UNSC reforms

UNSC reforms

Recently France has said that India and nations like Germany, Brazil and Japan are ‘absolutely needed’ as permanent members of a reformed and enlarged United Nations Security Council.

What is UNSC and its current composition?

a) The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the premier global institution ‘United Nations (UN)’.

b) It is tasked to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations.

c) It also investigates any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction and takes necessary action against the aggressor state.

d) It recommends the admission of new Members.

Composition

a) The Council is composed of 15 Members. Out of these, five are permanent members,

- China

- France

- Russian Federation

- United Kingdom

- United States

b) These five states have been given veto powers on any resolutions.

c) Ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with the end of term year).

d) A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that the country's interests are affected.

Why there is a need to reform the UNSC?

a) Current UNSC constitution represents the post ‘World War 2’ realities and doesn’t consider the current geopolitics.

b) Though geopolitics have changed drastically, the Council has changed relatively little since 1945.

c) There are no equal representations given regionally. Asia, Europe, and the North American continent are represented while Africa, Latin America, and Australia are not represented.

d) Only five states influencing the interests of the rest of the world, using sometimes veto power, is not desirable.

When did the UNGA start to debate on UNSC reforms?

a) United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) began debating Security Council reform in 1993.

b) Since then several models have been put forward as viable options and several countries have put themselves forward as candidates for permanent membership.

c) However, groups such as the ‘Coffee Club’- Pakistan, Mexico, and Egypt, Italy- opposed adding countries as permanent members and instead proposed that members be elected on a regional basis.

d) In 2005, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan advocated for the democratization of the council. However, the suggested reforms yet to turn into reality.

Who are the top candidates?

a) ‘G4’ countries- Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan, have put themselves forward as the most serious candidates for permanent membership in the Council.

b) The African Group has started to demand two permanent seats for themselves as there is no representation for this continent.

Which are the factors favorable for India?

a) India is a very big country with around 1 billion population. Approximately One of the seven persons in the world is Indian.

b) India is an emerging and fastest growing economy.

c) It is the largest democracy in the world and never been aggressor to other countries.

d) India is playing a big brother role in the South Asian region effectively and has maintained cordial relations with many countries in various continents.

e) Almost all Permanent members (P5 members) are favorable to India’s position as a permanent member in the council.

f) Almost a decade back ago, Chinese President stated that India should be a permanent member because one can’t neglect one billion people.

Where the challenges lie ahead for the reforms?

a) Expanding the council or giving up veto powers can dilute the powers of the existing permanent members. So, they don’t want to give up their power.

b) Reforms can change global power equations and status quos.

c) The greater representation can make the council less efficient.

d) There is no consensus on how to reform the council. There are many models suggested by many organizations. However, no one comes closer to expectations.

e) Many countries or country blocks are asking for representation. However, there is no consensus among them.

E.g. African continent wants two seats. However, there is no consensus on which two countries to be represented.

For India’s membership

a) There is direct and indirect opposition from countries such as Pakistan, China, and a few Islamic countries.

b) India is still known as ‘Third-world country’ or ‘Non-alignment country’ which is known to not take stand on various issues. However, this position should be changed.

Basmati Cultivation- Farming for All

Basmati Cultivation- Farming for All

Why Basmati rice more significant to India from other varieties of rice?

1. Basmati rice is seen as a superior and premium brand of rice in India and it is one of the world’s best varieties of rice.

2. It is produced and consumed largely in Punjab and western UP and neighboring Pakistan.

3. It is long grain rice with origin in India and some parts of Pakistan, which makes it part of Indian rice history.

4. India is the largest producer of Basmati Rice followed by Pakistan, it is one of the most significant exports, both as a soft power and hard money.

5. India has a 70% share in global production and 85% of the global trade in Basmati rice.

6. Fragrance, price, grain morphology and quality make Basmati rice stand apart from other rice varieties and it is mainly exported to North America, Middle East, and Europe.

7. Like cheese and wine, basmati rice gets better with age. Older Basmati rice costs are higher than the recently produced ones.

8. The yield of basmati rice is also equal to half of the non-basmati rice and is therefore responsible for its high cost.

What is the present issue related to Basmati rice?

1. Basmati Rice was allowed to produce only in 7 states (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh parts of UP and J&K) mainly in Indo-Gangetic plain due to restrictions imposed by the Central government in 2017.

2. It was restricted on the grounds to protect the quality and purity of seeds and Geographical Indication (GI) Certification of Basmati rice for Indo-Gangetic plain.

3. This restriction was a bone of contention for several other states. Madhya Pradesh has asserted its rights to cultivate Basmati rice.

6. Delhi High Court (HC) has struck down the Central government’s restriction on production of Basmati rice to certain regions and registration of Basmati rice varieties for areas under the GI Act.

9. High Court verdict came after Madhya Pradesh government petition to include 13 districts under the GI category.

Where does Madhya Pradesh stand in its claim for cultivation of Basmati rice?

1. Madhya Pradesh contributes to 10% of the export demand for Basmati rice.

2. Madhya Pradesh argued that both orders were outside the scope of the Seeds Act 1966.

3. It also contested that the Centre’s 2017 orders intrude upon its powers to pass laws in relation to agriculture which is a state subject.

How is Geographical indication tag significant for Basmati rice?

1. GI tags protect native wisdom, technologies and traditional efforts from being stolen.

2. Basmati rice is one of the most important export items of India, without GI tag it could be cultivated in countries like Vietnam, China, U.S, Europe who may later patent it.

3. This GI protection in India would lead to similar protection in other countries including the European Union and the USA.

4. GI tag ensures that the areas traditionally growing a crop should be allowed and facilitated to cultivate Basmati rice with all the required support.

5. GI is a way of giving a brand value to a product that comes from a community, trademarks are associated with individuals whereas GIs associated with communities, regions and territories.

Tackling Global Hunger

Tackling Global Hunger

What is the issue?

1. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 report around 820 million people worldwide go hungry every day.

2. One in every nine people globally face hunger on a daily basis.

3. Nearly 2 billion people across the world do not have regular access to safe and nutritious food.

4. The number of people with insufficient food has risen for the third year in a row and the number of hungry people across the globe is back to where it was almost a decade ago.

Status of Hunger by region:

Region	Status
Africa	Hunger is on the rise in almost all African sub regions making Africa the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment at almost 20%.
Western Asia	It shows continuous increase since 2010 with more than 12 percent of its population undernourished.
Latin America and the Caribbean	Hunger is still below 7 percent but is slowly increasing in many countries where economic growth is lagging, particularly in middle income countries and those that rely heavily on primary commodity trade.
South Asia	It saw great progress over the last five years but almost 15 percent of the population is still undernourished which is highest in Asia.
Overall Asia	Undernourishment affects 11 percent population.

Global Hunger Index

1. 45 out of 119 countries were found to have serious levels of hunger.

2. 27 countries with moderate levels of hunger and 40 countries with low levels of hunger.

3. GHI ranking of India and its neighbours (Out of 118 countries)

Country	GHI Ranking
India	103
China	25
Nepal	72
Sri Lanka	67
Myanmar	68
Bangladesh	86
Pakistan	106

Global Hunger Index:

It is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels. GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger. It ranks countries based on four key indicators – a. Undernourishment: Whose caloric intake is insufficient b. Child mortality: Who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition c. Child wasting: Who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition d. Child stunting: The mortality rate of children under the age of five.

Why is Hunger increasing?

1. Hunger is increasing in many countries where economic growth is lagging, particularly in middle income countries.

2. Income inequality is rising in many of the countries where hunger is on the rise, making it more difficult for the poor vulnerable or marginalized to cope with economic slowdown and downturns.

3. Hunger is high in countries that rely heavily on primary commodity trade.

4. It is also largely driven by displacement of the people and climate change.

 Which are the measures to tackle Hunger?

1. UN report calls for structural transformation to include the poorest people in the world.

2. It suggest integrating food security and nutrition concerns into poverty reduction efforts using pro-poor and inclusive transformations.

3. Developing holistic approaches to protracted displacement settings

4. Providing support to food-insecure displaced people in their region.

5. Recognizing resilience of displaced people and it should be the basis for providing support.

Where does India stands in hunger and malnutrition?

1. India produces enough food to feed its population, yet it is home to 25% of the world’s hungry population with about 195 million hungry people.

2. Malnutrition is a socio-economic issue in India with poor more at risk, it is more prevalent in rural areas.

3. One-third of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

a. 21% of children under 5 are underweight,

b. 38.4% of children under 5 are stunted and

c. 40% of children suffer with chronic undernutrition or stunting.

4. The effects of malnutrition are irreversible if they occur in younger age.

5. India doesn’t have problems in terms of food availability but problems in terms of adequate distribution.

6. However the number of undernourished people has almost come down by half in past 20 years due to rapid economic growth and increased agriculture productivity.

How government aims to tackle the issue?

1. The National Nutrition strategy of 2017 aims to achieve “Zero hunger by 2022”

Schemes	Features
National Food Security Act	1. It covers 75% rural, 50% urban population. 2. It offers 5 kg of cereals per person per month at minimal prices at highly subsidised prices. 3. It also provides nutritional support to women and children and maternity benefits.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana	It provides 35 kgs of cereals to every BPL family per month.
Mid-day meal scheme	Under this scheme lakhs of children are served freshly cooked meals in government and government aided schools.
Public Distribution System	It aims at ensuring food security by providing food and non-food essential items at subsidised rates.

Who has roles in tackling global hunger?

1. UN calls for a holistic approach to food security to fulfil the UN Zero Hunger challenge.

The Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger by 2030

1. It seeks zero stunted children in less than two years 2. 100% access to adequate food all year round 3. Sustainable food systems 4. Zero loss or waste of food.

SDG-2: Sub Goals

1. It requires comprehensive efforts to ensure everyone enjoy their right to adequate food, women are empowered, and priority is given to family farming.

2. It includes leaving no one behind, ensuring human rights and coherent policies with coordination action.

3. Inclusive multi-stakeholder stewardship at all levels and transformational implementation.

4. Investment in sustainable production, consumption including sustainable food and nutrition system.

5. Women as mothers, farmers as entrepreneurs, reshaping agriculture system in the face of climate change.

6. Sustainable agriculture promotes the use of fields, forests, oceans and all-natural resources essential for food production without damaging the environment.

Role of Government

1. It must monitor markets so that prices are fair for all farmers.

2. Need to keep large corporations in check so that they respect and protect rights of local people.

3. Promote healthy eating habits, invest in research and focus on developing rural areas.

Role of Farmers

1. 90% of farms in the world are family owned, producing food for family and community.

2. These farms can play a huge role in eradicating hunger by coming together as cooperatives, improve access to resources and maximise profits.

3. They can also adapt to climate change, develop common strategies for sustainable cultivation.

Role of Private Sector

1. Fight against hunger needs innovation from private sector including companies working in agriculture and services related to it.

2. Companies in the Financial sector can give poorer farmers access to funds.

3. MNCs can use large areas of land responsibly and ensure that locals are not pushed away.

Role of Society

1. Quarter of food wasted each day is enough to feed all the hungry people in the world.

2. Consumers must buy and eat only what is necessary and Say NO to plastic packing.

3. Droughts are becoming common even in regions with plenty of water.

4. It is important to save water in whatever ways such as fixing leaks, using rain or grey water for gardens etc.

5. Shop from local farmers to support local economy and shorten the journey between food and produce.

The DNA Technology (Regulation) Bill

The DNA Technology (Regulation) Bill

Recently, the DNA Technology (Regulation) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha to regulate the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of a person.

What are the provisions of the bill?

1. Establishment of National and Regional DNA Data Bank.

2. Every data bank would have indices such as the crime scene index, suspects’ or undertrials’ index, offenders’ index, missing persons’ index and unknown deceased persons’ index.

3. Establishment of DNA Regulatory Board which accredits labs analysing DNA samples.

4. Written consent by individuals is mandatory before collection of their DNA samples and creating a DNA profile of an individual.

5. However, consent is not required for offences with punishment for more than seven years in jail or death.

Deletion of DNA profile from Data banks:

1. DNA profiles of the suspect may be removed on the filing of a police report or court order.

2. DNA profiles of undertrials may be removed based on a court order.

How is DNA profiling done?

About DNA

1. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), is a hereditary complex molecule present in humans and almost all other organisms.

2. Nearly every cell in multicellular organisms possesses the full set of DNAs required for those organisms.

3. Most DNA molecules consist of two bio-polymer strands coiled around each other to form a double helix.

4. Each nuclear stand is made up of four chemical bases – adenine (A), guanine (G) cytosine (C), and thymine (T).

5. It also has a sugar called deoxyribose and phosphate group; these nuclear strands create a protein that is needed for the cell.

6. DNA contains all the information that is necessary to build and maintain an organism including biological information.

7. Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person, some of the DNA are unique, that makes it possible to distinguish one individual from another.

8. DNA can be extracted from the saliva in the mouth, blood samples, hair follicle, or even from nail scraping etc.

Why DNA profiling is important?

1. DNA profiling is a process that categorises an individual’s characteristics.

2. It is most commonly used as a forensic technique to identify a person in solving heinous crimes.

3. It is also effective in identifying disaster victims, missing people and identification of parents.

4. It can also be used in civil cases such as surrogacy, maternity/paternity cases, organ transplantation and migrations.

When did India start to use DNA samples as evidence?

1. Courts started to accept the DNA profile-based evidence since 1985.

2. In 2016 Andhra Pradesh becomes the first state in India to start DNA profiling to stop crime.

Who recommended the law for DNA profiling?

1. The DNA Technology (Regulation) Bill was framed based on the recommendation of the Department of Biotechnology, observation of law commission and ISFG guidelines

2. In 2005, a committee was set up by the Department of Biotechnology and drafted a Human DNA bill which faced criticism from the civil society and NGOs due to privacy concerns.

3. In 2017, The Law Commission, examined the various provisions of the bill, judicial verdicts and observed that

a. DNA profiling can be used in victim identification, crime investigation, identification of missing persons and for medical research purposes.

b. It also flagged the privacy concerns that ethics involved in the collection of data were very high.

c. The procedure for DNA profiling should be done legitimately according to the constitutional provisions.

4. DNA commission instituted by the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) has issued guidelines regarding DNA profiling as below

a. Forensic DNA lab needs permission before taking a DNA sample of an injured or deceased person.

c. Name of the officer present at the time of sample collection must be clearly mentioned.

d. Guarantee of keeping investigation and collection private.

e. Proper maintenance to be ensured.

What are the concerns about the bill?

1. The bill permits collection of the DNA of undertrials without the court orders which raises privacy concerns.

2. There are concerns that the bill will institutionalise a surveillance state without a Data protection law be put in place safeguarding the privacy.

Where else DNA profiling is legal?

1. All the countries including India follow the ISFG guidelines on DNA profiling.

2. It is legal in about 60 countries including in Argentina, USA, China, Britain and Canada. While, in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Austria it is done only in case of serious crimes.

Constitution Bench

Constitution Bench

1. Recently, the Central Government scrapped Article 370 and Article 35A providing special status to the Jammu and Kashmir by Presidential Order.

2. It was passed by both the houses of the Parliament.

What is the issue?

1. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) constituted a Constitutional bench to deal with the abrogation of Article 370.

2. It was set up to look into constitutional validity

a. Presidential Order scrapping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

b. Law splitting the state into two Union Territories.

c. Restrictions imposed on movements and communication in the Kashmir valley.

When can a constitution bench be constituted?

Interpretation of the Constitution

1. A constitution bench of the Supreme court is set up to decide any case which requires substantial interpretation of the constitution.

2. The Supreme Court is mandated by Article 145(3) of the Constitution of India.

3. The bench must be comprised of at least five Supreme Court judges.

Advisory Judications of the Supreme Court

1. The constitutional bench is also constituted for any reference made by the President of India under Article 143(1).

2. Article 143(1) gives the President the power to consult the Supreme Court if a question of law or fact arises or is likely to arise.

3. The President can also refer a dispute to the Supreme Court for opinion.

Other Issues

1. According to Article 145, every petition questioning the election of President and Vice President under Article 71 of the Constitution shall be posted before a bench of 5 judges.

2. The CJI has the special power to direct any case to the Constitutional bench such as the Ayodhya dispute.

3. A civil cases that are politically sensitive have also been directed to the constitutional bench.

Who constitutes the Constitution bench?

1. It shall be constituted by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). But it is not mandatory for CJI also to be a member of the constitution bench.

2. Sometimes multiple constitution benches are constituted simultaneously, in such cases CJI probably cannot be part of all the constitution benches.

Which are the landmark cases decided by the Constitutional Bench?

1. Kesavananda Bharathi Case

a. It was decided by the largest constitution bench so far of 13 members.

b. It dealt with the constitutional amending powers of Parliament.

c.  In this case, the Doctrine of Basic Structure was laid down by the Supreme Court.

The Kesavananda case has its roots in Golaknath vs State of Punjab case.

a. In Golaknath case, an 11 member bench ruled the parliament could not curtail any fundamental right that was guaranteed by the constitution.

b. To nullify this verdict, the 24th constitutional amendment was enacted, making parliament’s power to amend the constitution unrestricted and unlimited.

c. But in the Kesavananda Bharati case, the Supreme Court held that the power to amend for Parliament does not include the power to alter the basic structure of the Constitution.

2. Aadhaar Verdict in 2018

The judgement laid down that

a. Aadhaar is constitutionally valid but not necessary to avail of Government services.

b. Aadhaar – PAN linking mandatory but not mandatory to link Bank A/C and mobile numbers.

3. Decriminalized Gay Sex

a. In 2018 the Supreme Court judgement laid down that consensual sex between two adults is covered under the Right to Privacy.

b. It partly struck down the Sec 377 of Indian Penal Court, holding it violative of the fundamental right to privacy.

c. Sec 377 would continue to be in force in case of unnatural sex with animals and children.

d. Sec 377 of IPC is also regarded as discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

4. Sabarimala Case 2018

a. The Supreme Court allowed entry of women of all age groups into Sabarimala Temple, holding that devotion cannot be subjected to gender discrimination.

5. Execution of Living Will and Right to Die with Dignity

a. Passive euthanasia was legalized. It was made applicable only to those who suffer from a terminal illness and have no hope of recovery.

b. The court will constitute a medical board to consider the cases of passive euthanasia.

c. It also allowed for the drafting of the living will, specifying the signatory not be put on life support, if they slip into an incurable coma.

d. Will must be made when a person is a sound mind.

6. Triple Talaq Judgement in 2017

a. The Supreme Court struck down the instant triple talaq terming it as unconstitutional.

b. It invalidated the age-old practice of Muslim Personal law in which a Muslim man can divorce his wife uttering the word ‘talaq’ thrice.

Incredible India

Incredible India

1. Spain has secured the top spot in the ‘Travel and Tourism Index 2019’. It is followed by France, Germany, and Japan with the United States.

2. Japan remains Asia's most competitive travel and tourism economy.

3. The Asia-Pacific was one of the fastest-growing travel and tourism regions in this year's ranking.

What is the ‘Travel and Tourism Index 2019’?

1. The index is produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

2. It ranks 140 countries in the world on their relative strengths in global tourism and travel.

3. It measures the factors and policies that make a country a viable place to invest in the Travel and Tourism sector.

4.  It relies on the collaboration of a network of thinkers who provide their knowledge and insights towards its production.

5. It compiles data from its partners,

a) International Air Transport Association (IATA)

b) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

c) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

d) World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

e) Bloom Consulting

6. The index uses four sub-indices to rank the countries,

a) Enabling Environment

b) Travel and Tourism Policy and enabling conditions

c) Infrastructure

d) Natural and Cultural resources

7. There are fourteen sub-pillars and ninety indicators of the index which are used to score a country's overall travel and tourism competitiveness.

How has India performed in the rankings?

1. India has moved up six places to rank 34th on world travel and tourism competitiveness index.

2. The index states that India’s growth is driven by two main factors,

a) Rich natural and cultural resources

b) Strong price competitiveness

3. This is the greatest improvement of India over 2017 among the top 25% of all countries ranked in the report.

4. India has performed well in following indicators,

a) Air Infrastructure- 33rd rank

b) Ground and Port Infrastructure- 28th rank

c) International Openness- 51st rank

d)  Natural resources- 14th rank

e) Cultural resources- 8th rank

f) Price competitiveness- 13th rank

g) Overall Travel and tourism policy- 69th rank

5. However, India is still lagging on following indicators,

a) Enabling Environment- 98th rank

b) Environmental Sustainability- 128th rank

c) Tourist Service Infrastructure-  109th rank

Which programmes have helped to improve?

1. Successive Indian governments have initiated many programs to ensure the progress of tourism sectors.

2. Following programs have helped to improve India’s ranking,

a) Atithi Devo Bhav campaign

b) Incredible India campaign

c) Recent reforms in visa process

d) Online option for applying for tourist visa

e) E-VISA facility available to citizens of 163 countries

f) Schemes such as PRASAD, Tourist circuits, etc.

Why is India preferred by tourists?

1. India offers a wide variety of things from cuisine to culture.

2. India has strong price competitiveness and strong cultural traditions.

3. Natural scenic locations in India range from beaches to mountains like the Himalayas.

4. India is also progressing in various sectors such as medical tourism, adventure tourism, pilgrimage tourism, etc.

5. Government policies have created awareness about India’s tourism potential globally.

Where does the potential of tourism lies?

Worldwide

1. In the World, tourism industry generated around 10.4% of all global economic activities.

2.  This sector contributed $8.8 trillion dollars to economies and also created 319 million jobs worldwide.

3. This sector accounts for one in five new jobs created worldwide.

4. This sector is estimated to contribute 100 million jobs generated globally in next 10 years.

India

1. India is the seventh-largest tourism country currently. It is expected to become 3rd largest tourism country in next 10 years.

2. Tourism and Travel Industry will double its contribution to 32 lakh crores by 2028.

3. This sector is expected to add 5.23 crore jobs by 2028 in India.

Eastern Economic Forum

Eastern Economic Forum

1. India’s PM has been invited as the chief guest for the fifth edition of the Eastern Economic Forum.

2. India has announced a $ 1 billion line of credit to the region and shipping line from Vladivostok to Chennai for transportation of oil would be started.  

What is Eastern Economic Forum?

1. It is an international forum held each year in Russia to encourage foreign investment in the Russian Far East region.

2. It is aimed to support the economic development of Russia’s far east.

3. It seeks to attract foreign investment in the region which is resource-rich but highly underdeveloped.

4. It also seeks to expand international cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region.

5. It also serves as a platform for discussion of key issues such as world economy, regional integration and the development of new industrial and technological sectors.

6. The forum’s business programme includes business dialogues with partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN.

Russia’s Far East Region

1. Russia’s Far East is a huge geographic region also known as the Siberian region is sparsely populated due to its harsh climatic conditions. It is twice the size of India and rich in resources. 2. Vegetation is mostly taiga, with a tundra belt on the northern fringe, and a temperate forest zone in the south. 3. It has short summers and long, brutally cold winters. On the north coast, north of the Arctic Circle, there is a very short (about one-month-long) summer.

Who participated in the forum?

1. India, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Mongolia.

2. Representatives from a wide range of industries participated.

Why does Russia need India?

1. Russia needs the help of Asian countries other than China to develop this region.

2. Russia is keen to balance Chinese presence through Indian investments and manpower.

3. The resource-rich region also can fulfill India’s energy needs.

When did Indo – Russia's bilateral relationship start?

1. Soviet Union supported India’s freedom movement and many Indian leaders were inspired by the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

2. India established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union shortly before independence in 1947.

3. After independence, the immediate goal for India was to attain self-sufficiency through investment in heavy industry.

4. Soviet Union invested in mining, energy production, steel plants, and heavy machine-building industries in India.

5. During India’s second five-year plan, 16 new projects were set up of which 8 projects were supported by the Soviet Union. This included the establishment of IIT Bombay.

6. It vetoed twice, in 1957 and 1962, the anti-Indian initiatives at UNSC in regard to J&K.

7. It also supported India’s move to liberate Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961.

8. In 1971 the treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed.

9. In 1993, India and Russia entered into a new treaty of friendship and cooperation and a bilateral military-technical cooperation agreement was signed in 1994.

Where does the bilateral relation stand now?

1. In 2000 the relationship was enhanced to the strategic partnership and in 2010 the partnership was elevated to special and privileged strategic partnerships.  

2. Since 2014 the annual bilateral summit has resulted in the following progress –

a. Both countries agreed to set up new nuclear plants in India and broader collaboration in hydrocarbon companies in oil and gas exploration and production.

b. Both countries set a target of bilateral trade of $ 30 billion trade by 2024.

c. MoUs were signed related to Trade and investment, energy, education, science and technology, culture and tourism, people to people contact, space, defence, security, railways and disaster management.

d. In 2016 India signed a deal for the S-400 air missile system and Agreement to increase mutual investments up to $15 billion.

How do both countries function on International forums?

1. Both countries have similar positions and coordinate action at international forums.

2. Both have cooperated closely within the United Nations and G20 grouping as well as in the various structures in the Asia-Pacific region such as ASEAN and East Asia Summit Forum.

3. India was admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017 with Russia’s support.

Which are the issues in the bilateral trade?

1. Both countries are unable to move further from traditional areas such as defence and nuclear cooperation.

2. Partnership in new areas has made not much progress. Investment and bilateral trade are minimal, and it is not sustainable.

Towards Better LivingThe World Habitat Day was celebrated on 7th October.

Towards Better Living

The World Habitat Day was celebrated on 7th October.

When was ‘World Habitat Day’ designated?

1. In 1985, the United Nations designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day.

2. The day is celebrated to reflect the state of towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

3. It is intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

What is the theme of WHD 2019?

1. The theme for World Habitat Day 2019 is “Frontier technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth.”

2. This is in continuation with the World Habitat Day 2018 theme - ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management’ which focused mainly on managing garbage.

3. The theme is focussing on achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 11- Inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

4. The term ‘Waste’ includes all waste produced by human activity such as solid, liquid, domestic, industrial and commercial.

5. Such waste continues to have a devastating impact on climate change, public health and the environment.

Which are the problems associated with waste?

1. Currently, the world produces 7-10 billion tonnes of waste in all forms annually.

2. Inadequate infrastructure for waste management in the least developed and developing countries has impacted the health of citizens adversely.

3. Lack of adequate waste management results in air, soil, water pollution which pose threats to public health, ecosystem, and biodiversity.

4. Large quantities of waste are accumulating in world oceans which is impacting the marine ecosystems adversely.

Why should frontier technologies be adopted?

1. Frontier technologies like automation, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable technologies, and artificial intelligence can transform environmental spheres.

2. They can offer better, cheaper, faster, scalable and easy to use solutions for every-day problems, including waste management.

3. They can be used in complex situations where the manual waste management isn’t possible.

4. Such technologies can innovate the waste management system through 5Rs,

a) Reduce

b) Reuse

c) Recycle

d) Recover

e) Residual Management

5. Adoption of such technologies can create employment opportunities, promote economic growth and improve the health ecosystem.

6. It can contribute to happier, greener, healthier cities. It can save enormous public money.

How is India promoting sustainable habitat?

1. According to the report, nearly half of the Indian population will live in cities by 2050. It will create a huge burden on urban infrastructure.

2. To meet this challenge, several states along with the Central Government have speeded up the urbanization process in the country.

3. Through ‘Housing for All by 2022 Initiative’, the Government is building affordable houses built on ecological standards in rural as well as urban areas.

4. Smart Cities Mission provides for adoption of high technologies such as ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ etc. These systems capture the data, the lifestyle of the users.

5. Several governments are promoting ‘Waste to Wealth Mission’ i.e. by giving waste, citizens can earn money.

6. Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation Mission seeks to provide basic services e.g. water supply, sewerage to households and build amenities in cities to improve quality of life.

War Against Poverty

War Against Poverty

1. Eradicating poverty in all its forms is one of the greatest challenges faced by humankind.

2. The UN defines extreme poverty as a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs which include food, safe drinking water, sanitation, and health.

What does the UN report say?

1. According to the United Nations (UN), more than 10% of the world’s population is still living in extreme poverty.

2. 23.1% of the population across 103 countries are multi-dimensionally poor and half of them are children under the age of 18 years.

3. Children suffer poverty more intensely than adults. It hurts children’s development and in turn, leads to lower-income and poor health in adulthood.

4. Half of the 1.3 billion multi-dimensionally poor people are children under the age of 18.

5. In 2018-19 about 10.7% of South Asian girls drop out of school and live in Multi-Dimensionally poor household and 22.7% of children under the age 5 are malnourished.

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) includes both income and a number of indicators including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

Who developed the MPI?

1. MPI is developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UNDP.

2. It identifies deprivations at household and individual levels based on Health, Education, and Standard of Living.

3. It relies on two main databases viz. ICF Macro Demographic and Health Survey and UNICEF’s Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey.

Which are steps taken by the UN in reducing poverty?

1. Every year 17th October is observed as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

2. No poverty by 2030 is the first sustainable development goal set by the UN.

3. UN is also running a social media campaign called #EndPoverty to create awareness on International Day for the eradication of poverty.

4. This year marks 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the theme this year is “Acting together to empower children their families and communities to end poverty”.

5. The Convention recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

Where does India stand?

1. As per the 2019 Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index, India reduced half the number of poor between 2006 and 2016.

2. India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in the period recording the fastest reduction in the multi-dimensional poverty index values during the period.

3. Strong improvements in assets, cooking fuel, sanitation, and nutrition are cited as the reason.

4. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.

5. India has also reduced the number of overweight children under 5 years.

6. But, India still has about 27.9% of the population living in poverty in 2015-16.

7. 38.4% of Children under 5 years are affected by stunting and it varies among the poor, middle class and rich.

8. According to the National Family Health Survey, a third of women of reproductive age undernourished and more than half of them are anemic.

How India is trying to reduce poverty?

1. Schemes such as MGNREGA, Deen Dayal Anthodaya Yojana, National Livelihood Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, National Social Assistance Programme, and the Public Distribution System India has made far-reaching progress in poverty elevation in recent years.

2. To free India from malnutrition the National Nutrition Mission or the Potion Abhiyan is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

3. The program aims to reduce stunting, undernutrition and anemia among young children, women and adolescent girls and also reduce low birth weight by monitoring and ensuring holistic development.

4. The goal is to make malnutrition free India by the year 2022.

Why is Health Care important in reducing poverty? 

1. About 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty in a single year for having to fund their own health care. Among them, 38 million came below poverty due to spending on medicines alone.

2. Other challenges in health care are High out of pocket expenditure and Low Financial protection and low health insurance coverage.

3. But, in recent years India has taken historic steps to ensure universal health which is an important parameter in eradicating poverty.

4. The focus is largely on four main pillars of universal health i.e. preventive health, affordable health care, supply-side interventions, and mission mode interventions.

5. Due to improvement across the spectrum of health and development, the average life expectancy has risen steadily from 64 to 68 years between 2005 and 2015.

6. India’s under-five mortality for the first time estimated at 39 deaths per 1000 live births which the same as the global average.

7. Health Care is also one of the largest sectors in India in terms of revenue and employment.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme

1. It is the world’s biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme to reduce the out of pocket health care expenditures. It has been renamed as PM Jan Arogya Yojana.

2. It aims to provide healthcare facilities to over 10 crore families covering urban and rural poor.

4. The scheme has defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. The scheme has no cap on family size and age.

5. It is also cashless and paperless at public hospitals and empanelled private hospitals.

Other Initiatives

1. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.

2. Mother’s Absolute Affection, a nationwide program to bring focus on the promotion of breastfeeding and the provision of counseling services for the same.

3. Introduction of a new vaccines - rotavirus vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, Mission Indradhanush.

4. Family Planning.

5. National Deworming Day held by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

6. PM – National Dialysis Programme.

7. National Programme for Control of Blindness.

8. National Programme for Health care of the Elderly.

Cosmos- New DimensionsNobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded recently.

Cosmos- New Dimensions

Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded recently.

Who are the awardees?

1. Noble Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded to three scientists for their contribution to the field of astrophysics.

2. Dr. James Peebles was awarded for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology.

3. He predicted the existence of the cosmic microwave background radiation known as the ‘Afterglow of the Big Bang Explosion’.

4. The other half of the prize was jointly given to scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.

What is the cosmology and its theories?

1. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that involves the origin and evolution of the universe from the Big Bang explosion event.

2. According to NASA, cosmology is the scientific study of the large-scale properties of the universe as a whole.

3. Cosmologists deal with concepts like string theory, dark matter and dark energy and whether there is one universe or many i.e. multiverse.

4. The branch began as a branch of theoretical physics developed from Einstein’s static model of the universe.

5. Present models of the universe hold two fundamental premises i.e. Cosmological Principle and Dominant role of gravitation.

6. Cosmological Principle was derived by Edward Hubble. It holds that a large sample like Universe looks the same from all positions and directions.

7.  Cosmology also deals with theories of universe origin such as

a) Steady-State theory

b) Big Bang theory

How are the origin theories different?

1. Steady-state theory

a) It states that the universe is always expanding but maintaining a constant average density.

b) According to the theory, the matter is being continuously created to form new stars and galaxies at the same rate that old ones become unobservable as a consequence of their increasing distance and velocity of recession.

c) A steady-state universe has no beginning or end in time. The average density and arrangement of galaxies are the same. Galaxies of all possible ages are intermingled.

d) The theory was first put forward in 1948 by British scientists Sir Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred Hoyle.

2. Big Bang theory

a) This theory states that the whole universe was evolved from a single very dense point through an explosion, that is estimated to have occurred around 13.8 billion years ago.

b) The essential feature of the theory is the emergence of the universe from a state of extremely high temperature and density.

c) The modern version of the theory was developed by George Gamow and colleagues in the 1940s.

d) The theory predicts that definite amounts of hydrogen, helium, and lithium were produced.

When was the first evidence of exoplanet noted?

1. Exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun outside the Solar System.

2. In 1917, the first evidence of exoplanet called ‘Van Maanem 2’ was noted. However, the evidence was rejected.

3. In 1992, the first exoplanet, which was orbiting the star ‘PSR B1257’, was discovered. Since then, 4031 exoplanets are confirmed to date.

4. Out of these, at least 21 exoplanets are considered habitable. Most of the discovered exoplanets are ‘Rogue planets.’ Rogue planets are basically nomad or inhabitable planets.

Which missions have discovered exoplanets?

1. Hubble Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 1990 to discover extra-terrestrial life outside the solar system.

b) The Hubble telescope has discovered a number of exoplanets.

c) It is credited with the discovery of water on the exoplanet named ‘K2-18b’ for the first time.

2. Spitzer Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 2013. It is planned to retire in January 2020.

b) It is an infrared space telescope and has observed the exoplanets in infrared wavelengths.

3. Kepler Space Telescope

a) It was launched in 2009 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

b) It is designated to monitor the main sequence stars and exoplanets.

c) It introduced the ‘modern era’ in the planet-hunting. It detected 2662 exoplanets.

4. TESS Mission

a) The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorers program launched in April 2018.

b) It is designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the Kepler mission.

5. ASTROSAT Mission

a) ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.

b) This scientific satellite mission endeavors for a more detailed understanding of our universe.

c) The mission enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.

Unified Payment Interface

Unified Payment Interface

1. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) crossed 100 million users, which made it the fastest adopted payment system option in the world.

2. Recently the Singapore and UAE enabled the UPI payment acceptance in their countries and NPCI aims to take the UPI global.  

What is UPI?

1. It enables users to send and receive money to the accounts with mobile platforms without entering bank details by using an email as a virtual payment address or by scanning a QR code.

2. The open architecture of UPI enables any bank account to be accessed through a UPI app.

3. It has also enabled the rise of payment apps such as Paytm, Google Pay, Phone Pe in the market.

4. These payment apps have been enrolling the small merchants including hawkers to accept payment through the UPI.

Features of the UPI

1. The UPI has also waved merchant fees up to Rs.200.

2. It also allows multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application.

3. It is very safe and as the transaction cost is so low that banks have made it free.

4. Privacy of bank accounts and instant transfer 24X7.

5. There is no loss of interest and users are rewarded with cashback.

Who launched the UPI?

1. UPI was launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organization for retail payments and settlement systems in India.

2. NPCI is controlled by the RBI and the Indian Bank Association (IBA).

Which are the challenges?

1. Acceptance of merchants and traders.

2. Amending UPI protocols to include currency conversion support.

3. Directly connecting UPI to global payment systems accompanied by amendments in Indian regulators.

4. NPCI has to rely on banks and aggregators in those countries.

How is India’s digital economy performing?

1. It is expected to cross USD 1.5 trillion by 2025 and USD 1 trillion by 2022.

2. The mobile data usage is expected to increase by 5 times by 2023.

3. China’s Alipay and WeChat are accepted in 30 countries, but these are closed and loop payments, while the UPI can work with any bank accounts.

4. NPCI also aims to capture the NRI remittance as currently, India is the largest remittance receiver in the World.

5. Digital India program aims to make India ‘Faceless, Paperless and Cashless’, which impacts the digital economy.

Where the impacts of Digital India seen?

1. Pubic Sector Services: Creating awareness and access points to Common Service Centres in rural India under the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan. Digital transformation across areas like e-governance, online citizen services.

2. Growing digital usage will affect the media and entertainment sector more.

3. Fintech sector has seen an uptick in the past few years and Indian start-ups in the digital sector have made their presence felt globally with their success.

4. IT services market set to reach USD 13.2 billion by the end of 2019 in India and E-Commerce marker to grow 3 times to over USD 100 billion by 2022.

5. India will have 2nd largest graduate talent pipeline by 2020 globally which will further boost Digital India.

6. Digital platforms have impacted the education sector in the method of learning and making education accessible.

6. Travel and Hospitality sector: This sector has seen rapid growth. The contribution by the travel and tourism sector to GDP is expected to increase more than double from 2017 to 2028.

Digital India Programme

1. It aims to turn villages into self-sustained units.

2. Over 12,000 rural post office branches linked digitally and 1.15 lakh gram panchayats were connected under the Bharat Net program.

3. Digi Gaon or Digital Village is conceptualized as a connected village where citizens avail various e-services.

5. Digital villages are equipped with solar lighting facilities, LED assembly units, sanitary napkin production units, Wi-Fi choupal.

5. Digital lockers enable the sharing and storing of documents electronically.

6. Urban-Rural divide: As of 2017, 64% of Urban India was connected to the internet while only 20% was connected in rural India.

7. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan aims to make citizens digitally literate. It aims to reach 40% of rural households by covering one member from every household by March 2019.

8. Digital India Programme generated employment and entrepreneurship in India while also contributing to the environment by reducing fuel consumption, waste management, greener workplaces, etc.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

The 123rd birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was celebrated on 23rd January 2020.

How was Netaji’s early life?

1. SC Bose was born in Cuttack in Odisha then part of Bengal province.

2. He was influenced by the Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.

3. He cleared the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exam in 1920 and resigned in 1921 to join Indian National Congress (INC) and contribute to the freedom movement.

What was his contribution in INC?

1. He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi.

2. In 1923, he was elected President of All India Youth Congress.

3. He started the newspaper ‘Swaraj’ and also took charge of publicity for Bengal Provincial Congress Committee.

4. He was made editor of an anti-British newspaper founded by Deshbandhu Chittranjan Das. He was jailed for his anti-British writings.

5. He also worked for Swaraj party with Chittranjan Das, who is also his political mentor.

6. In 1927, he became General secretary of Congress and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru.

7. In 1928, he led a march with two thousand youths wearing military uniform, against British rule in Calcutta.

8. In the 1930s Bose travelled Europe and met Indian students and leaders including Mussolini.

9. He also wrote the first part of his book Indian struggle 1920 to 1934 during this period.

10. In 1938, Bose was elected as the President of the INC.

11. He was re-elected as the president in 1939 but resigned after the differences cropped up between him and Congress leaders.

Which are the reasons for the differences?

1. He demanded independent status for India and not dominion status or to be attached as a part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

2. Demanding complete independence i.e. Swaraj, he gave a call for freedom and asked the party to decide upon a date to achieve it.

4. In case of failure to achieve freedom by the given date, he wanted to lead the party into a violent protest against the British.

5. This was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi, resulting in a break away from Congress and establishment of Forward bloc in June 1939.

Why did Bose prefer the violent way of protest?

1. During NCM the British repression became intense as the movement proceeded.

2. So, he felt Gandhian ideology and strategy to be very mild, and non-violence as unsuitable means.

3. He wanted violence to be dealt with violence and not ahimsa.

4. His All India Forward Bloc also aimed at consolidating the political left and revolutionaries to fight for India’s independence.

Where did Bose head after quitting INC?

1. Bose believed in defeating the British in India when they are engaged in the World War.

2. He was prompted by revolutionary leader Rash Bihari Bosh to mobilize foreign help for Indian freedom struggle.

3. He reached Germany via Kabul and formed the Liberation Army by liberating Indian prisoners of war of British Indian Army imprisoned by Italy and Germany.

4. In Germany, Bose earned the title of ‘Netaji’ by the Indian soldiers.

5. Unable to garner the support of Hitler he moved to Japan.

6. In 1943, Bose reached Japan and was given the responsibility of leading the Azad Hind Fauj, established by captain Mohan Singh.

7. In October 1943, Bose proclaimed the establishment of provisional independent Indian government.

9. In February 1944, the Azad Hind Fauj attacked the British Army.

10. The Azad Hind forge along with Japanese troops reached India in March 1944 and Indian tricolour modelled after that of INC was raised for the first time in the town of Moirang in Manipur.

8. He also gave the war cry “Give me blood and I will give you Freedom” and “Jai Hind” which later became war cries of the freedom struggle.

9. In July 1944, Bose addressed Mahatma Gandhi “as father of the Nation” for the first time.

10. With the retreat and final surrender of Japanese forces, efforts of Azad Hind Fauj also came to an end.

12. On 18th August 1945, Bose reportedly died in Japanese Hospital in Taiwan as a result of burn injuries from a plane crash.

WTO Crisis

WTO Crisis

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO) has completed 25 years on 1st January 2020.

2. But it has been consistently losing its relevance due to various factors.

What is the WTO?

1. It is an international organization with the primary purpose to open trade for the benefit of all.

2. It provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all.

3. It also provides a legal and institutional framework for the monitoring of these agreements as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application.

4. The Ministerial Conference is the highest institutional body that meets every two years and decisions are generally taken by consensus of the entire membership.

5. A General Council conducts the organization's business in the intervals between Ministerial Conferences.

How does WTO function?

WTO has the following guiding principles

1. Pursuit of open borders

2. Guarantee of most-favoured-nation principle and non-discriminatory treatment by and among members

3. Commitment to transparency in the conduct of its activities.

Main activities of WTO are

1. Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of international trade.

2. Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property rights.

3. Monitoring and reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as ensuring transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements.

4. Settling disputes among our members regarding the interpretation and application of the agreements.

5. Building capacity of developing country government officials in international trade matters.

6. Assisting the process of accession of some 30 countries who are not yet members of the organization.

7. Conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in support of the WTO's other main activities.

8. Explaining to and educating the public about the WTO, its mission and its activities.

Why is WTO losing relevance?

1. Powers of WTO arm ‘Appellate body’, that resolves trade disputes among the countries have been declining.

2. United States and other major powers blocks have criticized the functioning of the organization.

3. Emergence of many trade blocks, free trade agreements have provided alternatives to the countries.

Where lies the issue?

1. The WTO’s dispute settlement system (DSS) is the most extensively used international adjudicatory mechanism.

2. Appellate body of WTO has become unable to function due to lack of judges.

3. While the Appellate body has only one judge, WTO rules require three judges to hear each case.

4. USA has blocked the appointment of new judges to the Appellate Body due to judicial activism and concerns over U.S. sovereignty.

5. Efforts to reform the dispute settlement system and new appointments have been unsuccessful.

6. So, due to lack of Quorum, disputes remain unresolved.

Which are India’s major disputes?

1. India is an active participant in WTO dispute settlement system.

2. India has been a complainant in 21 disputes and respondent in 22 cases.

3. India lost in the dispute related to Export Incentive subsidy schemes to the USA. India has been asked to withdraw subsidies within 120 days.

4. Major ongoing disputes are

a) With the USA on import restrictions by India on certain agricultural products including poultry and poultry products.

b) With the USA on Domestic Content Requirements in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Programme of Ministry of Renewable energy.

c) With the USA on exorbitant countervailing duty by the United States on certain hot-rolled carbon steel products originating from India.

Ease of Doing Business

Ease of Doing Business

India’s Ease of Doing Business (EDB) ranking has moved 143 to 63, but it is still below India’s real potential.

What is in the news?

1. The government is to reduce the time taken and requirement for starting new business from 10 processes and 18 days to 5 processes and 5 days.

2. 10 key services like name reservation, incorporation, registration for various taxes such as GST would be available in two forms instead of multiple forms.

Which are the current issues?

High Compliance Burden

1. Large businesses such as Pharmaceutical company, have to follow more than 1900 rules and regulations at central level and along with states it is about 6000.

2. Despite improvement in efficiency of micro-management, overall macro-management is increasing due to delay in delivering punishments for non-compliance.

3. This results in demand for compliance on all the businesses.

4. Clarity and swift action on non-adherence to the compliance in advanced economies off-sets their high compliance burden.

Implementation Issues

1. Behavioural issues: It takes lots of process and time to bring new system as the system is used to the old forms and method.

2. States following good practise for ease of doing business not integrated with other states and centre.

Cost of Doing Business

1. India’s interest rates are one among highest in the world.

2. The cost of power and compliance is high in India.

3. Cost of meeting contractual obligation is also high.

4. Such high cost of doing business has bearing on sustainability of businesses and start-ups.

Where lies the solution?

1. The new reforms should start from the central government and percolate down to state governments also.

2. EDB should be incorporated with the overall ease of doing ecosystem in India.

3. An integrated platform like GST for state government and various ministries to come together to sort out the compliance and implementation related issues in quick fashion is needed.

How to increase Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in India?

1. India is one of the top receivers of FDIs in 2019 with 49 billion USD flowing in 2019.

2. Following factors are considered by FDIs

a. Business prospects

b. Larger economic growth scenario

c. Ease of Doing business

3. India largely has first two prospects resulting in huge FDI flows despite lower growth rate.

4. Ease of doing business will help in incremental FDI flows in India.

5. A perception of India as a large and growing economy is also needed to attract FDIs.

Boosting Consumption

1. Currently the utilization capacity of industries is 75%. India cannot attract more FDI in manufacturing if its capacity is latent.

2. So, revival of economy is important for attracting FDI in manufacturing sector.

3. Reviving rural consumption through public investments will help improve capacity utilization and further increase investments.

Upcoming New Industrial Policy

1. An integrated approach to the business rather than manufacturing and services.

2. Promoting the new emerging concepts like Gig economy, shared economy and circular economy.

3. Institutional mechanism of centre-state and all ministries to implement these policies.

Carbon Trading System

Carbon Trading System

1. Madrid Climate talks ended without any agreement on rules for future carbon trading.

2.  Madrid talks were expected to finalize rules for a new global carbon market as part of the Paris Agreement.

When was Carbon trading system introduced?

1. Carbon Trading System, also known as ‘Emission Trading System’(ETS), is an exchange platform of credits between nations designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

2. Emissions trading allows countries to sell excess emission units (emissions permitted them but not ‘used’) to countries that are over their targets.

3. Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are a type of emissions unit or carbon credits issued by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects.

4. This trading system originated in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change and future global warming.

5. ‘Cap and Trade system’ is used worldwide for carbon trading.

What is the Cap and trade system?

1. Cap and trade is an approach that harnesses market forces to reduce emissions cost-effectively.

2. It differs from ‘command-and-control’ approaches where the government sets performance standards or dictates technology choices for individual facilities.

3. Cap and trade allows the market to determine a price on carbon and that price drives investment decisions and spurs market innovation.

Key Design Elements

1. Complementary Policies- Decide on other policies that should be implemented with cap and trade system.

2. Scope –Decide on covering emission sources and greenhouse gases.

3. Target –Decide the required level of emissions reduction and dead-line.

4. Allowance Allocation –Procedure to distribute allowances.

5. Banking/Borrowing –Decide between trading and saving of the excess allowances.

6. Offsets –Decide on usage compliance of verified emissions reductions generated by companies outside the cap.

7. Market Integrity – To avoid market manipulation

Why is cap and trade system preferred?

1. A cap may be the preferable policy if a jurisdiction has specific emissions targets. They set an emissions cap and issues a quantity of emission allowances consistent with that cap.

2. Emitters must hold allowances for every ton of greenhouse gas they emit. Companies may buy and sell allowances and the market establishes an emissions price.

3. Companies that can reduce their emissions at a lower cost may sell any excess allowances for companies facing higher costs to buy.

4. It also differs from a tax as it provides a high level of certainty about future emissions, and not the price of those emissions.

How many credits India earned?

1. To lower carbon footprint, India has done

a) Investment in low carbon-intensive technologies

b) Protection and conservation of forests

c) Successfully switched to renewable energy generation

2. In this process, India has earned lot of carbon credits or ‘Certificate of Emission Reductions (CER)’.

3. Indian companies have registered 1,669 projects under the system and earned 246.6 million credits.

4. Another 526 projects were registered under the ‘voluntary’ market and these have earned 89 million credits. In total, Indian companies got roughly 350 million credits.

Which are the benefits and drawbacks?

Benefits

1. Targets Emissions Reductions

a) ETS has resulted in emission reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs).

b) European Union Emission Target System (EU STS) reduced emissions by 3% in phase I. Companies in EU reduced emissions by 25-28% in phase II.

c) For regional states, emissions would have been 24% higher in the absence of ETS.

2. Enables clear emissions reduction paths

a) ETS ensures emissions remain at or below specified emissions cap across covered sectors.

b) Jurisdictions aim to adopt progressively declining credit caps in line with national targets.

3. Makes Economic sense

a) ETS delivers cost-effective abatement.

b) Compared to other alternatives, ETS incurred lowest costs per ton of abated emissions.

4. Provides flexibility to the countries

a) Jurisdictions can choose where and when to reduce emissions, choose cheapest options.

b) Price signal created through ETS automatically adopts changing economic conditions.

5. Encourages low-carbon development

a) ETS facilitates transition to low-carbon economy, break away from carbon-intensive technologies.

6. Promotes innovation of low-carbon tech

a) ETS promotes deployment and innovation of low-carbon technology

b) Low-carbon production process, products are favoured by incentivizing innovation.

7. Country specific adoption

a) ETS can be adopted specifically by each country or region. There are currently 20 systems in operation.

b) Policy can be designed to accommodate domestic priorities and fulfil different roles in policy.

Drawbacks

1. Carbon trading is considered as a false solution to climate change problem as carbon trading is claimed to be creating more carbon emissions.

2. The trading system is being exploited by rich nations as it is considered as license for rich nations to pollute more.

3. Carbon permits prices are not financially attractive. It affects poorer nations.

4. There is inconsistency in the distribution of carbon credits of companies.

Where lies the solution?

1. Specific limits on carbon emissions need to be set that shouldn’t be exceeded by countries at any cost.

2.  Carbon tax should be introduced, and companies be made to pay for CO2 they produce.

3. Regulations and penalties to be made more stringent and time bound.