IASBUZZ JANUARY 2018 EDITION
BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Preface Even after all this time the Sun never tells the earth, “You owe me”. Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky. ~Hafiz
We humans are rational beings. We need logics to understand the phenomena happening around us. This inquisitive nature of humans has led to various discoveries, inventions and other scientific advances. Despite all this, there are still some questions which remain unanswered and have remained so since the beginning of the time. The questions like- How and why time came into being? How and why the universe came into being? What is the purpose of human life on this earth? And the biggest puzzle that boggles our minds is on death and after-death phenomena. Ajit Singh, DIG (Retd)
Similarly, we need answers to the social phenomena happening around us. The most disturbing question is that despite possessing a rational mind, why many amongst us wish to be the slaves of illegitimate fantasies? The purpose might be to satisfy the queries that I have mentioned above. I am talking about the blind faith that millions of Indians have invested in various religious institutions, sects, deras et al. I call faith an “investment”, because faith is something which is expected to yield manifolds. As a rational being, I would like to invest my time, my intellect, my energy and my trust somewhere I can get a return from. That return may be in the form of answers to the above mentioned questions or simply a feeling of peace and solace and ultimately make me more humane. But does and should faith lead to a path of inhumanity, wealth amassment, violence, hate and lies? This question is more important than any other question mentioned in this article.
There is a fine line difference between “faith” and “blind faith”. Faith leads you to truth, light and love. Blind faith leads to darkness, violence, irrationality, hopelessness, shattered expectations, broken trust and ultimately lower self-confidence. Faith helps you reach insurmountable heights.
Indian society has laid emphasis on religion since ages. We have tied to discover things with closed eyes and folded hands. And through our scriptures, we find that our Vedic ancestors already knew the things that were discovered during renaissance in the western world. We should take pride in our ancestral knowledge. But I think presently, we are falling in to the dark valleys of hopelessness and despair. There are stark differences of intellects and lifestyles in our society. And then there are penumbral regions, wherein even the educated masses are following the illegitimate religious institutions. Where are these phenomena leading our society to?
Swami Vivekananda once said, “Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God---this is the secret of greatness. If you have faith in the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological gods, and in all the Gods which foreigners have now and again introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need. “
And, I believe that the answers to the questions should be sought within and not without. Have faith in yourself, in your faculties, in your capabilities and the God inside you.
Team BrainyIAS has tried its best to present you the best monthly current affairs in the best format. Have faith and learn from the best team. I wish you all the success!!
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Contents Preface ...... 2 GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY ...... 6 WETLAND RULES, 2017 ...... 6 Sendai Framework and NDMA ...... 8 Recurving Of Cyclones ...... 9 New Amendments To Indian Forest Act ...... 10 IUCN Updates Red List ...... 12 IUCN updates red list- Indian species ...... 13 Coral Gardening ...... 13 Case Study- Hemis National Park, Ladakh ...... 14 2017 May Be One Of The Top 3 Hottest Years ...... 15 POLITY AND GOVERNANCE ...... 16 Triple Talaq Bill ...... 16 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 ...... 16 State of Private Healthcare ...... 17 Special Status To Sikkim ...... 18 Round-up of Bills to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament ...... 20 Pros and Cons of “One Nation, One Election” ...... 22 National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 ...... 24 Law Commission Report On Convention Against Torture ...... 25 Intimate Partner Violence...... 25 Defamation In India – IPC Section 499/500 Vs Freedom Of Speech...... 26 Creation Of New States In India...... 29 SCHEMES AND POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT ...... 32 Section 3(D) Of Indian Patent Act ...... 32 Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PMMSK) ...... 32 North East: NLCPR and NESIDS schemes ...... 33 New Policy Initiatives By Railways ...... 34 National Electric Mobility Plan Mission 2020 ...... 35 India State Level Disease Burden Report, 2017 ...... 36 ECONOMY ...... 38 Understanding MDR- Merchant Discount Rate ...... 38 Understanding Bail-In provisions of FRDI Bill ...... 38
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) National Anti Profiteering Authority ...... 39 Inflation Targeting ...... 41 India’s Mid-Term FTP review ...... 42 GST and the road ahead ...... 43 Fertilisers Consumption In India ...... 45 Changes and suggestions to ‘Skill India’ initiative ...... 46 Cabinet Approves New Consumer Protection Bill ...... 48 Advanced Pricing Agreement ...... 49 15th Finance Commission ...... 50 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ...... 52 Spinal Biodiscs ...... 52 New island may offer insights into Mars ...... 52 Net Neutrality And FCC ...... 53 Methanol Economy ...... 53 Machine Learning And New Planets ...... 54 Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART): FSSAI guidelines ...... 55 SECURITY...... 57 Data Protection Laws ...... 57 INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND GLOBAL ISSUES ...... 60 Wassenaar Arrangement and India ...... 60 US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city ...... 61 US National Security Strategy and India ...... 63 UN Security Council Reform ...... 64 The US must follow the UN verdict on Jerusalem ...... 66 The Task for Nepal begins ...... 67 The Eurasian Balance ...... 69 The Buenos Aires Meet Of World Trade Organization (WTO) ...... 70 The 3 nation Indo-Pacific Compact ...... 72 Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) and India’s Membership ...... 72 Market Economy Status To CHINA ...... 75 India-China-Russia: 15th Trilateral Meet ...... 76 Global Inequality Report ...... 77 Global Hunger Index ...... 78 China-Maldives FTA agreement ...... 79
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) China’s Economic Diplomacy ...... 80 Can China rob us of Brahmaputra? ...... 83 Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC ...... 85 ETHICS ...... 88 HISTORY ART AND CULTURE ...... 89 UNESCO’s List Of Honour ...... 89 UNESCO names Kumbh Mela Intangible Cultural Heritage ...... 89 Scientists Of Ancient India ...... 93 Is Jallikattu a cultural right? ...... 94 Hornbill Festival Of Nagaland ...... 95 Different Forms Of Traditional Theatre ...... 95
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GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY WETLAND RULES, 2017
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Environment, Wetlands, Ramsar Convention, Wetland Rules, 2017
Recently: This year, a new legal framework for wetlands was passed, the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, replacing the earlier Rules of 2010. Also this year, the Supreme Court passed an order directing States to identify wetlands in the country within a stipulated timeframe. The 2017 Wetland Rules limit monitoring and omit important wetland types
What do the latest Rules say? The new rules decentralise wetlands management by giving states powers to not only identify and notify wetlands within their jurisdictions but also keep a watch on prohibited activities. It also indirectly widens the ambit of permitted activities by inserting the 'wise use' principle, giving powers to state-level wetland authorities to decide what can be allowed in larger interest. The Centre's role under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, will be restricted to monitoring its implementation by states/UTs, recommending trans-boundary wetlands for notification and reviewing integrated management of selected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention — an international arrangement to preserve identified wetlands.
What is the concern? Earlier this year, a judgment by the Uttarakhand High Court, stating that Ganga and Yamuna rivers are “living entities”, captured the national imagination. It is worth noting that wetlands, the other major water-based ecosystem apart from rivers, are at a moment of policy transition in the country. The new rules, notified by the environment ministry, decentralise wetlands management by giving states powers to not only identify and notify wetlands within their jurisdictions but also keep a watch on prohibited activities. Seeking to protect over 2 lakh wetlands across the country, the Centre has come out with rules to identify and manage these ecologically fragile areas which play an important role.
What is the role played by the Wetlands? Wetlands are helpful in flood control, groundwater recharge, preserving plant varieties, supporting migratory birds and protecting coastlines.
Downside of the new Rules: The 2017 Wetland Rules have been criticised for doing away with strong wetland monitoring systems and omitting important wetland types. The 2010 and 2017 Rules for wetlands both emphasise that the ecological character of wetlands ought to be maintained for their conservation.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) ‘Ecological character’ refers to processes and components which make the wetland a particular, and sometimes unique, ecosystem. For example, as lagoons like Chilika (Odisha) and Pulicat (Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh) are characterised by a mix of saline and fresh water, the flows of each type need to be maintained; river flood plains contain wetlands that require conservation so they can re- fuel the river with fish and other aquatic life during flooding. In the 2010 Rules, some related criteria were made explicit, such as natural beauty, ecological sensitivity, genetic diversity, historical value, etc. These have been omitted in the 2017 Rules. There are a few reasons why this is problematic. First, there is multiple interest around wetlands. Multiple interests also have governance needs, and this makes it absolutely necessary to identify and map these multiple uses. Leading on from this, and second, it is crucial to identify ecological criteria so that the wetlands’ character can be maintained. The key to wetland conservation is not just understanding regimes of multiple use — but conserving or managing the integrity of the wetland ecosystem. Finally, restriction of activities on wetlands will be done as per the principle of ‘wise use’, determined by the State wetland authority. Whether wise use will include maintaining ecological character remains to be seen. No authority to issue directions, which are binding in nature to desist from any activity detrimental to wetland conservation, has been prescribed to State wetland authorities.
Case Studies: Salt Pans: o Salt pans are an example how one use (of making salt) has trumped the other (of environmental balance). o Salt pans as ‘wetlands’ have been omitted from the new Rules. o They were identified as wetlands in the 2010 Rules, as they are often important sites of migratory birds and other forms of biodiversity. o The omission in the 2017 Rules suggests that while saltpans do exist as wetlands, they do not require any conservation or ecological balance. o The inference can also be that it would be acceptable to tip the environmental balance or integrity of such a wetland, which could lead to damage and pollution. Deepor Beel (Guwahati, Assam): o The NGT (National Green Tribunal) made certain observations in this wetland this year. o These observations pertain to multiple uses of wetlands and their abuse due to conflict of interests. o Deepor Beel is a Ramsar site and a part of it is also wildlife sanctuary in Guwahati, Assam. o The site harbours a wide variety of biodiversity. But it suffers from intense man-made pressure due to dumping of city’s municipal waste. o The meat eating storks (a bird) ironically eats the municipal waste, due which many of them have died. o The fact that Deepor Beel exists as a wetland does not prevent garbage dumping; this is a fate faced by many wetlands. o During an inspection by the NGT team, it was noted that waste was being dumped “not beyond the site but within it,” and “demarcations are made by drying out areas or cutting off water sources”. o These are classic ways of killing a wetland and turning it from a wet to a dry ecosystem. The Tribunal has now asked for the “traditional” spread of the wetland. Conclusion: For the conservation of the wetlands, it is necessary to frame clear-cut Rules. The centre’s role should be enhanced as the wetlands are of National importance. www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The areas of Wetlands must be clearly defined and their ecological characters must be maintained with continuous efforts. There should be only one aim of ‘wetlands’ i.e. ecological conservation. Multiple uses must not be allowed.
Sendai Framework and NDMA
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Disaster Management, Sendai Framework, UNISDR-GETI
Recently: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, inaugurated the first national-level Training of Trainers programme to sensitise various Central Ministries and Departments on utilisation of Sendai Monitor for developing action plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The three-day programme is being organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI) from December 18-20, 2017.
About Sendai Framework: The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority actions towards reducing disaster risks and implementing development that is both resilient and sustainable. India, being a signatory to the SFDRR, is committed to work towards achieving the targets enshrined in the Framework. In June 2016, India became one of the first countries to align its National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) with the SFDRR, which clearly identifies regional, national and local targets along with short, medium and long-term timelines. This training programme will build the capacity of the participants to utilise defined indicators to monitor the progress of the Sendai targets.
Targets and Priorities under the Sendai Framework: The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 outlines seven clear targets and four priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks: Understanding disaster risk; o Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; o Investing in disaster reduction for resilience and; o Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. To support the assessment of global progress in achieving the outcome and goal of the Sendai Framework, seven global targets have been agreed: o Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030, aiming to lower average per 100,000 global mortality between 2020-2030 compared to 2005-2015; o Substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030, aiming to lower the average global figure per 100,000 between 2020-2030 compared to 2005-2015; o Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product by 2030;
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030; o Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020; o Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of the framework by 2030; o Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030. o It aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years. o The Framework was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.
Recurving Of Cyclones
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III, Optional- Geography Geography, Environment, Recurving of cyclones, Disaster Management
Recently: Cyclone Ockhi hit the Indian coastline, starting from Bay of Bengal, destroying coasts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa and finally dissipating in the Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts. Okchi was a curious case of cyclone recurve.
Understanding a normal cyclone in the India Ocean (Northern Hemisphere): The cyclones that typically strike the Indian neighbourhood in the northern hemisphere rotate anticlockwise. They derive strength from the moisture in waters such as the Bay of Bengal, move west, incline in a northerly direction and peter out into the sea or land, depending on their origin. A regular cyclone, like Mora, which formed over the Bay of Bengal on May 26 behaves like this. It kept north, almost parallel to the Myanmar coast and then made landfall in Bangladesh and blew over Nagaland.
Recurving is like a googly in cricket: In a re-curving cyclone, the cyclone gets a sort of second wind when it is on the wane. Like the googly in cricket, it’s deflected right or eastwards. This is due to air currents in the local atmosphere that push cold air from the poles towards the equator and interfere with cyclone formation. That’s what make them ‘re-curving.’ In the southern hemisphere, the cyclones spin clockwise and therefore also re-curve in the opposite direction.
Understanding the course of Ockhi: During the monsoon months, cyclones in the Western Pacific move westwards towards India and aid the associated rain-bearing systems over the country.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) However, in the years of a re-curve, they do not give as much of a push to the rain as they do in the good monsoon years and that is why monsoon rain this August was a dampener. Rain that month was 13% short of what is usual and meteorologists say it was almost certainly because of an active hurricane season in the Pacific that consisted of a few re-curving cyclones. However, these are back in the news due to Cyclone Ockhi. The whirlwind that arose in the Bay of Bengal and revved up over Sri Lanka was expected to pass over Lakshadweep and then ease into the Arabian Sea, far away from India’s west coast. However, the cyclone ended up sharply swerving into parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. It did not blow in very strongly because there it had not gained as much moisture from the Arabian Sea like it had over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean boundary. And though it wreaked havoc in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, even a weakened Ockhi destroyed several beaches in Goa when it curved back to the land.
Is it more dangerous than a normal cyclone? No, it is not. However, it is a challenge for the weather forecasts to predict their behaviour in advance. In general, cyclone activity in India peaks around November, by which time, the summer monsoon has already passed. Rarely do re-curving cyclones pose a mortal threat to Indian coasts and Cyclone Ockhi raised hackles because it had already left a certain amount of damage and threatened Gujarat and Maharashtra. It was also among the rare curving cyclones with a presence over the Arabian Sea. But, as climate change is projected to increase the frequency of extreme events, scientists have warned that tropical cyclones are likely to get more intense, and this could mean more scrutiny of re- curving ones. A challenge with re-curving cyclones is that it is hard for weather models to make a forecast for them — as was the case with Ockhi — and so they pose unique challenges in terms of hazard preparedness and disaster management.
New Amendments To Indian Forest Act
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 New amendments and major objectives behind it UNIDOS assesment
Recently New amendments have been made to existing Indian forest act.
New Amendment Introduced To Indian Forest Act The Union Government, in a landmark initiative, has promulgated the Indian Forest (Amendment), 2017 to exempt bamboo grown in non-forest areas from definition of tree, thereby dispensing with the requirement of felling/transit permit for its economic use. Bamboo, though, taxonomically a grass, was legally defined as a tree under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Before this amendment, the felling and transit of bamboo grown on forest as well non-forest land attracted the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (IFA, 1927). This was a major impediment for bamboo cultivation by farmers on non-forest land.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Major Objective For Removing Bamboo From The List Of Trees Major objective of the amendment is to promote cultivation of bamboo in non-forest areas to achieve twin objectives of increasing the income of farmers and also increasing the green cover of the country. However bamboo grown in the forest areas shall continue to be governed by the provisions of Indian Forest Act, 1927. The Minister underlined that the amendment and the resultant change in classification of bamboo grown in non-forest areas will usher in much needed and far-reaching reforms in the bamboo sector. The legal and regulatory hardships being faced by farmers and private individuals will be removed and on the other hand, it will create a viable option for cultivation in 12.6 million hectares of cultivable waste land. The measure will go a long way in enhancing the agricultural income of farmers and tribals, especially in North-East and Central India. The amendment will encourage farmers and other individuals to take up plantation/ block plantation of suitable bamboo species on degraded land, in addition to plantation on agricultural land and other private lands under agroforestry mission. The move is in line with the objective of doubling the income of farmers, besides conservation and sustainable development. Some of the other benefits of amendment include enhancing supply of raw material to the traditional craftsmen of rural India, bamboo based/ paper & pulp industries, cottage industries, furniture making units, fabric making units, incense stick making units. Besides promoting major bamboo applications such as wood substitutes and composites like panels, flooring, furniture and bamboo blind, it will also help industries such as those dealing with food products (bamboo shoots), constructions and housing, bamboo charcoal etc. The amendment will greatly aid the success of recently constituted National Bamboo Mission.
Why bamboo production is important for India?
Bamboo grows abundantly in areas outside forests with an estimated growing stock of 10.20 million tonnes. About 20 million people are involved in bamboo related activities. One tonne of bamboo provides 350 man days of employment. An enabling environment for the cultivation of bamboo will help in creation of job opportunities in the country. The amendment will unleash the potential of bamboo in terms of rural and national economy apart from ecological benefits such as soil-moisture conservation, landslide prevention and rehabilitation, conserving wildlife habitat, enhancing source of bio-mass, besides serving as a substitute for timber. The current demand of bamboo in India is estimated at 28 million tonnes. Though India has 19% share of world’s area under bamboo cultivation, its market share in the sector is only 6%. At present, India imports timber and allied products, such as pulp, paper, furniture etc. In 2015, India imported about 18.01 million cubic meters of timber and allied products worth Rs 43000 crores. The amendment will help in addressing some of these issues, besides meeting the demand from domestic production.
What UNIDO'S assessment w.r.t bamboo?
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) As per the assessment of United Nation’s Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the bamboo business in the North-East Region alone has a potential of about Rs. 5000 crores in the next ten years. “The amendment will therefore, help in harnessing this great potential and enhance the scope to increase the present level of market share and improve the economy of the entire country, particularly the North Eastern region”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said.
IUCN Updates Red List
Relevancy: GS Prelims Environment, IUCN Red list
Recently: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Monday released an updated red list classifying the different species.
What are the red list categories and what is it for? According to their website,the IUCN Red List Categories are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. The categories are: a) EXTINCT — the last individual in the species has died. b) EXTINCT IN THE WILD — it now lives only in captivity and not in its natural habitat. c) CRITICALLY ENDANGERED — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. d) ENDANGERED — facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. e) VULNERABLE — facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. f) NEAR THREATENED — likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future. g) LEAST CONCERN — it is widespread and abuntant in the wild. h) DATA DEFICIENT — inadequate information. i) NOT EVALUATED — not yet been evaluated against the criteria.
Details of the list: Species of wild rice, wheat and yam are threatened by overly intensive agricultural production and urban expansion. Poor fishing practices have caused steep declines in the Irrawaddy Dolphin and Finless Porpoise. A drying climate is pushing the Ringtail Possum to the brink of extinction. Three reptile species found only on an Australian island – the Christmas Island Whiptail-skink, the Blue- tailed Skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) and the Lister’s Gecko – have gone extinct.
Important names from exam point of view: The Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) has been moved from Vulnerable to Endangered category. Its number has become almost half over the past 45 years. Accidental entanglement in fishing nets is the main cause of its decline. Blue-tailed Skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) of Christmas Island, Australia has gone extinct in the wild. Diseases and changes in inland ecology are the main causes. Kikuzato’s Stream Snake (Opisthotropis kikuzatoi), endemic to Kumejima Island and the rarest of all snakes in Japan is now listed critically endangered. This species declined dramatically over the past 15 years due to predation by invasive species.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Christmas Island Forest-skink (Emoia nativitatis) is now extinct in the wild. The reason for their decline remains unclear, though predation by the invasive Wolf Snake introduced to the island in the mid-1980s may be to blame. Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) has moved from vulnerable to endangered category. In the Mekong River, the ma ority of Irrawaddy Dolphin deaths in recent years have been caused by entanglement in gillnets ‘curtains’ of shing net that hang in the water. Okarito Kiwi (Apteryx rowi) and the Northern Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) of New Zealand has move down from endangered to vulnerable. Both species of Kiwi have been facing threats including habitat loss and predation by introduced mammals. Government and community conservation efforts on predator control, and removing and incubating eggs for release into the wild has helped save the two species. Western Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis), has moved from vulnerable to critically endangered due to a fall in species numbers by over 80% in the past ten years. Australia’s increasingly dry and hot climate has led to their dramatic decline. Lister’s Gecko (Lepidodactylus listeri) native to Australia has gone extinct in the wild. Predation and lack of immunity to novel diseases are the main cause of their decline.
IUCN updates red list- Indian species
Relevancy: GS Prelims Environment, IUCN Red list. This list is very important from Prelims point of view.
Recently: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Monday released an updated red list classifying the different species.
Indian Species: I. Birds: a. Critically endangered: The great Indian bustard, Siberian crane, sociable lapwing, Baer's Pochard b. Endangered: Saker Falcon, Black-bellied Tern c. Vulnerable: Long-tailed Duck d. Near threatened: River Lapwing, River Tern (a wetland-dependent species found in Kerala among other places), Sinhoe's Storm-petrel II. Fishes of Kerala a. Critically Endangered fishes: Pookode Lake Barb and Nilgiri Mystus b. Endangered: Periyar Latia, Nilgiri Danio, Cardamom Garra, Periyar Garra, Anamalai Sucker Catfish, The Imperial White Collared Yellow Catfish, Santhampara Loach, Nilgiri Barb, Hump Backed Mahseer, Periyar Barb and Peninsular Hill Trout.
Coral Gardening
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III, Optional- Geography Environment, Coral Reefs, Coral bleaching, Coral Gardening Recently:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) In a trial at the Great Barrier Reef’s Heron Island off Australia’s east coast, the researchers collected large amount of coral spawn and eggs late last year, grew them into larvae and then transplanted them into areas of damaged reef. After 8 months, the juvenile coral reefs started growing and thus the experiment was a success.
About Coral Gardening:
Coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate and coral restoration programs are now considered an essential component to coral conservation and management plan. Coral gardening is the process of restoring coral populations by planting laboratory raised coral fragments on the ‘Coral reefs’. Coral reefs provide many goods and services including fisheries habitat, food for humans and other ocean species, and protection against natural hazards such as hurricanes. As a result, coral restoration is viewed as an effective and cost-efficient strategy to buffer coastlines from the effects of storm surge and sea-level rise.
Case Study- Hemis National Park, Ladakh
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Environment, Case studies can be mentioned in relevant answers and essays.
Background: Every year, about 21 to 45 snow leopards are killed in India, according to a 2016 report by Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network. While some are killed following livestock loss, others are poached for their skin, bone and claws. It is estimated that a little over 500 of a global population of 6,500 snow leopards live in India.
Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust (SLC-IT): Pioneered in 2002 by the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust (SLC-IT) based in Ladakh in partnership with the Hemis National Park, the homestay project — designed to give villagers an income to offset losses caused by the predator — has begun to see results. Homestay owners today earn anything between ₹2 lakh and ₹3 lakh annually. In short, the ‘ghost cat’ has become a vital source of business — and it is more valuable alive than dead. As for tourists, they now regularly report seeing the animal in Hemis from just 50-200 metres away. The project gives tourist a first-hand experience of Ladakhi culture and cuisine. Registered with the tourism department, these licensed homestays charge ₹1000 a day for accommodation, breakfast, packed lunch, dinner, filtered water and tea. All homestays have ecofriendly dry compost toilets to conserve the scarce supply of water in the region. Each owner contributes 10% of their income to a village fund handled by women’s groups. As snow leopard numbers have increased, so have the tourists. And this has fuelled a demand for nature guides. So as an extension to the homestays, local people are now being trained and certified as nature guides by SLC-IT and the Wildlife Department.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) 2017 May Be One Of The Top 3 Hottest Years
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Environment, Sci-tech, Global warming trends
Recently:
AS per the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the year 2017 will likely be among the three warmest years on global record.
Key readings:
The first 11 months of 2017 were the third warmest on record, behind 2016 and 2015, with much- warmer-than-average conditions engulfing much of the world’s land and ocean surfaces. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice coverage remain at near record lows. 2017 may also be the warmest year without an El Nino — a climate phenomenon that causes global temperatures to shoot up. Data from NASA and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) shows that the past meteorological year (December 2016 to November 2017) is the second warmest on record.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) POLITY AND GOVERNANCE Triple Talaq Bill
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2 Triple talaq bill and its opposition
Recently In a historic but politically contentious move, the Modi government used its big majority in the Lok Sabha to pass a bill criminalising triple talaq among Muslims even as sections of the opposition demanded changes in the proposed law and a small minority rejected the legislation.
Why there is opposition against the bill? Opposition's contention is that marriage is a civil matter and it should be dealt under civil laws rather than bringing it under criminal law. However there are laws like Dowry Prohibition act,child marriage laws and laws related to adultery.All these laws are related to marriage and in some way or other they invites criminal action.
How will decide about the maintenance to the muslim wife? As far as maintenance is concerned, it will be at the discretion of the magistrate. An accused will not get bail from the police station but can seek bail in a magistrate's court. Bill has a provision of three year imprisionment.
What are the claims of the opposition parties? Congress and other parties expressed reservations about the "criminal" clause in the legislation which they dubbed as too abrupt for a customary practice which was legal till recently. Other parties too voiced similar opposition.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II Governance, RTE (Amendment) Bill
Recently: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced in the Parliament
Highlights of the Bill: The Right to Education Act, 2009 prohibits detention of children till they complete elementary education i.e., class 8. The Bill amends this provision to state that a regular examination will be held in class 5 and class 8 at the end of every academic year. If a child fails the exam, he will be given additional instruction, and take a re-examination.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) If he fails in the re-examination, the relevant central or state government may decide to allow schools to detain the child.
What are the concerns: There are differing views on whether children should be detained for failing examinations in elementary school. Some argue that automatic promotion reduces incentive for children to learn and for teachers to teach. Others argue that detaining a child leads to drop outs and does not focus on the systemic factors that affect learning such as quality of teachers, schools, and assessment. Provisions of the Bill regarding assessment and detention are at variance with what most states have demanded. In this context, the question is whether these decisions should be taken by Parliament or left to state legislatures. It is unclear as to who will conduct the examination (which may lead to detention): centre, state, or the school.
State of Private Healthcare
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II Polity and governance, Private healthcare regulations.
Recently: A reknowned private hospital in New Delhi handed over a dead infant who was thereafter discovered to be still alive.
Regulatory framework in the states: The union health ministry has written to all States asking them to adopt its 2010 framework, which many have not till now. West Bengal has instituted a regulatory commission. Karnataka has amended and strengthened its 2007 regulation. However, the doctors are expressing their agony against the Rules. In Karnataka, the doctors organised public protests and changes were made in the final legislation removing the provision for imprisonment as a punishment. There is something wrong when costly private healthcare becomes the flavour of the season for investment in a poor country where public health service is totally inadequate.
Where the money is going? The corporate hospitals claim that they are just being able to earn 10% of the capital investment made in the hospitals. If this is the case, then where the money is going? The income tax department has indicated that there is a widespread nexus that exists between the doctor on the one side and clinical laboratories and chemists on the other. E.g. the doctors get a referral fee of 35 per cent for MRI tests and 20 per cent for CT scans and other diagnostic tests. Thus the need of the hour is the “regulation of private healthcare”. Because private sector healthcare has greater role to play in a country where Public sector healthcare facilities are limited.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) E.g. a few months ago, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) imposed price ceilings on stents and knee replacements which brought down their costs to patients by over half.
Impediments to healthcare regulation: The regulation framing procedure in India is very slow. In India, there is a tendency of formation of rent-seeking regulation.
What should be done? An independent and high-powered regulatory body: The regulatory body has to be high-powered, politically independent and represent all sections of stakeholders, particularly patients and NGOs active in the field. Transparency: The regulator should insist on transparency — hospitals clearly publicising their rates for standard treatments and procedures. The rates of various services should be mandatorily placed in the hospitals: Also, if the government is controlling the prices of essential medicines through the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, then there should also be control over the exorbitantly priced diagnostic services. Health Insurance Schemes: The government should come up with better Health Insurance services. It should also push the private sector to come up with non-fussy health Insurance packages. Checking commissions of the doctors: Doctors are the anchors of the healthcare system and most societies hold doctors in high esteem. Conversely, unethical practices cannot be widespread without the active participation of doctors. The foremost job of regulators is to ensure that doctors are not paid commissions for referring patients to diagnostic centres or bringing them to hospitals. Redefining the Code of Ethics of Medical Council of India: The code of ethics of the Medical Council of India for professionals disallows this but it seems a dead letter.
Special Status To Sikkim
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2 Sikkim history Special status to Sikkim Current 10th schedule in the Indian constitution
Introduction The term ‘Sikkim’ literally means new palace in the Limbu language. Historically, Sikkim was a small Buddhist kingdom with close religious and cultural ties to the Tibet. Since 17th century, it was ruled by its hereditary monarch called Chogyal. From 1886 onwards, it remained a British Protectorate subject to British Paramountcy, thus its position was like other princely states of India.
Background In 1947, when India became independent, a popular vote in Sikkim rejected joining Indian Union. However, those were the days to rise of communists in China. When China’s People’s Liberation Army marched into Tibet in 1950, India vociferously protested against this invasion but was unable to do anything substantial. As China neared its victory in Tibet, Nehru rushed through a series of defense treaties with Bhutan (August, 1949), Nepal (July, 1950) and Sikkim (December, 1950). These countries constituted Nehru’s definition of a redrawn security zone. Throughout 1950s, Nehru tried to demonstrate his serious
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) commitment towards this Himalayan doctrine. In February 1951, Nehru established the North and North-Eastern Defence Committee and visited the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), Sikkim and Bhutan. In summary, Nehru offered support to Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim in case of Chinese invasion. The treaty signed between India and Sikkim made the kingdom to hand over all of Sikkim’s external relations to India, allowed the stationing of Indian troops and prohibited the kingdom from “dealings with any foreign power”. Thus, this treaty gave Sikkim status of a protectorate with Chogyal as the Monarch. Chogyal Tashi Namgyal died in 1963 and was succeeded by his son Palden Thondup Namgyal. However, there was a growing dichotomy among the people and Namgyals. Namgyals wanted full sovereignty but majority of the people of the state including some local political fronts wanted removal of monarchy and a democratic set up along with accession to Union of India. This finally culminated in wide spread agitation against Sikkim Durbar in 1973. These agitations led to a complete collapse of administration. On 8 May 1973, a historic agreement was signed between the Chogyal, the Government of India and the political leaders of Sikkim, which acknowledged the important role of the people in the affairs of Sikkim. In 1974, the Sikkim Assembly passed a Government of Sikkim Act, 1974, which paved the way for setting up the first ever responsible government in Sikkim and sought Sikkim’s representation in the political institutions of India. India also passed the 35th Amendment Act 1974 which inserted a new article 2A {Sikkim to be associated with Union} and a 10th schedule. But making Sikkim an associate state of the Union would have set wrong precedence in longer term. Additional anomaly was exclusion of Sikkim MPs from voting in election of President and Vice- President. In 1975, the Kazi Lhendup Dorjee (Prime Minister in Sikkim) appealed to the Indian Parliament for a change in Sikkim’s status so that it could become a state of India. In April that year, the Indian Army took over the city of Gangtok and disarmed the Palace Guards. Then came a referendum in 1975 which approved {by around 97% votes} abolition of monarchy and complete merger of Sikkim with India. This referendum has been a subject of debates, criticism and conspiracy theories in western, Chinese and communist media, which called it an illegal annexation. The referendum was followed by yet another amendment of Indian Constitution as Thirty-sixth Amendment Act, 1975. The Article 2-A and Xth schedule were repealed and name of Sikkim was added as a state under first Schedule of the Constitution. With this, Sikkim emerged as India’s 22nd state on 26th April, 1975. The Sikkim State day is observed on 16th May of every year because this was the day when the first Chief Minister of Sikkim assumed office.
Current 10th Schedule in Indian Constitution Since 10th Schedule was omitted in 36th amendment, it was later reinserted by 52nd Amendment Bill, 1985 as Anti Defection Law.
Special Provisions for Sikkim Sikkim enjoys Constitutional safeguards under Article 371(F). Safeguards are mentioned under part XXI-Temporary, transitional and special provisions of the Indian constitution.
China’s stand on Sikkim’s merger For decades after 1975, China refused to accept Sikkim as an integral part of India, insisting that the referendum conducted was a farce and merger was actually a forcible annexation by India. It continued to release maps showing Sikkim as an Independent State. However, for the first time in 2003, China removed Sikkim from its website of Independent Asian countries. China was the only country at that point of time that did not recognize Sikkim as an Indian State. Earlier, China was saying that it would recognize Sikkim as a part of India in exchange for full Indian recognition of Tibet as a part of China. www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) India and China had signed a memorandum of understanding to start border trade through Nathu La Pass in Sikkim and Tibet. India had interpreted Nathu La’s acceptance as the Indian trade point by China as its approval of recognizing Sikkim as an integral part of India. In the 2005 joint statement issued during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India, it was stated that Sikkim “is no longer an issue in India-China relations”.
Round-up of Bills to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II Polity and governance, Major Bills tabled in the winter session of Parliament.
Recently: The winter session of Parliament is usually held in the months of November and December. However, this year, it will have a total of 14 sittings spanning 22 days from December 15, 2017 to January 5, 2018. Some of the Bills that are slated for discussion in this year's winter session pertain to deposit insurance, triple talaq, and grievance redressal for atrocities against backward classes.
Here is a review of the major Bills to be tabled in Parliament: The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016 o The Bill was introduced by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. o It seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 by incorporating clauses to introduce third party insurance, enhance road safety, and develop a framework for regulating taxi aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Meru. o The Bill proposes to set a ceiling for third party insurance in case of an accident. o The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which is presently in force, does not fix a maximum liability for road accidents. o The Bill caps liability at Rs.10 lakh in the case of fatalities, and Rs.5 lakh for grievous injuries. o A solatium fund is to be instituted to compensate victims of hit-and-run accidents. o According to data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 1,48,707 people were killed, and 4,82,000 injured in road accidents in 2015. o If the Bill were to be passed, the maximum compensation to be paid to victims would amount to Rs.38,970 crore, or $6.09 billion, which is in the same ballpark as Uber's global revenue of $6.5 billion in 2016. o The new law also seeks to create a uniform law that would regulate taxi aggregators, ironing out legal hurdles that arise when state regulations are in variance with Central guidelines. o The need to monitor the functioning of mobility-enabler companies has come under the scanner following instances where the safety of passengers was compromised. The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill o The amount of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) that India's financial institutions are saddled with have steadily risen over the last few years. o The FRDI Bill is aimed at insuring the money of a bank’s depositors in case the bank would have to be liquidated. o According to the response given by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2017, the gross NPAs of public sector banks increased by 311.22% from Rs.1,55,890 crores in 2013 to Rs.6,41,057 crores in 2017.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o The gross NPA ratio as a percentage of total assets rose from 3.84% to 12.47%. o Likewise, the gross NPAs of private banks witness an increase of 269.47% from Rs.19,986 crores in 2013 to Rs.73,842 crores in 2017. o The FRDI Bill proposes the setting up of a Resolution Corporation, “whose direction and management vests with the Board, subject to the terms and conditions of the Act.” A ‘Corporation Insurance Fund’ is the financial vehicle which will be used to garner insurance inflows. o The bail-in clause has emerged as the major bone of contention with depositors. This gives banks the authority to issue securities in lieu of the money deposited. o While the insurance covers only ₹1,00,000 of the principal, the remainder of the sum deposited with a bank will be converted to tradable financial assets which can be redeemed. o However, their value will not be immediately commensurate with the deposit amount since if a bank has filed for bankruptcy, the value of assets held would have also eroded. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 o This Bill seeks to assimilate the Indian diaspora into the democratic process by allowing them to cast their votes through postal or e-ballots. o As of 2016, Indian nationals residing abroad amounted to 1.3 crore according to Ministry of External Affairs data. o This figure is roughly ten times the population of the State of Goa, which is home to 14.59 lakh people as per the census of 2011. o If the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is passed by Parliament, it has the potential to make a tangible difference in electoral politics since parties would also have to accommodate the interests of NRIs, which may be far removed from those of their compatriots. The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 o This Bill was introduced by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Thaawarchand Gehlot, and was passed by the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session. o It is being re-introduced after factoring in the changes recommended by the Upper House. o The basic objective of the law is to institute the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) whose functioning would be analogous to that of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. o The Constitution grants NCSC the jurisdiction to investigate complaints regarding discrimination against backward castes and Anglo-Indians. o The Bill will create a constitutionally mandated body to look into the complaints of educationally and economically backward classes. o The draft Bill states that the President, in consultation with the Governors of States and Union Territories, have the power to classify based on economic background and level of education. o The NCBC will comprise of five members appointed by the President. The body will have the power of a civil court in dealing with complaints brought before it. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 o The Union Cabinet has given its backing to this law that would make the practice of triple talaq a criminal offence. o Triple talaq is a practice by which a Muslim man can arbitrarily divorce his wife by repeating the word talaq (divorce) three times. o The practice of triple talaq has been outlawed in many Muslim-majority countries. o The Supreme Court had termed triple 'un-Islamic' in August, drawing the ire of religious group who blamed the government for formulating a law that would encroach on their religious freedom. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Stopping the influx of migrants from Bangladesh was one of the key poll planks during the Assembly elections in Assam, and the Central government has repeatedly warned of the security risk involved in giving asylum to Rohingya refugees. o The 2016 Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Rajnath Singh. o It seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 and grant citizenship to illegal migrants, especially those from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and are of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian extraction. o The law defines an illegal migrant as a foreigner who enters the country without valid travel documents, or one who overstays his visit. o One of the key points of divergence from the Act is the relaxation of the time required for naturalisation. o A foreigner who has been residing in the country for the past six years or has been in government service for that duration of time will qualify for citizenship, as opposed to the old law which required 11 years of domicile to prove naturalisation. o This clause is waived for individuals of the aforementioned religions who are persecuted in their countries. o The old law has the provision to revoke citizenship if the application was found to be fraud or if the person is imprisoned for two or more years, five years after having been granted citizenship. o The Bill states that one's Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status would be cancelled if any law is violated. It does not draw a distinction between minor infractions and serious offences. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 o The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill in 2014. o It was unanimously passed in the Upper House but was never debated in the Lok Sabha. o The 2016 version of the legislation identifies transgenders as being “partly female or male; or a combination of female and male; or neither female nor male”. o This definition which draws a clinical caricature is a departure from the intention of the original Bill to cleanse society of the stigma it placed on transgenders. o Moreover, to be recognised as transgenders, individuals have to submit themselves to a medical examination by a District Screening Committee comprising of a Chief Medical Officer, a psychiatrist, a social worker, and a member of the transgender community. ·The anti-discriminatory clauses of the Bill are extended to education, health care and social security. o Some of the recommendations that find a place in the final draft include the rescue, protection, and rehabilitation of transgenders. o Educational institutions have been directed to adopt an inclusive approach that is gender- neutral. o The government has also formulated welfare schemes especially targeted at transgenders such as basic medical facilities including sex reassignment surgery. o Vocational training programmes are also in the pipeline.
Pros and Cons of “One Nation, One Election”
Relevancy GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II Polity, Governance Elections to Parliament and states One nation one election Pros and Cons www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Recently There has been much discussion on simultaneous elections to Parliament and all State Assemblies under the banner of “one nation one election”.
Reasons cited by the Government in favour? Massive expenditure Diversion of security and civil staff from primary duties Impact on governance due to the model code of conduct Disruption to normal public life
Why analysts are against this concept? Cost factor misleading: o The Election Commission incurs a cost of ₹8,000 crore to conduct all State and federal elections in a span of five years. o It costs ₹27 per voter per year to keep India an electoral democracy. o According to the data, all the States and the Centre combined incurred an expenditure of nearly ₹30 lakh crore in FY2014. o Analysts say that 0.05% of India’s total annual expenditure is not a large price to maintain democracy. o The notion of elections being prohibitively expensive is false and misleading. Code of conduct and polls o The model code of conduct for elections was agreed to by political parties in 1979. o It prohibits the ruling party from incurring capital expenditure for certain projects after elections are announced. o For India to establish “cooperative federalism” then more such pro ects will be undertaken by each State and not by the Centre. o So elections in one State should not hinder governance in the rest of the States. o Even if political parties feel the need to reform the code they can do so. o Because the ultimate solution is to reform the code and not the electoral cycle. Hindrance in Governance: o Governance paralysis due to State elections is not a true statement. o The real reason is that the two national parties are excessively dependent on their national leaders’ campaigns in State elections. o Example is Gujarat. o This is certainly a drain on the Central minister’s time and a distraction from governance. o Depending on their national leaders is the main problem of the national parties. o It is not the fault of the electoral system. Voter behaviour o Research on all simultaneous elections to State Assemblies and Parliament between 1999 and 2014 shows that simultaneous elections have an impact on voter behaviour. o Research shows that 77% voters chose the same political party for both State and Centre in simultaneous elections. o When elections were held even six months apart, only 61% chose the same political party. o Therefore, most Indian voters tend to choose the same party when elections are held simultaneously to both Centre and State. o And the relationship is diminishing as elections are held farther away. Political autonomy o According to the research, simultaneous elections harm the political autonomy of States. o Today any elected State government can choose to dissolve its Assembly and call for fresh elections. www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o If elections are to be held simultaneously States will have to give up this power and wait for a national election schedule. o This goes against the concept of political autonomy under Indian federal structure.
Conclusion There is much that is wrong with Indian concept of governance and elections. But disparate elections to States and Parliament are not one of them. Much need to improve lies in terms of efficiency of our governance. But “oneness” is not the desired path to efficiency in a diverse polity such as India.
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 About the national curriculum framework Its perspective and focus
What is National curriculum framework? The National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) is one of the four National Curriculum Frameworks published in 1975, 1988, 2000 and 2005 by the National Council of Educational Research and Training NCERT in India. The Framework provides the framework for making syllabii,textbooks and teaching practices within the school education programmes in India. The NCF 2005 document draws its policy basis from earlier government reports on education as Learning Without Burden and National Policy of Education 1986-1992 and focus group discussion.. The state of art position papers provided inputs for formulation of NCF-2005. The document and its offshoot textbooks have come under different forms of reviews in the press.
What is the perspective of NCF? The NCF was framed Considering the articulated ideas in the past such as To shift learning from rote method. Connecting knowledge to life outside the school. To integrate examination into classroom learning and make it more flexible. To enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks. Nurturing an over-riding identity informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country
Focus of NCF Learning without burden to make learning a joyful experience and move away from textbooks to be a basis for examination and to remove stress from children. It recommended major changes in the design of syllabus. To develop a sense of self-reliance and dignity of the individual which would for the basis of social relationship and would develop a sense of nonviolence and oneness across the society. To develop a child centered approach and to promote universal enrollment and retention up to the age of 14. To inculcate the feeling of oneness, democracy and unity in the students the curriculum is enabled to strengthen our national identity and to enable the new generation reevaluate. J. P. Naik has described equality, quality and quantity as the exclusive triangle for Indian education.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) With respect to social context NCF 2005 has ensured that irrespective of caste, creed, religion and sex all are provided with a standard curriculum
Law Commission Report On Convention Against Torture
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II, IV Ethics and governance, UN Convention agains torture, Law Commission report
Recently: Law Commission (under the chairmanship of Dr Justice BS Chauhan) has submitted report titled “Implementation of ‘United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment’ through legislation” to the Ministry of Law and Justice The Commission also submitted a draft Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017.
Background: India signed the convention on October 14, 1997 but has not ratified it so far. The matter was referred to the Law Commission in July 2017 following a recommendation by the Supreme Court.
Key observations and recommendations of the Commission include: Ratification of convention: The Commission observed India has faced problems in extradition of criminals from foreign countries. This is because the convention prevents extradition to a country where there is danger of torture. It recommended that this issue should be resolved by ratifying the convention. Definition of torture: The Commission observed that there is no definition of torture in the current Indian laws. According to the draft Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017, any public servant or an individual authorised by him indulges in an act of torture if they inflict on another person: (i) grievous hurt, (ii) danger to life, limb, or health, (iii) severe physical or mental pain, or (iv) death for the purpose of acquiring information or punishment. Punishment for acts of torture: In order to deter the use of torture, the Commission recommended stringent punishments for individuals who commit such acts. According to the draft Prevention of Torture Bill, 2017, punishment for torture includes imprisonment up to 10 years and fine. In case torture leads to death, the punishment includes death or life imprisonment in addition to fine.
Intimate Partner Violence
Relevancy: GS Mains paper I, II Social issues, Women related issues, Intimate partner violence.
Recently: Violent acts, at the hands of a husband or a partner (intimate partner violence, or IPV), are becoming distressingly common worldwide. The World Health Organisation estimates that almost one-third of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner, which affects their physical and mental well-being.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Boys who witness parental violence are more likely to use it in their adult relationships; girls are more likely to justify it.
Reasons behind increasing violence against women in relationships: These stem from the belief that women who don’t obey or don’t perform their set gender roles deserve to be beaten. Intimate relationships are important sites where violence against women is used to perpetuate patriarchy.
What could be the solutions? Strategies to address IPV have included legal reforms, awareness creation drives, and strengthening of women’s civil rights. More inclusive alternatives required: As criminal justice solutions have largely been inaccessible to socially precarious women, a more inclusive alternative is to have collective-based resolution mechanisms. SHGs: The potential of large-scale groups of women, such as self-help groups (SHGs), becomes critical in the Indian context. Community dispute resolution mechanisms: India has experimented with many models of community dispute resolution mechanisms — the Nari Adalats (women courts) in various States, Women’s Resource Centres (Ra asthan), Shalishi (West Bengal), and Mahila Panchayats (Delhi) — which have seen IPV as a public issue rather than a personal problem.
Increased role of NGOS and SHGs: Several NGOs have co-opted these models so that women can resolve cases of violence without getting entangled in tedious legal processes. SHGs are the most widely present collectives across regions. The experiences of large-scale programmes offer valuable insights into action for IPV redressal within SHG-led development models. These, as well as previous models, provide two key lessons — one, collectives of women need adequate investment for building their capacities; and two, mediation of IPV requires specialised structures to avoid manipulation by kinship relations and political affinities. Not all groups of women become safe spaces to discuss violence. SHGs must first become enabling spaces where the economic and social concerns of women are stated as priorities. Freedom from violence must be stated as a necessary component of empowerment. It takes time for most women to recognise that violence is unacceptable. To enable them to understand this, there must be investment in specific training, and gender analysis processes. SHGs are mostly seen as administrative entities. Their social role can be enhanced to tackle the widespread problem of IPV.
Defamation In India – IPC Section 499/500 Vs Freedom Of Speech
Relevancy General Studies Paper 2 (GS2) ,Indian Polity About defamation and criminal defamation in India Difference between criminal offence and civil wrong Section 499 and 500 of IPC www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Recently The Supreme Court’s recent udgment upholding Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC as constitutionally valid has received wide attention, including visible, vibrant, sometimes even vicious criticism. It is argued that criminalizing defamation has a harsh effect on the right to freedom of speech and expression provided under article 19. There are many demands to make defamation only as a civil wrong.
What Is Defamation? According to section 499 of IPC, whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person. Section 499 also cites exceptions. These include “imputation of truth” which is required for the “public good” and thus has to be published, on the public conduct of government officials, the conduct of any person touching any public question and merits of the public performance. Section 500, which is on punishment for defamation, reads: “Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” In India, defamation is both civil and criminal offence. The remedy for a civil defamation is covered under the Law of Torts. In a civil defamation case, a person who is defamed can move either High Court or subordinate courts and seek damages in the form of monetary compensation from the accused. Also, under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, a person guilty of criminal defamation can be sent to jail for two years.
Difference Between Civil Wrong And Criminal Offence Criminal offences and civil offences are generally different in terms of their punishment. Criminal cases will have jail time as a potential punishment, whereas civil cases generally only result in monetary damages or orders to do or not do something. But a criminal case may involve both jail time and monetary punishments in the form of fines. The standard of proof is also different in a criminal case than a civil case. Crimes must generally be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt”, whereas civil cases are proved by lower standards of proof such as “the preponderance of the evidence” (which essentially means that it was more likely than not that something occurred in a certain way).
Why are Section 499 and 500 of IPC challenged? Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) states that any person whose reputation has been damaged (or was intended to be damaged) by the material in question has the rights to sue for defamation. However, these are challenged on the ground of fact that they are violative of the right to freedom of speech and expression provided under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
Arguments for why IPC 499/500 should be declared unconstitutional Sections 499-500 IPC do not constitute a “reasonable restriction” on speech, as commented by many because, to begin with, even truth is not a defence. Even if a person has spoken the truth, he can be prosecuted for defamation. Under the first exception to section 499, the truth will only be a defence if the statement was made for the public good, which is a question of fact to be assessed by the court. This is an arbitrary and overbroad rule that deters people from making statements regarding politicians or political events even which they know to be true because they run the risk of a court not finding the statement to be for the public good.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Second, a person can be prosecuted under section 499 even if he or she has not made any verbal or written statement at all. A magistrate may issue criminal process on the mere allegation that the defendant conspired with the person who actually made the allegedly defamatory written statements. Third, a person can be prosecuted even for a statement about the dead. While Article 19(2) permits restricting speech in the interests of protecting the private interest in a reputation, restricting speech to protect the reputation of the deceased is excessive and over-broad. Fourth, even an ironical statement can amount to defamation. Also, since section 499 applies to “any imputation concerning any person,” a criminal suit can be filed even for political speech – which is the most protected speech in a democracy. It is a tool that can be easily invoked and that enables allegedly defamed persons to drag anyone to courts across the country. Finally, it is unclear why defamation has to be a criminal offence at all and why civil remedies are not sufficient.
Arguments for why IPC 499/500 is not unconstitutional The reputation of one cannot be allowed to be crucified at the altar of the other’s right of free speech. So there is no point in declaring that the present law is unconstitutional. There is a need to strike balance between article 19 and article 21. Unlike other inflexible provisions of the IPC, Sections 499/500 have four explanations and 10 exceptions which do both: they add content and context to the offence as also chisel away at it substantially. They constitute significant counter factual to exclude frivolous complaints. Section 199(1) the CrPC safeguards the freedom of speech by placing the burden on the complainant to pursue the criminal complaint without involving state machinery. This itself filters out many frivolous complainants who are not willing to bear the significant burdens – logistical, physical and monetary – of pursuing the complaint. A mere misuse or abuse of law, actual or potential, can never be a reason to render a provision unconstitutional.
Why should it remain a criminal offence and not made a civil offence? In India, citizens are unlikely to have enough liquidity to pay damages for civil defamation. It is argued that online defamation in the Internet age can be effectively countered only by making it a criminal offence, and the law is part of the state’s “compelling interest” to protect the dignity and reputation of citizens.
What is the view of the Supreme Court on defamation? The Supreme Court has ruled that the criminal provisions of defamation are constitutionally valid and are not in conflict with the right to free speech. The court stated that notwithstanding the expansive and sweeping ambit of freedom of speech, as all rights, the right to freedom of speech and expression is “absolutely sacrosanct” but “is not absolute.” It is subject to the imposition of reasonable restrictions. It also said that the reputation of a person is an integral part of the right to life granted under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and it cannot be allowed to be crucified at the altar of the other’s right of free speech.
Way ahead Criminal defamation should not be allowed to be an instrument in the hands of the state, especially when the Code of Criminal Procedure gives public servants an unfair advantage by allowing the state’s prosecutors to stand in for them when they claim to have been defamed by the media or political opponents.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) In recognition of the fact that many countries do have criminal defamation laws which are unlikely to be repealed in the very near future, following interim measures can be taken: No-one should be convicted for criminal defamation unless the party claiming to be defamed proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, the presence of all the elements of the offence, as set out below; The offence of criminal defamation shall not be made out unless it has been proven that the impugned statements are false, that they were made with actual knowledge of falsity, or recklessness as to whether or not they were false, and that they were made with a specific intent to cause harm to the party claiming to be defamed; Public authorities, including police and public prosecutors, should take no part in the initiation or prosecution of criminal defamation cases, regardless of the status of the party claiming to have been defamed, even if he or she is a senior public official; Prison sentences, suspended prison sentences, suspension of the right to express oneself through any particular form of media, or to practise journalism or any other profession, excessive fines and other harsh criminal penalties should never be available as a sanction for breach of defamation laws, no matter how egregious or blatant the defamatory statement. (Reference: Article19.org)
Creation Of New States In India
Introduction At the time of independence in 1947, India consisted of 571 disjointed princely states that were merged together to form 27 states. The grouping of states at the time was done on the basis of political and historical considerations rather than on linguistic or cultural divisions, but this was a temporary arrangement. On account of the multilingual nature and differences that existed between various states, there was a need for the states to be reorganized on a permanent basis. In 1948, SK Dhar - a judge of the Allahabad High Court - was appointed by the government to head a commission that would look into the need for the reorganization of states on a linguistic basis. However, the Commission preferred reorganisation of states on the basis of administrative convenience including historical and geographical considerations instead of on linguistic lines. In December 1948, the JVP Committee comprising Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh bhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya was formed to study the issue. The Committee, in its report submitted in April 1949, rejected the idea of reorgansation of states on a linguistic basis but said that the issue could be looked at afresh in the light of public demand. In 1953, the first linguistic state of Andhra for Telugu-speaking people was born. The government was forced to separate the Telugu speaking areas from the state of Madras, in the face of a prolonged agitation and the death of Potti Sriramulu after a 56-day hunger strike. Consequently, there were similar demands for creation of states on linguistic basis from other parts of the country. On December 22, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission under Fazl Ali to consider these new demands. The commission submitted its report in 1955 and it suggested that the whole country be divided into 16 states and three centrally administered areas. The government, while not agreeing with the recommendations entirely, divided the country into 14 states and 6 union territories under the States Reorganisation Act that was passed in November 1956. The states were Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The six union territories were
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, Manipur and Tripura. In 1960, the state of Bombay was bifurcated to create the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra following violence and agitation. In 1963, the state of Nagaland was created for the sake of the Nagas and total number of states stood at 16. The areas of Chandernagore, Mahe, Yaman and Karekal from France, and the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu from the Portuguese, were either made union territories or were joined with the neighbouring states, after their acquisition. Based on the Shah Commission report in April 1966, the Punjab Reorganisation Act was passed by the Parliament. Following this, the state of Haryana got the Punjabi-speaking areas while the hilly areas went to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, which was made a Union Territory, would serve as the common capital of Punjab and Haryana. In 1969 and in 1971, the states of Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh came into being respectively. With the Union Territories of Tripura and Manipur being converted into states, the total number of Indian states rose to 21. Thereafter, Sikkim in 1975 and Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh in February 1987 also acquired the status of states. In May 1987, Goa became the 25th state of the Indian Union, while three new states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal were formed in November 2000. On June 2, 2014, Telangana officially became India’s 29th state. Presently, India has 29 states and 7 union territories. The states are: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal and Telangana. The union territories are: Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar haveli.
Why language was used as the criteria for the division of states? It would lead to the local people participating in the administration in larger numbers because of being able to communicate in a common language. Governance would be made easier in areas, which shared linguistic and geographical features. This would lead to the development of vernacular languages, which had long been ignored by the British.
Why the new states were created? One main reason was the cultural or social affiliations. For instance, the state of Nagaland in the Northeast was created taking tribal affiliations into account. Another reason was economic development. For instance, Chhattisgarh felt that the region could grow economically only through separate statehood because the region’s development needs were not being met by the state government. For an aggrieved region, there is a strong sense that overall development will not come to them in the bigger state because of inequitable distribution of resources and lack of adequate opportunities for growth. There is also a shift in power from the Centre to the states and with the growth of diverse communities, the existing federal structure is probably not sufficient to meet the aspirations of the rising numbers. www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Also, parties tend to associate themselves with identity politics to get attention on the national stage and for gaining a vote bank. Hence, there is an increasing demand for formation of new states based on social and cultural identities.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) SCHEMES AND POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT Section 3(D) Of Indian Patent Act
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2 About section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act in Indian pharma industry
What is section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act? The section 3 (d) of the Indian Patent Act, which was introduced in 2005, states that, for a new form of an existing substance to be patentable, it should show an ‘enhanced efficacy’. This section prevents pharmaceutical companies from evergreening and monopolising their drugs by merely making physico-chemical changes in their patented drug formulae without actually increasing the drug’s therapeutic ability.
How section 3(d) helps Indian Pharmaceutical Industry? The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been a major producer and supplier of low cost generic medicines, not only for the Indian consumers but also for many developing nations like it-self, especially the African nations. The section 3 (d) protects the interests of billions of poor, who depend on low-cost generic drugs, from frivolous patent claims by Multinational Pharmaceutical companies in the name of innovation. The provision of the Section 3 (d) recognizes incremental innovations as a basis for patentability of the drug.
What had supreme decided in novartis case realted to blood cancer drug? The Supreme Court upheld the decision of Intellectual Property Appellate Board rejecting the patent claimed by Novartis for its cancer-therapy drug Glivec on the basis that it was only a ‘beta-crystalline’ form of the cancer Drug Imatinib, was already known before Glivec’s development and thus it was a mere discovery of a new form of a known substance. Novartis had petitioned that its claim stood valid according to article 27 of TRIPS agreement according to which patents are available for inventions provided they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial applications. Thus, the section 3 (d) of the Indian Patent Act has raised the benchmark of inventiveness and what can actually fall under the category of innovation by introducing the criteria of ‘efficacy’. It intends to balance patent protection by pharmaceutical companies with the obligations of the government and the civil society to provide access to affordable healthcare to the common man at large.
Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PMMSK)
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper I, II Government policies and programmes, Women Empowerment, PMMSK
Recently:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for expansion of the schemes of Ministry of Women and Child Development under Umbrella Scheme "Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women" for a period 2017-18 to 2019-20. CCEA has also given approval to the new scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra', which will empower rural women through community participation to create an environment in which they realize their full potential. Expansion under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has also been approved based on the successful implementation in 161 districts. The financial outlay during 2017-18 to 2019-20 will be Rs.3,636.85 crore with a Central Share of approximately Rs.3,084.96 crore.
Benefits of the Scheme: The approved sub-schemes are focussed on: o care, protection and development of women, o improvement in child sex ratio, and o ensuring education for girls and empowering them. o It will also aim at improvement in declining Child Sex Ratio; ensuring survival. & protection of the girl child; ensuring her education, and empowering her to fulfil her potential. o It will provide an interface for rural women to approach the government for availing their entitlements and for empowering them through training and capacity building. o Student volunteers will encourage the spirit of voluntary community service and gender equality. These students will serve "agents of change" and have a lasting impact on their communities and the nation.
How the scheme will be carried out? PMMSK is envisaged to work at the national, state, district, and block levels.
Key features of these changes include: Support to women: Support to women affected by violence through ‘One Stop Centres’ to be established in 150 districts. These Centres will be linked with a helpline and will provide 24 hour emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence both in public and private spaces. There will be engagement of Mahila Police Volunteers on a voluntary basis in states/UTs to create public-police interface. Community engagement: Community engagement through student volunteers in 115 most backward districts will be instituted as part of the PMMSK block level initiatives. These student volunteers will be part of awareness generation regarding various important government schemes as well as social issues. Monitoring and evaluation: One task force will be created at the national, state and district levels for planning, reviewing and monitoring all the sub-schemes under the Mission. This is to ensure convergence of action and cost efficiency. Mechanism for monitoring the outcomes of all the sub- schemes will be suggested by NITI Aayog.
North East: NLCPR and NESIDS schemes
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper I, II Government policies and programmes
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Recently: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the continuation of the existing Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme with funding pattern of 90:10 till March, 2020 with an outlay of Rs.5300.00 crore. It would enable completion of ongoing projects. Also approves introduction of new Scheme, NESIDS till March 2020 The Union Cabinet also approved the introduction of new Central Sector Scheme of “North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme” (NESIDS) from 2017-18 with 100% funding from the Central Government to fill up the gaps in creation of infrastructure in specified sectors till March, 2020.
Features of NESIDS: The new scheme will broadly cover creation of infrastructure under following sectors:- Physical infrastructure relating to water supply, power, connectivity and specially the projects promoting tourism; Infrastructure of social sectors of education and health.
Benefits of NESIDS: The scheme will act as a catalyst in overall development of the region in the years to come. Strengthen health care and education facilities in the region Encourage tourism Enhancing employment opportunities for local youth.
New Policy Initiatives By Railways
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Government policies and progammes, Infrastructure, Railways
Background: A number of new policy initiatives by Railways have been introduced since last few years.
Details are as follows: FDI in Railways: The proposal has been cleared by Government for allowing 100 per cent FDI in Railway infrastructure, apart from operations, through automatic route. High-speed bullet trains : Railways has announced a Bullet Train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with MOU between Railways and Japan. Policy initiatives for freight trains: o Long term tariff contract (LTTC) with key freight customers at predetermined price escalation principals. o For the first time ever in Indian Railways, freight rates were reduced. o Port congestion charges dropped. o Busy season surcharge dropped. o Dual pricing policy of iron withdrawn. o Multi point loading introduced. o Siding policy liberalised . o Automatic freight rebate scheme in traditional empty flow direction introduced. o Time tabled freight services introduced.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Container sector opened up for more commodities. o Goods terminals opened up for handling containers. o Last mile connectivity through Roadrailers, Roll on Roll Offs Appointed Key Customer Managers to serve as single point of contact for all major freight customers. o Structured dialogue between Railways and Customers christened ‘Samvad’ started. o Electronic registration of Demand and Electronic transmission of Railway Receipts started. o Railway land leased out for horticulture and plantation of trees Discharge free Railways – bio-toilets in all coaches. SRESTHA - New R&D organisation to serve the future technology needs of Railways. SUTRA World class data analytics, simulation softwares, network optimisation and decision support systems. RAIL INVESTMENT AND PLANNING ORGANISATION - Develop and own the corporate medium term and long term plan, identify investment opportunities, standardize economic easements of projects and propose optimal modes of financing. ‘NIVARAN’ - online grievance redressal machinery has been instituted.
National Electric Mobility Plan Mission 2020
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 About National Electric Mobility Plan Mission 2020 Focus of the mission
What is National Electric Mobility Plan Mission 2020 ? It is a composite scheme using different policy-levers such as:The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 is one of the most important and ambitious initiatives undertaken by the Government of India that has the potential to bring about a transformational paradigm shift in the automotive and transportation industry in the country. This is a culmination of a comprehensive collaborative planning for promotion of hybrid and electric mobility in India through a combination of policies aimed at gradually ensuring a vehicle population of about 6-7 million electric/hybrid vehicles in India by the year 2020 along with a certain level of indigenisation of technology ensuring India’s global leadership in some vehicle segments.
What are the areas focused by the scheme? Demand side incentives to facilitate acquisition of hybrid/electric vehicles Promoting R&D in technology including battery technology, power electronics, motors, systems integration, battery management system, testing infrastructure, and ensuring industry participation in the same Promoting charging infrastructure Supply side incentives Encouraging retro-fitment of on-road vehicles with hybrid kit
Conclusion The 2020 roadmap estimates a cumulative outlay of about Rs.14000 cr. during the span of the scheme, including industry contribution.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) After the launch of NEMMP-2020 in January 2013 by the Prime Minister of India, a concrete policy proposal with financial road map has now been prepared so that appropriate policy and financial support in the form of approval of the government as a plan scheme and budgetary provisions under plan or non-plan heads are in place for the timely launch of the scheme in 2015-16 itself to ensure that efforts to provide a clean and gasoline free transportation option to the people in a significant manner become a reality and our oil import burden is also reduced eventually.
India State Level Disease Burden Report, 2017
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS mains paper I and II Policies, Governance, Health indicators, State level disease burden report (2017)
Recently: A report titled “India State-Level Disease Burden” was released recently. The report is first of its kind and presents assessments of causes of diseases in each state for the perios 1990 to 2016. A team of scientists evaluated the diseases causing the most premature deaths and ill-health in each State.
Indications of the report: Life expectancy at birth in the country has improved significantly. There exist many health inequalities among States: While there was a fall in the under-five (U-5) mortality in every State there was also a four-fold difference in the rate of improvement among them. Life expectancy at birth improved in India from 59.7 years in 1990 to 70.3 years in 2016 for females, and from 58.3 years to 66.9 years for males. There were, however, continuing inequalities between states, with a range of 66.8 years in Uttar Pradesh to 78.7 years in Kerala for females, and from 63.6 years in Assam to 73.8 years in Kerala for males in 2016. The under-5 mortality rate has reduced substantially from 1990 in all states, but there was a four- fold difference in this rate between the highest in Assam and Uttar Pradesh as compared with the lowest in Kerala in 2016, highlighting the vast health inequalities between the states. Of the total disease burden in India measured as DALYs (Disability Ajusted Life Years), 61% was due to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (termed infectious and associated diseases in this summary for simplicity) in 1990, which dropped to 33% in 2016. There was a corresponding increase in the contribution of non-communicable diseases from 30% of the total disease burden in 1990 to 55% in 2016, and of injuries from 9% to 12%. The burden of most infectious and associated diseases reduced in India from 1990 to 2016, but five of the ten individual leading causes of disease burden in India in 2016 still belonged to this group: diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory infections, iron-deficiency anaemia, preterm birth complications, and tuberculosis. The burden caused by these conditions generally continues to be much higher in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) and North-East state groups than in the other states, but there were notable variations between the states within these groups as well. The burden also differed between the sexes, with diarrhoeal disease, iron-deficiency anaemia, and lower respiratory infections higher among females, and tuberculosis higher among males.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The proportion of total disease burden caused by infectious and associated diseases was highest among children, which contributed to the disproportionately higher overall disease burden suffered by the under-5 years age group. The contribution of most of the major non-communicable disease groups to the total disease burden has increased all over India since 1990, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health and neurological disorders, cancers, musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic kidney disease. Among the leading non-communicable diseases, the largest disease burden or DALY rate increase from 1990 to 2016 was observed for diabetes, at 80%, and ischaemic heart disease, at 34%. While the disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition has dropped in India substantially since 1990, this is still the single largest risk factor, responsible for 15% of the total disease burden in India in 2016. This burden is highest in the major EAG states and Assam, and is higher in females than in males. Child and maternal malnutrition contributes to disease burden mainly through increasing the risk of neonatal disorders, nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory infections, and other common infections Unsafe water and sanitation was the second leading risk responsible for disease burden in India in 1990, but dropped to the seventh leading risk in 2016, contributing 5% of the total disease burden, mainly through diarrhoeal diseases and other infections.
Causes of differences among the states: The differences can be attributed to differences in the development status, environment, lifestyle patterns, preventive health measures and curative health services between the States. In the most developed States this transition took place about 30 years ago, but in the poorest States this transition has taken place only over the past few years.
Applications of the data: The policy applications of these findings include planning of State health budgets, prioritisation of interventions relevant to each State, informing the government’s Health Assurance Mission in each State, monitoring of health-related Sustainable Development Goals targets, and assessing the impact of large-scale interventions based on time trends of disease burden. The data gaps identified in this estimation process will inform which areas of the health information system of India need to be strengthened.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) ECONOMY Understanding MDR- Merchant Discount Rate
Relevancy: GS Prelims Economic concepts, Merchant Discount rate (MDR)
Recently: Recently, the RBI has decided to rationalize the MDR on debit card transactions from New Year. In India, the RBI specifies the maximum MDR charges that can be levied on every card transaction.
Understanding MDR: The rate charged to a merchant by a bank for providing debit and credit card services. The rate is determined based on factors such as volume, average ticket price, risk and industry. The merchant must set up this service with a bank, and agree to the rate prior to accepting debit and credit cards as payment. The MDR compensates the bank issuing the card, the bank which puts up the swiping machine (Point-of-Sale or PoS terminal) and network providers such as Mastercard or Visa for their services. MDR charges are usually shared in a pre-agreed proportion between them.
What are the changes? With effect from January 1 2018, small merchants will pay a maximum MDR of 0.40 per cent of the bill value and others will shell out 0.90 per cent. To prevent those MDR charges from sky-rocketing, RBI has also set a monetary cap at ₹200 per bill for small merchants and ₹1,000 for large ones. As per RBI rules, the merchant must cough up the MDR out of his own pocket and cannot pass it on to the customer. To calculate MDR, small merchants are defined as those with a turnover of upto ₹20 lakh in the previous year. They will pay an MDR of 0.4 per cent against 0.9 per cent for others. This has been done in order to ensure wider acceptance of plastic money and increase the spread of PoS machines (Point of Sale)
Understanding Bail-In provisions of FRDI Bill
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III, Optional: Economics Economy, FRDI Bill, Bail In provision
Recently: The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha during Monsoon Session 2017. The Bill is currently being examined by a Joint Committee of the two Houses of Parliament.
Understanding bail-in: Bail-in provision is used in the cases when it is not wise to sell the assets of the financial firm and it must continue its operations.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) There are various provisions in the Bill that prove to be tools to resolve a financial firm which is on the verge of bankruptcy. These tools include: o Mergers o Transfer of firm’s assets and liabilities o Liquidating the assets of the firm o Restructuring the debt of the firm, which is termed as Bail-in o Bail-in differs from a bail-out which involves funds being infused by external sources to resolve a firm. This includes a failing firm being rescued by the government.
Methods under Bail-in provision: The FRDI Bill has provided for the institution of Resolution Corporation, which can take decision from either of the following options: o Cancellation of liabilities that the firm owes to its creditors, or o Converting its liabilities into any other instrument (e.g., converting debt into equity), among others. The Resolution Corporation can either resolve a firm by using bail-in only, or use bail-in in combination with other resolution methods like mergers or acquisitions in combination with the bail- ins.
Order of priority under liquidation: Deposit Insurance Resolution costs (Including liquidation costs) I) Workmen dues for 24 months and ii) secured creditors Wages to employees for 12 months Uninsured deposits and insurance related amounts Unsecured creditors I) Government dues, and ii) remaining secured creditors (remaining debt if they enforce collateral) Remaining debt and dues Shareholders
National Anti Profiteering Authority
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2, Prelims About National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) Functions, utility, and constitution of NAA
Recently The Government has approved the constitution of a National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) – the institutional mechanism under the GST law to check the unfair profit-making activities by the trading community. Union Cabinet chaired by the PM decided for the appointment of a Chairman and Technical Members of the Authority.
Functions of the Authority The relevance of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) is simply out of the launch of the GST. The Authority’s core function is to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) goods or services made by the GST Council is passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices by traders. Decision about the formation the NAA comes in the background of rate reduction of large number of items by the GST Council in its 22nd meeting at Guwahati. At the meeting, the Council reduced rates of more than 200 items including goods and services. This has made tremendous price reduction effect and the consumers will be benefited only if the traders are making quick reduction of the prices of respective items. There is a concern that traders are reluctant to make price cut so that they can make profit.
Utility of the authority The Authority’s main function is to ensure that traders are not realizing unfair profit by charging high price from the consumers in the name of GST. Traders may charge high price from the consumers by naming the GST factor. Similarly, they may not make quick and corresponding price reduction when the GST Council makes tax cut. All these constitute profiteering. The responsibility of the NAA is to examine and check such profiteering activities and recommend punitive actions including cancellation of licenses.
What is profiteering? Profiteering means unfair profit realized by traders by manipulating prices, tax rate adjustment etc. In the context of the newly launched GST, profiteering means that traders are not reducing the prices of the commodities when the GST Council reduces the tax rates of commodities and services. Conventionally, several traders will have a strong tendency to quickly increase the price of a commodity whose tax rate has been increased. But on the opposite side, they may delay the price reduction of a commodity whose tax rate has been cut by the government. A delayed or postponed price reduction helps business firms to make higher profit. The losers here are the consumers.
Constitution of the NAA The NAA will be headed by a senior officer of the level of Secretary to the Government of India. There will be four Technical Members from the Centre and/or the States. The GST Act itself contains provision for anti-profiteering measures. The Act recommend for the setting up of an institutional mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of price reductant factors o The input tax credits and o Reduced gst rates on supply of goods or services, made from time to time will be passed on to the consumers. Besides the NAA, the GST law also proposes for other institutional arrangements: a Standing Committee, Screening Committees in every State and the Directorate General of Safeguards in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC). All these bodies will work together on the anti- profiteering front. When the NAA certify that there is antiprofiteering in a specific case, it can order the supplier/business concerned to reduce its prices or return the undue benefit availed by it along with interest to the recipient of the goods or services. If the undue benefit cannot be passed on to the consumer, it can be ordered to be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Fund. In extreme cases, the NAA can impose a penalty on the defaulting business entity and even order the cancellation of its registration under GST.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Inflation Targeting Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 About inflation targeting The monetary policy committee, relation of RBI with inflation targets
What Is Inflation Targeting? Technically, inflation targeting is a type of monetary policy framework. A Monetary Policy Framework shows how a central bank’s policy instrument (like repo) works in the economy to influence (hit) a target (like inflation). The main features of inflation targeting framework are: Single target: inflation Single instrument used by the central bank: short term interest rate (repo) Single objective: Price Stability.
Why Inflation Targeting Is Controversial? A unique and at the same time a controversial feature inflation targeting is that the central bank should sideline all other objectives to ensure that the single goal of price stability is realized. This strategy makes the IT framework generally unacceptable in the developing world. This is because there are two problems while a developing country central bank adopt it. First, fighting inflation or price stability is one important objective of the general macroeconomic objective in fast growing developing economies. The equally important objective is achievement faster economic growth. Second one is that generally there is conflict or trade-off between the objective of price stability and economic growth. Another limitation of inflation targeting in countries like India, it neglects the real cause of inflation – agricultural supply shocks which can’t be solved by any monetary policy action. (A good argument was elaborated by Pulpare Balakrishnan in his article: Retrofitting the Reserve Bank” – the Hindu, Editorial, August 6, 2016.) There is intense debate about the suitability of inflation targeting in developing economies on the one hand and on the other many economists argue that after the global financial crisis, inflation targeting has lost much of its relevance. A negative side of inflation targeting as a philosophy is that it openly accepts reduction of economic growth as a way to achieve price stability. But growth is as important as price stability. In this context, inflation targeting was introduced in India several years after the suggestion of its adoption by the Urjit Patel Committee. Following are the main features of the inflation targeting regime introduced in India.
The Monetary Policy Committee: The MPC would be entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the specified target level. Under the RBI Act, the Central Government, in consultation with the RBI, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), once in every five years. This target would be notified in the Official Gazette.
Determination and notification of Inflation Target In exercise of the powers conferred under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Central Government, in consultation with RBI, has fixed the inflation target for the period beginning from August 5, 2016 and ending on the March 31, 2021, as under: Inflation Target: Four per cent. Upper tolerance level: Six per cent.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Lower tolerance level: Two per cent. While setting the above target, the government elaborated that inflation targeting in India will consider the growth dimensions also. “The key advantage of a range around a target is that it allows MPC to recognise the short run trade-offs between inflation and growth but enables it to pursue the inflation target in long run over the course of business cycle.”
What is the condition for a failed monetary policy with respect to the set target? The fresh element in the government notification is the interpretation of monetary policy failure and the launch time for correction measures. As per the policy, if inflation goes above 6% or goes below 2% for three consecutive quarters, then it will be treated as the failure of the RBI’s monetary policy. Counteractive measures should be initiated in such a scenario.
What the RBI to do if the inflation target is not met? The new notification also prescribes the procedure to be followed by the RBI if the target is missed. “Where RBI fails to meet the inflation target, it shall set out a report to the Central Government stating the reasons for failure to achieve the inflation target; remedial actions proposed to be taken by RBI; and an estimate of the time-period within which the inflation target shall be achieved pursuant to timely implementation of proposed remedial actions.”
What is the time period for a set target? The Central Government, in consultation with the RBI, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), once in every five years. This target would be notified in the Official Gazette. The current target will end on March 31, 2021.
India’s Mid-Term FTP review
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Economy, Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) mid term review Recently: The Centre released the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), with the focus expected to be on policy measures to boost the exports of goods and services and to increase employment generation and value-addition in the country. The mid-term review of FTP is aimed at mid-course correction. It was to be announced on July 1, together with the implementation of the GST regime. But the announcement was postponed to take into account feedback from the export sector regarding GST-related issues. Highlights from the review: The value of new incentives is Rs. 8,000 crore The FTP would focus on micro, small and medium enterprises, labour-intensive segments and agriculture sector. Incentives for goods exports is Rs. 4,567 crore, and for services exports is Rs. 1,140 crore. This is in addition to the recently announced incentives to ready-made garments. Self-certification scheme for duty-free imports FTP is a dynamic document and regular changes are made to increase value addition in the country, generate more employment and boost exports
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Today's announcement includes a 2% increase each in incentive rates of the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme and Services Export from India Scheme. Trade accounts for 45% of the country's GDP. FTP incentives now cover 8,000 of the total 12,000 lines of items. Of these incentives, Rs 749 crore for leather and footwear, Rs 1354 crore for agriculture and related items, Rs 759 crore for marine exports, Rs 369 crore for telecom and electronic items, Rs 921 crore for handmade carpets, Rs 193 crore for medical and surgical equipments, Rs 1140 crore for textiles and readymade garments. A new trade data analytics division under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade will analyse real time data to help fine tune policy.
GST and the road ahead
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Indian Economy, GST, Challenges in GST
Recently: The government has implemented the Goods and Services tax, subsuming most of the erstwhile indirect taxes. The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) raised much hope that it would herald the emergence of a ‘good and simple tax’ with ‘one nation, one market, one tax’. However, there are certain concerns with the new tax. These include both, structural as well as operational components: e.g. Ease of paying taxes, filing tax returns, claiming input tax credit, non- working of zero-rating of tax for exporters (and hence liquidity crisis for the exporters). The implementation of the new law needs a smooth transition and the role of GST council in this case is imperative.
International experience of GST implementation: Introduction of the GST is an important reform and is a standard policy recommendation for every country going in for the structural adjustment programme of the International Monetary Fund. This has been a major money spinner and a source of productivity gain. Of over 165 countries which have adopted GST in one form or another, only five have repealed it (Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Malta and Vietnam), but have reintroduced the tax later. The GST has taken centre-stage in many countries and is considered important in view of the competitive reduction in corporation tax rates due to high mobility of capital. It is also true that there is no “one-size fits all” GST and each country has to adopt the structure depending on political bargains and operational feasibility. It is a major reform, and even as every country makes a lot of preparations before it is introduced, it takes time to smoothen the rough edges and settle contentious issues.
What are the changes required: Higher thresholds: o It is important not to have too low thresholds. In fact, reasonably high thresholds will reduce the compliance burden to a large number of small businesses without much impact on revenue.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Richard Bird and Pierre-Pascal Gendron, after a detailed examination of a number of countries adopting GST, suggest that in developing countries, a threshold closer to $100,000 would eliminate 75% of the taxpayers with a revenue loss of less than 4%. o Considering this, going further, it may be desirable to fix the threshold at ₹50 lakh. o The revenue loss will be minimal but ease of doing business will be high. o The inclusion of petroleum products in the GST base will depend on mainly the revenue gains from the reform. o Nevertheless, it is a desirable objective and the GST Council must act on it. International experience shows that including real estate may not be easy. Fewer GST rates: o Another desirable feature of a successful GST is to have fewer rates. o Multiple rates create classification problems, are harder to administer, create inverted duty structure, large-scale lobbying and would require the general rate of tax to be higher. o It would have been preferable to evolve the structure with two rates, one lower on items of common consumption and another general rate on consumer durables and luxuries. o Notably, given that the VAT in the earlier regime had predominantly two rates, it should have been possible to convince the States of the need to fix the GST rates at two rather than four. o Having four tax rates and three rates of cesses should have been avoided. o It enormously complicates the technology platform to ensure input tax credit mechanism. o It therefore appears desirable to move immediately towards three slabs with the final goal of reducing the slabs to two. Preparedness: o Third, it is important to prepare well before the plunge. o Most countries take at least two years to prepare for the introduction of reform to ensure a smooth transition. o This is particularly necessary for developing and testing the technology platform, educating the tax collectors and tax payers and to avoid any anomalies in the structure of the tax.
What more steps need to be taken: Strong political commitment, to implementing the reform, thorough advance preparation, Adequate investment in tax administration and taxpayer services, Extensive public education programme, Support from business community and Good timing of reform are the important pre-requisites for successful implementation of the GST.
Conclusion: It is also important to note that problems of transition to a major tax reform are unavoidable and most countries go through this. In this regard, the approach of the GST Council must be commended for being receptive to the concerns of businesses and in dealing with the glitches in technology. The GST Council has recognised that it needs to carefully calibrate the reform until the desired goal of a Good and Simple Tax is realised. Hopefully the GST Council will keep the goals clear and consider the reform effort as a work in progress.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Fertilisers Consumption In India
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III, Optional- Economy, Geography, Agriculture Agriculture, Geography, Economy, Fertilizer consumption
Recently: In his ‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked farmers to cut urea consumption by half by 2022 (On 26th Nov, 2017). Case Study: The PM cited an example of farmers in Tohu village in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district who have increased wheat productivity by three times, reduced urea consumption significantly through the use of soil health cards (SHCs) and increased their income by Rs 5,000 to 6,000 per acre. This call by the PM took the fertiliser industry by surprise. The industry had its flagship annual event on December 5 and 6 in Delhi, where thousands of global and Indian fertiliser industry stakeholders had gathered to exchange ideas, talk about innovations and draw up investment plans.
Fertilizer consumption in India- Trends: India is an important market, consuming about 30 million tonnes (MT) of urea annually, of which about 24.5 MT is domestically produced and the rest is imported. Most of the industry players had been projecting increasing consumption of urea in India, given that higher incomes have increased the demand for food in the country. In such a situation, the PM’s call for halving urea consumption by 2022 was somewhat puzzling to the fertiliser industry, more so when the government itself is trying to increase urea production. The government has plans to revive four dormant urea plants in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Barauni (Bihar), Talcher (Odisha) and Ramagundam (Telangana). However, it is also true that in the last five years, urea consumption on a per hectare basis, has stagnated in India and the overall per hectare consumption of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and pottasium (K) has declined somewhat (see Fig). But is this due to dramatic changes in pricing of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and MOP (muriate of potash) as result of the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme? Can we ascribe the fall in consumption to government policies such as those pertaining to SHC(Soil Health Card) or Neem Coated Urea (NCU)? Or does the decline have anything to do with the falling profitability of several crops in the past four years? Perhaps a mix of these factors has led to a stagnation in urea consumption.
Fig: Fertilizer consumption in India Skewed prices of Urea in India: It is well-known that urea prices in India are among the lowest in the world (hovering around $ 86 per tonne). Urea prices in neighbouring countries in South and Southeast Asia, including China, are at least two to three-times higher. Also, the price ratio of urea to DAP and MOP is highly skewed. No wonder, Indian farmers are using higher doses of urea (nitrogen) compared to phosphate (DAP) and potash (MOP), and not getting the best results in terms of yields. Also Indian soils are deficient in micronutrients, especially zinc (about 48 per cent) — a fallout of which is zinc deficiency in wheat and rice, which, in turn, contributes to stunting in children. The imbalanced use of N, P and K, therefore, needs urgent correction. Extremely low prices of urea also lead to its diversion to non-agricultural uses — as well as smuggling to neighbouring countries — that needs to be checked.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Given these realities, serious thought needs to be given to the PM’s call to slash urea consumption. The PM’s call is as important as his call on February 28, 2016 to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. The latter led to the formation of a government committee that has prepared 14-volume report. One should not be surprised if a similar effort goes in preparing a report to halve urea consumption by 2022.
Performance of SHC (Soil Health Cars) and NCU (Neem Coated Urea) Schemes: However, there are already at least two programmes, SHC and NCU, to reduce urea consumption, at least in the short-run. NCU, in fact, has been in place since 2008, when only 20 per cent urea was permitted to be neem coated. This was raised to 35 per cent in 2010, and to 100 per cent in 2015. The underlying assumption is that NCU can improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by about 10 per cent by slowing the release of nitrogen. The SHCs, which have now crossed the 100 million mark, can also help rationalise the use of urea, provided they are backed by a massive extension programme.
How can the misuse of Urea be corrected? The biggest policy instrument, pricing of urea, remains highly distorted. So long as this policy is in place, it will be difficult to achieve any significant reduction in urea consumption, the SHCs and NCU notwithstanding. The record of political parties over the past 15 years or so does not give us hope that the pricing will be corrected to reflect the true cost of production. There is talk of direct benefit transfer (DBT) of subsidies, though, and the government seems to have agreed on the idea in principle. If the government decides to shift the money equivalent of the current fertiliser subsidy bill of Rs 70,000 crore plus directly to farmers’ accounts, and lets the prices of fertilisers be decided by the full play of demand and supply forces, it can immediately stop all diversion to non-agri-uses as well as to other countries. The move will also give the right signals to farmers to use N, P and K in appropriate ratios. It will also excite industry to innovate and bring new products — a win-win situation for all. If the government can move quickly in that direction, there is hope to cut urea consumption significantly, at least for some time.
Changes and suggestions to ‘Skill India’ initiative
Relevancy GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II,III Economy, Polity Skill India Programme India in 2022, IT sector employment National Skill Development corporation
India’s youth and IT sector employment India’s youth makes up about 40% of India’s population. It is seen as the saviour and driver of future economic growth. Yet there is huge gap between the productive labour force and the employment opportunities available to them. India’s status as an information technology (IT) powerhouse has put a false hope that the nation could be saved from future disruption.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The global appeal of the Indian IT industry has been the labour cost arbitrage available to multinational corporations. MNCs are constantly looking to capitalize on a young, educated, English-speaking population of India.
Concerns regarding Indian IT sector employment Low wages cannot drive economic growth or foster innovation. The sector’s professionals are easily replaceable if they ask for higher pay or wish to move up the ladder. IT sector has put the manufacturing and agricultural sectors are in an even more precarious situation. India’s workforce is hampered with outdated and irrelevant skills. As technology continues to move forward at a fast speed, both blue- and white-collar jobs will become difficult to get.
What are the steps taken by India? Indian policymakers are trying to solve the problem and have taken steps to combat it. Its prime example is “Skill India” programme by Indian Government.
What is ‘Skill India’ Programme? Skill India is a flagship programme of government of India. This programme is aimed at accelerating the pace of skill development. It is made to create new employment opportunities. It also attempts to reform India’s archaic labour ecosystem. It includes various initiatives of the government like: o National Skill Development Mission o National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship o Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana o Skill Loan scheme It has aim to train impart skill to over 400 million people by 2022.
Challenges to Skill India The challenges faced by the ministry of skill development are complex and varied. Unreal task: o There is a huge challenge of skilling 400 million young Indians by 2022. o The MSDE is forced to coordinate with 22 departments and multiple ministries at the national level and sub-national levels. Others: o As populations react to new job opportunities, the MSDE also must account for certain possibilities as: . intra-state migration . rapid urbanization . possible changes in social fabric
What are the changes that are needed? Organisational changes: o For India to avoid economic stagnation, additional policy measures must be undertaken to cut through bureaucratic red tape. o The concerned ministry should bring clarity to the policy framework.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o There should be a coherent organizational structure. In NSDC: o The NSDC has been tasked with managing the financing processes while also implementing the skilling programmes. o The two tasks should be separated. o The ministry of finance should be allowed to manage the financial aspects. o It would allow the NSDC to focus on its core competencies, and become more effective and efficient. Training programmes: o MSDE should focus on implementing a multi-skilling aspect to its training programme. o Job markets evolve at unprecedented rates. o It is necessary for MSDE to provide its trainees with more than one way to earn a living. o Also the ministry should also look into skilling and reskilling older “educated” populations that might be left behind due to technological advances. o There should be targeted initiatives focused on updating skills to provide benefits to its intended audience. A solutions-based approach: o Instructors should employ case studies and present relevant problems. o It would provide students with a holistic education, allowing them to compete at both the national and international levels. Regulatory measures: o Implementation of licensing and regulation procedures can also help. o It could be a key difference marker for the Indian labour force moving forward. Others: o Cutting away excessive bureaucratic procedures o implementing structural changes to the skill training system o installing licensing and regulatory mechanisms
Conclusion Skill training should be viewed as a complementary part of mainstream education. It should not be regarded as an inferior alternative. Gainful employment through skilled trades needs to be accepted by the wider Indian public. It should be given the respectability and opportunity it deserves for true change to be brought about. Else India’s youth will be sub ected to the same conditions that their grandparents were sub ect to.
Cabinet Approves New Consumer Protection Bill
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II, III Indian Economy, Consumer redressal, Consumer Protection Bill
Recently: Focused on faster redressal of consumer grievances and to ensure stringent action against unfair trade practices, the Cabinet approved the introduction of the Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The proposed new law assumes importance as there is growing concern over safety of consumer products and services especially after the Maggi controversy.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) New provisions under the Bill: The Bill seeks to enlarge the scope of the existing Act and proposes stricter actions against misleading advertisements and food adulteration. Misleading ads will be tackled even more strictly. The amended Act will provide for the setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority, which will make way for faster redressal of consumer complaints. The Central Authority will have powers to recall products and initiate class suit against defaulting companies, including e-tailers. It will also take up class-action cases, raised by a group of consumers with the same set of complaints. The new law will also provide for proper definition and scope for ecommerce, and the rules regulating the sector. The bill has provisions for “product liability” if product/services cause personal in ury, death or property damage and will take action against defaulting manufacturers or service providers. For speedy disposal of court cases, the bill proposes “mediation” as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The mediation will be under the aegis of consumer courts. The bill also provides for stringent penalty, including life imprisonment in certain cases. The bill also has a provision for setting up of a ‘circuit bench’ to facilitate quicker disposal of complaints and there is an enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer courts that have jurisdiction over the place of residence of the complainant. The complaints will be deemed as admissible if the question of admissibility is not decided within 21 days. The proposed law has much needed provisions ensuring fair equitable and consistent outcomes for consumers. Advanced Pricing Agreement
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2 About APA and its benefits
Introduction One of the disputed issues in taxation related to MNCs is the area of intra company transactions. The pricing of goods and services between two related companies is called transfer pricing. Here, a parent company say in Japan may charge a convenient price from its subsidiary in India to minimise its tax payment in India. For example suppose that Maruti Suzuki India has higher profit and has to pay higher tax to the Government of India. In this case, if Suzuki Japan charges a high price for a component it sold to Maruti, profit of Maruti will come down and the tax payment of the company to GoI will also come down. On the other hand, the revenue of Suzuki Japan will go up. Altogether, the Suzuki Motor Coroporation (SMC) who owns India’s Maruti improves is position; but GoI’s tax revenue affected. To avoid such a manipulation, tax department of India presets the price charged for different components between Maruti and SMC. At the beginning of a year, the price charged for intra company transactions will be determined in advance and will be kept for the coming five years or so. This price arrangement between Maruti and India’s tax department is called advance price agreement.
What is APA? An APA is a contract, usually for multiple years, between a taxpayer and at least one tax authority specifying the pricing method that the taxpayer will apply to its related-company transactions.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) These programmes are designed to help taxpayers voluntarily resolve actual or potential transfer pricing disputes in a proactive, cooperative manner, as an alternative to the traditional examination process.
What are the benefits of APA? APAs gives certainty to taxpayers, reduce disputes, enhance tax revenues and make the country an attractive destination for foreign investments. These agreements would be binding both on the taxpayer as well as the government. Similarly, they lowers complaints and litigation costs.
15th Finance Commission
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2, Prelims Economy, finance commission and its composition Challenges and role of the commission
Recently The 15th Finance Commission led by N.K. Singh held its first meeting this week. This is the first finance commission that will do its work under the new tax system. The tasks before it are unique in the sense that it has to make its recommendations after the rules of fiscal federalism have been profoundly reset by the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST).
What Is Finance Commission? The Finance Commission was established by the President of India in 1951 under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1951 additionally defines the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission. It was formed to define the financial relations between the central government of India and the individual state governments. As per the Constitution, the Commission is appointed every five years and consists of a chairman and four other members..
Composition Of Finance Comission The Finance Commission was set up on November 27 with former Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, and adjunct professor of Georgetown University Anoop Singh as its full-time members and Chairman of Bandhan Bank Ashok Lahiri and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand as part-time members. A statutory body under Article 280(1) of the Constitution, it will prescribe the formula for devolution of taxes between the Centre and States for five years commencing on April 1, 2020. It is expected to submit its report by October 30, 2019.
What are the terms of reference of 15th finance comission ? The terms of reference of the new commission have suggested linking transfers to a range of parameters, such as efforts made to deepen GST, how quickly a state moves towards the
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) replacement level of fertility, eliminating power sector losses, improving the ease of doing business, adoption of direct benefit transfers and progress in sanitation. These performance parameters are clearly a reflection of the policy preferences of the Narendra Modi government.
What are the challenges before 15th Finance comission? A focus on state finances is needed, especially given the recent deterioration in the fiscal parameters of the states. But the finance commission should also not ignore the fiscal health of the Union government, given its importance in the overall macro performance of the Indian economy. Every finance commission has to do a political balancing act. It needs to give more resources to the states given the growing importance of sub-national governments in the Indian political economy. It also needs to ensure that New Delhi is not fiscally constrained given its role in key national public goods such as defence. Federalism can flourish only when it is accompanied by a strong central agency
What new role has been confered on finance commission ? Apart from performing its constitutionally mandated job of deciding on the distribution of shareable central tax proceeds among centre, states and local bodies for the first time in the post GST era, the 15th Finance Commission has been asked to recommend appropriate levels of general and consolidated government debt and deficit levels for the centre and states.
Which census would be the basis of devolution of finances? One important change—and a tricky political issue—is the decision to use population according to the 2011 census as the base for calculating the expenditure needs of various states. Even the 14th Finance Commission had been explicitly asked to use the 1971 population numbers while deciding the devolution formula. The shift to the latest demographics is necessary since public goods expenditure by the states has to be linked to the number of citizens, but it could also be a sore point for southern states that have been more successful in reducing their rate of population growth.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Spinal Biodiscs
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Sci-tech, Health, Spinal Biodiscs
Recently: Researchers from IIT-Guwahati have fabricated a spinal biodisc construct using Mulberry Silk that is similar to human intervertebral disc in form and function. The biodiscs have been successfully tried on mice. If approved for use in humans, the biodisc can be used for spinal disc replacement therapy.
More about Biodisc: As per the researchers, the most challenging part was replicating the anatomical form of the disk (annulus fibrosus, or AF). The human disc is marked by 20-25 cross-aligned layers where successive layers are at 30 degrees angle to its vertical axis, but in alternate directions; this structure gives the disc superior compressive strength. The construct had a load-bearing capacity comparable with the human disk. Constructs seeded with cells taken from the disk of a pig or human mesenchymal stem cells (a type of stem cells) that became AF-like cells were able to grow and multiply within the structures. As per the animal studies, the construct has been proved to be biocompatible.
New island may offer insights into Mars
Relevancy: Facts for Prelims Science and Technology, Space science, Mars
Recently: As per NASA, the world’s newest island — formed during a volcanic eruption in the remote Pacific three years ago — may offer clues to how life potentially developed on Mars.
Details on Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai: The island of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai rose from the seabed about 65 km northwest of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa in late 2014 or early 2015. Scientists initially expected the island — created when vast quantities of rock and dense ash spewed from the earth’s crust — to wash away within a few months. But NASA said it had proved more resilient than expected, possibly because warm sea water combined with ash during the volcanic explosion to create a concrete-like substance known as “tuff”. While the island — which initially measured one km wide, two km long and about 100 metres high — has undergone significant erosion, it is now expected to last anywhere from six to 30 years. Mars has many similar volcanic islands.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Net Neutrality And FCC
Relevancy G.S. Paper 3 About FCC and its impact on net neutrality Net neutrality in US and India
How FCC has voted against net neutrality in US? The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines repeal landmark 2015 rules aimed at ensuring a free and open internet, setting up a court fight over a move that could recast the digital landscape. The approval of FCC Chairman A it Pai’s proposal in a 3-2 vote marked a victory for internet service providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc and hands them power over what content consumers can access. It also is the biggest win for Pai in his sweeping effort to undo many telecommunications regulations since taking over at the agency in January.
Who all wanted to end net neutrality regime? Democrats, Hollywood and companies such as Google parent Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc had urged Pai, a Republican appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump, to keep the Obama-era rules barring service providers from blocking, slowing access to or charging more for certain content. The new rules give internet service providers sweeping powers to change how consumers access the internet but must have new transparency requirements that will require them to disclose any changes to consumers.
How can this decision of FCC impact net neutrality in INDIA? Impact of the decision of FCC will be minimal in INDIA as Trai has already takes decision on the same. Moreover, in the past TRAI has already cancelled the free basics of Facebook and Plan zero of airtel.
Methanol Economy
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Sci-tech, alternative resources of energy, Methanol economy
Recently: A Combined meeting of the four task forces on Methanol was held under the chairmanship of Member, NITI Aayog, Dr.V.K.Saraswat. The task forces comprised of experts, scientists and academicians took stock of the progress in the efforts to explore and give a push to Methanol economy in the country. The four task forces were set up six months ago and since then a series of meetings and deliberations have taken place to explore and give a push to methanol economy in the country. Dr Saraswat said Methanol has emerged as a clean, cheaper, safer and pollution free energy option which can be used for transportation fuels and cooking fuel. India has the potential to undertake the production of Methanol from high ash coal using indigenous technology with the help of industry.
Benefits of Methanol as a fule: Cleanest Fuel:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o As per professor G K Satyprakash, author of Beyond Oil and Gas: Methanol Economy and an expert on methanol, it the cleanest fuel known to mankind. o “Methanol is the simplest form of alcohol — a single carbon solution — since it has no carbon carbon bond they do not emit particulate matter making the fuel clean”. Easy transition: o Existing facilities can be ramped up to convert the high ash coal, stranded gas, and Biomass into Methanol. o With small, relatively inexpensive, modifications to the engine, petrol and diesel cars can be made methanol compatible. In fact, if the percentage of methanol is under 15 per cent, even existing engines can run the fuel. o M-85: It is only M-85 (which is 85% methanol and 15 % gasoline) that needs engine modification. Reduction in Import Bill: o India can reduce its crude oil import bill substantially. Easily available raw material: o Methanol is a clear and colorless liquid produced from natural gas, coal and renewable biomass including the solid waste. o Methanol can be easily produced from renewable sources like agricultural waste, forest residue and naptha and biomass waste can be converted through gasification. Increase in exports: o There is the added benefit that methanol produced here can be exported to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan which have comparable economies and with similar energy circumstances. Waste management: o Methanol production can be an effective waste management method and effectively use the 1 million tonnes of biomass India produces every month to generate fuel.
Efforts being made in order to introduce Methanol in the economy: With India’s strong stand on climate change and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to use renewable sources of energy, it seems India is taking methanol much more seriously now. At a NITI Aayog seminar on Methanol Economy earlier this month, Minister of Coal and Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan appealed to PSUs to organise startup funds for research in the field. India has even signed a Statement of Intent with the Methanol Institute of the US to further work on the technology. The country depends on fossil fuels and petroleum for 80-90% of its energy requirements and around Rs. 4.5 lakh crore is spent every year importing oil.
Case studies: Methanol is slowly gaining prominence across the world. Israel recently started using methanol as a fuel, while it has been popular in Brazil for many years. China is the largest producer of methanol and has seen a rapid expansion in consumption and production in the last decade. Machine Learning And New Planets
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Sci-tech, Space technology, Kepler telescope, Machine learning, new planets- Kepler 80g, Kepler 90i.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Recently: Google and NASA said that advanced computer analysis identified two new planets around distant stars, including one that is part of the first star system with as many planets as Earth’s solar system. Astronomers had never before observed an eight-planet network beside the solar system that includes Earth Advancements in hardware and new techniques for machine learning have made it possible in recent years for automated software to tackle data analysis in science, finance and other industries
Machine Learning and Neural networks: The research by Google and the University of Texas at Austin that used data from NASA raised the prospects of new insights into the universe by feeding data into computer programmes that can churn through information faster and more in-depth than humanly possibly, a technique known as machine learning. In this case, software learned differences between planets and other objects by analysing thousands of data points, achieving 96% accuracy, NASA. The data came from the Kepler telescope which NASA launched into space in 2009 as part of a planet-finding mission that is expected to end next year as the spacecraft runs out of fuel. The software's artificial “neural network” combed through data about 670 stars, which led to the discovery of planets Kepler 80g and Kepler 90i. The latter, a scorching, rocky mass 30% larger than Earth, is the eighth planet found to be orbiting the same star.
Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART): FSSAI guidelines
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper III Sci-tech, Health, FSSAI guidelines on food adulteration, DART
Recently: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released a manual for quick detection of adulterants in everyday food items. The book “Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART)” lists 41 easy tests that can be done at home..
Here is a list of some tests you can do today at home: Common adulterants o Refrigerate coconut oil for 30 minutes. Coconut oil freezes; any other adulterant will remain on top as a separate layer. o Mix a small amount of milk and water and shake it vigorously, if adulterated with detergents, the solution will form lather. o Cut a piece of potato and sprinkle salt on it. Wait for a minute and add two drops of lemon juice to it. If it is iodised salt, blue colour will develop. o Move a magnet through your flour, tea powder to check for iron fillings. o Identify fungus in food grains by soaking them in salt solution. The fungus floats while the grains settle. o Similarly papaya seeds float, whereas pepper sinks. o When burned in a small spoon, asafoetida burns like camphor, if adulterated it will not produce a bright flame. Detection of clay and chicory in coffee powder
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Add coffee powder to water and stir. If coffee powder is adulterated, you can see clay and chicory moving to the bottom and settling. Detection of artificial colours o In green peas, you can see the malachite green colour separate out when soaked in a glass of water. o For vegetables like ladies finger, green chill and sweet potato, rub a piece of cotton soaked in vegetable oil on its surface. If coloured, you can see the cotton catch colour. You can do the test for ragi as well. o Soak whole turmeric in water, if adulterated it will leave a bright yellow colour indicating the presence of lead chromate.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) SECURITY Data Protection Laws
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 About data protection and need for it. B.N. SRIKRISHNA Committee for data protection and guidelines provided by the committee. White paper released by the committee. Major companies that store data globally and locally Aadhaar act and data protection laws in India
Recently B.N srikrishna committee has come out with the ten principles that should form the basis of the DATA PROTECTION ACT .
What is Data Protection? Individuals, as citizens and consumers need to have the means to exercise their right to privacy and protect themselves and their information from abuse. This is particularly the case when it comes to our personal information. Data protection is about safeguarding our fundamental right to privacy, which is enshrined in international and regional laws and conventions. Data protection is commonly defined as the law designed to protect your personal information, which is collected, processed and stored by “automated” means or intended to be part of a filing system.
Need For Data Protection Every time you use a service, buy a product online, register for email, go to your doctor, pay your taxes, or enter into any contract or service request, you have to hand over some of your personal information. Even without your knowledge, information about you is being generated and captured by companies and agencies you are likely to have never knowingly interacted with. The only way citizens and consumers can have confidence in both government and business is through strong data protection practices, with effective legislation to help minimise needless monitoring by officialdom and regulate surveillance by companies.
The committee for Data Protection Justice B N Srikrishna, former judge of the Supreme Court of India head a Committee of experts which has been formed to deliberate on a data protection framework for the country. The government led ten-member committee will "identify key data protection issues in India and recommend methods of addressing them.” Recently committee has come out with the white paper on Data Protection in which it had detailed about Key principles that should form the basis of the Data protection law.
The key principles to become basis of data protection law Committee has issued 7 major key guidelines for framing data protection law.
Technology agnostic: The data protection law must take into account the continuous change in technology and standards of compliance.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Holistic application: The law must cover both the private sector and the government sector. The committee of experts, however, also talks about “differential obligations” in case of “certain legitimate state aims”. Informed consent: The white paper talks about “informed consent” and not ust consent. It says the consent should be “informed and meaningful”. It is not clear what “informed consent” means. Whether it refers to collection of data from users while keeping them informed about the process of data collection or it refers to the usual sense of the word — wherein users’ permission will be sought first and they will have the right to opt out. Data minimization: The data collected or being processes should be minimal — only that data which is necessary for the purpose for which it is being sought. However, the white paper also adds, the data will also be collected for “and other compatible purposes beneficial for the data sub ect”. Controller accountability: The committee is clear on fixing accountability of data controllers. It says, “The data controller should be held accountable for any processing of data, whether by itself or entities with whom it may have shared the data for processing.” Structured enforcement: The committee proposes to set up “a high-powered statutory authority”, which “must co-exist with appropriately decentralized enforcement mechanisms.” Deterrent penalties: It proposes for “adequate” penalties for “wrongful processing” to ensure deterrence.
What has not been addressed in the white paper released by Sri Krishna committee? There is not understanding of the many technologies that come together currently to protect data in India. A digital economy — such as India’s — relies overwhelmingly on imported technologies cannot be levelled overnight to make way for a uniform data protection law. For instance, more than 80% of Indian smartphone users today rely on Google’s Android operating system. But the majority of those mobile devices are sold by Samsung, Xiaomi or Oppo. Does the committee believe an operating system designed in Silicon Valley and a mobile phone manufactured in China’s Guangdong Province have similar rules to protect data? Or better still, can they be made to comply with a single, catch-all set of data protection standards? The data protection laws cannot be imposed on the territory outside India.
Where Is The Data Stored By The Major Companies? Many of the world’s giant data centres are located in northern climes near water bodies, since they require mild temperatures and enormous quantities of water to cool thousands of servers. Perhaps, if the data of every citizen were to be held inside the country, the state could probably enforce rules for its storage and sharing.
What Can't Data Be Stored Locally? The U.S. Department of Energy in 2015 estimated that data centres in the country took about 2% of its overall power supply. Can India, with its round-the-year warm climate and scarce natural resources, really afford to divert electricity and water to maintain data centres? State and central governments will also need to spend substantial amounts on physically securing these installations. The theory of comparative advantage tells us that India is better off relying on servers located elsewhere, while gaining in connectivity and access to high-quality digital products.
How can the data protection be assured in a better manner in Aadhar act? In Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI) case Government is the custodian not only of Aadhaar data, but also data servers and secure lines that store and transport them.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) It is possible, therefore, to have a uniform law that can be strictly enforced. With a data protection statute, this may not be entirely feasible. When the data is stored outside for storage it becomes impossible to protect its usage. However the countries around the world are becoming strict and hence the new era that will be dawning the human civilization will be of data protection.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND GLOBAL ISSUES Wassenaar Arrangement and India
Relevancy: GS Mains paper III International Organisation, India’s Nuclear policy, Wassenaar arrangement
Recently: India was introduced as a member of Wassenaar Arrangement on 8th December, 2017.
Is India a nuclear power? Before its nuclear weapons test in 1998, India was considered a nuclear capable country but was not recognised as one. This meant that there was no formal recognition that India was capable of producing both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The reason for this was mainly because India had not acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which aims to prevent spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology and promote nuclear disarmament, which India considered discriminatory since it could do so only as a non-nuclear power. That would mean that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the U.S., the U.K., China, France and Russia — coincidentally all nuclear powers, would in effect continue to deny India the recognition as a nuclear power as well, even though it was widely acknowledged as a nuclear capable country after the 1974 “peaceful nuclear explosion” at Pokhran.
What is India's stand? India wanted to break out into the open and be recognised as a nuclear power like the other nuclear countries and be part of the global nuclear order. For that to happen, India needed to be recognised as a nuclear power and be made part of the global non-proliferation architecture. There are four groupings of countries that multilaterally work to prevent and address proliferation of nuclear weapons: i) Wassenaar Arrangement, ii) Missile Control Technology Regime (MCTR), iii) Australia Group and iv) Nuclear Suppliers Group. India has recently become the member of Wassenaar Arrangement. It became MCTR’s member last year. India is not yet a member of Australia Group and Nuclear Suppliers Group.
What is the Wassenaar Arrangement? The Wassenaar Arrangement is a grouping of 42 countries, of which India is the latest member. Its aims include: To bring about security and stability, by fostering transparent practices in the process of sale and transfer of arms and materials and technologies that can be used to make nuclear weapons with a view to prevent any undesirable build-up of such capabilities. To prevent these proscribed items and technologies from falling into the hands of terrorists. To “enhance co-operation to prevent the acquisition of armaments and sensitive dual-use items for military end-uses, if the situation in a region or the behaviour of a state is, or becomes, a cause for serious concern to the Participating States.”
How do Wassenaar countries do this? www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) They periodically exchange detailed and specific information on transfer or denial of items or technology, both conventional and nuclear capable, to countries outside the grouping. This is done through maintenance and updating of detailed lists, of dual use and munitions that are considered militarily significant. The disclosure of such sale or transfer is voluntary.
Advantages More access to technologies: India will be able to more easily access dual use technologies and materials and military equipment that are proscribed for non-participating members. Easy sale: India will also be able to sell its nuclear reactors and other materials and equipment indigenously produced without attracting adverse reactions. Future collaborations: It will also be in a better position to collaborate with other countries in developing such capabilities.
Will it help India join other groups? As discussed earlier, there are four groupings which deal with the international regulation over Nuclear technologies i.e. Wassenaar Arrangement, MCTR, Australia Group, Nuclear Suppliers Group. There are more or less the same countries in all these groupings, with one crucial exception i.e. China. China, which has been opposed to India’s entry into the NSG, is not part of both the MTCR as well as the Australia Group. So it should be easier to get into the Australia Group.
US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city
Relevancy GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II International relations Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine US middle east policy Jews, Jew holy city
Recently U.S. President Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The US administration would also begin a process of moving the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Significance of Jerusalem Jerusalem has the Western Wall which is a part of the mount on which the Holy Temple stood, containing the Holy of Holies. It the most sacred Jewish site where Jews believe the foundation creating the world was located. It also contains the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. It is the third holiest site in Islam where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son. It also contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and where he rose again.
What is the history of the Jerusalem issue?
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Jerusalem is the symbol of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The fight is about who gets to control the ancient city which is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Their fight is over both faith and civic space. After the end of the First Arab-Israel War in 1948, Jerusalem was partitioned into West and East. The West was under the Israeli and East under the Palestinian control. But in 1967 there occurred a Six-Day Arab-Israel War. In this war the Israel snatched East Jerusalem from Jordanian forces. Israel’s Parliament then declared the territory been “annexed to Israel” and Jerusalem been “reunited”.
What is happening now? The predominantly Palestinian population in the east lives under full Israeli control. But it cannot vote in parliamentary elections. This has marginalised the Palestinians. Now the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be their capital under the “two-state solution”. Israel didn’t agree to this demand even under the refusal of the international community to officially accept the annexation. It has added over 200,000 Jewish settlers to the once entirely Arab East Jerusalem.
International stand over the issue The positions of countries on the status of Jerusalem differs. But no country recognises the Israeli claim to the territory. The international community considers east Jerusalem illegally occupied by Israel. Also the UN reaffirmed that Jerusalem’s Palestinian territories were under “hostile occupation”. India has always backed a two-state solution to the issue. But most foreign embassies to Israel are in Tel Aviv and not Jerusalem. India has assured that the Indian embassy would stay in Tel Aviv.
What did US do? U.S. President Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The US administration would also begin a process of moving the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Significance of the US move For Jerusalem: o US’s move reflects Jerusalem as the centre of Jewish faith. o It stresses on the fact that the city is the seat of the Israeli government. For US: o US has proposed to begin a peace process in the area. o US is doing all this to please the pro-Israel hardliners. o Also the overwhelming Jewish population in US cannot be ignored. o Secondly, according to analysts there appears to be a bigger regional game being played by the US. o This could be possibly a US-Saudi-Israel alliance against Iran which is seen as their common enemy.
What is the International response to the US step? The Islamic world is outraged by this step of United States.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Many Arab leaders have warned of an upheaval in the already disturbed Middle East. Palestine too has warned of dangerous consequences. According to Palestine the decision was a declaration of war in the region. Neighbouring Jordan and Turkey have also cautioned the US. They have threatened to cut ties with Israel. Militant groups in the region could possibly take aggressive stances. The UN has said that the issue on the holy city must be resolved only through direct negotiations.
US National Security Strategy and India
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II International Relations, Indo-USA, National Security Strategy (NSS)
Recently: United States President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy (NSS), announced recently, promises support for India’s emergence as a “leading global power,” while identifying China, Russia and Islamism as main threats. Enhancing India’s global standing from being a ‘balancing power’ to be a ‘leading power’ has been a stated strategic objective of the Narendra Modi government.
Details of NSS: As per the NSS, the US seeks to increase quadrilateral cooperation with Japan, Australia, and India. The strategy also talks of “expanding US defence and security cooperation with India, a Major Defence Partner of the United States, and support India’s growing relationships throughout the region”. India finds mention as a partner in Mr. Trump’s plans for South and Central Asia and Indo-Pacific, while China is named as a threat in both sections. India has unequivocally welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of the National Security Strategy (NSS) for his country during his tenure.
Analysis of the NSS document:
Common obbjectives between Indian and the US: Mr. Trump’s views of China’s assault on the “sovereignty” of South Asian nations and of Pakistan’s continued support to terror groups are closely aligned with India’s concerns in the neighbourhood. It is significant that the U.S. has highlighted them. In its response, New Delhi has “appreciated the strategic importance” given to India as well as the common ob ectives that India and the U.S. now share.
Contradictory commitments: The document seeks to balance Mr. Trump’s 'America First' politics with the country’s traditional strategic principles, and consequently makes contradictory commitments. It calls for “advancing American principles that spreads peace and prosperity around the globe,” at one place, while at another, it says America will seek partnerships with countries “each with its own cultures and dreams.”
Dismissal by the critiques:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Predictably, the five countries singled out by the U.S. for criticism (China, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea and Iran) have not been as warm in their response. China has accused the U.S. of pursuing what it calls a “cold war mentality and the zero-sum game”. Russia has said that the strategy reeks of “imperialism” as the NSS accuses China and Russia of using their military might to deny America access to what it calls “critical commercial zones”. Pakistan, Iran and North Korea have also been dismissive.
Conclusion: India must be mindful and should avoid getting swept by the US categorizations of its perceived security threats. It is imperative to follow a wait and watch policy as the NSS is not backed by a pragmatic plan. Moreover, there is not much stability in Trump’s policies, as against terrorism or for coalition support funds. For example, while the U.S. has talked of countering China’s influence in South Asia, it has not backed this with actual financial assistance for infrastructure critical to the region. Equally, while Mr. Trump’s words on Pakistan and terrorism are sharp, the U.S. has yet to show its hand, either in terms of military action or withholding of the support funds. While the U.S. strategy deals with global concerns, the past year has seen American withdrawal from pacts ranging from the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Paris agreement on climate change. A tough U.S. security strategy can only be realised through cogent policymaking — whether it is on Israel-Palestine, North Korea, Iran or Afghanistan, Mr. Trump has been publicly at odds with his key advisers. A watch-and-wait stance is still India’s best option to preserve the autonomous and pluralistic nature of its engagement in areas where the U.S. faces its greatest challenges.
UN Security Council Reform
Relevancy G.S. Paper 3 Need for Reforms in UN security council
Why the security council should be reformed? The composition of the Security Council was established in 1945. Since then the geopolitical realities have changed drastically, but the Council has changed very little. The victors of World War IIshaped the United Nations Charter in their national interests, dividing the permanent seats, and associated veto power, among themselves. Any reform of the Security Council would require an amendment to the Charter Reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) encompasses five key issues: categories of membership, o The question of the vetoheld by the five permanent members, o Regional representation, o The size of an enlarged council and its working methods,and the security council-general assembly relationship. o Member states, regional groups and other member state interest groupings developed different positions and proposals on how to move forward on this contested issue. Out of all the proposed areas of reform, Veto issue is the main issue.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) What is the requirement for reforming the Security council? Any reform of the Security Council would require the agreement of at least two-thirds of UN member states, and that of all the permanent members of the UNSC enjoying the veto right.
What is veto power? The United Nations Security Council "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States), enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" resolution. Abstention or absence from the vote by a permanent member does notprevent a draft resolution from being adopted. However, the veto power does not apply to "procedural" votes, as determined by the permanent members themselves
How this Veto power has been used till date? This is a list of United Nations Security Council Resolutions that have been vetoed by one of the five permanent members of the security council between 16 February 1946 to the present day. Number of resolutions vetoed by each of the five permanent members of the Security Council between 1946 and 2017.
What is G4 group? Japan and Germany had become the second- and third-largest financial contributors to the United Nations, and started to demand a permanent seat. Also Brazil (fifth largest country in terms of territory) and India (second largest country in terms of population) as the most powerful countries within their regional groups and key players within their regions saw themselves with a permanent seat. This group of four countries formed an interest group later known as the G4.
What is coffee club and why they are opposed to G4 group? Regional rivals were opposed to the G4 becoming permanent members with a veto power. They favored the expansion of the non-permanent category of seats with members to be elected on a regional basis. Italy, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt started to form an interest group, known as the "Coffee Club" and later "Uniting for Consensus".
What is African group and what is its demand? The African Group has 54 members (28% of all UN members), and is thus the largest regional group by number of member states. It is the only regional group that has a territory that coincides with the traditional continent of which its name originates. They demand representation due to historical wrongs done against them
What is Uniting for Consensus? On 26 July 2005, five UN member countries, Italy, Argentina, Canada, Colombia and Pakistan, representing a larger group of countries called Uniting for Consensus lead by Italy, proposed to the General Assembly another project that maintains five permanent members and raises the number of non-permanent members to 20. On May 2011, 120 UN members states participated in a Uniting for Consensus meeting in Rome
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The US must follow the UN verdict on Jerusalem
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II International relations, USA-Israel, Jerusalem issue, Israel-Palestine issue
Recently: On 7th Dec. U.S President Donald Trump broke decades of U.S. and international policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He also said the United States would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, though he set no timetable. After this declaration, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called for a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israeli Prime Minister Ben amin Netanyahu said that Trump's decision had made for a "historic day” and was “an important step towards peace". The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on 22nd Dec to denounce President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, largely ignoring Mr. Trump’s threats to cut off aid to any country that went against him.
Results of the resolution: The nonbinding resolution declaring U.S. action on Jerusalem “null and void” was approved 128-9 a victory for the Palestinians, but not as big as they predicted. Amid Washington’s threats, 35 of the 193 U.N. member nations abstained from voting and 21 were absent. The resolution reaffirmed what has been the United Nations’ stand on the divided holy city since 1967- that Jerusalem’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The Trump administration made it clear the vote would have no effect on its plan to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But in the end, major U.S. aid recipients including Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and South Africa supported the resolution. Egypt received roughly $1.4 billion in U.S. aid this year, and Jordan about $1.3 billion. The nine countries voting “no” were: the U.S., Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Togo. The countries which abstained from voting: Australia, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Mexico. The absent countries included: Kenya, which was the fifth-largest recipient of U.S. aid last year, Georgia and Ukraine, all of which have close U.S. ties. But within hours, the Trump administration appeared to be backing away from its funding threats. Mr. Trump complained that Americans are tired of being taken advantage of by countries that take billions of dollars and then vote against the U.S. Ms. Haley echoed his words in her speech to the packed assembly chamber, threatening not only member states with funding cuts, but the United Nations itself. “It is unethical to think that the votes and dignity of member states are for sale,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We will not be intimidated! You can be strong but this does not make you right!”
India’s stand:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) India has voted for the resolution. By doing so, India has affirmed its traditional policy in favour of a negotiated settlement for Jerusalem as part of a larger two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided mentioning the contours of the settlement during his visit to Jerusalem in July this year, India’s support to the creation of a Palestinian state according to UN Resolution 181 (1948) was heavily underscored in his statement to the UN in November, just days before Mr. Trump’s decision. In choosing to vote for the resolution at the UNGA, India has shown clarity of purpose that also aligns with the broad global consensus.
Conclusion: With all its weaknesses, the UN is a global collective, and it is imperative to acknowledge its mandate when such a large number of nations speak in one voice. The U.S. only recently asserted its intention to uphold the international rules-based order in its National Security Strategy document. It cannot now just walk away from both UN resolutions and its national commitment to the Israel- Palestine peace process by unilaterally changing its stand on the status of Jerusalem, without being accused of doublespeak.
The Task for Nepal begins
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II International affairs, India’s neighbours, Nepal elections, Constutional provisions of other countries (Indian Polity).
Recently: The polling for the historic parliamentary and provincial elections of Nepal concluded on December 7 peacefully, despite last minute attempts by some desperate elements to disturb them. The elections have been held under the first ever constitution of Nepal made in 2015) The elections, held in two phases: o On November 26 - In 32 pahadi and himali districts and o On December 7 - In the remaining 45. A left alliance comprising of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) is leading, with its ally, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) not far behind.
Three tier elections in a short span of time: Earlier this year, local government elections were held in three phases on May 14, June 28 and September 18 in six metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities. The holding of two sets of national elections conducted for all three tiers within a span of seven months is a remarkable achievement of the Election Commission in fulfilment of the constitutional mandate. A highlight of the elections was the enthusiastic popular participation as evident from the high voter turnout of 75 per cent in the local elections and approximately 68 per cent in the two phases of simultaneous elections to parliament and provincial assemblies. Free, fair and independent elections: The European Union and the Carter Centre, which sent the biggest teams, have both commented on the fairness of the elections.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Transition from a Hindu Kingdom to a federal democratic republic: The process began in November 2006 with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to set up a federal structure. A Constituent Assembly (CA) was elected in 2008 for a term of two years. It, however, failed to bring out the new constitution despite giving itself repeated extensions, till the Supreme Court put its foot down to sack it in 2012. The second CA, elected in 2013, proved much more efficient and productive, coming up with the new constitution within two years.
Voter education played a great role: A noteworthy feature is that the elections were held simultaneously to the provincial and national parliament, something which has seen a hot topic of debate in India for the last couple of years. Despite a high 35 per cent illiteracy rate of voters, they had no problem handling as many as three ballot papers — o one for the provincial assembly, o one for parliament, under the first-past-the-post (FPTP), and o the third for proportional representation (PR) system for both the tiers. o This was made possible by a rather effective voter education programme put together in a short time.
Understanding the Democratic structure of Nepal: . It is significantly different from India. . The parliament: It would be bicameral i.e. with one lower house and one upper house. The lower house — the House of Representatives (HoR) — would consist of 275 members with 165 members directly elected by FPTP (as in India) and 110 indirectly elected by PR. The upper house, called the National Assembly, consisting of 59 members is yet to be constituted. It will have eight members each from the seven provinces, elected by an electoral college consisting of the elected legislators. The remaining three will be nominated by the president. o Provincial assemblies: The seven provincial assemblies together have 550 members of which 330 are directly elected through FPTP and 220 by PR. o Post Election challenges: Constitutional experts now foresee serious post-election challenges, including appointments of province chiefs, determination of provincial capitals and giving shape to political structures in the provinces. o National Assembly Bill: A bill regarding the formation of National Assembly (upper House) is still pending owing to serious disagreements among political parties on the election process. o Naming of Provinces: It’s a curious situation that the provinces are not even named yet and are identified by their numbers. o Issue of Madhesis and Janjatis: It may be recalled that some amendments to the constitution which were being demanded by the Madhesis and janjati groups and claimed 50 lives, were postponed in the interest of moving forward. These will come back to haunt the government. o How the alliance is going to work in harmony: The biggest challenge, of course, is to give stability and development, the slogan of the winning Left combination. This, in turn, will depend on how the two main parties of the Left alliance, which have long been at loggerheads, even violently, will stick together sinking their sharp differences.
Lessons for India:
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) . A potential lesson for India is to learn the working of the PR system to make democracy truly representative — a concern being voiced increasingly, especially since the BSP with 20 per cent votes in Uttar Pradesh ended up with zero seats from the state under the questionable FPTP system in the 2014 general election.
Understand the difference between FTPT and PR: First Past the Post (FPTP) . The system is often called the 'winner takes all'. . An important feature of FPTP is that in an FPTP election votes are cast for different individual candidates. . The purpose of the election is to elect a person to represent the local constituency. This is not directly a vote for a political party. . However candidates are usually also representatives of their political parties. . In the election there is only one winner. For convenience it is said that the Party of the MP wins the constituency, but this is only indirectly the case because technically it is the individual who wins. . A weakness of such an electoral system is that it cannot be certain whether such a vote is an expression of support for the candidate or the candidate's party. . The overall election result is taken as the sum of the results (expressed as constituencies or 'seats' won by each party) of all the individual constituency contests. . This way of counting the result does not necessarily reflect the actual balance of votes cast but nevertheless determines which party or parties will form the Government. . This counting method, in effect, ignores all the votes cast for losing candidates.
Proportional Representation (PR) Systems In PR systems such as PR List , AMS / MMP, or DPR Voting, voters cast a vote directly for a party. The votes for each party can be added up to give a total across the country, or across regions. This determines by simple proportionality how many votes each parliamentary party has in the parliament. For the prospective voter, every vote counts. Each PR system then has different ways of determining who should be the representatives of the people in the parliament.
The Eurasian Balance
Relevancy: GS Mains Paper III, Optional: Political Science International relations, India and Europe, Eurasia, India, China and Eurasia
Recently: Three events last week point to the importance of Delhi quickly adjusting its mental maps. The Chabahar port on the south-eastern coast of Iran, formally launched on Sunday by President Hassan Rouhani, opens up not just an alternative route to Afghanistan but also facilitates India’s overland connectivity with Central Eurasia. Second was the annual gathering of the heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Sochi, Russia. Delhi, along with Islamabad, was accepted earlier this year as a full member of this organisation whose membership covers the heart of Eurasia but is named after a city on China’s Pacific coastline. A third and equally consequential event last week in Budapest, Hungary went entirely unreported in India. It was the annual summit of an organisation called C-CEEC that promotes cooperation between China and
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) 16 Central and East European Countries. It is more popularly known as “sixteen plus one”. That India is hardly interested in this new forum underlines the problem it has in dealing with a changing Eurasia.
How and when “Indo-Pacific” gained its prominence: If Indo-Pacific is an idea that gained traction during 2017, Delhi must now cope with another expansive geopolitical construct — Eurasia. The Indian political and policy establishment, long brought up on the notion that Europe and Asia are different, must adapt to their slow but certain integration into a single geopolitical theatre. But it was really Japan’s Shinzo Abe who imagined the Indo-Pacific. Australia was quick to adopt it. Jakarta, which along with Delhi dreamt of Asian unity and founded the non-aligned movement in the middle of the last century, was enthusiastic in its embrace of the Indo-Pacific. Like India, America was not quite sure. It was President Donald Trump who ended American ambivalence by consistently using the term “Indo-Pacific” during Asian tour last month. One wonders if the concept of “Indo-Pacific” survives the Trump Administration.
The story of Eurasia is a little more complex. Role of China: Beijing is breaking down the idea that Europe and Asia are two different continents. More immediately, it is about the expanding Chinese economic and political influence in spaces that were once dominated by either the West or Russia. To be sure, China is not about to supplant America’s large military footprint, Russia’s political weight or the European Union’s economic heft in Central Europe. But in exporting large amounts of capital for infrastructure development, drawing its economies east ward, and creating new political groupings, China has begun to undermine the Western hubris and Russian self-regard in Central Europe. It also widens the strategic options for Central European states. Fed up with bullying from both Brussels and Moscow, the Central Europeans are quite happy to play ball with China.
The problem for India is two fold: Delhi’s world-view, traditionally defined in terms of an irreconcilable tension between “East and West”, “North and South” or “Europe and Asia” is becoming unsustainable as China’s massiveSilk Road Initiative begins to integrate Europe with Asia. The old metrics of foreign policy purity in Delhi — distance from the West and solidarity with the East — make no sense as Chinese expansion and American retrenchment reshape the political and economic geography of Eurasia.
Conclusion: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put India back in play in the maritime world by accepting the Indo- Pacific idea. But Delhi is yet to come to grips with continental Eurasia. If the Great Himalayan barrier and post-Partition geography have made it hard for India to develop connectivity with inner Asia, Delhi has been reluctant to walk though the open door in Europe. Focused as it is on bilateral relations with France, Germany and Russia, Delhi has neglected the European Union and ignored Central Europe. Correcting this imbalance is the first step towards a more purposeful Indian engagement with Eurasia.
The Buenos Aires Meet Of World Trade Organization (WTO)
Relevancy G.S paper 3
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The Buenos Aires meet of WTO The peace clause and different types of subsidies
Recently The “collapse” of talks at last week’s trade ministerial may have raised questions about WTO’s future, but they did not go off too badly for India. Unlike the ministerials at Bali (2013) and Nairobi (2015), India did not concede any ground. At Bali, India agreed to trade facilitation rules in exchange for virtually nothing — a ‘peace clause’ till 2017 on its food procurement subsidies. At Nairobi, India unconditionally agreed to phase out export subsidies by 2023. Perhaps, India fielded a better prepared negotiation team this time.
Outcomes Of The Buenos Aires Meet Of WTO The focus of the Buenos Aires meet was on public stockholding and e-commerce. India, backed by China, managed to get the developing countries, including LDCs, to push for a permanent solution to public stockholding. India managed to prolong the ‘peace clause’ soon after the Bali meet, till a permanent solution was arrived at . India’s oint paper with China on how the US and EU are chiefly responsible for trade-distorting farm subsidies has helped in pushing for a solution where the existing method of evaluating subsidies is dismantled.
About The Peace Clause And Different Types Of Subsidies According to WTO, the subsidies given by a nation’s government can be of classified into 3 types. Green Box subsidy: Subsidy given on Research and Development, Pest Control and Training. Amber Box subsidy: Subsidy given on Fertilizer, Electricity, Diesel, Minimum Support Price (MSP) etc. Blue Box Subsidy: Subsidies that does not increase the production (Not of much significance for India. It is prevalent in Iceland and Slovenia). WTO imposed no restriction on Green Box Subsidy. But on Amber Box subsidy, WTO imposed a restriction for both the developed countries as well as the developing countries. Firstly, the permitted amount of Amber Box subsidy has to be decided on the 1986–87 production value of a nation. Secondly, for Developed countries like USA, the limit is 5% of their 1986–87 production, while for developing countries like India, the limit is 10%. While it may seem logical as developing countries are allowed to give more subsidy than developed countries, the number seems logical only when it is in percentage. In absolute value, 5% of USA renders a much higher figure than 10% of India, since 1986–87 production was much lower for countries like India, than USA. For developing countries, this limit is insufficient to provide Food Security to the poor, to provide income support to the farmers and so on. So, on the 9th Ministerial Conference of WTO at Bali, Peace Clause was issued. According to this clause, developing countries will be allowed to give more than 10% subsidy to their people and for 4 years, till 2017, no country can complain against that to WTO, Also, the clause stated that such subsidy should aim only at food security or to help the poor. Permanent solution was sought by the 11th conference ( 2017) This was a temporary solution to the issues faced by developing countries. So, Narendra Modi refused to sign the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) saying that first we need a permanent solution to the subsidy issue. The TFA, to be passed, needed to be signed by all 160 member nations of WTO.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Thus, on November 2014, a deal was signed between Barrack Obama and Narendra Modi, where it was decided that Peace Clause will be valid till infinite period i.e. till any solution is reached.
The 3 nation Indo-Pacific Compact
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II International Relations, Indo-Pacific, The quadrilateral, ASSEAN-India meet
Recently: A trilateral meet of India, Japan and Australia was conducted in new Delhi India, Japan and Australia have “growing convergences” in the Indo-Pacific region. The fourth trilateral between Foreign Secretaries S. Jaishankar and his counterparts, Ms. Adamson and Japanese Vice-Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama, was held in Delhi a month after the first meeting of the Quadrilateral, or Quad, which includes the U.S., was held in Manila.
Issues discussed: The three sides stressed the need for greater collaboration on maritime security and domain awareness and disaster response capabilities. They also renewed their resolve to fight the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed the need for enhanced cooperation on counter-terrorism. a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry said. The three parties also discussed Connectivity issues. The oint statement issued after the meet has also underlined “support for ASEAN centrality in the political and security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region”. This indicates the possibility of trilateral military cooperation along with East Asian nations as well.
ASEAN-India summit India will be hosting a commemorative ASEAN-India summit in Delhi on January 25 2018. Also, all 10 ASEAN-nation leaders will be the chief guests at the coming Republic Day parade. The theme of the engagement this year would focus on the three “C’s” of Commerce, Connectivity and Culture.
Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) and India’s Membership
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3, Foreign Relations About NSG and India’s membership NPT and NSG importance of NSG membership for India
About NSG Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment, and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Why NSG?
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) NSG was formed with the objective of averting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and preventing acts of nuclear terrorism.
Nations in the NSG NSG consists of 48 members which include the five nuclear weapon states US, UK, France, China, and Russia. It is not a formal organization, and its guidelines are not binding. Decisions, including on membership, are made by consensus
India is not a member of NSG. Why? In answer in short – opposition from come countries like China as India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
NPT and NSG NPT (Nonproliferation Treaty) is an international treaty, which came into force in 1970. The main objective was to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology. Apart from India, Pakistan and Israel have also not signed NPT. India refused to sign NPTbecause (1) The NPT defines “nuclear weapons states” as those that tested devices before 1967, which means India cannot ever be one. (2) No fixed timelines have been mentioned for disarmament. (3) NPT is unfair treaty as nuclear weapon states have no obligation to give them up while non-nuclear states are not allowed to have them. India conducted its first Nuclear test -Pokhran-I (Smiling Buddha), in 1974. The nuclear powers were convinced that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) alone would not halt the spread of nuclear weapons. Consequently, NSG was formed in 1974. The current guidelines of NSG state that a non-NPT state cannot become a member of NSG which keeps India out of the group. In 1998 India conducted the second nuclear Test (Operation Shakti). India is committed to voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. It has taken voluntary measures to ensure strong nuclear export control. However, new sanctions were imposed on India by Western Countries, especially US. In the pre-2005 period, the NSG denied fuel for the Tarapur Atomic Power station, while the US used MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) provisions to prevent the transfer of cryogenic engine technology from Russia. India finally managed to have some relief when the US relented and agreed to a civil nuclear dealwith India in 2008. This agreement has been done in view of the requirement for the US under Section 123 of its Atomic Energy Act 1954, hence also known as 123 Agreement. Under this, India signed a civil-military separation plan and India-IAEA safeguard agreement. In return, US diplomacy helped us to get NSG waiver. During a state visit to India in November 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama announced U.S. support for India’s participation in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime, “in a phased manner,” and to encourage the evolution of regime participation criteria to that end, “consistent with maintaining the core principles of these regimes”. India has taken a formal pledge stating that it would not share sensitive nuclear technology or material with others and would uphold its voluntary moratorium on testing nuclear weapons. Due to which the NSG participating governments agreed to grant India a “clean waiver” from its existing rules, which forbid nuclear trade with a country which has not signed the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This made India eligible to receive advanced nuclear technologies that could be used to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium. This has helped India a lot.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) However, being out of the elite NSG group has kept India still out of latest technologies as it is the NSG members that have the latest and the most efficient technology. In 2016 India applied for NSG membership. Pakistan and Namibia followed the suite.
China’s Opposition While a majority of the 48-member group backed India’s membership, China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India’s admission. China insisted that India should sign NPT for NSG membership. It wants a non-discriminatory criterion for the admission of countries who have not signed NPT. It is an open secret that China’s resistance is to facilitate the entry of Pakistan a close ally of China. But Pakistan’s credentials for NSG membership are highly flawed and inadequate. On the other hand, over the years India has shown adherence to IAEA safeguards and has taken voluntary measures to abide by NPT and NSG guidelines while Pakistan has not taken any such initiatives.
NSG membership – Is it important for India? Membership to the NSG will essentially increase India’s access to state-of-the-art technology from the other members of the Group. Access to technology and being allowed to produce nuclear equipment will give a boost to the Make in India program. That will, in turn, boost the economic growth of our country. As per India’s INDC under the Paris Climate agreement, we have committed to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring that 40% of its energy is sourced from renewable and clean sources. In order to achieve this target, we need to scale up nuclear power production. This can only happen if India gains access to the NSG. Namibia is the fourth-largest producer of uranium and it agreed to sell the nuclear fuel to India in 2009. However, that hasn’t happened, as Namibia has signed Pelindaba Treaty, which essentially controls the supply of uranium from Africa to the rest of the world. If India joins the NSG, such reservations from Namibia are expected to melt away.
Factors in favor of India’s membership France got membership in the elite group without signing the NPT. Commitment to nonproliferation: India’s commitment to bifurcate its civilian and military nuclear programs along with its nonproliferation record ensured indigenously developed technology is not shared with other countries. Transparency: India has also ratified an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which means that its civilian reactors are under IAEA safeguards and open for inspections.
Conclusion The recently framed draft proposal for accepting new members into the Nuclear Suppliers Group increases India’s chances of entry into NSG. It’s a welcome development for India as NSG membership would definitely boost the economic and strategic development in the future. Therefore, India should take up this opportunity to aggressively pursue the development of nuclear energy while providing the essential emphasis on safety and addressing concerns of the public. It will also pave the way for clean energy initiatives and continued focus to achieve our commitments to reduce the carbon footprint pledged during the climate summit.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Market Economy Status To CHINA
Relevancy Economy ,G.S paper 3 About market economy and anti-dumping duty. Effect on Indian Market status
Recently U.S. submitted a statement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against granting China market economy status. The statement was made to support the European Union in a dispute with China. Both the U.S. and the EU make the case that China’s economy has not yet transformed into a market economy due to the use of subsidies which distort market prices, a viewpoint which could potentially harm U.S.-China trade relations.
What is market economy status? Market economy status is a status confered on the country exporting the goods. The prices of the goods on which they are imported by the importing coutry are not questioned. On the other hand the non market economy countries don’t have this privelege and the importing country can decide about the price of the commodity w.r.t some other methodology and accordingly it can impose anti-dumping duties on the country for distorting.
What is anti-dumping duty? Dumping is an unfair trade practice of exporting goods to another country at a price lesser than what is paid in the exporting nation or their normal production cost, thereby distorting international trade and causing injury to the domestic manufacturers of the goods in the importing country.
Why is china fighting for the recognition as a market economy? China is fighting the EU for recognition as a market economy, a designation that would lead to dramatically lower anti-dumping duties on Chinese goods by prohibiting the use of third-country price comparisons.
Why USA is not offering the market status to China? Role of state-The U.S. and EU argue that the state’s pervasive role in the Chinese economy, including rampant granting of subsidies, mean that domestic prices are deeply distorted and not market- determined. What is the recent case filed by USA against china w.r.t alluminium foils? The U.S. Commerce Department has found that China dumped aluminum foil on the U.S. market and imposed duties ranging from 97 percent to 162 percent.
What will be the repercussions on India if China is offered market status? Many countries would lose the economic war-A victory for China before the WTO would weaken many countries’ trade defenses against a flood of cheap Chinese goods, putting the viability of more western industries at risk. Moreover this comes against the backdrop of instances of India's manufacturers in steel, chemicals, electrical and electronics sectors being “severely hurt” by “unfairly low-priced” imports from China, and the extensive usage of anti-dumping duty by India to offset the losses caused to the local manufacturers due to dumping.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Of the 535 cases where anti-dumping duties were imposed by India from 1994-2014, a maximum of 134 has been on goods from China. Once China is granted MES, it will severely limit India's ability to resort to anti-dumping as the authorities (DGAD) will have to accept the production costs and selling price in China as the benchmark
India-China-Russia: 15th Trilateral Meet
Relevancy: GS Mains paper II International Relations, India-China-Russia trilateral meeting
Recently: Russia, India and China reiterated their commitment to the United Nations and condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the recent heinous terrorist attacks around the world, in the 15th Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet held in New Delhi, recently.
Details of the meeting: Condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations: RIC, in a joint press statement, said: "We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the recent heinous terrorist attacks around the world and reaffirm our determination to prevent and counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We reaffirm that all acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable irrespective of their motivations, committed wherever and by whomsoever." The three nations further called for greater unity, stronger international partnership and concerted actions by the international community in addressing the menace of terrorism in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality of States and non-interference in their internal affairs. "We call for swift and effective implementation of existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and targetted sanctions relating to terrorism and the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) International Standards worldwide. We agree to strengthen cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities. We condemn all forms of terrorism and all terrorists, terror entities and organizations listed by the UN Security Council," the statement added.
Arms race in Outer-Space: Citing that prevention of arms race in outer space was one of the key factors of maintaining international peace and security, the statement mentioned that the three countries supported efforts in the Conference on Disarmament to elaborate an international legally binding instrument on the prevention of arms race in outer space, including, inter alia, on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space and threat or use of force against outer space assets and support the establishment of a UN Group of Governmental Experts to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of the above-mentioned international legally binding instrument. "We are engaged in dialogue on issues related to the drafting, within the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, of a set of guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities," the statement added.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Other Issues: RIC further commended Russia-led counter-terrorism efforts and achievements in Syria aimed at defeating international terrorism. Apart from terrorism and disarmament, the foreign ministers of the three countries - Sushma Swaraj, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi - discussed the political scenario in the Middle East and North Africa, different challenges in putting world economy back on growth track, transnational organised crime, illicit drug trafficking, food security and climate change.
Global Inequality Report
Relevancy G.S.Paper 2,3 About global inequality report Highlights of the report w.r.t India
What is world inequality report? World Inequality Report is a report by the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics that provides estimates of global income and wealth inequality based on the most recent findings complied by the World Wealth and Income Database (WID). WID, also referred to as WID.world, is an open source database, that is part of an international collaborative effort of over a hundred researchers in five continents. The World Inequality Report includes discussions on potential future academic research as well as content useful for public debates and policy related to economic inequality. The first report, entitled World Inequality Report 2018, which was released on December 14, 2017 at the Paris School of Economics during the first WID.world Conference, was compiled by Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chanel, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman based on WID data. The 300-page report cautions that since 1980, around the globe, there has been an increase in the gap between rich and poor. In Europe, the increase in inequality increased more moderately while in North America and Asia, the increase was rapid. In the Middle East, Africa, and Brazil, income inequality did not increase, but remained at very high levels.
How the report has highlighted the inequality in the report w.r.t. India? There are two other interesting parameters which are spoken about here in the report. The first is cumulative growth per adult between 1980 and 2014. Given the low base, growth was 223 per cent for this period in case of India. For the bottom 50 per cent it was 107 per cent and 112 per cent for the middle 40 per cent, while for the top 10 per cent it was 469 per cent. More alarming is the income growth for the top 1 per cent where it was 857 per cent. This is probably a sharper measure of inequality as it speaks of growth in income over various groups where the richest has witnessed the highest increase over higher base numbers compared with the other categories. The second metric is the share of income growth of various classes for the period 1980-2016. The bottom 50 per cent had a share of just 11 per cent, which is not really out of place with other geographies except the US where it is 2 per cent. The middle 40 per cent had 23 per cent, one of the lowest across regions like the World, the US, Europe, and China.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The top 10 per cent had share of 66 per cent (same as in the US but much lower than in Europe with 48 per cent and China 43 per cent) and top 1 per cent, 28 per cent. This talks of which groups have gained the most on account of cumulative growth.
More about inequality in India The report noted that the temporary end to the publication of tax statistics between 2000–2010 by Indian government highlights the need for more transparency on income and wealth statistics that track the long-run evolution of inequality. “The structural changes to the economy along with changes in tax regulation, appear to have had significant impact on income inequality in India since the 1980s. In 1983, the share of national income accruing to top earners was the lowest since tax records started in 1922: the top 1 per cent captured approximately 6 per cent of national income, the top 10 per cent earned 30 per cent of national income, the bottom 50 per cent earned approximately 24 per cent of national income and the middle 40 per cent just over 46 per cent, but by 1990, these shares had changed notably with the share of the top 10 per cent growing approximately 4 percentage points to 34 per cent from 1983, while the shares of the middle 40 per cent and bottom 50 per cent both fell by 2 percentage points to around 44 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively,” the report said. India introduced an individual income tax with the Income Tax Act of 1922, under the British colonial administration. From that date up to the turn of the twentieth century, the Indian income tax department produced income tax tabulations, making it possible to track the long-run evolution of top incomes in a systematic manner, it said.
Global Hunger Index
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3, Prelims About Global Hunger Index 2017 and IFPRI India’s ranking on GHI
Recently India ranked 100th position among 119 countries on Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017 report released by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute
What is Global hunger index ? The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger situation. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger. The Index was adopted and further developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and was first published in 2006 with the Welthungerhilfe, a German non-profit organization (NPO). Since 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide joined the group as co-publisher
How is index calculated for 2017? The GHI for 2017 is calculated as a weighted average of four standardised indicators, i.e. the percentage of population that is undernourished; percentage of children under five years who suffer from wasting; percentage of children under five who suffer from stunting, and child mortality. Undernourishment and child mortality each make up a third of the GHI score, while child stunting and child wasting make up a sixth of the score, and together make up a third of the score.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) What if IFPRI? The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology. Additionally, IFPRI was meant to shed more light on the role of agricultural and rural development in the broader development pathway of a country
How the world has faread in Global Hunger Index? The regions of the world struggling most with hunger are South Asia and Africa south of the Sahara, with scores in the serious range (30.9 and 29.4, respectively). The scores of East and Southeast Asia, the Near East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States range from low to moderate (between 7.8 and 12.8). These averages conceal some troubling results within each region, however, including scores in the serious range for Tajikistan, Guatemala, Haiti, and Iraq, and alarming in the case of Yemen, as well as scores in the serious range for half of all countries in East and Southeast Asia, whose average benefits from China’s low score of 7.5.
Why has india seen a decline in the ranking ? India’s 2014 GHI rank of 55 and 2014 GHI score of 17.8, as published in the 2014 GHI report, are not comparable to the 2017 GHI rank of 100 and corresponding GHI score of 31.4. Concluding from this comparison that India slipped 45 places in the GHI ranking is not only erroneous but also a gross misrepresentation of facts. In addition, countries with GHI scores of less than 5 (“low”) were not included in the ranking in in the 2014 GHI report. Thus, in the 2014 report, 44 countries with scores lower than India’s were not included. Had those countries been included, India’s 2014 ranking would have been not 55, but 99. Finally, due to data availability, different countries are included in the GHI ranking each year, again making a comparison of rankings between years inaccurate.
In the methodology used by Global hunger Index accurate to manifest hunger? GHI assigns 70.5% weightage to children below five who constitute only a minor population share and 29.5% weightage to the population above five, which constitutes 81.5% of the total population. Therefore, the term “Hunger Index” is highly biased towards undernutrition of children rather than representing the status of hunger in the overall population. It would be more appropriate to term the conceptualisation and composition of this composite index as a “Global Hunger and Child Health Index” than as a “Global Hunger Index”. China-Maldives FTA agreement
Relevancy GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II International relations Free Trade Agreements China-Maldives FTA Concerns for India
Recently There has been an announcement of a free trade agreement between the Maldives and China.
Background of China’s trade efforts in Asia www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Before this China pushed for maritime linkages across the Indian Ocean, including naval exercises and port projects. It did so to provide for enhancement of regional connectivity through the Belt and Road Initiative. Since a few years, China is trying to ramp up business ties across South Asia. It is another sign of China’s success in its outreach in South Asia. China already has an FTA with Pakistan, and is negotiating FTAs with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The negotiations with the Maldives were completed this year.
China-Maldives ties The rapid growth in China-Maldives ties has been driven by massive infrastructure projects. These projects include: o the development of Hulhule island o the “Friendship” bridge connecting it to Male There are proposed Chinese investments of $1 billion in Maldives. Chinese companies are also exploring tourism prospects in the Maldives which include leases to resort islands and reclamation projects.
Concerns for India India is concerned about the speed and stealth with which the negotiations were completed. The Government of Maldives is also not satisfied with the working of the FTA with India. Government of Maldives is keeping India out of the loop on the FTA talks. It is because of India is following a new policy of engaging with the Maldivian opposition government. India is also worried that the FTA will draw the Maldives more closely into China’s security net. Maldives Government has affirmed that the Maldives will remain a “demilitarised zone”. But still there are concerns that the Chinese Navy will build a military base in the islands. These islands are linked to projects in Djibouti, Gwadar and Hambantota. As an example, last year three Chinese naval warships were docked in Male harbor. It raises concerns on security issues in Indian ocean through such gestures by Maldives to China.
Conclusion China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean presents a challenge to India. It is creating worries as India is trying to define its place in the U.S.-led “Indo-Pacific” realignment.
China’s Economic Diplomacy
Relevancy G.S. Paper 2,3 China’s diplomatic relations with Srilanka, Mayanmar and Pakistan
Recently In recent years, China has expanded its global and regional economic footprint. Through new institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the One Belt, One Road initiative, Beijing seeks to carve out a leadership position within the global economy.
What is china's economic diplomacy doing with srilanks?
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) SRI LANKA - Investments - China seems to have taken trade advantage in Sri Lanka by exploiting its economic vulnerabilities. Evidently, China has heavily financed some projects including the Hambantota port, power plant, airport, industrial park, sports complex, etc. Debt - The investments made have proved largely uneconomical. Most of the projects remain unutilised or under-utilised and hardly make any substantial returns.
What is china's economic diplomacy doing with Myanmar? MYANMAR - China’s belt and road initiative in Myanmar is primarily concentrated on developing the Bay of Bengal port of Kyaukpyu. And connecting the port to neighbouring Yunnan province by oil and gas pipelines, and road and rail networks. But Myanmar is wary of over-dependence on China. This is because of China's environmentally damaging energy projects and its yearning for access to precious metals and stones.
What is china's economic diplomacy doing with Pakistan? PAKISTAN - China’s ‘all- weather friend’ Pakistan is facing problems in implementing the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Pakistan has some reservations with agreeing to the financial terms set by the Chinese. Notably, there is very little transfer of technology and know-how, and minimal local participation in Chinese construction projects. Evidently, China is only aiming at making use of its own surplus labour force and construction machinery and materials abroad. This is given the fact that its unprecedented domestic construction projects at home are completed. Pakistan is also concerned of the whereabouts of the resources to repay the debt that will accrue from the CPEC projects. Moreover, Pakistan will soon be unable to credibly claim sovereignty. This is because places like the Gwadar port are becoming more a Chinese-run military base, close to the strategic Straits of Hormuz.
How is India responding to the diplomatic, economic challenge of CHINA? India - By expressing its concerns over the Chinese presence, India has made Sri Lanka retain the operational control of Hambantota port. This is to ensure that Chinese submarines and warships do not freely berth in the port. Some pre-emptive action has also been taken to prevent the Chinese from developing Trincomalee as the next port of interest for its strategic ambitions. The Indian Oil Corporation has established a business presence in Sri Lanka. This is particularly for a progressive involvement in the use of Trincomalee for import and processing of petroleum products. Myanmar - Myanmar seeks the support of India, Japan, South Korea, the US, the EU and neighbouring ASEAN countries to resist the Chinese pressure. Indonesia - Indonesia has ensured that it responds cautiously to Chinese inducements and avoids getting closely drawn into a Chinese tactical web. In all, other countries should have a coordinated effort to strengthen the economic relations among themselves, to potentially tackle China's exploitative trade relations.
Chabahar Port Inaugurated www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Relevancy: GS Mains Paper II, For Prelims, locate all important locations mentioned in the topic on the map. International Affairs, India-Iran-Afghanistan, Chabahar port
Recently: The Chabahar port phase I was inaugurated by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. It marks an important milestone in India-Iran relations as well as Afghanistan-India resolve to look for a viable transit corridor to landlocked Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.
Geo-strategic importance of Chabahar: The port is located in the Gulf of Oman along the Makran coast, in the Iranian province of Seistan- Baluchistan, just 75 km from the China-built and operated Gwadar port in Balochistan province of Pakistan, Chabahar at a distance of 480 nautical miles from Kandla port, and about 900 km from Adani Group’s Mundra port in Gujarat, came into the reckoning as a gateway port in the 1970s during Shah Reza Pehlavi’s reign. It acquired importance when, during the Iran-Iraq war, ships were reluctant to enter the Strait of Hormuz. While Bandar Abbas was being used to send cargo through the emerging North-South Corridor to Europe, Chabahar was envisaged to deal with the eastern axis that would carry goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Although it involves the use of a land-cum-sea route to trade with Afghanistan against the much shorter land corridor through Pakistan, Chabahar provides linkage via an Iranian-built road to the western Afghan border connected to the Zaranj-Delaram road India has built in Afghanistan. Connecting Chabahar with the North-South Corridor Initiative would also enable Indian goods to sail to the Iranian port, then go by rail to Mashhad on the northern border into Azerbaijan and southern Russia, dock at Astrakhan, thereafter move up the Volga river into the Russian heartland. It is billed as India’s gateway to Afghanistan and beyond, including Central Asia, Russia, and further to Europe. Chabahar would also provide India direct access to its Farkhor air base in Tajikistan.
India’s business interest: India has an interest in gaining a foothold in the free trade zone being developed around the port: in addition to a urea plant, other energy-intensive industries can also be set up in the zone. In fact, National Aluminium Company (NALCO) has signed an MoU to locate an aluminium plant in Chabahar. Proposals for Indian investments in upstream oil and gas exploration have been discussed by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during his visits to Tehran. The Afghanistan-bound maiden wheat shipment flagged off by the foreign ministers — Sushma Swaraj of India, Salahuddin Rabbani of Afghanistan, and Javed Zarif of Iran — through a joint video conference on 29 October signified a ma or push for India’s Afghan outreach, bypassing Pakistan. The first of the six consignments of a total of 1.1 million tonnes of wheat committed by India for Afghanistan that left Kandla port would be transhipped overland through Chabahar. The port project follows the trilateral agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor signed at Tehran by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Afghanistan’s President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani in May 2016. A bilateral India-Iran agreement aimed at India refurbishing one of the berths at Shahid Beheshti port (one of the two port segments at Chabahar, the other being Shahid Kalantri) and reconstructing a 600m long container handling facility at the same port segment.
Despite the roadblocks: www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) India also contemplated connecting Chabahar port to the mineral-rich Hajigak region in Afghanistan, 130 km west of Kabul in Bamiyan province, which would entail construction of a 900km rail line that would enable Afghanistan to access the sea, thus reducing its dependence on Pakistan. Frequent closure of borders by Pakistan created bottlenecks in trade transit. In view of Pakistan denying access through its territory, India and Afghanistan launched an air freight corridor in June this year. The current India-Afghanistan bilateral trade that has lately increased to $700 million annually is aimed to reach $10 billion in the future.
Conclusion: As the opening of Chabahar port and India’s role in its management calls for celebration, it may as well be an opportune occasion for India to grasp for engagement with its neighbours with verve and vigour in its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. It also needs to introspect on why India is moving at bullock-cart speed compared to China that’s zipping ahead like a Formula One racing car. India doesn’t have deep pockets; what is inexcusable is its bureaucratic sloth and smugness. The machinery moves at a slovenly pace; India doesn’t deliver timely on promises made even at the highest levels.
Can China rob us of Brahmaputra?
Relevancy GS Mains paper III, Optional- Political Science International affairs, Indo-China relations, Brahma hypothesis
Brahma Hypothesis As per media reporting China has plan of northward rerouting of the Brahmaputra waters from the Tibetan borders through constructions of dams. Brahmaputra in Tibet is known as Yarlung Tsangpo. This plan of rerouting Brahmaputra waters has emerged as a prime point of contention with China- India strategic relations. Brahma Chellaney, one of the foremost strategic thinkers of India, described the Chinese design of taking control over Brahmaputra water as “most dangerous”. The fear of drying up of the Brahmaputra has become widespread in Indian public psyche, especially in Assam. This hypothesis of perceived fear is termed in this article as the “Brahma hypothesis”.
How is Brahma hypothesis a perceived fear?
The growing water demand in Tibet and the option available in principle to China of building water storage and transfer projects on the Yarlung have given birth to such fears in India. The apprehension is this can affect Bangladesh further downstream. The concern has aggravated with the news of Chinese plans to build a 1,000-km-long tunnel to divert water from the Brahmaputra River in Tibet to the parched Xinjiang region. It has been reported in sections of the media that the perceived Chinese threats to divert the river’s water prompted the Centre to call an inter-ministerial meeting recently to discuss proposed projects on Brahmaputra.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Amidst the confusion about Chinese projects on Brahmaputra, there has hardly been an objective data-based analysis of the popular “Brahma hypothesis”. These claims therefore must be examined through data, hydrological regimes, upstream interventions and their downstream implications.
Identifying the flow The Brahmaputra is identified as downstream flow of the meeting of three tributaries-Lohit, Dibang and Dihang, near Sadiya. The link of Brahmaputra with Yarlung Tsangpo, which originates from the Angsi glacier near Mt. Kailash, was discovered rather recently. Out of the total length of the Brahmaputra of 2,880 km, 1,625 km is in Tibet flowing as Yarlung Tsangpo, 918 km is in India known as Siang, Dihang and Brahmaputra and the rest 337 km in Bangladesh has the name Jamuna till it merges into Padma near Goalando. As a trans-Himalayan tributary, Yarlung is substantially fed by snow and glacial melts, in addition to rainfall. The normalized melt index (defined as the volumetric snow and glacier upstream discharge divided by downstream natural discharge) of the Brahmaputra is merely in the range of 0.15-0.2, signifying that snow and glacial melt, the main source of run-off in the Tibetan region, contributes negligibly to the total flow.
Making the discourse realistic The Tibetan region lies in the rain shadow with the Himalaya acting as the barrier to the rain-laden monsoon. The annual precipitation in the trans-Himalaya Tibet averages about 300 mm annually. As the tributaries cross the Himalayan crest line, the annual average precipitation reaches about 2000 mm. A very large component of the total annual flow of Brahmaputra is generated in the southern aspect of the Himalaya in India by tributaries from Buri Dihing in the East to Teesta in the west. Data published by Chinese scholar Jiang and team show that the total annual outflow of the Yarlung River from China is estimated to be about 31 BCM while the annual flow of Brahmaputra at Bahadurabad, the gauging station near the end of the sub-basin in Bangladesh, is about 606 BCM. The above figures do not support the linear thinking that the flow in a river is proportional to its length inside a country. Further, while the peak flows during monsoon at Nuxia and Tsela Dzong in Tibet, a measuring station at the great bend in the Tibetan plateau, are about 5,000 and 10,000 cumecs, as presented by Vijay Singh and colleagues. The peak flow at downstream Guwahati is around 40,000 cumecs and the one at Bahadurabad in Bangladesh is approximately 50,000 cumecs. During the lean season, the flow in Nuxia, as identified from a hydrograph given in Rivers and Lakes of Xizang (Tibet) (in Chinese), is 300-500 cumecs, while the one at Pasighat is to the tune of 2000-odd cumecs, the one at Guwahati is around 4000-odd cumecs, and Bahadurabad is about 5000 cumecs, all these being peer-reviewed data. This data shows that the Brahmaputra gets fatter and mightier as it flows further downstream. This is more so because of the flow contribution of the various tributaries like Dibang, Luhit, Subansiri, Manas, Sankosh, Teesta to name a few. This can be noted from the fact that at Guwahati (Pandu), the percentage annual yield of the main river course from Pasighat is barely 34 per cent, while the tributaries like Dibang, Luhit, Subansiri, as also the tributaries joining between Pasighat and Guwahati contribute the remaining 66 per cent. Further downstream, the mainstream contribution diminishes further.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Another concern relates to the impact of the projects on the sediment flow.
Can water diversion affect sediment flow? The flow volume and discharge in the Yarlung River is not sufficient to generate and transport carry the very large sediment load as in prevalent in the downstream Brahmaputra. The annual suspended sediment load near Nuxia in Tibet is around 30 million metric tonnes, (as suggested in a 2016 volume titled River Morphodynamics and Stream Ecology of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by Wang and colleagues), which is miniscule as compared to same load measured as 735 million metric tonnes at Bahadurabad. Therefore, the large amount of suspended sediment load that gets deposited in the downstream to form a fertile Jamuna floodplain cannot be carried by the Yarlung-Tsangpo stretch. It is created further downstream in India, where precipitation is almost 12 times higher than the rain shadow Tibet.
A popular hypothesis Prima facie, it can be said that the impacts of water diversion (or even hydropower like the Zangmu Dam) in the Yarlung-Tsangpo cannot have substantial impact on the flow regime in the Indian boundary, especially in the Assam floodplains and Bangladesh. The concern of many in India has been based on the perception that structural interventions always reduce downstream flows, which, in case of Brahmaputra, is not true. Based on the hydro-meteorological data, it seems highly improbable that a cloudburst can occur in the rain-shadow Tibet so as to cause floods in Assam. Therefore, the “Brahma hypothesis” or the myth spread in the media does not stand the test posed by scientific data and knowledge. Informed science should inform public perceptions, policy, hydro-politics, and water governance, rather than jingoistic emotions or linear, reductionist logic.
Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC
Relevancy G.S. Paper 1 BIMSTEC DMEx- 2107 and the Buddhist festival About BIMSTEC and its objectives India’s interest in BIMSTEC
Recently: The three days ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ was held in New Delhi. The Minister of State for Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma underlined that the message of Lord Buddha is as relevant in the twenty first century as it was two and a half millennia ago and has been a unifying force among nations. The values of peace, accommodation, inclusiveness, and compassion that are part of our societies can be attributed to the influence of the teachings of Lord Buddha and Buddhism.
BIMSTEC DMEx-2107 The First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) was conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) This Exercise proved to be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among the BIMSTEC member countries.
About BIMSTEC: The BIMSTEC states are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. BIMSTEC Headquarters are in Dhaka, Bangladesh. On June 06 this year, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) completed 20 years of its establishment. However, despite its huge potential in terms of enhancing regional cooperation between parts of South and Southeast Asia, BIMSTEC has long suffered from lack of resources and proper coordination among its member states. BIMSTEC Meets: So far, BIMSTEC has held only three summit meetings. The first one was held in Thailand in 2004, seven years after the establishment of the grouping; the second one was held four years later in India in 2008, and the third one six years later in Myanmar in 2014. The fourth summit meeting is expected to take place later this year in Nepal, the current Chair of BIMSTEC.
Objectives of BIMSTEC: The main objective of BIMSTEC is technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Commerce, investment, technology, tourism, human resource development, agriculture, fisheries, transport and communication, textiles, leather etc. have been included in it. So far, the seven-member grouping has identified 14 priority sectors and has signed a Free Trade Agreement (2004) and a Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking (2009).
India’s interests in BIMSTEC: As a regional organization comprising seven Member States around the Bay of Bengal that brings together about one – fifth of the world population and a combined GDP of over US $ 2.8 trillion, BIMSTEC has a crucial role in development of the region. BIMSTEC ia a natural platform for India to fulfil its key foreign policy priorities of 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East'. A number of initiatives have been taken to promote cooperation in BIMSTEC under the focus areas of security, transport and communication, environment and disaster management, tourism, traditional medicine and people-to-people exchanges. The scope for direct connectivity with Southeast Asia via Northeast India and Myanmar, counter- terrorism and anti-insurgency cooperation with Myanmar and other members, potential access to alternative energy resources in Myanmar as well as economic opportunities available in the ASEAN region had evoked sufficient interest in New Delhi to join BIMSTEC.
Interests of other BIMSTEC members: Myanmar: o It became a member at a time when the military junta in the country was facing serious international criticism.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Membership in regional and sub-regional groupings like ASEAN and BIMSTEC provided its military rulers an opportunity to gain some sort of recognition among the regional stakeholders. o Today, Myanmar sees itself as a gateway for BIMSTEC to ASEAN, primarily due to its strategic location between South and Southeast Asia. Thailand: o Thailand was looking for an opportunity to enhance its trade and connectivity with the South Asian countries under the ambit of its ‘Look West’ policy. o So, in a way, India’s ‘Look East’ and Thailand’s ‘Look West’ policy complemented each other within the ambit of BIMSTEC. o The ongoing India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the India-Myanmar Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project are expected to further augment connectivity and economic cooperation in the sub-region and beyond. Srilanka: o Sri Lanka considers BIMSTEC as an opportunity to engage with the economically booming Southeast Asian countries, especially after several failed attempts to join ASEAN in the decade prior to the establishment of BIMSTEC. o With India and Thailand as its important economic partners, Sri Lanka is looking forward to the implementation of BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement and BIMSTEC Motor Vehicles Agreement. For the land-blocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan, BIMSTEC holds the prospect of enhancing their connectivity with the rest of the region.
Challenges Though largely devoid of bilateral tensions, as is the case in SAARC, BIMSTEC does not seem to have made much progress. The so-called sluggishness in BIMSTEC last two decades is attributed to many factors. India, the largest member of the grouping, has often been criticised for not providing a strong leadership to BIMSTEC. Both Thailand and Myanmar are criticised for having ignored BIMSTEC in favour of ASEAN. This despite the fact that BIMSTEC was formed at a time when the ASEAN countries were suffering from severe financial crisis in 1997-98 and also as both Thailand and Myanmar experienced political turmoil in the following decade. The ‘noodle bowl effect’ of regionalism too was at work as formation of another sub-regional initiative, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Forum, with the proactive membership of China, created more doubts about the exclusive potential of BIMSTEC.
Note: Noodle (or Spaghetti) Bowl Effect: It is an interesting phenomenon in trade economics where the increasing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between countries slows down trade relations between them.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) ETHICS
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) HISTORY ART AND CULTURE UNESCO’s List Of Honour
Relevancy: GS Prelims, Facts for prelims Art and Culture, UNESCO world heritage
Recently: UNESCO declared - o The art of Neapolitan pizza-making as a world heritage. o UNESCO accepted the art of Neapolitan “pizzaiuoli”, or pizza-makers, on the world body’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. o Italy argued the practice of the “pizzaiuoli” — preparing and flipping the dough, topping it and baking it in a wood-fired oven — was part of the country’s cultural and gastronomic tradition. o Tradition holds that the Margherita pizza was created in 1889 by a local chef in honour of Queen Margherita, who was visiting Naples, south of Rome on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast.
UNESCO also accepted on its Culture list the following:- Chogan, an Iranian horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling, The craft of millers operating windmills and watermills in the Netherlands, Traditional boat making on the Indonesian island of South Sulawesi, and Nsima, a maize-based culinary tradition from the African country of Malawi.
UNESCO names Kumbh Mela Intangible Cultural Heritage
Relevancy: GS Prelims Art and Culture, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Recently: Kumbh Mela has been listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Earlier “Yoga” and “Nauroz” were given an entry as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO
About Kumbh Mela: Kumbh Mela is the largest congregation of pilgrims on the planet which is held in Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain and Nashik. The Ministry of External Affairs said the inscription of ‘Kumbh Mela’ in the list was undertaken following recommendation by an expert body which examines nominations submitted by This inscription is the third in two years following the inscriptions of ‘Yoga’ and ‘Norouz’ on 1st December 2016.
About UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage: UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage proposes five broad ‘domains’ in which intangible cultural heritage is manifested: o Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Performing arts; o Social practices, rituals and festive events; o Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; o Traditional craftsmanship
India’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritgae apart from Kumbh Mela: 1. Nauroz/ Nawrouz: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. March 21 marks the start of the year. A variety of rituals, ceremonies and other cultural events take place for a period of about two weeks. An important tradition practised during this time is the gathering around ‘the Table’, decorated with objects that symbolize purity, brightness, livelihood and wealth, to enjoy a special meal with loved ones. These practices support cultural diversity and tolerance and contribute to building community solidarity and peace. They are transmitted from older to younger generations through observation and participation. 2. Yoga: The philosophy behind the ancient Indian practice of yoga has influenced various aspects of how society in India functions, whether it be in relation to areas such as health and medicine or education and the arts. Based on unifying the mind with the body and soul to allow for greater mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing, the values of yoga form a ma or part of the community’s ethos. Yoga consists of a series of poses, meditation, controlled breathing, word chanting and other techniques designed to help individuals build self-realization, ease any suffering they may be experiencing and allow for a state of liberation. 3. Traditional brass and copper craft-2014 The craft of the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru constitutes the traditional technique of manufacturing brass and copper utensils in Punjab. The metals used – copper, brass and certain alloys – are believed to be beneficial for health. The process begins with procuring cooled cakes of metal that are flattened into thin plates and then skillfully hammered into curved shapes, creating the required small bowls, rimmed plates, to larger pots for water and milk, huge cooking vessels and other artefacts. Heating the plates while hammering and curving them into different shapes requires careful temperature control, which is achieved by using tiny wood-fired stoves (aided by hand-held bellows) buried in the earth. Utensils are manually finished by polishing with traditional materials such as sand and tamarind juice. 4. Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur-2013 Sankirtana has two main social functions: it brings people together on festive occasions throughout the year, acting as a cohesive force within Manipur’s Vaishnava community; and it establishes and reinforces relationships between the individual and the community through life- cycle ceremonies. Sankirtana encompasses an array of arts performed to mark religious occasions and various stages in the life of the Vaishnava people of the Manipur plains. In a typical performance, two drummers and about ten singer-dancers perform in a hall or domestic courtyard encircled by seated devotees. The dignity and flow of aesthetic and religious
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) energy is unparalleled, moving audience members to tears and frequently to prostrate themselves before the performers. 5. Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region-2012 In the monasteries and villages of the Ladakh region, Buddhist lamas (priests) chant sacred texts representing the spirit, philosophy and teachings of the Buddha. Two forms of Buddhism are practised in Ladakh – Mahayana and Vajrayana – and there are four major sects, namely Nyngma, Kagyud, Shakya and Geluk. Each sect has several forms of chanting. Chanting is undertaken for the spiritual and moral well-being of the people, for purification and peace of mind, to appease the wrath of evil spirits or to invoke the blessing of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, deities and rinpoches. The monks wear special costumes and make hand gestures (mudras) representing the divine Buddha, and instruments such as bells, drums, cymbals and trumpets lend musicality and rhythm to the chanting. 6. Chhau dance-2010 Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella (Jharkhand), Purulia (W. Bengal) and Mayurbhanj (Odisha), the first two using masks. Chhau dance is intimately connected to regional festivals, notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its origin is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices. Its vocabulary of movement includes mock combat techniques, stylized gaits of birds and animals and movements modelled on the chores of village housewives. Chhau is taught to male dancers from families of traditional artists or from local communities. The dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk melodies, played on the reed pipes ''mohuri'' and ''shehnai.'' Chhau is an integral part of the culture of these communities. It binds together people from different social strata and ethnic background with diverse social practices, beliefs, professions and languages. However, increasing industrialization, economic pressures and new media are leading to a decrease in collective participation with communities becoming disconnected from their roots. 7. Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan-2010 Songs and dances are an expression of the Kalbelia community’s traditional way of life. Once professional snake handlers, Kalbelia today evoke their former occupation in music and dance that is evolving in new and creative ways. Today, women in flowing black skirts dance and swirl, replicating the movements of a serpent, while men accompany them on the ''khanjari'' percussion instrument and the ''poongi,'' a woodwind instrument traditionally played to capture snakes. The dancers wear traditional tattoo designs, jewellery and garments richly embroidered with small mirrors and silver thread. Kalbelia songs disseminate mythological knowledge through stories, while special traditional dances are performed during Holi, the festival of colours. 8. Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala-2010 Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from Kerala based on the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika. It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates after the harvesting of summer crops.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Mudiyettu performers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then draw a huge image of goddess Kali, called as ''kalam'', on the temple floor with coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked. This prepares the ground for the lively enactment to follow, in which the divine sage Narada importunes Shiva to contain the demon Darika, who is immune to defeat by mortals. Shiva instead commands that Darika will die at the hand of the goddess Kali. Mudiyettu is performed annually in ‘Bhagavati Kavus’, the temples of the goddess, in different villages along the rivers Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar and Moovattupuzha. Mutual cooperation and collective participation of each caste in the ritual instils and strengthens common identity and mutual bonding in the community. Responsibility for its transmission lies with the elders and senior performers, who engage the younger generation as apprentices during the course of the performance. Mudiyettu serves as an important cultural site for transmission of traditional values, ethics, moral codes and aesthetic norms of the community to the next generation, thereby ensuring its continuity and relevance in present times. 9. Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas, India-2009 Every year in late April, the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in the state of Uttarakhand (northern India) are marked by Ramman, a religious festival in honour of the tutelary god, Bhumiyal Devta, a local divinity whose temple houses most of the festivities. This event is made up of highly complex rituals: the recitation of a version of the epic of Rama and various legends, and the performance of songs and masked dances. The festival is organized by villagers, and each caste and occupational group has a distinct role. Combining theatre, music, historical reconstructions, and traditional oral and written tales, the Ramman is a multiform cultural event that reflects the environmental, spiritual and cultural concept of the community, recounting its founding myths and strengthening its sense of self- worth. 10. Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre-2008 Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre, which is practised in Kerala, is one of India’s oldest living theatrical traditions. Originating more than 2,000 years ago, Kutiyattam represents a synthesis of Sanskrit classicism and reflects the local traditions of Kerala. In its stylized and codified theatrical language, netra abhinaya (eye expression) and hasta abhinaya (the language of gestures) are prominent. Actors undergo ten to fifteen years of rigorous training to become fully-fledged performers with sophisticated breathing control and subtle muscle shifts of the face and body. The actor’s art lies in elaborating a situation or episode in all its detail. Therefore, a single act may take days to perform and a complete performance may last up to 40 days. Kutiyattam is traditionally performed in theatres called Kuttampalams, which are located in Hindu temples. The male actors hand down to their trainees detailed performance manuals, which, until recent times, remained the exclusive and secret property of selected families. 11. Tradition of Vedic chanting-2008 The Vedas comprise a vast corpus of Sanskrit poetry, philosophical dialogue, myth, and ritual incantations developed and composed by Aryans over 3,500 years ago. Regarded by Hindus as the primary source of knowledge and the sacred foundation of their religion, the Vedas embody one of the world’s oldest surviving cultural traditions. The Vedic heritage embraces a multitude of texts and interpretations collected in four Vedas, commonly referred to as “books of knowledge” even though they have been transmitted orally. 12. Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Ramlila, literally “Rama’s play”, is a performance of then Ramayana epic in a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue. It is performed across northern India during the festival of Dussehra, held each year according to the ritual calendar in autumn. The most representative Ramlilas are those of Ayodhya, Ramnagar and Benares, Vrindavan, Almora, Sattna and Madhubani. This staging of the Ramayana is based on the Ramacharitmanas, one of the most popular storytelling forms in the north of the country. This sacred text devoted to the glory of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was composed by Tulsidas in the sixteenth century in a form of Hindi in order to make the Sanskrit epic available to all.
Scientists Of Ancient India
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper I Art and Culture, Ancient India, Scientists of ancient India
MATHEMATICS & ASTRONOMY Baudhayan o Value of pi was first calculated by him o Pythagoras theorem was first Baudhayan’s Sulva Sutra Aryabhatta o Wrote Aryabhattiya, which is a summary of mathematics of his time o Discovery of zero enabled Aryabhatta to find out the exact distance between the earth and the moon o Khagol was the famous astronomical observatory at Nalanda, where Aryabhatta studied. He contributed to the field of Astronomy also o He also gave a scientific explanation for solar and lunar eclipse Brahmgupta o He wrote Brahm Sputa Siddantika o He introduced negative numbers and operations on zero into mathematics Bhaskaracharya o Wrote Siddanta Shiromani o It is divided into four sections: Lilavati (Arithmetic), Beejaganit (Algebra), Goladhyaya (Sphere) and Grahaganit (mathematics of planets). o He introduced Chakrawat Method or the Cyclic Method to solve algebraic equations Mahaviracharya o Jain Guru Mahaviracharya wrote Ganit Sara Sangraha in 850A.D., which is the first textbook on arithmetic in present day form. o LCM calculation was first described by him
MEDICAL SCIENCE Ayurveda is the indigenous system of medicine that was developed in Ancient India A treatise on Ayurveda, Atreya Samhita, is the oldest medical book of the world. Susruta o In Susruta Samhita, over 1100 diseases are mentioned including fevers of twenty-six kinds, jaundice of eight kinds and urinary complaints of twenty kinds. The method of selecting and preserving a dead body for the purpose of its detailed study has also been described.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) o Susruta’s greatest contribution was in the fields of Rhinoplasty (plastic surgery) and Ophthalmic surgery (removal of cataracts). Charak o In Charak Samhita, more stress has been laid on removing the cause of disease rather than simply treating the illness. o Charak also knew the fundamentals of Genetics. Yoga & Patanjali o Besides Yoga Sutras, Patan ali also wrote a work on medicine and worked on Panini’s grammar known as Mahabhasaya
SCIENCE Kanad o Kanad was a sixth century scientist of Vaisheshika School o His atomic theory can be a match to any modern atomic theory Varahamihira (Gupta Period) o Brhat Samhita. o The book gives indication of signs of earthquake o Varahamihira was one of the nine gems, who were scholars, in the court of Vikramaditya. Varahamihira’s predictions were so accurate that king Vikramaditya gave him the title of ‘Varaha’.He contributed to the field of astrology Nagarjuna o In his treatise, Rasaratnakara, he has discussed methods for the extraction of metals like gold, silver, tin and copper.
Is Jallikattu a cultural right?
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II Indian constitution, Cultural rights, Ethics in Jallikattu
Recently: The Supreme Court on recently directed for the appointment of a Constitution Bench to examine if the people of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra can conserve jallikattu and bullock cart races as their cultural right and demand their protection under Article 29 (1) of the Constitution. The two-judge Special Bench was hearing a batch of petitions, filed by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), seeking the quashing of the new Jallikattu law passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly that brought bulls back into the fold of ‘performing animals’.
What does PETA contend? The PETA petitions contend that the 2017 Jallikattu Act and Rules violate the five internationally recognized freedoms for the livestock — o The freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thirst; o Freedom from fear and distress; o Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; o Freedom from pain, injury and disease; and o Freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour.
What does Artcle 29 (1) say?
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Article 29 (1), a fundamental right enshrined in Part III of the Constitution guarantees the protection of the educational and cultural rights of citizens. The exact wording is: Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. Commonly, this Article is invoked for the rights of the minorities. If Jallikattu is considered as a cultural right under this Article, then other legislations barring the sport may be struck down.
Tamil Nadu is definitely a part of India: The Tamil Nadu government, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, argued that 80% of the population of Tamil Nadu supported jallikattu and the sport had strongholds in rural parts. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said the support for Jallikattu was irrespective of religion or caste. Justice Nariman referred to part of Article 29 (1), which says “any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India.” “And Tamil Nadu is definitely a part of India,” he remarked orally.
The 2014 ban The law under challenge — Tamil Nadu’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017 — opened the gates for the conduct of the bull-taming sport despite a 2014 ban by the Supreme Court. That year, in the A. Nagaraja judgment, the Supreme Court held jallikattu as cruelty to bulls. The Supreme Court also indicated that the Constitution Bench would also look into whether the 2017 Jallikattu and bullock cart races laws of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra actually subserve the objective of “prevention” of cruelty to animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.
Hornbill Festival Of Nagaland
Relevancy: GS Prelims Art and Culture, festivals of India
Recently: The Hornbill Festival is going on in Nagaland. It takes place between the 1st December, which happens to be the Nagaland Formation Day, till the 7th of December, annually.
About the Hornbill festival: It is also called “festival of festivals”. Hornbills are a category of birds, which are found in Asia and Africa. Recently, seeing its grand success and achievement at attracting tourists from far and wide from across India and abroad, the Hornbill Festival has been extended by another three days till the 10th of December. The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions. Organized by the State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments of Nagaland, Hornbill Different Forms Of Traditional Theatre
Relevancy: GS Prelims, GS Mains paper I Art and Culture, Indian Theatre forms www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Various Indian Theatre forms are mentioned below:
Bhand Pather Bhand Pather, - Kashmir, is a unique combination of dance, music and acting. Satire, wit and parody are preferred for inducing laughter. In this theatre form, music is provided with surnai, nagaara and dhol. Since the actors of Bhand Pather are mainly from the farming community, the impact of their way of living, ideals and sensitivity is discernible.
Swang Originally the theatre form Swang, was mainly music-based. Gradually, prose too, played its role in the dialogues. The softness of emotions, accomplishment of rasa alongwith the development of character can be seen in this theatre form. The two important styles of Swang are from Rohtak and Haathras. In the style belonging to Rohtak, the language used is Haryanvi (Bangru) and in Haathras, it is Brajbhasha. Nautanki Nautanki is usually associated with Uttar Pradesh. The most popular centres of this traditional theatre form are Kanpur, Lucknow and Haathras. The meters used in the verses are: Doha, Chaubola, Chhappai, Behar-e-tabeel. There was a time when only men acted in Nautanki but nowadays, women have also started taking part in the performances. Among those remembered with reverence is Gulab Bai of Kanpur. She gave a new dimension to this old theatre form.
Raasleela Raasleela is based exclusively on Lord Krishna legends; it is believed that Nand Das wrote the initial plays based on the life of Krishna. In this theatre form the dialogues in prose combined beautifully with songs and scenes from Krishna's pranks.
Bhavai Bhavai is the traditional theatre form of Gujarat. The centers of this form are Kutch and Kathiawar. The instruments used in Bhavai are: bhungal, tabla, flute, pakhaawaj, rabaab, sarangi, manjeera, etc. In Bhavai, there is a rare synthesis of devotional and romantic sentiments.
Jatras Fairs in honour of gods, or religious rituals and ceremonies have within their framework musical plays are known as Jatra. This form was born and nurtured in Bengal. Krishna Jatra became popular due to Chaitanya's influence. Later, however, worldly love stories too, found a place in Jatra. The earlier form of Jatra has been musical. Dialogues were added at later stage. The actors themselves describe the change of scene, the place of action, etc.
Maach Maach is the traditional theatre form of Madhya Pradesh. The term Maach is used for the stage itself as also for the play. In this theatre form songs are given prominence in between the dialogues.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) The term for dialogue in this form is bol and rhyme in narration is termed vanag. The tunes of this theatre form are known as rangat. Bhaona Bhaona is a presentation of the Ankia Naat of Assam. In Bhaona cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen. The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese.
Tamaasha Tamaasha is a traditional folk theatre form of Maharashtra. It has evolved from the folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan. Unlike other theatre forms, in Tamaasha the female actress is the chief exponent of dance movements in the play. She is known as Murki. Classical music, footwork at lightning-speed, and vivid gestures make it possible to portray all the emotions through dance.
Dashavatar Dashavatar is the most developed theatre form of the Konkan and Goa regions. The performers personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu-the god of preservation and creativity. The ten incarnations are Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narsimha (lion-man), Vaman (dwarf), Parashuram, Rama, Krishna (or Balram), Buddha and Kalki. Apart from stylized make-up, the Dashavatar performers wear masks of wood and papier mache.
Krishnattam Krishnattam, folk theatre of Kerala, came into existence in the middle of 17th century A.D. under the patronage of King Manavada of Calicut. Krishnattam is a cycle of eight plays performed for eight consecutive days. The plays are Avataram, Kaliamandana, Rasa krida, kamasavadha, Swayamvaram, Bana Yudham, Vivida Vadham, and Swargarohana. The episodes are based on the theme of Lord Krishna - his birth, childhood pranks and various deeds depicting victory of good over evil.
Mudiyettu Mudiyettu, traditional folk theatre form of Kerala is celebrated in the month of Vrischikam (November-December). It is usually performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala, as an oblation to the Goddess. It depicts the triumph of goddess Bhadrakali over the asura Darika. The seven characters in Mudiyettu-Shiva, Narada, Darika, Danavendra, Bhadrakali, Kooli and Koimbidar (Nandikeshvara) are all heavily made-up.
Koodiyaattam Koodiyaattam, one of the oldest traditional theatre forms of Kerala, is based on Sanskrit theatre traditions. The characters of this theatre form are: Chakyaar or actor, Naambiyaar, the instrumentalists and Naangyaar, those taking on women's roles. The Sutradhar or narrator and the Vidushak or jesters are the protagonists. It is the Vidushak alone who delivers the dialogues. Emphasis on hand gestures and eye movements makes this dance and theatre form unique.
www.brainyias.com BrainyIAS (84594-00000) Yakshagaana Yakshagaana, traditional theatre form of Karnataka, is based on mythological stories and Puranas. The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata i.e. Draupadi swayamvar, Subhadra vivah, Abhimanyu vadh, Karna-Arjun yuddh and from Ramayana i.e. Raajyaabhishek, Lav-kush Yuddh, Baali- Sugreeva yuddha and Panchavati.
Therukoothu Therukoothu, the most popular form of folk drama of Tamil Nadu, literally means "street play". It is mostly performed at the time of annual temple festivals of Mariamman (Rain goddess) to achieve rich harvest. At the core of the extensive repertoire of Therukoothu there is a cycle of eight plays based on the life of Draupadi. Kattiakaran, the Sutradhara of the Therukoothu performance, gives the gist of the play to the audience and Komali entertains the audience with his buffoonery.
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