THE HEALTH ISSUES

1. EXPLAINED: WHAT ARE NAIROBI FLIES, WHICH ARE CAUSING DISEASE IN SIKKIM?

THE CONTEXT: According to the state health officials, around 100 students of an engineering college in East Sikkim have reported skin infections after coming in contact with Nairobi flies.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are Nairobi flies?

• Nairobi flies, also called Kenyan flies or dragon bugs, are small, beetle-like insects that belong to two species, Paederuseximius and Paederussabaeus. They are orange and black in colour, and thrive in areas with high rainfall, as has been witnessed in Sikkim in the past few weeks.
• Like most insects, the beetles are attracted by bright light.

How are humans affected by them?

• Usually, the insects attack pests that consume crops and are beneficial for humans — but at times, they come in contact with humans directly are cause harm. Health officials say these flies do not bite, but if disturbed while sitting on anyone’s skin, they release a potent acidic substance that causes burns.
• This substance is called pederin, and can cause irritation if it comes in contact with the skin, leading to lesions or unusual marks or colouring on the skin. The skin begins to heal in a week or two, but some secondary infections can occur, especially if the victim scratches the irritated skin.

Have there been outbreaks of the disease?

• Major outbreaks have happened in Kenya and other parts of eastern Africa. In 1998, unusually heavy rain caused a large number of insects to come into the region, reported the Associated Press.
• Outside Africa, outbreaks have happened in India, Japan, Israel, and Paraguay in the past.

What is the way to protect oneself against Nairobi flies?

• Sleeping under mosquito nets can help. If a fly lands on a person, it should be gently brushed off, and should not be disturbed or touched to reduce the chances of it releasing pederin.

THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

2. EXPLAINED: WHAT ARE CRITICAL MINERALS, THE CENTERPIECE OF A NEW INDIA-AUSTRALIA COLLABORATION?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, India and Australia decided to strengthen their partnership in the field of projects and supply chains for critical minerals.

THE EXPLANATION:

As part of his six-day tour of Australia, Union Coal and Mines Minister met his counterpart, Resources and Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King, after which Australia confirmed that it would “commit A$5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership”.

“Australia has the resources to help India fulfil its ambitions to lower emissions and meet growing demand for critical minerals to help India’s space and defence industries, and the manufacture of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles.

What are critical minerals?

• Critical minerals are elements that are the building blocks of essential modern-day technologies and are at risk of supply chain disruptions.
• These minerals are now used everywhere from making mobile phones, computers to batteries, electric vehicles and green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines. Based on their individual needs and strategic considerations, different countries create their own lists.
• However, such lists mostly include graphite, lithium and cobalt, which are used for making EV batteries; rare earths that are used for making magnets and silicon which is a key mineral for making computer chips and solar panels. Aerospace, communications and defence industries also rely on several such minerals as they are used in manufacturing fighter jets, drones, radio sets and other critical equipment.

Why is this resource critical?

• As countries around the world scale up their transition towards clean energy and digital economy, these critical resources are key to the ecosystem that fuels this change. Any supply shock can severely imperil the economy and strategic autonomy of a country over-dependent on others to procure critical minerals.
• But these supply risks exist due to rare availability, growing demand and complex processing value chain. Many times, the complex supply chain can be disrupted by hostile regimes, or due to politically unstable regions.

What is the China ‘threat’?

• According to the 2019 USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries report, China is the world’s largest producer of 16 critical minerals.
• China, according to a report on the role of critical minerals by the International Energy Agency, is “responsible for some 70% and 60% of global production of cobalt and rare earth elements, respectively, in 2019. The level of concentration is even higher for processing operations, where China has a strong presence across the board. China’s share of refining is around 35% for nickel, 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, and nearly 90% for rare earth elements.”
• It also controls cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from where 70% of this mineral is sourced.

VALUE ADDITION:

India and Australia co-operate in various multilateral forums:

• Australia supports India’s candidature in an expanded UN Security Council.
• Both India and Australia are members of the G-20, Commonwealth, IOR-ARC, ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development, and have participated in the East Asia Summits.
• Both countries have also been cooperating as members of the Five Interested Parties (FIP) in the WTO context.
• Australia is an important player in APEC and supports India’s membership in the organization.
• In 2008, Australia became an Observer in SAARC.

India-Australia Defence cooperation

• IFC-IOR: The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.
• Strategic Dialogue:In June 2020, Australia and India decided to upgrade their Secretaries 2+2 dialogue (Defence and Foreign Affairs) to the Ministerial level.
• Exercise Malabar: Australia participated in the MALABAR naval exercise in October 2020, joining India, the United States, and Japan.
• AUSINDEX: Engagement between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy has advanced significantly through the key bilateral exercise, AUSINDEX.
• Pitch Black: For the first time, the Indian Air Force participated in Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin in 2018.

3. THE STATUS OF CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE IN SOUTH ASIA

THE CONTEXT:Recently concluded summit of G-7 leaders in Germany, U.S. President and his allies unveiled their $600 billion plan called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Intelligence which is being seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

THE EXPLANATION:

What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia, expressed his vision to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, to break the “bottleneck” in Asian connectivity. This vision led to the birth of the BRI.

The initiative envisioned a Chinese-led investment of over $1 trillion in partner countries by 2025. More than 60 countries have now joined BRI agreements with China, with infrastructure projects under the initiative being planned or under construction in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

To finance BRI projects, China offers huge loans at commercial interest rates that countries have to pay within a fixed number of years. The west has accused China of debt-trapping by extending “predatory loans” that force countries to cede key assets to China.

However, research indicates that low and middle-income countries are often the ones to approach China after not being able to secure loans from elsewhere.

In recent years, the BRI seems to have experienced a slowing down as annual Chinese lending to countries under the initiative slimmed from its peak of $125 billion in 2015 to around $50 to 55 billion in 2021.

What have been the BRI’s investments in Pakistan?

• On his 2015 visit to Pakistan, Mr. Xi and then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif unveiled the BRI’s flagship project and its biggest one in a single country — the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Over time, China pledged $62 billion in low-interest loans and financing from Chinese state-owned banks and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), up from an initial $46 billion pledge. The CPEC envisioned multiple projects involving energy, transport and communication systems.
• At the centre of the CPEC was the $700 million development of the city of Gwadar into a smart port city that would become the “Singapore of Pakistan”. Gwadar is strategically important as it is an hour’s drive from Iran and less than 320 km from Oman. According to the master plan for Gwadar’s development under BRI, approved in 2020, it would increase the city’s GDP to $30 billion by 2050 and create over a million jobs. However, multiple reports have shown that shipping activities at the Gwadar Port is almost negligible so far, with only some trade to Afghanistan.

What about Sri Lanka?

• In Sri Lanka, multiple infrastructure projects that were being financed by China came under the fold of the BRI after it was launched in 2013.
• The island nation in the last couple of years has witnessed competition between India and China in port terminal and energy projects. In 2021, Colombo ejected India and Japan out of a deal to develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo port and got China to take up the project. It then awarded the project for the Western Side of the Terminal to the Adani Group.

Are there projects in Afghanistan?

• Afghanistan has not comprehensively been brought into the BRI, despite a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) being signed with China in 2016. China had promised investments worth $100 million in Afghanistan which is small in comparison to what it shelled out in other South Asian countries. The projects have not materialised so far and uncertainties have deepened after the Taliban takeover last year (2022).

How have projects from India and China progressed in Maldives?

• Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Maldives comprises two hundred islands, and both India and China have strategic interests there. One of the most prominent BRI projects undertaken in the Maldives is the two km long China-Maldives Friendship Bridge — a $200 million four lane bridge.
• Most of China’s investment in the Maldives happened under former President Abdullah Yameen, seen as pro-China. Over the years, opposition protests grew against the large borrowing from China and Mr. Yameen was defeated in 2018. The Maldives’ current regime of President Ibrahim Solih has tried to distance itself from the BRI, focusing more on its ‘India First’ policy. India has also in recent years sought greater ties with the Maldives under ruling Prime Minister ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.

What about Bangladesh?

• Bangladesh, which joined the BRI in 2016, has been promised the second-highest investment (about $40 billion) in South Asia after Pakistan. Multiple studies, including research by the Council on Foreign Relations, show that Bangladesh has been able to benefit from the BRI while maintaining diplomatic and strategic ties with both India and China.
• It has managed to not upset India by getting India to build infrastructure projects similar to BRI in the country. In 2016, when the Chinese government promised Dhaka BRI investment worth around $40 billion, India followed up in 2017 by extending a $5 billion line of credit and economic assistance.
• BRI projects include China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridges, special economic zones, the $689.35 million-Karnaphuli River tunnel project, upgradation of the Chittagong port, and a rail line between the port and China’s Yunnan province. However, multiple projects have been delayed owing to the slow release of funds by China.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. THE THREE NEW ‘EXOTIC’ SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES DISCOVERED AT CERN

THE CONTEXT:The Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment — which is investigating the slight differences between matter and antimatter by studying a type of particle called the “beauty quark”, or “b quark” has observed three never-before-seen particles.

THE EXPLANATION:

Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment

• The Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment specializes in investigating the slight differences between matter and antimatter.
• Instead of surrounding the entire collision point with an enclosed detector as do ATLAS and CMS, the LHCb experiment uses a series of subdetectors to detect mainly forward particles those thrown forwards by the collision in one direction.
• The first subdetector is mounted close to the collision point, with the others following one behind the other over a length of 20 metres.
• The LHCb experiment is situated at one of the four points around CERN’s Large Hadron Collider where beams of protons are smashed together, producing an array of different particles.

How does it work?

• The aim of the LHCb experiment is to record the decay of particles containing b and anti-b quarks, collectively known as ‘B mesons’.
• Rather than flying out in all directions, B mesons formed by the colliding proton beams (and the particles they decay into) stay close to the line of the beam pipe, and this is reflected in the design of the detector.

New Finding:

• The three “exotic” additions, a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks”, to the growing list of new hadrons found at the LHC will help physicists better understand how quarks bind together into these composite particles.
• The first kind was observed in an analysis of “decays” of negatively charged B mesons.
• It is a pentaquark made up of a charm quark and a charm antiquark, and an up, a down, and a strange quark.
• It is the first pentaquark found to contain a strange quark.
• The second kind is a doubly electrically charged tetraquark.
• It is an open-charm tetraquark composed of a charm quark, a strange antiquark, and an up quark and a down antiquark.
• It was spotted together with its neutral counterpart in a joint analysis of decays of positively charged and neutral B mesons.

What are quarks?

• Quarks are elementary particles that come in six “flavours”: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.
• They usually combine in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons such as the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei.
• But they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles, called tetraquarks and pentaquarks.
• These exotic hadrons were predicted by theorists about six decades ago, around the same time as conventional hadrons but they have been observed by LHCb and other experiments only in the past 20 years.

VALUE ADDITION:

About CERN:

• CERN began in the 1950s as the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
• Today it is also known as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics.
• It is one of the world’s most prestigious research centres.
• Its business is fundamental physics—finding out what makes our Universe work, where it came from and where it is going.
• At CERN, some of the world’s biggest and most complex machines are used to study nature’s tiniest building blocks, the fundamental particles.
• By colliding these minute particles of matter physicists unravel the basic laws of nature.
• The organisation is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory, where scientists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the Universe using the most sophisticated scientific instruments and advanced computing systems.
• Presently CERN has 22 member states, four associate member states, and the observer status is given to four states and three International Organisations.
• India is an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

5. WHAT IS THE FIELDS MEDAL, SO-CALLED ‘MATHEMATICS NOBEL’ AWARDED TO UKRAINIAN PROFESSOR AND THREE OTHERS?

THE CONTEXT:Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska, chair of Number Theory at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, was named as one of four recipients of the 2022 Fields Medal, an honour that is often described the Nobel Prize in mathematics.

 THE EXPLANATION:

• The Fields Medal is awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organisation that aims to promote international cooperation in mathematics.
• The IMU recognised Viazovska’s work on the sphere-packing problem in 8 and 24 dimensions, EPFL said in an announcement. Previously, the problem had been solved for only three dimensions or fewer.
• Viazovska, 37, is only the second female Fields Medalist, after the Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014.

Fields Medal

• The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to one or more mathematicians under the age of 40 in recognition of “outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement”.
• The winners are announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which was supposed to be held in Russia this year but was moved to Helsinki.
• The honour carries a physical medal of 14K gold, 63.5 mm in diameter and weighing 169 g, and with a unit price of approximately 5,500 Canadian dollars, according to the IMU website. There is also a cash award of CAD 15,000.

Indian-origin winners

• Among the more than 60 mathematicians who have been awarded the Fields Medal since 1936, there are two of Indian origin — Akshay Venkatesh of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, who won in 2018, the last time the honour was announced, and Manjul Bhargava of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University, in 2014.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q.The term “Pederin” recently seen in the news, related to

a) A substance released by insects which cause irritation.

b) A Critical mineral recently found in Australia, which helps in the production of Lithium.

c) A new dwarf planet discovered by James Web telescope.

d) A chemical substance found in toiletries which causes cancer.

ANSWER FOR 5^TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: A

EXPLANATION:

• Alluri Sitarama Raju led the militant movement of tribal peasants in Andhra Pradesh.

1. As students gear up for university, the devil is in the NEP’s details READ MORE
2. Rule of law, anyone? READ MORE
3. Social media, content moderation and free speech: A tussle READ MORE

1. Unity and diversity: Our obsession with diversity misses the point READ MORE
2. Rule of law, anyone? READ MORE

1. Greening better: NGT is a vital cog in environment regulation but it needs a performance review & better staffing READ MORE
2. A call to protect the Western Ghats READ MORE
3. Heavy rainfall due to climate change increasing landslides, say experts READ MORE

1. 5 ways in which we can experience constant contentment READ MORE
2. SEEKING NEUTRALITY, AND DETACHMENT IN THE WORLD READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Restoring Banni grasslands, Gujarat battles invasive tree species READ MORE
2. Odisha tops first-ever NFSA state ranking index READ MORE
3. Increase paddy sowing, Centre asks States READ MORE
4. Ukrainian mathematician becomes the second woman to win Fields Medal READ MORE
5. PMI: Service activity touches an 11-year high of 58.9 in May on strong demand READ MORE
6. India still among countries with poor access to banking: Report READ MORE
7. Direct-seeded rice: Why this water-saving method failed in Punjab this year READ MORE
8. DoT warns e-commerce companies on the illegal sale of wireless jammers READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. Unity and diversity: Our obsession with diversity misses the point READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. As students gear up for university, the devil is in the NEP’s details READ MORE
2. Rule of law, anyone? READ MORE
3. Social media, content moderation and free speech: A tussle READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. The way to control tuberculosis READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Explained | What is the status of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in South Asia? READ MORE
2. CARs of foreign policy: Uzbekistan’s troubles are a reminder of Central Asian Republics’ importance to India READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. A matter of import: Spectre of wider trade and current account deficits is dragging the rupee down READ MORE
2. India must be the new champion of globalization READ MORE
3. Reverse migration could hurt the urban economy READ MORE
4. A regulatory framework for digital assets in India READ MORE
5. GST has to resolve anomalies in tax structure READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Greening better: NGT is a vital cog in environment regulation but it needs a performance review & better staffing READ MORE
2. A call to protect the Western Ghats READ MORE
3. Heavy rainfall due to climate change increasing landslides, say experts READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Road safety: Himachal must adopt a targeted programme READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. 5 ways in which we can experience constant contentment READ MORE
2. SEEKING NEUTRALITY, AND DETACHMENT IN THE WORLD READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Critically examine the recent steps taken by the government of India to improve higher education in India. Do you think these steps are able to fill the gap in India’s higher education system? Substantiate your view.
2. Critically analyse the impacts of reverse migration, as seen during the recent pandemic, on the Rural as well as the Urban economy.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The way to have power is to take it.
• Policymakers ought to recognise the country’s untapped potential and work towards dismantling the many hurdles.
• The Supreme Court’s directives on handcuffing must be observed, but issues that affect police reform cannot be ignored.
• All nations have diversity. It is only by overcoming narrow identities that they flourish.
• A confluence of factors has made space for us to help reshape global trade and supply-chain arrangements to our advantage.
• The recent PLFS data reveals the extent of Covid-induced urban exodus, as well as rising labour participation in rural India.
• Delays in finalising the notification to earmark eco-sensitive areas can prove to be quite costly.
• Meditation helps look at a problem or dispute from a neutral perspective, facilitating a balanced and unbiased decision and choices. In order for things to flow or move smoothly even speed needs to be controlled and brought to a neutral point.
• The rule of law is a good thing to have, but it must ultimately be backed by groups and communities working out their own arrangements for peace and respect for the law based on reciprocity and give and take.
• With increasing online misinformation, fake news and hate speech, content moderation has flummoxed social media intermediaries and regulators alike.
• Any reforms to bring in platform accountability and prevent harmful speech, would require research identifying what should online spaces look like, who are its beneficiaries, what hinders achieving the ideals and how a policy change could overcome it.

50 WORD TALK

• In the rush to regulate social media while assuming the platforms are working against the Constitution, the Proposed Amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 do not assess the already existing mechanisms of these platforms that may be reconciled with the Rules and codified accordingly.

Things to Remember:

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

[WpProQuiz 268]

THE CONTEXT:In 2022, India has renewed its interest in free trade agreements (FTAs) with several economies, including the UAE, the United Kingdom and Australia. Several negotiations are going on with other countries. This shows a renewed focus on FTAs by India that was stalled for years. However, there is a view that a dichotomy exists between the FTA push and the actual trade policy of India, leading to poor implementations and outcomes of FTAs. This article examines this debate in detail.

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT INDIAN FTAs

FTA SCEPTICISM

• During the period from 2004 to 2011, India has signed, ratified, and enforced 11 preferential and free trade agreements, but it has not signed even a single trade agreement after that till 2022.

FTA MOMENTUM

• So far, India has signed 13 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners, including the 3 agreements signed in 2022, namely:

• • • India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA),
    • India-UAE Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
    • India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAusECTA).

ONGOING FTA NEGOTIATIONS

• • India is also aiming to reach out to the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Israel, and the Eurasian Economic Union to negotiate similar trade agreements.
  • India is also scheduled to complete trade agreements with Israel and the United Kingdom by the end of 2022.
  • The Indian government is renegotiating existing free trade agreements with the ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea to resolve provisions linked to anomalies and asymmetries that have contributed to the country’s persistent trade deficit.

RATIONALE FOR NEWFOUND FTA MOMENTUM

CHANGING NATURE OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN VIS A VIS CHINA

• Developed countries, including the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Europe, Australia, and Canada, are addressing supply-chain vulnerabilities and seeking strategies to lessen their reliance on China.
• This opens the door for India to establish itself as a viable alternative supplier of commodities and profit from this trend.
• This necessitates a greater economic and trade interaction with these established economies through bilateral and multilateral trade agreements in order to offer business possibilities for Indian companies.

ECONOMIC AND STRATEGIC STANDPOINT

• India is not a member of either the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• There are also concerns about market access being eroded as a result of the cumulative impact of mega-trade agreements.
• The propensity to redirect value chains’ geography can displace Indian enterprises from established production networks.

BUYONT EXPORTS AND GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN DISRUPTIONS

• The country’s strong export performance moulds India’s increased interest in FTAs in 2021.
• A rapid increase in India’s exports has prompted authorities to believe that the country requires free trade agreements to maintain its current export pace.
• Furthermore, the global supply chain disruption caused by the Ukraine–Russia war, as well as the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, have opened up new export prospects for India in specialized industries such as agriculture and textiles.

 DICHOTOMY BETWEEN FTAs AND TRADE POLICY

• An FTA’s foundation is an open and liberal trade policy, with FTA parties being able to reciprocate market access. This boosts bilateral trade and investment flows while also fostering stronger economic and strategic ties. For this reciprocal relationship to work, greater coherence between FTA strategy and trade policy is required. India’s newfound excitement for free trade agreements appears to be at odds with the country’s trade policy under the Self-Reliant India project, which is based on “vocal for local,” favouring domestically made items above imported ones. This is because of the tariff policy regime, the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules (CAROTAR), 2020 for regulating imports under FTAs, and greater importance to geo-strategic interest vis-à-vis trade. Let us examine these in some detail.

TARIFF POLICY REGIME

• India has the highest average tariff of 15% in the Asia–Pacific region.
• According to the World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff profile, average import tariffs have climbed from 13.5 per cent in 2016 to 15 per cent in 2020.
• The Government of India has imposed import licencing requirements as well as a blanket ban on several products.
• Import restrictions on light-emitting diode (LED)/television and 101 defence products have been imposed.
• Aside from import tariffs, the Government of India has implemented a number of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), such as quality control orders and an import monitoring system (for example, a steel import monitoring system).

RULES OF ORIGIN

• The main objective of these rules is to restrict the potential misuse of preferential tariffs by third countries under India’s trade agreements.
•  The introduction of CAROTAR is primarily aimed to regulate the entry of third-country goods through its FTA partners.
• Under these rules, the customs officers can grant or deny the benefits of preferential tariffs to the importers if they have reason to believe that the import violates rules of origin requirements.
• Customs officers’ whims and fancies could impact the outcome, negating the potential benefits of preferential tariffs under an already negotiated and mutually approved FTA.
• Furthermore, over-reliance on customs officers’ judgement capacity may lead to a rise in rent-seeking among bureaucrats, undermining the importance of existing and future free trade agreements.
• Also, the failure to obtain the required information, which is quite cumbersome and exhaustive for compliance with RoR, may deprive the importing firm of availing of the preferential benefits, thus increasing the cost of imported products.
• It effectively undermines the market access of FTA partners negotiated under a trade agreement, thereby making its exports uncompetitive.

GEO-STRATEGIC INTERESTS

• India’s bilateral trade pacts with the UAE and Australia have strong geo-strategic and geopolitical elements, given the fact that both FTA partners are members of the two Quadrilateral Security Dialogues (QUAD).
• But, the depth and breadth of these two agreements, in terms of coverage and substantive provisions, are more or less in line with ­India’s trade agreements with Japan and South Korea.
• The AI-ECTA is an ­interim agreement and far away from its original ambition of a CEPA, which will include important areas of negotiations such as digital trade, agriculture, government procurement, etc.
• The AI-ECTA requires the ratification of the Australian Parliament, which was recently dissolved and this means that even the interim arrangement is not enforceable.
• Thus, it is held that these trade agreements, especially the one with Australia, have more strategic undertones than trade per se.(Both the countries have a raging conflictual relationship with China).

DEFENDING THE DICHOTOMY-IMPERATIVE OF DOMESTIC CHALLENGES

It is true that there seems to be a dichotomy in the approach to FTAs and India’s trade policy. But this must be seen in the context of India’s domestic environment and the challenges it poses. For instance, the Bharatiya Kisan Union, India’s largest farmers’ organization, has already threatened to resist the proposed FTA with Australia. Protests like these were one of the primary domestic roadblocks to India’s participation in the RCEP. Automobile makers and wine producers in India want to fight the FTAs with Australia and the United Kingdom aggressively. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch shares similar goals. The RSS has repeatedly warned the government about the negative effects of free trade agreements and advised it to avoid any such agreements. The agricultural sector will resist an FTA with Australia, while the manufacturing sector will spearhead protests against the UK–India FTA. On a strategic front, trade relations are one component of the larger strategic framework and many times such agreements are able to send out geopolitical messages to the relevant countries. And the concept of ” Early Harvest Deals” helps to achieve strategic goals along with trade, although it may be in a relatively sub-optimal way.

THE WAY FORWARD

FAST TRACK THE NEW FOREIGN TRADE POLICY

• The announcement of India’s foreign trade policy (FTP) has been lingering on for almost two years. The existing one has been kept extended by the Ministry, which was meant for 2015-2020.
• It is one of the most important policy documents that sets the long-term direction for exports and provides clarity regarding various policies and incentives to the Indian trade community.
• Thus, India needs to fast-track the announcement of a new FTP.

REVISITING THE CAROTAR RULES

• These rules either need to be amended or withdrawn to make sure that India’s trade policy is in consonance with its external trade engagement.
•  Otherwise, the lack of synergy between trade policy and FTA strategy not only weakens India’s negotiating capacity but also undermines the potential economic benefits of free trade

COMPREHENSIVE TRADE PACTS

• ­India’s trade pacts with the western and eastern QUAD members (the UAE and Australia) are driven by geostrategic int­erest rather than trade.
• India’s trade pacts with the UAE in general, and Australia in particular, are not comprehensive in terms of their coverage, scope, and depth.
• This is not a promising proposition and hence requires significant changes in approach to FTAs in the context of strategic objectives.

CONSENSUS BUILDING ON FTAs

• Domestic challenges need to be overcome through wide-ranging building consensus by holding stakeholder consultations in a meaningful manner.

THE CONCLUSION: Lockdowns devastated manufacturing factories and global supply systems as the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world. Companies began to consider relocation possibilities for their production sites, and economies began to recognize the value of integration. India was no different. This has set in motion a slew of signing of FTAs with various countries by India. However, it is necessary to address the issues that can undermine the potential of the FTAs, and free trade should not become a casualty under long-term strategic goals.

Questions to Ponder

1. How far do you agree with the view that there exists a dichotomy between India’s trade policy and its approach toward Free Trade Agreements? Explain.
2. The general structure of India’s tariff policy displays an inward focus and is incompatible with the country’s FTA strategy, which strives to improve reciprocal market access. Discuss
3. India’s recalibrated approach towards FTAs is full of ambivalence and reflects inconsistencies with its trade-policy stance under the Self-reliant India initiative that underpins the importance of domestically produced goods over imported ones. Comment.
4. ” India’s newly found momentum for concluding a series of FTAs has less to do with trade but has more to do with geo-strategic interests”. Critically Examine.