DNA 3Rd September 2019

Summary of Daily News Analysis - by Jatin Verma 3rd September,2019

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News of the Day

Topic 1: UN Conference on Desertification Topic 2: India-Japan Trade & Strategic Partnership Topic 3: 70 rare Assam temple turtle hatchlings released in ‘Mini Kaziranga Topic 4: Moon lander separation successful Topic 5: Where do the RBI’s earning come from? Topic 6: What the government needs to do to stimulate economy? Topic 7: Malé Declaration overlooks Pakistan claim on Kashmir issue

Topic 1: UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP 14) UPSC Syllabus: Paper - 3Environment & Climate Change

Worldwide Data of land degradation: ● Land degradation working in tandem with climate change and biodiversity loss may force up to 700 million people to migrate by 2050. ● One in four hectares of arable land is considered unusable due to unsustainable land management. ● These have put nearly 3.2 billion people in the world at risk.

India’s Commitment for Land rejuvenation: ● India faces a severe problem of land degradation, or soil becoming unfit for cultivation. About 29% or about 96.4 million hectares are considered degraded. ● At the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India also joined the voluntary “Bonn Challenge” and pledged to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and an additional 8 million hectares by 2030. ● India had committed to rejuvenate 50 lakh hectares (5 million) of degraded land between 2021 and 2030. ● India’s pledge is one of the largest in Asia. ● Following schemes are seen as prongs to tackle this land degradation a) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, b) Soil Health Card Scheme, c) Soil Health Management Scheme and d) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

About the UNCCD ● Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. ● As the dynamics of land, climate and biodiversity are intimately connected, the UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions;  the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and  The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

● So far 196 countries — plus the European Union — are legally bound to the Convention. ● The Convention requires individual countries to draw up their national action programmes (NAP) using a bottom-up approach — from the local community up. ● It also ensures the participation of local NGOs, women, youth and farmers who are all victims of the degraded lands.

● UNCCD also encourages the use of the latest technology, along with traditional ones, to combat degradation. ● It also partners with other international organisations to get help to the local communities. ● The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found. UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework ● It is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to  restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land,  improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and  reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations.

What is COP? ● The CoP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. It is held every two years. ● The COP (Conference of Parties) discusses ways and means forward to address global land degradation. ● The UNCCD’s Conferences of the Parties (COP) is the place where governments agree on strategic and effective land use and sustainable land management goals to ensure nature and ecosystems thrive.

COP 14: ● The 14th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) to combat desertification kicked off in New Delhi in September 2019 with India taking over the presidency of the COP for two years. ● COP14 will focus on the critical gaps in land management and planning, but also on practical actions to ensure the successes we are achieving, which are becoming more evident on the biophysical level, increase human well-being everywhere.

Highlights of the official conference agenda ● The Conference is expected to agree on about 30 decisions to ramp up and elaborate further actions needed on the ground to ensure that the Convention’s goals for 2018-2030 are achieved. ● These are  to improve the lives of the populations affected by desertification and land degradation and to improve the affected ecosystems,  to mitigate the effects of drought and to mobilize sufficient resources to achieve these goals, and  Ensure the outcomes benefit all people, everywhere.

● These decisions will focus on the following aspects. i. PEOPLE FIRST ii. SECURITY AND STABILITY iii. TURNING PLANS INTO ACTION iv. ENHANCING RESILIENCE v. SCIENCE AT THE SERVICE OF NATURE vi. PULLING TOGETHER ON A GLOBAL SCALE

India is hosting COP 14 ● In the 25th year of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a progeny of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, New Delhi will be hosting the 14th edition of its Conference of the Parties (CoP-14) from September 2 to September 13. ● India’s commitment to SDG 15 (life on land) is in coherence to the Prime Minister’s vision for doubling the income of farmers by 2022. ● SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 15 addressing land issues is concomitant to climate change, poverty, food security, clean water and sanitation and gender equality, livelihood. ● The last one [COP-13] was hosted by China and the one before that [COP-12] was held in Turkey. ● The CoP reviews the implementation of the Convention by different countries, formulates strategies, approves budget for the next two years, coordinates its work with other international agencies and NGOs, and so on. ● At the New Delhi conference, India will be elected president for the next two years.

Topic 2: India-Japan Trade & Strategic partnership UPSC Syllabus: Paper - 2International Relations History of Sino-Japan Relations: ● Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. ● Indian culture, filtered through Buddhism, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people's sense of closeness to India. ● After World War II, in 1949, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru donated an Indian elephant to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. ● This brought a ray of light into the lives of the Japanese people who still had not recovered from defeat in the war. ● Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April, 1952. ● This treaty was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after World War II. ● In the post World War II period, India's iron ore helped a great deal Japan's recovery from the devastation.

● Following Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi's visit to India in 1957, Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by Japanese government.

Strong Relations in Last decade: ● Japan and India have shared a long enduring strategic and economic partnership which got further elevated to a ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ five years ago. ● Bilateral trade ties between India and Japan got a big strategic push in 2011 when they signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). ● The CEPA envisages abolition of tariffs on over 94 % of items traded over a period of 10 years and covers services, movement of natural persons, investments, IPR, customs procedures and other trade related issues. ● During the 9th Annual Summit in Japan in August-September 2014, Abe and Modi, apart from further upgrading bilateral relations, also agreed to establish the ‘India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership’. ● They agreed that Japan-India relationship was upgraded to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.” ● In December 2015, the two Prime Ministers resolved to transform the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership into a deep, broad-based and action-oriented partnership, which reflects a broad convergence of their long-term political, economic and strategic goals. ● They announced “Japan and India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World” a joint statement that would serve as a guidepost for the “new era in Japan-India relations.” ● In 2016, it announced a Country Assistance Policy providing ODA to build India’s critical infrastructure, and to address social and environmental causes. ● India also announced “visa on arrival” scheme for all Japanese travellers, including for business purposes, from March 1, 2016. ● Many of the on-going landmark infrastructure projects are being undertaken with Japanese assistance such as  the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail,  the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor,  the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with twelve new industrial townships, and  The Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). Cultural Relations ● The year 2012 marked the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and India. ● Various cultural events took place both in Japan and in India to promote mutual understanding between the two countries, under the theme of “Resurgent Japan, Vibrant India: New Perspectives, New Exchanges.”

● During the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Japan in November 2016, the two Prime Ministers agreed to mark the year 2017 as the Year of Japan-India Friendly Exchanges to further enhance people-to-people exchanges between Japan and India. ● The year 2017 also marks the 60th anniversary since the Cultural Agreement came into force in 1957.

2+2 Dialogue ● India and Japan have agreed to hold a two-plus-two dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers of the two countries. ● This will take place ahead of the summit-level meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe later in 2019. ● So far, India had engaged in such a dialogue format at this level only with the United States, the inaugural edition of which was held in September 2018. ● The idea of establishing a two-plus-two dialogue between India and Japan was visible during the summit meeting between Modi and Abe during the former’s visit to Tokyo in October 2018. ● The two countries began a two-plus-two dialogue at the level of foreign and defence secretaries (not ministers) almost a decade ago in 2010. ● This dialogue was mandated by the Action Plan to Advance Security Cooperation concluded between the two countries in December 2009. ● Key issues discussed under this format include maritime, cyber, and outer space security. ● As one recent report pointed out, Japan has played an important role in developing India’s infrastructure. ● But in an era of strategic uncertainties driven by shifting global and Asian power dynamics, India and Japan have felt the need to strengthen their defence and security linkages. ● One of the primary objectives for both New Delhi and Tokyo is to prevent the rise of a unipolar Asia dominated by one single hegemonic power. ● It is this political objective that has been driving the relationship and the new two-plus-two dialogue will strengthen it further, especially the security relationship between New Delhi and Tokyo. ● The existing institutional arrangements between India and Japan includes  Annual Defense Ministerial Dialogue,  Defense Policy Dialogue,  National Security Advisers’ Dialogue. ● The upcoming Foreign and Defense Ministerial Two-Plus-Two Dialogue reflects the growing special relationship between India and Japan, which is driven by a number of factors including the desire to create an Asian strategic framework that is free, fair, and inclusive.

Topic 3: 70 rare Assam temple turtle hatchlings released in ‘Mini Kaziranga UPSC Syllabus: Paper – 3 Environment & Ecology ● Assam is the most species-rich State in India in terms of turtle diversity. ● It is home to 20 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises out of 29 species found in India. But, 80% of these species are threatened with extinction. ● About 70 hatchlings of the rare Black Softshell and Indian Softshell turtles bred in the ponds of two temples, Ugratara in Guwahati and Hayagriv Madhav in Hajo in Assam were released in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, about 50 km east of Guwahati. ● The sanctuary is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ because of similar landscape and a sizeable population of the one-horned rhino.

Why is so important? ● The “wild restocking” of the two turtle species was done under a joint programme of the management committees of two temples, the Assam Forest Department and two NGOs specialising in the conservation of reptiles. ● This wild restocking programme is important for sustaining turtles in the Brahmaputra river system, especially the Black Softshell (Nilssonia nigricans) that is considered extinct in the wild. ● The last of these rare species were surviving in some of Assam’s temple ponds that are not ideal habitats for them. The hatchlings from the temple ponds were nurtured at a conservation facility at the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary or ‘Miniature Kaziranga’ ● Pobitora is popularly known as ‘miniature Kaziranga’ for its highest density of one horned rhino in Assam. ● It is situated in the flood plains of River Brahmaputra in the district of Morigaon and 45 kms from Guwahati. ● In the year 1987 comprising the area of Pobitora Reserve Forest, Rajamayong Hill Reserved Forest and few adjoining Government Khas land, a total area of 38.81 sq.km was declared as Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. ● Besides one horned rhino, the protected area is a paradise for both resident and migratory birds at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. ● This area is also identified as an important Bird Areas in the country by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). ● The presence of migratory waterfowl during winter is quite significant in Pobitora. ● Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles. ● It is also an Important Bird Area.

Orang National Park ● Orang National Park or Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park is also known as the mini Kaziranga National Park. ● It is located in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of the state of Assam at a distance of approx 100 km from the Kaziranga National Park. ● Spread over the area of around 79 sq km, the park is highly enriched in wildlife which consists of one-horned Rhino, tiger, elephant, leopard, deer, sambar and many others.

Topic 4: Moon lander separation successful UPSC Syllabus: Paper – 3 Science & Technology

Successful Separation of Lander from the Orbitar ● Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram detached itself from atop the main spacecraft as it got ready to descend to the moon's southern surface over the next four days. ● Soon after separation, the lander was in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km around moon. ● It will start sailing down towards its assigned lunar landing spots after two de-orbits on Tuesday and Wednesday. ● The lander-rover combo has an expected lifetime of 14 days, while the orbiter will continue for a year. ● The health of the orbiter and lander is being monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from the two large antennas of the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bengaluru.

● The lander carries small six-wheeled rover Pragyan within it; once they reach the lunar surface, the rover will get out of Vikram to physically probe moon.

● No country has soft-landed on the South Polar Region that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has chosen to explore. ● India’s maiden touchdown on the unexplored southern region of the moon depends on two key events:  the separation of the lander Vikram, which is riding atop the main craft; &  The lander’s smooth descent on the southern crater area at the final stage of mission.

What is special about Chandrayaan 2? ● Chandrayaan 2 will be the first mission to reach and study the south pole of the moon. ● It is made up of an orbiter, a lander named ‘Vikram’, after Vikram A. Sarabhai, the founding father of space science research in India, and a rover named ‘Pragyan’, which means ‘wisdom’. ● At about 3,877 kg, the spacecraft weighs nearly four times its predecessor, Chandrayaan 1. ● It will be launched by the GSLV Mark III, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) most powerful and massive launcher. ● While Chandrayaan 1 sent its lander crashing into the moon, Chandrayaan 2 will use rocket technology to soft land ‘Vikram’, carrying its ‘Pragyan’ rover in a suitable high plain on the lunar surface, between two craters, Manzinus-C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70º South. ● The total cost of the project is about ₹978 crore.

How will the mission study the moon? ● Using the Terrain Mapping Camera 2 which is on board the orbiter, the mission will produce images of the moon remotely from a 100 km lunar polar orbit. ● While the moon rotates about its axis, along its east-west direction, say, the lunar polar orbit will be in the perpendicular direction, along the lunar north-south direction. ● Thus, as the moon rotates, the orbiter gets a view of its entire surface from overhead. ● This data collected by the orbiter will be used to produce a 3D image of the moon’s terrain. ● This is just one of the eight instruments, or payloads, on board the orbiter. ● The lander carries three such payloads, some of which will measure the electron density and temperature near the lunar surface; the vertical temperature gradient, and seismicity around the landing site. ● The rover will carry two instruments or payloads which will collect and test samples from the moon’s surface to identify what elements they contain. ● The rover moves on six wheels and once let down on the moon, can travel about 500 m from the lander.

Why should we have this mission? Why should we study the moon? ● The moon offers a pristine environment to study. It is also closer than other celestial bodies. ● Understanding how it formed and evolved can help us better understand the solar system and even earth itself. ● With space travel taking shape and exoplanets being discovered everyday, learning more about earth’s celestial neighbour can help in advanced missions. ● Finally, it is a piece of the larger puzzle as to how the solar system and its planets have evolved.

Chandrayaan 1 ● Chandrayaan 1, India’s first moon mission was launched on October 22, 2008, from Sriharikota, using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). ● After this mission, India became the fourth country to plant its flag on the lunar surface. ● Three countries were the USA, China, and Russia. ● On the moon, the mission conclusively detected traces of water along with magnesium, aluminium and silicon.

Topic 5: Where do the RBI’s earning come from? UPSC Syllabus: Paper – 3 Indian Economy

How does the RBI earn money? ● The RBI earns money in a variety of ways.  Open market operations, wherein a central bank purchases or sells bonds in the open market in order to regulate money supply in the economy, are a major source of income for the RBI.  Apart from the interest received from these bonds, the RBI may also profit from favourable changes in bond prices.  Dealings in the foreign exchange market that the RBI engages in may also contribute to the bank’s profits. ● The RBI, for instance, may buy dollars cheaply and sell them dear in the future to pocket profits. ● It should be noted, however, that unlike commercial banks, the primary mandate of the RBI is not to earn profits but to preserve the value of the rupee. ● Profit and loss are thus merely a side effect of its regular operations to shape monetary policy.

Does the payout of ₹1.76 lakh crore to the government damage the credibility of the Reserve Bank of India as an independent central bank? ● In August 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) central board decided to transfer ₹1.76 lakh crore to the government (including a sum of ₹52,637 crore from its contingency reserve), a move that is likely to address the Central government’s precarious fiscal situation. ● The transfer amount included the payment of dividend worth ₹1.23 lakh crore, and funds from its reserves, as identified under a new economic capital framework (ECF) adopted by the RBI board.

● Each year, the RBI transfers to the government any money in its balance sheet that it deems to be beyond its operational and contingency needs. ● The RBI’s transfer of funds to the government per se is nothing new. ● But what has raised eyebrows this time is that the amount of funds being transferred by the central bank to the government this year is much higher than earlier — 146.8% more than what it had paid out last year, when it transferred ₹50,000 crore as dividend.

What is the controversy around the transfer? ● The massive payout has raised concerns that the government may be confiscating money from the RBI to meet its urgent spending needs, thus effectively turning the central bank into a banker for the government. ● Central banks such as the RBI, however, are supposed to be independent from all forms of government influence. ● In reality, governments across the world try to influence decision-making by their respective central banks in various ways.

● When appointing members to the central bank, such as to the post of Governor for instance, governments tend to pick bureaucrats who have been loyal to them over time. ● Many also view the move to get the RBI to let go of a portion of its accumulated reserve as part of a wider campaign by the government to strip the powers of various independent regulatory bodies. ● The government has amended the Finance Bill to ensure that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) transferred surplus funds in its custody over to the government. ● Some economists argue that the government has the right to make use of funds in the custody of public institutions such as the RBI to meet its fiscal needs. ● Critics, however, argue that stripping the financial assets of regulatory institutions such as the RBI and SEBI can compromise their independence.

Are the RBI’s powers being diluted? ● The primary issue with the transfer of surplus funds is the damage that it does to the credibility of the RBI as an independent central bank. ● The government had tried to convince the central bank to part with more than ₹3 lakh crore from its reserves last year. ● It appointed a committee headed by Mr. Jalan to overhaul the economic capital framework. ● The government argued that the quantum of reserves accumulated by the RBI over the years was well beyond the needs of the central bank. ● This, it is believed, caused friction between the government and the then Governor of the RBI, Urjit Patel, who resigned from his post last December. ● Some believe the government will still manage to get hold of the initial corpus of funds that it wanted from the RBI, but over the next few years. ● Some have raised concerns about the RBI’s ability to meet emergencies with its now depleted reserves. ● These concerns, however, may be unwarranted since, as the sole and sovereign issuer of the rupee, there is effectively no limit to the amount of rupees that the RBI can create to deal with an emergency.

Is Monetary policy also affecting? ● The real impact that the forced transfer of funds will have is on the RBI’s independence in setting monetary policy. ● The transfer of surplus reserves to the government is in effect a forced injection of extra liquidity into the economy. ● The increased demand to meet the government’s fiscal needs will thus compromise the RBI’s ability to fulfil its primary mandate — to preserve the value of the rupee by reining in inflation, by retaining full and final control over the supply of rupees in the wider economy.

What is the way ahead? ● The government is expected to achieve its 3% fiscal deficit target this year with the help of the funds it has received from the RBI. ● The fresh funds will also help the government to spend more on any fiscal stimulus plan that it may decide to implement in order to tackle the slowdown in the economy. ● The transfer of money from the vaults of the RBI to fund government spending will increase the amount of money supply in the economy, thus exerting an upward pressure on prices. ● The RBI’s transfer of surplus funds to the government could thus effectively turn into a monetary stimulus for the economy which has been slowing down for several consecutive quarters now. ● Former RBI Deputy Governor, Viral Acharya (whose resignation earlier this year was linked to his conflicts with the government), warned in a speech last year that governments that do not respect the independence of the central bank will eventually be punished by financial markets. ● His warning might turn out to be prescient in the coming years if the RBI is turned into a piggy bank to fund the government’s increasing spending needs. ● It can cause investors to lose confidence in the RBI’s ability to preserve the value of the rupee and force them to ditch the currency.

Topic 6: What the government needs to do to stimulate economy? UPSC Syllabus: Paper – 3 Indian Economy

What are the repo and reverse repo rates? ● The RBI uses the repo rate to influence the interest rate structure in the economy and to manage inflation. ● Technically, the repo rate is the rate at which commercial banks would borrow from the RBI. ● And the reverse repo is the rate of interest they would earn when they deposit funds with the central bank.

Policy Rate cut in the year of 2019 ● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered the repo rate to 5.75% in the Monetary Policy Review in June 2019. ● This was a level last seen nine years ago. ● Despite three rate cuts aggregating to 75 basis points in this cycle beginning February 2019, economic growth has failed to pick up and, in fact, has been slowing down even more. ● By the RBI’s own assessment, only 21 basis points have been passed on to borrowers by banks in this cycle.

Why aren’t Indian commercial banks passing on the RBI’s rate cuts to consumers quicker? ● Deposits from the public form a chunk of funds that commercial banks use to lend to borrowers. ● Deposit rates have remained high; if deposit rates remain high, then the cost of funds for a bank remains high no matter where the RBI pegs its repo rate. ● Deposit rates have remained high for two reasons.

1. One, competing interest rates in the government’s small savings schemes have remained high — even after a cut in late June, the Public Provident Fund and the National Savings Certificate yield 7.9%. Compare this with the 6.8% or so that one would get at SBI, the nation’s largest bank. 2. The other reason that deposit rates have remained high is the liquidity crunch triggered by the sudden inability of the non-banking finance company IL&FS to pay back loans since last September. The RBI intervened to infuse liquidity soon after but these interventions were not enough.

What is the stand worldwide as far as governments are concerned on cutting rates? ● The traditional argument is that the lower the interest rate, the better for businesses as it brings down the cost of capital, making investments more attractive. ● Any government would love this as the country would then draw higher investments leading to higher growth and more job creation. ● Governments abhor higher interest rates as, theoretically, these push up project costs and keep investors away. ● A central bank also keeps an eye on the fiscal deficit maintained by the government. ● A high fiscal deficit usually makes it difficult for the central bank to rein in inflation, hence causing it to be hawkish and raising interest rates. ● The late economist and former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn’s was a voice that was constantly egging the government of the day to keep the deficit under control.

Will lower rates spur economic growth? ● Capital is one of the three main factors of production, which are critical to the growth of a commercial entity, the other two being land and labour. ● But capital is only a necessary, not sufficient, condition. ● Land, unless allocated by the local government, is too costly for investors seeking to set up shop. ● On labour, even if adequate hands are available for a job, the skill quotient is still low. ● Training graduates to be job-ready is a form of tax that companies pay. Also to be taken into account is the market environment and demand.

● If end users are seeing lesser money in hand than earlier, demand will certainly be impacted. ● Therefore, in an environment where the other factors of production are not favourable for an investor, low interest rates by themselves may not prove attractive enough. ● Any revival of economic activity will be contingent on joint efforts by the government on the fiscal front to stimulate demand, and the RBI, to keep interest rates low.

Topic 7: Malé Declaration overlooks Pakistan claim on Kashmir issue UPSC Syllabus: Paper – 2 International Relations

Fourth South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the SDGs ● The 4th South Asian Speakers' Summit on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the People's Majlis took place in Male’ (Maldives), on 1 and 2 September 2019. ● The summit organized jointly by the Parliament of Maldives and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ended with the adoption of the Male' Declaration. ● This summit is held annually since the first iteration was held in Bangladesh in 2016 with the speakers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ● This is the fourth event in a series of Speakers' Summits for the region on SDGs, the previous three having been hosted by  the Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh (in 2016),  the Sansad of India (in 2017) and  The Parliament of Sri Lanka (2018). ● This high-level Summit was build on the conclusions of the previous summits and allowed Speakers of Parliament to continue to develop dialogue and parliamentary cooperation on achieving the SDGs. ● Given their legislative, oversight, representative and budgetary functions, parliaments played a key role in ensuring a sustainable future for current and future generations. ● The Summit was intended for Speakers of the Parliaments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Male Declaration ● As per the declaration, three issues of particular importance were debated on during the summit such as a) The first of which was promoting equality at work including equal remuneration and creating jobs for young people. b) The second issue discussed regarded nutrition and food security as drivers of maternal, child and adolescent health in the South Asian region. c) Catalyzing the global agenda on climate change – overcoming challenges and using opportunities to strengthen the regional agenda for delivering on the Paris Agreement was the third issue addressed.

Kashmir Issue raised by Pakistan at the Summit ● The South Asian Speaker's Summit was meant to achieve Sustainable Development Goals but Pakistan raised the issue of J&K despite not being part of the agenda. ● The South Asian Speakers' Summit that adopted the Male Declaration "overlooked all assertions made by Pakistani Parliamentary Delegation". ● The Indian delegation was represented by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh. ● Male Declaration stuck the official agenda, which included "commitments to work collectively on Promoting Equality at Work including Equal Remuneration and Creating Jobs for Young People; Nutrition and Food Security as drivers of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health in the Asia Pacific Region". ● India and Pakistan had a heated exchange during the South Asian Speakers’ Summit in the Maldives after Pakistani tried to raise the issue of abrogation of Article 370 provisions on Jammu and Kashmir. ● Pakistan has been trying to raise the issue at various international fora, but India has maintained that it is an internal matter. ● The declaration was adopted a day after India thwarted an attempt by Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue during the Summit here. ● All efforts of the Pakistan delegation to get even a passing reference to Kashmir issue finding a mention in the declaration drew a nought. ● The summit unanimously felt that Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter of India. ● Besides Kashmir, Pakistan sides references to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) also could not find a place in Male Declaration ● India's position on food safety, nutrition and jobs was prominently reflected in the Male Declaration.