1. The injustice of exceptionalism: It is the exceptionalism in granting the release of 11 individuals that lies at the core of injustice in the Bilkis Bano case READ MORE
2. Pursue self-realisation, it pays rich dividends READ MORE
3. Work is worship READ MORE

1. How to promote information processing by students READ MORE  

1. The forest economy must be nurtured READ MORE
2. Cyclonic disturbance threatens crops, population in Odisha READ MORE

1. India needs a data regulator READ MORE
2. Only Inclusive Policies Can Strengthen the Nation READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Shortage of drugs forces HIV patients to carry on with stir READ MORE
2. Indian team deliberating on ocean diversity pact READ MORE
3. China gives tacit nod to Pakistan’s move to scrap CPEC Authority amid reports of rift over tardy progress, security READ MORE
4. India better placed on growth-inflation-external balance triangle: FinMin report READ MORE
5. India’s first indigenous monkeypox test kit launched READ MORE
6. India, Vietnam wrap up joint military exercise READ MORE
7. This State Is India’s 1st To Use Blockchain To Distribute Seed To Farmers READ MORE
8. Explained: Who was Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who partitioned Bengal in 1905? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. The forest economy must be nurtured READ MORE

 GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. India needs a data regulator READ MORE
2. Only Inclusive Policies Can Strengthen the Nation READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. How to promote information processing by students READ MORE  

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. EXTERNAL CHALLENGES GROW IN AMRIT KAAL READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. End this asymmetrical conflict over ‘freebies’: The judiciary’s move to study the issue could impact the economic freedom of States and the ‘Idea of India’ READ MORE
2. Reining in overreach: Setting higher requisites for arrests or summons under the GST law is welcome READ MORE
3. Selling public sector banks is no solution READ MORE
4. Only Inclusive Policies Can Strengthen the Nation READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Cyclonic disturbance threatens crops, population in Odisha READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. The injustice of exceptionalism: It is the exceptionalism in granting the release of 11 individuals that lies at the core of injustice in the Bilkis Bano case READ MORE
2. Pursue self-realisation, it pays rich dividends READ MORE
3. Work is worship READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India needs a stable system of civil services to bolster responsive public administration’. Comment on the statement in the light of recent tussle between center and states over the AIS.
2. ‘The AIS structure is unique to India and is too delicate to handle during a crisis. No public administration practitioner or scholar abroad can comprehend its nuances’. Analyse.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The words you speak reveal the heart you have.
• Doing away with the data protection authority will bring with it several challenges to privacy.
• The AIS structure is unique to India and is too delicate to handle during a crisis. No public administration practitioner or scholarabroad can comprehend its nuances.
• The India-U.S. maritime relationship remains a work in progress. There has doubtless been some movement ahead, but it is far from clear whether navy-to-navy ties are headed towards a wide-ranging and comprehensive partnership in the Indian Ocean littorals.
• Increasing privacy and security concerns coupled with economic interests have compelled governments to institute rules and standards that govern and restrict cross-border flows with natural implications for negotiations on global trade and commerce.
• Political economy of discom operations and intensifying populism on freebie-ism at the level of state governments will make reforms harder. A more rational, measured approach should be considered.
• Apart from the rising death toll, crop and infrastructure damage has risen over the years.
• The fundamental issue lies in the word freebie, which has no clear definition, making it susceptible to misuse and selective targeting of welfare measures.
• A well-known environmentalist and lawyer says a national movement led by citizens can hold those who allow illegal mining and unplanned construction to account.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.

50 WORD TALK

• CBI raid on Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has a weary sense of predictability. So predictable – merits of the case notwithstanding – that it risks damaging whatever credibility the Modi Government might still have with its agencies-led excursions. Its track record almost entirely is creating headlines, not proving anybody guilty.

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 main 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 HEALTH ISSUES

1. INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS MONKEYPOX TEST KIT

THE CONTEXT: The Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone recently launched the first indigenously manufactured RT-PCR kit for testing monkeypox. With the help of this kit, infection can be detected quickly.

THE EXPLANATION:
Infection will be easily detected 

If we talk about the merits of this kit, then TransAsia-Erba Monkeypox RT-PCR Kit is highly sensitive. Its accuracy is very good, with the help of which people will be very comfortable in use with investigation.

First Case of Monkey Pox in India

• On July 14, the Kollam district of Kerala announced the country’s first case of monkeypox. According to the World Health Organization Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, or a virus that spreads from animals to humans. It has symptoms resembling those of smallpox but is clinically less serious.
• It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesions, and indirect contact with lesion material such as through contaminated clothing or linen of an infected person.
• India so far has reported ten cases of monkeypox.

ICMR may do Sero Survey

• Recently the Indian Council of Medical Research had said that it can conduct a sero-survey to check antibodies among the contacts of patients with monkeypox. Apart from this, it will also be investigated how many of those patients were asymptomatic. Significantly, monkeypox usually manifests with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.
• The disease is usually accompanied by symptoms lasting two to four weeks. The ‘Guidelines on the Management of Monkeypox Disease’ issued by the Center states that human-to-human transmission occurs through respiratory droplets.

VALUE ADDITION:

About Monkeypox:

• Monkeypox is an ongoing outbreak. First case of the viral disease was reported in May 2022 in the United Kingdom. First case was reported in individual with travel links to Nigeria. Monkeypox disease is endemic to Nigeria. For the first time, this disease is being reported outside Central and West Africa. It was declared a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, 2022.
• Monkeypox cases have been reported in over 80 countries. Considering this, the WHO has declared it as a global health emergency. The confirmed cases have reached over 32,000. In Delhi, 5 monkeypox cases have been reported.

Symptoms of monkeypox:

Monkeypox is a viral infection, that displays week or two after exposure with the virus. Common symptoms include fever, followed by rash with lesions. The lesions last for 2–4 weeks before falling off.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

2. RAT HOLE MINING IN MEGHALAYA

THE CONTEXT:  Recently an accident at an illegal coal mining in Meghalaya killed one person and left battling for his life.

About Rat Hole Mining

• It is a primitive and hazardous method of mining for coal, with tunnels that are only 3-4 feet in diameter (hence, rat-hole), leading to pits ranging from 5-100 sq. mt deep.
• It involves digging of very small tunnels in which workers, more often children, enter and extract coal.
• Although the coal is of bad quality, people see it as a treasure chest.
• In backward regions, where there is the loss of livelihood, lack of employment opportunities and under-education, people see rat-hole mines as an opportunity to earn daily bread.
• A major portion of these employees are children, who are preferred because of their thin body shape and ease to access depths.

Despite a ban

The National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014 on a petition that said acidic discharge from the mines was polluting the Kopili River. But the practice continues unabated.

Threats of such mining

• Water from rivers and streams in the mining area has become unfit for drinking and irrigation and is toxic to plants and animals.
• Layers of rock above the coal removed during mining contain traces of iron, manganese and aluminium that get dissolved from mining sites through the acid run-off or are washed into streams as sediment.
• There are several mishaps where workers get trapped to death due to the sudden collapse of such mines.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. ‘KRISHNA KUNJ’, A PLANTATION DRIVE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Chhattisgarh Chief minister launched ‘Krishna Kunj’, a plantation drive aimed at creating urban forests comprising “culturally significant and other useful trees”.

THE EXPLANATION:

• “Krishna Kunj is a step to promote eco-friendly environment in state and trees like peepal, banyan, kadamb, carrying mythological and cultural importance are being planted at 162 urban locations in state on Janmashtami festival”.
• The environment-friendly initiative is aimed at increasing the green cover of the state and imparting awareness about the importance of trees to the coming generations. The chief minister said that the rapid felling of trees in urban areas in the name of development has created a huge environmental problem.

Aim of the Initiative:

• In a bid to motivate people to plant trees and to save our cultural heritage, “ Krishna Kunj” is being developed in the state. These trees are disappearing due to urbanisation in the last few years, leading to the indiscriminate felling of trees. The initiative  of “Krishna Kunj” is being undertaken to aware the forthcoming generations about the importance these trees.

Chhattisgarh Forest Cover: The recorded forest area in the State is 59,772km², which is 44.21% of the geographical area. Reserved, Protected and Unclassed Forests constitute 43.13%, 40.21% and 16.65% of the total forest area respectively.

VALUE ADDITION:

• The Nagar Van (Urban Forests) aims to develop 200 Urban Forests across the country in the next five years.
• Warje Urban Forest in Pune (Maharashtra) will be considered as a role model for the Scheme.
• The Scheme enforces people’s participation and collaboration between the Forest Department, Municipal bodies, NGOs, Corporates and local citizens.
• These urban forests will primarily be on the existing forest land in the City or any other vacant land offered by local urban local bodies.

4. INDIAN TEAM DELIBERATING ON OCEAN DIVERSITY PACT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a delegation from India and other member countries of the United Nations are in New York to deliberate on a one-of-its-kind agreement to conserve marine biodiversity in the high seas, namely the oceans that extend beyond countries’ territorial waters.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The agreement follows a resolution by the UN General Assembly in May 2022 and is expected to be the final in a series set in motion since 2018 to draft an international legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The high seas comprise nearly 45% of the Earth’s surface.
• According to the sources, a key aspect of the agreement is deciding on the rights of companies that undertake exploration for biological resources in the high seas: do companies have absolute rights on any discovery or extraction in these regions or should they share their gains, in terms of intellectual property and royalties with a UN-prescribed body.
• Typically, the focus of mining activity in the sea has been for gas hydrates, precious metals and other fossil fuel resources. However with advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering, several companies see potential in exotic microbes and other organisms – several of them undiscovered – that abide in the deep ocean and could be used for drugs, vaccine and a variety of commercial applications.
• In June 2021, the Union Cabinet approved a ‘Blue Economy’ policy for India, a nearly ₹4,000-crore programme spread over five years, that among other things will develop a manned submersible vessel as well as work on “bio-prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes”. Studies on sustainable utilisation of deep sea bio-resources will be the main focus. Also, officials noted that there were already companies carrying out such exploratory activities though little was known about them. “Hence an international agreement that spells out obligations and permissible activities is important”.

VALUE ADDITION:

About UNCLOS:

• Adopted and signed in 1982. It became effective in the year 1994.
• It replaced the four Geneva Conventions of April, 1958, which respectively concerned the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the high seas, fishing and conservation of living resources on the high seas.
• The Convention has become the legal framework for marine and maritime activities.
• Also known as Law of the Sea, it divides marine areas into five main zones namely- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
• UNCLOS is the only international convention which stipulates a framework for state jurisdiction in maritime spaces. It provides a different legal status to different maritime zones.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

5. IAF PARTICIPATION IN EXERCISE PITCH BLACK 2022 AT DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

THE CONTEXT: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will join 16 other nations, including Quad partner countries for Exercise Pitch Black, the biennial exercise hosted by the Australian Air Force.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The warfare exercise takes place once every two years and is hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
• The aim of this exercise is to practice Offensive Counter Air (OCA)and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat. The exercise takes place in a simulated war environment.
• The first Pitch Black exercise took place on June 15-16 1981 between the RAAF units.

Australia India Defence Relationship:

• Building on a long history of cooperation – including our shared experience in the trenches of World War I in Gallipoli and along the Western Front – Australia and India have a positive defence relationship, underpinned by the 2006 Memorandum on Defence Cooperation and the 2009 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation.
• The Australia–India defence relationship now encompasses almost every major function of the military: strategic dialogues, coordination, and information exchanges; military exercises involving ground, air and maritime forces.

Strategic Dialogue:

• In June 2020, Australia and India decided to upgrade their Secretaries 2+2 dialogue(Defence and Foreign Affairs) to the Ministerial level.

AUSINDEX:

• Australia and India are committed to working together to enhance maritime cooperation and have had AUSINDEX since 2015.

Shared Military Platform:

• India and Australia both border the Indian Ocean and have a shared interest in the maintenance of freedom of navigation and trade.
• Australia recognises India’s critical role in supporting security, stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region.

IFC-IOR:

• The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram is an Indian initiative to boost maritime security and response through the exchange of information related to the ships in the Indian Ocean Region. Both countries are working together on this.

Civil Nuclear Cooperation:

• A Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed in September 2014which came into force in November 2015.
• The deal ensures that Uranium mining companies of Australia can supply uranium to India for civil use.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

6. WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY

THE CONTEXT: World Humanitarian Day was observed on August 19, 2021. Every year, WHD is celebrated under a specific theme. According to the United Nations, the theme for this year is ”to show the importance, effectiveness, and positive impact of humanitarian work”.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This day focuses on boosting up the global action in order to combat climate change and stand in solidarity with the vulnerable populations.

• On the occasion, the United Nations has urged the people, especially social media users, to mark the day by showing their solidarity for vulnerable populations.
• UN urged social media user to run, ride, swim, walk and do any activity of their choice for 100 minutes in between August 16 to August 31.
• UN further asked the users to tell the leaders across world that they expect developed countries to deliver on their pledge of $100 billion in order to do climate mitigation and adaptation across developing countries.

About World Humanitarian Day

It is an international day which is observed to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who lost their lives while working for humanitarian causes. United Nations General Assembly designated this day as part of a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 that seeks to Strengthen the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations. Every year, the day is observed on August 19. August 19 is the day on which Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello and his 21 colleagues were killed in a bombing event at UN Headquarters in Baghdad.

Significance of the day

The day is observed to honour all those who chose a difficult life to serve, despite the odds and those who are trapped in challenging circumstances worldwide. It pays tribute to humanitarian workers who were killed and injured. On the day, all aid and health workers are honoured who continue to provide life-saving support and protection to needy people.

THE CONTEXT: Earth has significant treasures(minerals) engulfed in its frame. These treasures have been driving mankind in the form of energy. The more energy resources, the better you are placed in the geopolitical hierarchy. No wonder, energy and geopolitics have always been closely linked. The twentieth century saw access to energy resources become a major factor in determining the winners of wars, oil producers banding together to create new global alliances, and price swings that spurred or deterred the adventurism of superpowers. The contemporary geopolitics of energy is analysed in the following article.

GEOPOLITICS & ENERGY: UNDERSTANDING THE INTERSECTION

Geopolitics is the battle for space and power played out in a geographical setting. Just as there are military geopolitics, diplomatic geopolitics and economic geopolitics, there is also energy geopolitics. Natural resources and the trade routes that bring those resources to consumers are central to the study of geography. The Geopolitics of Energy Project explores the intersection of energy, security, and international politics.

• RESOURCE CURSE: Coal-rich countries were the first to industrialize in the 1800s; the shift to oil from coal over the next century brought with it a rise in the strategic importance of the Middle East.
  • Unfortunately, this resource abundance in the Middle East has resulted in myriad civil upsurges and militancy throughout the region.
  • Since the second half of the 20^th century, control of oil resources has played a central role in several wars, such as the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Gulf War (1990-1991), etc.
• ENERGY DRIVEN TRADE ROUTES: The geopolitics encircling the South China Sea serve as a good example of how even maritime routes which engulf rich energy resources within themselves play a crucial role in geopolitical developments. The assertion of sovereignty over disputed areas is the aim, and China has considered joint oil and gas exploration as an important policy tool in this pursuit.
  • Southeast Asian states and prospective operators face considerable geopolitical risks due to China’s expansive territorial claims.
• CHANGING DYNAMICS OF ENERGY: The global concern for more than half a century, oil and natural gas have been at the heart of the geopolitics of energy. However, the over-dependence on oil & gas has brought the global issue of global warming to the forefront.
  • Many important events like the Kyoto Protocol signing & Paris Agreement marked critical steps forward in global efforts to respond to the challenge of global warming.
  • Thus, there is growing emphasis on the transition towards renewable energy.
• EMERGENCE OF NEW ALLIANCES: Meanwhile, technological advances have increased the competitiveness of solar and wind energy technologies, batteries and electric cars.
  • The convergence of these two elements has started to reshape the global energy system. This can be seen in India establishing the International Solar Alliance.
• REPERCUSSIONS OF CONFLICTS: Ukraine-Russia war has disrupted the supply of natural gas and sanctions on Russia have changed the dynamics of oil exports from Russia.

CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

REGION

THE MIDDLE EAST

• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has about 57% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 41% of proven natural gas resources. MENA is also endowed with unique solar resources.
• Apart from the first oil shock of 1973, the Middle East region has faced several geopolitical conflicts like the oil crisis in the 1990s(Persian Gulf Crisis) followed by the recent Syrian crisis.

THE USA

• The United States uses and produces many different types and sources of energy, which can be grouped into general categories such as primary and secondary, renewable and nonrenewable, and fossil fuels.
• Primary energy sources include fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal), nuclear energy, and renewable sources of energy. Electricity is a secondary energy source that is generated (produced) from primary energy sources.

RUSSIA

• Russia is rich not only in oil, gas and coal but also in wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass and solar energy, the resources of renewable energy. However, fossil fuels dominate Russia’s current energy mix, while its abundant and diverse renewable energy resources play little role.
• In 2021, Russian crude and condensate output reached 10.5 million barrels per day (BPD), making up 14% of the world’s total supply.
• Russia has a wide-reaching gas export pipeline network, both via transit routes through Belarus and Ukraine, and via pipelines sending gas directly into Europe. Russia’s natural gas accounted for 45% of imports and almost 40% of European Union gas demand in 2021.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

• The South China Sea is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia. It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.
• This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean (Strait of Malacca).
• According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD), one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body.
• The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that the South China Sea holds about 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proved and probable reserves, most of which lie along the margins of the South China Sea rather than under disputed islets and reefs.

CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS

REGION

THE MIDDLE EAST

• The Indo-Pacific region will become increasingly reliant on the Middle East for its oil: By 2030, 80 per cent of China’s oil will come from the Middle East, and 90 per cent in the case of India. (Japan and South Korea remain 100 per cent dependent on oil imports.)
• China’s reliance on the Middle East will be buttressed by its concomitant and growing dependence on former Soviet Central Asia for energy.
• OPEC is largely a result of Geopolitical developments in the Middle East. The member nations collectively influence the quantity of oil produced. For example, the post-pandemic slowdown pushed OPEC nations to reduce oil production.

THE USA

• The United States is emerging as a global energy-producing giant in its own right. U.S. shale oil production will more than triple between 2010 and 2020.
• Shale gas has risen from 2 per cent to 37 percent of U.S. natural gas production. The United States has now overtaken Russia as the world’s biggest natural gas producer.
• Some estimates put the United States as overtaking Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by the end of the current decade
• When combined with Canadian oil sands and Brazil’s oil lying beneath salt beds, these shifts have the potential to make the Americas into the “new Middle East” of the 21st century

RUSSIA

• Russia is increasingly shifting its focus of energy exports to East Asia. China is on track to perhaps become Russia’s biggest export market for oil before the end of the decade, even as Russian energy firms are now developing a closer relationship with Japan in order to hedge against their growing emphasis on China.
• Repercussions of conflicts: Russia’s assault on Ukraine has roiled global energy markets and turned the climate policy conversation upside down.
• In Europe, disrupted gas exports from Russia, the world’s second-largest producer, threaten economic activity and the ability of people to heat their homes. This threat to energy security has kicked off a flurry of responses, including U.S. efforts to help expand and diversify the region’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

• China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands.
• However, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also claim parts of the region, believed to hold valuable oil and gas deposits.
• Since 2010, China has been converting uninhabited islets into artificial islets to bring them under UNCLOS (examples would include Haven Reef, Johnson South Reef and Fiery Cross Reef).
• China has been changing the size and structure of the reefs by modifying their physical land features. It has also established airstrips on Paracel and Spratly.

INDIA’S STAND ON GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY

India imports about 85% of the oil it needs. Thus, a spike in the price of oil makes a big difference not just to domestic cost conditions but also to the balance of payments.

INDIA’S APPROACH

REGION/ISSUE

US SANCTIONS ON IRAN

• India has invested in the Chabahar port in Iran and highways that provide an alternative route to both Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan, thereby making Iran important for the long-term interests of India.
• Following the US imposing sanctions on Iran, in 2018, India had to look for alternatives for its imports. India was a second-biggest buyer of Iranian oil after China before sanctions halted supplies in May 2019.
• India has invested more in its relationship with Saudi Arabia and other anti-Iranian Gulf monarchies. Such improvement in relationships will put pressure on India to moderate its support for Iran. No wonder, in 2020-21, Iraq was India’s biggest oil supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

• India has maintained that it is not a party to the SCS dispute and its presence in the SCS is not to contain China but to secure its own economic interests, especially that of its energy security needs.
• As a key element of the Act East Policy, India has started internationalizing disputes in the Indo-Pacific region to oppose China’s threatening tactics in SCS.
• Also, India is part of the Quad initiative (India, US, Japan, Australia) and the lynchpin of the Indo-Pacific narrative. These initiatives are viewed as a containment strategy by China.
• State oil group Petrovietnam and the overseas unit of state explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) have signed a memorandum on joint exploration of crude oil in Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT

• India is exploring alternative payment channels for trade with Russia and the possibility of sourcing additional oil at a discount, even as the Western countries led by the USA reduce its exposure to Russian oil.
• In order to shield the economy from the negative impact of the recent surge in crude oil prices, India is exploring the possibility of importing additional oil at discounted rates from Russia, which is facing sanctions and global backlash due to the Ukraine conflict. On the back of rising crude oil purchases, India’s bill for imports from sanctions-hit Russia jumped 3.5 times in a year in April to $2.3 billion.
• India’s stand of trading for comparatively cheaper Russian oil has created an element of doubt in the west. Despite pressure from Western nations, India did not pick a side and it chose to maintain a neutral stance considering its historical relationship with Russia.                                                           

THE CONCLUSION: India is a sovereign nation and not a client state of any great power. Thus, vouching for its own interests is right in every sense. Like any other country, India also retains the right to take policies based on pragmatic realism and its core national interests. And India thinks that a neutral position anchored in strategic autonomy which keeps channels open with both sides is what serves its interests. Decisions made about energy today will influence what the world looks like tomorrow, just as the political and security events of today, be it the Arab Spring or the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan will shape energy realities. Thus, global geopolitics must be driven by values like inclusivity and sustainable energy resources so as to avoid conflicts and struggles for energy.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

• Illustrate with suitable examples the interplay between Geopolitics and Energy security.
• Examine how changes in global geopolitics influence the energy security of India. Is India’s response to these geopolitical developments appropriate? Give your views.
• “There is no higher interest than national interest.” Comment with reference to contemporary geopolitics of energy.