1. National Assessment Survey lays out post-Covid challenges. Teacher- and student-centred approaches are needed READ MORE
2. Discrimination Against LGBTQI+ Persons Has Economic Cost, Says ILO Report READ MORE

1. Break the mould of narrow perceptions READ MORE
2. Cause of this universe Read More

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Police Reform via New Legislation Should Not Dilute State Role READ MORE
2. Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future? READMORE
3. Over 90 million excluded from PDS entitlement: Report READ MORE
4. Cost of ‘service’ READ MORE
5. Why Sustainable Land Use Is Key To Achieve Our Carbon Neutrality Targets READ MORE

GS 1

1. How SRI method of sowing paddy saves 15-20% water, gives better yield READ MORE
2. Icebergs and fog: These unconventional sources can help beat global water scarcity  READ MORE

3. How India’s power crisis is self-made & why we could face another crunch during the monsoon READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. DTE Investigation: CPCB failed to recover fines from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Reliance, and Adani in the last 30 years READ MORE
2. Police Reform via New Legislation Should Not Dilute State Role READ MORE
3. App-based attendance hits rural jobs scheme workers READMORE
4. Sighting the finishing line in measles-rubella elimination Read More
5. Countries agree to sustainably finance WHO amid COVID-19 pandemic READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. National Assessment Survey lays out post-Covid challenges. Teacher- and student-centred approaches are needed READ MORE
2. Discrimination Against LGBTQI+ Persons Has Economic Cost, Says ILO Report READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Security in friendship: On Tokyo Quad summit READ MORE
2. Turmoil in the world, yet India retains its sweet spot READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India’s GDP to take a big hit due to pandemic-linked learning losses for students: ADB study READ MORE
2. Cost of ‘service’ READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Polluting coal power plants may get blanket 20-year extension of compliance deadlines READ MORE
2. Share of non-CO2 pollutants contributing to global warming almost as much as carbon dioxide: Study READ MORE
3. A Sunscreen Ingredient Becomes Toxic in the Sea. Maybe the Anemones Know Why. READ MORE
4. Why Sustainable Land Use Is Key To Achieve Our Carbon Neutrality Targets READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Break the mould of narrow perceptions READ MORE
2. Cause of this universe Read More

Questions for the MAIN exam

1.COVID-19 is an opportunity to bridge the digital gap and reform the education system in India. Discuss

ESSAY TOPIC

• Discrimination Against LGBTQI+ Persons And its impact
• Education In Post-Covid Era

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Economies with a significant population of schoolchildren and college-going youth in rural areas and in the poorest and second wealth quintile — have been worst-hit as they lack access to stable Internet connection needed to study online.
• It is important to identify the learning gap and specific learning needs of individuals. Effective learning programs should be devised to offer appropriate support such as tutoring or special classes and help them to bridge the learning gap.
• Governments need to direct adequate funding and resources to young populations most affected by closures, such as those from the poor, rural and socially disadvantaged groups. It is important to keep school-age children in education as much as possible by providing financial support and incentives, while giving additional support for skills training to youth already out of school.
• At a time when the liberal consensus on globalisation has anyway run its course and across the Indo-Pacific, there is, post-pandemic, a strong appetite for deepening regional cooperation for trade and investment. In this context, the Quad is in pole position to shape

50-WORD TALK

NAS 2021 findings of a progressive decline in learning levels of school students confirm our worst fears about what closures during the pandemic did to children. Governments have talked about addressing this. They need to make haste with remedial programmes and also get students who dropped out back to school.

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 on 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 232]

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. WHY ARE TRIBALS OF RAJASTHAN AND GUJARAT DEMANDING A SEPARATE STATE OF BHIL PRADESH?

THE CONTEXT: The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), a political party based in Gujarat, envisions Bhil Pradesh as a separate state carved out of 39 districts spread over four states: 16 in Gujarat, 10 in Rajasthan, seven in Madhya Pradesh, and six in Maharashtra.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is ‘Bhil Pradesh’?

• The Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), a political party based in Gujarat, envisions Bhil Pradesh as a separate state carved out of 39 districts spread over four states: 16 in Gujarat, 10 in Rajasthan, seven in Madhya Pradesh, and six in Maharashtra.
• Bhil social reformer and spiritual leader Govind Guru first raised the demand for a separate state for tribals back in 1913 after the Mangarh massacre. The massacre, which took place six years before Jallianwala Bagh and is sometimes referred to as the “Adivasi Jallianwala”, saw hundreds of Bhil tribals being killed by British forces on November 17, 1913, in the hills of Mangarh on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Post-Independence, the demand for Bhil Pradesh was raised repeatedly.

But why do the tribals want a separate state of their own?

• Earlier, the Dungarpur, Banswara, Udaipur region in Rajasthan and Gujarat, MP, etc. was part of a single entity. But post-Independence, the tribal majority regions were divided by the political parties, so that the tribals don’t organise and unite.
• over the decades, several Union governments brought various “laws, benefits, schemes, and committee reports” on tribals, but went slow on their execution and implementation.
• “There were various measures such as the protection of tribal interests through the Fifth Schedule under Article 244(1) of the Constitution, but most of these were mere assurances by the ruling party,
• The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. “The law was enacted in 1996. The Rajasthan government adopted the law in 1999 and came out with its Rules in 2011. But even in my village Paldeval in Dungarpur, 25 years on, people don’t even know about the law. Even the MLAs and ministers don’t have proper knowledge about the law.”

2. SUPREME COURT RECOGNISES SEX WORK AS A ‘PROFESSION’

THE CONTEXT: The apex court says police should neither interfere nor take criminal action against adult and consenting sex workers.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In a significant order recognising sex work as a “profession” whose practitioners are entitled to dignity and equal protection under law, the Supreme Court has directed that police should neither interfere nor take criminal action against adult and consenting sex workers.
• “It need not be gainsaid that notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the court observed.
• “Sex workers are entitled to equal protection of the law. Criminal law must apply equally in all cases, on the basis of ‘age’ and ‘consent’. When it is clear that the sex worker is an adult and is participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao directed in an order which was passed after invoking special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
• The Bench ordered that sex workers should not be “arrested or penalised or harassed or victimised” whenever there is a raid on any brothel, “since voluntary sex work is not illegal and only running the brothel is unlawful”.
• A child of a sex worker should not be separated from the mother merely on the ground that she is in the sex trade, the court held. “Basic protection of human decency and dignity extends to sex workers and their children,” the court noted.
• Further, if a minor is found living in a brothel or with sex workers, it should not be presumed that the child was trafficked.
• “In case the sex worker claims that he/she is her son/daughter, tests can be done to determine if the claim is correct and if so, the minor should not be forcibly separated,” the court-ordered.
• The court ordered the police to not discriminate against sex workers who lodge a criminal complaint, especially if the offence committed against them is of a sexual nature. Sex workers who are victims of sexual assault should be provided every facility including immediate medico-legal care.
• The Centre and States must involve sex workers or their representatives to reform laws, the court suggested.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

3. INDIA MUST SHIFT THE DISCOURSE ON ABORTION RIGHTS

THE CONTEXT: It is not just a family planning and maternal health issue, but also a sexual health and reproductive rights issue

THE EXPLANATION:

• Our public health journeys started with witnessing maternal deaths in India. One of us, on her first clinical rotation, saw a woman die of sepsis, and infection in the blood, due to unsafe backstreet abortion. And the other, during her rural health internship in Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a pregnant woman die on a wooden hand-pulled cart because she was unable to reach the hospital in time. The images of these two women with their swollen abdomen and pale, dying faces still haunt us, as we reflect on the privileges we enjoy as women belonging to a certain class and caste in India.
• Women, pregnant people and transgender persons in India struggle every day to exert their choice about birthing and their bodily autonomy. Yet, despite this bleak reality, netizens on social media in India claim that the country is more progressive than the U.S. on abortion rights because we have the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (“MTP Act”). Such a self-congratulatory attitude is neither in good faith nor is it factually correct.
• According to the World Health Organization, six out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies end in induced abortion. Around 45% of all abortions are unsafe, almost all of which (97%) take place in developing countries. As per a nationally representative study published in PLOS One journal in 2014, abortions account for 10% of maternal deaths in India.
• The recent round of the National Family Health Survey 2019-2021, shows that 3% of all pregnancies in India result in abortion. More than half (53%) of abortions in India are performed in the private sector, whereas only 20% are performed in the public sector — partly because public facilities often lack abortion services. More than a quarter of abortions (27%) are performed by the woman herself at home.
• In another a fact-finding study published in The Lancet in 2018, 73% of all abortions in India in 2015 were medication abortions, and even though these may have been safe — many of these are illegal as per the MTP Act, if they occur without the approval of a registered medical practitioner. Another 5% of all abortions were outside of health facilities with methods other than medication abortion.
• These risky abortions are performed by untrained people under unhygienic conditions using damaging methods such as insertion of objects, ingestion of various substances, abdominal pressure, etc. A recent study found that sex-selective abortions in India could lead to 6.8 million fewer girls being born between 2017 to 2030.
• Many may be unaware of these disturbing statistics and facts. But we all know of at least one adolescent girl among our family or friends or networks who had to travel to another city in order to find a ‘non-judgmental’ obstetrician or who had to arrange money to access abortion in the private sector. Or, we may have heard of someone who has aborted a female foetus because the family wanted a son; or know of a mother who escaped the pressure of such forced abortion because she did not want to lose her pregnancy.
• The MTP Act, first enacted in 1971 and then amended in 2021, certainly makes ‘medical termination of pregnancy’ legal in India under specific conditions. However, this Act is framed from a legal standpoint to primarily protect medical practitioners because under the Indian Penal Code, “induced miscarriage” is a criminal offence. This premise points to a lack of choice and bodily autonomy of women and rests the decision of abortion solely on the doctor’s opinion. The MTP Act also only mentions ‘pregnant woman’, thus failing to recognise that transgender persons and others who do not identify as women can become pregnant.
• Moreover, the acceptance of abortion in Indian society is situated in the context of population control and family planning. But, most importantly, after more than 50 years of the MTP Act, women and transgender persons face major obstacles in accessing safe abortion care.
• These are seven examples: First, they may not even be aware that abortion is legal or know where to obtain one safely; second, since the MTP Act does not recognise abortion as a choice, they need the approval of medical professionals even in the first few weeks of the pregnancy; third, unmarried and transgender people continue to face stigma and can be turned away from health facilities, forcing them to resort to unsafe care; fourth, mandatory reporting requirements under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill (POCSO), 2011 law against child sexual offences, impact privacy and hinder access of adolescents to safe abortion services; fifth, many are still coerced into agreeing to a permanent or long-term contraceptive method as a prerequisite for getting abortion services; sixth, health-care providers may impose their own morality by insisting on ‘husbands’ or ‘parental’ consent for abortion.
• Even women seeking abortion care in health facilities are often mistreated and not provided medications for pain relief; seventh, despite laws prohibiting sex determination, the illegal practice persists. The mushrooming of unregulated ultrasound clinics in India continues to facilitate the illegal practice of sex determination, resulting in unsafe abortions and female foeticide.
• It is a testament to class and caste divides when netizens talk of being ‘progressive’ when, 50 years after the MTP Act, women continue to die due to unsafe abortions. Passing one law and assuming the job is done is far from “progressive” when so many face a lack of access, systemic barriers, social norms and cultural preferences, and even criminal liability.
• There is an urgent need in our country to shift the discourse on abortions from just being a family planning and maternal health issue to one of a sexual health and reproductive rights issue. The situation in India shows that one law alone is insufficient and we must raise the bar on reproductive justice.
• We must improve our health systems to ensure good quality and respectful abortion care. As the focus on abortion rights in the U.S. rages, we call upon all to self-reflect and to stand in solidarity with people in the U.S. and other places where reproductive rights are in jeopardy. Reproductive injustice anywhere is a threat to the lives of people everywhere.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

4. PRIORITISE RESIDUE-FREE FARMING OVER ORGANIC FARMING

THE CONTEXT: Over the past few years, there has been a paradigm shift in consumer preferences. Indian buyers are becoming increasingly health-conscious and watchful of the food they consume. In light of this trend, two modes of farming — residue-free and organic, have become increasingly popular.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Simply put, residue-free farming techniques entail the protection and growth improvement of seedlings and plants by using organically procured bio-fertilizers and biocides.
• The produce is also grown using synthetic pesticides, which are applied at predetermined intervals so that the residue is not present in enormous quantities, conforming to the (MRL) Maximum Residue Level.
• Organic farming, on the other hand, is an agricultural system that relies on pest controls and bio-fertilizers that are obtained from animal and plant waste. It even involves the plantation of nitrogen-fixing cover crops.

The consumption factor

• Residue-free farming eliminates the shortcomings of organic farming techniques. It is essential to promote residue-free over organic farming for the following reasons:
• Research now reveals that there are no clear indicators to suggest that organic produce offers a higher nutritional value when compared to fruits and vegetables grown using other techniques.
• Residue-free farming practices have been successful in overcoming this downside. Since it does not involve any toxin throughout the production process, the fruits and vegetables, thus produced, are best for those with allergies and other dietary restrictions.
• Their overall nutritional value and quality are high. Despite the obvious benefits, farmers in India do not fully embrace residue-free farming, which is mostly neglected by buyers and sellers in the local market.
• Several State governments have recognised the importance of residue-free produce. The ₹2,200-crore State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) project plans to supply the urban population of Pune with residue-free produce.

The production factor

• According to a study, the yield capacity of organic farming methods is so low that relying solely on these techniques will be insufficient to meet the demands of a constantly rising population. Further, the production of organic items is expensive, and in some instances, the mark-up of these produces is as high as 40 percent. Residue-free techniques, on the other hand, are economical, and they do not hamper production quantity.
• It makes use of modern practices like poly-houses, grafting, bio-fertiliser management, and rainwater harvesting. The Centre has launched the All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues (AINP-PR) to combat pesticide contamination in several food commodities. Numerous agritech players are also collaborating with farmers to produce residue-free fruits and vegetables.

The environmental factor

• Traditional farming practices depended largely on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These substances are not only detrimental for consumers but also impoverish the quality of the surrounding environment. For instance, they lead to soil degradation, water pollution and loss of aquatic life, among others. Though organic farming eradicates this problem, the cost of doing so is very high. The yield is insufficient. Residue-free practices entail minimal or no usage of chemicals. They do not hamper any other aspect of farming.
• As the name suggests, it leaves no harmful traces behind. To instill a culture of food safety in the country, FSSAI has introduced a list of crop contaminants and their acceptable levels. According to regulation, the certified levels of mentioned elements cannot be breached during production.

Trade and international standards

• India apart from its domestic consumption also caters to international fresh food demand. However, Indian goods face rejection because they fail to fall under the international Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). For example, the EU refused consignments of table grapes of India as they failed to fall under their strict MRL. In 2020, the crops that faced issues on the international front included chillies, basmati rice and sesame seeds. Developed countries encourage and promote residue-free crops. Good agricultural practices, as well as well-defined MRL standards, are used to ensure residue-free produce, and the slightest deviation from their pre-set parameters renders the entire consignment useless.
• To make indigenous produce more competitive in the export market, FSSAI has issued a set of MRLs for the compliance of domestic producers. These standards are set after considering the global requirements.
• The subcontinent’s focus on residue-free and clean produce has seen a dramatic increase in recent years. Apart from the government and its subsidiary bodies, a plethora of agri-tech players have also entered the picture to spread awareness. Many private players are leveraging technology to empower farmers, streamline the supply chain, incorporate end-to-end traceability and minimise wastage through residue-free cultivation.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. WHAT IS THE SERVICE CHARGE LEVIED BY RESTAURANTS ON CUSTOMERS?

THE CONTEXT: The Centre has called a meeting of restaurant owners over service charges levied by them on customers. The meeting, called by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, will be held on June 2, 2022, with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The ministry wrote a letter to NRAI – the umbrella restaurant body – saying the restaurants are collecting service charges from consumers by default, even though the collection of any such charge is voluntary and at the discretion of consumers and not mandatory as per law.
• A restaurant bill in India comprises food charge (from the menu), with an addition of service charge (anywhere between 5 to 15 percent) and a 5 percent GST on this amount (IGST+SGST). This is for all kinds of standalone restaurants. In case a restaurant is located inside a hotel wherein the room rate is upwards of Rs 7,500 (mostly in case of five-stars), the GST would be 18 percent. While the GST is a mandatory component as per law, it is the service charge which is supposed to be optional. It is the equivalent of what is known as gratuity around the world, or tip, in casual parlance.
• Most restaurants decide on the service charge on their own, and print it at the bottom of the menu with an asterisk. It is this component that has come under dispute from time to time, with consumers arguing they are not bound to pay it.
• The issue, as per the Ministry, is that almost all restaurants have put service charge (fixed at their own accord) as a default billing option, and if a consumer is aware that it is not compulsory and wants it removed or wants to tip the server directly, the onus is on them to convince the management why they don’t want to pay it.
• The department says they received several complaints saying it leads to public embarrassment and spoils the dining experience since at the end of it, they either pay the charge quietly and exit the place feeling cheated or have to try hard to get it removed.
• Also, there is no transparency as to where this charge goes. The officials also say that collecting service charge on their own and paying GST on it to the government doesn’t make it authorised.

6. APEX COURT’S RULING ON GST IS A WATERSHED

THE CONTEXT: The judgment is likely to have some impact on the GST Council’s functioning. Collaborative decision making is the way forward

THE EXPLANATION:

• In tax laws, every once in a while, a Supreme Court decision gets the ‘landmark’ tag. The recent Supreme Court ruling in the Mohit Minerals case has earned that tag. The issue before the apex court was whether GST could be levied on ocean freight when IGST has been levied on the total transaction value which included freight.
• The apex court struck down the levy as unconstitutional and ended the controversy over double taxation on ocean freight. What interested everyone during the course of this decision was the observations of the Court on the GST Council.
• The operative part of the court ruling was that the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on the Union and States for the following reasons:
• Parliament intended for the recommendations of the GST Council to only have a persuasive value, particularly when interpreted along with the objective of the GST regime to foster cooperative federalism and harmony between the constituent units.
• Parliament and the State legislatures possess simultaneous power to legislate on GST.
• The ‘recommendations’ of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States. They are recommendatory in nature. To regard them as binding edict would disrupt fiscal federalism, where both the Union and the States are conferred equal power to legislate on GST.
• It is not imperative that one of the federal units must always possess a higher share in the power for the federal units to make decisions.
• The government, while exercising its rule-making power under the provisions of the CGST Act and IGST Act, is bound by the recommendations of the GST Council.
• However, that does not mean that all the recommendations of the GST Council made by virtue of the power of Article 279A (4) are binding on the legislature’s power to enact primary legislation.
• The IGST Act and the CGST Act define reverse charge and prescribe the entity that is to be taxed for these purposes. The specification of the recipient — in this case the importer — by Notification 10/2017 is only clarificatory. While import of services qualifies for reverse charge under this notification, this cannot be extended to cases where IGST has already been paid.
• The apex court has observed that the impugned levy imposed on the ‘service’ aspect of the transaction is in violation of the principle of ‘composite supply’ enshrined under Section 2(30) read with Section 8 of the CGST Act. Since the Indian importer is liable to pay IGST on the ‘composite supply’, comprising supply of goods and supply of services of transportation, insurance, etc. in a c.i.f. contract, a separate levy on the Indian importer for the ‘supply of services’ by the shipping line would be in violation of Section 8 of the CGST Act.
• In essence, the Centre cannot a tax a transaction twice.The operative part of the court ruling was that the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on the Union and States for the following reasons:
• Parliament intended for the recommendations of the GST Council to only have a persuasive value, particularly when interpreted along with the objective of the GST regime to foster cooperative federalism and harmony between the constituent units.
• Parliament and the State legislatures possess simultaneous power to legislate on GST.
• The ‘recommendations’ of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States. They are recommendatory in nature. To regard them as binding edict would disrupt fiscal federalism, where both the Union and the States are conferred equal power to legislate on GST.
• It is not imperative that one of the federal units must always possess a higher share in the power for the federal units to make decisions.
• The government, while exercising its rule-making power under the provisions of the CGST Act and IGST Act, is bound by the recommendations of the GST Council.
• However, that does not mean that all the recommendations of the GST Council made by virtue of the power of Article 279A (4) are binding on the legislature’s power to enact primary legislation.
• The IGST Act and the CGST Act define reverse charge and prescribe the entity that is to be taxed for these purposes. The specification of the recipient — in this case the importer — by Notification 10/2017 is only clarificatory. While import of services qualifies for reverse charge under this notification, this cannot be extended to cases where IGST has already been paid.
• The apex court has observed that the impugned levy imposed on the ‘service’ aspect of the transaction is in violation of the principle of ‘composite supply’ enshrined under Section 2(30) read with Section 8 of the CGST Act.
• Since the Indian importer is liable to pay IGST on the ‘composite supply’, comprising supply of goods and supply of services of transportation, insurance, etc. in a c.i.f. contract, a separate levy on the Indian importer for the ‘supply of services’ by the shipping line would be in violation of Section 8 of the CGST Act. In essence, the Centre cannot a tax a transaction twice.
• This judgment of the apex court is bound to have some impact on the working of the GST Council. Collaborative decision-making would be the way forward — this is easier said than done since a few States have strong views on certain aspects of GST taxation and the decision in Mohit Minerals gives them more teeth.
• It is expected that the GST Council would not recommend anything that could turn out to be controversial.
• While the decision in Mohit Minerals does not give State governments unilateral powers of taxation, it sends a message to the GST Council to listen to all voices including those of protest.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 26TH MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about National Tiger Conservation Authority:

1. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body.
2. The Prime Minister is the chairperson of NTCA.

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 THE25^thMAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: It is built by the kings of the Ganga dynasty.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is an example of Kalinga Architecture.

1. Bhagwad Gita’s advice on how to invest right READ MORE
2. How to Be a Leader Who Stays True to Their Ethics Read More
3. Thinking Through the Ethics of New Tech…Before There’s a Problem Read More

1. What a Scathing Audit on Mining in Jharkhand Tells Us About CAG’s Toothlessness READ MORE
2. By Keeping Article 370 Matter Pending Indefinitely, the Supreme Court Is Embarrassing Itself READMORE
3. To Achieve Gender Justice, It Is Critical That the Judiciary Avoid Stereotypes and Social Biases Read More

1. Why are tribals of Rajasthan and Gujarat demanding a separate state of Bhil Pradesh? READ MORE
2. ASHA: A successful public health experiment rooted in the village community READ MORE
3. 80% students found remote learning burdensome, missed peers: survey READMORE

1. Unprecedented early heatwaves in India, Pakistan 30 times more likely in 2022 due to climate change: Scientists READ MORE
2. Great change in Little Rann: How solar power is helping Gujarat’s salt workers READ MORE
3. Union Power Ministry Seeks Two-Year Delay for Emission Norms Deadline READ MORE
4. Prioritise residue-free farming over organic farming READ MORE
5. New report puts a $759 billion price tag on decarbonising global petrochemicals sector READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. India must shift the discourse on abortion rights READ MORE
2. Supreme Court recognises sex work as a ‘profession’ READMORE
3. Understanding the nature of U.S.-Taiwan relations READ MORE
4. What is the service charge levied by restaurants on customers? READ MORE
5. Why are tribals of Rajasthan and Gujarat demanding a separate state of Bhil Pradesh? READ MORE

GS 1

1. Unprecedented early heatwaves in India, Pakistan 30 times more likely in 2022 due to climate change: Scientists READ MORE
2. Great change in Little Rann: How solar power is helping Gujarat’s salt workers READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. What a Scathing Audit on Mining in Jharkhand Tells Us About CAG’s Toothlessness READ MORE
2. By Keeping Article 370 Matter Pending Indefinitely, the Supreme Court Is Embarrassing Itself READMORE
3. To Achieve Gender Justice, It Is Critical That the Judiciary Avoid Stereotypes and Social Biases Read More

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Why are tribals of Rajasthan and Gujarat demanding a separate state of Bhil Pradesh? READ MORE
2. ASHA: A successful public health experiment rooted in the village community READ MORE
3. 80% students found remote learning burdensome, missed peers: survey READMORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. In PM’s Talks with US, Australian, Japanese Counterparts, Ukraine, Defence, Technology Dominate READ MORE
2. Understanding the nature of U.S.-Taiwan relations READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India will continue wheat export to needy, friendly countries: Piyush Goyal READ MORE
2. Apex court’s ruling on GST is a watershed READ MORE
3. Food first: After wheat, Modi government curbs sugar export READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Union Power Ministry Seeks Two-Year Delay for Emission Norms Deadline READ MORE
2. Prioritise residue-free farming over organic farming READ MORE
3. New report puts a $759 billion price tag on decarbonising global petrochemicals sector READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Bhagwad Gita’s advice on how to invest right READ MORE
2. How to Be a Leader Who Stays True to Their Ethics Read More
3. Thinking Through the Ethics of New Tech…Before There’s a Problem Read More

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Discuss the role of renewable energy resources in order to maintain environmental sustainability with special reference to India.
2. What are the major legal initiatives by the State since Independence, addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)?

ESSAY TOPIC

• The rights of scheduled tribes in India.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• “If you believe in living a respectable life, you believe in self-help which is the best help”.; B.R Ambedkar
• “So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you”.; B.R Ambedkar
• Organizations should try to anticipate and address the potential effects of the technologies they deploy. While they can’t predict the future, they can adopt a sound framework that will help them prepare for and respond to unexpected impacts.

50-WORD TALK

The daring China-Russia strategic-bomber exercises off Japan, staged as Quad leaders met in Tokyo, show President Joe Biden’s vow to defend Taiwan is indeed needed. As geopolitical tensions grow, Asian nations threatened by China need security guarantees. Economically bruised Americans won’t welcome new military commitments, but their prosperity needs Asian security.

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 on 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.

1. Time to REJECT FOSSIL FUELS RIGHT AWAY READ MORE
2. G20 climate goals just won’t do the job, claims new report READ MORE
3. Into the ocean twilight zone: How new technology is revealing the secrets of an under-researched undersea world READ MORE

1. Glass cliff READ MORE
2. Gender Gap at Work Worsens in Low, Middle-Income Nations, but Reverses in High-Income Countries: ILO READ MORE
3. Do tribal lives matter? Life expectancy, health indicators stay poor in Madhya Pradesh READMORE

1. ‘For Cover of Fundamental Rights, Person Must Submit to Process of the Law’: SC READ MORE
2. Rise of social media leading to privacy & IP disputes. Indian laws need teeth to tackle them READMORE
3. India’s Coming Misadventure With Rice Fortification in All Food Schemes READ MORE

1. Delighted you create, in misery you destroy READ MORE
2. Why Judge People? READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. What is the controversy around Odisha’s Jagannath temple Heritage Corridor Project? READ MORE
2. Rise of social media leading to privacy & IP disputes. Indian laws need teeth to tackle them READMORE
3. All you need to know about the Quad, the current summit, and initiatives READ MORE
4. Glass cliff READ MORE
5. G20 climate goals just won’t do the job, claims new report READ MORE

GS 1

1.      What is the controversy around Odisha’s Jagannath temple Heritage Corridor Project? READMORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ‘For Cover of Fundamental Rights, Person Must Submit to Process of the Law’: SC READ MORE
2. Rise of social media leading to privacy & IP disputes. Indian laws need teeth to tackle them READMORE
3. India’s Coming Misadventure With Rice Fortification in All Food Schemes READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Glass cliff READ MORE
2. Gender Gap at Work Worsens in Low, Middle-Income Nations, but Reverses in High-Income Countries: ILO READ MORE
3. Do tribal lives matter? Life expectancy, and health indicators stay poor in Madhya Pradesh READMORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Quad is a ‘force for good’, says PM Modi READ MORE
2. All you need to know about the Quad, the current summit, and initiatives READ MORE
3.  Caution and clarity: On the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity READMORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. scraps import duties on sunflower, soyabean oil READ MORE
2. India must stabilise the value of the Rupee READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Time to REJECT FOSSIL FUELS RIGHT AWAY READ MORE
2. G20 climate goals just won’t do the job, claims new report READ MORE
3. Into the ocean twilight zone: How new technology is revealing the secrets of an under-researched undersea world READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Delighted you create, in misery you destroy READ MORE
2. Why Judge People? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. SDG 5 on gender equality is seen as a key goal, both in itself and for achieving other goals. In this context, examine how crucial gender equality is for development of the country?

ESSAY TOPIC

• Equality at the workplace is a distant dream for women.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• One should be rooted in oneself, because the way from oneself moves deep down to God, to existence. If you belong to a crowd, you belong to an impasse and no further growth is possible from there.
• Forget about the world, society, utopias and Karl Marx. Forget about all this. You are just here for a few years, to be. Enjoy, delight, be happy, dance and love. Out of your love and dancing, out of your deep selfishness, an overflowing of energy will start, and you will be able to share with others.
• In India, the subject of content regulation has always been important due to the diverse structure of Indian culture in terms of religion, economic standing, caste, and language. The policies and acts that currently govern social media are the Copyright Act 1957 and the Information Technology Act 2000. The laws still lack complete coverage over many issues such as platforms that contain links to infringing content. If India is to follow other countries in the regulation of ownership rights on social media service providers, it will have to take into account, among other things, the rights of the users as to the exclusive right over their original content.

50-WORD TALK

• The US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework — a version 2.0 of the collapsed Trans-Pacific Partnership — is welcome counter to China’s economic might in Asia. IPEF focuses on harmonising supply chains and standards, sidestepping political opposition to free trade. To challenge the China-dominated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, IPEF must prove it’ll boost trade.

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 on 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 ART AND CULTURE

1. WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY AROUND ODISHA’S JAGANNATH TEMPLE HERITAGE CORRIDOR PROJECT?

THE CONTEXT: The Archaeological Survey of India told the Orissa High Court this month that no permission was granted to the State government for construction around temple.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on May 17, that a sculpture of a lion, which possibly dates back to the Ganga dynasty, was found during excavation for the controversial heritage corridor project around the 12th century Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha.
• This is the third such lion sculpture found during the excavation work. The East Ganga dynasty had ruled Kalinga, as Odisha was called in ancient times, from the early fifth century to the early 15th century.
• On May 9, the ASI noted in a report submitted to the Orissa High Court that there was every possibility of archaeological remains at the heritage site being destroyed due to the excavation work for the corridor.

What is the Puri Heritage Corridor Project?

• The Puri Heritage Corridor Project is a ₹3,200-crore redevelopment project of the Odisha government in Puri to create an international heritage site, including the 800-year-old Jagannath temple. Under the umbrella project falls the Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor (SJHC) or the Shree Mandira Parikrama Project, for the revamp of the area around the temple.
• Plans for the corridor had been in the making since 2016, with the State Assembly unanimously passing a resolution for the effective implementation of the Project’s plan in February last year. Soon after, the plan was approved by the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA). The Odisha government has listed three objectives for the revamp of the area around the temple- the security of the temple, the safety of devotees, and the creation of a religious atmosphere for devotees.
• The government allotted initial funds of ₹800 crore for the first phase of the Project from its Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture at Puri (ABADHA) scheme introduced in 2019.
• Under the scheme, 22 development projects are planned, including the temple corridor, redevelopment of the SJTA building, the creation of a reception centre with a capacity of 6,000 for devotees visiting the temple, a cultural centre including a library, the Bada Danda (grand road outside the temple) Heritage Street scape Project, a plan to improve temple amenities such as building cloakrooms and toilets, a control and command centre, multilevel parking, the revival of the Musa River, and the Puri Lake Project. While the project has been taken up by the Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) under the State’s Works Department, Tata Projects is the implementing authority.
• n February this year, when the OBBC started excavation work within 75 metres of the Jagannath temple to build public amenities such as toilets and cloakrooms, experts and members of civil society objected to the use of heavy machinery for digging, citing the possibility of an adverse impact on the 12th Century temple. Questions started being raised about whether the construction around the temple had the due permissions and clearances.
• The Jagannath temple has been designated a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey and is a centrally protected monument. As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act (AMSAR), construction is prohibited within a 100-metre periphery of a protected area.
• The area extending to 200 metres around the monument in all directions is called a regulated area. As per the provisions of the AMSAR Act, the National Monuments Authority (NMA), set up in 2011 under the Ministry of Culture, is charged with protecting and preserving ASI-protected sites by managing the prohibited and regulated area in the periphery of such a site. If construction has to be undertaken in the regulated or prohibited area, permission from the NMA is required.
• Notably, the term “construction” as defined in the AMSAR Act does not include the construction of public toilets, urinals, and “similar conveniences”. It also does not include works for the supply of water, electricity or “provision of similar facilities for publicity”.
• Besides, ​​an impact assessment is also required to be done by the NMA before development around a monument if the built-up area of the monument is beyond 5,000 square metres. The built-up area of the Jagannath temple stands at 43,301.36 sq metres.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

2. GLASS CLIFF

THE CONTEXT: A phenomenon that explains how women are promoted to leadership positions during times when an organisation is under performing, ensuring their failure.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The term ‘Glass Cliff’ was coined by researchers from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom after studying the disparity between the promotion of men and women in corporate organisations.
• They looked at the 100 companies included in the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) Index and found that women were more likely to be promoted to higher positions when the company was performing poorly or going through a crisis. By doing this, women were set up for failure which was likened to standing at the edge of a cliff.
• On November 11, 2003, an article titled, ‘Women on board: help or hindrance?’ was published in The [London] Times, where author Elizabeth Judge claimed that despite all the discourse on breaking the glass ceiling, women’s participation as members in London’s boardrooms worsened the companies, especially its share price performance. She came to the conclusion that appointing more women to company boards was detrimental to an organisation’s performance.
• It was this article that prompted Michelle Ryan and Alexander Haslam from the University of Exeter to study the phenomenon in 2005. Taking the sample of 19 companies in the London FTSE 100 that appointed male and female board members in 2003 and looking at their performance five months before and three months after board appointments, it was found that there was greater variability in company performance preceding and following the appointment of a woman.
• It was also found that women were appointed as board members mostly during an overall market slump or when the company was experiencing turbulence or when there was a decline in performance. Men, on the other hand, were appointed when the company was relatively stable, making sure that their success rates as board members or in higher positions were better.
• Thus, counter to Judge’s claims, the appointment of women was not related to the decline in company performance. The study further showed that, even during times of crisis, womens appointment to leadership positions despite its precariousness and risk, proved positive for the company, because in many cases its performance improved.
• The glass cliff is a phenomenon that reinforces stereotypes about women not being ideal in leadership positions. Although glass cliff mainly refers to the obstacles faced by women, the term also applies to the challenges faced by minorities and other marginalised groups when promoted to leadership roles. The phenomenon occurs in many different fields, including finance, politics, technology, and academia. When a company is performing poorly, it is associated with bad press, financial difficulties, and the need to restructure.
• During such periods, the company protects its male employees and promotes female employees to leadership positions. By promoting women, the company seems progressive but also sets them up for failure. Further, when the company fails to succeed, women can be replaced with their male counterparts, with the company also having a scapegoat to blame for their failures.
• Despite circumstances and studies that show that precarious positions do not necessarily appeal to women compared to men, women are more likely to take up these leadership roles because they rarely get other opportunities for advancement. Men, on the other hand, tend to turn down risky roles, as they are sure to get better opportunities for leadership positions elsewhere or when the companies return to stability.
• One of the notable examples of the phenomenon was when Marissa Mayer was appointed as the CEO of Yahoo! in 2012 after the company lost significant market share to Google. Despite the condition of the company in which she took over when she resigned in 2017 after failing to improve the company’s performance, critics attributed the failure of the company to her performance and effort, rather than to the environment in which she was promoted. She was later replaced by Thomas McInerny, a white male.
• There are many possible explanations as to why this effect prevails. One of the theories explains that when situations of stress or crises occur, women are preferred over men. This ‘think crisis think female’ theory perceives women to possess the qualities that help them deal with stressful situations better than men. Since stressful situations involve emotional management, women who are assumed to be better managers of people’s feelings and problems, are expected to make better leaders during such periods.
• Contrasting this, the ‘think crisis think not men’ theory explains how women are perceived to be less valuable than men, making it easier for the companies to throw them under the bus.
• A third theory explains how when a company is going through a crisis, bringing about a significant change in its structure can hold positive connotations. Thus, in order to signal a drastic change, especially to their relevant stakeholders, women or people from minority communities are promoted to positions of leadership as it deviates from the conventional idea of leadership.
• While the ‘glass ceiling effect’ hinders women and people from minority communities from advancing in their careers after a certain level in various organisations, the ‘glass cliff effect’ ensures that even when promoted, the leadership positions given to these groups are during periods of crisis, so that the company can look progressive and yet replace and blame them for the underperformance of the organisation. Both processes thus, help maintain the status quo and prevent women and members of minority communities from reaching positions of leadership.

 THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3. ALL ABOUT THE QUAD, THE CURRENT SUMMIT, AND INITIATIVES

THE CONTEXT: The ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis has triggered geopolitical shifts, driven up global inflation, and affected supply chains amid a slew of Western sanctions on Moscow. In March this year, Quad leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine in an unscheduled virtual meeting called by Mr. Biden.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Quad is an informal multilateral grouping of India, the U.S., Australia, and Japan aimed at cooperation for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The region, composed of two oceans and spanning multiple continents is a hub of maritime trade and naval establishments. While not stated explicitly by the leaders, one of the major basis for the grouping is to check China’s growing influence in the region.
• After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 wreaked havoc in the region now called the Indo-Pacific, India stepped up its rescue efforts not just in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar islands but also provided swift assistance to its maritime neighbours: Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia. Soon, the disaster relief effort was joined by three other naval powers — the U.S., Australia and Japan, with then U.S. President George W. Bush announcing that the four countries would set up an international coalition to coordinate the massive effort required.
• While the charge of the rescue operations was handed over to the United Nations shortly after, and the immediate mission of the four countries had ended, it led to the birth of a new framework: the Quadrilateral or Quad.
• Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had been promoting the idea of an “arc of prosperity and freedom” that brought the Quad countries closer together, developed the concept, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed it with him during a summit in December 2006. The grouping held a meeting in May 2007 but did not release an official statement.
• The 2007 Indo-U.S Malabar naval exercises also saw the partial involvement of Japan, Australia and Singapore. The exercises and coordination were seen by China as an attempt to encircle it, which termed the grouping as trying to build “an Asian NATO”.
• The Quad lost momentum post the 2007 meeting as the effort “dissipated amidst member leadership transitions, concerns about economic repercussions from China, and attention to other national interests,” according to the U.S Congressional Research Service.
• The grouping was only revived an entire decade later in 2017, at a time when all four countries had revised their assessment of the China challenge; and India had witnessed the Doklam standoff. Leaders of all four countries met in the Philippines for the ‘India-Australia-Japan-U.S.’ dialogue, not referred to as a Quad dialogue to avoid the notion of a “gang-up”. Even to this point, a set of objectives, areas of cooperation, and even the definition of Indo-Pacific were not fixed among Quad members.
• March 2021 was the first time, Mr. Biden, Mr. Modi, Australia’s outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and then Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga met virtually for an official Quad summit, releasing for the first time a set of objectives for the grouping in a joint statement called the ‘The Spirit of the Quad’.
• According to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs about the agenda of the May 24 summit, “The Leaders will review the progress of Quad initiatives and Working Groups, identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance and vision for future collaboration”.
• The Quad summit is expected to discuss the Russian war in Ukraine, and the impact of three months of Western sanctions. India is the only member of the Quad that has not joined sanctions against Russia, while also ramping up its intake of Russian oil, buying more oil in March and April, an estimated 40 million barrels more than it had in all of 2021.
• President Joseph Biden would also be unveiling the ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ (IPEF) in Tokyo on May 23, which, according to Reuters is a programme to bind countries in the region more closely through common standards in areas including supply-chain resilience, clean energy, infrastructure and digital trade.
• Modi would be attending the launch of the plan, seen as a significant step towards building economic ties amongst Quad countries, but India is likely to be cautious about its participation in IPEF as it could be seen as a counter to the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the 17-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that China is a member of.
• Besides, the Financial Times reported that Quad members would be launching a plan to curb illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific region. Several countries have objected to Chinese fishing vessels often violating their exclusive economic zones resulting in economic losses, while also engaging in deep-sea trawling, which causes environmental damage.

4. CAUTION AND CLARITY: ON THE U.S.-LED INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPERITY

THE CONTEXT: In a sudden decision not previously intimated, India became one of a 13-nation economic initiative led by the U.S., as President Joseph Biden unveiled plans for an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The initiative is touted as a substantial step by the U.S. as part of its decade-old “pivot to Asia”, and an attempt at putting some “economic heft” into its Indo-Pacific presence that has been on the decline after its decision to quit the Transpacific Free Trade Agreement, the CPTPP, in 2017. Officials say the IPEF framework has four “pillars”: supply-chain resilience; clean energy, decarbonisation and infrastructure; taxation and anti-corruption; and fair and resilient trade.
• Biden’s visit to Japan and South Korea, attendance at the Quad summit and helming the IPEF launch is also aimed at reassuring the Eastern hemisphere about the U.S.’s focus. India’s joining is an equally strong statement of commitment to Indo-Pacific goals, and to broadening regional economic cooperation, particularly after it walked out of the 15-nation RCEP. It is significant that all IPEF members, other than India and the U.S., are a part of the RCEP free trade agreement, and yet have chosen to be part of the U.S.-led initiative.
• Despite the strong signalling from all sides, however, there are many aspects to the IPEF that bear further scrutiny. Monday’s launch only signals the willingness of the 13 countries to begin discussions on the contours. Much will depend, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed, on how inclusive the process is. Second, U.S. officials have made it clear that it is not a free trade agreement; nor will it discuss tariff reductions or increasing market access, raising questions about its utility. Shorn of the rhetoric of Indo-Pacific cooperation, there must be more clarity on its framework.
• The four pillars also lend themselves to some confusion, drawing into question whether there is enough common ground among the 13 countries that are part of very different economic arrangements, as well as outliers (the U.S. and India), to set standards together, or be open to issues that vary for each country. The U.S.’s statement that the IPEF is essentially focused on “American workers” also raises questions on whether increasingly protectionist global trends will chafe. Each of the IPEF countries has considerable trade interests in China, with most having large trade deficits. So, it remains to be seen how much they will be willing to sign on with the IPEF.
• Already three ASEAN countries, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, have decided to stay out of the framework’s launch. Above all, given the fact that the U.S.’s previous initiatives (the Blue Dot Network and the Build Back Better Initiative) have made little headway in changing the region’s infrastructural needs, the IPEF faces a credibility challenge. Negotiators will need to move with both caution and clarity before making any big promises on its benefits for the region.

 THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

5. G20 CLIMATE GOALS JUST WON’T DO THE JOB

THE CONTEXT: None of the G20 countries have made climate commitments consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as the Paris Agreement stipulates, data from a new report showed.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) weaker than or on a par with previous versions, the report titled Keeping 1.5C Alive by the United States and the United Kingdom-based groups E3G and ECIU, and WRI, noted.
• The report assessed the climate goals of the G20 countries, which are responsible for around 75 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The countries are signatories to the Paris Agreement, a global treaty that aims to halt global warming.
• Brazil’s revised NDC has actually worsened as they made changes to the baseline year, and the rate of deforestation in the country has accelerated, the report stated. Egypt, India and Turkey did not submit new NDCs.
• China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia require much higher ambition in their NDCs, while the remaining countries have updated their NDCs but need to implement them to achieve their stated targets, according to the report. The UK came the closest to a 1.5C consistent target.
• It was decided at the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) that countries would “revisit and strengthen” their commitments in 2022. This means they have to establish more stringent goals to cut GHG emissions.
• This should be done ideally before the next summit, CoP 27, to be held in Egypt in November 2022. But the “geopolitical context has changed considerably since CoP26, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”, the report observed.
• The evidence is all around. Combatting high energy and food prices, and securing energy security are now the focus, rather than decarbonisation and climate action. The European Union is attempting to wean itself off Russian natural gas, and US is desperate to fill the vacuum with exports of its liquefied natural gas (LNG).
• The climate goals of US are “all but dead” with President Joe Biden’s climate-focused spending proposal stalled in Congress, held hostage by Joe Manchin, a politician with personal profits linked to coal.
• Meanwhile, China, the world’s largest coal consumer, has doubled down on its production of the polluting fuel, in the face of energy shortages.
• The new report calls India a “staller” since it is yet to submit its new NDC to the UNFCCC. In March 2022, India’s Environment Minister clarified that this will be done before CoP 27.
• India announced new goals at CoP26 such as a 500 gigawatts non-fossil energy target and carbon emission reduction of one billion tonne. There is, however, a general agreement among civil society that all the announced targets may not make it into the final submission. These have been called the “boldest new commitments at CoP26” in the report.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6. INDIA MUST STABILISE THE VALUE OF THE RUPEE

THE CONTEXT: In May second week, the forex reserve of India has reduced to $595 billion from $635 billion in September 2021. Existing reserves are about 18% of nominal GDP which is a comfort zone.  Despite this, the value of rupee against US dollar fell almost by 6%to 77.4 in May 2022 from `73 in September 2021.  Such steep fall reveals that the value of the rupee is vulnerable to the net outflow of forex.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Historically, India has been in the trade deficit (goods & services) and therefore, the forex reserves are generally built from the “capital receipts” in shape of debt and equity.
• Net “inward remittance” in the current account is about$60-65 billion which is consumed in the part financing of trade deficit and mostly, India had been in “current account deficit”.
• The trade deficit is somewhat similar to “operating loss” and the current account deficit is similar to the”net loss” of a Nation in the international trade. This is not a good scenario for the stability of rupee. Ideally, India should be in “trade surplus” for a stable rupee. For appreciation of rupee value, India should have”current account surplus” on consistent basis.
• Import of energy (Petroleum & Coal) must be partially replaced with domestic production. India is having enough reserves of coal and its production must be increased through mineral and coal sector reforms.  India has also good reserves of oil and gas, as quoted by ex-petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and also by Vedanta’s Anil Agrawal. However, this needs huge spending in prospecting.
• For replacing imports of electronics and defence items, Government has taken good steps; that may be pushed. Similar steps are also needed for other major imports. Government should bring a white paper for boosting exports and replacing imports with domestic production. Besides this, there is a vast scope of export of services in the field of tourism, consultancy (legal, accounting and engineering), shipping, education and health sector; that also needs a separate white paper.
• The financial savings of India are not adequate for financing the investment needs and therefore, the dependency upon the inflow of global funds shall continue for few more years. As an interim measure, the physical savings in gold must be reduced to almost nil through financial innovation, as suggested by author in his Book ‘Turn Around India’. Huge import of gold is indeed a drag on the trade balance.
• In 1992,the regime of the fixed exchange rate was ended. Thereafter, the value of rupee was almost stable from the year 2000 to 2010, as evident from the table below. It means that; it is feasible to maintain the stability of rupee. Simultaneously, the reasons for the subsequent fall in rupee value must be analysed and resolved. Total financial assets in the world are exceeding $200 trillion. Global investors are in search of such destinations which provide them a high return in terms of US dollars. In case, India succeeds in achieving stability of Rupee, the global funds shall rush in. In such a case, it is imperative that global funds are mostly used for the investment in productive assets and not for consumption.
• Failing which, the inflation might aggravate and the servicing of global funds might pose problem. For boosting investment in productive assets, the regulatory easement and the simplification of Tax laws are the prerequisites.
• The external risks, if any, arising due to outflow of forex and depreciation of rupee shall be totally eliminated. Rather, due to surplus forex reserves, the diplomatic relation of India shall improve, particularly with neighboring nations. And thus, India shall command high respect in the global fraternity. 

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 25TH MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Jagannath Puri temple:

1. It is built by kings of Pala dynasty
2. It is an example of Kalinga Architecture

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 THE 24^{th of} MAY

Answer:D

Explanation:

• Vitamin D is needed for a process known as calcium homeostasis which is the maintenance of constant concentration of calcium ions in the body. This is needed for, among other things, bone development and strength, and its deficiency is a cause of conditions such as rickets and osteoporosis.
• Other diseases that are associated with vitamin D deficiency are cancer, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. WHO ARE ASHA WORKERS, THE WOMEN HEALTHCARE VOLUNTEERS HONORED BY WHO?

THE CONTEXT: The World Health Organisation has recognized the country’s 10.4 lakh ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers as ‘Global Health Leaders’ for their efforts in connecting the community to the government’s health programmes.

THE EXPLANATION:

• ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.
• They act as a bridge connecting marginalised communities with facilities such as primary health centres, sub-centres and district hospitals.
• The role of these community health volunteers under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was first established in 2005.
• ASHAs are primarily married, widowed, or divorced women between the ages of 25 and 45 years from within the community. They must have good communication and leadership skills; should be literate with formal education up to Class 8, as per the programme guidelines.
• The aim is to have one ASHA for every 1,000 persons or per habitation in hilly, tribal or other sparsely populated areas.
• There are around 10.4 lakh ASHA workers across the country, with the largest workforces in states with high populations – Uttar Pradesh (1.63 lakh), Bihar (89,437), and Madhya Pradesh (77,531). Goa is the only state with no such workers, as per the latest National Health Mission data available from September 2019.
• They go door-to-door in their designated areas creating awareness about basic nutrition, hygiene practices, and the health services available. They focus primarily on ensuring that women undergo ante-natal check-up, maintain nutrition during pregnancy, deliver at a healthcare facility, and provide post-birth training on breast-feeding and complementary nutrition of children. They also counsel women about contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections.
• ASHA workers are also tasked with ensuring and motivating children to get immunised. Other than mother and childcare, ASHA workers also provide medicines daily to TB patients under directly observed treatment of the national programme.
• They are also tasked with screening for infections like malaria during the season. They also provide basic medicines and therapies to people under their jurisdiction such as oral rehydration solution, chloroquine for malaria, iron folic acid tablets to prevent anaemia, and contraceptive pills.
• The health volunteers are also tasked with informing their respective primary health centre about any births or deaths in their designated areas.
• ASHA workers were a key part of the government’s pandemic response, with most states using the network for screening people in containment zones, getting them tested, and taking them to quarantine centres or help with home quarantine.
• Since they are considered “volunteers”, governments are not obligated to pay them a salary and most states don’t. Their income depends on incentives under various schemes that are provided when they, for example, ensure an institutional delivery or when they get a child immunised. All this adds up to only between Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 a month.

THE POLITY

2. INTER-STATE COUNCIL RECONSTITUTED

THE CONTEXT: The Inter-State Council, which works to promote and support cooperative federalism in the country, has been reconstituted with Prime Minister as Chairman and Chief Ministers of all States and six Union ministers as members.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The mandate of the council is to create a strong institutional framework to promote and support cooperative federalism in the country, activate the council and zonal councils by organising its regular meetings.
• It also facilitates consideration of all pending and emerging issues of the Centre- State and inter-State relations by the zonal councils and inter-State council and develop a sound system of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the inter-State council and zonal councils.

3. INDIA NEEDS PARLIAMENTARY SUPERVISION OF TRADE PACTS

THE CONTEXT: Effective parliamentary supervision will increase the domestic acceptance and legitimacy of international treaties, especially economic agreements, which are often critiqued for imposing undue restraints on India’s economic sovereignty.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is negotiating and signing several free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries like Australia, the UK, Israel, and the EU. While the economic benefits of these FTAs have been studied, there is very little discussion on the lack of parliamentary scrutiny of these treaties.
• This gives rise to arguments of democratic deficit in India’s treaty-making process. Given the wide-ranging impact of trade and other economic treaties, the question is: Shouldn’t Parliament exercise some control over the executive’s power to sign international treaties?
• In the Constitution, entry 14 of the Union list contains the following item — “entering into treaties and agreements with foreign countries and implementing of treaties, agreements and conventions with foreign countries”. According to Article 246, Parliament has the legislative competence on all matters given in the Union list.
• Thus, Parliament has the power to legislate on treaties. This power includes deciding how India will ratify treaties and thus assume international law obligations. This power includes Parliament’s competence to give effect to treaties within the domestic legal regime by enacting laws. Article 253 elucidates that the power of Parliament to implement treaties by enacting domestic laws also extends to topics that are part of the state list.
• While Parliament in the last seven decades has passed many laws to implement international legal obligations imposed by different treaties, it is yet to enact a law laying down the processes that India needs to follow before assuming international treaty obligations.
• Given this legislative void, and under Article 73(the powers of the Union executive are co-terminus with Parliament), the Centre has been not just negotiating and signing but also ratifying international treaties and assuming international law obligations without much parliamentary oversight.
• Arguably, Parliament exercises control over the executive’s treaty-making power at the stage of transforming a treaty into the domestic legal regime. However, this is a scenario of ex-post parliamentary control over the executive.
• In such a situation, Parliament does not debate whether India should or should not accept the international obligations; it only deliberates how the international law obligations, already accepted by the executive, should be implemented domestically. Even if Parliament does not amend or make domestic laws to transform the treaty, the treaty will continue to be binding on India.
• Concerns over the lack of parliamentary oversight were flagged by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, set up by the Vajpayee government more than two decades ago. But India’s treaty-making practice hasn’t changed.
• This practice is at variance with that of several other liberal democracies. In the US, important treaties signed by the President have to be approved by the Senate. In Australia, the executive is required to table a “national interest analysis” of the treaty it wishes to sign in parliament, and then this is examined by a joint standing committee on treaties – a body composed of Australian parliamentarians.
• In this way, the Australian parliament supervises the treaty-making process and acts as a check on the executive’s power. In Canada, too, the executive tables the treaties in parliament.
• Indian democracy needs to inculcate these healthy practices. Effective parliamentary supervision will increase the domestic acceptance and legitimacy of international treaties, especially economic agreements, which are often critiqued for imposing undue restraints on India’s economic sovereignty.
• Cynics might argue that in these times, when Parliament has been reduced to a rubber stamp for the government’s legislative agenda, the quest to augment Parliament’s role in the treaty-making process is like flogging a dead horse.
• But an effective counter to majoritarianism is to relentlessly strive for strengthening the democratic process, not accepting its weakness as a fait accompli.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. WHY IS TURKEY AGAINST SWEDEN, FINLAND JOINING NATO?

THE CONTEXT: With the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearing three months, Sweden and Finland (SweFin), the two Nordic countries that have historically stayed out of military alliances, have formally applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

THE EXPLANATION:

What triggered SweFin’s NATO application?

• The Russians may have their explanations for the war, the invasion saw Russia violating the sovereignty of a weaker power in its neighborhood. It also raised questions on whether Russia would have started the war had Ukraine been a NATO member.
• Unlike Ukraine, Sweden and Finland do not have any border conflict with Russia. But again, Ukraine didn’t have any major conflict with Russia until the 2014 regime change in Kyiv. So, the Russian attack seemed to have altered the security calculus of SweFin.
• They moved quickly to apply for NATO membership because they hoped the alliance would act as deterrence against potential future attacks. Sweden and Finland have already developed deep ties with the West. Both are members of the European Union.
• Their ties with NATO are the closest two non-members could get with the alliance. They hold joint military drills with NATO, share intelligence and have supported NATO’s military missions abroad. They did not formally seek membership until now because they did not want to upset the security status quo in Europe. They also feared Russian retaliation.
• But that status quo has been altered by the Russian invasion. And the possibility of Russian military retaliation is very less now because Russian troops are fighting a seemingly prolonged war in Ukraine. This opened the door for both SweFin and NATO. And they are ready to embrace each other.

Why is Turkey against SweFin’s bids?

• President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey would oppose SweFin’s NATO bid. Within NATO, decisions are taken unanimously, which means every country in the 30-member bloc holds a veto.
• Turkey says Sweden and Finland have ties with “terrorist” groups — a reference to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). The PKK, which seeks greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, has waged an armed insurgency since the mid-1980s.
• The YPG is the armed wing of Syrian Kurdistan which controls parts of the Kurdish region in Syria. Turkey faces serious allegations of human rights violations in the Kurdish region. In recent years, Mr. Erdogan’s government has cracked down on Kurdish political groups and leaders, including the left-wing People’s Democratic Party (HDP). Selahattin Demirtas, a charismatic Kurdish politician who was a former legislator and presidential election candidate, has been in prison since 2016. Turkey has justified its actions, claiming that the PKK, YPG and their associated political groups are “terrorists”.
• Turkey says Sweden, and Finland to a certain extent, maintain close ties with Kurdish militias, particularly the YPG. It also alleges that the countries are hosting supporters of the Fethullah Gulen movement, a religious sect led by the U.S.-based Gulen who is accused by Ankara of being the mastermind behind the failed 2016 coup against Mr. Erdogan. Turkish state TV reported last week that Sweden and Finland refused to extradite 33 people wanted by Ankara. Mr. Erdogan calls Sweden “a testing ground for terrorist organisations” and has ruled out Turkey backing SweFin’s NATO entry in the future either.

5. INDIA JOINS BIDEN’S NEW TRADE INITIATIVE FOR INDO-PACIFIC, NEGOTIATIONS TO BEGIN

THE CONTEXT: India signalled its readiness to join a new economic initiative led by the United States for the region, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and leaders of 10 countries, who joined virtually, for the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Tokyo on May 23.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The negotiations for the IPEF, which will begin on May 24, are expected to center around four main pillars, including trade, supply chain resiliency, clean energy and decarbonisation, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.
• The grouping, which includes seven out of 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), all four Quad countries, and New Zealand, represents about 40% of global GDP.
• “India will work together with [other IPEF countries] to build an inclusive and flexible Indo-Pacific Economic Framework,” PM said at the launch of the new initiative, that comes three years after India walked out of the 15-nation RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership).

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6. WORLD LOST 11.2 CRORE JOBS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022: ILO

THE CONTEXT: The “world of work” is being buffeted by multiple crises, says the ninth edition of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Monitor. The report says that after significant gains during the last quarter of 2021, the number of hours worked globally dropped in the first quarter of 2022, to 3.8% below the employment situation before the pandemic. About 11.2 crore jobs might have lost between this period, according to the report.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The gender gap in India’s employment scenario is mentioned in the report on the “world of work”. The report said both India and lower-middle-income countries excluding India experienced a deterioration of the gender gap in work hours in the second quarter of 2020.
• “However, because the initial level of hours worked by women in India was very low, the reduction in hours worked by women in India has only a weak influence on the aggregate for lower-middle-income countries. In contrast, the reduction in hours worked by men in India has a large impact on the aggregates,”.
• Explaining the data, an ILO official told The Hindu that for every 100 women at work prior to the pandemic, 12.3 women would have lost their job as an average through the entire period considered by the report.
• The fresh lockdowns in China, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the global rise in the prices of food and fuel are cited as the main reasons for the findings. The ILO urged its member countries to take a humane approach to address the situation.
• Financial turbulence, potential debt distress and global supply chain disruption points at a growing risk of a further deterioration in hours worked in 2022, as well as a broader impact on global labour markets in the months to come.
• The report added that a “great and growing divergence between richer and poorer economies” continues to characterize the recovery. “While high-income countries experienced a recovery in hours worked, low- and lower-middle-income economies suffered setbacks in the first quarter of the year with a 3.6 and 5.7 percent gap respectively when compared to the pre-crisis benchmark.
• Women employment in India has come down, particularly in sectors such as healthcare as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ILO report suggests that the purchasing capacity of the workers should be improved. ILO has been proposing decent jobs and decent wages. We do not have decent employment here in India. Most people are on contract without any social security. If there are no decent wages, purchasing power will also come down. The Code on Wages was passed in 2019 but is not yet implemented.
• The Wage Committee in 1948 asked the government to implement minimum wage, living wage and decent wage. Government has not implemented even minimum wage yet.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. ENGINEERING TOMATOES TO PRODUCE VITAMIN D

THE CONTEXT: Scientists have used a novel way to modify tomato plants to have fruits rich in a precursor to vitamin D.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Reading the pages of the World Sustainable Development Goals 2 (SDG2) — Eradicating Hunger — is depressing to say the least. According to the estimates made in 2020, nearly 690 million people, who make up close to 8.9% of the world’s population, are hungry.
• This number has increased by 60 million in the preceding five years. The index which was initially decreasing has started to rise since 2015. This does not portend well for the SDG2 which has as its target zero hunger by 2030, and the guess is, if this trend continues, that the world will have 840 million people affected by hunger by 2030.
• There are various ramifications to hunger, and an important part of it is micronutrient malnutrition. This is a term used for diseases caused by deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the diet. This is particularly a problem in developing countries and the number of those suffering from this so-called invisible hunger is huge.
• Some methods of combating this are to provide micronutrient supplements in the form of tablets or capsules and to fortify food products such as flour or salt by enhancing micronutrients in them. There is also the route of genetically modifying plants to produce bio-fortified leaves and fruit which can be consumed to alleviate micronutrient hunger.
• In this line, a paper in Nature Plants by Jie Li et al tries to address vitamin D deficiency by genetically modifying tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants so that the fruit contains a significant amount of pro vitamin D 3 which is a precursor from which humans can make vitamin D.
• Provitamin D 3 has the chemical name 7-dehydro cholesterol, or 7-DHC for short. Humans can synthesize Vitamin D from 7-DHC when they are exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) light. Vitamin D is needed for a process known as calcium homeostasis which is the maintenance of a constant concentration of calcium ions in the body.
• This is needed for, among other things, bone development and strength, and its deficiency is a cause of conditions such as rickets and osteoporosis.
• Other diseases that are associated with vitamin D deficiency are cancer, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Vitamin D 3 is present in fish and dairy products. Vegetarian diets are particularly deficient in Vitamin D.
• Mutant tomatoes
• The recommended intake of vitamin D is 15 microgram per day for children and 20 micro gram per day for elders. This can be given through supplements or a careful exposure to sunlight, but there are various caveats for the latter.
• It is in this context that the work of J. Li et al is significant. The authors of the paper, published in Nature Plants, tweaked a recently discovered pathway in tomato plants to produce cholesterol and a substance called steroidal glycoalkaloid (SGA for short) using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool. This inhibits the conversion of 7-DHC to cholesterol and instead the former accumulates in the leaves, green and ripe fruits.
• Usually, in untreated tomato plants, 7-DHC is present in leaves and to a lower extent in green fruit, but not in ripe fruit — which is the most consumed of the lot. The researchers showed that in their modified plants, the suppression of the activity of a particular gene, “led to substantial increases of 7-DHC levels in leaves and green fruit,” and, according to the paper, while levels of 7-DHC were lower in ripe fruits of the mutant, they remained high enough that if converted to Vitamin D 3 by shining UVB light, the amount in one tomato would be equivalent to that in two eggs or 28 grams of tuna, both of which are recommended sources of vitamin D.
• In addition, the researchers report that the mutants showed a reduction in their leaves of a substance called alpha-tomatine, and they comment that this may even be beneficial because of alpha-tomatine’s reported toxicant or anti nutritional activity. Surprisingly, the cholesterol levels in both fruit and leaves of the mutants was higher that of the wild-type. This was despite having blocked the conversion of 7-DHC to cholesterol.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 24TH MAY 2022

Q1. Vitamin D deficiency in humans may cause one of the following?

1. Rickets
2. Osteoporosis
3. Dementia
4. Cancer

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

       a) 1 and 2 only

b) 1, 2 and 3 only

c) 1, 3 and 4 only

d) All of them

ANSWER FOR THE 23^RD MAY

Answer:D

Explanation:

• USA unveiled its trade initiative the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Tokyo on 23^rd Maty 2022.
• India is yet to take a decision on joining the trade partnership framework.

THE CONTEXT: Myanmar has recently witnessed the mass killing of people who were protesting against the military coup. Thousands of people were forced to flee Myanmar to save their lives from the Myanmarese Army, Junta. This has increased India’s concern about security because many times, along with the refugee and asylum seekers many miscreants enter our borders who may pose a security threat to India.  This issue has also increased the threat of scarcity of resources and a greater burden on the management of refugees in India.

ABOUT THE PRESENT CRISIS IN MYANMAR

• Myanmar has witnessed a Military coup leading to a forced regime change. It was orchestrated by Min Aung Hlang, the leader of the coup that has overthrown the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by Aung San Su Kyi.

WHO IS A REFUGEE?

• Article 1 of the 1951 United Nations Convention defines ‘refugee’ as “A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

CATEGORIES OF FOREIGNERS

• There are four well-defined groups of foreigners who are different from ‘refugees’. These categories are Temporary Residents, Tourists and Travellers, Illegal Economic Migrants, Criminals, Spies, Infiltrators, Militants, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

WHO CAN CLAIM A REFUGEE STATUS?

• Anyone can claim a refugee status provided that the claimant must provide evidence in support of the grounds of persecution or fear thereof resulting in flight from the country of origin.
• The documentation may be in the form of an identity card of employment with some governmental agency in the country of origin, or an identity card indicating membership in a particular group.

HOW IT TURNS INTO A REFUGEE CRISIS AND THREATS TO INDIA’S INTEREST

• The crackdown by the Junta on protesting people has led to the killing of a huge number of people in Myanmar.
• These people are now under the threat of life and they are facing an existential threat. So, to run out the risk of life, people have started entering bordering countries illegally.
• While law and order is a State subject under the Indian Constitution, international relations and international borders are under the exclusive purview of the Union government which is viewing it as a national security issue.
• Even though India has been the home for a large number and variety of refugees throughout the past, it has dealt with the issues on a bilateral basis.

PAST REFUGEE ISSUES INCLUDING ROHINGYA AND GOI RESPONSES SO FAR

• There have been multiple instances where India has faced issues related to illegal immigration. Although India has historically been upholding its ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ philosophy, the present level of the refugee crisis is unprecedented.
• The burden of refugees becomes double because of the double burden of the pathetic situation of job security for Indians and COVID-19 crisis.
• In the case of Myanmar, we witness that the authorities are trying to sign agreements with the different groups; India hopes that the Rohingya problem which is of a different nature will also be sorted out soon.

WHAT IS A REFUGEE POLICY AND WHY DOES INDIA NEED TO HAVE ONE?

• Refugee policy is a long-term policy statement that defines who can be considered a refugee and what rights should be available to them in India.
• Although India has given shelter to many people who were looking for refuge and political asylum, India does not have a dedicated comprehensive document on long term refugee policy.
• India currently follows the policy of strategic ambiguity. This policy allows India to be at a more advantageous position as it can decide the issue of refugee on a case-to-case basis by strategically deciding the case where we can allow refugees to be provided shelter in India and in which case we can restrict them from entering India.

GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS

• Globally, millions of people are forced to leave their homeland because of political persecution, environmental hazards, etc.
• Trends on all major indicators have since the late 1970s pointed towards an increasingly serious world refugee situation.
• For understanding the dynamics of the problem, the political and military activities of the refugees and the processes through which refugee situations are internationalized are also singled out for particular consideration.

INDIA AND UNHCR ON REFUGEES

• India is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national refugee protection framework. India continues to grant asylum to a large number of refugees from neighbouring States and respects UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.
• While the Government of India deals differently with various refugee groups, in general, it respects the principle of non-refoulement for holders of UNHCR documentation.
• Internationally, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees looks after the issue of the refugee crisis. However, this body works on a consultation and cooperation basis. It cannot in itself provide shelter to refugees. They need the support and cooperation of various state governments to take up refugees and provide them livelihood opportunities.

PROBLEMS FACED BY INDIA IN MANAGING REFUGEES

• The rise in the number of these refugees and asylum-seekers has not been accompanied by a commensurate increase in resources, compelling UNHCR to find innovative ways to meet both existing and emerging protection needs.
• Refugees and asylum-seekers often live in poverty, dispersed in urban areas, where they can face violence and exploitation.

OPTIONS FOR INDIA

1. Show generosity by accomodating those Myanmarese who entered into India for shelter and livelihood as Refugees in India –

• India with its history, culture, and traditions, is today an example of generosity in the way it has opened its borders to all people who have come looking for safety and sanctuary.

Merits:

• This option will showcase that India understands the issue of the humanitarian needs of the persecuted people of Myanmar.
• It will uphold the age-old principle of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ which India has been adhering to from time immemorial.

Demerits:

• It will increase the burden of resources on India and at the same time, it will increase the risk of threat to security for India.

This option should be exercised because India will be able to save innocent lives who are in need of shelter and food. If a proper check is maintained in the bordering areas, the issue of security threats can be reduced to a greater extent.

2. Send back the illegal entrants to their country of origin –

• India can send back the illegal Myanmarese entrants to their country of origin by expelling them from the borders.

Merits: 

• This option will reduce the burden of illegal immigrants in India.
• India will not face the issue of threat to security and resources because of refugees.

Demerits:

• It will be against the international norm of the ‘principle of non-refoulment’.
• This option shows India as a state that does not have empathy towards those people who are in need of support and generosity from the Indian Government.
• It will invite criticism from Human Rights Watch groups, United Nations Organisation, other countries as well as Indians.

So, India should not allow such an action that shows India as a state with an apathetic approach.

Hence, India should provide temporary shelter to illegal immigrants till the present crisis is reduced and meanwhile it can formulate a long-term refugee policy. This is the middle path for India. It allows time for India to draw a proper policy document while managing the present refugee crisis in the best possible manner.

WAY FORWARD

• The governments of the country of origin need to do more to create conditions for people to feel comfortable about considering the possibility of returning.
• India should have a framework for long-term refugee policy that can take care of the issues related to refugees and asylum seekers in India.
• India can also think of accomodating the refugees of Myanmar by amending its Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 to encompass minorities from Myanmar into the citizenship provisions.
• Considering the nature of globalisation and the interconnected world, India can look forward to signing the UN Refugee Convention, 1951.

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