1. Law and public opinion: The release of Perarivalan is no endorsement of any claim of his innocence READ MORE
2. Governor is but a Shorthand Expression for the State Government: Supreme Court READ MORE
3. Venerating the law: Supreme Court must ensure that 1992 is not repeated READ MORE
4. Beyond pandemic numbers: The promise of a transparent data system right response to WHO estimates READ MORE

1. Scientifically Speaking | Our schools are destroying children’s curiosity READ MORE
2. Tobacco: worst enemy of women and kids READ MORE

1. Ethanol blend in petrol to be raised to 20% in 3 years READ MORE
2. Why Sustainable Land Use Is Key To Achieve Our Carbon Neutrality Targets READ MORE
3. Sea levels along Indian coast rising at faster rate than global average: WMO report READ MORE
4. Urban forestry or unplanned forestry READ MORE

1. Light of darkness, darkness of light READ MORE
2. Children Need Your Time READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Cabinet approves Amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels -2018 READ MORE
2. Wholesale price rise hits record high of 15.1% in April READ MORE
3. Explained | The UN report that highlights India’s vulnerability to drought READ MORE
4. 2021 joins top 7 warmest years on record: WMO READ MORE
5. NGT orders stay on Draft Shimla Development Plan 2041 READ MORE
6. India has world’s highest number of children with severe acute malnutrition: UNICEF READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS 1

1. The historical significance of Lumbini, the birthplace of The Buddha READ MORE
2. Urban forestry or unplanned forestry READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Law and public opinion: The release of Perarivalan is no endorsement of any claim of his innocence READ MORE
2. Governor is but a Shorthand Expression for the State Government: Supreme Court READ MORE
3. Venerating the law: Supreme Court must ensure that 1992 is not repeated READ MORE
4. Beyond pandemic numbers: The promise of a transparent data system right response to WHO estimates READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Scientifically Speaking | Our schools are destroying children’s curiosity READ MORE
2. Tobacco: worst enemy of women and kids READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Help Afghans: India’s Afghanistan strategy must prioritise giving emergency visas to those suffering under Taliban READ MORE
2. What’s behind India’s Ukraine policy, Western hypocrisy & how nations act in self-interest READ MORE
3. The world’s nasties READ MORE
4. How the long-term China challenge has put India in a diplomatic sweet spot amid the Ukraine crisis READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Lessons for today from India’s 2006 wheat crisis READ MORE
2. The Sela Tunnel – importance and the strategic edge it promises READ MORE
3. Take proactive mitigating measures, RBI tells banks amid global turmoil READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Ethanol blend in petrol to be raised to 20% in 3 years READ MORE
2. Why Sustainable Land Use Is Key To Achieve Our Carbon Neutrality Targets READ MORE
3. Sea levels along Indian coast rising at faster rate than global average: WMO report READ MORE

GS 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Light of darkness, darkness of light READ MORE
2. Children Need Your Time READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Data will talk to you if you are willing to listen’. In the light of this statement discuss the importance of data in governance in contemporary times.
2. ‘Urban forestry is the only plausible and most effective nature-based solution for building green, sustainable and resilient cities’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Data will talk to you if you are willing to listen.
• It is impractical for every matter to be escalated to the point that the Supreme Court needs to invoke its extraordinary powers under Article 142.
• With the expertise available in the country now, algorithms can be built to assess the impact of weather and pest events on crop size and quality.
• After a long gap, wheat farmers were getting remunerative prices for their produce. The export ban will now push down market prices.
• Inadequacy in reporting deaths is one of the several gaps exposed in the health system during the past two years.
• A proper response to the WHO data should be the promise of a robust, transparent and professional health data system, and not shrilled name-calling.
• Urban forestry is the only plausible and most effective nature-based solution for building green, sustainable and resilient cities.

ESSAY TOPIC

• ‘Data will talk to you if you are willing to listen.

50-WORD TALK

• The issue at Gyanvapi Masjid isn’t whether the ancient Vishveshvara linga, reputedly hidden from Aurangzeb’s armies, has been rediscovered. It’s whether India can address historical hurt without creating new hatreds. Islamic rulers inflicted terrible violence on Hindus. But that can’t be undone by targeting their places of worship centuries later.

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 POLITY

1. ON MARITAL RAPE, REGRESSIVE NOTIONS UNDERMINE THE AUTONOMY OF WOMEN

THE CONTEXT: Being raped by someone in whom you have reposed trust is likely to have an indelible emotional impact. Marriage does not change that.

THE EXPLANATION:

• On 11 May, two judges of the Delhi High Court handed down separate judgments in RIT Foundation v Union of India. The issue before the Court was straightforward. Section 375 of the IPC defines “rape” as when a man has sex with a woman without her consent. However, an exception to Section 375 provides that it is not raped for a husband to have sex with his wife, regardless of consent.
• The effect of the law is that no husband can be prosecuted for the rape of his adult wife. Four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the “marital rape exception” were filed at the Delhi HC.
• In his judgment, Justice Rajiv Shakdher concluded that the marital rape exception violated the rights to life, equality, non-discrimination, and freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution. His analysis is sound, even if not surprising.
• There is no reasonable basis to distinguish between married and unmarried women. Marriage is a relationship of equals, and women do not forfeit their agency and sexual autonomy upon marriage. It is no answer to say that a man who rapes his wife may be prosecuted for other offences, such as cruelty. Rape must be called out for what it is.
• Justice C Hari Shankar took a different view, concluding that the marital rape exception is constitutionally valid. Five aspects of his opinion are particularly striking. First, the judge held that it is the wrong starting point to assume that a husband who has sex with his wife without her consent “commits rape”.
• The judge noted that the effect of the exception to Section 375 of the IPC is that any sex between a husband and wife, whether or not consensual, is excluded from the definition of rape. That analysis does not bear scrutiny. Sex within marriage is carved out (by exception) from the definition of rape. It follows that, in the absence of that exception, non-consensual sex within marriage would be rape.
• More fundamentally, the judge allowed semantics to impede robust constitutional analysis. It makes little difference whether the starting point is that non-consensual sex within marriage should be characterized as rape or, for example, sexual assault. The critical question is whether it is unconstitutional to exclude non-consensual sex from the definition of rape.
• Second, Justice Shankar’s opinion elevates marriage to a status that is anachronistic. The judge held that the marital rape exception was “aimed at preservation of the marital institution, on which the entire bedrock of society rests”.
• The difficulty with that proposition is obvious — is it the policy of the law that marriage is to be preserved at all costs, even when a man has non-consensual sex with his wife? If so, does that withstand constitutional scrutiny? The judge then observed, on a lighter note, that neither lawyers nor judges would be around to examine this issue absent the institution of marriage. Scientists might disagree.
• Third, the judge rejected the challenge to the martial rape exception based on the right to equality on the spurious assumption that the impact on a woman who is raped by her husband cannot “be equated with the impact of a woman who is raped by a stranger”.
• Indeed, he goes so far as to say that “disagreements” (a euphemism for non-consensual sex) in marriage are “but natural” and “may even lend strength to the marital bond”. No evidence is cited in support of those claims. They also defy logic. Being raped by someone in whom you have reposed trust is likely to have an indelible emotional impact. Sadly, it is relatively easy to find many first-hand accounts that confirm this. It is perplexing to understand how non-consensual sex can ever strengthen a marriage.
• Fourth, the judge concluded that, as a practical matter, a “majority of Indian women” would be reluctant to file a complaint of rape against their husbands in any event. Even if that were true, it is no reason to disempower, by the operation of the law, women who do have the resolve to make a rape complaint against their husbands from doing so. No one expects tens of thousands of rape complaints to come out of the woodwork after the marital rape exception is declared unconstitutional. But some will, and they will inspire others.
• Fifth, Justice Shankar held that it is not within the court’s power to create a new offence, and striking down the marital rape exception would have that effect. There is no question of creating a new offence — the court would simply be striking down an exception carved out of an existing offence.
• The only principled basis for the judge’s objection is that it may be unfair to punish someone for rape for conduct that was excluded from the definition of rape when it was undertaken. But that is not a reason to avoid striking down the marital rape exception. The easy solution is for the court to declare that its judgment will apply only to conduct after the date of the judgment.
• An appeal is now pending before the Supreme Court. Asking Parliament to revisit the marital rape exception may be the path of least resistance. However, as Justice Rajiv Shakdher observed in his judgment, “it is incumbent on courts to take decisions concerning complex social issues and not dribble past them”.
• Whether the marital rape exception violates fundamental rights under the Constitution is a question that falls within the Court’s core competency. There is only one reasonable answer to that question.

 2. JUSTICE DELIVERY IN INDIA IS INDEED LOOKING ‘HOPELESS’

THE CONTEXT: The Attorney General Is Right, Justice Delivery in India Is Indeed Looking ‘Hopeless’.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Justice P.N. Bhagwati said in his Law Day address in 1985 that our judicial system is on the verge of collapse. In 1996, Justice Bhagwati said that the Supreme Court of India is the most powerful court in the world. I wonder what made him change his opinion. Assuming what he said in 1996 is correct, please compare it with the situation today.
• Recently, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana addressed a very high powered conference in which he said that decisions of the courts are “not implemented by government for years together” resulting in a rise in contempt of court petitions. Has our justice delivery system now collapsed or is it teetering and still on the verge of collapse? I am reminded of Mark Antony’s: “O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!”
• The recruitment of judicial officers at the district level is through an examination conducted under the aegis of the high court. The Supreme Court has laid down a yearly calendar of events for the recruitment process with timelines. This is undoubtedly well-intentioned, but does the Supreme Court have administrative control over the high court through prescriptive guidelines? Do we know how many high courts are actually following the schedule? I would be surprised if even a handful are following the mandate. The fault lies with the system that is not able to ensure filling up vacancies.
• The situation with regard to high court vacancies is worse. This is where the almighty political executive comes into the picture. The CJI rightly said that judges do not appoint judges – they only recommend candidates for appointment. The president makes the appointment when the papers are put up to him for issuing the necessary warrants by the political executive. This can take months and years in most cases, because of the government’s whims and fancies. Recently, Aditya Sondhi of the Karnataka high court withdrew his consent for an appointment after having waited for a year for the government to decide. Eventually, the government took a decision but bypassed the recommendation of the Supreme Court. There’s not to reason why.
• The problem of plenty (of cases) is not necessarily linked to judicial vacancies. A former CJI boasted that he ensured there is no vacancy of judges in his parent high court. He was right, but did it have any impact on the pendency of cases? A casual study of the information available in the National Judicial Data Grid reveals that it made no positive difference to the pendency of cases in that high court.
• The solution? Even though I agree that the justice delivery system is in a “hopeless situation” and beyond repair, a few steps might mitigate the problems of millions of litigants. First, every case filed by the Union of India or any state government should be accompanied with a demand draft of Rs 1 lakh to take care of litigation expenses of the citizen who is dragged to court. If the court declines to issue notice to the citizen, the amount should be kept in a reserve fund for future utilisation. The governments must pay, period. The governments must also pay Rs 1 lakh for every adjournment sought – after all, the litigant has to pay his or her lawyer an appearance fee even if the case is adjourned. Actually, even governments pay their lawyers a fee for every adjournment.
• The CJI has said that governments are the biggest litigants, accounting for nearly 50% of pending cases. If courts are imposing heavy costs on individual litigants, why are governments or government departments treated with kid gloves? Governments must be held accountable for litigation. The sooner the courts realise it, the better.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

3. ETHANOL BLEND IN PETROL TO BE RAISED TO 20% IN 3 YEARS

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, to advance the date by which fuel companies have to increase the percentage of ethanol in petrol to 20%, from 2030 to 2025. The policy of introducing 20% ethanol will take effect from April 1, 2023.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A press statement from the government said the new policy would allow more feed stock for producing biofuel and foster the development of indigenous technologies.
• A 2021 report by the NITI Aayog said that “immense benefits” could accrue to the country by 20% ethanol blending by 2025, such as saving ₹30,000 crore of foreign exchange per year, increased energy security, lowered carbon emissions, better air quality, self-reliance, better use of damaged food grains, increased farmers’ incomes and greater investment opportunities.
• India achieved 9.45% ethanol blending as on March 13, 2022, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG). The Centre projects that this will reach 10% by the end of financial year 2022. The government first announced its plans of advancing the 20% blending target in December 2020.
• A 10% blending of petrol does not require major changes to engines but a 20% blend could require some changes and may even drive up the prices of vehicles. A greater percentage of blending could also mean more land being diverted for water-intensive crops such as sugar cane, which the government currently subsidises.
• The NITI Aayog projects an ethanol demand of 10.16 billion litres by 2025, based on the adoption of vehicles. The current ethanol production capacity in India of 4.26 billion litres derives from molasses-based distilleries, and 2.58 billion litres from grain-based distilleries.
• This is expected to expand to 7.6 billion litres and 7.4 billion litres respectively and will require six million tonnes of sugar and 16.5 million tonnes of grains per annum by 2025.
• The increased allocation of land also puts into question the actual reduction in emissions that blending ethanol with petrol brings about.

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

4. NGT ORDERS STAY ON DRAFT SHIMLA DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2041

THE CONTEXT: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) May 12 asked the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Department to put on hold the Draft Development Plan, Shimla Planning Area 2041.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The plan proposes to permit the construction of more floors, new constructions in core area, constructions in the green area, and development in the sinking and sliding area in violation of the NGT orders.
• If the State proceeds in such a manner, not only will it damage rule of law, it may result in disastrous consequences for the environment and public safety, said the green court bench led by Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, Sudhir Agarwal and Arun Kumar Tyagi.
• Yogendra Mohan Sengupta, an environmental activist had filed the application in the NGT on April 20, 2022 against the draft development plan on the ground that such a plan is contrary to the sustainable development principle and destructive of the environment and public safety.
• The application said that NGT had already issued regulatory measures on November 16, 2017 to be adopted in terms of the number of floors, and restrictions on constructions in core and green areas of Shimla.
• The NGT in its November 2017 judgement had warned that if unplanned and indiscriminate development was allowed, there would be “irreparable loss and damage to the environment, ecology and natural resources on one hand and inevitable disaster on the other”.
• To prevent such untoward disasters, the court had prohibited new construction of any kind (residential, institutional and commercial) in any part of the core and green / forest areas “as defined under the various notifications issued under the Interim Development Plan as well by the State Government.”
• The order also said that even beyond the core and forest areas and the areas falling under the authorities of the Shimla Planning Area – construction would be permitted strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, Development Plan and the municipal laws in force. Even in these areas, construction would not be permitted beyond two storeys plus attic floor.
• The project background of the Draft Development Plan-Shimla Planning Area 2041, which was published in February 2022, read: There is an urgent need of a development plan for Shimla in order to revive the growth regulators with the vision for a well-regulated and planned Shimla and its peri-urban areas, best capturing the urbanisation trend and aspiration of the city and its fringes.
• The Development Plan was prepared under the AMRUT sub-scheme of the Government of India by the Town and Country Planning Department, Himachal Pradesh. A geographic information system-based development plan formulation for Shimla Planning Area comprises Shimla Municipal Corporation and its surrounding areas, including Kufri, Shoghi and Ghanahatti Special Areas and Additional villages, under the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.
• It is interesting to note that the Draft Development Plan said that “town planning does not come under the purview of the NGT,” and that the orders of the National Green Tribunal on “height restriction in Shimla Planning Area is a dent on meeting the future urbanisation challenges.”
• The Tribunal directed that the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Department should not proceed from taking any further step in pursuance of the Draft Development Plan 2041.

5. INDIA’S VULNERABILITY TO DROUGHT

THE CONTEXT: A United Nations report has revealed that many parts of India fall under the list of regions that are vulnerable to drought globally.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The report stated that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reduced by 2 to 5 percent between 1998 and 2017 due to severe droughts in the country.
• An upward trajectory in the duration of droughts and the severity of impacts, not only affecting human societies but also the ecological systems upon which the survival of all life depends, including that of our own species.
• UNCCD’s COP15 focuses on desertification, land degradation, and drought, with the theme for the conference being “Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity.” The conference has brought together government representatives, private sector members, and civil society stakeholders to ensure that land continues to benefit present and future generations.
• It proposes to tackle “the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss” as we move into the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• The UNCCD’s 197 parties, which includes 196 member States as well as the European Union, are expected to brainstorm sustainable ideas to further land restoration and drought resilience, focusing on “future-proofing land use.” The UNCCD envisions restoring one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030, creating a land degradation-neutral world.
• According to World Bank estimates, drought conditions can force up to 216 million people to migrate by 2050. Other factors at play along with drought could be water scarcity, declining crop productivity, rise in sea levels, and overpopulation.
• Weather, climate and water hazards have accounted for 50 percent of all disasters and 45 percent of all reported deaths since 1970, World Meteorological Organisation data has revealed. Nine in ten of these deaths have occurred in developing countries.
• Between 2020 and 2022, 23 countries have faced drought emergencies. These are Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Pakistan, United States, and Zambia. According to the report, climate change alone will cause 129 countries to experience an increase in drought exposure in the next few decades.
• More than a billion people around the world were affected by drought in 2000-19, making it the second-worst disaster after flooding. Africa was the worst hit, with 134 droughts, of which 70 occurred in East Africa.
• The World Health Organisation has noted that approximately 55 million people globally are directly affected by droughts annually, making it the most serious hazards to livestock and crops in almost every part of the world.
• The impact of drought is, however, not uniform across genders. Research shows that women and girls in emerging and developing countries suffer more in terms of education levels, nutrition, health, sanitation, and safety as a result of droughts. The burden of water collection also disproportionately falls on women (72 percent) and girls (9 percent). The report notes that they may spend up to 40 per cent of their caloric intake fetching water.
• In 2022, over 2.3 billion people are facing water stress. Almost 160 million children are exposed to severe and prolonged droughts.
• According to the report, if predictions are correct and global warming reaches 3° C by 2100, drought losses could be five times higher than today’s levels. The largest increase in drought losses is projected in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic regions of Europe.
• Australia’s megadrought in 2019-2020 contributed to “megafires” resulting in one of the most extensive losses of habitat for threatened species. About three billion animals were killed or displaced in the Australian wildfires. On a related note, 84 percent of all terrestrial ecosystems are threatened by changing and intensifying wildfires.
• According to a 2017 report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the percentage of plants affected by drought has more than doubled in the last 40 years. Around 12 million hectares of land are lost each year due to drought and desertification.

6. SEA LEVELS ALONG INDIAN COAST RISING AT FASTER RATE THAN GLOBAL AVERAGE: WMO REPORT

THE CONTEXT: According to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Global Climate in 2021 report released May 18, 2022. Sea levels along almost the entire Indian coast are rising faster than the global average.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Globally, the rate of sea-level rise was 4.5 millimetres per year between 2013 and 2021. This was more than twice the rate between 1993 and 2002.
• The major reason for the increase in sea levels is the accelerated loss of ice from the ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The increase happened despite the La Nina phenomenon being prevalent during the beginning and the end of 2021.
• La Nina is the cooler-than-normal phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Usually during La Nina years, sea levels are less than the mean.
• During El Nino (warmer-than-normal phase) years, they are higher than the mean. In 2021, the global mean sea level rise was close to the long-term trend.
• The increase in sea levels is not happening uniformly in all parts of the global oceans. In the Indian Ocean region, the rate of sea-level rise is the fastest in the south western part, where it is faster by 2.5 mm/year than the global average.
• In other parts of the Indian Ocean region, including the coastlines, the rate is between 0 and 2.5 mm / year, faster than the global average.
• Other regions where the rate is faster than the global average are the western Tropical Pacific, the South-west Pacific, the North Pacific and the South Atlantic.
• “Regional patterns of sea-level change are dominated by local changes in ocean heat content and salinity,” the report pointed out.
• The Indian Ocean region has previously been described as the fastest-warming ocean in the world, with an increase in temperature of one degree Celsius as against the global average of 0.7°C between 1951 and 2015. Ocean heat content had already reached record levels in 2021 globally.
• Such a sea-level rise could have major consequences for the millions of people living along the Indian coastline. While gradual erosion of the coastline, subsidence and inundation of deltas is a long-term concern for the people living close to the sea, the immediate concern is to do with the combined impact of tropical cyclones and sea-level rise.
• For instance, when a tropical cyclone occurs, the storm surge along with heavier rainfall, sea-level rise and high tides could make the resultant flooding much more intense and hence difficult to manage.
• Storm surge is the increase in the height and energy of sea waves during a cyclone which depends on the wind speeds of the cyclone. The higher the wind speeds of a cyclone, the more is their ability to pile up water towards the centre of the cyclone; hence a stronger storm surge.
• Storm surges may also get intensified if there is a high tide during the time of the cyclone. The combined effect of a storm surge and a high tide is known as a storm tide.
• Storm surges and tides bring saline water into agricultural fields and people’s homes, leading to long-term damage, including a decrease in soil quality.
• Recent cyclones in the Indian Ocean region have increased in intensity, with greater wind speeds than before which has meant higher storm surges. As sea levels rise, the storm surges will become even stronger and take more seawater onto land, causing inundation.
• In the case of Super Cyclone Amphan in 2020, seawater had come in 25 kilometres inland, inundating large parts of the Sunderbans delta which is already the most vulnerable to both, cyclones and sea-level rise in India.
• A cyclonic storm hits the Sunderbans every 1.67 years, according to the analysis by India Meteorological Department, Pune. Shorter return periods indicate more frequent cyclones. The researchers studied cyclonic storms passing within about 90 kilometres of the coastal districts between 1961 and 2020.
• Sea levels have risen at a rate of 30 mm per year in the Sunderbans delta in the last two decades, with a 12 percent loss in the shoreline, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Landsat satellite imagery.
• This is more than six times the global average and has already led to the displacement of around 1.5 million people from the delta.
• If global warming is not kept under the 1.5°C mark as agreed to by countries under the Paris Agreement by rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the rise in sea levels and intense cyclones will make places like the Sunderbans unlivable, causing a huge migration of people inland and a cascade of other socio-economic problems.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 19th MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about World Meteorological Organization (WMO):

1. It was established in 1950 through WMO Convention.
2. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
3. Its secretariat is headquartered in Rome.
4. India is a founding member of WMO.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 1, 2 and 4 only

c) 2, 3 and 4 only

d) All of them

ANSWER FOR THE 18^th MAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: WPI is used as a measure to understand inflation at the producer level.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is compiled by the Office of Economic Advisor.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: It considers the price changes only in goods and not in services.

[WpProQuiz 226]

THE CONTEXT: The Russian-Ukraine war has disrupted the prevailing global order. The war is threatening to divide the world into two blocs reminiscent of the cold war. However, India committed to its principled position of non-alignment, with its huge demography and economy can be the fulcrum of shaping the post-war world order. This article examines the challenges the country faces and the strengths it carries to be the pivot of this new world order.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING WORLD ORDER

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a model of free societies, frictionless borders, and an open economy has emerged as the standard in many countries, which has become a governing order.

FREE TRADE AND PROSPERITY: People, products, services, and capital were able to move more freely around the world as a result of this. During this time, global trade and per capita GDP nearly doubled, signalling a period of universal peace and prosperity.

INTEGRATION AND PEACE: With the goal of shared global prosperity, the world’s societies and economics have become increasingly interconnected. The conventional belief was that such close interdependence among nations would lead to fewer conflicts and promote peace.

IDEA OF GLOBAL VILLAGE: ‘Global Village’ of around 8 billion inhabitants of the world was established on top of modern transportation networks, with the US dollar serving as the reserve currency and integrated payment systems around it.

HOW IS THE GLOBAL ORDER CHANGING?

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a global geo-economic conflict that threatens to go back to the Cold War era of two dominant power blocs. The Russo-Sino bloc is the producer powerhouse while the Western bloc is a large consumer and hence the conflict between them harms both the blocs significantly. If interconnection and trade between states are mutually beneficial, then its disruption and blockade will be mutually destructive. Economic sanctions enacted in retaliation for Russian actions have harmed all nations, albeit some have suffered more than others. Egyptians are facing food shortages as a result of their reliance on Russian and Ukrainian wheat, Germans face high winter heating costs as a result of their reliance on Russian gas, and Americans face a shortage of electric cars due to the unavailability of car batteries reliant on Russian nickel, Sri Lankans have taken to the streets as a result of economic woes, and Indian farmers face high fertilizer prices triggered by a global shortage.

CAN INDIA BE THE EPICENTRE OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER?

THE CHALLENGES:

• A forced and hurried dismantling of the international dollar-based currency order and replacing it with bilateral local currency arrangements are problematic.
• Buying discounted oil or commodities if it entails a departure from the established order of dollar-based trade settlement or jeopardizes established trading relationships with western bloc markets, can have longer-term implications for India’s export potential.
• India needs not just cordial relationships with nations on either side of the new divide but also a stable and established global economic environment.
• Social harmony is the edifice of economic prosperity. Fanning mutual distrust, hate and anger among citizens, causing social disharmony is a huge challenge to India.
• The communal divide that the country is facing today will affect the growth prospect of the country.

THE OPPORTUNITIES:

• India has benefited enormously from being an active participant in this interconnected world, with a tripling of trade (as a share of GDP) in the last three decades and providing vast numbers of jobs.
• Trade with other nations will always be an integral cornerstone of India’s economic future.
• India’s trade is dependent on both these power blocs and on the current global economic structures of free trade, established reserve currency and transaction systems.
• As the western bloc of nations looks to reduce dependence on the Russia-China bloc of nations, it presents newer avenues for India to expand trade.
• India, as the largest peace-loving democracy, stands to gain enormously from the ‘principled trade’ aspiration of the western bloc that values both morals and money.
• It presents a tremendous opportunity for India to become a large producing nation for the world and a global economic powerhouse.
• By dint of its sheer size and scale, India can be both a large producer and a consumer.

HOW DID INDIA RESPOND TO THE CRISIS?

EMPHASIZED DIALOGUE AND DIPLOMACY: 

• Right from the beginning, India called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the dispute. On many occasions, the country has asked for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities.

PROTECTED NATIONAL INTEREST:

• Russia is a very important partner in a variety of areas for India; similarly, fertilizer prices have a direct implication on the livelihood of a majority of our population and food prices.
• Even the security of the nation is at stake as India maintains its defence posture in the manner that the current security challenges warrant.
• All these are legitimate pursuits of national interest by India.

DESISTED FROM TAKING SIDES:

• While India was at the forefront of addressing the fallout of the war, it has been careful not to take sides despite the push by the West owing to its peculiar circumstances. This has been manifested in India’s abstention in the resolutions in UNGA, UNSC, UNHRC etc.

PROVIDING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE:

• India has sent humanitarian assistance to Ukraine through Poland and Romania. The consignment comprised medicines, medical equipment, and other relief material.

INFLATION, LOW GROWTH AND EXPORT POTENTIAL

New Delhi is already bearing the brunt of high global crude oil prices (about $110-120 a barrel as against $70 at the beginning of November) as well as rising mineral, metal and edible oil prices, indicating a possible scenario of high inflation and low growth — stagflation. Ukraine has created an unlikely opportunity for select Indian Agri-exporters who trade in wheat, maize, millet, and processed food. Since the crisis unfolded last month, the world has been looking to Indian wheat to fill the huge void in stocks caused by the turbulence in Europe’s breadbasket. Ukraine is one of the world’s top wheat exporters, and Russia and Ukraine together have a 25% share in the global wheat market.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• India thus needs not just a nonaligned doctrine for the new world order but also a nondisruptive geo-economic policy that seeks to maintain the current global economic equilibrium.
• India needs to balance domestic compulsions with its international commitments without being pulled into any bloc.
• India needs to address the domestic problems of social divisions and economic boycotts, and issues of freedom to trade.
• India needs to arrest the slide in democracy being felt in multiple areas lest its credentials will be impacted.
• A new paradigm of emerging global order and India’s role in shaping it need a clear articulation of the contours of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

THE CONCLUSION: The reshaping and readjustment of world order will be a unique opportunity for India to reassess foreign policy, economic policy and geopolitical strategy and develop a mantle of global leadership. The strengthening of India’s global economic power through a cautious post-conflict geoeconomics strategy between Russia and Ukraine could represent a decisive turning point in India’s economic history. India could be the cornerstone of this new world order as a peaceful democracy with economic prosperity. But this requires India to first contain the division of the raging community within the country.

QUESTIONS:

1. “To be the fulcrum of the new paradigm of the world order, India needs to address its domestic social divisions “Explain
2. In order to be the pivot of an emerging global order post the Russian-Ukraine conflict, India needs to surpass multiple challenges. Critically Analyze.