INDIAN POLITY AND CONSTITUTION

1. FIRST AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION CHALLENGED

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition challenging the 1st Constitutional amendment’s expansion of restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a)) on the grounds that the amendment violates the basic structure doctrine.

THE EXPLANATION:

Article 19 of the Indian Constitution: Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.

Rights enlisted under Article 19 (1): All citizens shall have the right –
(a) to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
(g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Reasonable restrictions are imposed on Article 19(1)(a) in 19(2): In the interests of

• The sovereignty and integrity of India,
• The security of the State,
• Friendly relations with foreign States,
• Public order, decency or morality,
• In relation to contempt of court,
• Defamation,
• Incitement to an offence.

The 1st amendment to the Indian Constitution:

Background:

• In State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan (1951), the SC held that the reservation in government jobs and colleges cannot be provided on the basis of caste, as it violates Article 29(2) of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 29(2): The State shall not deny admission to any individual to educational institutes maintained by or those receiving help from it solely on the basis of race, religion, caste, language, or any of them.
• The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 was enacted in response to this judgement.

About the Constitution (First Amendment), Act 1951:

• It made numerous significant changes in the Constitution, including exempting land reforms from scrutiny and providing protections for backward classes.
• Notably, it broadened the extent of the restrictions on the right to free expression.
• This amendment established the precedent of modifying the Constitution to overcome judicial decisions restricting the government’s perceived responsibilities to specific policies and programs.
• The first amendment made two key changes in Article 19(2):
• First, it introduced the qualification “reasonable” to the restrictions that Article 19(2) imposed, which leaves the door open for the courts to intervene and review the validity of restrictions imposed by Parliament.
• Second, the amendment introduced into the Constitution the specific terms “public order” and “incitement to an offence”.
• This new set of narrower terms in the provision was necessitated by two SC rulings in 1950 that went against the state’s power to curb free speech.
• Both these verdicts (Brij Bhushan v State of Delhi (March 1950), and Romesh Thappar v State of Madras (May 1950)) involved the press.
• In both the cases, the court had to define the terms “public safety” and “public order” and examine if they fell within the scope of the restrictions allowed in Article 19(2).
• The court struck down the laws imposing restriction on free speech on the grounds of “public safety” and “public order” as unconstitutional.

The basic structure doctrine:

Background:

• The idea of basic structure has been borrowed from Germany.
• It was originally suggested in the Sajjan Singh case (1965) by the Supreme Court of India.
• In Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the SC by a 7-6 majority held that Parliament can amend the Constitution but does not have power to destroy its “basic structure”.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. G20 SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS

THE CONTEXT: Heads of state and governments belonging to 20 of the world’s major advanced and emerging economies have gathered for a two-day summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

THE EXPLANATION:

• At the end of the meeting, India, represented by Indian Prime Minister, will assume charge of the G20 presidency.
• The 18th summit will be held in India next year.

The Bali summit will have three key priorities:

1. Global Health Architecture: This involves deliberations towards strengthening global health resilience and making the global health system more inclusive, equitable, and responsive to crises.
2. Digital Transformation: Deliberations here have centred on achieving the full potential of rapid digitalisation of the global economy by creating a new landscape of cooperation among nations.
3. Sustainable Energy Transition: The discussions have focussed on ways to accelerate the transition towards cleaner energy sources.
In particular, since any such transition requires substantial investments, the efforts have been focussed on finding a platform for such investments.

What else is at stake?

• The G20 countries are considered as the engines of global growth as they account for 60 per cent of the world’s population, 80 per cent of the world’s GDP and 75 per cent of the world’s exports.
• However, since the October 2021 summit in Rome, prospects of the global economy have worsened.
• A recent report of the International Monetary Fund on G20 countries shows, most of the G20 constituent countries have suffered significant output losses since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• India, for instance, would have lost almost 14 per cent of its total output — the highest loss among all G20 countries.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. DECLINE IN MANGROVES

THE CONTEXT: According to a study published in the journal Ecological Informatics, certain mangrove species in Chilika and Sundarbans along the east coast and Dwarka and Porbandar along the west coast of India is likely to reduce and shift landward by 2070 due to decline in suitable habitats in response to precipitation and sea level changes.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Scientists at the BSIP, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), used Ensemble species distribution model to study the past and current state of two mangrove species and predict their future.
• They found significant reduction and landward shift of mangroves in the future (2070) due to decline in suitable habitats, specifically along the east and west coast of India in response to precipitation and sea level changes in the future.
• In contrast, the maximum range expansion of the mangroves was mapped in the past, which was validated by fossil pollen data.
• The findings would be useful in the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies in the identified hotspots for conserving the coastal wetlands and reducing the impact of climate change on the coastal vegetation along the Indian coastline.
• The Indian coastline is vulnerable to the impact of climate and sea level changes, and there is not much attempt for the coastal wetland species prediction and management, with limited research carried out for their future habitat mapping.
• To fill this gap, this study tried to project the potential impact of climate change on mangroves as coastal wetland species.
• The study suggests that establishing effective buffer zones in these conserved areas can narrow down the effect of non-conservative areas on the core conservative zone, and adopting preventive measures can turn some areas into highly suitable regions for facilitating the growth of these mangrove species.

Value Addition:

• Mangroves are woody plants, forming the only tall tree forests in the world, ably located between land and sea in tropical and warm temperate coasts. Mangroves are specially adapted to harsh environment, where no other plant species can survive.
• Mangroves represent a characteristic littoral (near the seashore) forest ecosystem.
• These are mostly evergreen forests that grow in sheltered low-lying coasts, estuaries, mudflats, tidal creeks backwaters (coastal waters held back on land), marshes, and lagoons of tropical and subtropical regions.
• Mangroves are the only ‘blue carbon’ forests of the ocean, and are also known as ‘Coastal woodland’, ‘Oceanic rainforest’ and ‘Tidal forest.
• Mangrove forests are ecologically significant and economically important. They provide ecosystem services worth at least US$ 1.6 billion each year and support coastal livelihoods worldwide . They serve as the nursery, feeding and breeding grounds for crabs, prawns, mollusks, finfish, birds, reptiles and mammals. A large amount of global fish catches (up to 80%) is dependent on mangroves, thereby ensuring the food security of coastal people.

Mangroves in India

4. LONG-TERM LOW EMISSION DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

THE CONTEXT: India recently submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), during the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27).

THE EXPLANATION:

The salient features of the strategy are:

• The focus will be on the rational utilization of national resources with due regard to energy security. The transitions from fossil fuels will be undertaken in a just, smooth, sustainable and all-inclusive manner.
• The National Hydrogen Mission launched in 2021 aims to make India a green hydrogen hub.
• Increased use of biofuels, especially ethanol blending in petrol, the drive to increase electric vehicle penetration, and the increased use of green hydrogen fuel are expected to drive the low carbon development of the transport sector.
• Smart city initiatives, integrated planning of cities for mainstreaming adaptation and enhancing energy and resource efficiency, effective green building codes and rapid developments in innovative solid and liquid waste management.
• Improving energy efficiency by the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, National Hydrogen Mission, high level of electrification in all relevant processes and activities, enhancing material efficiency and recycling leading to expansion of circular economy, and exploring options for hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel, cement, aluminium and others.
• India is on track to fulfilling its NDC commitment of 5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sequestration in forest and tree cover by 2030.
• Provision of climate finance by developed countries will play a very significant role and needs to be considerably enhanced.

India’s approach is based on the following four key considerations that underpin its long-term low-carbon development strategy:

• India has contributed little to global warming, its historical contribution to cumulative global GHG emissions being minuscule despite having a share of ~17% of the world’s population.
• India has significant energy needs for development.
• India is committed to pursuing low-carbon strategies for development and is actively pursuing them, as per national circumstances
• India needs to build climate resilience.

The two themes of “climate justice” and “sustainable lifestyles”, alongside the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), in the light of national circumstances, that India had emphasized at Paris, are at the heart of a low-carbon, low-emissions future.

5. ATOMIC ENERGY, HYDROGEN POWER INDIA’S NET ZERO PLAN

THE CONTEXT: Recently, India announced its long-term strategy to transition to a “low emissions” pathway at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

THE EXPLANATION:

LT-LEDS (Long Term-Low Emission Development Strategy):

• At the ongoing COP27, India announced its long-term strategy to transition to a “low emissions” pathway i.e. LT-LEDS.
• The LT-LEDS is a commitment document which every signatory to the Paris Agreement (2015) is obliged to make by 2022.
• So far, only 57 countries (including India) have submitted their document.
• India’s strategy is mainly based on expanding India’s nuclear power capacity by at least three-fold in the next decade, apart from becoming an international hub for producing green hydrogen and increasing the proportion of ethanol in petrol.
• This strategy is in line with India’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2070 — a commitment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Glasgow, UK where the 26th COP was held last year.

India’s LT-LEDS includes

Mode of Transportation –

• India “aspires” to maximise the use of electric vehicles, with ethanol blending to reach 20% by 2025 (it is currently 10%).

India also aims for a “strong shift” to public transport for passenger and freight traffic.

Carbon Sequestration –

• India will also focus on improving energy efficiency by the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, the National Hydrogen Mission, increasing electrification, enhancing material efficiency, and recycling and ways to reduce emissions.
• India’s forest and tree cover are a net carbon sink absorbing 15% of CO2 emissions in 2016.
• The country is on track to fulfilling its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitment of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sequestration in forest and tree cover by 2030.

On Climate Finance –

• The document underlined that this transition entailed costs ranging in “trillion dollars” that the developed countries, responsible for the existing carbon accumulation, ought to be making good.
• The document says that provision of climate finance by developed countries will play a very significant role and needs to be considerably enhanced, in the form of grants and concessional loans.

VALUE ADDITION:
About COP27:

• The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is currently being held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
• The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention.
• The climate change process revolves around the annual sessions of the COP.
• It meets every year, unless the parties decide otherwise.
• The next conference of parties i.e. COP28 will be held in Dubai, UAE in November, 2023.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED AND UNREGULATED (IUU) FISHING

THE CONTEXT: According to Indian Navy, as many as 392 reported incidents of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing were monitored in 2021 compared to 379 in 2020 in the Indian Ocean.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to rise beyond India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
• Chinese fishing vessels, fishing vessels from European Union countries and other countries from outside the region were observed to be fishing in the Indian Ocean.
• Chinese deep sea trawlers have been a matter of concern for countries in the region, including India, as they are operating far from the Chinese coast and impacting local marine ecology.
• Most of the illegal activity is found in the Northern Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

IUU fishing:

IUU fishing depletes fish stocks, destroys marine habitats, puts fishermen at disadvantage and impacts coastal communities, especially in developing countries.

Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC):

• The presence of extra-regional distant water fishing fleets has been monitored by Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC).
• The Quad, comprising India, Australia, Japan and U.S., in May 2022 announced a major regional regional effort under the ambit of Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA).
• It aims to provide a more accurate maritime picture of “near-real-time” activities in the region.
• It is expected to catalyse joint efforts of India and other Quad partners towards addressing IUU in Indo-Pacific region.
• All vessel movements on the high seas are monitored by the Indian Navy’s IMAC in Gurugram and the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) which is co-located with it.
• IFC-IOR has been collaborating with other regional monitoring centres across the globe to enhance maritime safety and security, including efforts to monitor IUU.

Regional fisheries management organisations:

• As per United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal nations are responsible for addressing IUU fishing issues within their respective EEZ.
• There are regional fisheries management organisations such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement operating under the mandate of UNCLOS as regulatory bodies to monitor IUU fishing on the high seas.

Global Regulations:

There are two main regulations globally on IUU fishing:
1. the Cape Town Agreement and
2. the Agreement on Ports State Measures.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. Dover strait connects which of the following water bodies?
a) North Sea and Baltic Sea
b) English channel and North Sea
c) Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
d) Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea

Answer: B
Explanation:
Please refer to the map-

[WpProQuiz 367]

THE CONTEXT: The recent farmer agitation has brought the issue of farmer distress front and centre in the public consciousness. The time seems ripe to find new solutions to the structural challenges facing farmers. One of the solution is to support farmers by Direct Income Support (DIS) but in recent time several reports highlighted that such schemes are facing many challenges. In this article, we will discuss that what should be the way forward for the effective implementation of these scheme.

INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME IN INDIA FOR FARMERS

• In agriculture, there are two major types of government support measures. The first one is price support measure and the second is income support measures.
• Price support means the government is procuring the agricultural produce from farmers at a remunerative price. India’s Minimum Support Price based procurement is a classic example of price support scheme.

DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT

• The second type of support is DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT (DIS).In this scheme,government transfers direct payment to the poor farmers.
• Under the WTO terminology, it is called Direct payments to farmers or Decoupled Income Support. Decoupled means such an income transfer to farmers will not influence (or minimum influence) production and price of the respective crops.

PM KISAN SAMMAN SAMMAN NIDHI

• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is the first universal basic income-type of scheme targeted towards landed farmers.
• It was introduced in December 2018 to manage agricultural stress.

Initially, the scheme was targeted at small and medium landed farmers, but with the declining growth in gross value added of the agricultural sector, it was extended to all farmers in May 2019.

• This direct benefit transfer scheme was aimed at addressing the liquidity constraints of farmers in meeting their expenses for agricultural inputs and services.

Features of the scheme:

• Income support: The primary feature of this Yojana is the minimum income support it provides to farmers. Each eligible farmer family is entitled to receive Rs.6000 per annum across India. However, the amount is not disbursed at once. It’s divided into three equal instalments and meted out four months apart.
• Funding: PMKSNY is an Indian government-sponsored farmer support scheme. Therefore, the entirety of its funding comes from the Government of India.
• Identification responsibility: While the responsibility of funding lies with GOI, the identification of beneficiaries is not under its purview. Instead, it’s the responsibility of State and Union Territory governments.

BENEFITS OF DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT

Direct Income Supports’ ability to encourage farmers to raise production is less. At the same time, it has some positives:

• There is no leakage – income is transferred through DBT.
• There is protection for farmers against income loss and adverse terms of trade impact on agriculture.
• It is less distortionary and is WTO combatable; there is less influence on production and price.
• Farm income support is superior to price support as it is crop neutral. The farmer is getting reward for continuing with agriculture whatever may be the crop he is cultivating. On the other hand, India’s MSP historically, favored wheat and rice farmers as procurement was concentrated on these two crops.

PM KISAN AFTER TWO YEARS: A CRITICAL REVIEW

The PM KISAN scheme has completed two years (seven installments are released of the scheme) but facing several crises.  The scheme is a useful vehicle to provide support to farmers and it was included in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package during lockdown but, was this a useful way of relieving distress during the lockdown?  A survey by NCAER National Data Innovation Centre in June 2020 provides some useful insights in this regard:

Findings of the survey

• Lower level of economic distress among farmers than among other groups.
• While farmers faced some logistical challenges in transporting and selling their produce, 97 per cent of them continued to harvest Rabi crops and prepared for the Kharif season.
• Nearly 75 per cent of the cultivators who usually hire labourers for agricultural activities continued to do so.
• The farmers were relatively immune to the economic impact of the lockdown as nearly 32 per cent of them experienced a large income loss which is much lower compared to the proportion among casual wage workers and business households.
• The proportion of households that had to borrow to meet their day-to-day consumption needs during the lockdown was relatively low for the farmers.
• While 7 per cent of farm households suffered from occasional unavailability of food during the lockdown, this figure was much higher for casual workers and business households.

Performance of PM-KISAN during the Pandemic

• Only 21 per cent households received cash transfers through PM-KISAN.
• Around two-thirds reported receiving Rs 2,000 and about a fourth received Rs 4,000, possibly because family members engaged in agricultural activities may be co-residing within a household.
• About 35 per cent of rural PM-KISAN recipients suffered income losses to a large extent in comparison to more than half of the non-recipients.
• A little more than a third of PM-KISAN recipients borrowed money during this period as against 48 per cent of non-recipients.

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES WITH THE SCHEME AND WHY THE SCHEME IS NOT PERFORMING AS PER THE EXPECTATIONS?

Lack of DataBase

• The scheme was hurriedly announced right ahead of the 2018 elections and then the government did not have proper database of farmers.
• There are nearly 14.5 crore families in India but govt did not has proper database of these families. Many states like West Bengal, have delayed or did not submit the data related to farmers.

Difficulty in Identifying Beneficiary Farmers

• According to agricultural census of 2015-16, number of landholdings in the country was projected at Rs 14.65 crore. But landholding do not determine the number of farmer families present in the country as there are multiple owners for a single land. In such scenario, all the farmer families which own the land are eligible for the scheme.
• Number of landholdings in Punjab according to agricultural census were 10.39 lakh but number of beneficiaries’ farmers in PM-kisan database list were 17.52 lakh till October 23, 2019.
• It may happen that a single farmer holds multiple lands. The agricultural census may record multiple land holdings which PM-Kisan scheme would otherwise recognise as single farmer.

Census Issue

• Other problem includes the agricultural census that counts the number of operational landholdings. Which is the piece of land being used for cultivation without considering the title of land. Whereas PM-kisan scheme considers the farmer families recognised as land holders under the state or union territory.
• Further, around 14.3 crore landless farmers (census 2011) will not be able to avail this scheme. Mainly due to the fact they are not the land holders and are contract farmers.
• However, the government is trying to release fund to farmers by linking their account to Aadhaar card. Government extended the date to seed the adhaar account to November 30 2019.

Others

1. Intended Farm Households are not covered: PM-KISAN is not reaching all farmer households as intended as most of the farmers in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan own land and should be receiving benefits but only 21 per cent of the cultivators interviewed reported receiving the benefit.
2. Not a pro-poor scheme: it is not pro-poor since recipients of PM-KISAN seemed to be better off than the general rural population even before the lockdown.
3. Lack of digitized land records: In many States, land records are not updated regularly and therefore, there could be instances where the cultivating farmers would have partitioned their holdings from other family members, but would not have the records-of-right to claim the benefit instantly.
4. Overlapping of with other schemes: Various state governments have launched schemes with similar benefits such as Rythu Bandhu (Telangana), Annadata Sukhibhava (Andhra Pradesh), KALIA Scheme (Odisha) and Bhavantar Bhugtaan Yojana (Madhya Pradesh).

WHAT SHOULD BE THE WAY FORWARD?

Proactive role of Banks

• There are reports that after the loan waiver in Maharashtra or transfer of first instalment to the Bank accounts of farmers under KALIA scheme in Odisha, concerned bank branches adjusted the deposit money against past liabilities of few farmers.
• This kind of scenarios may lead to subversion of the objectives of the income support scheme, which is clearly intended to assist the farmers with some disposable cash for purchase of inputs.
• Banks involved in primary sector lending or disbursement of crop loans, etc need to be sensitized properly on their critical role in implementation of PM-KISAN.

Strengthening IT backbone

• Needless to say that States with robust computerized land records data base and a good IT infrastructure will be in a better position to implement PM-KISAN.
• With ICT usage and direct transfer of money to farmers’ bank accounts, pilferage would also be less.
• Farmers not having bank accounts should be encouraged to open ‘no-frills’ accounts under the Jan-Dhan Yojana. Linking Aadhaar data base will further strengthen the system and analytics later on from this big-data eco-system could assist decision making empirically.

Targeting benefits and updation of land records

• In many States, land records are not updated regularly and therefore, there could be instances where the cultivating farmers would have partitioned their holdings from other family members, but would not have the records-of-right to claim the benefit instantly.
• These kind of genuine cases need to be redressed by revenue authorities so that eligible cases are not deprived.
• Similarly, fraudulent claims should also be avoided. Involving the Gram Panchayats, wherever possible in targeting of beneficiaries may be explored.

LESSON FROM STATES POLICIES

• Odisha’s KALIA scheme offers some important lessons for the effective implementation of the scheme.
• Odisha used a three-step framework to identify beneficiaries. These are:
• Unification: The first step involved unifying state databases with “green forms” which were essentially applications from farmers who wanted to opt in.
• Verification: The second step involved verification of information through databases like the Socio-Economic Caste Census, National Food Security Act and other databases; de-duplication through Aadhaar; and bank account verification through bank databases.
• Exclusion: The third step involved excluding ineligible applicants like government employees, tax payers, large farmers, and those that voluntarily opted out.
• The use of technology and non-farm databases meant that KALIA could include sharecroppers, tenant and landless farmers as beneficiaries, which is a significant step towards inclusive agricultural policy-making.
• KALIA has now laid the foundation for a state-wide farmer database with 100 per cent Aadhaar, mobile number and financial address seeding. This database can be leveraged for targeted scheme delivery beyond DIS, issuing customised agri-advisories and improving financial access.

CONCLUSION: PM- KISAN is India’s first direct support scheme, which should be surely successful. But for this, govt of India should learn some important lessons from other sources like the KALIA scheme and for that technology can play a vital role. The potential of technology to transform social welfare delivery is exciting. An approach that leverages data to maximize citizen benefits, while ensuring privacy, security and access, must be the way forward if we are to truly realize the power of digital to serve every Indian.

JUST ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

THE MSP AS A PRICE SUPPORT MEASURE

• WTO calls these subsidies as amber box subsidies that distorts trade. Such subsidies should be reduced as they may make a high cost producer a big produce and the country may export its produce.
• According to the WTO, a support (subsidy) by the government that influences production and price is trade distorting and it should be reduced.

PM-KISAN (DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT)

• In this case; the government will be giving direct payment to the farmers for their low income from farming.
• Under the WTO terminology, it is called Direct payments to farmers or Decoupled Income Support.
• Decoupled means such an income transfer to farmers will not influence production and price of the respective croops.
• Under Agreement on Agriculture (WTO), the direct payment to farmers comes under the Green Box.
• The Green Box subsidies can be given by a government or in other words they need not be reduced.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. INDIA TO HOST “NO MONEY FOR TERROR” CONFERENCE

THE CONTEXT: The 3rd Ministerial “No Money for Terror” Conference will set to be held on November 18 and 19 this year in New Delhi, India.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the NMFT conference?

• The Ministerial No Money for Terror (NMFT) Conference aims to create platform for international discussions on countering terror financing.
• The conference includes discussions on technical, legal, regulatory and cooperative aspects of the terrorism financing.
• It aims to set pace for other high-level official and political discussions focusing on terror finance.
• The inaugural edition of this conference was held in Paris, France, in 2018. The second edition of the NMFT took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 2019.
• The third edition was set to take place in India in 2020 but was postponed because of COVID-19 pandemic that caused the global-level restrictions on travel.

3rd Ministerial ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference

• The third edition will be organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The event will witness participation from over 75 countries.
• This is the second major conference hosted by India this year.
• It earlier hosted the meeting of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). This is the first time that the UNSC CTC met in India and only seventh time that it was held outside New York.

What are the focus areas of the 3rd NMFT conference?

• Discussions at the 3rd NMFT conference will focus on global trends of terrorism and terrorist financing, emerging technologies’ role in terrorism financing and importance of global cooperation to address related challenges.
• The meeting will seek global cooperation in addressing the challenges in countering terror funding obtained via formal and informal channels.
• It will focus on the role of cryptocurrency in funding terrorist activities. It will deliberate on the concerns related the decentralized nature and the lack of regulation of cryptocurrencies.
• The focus will also be given to dark web’s role in promoting transfer or crowdsourcing of funds for terrorism.
• It also aims to strengthen the role of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in setting global standards that can create an effective mechanism to combat terror funding.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2. E-WASTE (MANAGEMENT) RULES, 2022

THE CONTEXT: The Indian Government issued notification on E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, which will come to effect from next financial year.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022?

• The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 was published by the Ministry of Environment, forest and climate change on November 2, 2022.
• They will apply to all businesses and individuals involved in manufacturing, sales, transfer, purchase, refurbishing, dismantling, recycling and processing of e-waste or electrical and electronic equipment.
• Under the new rules, the number of items that have been categorized as e-waste has been increased from 21 to 106.
• It includes all electrical devices and radiotherapy equipment, nuclear medicine equipment and accessories, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), electric toys, air conditioners, microwaves, tablets, washing machine, refrigerator, iPad and others.
• This includes electronic components, consumables, parts and spares that make the electronic products operational.
• The new rules are not applicable for waste batteries, which are covered under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.
• It is also not applicable for packaging plastics, which are covered under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• It also does not apply for micro enterprises and radio-active wastes, which are covered under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 and Atomic Energy Act, 1962 respectively.

What are the key features of the rules?

• The rules restrict the use of hazardous substances for manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment. This comes in response to the deaths caused by exposure to radioactive materials.
• Manufacturers of electronic equipment are mandated to reduce the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and other others that can harm human health and environment.
• These materials can adversely affect brain, heart, liver, kidneys and skeletal system. It also causes harmful effects on neurological and reproductive systems.
• Under the new rules, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will conduct random sampling of electrical and electronic equipment placed in the market to monitor and verify compliance of reduced use of hazardous substances.
• Manufacturers are required to use technologies and methods that make the end product recyclable. They are also required to ensure the compatibility of components or parts developed by different manufacturers. This will minimise the generation of e-wastes.
• Imports or sales of new electrical and electronic equipment are allowed only if they comply with the government regulations. If the product does not comply with the rules, the manufacturer must withdraw all samples from the market.
• It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to collect e-wastes generated during the manufacturing process and ensure that they are recycled or disposed as per the rules.

3. THE GLOBAL CARBON BUDGET 2022

THE CONTEXT: The Global Climate Budget 2022, released at The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP27, indicates that India will record a higher rise in carbon emissions this year than other major countries.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are the key findings of the Global Carbon Budget, 2022?

• The global carbon emissions are expected to reach 40.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2022.
• This projection is close to the highest-ever annual total of 40.9 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted in 2019.
• There is no sign of carbon emission decline required for limiting the global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius.
• If the current emission levels continue, there is a 50 per change that the warming of 1.5°C exceed in the next 9 years.
• Record level droughts, wildfires and flooding across is world is caused because the Earth’s global surface temperature has risen by around 1.1°C when compared with the average in pre-industrial levels.
• In 2021, China (31 per cent), the United States (14 per cent) and the European Union (8 per cent) are the major contributors of the global carbon emissions. India accounted to 7 per cent of the global carbon emissions.
• The report estimates a decrease in the carbon emissions in 2022 in China (0.9 percent) and the EU (0.8 per cent). However, there will be a 1.5 per cent increase in the US and a 6 per cent increase in India.
• India is expected to witness the highest increase in carbon emissions in the world in 2022 when compared with the previous year. The United States is estimated to record the second-highest increase in the carbon emissions.
• The 2022 carbon emissions will increase in India due to coal emissions (5% increase) and oil emissions (10% increase). This returns the carbon emission back to the 2019 levels. The country is already responsible for around a twelfth of global emissions. It is ranked third globally in terms of gross emission volume and ranked very low in per capita emissions.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4. AMENDMENT IN ELECTORAL BONDS SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: The Government of India has approved the issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds for sale from November 9-15 following an amendment.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the finance ministry, State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 of its authorised branches, which would be valid for 15 days from the date of issuance.
• As per the law, no payment would be made to any political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period.

What are the changes made in the scheme?

• The Union Finance Ministry issued a notification amending the Electoral Bonds Scheme to allow the sale of electoral bonds for extra 15 days in the year of general elections to the Legislative Assembly of States and UTs with legislature.
• The notification allows the Central Government to open additional one-week window for issuing electoral bond starting from November 9, 2022.
• Prior to this notification, these bonds can be bought by any individual in a period of 10 days each in the months of January, April, July and October as specified by the Central Government.
• Since assembly elections to various states and union territories are held each year, the amendment allows additional 15 days of bond sales annually.
• The changes came days before the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections (November 12) and weeks before Gujarat assembly elections that are set to be held in early December 2022.

Value Addition:

What are electoral bonds?

• The Electoral Bonds Scheme was launched in 2018 to provide an alternative for cash donations to political parties. Electoral bonds are financial instruments through which anyone can donate money to political parties.
• The electoral bonds can be bought by donors from authorized branches of the State Bank of India using cheque or a digital mechanism. The donor can give these bonds to the political party or parties of their choice. The political parties can choose to encash electoral bonds within 15 days of receiving them and fund their electoral expenses. This retains the anonymity of the donor while also ensuring transparency.
• Bonds are issued only to those political parties that are registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those that secured not less than 1 per cent of votes polled in the last General Elections to the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of the State.

5. BHIM APP OPEN-SOURCE LICENSE MODEL

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the BHIM App open-source license model was announced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

THE EXPLANATION:

What is BHIM App open-source license model?

• Under the BHIM App open-source license model, regulated entities in the UPI ecosystem can get license for accessing source code of the BHIM app. New features that will be included in the application in the future can also be accessed by these licensees.

Why was open-source license model launched?

• Currently, many banks do not have their own mobile banking applications. Therefore, they are unable to provide the benefits of UPI to their customer base. The NPCI aims to address this gap by providing readily available features of UPI to these banks via the BHIM App licensing model. It will act as an economic and quick-to-market solution for these entities.
• The BHIM licensing model will empower the banking entities to provide benefits of the UPI to their customer base with a readily-available UPI application. This will minimise time, efforts and costs incurred for promoting the UPI based transactions.

What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system that is used on mobile devices to instantly transfer money between two bank accounts. It was developed by the NPCI. The UPI enabled 45.6 billion transactions during Financial Year 2022. It is currently one of the most prominent forms of digital payments in India.
• The NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) – the international arm of the NPCI – announced that the BHIM UPI is live at NEOPAY terminals in the United Arab Emirates. This enables millions of Indians traveling to the UAE to make payments using BHIM UPI. This feat was achieved after NIPL and NEOPAY (payment subsidiary of Mashreq bank) collaborated to create the acceptance infrastructure in the UAE. It allows Indian tourists to make UPI transactions across NEOPAY enabled shops and merchant stores.

VALUE ADDITION:

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• Considering the utility nature of the objects of NPCI, it has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013), with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INTERVENTIONS

6. INDIAN BIOLOGICAL DATA CENTER (IBDC)

THE CONTEXT: Union Minister of state for Science and Technology recently dedicated Indian Biological Data Center (IBDC) to the nation.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Indian Biological Data Center is India’s first national repository for life science data.
• It will store all life science data generated from publicly funded research in the country.
• It operates with the assistance from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• In long-term, IBDC seeks to become a major data repository for all life science data originating from India.
• It was established at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology (RCB) in Faridabad, Haryana. It has a data “disaster recovery” site in National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Bhubaneshwar.
• It has a data storage capacity of around 4 petabytes.
• It hosts the ‘Brahm’ High Performance Computing (HPC) facility.

What are its objectives?

The objectives of IBDC are:
1. Provide IT platform for archiving of biological data originating from India.
2. Develop standard operating procedures for storing and sharing of life sciences data based on FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principle.
3. Perform quality control and curation of data, maintain data backup and manage data life cycle.
4. Develop web-based tools/APIs for data sharing or retrieval
5. Organize training programme for analysing of large data and create awareness about the benefits of data sharing.

What are the current tasks of the IBDC?

• Since life science data is highly complex and heterogeneous, IDBC is being developed in a modular fashion. This means that different sections deal with different types of data sets. Therefore, the IBDC had initiated nucleotide data submission services via two different data portals – the Indian Nucleotide Data Archive (INDA) and the Indian Nucleotide Data Archive – Controlled Access (INDA-CA).
• The IBDC also hosts an online “Dashboard” to archive the genomic surveillance data generated by the INSACOG labs. This online dashboard facilitates customized data submission, access, data analysis, surveillance and real-time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 variants across India.
• The computational infrastructure at the IBDC can be accessed by interested researchers who are involved in computational-intensive analysis. The IBDC will also conduct frequent workshops and orientations to help users submit the data they collected.

1. In EWS verdict, a discrimination antithetical to equality READ MORE
2. The curious case of EWS READ MORE
3. Welcome move for transparency READ MORE
4. Need for Electoral Reforms (Part I) READ MORE

1. Is freedom from karma possible? READ MORE
2. Education that helps uncover hidden potential READ MORE
3. Why is it so difficult to forgive? READ MORE
4. THE ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND ITS USES READ MORE

1. Preserving the precious: On ground water use READ MORE
2. Mangrove Alliance READ MORE
3. Explainer: Reducing pollution in North India will require more than a curb on farm stubble burning READ MORE

1. Identifying SCs among Dalit Muslims, Christians challenging. Lack of data biggest roadblock READ MORE
2. Equality in marriage: Legal age for both men, women should be 18 years READ MORE
3. Education sans employability READ MORE  
4. GHI oversimplifies, magnifies hunger; is misguided READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Former CJI Lalit defends Collegium system: ‘Perfect the way it stands today’ READ MORE
2. S. President Joe Biden to seek red lines in talks with Xi Jinping READ MORE
3. Jharkhand wants new quota Bill placed in Ninth Schedule: What this section of Constitution is READ MORE
4. A satellite data system will help detect, act on methane emissions READ MORE
5. Cameroon can set path to climate-resilient economy with prompt reforms: World Bank READ MORE
6. Reliance to build India’s first multimodal logistics park in Chennai READ MORE
7. Vikram-S: India’s first private rocket all set for launch tomorrow READ MORE
8. Everyday Explained: What is ASEAN, the 10-member grouping of Southeast Asian nations? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Identifying SCs among Dalit Muslims, Christians challenging. Lack of data biggest roadblock READ MORE
2. Equality in marriage: Legal age for both men, women should be 18 years READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. In EWS verdict, a discrimination antithetical to equality READ MORE
2. The curious case of EWS READ MORE
3. Welcome move for transparency READ MORE
4. Need for Electoral Reforms (Part I) READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Education sans employability READ MORE  
2. GHI oversimplifies, magnifies hunger; is misguided READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India-Russia bonhomie: Delhi prioritising national interests amid US pressure READ MORE
2. The US-led global order is tottering. It is India’s time to shine as a balancing ‘third pole’ READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Importance of agri exports — and what Govt can do to boost India’s farm trade surplus READ MORE
2. Why India cannot afford to ignore the GM crop revolution READ MORE
3. Grey areas. GM mustard, not a great idea READ MORE
4. Inland waterways will reshape transportation READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Preserving the precious: On ground water use READ MORE
2. Mangrove Alliance READ MORE
3. Explainer: Reducing pollution in North India will require more than a curb on farm stubble burning READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Is freedom from karma possible? READ MORE
2. Education that helps uncover hidden potential READ MORE
3. Why is it so difficult to forgive? READ MORE
4. THE ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND ITS USES READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘The EWS quota is unfair because it twists the idea of social justice by bequeathing further privilege to communities who are historically situated to benefit from the caste system’. How far do you agree with this view? Analyse your views.
2. ‘The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today’. In the light of this statement, discuss whether India should start genetically modified cropping?
3. ‘The US is welcome to cement its partnership with India in various sectors, but it is well advised not to dictate terms to the latter with regard to Russia’. Comment on the statement in the light of recent developments in International politics.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Don’t confuse visibility with credibility.
• The Supreme Court’s judgment upholding the 103rd Amendment which introduced 10% reservation for EWS to the Constitution seeks to undo the existing logic of affirmative action.
• The EWS quota is unfair because it twists the idea of social justice by bequeathing further privilege to communities who are historically situated to benefit from the caste system.
• While water remains a politically contentious subject in India, the climate crisis should inspire consensus across the political spectrum on disincentivising wasteful consumption of this precious resource.
• The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today.
• With India’s burgeoning population and increasing traffic, the development of inland waterways will not only reduce travel time but ensure a seamless journey for people and goods.
• India has rightly gone all out to safeguard its interests rather than toeing the line of western powers during the ongoing energy crisis.
• The US is welcome to cement its partnership with India in various sectors, but it is well advised not to dictate terms to the latter with regard to Russia.
• In order to keep the high office of the Governor insulated from unnecessary public controversies, both Punchhi and Sarkaria Commissions had recommended that the Governors should not be burdened with the positions and powers which were beyond their constitutional domain.
• ‘We have fought for social justice. We have fought for economic justice… Now we must  fight for electoral justice’- Barbara Boxer

50-WORD TALK

• The Supreme Court’s acquittal of three men sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a Delhi woman puts India’s criminal justice system in the dock. Ever-tougher laws won’t compensate for incompetent police and dysfunctional courts. Political leaders must acknowledge responsibility, and rebuild these slothful pillars of our republic.
• Most political parties can’t afford to criticise the Supreme Court’s 3:2 verdict upholding EWS quota. Therein lies the problem with this hot-button issue. The minority view by two judges, including the outgoing CJI UU Lalit, gives much fodder and can become the subject of another round of litigation in review.

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 366]

[WpProQuiz 365]

THE CONTEXT: In June 2021, the Group of Seven (G7) major developed economies held their first in-person summit since 2019 in Cornwall, UK. The discussion focused on addressing the Covid-19 crisis, climate change, global taxation, etc. This article analyses the tax-related outcome in detail.

GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX

• The June 4-5 agreement between the G7 Finance Ministers to plug the cross-border tax loopholes used by the giant multinational companies (MNCs) to evade taxes has immense potential to reform and revolutionize the global tax system.
• The reform blueprint is based on two pillars:
• To distribute the profits equitably among countries where these are generated, enabling them to tax such profits
• Adoption of a minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent globally.

The G7 proposal

• Besides proposing a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent, the G7 communique states that multinational companies, which have a 10 percent profit margin, will be taxed on at least 20 percent of the profits which exceed this figure, in countries where they operate.
• It underlines that for the new tax system to take effect, countries like India, which charges a two percent equalization levy on digital companies, will have to abolish their existing taxes on digital services.

WHY THE MOVE

• Using a tax avoidance strategy called Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), MNCs have been artificially ‘shifting’ their profits year after year from higher-tax jurisdictions to tax-havens where they pay little or no tax, thus ‘eroding’ the ‘tax bases of the former.
• Countries like Ireland, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Caribbean countries like the British Virgin Islands, Bahamas or Cayman Islands, and Central American countries like Panama have used their tax rate arbitrage to attract the MNCs- About 40 percent of MNCs’ overseas profits are estimated to be shifted to low-tax countries in this way.

LOSS DUE TO PRESENT RULING

• The tax losses are stupendous – estimated to be $50 billion for the USA and over $10 billion for India.
• A global minimum tax rate of 15 percent would preclude countries from undercutting each other, yielding an estimated $50 billion $80 billion in extra tax annually from the MNCs.

RESENT TAX RATES

• The US tax rate was cut down to 21 percent from 35 percent by then President Donald Trump in 2017, which his successor Joe Biden now proposes to increase to 28 percent.
• The average OECD corporate tax rate in 2020 was 21.5 percent, with 18 out of 37 members charging higher rates. Only three countries charge rates lower than 15 percent: Ireland (12.5 percent), Hungary (eight percent), and Switzerland (8.5 percent).
• The average tax rate for Asian countries is around 23 percent; while China and South Korea charge 25 percent, Singapore charges only a 17 percent rate.
• In 2019, India also sharply reduced its corporate tax rates to 22 percent for domestic companies (15 percent for new manufacturing companies) without any deductions, aligning its corporate tax rate to global standards.

WHAT WILL CHANGE AFTER NEW TAX SLABS?

• It can bring to an end the decades-long “race to the bottom” in which some countries compete with each to attract corporate giants with ultra-low tax rates and exemptions, depriving the governments of other countries where the MNCs reap most of their profits of billions of dollars in taxes.
• It will also bring to an end a very lucrative business model of these MNCs that park most of their profits in tax havens, bring to an end the golden era of the heavens themselves.
• The tech giants which operate remotely through digital mediums like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, etc. would start feeling the pinch.

WHAT ARE THE INDIA’S CONCERNS?

SOVEREIGN ISSUE

• The G7 proposal interferes with India’s sovereign right to determine its tax policy. However, in today’s digitally interconnected world, such an approach is anachronistic.

INVESTMENT

• Countries such as Ireland, and Singapore have managed to position themselves as attractive investment destinations by offering low tax rates. This investment, in turn, helps them generate demand by efficiently utilizing resources and creating employment. The Indian government’s decision to slash corporate tax rates in 2019 is a tacit recognition of this larger economic impact of taxation.

TAX COLLECTION REDUCTION

• Since the economic reforms of 1991, the corporate tax rate in India has never come down below 22 percent for domestic companies.
• The tax cuts in 2019 are expected to cost the Indian exchequer Rs 1.45 lakh crore annually. Therefore, the likelihood of the Indian government further reducing the corporate tax rate appears slim as it risks widening the fiscal deficit.

BUT IT CAN BE A GAME-CHANGER FOR INDIA

• The high tax rates in India have meant that corporations devise innovative structures to avoid paying their share. As per the Tax Justice Network, India loses out approximately $10 billion, which is about 0.41 percent of the GDP, on tax revenues annually. As a result, the already-stretched Indian tax administration is engaged in costly litigation with multinationals for decades.
• India is likely to gain in tax revenue on this account, given the size of its market and the growth opportunities it offers. The country has been at the forefront to legislate in her domestic tax laws the concept of ‘significant economic presence (SEP) to create the ability to levy tax on income generated in India (from Indian customers) by foreign digital commerce companies.
• A global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent is also expected to be beneficial to India. The Tax Justice Network estimates the country to gain at least $4bn (Rs 300 bn), equivalent to ~6 percent of FY21 corporate tax collections.
• Besides, it would not hurt FDI to India or create any adverse or incremental tax liability in the hands of foreign investors given that the minimum tax rate for new manufacturing business has recently been legislated at 15 percent (plus surcharges).
• At the same time, in respect of outbound investments, it will prevent base erosion of tax in the country as the government will be able to claw back any shortfall in tax paid below 15 percent by an overseas business owned by an Indian resident, once the global threshold rule becomes operational.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT

DATE OF SUMMIT

11-13 June 2021

PARTICIPATION

• Apart from seven G- 7 members (Including UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, and France), This year the United Kingdom has invited the leaders of four other prominent democracies to the Summit, these are
• Australia
• India
• The Republic of Korea
• South Africa

MAJOR OUTCOMES OF THE SUMMIT

• Climate change: G7 nations are moving closer on their climate strategies, but differences over key details will prevent more concerted action for now.
• Building back better, and greener: G7 countries will channel more international development finance into infrastructure and climate change projects, but they refused to label the initiative as a direct rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• Shifting approach towards China: The official communiqué directly mentioned competition with China for the first time—a notable shift from previous summits, although countries differ in their approach.
• Global Covid-19 vaccine rollout: G7 countries are ramping up their vaccine diplomacy efforts. G7 states have lost the public relations battle to China and Russia.
• Global tax agreement remains elusive: Leaders endorsed the 15% global minimum corporate tax plan.

INDIA AT THE SUMMIT

PM took part in two sessions of Summit: ‘Building Back Together—Open Societies and Economies’ and ‘Building Back Greener: Climate and Nature’.

Highlights of PM speech

• India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in defending the shared values from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation, and economic coercion.
• Democracy and freedom were a part of India’s civilizations ethos.
• Need to ensure that cyberspace remains an avenue for advancing democratic values and not of subverting them.
• Developing countries need better access to climate finance and emphasized that the planet’s atmosphere, biodiversity, and oceans cannot be protected by countries acting in isolation.
• The planet’s atmosphere, biodiversity, and oceans cannot be protected by countries acting in silos and called for collective action on climate change.
• Indian Railways is committed to achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2030.
• India is the only G-20 country on track to meet its Paris commitments.
• India is increasing the effectiveness of the two major global initiatives nurtured by India i.e. the CDRI and the International Solar Alliance.
• Developing countries need better access to climate finance.
• India’s ‘whole of society’ approach to fighting the pandemic, and also committed support to improve global health governance.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE SUMMIT

ON COVID AND VACCINATION

Positives

• On Covid-19, G7 is right to focus on vaccinating the world. After all, it is now conventional wisdom that no one is safe until everyone is safe.

Negatives

G7 ignores the three immediate actions recommended

1. One billion vaccine doses by September 2021 and two billion doses by end of 2022;
2. Waiving intellectual property rights (IPR)
3. Committing 60% of the $19 billion required for Access to Covid-19 Tools (Act) Accelerator in 2021 for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and strengthening of health systems.

G7 falls short significantly on all three counts.

• By providing for a paltry one billion vaccine doses over the next year, G7 has effectively indicated that even by the end of 2022, not everyone on this planet will be vaccinated.

ON CLIMATE

• On climate, the question was not whether G7 countries would commit to net zero emissions by 2050. That was the basic minimum that they were expected to do, and which they have done.
• The real question related to climate finance is how will the world’s richest countries meet their Paris Accord commitment of $100 billion every year to finance the energy transition of developing and least developed countries?
• Here again, the communique comes up with the vaguest of language, referring to increasing and improving climate finance to 2025 and reaffirming the developed country’s goal to mobilize $100 billion.

ON CHINA

• While G7 wish to cooperate with China on issues such as climate but called for respect to respect human rights in Xinjiang and autonomy for Hong Kong. Taiwan also gets a mention for the first time.
• G7 has made a valiant attempt to counter the Belt Road Initiative with its Build Back Better for the World (B3W) plan.
• The biggest signal for China is the “Open Societies Statement” signed by G7 and guest countries.
• The statement spells out the unconditional commitment of these countries to human rights for all, democracy, social inclusion, gender equality, freedom of expression, and rule of law.
• This is a welcome move and is perhaps the best sign that democracies can unite based on these universal values.

HOW SHOULD INDIA READ THE G7 SUMMIT?

A TEMPLATE FOR INDIAN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WEST

• PM Narendra Modi’s statement that India is a natural ally of G7, with an emphasis on its civilizational commitment to democracy, freedom of thought, and liberty, will be welcomed by India’s friends all over the world.
• The PM’s statement should put these doubts about India’s commitment to rest.

ON CLIMATE

• On climate finance, India has a mountain to climb.
• India will come under pressure at the COP 26 meeting in Glasgow to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.
• Not just this, the communique appears to endorse the idea of “carbon leakage” and hence gives implicit approval to the European Union’s idea of a carbon border tax. This is particularly unwelcome for India.

FAIRTRADE AND FREE TRADE

• The communique harps on “fair trade” much more than it does on “free trade”.
• Fairtrade, by definition, stresses labor and environmental standards and the communique says as much. How these will be implemented without resort to protectionism remains to be seen.
• Similarly, G7 endorses plurilateral initiatives at the World Trade Organization, something India hitherto has studiously avoided. Things will come to a head at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in December.

WAY FORWARD:

• The Indian government would do well to engage with the multilateral ecosystem to ensure that future multilateral rules do not disadvantage developing economies, instead of outrightly rejecting them.
• India should focus on capacity building and timely resolution of disputes.
• A minimum global tax rate would disincentives corporations to artificially shift their profits to low-tax jurisdictions. It will also reverse the trend of offshore incorporation in Indian entities by eliminating tax arbitrage. The Indian government can consider suggesting carve-outs to the proposal that can mitigate any unintentional adverse impact.
• India’s 2022-23 presidency of the G20 presents an opportunity for the country to articulate a forward-looking vision for fair and comprehensive global tax rules.

CONCLUSION: India’s engagement with the west and the recent tax proposal by G7 is the opportunity for India to overcome the challenge that occurred after Covid-19. Although, India’s concerns are justified, surely, the global minimum tax would be a game-changer for countries like India. The proposal indicates a political momentum and a desire to fast-track structural taxation reforms that could improve India’s economic competitiveness and lower jurisdictional tax arbitrage.

POLITY AND CONSTITUTION

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Solicitor-General at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva stated that India appreciates the role of human rights defenders, journalists and activists in the democratic system but the activities of these groups and individuals should be in conformity with the law of the land.

THE EXPLANATION:

Starting the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of India at the HRC, Greece, the Netherlands and Vatican City called upon the Government of India to ensure freedom of religion and end discrimination against human rights defenders and religious minorities.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MEETING:

• The strongest comment on the freedom of religion came from Greece that called upon India to “ensure full implementation of freedom of religion”. Germany expressed concern about the rights situation in India and said, “Germany remains concerned about the rights of marginalised groups, especially religious minorities as well as women and girls.” Germany also said that the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act should not “unduly restrict” the “freedom of association” in India. The German representative called upon India to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission and said the discrimination against Dalits should end.
• Ireland recommended that the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act be applied in a transparent manner and that Indian States should “repeal” anti-conversion laws to ensure compliance to international human rights laws. The representative of South Korea also raised the issue of FCRA. Italy asked India to enable civil society organisations and freedom of expression and freedom of religion. “Take concrete measures to end violence against them (minorities)”.
• Lithuania called upon India to end restrictions on freedom of expression and civil society. Belgium which had submitted advance questions raised the issue of civil liberties in India and called for an end to restrictions on freedom of religion. Mauritius praised India for following the principle of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family).
• Maldives thanked India for India’s support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Marshall Islands expressed condolences for the victims of the Morbi bridge tragedy and called for an end to caste-based violence and violence against women. Mexico raised the National Register of Citizenship and called for measures that can reduce chances of stateless people. France and Montenegro called upon India to ratify the Convention against Torture.
• Nepal called for India to strengthen measures to end violence against women and end child marriage. Israel called upon India to end violence against women and create an enabling environment for transgender persons. Russia asked India to continue to take policies that will eradicate poverty and called for “responsible corporate behaviour”.

Connect the Dots: FCRA,  Vasudhaiva kutumbakam , National Register of Citizenship

VALUE ADDITION:

United Nations Human Rights Council

• The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.

Functions:

• It is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
• It also addresses and makes recommendations on situations of human rights violations.
• It can discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations.
• The Council also works with the UN Special Procedures established by the former Commission on Human Rights, consisting of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts, and working groups.
• Their work is to monitor, examine, advise and report on thematic issues or human rights situations in specific countries.

Tenure:

• The members serve for three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

MANGROVE ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE

THE CONTEXT: Amid the 27th Session of Conference of Parties (COP27), this year’s UN climate summit, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched with India as a partner.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The move, in line with India’s goal to increase its carbon sink, will see New Delhi collaborating with Sri Lanka, Indonesia and other countries to preserve and restore the mangrove forests in the region.
• Attending the event in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change said that India is home to one of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world — the Sundarbans — and has years of expertise in restoration of mangrove cover that can be used to aid global measures in this direction.

The MAC

• An initiative led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain. It seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.
• UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, while launching the alliance, said that her country intends to plant 3 million mangroves in the next two months, in keeping with UAE’s COP26 pledge of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

The significance of mangroves

• Mangroves have been the focus of conservationists for years and it is difficult to overstate their importance in the global climate context. Mangrove forests — consisting of trees and shrub that
• live in intertidal water in coastal areas — host diverse marine life. They also support a rich food web, with molluscs and algae-filled substrate acting as a breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs and shrimps, thus providing a livelihood to local artisanal fishers.
• Equally importantly, they act as effective carbon stores, holding up to four times the amount of carbon as other forested ecosystems. Mangrove forests capture vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and their preservation can both aid in removal of carbon from the atmosphere and prevent the release of the same upon their destruction

The current state of the mangroves

• South Asia houses some of the most extensive areas of mangroves globally, while Indonesia hosts one-fifth of the overall amount.
• India holds around 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove population. Besides the Sundarbans in West Bengal, the Andamans region, the Kachchh and Jamnagar areas in Gujarat too have substantial mangrove cover.
• However, infrastructure projects — industrial expansion and building of roads and railways, and natural processes — shifting coastlines, coastal erosion and storms, have resulted in a significant decrease in mangrove habitats.
• Between 2010 and 2020, around 600 sq km of mangroves were lost of which more than 62% was due to direct human impacts, the Global Mangrove Alliance said in its 2022 report.

WHAT IS MEANT BY GREENWASHING?

THE CONTEXT: Recently the UN Secretary-General set up an expert group solely to look into Greenwashing as a practice is prevalent enough to create concerns over climate goals that were completely undermined and was considered as serious.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is greenwashing?

• Greenwashing is a term used to describe a false, misleading or untrue action or set of claims made by an organization about the positive impact that a company, product or service has on the environment.
• The term greenwashing was first coined in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in an article where he decried the common practice of hotels asking guests to reuse towels to help conserve energy. Westerveld claimed that those same hotels did little to help the environment and that the towel request was an act of greenwashing.

NEW COLLECTIVE QUANTIFIED GOAL ON CLIMATE FINANCE (NCQG)

THE CONTEXT: Developing countries, including India, are pushing rich countries to agree to a new global climate finance target—also known as the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG)—which they say should be in trillions as the costs of addressing and adapting to climate change have grown.

THE EXPLANATION:

• At a high-level ministerial dialogue on NCQG at COP27, India highlighted that climate actions to meet the NDC targets require financial, technological, and capacity-building support from developed countries, people aware of the developments.
• According to the Indian delegation in the meeting, the ambitious goal set down by the developing countries requires substantive enhancement in climate finance from the floor of $100 billion per year. The mobilisation of the resource needs to be led by the developed countries and should be long-term, concessional, and climate-specific with equitable allocation between adaptation and mitigation projects.
• “The commitment of $100 billion made in 2009 by developed countries, was not only miniscule given the scale of needs, but has also not been achieved yet.
• According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental body consisting of wealthy nations, developed countries mobilised $52.5 billion in 2013.
• After dropping to $44.6 billion in 2015, the finance flow has steadily increased. In 2020, the developed countries raised $83.3 billion, a jump from $80.4 billion in 2019, according to a factsheet published by the Centre for Science and Environment.
• The Standing Committee on Finance has estimated that resources in the range of $6 trillion to $11 trillion are required till 2030 to meet the targets set by developing countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other communications including the Needs Determination Reports.
• NDCs are national plans to limit global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

VALUE ADDITION:

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): The Paris Agreement and NDCs

• The Paris Agreement requests each country to outline and communicate their post-2020 climate actions, known as their NDCs.
• Together, these climate actions determine whether the world achieves the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with best available science, so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of GHGs in the second half of this century.
• It is understood that the peaking of emissions will take longer for developing country Parties, and that emission reductions are undertaken on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, which are critical development priorities for many developing countries.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

PLACES IN THE NEWS: KHERSON

THE CONTEXT: Recently Russia’s Defence Minister announced the withdrawal of the troops from Kherson to a new defensive line on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river.

THE EXPLANATION:

Where is Kherson and why is it important?

• Geographically, Kherson is a strategic location for Russia and Ukraine. Situated in the northwest of the Dnipro River, the province shares borders with Donetsk, Crimea and the Black Sea.
• With Moscow capturing Crimea in 2014, the occupation of Kherson in March 2022 has benefited Russia in transferring its military from Crimea to counter Ukraine. It provides access to Odesa and Black Sea ports in the west and serves as the main route to secure southern Ukraine.
• For Ukraine, regaining Kherson is significant to protect its population in Kalanchak and Chaplynka districts and also to recapture Crimea. Kherson is also an important region for its agricultural produce, with irrigation channels.

How did Kherson come under Russia’s control?

• In early March 2022, Kherson was captured by Russia through intense fighting. The battle of Kherson proved to be the starting point to capturing and occupying the southern part of Ukraine while the battles for Kharkiv and Kyiv in the north progressed.
• Russia’s hold over Kherson since March 2022 enabled Moscow to capture the key port cities — Mariupol in the Sea Azov, and Odesa, thus expanding control. Kherson’s irrigation canals were used as defence positions, creating a strong line preventing Ukraine’s counter-attacks. Russia also had positioned its soldiers in Kherson and stockpiled the ammunition.

Why has Moscow announced its withdrawal from Kherson?

• There are three reasons behind the move. First is the mobilisation failure. When Russia was advancing rapidly in capturing the southern and northern cities of Ukraine, its military personnel and weapon systems started to run thin.
• Secondly, the inability of Russia to govern Kherson. Despite imposing martial law, Russia could not effectively rule Kherson; the three-level security in the occupied areas could not enforce Russia’s control on the ground.
• Third, Ukraine’s expanding counter-offensive. Until August, Ukraine was supplied only with short-range and low-grade weapons by the West. Later, Ukrainian soldiers received military training; as Moscow continued its onslaught, the West upgraded its support with medium to high-range weapons systems such as the Howitzers, HIMARS, air defence systems, battle tanks and drone technologies. It came from the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, whereas Russia’s procurement was slow and limited to Shahed drones.
• This helped Ukraine recapture Russian-occupied areas including Izyum, northeast, southeast of Kharkiv, Izyum-Slovyansk, Kupiansk in Eastern Ukraine, and northwest Kherson in the south. On the other hand, Russia has been facing challenges in augmenting its military hardware on the battleground.

THE RIVER: DNIEPER

The Dnieper or Dnipro is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth-longest river in Europe, after the Volga, Danube, and Ural rivers.

ARMISTICE DAY: 11^th NOVEMBER

THE CONTEXT: Armistice Day, also known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day. It is marked on 11 November annually, remembering those who died in World War I. Marking the end of the Great War.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Armistice Day also remembers all those who sacrificed their lives in the First World War and other conflicts that followed it. In the four-year-long gruesome war, millions sacrificed their lives, including more than 74,000 Indian soldiers.
• The first Great War ended ‘at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month’, and therefore Remembrance Day is celebrated every year on 11 November.

Why does Poppy hold significance?

• In the Commonwealth nations, poppies were widely sold before the origin of Remembrance Day. The flower is worn to show respect for all the people who sacrificed their lives while fighting in World War I, as well as the conflicts that followed the war.
• Poppy was one flower that grew on many of the battlefields during the war and was later adopted by American academic Moina Michael to remember the loss of life in the Great War. Poppy is also associated with the charity that was founded by the veterans of World War I, known as the Royal British Legion.

How is the day observed?

• To mark the anniversary of the end of the First World War, people across the globe observe two minutes of silence at 11 AM on 11 November. It was the moment in the past when the armistice agreement was signed between the Allied Forces and Germany.

POLITY AND CONSTITUTION

1. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD IS SWORN IN AS THE 50TH CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Droupadi Murmu at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Justice Chandrachud as CJI will have a term of two years and will head India’s judiciary until November 10, 2024, a day before he completes 65 years. His father, Y.V. Chandrachud, holds the distinction of being the longest serving CJI, who headed the judiciary from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985.
• CJI Chandrachud, who describes dissent as the “safety valve of democracy”, has been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the top court, including judgments on the Ayodhya land dispute, and the Right to Privacy. He wrote lead judgment for a nine-judge Constitution Bench in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India case, in which it was unanimously held that Right to Privacy constituted a fundamental right.

What is the Procedure?

• As per convention, the government writes to the outgoing CJI before his retirement and the CJI recommends the name of the most senior judge as the successor about a month before retirement.
• Once a new name is recommended, the incumbent CJI usually refrains from taking decisions on appointment of judges.

What is the collegium system?

• The Collegium system in India also called “Judges- selecting- Judges”, is the system by which the judges are appointed and transferred only by the judges.
• The system has evolved by means of the judgments of the Supreme Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a Constitutional provision.
• The Supreme Court Collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises 4 other senior-most judges of the SC.
• A High Court collegium is headed by its Chief Justice and 4 other senior-most judges of that court. Names recommended for appointment by a High Court collegium reach the government only after approval by the CJI and the Supreme Court collegium.
• The government can return the recommendation for reconsideration by Collegium.
• If the collegium reiterates its recommendation then the government is mandated to appoint the respective person.

How does the collegium system work?

For appointing Chief Justice of India (CJI):

• The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
• The outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
• In practice, it has been strictly by seniority ever since the supersession controversy of the 1970s.

For appointing other SC Judges:

• SC judges are recommended by a Collegium consisting of the CJI and 4 senior-most judges of SC.
• The Collegium recommends the candidate to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister who then advises the President for the final appointment.

For appointing Chief Justice of High Courts:

• President appoints CJ of HC in consultation with CJI (consults other SC collegium members) and governor of the respective state.
• The candidate is selected from outside the respective state.

For appointing other HC judges:

• HC judges are also appointed by the President who consults the HC Collegium (CJ of HC and 4 senior-most HC judges), CJI (consults other SC collegium members), and the Governor of the respective state.

For appointing Judges of Common HC:

• Judges of common HC are appointed by the President who consults CJI (consults other SC collegium members) and Governors of respective states.

VALUE ADDITION:

National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)

• The government through the 99th constitutional amendment wanted to replace the collegium with the NJAC.
• The NJAC comprised of 3 judges of SC, a central law minister, and 2 civil society experts.
• A person would not be recommended by NJAC if any 2 of its members did not accept such a recommendation = making the appointment process more broad-based.
• However, it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015 in the Fourth Judges Case.

2. REVISION SERIES: WHAT IS THE GUILLOTINE?

• Parliament, unfortunately, has very limited time for scrutinising the expenditure demands of all the ministries. In the schedule drawn up by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), there is a fixed period of discussion for each ministry.
• Often the time allotted for these ministries is taken up by other pressing political issues of the day that dominate the Budget session. So, once the prescribed period for the discussion on demands for grants is over, the speaker applies the `guillotine’, and all the outstanding demands for grants, whether discussed or not, are put to vote at once.

What happens after the guillotine is applied?

• The government formally introduces the Appropriation Bill. This is to authorise the government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India. Once this Bill is passed, it becomes the Appropriation Act. It is after the voting on the Appropriation Bill that the Finance Bill is taken up for consideration.
• Discussion on the clauses of the Finance Bill and on the amendments thereto is confined to the tax proposals. After the passing of this Bill, it enters the statute as the Finance Act. Thus, the final Budget gets approved.
• If voting on these bills goes against the government, it is treated as a vote of no confidence against the government. Thus, a government can even fall if a money bill gets voted out. These fears get heightened in coalition politics.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

3. INDIA’S FIRST SOVEREIGN GREEN BONDS FRAMEWORK

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs approves the final Sovereign Green Bonds framework of India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This approval will further strengthen India’s commitment towards its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) targets, adopted under the Paris Agreement, and help in attracting global and domestic investments in eligible green projects. The proceeds generated from issuance of such bonds will be deployed in Public Sector projects which help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy.

What are Green Bonds?

• Green bonds are financial instruments that generate proceeds for the investments in environmentally-suitable and climate friendly projects. These instruments have lower capital cost than regular bonds.
• Indian Government announced at the Union Budget 2022-23 that it will issue its maiden sovereign green bonds in the present financial year. The government announced that it would auction Rs.16,000 worth of green bonds during the second half of FY 2023. This accounts for a fraction of the Central Government’s borrowing programme for October-March.

What is Green Finance Working Committee?

• The Indian Government had set up a Green Finance Working Committee headed by the Chief Economic Adviser to select eligible project for financing via green bonds. This does not include large hydropower plants. The committee will meet at least two times a year. It has members from relevant line ministries, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, NITI Aayog, and the Budget Division of the finance ministry’s Department of Economics and others.

About Green Bonds Framework

• The Green Bonds Framework was released by the Indian Government on November 9, 2022.
• As per this framework, the payments of principal and interest on the Green Bonds will not rely on the eligible projects’ performance. Therefore, the investors will not be adversely affected by any project-related risks.
• The eligible expenditure are limited to government expenditures that occurred within 12 months before the issuance of the bond. All of the proceedings for the bond will be allocated to projects within 24 months after the issuance.
• While the Union Ministry of Finance has the right to make any changes in the Green Bonds Framework, the modifications made will be reviewed by an independent organization. The framework was reviewed by the Norway-based CICERO Shades of Green – a firm that provides second opinions on green bond frameworks.
• The framework has been rated “Medium Green” with a “Good” governance score by CICERO. The medium green rating is provided to projects and solutions that make significant stride towards long-term vision but not quite there yet.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. INDIA’S FIRST PRIVATE SATELLITE VEHICLE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle – Hyderabad-based Skyroot’s Vikram-S – is all set to make its maiden flight from the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota between November 12 and 16.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Marking the beginning of private sector launches, the mission named ‘Prarambh’ will see Vikram-S carry three customer satellites in a sub-orbital flight.
• According to the Company officials, the final launch date will be decided based on weather conditions. “The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which will carry three customer payloads and help test and validate technologies in the Vikram series space launch vehicles”.

Private Players in Space Sector:

• The Economic Survey 2021-22, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, said with the recently undertaken policy initiatives and private sector participation, the Indian space sector is expected to capture a larger share of the global space economy, which was close to USD 447 billion in 2020.
• At present, India accounts for only about two per cent of the space economy, much behind the major players – the US and China.
• It said more than 100 start-ups were working in the space sector, with 47 start-ups registering with the government in 2021 itself.

(IN-SPACe)

• It was mandated the task of promoting, authorising and licensing private players to carry out space activities.
• As an oversight and regulatory body, it is responsible for devising mechanisms to offer sharing of technology, expertise, and facilities free of cost to promote non-government private entities (NGPEs).
• IN-SPACe’s Monitoring and Promotion Directorate oversees NGPE’s activities as per prescribed regulations and reports back in case any corrective actions or resolutions are required.
• ISRO shares its expertise in matters pertaining to quality and reliability protocols, documentations and testing procedure through IN-SPACe’s ‘interface mechanism’.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

5. WHAT IS AQI?

THE CONTEXT: The problem of air pollution in Delhi-NCR and surrounding areas has made its annual November-December(2022) appearance in policy debates and public discussion, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has been mentioned repeatedly.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Air Quality Index (AQI) is a number, which is a measure of air quality. The higher the AQI, the worse the air. After staying above 450 for a couple of days, the AQI in Delhi on Sunday had come down to around 320.
• The colour-coded AQI index was launched in India in 2014, and it helps the public and the government understand the condition of the air and what subsequent measures are to be taken to combat the situation, based on its severity. There are six categories of AQI, namely ‘Good’ (0-50), ‘Satisfactory’ (50-100), ‘Moderately polluted’ (100-200), ‘Poor’ (200-300), ‘Very Poor’ (300-400), and ‘Severe’ (400-500).

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. PASHMINA SHAWLS

THE CONTEXT: Traders of universally-prized Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged for presence of ‘Shahtoosh’ guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The traders claim the use of obsolete techniques such as ‘Light Microscopy’ by the authorities has resulted in several cases of ‘false positive’ leading to their wrongful prosecution.

About Shahtoosh Shawls

• Shahtoosh also known as Shahtoosh, is a wool obtained from the fur of the chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii, also called Tibetan antelope). Also, shawls made from the wool of the chiru are called shahtoosh. Shahtoosh is the finest animal wool, followed by vicuña wool.
• As undomesticated wild animals, the chirus cannot be shorn, so they are killed for this purpose. Due to the severe decline of the chiru population by 90 % in the second half of the 20th century, they were internationally classified as a critically endangered species until 2016. Since 2016, they have been classified as a near threatened species due to species conservation programs and partial recovery of population size.
• The wool is mostly used to make luxurious scarves and shawls, although the production, sale, and acquisition of shahtoosh has been illegal under CITES since 1979. On the black market, shahtoosh shawls fetch prices ranging from $5,000[3] to $20,000.

About Pashmina Shawls

• Pashmina Shawls are a fine variant of shawls spun from cashmere wools.
• A cashmere wool itself is obtained from the Changthangi goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) native to the high plateau of Ladakh.
• Known for its soft features, the Pashmina Shawls himself had been a status symbol not just for the wealthy in Indian but even across the world.
• Pashmina shawls gained much prominence in the days of the Mughal Empire as objects of rank and nobility.
• Through the enthusiastic use by Empress Joséphine – the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte – the pashmina shawl gained status as a fashion icon.
• Traditional producers of pashmina wool are people known as the Changpa.

Changthangi or Pashmina goat:

• It is a special breed of goat indigenous to the high altitude regions of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.
• They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, known as Pashmina once woven.
• These goats are generally domesticated and reared by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang region of Greater Ladakh.
• The Changthangi goats have revitalized the economy of Changthang, Leh and Ladakh region.

Transhumance

• It is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures.
• In montane regions (vertical transhumance), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter.
• Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys.
• Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base.
• In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. THE MOTHER TONGUE SURVEY OF INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has completed the Mother Tongue Survey of India (MTSI) with field videography of the country’s 576 languages.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to Home Ministry, “In order to preserve and analyse the original flavour of each indigenous Mother Tongue, it has been planned to set up a web-archive at the National Informatics Centre (NIC)”.

What is the MTSI?

• According to the report, the Mother Tongue Survey of India is a project that “surveys the mother tongues, which are returned consistently across two and more Census decades”. It also documents the linguistic features of the selected languages.
• The report states that the NIC and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) will be documenting and preserving the linguistic data of the surveyed mother tongues in audio-video files. Video-graphed speech data of Mother Tongues will also be uploaded on the NIC survey for archiving purposes.

How many “mother tongues” does India have, and what is spoken the most?

• As per an analysis of 2011 linguistic census data in 2018, more than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongues, PTI had reported earlier.
• The category “mother tongue” is a designation provided by the respondent, but it need not be identical with the actual linguistic medium. After subjecting the 19,569 returns to linguistic scrutiny, edit and rationalisation, they were grouped into 121 mother tongues, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, had earlier said.
• According to the 2011 linguistic census, Hindi is the most widely spoken mother tongue, with 52.8 crore people or 43.6 per cent of the population declaring it as the mother tongue. The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 9.7 crore individuals, and accounting for 8 per cent of the population.

Where does the mother tongue feature in the education of children?

• The new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for the foundational stages of education, launched by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month, has recommended that mother tongue should be the primary medium of instruction in schools for children up to eight years of age.

2. THE CENTRE CONSTITUTES 22ND LAW COMMISSION

THE CONTEXT: The Centre recently constituted the Law Commission of India with Justice (retd) Rituraj Awasthi, former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, at its head.

THE EXPLANATION:

About the 22nd Law Commission:

• The Commission headed by Justice Awasthi is the 22nd Law Commission of India. The tenure of the 21st Law Commission, which was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B S Chauhan, came to an end on August 31 2018.
• The 22nd Commission has been constituted two and a half years after it was approved by the Union Cabinet on February 19, 2020, just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. A petition had been moved in the Supreme Court subsequently against the delay in constituting the 22nd Commission.

VALUE ADDITION: 

ABOUT LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA

• The Law Commission of India is an independent body set up by a government to undertake research in law and review existing laws in India for making reforms therein and enacting new legislation.
• It performs this function on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo-motu.
• The Law Commission of India falls under the Executive branch.
• It is an advisory body of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• It has no mention in any Article of the Constitution of India and therefore, it is a non-constitutional and non-statutory body.
• Usually, each Law Commission is constituted for a term of three years and thus it is not a permanent body. It is formed on an ad hoc basis, that is, temporarily.

DO YOU KNOW?

• The first Law Commission of pre-Independence India was constituted in 1834.
• It was set up under the Charter Act of 1833 and under the chairmanship of Lord Macaulay who is also known for his recommendation of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

3. SHOULD THE AGE OF CONSENT BE CHANGED FOR ADOLESCENTS?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Karnataka High Court has asked the Law Commission to rethink the age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, or POCSO, Act 2012.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the court the aspect of consent by a girl of 16 years, but who is below 18 years, would have to be considered, if it is indeed an offence under the Indian Penal Code and/or the POCSO Act.

What are the terms of the POCSO Act?

• Under the POCSO Act, 2012, and under several provisions of the IPC, whoever commits a penetrative sexual assault on a child — anyone below 18 years of age — can be “imprisoned for a term which is not less than seven years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to [a] fine.”
• Even if the girl is 16 years old, she is considered a “child” under the POCSO Act and hence her consent does not matter, and any sexual intercourse is treated as rape, thus opening it up to stringent punishment. There have been several instances in the past few years when the courts have quashed criminal proceedings of rape and kidnapping, after being convinced that the law was being misused to suit one or the other party.
• Often, the offender had been booked under Section 366 of the IPC, Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

About POCSO ACT:

• The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 to provide a robust legal framework for the protection of children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography while safeguarding the interests of children at every stage of the judicial process.
• To make the punishment for child abuse has been made more stringent, the government has notified the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 which enables the implementation of recent amendments to the Act.

Some features of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Rules, 2020:

• Mandatory police verification: The new rules include the provision of mandatory police verification of staff in schools and care homes, procedures to report sexual abuse material (pornography), imparting age-appropriate child rights education among others.
• Reporting to Special Juvenile Police Unit: For a crackdown on child pornography, any person who has received any pornographic material involving a child or any information regarding such pornographic material shall report the contents to the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) or police, or the cybercrime portal.
• Child protection policy: Under the rules, the State Governments have been asked to formulate a child protection policy based on the principle of zero-tolerance to violence against children, which shall be adopted by all institutions, organizations, or any other agency working with or coming in contact with children.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. INDIA’S G20 PRESIDENCY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Prime Minister unveiled the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 presidency. The logo bears a lotus and the message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

THE EXPLANATION:

• “While unveiling the logo he said, “The world is going through the after-effects of a disruptive once-in-a-century pandemic, conflicts and lot of economic uncertainty. The symbol of the lotus in the G20 logo is a representation of hope in these times. No matter how adverse the circumstances, the lotus still blooms.
• India will assume the presidency of the powerful G20 grouping from the current chair, Indonesia, on December 1, and hold the post for a year. The G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10, 2023 in New Delhi.

ABOUT G20:

• The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular. Its aim was to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
• Its prominent members are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the EU. Spain is invited as a permanent guest.
• The presidency of the G20 rotates every year among members, and the country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda.
• During India’s presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil will form the troika. “This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies”.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GROUPING:

• “G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation representing around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
• During the course of its G20 Presidency, India will be holding about 200 meetings in 32 different sectors in multiple locations across India. The G20 Summit to be held next year, would be one of the highest profile international gatherings to be hosted by India.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

5. WHY CENTRE HAS RESTRICTED USE OF AN HERBICIDE IN DEMAND AMONG FARMERS

THE CONTEXT: Recently the Union Agriculture Ministry has restricted the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide. Also, there is a plea seeking a ban on all herbicide-tolerant crops, including transgenic hybrid mustard and cotton.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is glyphosate?

• It is an herbicide used to kill weeds — undesirable plants that compete with crops for nutrients, water and sunlight. Since weeds basically grow at the expense of crops, farmers remove them manually or spray herbicides.
• Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that can control a wide range of weeds, whether broadleaf or grassy. It is also non-selective, killing most plants. When applied to their leaves, it inhibits the production of a protein ‘5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS)’. This enzyme, produced only by plants and microorganisms, synthesises aromatic amino acids that are necessary for their growth.

Use in India

• There are nine glyphosate-based formulations containing different concentrations of the chemical registered for use under the Insecticides Act, 1968 These are approved largely for weed control in tea gardens and non-crop areas such as railway tracks or playgrounds.
• Farmers also apply glyphosate on irrigation channels and bunds to clear these of weeds, making it easier for water to flow and to walk through them. Weeds growing on bunds are, moreover, hosts for fungi, such as those causing sheath blight disease in rice.
• In general, though, the scope for glyphosate use is limited for the very reason that it is non-selective. Designed to kill all plants coming into contact with it, the chemical cannot ordinarily distinguish between crop and weed. Hence, it can be used in tea or rubber plantations, but not in fields where the crops and weeds are at almost the same level.

Why has this been done?

• The scope for glyphosate is already restricted in normal agricultural crops by virtue of it being a non-selective herbicide. Glyphosate application has increased only with the advent of genetic modification (GM) or transgenic technology.
• In this case, it has involved incorporating a ‘cp4-epsps’ gene, isolated from a soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, into crop plants such as cotton, maize and soya bean. This alien gene codes for a protein that does not allow glyphosate to bind with the EPSPS enzyme. The said GM crop can, therefore, “tolerate” the spraying of the herbicide, which then kills only the weeds.
• In 2019 alone, some 81.5 million hectares were planted worldwide with herbicide-tolerant (HT) GM crops. The global glyphosate market is annually worth $9.3 billion, with over 45 per cent of use on account of GM crops.

How valid are the health concerns over glyphosate?

• The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in March 2015, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. But this was based on evidence for cancer in experimental animals from “pure” glyphosate, as opposed to that in humans from real-world exposures through diluted formulations (which is how the chemical is actually sold and used).
• The US Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, has held that there are “no risks of concern to human health from current uses of glyphosate” and “no evidence” of it causing cancer. Its findings are based on “a significantly more extensive and relevant dataset.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Consider the following statements about Garuda exercise:

1. It is air exercise between Air Forces of India and U.K.
2. The 2022 year edition of exercise took place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

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: B

Explanation:

Air Exercise Garuda-VII:

• Between Indian and French air forces.
• In Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• LCA Tejas and LCH Prachand participated for first time in any international exercise.

THE CONTEXT: After recent months of back and forth attempting to negotiate a better trade agreement for India to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Indian government decided not to join the trade forum and be excluded from what has been seen as one of the biggest plurilateral free-trade partnerships in the world.

India had been a part of negotiations for almost nine years till it pulled out in November 2019, stating that inadequate safeguards and lowering of customs duties will adversely impact its manufacturing, agriculture and dairy sectors.

However, by staying out, India has blocked itself from a trade bloc that represents 30% of the global economy and world population, touching over 2.2 billion people.

Further, as the summary of the final agreement shows that the pact does cover and attempt to address some issues that India had flagged, including rules of origin, trade in services, movement of persons. Therefore, this makes the case of India to review its decision and look RCEP through the lens of economic realism.

REASONS FOR INDIA’S NOT SIGNING RCEP

India’s withdrawals from RCEP may be attributed to its trade and technical concerns:

TRADE CONCERNS

INDIA’S BILATERAL TRADE-DEFICIT WITH RCEP COUNTRIES

India has already a bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, ASEAN countries and Japan which are the part of RCEP. Though trade has increased the post-Free Trade Agreement with these countries, imports have risen faster than exports from India.

According to a paper published by NITI Aayog, India has a bilateral trade deficit with most of the member countries of RCEP.

TRADE & STRATEGIC CONCERNS WITH CHINA

India has already signed FTA with all the countries of RCEP except China. Trade data suggests that India’s deficit with China, without any trade pact with it, is higher than that of the remaining RCEP constituents put together.

India already has a massive trade deficit with China and a lower custom duty-invoked by this trade agreement, would have made its commodity markets extremely vulnerable to an influx of Chinese goods. This trade deficit is the primary concern for India, as after signing RCEP cheaper products from China would have flooded the Indian market.

Further, from a geopolitical perspective, RCEP is China-led or is intended to expand China’s influence in Asia.

PROTECTION OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY

India’s withdrawal from RCEP is due to its possible negative effects on small and medium scale farmers, traders and industries, which are already experiencing a chronic slowdown. India had also reportedly expressed apprehensions on lowering and eliminating tariffs on several products like dairy, steel etc. For instance, the dairy industry is expected to face stiff competition from Australia and New Zealand. Currently, India’s average bound tariff for dairy products is on average 35%.The RCEP binds countries to reduce that current level of tariffs to zero within the next 15 years.

TECHNICAL CONCERNS

UNAVAILABILITY OF THE MOST FAVORED NATION (MFN) CLAUSE

One key issue for India was the unavailability of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause that would have made India to give the same treatment to RCEP nations that it gave to others.

NON-ACCEPTANCE OF AUTO-TRIGGER MECHANISM

To deal with the imminent rise in imports, India had been seeking an auto-trigger mechanism.Auto-trigger Mechanism would have allowed India to raise tariffs on products in instances where imports cross a certain threshold. However, other countries in the RCEP were against this proposal.

LACK OF CONSENSUS ON RULES OF ORIGIN

India was concerned about a “possible circumvention” of rules of origin. Rules of origin are the criteria used to determine the national source of a product. Current provisions in the deal reportedly do not prevent countries from routing, through other countries, products on which India would maintain higher tariffs.

WHY INDIA SHOULD HAVE SIGNED RCEP?

More than the technical reasons, it is the concerns of cheaper inflows of imported goods from RCEP countries and trade deficit with them that may have given reasons to India for not signing this agreement. However,

• If India is not part of trade pacts with major countries, and the WTO process is in trouble, it will quite quickly run out of countries to trade with. Sure, India can continue to export to these countries, but it will suffer a disadvantage since, with the pact-countries, there will be no/low import duties on most goods traded while this will not hold for India.
• What makes an exports push all the more critical is that India’s high GDP growth in the past has been directly related to exports growth, not that of local consumption. In the boom years of 2003-08, JP Morgan chief India economist Sajjid Chinoy points out, India’s real exports growth averaged 17.8% annually while (public and private) consumption grew just 7.2%; a similar point has also been made by former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian.

Analysis by Pravin Krishna of Johns Hopkins University, for the period 2007 to 2018, shows that India’s trade deficit—as a share of its total trade deficit—with the ASEAN fell from 9.9% to 6.6%. For all bilateral agreements that India has, such as with Japan, Korea, etc, this fell from 12.6% to 7.5%. Interestingly, the sharpest deterioration in India’s deficit is with China, a country with which it has no FTA.

INDIA’S POOR COMPETITIVENESS IS THE REAL ISSUE:

• The real issue that comes out is that of India’s poor competitiveness, and that has little to do with FTAs. To understand this better, let’s keep India out of the equation, just look at the overall exports of various countries.
• In the last 20 years (see graphic), India’s exports grew 9 times while those of China rose 13 times—on a base that is 5.5 times India’s—and Vietnam’s rose 23 times; as a result, from a mere 32% of India’s in 1999, Vietnam’s exports are 81.5% of India’s today. In other words, whether or not we sign a trade pact with these countries, chances are their exports will grow faster than India’s; the fact that their exports are growing faster than ours means they are more competitive.
• The same result, of lack of competitiveness, as it happens, is visible from India’s overall exports. From 16.8% of GDP in FY12, India’s exports fell to 10.9% in FY20; and while imports fell from 26.8% to 16.5%, imports are significantly higher than exports.
• Indeed, the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme that the government has finalised for mobile phones—and plans to do for 10 other sectors soon—is itself recognition of this reality since the PLI offered are meant to offset a part of the disadvantage of producing in India. One of the studies on the disadvantage in the case of mobile phones put this at 9.4-12.5% versus manufacturing in Vietnam; the cost of electricity (based on the amount used for production) added one per cent to the cost of production of a phone in India, expensive bank loans added 1.5-2% to the costs, logistics 0.5%, land one per cent, etc.

REASONS FOR INDIA TO REVIEW

GLOBAL ECONOMIC STAGNATION DUE TO COVID-19

With global trade and the economy facing a steep decline due to Covid-19 pandemic, RCEP can serve as a bulwark in containing the free fall of the global economy and re-energising economic activity.Further, the RCEP presents a unique opportunity to support India’s economic recovery, inclusive development and job creation even as it helps strengthen regional supply chains.

NEED FOR ECONOMIC REALISM

India should deter seeing RCEP only from the Chinese perspective.India should acknowledge that the trade bloc represents 30% of the global economy and world population, touching over 2.2 billion people, and staying out of RCEP may result in suboptimal economic growth without leveraging Asia-Pacific demand.

In this regard, India can draw inspiration from Japan & Australia, as they chose to bury their geopolitical differences with China to prioritise what they collectively see as a mutually beneficial trading compact.

STRATEGIC NEED

It is not just because gains from trade are significant, but the RCEP’s membership is a prerequisite to having a say in shaping RCEP’s rules. This is necessary to safeguard India’s interests and the interests of several countries that are too small to stand up to the largest member, China. Moreover, staying out of RCEP may also affect India’s Act East policy.

CONCLUSION: According to some experts, one of the ways India can offset the trade and strategic loss due to signing out of this RCEP is by signing FTA with both the USA and the EU. While it is theoretically possible India’s exports can grow faster should there be an FTA with both the US and EU—even so, China and Vietnam’s higher competitiveness is an issue—it is by no means a given that such an FTA can be signed quickly. Indeed, for decades, India has resisted opening up sectors that the US and EU have been interested in. That something like the import duties on Harley Davidson motorcycles was allowed to become a friction point between India and the US despite no serious manufacture of these motorcycles in India indicates just how inflexible India has been; imagine its ability to open up sectors or reduce duties in sectors where there are a large number of local producers who will be hit.

Given the economic and market power India wields, the RCEP members have left the door open for India. It would be in India’s interest to dispassionately review its position on RCEP and carry out structural reforms that will help India to mitigate some of the repercussions arising from the RCEP.

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS 10% RESERVATIONS FOR ECONOMICALLY WEAKER SECTIONS (EWS)

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court, by a majority view of 3:2, upheld the validity of the 103rd amendment to the Constitution providing 10 per cent reservation to people belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) in education and government jobs.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Majority views

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari stated the there were three main issues in the case :

1. Whether the 103rd Constitution Amendment is violative of basic structure for providing reservation solely on the basis of economic criteria.
2. Whether the amendment is violative of basic structure for excluding the poor among the SC/ST/OBC categories from EWS Quota.
3. Whether the amendment is violative of the basic structure for breaching the 50% ceiling limit.

According to the majority view, the amendment is not violative of the basic structure on any of the above issues.

As per the majority view of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M Trivedi and JB Pardiwala, reservation structured singularly on economic criteria does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. They have also held that breach of 50% ceiling limit by EWS reservation does not violate basic structure.

Dissenting View

• In their dissenting judgment however, Chief Justice of India and Justice S Ravindra Bhat said that reservation on economic criteria is per se not violative. Justice Bhat held that economic criteria can be used to provide reservation in education under Article 15 but not for the purpose of reservation in jobs under Article 16.
• “while the ‘economic criteria’ per se is permissible in relation to access of public goods (under Article 15), the same is not true for Article 16, the goal of which is empowerment, through representation of the community”, Justice Bhat’s judgment stated.
• However, by excluding the poor among SC/ST/OBC from economically backward classes (on the ground that they have enjoyed benefits), the 103rd Amendment practices constitutionally prohibited forms of discrimination.

THE BACKGROUND:

What is the EWS Quota?

• The Central Government put forth the 10 percent reservation quota for candidates in the economically weaker sections (EWS) sections of the society for admissions and government jobs with the 103rd Constitution amendment. The amendment was passed in January 2019 and through it Articles 15(6) and 16(6) were inserted in the Constitution for the reservation.
• The amendment empowers state governments to provide reservations in college admissions and government jobs based on criteria of economic backwardness.

What are the criteria and who can avail of EWS quota benefits?

• Under EWS quota, “Persons belonging to the general category with an annual gross household income of up to Rs 8 lakh are eligible for the reservation, excluding families that own over 5 acres of agricultural land, a house over 1,000 square feet, a plot of over 100-yards in a notified municipal area or over a 200-yards plot in a non-notified municipal area.”

CONNECTING DOTS:

Indra Sawhney case-1992

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. THE BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE

THE CONTEXT: In a move that allayed concerns about yet another disruption to global food supply chains, Russia re-joined the Black Sea Grain deal. The reversal came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow would suspend, but not end, its involvement in the deal.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Black Sea Grain deal:

• Aims to limit food price inflation emanating from supply chain disruptions because of Russian actions in the world’s ‘breadbasket’ by ensuring an adequate supply of grains.
• The deal, brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey, was signed in Istanbul in July 2022.
• Initially stipulated for a period of 120 days, with an option to extend or terminate, the deal was to provide for a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.

Features:

• A Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), comprising senior representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN for oversight and coordination.
• All commercial ships are required to register directly with the JCC to ensure appropriate monitoring, inspection and safe passage. Inbound and outbound ships (to the designated corridor) transit as per a schedule accorded by the JCC post-inspection. This is done so as to ensure there is no unauthorised cargo or personnel onboard. Following this, they are allowed to sail onwards to Ukrainian ports for loading through the designated corridor.
• All ships, once inside the Ukrainian territorial waters, are subject to the nation’s authority and responsibility.
• Should there be any requirement for removing explosives, a minesweeper from another country would be required to sweep the approaches to the Ukrainian ports, in other words, accompany the vessel with tugboats.
• Moreover, in order to avoid provocations and untoward incidents, it is mandated that monitoring be done remotely.
• No military ships or unmanned aerial vehicles can approach the corridor closer than a pre-decided distance agreed upon by the JCC. This too would require consultation with the parties and authorisation of the JCC.

Significance:

• Ukraine is among the largest exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, globally.
• Its access to the deep-sea ports in the Black Sea enables it to directly approach Russia and Europe along with grain importers from the Middle East and North Africa.
• Russia’s action in the East European country has now disturbed this route, earlier used to ship 75% of its agricultural exports – precisely what the initiative sought to address.
• The initiative has been credited for having made a “huge difference” to the global cost of living crisis.
• The initiative alone cannot address global hunger; it can only avert the chances of the global food crisis spiralling further.
• As per the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 9.8 million tonnes of grains have been shipped since the initiative was commenced.
• People hoarding the grain in the hope of selling it for a sizeable profit owing to the supply crunch were now obligated to sell.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. WHAT IS GREEN CESS OR ENVIRONMENT CESS?

THE CONTEXT:The government of India has made a climate pledge to reduce emissions to GDP ratio by 45 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels under the Paris Agreement.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Green Cess:

• A Green cess is a form of tax levied by the government with the purpose of environment conservation.
• The revenue collected through such cess is used to create green energy infrastructure, combating environmental pollution, afforestation and other such purposes which help in conserving the environment.
• In India, many state governments such as Goa and Gujarat have provision of green tax or cess.
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had introduced a similar tax called as Green Tax / Eco Tax.

About CEC:

• The Clean Environment Cess (CEC) was a tax introduced in 2010 as a fiscal tool to reduce the use of coal and associated carbon emissions.
• The revenues were earmarked for financing and promoting clean environment initiatives.
• It was levied on the total sales of all types of coal in India.
• To manage the funds accrued under the CEC, the National Clean Energy & Environment Fund (NCEEF) was created in 2010.
• The funds were hypothecated for environmental goals such as rejuvenation of rivers, afforestation, and promotion of renewable energy generation through research and development.
• Despite these intentions of levying the cess, its design and implementation have been inadequate.

Challenges associated with the implementation of the CEC:

The grade factor:

• The design of the CEC, which levies the cess in proportion to only the quantum of coal (at ₹400/tonne), without differentiating by its grade.
• It does not give an incentive to switch to higher quality coal with lower levels of pollution.

Diversion of funds:

• This cess was subsumed into the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation cess in 2017.
• The revenues, which were originally earmarked for environmental conservation, were instead used for compensating States for their loss of revenues.
• Funds designated for clean energy and environment initiatives are now at the discretion of the States to determine where their revenues from the GST compensation cess are being spent.
• This calls for an immediate review and also highlights the inefficiencies of the government’s fiscal operations and the reduced attention given to promoting clean environment schemes.

Under spent funds for intended purpose:

• The data on revenue utilisation indicate that only 18 per cent of the aggregated revenue collected between 2010-11 and 2017-18 was used for its intended purpose.
• This again points out the inefficiency of the government in using the revenue of a cess for its earmarked purposes.

4. NEELAKURINJI FLOWERS THAT BLOOM ONCE IN EVERY 12 YEARS

THE CONTEXT:Neelakurinji flowers have bloomed in the Kodagu district of Karnataka after 12 years. This kind of mass flowering is known as gregarious flowering.

THE EXPLANATION:    

About the flower:

• It is a shrub found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• Locally known as Kurinji, the flowers grow at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 metres.
• Nilgiri Hills, which means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that bloom only once in 12 years.
• Kurinjimala Sanctuary of Kerala protects the kurinji in approximately 32 km2 core habitat in Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in the Idukki district.
• Kurinji Andavar temple, located in Kodaikanal of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to Tamil God Murugan and preserves these plants.
• The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.
• Karnataka has around 45 species of Neelakurinji, and each species blooms at intervals of six, nine, 11 or 12 years.
• Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the Shevroy in the Eastern Ghats, Sandur hills of Bellary district in Karnataka.

5. NEW HONEY BEE SPECIES SPOTTED, ENDEMIC TO WESTERN GHATS

THE CONTEXT: A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats. The new species has been named Apiskarinjodianand given the common name Indian black honey bee.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Indian black honey bee

• A new endemic species of honey bee, christened Indian black honey bee (Apiskarinjodian), was discovered in the Western Ghats.
• Its habitat ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, spanning the states of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu.
• The species has been classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.

Honey bee species in India and the world.

• The discovery of new species of honey bee was made in India after more than 200 years. The last time a honey bee species was described in India was Apis indica, which was identified by Fabricius in 1798. It was not considered to be a valid honey bee species until the research team that discovered Apiskarinjodian restored its status based on the new measure for species discrimination in honey bees called Radio-Medial Index.
• With the discovery of the new species Apiskarinjodian and the acceptance of Apis indica, the number of honey bee species in the world has increased to 11.
• The new study provided the first distribution map and key to distinguish the three cavity nesting honey bee species present in the Indian subcontinent. These species are Apis indica, Apis cerana and Apis karinjodian. Cavity nesting honey bees are those used for the commercial production of honey. Till date, only Apis cerana was noted as a uniform population of cavity nesting honey bees in the Indian Subcontinent. It is found across the plains of central and southern India and Sri Lanka.

How does the new species help India’s apiculture industry?

• The new species will provide a major benefit for India’s apiculture industry since it produces higher quantities of honey that is thicker in consistency.
• Currently, the Indian apiculture industry relies on honey obtained from Apis indica that has a moisture content of more than 25 per cent.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) does not allow more than 20 per cent moisture in honey.
• To reduce moisture, the honey is heated, leading to a change in the colour, texture and loss of nutrients.
• Since the honey from Apis karinjodian is thicker, this process is not required. Therefore, the natural quality is retained.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. NAGALAND: TOKHÜ EMONG BIRD COUNT (TEBC)

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Nagaland hosted the first bird documentation event – ‘TokhüEmong Bird Count’ (TEBC). ‘TokhüEmong Bird Count’ is an effort to promote and encourage the conservation of birds in their natural habitat.

THE EXPLANATION:

• ‘TokhüEmong Bird Count’ is being organized in collaboration with the Wokha Forest Division and the Divisional Management Unit, Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP), Wokha, and Bird Count India.
• A public birding event will be conducted and the comprehensive details of birds would be deliberated to generate awareness among the students on bird conservation.
• A bird walk through woodland is also feasible during the event.
• This will prove as a great opportunity to get kids connected to birds and nature.
• Bird lovers outside Nagaland who wish to be part of this event can follow the official guidelines.
• Counts will be more productive early in the morning, with birds generally becoming quiet and inactive during the middle of the day.
• The event has been dubbed after TokhüEmong, a post-harvest festival of the Lotha Nagas.
• TokhüEmong is a festival of thanksgiving, sharing, and reconciliation. The most beautiful aspect of this festival is to forgive the past rancours and develop new ties and bonds of closer intimacy.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. Consider the following statements about Black Sea Grain Deal:

1. It seeks to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions caused due to Ukraine-Russia war.
2. It was brokered by United Nations and Turkey.

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: C

Explanation:

Black Sea Grain Initiative

• The Black Sea Grain deal endeavours to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions because of Russia’s actions in the world’s ‘breadbasket’.
• The deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. Initially stipulated for a period of 120 days, with an option to extend or terminate after November, the deal was to provide for a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.

THE CONTEXT: India experienced a power crisis in October 2021, as the stock of coal held by the country’s thermal power plants has hit critically low levels. Many power plants are operating with zero reserve stock or with stocks that could last just a few days. Some States have witnessed partial load-shedding aimed at saving power. This article analyses the reasons behind the coal shortage and provides the way forward for ensuring an uninterrupted power supply in the country.

ABOUT THE COAL CRISIS

How bad is the problem?

• According to data released by the Central Electricity Authority, as of 13^th October 2021, India’s 135 thermal power plants overall had on average coal stock that would last just four days.
• The government usually mandates the power plants to hold stocks that would last at least two weeks. It has, however, reduced this requirement to 10 days now to avoid hoarding and ensure a more equitable distribution of coal among the plants.
• India relies on coal to meet over 70% of its power needs, and Coal India Limited (CIL) supplies over 80% of the total coal.
• The current coal crisis comes amid a broader energy crisis across the world, with the prices of natural gas, coal and oil rising sharply in the international market.

Is it a “crisis” or shortage?

• “Crisis” is a subjective term. There are no objective criteria for determining whether there is a crisis or not. However, “shortage” can be determined objectively.
• No one can deny the fact that the supply of coal in India is well below the demand. Whereas the demand is nearly a billion million tonnes (MT), the country’s supply is well below 800 MT.
• When this shortage becomes acute, in terms of the availability of coal at power plants, it is sometimes called a crisis.
• The acute shortage can be on account of production, increased demand or a failure of supply chain management when the stocks are sufficient at the pit head but requisite supply is not made to the power plants.

ANALYSIS

What are the reasons behind the present crisis?

• The current crisis in the availability of coal has been the result of lacklustre domestic production and a sharp drop in imports over the last few years.

• According to BP Global Energy Statistics, domestic coal production in India has stagnated since 2018. At the same time, the amount of coal imported from other countries to meet domestic demand, too, has dropped significantly. In fact, the government last year said it would stop all coal imports by FY24.
• Reasons also include short-term issues like flooding in coal-mining areas, transport issues, labour disruptions in major coal-mining countries and the sudden rise in power demand as the economy revives from the pandemic.
• Stagnating supply did not cause trouble last year, with the economy shut down to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. But the rise in power demand this year has exposed the government’s inability to push domestic production or compensate for insufficient domestic production by increasing imports.

What are the structural problems in coal sector and power industry?

• Populist politics has ensured that the price that many consumers pay for power is not commensurate with the production costs. In FY19, for instance, the revenues of distribution companies covered only about 70% of their total costs.
• This has discouraged private investment in power generation and distribution even as the demand for power continues to rise each year.
• It has also increased the debt burden on public sector distribution companies as they have not been compensated for their losses while selling power at subsidized rates.
• The mining of raw materials such as coal is nearly monopolized by public sector companies like CIL that are not run primarily for profits. In fact, CIL has kept its coal price low even as international prices have risen significantly this year.
• The financial crisis is brewing in the power sector. GENCOs have a receivable of more ₹2,00,000 crore from distribution companies. They, in turn, owe more than ₹20,000 crores to CIL.

What can we expect in the near future?

• In recent years, many countries have been trying to cut down on their fossil fuel consumption in order to meet emission targets. But with the current energy crunch, which is prevalent not just in India, fossil fuels are likely to make a strong comeback.
• India and China, the top two consumers of coal in the world, are expected to further increase the production of fossil fuels.
• The Indian government has been pushing CIL to ramp up production to meet the rising demand and cut down on the country’s reliance on imported coal. However, it is expected to ease restrictions on imported coal in the near future to tide over the crisis.
• China, which consumes half of the world’s coal output and has committed itself to reduce its carbon emissions by 65% by 2030, is set to install more coal-powered power plants to meet its rising energy needs.

THE WAY FORWARD:

1. Increase the coal production to meet the increased demand:

• Ironically, all the coal resides in States that are ruled by non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties. Officers from the Union Government will have to go down to the States, convey a value proposition and sit with State-level officers to resolve issues related to land acquisition and forest clearances.
• The Union Government will also have to take up clearance-related issues with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Funds will have to be arranged to CIL for the expansion of existing mines as well as the opening of new ones.
• First, the Union Government should stop squeezing more funds out of CIL as it has done during the past few years by way of dividends to balance its budget when this money should have been used to open new mines and expand existing ones.
• Second, it should consider providing cash to CIL against the dues owed by GENCOs.
• Non- CIL production will have to be augmented.
• An inter-ministerial Coal Project Monitoring Group (CPMG), which was set up in 2015 to fast-track clearances, became dormant. This will need to be revived.

2. Ease restrictions on imported coal and compulsory use of imported coal: The government recently mandated the thermal power plants to blend imported coal with domestic coal up to a limit of 10%.
3. Reducing the power losses from the transmission and improving the efficiency & management of power DISCOMS.
4. Shifting towards renewable energy sources for power production and integrating them into national grid. India has the ambitious target of installing 450 GW capacity by 2030 from renewable sources. This will also help to meet the NDCs committed to Paris Agreement.
5. Working on demand-side management to optimize the demand of power especially in domestic and agriculture sector Power-efficient appliances should be promoted and solar energy for irrigation pumps used by farmers (PM KUSUM scheme).

THE CONCLUSION: The coal crisis may be temporarily over, but if the fundamentals of the crisis are not taken care of, it is likely to recur. Uninterrupted supply of power is of paramount importance for economic growth in the country. Therefore, the government of India should address the structural problems in the coal sector and power sector so as to avoid any energy crisis in the near future.

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF REMOTE VOTING FOR NRI’S?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Supreme court disposed a batch of petitions seeking remote voting for NRIs. On the assurance of the Attorney general, the Centre was looking at ways to facilitate distance voting for non-resident Indians (NRIs), mainly migrant laborers.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the size of the NRI electorate?

• According to estimates, India has the largest diaspora population, with nearly 35 crore non-resident Indians spread across the globe. Many of them are in the Gulf countries, the U.S. and the U.K. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 99,844 NRIs registered and 25,606 electors turned up to vote, with a majority hailing from Kerala (25,534).
• In the 2014 Parliamentary elections, 11,846 NRIs registered and only a fraction turned up to vote. Of the registered overseas electors, 90% belonged to Kerala. Others registered are from Gujarat, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu among other States.
• A major reason for low NRI registration and voting despite India amending the Representation of the People Act in 2010 to enable eligible NRIs who had stayed abroad beyond six months to vote is the condition that they have to visit the polling booth in person.

What has the government done so far?

• Since the in-person proviso of the amended Act discouraged many, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court between 2013 and 2014 by NRIs. The Election Commission of India (ECI) formed a Committee in 2014 on the Court’s direction to explore the options for overseas electors. The committee narrowed it down to two remote voting options — e-postal ballot and proxy voting.

• The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) involves the NRI voter sending an application to the returning officer in person or online. The returning officer will send the ballot electronically. The voter can then register their mandate on the ballot printout and send it back with an attested declaration. The voter will either send the ballot by ordinary post or drop it at an Indian Embassy where it would be segregated and posted. Proxy voting, meanwhile, enables voters to appoint proxies to vote on their behalf.
• Both ETPBS and proxy voting are currently available to only service voters, like those in the armed forces or diplomatic missions. In its report, the ECI said proxy voting would be a “convenient” and “doable” method.

HEALTH ISSUES

EBOLA VIRUS

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Ugandan officials have reported 11 more cases of Ebola in the capital since October 21, a worrisome increase in infections just over a month after an outbreak was declared in a remote part of the East African country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to a top World Health Organization official in Africa said that Uganda’s Ebola outbreak was “rapidly evolving,” describing a challenging situation for health workers.
• Ugandan health authorities have confirmed 75 cases of Ebola since September 20, including 28 deaths. There are 19 active cases.

VALUE ADDITION:

What is Ebola Virus Disease?

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly disease with occasional outbreaks that occur mostly on the African continent. EVD most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). It is caused by an infection with a group of viruses within the genus Ebolavirus:

• Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus)
• Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus)
  

  

• Taï Forest virus (species Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus)
• Bundibugyo virus (species Bundibugyo ebolavirus)
• Reston virus (species Reston ebolavirus)
• Bombali virus (species Bombali ebolavirus)

Of these, only four (Ebola, Sudan, Taï Forest, and Bundibugyo viruses) have caused disease in people. Reston virus can cause disease in nonhuma

n primates and pigs, but there have not been cases in people. Bombali virus was first identified in bats in 2018, and experts do not know yet if it causes disease in either animals or people.

When was the first instance?

• Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, the virus has been infecting people from time to time, leading to outbreaks in several African countries.

Vaccines:

• An experimental Ebola vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV proved highly protective against EVD in a major trial in Guinea in 2015.
• The rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine is being used in the ongoing 2018-2019 Ebola outbreak in DRC. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should have access to the vaccine under the same conditions as for the general population.
• The public mistrust and militia attacks have prevented health workers from reaching some hard-hit areas for administering the vaccines.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

WHO ARE KURDISH GROUPS?

THE CONTEXT: According to Sweden Foreign Minister new government will distance itself from the Kurdish YPG militia as it tries to win Turkey’s approval to join NATO.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and its political branch PYD are considered by Turkey extensions of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which launched an insurgency against Turkey in 1980 and is regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
• Sweden, along with the United States and several other NATO countries, has supported the YPG in the fight against Islamic State.
• However, Turkey has vowed to block Sweden’s application to join NATO if it doesn’t stop supporting the militia group.

Who are Kurds?

• At an estimated 25 million to 35 million population, they are the world’s largest stateless ethnic group.
• The majority among the Kurdish people today are Sunni Muslim, but there are adherents of other faiths too, including Sufism and other mystical practices.
• They live in the highlands of southern and eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, the northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and parts of south Armenia, and are a minority in each of these countries. Small communities live in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, and eastern Iran as well.
• Kurds have long had a reputation for being fearless fighters, and they have served as mercenaries in many armies over the centuries.
• The mediaeval warrior Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty that replaced the Fatimids in Egypt and ruled over large parts of the Middle East in the 12th and 13th centuries, was of Kurdish ethnicity.

What’s happening now?

Recently, the Trump administration ordered US troops to step aside from the border in northern Syria, effectively paving the way for Turkey to launch an offensive against US-backed Kurdish forces who they regard as enemies.

What are their demands?

• The Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, except in Iraq, where they have a regional government called Iraqi Kurdistan.
• Kurdistan is made up of five different regions: southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran and southwestern Armenia.
• In the early 20th century, the Kurds began working toward the creation of homeland known as Kurdistan. In 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres — one of a series of treaties that the Central Powers signed after their defeat in World War I — outlined the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and called for an autonomous Kurdistan.
• Three years later, after the end of the war, Western allies dropped demands for an independent Kurdish state and the Kurdish region was divided among several countries.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

A THIRD OF WORLD HERITAGE GLACIERS UNDER THREAT, WARNS UNESCO STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to UN study, a third of the glaciers on the UNESCO World Heritage list are under threat, regardless of efforts to limit temperature increases.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The study highlighted that it was still possible to save the other two-thirds, if the rise in global temperatures did not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era. UNESCO said this would be a major challenge facing delegates at the upcoming COP27.

• According to UNESCO Director General, UNESCO is determined to support states in pursuing this goal. In addition to drastically reduced carbon emissions, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is advocating for the creation of a new international fund for glacier monitoring and preservation.
• Such a fund would support comprehensive research, promote exchange networks between all stakeholders and implement early warning and disaster risk reduction measures.
• The study noted that Half of humanity depends directly or indirectly on glaciers as their water source for domestic use, agriculture, and power. Glaciers are also pillars of biodiversity, feeding many ecosystems.
• “When glaciers melt rapidly, millions of people face water scarcity and the increased risk of natural disasters such as flooding, and millions more may be displaced by the resulting rise in sea levels.
• Fifty UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers, representing almost 10% of the Earth’s total glacierised area. They include the highest (next to Mt Everest), the longest (in Alaska), and the last remaining glaciers in Africa.
• The UNESCO study, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), showed that these glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate since 2000 due to CO2 emissions, which are warming temperatures.
• They are currently losing 58 billion tons of ice every year – equivalent to the combined annual water use of France and Spain – and are responsible for nearly 5% of observed global sea-level rise. The glaciers under threat are in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.

VALUE ADDITION:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that was outlined in a constitution signed November 16, 1945. It promotes international collaboration in education, science, and culture to promote peace.

Headquarters: Paris, France

Member Countries:  It has 195 member countries, and it pursues its objectives through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information.

 Reports Published: 

• Global Education Monitoring Report
• Gender Parity Index.

ONE WORD A DAY: ACCLIMATIZATION

THE CONTEXT: According to officials, two of the eight cheetahs inside the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh were released into an acclimatization enclosure from the quarantine area where they were kept since their translocation from Namibia in mid-September 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is meant by Acclimatization?

• Acclimation is a gradual, reversible change to the body to help adapt to changes to the environment. Temperatures, precipitation, and food sources are always changing. One way that living things can handle these changes is through a process called acclimation.
• It is a slow, reversible change to the body that allows an organism to handle a different environment. This change can occur over a few days, several weeks, or even months.

How is Acclimatization Different from Adaptation?

• The presence of special features or habits in a species that help to survive in a particular habitat is called adaptation. For example, desert plants have leaves reduced into spines to reduce water loss by transpiration.  But, acclimatization helps to overcome the small problems caused by changes in the surroundings.
• For example, tomatoes are plants that grow best in temperate climates. However, they can survive freezing temperatures if the temperature drop happens over a few days rather than occurring suddenly. This short-term “adjustment” is how the tomato acclimatizes to the harsh temperature. It happens in short period within the lifetime of an entity. On the other hand, the adaptation of a species to a particular environment takes place over generations.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

EQUAL RESPECT TO VANDE MATARAM: CENTRE TO DELHI HIGH COURT

THE CONTEXT: The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ “stand on the same level” and that citizens should show equal respect to both.

THE EXPLANATION:

ABOUT OUR NATIONAL SONG:

• ‘Vande Mataram’ is the national song of India. It was written by Mr. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to praise the “Mother India” on 7th November 1875, and was published in a Bengali fiction novel ‘Anandmath’.
• He wrote Vande Mataram at Chinsurah, near the river Hooghly (near Mallik Ghat).
• It is assumed that the concept of Vande Mataram clicked to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay when he was serving as a government official (a District Collector), around 1876.
• Jadunath Bhattacharya was asked to set a tune for this poem just after it was written
• It was adopted on January 24, 1950, by providing it equal status with national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
• It is taken from the novel Anand Math published in 1882.
• It was sung for the first time at the congress session at Calcutta in 1896.
• It is formed for the proclamation of Mother Land. It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement.
• The original Vande Mataram comprises of 6 stanzas.
• It was translated in prose by Shri Aurobindo in Karmayogin on 20 November 1909.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

 COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (CEPA)

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the 9th round of the India-Republic of Korea (ROK) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) up-gradation negotiation was held in Seoul.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India raised serious concerns on the growing trade deficit between the two countries and discussed market access issues. Both sides agreed to work closely to address tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepen the relationship in the services sector.
• It was agreed that the 10th round of CEPA upgradation negotiations will be hosted by India in early 2023.

India – ROK Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

• ROK and India signed a CEPA in Seoul on 7th August, 2009.
• It commits both countries to lower or eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods, over the next 10 years. ROK is reducing tariffs on 90 percent of Indian goods while India will do so on 85 percent of Korean goods.

Types of Trade Agreements:

• Free Trade Agreement: It is an agreement in which two or more countries agree to provide preferential trade terms, tariff concession etc. to the partner country. Here a negative list of products and services is maintained on which the terms of FTA are not applicable.
• Preferential Trade Agreement: In this, two or more partners give preferential right of entry to certain products. This is done by reducing duties on an agreed number of tariff lines. India signed a PTA with Afghanistan.
• Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement: It is comprehensive than an FTA. CECA/CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade.
• Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement: CECA generally covers negotiation on trade tariff and TQR rates only. It is not as comprehensive as CEPA. India has signed CECA with Malaysia.
• Framework agreement: It primarily defines the scope and provisions of orientation of the potential agreement between the trading partners. It provides for some new area of discussions and set the period for future liberalisation. India has previously signed framework agreements with the ASEAN, Japan etc.
• Early Harvest Scheme: It is a precursor to an FTA/CECA/CEPA between two trading partners. At this stage, the negotiating countries identify certain products for tariff liberalization pending the conclusion of actual FTA negotiations.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

BLUE WHALES EAT 10 MILLION PIECES OF MICROPLASTIC A DAY: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: A new study found that the blue whale – the largest mammal on Earth – swallows millions of microplastics each day as do fin and humpback whales.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are the key findings of the report?

• Blue whales may swallow some 10 million microplastic pieces each day or around 95 pounds of plastic
• Fin whales swallow an estimated 6 million microplastic pieces, which is equivalent to 57 pounds of plastic.
• Humpback whales either consume krill or eat small schooling fish. Krill-eating humpback whales are found to consume 4 million microplastic pieces (38 pounds) each day. Those humpback whales favouring small schooling fish are at lesser risk of microplastic consumption since only 200,000 pieces were found.
• In the moderately polluted waters off the West Coast of the US, baleen whales are still ingesting millions of microplastics and microfibers each day.
• About 99 per cent of the microplastic ingestion by the baleen whales is from prey that had previously ingested plastic and not from the water they filter.
• The large amount of microplastic ingestion is also attributed to baleen whales’ habitats overlapping with polluted regions like the California Current that flows south along North America’s western coast.

Why was the study conducted?

• Research recently provided an estimate of the amount of microplastics ingested by three species of baleen whales – blue, fin and humpback – off the coast of the US Pacific. This study was conducted in light to the enormous amount of microplastics currently polluting the oceans.
• Baleen whales are filter feeders. They use baleen plates in mouth made of keratin to strain food such as krill and other small preys. These species are at high risk of microplastic ingestion due to their unique mode of feeding, quantity of food they consume and habitats close to polluted regions.

How was the study conducted?

• The estimates of the daily microplastic consumption by baleen whales was made by assessing the foraging behaviour of 126 blue whales, 65 humpback whales and 29 fin whales using measurements from electronic tag devices suction-cupped on the back of the animal. A camera, microphone, GPS locator and a tracker were used to study the movement of these baleen whales.
• The researchers then factored in the concentration of microplastics in the California Current. They found that the whales mainly feed at the depth of 165 to 820 feet. This depth has the highest concentration of microplastic in the open-ocean ecosystem.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN THE NEWS

INDIA INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT FUND (IIPDF) SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance notified Scheme for Financial Support for Project Development Expenses of PPP Projects – India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF Scheme).

THE EXPLANATION:

It is a Central Sector Scheme which will aid the development of quality PPP projects by providing necessary funding support to the project sponsoring authorities, both in the Central and State Governments.

Funding:

• The corpus of the IIPDF shall comprise of initial budgetary outlay of Rs. 100 Crore by the Ministry of Finance. This would be supplemented, should it become necessary, through budgetary support by the Ministry of Finance from time to time.
• Funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to the already operational Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs in Infrastructure (VGF Scheme).

Organisational Structure: The IIPDF will be administered by the Empowered Institution. The Empowered Institution will:

• Select projects for which project development costs will be funded.
• Set the terms and conditions under which the funding will be provided and recovered.
• Set milestones for disbursing and recovering (where appropriate) the funding.
• The Public Private Partnership Cell of the DEA will provide support functions examine the applications received for assistance under IIPDF.

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL INDEX

THE CONTEXT: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) tops Grievance Redressal Index third month in a row.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Grievance Redressal Index is published by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• UIDAI has launched its new AI/ML based Chatbot, Aadhaar Mitra to further enhance residents’ experience. The new Chatbot comes with enhanced features like – check Aadhaar enrollment/update status, tracking of Aadhaar PVC card status etc.
• UIDAI is gradually rolling out advanced and futuristic Open-Source CRM solution.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

BONALU FESTIVAL

THE CONTEXT: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently joined the Budaga Jangalu community of Telangana and whipped himself as part of the ‘Potharajulu’ tradition. The custom is part of the state’s acclaimed Bonalu festival.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Bonalu is a Hindu Festival where Goddess Mahakali is worshiped.
• It is an annual festival celebrated in the twin Cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad and other parts of Telangana state, India.
• Bonalu is ce
• lebrated usually during Ashada Masam that falls in July/August.
• Special poojas are performed for goddess Yellamma during the first and last day of the festival.
• The festival is considered as a form of thanksgiving to the Goddess after the fulfillment of vows.
• Bonam literally means Meal in Telugu, which is an offering to the Mother Goddess.

Celebrations:

Every year, the festival starts at Golconda Fort, and on the second Sunday, it moves to the Balkampet Yellamma temple in Balkampet, and the Ujjaini Mahakali Temple in Secunderabad. On the third Sunday, it moves to the Pochamma and Katta Maisamma temple of Chilkalguda and the Mateshwari temple of Lal Darwaza in Hyderabad.

INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS TWO FINGER TEST?

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court recently said that those conducting the ‘two-finger test’ on alleged rape victims will be held guilty of misconduct.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A woman who has been sexually assaulted undergoes a medical examination for ascertaining her health and medical needs, collection of evidence, etc.
• The two-finger test, carried out by a medical practitioner, involves the examination of her vagina to check if she is habituated to sexual intercourse. The practice is unscientific and does not provide any definite information. Moreover, such ‘information’ has no bearing on an allegation of rape.
• A handbook released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on dealing with sexual assault victims says, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity”.

The Supreme Court Observations:

• In 2004 SC observed that whether a woman is ‘habituated to sexual intercourse’ or ‘habitual to sexual intercourse’ is irrelevant for the purposes of determining whether the ingredients of Section 375 (rape) of the IPC are present in a particular case.
• In 2013, the SC court had held that the two-finger test violates a woman’s right to privacy and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.
• Invoking the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966 and the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985, the apex court said rape survivors are entitled to legal recourse that does not re-traumatise them or violate their physical or mental integrity and dignity.

UNIFIED DISTRICT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR EDUCATION PLUS (UDISE) 2021-22

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Education recently released a detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education of India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the report, Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) has improved at primary, upper primary, and higher secondary levels of school education in 2021-22 as compared to 2020-21.
• GER in higher secondary has made a significant improvement from 53.8 percent in 2021-21 to 57.6 percent in 2021-22.
• In 2021-22, the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) stood at 26 for primary, 19 for upper primary, 18 for secondary, and 27 for higher secondary showing an improvement since 2018-19.
• In 2021-22, over 12.29 crore girls are enrolled in primary to higher secondary showing an increase of 8.19 lakh as compared to the enrolment of girls in 2020-21.
• More than 20,000 schools were closed across the country during 2020-21 while the number of teachers also declined by 1.95% in comparison to the previous year.
• It pointed out that only 44.85% schools had computer facilities while nearly 34% had internet connection.
• While only 27% schools have special toilets for children with special needs (CSWN), more than 49% of them have ramps with handrails

VALUE ADDITION:

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE):

• The UDISE+ system of online data collection from the schools was developed by Department of School Education & Literacy in the year 2018-19 to overcome the issues related to erstwhile practice of manual data filling in paper format.
• In UDISE+ system, improvements have been made particularly in the areas related to data capture, data mapping and data verification.
• In UDISE+ 2021-22, additional data on important indicators viz., digital library, peer learning, hard spot identification, number of books available in school library, etc have been collected for the first time to align with the National Education Policy 2020 initiatives.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

BIOLOGICAL WEAPON CONVENTION

THE CONTEXT: India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion sponsored by Russia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

THE EXPLANATION:

It aims to establish a commission to investigate claims by Moscow that the U.S. and Ukraine are carrying out “military biological activities” in laboratories in Ukraine in violation of the biological weapons convention (BWC).

About Biological Weapons Convention:

• It is a key element in the international community’s efforts to address Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation and it has established a strong norm against biological weapons.
• WMD is a weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction on such a massive scale and so indiscriminately that its very presence in the hands of a hostile power can be considered a grievous threat.
• Formally known as “The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction”, the Convention was negotiated by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It opened for signature on 10th April 1972 and entered into force on 26th March 1975.

Members:

• 183 States Parties and 4 Signatory States.
• India is a signatory of the convention.

Convention Prohibits:

• It effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons.
• It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

SECURITY AFFAIRS

SURGE IN OPIUM POPPIES CULTIVATION IN AFGHANISTAN

THE CONTEXT: According to UNODC findings, cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan increased by 32 per cent over the previous year, to 233,000 hectares – making the 2022 crop the third largest area under cultivation since monitoring began.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The UNODC report says the 2021 harvest of 6,200 tonnes, 10 per cent less than in 2021, could be converted into 350-380 tonnes of export-quality heroin. Eighty per cent of the world’s opiates come from Afghanistan.
• The income of farmers from opium sales more than tripled from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022, according to the report — 29 per cent of the Afghan agricultural sector’s total value in 2022, higher by 20 percentage points over the previous year.
• Cultivation continued to be concentrated in the southwestern parts of the country, which accounted for 73 per cent of the total area, and registering the largest crop increase.
• In Helmand province, one-fifth of all arable land was dedicated to opium poppy cultivation.

Potential Threat:

• According to the sources, opium production in Afghanistan has surpassed 6,000 tonnes for the sixth year in a row.
• As a result of the stated increase in worldwide opium prices, the exponential output of opiates has increased by 8%.
• The Taliban controls 85 percent of the world’s opium-growing land, making them the world’s most powerful narcotics gang.
• According to a report by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), illegal drugs account for up to 60% of the Taliban’s annual earnings.
• India’s fears of ungoverned regions and a lawless Afghanistan being a major source of domestic security danger are increasingly becoming a reality.

VALUE ADDITION:

Golden crescent

• The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia’s two principal areas of illicit Opium production, located at the crossroads of central, south and western Asia.
• This space overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent.

Golden triangle

• The Golden Triangle is located in the area where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers.
• Along with the Golden Crescent, it is regarded as one of the largest producers of opium in the world since the 1950s until it was overtaken by the Golden Crescent in the early 21st century.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

PLACES IN NEWS: MAUNA LOA

THE CONTEXT: The recent incidents of ground shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa indicate that the largest active volcano in the world could erupt.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
• It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
• It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
• Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.
• Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago. In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. In which of the following states of India, Amur Falcons have stopovers while on their journey as a migratory birds?

a) Manipur

b) Tamil Nadu

c) Nagaland

d) Kerala

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Wokha district, in Nagaland is the most preferred stopover of the Amur falcons while travelling from east Asia to southern Africa.

INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. PAHARI ETHNIC COMMUNITY ADDED TO SCHEDULED TRIBES LIST OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

THE CONTEXT: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has cleared the way for the inclusion of the ‘Pahari ethnic group’ in the Scheduled Tribes list of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The proposal green-lit by the commission also called for the inclusion of the “Paddari tribe”, “Koli” and “Gadda Brahman” communities to be included in the ST list of J&K.
• Currently, Jammu and Kashmir have 12 communities that have been notified as STs.

Resentment of Gujjars and Bakarwals:

• Pir Panjal valley is also home to Gujjars and Bakarwals, and the possibility of inclusion of Paharis in the ST list has been looked at as diluting their share of benefits.

Scheduled Tribes in India

• The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ first appeared in the Constitution of India. Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as “such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution”.
• Article 342, which is reproduced below, prescribes the procedure to be followed in the matter of specification of scheduled tribes.
• The tribal population of the country, as per the 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population.
• 97% live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas.
• The decadal population growth of the tribal from Census 2001 to 2011 has been 23.66% against the 17.69% of the entire population.
• The sex ratio for the overall population is 940 females per 1000 males and that of Scheduled Tribes is 990 females per thousand males.

What is the Process of Inclusion in the ST List?

• The process to include tribes in the ST list begins with a recommendation from the respective State governments, which is then sent to the Tribal Affairs Ministry, which reviews and sends them to the Registrar General of India for approval.
• This is followed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ approval before the list is sent to the Cabinet for a final decision.

What will be the Benefits of Inclusion in the ST List?

• The move will enable members of the communities newly listed in the revised list of Scheduled Tribes to derive benefits meant for STs under the existing schemes of the government.
• Some of the major benefits include post-matric scholarship, overseas scholarship, and national fellowship, besides education, concessional loans from the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, and hostels for students.
• In addition, they will also be entitled to the benefits of reservation in services and admission to educational institutions as per government policy.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2. SHRINKAGE OF RHINO HORNS DUE TO THE IMPACT OF HUNTING: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to a study, published in the latest edition of People and Nature by the British Ecological Society, the horns of rhinoceroses may have become smaller over time from the impact of hunting.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The horns of rhinoceroses may have become smaller over time due to the impact of hunting, according to a recent study which used an interesting research approach—analysing artwork and photographs of the animal spanning more than five centuries.
• Rhinos have long been hunted for their horns, which are highly valued in some cultures. The five surviving rhino species are still threatened by habitat loss and hunting. The study found that the rate of decline in horn length was highest in the critically endangered Sumatran rhino and lowest in the white rhino of Africa, which is the most commonly found species both in the wild and in captivity.
• This observation follows patterns seen in other animals, such as tusk size in elephants and horn length in wild sheep, which have been driven down by directional selection due to trophy hunting.

VALUE ADDITION:

The Greater One-horned Rhinoceros:

• The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species.
• It is identified by a single black horn and a grey-brown hide with skin folds.
• It is one of the five species of Rhinos.

The other four species are:

1. White rhino: It is native to northern and southern Africa
2. Black rhino: It is native to eastern and southern Africa
3. Javan rhino: It is also known as Sunda rhino or lesser one-horned rhino
4. Sumatran rhino: Critically Endangered species of rhino

Habitat:

• Greater one-horned rhinos are grazers. When not grazing on land, they like to immerse themselves in water, where they also graze on aquatic plants.
• This species of rhino is commonly found in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and in Assam, India.

Protection Status:

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

3. THE FIRST ‘THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOSPHERE RESERVES’

THE CONTEXT: Following the decision of the 41st session of the General Conference, November 3 is the International Day for Biosphere Reserves. The year 2022 will also see the end of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the MAB Programme.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The purpose of the International Day for Biosphere Reserves (November 3) is to provide, on an annual basis, a wake-up call on the sustainable development approach to modern life and the leading and exemplary role that the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) can play in this regard.
• Encompassing all types of ecosystems and sometimes urban areas, the WNBR has a global presence, comprising 724 sites, 21 of which are transboundary sites, in 131 countries. More than 260 million people have their home in a biosphere reserve. Altogether, these sites protect about 5% of the earth’s surface, or more than 7 million km², an expanse roughly equal to the size of Australia. Every year, an increasing number of sites join the WNBR, and more and more countries will ultimately pursue the objectives and goals of the MAB Programme.
• The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971, is UNESCO’s oldest intergovernmental scientific programme and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021 and 2022. The MAB Programme and the biosphere reserve model have, over the past 50 years, become an international example of sustainable territorial development and highlight UNESCO’s and the MAB’s commitment to the global biodiversity agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

VALUE ADDITION:

World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR):

• The World Network of Biosphere Reserves of the MAB Programme consists of a dynamic and interactive network of sites of excellence.
• It fosters the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue; knowledge sharing; poverty reduction and human well-being improvements; respect for cultural values and society’s ability to cope with change – thus contributing to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Accordingly, the Network is one of the main international tools to develop and implement sustainable development approaches in a wide array of contexts.

The World Network of Biosphere Reserves promotes North-South and South-South collaboration and represents a unique tool for international co-operation through sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences, building capacity and promoting best practices.

List Of Biosphere Reserves In India (Part of MAB):

1. Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu-Kerala (First to be Included)
2. Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu
3. Sundarban, West Bengal
4. Nanda Devi, Uttrakhand
5. Nokrek, Meghalaya
6. Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh
7. Similipal, Odisha
8. Achanakmar-Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh
9. Great Nicobar, Andaman & Nicobar Island
10. Agasthyamala, Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Kerala
11. Khangchendzonga, Sikkim
12. Panna, Madhya Pradesh

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4. ONE NATION, ONE ITR FORM? HOW WILL CBDT’S NEW PROPOSAL HELP TAXPAYERS?

THE CONTEXT: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has proposed a single income tax return (ITR) form for all taxpayers. A draft form has been released, to which all stakeholders can provide inputs up to December 15, 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

How many kinds of ITR forms are there now?

There are seven kinds of ITR forms, which are used by different categories of taxpayers. They are as follows:

• ITR Form 1, called ‘Sahaj’, is for small and medium taxpayers. Sahaj forms can be filed by individuals who have an income up to Rs 50 lakh, with earnings from salary, one house property/ other sources (interest etc).
• ITR-2 is filed by people with income from residential property.
• ITR-3 is intended for people who have income as profits from business/ profession
• ITR-4 (Sugam) is, like ITR-1 (Sahaj), a simple forms, and can be filed by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and firms with total income up to Rs 50 lakh from business and profession.
• ITR-5 and 6 are for limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and businesses respectively.
• ITR-7 is filed by trusts and non-profit organisations.

What is the change that has been proposed?

• According to the proposal, all taxpayers, barring trusts and non-profit organisations (ITR-7), will be able to use a common ITR form, which will include a separate head for disclosure of income from virtual digital assets.
• “According to CBDT, the proposed draft ITR proposes to introduce a common ITR by merging all the existing returns of income except ITR-7”.

According to the CBDT, the proposed ITR form would be customised for taxpayers with applicable schedules, based on certain questions answered by them. Once the common ITR form is notified, after taking into account the inputs received from stakeholders, the online utility will be released by the Income Tax department. “In such a utility, a customised ITR containing only the applicable questions and schedules will be available to the taxpayer”.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. THE CREEPY SMILE OF SUN

THE CONTEXT: Recently, NASA shared an image of the sun seemingly ‘smiling’. Captured by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory, the image has dark patches on the sun’s surface resembling eyes and a smile.

THE EXPLANATION:

NASA explained that the patches are called coronal holes, which can be seen in ultraviolet light but are typically invisible to our eyes.

What are coronal holes?

• According to NASA, these are regions on the sun’s surface from where fast solar wind gushes out into space. Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and thus appear much darker than their surroundings. Here, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind. Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months.
• The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle. They can last much longer during solar minimum – a period of time when activity on the Sun is substantially diminished.

SIGNIFICANCE:

• “These ‘coronal holes’ are important to understanding the space environment around the earth through which our technology and astronauts travel,” NASA had said in 2016 when coronal holes covering “six-eight per cent of the total solar surface” were spotted.
• While it is unclear what causes coronal holes, they correlate to areas on the sun where magnetic fields soar up and away, without looping back down to the surface as they do elsewhere. “Scientists study these fast solar wind streams because they sometimes interact with earth’s magnetic field, creating what’s called a geomagnetic storm, which can expose satellites to radiation and interfere with communications signals”.

6. PLANET KILLER ASTEROID

THE CONTEXT: A team of astronomers has discovered three massive near-Earth asteroids hiding in the glare of the Sun. Of these, one called 2022 AP7 is believed to be the largest planet killer-sized asteroid to be spotted in nearly a decade and is “potentially hazardous” to Earth.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to a study published in The Astronomical Journal, the three asteroids are from a group that is found within the orbits of Earth and Venus. However, they are tough to spot as the brightness of the Sun shields them from telescope observations.

How did they spot the asteroids?

• The astronomers conducted their observation during twilight hours — a brief but favourable 10-minute window every night. They used a Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
• With the high-tech camera, a programme of the US’ National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) NOIRLAB, they were able to capture large swathes of the sky with immense sensitivity. The camera was originally built to carry out a Dark Energy Survey, conducted by the US Department of Energy and the NSF between 2013 and 2019.
• Apart from dealing with the glare of the Sun, the astronomers also had to tackle another major issue — since the asteroids are close to the horizon, they are blurred and distorted by the Earth’s atmosphere.

Is there an immediate threat to Earth?

• According to reports, at present, the asteroid only crosses the Earth’s orbit while it is on the opposite side of the Sun i.e., when the Sun comes between the Earth and the asteroid. This will continue for several centuries as it takes the asteroid about five years to orbit the sun.
• An asteroid of this size could have a “devastating impact”, Sheppard said, as the Earth’s atmosphere would be inundated with dust and pollutants for years, preventing sunlight from entering.
• Over time, its orbital movement will slowly evolve to be more in sync with Earth’s. As of now, however, Sheppard has said it will “stay well away from Earth”.

VALUE ADDITION:

Asteroids

• Asteroids are small, airless rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be called planets. They are also known as planetoids or minor planets.
• In total, the mass of all the asteroids is less than that of Earth’s moon. But despite their size, asteroids can be dangerous. Many have hit Earth in the past, and more will crash into our planet in the future.

What are the Differences between an Asteroid, Comet, Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite?

• Asteroid : A relatively small, inactive, rocky body orbiting the Sun.
• Comet: A relatively small, at times active, object whose ices can vaporize in sunlight forming an atmosphere (coma) of dust and gas and, sometimes, a tail of dust and/or gas.
• Meteoroid: A small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the Sun.
• Meteor: The light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes; a shooting star.
• Meteorite: A meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and lands upon the Earth’s surface.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. Which of the following are critically endangered species of Rhino according to IUCN Red Data book?

1. Greater one-horned Rhino
2. Sumatran Rhino
3. Javan Rhino

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B

Explanation:

Five species of Rhino in the world:

1. Sumatran Rhino: The Sumatran rhino has been on earth longer than any other living mammal. IUCN status- Critically endangered.
2. Javan Rhino: The Javan rhino is possibly the rarest large mammal on earth. IUCN status- Critically endangered.
3. Black Rhino: Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African species.
4. Greater one-horned Rhino: Greater one-horned rhinos are semi-aquatic and often take up residence in swamps, forests and riversides. IUCN status- Vulnerable
5. White Rhino: The White rhino is also known as the Square-lipped rhino. There are two subspecies of White rhino:

• Southern: Ceratotherium simum simum approximately between 19,666 and 21,085 individuals exist. The Southern white rhino can be found mostly in South Africa, with smaller translocated populations found in Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
• Northern: Ceratotherium simum cottoni (only two animals remain). The Northern White Rhino is critically endangered. The sub-species was declared extinct in the wild in 2008, and there are only two individuals remaining in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

THE CONTEXT: As per the data released by the RBI on 4th June 2021, India’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed the milestone $600 billion marks for the first time in the country’s history. As per the data released by the RBI on 16th July, 2021 forex reserves rose to a record $612.73 billion with which India becomes the 4th largest forex reserves holder globally. A rise in forex is mainly due to a rise in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA).

MORE ON THE NEWS:

• Currently, China has the largest reserves followed by Japan and Switzerland. India has overtaken Russia to become the fourth largest country with foreign exchange reserves.
  1. China – $3,349 Billion
  2. Japan – $1,376 Billion
  3. Switzerland – $1,074 Billion
  4. India – $612.73 Billion
  5. Russia – $597.40 Billion
• To increase the foreign exchange reserves, the Government of India has taken many initiatives like Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat. The government also has started schemes like Duty Exemption Scheme, Remission of Duty or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme, etc. Apart from these schemes, India is one of the top countries that attracted the highest amount of Foreign Direct Investment.
• Although our foreign exchange reserves have been increasing continuously for the last three decades, the growth has become faster than ever in the last 18 months.
• Compared with 1991, when India faced a situation of acute shortage of foreign exchange, such that our reserves were not enough to pay for imports of even seven days, today the situation is such that our foreign exchange reserves are enough to pay for 18 months of imports.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: FOREX RESERVES

WHAT ARE FOREX RESERVES?

• Forex reserves are external assets in the form of gold, SDRs, and foreign currency assets accumulated by India and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Reserve Bank of India Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 set the legal provisions for governing the foreign exchange reserves.
• RBI accumulates foreign currency reserves by purchasing from authorized dealers in open market operations.

THE COMPONENTS OF FOREX RESERVES

• The Forex reserves of India consist of four categories:
  1. Foreign Currency Assets(capital inflows to the capital markets, FDI, and external commercial borrowings)
  2. Gold
  3. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs of IMF)
  4. Reserve Tranche Position

SIGNIFICANCE OF FOREX RESERVES

• The IMF says official foreign exchange reserves are held in support of a range of objectives like supporting and maintaining confidence in the policies for monetary and exchange rate management including the capacity to intervene in support of the national or union currency.
• It will also limit external vulnerability by maintaining foreign currency liquidity to absorb shocks during times of crisis or when access to borrowing is curtailed.

WHAT DOES THE RBI DO WITH THE FOREX RESERVES?

• The RBI functions as the custodian and manager of forex reserves and operates within the overall policy framework agreed upon with the government.
• The RBI allocates the dollars for specific purposes. For example, under the Liberalized Remittances Scheme, individuals are allowed to remit up to $250,000 every year.
• The RBI uses its forex kitty for the orderly movement of the rupee. It sells the dollar when the rupee weakens and buys the dollar when the rupee strengthens.

WHERE ARE INDIA’S FOREX RESERVES KEPT?

• The RBI Act, 1934 provides the overarching legal framework for the deployment of reserves in different foreign currency assets and gold within the broad parameters of currencies, instruments, issuers, and counterparties.
• As much as 64 percent of the foreign currency reserves are held in the securities like Treasury bills of foreign countries, mainly the US.
• 28 percent is deposited in foreign central banks and 7.4 percent is also deposited in commercial banks abroad.

IS THERE A COST INVOLVED IN MAINTAINING FOREX RESERVES?

• The return on India’s forex reserves kept in foreign central banks and commercial banks is negligible.
• While the RBI has not divulged the return on forex investment, analysts say it could be around one percent, or even less than that, considering the fall in interest rates in the US and Eurozone.

WHY IS FOREX RISING DESPITE THE SLOWDOWN IN THE ECONOMY?

RISE IN FPI AND FII

• The major reason for the rise in FOREX reserves is the rise in investment in foreign portfolio investors in Indian stocks and foreign direct investments (FDIs). For example, last year- Reliance Industries subsidiary -Jio Platforms – has witnessed a series of foreign investments totaling 97,000 crores.

CRASH IN OIL PRICES

• The fall in crude oil prices has brought down the oil import bill, saving the foreign exchange.

FALL IN OVERSEAS REMITTANCES AND FOREIGN TRAVEL

• Overseas remittances and foreign travels have fallen steeply, down 61 percent in April from $12.87 billion.

WHAT WE CAN DO WITH EXCESS RESERVES

ACQUIRING STAKES IN DEVELOPED COUNTRY FIRMS

• While keeping the forex reserves in the treasury is costly for the country with low interests in it, countries need to use the funds to acquire stakes in firms of developed countries to increase profit.

SETTING UP FUNDS

• The recent surge in reserves is mostly a result of speculative capital inflows on the capital account. Rather than ‘sovereign wealth’, these inflows are ‘liabilities’ and are therefore vulnerable to sudden outflows by foreign investors amid an increase in domestic or global risk aversion. These funds such as Stabilisation funds or Pension funds can help the economy during outflow.

USING AS A TOOL OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

• The US bonds have been used by China for a long time as a tool for achieving its interests concerning the US. India too needs to learn and use it for favorable terms in trade and solving challenges such as Pakistan.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONS

• The forex reserves can be utilized for reaching the SDG goals given that an adequate amount of funds are maintained for any unforeseen circumstance.

ISSUES RELATED TO RISING FOREX RESERVES

• According to the former RBI Governor YV Reddy, there are some differences among academics on the direct as well as indirect costs and benefits of the level of forex reserves, from the point of view of macro-economic policy, financial stability, and fiscal or quasi-fiscal impact.
• China’s foreign exchange reserves increased mostly thanks to a balance of payments (BOP) surplus of China with most of their trading partners. To some extent, they also grew due to foreign direct investment. Whereas in India’s case, the increases in India’s foreign exchange reserves are mainly due to foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio/ institutional investment (FPI). Generally, our balance of payments remains in huge deficit.
• Economists agree that the best option as a source of foreign exchange is the balance of payments surplus.
• Even if the foreign exchange is obtained through investment in the stock markets, then also it has many side effects like-
• It causes volatility not only in the stock markets but also in the exchange rate. Its result can be ominous for the country.
• The country has to pay a heavy price for this inflow of foreign exchange as these investors take back the huge profits to their countries of origin even as the value of their assets keeps increasing.
• While foreign institutional investors have invested a total of $281 billion in India to date, the total valuation of their assets has reached $607 billion as of March 31, 2021. They can sell their $607 billion worth of shares and bonds and go back at any moment and all our foreign exchange reserves can run out in a jiffy. That is why portfolio investment is also called ‘hot money”.
• Foreign investment, foreign loans are taken by private companies, and remittances by Indians are all important for increasing foreign exchange reserves. But not all these sources have a similar effect on the reserves.
• Remittances by Indians normally do not have any repayment obligations and generally, all these amounts remain in India forever.
• Foreign investors (Both foreign direct investors or portfolio investors) repatriate huge amounts of money. In the last ten years (2010-11 to 2019-20), these foreign investors have withdrawn $390 billion, in the form of dividends, royalties, technical fees, interest, and salaries and this amount has been increasing year after year.
• There is no stability in portfolio investment. It is not possible to estimate how much foreign exchange the portfolio investors will bring in and when they will withdraw. Their volatility affects the exchange rate, causing huge losses. Not only this, these investors cause huge volatility in the stock markets as well.

SHOULD FOREX RESERVES FINANCE STIMULUS TO THE INDIAN ECONOMY?

YES 

• The sufficiency of forex reserves is sometimes measured by how many months’ worth of imports a country can afford. While forex reserves amounting to import cover of six months is considered sufficient by the RBI, India import cover is enough to sustain imports up to 18 months.
• In case of a credit shock, India can mitigate any balance of payment crisis, as there are sufficient arrangements for foreign exchange reserves in the form of a credit line from the IMF and many Central bank liquidity swap agreements with countries like Japan.
• As there is a lack of considerable space both on the monetary and fiscal front to support economic growth, part of the country’s forex reserves can be used for stimulating the economy.
• Economist has theorized that holding high forex reserves are unnecessary. Not using them for mega-projects (like financing infrastructure projects) are lost opportunities.

NO

• In the future oil prices might increase further. With the rise of 1$ per barrel of crude oil prices, India has to additionally pay nearly Rs 15000 crore. Given this, India should deter using forex reserves for providing economic stimulus.
• The rise in current forex reserves is due to the massive inflow of FIIs. However, FIIs by their nature are investments based on speculation. Therefore, the current surge in forex reserves should not be treated as permanent nature.
• High forex reserves also help India to maintain its global rating, especially in the context of falling GDP growth rate. The depletion in forex reserves may harm these ratings, which in turn may reduce foreign investment inflows into India.
• RBI has been fundamentally using India’s foreign exchange to ensure rupee stability. Given the fluctuation in the Indian rupee vis-a-vis the dollar, the Indian rupee has become one of Asia’s worst currencies. Thus, RBI will need enough forex reserves to maintain the stability of the Indian Rupee.
• An economic stimulus is ineffective without structural reforms. Even using forex reserves would not resolve all the challenges facing Indian infrastructure development.

WAY FORWARD:

• Over-reliance on forex reserves to provide economic stimulus may prove to be dangerous for the economic stability of the Indian economy.
• Foreign investors are repatriating huge profits from India while the country’s returns from these foreign exchange reserves are very negligible. Avenues will have to be found for gainful use of foreign exchange reserves beyond a limit.
• Since there’s continuously the fear that these outside organization speculators may take off with their “hot money” anytime. In this respect, an arrangement of a ‘lock-in period’ can be forced on them. On the off chance that they still need to require their cashback, at that point an arrangement can too be made to levy tax on them. This charge was recommended by an economist named James Tobin; subsequently, it is additionally called ‘Tobin Tax’.

CONCLUSION: Over-reliance on forex reserves is problematic; not using them is a lost opportunity. If the government intends to use forex reserves as an emergency fund, it should ensure that they do not shrink just when they are most needed. Apart from it, there is a need for separate attention to carry out structural reforms that can pull out the Indian economy from a persistent slowdown.