as energy prices.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES/INITIATIVES IN THE NEWS

5. NOD TO EXTEND GRAM SWARAJ SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal to continue the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), a scheme for improving the governance capabilities of Panchayati raj institutions, till 2025-2026.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The CCEA, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister, approved the extension of the scheme that ended on March 31, 2022 at a total financial outlay of ₹5,911 crores, of which ₹3,700 crore would be the Centre’s share and ₹2,211 crore the States’ share.
• “The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.78 lakh rural local bodies to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] through inclusive local governance with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources”.
• The scheme would work towards “poverty free and enhanced livelihood in villages; healthy village, child friendly village; water sufficient village; clean and green village; self-sufficient infrastructure in village; socially secured village; village with good governance; engendered development in village”.

Strengthening the panchayats

• The government said panchayats would be strengthened and a spirit of healthy competition inculcated. No permanent posts would be created under the scheme but “need-based contractual human resources may be provisioned for overseeing the implementation of the scheme and providing technical support to States/UTs”.

VALUE ADDITION:

About Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

• In continuation of “Gram Swaraj Abhiyan”, which started on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Govt. of India has extended it in 117 Aspirational Districts identified by the NITI Aayog.
• This campaign which, undertaken under “SabkaSath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”, is to promote social harmony, spread awareness about pro-poor initiatives of the government, and reach out to poor households to enroll them as also to obtain their feedback on various welfare programmes.
• During this Abhiyan, a saturation of eligible households/persons would be made under seven flagship pro-poor programmes namely, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush. In addition, 5 priority are related activities under Education, Health, Nutrition, Skills and Agriculture also been identified as per district plan.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?

1. Bohag Bihu – Sowing festival
2. Kati Bihu – Crop protection
3. Bhogali Bihu – Harvest festival

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 13TH APRIL 2022

Answer: C

Explanation:

• The electoral college for the election of President of India is made up of all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs) and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs).

THE CONTEXT: Of late, many reports/indices have downgraded India’s position on various aspects of democracy. There are also allegations that the Indian State has curtailed the freedoms of individuals, the media, and civil society and undermined the independence of accountability institutions. Such developments, along with the results of recently concluded State Assembly elections, have led to a view that India has become an electoral democracy and that the electoral wins have been used to undermine the constitutional democracy. This article examines this claim in detail and suggests a way forward.

A WORKING DEFINITION: ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY:

• An electoral democracy refers to a polity governed by a democratically elected government.
• In such a system, there are regular free and fair elections based on universal adult franchise, multi-party competition, the peaceful transfer of power, etc.
• Electoral democracy is also known as procedural democracy, formal democracy, etc.
• The electoral process provides legitimacy to governments which can be used for achieving lofty objectives or for other partisan purposes.
• Although electoral democracy is necessary, it is not sufficient for establishing a constitutional democracy.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY:

• In a constitutional democracy, the authority of the majority is limited by legal and institutional means so that the rights of individuals and minorities are respected. Constitutional democracy is the antithesis of arbitrary rule.  It may be also called substantial democracy, liberal democracy, etc.  It is a democracy characterized by:

1. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. The people are the ultimate source of the authority of the government, which derives its right to govern from their consent.
2. MAJORITY RULE AND MINORITY RIGHTS. Although “the majority rules,” the fundamental rights of individuals in the minority are protected.
3. LIMITED GOVERNMENT. The powers of government are limited by law and a written or unwritten constitution that those in power obey.
4. INSTITUTIONAL AND PROCEDURAL LIMITATIONS ON POWERS. There are certain institutional and procedural devices that limit the powers of government.

WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY?

BASIC RIGHTS:

• Protection of certain basic or fundamental rights is the primary goal of government. These rights may be limited to life, liberty, and property, or they may be extended to include such economic and social rights as employment, health care, and education.
• Documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the Fundamental Rights, and DPSP of the Indian Constitution enumerate and explain these rights.

FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND EXPRESSION:

• A constitutional democracy includes among its highest purposes the protection of freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
• These freedoms have value both for the healthy functioning and preservation of constitutional democracy and for the full development of the human personality.

PRIVACY AND CIVIL SOCIETY:

• Constitutional democracies recognize and protect the integrity of a private and social realm comprised of family, personal, religious, and other associations and activities. This space of uncoerced human association is the basis of a civil society free from unfair and unreasonable intrusions by the government.

JUSTICE: A constitutional democracy promotes:

• DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. The fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of society.
• CORRECTIVE JUSTICE. Fair and proper responses to wrongs and injuries.
• PROCEDURAL JUSTICE. The use of fair procedures in the gathering of information and the making of decisions by all agencies of government and, most particularly, by law enforcement agencies and the courts.

EQUALITY: A constitutional democracy promotes:

• POLITICAL EQUALITY. All citizens are equally entitled to participate in the political system.
• EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW. The law does not discriminate based on unreasonable and unfair criteria such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs, affiliations, class, or economic status. The law applies to the governors as well as the governed.
• ECONOMIC EQUALITY. Constitutional democracies have differing conceptions of the meaning and importance of economic equality. At the very least, they agree that all citizens should have the right to an equal opportunity to improve their material well-being. Some constitutional democracies also attempt to eliminate gross disparities in wealth through such means as progressive taxation and social welfare programs.

OPENNESS:

• Constitutional democracies are based on a political philosophy of openness or the free marketplace of ideas, the availability of information through a free press and free expression in all fields of human endeavor.

ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY VS CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY-AN ANALYSIS

In a large part of the world, the electoral aspects of democracy are being used to undermine the non-electoral dimensions of democracy. This process can be called the battle between electoral democracy and constitutional democracy. Democracies don’t normally die as a result of military or executive coups these days. Processes internal to the democratic system can severely weaken democracy itself, even causing its collapse. Today, such contradictions exist in Turkey, Poland, Hungary, and Russia, to name just a few countries. Donald Trump also attempted something similar in the US. It is also alleged that such a process is underway in India.

OTHERING THE OTHERS: ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE ASIAN REGION

As early as the 1950s, Sri Lanka imposed a “Sinhala only” policy on the Tamil minority of the country. By the 1960 and 1970s, the Sinhalese majority gradually established its hegemony via electoral means, completely marginalizing the Tamils. In the 1980s, a civil war was born as a consequence. In Malaysia, following roughly similar policies, the Malay majority side-lined the Chinese minority. Internal tensions and aggravations rose, but, unlike Sri Lanka, a civil war did not. The minorities pursued their interests by entering into coalitions with political parties within the larger parameters of the polity.

HOW IS ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY USED TO UNDERMINE CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY?

MIS USE OF ELECTORAL SUCCESS:

• Electoral win provides authority to the elected government to frame laws and policies to implement its ideological agenda.
• Although nothing is wrong in this as long the government acts within the bounds of the constitutional limitations, serious problems emerge once this is breached.
• The triumph in elections can be used in three ways — in executive decrees, in legislative chambers to formulate laws, and on the street via vigilante forces.

SECTARIAN LEGAL AND POLICY ACTIONS:

• The government will simply claim that as it has won the “free and fair elections” it must be free to govern as it pleases without any boundation.
• In other words, electoral success means approval and legitimization of the parties’ agenda, policy choices, and manifesto. I say, a party that is known for its illiberal and communal outlook comes to power with a brute majority, which means the people’s acceptance of what the party stands for.
• This majority is then used by the party to frame legislation and public policies to further the illiberal and communal agenda.

FREE VOTE BUT PROGRESSIVE UNFREEDOMS:

• Differently labelled as right-wing populism, majoritarianism, or illiberal democracy, the core of this politics consists of: –
• Using election win to attack – via legislation — the idea of minority rights and undermine – also via legislation — standard democratic freedoms such as the freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of religious or cultural practice.
• A freely conducted vote can thus be used to cripple the other freedoms that modern democracies also value and the electoral democracy essentially degenerates into an electoral autocracy.

THE REASONS FOR INDIA BEING CALLED AS AN ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY

POTENTIAL MISUSE OF WINS IN ELECTIONS:

• The campaign for the UP election by the incumbent party has a fair share of communal attacks on the minorities.
• It is held that the five-year rule of the party also saw discriminatory legal and administrative actions against the minority community, mob lynching, attacks, and arrest of human rights activists and journalists, custodial deaths, illegal encounters, poor Covid management, mounting unemployment, etc.
• Yet a victorious plurality of UP’s electorate was willing to ignore the incumbent party’s failures and transgressions and returned the same party to power.
• Though minority rights are enshrined in India’s Constitution, election victories can now be used to create laws or government policies that begin to precisely attack those rights.
• Fake news, misinformation, post-truth, and hate speeches have taken the political and social discourse to a new low in India.
• Electoral win is one of the means by which electoral democracy can be a vehicle for an assault on constitutional democracy.

WEAKENING OF THE GUARDIAN OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• Generally speaking, the courts are the final custodian of constitutional proprieties in a democracy and can frustrate a legislative or executive attack on the Constitution.
• But that depends on whether the judiciary is willing to play its constitutionally assigned role. Judicial interpretation can go either way – in favour of the government or against it.
• India’s judiciary has of late — and earlier as well — been an unreliable defender of the Constitution and citizens’ rights. For instance, an erstwhile CJI has given a free pass to the executive through ” sealed cover jurisprudence”, and a former Judge of the SC has been alleged to be always favouring the government.
• A cursory glance of the major Constitutional cases like revocation of Art 370, CAA 2019, etc pending in the SC for a couple of years, points out the unwillingness of the SC to scrutinize executive actions.
• The selective appointment and transfer of judges of the higher judiciary also shows the lack of judicial independence.

THE FALLING RANKS IN GLOBAL INDICES:

• For a couple of years, India’s standing in almost all the indices/reports dealing with democracy and its features has been consistently falling. For instance, in the recently released freedom in the World 2022report by the American non-profit organization Freedom House, India was described as ‘partly free’ and given a ‘Global Freedom Score’ of 66 out of 100, the same as Malawi and Bolivia. India was assigned a score of 33 out of 40 on the criterion of ‘Political Rights’, and 33 out of 60 on that of ‘Civil Liberties’.
• In V-Dem Institute’s latest Democracy Report 2022, India continues to be categorized as an ‘electoral autocracy’, a status to which it had been downgraded for the first time in last year’s Democracy Report. Last year’s report, however, had expressly stated that India could belong to the higher category of ‘electoral democracy’ by designating it as ‘EA+’. However, in this year’s report, it has been designated ‘EA’, indicating that there is no uncertainty about its status. In previous years’ reports, India had been classified as an electoral democracy.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND MEDIA FREEDOM:

• Human rights violations are also on the rise, especially among minorities, human rights defenders, activists, etc. For instance, an octogenarian under trial prisoner suffering from Parkinson’s disease and other complications was denied even medical bail, and he died in judicial custody.
• The encounter policy of a state in India is infamous for providing what they call instant justice as also for its “ freedom of religion law” that has set off a culture of “ mob-vigilantism”.
• In another state, the controversy over the wearing of a particular type of dress by the students of a community has been used to further polarising society and polity.
• The media is being harassed and victimized by foisting sedition charges, raids by investigative agencies, and even by stopping transmission of a TV news channel allegedly on the ground of national security violation.
• The controversial IT Rules, 2021 are also held to be another attempt at media censorship by the executive.

ATTACKS ON THE CIVIL SOCIETY:

• Civil Society repression has also significantly increased in India not least by the FCRA amendment. Amnesty International had to shut down its operations due to repeated harassment by the government. Recently, the NSA, Mr. Ajith Doval, has characterized civil society as the “fourth frontier of war”. The space for civil society activism and action has been declining substantially in India.

CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH AND INEQUALITY:

• Constitutional democracy is also social and economic democracy. But in India, the wealth, opportunities, and life changes seem to concentrate on a chosen few.
• As per the Oxfam Inequality report 2021, the collective wealth of India’s 100 richest people hit a record high of Rs 57.3 lakh crore (USD 775 billion). In the same year, the share of the bottom 50 percent of the population in national wealth was a mere 6 percent.
• What is particularly worrying in India’s case is that economic inequality is being added to a society that is already fractured along the lines of caste, religion, region, and gender.

ARBITRARY USE OF CRIMINAL AND PENAL PROVISIONS:

• The special criminal laws dealing with terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, national security, etc, are being liberally used and misused.
• Section 124A, UAPA, NSA, and PMLA have been held to be applied for offenses not actually attracting the rigours of these laws.
• With their stringent bail conditions, the accused suffers from prolonged incarceration and the process itself becomes the punishment.

VIOLATION OF FEDERAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• The federal relation between the Union and the States has been severely strained in recent times. It is alleged that the Union is trying to undermine the federal provisions of the Constitution.
• By intruding into the State’s sphere of competence, exploiting the positions of the governors, amending the All-India Service rules, delaying financial compensation, deploying central agencies against opposition leaders, etc the Union is trying to make states its appendages, it is alleged.

HOW JUSTIFIED IS THE DICHOTOMY OF ELECTED AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT?

INDEPENDENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY INSTITUTIONS:

• In India, the accountability enforcing institutions have been functioning independently. There are legislative constraints on executive aggrandizement through motions, debates, votes, committees, etc. The bulwarks of the Constitution, like the ECI, CAG, UPSC, etc, have carried out their constitutional mandate without executive interference.
•  India also has the mechanism of Social Accountability through Social Audit, Citizen Charter, RTI, etc, which are effective tools at the hands of the general public and the civil society to demand executive answerability.

JUDICIAL REVIEW AND ITS IMPACT:

• As judicial review is an essential aspect of constitutional democracy, the higher courts in India have reviewed the legislation and executive actions.
• For instance, in 2021, the SC has read down part of Part IXB of the Constitution due to the lack of legislative competence of the Union. In the case of Pegasus, the SC has established a committee of inquiry to uncover the truth.
• In Covid-19, the HCs and the SC have been consistently taking the executive to task for ineffective management of the pandemic.

A VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETY AND MEDIA:

• India has the largest civil society ecosystem working in multiple areas free from any illegal constraints.
• The media is also thriving in India and the print, visual and social media have been growing in the country.
• The government does not regulate the media, which is essentially self-regulated and enjoys freedom from governmental interference.

MAJORITY VS MINORITY BINARY IS NOT APPROPRIATE:

• The majority vs minority dichotomy is not an appropriate description of Indian society that is known for multiculturalism.
• The Constitution itself provides specific fundamental rights to the minorities, both linguistic and religious, and the government has taken steps to promote the welfare and development of minorities.
• For instance, the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for the welfare of Minority Communities, etc. have been implemented by the Union government for their educational and economic empowerment.

BIASNESS IN GLOBAL RANKINGS:

• The global rankings have a western bias, as articulated by the External Affairs Minister and their methodology is highly suspect.
• These indices fail to capture the Indian way of democracy and hence do not provide an accurate picture of the country.

THE WAY FORWARD

BUILD A GENUINE ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY:

• The weakening of other democratic forums and procedures has made elections crucial to the well-being of India’s democracy. This explains the need for a heightened focus on the electoral system, party system, and electoral politics.
• Thus, there should be studies and research on the Election Commission, electoral laws, reforms, legislations, and judicial decisions pertaining to elections. Genuine electoral democracy is a must for constitutional democracy.

INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY OF THE LEGISLATURE:

• In Indian Parliamentary democracy, the legislature has not been truly independent of the executive in that the executive control of the legislature is a feature of Indian democracy. Thus, in effect, law-making becomes the function of the executive.
•  But, to exercise legislative control over the executive, the Parliament should reinvent its institutional integrity, which is a step towards strengthening constitutional democracy.

DEVELOP CIVIC CITIZENSHIP:

• There is a difference between being a citizen in a constitutional democracy and being a subject in an authoritarian or totalitarian regime. In a democracy, each citizen is a full and equal member of a self-governing community endowed with certain fundamental rights, as well as certain responsibilities.
• Constitutional democracy requires informed and effective participation by citizens who understand and have a reasoned commitment to its fundamental principles and values, as well as a familiarity with its political processes.
• Competent and responsible citizenship require not only knowledge and understanding but the development of intellectual and participatory skills essential to civic life.

TOLERATION OF DIVERSITY:

• The State and the society should respect the right of others to differ in ideas, ways of life, customs, and beliefs.
• Citizens should appreciate the benefits of having people of diverse beliefs and ethnic and racial backgrounds as a part of their community, as well as an understanding of how and why diversity can exacerbate tensions.

NEED AN ETHICAL ADMINISTRATION:

• The administrative apparatus has a duty to uphold constitutional principles and should not act as a regime force of the executive.
• The administrative leadership needs to show the way so that the rights and freedoms of people are not sacrificed for personnel aggrandizement.

THE CONCLUSION: Although it may be true that India has seen some slide in aspects of democracy, it would not be right to hold the Union government alone responsible for it. The decline in democracy has been a worldwide phenomenon, as documented by reputed institutions. However, given India’s strong democratic foundations, independent institutions, vibrant political culture, and media landscape, India can address the problems. Constitutional democracy is a work in progress and hence a systemic approach should be initiated by keeping the Constitution at the center. The judiciary, legislature, and the citizens have a solemn duty to speed up this process.

Questions:

1. Distinguish between electoral democracy and constitutional democracy. Do you think that India has become an electoral democracy? Argue.
2. “Constitutional democracy is hollow without electoral democracy” Comment.
3. How does electoral democracy undermine constitutional democracy? Explain with examples.

THE INDIAN POLITY

1. EXPLAINED: THE PROCESS OF ELECTING INDIA’S PRESIDENT

THE CONTEXT: The tenure of the current President of India is set to end in July this year(2022), which is also when the 16th Indian Presidential election will be held to elect his successor.

THE EXPLANATION:

How is the President elected?

• The Indian President is elected through an electoral college system, wherein the votes are cast by national and State-level lawmakers. The elections are conducted and overseen by the Election Commission (EC) of India. 

• The electoral college is made up of all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs), and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs).
• This means, in the upcoming polls, the number of electors will be 4,896 — 543 Lok Sabha MPs, 233 MPs of the Rajya Sabha, and 4,120 MLAs of all States, including the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry.
• Before the voting, comes the nomination stage, where the candidate intending to stand in the election, files the nomination along with a signed list of 50 proposers and 50 seconders. These proposers and seconders can be anyone from the total of 4,896 members of the electoral college from the State and national levels.

What is required to secure a victory?

• A nominated candidate does not secure victory based on a simple majority but through a system of bagging a specific quota of votes. While counting, the EC totals up all the valid votes cast by the electoral college through paper ballots and to win, the candidate must secure 50% of the total votes cast + 1.
• Unlike general elections, where electors vote for a single party’s candidate, the voters of the electoral college write the names of candidates on the ballot paper in the order of preference.

What is the value of each vote and how is it calculated?

A vote cast by each MP or MLA is not calculated as one vote. There is a larger vote value attached to it.

The fixed value of each vote by an MP of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 708. Meanwhile, the vote value of each MLA differs from State to State based on a calculation that factors in its population vis-a-vis the number of members in its Legislative Assembly. As per the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act 2001, currently, the population of States is taken from the figures of the 1971 Census. This will change when the figures of the Census taken after the year 2026 are published.

THE WORLD GEOGRAPHY: CLIMATOLOGY

2. NO EL NINO EXPECTED, IT WILL BE A ‘NORMAL’ MONSOON, SAYS SKYMET

THE CONTEXT: According to Skymet, the southwest monsoon 2022 will likely be “normal”, though rainfall in August, the second rainiest month, will likely be subdued.

THE EXPLANATION:

• “Normal”, according to Skymet, is 98% of the historical average of 88 cm for the four-month stretch from June-September. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are likely to be rain deficit throughout the season. The northeastern states have a high base level of rainfall.
• In the South, Kerala and north interior of Karnataka would see subdued rainfall in the core monsoon months of July and August. On the other hand, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh — key Kharif crop regions — and rainfed areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh would witness “above normal”’ rainfall, the agency stated.
• The El Nino, characterized by a warming of temperatures in the Central Pacific and associated with drying up rainfall over India, wasn’t expected to surface this year. Its converse, or a La Nina, had helped with two years of above-normal rainfall in 2019, 2020 and “normal” rain in 2021.
• “The last two monsoon seasons have been driven by back-to-back La Nina events…the occurrence of El Nino, which normally corrupts the monsoon, is ruled out.

Indian Ocean dipole

• Another factor that influences monsoon was the Indian Ocean dipole, whose “positive” phase corresponded to good rains and “negative” the opposite. “The Indian Ocean Dipole is neutral, albeit having a propensity of negative inclination… Monsoon will have to ride over ENSO — neutral conditions, while battling resistance from IOD, especially during the 2nd half of the season. This possibly can lead to extreme variability in the monthly rainfall distribution,” the agency said.
• The first half of the monsoon — June and July — was expected to be better than the second. June was expected to get 7% more rain than what’s usual, July 100%, August 95% and September, when the monsoon starts to wane, 90%. The last few years, however, have seen unusually high rains in September.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which issues the official forecast, is expected to announce its first forecast for the season later this week. The agency follows a multiple-stage forecast system with an update in June.

VALUE ADDITION

1. El Niño:  A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures (SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.  Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to become reduced while rainfall increases over the tropical Pacific Ocean.  The low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”), instead of weakening or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west to east or “westerly winds”).
2. La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea surface temperatures (SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.  Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase while rainfall decreases over the central tropical Pacific Ocean.  The normal easterly winds along the equator become even stronger.
3. Neutral:  Neither El Niño or La Niña. Often tropical Pacific SSTs are generally close to average.  However, there are some instances when the ocean can look like it is in an El Niño or La Niña state, but the atmosphere is not playing along (or vice versa).

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

3. EXPLAINED: MIDDAY MEAL AND SUPPLEMENTS

THE CONTEXT: From the next academic session, Karnataka is likely to become the 13th state to provide eggs under the midday meal scheme, which is among the largest initiatives in the world to enhance the nutrition levels of school-going children through hot cooked meals.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The proposal, which faces opposition and awaits the Karnataka government’s final stamp of approval, comes on the back of successive surveys pointing out the high prevalence of malnutrition, anemia and low immunity among children in many parts of the state, where the National Family Health Survey-V found 35% children under five stunted, and around 20% wasted.
• The current version of the programme, renamed PM Poshan Shakti Nirman or PM Poshan in 2021, traces its roots to 1995; it was launched as a centrally sponsored scheme on August 15 that year across 2,408 blocks for students up to Class 5. In 2007, the UPA government expanded it to Class 8.
• However, the first initiative to provide meals to children had been taken by the erstwhile Madras Municipal Corporation around 1920. In post-Independence India, Tamil Nadu was again the pioneer, with Chief Minister K Kamaraj rolling out a school feeding scheme in 1956. Kerala had a school lunch scheme run by a humanitarian agency since 1961. The state government officially took over the initiative on December 1, 1984, making Kerala the second state in the country to have a school lunch programme. Over the next few years, many other states launched their own versions of the scheme, and finally, in 1995, the Centre stepped in.

What is the scale of the scheme today?

• The scheme covers 11.80 crore children across Classes 1 to 8 (age group 6 to 14) in11.20 lakh government and government-aided schools and those run by local bodies such as the municipal corporations in Delhi under the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
• In the Budget for 2022-23, the Centre has earmarked Rs 10,233 crore for the scheme, while the states are expected to spend Rs 6,277 crore. It is not just a scheme, but a legal entitlement of all school-going children in primary and upper primary classes, through the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, as well as the Supreme Court’s ruling in the People’s Union of Civil Liberties vs Union of India and Others (2001).

Do the Centre and states run the scheme jointly?

• Under the rules, the allocation of Rs 4.97 per child per day (primary classes) and Rs 7.45 (upper primary) are shared in a 60:40 ratio with states and UTs with a legislature, and 90:10 with the Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while the Centre bears 100% of the costs in UTs without legislature.
• But the states and UTs that supplement the meals with additional items such as milk and eggs contribute more. Components such as payments to cooks and workers are also split in the same ratio between the Centre and states. However, the Centre bears the entire cost of foodgrains and their transportation and also handles the expenditure on management, monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

4. EXPLAINED: HOW WILL THE CARDLESS CASH WITHDRAWAL SYSTEM AT ATMS WORK?

THE CONTEXT: India’s central bank announced cardless cash withdrawals at ATMs in the country. The feature will let consumers use the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) on their smartphones to withdraw cash from ATMs.

THE EXPLANATION:

How will this system work?

• Cardless cash withdrawals are to be authenticated via UPI. So, ATMs are expected to show an option for withdrawing cash using UPI. Once a user selects this option, they can input the amount to be withdrawn. A QR code will be generated on the ATM.
• Users will then need to scan that code via their UPI app and enter the password to withdraw cash from the ATM. Until now, only fund transfers between accounts were enabled via UPI. With this option, consumers can take cash out from ATMs without a card.

What issues does this tech solve?

• According to the RBI Governor, cardless cash withdrawals will enhance the security of cash withdrawal transactions. Besides, it would help prevent frauds like card skimming and card cloning.
• Currently, only existing customers of a few banks are allowed to withdraw cash without cards, and from specific bank’s ATM networks. However, RBI’s move to allow interoperability in cardless withdrawals will enable users to take cash from any all bank’s ATM.
• RBI’s move will invite more players into the payment ecosystem in India to innovate and solve further problems of customers.

What is card skimming?

• Criminals steal data from credit or debit cards by tracking a card swiped at ATMs. They pick this information using a skimming device that reads the card’s magnetic strip. These devices are surreptitiously installed on ATMs. And once the device picks up the data, it can be used to gain unauthorized access to the user’s banking records.
• The stolen information can be coded onto a new card, a process called cloning, and be used to make payments and transact with other bank accounts. Problematic ATMs that function intermittently and the ones located in isolated areas are often used to install such skimming devices.
• Fraudsters also install scanning devices on point of sale machines. These devices can stealthily scan a card before it is swiped at the payment counter at a departmental store. This is especially tough to spot if the billing counter is not in the line of sight of the card owner.
• These devices are difficult to identify as they appear to be a legitimate part of an existing ATM, or like a regular in-store card reader. It is skillfully fitted to the payment machines.

What is the future of debit cards?

• According to the statement, Issuing cards will not be stopped, as they have several other utilities beyond cash withdrawals. They can be used at a restaurant, shop, or for payments in a foreign country.
• The debit card is a very evolved financial product and has already gone through a lot of iterations to its perfection. In its further evolution, we are seeing new use cases for debit cards like having standing instructions or EMI payments.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

5. ODISHA’S BARBARA FOREST SET FOR ECOTOURISM PUSH

THE CONTEXT: According to the state forest officials, the Odisha’s Barbara forest is set to open for the public from the next tourist season in September 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Odisha’s Barbara Forestdubbed as Asia’s largest teak and sal forest, the Barbara forest in Odisha was perhaps the only forest in India guarded by the jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (for protecting forest resources).
• Spread over 870-sq km, the forest touches three districts Khordha, Nayagarh and Ganjam of Odisha and, as per legend, is named after a British forest officer’s wife, who was killed in a tiger attack in the area, 100-odd years ago.
• The dense teak forest, about 150 km from Bhubaneswar, lent to a flourishing timber market in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Cuttack and Nayagarh. It is said the timber mafia worked in tandem with the locals, prompting former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik to seek deployment of CRPF in 1994-95 to check tree felling and protect the forest.
• “The CRPF presence had instilled fear in the mind of timber smugglers and the immediate destruction of precious teak treasure was contained.
• Though the CRPF deployment in Barbara was initially for three years but given the continued threat from the timber mafia, the State Government kept extending the date. According to sources, the CRPF wanted to withdraw from Barbara forest due to its commitment in other parts of the State, where Maoist violence was on the rise. However, a non-government organization moved to Orissa High Court seeking to retain CRPF deployment. The Orissa High Court stayed CRPF’s withdrawal.
• Once the State government deployed Odisha Special Striking Force (OSSF), the CRPF withdrew in 2016. According to reports, about 1,000 timber smugglers were arrested and sawmills around the forest area were shut down during the first decade of CRPF deployment.

VALUE ADDITION:

About Barbara Forest:

• It is nature’s best-kept secret near Chilika Lake in coastal Odisha.
• It is named after a British woman, Barbara who had been killed by a tiger in the late 19th century while she was with her husband on a hunting expedition.
• The Barbara landscape is an enriched area that boasts several century-old plants sown by the British back in 1910.
• Giant squirrels are found in great numbers in the thick forests of Barbara, making it a major contender to become a sanctuary for giant squirrels.
• Barbara was once historically famous for its tigers, now one can find sambar, deer, mouse deer and bison.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Which of the following is not a part of the electoral college for the election of the President of India?

a) Elected members of the State Assembly

b) Elected members of Lok Sabha

c) Nominated members of Rajya Sabha

d) Elected Members of Rajya Sabha

ANSWER FOR 12TH APRIL 2022

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Gujarat has topped the list for larger States in the NITI Aayog’s State Energy and ClimateIndex–Round 1 that has ranked States and Union Territories (UTs) on six parameters.
• 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.
• 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 threeStates.
• Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur. Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Da- dra& Nagar Haveli are the top performers. The SECI developed by NITI Aayog which includes 27 indicators under 6 parameters is expected to play a crucial role in pushing the states to adopt best practices and move the needle on clean energy transition.