THE SOCIETY, ART, AND CULTURE

1. LEPAKSHI TEMPLE: ON UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES TENTATIVE LIST

THE CONTEXT: As of today, India is home to 40 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Before these sites gain World Heritage status, they form a part of a tentative list formulated by the state and reviewed by several advisory bodies before The World Heritage Centre makes a final decision. In 2022, the tentative list has three new additions: Lepakshi temple is one of them.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Located in Rayalaseema (Sri Satya Sai district) in Andhra Pradesh, it is a marvel in stone, and appeals equally to tourists and history and heritage enthusiasts.
• The Veerabhadra Swami temple here, which has found a place on UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites in India for 2022, is the focal point.
• Situated atop the Kurmasailam (tortoise-shaped) hill, it is a glorious example of the much-celebrated Vijayanagara architecture.
• The Ramayana link: The name of the place itself is linked with the Ramayana. Legend has it that Jatayu fell at this spot after Ravana cut its wings when he tried to prevent Sita’s abduction. Rama stumbled upon the bird
• when searching for Sita. After the injured bird narrated what had happened, Rama coaxed him to rise again, “le, pakshi” (rise, bird in Telugu).
• A recent tourist addition to Lepakshi is a colossal concrete Jatayu statue (in flashy paint) on a hillock in JatayuPark, just before you take a turn off the highway to enter the temple.
• The Jatayu looks over a marvellously sculpted six-meter tall Nandi wearing layers of bells and ornaments. It is said to have been carved out of a monolith. Like the temple, it dates back to the 16th century.
• As one goes around the Veerabhadra Swami temple, what catches the eye first are the long pillared halls. Intricate carvings of yalis, flowers, trees, animals, yakshas, and yakshis can be seen on each pillar.
• For every part of the temple, there are two layers of stories — one that links it to incidents in the Ramayana, and the other talks about life during the reign of the Vijayanagara kings.
• The imposing Nagalinga statue, with the seven-hooded serpent coiled around a linga on a five-foot platform, is an awe-inspiring sight.
• The nearly six-foot Ganesha behind the Nagalinga, and surrounded by an incomplete mantapa, reminds one of the Sasivekalu and KadlekaluGanesha statues in Hampi – the rocky terrain and the fact that it also belongs to the Vijayanagara empire establishes the link.
• The entire temple complex was believed to be re-built by Virupanna, and his brother Veeranna under the rule of Vijayanagara king AchyutaDevaraya. The brothers were officers/governors in the Penukonda region.
• When one enters the main shrine, the 70-pillared nrutyamantapa, the detailed and beautiful carvings on them depict gods and artists playing musical instruments and dancers in various poses and mudras. The high ceiling is filled with long panels of fresco paintings.

ABOUT FRESCO PAINTING

• Fresco Paintings are evident on the roof of Sri Veerabhadra Swami temple.
• The paintings are somewhat similar to the Ellora paintings in terms of the colour palette of brown, ochre, red, off-white, and black, but the style is very different.
• The detailing of the jewellery, clothing, and hairstyle of the women are fascinating; the unique elongated headgear of the men, including gods, is another eye-catching feature. (I see resemblances to Kalamkari’s work.)
• The central portion of the roof near the garbhagriha has a mural of Veerabhadra, flanked by Virupanna and Veeranna worshipping him. Measuring 23 feet by 13 feet, it is said to be one of the largest murals in Asia.
• There are also representations of at least 14 avatars of Shiva, as well as scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. HATHI MITRAS: CHHATTISGARH’S SOLUTION TO TACKLING HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT

THE CONTEXT: Village residents known as hathimitras or ‘friends of elephants’ dedicatedly track pachyderm movements to help prevent casualties and crop loss.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India’s 27,000 elephants often run into trouble with its burgeoning human population. The situation is especially worrisome in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh, where a number of factors have increased conflict. But Chhattisgarh seems to have found a solution — hathimitras.
• These residents of villages affected by human-elephant conflict work are engaged by the state forest department to dedicatedly track elephants, warn people about their movement and send updates in a Whatsapp group created for the purpose.
• Their services are important as Chhattisgarh has emerged as a new battleground for human-elephant conflict.
• The movement became regular from 1995 onwards. Slowly, the animals started making the state their permanent home. Today, there are about 275-320 elephants in the state.
• Today, elephants enter Chhattisgarh from Odisha and Jharkhand in search of suitable habitats. Hence, the central and northern parts of the state witnessed an escalation of casualties and crop damages.
• Hathi Mitras agree that most casualties occur due to a lack of knowledge about elephant behaviour and movement. Encounters mostly take place at night when visibility is low.
• People are asked to maintain a safe distance and not disturb the animals to prevent human deaths. But accidents are inevitable.
• The awareness campaigns carried out by hathimitras reduced the craze for clicking photos of elephants and taking selfies with them. A person died while trying to take a selfie with wild elephants in 2017.
• Hathi Mitra though they are useful, their potential has not been fully exploited. But these workers know how to trek inside jungles safely and get a monthly payment.

 THE GOVERNANCE

3. WHO ESTIMATES 4.7 MILLION COVID-LINKED DEATHS IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: World Health Organization(WHO)estimates 4.7 million covid-linked deaths in India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• There were likely 47 lakh deaths, directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, in India in 2020 and 2021, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. These are the highest, by far, for any country and makeup nearly a third of the 15 million such deaths estimated by the agency globally.
• India officially estimated only 4.8 lakh cumulative deaths linked to COVID-19 as of December 2021, which implies that the WHO estimate is nearly 10 times the government count. As of May, India’s official COVID-19 death toll is 5.2 lakh.
• Minutes after the WHO released its estimate, India reiterated its “objection to the methodology” used.
• “These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “WHO is committed to working with all countries to strengthen their health information systems….”
• Excess deaths are calculated as the difference between the number of deaths that have occurred and the number that would be expected in the absence of the pandemic based on data from earlier years. Excess mortality includes deaths associated with COVID-19 directly or indirectly (due to the pandemic’s impact on health systems).

4. COSTING NORMS FOR MID-DAY MEALS, ANGANWADIS NOT REVISED DESPITE FOOD INFLATION

THE CONTEXT: Schools and Anganwadi centers (AWC) are finding it difficult to effectively run programmes that address the nutritional needs of children and mothers. This is because the government has not revised costing norms for mid-day meals despite inflation.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Schools and Anganwadi centers (AWC) are finding it difficult to effectively run programmes that address the nutritional needs of children and mothers. This is because the government has not revised costing norms for mid-day meals despite inflation, teachers and activists said.
• There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the cooking cost of programmes such as the PM-Poshan (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman), the Centre’s flagship mid-day meal scheme, according to teachers.
• The last revision was done in May 2020, when it was increased from Rs 4.48 to Rs 4.97 per student per school day for primary (Classes 1-5) and Rs 6.71 to Rs 7.45 for upper primary (Classes 6-8).
• Ideally, the central government is supposed to revise cooking costs annually, to offset the impact of inflation on food items.
• Under PM-Poshan, the nutritional norm per child per day is 450 calories and 12 grams protein for primary class students and 700 calories and 20 grams protein for upper primary class students.
• Similarly, cost norms for supplementary nutrition in Anganwadis were also revised last in October 2017: From Rs 6 to Rs 8 for children between 6-72 months, from Rs 9 to Rs 12 for severely malnourished children, and from Rs 7 to Rs 9.50 for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
• According to some food rights activists the mostAnganwadis, cooked meals have not started till now after they were stopped during the first COVID-induced lockdown in 2020.
• In the national capital, Delhi, hot cooked meals were started just two days ago on May 2, after a gap of two years.
• Earlier, the government had reduced the budgetary allocation to PM-Poshan — from Rs 11,500 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 10,233.75 crore in 2022-23.
• According to the national coordinator for the Right to Food Campaign the reduced allocation, along with the current food inflation will be a big challenge for India in its fight against malnutrition.“The nutritional aspect has been reduced to just wheat and rice,” they said.
• A survey by the Right to Food Campaign released in February 2022, covering 6,697 respondents across 14 states, found that 41 percent of households had reported that the nutritional quality of their diet had deteriorated, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
• Some 64 percent had reported that their consumption of pulses had decreased, while 73 percent reported that their consumption of green vegetables has decreased.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

5. INDIA-FRANCE PARTNERSHIP

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister of India and French President Emmanuel Macron agree to work together to expand relations.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Prime Minister of India and French President Emmanuel Macron held extensive discussions on a range of bilateral and pressing global issues, including the raging conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Indo-Pacific, and terrorism.
• The two leaders agreed on a blueprint to work together in making the India-France strategic partnership a force for the global good.
• In a joint statement, India and France underscored that the long-standing armament cooperation is testimony to the mutual trust between the two sides. Both sides also agreed to work jointly to increase the mobility of students, graduates, professionals, and skilled workers while strengthening their efforts to combat irregular migration.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6. IMPACT OF WIDENING TRADE DEFICIT

THE CONTEXT: The Widening trade deficit puts more pressure on the rupee and spurs growth-retarding inflation.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Official data on India’s merchandise trade for April give a reason for cheer at first glance. Emerging from a record export performance during the just-concluded financial year, outward shipments for the month rose 24.2% from a year earlier, with electronics and chemicals showing healthy expansion, while petroleum products more than doubled.
• However, imports continued to outpace exports, growing by 26.6% to broaden the goods trade deficit, which widened to $20.07 billion from $18.5 billion in March. The trade deficit — the extent to which the import bill exceeds export receipts — worryingly breached $200 billion for a rolling 12-month period for the first time in April, impacted predominantly by petroleum imports of $172 billion. Global crude oil prices have surged by more than 40% in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, swelling the import bill.
• The early onset of the Indian summer, with a heatwave, has bolstered power demand, setting the pace for coal imports, which grew 136% last month, notwithstanding record output by key domestic supplier Coal India. For the first time ever, the Ministry of Power has set timelines for States to import coal over the next few months, a far cry from the 16% year-on-year decline in imports of the fuel in the April 2021-January 2022 period and a clear portent that the bill for overseas purchases of coal is also set to swell.
• Monitoring the trade deficit is crucial as this has a direct bearing on the current account deficit (CAD). Disconcertingly, foreign direct investment, which typically helps bridge the CAD, has seen a moderation. And, the wider the CAD, the greater the downward pressure on the rupee, which has already weakened considerably since the conflict in eastern Europe began in February.
• A weaker rupee, in turn, makes imports costlier, potentially widening the trade deficit, and thus triggering a vicious cycle. The RBI has sought to steady the rupee against wild swings, evident in the dip in foreign exchange reserves to $600.4 billion (April 22), from $640 billion just six months earlier. But a central bank can draw on the reserves to ease any rupee weakening only to a limited extent.
• The RBI also has its hands full with the battle against imported inflation as global commodity prices remain sharply elevated. To help avoid added stress, the Government must consider additional incentives for exports, while encouraging local production of items that strain the import bill.
• The coal crisis could have been averted with better-advanced estimates of power demand as the country emerged from the worst of the pandemic, and optimal allocation of coal-carrying rail wagons. Policymakers can ill afford to let their guard down on trade imbalances and risk growth retarding inflation and more pressure on the rupee.

7. COAL SHORTAGE AND INDIA’S LOOMING POWER CRISIS

THE CONTEXT: Due to several factors, India is staring at a coal crisis, with stock critically low at 108 of its 173 thermal power plants. The Indian Railways has cancelled trains to prioritise the delivery of coal rakes across the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• International coal prices started reaching record highs in 2021 because of the rise in industrial demand, international price fluctuations, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine; all of this has seriously affected India’s coal imports.
• On April 28, 2022, India canceled several passenger trains to allow for faster movement of coal carriages. The Indian Railways are also planning to add 100,000 more wagons to their fleet and construct dedicated freight corridors to deliver goods faster.
• On the other hand, Delhi’s power minister claims that its power plants are left with less than a day of coal which can cause blackouts and affect crucial services like the Metro and government hospitals. The country is facing a critical coal shortage.
• Coal reserves at India’s power plants have declined almost 17 percent since the start of April 2022 and are barely a third of the required levels. But the question is, why?
• Seventy percent of India’s power demand is met by thermal power plants. The country has both, large-scale domestic and imported coal reserves to meet these enormous requirements. India is the second-largest importer of coal after China.
• But from 2021, international coal prices started reaching record highs because of the rise in industrial demand, international price fluctuations, and the latest being the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All this has seriously affected India’s coal imports.
• At the same time, India also has an increasing power demand. In 2022, the energy demand increased to 132 (billion units) BU per month from 106.6 BU per month in 2019.
• The sudden surge in demand can be attributed to the country’s industries as they pick up operations after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. And despite having the fourth-largest reserves in the world, the domestic producers of coal are unable to meet the demands.
• The rising heatwaves have also added extra pressure on the nearly exhausted thermal power plants. According to reports, the country’s power demand crossed a record 201-gigawatt (GW) mark on April 26, 2022, as large parts of the country reeled under sweltering heat.
• The coal shortage has disrupted the power generation of multiple states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu. The coal crisis comes at a time when India has been trying to reduce its dependency on non-renewable sources of energy to meet climate targets.
• In November 2021, at the UN climate change meeting in Glasgow, Prime Minister pledged that by 2030 India will generate 50 percent of its energy from non-fossil sources and will also install 500 GW of renewable energy. But the current crisis shows India’s neck-deep dependence on coal and the challenges in meeting its climate change targets.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

8. THE STATUS OF THE NAGA PEACE TALKS

THE CONTEXT: The recently released annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) was involved in 44% of insurgency-related incidents in Nagaland in 2020.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released recently said that the Isak-Muivfaction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) was involved in 44% of insurgency-related incidents in Nagaland in 2020.
• The Union government had, in 2015, signed a framework agreement with the NSCN-IM to find a solution to the Naga political issue. The negotiations are yet to be concluded.
• Why did the Naga insurgency begin? The term Naga was created by the British for administrative convenience to refer to a group of tribes with similar origins but distinct cultures, dialects, and customs. The Naga tribes are accumulated in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Myanmar. Residing in the Naga Hills of Assam during the advent of the British and the annexation of Assam in 1820, the Nagas did not consider themselves a part of British India.
• The British adopted a way of governance over the Nagas that involved keeping in place their traditional ways of life, customs, and laws while putting British administrators at the top. At the time of the withdrawal of the British, insecurity grew among the Naga tribes about the future of their cultural autonomy after India’s independence, which was accompanied by the fear of the entry of “plains people” or “outsiders” into their territory.
• These gave rise to the formation of the Naga Hills District Tribal Council in 1945, which was renamed the Naga National Council (NNC) in 1946. Amid uncertainties over the post-independence future of the Nagas, a section of the NNC, led by Naga leader A.Z. Phizo declared the independence of the Nagas on August 14, 1947, a day before India’s declaration. The underground insurgency began in the early 1950s when Mr. Phizo founded the Naga Federal Government (NFG) and its armed wing, the Naga Federal Army (NFA).
• The Central Government sent the armed forces into Naga areas to curb the insurgency and imposed the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which is still in place in parts of Nagaland. The Nagas, led by Mr. Phizo, demanding an independent state outside of India, boycotted the 1952 and 1957 general elections and armed clashes grew.
• Unlike other groups in the northeast which were accepting some form of autonomy under the Constitution, Nagas rejected this in favour of sovereignty. Some leaders among the NNC formed their own group to hold discussions with the government, leading to the formation of the State of Nagaland in 1963.
• This, however, did not satisfy many in the NNC and NFG, who, following years of negotiations with the government, eventually signed the Shillong Accord of 1975, agreeing to surrender arms and accept the Constitution. When did the NSCN come into the picture? This signing of the Shillong Accord was not agreeable with many top leaders of the NNC and those operating from Myanmar as the agreement did not address the issue of Naga sovereignty and coerced them to accept the Constitution.
• Three NNC leaders — ThuingalengMuivah of the Tangkhul Naga tribe of Manipur’s Ukhrul district, Isak ChishiSwu of the Sema tribe, and S. S. Khaplang from Myanmar’s Hemis tribe, formed the National Socialist Council Of Nagaland (NSCN) to continue the armed movement.
• The motto of the NSCN was to create a People’s Republic of Nagaland free of Indian rule. In 1988, after years of infighting and violent clashes along tribal lines and over the main cause of the movement, the NSCN split into two factions. One, led by Mr. Muiwah and Swu called the NSCN-IM and the other, led by Mr. Khaplang called the NSCN-K.
• The NSCN-IM demanded and continues to demand ‘Greater Nagaland’ or Nagalim — it wants to extend Nagaland’s borders by including Naga-dominated areas in the neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. The NSCN-IM has now grown to become the most powerful insurgent group, also playing a role in the creation of smaller groups in other States.
• Its armed operations intensified along with illegal activities like tax extortion, smuggling of weapons, and so on. Where do the peace talks stand now? In 1997, the Government of India got the NSCN-IM to sign a ceasefire agreement to begin the holding of talks with the aim of signing a Naga Peace Accord. After this ceasefire, there have been over a hundred rounds of talks spanning over 24 years between the Centre and the insurgent group, while a solution is still awaited.
• New Delhi has been holding peace parleys simultaneously with the NSCN-IM, and the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) comprising at least seven other extremist groups, including the NSCN (K). In 2015, it signed a Framework Agreement with the NSCN (IM), the first step towards an actual Peace Accord.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 6th MAY 2022

Q. Which of the following pairs is/are incorrectly matched?

1. Koftgiri art – Rajasthan
2. Dhokra art – Gujarat
3. Rogan painting – Assam

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 3 only

 ANSWER FOR THE 5TH MAY

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Basavanna, a 12th-century poet and philosopher, is celebrated and held in high regard, especially by the Lingayat community, as he was the founder of Lingayatism.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: He believed in a society free of the caste system, with equal opportunity for all, and preached about manual hard work.

THE CONTEXT: India promised to install 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2022. But the country will not be able to deliver on this climate pledge. According to a new report, India will miss this target by 27%. Also, India is likely to miss its solar energy target of 300 GW (gigawatt) for 2030 by around 86 GW, a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research. In this context, this article analyzes the present scenario of the Solar energy sector in India.

WHAT DOES THE REPORT SAY?

• As of April, only about 50% of the 100GW target, consisting of 60GW of utility-scale and 40GW of rooftop solar capacity, has been met.
• Nearly 19 GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 — 15.8GW from utility-scale and 3.5GW from rooftop solar. Even accounting for this capacity would mean about 27% of India’s 100GW solar target would remain unmet.
• A 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target is expected compared to 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target by December 2022. Thus, it is in rooftop solar that the challenges of India’s solar-adoption policy stick out.

REASONS FOR MISSING INDIA’S SOLAR ENERGY TARGET

• In its early years, India’s rooftop solar market struggled to grow, held back by lack of consumer awareness, inconsistent policy frameworks of the Centre/ State governments, and financing. Recently, however, there has been a sharp rise in rooftop solar installations thanks to falling technology costs, increasing grid tariffs, rising consumer awareness, and the growing need for cutting energy costs.
• Other Factors impeding rooftop-solar installation include:
• Pandemic-induced supply chain disruption to policy restrictions.
• Limits to net-metering (or paying users who give back surplus electricity to the grid). Regulatory roadblocks.
• Taxes on imported cells and modules, unsigned power supply agreements (PSAs) and banking restrictions; financing issues plus delays in or rejection of open access approval grants; and the unpredictability of future open access charges.

OVERVIEW OF INDIA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR

• At COP26 in Glasgow, our prime minister announced 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel capacity and 50% of energy from renewable sources by 2030, coupled with a net-zero target by 2070.
• Presently, India has installed 152.90 GW of renewable energy capacity projects (including large hydro) until February. It includes 50.78 GW from solar power, 40.13 GW from wind power, 10.63 GW from Bio-power, 4.84 GW from small hydropower, and 46.52 GW from large hydropower.

IMPORTANCE OF SOLAR ENERGY FOR INDIA

• India’s share of global energy demand is predicted to double to 11% in 2040, making it imperative to enhance energy security and self-sufficiency in power generation without increasing environmental costs.
• This increase in power demand is likely to increase India’s reliance on coal, oil, and natural gas as a source of energy. However, additional imports of oil and increased domestic production of coal will fall short of energy demand and entail economic and environmental costs.
• These are likely to hit harder than anticipated in an economy ravaged by COVID-19. Expansion of solar power units and increased reliance on solar power allows India to enhance energy security in the face of rising demand.
• India is dealing with an aggressive air pollution problem. In 2020, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 328, indicating severe pollution. Solar production does not cause any toxic emissions and can help mitigate the pollution caused by fossil fuel usage.
• India is likely to face increasing water security issues and thus must shift to energy sources that don’t rely extensively on water. The groundwater levels in India declined by 61% between 2007 and 2017, with the majority of this water being used for irrigation. This is a major red flag for coal production which relies heavily on water for steam production and cooling. Solar power is neither dependent on groundwater supplies nor does it strain them.

WHAT IS INDIA’S SOLAR POLICY?

SOLAR ROOFTOP SCHEME: Under the rooftop scheme executed by SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India), 200 MW of projects has been allocated. SECI launched a tender that is the largest global one offering a 30% subsidy to the residential sector, private not-for-profit educational organizations, social sector, and the health institutions.

SOLAR PARK SCHEME: Parks to facilitate the creation of infrastructure required to set up new solar power projects in terms of land allocation, transmission, access to roads, availability of water, etc. MNRE has come up with a scheme to set up a number of solar parks across several states, each with a capacity of almost 500 MW. The Scheme proposes to offer financial support by the Government of India to establish solar

SOLAR ENERGY SUBSIDY SCHEME: Under this Scheme, financial assistance and capital subsidy will be provided to the applicant to the extent of 50 percent, 75 percent, and 90 percent of the basis of the basic cost of the solar energy plant. The Government Yojana explains that a person is eligible for a subsidy if he has solar panels installed on the rooftop. The subsidy is decided as per the capacity of the solar power plant.

PRADHAN MANTRI- KISAN URJA SURAKSHA EVAM UTTHAAN MAHABHIYAN: It Aims to provide financial and water security to farmers through harnessing solar energy capacities of 25,750 MW by 2022. Solarisation of water pumps is a step in distributed power provided at the consumer’s doorstep.

THE JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION (JNNSM): The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), also known as the National Solar Mission (NSM), which commenced in January 2010, marked the government’s first focus on promoting and developing solar power in India.

GROWTH OF THE SOLAR SECTOR: Since 2011, India’s solar sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 59% from 0.5GW in 2011 to 55GW in 2021.

RANKING OF INDIA: India currently ranks fifth after China, the U.S., Japan, and Germany in terms of installed solar power capacity.

PRESENT STATUS: As of December 2021, India’s cumulative solar installed capacity is 55GW, which is roughly half the renewable energy (RE) capacity (excluding large hydropower) and 14% of India’s overall power generation capacity. Within the 55GW, grid-connected utility-scale projects contribute 77% and the rest comes from the grid-connected rooftop and off-grid projects.

What should be done to achieve the targets?

• The need for focused, collaborative, and goals-driven R&D to help India attain technology leadership.
• The need for better financing infrastructure, models, and arrangements to spur the PV industry and consumption of PV products.
• Training and development of human resources to drive industry growth and PV adoption.
• With solar panels and solar systems getting more efficient vs their earlier generation, customers are wanting to invest in a technology that is getting them better output per square meter of the space they have.
• So there is a constant need to invest in research & development of a more efficient solar ecosystem involving energy storage systems. Like sharks, bifacial panels generate electricity from both the front and back of the solar panel.
• As India is making strides to fulfill its solar dream, Loom Solar and its smart methodologies shall continue to provide the Indian solar industry with much-needed assistance for ‘Mission 2030’.

SCOPE OF INDIA’S SOLAR SECTOR

• The generation of solar energy has tremendous scope in India. India being a tropical country, receives solar radiation throughout the year. With 3,000 hours of sunshine, this is equal to more than 5,000 trillion kWh of solar radiation per square meter.
• India has vast solar potential; it is a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs to start a solar business in India. With the growing economy, India’s power consumption is going to rise, so the solar energy business in India is the ideal way to manage the balance between economic growth and sustainable development.
• The government is constantly pushing and supporting the solar business in India through various programs and initiatives by enabling an increase in solar power at a subsidized cost.

THE CONCLUSION: Boosting solar capacity post-pandemic in a struggling economy will pose a whole new challenge. It will require innovative financing techniques and policies to bolster domestic production in the face of increasing environmental concerns.

Questions:

1. Recently, as per a report, India has missed its solar target. Find out the causes and also suggest the measures for the same.
2. It is imperative for India to achieve its solar energy target in the fight against climate change. Elaborate.

THE CONTEXT: The Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’ under which 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years. A delegation from India visited Namibia in February 2022 to discuss the translocation logistics with the Namibia Government. Namibia would be giving 3 cheetahs for translocation to India and may become the first nation from where cheetahs would be relocated to Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. This article analyses the different aspects related to the issue of the reintroduction of cheetahs in India.

KEY DETAILS ABOUT CHEETAHS

The cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is one of the oldest of the big cat species. It is also the world’s fastest land mammal and is capable of running at speeds of 80 to 128 km/h. They are considered native to Africa and central Iran. The cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as the Savannah grasslands in the Serengeti (Kenya-Tanzania, Africa), arid mountain ranges in the Sahara, and hilly desert terrain in Iran. The cheetah is threatened by several factors such as habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching, and high susceptibility to diseases. In 2016, the global African Cheetah population was estimated at around 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Historically ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East and to central India, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern, and north-western Africa. The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a critically endangered species by the IUCN Red List and is believed to survive only in Iran. It is smaller and paler than an African cheetah and looks more like a cat with a smaller head and long neck.

CHEETAHS IN INDIA AND HOW DID THEY BECOME EXTINCT?

CHEETAHS IN INDIA

• India has a long history of cheetahs. The name ‘cheetah’ comes from the Sanskrit word chitraka which means ‘spotted’.
• The earliest historical references to cheetahs are in classical Greek records of India from the geographer Strabo, about 200 BCE.
• Coming down to the Mughal Period, the cheetahs were used extensively for hunting. Mughal Emperor Akbar had 1,000 cheetahs in his menagerie. People in Central India, particularly Gwalior State and Jaipur State, used to hunt cheetahs. The last three cheetahs living in the country were killed in 1947 by the ruler of the erstwhile Koriya state in present-day Chhattisgarh. The species was officially declared extinct in India in 1952.

HOW DID THE CHEETAH BECOME EXTINCT IN INDIA?

• The animal is extremely easy to tame, compared to other non-domesticated predators, and was used to hunt prey, a sport called ‘coursing’. The animal was a popular part of many royal courts throughout India and other parts of Asia where it was found.
• But another trait of the cheetah was that it was impossible to breed in captivity. There was only one recorded successful attempt at breeding a cheetah in captivity until the 20th century, an event recorded by Emperor Jahangir in 1613 in the book Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
• As the Cheetah number dwindled due to the high number of Cheetahs being taken from the wild, the animal was also then finally brought to extinction with the advent of the widespread hunting brought to India during the time of the British Raj.
• While the government has officially stated that the animal was driven extinct from desertification, experts suggest that the animal had plenty of habitat and prey population to survive if it weren’t hunted to extinction.

THE ACTION PLAN FOR CHEETAH REINTRODUCTION IN INDIA

• Under the action plan, the Government of India would bring 50 Cheetahs over the next five years to form a founding population of the species. Further, former cheetah-range states, i.e. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh would be duly analyzed by the experts.
• As part of the plan, India will be translocating around 12-14 cheetahs from South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana to Kuno Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Kuno National Park has been chosen because of its suitable habitat and adequate prey base. KNP is 748 sq. km. in area, devoid of human settlements, and is estimated to have a capacity to sustain 21 cheetahs.
• Each of these cheetahs would also be fitted with Satellite/GSM-GPS-VHF radio collars before their release in the wild to enable monitoring remotely. This could be the world’s first intercontinental cheetah translocation project.

RELEVANCE CHEETAH REINTRODUCTION

SUITABLE LIVING CONDITIONS:

• The cheetah used to live and thrive in the Indian Subcontinent for centuries, hence their reintroduction is a realistic step.
• Further, the proposed location of Kuno is woodland and cheetahs have been known to survive in woodland.
• Cheetahs are quite good at navigating the whistling thorn and acacia scrublands in places like the Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya (contiguous to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania).
• India now is considering restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons. The conservation of the cheetah will revive grasslands and their biomes and habitat, much like Project Tiger has done for forests and all the species that have seen their numbers go up.

SUFFICIENT PREY:

• The Kuno national park has a good prey base for cheetahs, comprising the four-horned antelope, chinkara, nilgai, wild pig, spotted deer, and sambar.

ECOSYSTEM STABILITY:

• In saving cheetahs, one would have to save not only its prey-base comprising certain threatened species, but also other endangered species of the grasslands and open forest ecosystems.

LESS PROBABILITY OF MAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT:

• It is also observed that among large carnivores, conflict with human interests is lowest for Cheetahs. They are not a threat to humans and do not easily attack large livestock.

ECONOMIC RELEVANCE:

• The reintroduction of a species like the Cheetah would attract a significant amount of tourism to the cheetah range states. This would give a boost to other sectors like transportation, hotels, etc., and also generate additional jobs.

CHALLENGES WITH THE REINTRODUCTION PROGRAMME

GENETIC DIFFERENCES:

• Many experts have expressed concerns over the reintroduction of African Cheetahs instead of Asiactic cheetahs. They believe that Asiactic cheetahs would have been a more suitable choice considering the historical survival of species in the region and their ability to quickly acclimatize.

DISEASE TRANSMISSION TO OTHER SPECIES:

• There are very few diseases unique and specific to predators. However, the transmission of these to the endemic tiger population is a cause for concern.

INTERSPECIES COMPETITION AND SCIENTIFIC CONUNDRUMS:

• The Kuno National Park is already home to around 30 leopards. Tigers from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, 140 km away from Kuno, are also believed to migrate to the park. The proximity of three predators in the same ecosystem may reduce the survival rates of cheetahs.
• There is no science available currently to suggest that cheetahs, lions, tigers, and leopards can coexist comfortably in the same habitat. It has never occurred anywhere else before, so there is no real-life experience to draw upon.

MAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT:

• More aggressive predators such as tigers and leopards will compete with the cheetahs in the park. They may drive cheetahs to the outskirts of the park, where they could come into conflict with humans.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The wildlife authorities should be prepared for some attrition arising out of natural interactions., around 10% of cheetahs in Savannah in Africa are killed by lions. A similar ratio may be killed by Tigers in Kuno. The officials must expect some deaths and tolerate the negative and damaging interactions with cheetahs, keeping in mind the long-term goal of creating a natural interactive landscape and habitat.
• A detailed analysis of animals’ lineage and condition should be checked in the host country. This would ensure that they are not from an excessively inbred stock and are in the ideal age group, to conform to the needs of a founding population.
• The strategy of cold release should be duly followed as suggested by experts. Under this, the cheetahs would be kept in an enclosure called a boma and prey will be released into this enclosure for cheetahs to catch.
• Active negotiations should be done with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), as its permission is necessary for initiating translocation.
• A team of experts from various fields is required for each of the project sites along with the training of the personnel both within India and abroad for the successful outcomes of the reintroduction project.

THE CONCLUSION: A careful analysis of the pros and cons shows that cheetah reintroduction is feasible in India considering the species used to exist in the region for centuries. However, the associated concerns should be duly addressed to ensure their long-term survivability. The Cheetah habitat in India historically is from Jammu to Tamil Nadu, very widespread and they were found in any habitat dry forests, grasslands, scrub forests, etc. and it is expected that they will survive quite happily.

Mains practice question:

1. “Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.” Elaborate on the context of cheetah reintroduction in India.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT KUNO NATIONAL PARK:

• The topography of Madhya Pradesh in Central India is fascinating. Perhaps, it is the only Indian state with such a diversity of habitats—the dense forests on the Satpura foothills, the open dry grasslands, and the sparse, thorny forests found across the state and the wetlands of River Chambal.
• Located in the northern district of Sheopur, Kuno National Park predominantly consists of grasslands and sparse forests that are home to an abundance of mammals, reptiles, birds, and butterflies. Although there has been a lot written about the tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, the beautiful Kuno National Park (KNP) has emerged in general discourse because of Cheetah’s reintroduction.
• Kuno National Park has a rich floral diversity with more than 129 species of trees. These tropical dry deciduous forests mainly consist of Anogeissus pendula (Kardhai), Senegalia catechu (Khair) Boswellia serrata (Salai), and associated flora.
• Kuno’s forests are arguably the finest remnants of the Central Indian Highlands; they were once the hunting grounds of the Gwalior maharajas.
• They are inhabited by carnivores such as the Indian Leopard, Indian Wolf, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Indian Fox, and Striped Hyena. The herbivores found here are Spotted Deer, Sambhar, Nilgai, Chousingha, and Blackbuck. The high density of ungulates in Kuno can be attributed to the abundance of short grass species to feed on and the tall grass which provides shelter to the fawns.

Pre 2017 Question:

1. Recently there was a proposal to translocate some of the lions from their natural habitat in Gujarat to which one of the following sites?

a) Corbett National Park.

b) Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary.

c) Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

d) Sariska National Park.

Answer: B

HISTORIC AND PRESENT CHEETAH RANGE OF THE WORLD

THE CONTEXT:  In April 2022, the SC has given a slew of directions in the Mullaperiyar dam issue. The dam is at the center of a decades-old dispute: for Kerala, where it is situated, the dam presents a threat to lakhs living downstream; and for Tamil Nadu, which controls the dam, the water it provides is the lifeline of people in five districts. This article examines the controversy related to the dam in the light of the SC verdict.

ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MULLAPERIYAR DAM

The dam sits on the upper portions of the Periyar River, which originates in Tamil Nadu and goes into Kerala. Within the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the reservoir is located. The water diverted from the reservoir is used to generate electricity in Tamil Nadu’s lower Periyar region before flowing into the Suruliyar, a tributary of the Vaigai river, and then irrigating roughly 2.08 lakh hectares in Theni and four other districts farther afield.

WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY?

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

• The British administration regarded the Periyar waters useless to Travancore; thus the Maharaja of Travancore signed the ‘Periyar Lease Deed’ with the British government in 1886.
• It intended to redirect the water to Tamil Nadu’s parched districts. After 20 years of defiance, the Maharaja signed the deal.
• The dam was completed in 1895. In 1959, the Madras government began generating hydel power. The capacity was later raised to 140 MW.

CONCERNS FOR SAFETY:

• Concerns about the dam’s safety stretch back to the early 1960s when the media stated that it was dangerous.
• In 1961, Kerala brought the issue to the Central Water Commission’s attention. In 1964, the water level was dropped for the first time, from 155 feet to 152 feet, following a joint examination by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• In the years that followed, Tamil Nadu witnessed public agitations demanding that the level be increased; Kerala opposed the demand.

STAND OF KERALA:

• Kerala has been strongly advocating the need to decommission the “deteriorated” structure and build a new one.
• It cited climate change-induced erratic and heavy rainfalls that could further damage the structure.
• Political leaders of Kerala argue that the dam is a ticking time bomb that can explode at any moment, causing the deaths of thousands in the state.
• It maintains that the only solution is razing down the existing weak structure and constructing a new dam.

STAND OF TAMIL NADU:

• Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu considers it a safe and well-maintained dam and is making persistent efforts to raise the water storage level in it to 152 feet through interventions in Madras high court, Supreme Court, Central Water Commission, and other top bodies.
• Tamil Nadu says water from the dam is vital to the arid villages and towns of the southern districts to address their drinking water and irrigation concerns.

BATTLE IN COURTS:

• Over the years, petitions have been filed in the high courts of both states. These were subsequently transferred to the Supreme Court. In 2000, the Centre appointed an expert committee to look into safety and suggest storage levels. (Read Ahead).

A TIMELINE OF THE COURT BATTLE OVER MULLAPERIYAR DAM

2006:

• The Supreme Court allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 ft.
• It said after completing strengthening work, the level could be restored to 152 ft if an expert committee examined and recommended it.
• In March 2006, the Kerala Assembly amended the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003, bringing Mullaperiyar into the ‘Endangered Dams’ schedule and restricting its storage at 136 ft.
• Since then, the issue has shifted to the safety of the dam.

2007:

• In 2007, the Kerala Cabinet permitted preliminary work on a new dam. Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court against the move.

2008:

• In 2008, a flood routing study by IIT Delhi found the dam was unsafe, and in next year, IIT Roorkee reported the dam was in an earthquake-prone area and would not survive a major quake.

2010:

• In 2010, the Supreme Court formed an empowered committee to look into the dam’s safety. As per the said order, the terms of reference of the Empowered  Committee were to:
• Hear parties to the suit on all issues that will be raised before them, without being limited to the issues that have been raised before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, and furnish a report, as far as possible, within six months from their constitution.
• The Committee shall frame its own procedure and issue appropriate directions as to the hearings as well as the venue of its sittings.
• The Committee is free to receive such further evidence as it considers appropriate.
• Legal and constitutional issues, including the validity of the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 would be considered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

2011:

• In November 2011, Kerala sought the Centre’s intervention to bring down water levels to 120 ft after the area witnessed minor tremors.

2014:

• In 2014, the Supreme Court order allowed Tamil Nadu to fix the water level at 142 ft.

2018:

• The Supreme Court directed Union Govt. to form a Sub-Committee under the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to monitor the measures for ensuring a high level of preparedness to face any disaster in relation to Mullaperiyar Dam.

2021:

• The SC directed Supervisory Committee on Mullaperiyar Dam to address three core issues i.e., the instrumentation plan of the dam, the rule curve & the gate operation schedule/reservoir operation plan.

2022:

• On April 8, the Supreme Court reconstituted the Mullaperiyar dam’s supervisory Committee, including one technical expert each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• It gave the panel functions and powers comparable to those of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), a body established under the Dam Safety Act of 2021.

THE SC ORDER IN A NUTSHELL

The court has enabled the supervisory Committee to deliberate on any pending concerns linked to the dam’s safety and undertake a new review of its safety and give it NDSA powers and functions. For any failure, “due to action” will be taken against the individuals involved, not only for violating the court’s orders, but also under the Act, which stipulates a year in prison or a fine, or both, for refusing to comply with the commands of entities established under the law. The two states are anticipated to nominate one representative each to the supervisory Committee and one nominee each, within two weeks, as ordered by the Supreme Court in its most recent ruling.

HOW REAL IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT?

UNITED NATIONS REPORT: 

• A report prepared by the United Nations University-Institute for Water, Environment and Health, cited “significant structural flaws” in the dam and said it “may be at risk of failure”.
• “Leaks and leaching are also concerning, as the methods and materials used during construction are considered outdated, compared to the current building standards, it said

IIT ROORKEE STUDY:

• Commissioned by the Kerala Government in the latter part of the 2000s, a study by IIT-Roorkee raised questions about the survival of the dam, located in seismic zone-3, in the event of an earthquake of a fairly high magnitude.

TREMORS AND FLOODS:

• Massive landslides had devastated central Kerala’s hilly regions, and weather prediction was ominous.
• A series of tremors felt in the area in 2011 caused alarm. Subsequently, the floods of 2018 and the erratic nature of annual monsoons ever since brought the focus back on the 126-year-old dam.

THE CENTRAL WATER COMMISSION’S VIEW:

• The Central Water Commission (CWC) informed the Supreme Court that a new review of the safety of Mullaperiyar is due.
• In a status report before the apex court, CWC said that no review on safety was taken place for the last 12 years.
• However, the same report quotes Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court in 2010 that noted that Mullaperiyar was found to be safe in all respects, hydrologically, structurally, and seismically.

DO YOU KNOW?

A rule curve, also known as a rule level, indicates how much storage or empty space should be kept in a reservoir at different times of the year. It determines how a reservoir’s storage levels fluctuate. The rule curve is used to determine when a dam’s gates will open. It’s a part of a dam’s “core safety” mechanism. The TN government frequently blames Kerala for delaying the rule curve’s finalization.

THE WAY FORWARD:

DECENTRALISED STORAGE FACILITY:

• The best solution is to construct a few smaller storage structures in the five districts of Tamil Nadu and divert the excess water from the dam to the storage.
• A decentralised storage facility can avert the situation of keeping vast amounts of water in the 19th-century lime concrete structure.

NEW DAM IS NOT A FEASIBLE IDEA:

• Constructing a new dam in the same seismic zone is dangerous. Decommissioning and construction activities would happen in a seismic zone that comes within a tiger reserve, known for rich biodiversity.
• Given the experiences from different parts of the world, dam construction can heighten earthquake, landslide, and rockfall threats.
• The huge human presence required for construction activities will kill the highly crucial Periyar Tiger Reserve surrounding Mullaperiyar.

CREATE DAM DEFORMATION DATABASE:

• At present, there is very little dam deformation data in the case of Mullaperiyar.
• The time requires the creation of an independent group of experts jointly by the two states to check existing technical reports and collect and analyse dam deformation data to decide on the dam’s future stability prospects.

WORK OF SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:

• The latest directions of the SC that empowered the Supervisory Committee to need to be implemented in letter and spirit, Both the states should provide all support for its work.

THE CONCLUSION: Political leadership of both the states needs to get their acts together for a viable solution to the dam issue. Science, data, and evidence need to drive the discourse that new technologies can speed up decision-making. The construction of a new dam carries risk. Hence, a decentralized approach to water management at the Tamil Nadu level and monitoring of the dam from the safety and structural aspects need to be undertaken.

Questions:

1. What is the Mullaperiyar dam controversy? How far do you think constructing a new dam will resolve it?
2. “ Without political solutions, judicial interventions fail” Comment in the light of the Mullaperiyar dam issue between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

THE CONTEXT: The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the inadequacies of the healthcare provisions in India which once again created a debate on Universal Health Care (UHC). There are many approaches to providing the UHC to the people of a country and Healthcare as an optional public service (HOPS) is one of them. This article examines the benefits and challenges of HOPS in providing a UHC.

NOTE: For the purpose of our discussion, Universal Health Coverage and Universal Health Care are used interchangeably.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE?

DEFINITION: 

• According to WHO, Universal Health Coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.
• It includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
• The basic idea of UHC is that no one should be deprived of quality health care for the lack of ability to pay.

NEED:

• Currently, at least half of the people in the world do not receive the health services they need.
• About 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of out-of-pocket spending on health.
• This must change.

THE INDIAN SCENARIO:

• India has one-of-the highest levels of Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures (OOPE) contributing directly to the high incidence of catastrophic expenditures and poverty, notes the Economic Survey.
• It suggested an increase in public spending from 1% to 2.5-3% of GDP — as envisaged in the National Health Policy 2017 — can decrease the OOPE from 65% to 30% of overall healthcare spending.
• The Survey observes that the health of a nation depends critically on its citizens having access to an equitable, affordable, and accountable healthcare system.
• Public and private expenditures on healthcare in India do not exceed 5.5% of its GDP.

MODES OF UHC:

• UHC generally relies on one or both of two basic approaches: public service and social insurance. But there is another approach that aims to leverage the strength of both while minimising the limitations. (Read Ahead).

TEN PRINCIPLES OF UHC IN INDIA

THE PREVAILING ROUTES TO THE UHC

PUBLIC SERVICE:

• Health care, like the services of a fire department or a public library, is offered as a free public service.
• Surprisingly, this socialist vision has been successful not only in communist countries like Cuba but also in capitalist ones (well beyond the United Kingdom).
• Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) which is the best example of this genre, is free at the point of use for anyone who is a UK resident.
• Healthcare is provided by a single-payer – the British government – and is funded by the taxpayer although there are multiple providers.
• All appointments and treatments are free to the patient (though paid for through taxes), as are almost all prescription drugs.
• Responsibility for health services is devolved to local boards or trusts.
• These local units directly manage or contract services in their communities. Britain spends 9.9% of its GDP on the NHS.

SOCIAL INSURANCE:

• This method provides for both private and public health care.
• But the expenses are borne mostly by the social insurance fund(s), rather than the patient.
• Everyone has access to high-quality health care.
• A social insurance market is not the same as a private insurance market.
• The most basic version is one in which insurance is mandatory and universal.
• It is funded mostly by general taxation and administered by a single public-interest non-profit organisation.
• That’s how it works in Canada (at least in some provinces) and to varying degrees in other nations with “national health insurance” (e.g., Australia and Taiwan).
• This single-payer system makes it easier for the state to negotiate with healthcare providers for a decent price.
• However, various countries have different social models.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN BOTH THE APPROACHES?

PUBLIC SERVICE:

• Providing free public health care to all will put a huge financial burden on the exchequer.
• The capacity of public health infrastructure in the country is hugely inadequate.
• There is a severe shortage of human resources in the health sector including medical, paramedical, and other staff as pointed out by the National Health Policy-2017.
• The profit-private healthcare system is highly developed and too entrenched in India. And hence, it is too costly to displace it.

SOCIAL INSURANCE:

• In the absence of public health centers, there is a danger of patients rushing to expensive hospitals every other day.
• This would make the system wasteful and expensive.
• Containing costs is a major challenge with social insurance because patients and healthcare providers have a joint interest inexpensive care — one to get better, the other to earn.
• Expanding social insurance to commercial healthcare providers is especially dangerous given their power and influence
• Another challenge with social insurance is to regulate for-profit private healthcare providers.

WHAT IS INDIA’S APPROACH TO UHC AS OF NOW?

Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which covers over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization the most important strategy for a UHC.  Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission subsumes the ongoing centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS). Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private impaneled hospitals across the country. It is an entitlement-based scheme with entitlement decided based on deprivation criteria in the SECC database. Also, there is a Primary Health Infrastructure system in place that caters to a wide range of medical health needs although there is a huge state-wide disparity in its reach and quality. There are also state-level medical insurance schemes and departmental medical facilities including defence, railways, etc.

HEALTHCARE AS AN OPTIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE(HOPS)- THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE UHC IN INDIA

WHAT ARE HOPS?: 

• It is a framework for UHC that is based primarily on health care as a public service, with the potential to eventually converge toward some kind of NHS.
• Everyone would have the legal right to access free, high-quality health care at a public facility if they so desired. It would not restrict someone from seeking private health care on their own expenses.
• The public sector, on the other hand, would provide adequate health care to everyone as a matter of right and at no expense.

HAS IT BEEN PRACTICED IN INDIA?:

• This is something that some Indian states are already attempting. Most ailments can be properly treated in the public sector in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, for example, at a low cost to the patient.
• A vibrant private sector exists as well, which needs better regulation.
• However, as an optional public service, everyone has access to adequate health care.

ARE HOPS TRULY EGALITARIAN?:

• HOPS is not as egalitarian as the NHS and the National Health Insurance model as those with the means can access private healthcare. However, it will still be a big step toward UHC.
• Moreover, as the public sector offers an increasingly wide range of medical services, it can become more egalitarian over time.
• If quality medical care is available free of charge in the public sector, most patients have little reason to rely on the private sector.

ROLE OF SOCIAL INSURANCE IN HOPS: 

• It can cover medical procedures that are not readily available in the public sector and thus can play a limited role in this framework.
• Social insurance needs to be built around public and non-profit private healthcare.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES WITH HOPS?:

• Difficult to specify the scope of the proposed healthcare guarantee, including quality standards.
• UHC does not mean unlimited health care: there are always limits to what can be guaranteed to everyone.
• Not only does HOPS need health standards, but it also needs a reliable way to revise those standards over time.
• Some useful items are already available like the Indian Public Health Standards.
• But a major challenge is administrative and operational which do not have easy answers.

RIGHT TO HEALTH BILL- THE TAMIL NADU WAY FOR HOPS

Tamil Nadu is in a good position to achieve HOPS under the proposed Health Rights Bill. Tamil Nadu can already effectively provide most public-sector medical services.

According to the 4th National Family Health Survey, the majority of households in Tamil Nadu are going to the public sector for medical care in the event of illness. The scope and quality of these services have steadily improved over time. The proposed Health law is very supportive of the state’s commitment to quality medical care for all. The Bill seeks to cover all age groups and include people with disabilities and mental illnesses. It enables patients and their families to demand quality service and helps further improve the system. It will serve as a model and inspiration for all Indian states.

THE CONCLUSION: Healthcare provision in India faces many challenges and it requires multiple interventions. A good beginning can be ensuring a legal right to health in the nature of HOPS. Although not devoid of challenges, HOPS can provide “hopes” to the millions who are outside the formal medical care system.

QUESTIONS:

1. What do you understand by Healthcare as an Optional Public Service? Explain.
2. No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of a lack of means. Hence, a fully publicly funded healthcare system is required. Elaborate

THE CONTEXT: The Nepal Prime Minister visited India in the first week of April 2022. After taking charge as a Prime Minister, this was the first bilateral abroad visit by the Prime Minister of Nepal. The outcome of the visit might appear modest but what is significant is that India and Nepal effectively managed to steer clear of divisive issues. This article analyses the recent developments in India- Nepal relations.

THE VISIT

PROJECTS LAUNCHED:

• Launch and operationalization of 35 km long cross border rail link from Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal.
• Inauguration of the 90 km long 132 KV Solu Corridor transmission line built with Indian Line of Credit for INR 200 crore.
• Launch of RuPay Card in Nepal.
• Witnessing a video clip on the progress in the construction of the 132 Health facilities in Nepal, undertaken with US$ 50 million in post-earthquake reconstruction grant.

DOCUMENTS EXCHANGED:

• International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement handover by Nepal.
• Exchange of MoU on enhancing Technical Cooperation in the Railway Sector.
• Exchange of Agreement on Supply of Petroleum Products between IOC (India Oil Corporation) and NOC (Nepal Oil Corporation).
• Exchange of Agreement for sharing of Technical Expertise between IOC and NOC.

INDIA-NEPAL JOINT VISION STATEMENT ON POWER SECTOR COOPERATION:

• Apart from these, India and Nepal issued a joint vision statement on power sector cooperation. According to the statement:
• Joint development of power generation projects in Nepal.
• Development of cross-border transmission infrastructure.
• Bi-directional power trade with appropriate access to electricity markets in both countries based on mutual benefits, market demand and applicable domestic regulations of each country.
• Coordinated operation of the national grids.
• Institutional cooperation in sharing the latest operational information, technology, and know-how.

IMPORTANCE OF THE VISIT:

• At a time when the Russia-Ukraine war is going on, India is facing west criticism for not condemning Russia. This time India needs to improve its relations with neighbouring countries.
• The relations between India-Nepal are as healthy as expected, so the visit shows hope for enhancing the relations.
• It was his first foreign visit as Prime Minister that abiding interest in strengthening ties with India.
• In the recent past, after strong Indian opposition to the Constitution, many Nepali held India responsible for the three-month-long “great blockade” and Madhesi groups’ protest; the visit was the opportunity to repair the India-Nepal relationship.
• The BIMSTEC summit recently concluded that if India wants to minimize the ongoing war impacts, it should have good ties with neighbouring countries.

SUCCESS OF THE VISIT:

• The visit shows many successes in the different sectors. Moreover, it raised confidence in the relations of both countries.
• Cross border projects like technical cooperation in the railway sector, Nepal’s induction into the International Solar Alliance, and between Indian Oil Corporation, Nepal Oil Corporation on ensuring regular supplies of petroleum products were also signed, and a joint vision statement on power sector cooperation provide opportunities for joint development and cooperation.

THE CHALLENGES FACING INDIA-NEPAL TIES

THE OPEN: An important issue is an open border between two countries.

BORDER ISSUE: The open is used for illegal trafficking to India.

FLOOD DUE TO PLAIN: The Nepal plains suffer from massive floods that have also affected downstream areas across the border.

KOSI BARRAGE: The Kosi Barrage and attendant embankments have the possibility of wreaking havoc because the siltation of six decades has raised the riverbed within the levees far above the outlying tracts. The Indian politician is to demand a high dam in the hills of Nepal even as alternatives are not studied, which effected the waters of the Kosi in Bihar.

IMPORT OF ELECTRICITY FROM NEPAL: Nepal has long planned to sell electricity to India, but the completion of the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line was supposed to facilitate that. Indian government directive that it will not allow the import of electricity other than from power companies with more than 51% Indian equity.

ARBITRARY BLOCKAGES AT BORDER POINTS: The arbitrary blockages and go-slow at Indian Customs at border points, the selective use of quarantine for the export of Nepali agricultural produce, the increasing high-handedness of the Sashastra Seema Bal (India’s frontier force in this sector) in dealing with Nepalis crossing over are some of the challenges on the bilateral plane.

2020 BORDER DISPUTE: The Nepalese government issued a new political map placing the disputed territory of Kalapani within its borders. This came as a response to the inauguration of a Jeep track through Lipu Lek by the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

COVID-19: Because of the lock-down in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of poor Nepalese migrant labour working in Indian cities returned home in 2020. This caused a massive spread of the pandemic inside Nepal. This created a negative image of India.

MAOIST: India played a valued role in ending the Maoist insurgency in 2006, but the period after that was marked by escalating micro-meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs.

NEW CONSTITUTION: There were attempts to define the new provincial boundaries according to Indian dictates in Constitution-writing. India criticized it for not addressing the concerns of Madheshis and other marginalized sections.

HUMAN RIGHT ISSUE: India criticized Nepal’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, especially in dealing with the Madhesi agitation.

BLOCKADE BY MADHESI: It has halted oil and other essential supplies, which created a humanitarian crisis in Nepal. The Nepal government blames India for this blockade.

RESULT OF THESE ISSUES: CHINESE PRESENCE IN NEPAL

The Great Blockade forced the Kathmandu political leadership to reach out to Beijing, and the result was: 

• India’s relations with Nepal have had both ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ in recent years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken of the “neighbourhood first” policy. After that, both countries’ relations took a nosedive, and China made a strong presence in Nepal.
• Nepal is today connected by air to Chinese cities than to India.
• Nepal is also part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
• In 2016, Mr Oli visited Beijing to negotiate an Agreement on Transit Transportation.
• The first-ever visit of the Chinese Defence Minister took place in March 2017, followed by joint military exercises a month later. Three years later, a Protocol was concluded with China providing access to four seaports and three land ports. A military grant of $32 million was also announced.
• Rather than compete with China, India needs to up its own game. China has overtaken India as the largest source of foreign direct investment. In 2019, China’s President Xi Jinping visited Kathmandu. Annual development assistance has been hiked to $120 million. China is also engaged with airport expansion projects at Pokhara and Lumbini.
• The growing Chinese presence means that India cannot afford to let issues linger but reach out actively to find a resolution.

WHAT CAN BE THE IMPACT OF A VISIT?

WHAT SHOULD BE THE WAY FORWARD?

IMPROVE BILATERAL TRADE WITH NEIGHBOURS:

• India will have to focus on connectivity as leverage to increase its strategic influence in the neighbourhood.
• The trilateral India-Nepal-China corridor offers an interesting opportunity for collaboration to test Beijing’s flexibility and, at the same time, get Kathmandu on board.

BALANCE DEALING WITH SMALL NEIGHBOURS: 

• India will have to abandon the archaic principle of the right of first refusal and invest in expanding its capacity of first delivery.
• Delhi will have to get used to Kathmandu’s new “first-come, first-served” principle. Indian delays and low-quality resources will no longer be tolerated.
• By reviving the Gujral doctrine and India’s willingness to provide non-reciprocal, unilateral, and preferential benefits to its smaller neighbours.

TO CURB CHINA IMPACT:

• Beijing’s current promises of support for Nepal will thus also come with a price.
• New Delhi will have to communicate such expectations more clearly.
• History shows that India will often assume that the Nepalese government is deliberately acting against its advice when, in fact, New Delhi never communicated such concerns in the first place or did not articulate them forcefully enough.

CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE: 

• In 2015, New Delhi may as well have failed on clear communication and used inadequate forms of pressure that were resented in Nepal.
• A permanent bilateral mechanism is required to save the plains population of Nepal from suffering, which can be possible at the present.
•  It has always been our wish to seek peace and prosperity in Nepal because stability in Nepal is in the best interests of India [and] democracy in Nepal is the best guarantee of such stability.

OTHERS: 

• More than defining what Nepal should not do, India will have to grow a thicker skin against Nepalese nationalist rallying cries against India.
• To most Nepalese, the Chinese grass across the Himalayas will naturally look greener than that on India’s Gangetic plains.
• Especially while in opposition, political leaders in Kathmandu will keep tapping into anti-India feelings to mobilize electoral support, a behaviour that India must understand and endure.

CONCLUSION: PM Deuba’s visit has infused new trust and confidence in the relationship and it should be hoped that shared historical, cultural, economic security and other linkages will help the two countries further boost their bilateral ties.

QUESTIONS

1. ‘The Nepal Prime Minister’s visit sparks hope that bilateral ties will find a new equilibrium. Critically discuss.
2. ‘China will emerge as an occasional irritant in Indo-Nepalese relations, tempting Nepal to play the ‘Beijing card’ against India”. In the light of the statement, discuss how India can prevent it?

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

EXPLAINED: WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR THE RESIGNATION AND REINSTATEMENT OF AN IAS OFFICER?

THE CONTEXT: An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Kashmir, who resigned from the service in protest against the “unabated” killings in Kashmir in 2019, has been reinstated.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A “resignation” is a formal intimation in writing by an officer of their intention to leave the IAS. Guidelines of the Department of Personnel, the cadre controlling Department for the IAS, say that a resignation has to be clear and unconditional
• The resignation of an officer of any of the three All-India Services (IAS, Indian Police Service, and Indian Forest Service) is governed by Rule 5(1) and 5(1)(a) of the All India Services (Death-cum-retirement benefits) Rules, 1958. There are similar rules for other central services as well.

To whom does an officer submit his/her resignation?

• An officer serving in a cadre (state) must submit his/her resignation to the chief secretary of the state. An officer who is on central deputation is required to submit his/her resignation to the secretary of the concerned Ministry or Department.
• The Ministry/Department forwards the officer’s resignation to the concerned state cadre, with its comments/recommendations.
• A resignation can be rejected. In mid-2020, a principal secretary to the Punjab government resigned, but it was rejected by then Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh.

What happens after the resignation is submitted?

• The state checks to see if any dues are outstanding against the officer, as well as the vigilance status of the officer. The concerned state government is supposed to send, along with its recommendation, information on these two matters to the central government.
• The resignation of the officer is considered by the competent authority, i.e., the central government, only after the recommendation of the concerned cadre has been received.
• The competent authorities are the Minister of State at the Department of Personnel & Training in respect of the IAS, the Minister for Home Affairs in respect of IPS, and the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change in respect of the Forest Service.

Under what circumstances is a resignation accepted?

• The guidelines say that it is not in the interest of the government to retain an unwilling officer. As per the guidelines, resignations are accepted under normal circumstances.
• However, according to the guidelines, where an officer who is under suspension, submits a resignation, the competent authority should examine, with reference to the merit of the disciplinary case pending against the officer, whether it would be in the public interest to accept the resignation.
• In some cases, resignations have been rejected because disciplinary cases were pending against officers. In such cases, the concurrence of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is obtained.
• The government also checks whether the concerned officer had executed any bond for serving the government for a specified number of years on account of being given specialized training, a fellowship, or a scholarship for studies.

Can an officer withdraw his/her resignation?

• Following an amendment in the Rules in 2013, officers have the opportunity to withdraw a resignation within 90 days of it being accepted. Rule 5(1A)(i) says the central government may permit an officer to withdraw his/her resignation “in the public interest”.
• However, “Request for withdrawal of resignation shall not be accepted by the Central Government where a member of the Service resigns from his/her service or post with a view to be associated with any political parties or any organisation which takes part in politics, or to take part in, or subscribe in aid of, or assist in any other manner, any political movement or political activity or to canvass or otherwise interfere with, or use his/her influence in connection with, or take part in, an election to any legislature or local authority.”

HATTIS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH & THEIR DEMAND FOR SCHEDULED TRIBE STATUS

THE CONTEXT: The Union Home Ministry assured that the Centre would consider favorably the state government’s request for inclusion of the Hatti community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the state and that the state government would complete all the formalities required for getting tribal status for the 3 lakh-strong community.

THE EXPLANATION:

Who are the Hattis?

• The Hattisare a close-knit community that got their name from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat, and wool at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns.

• The Hatti community, whose men generally don a distinctive white headgear during ceremonies, is cut off from Sirmaur by two rivers called Giri and Tons. Tons divides it from the JaunsarBawar area of Uttarakhand. The Hattis who live in the trans-Giri area and JaunsarBawar in Uttarakhand were once part of the royal estate of Sirmaur until JaunsarBawar’s separation in 1815.
• Due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas lag behind in education and employment.
• The Hattisare governed by a traditional council called Khumbli, which like the khaps of Haryana, decides community matters. The Khumbli’s power has remained unchallenged despite the establishment of the Panchayati raj system.

What are the benefits of being accorded as a Scheduled Tribe?

The Indian Constitution ensures certain protection for communities deemed as having Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. However, which groups should be accorded that status has been contentious. Getting ST status means that members of the group have access to highly desired tangible benefits such as political representation, reserved seats in schools, and government jobs.

Who has the power to declare a community/Tribes as Scheduled Tribe?

• The Indian Constitution only states that STs are specified by the President after consultation with the Governor; it does not specify specific criteria.
• According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the criterion—while not spelled out in legislation—“is well established,” and includes an indication of “primitive” traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, “shyness of connecting” with the community at large, and “backwardness.” These general standards were established following the definitions of the 1931 Census, the reports of the First Backward Classes Commission 1955, Kalelkar Advisory Committee, and the Revision of SC/ST list by the Lokur Committee. However, more than a half-century later, these broad criteria leave a lot of discretion.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

LARGE SHARE OF INDIA’S THREATENED ENDEMIC SPECIES IN KERALA, TAMIL NADU, AND KARNATAKA: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to a study published in Environmental Research 2022 the three states account for 51 percent of the country’s species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) score. A higher STAR score indicates the greater presence of threatened species.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The study noted that the top 20 percent of all 36 states contributed 80 percent to the national STAR score. These include Kerala (20 percent), Tamil Nadu (18 percent), Karnataka (13 percent), Arunachal Pradesh (6 percent), Assam (5 percent), Maharashtra (5 percent), and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean (12 percent).
• The score is a measure of the contribution that investments can make to reduce species extinction risk. It can help national and subnational governments, cities, and other entities target their investments and activities to achieve conservation outcomes, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• India’s total national STAR score was 41,817, of which 11,585 were for mammals, 10,843 for birds, and 19,389 for amphibians.
• The global STAR score for the three species groups combined was 1,223,500. India’s national STAR score represented 3.4 percent of the global STAR; it was 3.7 percent for mammals, 2.9 percent for birds, and 3.6 percent for amphibians.

• Several bigger states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and Telangana, however, contributed less than 1 percent to the national STAR score.
• The high STAR scores of the top three states (51 percent combined) were primarily due to the presence of several endemic amphibian species that are critically endangered like Indiana phrynoderma (Kerala Indian frog), Fejervaryamurthii (Ghats wart frog), Indiranagundia (Gundia frog), Micrixaluskottigeharensis (Kottigehar dancing frog) and others, the report noted.
• The high scores of the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam were due to the presence of a high number of threatened birds and mammals such as Liocichlabugunorum and Biswamoyopterusbiswasi.

THE SECURITY AFFAIRS

REPORTING OF CYBER BREACHES MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL FIRMS

THE CONTEXT: The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has made it mandatory for all service providers, intermediaries, data center providers, corporates as well as government organizations to report cyber incidents within six hours of their detection.

THE EXPLANATION:

• To strengthen India’s overall cybersecurity position, the country’s nodal cybersecurity agency has also issued additional directions relating to synchronisation of ICT system clocks, maintenance of logs of ICT systems and subscriber/customer registration details by data centers, virtual private server (VPS) providers, VPN service providers, and cloud service providers.
• In a statement released by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, “To coordinate response activities as well as emergency measures with respect to cybersecurity incidents, CERT-In calls for information from service providers, intermediaries, data centers and body corporate.
• “During handling cyber incidents and interactions with the constituency, CERT-In has identified certain gaps causing hindrance in incident analysis,” it added.
• It said that to address the identified gaps and facilitate incident response measures, CERT-In had issued directions relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response, and reporting of cyber incidents. These directions will take effect after 60 days.
• It also noted, “Any service provider, intermediary, data center, body corporate and government organisation shall mandatorily report cyber incidents… to CERT-In within 6 hours of noticing such incidents or being brought to notice about such incidents”.

VALUE ADDITION:

• CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur. The constituency of CERT-In is the Indian Cyber Community.
• CERT-In was established in 2004 as a functional organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Functions:

• The Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 designated CERT-In to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:
• Collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.
• Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents
• Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents
• Coordination of cyber incident response activities.
• Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes, and whitepapers relating to information
• security practices, procedures, prevention, response, and reporting of cyber incidents.
• Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed.

QUICK FACTS:

• Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: It is the first international treaty that seeks to address Internet and cybercrime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. It came into force in 2004. India is not a signatory to this convention.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C): It was established in 2018 to combat cybercrime in India in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

THE NEWS IN NUMBERS

INTERNET FREEDOM

About 56 nations have now signed a political commitment to push rules for the internet that are underpinned by democratic values. This comes at a time when the U.S. has accused Russia of wielding internet disruptions as a part of its escalating attacks on Ukraine. The commitment called the “Declaration for the Future of the Internet”, protects human rights, promotes the free flow of information, protects user privacy, and sets rules for a growing global digital economy among steps to counter digital authoritarianism.

REPTILES AT RISK

• According to the first major global assessment about 21 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction according to the world’s cold-blooded creatures. At least 1,829 species of reptiles are either vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, including more than half of the turtles and crocodiles, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
• The researchers assessed 10,196 reptile species and evaluated them using criteria from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species.

 MEASLES SURGE

According to United Nations, around an 80 percentage, of the surge in measles cases worldwide this year(2022), warning that the rise of the illness indicated that outbreaks of other diseases were likely on the way. The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted vaccination campaigns for non-COVID diseases around the world, creating a “perfect storm” that could put millions of children’s lives at risk, UNICEF and the World Health Organization said in a statement. More than 17,300 measles cases were reported globally in January and February 2022.

About Measles:

Measles is a contagious disease caused by a virus. It’s a contagious illness spread by mucus and saliva. The virus is released into the air when a measles-infected person sneezes or coughs. The measles virus can spread through the air. As a result, anyone in that area could be infected by the virus.

• It is caused by the Rubella virus, a member of the para myxovirus family.
• It is spread by droplets from an infected person’s nose, throat, or mouth.
• Respiratory droplets produced by coughing or sneezing spread the disease through the air.
• Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, the disease claimed the lives of over 2 million people each year.
• Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, lakhs of children worldwide die each year from measles.
• The majority of the victims are children under the age of five.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Q1. Which dance form uses Jayadeva’s ‘Gita Govinda’ extensively?

a) Sattriya

b) Kuchipudi

c) Bharatnatyam

d) Odissi

Q2. Giddha, Sammi, and Kikli are folk dances from which of the following states of India?

a) Rajasthan

b) Punjab

c) Haryana

d) Uttar Pradesh

ANSWER FOR 28TH APRIL 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister on 27th April 2022 approved an investment of ₹4,526.12 crores for the 540- megawatt Kwar hydroelectric project on the Chenab in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.

THE CONTEXT: India and Australia signed an Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) with an eye on doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion in the next five years and easing the movement of people, goods, and services across borders. The negotiations for India-Australia ECTA were formally re-launched on 30 September 2021 (which were stalled since 2015) and concluded on a fast-track basis by the end of March 2022. This article analyzes different aspects of the deal and the significance of the bilateral trade for both countries.

THE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND TRADE AGREEMENT (ECTA)

The Agreement encompasses cooperation across the entire gamut of bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two friendly countries and covers areas like:

• Trade-in Goods,
• Rules of Origin,
• Trade in Services,
• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT),
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures,
• Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons,
• Telecom, Customs Procedures,
• Pharmaceutical products, and
• Cooperation in other Areas.

KEY FEATURES OF THE AGREEMENT

PREFERENTIAL MARKET ACCESS:

Australia’s PMA to India: India will benefit from preferential market access provided by Australia on 100% of its tariff lines. This includes all the labour-intensive sectors which are of interest to India such as Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear etc.

India’s PMA to Australia: India will be offering preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tariff lines. This includes lines of export interest to Australia which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries such as coal, mineral ores and wines, etc.

Both sides have also agreed to a separate Annexure on Pharmaceutical products under this agreement. This will enable fast-track approval for patented, generic, and biosimilar medicines.

SERVICES TRADE:

As regards trade in services, some of the keys offers from Australia in the services space include Quota for chefs and yoga teachers; a Post-study work visa of 2-4 years for Indian students on a reciprocal basis; mutual recognition of Professional Services and Other licensed/regulated Occupations, etc.

India has offered market access to Australia in around 103 sub-sectors and the Most Favored Nation in 31 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors. This includes ‘business services’, ‘communication services’, ‘construction and related engineering services, and so on.

EXCLUDED TARIFF LINES:

India has kept many sensitive products in the exclusion category (29.8% of tariff lines) without offering any concession. These products include milk and dairy, chickpeas, walnut, pistachio nuts, wheat, rice, bajra, apple, sunflowers seed oil, etc.

The agreement also includes strict rules of origin to prevent any routing of products from other countries and provides for a safeguard mechanism to address any sudden surges in imports of a product.

SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIA AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT

AN ANALYSIS OF THE IND-AUS TRADE AGREEMENT

• Both India and Australia share a vision of a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, as well as cooperative use of the seas based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and peaceful dispute resolution rather than unilateral or coercive actions.
• The India-Australia ECTA will strengthen the two countries’ already deep, close, and strategic relations by significantly increasing bilateral trade in goods and services, creating new job opportunities, raising living standards, and improving the general welfare of the two peoples.
• The India-Australia comprehensive interim free trade agreement is well-timed for both partners and will ensure an uninterrupted supply of key inputs to Indian industries, with Australian businesses gaining access to a more reliable alternative to China, which is resorting to sanctions against the Canberra.
• A special review mechanism is also envisaged for compulsory review after 15 years for certain aspects of the agreement in a time-bound manner. The review, if requested, is compulsory and has to be completed in six months. This is something new in bilateral trade relations which gives confidence in having a long-term cordial and collaborative relations wherein changes can be incorporated on mutually agreeable terms.
• India and Australia are members of the QUAD grouping, which also includes the United States and Japan, and bilateral ties will help strengthen cooperation and develop partnerships on several issues of common strategic concerns.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The government has successfully negotiated an excellent trade deal for businesses. However, Australia has 16 FTAs under operation which means accessing the Australian market wouldn’t be a cakewalk. India would have to work on improving its competitiveness, as in most trade sectors, it would be competing with China, ASEAN, Chile, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand, which have already-functional FTAs with Australia.
• Active diplomatic engagement would be required to make Australia fulfill its promise to amend its domestic tax law in order to stop taxation of the offshore income of Indian firms providing technical services to Australia. Once the amendment is made, the Indian tech companies would no longer be required to pay taxes on offshore revenues in Australia. This would enhance their competitiveness in the international market.
• India signed an FTA with the UAE in February 2022 and now an FTA has been negotiated with Australia. The success shall be used in negotiating its future FTA deals with Israel, Canada, the UK, and the EU.
• The India-Australia trade pact is the second big trade agreement signed by New Delhi in the recent past. It is in sharp contrast to India’s stand at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest trade agreement involving China and 14 other Asia-Pacific nations where India defended its stand by raising concerns about Chinese goods flooding the Indian market. India will have to forge several similar alliances, like the one with Australia, to make up for not being a part of RCEP. Furthermore, India needs to play this on the front foot and rise above political considerations and think in purely economic terms.

THE CONCLUSION: This agreement opens a big door into the world’s fastest-growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) is a key step in enhancing bilateral economic ties between the two major Indian Ocean littoral states and reflects the growing strategic alignment between New Delhi and Canberra. While India’s strongest ties with Australia had hitherto largely centered around their common colonial legacy of cricket, best exemplified in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a more contemporary shared vision has emerged around the mutual need to strengthen their strategic and trade engagement.

Mains Practice Questions:

1. Elaborate on how the growing India-Australia economic and commercial relations can contribute to the stability in the Indo-pacific region?
2. India has recently had bilateral trade deals with UAE and Australia and is in talks with other countries also. How will the bilateral trade agreements help India in realizing the $5T economy dream? Substantiate.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

India Australia Bilateral Relations

HISTORICAL TIES:

• India and Australia established diplomatic relations in the pre-Independence period, with the establishment of the India Trade Office in Sydney in 1941.
• India and Australia bilateral relations have undergone transformational evolution in recent years, developing along a positive track, into a friendly partnership.
• This is a special partnership characterised by shared values of pluralistic, parliamentary democracies, Commonwealth traditions, expanding economic engagement, long-standing people-to-people ties and increasing high-level interaction.

STRATEGIC:

• The India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership initiated during the India-Australia Leaders’ Virtual Summit on 04 June 2020 is the cornerstone of our multifaceted bilateral relations.
• Both countries also held first India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi in September 2021 with focus on open, free, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL RELATIONS:

• India and Australia have been each other’s, important trading partners and bilateral economic and commercial relations have continued to enhance and deepen over time.
• Growing India-Australia economic and commercial relations contribute to the stability and strength of a rapidly diversifying and deepening bilateral relationship between the two countries.
• Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia’s 9th largest trading partner.
• India-Australia bilateral trade for both merchandise and services is valued at US$ 27.5 billion in 2021.
• India’s merchandise exports to Australia grew 135% between 2019 and 2021.
• India’s exports consist primarily of a broad-based basket largely of finished products and were US$ 6.9 billion in 2021.
• India’s merchandise imports from Australia were US$ 15.1 billion in 2021, consisting largely of raw materials, minerals and intermediate goods.

DEFENCE:

• In 2014, both sides decided to extend defence cooperation to cover research, development and industry engagement.
• The first-ever Bilateral Maritime Exercise, AUSINDEX, was conducted in Visakhapatnam (Bay of Bengal) in September 2015. The most recent one was conducted in September 2021.
• In 2018, the Indian Air Force participated for the first time in Exercise Pitch Black in Australia.
• INS Sahyadri participated in Kakadu, the biennial exercise of the Australian Navy held in 2018, in which 27 nations participated.
• The 4th edition of AUSTRAHIND (Special Forces of Army Exercise) was held in September 2019.

MULTILATERAL ENGAGEMENT:

• Both countries have close cooperation in multilateral platforms like Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and G20.
• The Quadrilateral Framework (QUAD) of India and Australia along with the US and Japan emphasize the collective resolve to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
• Australia was also included in Malabar Exercise in 2020, which now is an annual Naval exercise of the QUAD nations.

THE CONTEXT: Sri Lanka is going through an economic meltdown of a scale unseen since the country’s financial crisis of 1948. India also experienced a similar type of crisis in 1990, which it successfully managed. This article will undertake an economic comparison of both countries with special reference to the economic crisis.

WHAT IS THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS?

The country’s crumbling economy is facing a shortage of foreign currency, which has led to a massive reduction in imports of essential items. Sri Lanka relies heavily on its imports. It imports petroleum, food, paper, sugar, lentils, medicines, and transportation equipment, among other essential items. The lack of foreign currency means the country does not have the money to buy (import) these commodities. Imports are so essential that the government had to cancel examinations for millions of school students because they ran out of printing paper. The situation in Sri Lanka is so critical that the government had to suspend operations at its only fuel refinery because it ran out of crude oil stocks. The economy is plagued by inflation, which hit 15.1 percent. Government data shows that food inflation has risen to 25.7 percent. According to the data available on IMF, Sri Lanka’s gross debt as a percentage of GDP accounted for 79.02% in 2016 and this has risen to 111.42% in 2022. This implies what the country owes is more than what it produces. The twin-deficit problem emerged. There is a continued protest going on in Sri Lanka demanding the resignation of the President and the Prime Minister.

A TIMELINE OF THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS

NOVEMBER 2019: 

• After winning Sri Lanka’s presidential election and months ahead of a parliamentary ballot, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced sweeping tax cuts.
• The Cabinet cut the value-added tax to eight percent from 15 percent and also abolished seven other taxes, including a two percent nation-building tax paid by businesses.
• The sweeping tax cuts led to a credit rating downgrade in 2020, leading to Sri Lanka losing access to international financial markets.
• Sri Lanka started dipping into its foreign reserves to meet its debt obligations. This resulted in foreign reserves plummeting from a healthy level of $8,864 million in June 2019 to $2,361 million in January 2022. (See Figure 1)

2020:

• The COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 made the situation worse. Tourist inflows and tourism revenues fell further; exports of tea and rubber declined due to lower demand; and remittances, another booster to the foreign exchange reserves, also fell as Lankans across the globe lost jobs.
• The GDP declined by 3.5 percent, the Current Account Deficit touched 7.9 percent of GDP, and the fiscal deficit climbed to 11.1 percent.

APRIL 2021:

• The Lankan government on 29 April 2021 decided to ban the import of chemical fertilizers and any other agrochemicals to make the Indian Ocean nation the first in the world to practice “organic-only” agriculture. The move was aimed at reducing pressure on forex reserves.
• Agriculture experts strongly criticized the move as “ill-advised” and “unscientific”. The farming community expressed fears that such a drastic policy shift could result in a steep drop in yield.

NOVEMBER 2021:

• Facing protests and seeing a drop in agricultural output, the government said that it would partially lift the ban.
• However, the damage was done. The ban had led to a reduction in yield, which went down by 25 percent.
• Tea cultivation, which is one of the mainstays of the economy, was also badly hit. The output of pepper, cinnamon, and vegetables went down by 30 percent.
• This forced the government to rely on rice and other staples even more from foreign countries.

MARCH 2022:

• The situation became even direr by the end of March as a critical lack of foreign currency left the island nation unable to pay for vital imports, leading to dire shortages in everything from life-saving medicines to cement.
• On 30 March, the island nation announced 13-hour daily power cuts nationwide. The country had been under severe electricity rationing since the start of the month.

APRIL 2022:

• The plunge into darkness and the severe food shortages led to people getting furious and that anger spilled onto the streets on 1 April when demonstrators tried to storm the president’s home.
• The crowd turned violent, setting two military buses, a police jeep, two patrol motorcycles, and a three-wheeler ablaze. They also threw bricks at officers. Following the violence, a 36-hour curfew was imposed.
• A state of emergency was declared, giving security forces sweeping powers.
• The crisis deepened after Sri Lanka’s Cabinet resigned en masse from their positions.
• Trading on Sri Lanka’s stock exchange is being shut down. Additionally, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor announced his resignation.
• The embattled president loses his parliamentary majority as former allies urge him to quit. He lifts the state of emergency.
• The country’s central bank hiked interest rates by a record 700 basis points in a bid to halt the free fall of the Sri Lankan rupee, which has plunged more than 35 percent in a month.
• The country announces it is defaulting on its entire external debt of $51bn as a “last resort” after running out of foreign exchange to import desperately needed goods.

SRI LANKA’S FOREIGN DEBT

AN ANALYSIS OF THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS?

Sri Lanka has suffered a serious balance of payments (BOP) crisis since early 2020. With the global spread of COVID19, Sri Lanka has lost about US $ 4 billion in annual foreign currency inflows from the tourism industry. Even before it, the Easter Day bombing had already subdued the tourist arrivals. The country’s credit rating is steadily declining due to the negative effects of COVID19 on the economy, reckless changes in economic policies such as tax cuts, and the government’s stubborn stance of not seeking support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Due to these developments, Sri Lanka was unable to borrow from the international capital markets through the issuance of international government bonds (ISBs). Since April 2019, this country has not issued a single ISB

Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange inflows have declined significantly. In 2020, the government imposed strict import restrictions, including the suspension of car imports, to curb the outflow of foreign currency. The outflow of foreign exchange to imports has decreased, but the obligation to repay external debt remains unchanged. This means that Sri Lanka’s external funding gap (lack of foreign currency inflows to cover foreign currency outflows) continued to widen without the opportunity to issue an ISB. In the absence of sufficient foreign exchange inflows, the government continued to deplete its foreign exchange reserves to pay off existing loans. The Sri Lankan government also tinkered with the exchange rate which led to the black marketing of this scarce resource. The usual response to this kind of serious BOP crisis is to seek the help of the IMF. In fact, the very reason the IMF was created was to help countries deal with the BOP crisis. However, the Sri Lankan government has stubbornly refused to seek the help of the IMF or restructure its debt and instead is looking to China and India. Sri Lanka also announced a default on all of its $51 billion external debt as a last resort.

HOW INDIA HAS RESPONDED TO THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS?

WHAT WAS INDIA’S BALANCE OF PAYMENT CRISIS?

The BOP problem began to surface in the last years of the Rajiv Gandhi administration, where fiscal expansion led to an increase in the current account deficit. Successive governments could not take decisive actions. The situation was in jeopardy when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and oil prices soared. The market has lost confidence in the government’s ability to deal with the situation. Foreign banks stopped making new loans while claiming to repay the old ones. The influx of NRI funds has become negative. Negotiations were not very successful, as the IMF lends only to countries that are willing to make the difficult decisions needed to balance the BOP. Foreign exchange reserves were plummeting and India was at risk of defaulting. The inflation was also skyrocketing. The import cover was only sufficient to last for two weeks. The country was going through a twin-deficit crisis.

WHAT WAS INDIA’S RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS?

POLITICAL INITIATIVES:

• A Congress-led coalition under P.V. Narasimha Rao was sworn in and its first priority was to deal with the BOP crisis.
• It took strong action, including devaluation and reducing the fiscal deficit, but did not limit itself to dealing with the BOP. It also took up the other challenge of slow growth.

NEGOTIATION WITH IMF:

• The new government, with Manmohan Singh as finance minister, continued negotiations with the IMF to get loans that would tide over the immediate problem.
• The bank recommended and pushed through reforms focused on five key areas of investment and trade regimes, the financial sector, taxation, and public enterprises.
• They effectively ended four decades of central planning, significantly shifted resource allocation decisions from the public sector to the private sector and markets, and started integrating the country into the world economy.

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT:

• It began with a devaluation of the rupee in two stages, on 1 July and 3 July 1991. This was accompanied by a major liberalization of trade policy.
• Almost all intermediate and capital goods, which earlier needed an import licence, were allowed to be freely imported against Exim scrips issued to exporters at 30-40% of export earnings.
• The Exim scrips were freely tradable and the premium on them was an additional incentive for exporters.
• This introduced a market mechanism for limiting imports to a sustainable level.
• Tax reforms covering both direct and indirect taxes laid out by the Chelliah committee were implemented over three years.
• Foreign capital inflows in the form of portfolio flows were liberalized in steps so is the approach toward a floating exchange rate.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN SRI LANKAN AND INDIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS

There are many similarities between both countries with respect to the nature and causes of the crisis although they differ in their response mechanisms: Let us discuss them in detail.

IS INDIA LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A CRISIS SIMILAR TO THAT OF SRI LANKA?

In light of the recent Sri Lankan economic crisis, there are views that India’s debt to GDP ratio figures is in line with that of Sri Lanka and that a similar economic crisis awaits India. Sri Lanka’s total debt to GDP is certainly high, over 100%, but India’s total debt to GDP is not as high as Sri Lanka. From 2016-17 to 2020-21, India’s total public debt accounted for approximately 50% of GDP. The country’s debt position is much lower than Sri Lanka’s. But including all state debt, the debt position does not provide for a rosy picture (See Figure 2). Unlike Sri Lanka, where half of the debt is external, India’s total external debt to GDP is just under 3%, significantly lower than Sri Lanka. Also, the foreign exchange reserve totaling around $600 Billion provides a cushion to external and internal shocks.

DEBT POSITIONS OF INDIA AND SRI LANKA

ARE THERE ANY ECONOMIC LESSONS FOR INDIA FROM THE SRI LANKAN CRISIS?

SRI LANKA AND INDIA COMPARISON

THE WAY FORWARD

THE CONCLUSION: Sri Lanka is encountering an unprecedented economic crisis, and the country’s relations with China and India have also taken an interesting turn. So far, Sri Lanka has been trying to balance both countries and reap benefits from the geopolitical interests of China and India, as both countries have strategic interests in Sri Lanka. This was Sri Lanka’s strategy to avoid seeking IMF assistance and carry out economic reforms. However, this is a dangerous game to play for a country that is facing a severe economic crisis. In situations like these, vulnerable countries, Sri Lanka in this case, do not have much bargaining power. Thus, Lanka can learn from the Indian experience of the 1990s and it needs to approach the IMF for assistance and undertake much-needed economic reforms as India did without sacrificing national interest.

Questions:

1. Critically analyze the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka. What according to you can be the possible strategies to overcome it?
2. “Although there are similarities between the ongoing Sri Lankan economic crisis and the Balance of Payment crisis India experienced in 1990, what differentiates them is the effectiveness of the response mechanisms of both the countries” Explain.

THE CONTEXT: In the first week of April 2022 the appalling spectacle of human beings dying inside sewer lines was repeated on the outskirts of the national Capital after four people died in the area of Delhi. Before it, the Ministry of Social Justice and Women Empowerment said that a total of 971 people lost their lives while cleaning sewers or septic tanks since 1993, the year law prohibiting the employment of manual scavengers was enacted.

THE DEVELOPMENT

• A total of 971 people lost their lives while cleaning sewers or septic tanks since 1993, the year law prohibiting the employment of manual scavengers was enacted
• Tamil Nadu accounted for 214 of the 971 “sewer deaths”, the highest in the country. Gujarat reported 156 such deaths and Uttar Pradesh 106, the data said.
• In 703 cases, ₹10 lakh as compensation had been paid to the families of the victims, and in 136, an amount of less than ₹10 lakh was given.
• However, the Minister said, a total of 161 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the last three years but there was no death by manual scavenging.

WHAT IS MANUAL SCAVENGING?

• Manual scavenging is a profession which has been in existence since human civilisation. The inhuman practice of manually removing human excrements from dry toilets with bare hands, brooms, or metal scrappers; carrying excrements and baskets to dumping sites for disposal, is not only diabolic but perhaps the highest degree of human rights violation.
• People are made to carry out manual scavenging in two basic forms: the cleaning of dry latrines, and the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. Both are illegal under the Manual Scavenging Act.
• In the first case, casteist attitudes enforce people into carrying out this labour and then perpetuating their exploitation.
• The second is an urban mess coupled with ignorance, lack of awareness, or deliberate disregard for the law, which makes people carry out this work. This category is often rationalised with the logic of demand and supply.
• Manual Scavengers are usually self-employed or contract employees. “Self-employed” means a person who scavenges a group of households” dry latrines or drains etc. in a particular ward, for payment in cash and/or in-kind, by the house-owners. Contract employees would normally be those who are hired through contractors, by a municipal body or any other organization or a group of house owners, to scavenge individual or community dry latrines and open drains where night soil is disposed.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• based on census data, Risley, the Commissioner for 1901 Census, classified castes into seven main categories according to their social standing and ranked the Jatis in the local hierarchy and varna affiliation of each.
• The scavenging castes which were known by different names in different States like
• Bhangi, Balmiki, Chuhra, Mehtar, Mazhabi, Lal Begi, Halalkhor etc. in northern India;
• Har, Hadi, Hela, Dom, and Sanei, etc. in eastern India; Mukhiyar, Thoti, Chachati, Pakay, Relli, etc. in Southern India; and
• Mehtar, Bhangias, Halalkhor, Ghasi, Olgana, Zadmalli, Barvashia, Metariya, Jamphoda and Mela etc. in Western and Central India,

 Why is manual scavenging still prevalent in India?

• The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India.
• For example, the Mumbai civic body charges anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to clean septic tanks. Meanwhile, unskilled labourers are much cheaper to hire and contractors illegally employ them at a daily wage of Rs 300-500.
• According to a report by Safai Karmachari Andolan, 472 deaths due to manual scavenging had been recorded from 2016 to 2020 in Mumbai alone.

LEGAL / LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND COMMITTEES/COMMISSIONS FOR MANUAL SCAVENGERS

THE PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, 1955: 

• It has been enacted to abolish the practice of untouchability and social disabilities arising out of it against members of the Scheduled Castes.
• Under the revised Act, the practice of untouchability was made both cognizable and non-compoundable offence and stricter punishment was provided for the offenders.

THE SCHEDULED CASTES & SCHEDULED TRIBES (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) ACT, 1989:

• The Act, inter alia, specifies some types of offenses as atrocities, provides for the imposition of stricter penalties for the guilty and sets up Special Courts for speedy trial of such cases.

EMPLOYMENT OF MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND CONSTRUCTION OF DRY LATRINES (PROHIBITION) ACT, 1993:

• It provides for the prohibition of employment of manual scavengers as well as construction or continuance of dry latrines and for the regulation of construction and maintenance of water-sealed latrines and matters connected therewith.
• The act made employing a manual scavenger a cognisable offense with imprisonment and a fine.
• The 1993 Act made it the responsibility of citizens, organisations, and the state to maintain sanitary toilets.

THE PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT AS MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND THEIR REHABILITATION ACT, 2013:

• It has widened the definition of manual scavenging and shifted the focus of initiatives to end manual scavenging beyond sanitation to protect the dignity of communities engaged as manual scavengers.
• The 2013 Act prohibits dry latrines and outlaws all manual cleaning of excrement and cleaning gutters, sewers, and septic tanks without protective gear.
• The act says National Commission for SafaiKaramcharis (NCSK) would monitor the Act’s implementation and inquire into complaints regarding contravention of the provisions of the Act.

SCHEMES FOR WELFARE AND REHABILITATION OF MANUAL SCAVENGER

VALMIKI MALIN BASTI AWASYOJNA (VAMBAY): 

• This scheme was launched in 2001 with the aim to provide shelter and upgrade the existing shelter for people living below the poverty line in urban slums which helps in making cities slum-free.
• The scheme is shared on a 50:50 basis with states.

TOTAL SANITATION CAMPAIGN (TSC):

• The Total Sanitation Campaign is a comprehensive programme to ensure sanitation facilities in rural areas with a broader goal to eradicate the practice of open defecation.
• TSC was initiated in 1999 when Central Rural Sanitation Programme was restructured making it demand-driven and people-centered.

NATIONAL SCHEME OF LIBERATION AND REHABILITATION OF SCAVENGERS (NSLRS):

• NSLRS was launched in 1992 to provide alternate employment to the scavengers and their dependents.
• Under NSLRS, the Government of India has formulated and issued guidelines to all States and their Special Central Assistance (SCAs) to form groups of 5 to 25 scavengers and start a production-cum-trading-cum service center for large-scale conversion of dry latrines through Sanitary Marts in which the loan component would be provided by the National SafaiKaramcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC).

SELF-EMPLOYMENT SCHEME FOR THE REHABILITATION OF MANUAL SCAVENGERS: The scheme is a successor to NSLRS which provides for: –

• One-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 each to the identified manual scavengers.
• Loan for undertaking livelihood projects uptoRs 15 lakh at a concessional rate of interest.
• Credit linked capital subsidy up to Rs 3,25,000.
• Skill development training for up to two years with a stipend of Rs 3000 per month.

SWACCH BHARAT ABHIYAAN: Some of the features of the mission that promotes prohibition on manual scavenging are:

• Conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets,
• Eradication of manual scavenging,
• Spreading awareness among the citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health.

SOME MAJOR IMPLICATIONS OF MANUAL SCAVENGING

• the Increasing number of waste-pickers is considered a sign of growing poverty. In this way, the Right to life of scavengers remains under consistent threat.
• Right to equality and dignity are violated due to the continuance of such inhuman practice.
• Right of Food or right against Hunger is violated due to the continuance of the evil practice of Scavenging.
• Manual scavengers are exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect their skin, eyes, and limbs, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. According to the Environmental Sanitation Institute, Gandhi Ashram, the majority of scavengers suffered from anaemia, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Right to development is also violated.
• Many labourers have died cleaning septic tanks and drains due to poisonous gases as the majority of them are without the necessary safety equipment.
• Social Exclusion experienced by Manual Scavengers by Denying access to places of worship, public sources of water & exclusion from cultural events

WHY MANUAL SCAVENGING STILL PERSISTS?

A plethora of legislation was enacted for ensuring an equitable and casteless society, but the conditions of the scavenging communities have remained deplorable.

Govt apathy:

1. Poor implementation of the MSRA, 2013

• 6 Mn insanitary latrines still exist (NGO Safai Karamchari Andolan, Census 2011 data)
• 72% of these are in Andhra, Assam, J&K, Maha, TN, UP, and WB
• 3 million Dalits (mostly women) make living as manual scavengers (NGO data)

1. 99% reduction (2014 vs. 2017) in budgetary allocations by the center. This is despite GoI’s commitment to sanitation and a dedicated cess.
2. The National Safai Karmachari Commission which was mandated to implement the act has not been functioning properly. Its website has not been updated about recent developments and new initiatives.
3. The States/UTs are slow to identify insanitary latrines and manual scavengers as there is no time-bound plan for identifying insanitary latrines and manual scavengers.

Indian Railways:

• Continues to be the largest employer of Manual Scavengers (no data available about the no. of MS employed)
• Typically employs Manual Scavengers through ‘contractors’

Societal prejudice:

• popular insensitivity towards the issue
• the notion of caste and pollution
• stigmatisation of the dalits

Loopholes in the 2013 Law: 

• The 2013 Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act aimed to introduce safety measures for manual scavengers and encouraged their rehabilitation. Activists and manual scavengers have since criticized the law on the grounds that it does not strictly ban the practice.
• The 2013 Act allows manual scavenging if the employer provides ‘protective gear’; However, the Act does not define what constitutes ‘protective gear,’ creating a possibility for employers to exploit this provision.

Slow & inadequate rehabilitation of manual scavengers:

• Manual scavengers are mostly illiterate and have no exposure to any work, other than sanitation-related work. Many of them are old. They lack confidence for running self-employment projects. Many of them are not willing even to avail any skill development training.
• Banks are hesitant about providing loans to manual scavengers. Even many State Channelizing Agencies, due to the low rate of recovery of loans from safai karamcharis, are not willing to extend loans to manual scavengers.

What should be done?

• Without community participation and awareness this dehumanizing practice cannot be abolished. Government must try to create a favorable environment through community awareness and sensitization of local administration.
• Strict enforcement of criminal penalties of the 2013 act must be undertaken.
• As long as open defecation and dry latrines continue, manual scavenging is not likely to die, thus government must fasten the process of identification of insanitary toilets, their demolition, and rebuilding.
• Build the capacity of the community to promote rehabilitation efforts and self-reliance and also build leadership in the community with a particular focus on Dalit women
• Alternate means of employment should be generated for the impoverished people who are forced to become manual scavengers due to a lack of alternatives means of livelihood.
• Breaking caste barriers through education and economic uplift.
• Compensation sanctioned for the families of those who died in the course of the humiliating and hazardous work should be paid immediately.

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO ELIMINATE MANUAL SCAVENGING

Despite legislation and widespread campaigning against manual scavenging, the inhuman practice continues in India. But when it comes to solutions, there are practically none. The lack of technological replacement for humans cleaning sewers and septic tanks is the biggest challenge that the country faces. So, how do we end this? Here’s a brief look and what can be done and what needs to be done:

Machines: 

• When it comes to cleaning the drains, jetting and sucking machines can only be used on large roads.
• The government should place orders for small machines to negotiate the smaller lanes.
• Companies can manufacture them according to the customers’ requirements.

Design:

• The government has made it a criminal offense to ask someone to carry out manual scavenging but has not backed it up with redesigning septic tanks.
• Septic tanks here are designed badly. They have engineering defects which means that after a point, a machine cannot clean them.
• Sucking machines suck out liquid waste from septic tanks, but sometimes, fecal matter hardens and solidifies.

Proper waste disposal:

• It doesn’t help that people flush all kinds of things down the toilet with no thought for its repercussions. Improper disposal of condoms, sanitary napkins, and diapers contributes to clogged drains that machines cannot clear. This also creates circumstances forcing people to enter sewers.

Bio-Toilets:

• Indian RAIL has rolled out new coaches with bio-toilets, using the bio-digester concept of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• In phases, all conventional toilets should be replaced with bio-toilets, and the Southern Railway is looking at having only bio-toilets.

Bandicoot Robot & Sewer Croc:

• Sewer Croc, Bandicoot, and 14 other machines are in various development and deployment stages, with no help from the Centre.
• India’s first ‘manhole cleaning robot’ called Bandicoot.
• The Sewer Croc team came together last year following a spate of deaths of manual scavengers, and after a meeting with SKA’s national convenor, Bezwada Wilson.
• However, there are R&D problems: for instance, manholes are not consistent in shape or size: some are square, some are round; some are cylindrical, some are conical, and their diameters vary.

The WAY FORWARD:

In India in the 21st century, which aspires to be a world power the practice of manual scavenging must be abolished; otherwise, it will remain a blot on India and its value system. An aggressive campaign for this which focus on the attitudinal change in all sections of the society must be followed. The National Commission for SafaiKaramchari must be made responsive and responsible to time needs. Swachh Bharat Mission may be used to actively target the conversion of insanitary latrines on a priority basis. Liberated manual scavengers must be linked to social security and other welfare schemes to ensure that they are not dependent on this inhuman work for their survival. With all these steps if taken seriously the problem of manual scavenging can be eliminated.

THE CONCLUSION: A slew of interventions are needed to end manual scavenging including better methods of sanitation in the railways — were one of the largest sections of manual scavengers are employed to clean tracks — and more efficient machines to empty septic tanks. It is not going to be possible to eliminate manual scavenging unless we create the right technologies.

BEST PRACTICE: MALAYSIA’S TRANSFORMATION

• In Malaysia, for instance, sewerage management has evolved in a phased manner from primitive systems to more mechanical and automated systems since the country’s independence in 1957.
• New and improved equipment has also been continuously introduced due to technological advancements. Over time, this has increased the expectations regarding environmental standards and the skill level in the design, and construction.
• In the 1950s there were instances of Chinese migrants who were made to do manual scavenging.
• It was not an overnight decision. Malaysia started to make this shift to mechanisation not because there was activism in place to eradicate manual scavenging like in India, but because they wanted to promote the country as a tourist destination. There was a big push from the government for this.
• The approach was taken by the Malaysian government, highly subsidised the construction and maintenance of sewage plants. They also carried out surveys and outreach programmes to educate citizens about how often they should get their septic tanks cleaned.

THE CONTEXT: On 4 April 2022 South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Mayor wrote a letter to the SDMC commissioner to ensure all meat shops in the SDMC limits remain closed till 11 April 2022 “keeping in view the sentiments and feelings of the general public” during the festival of Navratri. Though a legally enforceable order to that effect is yet to be issued, the Mayor’s appeal has created enough confusion and controversy. This article analyzes the constitutional validity of imposing such meat bans citing the religious sentiments of a section of a population. Let us first understand the history, data, and lived experience of Indian society and its meat-eating habits.

HISTORY:

• Indian traditions present a far more complex picture than just being a vegetarian society. India has very old meat-eating as well as very deep vegetarian societies which often inappropriately compel or necessitate people to take a position or to defend one over the other.
• History suggests that meat was consumed widely in ancient India as far back as the Indus valley civilisation. Animal sacrifices were common in the Vedic era, between 1500 and 500BC – the meat was offered to the gods and then consumed at feasts. Over centuries meat disappeared from the diet of some communities for varied reasons but religion was not the only driver of such changes.
• Colonialism ( late 19^th century), which altered land use, agricultural patterns and trade, and even famines played a big role in making the modern Indian diet – a predominance of rice, wheat, and dals.

DATA:

• Meat consumption among Indians is growing, propelled by factory-farmed chicken. The most-ordered dish on the Indian food delivery platform Swiggy last year (2021) was chicken biryani. Indians ordered two plates every second.
• It’s hard to pin down exactly how much meat Indians consume. When asked if they are vegetarian, 39% said yes to a Pew survey and 81% said they eat meat, but with restrictions – either they don’t eat certain meats or avoid meat on certain days of the week.
• The term non-vegetarian for meat-eating is reflective of the popular perception that vegetarian food is the norm and meat-eating is the aberration. Let us see the constitutional reasonableness of such calls for a blanket ban on meat citing religious reasons.

ARTICLE 19(1)(g): The Constitution grants the fundamental right to carry out trade under Article 19(1)(g). The only permissible limitation of this fundamental right is through imposing reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2)-(6). However, any reasonable restriction under Article 19(2)-(6) must only be through a statutory ‘law’ as held in Bijoe Emmanuel & Ors. v. State of Kerala (1986). The orders by Mayors are executive orders and are not sufficient to restrict the freedom of trade. The existence of law is a necessary requirement.

GOLDEN TRIANGLE: Even if these bans were backed by statutory authorities, it has to pass the tests of the golden triangle (Article 14, 19, and 21). To pass the test of Article 14, the law has to be tested through the parameters of reasonableness since the guarantee of equality is a guarantee against arbitrariness. Any law which is disproportionate or excessive would be manifestly arbitrary as held in Sharaya Bano v. UOI (2017).

ARTICLE 21: It violates the right to freedom of choice of individuals under Article 21. The right to food as reiterated recently in Re: Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers (2021) and the right to choose as observed in Soni Gerry v. Gerry Douglas (2018), is an intrinsic part of Article 21. Thus, it is understandable that the freedom to choose a particular food of choice would also be a matter of personal liberty and individual autonomy.

ARTICLE 51(A)(e): Article 51(A)(e) of the Fundamental Duties promotes harmony and a spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities.

ARTICLE 25: According to the Census of India, apart from the majority religions, more than 6 million people profess other religions and faith. Every religion and faith has its own custom and practice. An attempt to give these orders any legislative colour would infringe upon the secular feature of the Constitution because then it would lead to floodgates of different claims from different religious communities, shaking the very essence of Article 25.

In a series of rulings, courts have held that the right to choose one’s food is an intrinsic part of the right to privacy and personal liberty. In the landmark Puttaswamy ruling in 2017, upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right, the Supreme Court held that “the choice of food habits” is an aspect of privacy that must be protected. The nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy case, unanimously declared privacy to be a fundamental right and held that “it is a fundamental and inalienable right and attaches to the person covering all information about that person and the choices that he/she makes. It protects an individual from the scrutiny of the State in their home, of their movements, and over their reproductive choices, choice of partners, food habits, etc.

The bans must pass the test of proportionality and reasonableness evolved by the supreme court in the Puttaswamy judgement. The right to food has now been recognized as part of one’s fundamental right to privacy under Article 21.

WHAT DO THE COURTS SAY?

SUPREME COURT:

• In 2008, while deciding the constitutional validity of closing a slaughterhouse for 9-days during a Jain festival in Ahmedabad, the 2-judge bench of the Court held that “a large number of people are non-vegetarian and they cannot be compelled to become vegetarian for a long period. What one eats is one’s personal affair and it is a part of his right to privacy which is included in Article 21 of our Constitution”. However, the Court upheld the 9-day ban. Interestingly, after retirement, Justice Markandeya Katju, who authored the judgment, said that he had doubts about the correctness of that verdict.
• In 2015, the Supreme Court while refusing to interfere with the Bombay High Court decision staying the order prohibiting the sale of meat during a Jain festival remarked that the meat ban cannot be forced down people’s throats and that such matters must be handled with tolerance and compassion.
• In 2018, the Supreme Court in a PIL seeking a ban on the export of meat, orally remarked “Do you want everybody in this country to be vegetarian? We can’t issue an order that everyone should be vegetarian.“
• Similarly, in 2020, the Supreme Court commented while hearing a plea to ban Halal meat “Tomorrow you will say nobody should eat meat? We cannot determine who should be a vegetarian and who should be a non-vegetarian“.

VARIOUS HIGH COURTS: 

• In 2016, the Bombay High Court struck down certain amendments to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act 1976 relating to the beef ban
• In 2017, the Allahabad High Court held that the right to choice of food falls within the fundamental right to food, and eating food of choice, be it meat, is an aspect of the Right to Food.
• In 2011, the Uttarakhand High Court orally observed that the matter of banning meat concerns the fundamental rights of the citizen and that India is a country where 70% of the population eats non-vegetarian food hence meat ban is not a majority vs. Minority issue.

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE MEAT BAN

FOOD CULTURE AND NUTRITION: The lives and diets of poor people who cannot afford the amount of milk, dry fruits, and different pulses that the rich eat at every meal on a daily basis. The poor can only get their protein from meat, which is cheaper when compared with other meats, as well as vegetarian components.

IMPACT ON RURAL ECONOMY: Cattle that have outlived their utility for a farmer are usually sold in local cattle fairs and eventually find their way to slaughterhouses. The modest proceeds from such sales help the farmer in times of distress.

IMPACT ON LIVELIHOODS: The livelihoods of the butcher community in the urban centers solely revolve around the meat trade and imposing a blanket ban can have adverse effects.

IMPACT ON ECONOMY: India’s thriving leather Industry is valued at the US $ 17.8 billion, generating 95% of India’s footwear needs, and its offals are used widely in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries. The economic value of an animal, despite it not being purchased by another farmer, exists because of all post-farm downstream economic values of the cattle economy after slaughter (including exports) which will be negatively impacted.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

• There cannot be 99 percent of people at any point in time, not consuming onion and garlic when we have meat-eaters on any given day. The state intervention in people’s eating habits is a dangerous step. The law prohibiting animal slaughter was a first, but now the flames are inching toward other non-vegetarian products. This must ring bells for a protein-deficient country where half the kids are suffering from anemia and malnutrition. In fact, you don’t even need to look that far. According to a 2017 study by research firm IMRB, close to 60 percent of Delhi’s population suffered from protein deficiency.
• It is evident that the clamour for a meat ban is aimed at making political gains by triggering religious sentiments. A ban on meat shops does not serve any larger public purpose other than catering to the sentiments of a section, which will amount to forcing all sections of society to follow the beliefs and observances of a particular group. Such a ban, imposed solely on the ground of religious sentiments and which infringes the fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21, falls foul of the post-Puttaswamy test of proportionality and reasonableness evolved by the Supreme Court.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Sans legitimacy, these bans only create societal unease leading to communal disharmony. While many communities do observe restraints on eating meat on certain occasions or eating certain types of meat, there is no logical corollary on putting a blanket ban on meat consumption for others when more than 70% of the people in India consume the same.
• Thus, any political overreach, regulating from the choice of clothes to wear to the type of food to consume, is surely unwarranted and constitutionally unsound and the government of the day must refrain from doing so.
• Though the Article 48 of the Indian Constitution guides the states to make efforts for banning the slaughtering of cows and calves, along with other milch and draught cattle; and directs them to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines, it should not be the basis for the state to regulate the choices of food that people of India consume.
• As the custodian of citizens’ rights and liberties in a diverse democracy, the court has played a seminal role in expanding the space for freedoms. People in positions themselves should draw the constitutional red line on such freedoms and must refrain from giving unwarranted public opinions.

THE CONCLUSION: Some people do not eat meat during these nine days of Navrati, but at the same time, they do not wish to see others being deprived of their food just because they themselves are participating in customs. That’s how you grow respect for a community, festival, or religion. In the neighbourhood of Ghaziabad, Mayor has rolled back a similar meat ban proposal and presents a good example for others to follow.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. “India’s religiously diverse population is composed of religious communities who are not too familiar with each other’s beliefs and practices, yet many Indians take a pluralistic, rather than exclusivist, attitude toward religious beliefs.” Elaborate on how India has sustained over centuries as a peace-loving society.
2. “Regulating from the choice of clothes to wear to the type of food to consume, is surely unwarranted and constitutionally unsound.” Elaborate

THE CONTEXT: The UN Secretary-General on Nelson Mandela’s birthday, 18 July 2020 talked about how we can address the many mutually reinforcing strands and layers of inequality before they destroy our economies and societies. This article analyses the key themes in the speech.

THE KEY FEATURES OF THE SPEECH

INEQUALITY DEFINES OUR TIME: 

• More than 70 per cent of the world’s people are living with rising income and wealth inequality. The 26 richest people in the world hold as much wealth as half the global population.
• But income, pay, and wealth are not the only measures of inequality. People’s chances in life depend on their gender, family and ethnic background, race, whether or not they have a disability, and other factors.

GENERATIONAL INTERSECTION OF INEQUALITY:

• Multiple inequalities intersect and reinforce each other across the generations. The lives and expectations of millions of people are largely determined by their circumstances at birth.
• Hence, birth becomes a determining factor in deciding how much unequal a person is.

MANIFESTATIONS OF INEQUALITY:

• High levels of inequality are associated with economic instability, corruption, financial crises, increased crime, and poor physical and mental health.
• Discrimination, abuse and lack of access to justice define inequality for many, particularly indigenous people, migrants, refugees, and minorities of all kinds. Such inequalities are a direct assault on human rights.

RACIAL INEQUALITY:

• The anti-racism movement that has spread from the United States around the world in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing is one more sign that people have had enough.
• The world had enough of inequality and discrimination that treats people as criminals on the basis of their skin colour and of the structural racism and systematic injustice that deny people their fundamental human rights on the basis of race.

INSTITUTIONAL INEQUALITY:

• The nations that came out on top more than seven decades ago have refused to contemplate the reforms needed to change power relations in international institutions.
• The composition and voting rights in the United Nations Security Council and the boards of the Bretton Woods system are a case in point.  Inequality starts at the top: in global institutions. Addressing inequality must start by reforming them.

UNEQUAL GLOBAL TRADE:

• There is a new form of colonialism based on trade and economic policies premised on the concept and practice of a market economy.
• Economies that were colonized are at greater risk of getting locked into the production of raw materials and low-tech goods – a new form of colonialism.

GENDER INEQUALITY:

• The world should not forget another great source of inequality in our world: millennia of patriarchy.
• We live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture.
• Everywhere, women are worse off than men, simply because they are women. Inequality and discrimination are the norms. Violence against women, including femicide, is at epidemic levels.
• Globally, women are still excluded from senior positions in governments and on corporate boards. Fewer than one in ten world leaders is a woman.
• Gender inequality harms everyone because it prevents us from benefiting from the intelligence and experience of all of humanity.

DIGITAL DIVIDE AND INEQUALITY:

• Digital divide and climate change are the two new dimensions of the inequality that the world experience today.
• The digital divide reinforces social and economic divides, from literacy to healthcare, from urban to rural, and from kindergarten to college.
• In 2019, some 87 per cent of people in developed countries used the internet, compared with just 19 per cent in the least developed countries.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND INEQUALITY:

• By 2050, accelerating climate change will affect millions of people through malnutrition, malaria, other diseases, migration, and extreme weather events.
• This creates serious threats to inter-generational equality and justice.
• The countries that are most affected by climate disruption did the least to contribute to global heating.
• This is why the call is not only for climate action but climate justice.

THE PANDEMIC AND AN UNEQUAL WORLD

EXPOSED IGNORED RISKS: The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of the world. It has laid bare risks ignored for decades: inadequate health systems; gaps in social protection; structural inequalities; environmental degradation; the climate crisis.

GAINS MADE BEING LOST: Entire regions that were making progress on eradicating poverty and narrowing inequality have been set back years, in a matter of months. The virus poses the greatest risk to the most vulnerable: those living in poverty, older people, and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions.

ECONOMIC FALL OUT: The economic fallout of the pandemic is affecting those who work in the informal economy; small and medium-size businesses; and people with caring responsibilities, who are mainly women. In some countries, health inequalities are amplified as not just private hospitals, but businesses and even individuals hoarding precious equipment that is urgently needed for everyone.

EXPOSED LIES AND MYTHS: 

• The lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all;
• The fiction that unpaid care work does not work;
• The delusion that we live in a post-racist world;
• The myth is that we are all in the same boat.

GLOBALISATION, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, AND INEQUALITY-AN ANALYSIS

Globalization and technological change have indeed fuelled enormous gains in income and prosperity. More than a billion people have moved out of extreme poverty. But the expansion of trade and technological progress have also contributed to an unprecedented shift in income distribution. Between 1980 and 2016, the world’s richest 1 per cent captured 27 per cent of the total cumulative growth in income. Low-skilled workers face an onslaught from new technologies, automation, the offshoring of manufacturing, and the demise of labour organizations. Tax concessions, tax avoidance, and tax evasion remain widespread. Corporate tax rates have fallen. This has reduced resources to invest in the very services that can reduce inequality: social protection, education, and healthcare. And a new generation of inequalities goes beyond income and wealth to encompass the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in today’s world.

A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT AND A NEW DEAL FOR THE WORLD

The response to the pandemic, and to the widespread discontent that preceded it, must be based on a New Social Contract and a New Global Deal that create equal opportunities for all and respect the rights and freedoms of all. This is the only way that we will meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – agreements that address precisely the failures that are being exposed and exploited by the pandemic. Education and digital technology must be two great enablers and equalizers. The critical pillars of such a strategy are explained below.

EDUCATION FOR ALL:

• As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” Governments must prioritize equal access, from early learning to lifelong education.
• Neuroscience tells us that pre-school education changes the lives of individuals and brings enormous benefits to communities and societies. So when the richest children are seven times more likely than the poorest to attend pre-school, it is no surprise that inequality is inter-generational.
• To deliver quality education for all, we need to more than double education spending in low and middle-income countries by 2030 to $3 trillion a year.
• Within a generation, all children in low- and middle-income countries could have access to quality education at all levels.

HARNESSING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY:

• As technology transforms our world, learning facts and skills is not enough. Governments need to prioritize investment in digital literacy and infrastructure.
• The digital revolution and artificial intelligence will change the nature of work, and the relationship between work, leisure and other activities, some of which we cannot even imagine today.
• The Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, launched at the United Nations, promotes a vision of an inclusive, sustainable digital future by connecting the remaining four billion people to the Internet by 2030.
• The United Nations has also launched ‘Giga’, an ambitious project to get every school in the world online.
• Technology can turbocharge the recovery from COVID-19 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

TRUST BUILDING AMONG PEOPLE, INSTITUTIONS AND LEADERS:

• As there is a very high low level of trust among the people and government, trust-building is very essential.
• People want social and economic systems that work for everyone. They want their human rights and fundamental freedoms to be respected. They want a say in decisions that affect their lives.
• The New Social Contract, between Governments, people, civil society, businesses and more, must integrate employment, sustainable development and social protection, based on equal rights and opportunities for all.

LABOUR RIGHTS AND SOCIAL PROTECTION:

• Labour market policies combined with constructive dialogue between employers and labour representatives, can improve pay and working conditions.
• Labour representation is also critical to managing the challenges posed to jobs by technology and structural transformation – including the transition to a green economy.
• A changing world requires a new generation of social protection policies with new safety nets including Universal Health Coverage and the possibility of a Universal Basic Income.
• Establishing minimum levels of social protection, and reversing chronic underinvestment in public services including education, healthcare, and internet access are essential.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMMES FUNDED THROUGH CARBON TAX:

• We need affirmative action programmes and targeted policies to address and redress historic inequalities in gender, race or ethnicity that have been reinforced by social norms.
• Taxation has also a role In the New Social Contract. Everyone – individuals and corporations – must pay their fair share.
• In some countries, there is a place for taxes that recognize that the wealthy and well-connected have benefitted enormously from the state, and from their fellow citizens.
• Governments should also shift the tax burden from payrolls to carbon.
• Taxing carbon rather than people will increase output and employment while reducing emissions.

A FAIR GLOBAL ORDER:

• The global political and economic system is not delivering on critical global public goods: public health, climate action, sustainable development, peace.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the disconnect between self-interest and the common interest; and the huge gaps in governance structures and ethical frameworks.
• To close those gaps, and to make the New Social Contract possible, a New Global Deal to ensure that power, wealth and opportunities are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level.

CHALLENGES IN USHERING IN AN EQUAL WORLD

UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF DEBT:

• The response to addressing the existing and pandemic induced inequalities requires loosening the purse strings of the nations. But this may not be possible for under-developed countries which are already suffering from very high levels of debt.
• The result will be the reinforcement of existing socio-economic divides leading to furthering extreme inequality.
• A suspension in debt payment may be supplemented by a partial debt relief programme anchored by G-20 nations as an interim measure.

NATURE OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE REGIME:

• The central aspect of inequality is the consequence of low levels of investment in public health systems and in other aspects of the welfare state in education, in social security.
• But for the developing countries to do it, they need support, thus need a new global deal at the global level with an effective transfer of resources to the developing world for them to be able to address these issues.
• But the current global governance regime is heavily skewed against any such resource redistribution.

DATA AS THE NEW CAPITAL:

• The two superpowers, the USA and China hold power over most of the data that the people on the planet use and consume.
• Thus, digital technology as an enabler for the new social contract may not work as the power over data may be used to control the access and use of data.
•  This has implications on digital education, economy, security and the like. Hence, we need to address the power and control over data for an equal world.

LESS FOCUS ON PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION:

• When we talk about education, generally the discourse leave behind the importance of preschool education which is the most important aspect of determining a child’s future learning capabilities and outcomes.
• While the rich can provide for quality pre-school education, the poor are left behind. Thus unless the world community stress and develops pre-school infrastructure for all, the strength of education as an enabler will remain sub-optimal.

SELF-INTEREST OF THE WEALTHY:

• To bring a more egalitarian world order, a fair taxation system need to be built which as of now is lopsided and favours the rich.
• Tax havens are aiding and abetting the rich to hide assets and fleece money from the developing world.
• As long as self-interest drives individuals and nations, the wealthy will become wealthier. Thus, for a fair and equal global order, we need “enlightened –self-interest” which is arguably the lowest in today’s world.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• A New Global Deal, based on fair globalization, on the rights and dignity of every human being, living in balance with nature, taking account of the rights of future generations, and success measured in human rather than economic terms, is the need of the hour.
• The worldwide consultation process around the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has made clear that people want a global governance system that delivers for them.  The developing world must have a far stronger voice in global decision-making.
• We also need a more inclusive and balanced multilateral trading system that enables developing countries to move up global value chains. Illicit financial flows, money laundering and tax evasion must be prevented. A global consensus to end tax havens is essential.
• We must work together to integrate the principles of sustainable development into financial decision-making. Financial markets must be full partners in shifting the flow of resources away from the brown and the grey to the green, the sustainable and the equitable.
• Reform of the debt architecture and access to affordable credit must create fiscal space for countries to move investment in the same direction.

THE CONCLUSION: Inequality exposed and reinforced by the pandemic has posed challenges to the sustainable development goals too. The world needs to take note of the disparity of unequal relationships among nations and people cutting across neatly defined categories. The direction and leadership provided by the UN should encourage all to work towards a fair distribution of resources and opportunities.

 MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. A fair global order requires a new social contract and a new global deal. Elaborate.
2. “The ideal of equality faces challenges from multiple fronts”. Examine the statement in the context of the UN Secretary General’s view on inequality.
3. As the pandemic has deepened and reinforced the already existing inequality in India and in other developing nations, it is necessary to redraw the contours of SDGs. Comment.

[WpProQuiz 207]

THE CONTEXT: The first United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) was held in September 2021 to find solutions and catalyze momentum to transform the way the world produces, consumes, and thinks about food and help address the rising hunger issues. The transformation of the food system is also considered essential in achieving the sustainable development agenda 2030 as 11 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out of 17 are directly related to the food system. In this context, it is imperative to learn from the success of India. This article talks about the success of food security in India and how the developing world can learn from India.

WHAT IS A FOOD SYSTEM?

It is a framework that includes every aspect of feeding and nourishing people: from growing, harvesting, and processing to packaging, transporting, marketing, and consuming food. To be sustainable, a food system must provide enough nutritious food for all without compromising on feeding future generations.

WHAT IS FOOD SECURITY?

Food security, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

Food security is the combination of the following three elements:

FOOD AVAILABILITY: Food must be available in sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis. It considers stock and production in a given area and the capacity to bring in food from elsewhere, through trade or aid.

FOOD ACCESSIBILITY: People must be able to regularly acquire adequate quantities of food, through purchase, home production, barter, gifts, borrowing, or food aid.

FOOD UTILIZATION: Consumed food must have a positive nutritional impact on people. It entails cooking, storage and hygiene practices, individual health, water and sanitation, feeding and sharing practices within the household.

REASONS FOR FOOD INSECURITY

CLIMATE CHANGE: Higher temperatures and unreliable rainfall make farming difficult. Climate change not only impacts crops but also livestock, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture, and can cause grave social and economic consequences in the form of reduced incomes, eroded livelihoods, trade disruption, and adverse health impacts.

CONFLICT: Food can be used as a weapon, with enemies cutting off food supplies in order to gain ground. Crops can also be destroyed during the conflict.

LACK OF ACCESS TO REMOTE AREAS: For the tribal communities, habitation in remote difficult terrains and the practice of subsistence farming have led to significant economic backwardness.

UNMONITORED NUTRITION PROGRAMMES: 

• Although a number of programmes with improving nutrition as their main component are planned in the country these are not properly implemented.
• Lack of coherent food and nutrition policies along with the absence of intersectoral coordination between various ministries.Inadequate distribution of food through public distribution mechanisms (PDS i.e. Public Distribution System).

SOCIAL ISSUES:

• An increase in rural-to-urban migration, a large proportion of informal workforce resulting in unplanned growth of slums which lack the basic health and hygiene facilities, insufficient housing, and increased food insecurity.
• Overpopulation, poverty, lack of education, and gender inequality.
• Deserving beneficiaries of the subsidy are excluded on the basis of non-ownership of below poverty line (BPL) status, as the criterion for identifying a household as BPL is arbitrary and varies from state to state.

CORRUPTION: Diverting the grains to the open market to get a better margin, selling poor quality grains at ration shops, and irregular opening of the shops add to the issue of food insecurity.

BIOFUELS: The growth of the biofuel market has reduced the land used for growing food crops.

CHALLENGES IN ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY

CLIMATE CHANGE AND UNSUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: Climate change and unsustainable use of land and water resources are the most formidable challenges food systems face today. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has set the alarm bells ringing, highlighting the urgency to act now. Dietary diversity, nutrition, and related health outcomes are another area of concern as a focus on rice and wheat have created nutritional challenges of their own.

PREVALENCE OF UNDERNOURISHMENT: It is ironic that despite being a net exporter and food surplus country at the aggregate level, India has a 50% higher prevalence of undernutrition compared to the world average. The high prevalence of undernutrition in the country does not seem to be due to food shortages or the low availability of food. The Government of India and the States are seriously concerned about this paradoxical situation of being a food surplus and at the same time, having 15% of the population undernourished. They are trying to address other possible reasons for low nutrition through several nutritional interventions. As announced recently, the supply of fortified rice in PDS and Poshan Abhiyan is the two steps among many to address the challenge of undernutrition and malnutrition.

REDUCING FOOD WASTAGE: Reducing food wastage or loss of food is a mammoth challenge and is linked to the efficiency of the food supply chain.

FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA

• Food security concerns can be traced back to the experience of the Bengal Famine in 1943 during British colonial rule, during which about 2 million to 3 million people perished due to starvation
• Since independence, an initial rush to industrialize while ignoring agriculture, two successive droughts in the mid-1960s, and dependence on food aid from the United States exposed India’s vulnerability to several shocks in the food security
• The country went through a Green Revolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling it to overcome productivity stagnation and significantly improve food grain production. Despite its success, the Green Revolution is often criticized for being focused on only two cereals, wheat and rice; being confined to a few resources abundant regions in the north-western and southern parts of the country that benefited mostly rich farmers; and putting too much stress on the ecology of these regions, especially soil and water.

POSITIVE IMPACTS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION

TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN CROP PRODUCE: It resulted in a grain output of 131 million tonnes in the year 1978-79 and established India as one of the world’s biggest agricultural producers. The crop area under high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice grew considerably during the Green Revolution.

REDUCED IMPORT OF FOOD-GRAINS: India became self-sufficient in food grains and had sufficient stock in the central pool, even, at times; India was in a position to export food grains. The per capita net availability of food grains has also increased.

BENEFITS TO THE FARMERS: The introduction of the Green Revolution helped the farmers in raising their level of income. Farmers plowed back their surplus income for improving agricultural productivity. The big farmers with more than 10 hectares of land particularly benefited from this revolution by investing large amounts of money in various inputs like HYV seeds, fertilizers, machines, etc. It also promoted capitalist farming.

INDUSTRIAL GROWTH: The Revolution brought about large-scale farm mechanization which created a demand for different types of machines like tractors, harvesters, threshers, combines, diesel engines, electric motors, pumping sets, etc. Besides, demand for chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, weedicides, etc. also increased considerably. Several agricultural products were also used as raw materials in various industries known as agro-based industries.

RURAL EMPLOYMENT: There was an appreciable increase in the demand for the labour force due to multiple cropping and the use of fertilizers. The Green Revolution created plenty of jobs not only for agricultural workers but also for industrial workers by creating related facilities such as factories and hydroelectric power stations.

• The Green Revolution was followed by the White Revolution, which was initiated by Operation Flood during the 1970s and 1980s. This national initiative has revolutionized liquid milk production and marketing in India, making it the largest producer of milk.
• Over the years the country saw many revolutions such as Yellow Revolution for Oilseeds, Silver Revolution for Eggs, and Pink Revolution for Meat production, taking the country one step ahead in ensuring food security.
• In the recent past, the government has adopted an integrated policy framework to facilitate agriculture productivity which;
• Focuses mainly on rationale distribution of cultivable land, improving the size of the farms, and providing security to the tenant cultivators apart from providing the farmers with improved technology for cultivation and improved inputs like irrigation facilities, availability of better quality seeds, fertilizers, and credits at lower interest rates.
• Aeroponics and hydroponics systems allow plants to be grown without soil. Plants were grown in this way taking in water and nutrients efficiently. These methods are used in the areas of poor soil quality and areas prone to soil erosion.
• Adoption of crops and techniques with lower water requirements, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method of rice production, contributes to resilience by enabling equal or better yields to be achieved with less water withdrawal.
• Crop diversification: Higher profitability and stability in production highlight the importance of crop diversification, e.g. legumes alternative to rice and wheat. The growing of non-cereal crops such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, etc needs to be encouraged.
• Strategies for better food storage are also implemented.

INDIA IS A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

LESSONS FROM INDIA’S TRYST WITH FOOD INSECURITY: The long journey from chronic food shortage to surplus food producer offers several interesting lessons for other developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in the area of land reforms, public investments, institutional infrastructure, new regulatory systems, public support, and intervention in Agri markets and prices and Agri research and extension.

DIVERSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE: The period between 1991 and 2015, saw the diversification of agriculture beyond field crops and brought greater focus on the horticulture, dairy, animal husbandry, and fishery sectors. The learnings also encompassed elements of nutritional health, food safety and standards, sustainability, deployment of space technology, and the like.

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD: One of India’s greatest contributions to equity in food is its National Food Security Act 2013 which anchors the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Mid-Day meals (MDM), and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Today, India’s food safety nets collectively reach over a billion people.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION: Food safety nets and inclusion are linked with public procurement and buffer stock policy. This was visible during the global food crises 2008-2012 and more recently during the COVID-19 pandemic fallout, whereby vulnerable and marginalised families in India continued to be buffered against the food crisis by its robust TPDS and buffer stock of food grains.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

National Food Security Mission

• Increasing production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals (Maize and Barley), and Nutri-Cereals through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country;
• Restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level;
• Enhancing farm-level economy (i.e. farm profits) to restore confidence amongst the farmers.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)

• Introduced with an aim to provide support to the agricultural sector in achieving 4% annual agriculture growth. RKVY scheme was launched in the year 2007 and was later rebranded as Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR).

Integrated Schemes on Oilseeds, Pulses, Palm oil, and Maize (ISOPOM)

• During the Tenth and Eleventh Plan, Government of India provided support for oil palm cultivation under the Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm, and Maize.

eNAM: To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, and promoting real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.

• The government has also taken significant steps to combat under- and malnutrition over the past two decades, through mid-day meals at schools.
• Anganwadi systems provide rations to pregnant and lactating mothers.
• Subsidised grain for those living below the poverty line through a public distribution system.
• Food fortification etc.

AVAILABILITY:

• AGRI REVOLUTIONS SUCH AS THE GREEN AND YELLOW REVOLUTION.
• BUILDING CAPACITY FOR STOCK THAT MIGHT BE UTILISED AT TIMES OF CRISIS.

ACCESSIBILITY:

• PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND RATION SHOPS
• TARGETED PDS AND MID DAY MEALS
• THE NATIONAL MATERNITY BENEFIT SCHEME
• THE NATIONAL FAMILY BENEFIT SCHEME

AFFORDABILITY:

• PROVIDING SUBSIDIES ON FOOD GRAINS AND GAS CYLINDERS FOR MARGINALISED SECTIONS OF SOCIETY.
• MORE PRODUCTION AND AVAILABILITY OF FOOD GRAINS WILL ALSO RESULT IN EASY AFFORDABILITY.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Sustainable Approaches: We must collaborate to invest, innovate, and create lasting solutions in sustainable agriculture contributing to equitable livelihood, food security, and nutrition which requires reimagining the food system towards the goal of balancing growth and sustainability, mitigating climate change, ensuring healthy, safe, quality, and affordable food, maintaining biodiversity, improving resilience, and offering an attractive income and work environment to smallholders and youth.
• Crop Diversification: Diversification of cropping patterns towards millets, pulses, oilseeds, and horticulture is needed for more equal distribution of water, and sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture.
• Institutional Changes in Agri-Sector: Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) should help get better prices for inputs and outputs for smallholders. E-Choupal is an example of technology benefiting small farmers.
• Women’s empowerment is important, particularly for raising incomes and nutrition. Women’s cooperatives and groups like Kudumbashree in Kerala would be helpful.
• Sustainable Food Systems: Estimates show that the food sector emits around 30% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Sustainability has to be achieved in production, value chains, and consumption.
• Non-Agriculture Sector: The role of non-agriculture is equally important for sustainable food systems. Labour-intensive manufacturing and services can reduce pressure on agriculture as income from agriculture are not sufficient for smallholders and informal workers. Strengthening Rural Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and food processing is part of the solution.

THE CONCLUSION: Food security of a nation is ensured if all of its citizens have enough nutritious food available, all persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality and there is no barrier to access to food. The right to food is a well-established principle of international human rights law. It has evolved to include an obligation for state parties to respect, protect, and fulfill their citizens’ right to food security. Developing Nations need to adopt a policy that brings together diverse issues such as inequality, food diversity, indigenous rights, and environmental justice to ensure sustainable food security.

Over the coming decades, a changing climate, growing global population, rising food prices, and environmental stressors will have significant yet uncertain impacts on food security. Adaptation strategies and policy responses to global change, including options for handling water allocation, land use patterns, food trade, post-harvest food processing, and food prices and safety are urgently needed. Food security includes analysis of cash transfers, promotion of sustainable agricultural technologies, building resilience to shocks, and managing trade-offs in food security, such as balancing the nutritional benefits of meat against the ecological costs of its production.

“Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2020

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. “Since independence India has traveled a long road to food security, still much needs to be done to ascertain nutritional security.” Elaborate.
2. “With an alarming escalation in global hunger unfolding, reaching the goal of an equitable livelihood is a necessity.” Elaborate.
3. “Food is peace”, highlighted the importance of addressing hunger to prevent conflicts and create stability.
4. “Given the rapidly growing population, resource constraints, and climate change concerns, it is imperative for developing countries to learn from India to make food security a core policy priority.” Elaborate

THE CONTEXT: The fifth summit of the now 25-year-old Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) hosted by Sri Lanka, was held in March 2022 in a hybrid fashion. India’s Prime Minister, who attended the summit virtually, called for unity and cooperation in the region as it faces economic and health challenges. PM also announced the adoption of the organisation’s institutional architecture- the BIMSTEC charter. This article analyses this development in detail.

DETAIL OF THE SUMMIT

• The summit’s theme “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People” captures the main current priorities of member states and the efforts by BIMSTEC to develop cooperation activities that support member states’ programmes to deal with the economic and development consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The main outcome of the summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalizes the grouping into an organization made up of member states that are littoral to and dependent upon the Bay of Bengal.
• The summit saw considerable progress being achieved in the BIMSTEC connectivity agenda with adopting the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’ by Leaders, which lays out a guidance framework for connectivity-related activities in the region in the future.
• The Prime Minister underscored the importance of enhanced BIMSTEC regional connectivity, cooperation, and security, made several suggestions, and called upon fellow leaders to strive to transform the Bay of Bengal into a Bridge of Connectivity, Prosperity, and Security among the BIMSTEC-member countries.
• Three BIMSTEC agreements were signed during the summit
• BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
• BIMSTEC Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training.
• Memorandum of Association on Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.

BIMSTEC: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

THE GROUPING:

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a multilateral regional organisation established to accelerate shared growth and cooperation between littoral and adjacent countries in the Bay Bengal region.
• It has a total of seven member countries- five from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.
• It was founded as BIST-EC, in June 1997, with the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration, with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as members. It became BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation) with the entry of Myanmar in late 1997, And eventually, it was named in its current form when Nepal and Bhutan became members in 2004.

THE AIM:

• The aim of setting up the regional grouping was not to create a new region for cooperation but to revive the connectivity and common interests of the Bay of Bengal region members.
• According to the official website of BIMSTEC, “the regional group constitutes a bridge between South and Southeast Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.”
• BIMSTEC is different from other regional groupings such as SAARC or ASEAN because it is a sector-driven organisation.

WHAT IS THE WORKING MECHANISM OF BIMSTEC?:

• Until the current summit, BIMSTEC did not have a formal document or organisational architecture, which was adopted this time in the form of the BIMSTEC Charter.
• It did have a working mechanism for policy-making and operational goals. Policymaking would be done through two types of meetings: Summits, which are supposed to be held every two years; and ministerial meetings of Foreign and Commerce Ministers of member countries for deciding on trade and economic affairs, to be held once every year. An operational meeting of senior officials to monitor the activities of the grouping is also supposed to be held twice a year.
• Since its inception, BIMSTEC’s policymaking meetings have not been held as per plan. Just five summits, including the current one, have been held in 25 years.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BIMSTEC?:

• The BIMSTEC region hosts 22% of the world population or 1.68 billion people; the member states have a combined GDP of US$3.697 trillion/per year.

IMPORATNCE OF BIMSTEC FOR INDIA

LOOK EAST POLICY:

• It should be seen in the context of India’s heightened interest and commitment to its “Act East” policy.
• Without a strong outreach to BIMSTEC member states, India’s attempts at achieving its Act East policy goals will lack momentum.

SECURITY:

• It could also be seen as aligning with India’s larger goal to gain trade and security prominence in the Indian Ocean region and to cater to the concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ region, a major focus of Quad countries.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO SAARC:

• The idea of BIMSTEC also gained prominence after the 2016 Uri attack when India was able to get SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations on its side to boycott the organisations’ summit, which was to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• The progress of SAARC has stalled over the years due to Indo-Pak relations and what experts call Pakistan’s obstructionist approach to the organisation.
• BIMSTEC emerged as an alternative platform for cooperation.

CHINA’S INFLUENCE IN THE REGION:

• China’s influence and presence in India’s neighbourhood have grown enormously on account of BRI initiatives.
• Debt burdens have forced India’s neighbours to hand over assets to China.
• India will be hoping that its economic engagement with the Bay of Bengal littoral states will restrict Chinese influence in these countries.

REGIONAL COOPERATION:

• BIMSTEC has gained popularity among South Asian countries as a platform for regional cooperation.
• The organisation is a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia.
• BIMSTEC’s major strength is that it includes two influential regional powers: Thailand and India.
• The region has countries with the fastest-growing economies in the world.

FUTURE PERSPECTIVEs:

• India is likely to find that focusing its diplomatic energies on BIMSTEC member states could be rewarding.
• Relationships among BIMSTEC members are generally cordial, unlike the strained India-Pakistan relationship.
• BIMSTEC is not without its share of problems. India will need to convince other BIMSTEC members that its new outreach to them is not a “rebound relationship,” a short-term one to thumb its nose at Pakistan.
• BIMSTEC suffers from a lack of human and financial resources. India needs to allocate more resources to its BIMSTEC budget and should take an informal leadership role to provide BIMSTEC with momentum.

STRATEGIC SHIFT FROM SAARC TO BIMSTEC

THE URI ATTACK AND BOYCOTT OF THE SAARC SUMMIT:

• In September 2016 India saw a deadly attack on the army camp in Uri.
• After that attack, India expressed its inability to participate in the Islamabad SAARC summit due to “prevailing circumstances” and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Afghanistan followed India’s decision to stay away from the November summit to be held in Islamabad.
• India and other countries cited “cross-border terrorist attacks in the region” as a reason for boycotting the summit.

SHIFT FROM SAARC TO BIMSTEC:

• India invited the BIMSTEC leaders to the BRICS summit at Goa in 2016.
• In doing so it sent out the message that if SAARC wasn’t ready to deliver, India had BIMSTEC to turn to. After that, The Indian prime minister engaged BIMSTEC leaders in bilateral meetings.
• Since 2016 there has been no movement forward on resuming the SAARC summit.
• India is regularly attending the BIMSTEC summit and it had emerged as an alternative regional platform where five SAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) countries could gather and discuss sub-regional cooperation.
• India chose BIMSTEC over any other regional grouping indicative of India’s importance to the Bay of Bengal region.
• BIMSTEC=SAARC- (Pakistan, Maldives, and Afghanistan) +(Thailand and Myanmar)

WHY IS INDIA’S STRATEGIC FOCUS SHIFTING FROM SAARC TO BIMSTEC?

Apart from the terror issue, there are many other issues which are responsible for India’s strategic shift from SAARC to BIMSTEC. These are

FAILURE OF SAARC:

• SAARC has come under serious scrutiny in the last few years.
• From its very inception, member countries treated it with suspicion and mistrust.
• Even after three decades of its existence, SAARC’s performance has been less than satisfactory, and its role in strengthening regional cooperation is being questioned.
• In the 30 years of its history, annual SAARC summits have been postponed 11 times for political reasons, either bilateral or internal.
• Numerous agreements and institutional mechanisms established under SAARC have not been adequately implemented.

PAKISTAN’S NON-COOPERATION:

• Pakistan’s non-cooperation has stalled some major initiatives under SAARC.
• At the 18th SAARC summit in Kathmandu in 2014, initiatives such as the SAARC–Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA), could not be signed.
• The SAARC satellite project that India proposed was abandoned following an objection from Pakistan in 2016.
• 19th summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2016 was suspended for an indefinite period, as member countries declined to participate.
• While cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan is a major concern for India, Pakistan has failed to address these concerns.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIA IN BIMSTEC

BRIDGE BETWEEN SOUTH ASIA AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA:

• Nearly 1.5 billion people live along its coastline.
• 25% of the world’s traded goods across the Bay of Bengal every year.
• 80% of Chinese, 90% of South Korea’s, and Japan’s energy imports pass through the Bay of Bengal.

MARKET:

• The seven countries (apart from India) have a combined GDP of approximately US$ 2.7 trillion with 5.5% economic growth.

RESOURCES:

• the Bay of Bengal is the world’s largest bay, it is also rich in untapped natural resources, with some of the world’s largest fishing stocks, reserves of gas, and other sea bed minerals.

GEOSTRATEGIC:

• BIMSTEC community gives tacit recognition to India as a major power in Indo-Pacific by facilitating India to take a leading position.

ROLE IN INDO-PACIFIC:

• the Bay of Bengal acts as a funnel to the Strait of Malacca linking the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is a major maritime choke-up point for China, Japan, and most East and Southeast Asian states.

DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL STATES:

• One-quarter of its population lives in states bordering the Bay of Bengal. Their growth and development are increasingly seen to hinge on the degree of connectivity with the Southeast Asian markets.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR INDIA IN BIMSTEC?

LACK OF HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES:

• BIMSTEC suffers from a lack of human and financial resources.
• India needs to allocate more resources to its BIMSTEC budget and should take an informal leadership role to provide BIMSTEC with momentum.
• India is currently the largest contributor to the BIMSTEC secretariat budget.

SUPREMACY:

• India would have to counter the impression that BIMSTEC is an India-dominated bloc; in that context, India can follow the Gujral doctrine that intends to chalk out the effect of transactionary motive in bilateral relations.

CONNECTIVITY:

• Connectivity is a major issue among BIMSTEC nations.
• North-Eastern states are important in deepening connectivity among BIMSTEC nations, but the Siliguri corridor (chicken neck) provides a very narrow passage for movement and obstructs connectivity.
• The underdevelopment of North Eastern states in terms of infrastructure and connectivity will also be a major hurdle.

REGIONAL INSTABILITY:

• Regional instability in the form of the Rohingya crisis and other intra and interstate issues can hamper the efficient and effective functioning of the grouping.

THE LACK OF CRITICAL SUPPORT:

• Strong and clear political commitment, adequate financial resources, full engagement of business and industry, and optimal involvement of civil society has been the principal constraint in BIMSTEC.

BCIM:

• The formation of another sub-regional initiative, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Forum, with the proactive membership of China, has created more doubts about the exclusive potential of BIMSTEC.

BIMSTEC VS SAARC: WHICH IS MORE SUITABLE FOR INDIA?

If India wants to prove itself as a regional power, as the largest country in South Asia, India cannot escape its responsibilities under SAARC. The following points explain the differences between SAARC and BIMSTEC. In the end, it can be seen that none of them can substitute for each other. Rather they can complement each other’s roles.

THE WAY FORWARD

• India can’t afford to remain isolated in the light of recent forays by China in South Asia that India exerts as its own sphere of influence. By facilitating trade and economy through BIMSTEC, India can integrate the economies of surrounding countries. For e.g., India can integrate the BIG-B initiative of Bangladesh with its own SAGARMALA project
• To build this as a sustainable platform, India should also focus on maintaining consistency in the frequency of the summits to ensure regularity in decision making;
• It should also fund it more to improve the capacity of the secretariat, both in terms of manpower and funding. In the short term, since India lacks the resources, India should use its clout to derive funds from JICA, World Bank, or ADB.
• Ensuring tangible results/benefits, which will add to the motivation of the countries to concentrate on BIMSTEC
• To prevent this platform fall apart like SAARC, India needs to give teeth to it. This can be done by empowering BIMSTEC to be a platform for dispute resolution among member 24 countries. This will require debates and discussions among the BIMSTEC countries to reach a consensus. India should also go ahead of its reservations on certain issues that neighboring countries opine as big brotherly nature to improve their confidence.

THE Conclusion: Recent summit is a good opportunity for India and other BIMSTEC countries to develop a strong regional group to promote peace, stability, and trade. For India, it is an important platform to counter China in the South Asia region. Apart from it, with the help of BIMSTEC countries, India can develop an effective regional group for trade like ASEAN.

Questions:

1. Discuss the opportunities and challenges for India in the BIMSTEC grouping.
2. How far do you agree with this view that as being the largest country in the South Asia region, India should lead the region in world politics, and for that India should try for the revival of SAARC? Analyse your view.
3. ‘BIMSTEC is an opportunity for India for its Act East Policy, but it cannot be an alternative of SAARC’. Critically Examine.

THE CONTEXT: A new Pew Research Centre Report based on a survey has provided interesting findings on the gender attitude of Indians. This survey, named How Indians View Gender Roles in Families and Society has also been the basis of an earlier report of the same institution titled Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation (covered already as part of ED). This article examines the survey report in detail.

WHAT IS THE REPORT?

Based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the report looks at how Indians view gender roles at home and in society more generally. The survey was also the basis for a 2021 report on religion in India, was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages, and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. The report captures the various aspects of the gender dynamics in India.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT

WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS:

• Indians broadly accept women as political leaders. India has a long history of women holding political power, from the 1966 election of Indira Gandhi, one of the world’s first woman prime ministers, to other well-known figures, such as Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee , and Sushma Swaraj.
• The survey results reflect this comfort with women in politics.
• Most adults say that women and men make equally good political leaders (55%) or that women generally make better leaders than men (14%).
• Only a quarter of Indian adults take the position that men tend to make better political leaders than women. (SEE FIGURE 1).

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• While most Indians say that men and women should share some family responsibilities, many still support traditional gender roles.
• For instance, 62% of adults say both men and women should be responsible for taking care of children, while roughly a third of adults (34%) feel that childcare should be handled primarily by women.
• Similarly, a slim majority (54%) say that both men and women in families should be responsible for earning money, yet many Indians (43%) see this as mainly the obligation of men.
• Nearly nine-in-ten Indians (87%) completely or mostly agree with the notion that “a wife must always obey her husband.

PREFERENCE FOR THE CHILDREN:

• An overwhelming majority of Indian adults say it is very important for families to have both sons and daughters, and a substantial share is accepting of sex-selective abortion.
• Indians are united in the view that a family needs to have at least one son (94%) and, separately, a daughter (90%). Historically, in Indian society, families have tended to place a higher value on their sons than their daughters, a custom broadly referred to as “son preference.”
• One enduring manifestation of son preference has been the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions – using ultrasound or other tests to learn the sex of a foetus and terminating the pregnancy if the foetus is female.
• The survey finds that four-in-ten Indians say it is either “completely acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable” to “get a check-up using modern methods to balance the number of girls and boys in the family,” a euphemism that connotes sex-selective abortion.
• In contrast, roughly half of adults (53%) say that this practice is either somewhat or completely unacceptable.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RELIGIOUS RITES:

• Most Indians (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for parents’ last rites or burial rituals, although attitudes differ significantly across religious groups.
• Religious funeral practices for loved ones are widely seen as very important in India, and at least according to Hindu tradition, sons must perform the last rites for a parent to ensure freedom for the soul in the afterlife.
• Most Muslims (74%), Jains (67%), and Hindus (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals, but far fewer Sikhs (29%), Christians (44%), and Buddhists (46%) expect this from sons.
• Instead, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists are more likely to say that both sons and daughters should be responsible for their parents’ last rites. Very few Indians, regardless of religion, say daughters should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals.

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• Muslims are more likely than other Indians to support traditional gender roles in families, while Sikhs are often the least likely community to hold such views.
• For example, while most Indian Muslims (61%) say that men in a family should be primarily responsible for earning money, just 17% of Sikhs say this.
• And Muslims are more than twice as likely as Sikhs to assign sons the primary responsibility of caring for aging parents (43% vs. 17%).

RESPECT TO WOMEN:

• Indians favour teaching boys to respect women as a way to improve women’s safety. As described in a previous Pew Research Centre report, roughly three-quarters of Indian adults (76%) say violence against women is a “very big problem” in their country.
• About half of Indians (51%) say it is more important to teach boys to respect all women, while roughly a quarter (26%) say it is more important to teach girls to behave appropriately.

FIGURE 1: WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS

FIGURE 2: PREFERENCE FOR CHILDREN

HOW INDIA’S GENDER ATTITUDES COMPARE GLOBALLY

Pew Research Centre has asked a couple of the questions on this survey in many countries around the world, allowing a glimpse of where Indians fit globally when it comes to public opinion on these issues. Across 47 countries and territories, a global median of 70% says it is very important for women to have the same rights as men, according to data from two recent waves of the Centre’s Global Attitudes survey. This is similar to the share of Indians who feel gender equality is very important (72%).
Indians are less likely than people in North America (92% median), Western Europe (90%), and Latin America (82%) to place high importance on women and men having the same rights. But they are more likely than those living in sub-Saharan Africa (48% median) and the Middle East-North Africa region (44%) to say this. Adults in Central and Eastern Europe (69% median) are roughly similar to Indians on this question. Within South Asia, Indians are somewhat more likely than Pakistanis to say it is very important for men and women to have equal rights (72% vs. 64%). Despite broadly aligning with global public opinion on equal rights for women, Indians tend to be more conservative than people in most other countries surveyed when it comes to gender dynamics in the home and the economy.

INDIA’S CHANGING GENDER NORMS: AN ANALYSIS

THE WAY FORWARD:

THE CONCLUSION: Although there may be issues related to the sample size, methodology etc, the Pew survey report provides in-depth analysis on the gender attitude of the Indian people. Designing a lasting change in gender attitudes requires meticulous planning and implementation and the PEW Research Centre survey is a wake-up call to commence that change.

QUESTIONS:

⦁ Discuss the salient features of the Pew Report on gender.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT Pew RESEARCH CENTRE

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

[WpProQuiz 203]

THE CONTEXT: The 14^thannual bilateral summit between India and Japan has held in New Delhi in March 2022. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida participated in the summit. This article analyses the outcomes of the summit and the recent trajectory in India-Japan relations.

THE OUTCOMES OF THE SUMMIT

FOUR-POINT PLAN ON UKRAINE: India and Japan will:

• ‘not tolerate’ any unilateral and forceful change in the status quo of Ukraine or any country in the world,
• continue to push for a peaceful settlement of the conflict,
• jointly address the situation whenever needed, and
• work together in giving humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukraine.

ON INDO-PACIFIC:

• Both countries expressed their commitment to a free and peaceful Indo-Pacific. Moreover, the leaders showed their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

ON QUAD:

• The two PMs affirmed the importance of bilateral and plurilateral partnerships among like-minded countries, including the QUAD grouping between India-Australia-Japan and the United States.

ON CHINA:

• India raises China-LAC standoff with Japan.
• Japan raised the matter of the East China Sea and the South China Sea with regard to China’s growing belligerence there.

ON TERRORISM:

• Both the countries expressed deep concern about the growing threat of terrorism and underlined the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism comprehensively and sustainably.

ON INVESTMENT:

• Japan’s PMannounced an investment to the tune of $42 billion (JPY 5 trillion) in India over the next five years.

LIST OF AGREEMENTS/MOUs SIGNED

INDIA -JAPAN RELATIONS: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan.
• After World War II, in 1949, India started relations with Japan warmly.
• Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April 1952. This treaty was one of Japan’s first peace treaties after World War II.
• In the post-World War II period, India’s iron ore helped a great deal in Japan’s recovery from the devastation.
• Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by the Japanese government.
• The visit of then Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko in 1960 elevated the relations to a new level. A test of the reliability of Japan as a friend was witnessed in 1991 when Japan was among the few countries that bailed India out of the balance of payment crisis.

PROGRESS IN THE RECENT PAST

RECENT RELATIONS:

• Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India in 2000 provided momentum to strengthen the Japan-India relationship.
• In 2005, Japan-India annual summit started.
• In December 2006, the relationship was elevated to the “Global and Strategic Partnership”.
• In September 2014, upgrade the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.”
• In 2015 both countries resolved to transform the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership into a deep, broad-based, action-oriented partnership, reflecting a broad convergence of their long-term political, economic, and strategic goals.
• The announcement “Japan and India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World” started a new era in Japan-India relations.
• in October 2018, both countries reiterated their unwavering commitment to working together towards a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
• In September 2021 both countries again concurred to further develop Japan-India relations and work closely toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.

COOPERATION IN SECURITY FIELDS:

• In 2008, “the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India” was issued.
• ‘2+2” meeting, annual Defense Ministerial Dialogue, and Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard dialogue.
• JIMEX, EX DHARMA GUARDIAN, SHINYUU Maitri, and Dharma Guardian are some military exercises between both countries. Apart from these, both countries are participatory in Malabar naval exercises.
• In September 2020, the Agreement concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces (so-called “Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement” or ACSA) was signed. ACSA came into force on July 11th, 2021

ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

• In recent years, the economic relationship between Japan and India has increased.
• India was the 18th largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was India’s 12th largest trading partner in 2020.
• Japan was the 4th largest investor for India in FY2020.
• Japanese private-sector’s interest in India is rising, and, currently, about 1,455 Japanese companies have branches in India. Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Hitachi are some of the major Japanese companies operating in India.
• Currency Swap Arrangement of USD 75 billion between both countries.

ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE:

• India has been the largest recipient of Japanese (Official Development Assistance) ODA loans for the past decades.
• Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation.
• Japan continues to cooperate in supporting strategic connectivity linking South Asia to Southeast Asia through the synergy between the ”Act East” policy and ”Partnership for Quality Infrastructure.”
• Besides, Japan and India had committed to building a High-Speed Railway in India by introducing Japan’s Shinkansen System, the flagship project of Japan-India relations.

CULTURAL RELATIONS:

• The year 2022 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India. Various cultural events took place in Japan and India to promote mutual understanding between the two countries, under the theme of “Resurgent Japan, Vibrant India: New Perspectives, New Exchanges.”

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF JAPAN TO INDIA?

FINANCIAL:

• Japan has invested in the $90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (1,483km high-speed rail and road line), which will set up new cities, industrial parks, ports, and airports.
• It is also backing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train service and has already released the first tranche of 5,500 crore rupees.
• Japan is the third-largest source of FDI ($28.160 billion between2000 June 2018) investment into India after Mauritius and Singapore.
• In Dedicated Freight Corridor, a project of close to Rs 50,000 crore of Japanese assistance has been about Rs 38,000 crore.
• A 75 Billion dollar currency swap agreement between countries is a significant step in enhancing economic ties.

DEFENCE:

• Japan is the most important partner in the Indo-Pacific region. Both countries are the part of QUAD group.
• After the joint army, navy, and air force exercises, the two nations are looking to allow their respective naval forces to use each other’s facilities.
• Both countries have conflicts with China and to counter its behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, they need to continue helping each other.

TECHNOLOGY:

• The introduction of  Johkasou technology in India by Japanese companies for decentralized wastewater treatment will help in sewage water management.
• The Indian PM and the then PM of Japan Mr. Abe have also announced the launch of a new digital partnership that will cover Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• In 2018, when the Indian PM visited Japan, he made a trip to FANUC Corporation, one of the world’s largest makers of industrial robots.
• FANUC facility is important in the context of India’s move towards Industry 4.0.

INFRASTRUCTURE COOPERATION:

• In 2016, India and Japan announced joint projects in Africa as part of the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor; the main aim of this project is to counter the BRI influence in South Asia and Africa.
• Apart from it, there are many joint ventures between the two countries.

THE AREAS OF CONCERNS

TRADE BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES:

• Today, India-Japan trade languishes at around $18 billion, while Japan-China trade is around $300 billion.
• India’s major exports to Japan include petroleum products, organic chemicals, fish and aquatic invertebrates, natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, and machinery and mechanical appliances.
• India’s top import items from Japan are machinery and mechanical appliances, followed by electronics, iron and steel, plastics, copper, and its articles.

RELATIONSHIP CENTRED ON COUNTERING CHINA:

• Both countries have border issues with China. So the relations generally target China.
• It is interesting fact, that China is the biggest trading partner of Japan and India.

SECURITY TIES:

• In security ties, the Indo-Japanese relationship has remained below potential, and Japan does not accord due to importance to India in its security calculus.
• Japan has offered neither military hardware nor technology to India. There seems to be a difference in perceptions about China; Japan, while highlighting its own security concerns in the East and South China Seas, is seen to play down the multiple threats that India faces from China.
• Although both countries are members of QUAD and have 2+2 talks, there is a large scope to improve the security relations that are not developed as per the demand of time.

THE UKRAINE CRISIS:

• On the issue of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, while India took a neutral stance, Japan criticized the attack openly and followed NATO. This shows that despite being the partner of QUAD, both countries follow their independent foreign policy.
• During his visit, Japan’s Prime Minister pushed Narendra Modi to take a clear stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. This shows a divergence between both countries but later, QUAD itself accepted India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia war.

THE WAY FORWARD: HOW TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF INDIA-JAPAN RELATION?

SHOULD GO BEYOND COUNTERING CHINA:

• The Indo-Japan relations are oriented toward countering Chinese Influence in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea but now both the countries should go beyond.

SHOULD FOCUS ON THE BILATERAL TRADE:

• Both governments should focus on boosting trade which is standing at just $18 billion. It shows that bilateral trade needs to be increased.
• The scope in many areas for improving trade and the fourth industrial revolution can be a landmark in this regard.

LEVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATION:

• Japan gives India an opportunity to boost its relations with Indo-Pacific countries.
• There are many other areas providing opportunities such as the African continent through the Asia Africa Growth Corridor(AAGC) whose potential needs to be utilized and scaled up.

NEED STRONG SECURITY TIES:

• India and Japan are the members of Quad and India invited Japan in Malabar Naval Exercise but these are multi-country level ventures. Both counties should focus on their own security setup in their respective regions.
• As a significant naval power with a dominant peninsular location astride shipping lanes, India plays a major role in ensuring maritime security in the Indian Ocean and its environs.
• Close cooperation with a democratic India, located mid-way along trade routes connecting East Asia with the Middle East and Africa, would be advantageous to Japan.
• At the same time, a technologically deficient India has much to gain from a relationship with a country like Japan.

THE CONCLUSION: No doubt, India and Japan are among the most reliable partners in bilateral relations and Japan-India relations have evolved into an inclusive and multi-layered relationship based on cultural bonds, firm friendship, and common universal values. But, there is still scope for improving the bilateral relations which should be the agenda of their future relations.

Questions

1. ‘With strong India-Japan cooperation, 21^st century will be Asia’s century. Analyze the scope for India-Japan relations in changing geopolitical scenarios.
2. Highlight the importance of strong India- Japan relations for a free and secure Indo-Pacific.
3. ‘Without enhancing trade relations, India and Japan would not be able to counter China’s influence in Indo-pacific’. Critically Analyze.

THE CONTEXT: In Feb-March 2022, India and Maldives have dived into a new foray into strategic relations with bilateral meetings on various fronts. There have been high-profile visits of Indian dignitaries to the Maldives. This article analyses regional security and maritime safety issues along with socio-economic development, trade and investment, and tourism at a time when the “India Out” campaign is regaining momentum in the Maldives along with challenges of Chinese influence and others.

MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONSHIPS

DEFENCE COOPERATION DIALOGUE:

• Defence Secretary of India visited the Maldives on 13-14 Feb 2022, with the primary objective of discussions on the 3rd Defence Cooperation Dialogue(DCD).
• Both sides discussed joint efforts and capacity-building initiatives being taken by both the countries to deter trans-national crimes and bolster national security in the region.
• The Defence Secretary of India also inaugurated the Composite Training Center Phase-I Annex built with Indian grant assistance in the Maldives and handed over the refitted CGS Huravee – a made-in-India patrol vessel.

COLOMBO SECURITY CONCLAVE:

• NSA of India visited the Maldives on 7 March 2022 to attend the 5th NSA level Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) meeting.
• The four pillars of security cooperation (in CSC) include maritime safety and security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, and cyber security.
• India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka are the founding members of the Colombo Security Conclave. Mauritius was included as a new member of the conclave during the meeting, which was also attended by Bangladesh and Seychelles as observers in 2022.

CAG LEVEL BILATERAL MEET TO STRENGTHEN PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITIES IN MALDIVES:

• Steps were taken for furthering the cooperation between the two Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) by operationalizing the MoU to strengthen the professional capacities and improve audit methodology.
• Emphasized the role of technology, in today’s rapidly changing world, which constantly creates fresh avenues for audit and makes audits more efficient. The exchange of knowledge and capacity development initiatives would equip both the SAIs in the use of emerging technologies for auditing.
• The MOU is signed at the most opportune time given the strategic shift towards future relevance which requires both the countries to cater to the demands of the knowledge economy and sustainable development.

VISIT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER TO MALDIVES:

• Inauguration of National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE):
• NCPLE is one of India’s largest funded projects in the island nation – in the Maldives’ Addu City
• One of the objectives of this training academy is to address the challenges of violent extremism and prevent radicalisation.
• On the domestic level in the Maldives, the training academy would help strengthen law enforcement abilities and counter drug trafficking, a major concern in the country.
• MoU for Training: A memorandum of understanding was signed by the
• Maldives Police Service and India’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy to enhance cooperation in training and capacity building. India has also increased the number of training slots for the Maldives at the police academy to eight.
• Support for Infrastructure: The project for the creation of police infrastructure facilities across the islands of Maldives with over $40 million financing from EXIM Bank of India has also been given necessary approvals.

INDIA OUT CAMPAIGN AND INDIA OUT BILL:

• India Out campaign has cropped up every now and then within the Indian Ocean island nation, mostly on social media. The campaign is led by critics who accuse the present government of allowing Indian boots on the ground and thereby compromising the sovereignty of the island nation. The ruling administration has time and again denied any Indian military presence in the country or a threat to Maldives’s sovereignty.
• India Out Bill is a draft Bill by the present Maldivian government that criminalises public campaigns that apparently harm Maldives’ relations with foreign countries.

AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT VISITS

• The Maldives holds strategic importance for India under the present government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy due to its location in the Indian Ocean. However, the relations between the two countries were strained under the pro-China regime of their former President Abdulla Yameen. This can be reflected in the recent ‘India Out’ campaign led by Abdulla Yameen, against India’s massive developmental funding for creating physical, social, and community infrastructure, and incumbent President Solih’s government retaining two India-gifted helicopters and their operational military personnel.
• For India, the Indian Ocean is of utmost importance. Since 2014, India has taken a proactive approach to cement its role as the leader in the Indian Ocean by according priority maritime diplomacy and initiatives. This comes against the backdrop of rising Chinese assertiveness in the IOR and the growing interest of various powers in the Indian Ocean generally, and the Maldives in particular. As the pre-eminent South-Asian power and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region, India needs to cooperate in all dimensions with the Maldives. The recent bilateral meetings between India and Maldives will offer India the right opportunity.

AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONS

GEO-STRATEGIC: The Maldives, a Toll Gate in the Indian Ocean:

• Located in the southern and northern parts of this island chain lies the two important Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs). These SLOCs are critical for maritime trade flow between the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Hormuz in West Asia and the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.
• Nearly 50% of India’s external trade and 80% of its energy imports transit these SLOCs in the Arabian Sea.
• The location of the Maldives, at the intersection of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean, makes it strategically important for India, particularly in light of China’s growing aggression in the region.

IMPORTANT GROUPINGS:

• Maldives is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).
• Engagement with QUAD (India, Japan, Australia, and the US)
• Maldivian engagement with the ‘Quad’, has been growing over the last year, especially in the area of defense cooperation.
• The present government signed a ‘Framework for a Defence and Security Relationship’ agreement with the United States. It was welcomed by India.

The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program set up in 2001 brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership that aims to promote regional prosperity, improve economic opportunities, and build a better quality of life for the people of the subregion. SASEC countries share a common vision of boosting intraregional trade and cooperation in South Asia, while also developing connectivity and trade with Southeast Asia through Myanmar, the People’s Republic of China, and the global market.

SECURITY COOPERATION:

• India and Maldives conduct the joint military exercise ‘Ekuverin’ every year since 2009.
• Mauritius was included as a new member of the conclave during the fifth meeting of national security advisers of the Colombo Security Conclave. It is a maritime security grouping of India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Mauritius to forge closer cooperation on maritime and security matters among these Indian Ocean countries.
• MILAN, a Multilateral Naval Exercise hosted by India, made a modest beginning in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1995 with the participation of four littoral navies. This biennial congregation of friendly navies, over the last two and a half decades, has progressively grown in magnitude with the latest edition in 2022 being attended by 42 countries including the Maldives.
• Maldives is also a member country of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The objectives of IORA are:
• To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states
• To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest, and mutual benefits
• To promote liberalization, remove impediments, and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT:

• The Maldives has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Covid-19 assistance and vaccines delivered by India among India’s all neighbouring countries. The Maldives was the first beneficiary of India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative.
• When the world supply chains were blocked because of the pandemic, India continued to provide crucial commodities to the Maldives under Mission SAGAR.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION:

• Tourism is the mainstay of the Maldives’ economy. The country is a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others.
• In August 2021 India signed a contract for the largest-ever infrastructure project in Maldives which is the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP).
• Under the bilateral agreement, India provides essential food items like rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, onion, potato, and eggs and construction material such as sand and stone aggregates to the Maldives on favourable terms.
• Blue Economy as defined by World Bank is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem. The Maldives can play a significant role in India’s Vision of New India by 2030 as the Maldives also aims to achieve a more sustainable development model by making better use of its ocean resources.

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME:

India has helped the Maldives in many diverse areas to bolster the development of the Maldives e.g.

• Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives Institute of Technical Education (now called the Maldives Polytechnic),
• India-Maldives Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies,
• Technology Adoption Programme in Education Sector in the Maldives,
• a port on Gulhifalhu,
• airport redevelopment at Hanimaadhooand a hospital and a cricket stadium in Hulhumale etc.
• Under the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) project, a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi.

DIASPORA:

• There is a significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and healthcare sectors of the Maldives economy.

IMPORTANCE OF INDIA FOR MALDIVES

FOOD SECURITY: Maldive’s food security depends a lot on imports from India. Food articles such as rice, flour, sugar, chicken, eggs, potatoes, onions, and lentils as among the basic foodstuffs consumed by Maldivians in substantial quantities and supplied by India.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Sand and gravel for construction are also supplied by India.

TOURISM: India is also a major source of the tourism sector for the Maldives, the nation’s economic mainstay.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION: India is also a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, medical treatment, recreation, and business. According to MEA more Maldivians are seeking long-term visas for pursuing higher studies/medical treatment in India.

CURRENT CHALLENGES IN INDIA-MALDIVES RELATION

CHINA’S STRATEGIC FOOTPRINT IN INDIA’S NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia. Given the uncertain dynamics of Sino-Indian relations, China’s strategic presence in the Maldives remains a concern. Also, the Maldives have started using the China card to bargain with India.

POLITICAL INSTABILITY: India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighbourhood on its security and development. The consequent political crisis and the “India Out” Campaign have posed a real diplomatic test for India’s neighbourhood policy.

RADICALISATION: Radicalisation is not a new challenge that the Maldives has been tackling, but the bomb attack on former president Mohamed Nasheed in May 2021 has put the issue into sharper focus and has become a pressing concern. The attack clearly indicates that radical groups are actively advancing their position in the Maldives. Radical ideology has strengthened itself in the Maldives and has, in the recent past, been assisted by state institutions.

UTHURU THILA FALHU (UTF) HARBOUR PROJECT: UTF Agreement was signed between India and the Maldives in February 2021. The speculation that the project would be turned into a naval base by India has also been a reason for internal political instability in the Maldives. However, the agreement was to develop a dockyard for Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and operate a Dornier aircraft for surveillance.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Mobilising ordinary citizens through the ‘India Out’ campaign is a cause for concern for India. India has to work on perception management in the Maldives.
• The potential for both countries to work together on adaptive and mitigating measures against the adverse maritime impacts of climate change is enormous. This potential must be realised through imaginative foreign policy and maritime security initiatives.
• The ‘India-First Policy’ of the Maldives and India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ are intuitively complementary, implementing these policies with cultural, geo-economics, and geostrategic sensitivity is imperative for both nations.
• India and Maldives have not yet signed a Free Trade Agreement. To reap the benefits of continued efforts in the economic cooperation and infrastructure developmental projects India should think of having an FTA with the Maldives. (Maldives have FTA with China).
• India-Maldives defense cooperation shall be enhanced to monitor Chinese maritime and naval movements along vital sea lanes of communication that run alongside the Maldives.
• Encourage the Indian private sector to deepen its engagement in the Maldivian economy.
• Countries complain that India doesn’t deliver on projects and they tend to make comparisons with China. Delivering projects on time would help India in mitigating some concerns that may exist in the Maldives.

 THE CONCLUSION: While India-Maldives relations have always been close, cordial, and multi-dimensional, recent regime instability in the Maldives has posed some limitations, especially in the political & strategic arena. Therefore, the main challenge to India’s diplomacy is balancing out all these contradictions into harmonious relations.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

1. “Recent India-First Policy of the Maldives and India’s Neighborhood First Policy are intuitively complementary”. In the light of recent agreements signed between India and Maldives discuss the strategic importance of the Maldives to India.
2. “India’s Vision of New India by 2030 and Maldives aims to achieve a more sustainable development model by making better use of its ocean resources are complementary to each other. “Elaborate in the context of the Blue Economy.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

[WpProQuiz 202]

THE CONTEXT: On 26 February 2022 Ukraine lodged a case against Russia at the ICJ which was centered on the interpretation of a 1948 treaty on the prevention of genocide, signed by both Russia and Ukraine. The court is named in the treaty itself as the forum for resolving disputes related to genocide and Ukraine’s suit argues that Russia has misinterpreted the treaty in several ways. This article explains the whole issue in detail and analyses the efficacy of ICJ in the present times.

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)

ABOUT ICJ:

• The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The International Court of Justice is also known as the World Court. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, ICJ is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• Its official working languages are English and French
• All members of the UN are ipso facto parties to the statute, but this does not automatically give ICJ jurisdiction over disputes involving them. The ICJ gets jurisdiction only on the basis of the consent of both parties. The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organisation and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.

Figure 1 Charter of the United Nations

ITS ORIGIN:

• The court is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was brought into being by the League of Nations, and which held its inaugural sitting at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, in February 1922.
• After World War II, the League of Nations and PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ respectively.
• The PCIJ was formally dissolved in April 1946, and its last president, Judge José Gustavo Guerrero of El Salvador, became the first president of the ICJ.

ITS COMPOSITION:

• The ICJ consists of a panel of 15 judges elected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for nine-year terms. These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. The Court does not include more than one national of the same State. Moreover, the Court as a whole represents the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
• One-third of the Court is elected every three years; Judges are eligible for re-election.
• The 15 judges of the Court are distributed in the following regions:
• Three from Africa.
• Two from Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Three from Asia.
• Five from Western Europe and other states.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Court settles legal disputes submitted to it by States, in accordance with international law. It also gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies. Judgments in disputes between States are binding.
• The Court decides disputes between countries, based on the voluntary participation of the States concerned. If a State agrees to participate in a proceeding, it is obligated to comply with the Court’s decision.

WORKING OF THE COURT:

• States have no permanent representatives accredited to the Court. They normally communicate with the Registrar through their Minister for Foreign Affairs or their ambassador accredited to the Netherlands.
• The sources of law that the Court must apply are international treaties and conventions in force; international custom; the general principles of law; judicial decisions; and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists*. Moreover, if the parties agree, the Court can decide a case ex aequo et Bono, i.e., without confining itself to existing rules of international law.

A *publicist is an international law scholar or a scholarly organization (e.g., American Law Institute). However, Article 38 of the ICJ Statute indicates that only teachings (writings) of “the most highly qualified publicists” are considered to be a source of international law. Thus, not every article or book about an international law topic would be considered a source of international law.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ICJ

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the international community’s legal guardian. The ICJ is frequently called upon to defuse crisis situations, help normalize relations between states, and reactivate stalled negotiation processes. It resolves legal disputes submitted to it by States in accordance with international law, as well as provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Within its limited jurisdiction, the ICJ has resolved significant international disputes, thereby contributing to international peace and security.
• In carrying out its mandate, the Court not only contributes to the strengthening of international law’s role in international relations but also to its development and is increasingly being used as a forum for the resolution of environmental disputes, particularly those involving transboundary
• harm, as well as other disagreements affecting the conservation of living resources, environmental protection, or potentially adverse effects on human health.
• Albeit the court cannot enact new laws in the same way that a regulator can, the Court can clarify, refine, and interpret international law rules. In the present scenario of Russia’s military action on Ukraine ICJ’s decision is binding on Russia and constitutes part of its international legal obligations. If Russia continues its military actions, it will be a brazen violation of international law.

DISCOURSE ON UKRAINE’S CASE AGAINST RUSSIA AT ICJ

UKRAINE’S APPLICATION AGAINST RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

• Ukraine contends that Russian Federation has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have been committed in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine and based on such claims Russia initiated a special military action and recognized the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’.
• Ukraine “emphatically denies” that such genocide has occurred and states that Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide.
• Ukraine used the clause of the Genocide Convention of (1948) to get the ICJ to hear the case. The top court of the United Nations has ordered Russia to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Ukraine.
• It is a “provisional measures” order – an emergency ruling made before the court hears the whole case. Provisional measures are binding. It means even if Russia maintains incorrectly that the invasion is legal, it is now breaching international law anyway by failing to comply with the ICJ’s order. However, a binding ruling is not the same as an enforceable one. Just as there is no global government to give the ICJ more power, there is no global police to enforce its decisions.

Article I of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), 1948 as interpreted by the ICJ in the past makes it an obligation for any state not to commit genocide and also gives an extraterritorial scope to signatory states to prevent genocide. (This became the basis for Russia to initiate a special military action against Ukraine.) Ukraine also contends this interpretation and says that no rule in international law automatically gives one state a right to invade another state to stop genocide.

Article VIII states that any contracting party can unilaterally approach the competent organs of the United Nations in matters related to the acts of genocide.

Article IX states that “Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.” (This became the basis for Ukraine to unilaterally approach ICJ as both Ukraine and Russia are parties to the Genocide Convention.)

Russia has rejected the order by the ICJ to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine by saying that:

• Both sides had to agree to end the hostilities for the ruling to be implemented.
• The ruling was not valid as no consent from both sides can be obtained in this case.
• Though Russia boycotted a hearing on the case but argued in a written filing that the court didn’t have jurisdiction and also said it was acting in self-defense with the invasion.

STANCE OF JUSTICE DALVEER BHANDARI ON THE ISSUE:

• Bhandari was one of the two judges at the world court whose vote is contrary to their respective countries’ stance at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• At the United Nations (UN), India’s stand has been that diplomacy and dialogue are the solutions to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the UN General Assembly on 2 March 2022, India urged both sides to focus on diplomacy to end the war and abstained from voting on the matter.
• Unlike in the UN, in the ICJ, there is no option of abstention, and ICJ judges vote in their individual capacities, and they vote on the merits of that. A judge’s opinion at the world court is in his or her individual capacity and does not reflect their respective countries’ stand on the issue.

INDIA AND ICJ

ACCEPTING THE JURISDICTION OF ICJ:

• In September 2019 India declared the matters over which it accepts the jurisdiction of the ICJ. This declaration was revoked and replaced the previous declaration made in September 1974 and September 1959.
• Among the matters over which India does not accept ICJ jurisdiction are: “disputes with the government of any State which is or has been a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations”, and “disputes relating to or connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective actions taken in self-defense…”
• The declaration, which includes other exceptions as well, has been ratified by Parliament.

PARTY TO A CASE AT ICJ: India has been a party to a case at the ICJ on six occasions, four of which have involved Pakistan. They are:

• Right of Passage over Indian Territory (Portugal v. India, culminated in 1960) – Ruling in India’s favour.
• Appeal Relating to the Jurisdiction of the ICAO Council (India v. Pakistan, culminated 1972) – ICJ rejected Pakistan’s objection.
• Trial of Pakistani Prisoners of War (Pakistan v. India, culminated 1973) – Pakistan choose not to move ahead with the proceedings.
• Aerial Incident of 10 August 1999 (Pakistan v. India, culminated in 2000) – ICJ rejected Pakistan’s contention.
• Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India, culminated 2016) – The court ruled that it does not have any jurisdiction on the issue in the absence of a dispute between the two countries
• Kulbhushan Jadhav (India v. Pakistan, culminated 2019) – The ICJ held that Pakistan was in clear violation of the rights and obligations described under the Vienna Convention on Consular relations 1963 and ruled in favour of India. Jadhav still remains in Pakistan Jail.

INDIANS AS MEMBERS OF ICJ: Four Indians have been members of the ICJ so far:

• Justice Dalveer Bhandari, former judge of the Supreme Court, has been serving at the ICJ since 2012.
• Former Chief Justice of India R S Pathak served from 1989-to 91.
• Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Nagendra Singh from 1973-88. Singh was also president of the court from 1985-to 88 and vice-president from 1976-to 79.
• Sir Benegal Rau, who was an advisor to the Constituent Assembly, was a member of the ICJ from 1952-to 53.

LIMITATIONS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF ICJ

ICJ suffers from certain limitations, these are mainly structural, circumstantial, and related to the material resources made available to the Court.

JURISDICTION TO TRY INDIVIDUALS:

• It has no jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
• As it is not a criminal court, it does not have a prosecutor able to initiate proceedings.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION ALLEGATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS: The International Court of Justice differs from other courts such as:

• The Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg), whose role is to interpret European Community legislation uniformly and rule on its validity,
• The European Court of Human Rights (France) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Costa Rica), which deal with allegations of violations of the human rights conventions under which they were set up.
• These three courts can entertain applications from individuals as well as from States which is not possible for the International Court of Justice.

NOT A SPECIALIST COURT:

• The jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in general thereby differs from that of specialist international tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
• ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by UNCLOS to adjudicate disputes arising out of the convention.
• United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted in 1982 to establish jurisdictional limits over the ocean areas and regulate activities in international waters, including sea-bed mining and cable laying, etc.

NOT A SUPREME COURT:

• The Court is not a Supreme Court to which national courts can turn; it does not act as a court of last resort for individuals nor is it an appeal court for any international tribunal. It can, however, rule on the validity of arbitral awards.

CANNOT INITIATE PROCEEDING SUO MOTO:

• The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States.
• It cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative.
• Neither is it permitted, under its Statute, to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign States as it chooses.

DO NOT HAVE A COMPULSORY JURISDICTION:

• The ICJ only has jurisdiction based on consent, not compulsory jurisdiction.

DO NOT ENJOY FULL POWERS:

• It does not enjoy a full separation of powers, with permanent members of the Security Council being able to veto enforcement of cases, even those to which they consented to be bound.

ABOUT GENOCIDE CONVENTION

• The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) is an instrument of international law that codified for the first time the crime of genocide. It was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 9 December 1948.
• It signified the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ after the atrocities committed during the Second World War and its adoption marked a crucial step towards the development of international human rights and international criminal law as we know it today.
• According to the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in times of war as well as in the time of peace. The definition of the crime of genocide, as set out in the Convention, has been widely adopted at both national and international levels, including in the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Importantly, the Convention establishes on State Parties the obligation to take measures to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators, “whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals” (Article IV). Those obligations, in addition to the prohibition not to commit genocide, have been considered norms of international customary law and therefore, binding on all States, whether or not they have ratified the Genocide Convention.
• India is a signatory to this convention.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The ICJ can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States and cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative. The power of the court shall be expanded regarding international laws to take Suo moto cognizance and initiate proceedings to maintain international peace and order.
• ICJ shall also be given the power to hear the matters which have already been decided by other international tribunals.
• Though the ICJ can only hear cases by the states it shall also accept applications from individuals as well as international organizations.
• The rulings of the court are binding but not enforceable on states and the onus lies on other UN organs for their implementation. This leads to a lack of confidence in the efficacy of the court. The court shall be given some institutional powers to make it more efficient.

THE CONCLUSION: While the court did not decide on whether Russia has breached the Genocide Convention, as this is a question of merits, it did express doubt over whether a country can unilaterally use force against another country for punishing or preventing an alleged act of genocide. This indicates that Russia’s use of force is difficult to justify under the Genocide Convention. Just because authoritarian populist leaders don’t care for international law does not diminish its significance. International law, even if not sufficient, is necessary to maintain global order. The ICJ decision is an impactful step in that direction.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:

1. “India has accepted the jurisdiction of International Court of Justice on various issues barring a few such as connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective actions taken in self-defense.” In the context of changing geopolitical situations elaborate on the given statement.
2. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) suffers from structural, circumstantial, and material limitations. How can the court be made more effective to help in redressing interstate disputes and in maintaining global peace?

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Difference between the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court(ICC)