05 Apr 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ‘No need for laws to enforce duties on citizens’

Syllabus: Constitution of India-evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. 

Prelims: Fundamental Duties

Mains: Enforcement of Fundamental Duties

Context: Recently, the Attorney-General of India said there was no need to enact specific laws to “enforce” fundamental duties on citizens.

Background:

• A public interest litigation (PIL) petition was filed in the Supreme Court demanding to enforce the fundamental duties of citizens through “comprehensive, well-defined laws” which was opposed by the Attorney General for India.
• The Attorney General argued the Supreme Court cannot issue a mandamus to Parliament to make such laws.

Know more about the Fundamental Duties in India.

Ranganath Mishra judgment of 2003: 

• The Ranganath Mishra judgment is related to the implementation of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee’s report on the “operationalisation of fundamental duties”. 
• In this case, the Supreme Court had taken note of the Report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution. 
  • The commission had accepted a report made by the Justice J.S. Verma Committee on the operationalization of suggestions to teach fundamental duties to citizens and a strong suggestion had been made for their early implementation. 
  • The Commission, inter alia, recommended sensitizing the public and creating general awareness of the provisions of fundamental duties. 
• The court had closed the proceedings in this case with a direction to the union government to take appropriate steps for their implementation as expeditiously as possible.

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. IPCC report may spell death knell for coal-based units

Syllabus: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation 

Mains: Findings of IPCC Report 2022 and its implications on coal-based units

Context: This article talks about the findings of IPCC Report 2022 and its implications on coal-based units.

IPCC Report findings:

• According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), all coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology must be shut down by 2050 if the world is to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• To keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest and be cut by 43% by 2030. 
• By 2050, if the right policies, infrastructure, and technology are in place to enable changes in our lifestyles and behaviour, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 70%.
• When carbon dioxide emissions are reduced to net zero, the global temperature will stabilize. 
  • For 1.5°C, this meant achieving global net zero carbon dioxide emissions in the early 2050s; 
  • For 2°C, it meant achieving net zero emissions in the early 2070s.

What is the concern for India?

• According to the Central Electricity Authority:
  • India has several operational coal-fired power plants accounting for roughly 10% of global capacity. 
  • None of the existing under-construction coal-fired power plants in India has CCS facilities.

Conclusion:

• The most recent IPCC report serves as a stark reminder to all developed countries to accelerate their transition to a net-zero economy. 
• This would free up more carbon for countries like India to pursue their development goals while still achieving their net-zero goal. 
• Furthermore, developed countries should ensure higher flows of finance and technology transfer in critical areas such as renewables, electric vehicles, and others to accelerate the low-carbon transition.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. The road to Ukraine peace runs through Delhi

Syllabus: Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India’s interests, Indian Diaspora.

Mains: Significance of mediation in international relations; Relevance in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

Background:

• The negotiations between Russia and Ukraine during the peace talks held recently in Istanbul have failed to make much headway. Despite bilateral peace talks, Russian airstrikes continue on Ukrainian cities. A negotiated ceasefire is yet to be achieved.
• In this direction, the article argues for mediation between the two sides as the best way to end the war.

Mediation:

• Mediation (or assisted negotiation) is a flexible conflict resolution tool facilitated by a neutral third party. It involves a structured, interactive process wherein the third party assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques.
• The mediator can both play a passive role to facilitate communication or a more active role and exert more influence on the content of the discussion and the final solution.

Significance of mediation:

• Mediation focus on collaborative bargaining and thus produces a win-win outcome (in contrast to adversarial proceedings such as arbitration or litigation that result in a win-loss outcome). Thus it leads to an outcome which both sides may agree to.
• The involvement of the neutral third party in negotiations would help curtail the hyper reactiveness on the two sides. This would avoid any unnecessary escalations.
• The involvement of the mediator helps in limiting or reducing re-active devaluation — a cognitive barrier where the disputants wrongfully construe the conflict as a zero sum game. A structured interactive process together with exchange of information can help the parties identify their hidden interests and thus help negotiate an amicable solution.
• The neutral third party mediator would be more effective in understanding underlying drivers and constraints of the two sides.

Mediation in international relations:

• Throughout history, individuals, countries and organizations have acted as third parties and have brokered peace between conflicting nations. International mediation has been used to resolve conflicts for hundreds of years.
• Example: U.S. President Jimmy Carter mediated peace between Israel and Egypt through the Camp David Accords of 1978. Notably, this accord has helped ensure peace between the two countries for 44 years.
• Given the immense potential of mediation for peaceful resolution of international disputes, the charter of the United Nations under Article 33 explicitly recognizes international mediation as valuable tool.

Why negotiations have not worked so far?

Positions versus interests:

• Past negotiations have failed to make much progress because the parties have been negotiating over ‘positions’ rather than ‘interests’.
  • A ‘position’ is a surface statement of what a party wants; for example, Russia’s demand that Ukraine recognises the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. Whereas, ‘interests’ are the underlying reasons behind those positions; for instance, Russia is focused on the independence of these separatist areas to ensure the existence of a buffer state between Russia and Ukraine.
• The excessive emphasis on position is leading to hardening of stances on both sides.

Opposition by Ukraine’s western supporters:

• The call to hold the Russian President Vladimir Putin guilty of violating the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols is a common demand among Ukraine’s western supporters.
• They argue that opting for mediation legitimizes past violations of international law and even civilian killings and this would amount to trading justice for peace and thus have been averse to mediation.

Factors why mediation may work in the Russia-Ukraine conflict:

• Mediation is certainly feasible between Russia and Ukraine because there exists a willingness to talk from all sides.

No clear winner:

• Despite the initial estimates of the powerful Russian army running over the much smaller Ukrainian army, despite 40 days of a full scale military conflict there are no clear winners in sight.
• This kind of no-win situation is an ideal ground to have negotiations given that both sides would be open to the idea of having a negotiated deal.

Ukraine impacted:

• Ukraine has had to face the brunt of Russian military might.
• Russia has continued to attack Ukrainian cities. This has caused large scale loss of human life and property. Also more than four million people have fled seeking protection, safety and assistance.
• Given that the most important priority for Ukraine would be to ensure the safety of the Ukrainian people through a complete ceasefire, the Ukrainian leadership would be open to mediation.

Impact on Russia:

• In addition to casualties on the Russian side, financial and economic sanctions imposed on it have impacted the Russian economy. Russian forex reserves remain frozen and the inflation has reached record levels.
• Ukraine enjoys an almost global solidarity in the ongoing conflict. As a result, Russia is cornered and opting for mediation is the best way left for Russia to save face and escape the sanctions that have crippled its economy.

Global impact:

• At the global level, the Russia-Ukraine war is disrupting supply chains and is causing the fuel and food prices to surge. This might result in other neutral countries too to push the two sides to the negotiating table.

Recommendations:

Address all stakeholders:

• The ultimate solution should be such that all the parties would value. This would involve a Europe of common security and prosperity where the sovereignty of all nations (Ukraine, Russia and the West) are guaranteed.

Long term solution:

• The current mediation effort apart from looking to end the war in the short term must also seek to involve Russia in the security infrastructure of Europe in the longer run. The failure to do so in the post-soviet era has resulted in the current crisis.

India as the mediator:

• The recent high profile visits to India from countries on both sides indicate that the world expects India to play a more active role in the Ukrainian crisis. Given its neutral stand on the issue, India is well placed to play the mediator’s role.
  • Playing a mediator in this dispute is in India’s long-term interest in countering the China threat and is also India’s golden chance to establish itself as a global power.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Putin should face war crimes trial: Biden

Syllabus: GS2: International Relations: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

Prelims: War crimes and War criminal

Context: U.S. President called the Russian President “a war criminal” and the killings in Ukraine “a war crime’.

War Crimes:

• Wilful killings, intentionally targeting civilians, taking hostages, using human shields, disproportionate force, extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity, and so on are all considered war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
• Crimes against humanity are also prosecuted by the International Criminal Court when they are committed in the context of “a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.” Murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, rape, and sexual slavery are among them.

War Criminal:

• Anyone who violates the law of armed conflict, a set of rules adopted by world leaders, is referred to as a war criminal. In times of war, the rules govern how countries behave.

G. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

Q1. Consider the following statements with regards to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate change):

Q2. Consider the following statements with regards to the Sutlej River:

Q3. The phrase ‘March Madness’ is associated with which of the following sports?

Q4. Consider the following statements with regards to the Jagannath temple:

Q5. With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the 
correct description of the term 'paramitas’? [UPSC 2020]