22 Aug 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The BRICS test for India’s multipolarity rhetoric
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. On Smartphone Manufacturing in India
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. What are the concerns about drilling in the North Sea?
CONSTITUTION
1. Decoding the President’s speech
F. Prelims Facts
1. Chandrayaan-3 reveals dark side of the moon
G. Tidbits
1. Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon in historic decision
2. India, ASEAN agree to review goods trade pact by 2025 to fix ‘asymmetry’
3. ICSSR to develop Indianised research methodology tools
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. What are the concerns about drilling in the North Sea?

Syllabus: GS-2, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

Mains: Issues associated with drilling in the North Sea

Context

• Even as the globe continues to move closer to irreversible climate disaster, the U.K. Prime Minister recently supported proposals for more fossil fuel drilling off Britain’s shore. 
• The round is anticipated to issue approximately 100 licenses overall, according to the North Sea Transition Authority (NTSA), which is in charge of overseeing the oil, gas, and carbon storage industries.

History of Drilling

• Geographically speaking, the North Sea is situated between the countries of Norway, Denmark, and Germany on its east, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France on its south, and England and Scotland on its west.
• The North Sea was first explored when the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf became the first piece of international law to establish nations’ rights over the continental shelves that are close to their shores. 
• In April of that same year, the U.K. Parliament enacted the Continental Shelf Act, and the treaty entered into force shortly after. 
• The Act calls for the continental shelf to be explored and exploited in accordance with the 1958 treaty. 
• It defined the U.K.’s sovereignty over the oil and gas deposits beneath the seabed close to its coastlines.
• Over a hundred facilities were searching for oil and gas in the North Sea by the 1980s as more British, European, and American corporations continued their exploration. 

Offshore Drilling Problematic

• Drilling for fossil fuels in seas and oceans not only makes the threat of climate change worse but also warms the waters and causes sea levels to rise. 
• Offshore drilling is linked to direct threats to marine biodiversity as well as indirect dangers from acidic seas due to carbon pollution settling into oceans to coral reefs, shellfish, and the marine environment.

About Climate Commitments

• The second National Adaptation Programme, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the U.K. and devolved governments on emissions targets, has not done enough to get the country ready for climate change. 
• According to the Climate Change Act, the government of the United Kingdom is mandated to implement National Adaptation Programmes as legislative programmes to aid in the nation’s climate change preparation. 
• According to the CCC report, there is “very limited evidence” of adaptation being implemented at the level required to adequately mitigate climate risk. 

Conclusion

The United Kingdom’s climate activity is not in line with the Paris Agreement, according to the Climate Activity Tracker. The United Kingdom’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term targets do not fairly represent its contribution to the global effort to combat climate change, despite the country’s overall grade of “almost sufficient”. According to the Climate Action Tracker website, licensing new plans for oil and gas extraction is incompatible with the 1.5°C limit on the increase in temperature.

Nut Graf: Recent plans for further fossil fuel drilling off the British coast were supported by the U.K., upsetting environmental specialists. Drilling for fossil fuels in seas and oceans not only makes the threat of climate change worse, but also warms the waters and causes sea levels to rise.
Category: CONSTITUTION

1. Decoding the President’s speech

Syllabus: GS-2, Constitution of India —historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Mains: Ideological Contestation and Constitution as a Guiding Document

Background

• The President of India stated that “our Constitution is our guiding document” in her message to the nation on the eve of this year’s Independence Day. 
• It is comforting to hear the head of state speak candidly in this era of intense political and ideological conflict. 
• This is because they imply that the Constitution’s limitations should not be violated by the ideas or politics of various political parties and organizations. 
• Additionally, this important phrase in the speech made the resolute vow that India would continue to be a constitutional democracy.
• In her speech, the President made numerous points that reflected both India’s current needs and its ambitions for a better world. 

Ideological Contestation

• Government officials have brought up India’s history of slavery in both domestic and international settings. This is consistent with how the ruling regime interprets the period of Indian history known as the “Medieval Period.”
• Government officials previously refrained from stigmatizing the medieval era as one of foreign dominance and enslavement. 
• This classification was only applicable to the colonial era. Liberation from foreign rule, therefore, meant liberation from British rule. 
• The President appears to have preferred this conventional view, suggesting that for her, foreign dominance refers to the time under British authority. 
• India is the birthplace of democracy, and democratic institutions have been here at the grassroots level ever since the dawn of civilization.
• With the beginning of the era of foreign rulers leaving numerous colonies, colonization came very close to coming to an end.

Constitution as a Guiding Document

• All Indians were correctly reminded by the country’s President that their identification as “citizens of India” came before all other identities. 
• Given India’s size and its enormous population, our Indian identity encompasses a variety of identities.
• The President highlighted caste, creed, language, area, family, and profession among other identities.
• A creed may be a component of a religion, but the two are not the same thing. This was also made obvious by the President’s use of the word “panth” rather than “dharma” in her speech in Hindi.

Conclusion

The Constitution serves as the nation’s guiding document, hence it should be used exclusively. Religion and faith, not creed, are mentioned in the Constitution. The Preamble to the Constitution makes reference to dharma, the Hindi term for faith. Moreover, when the nation’s highest constitutional authority speaks, it matters. In the midst of the blazing political and ideological struggles, the nation needs her calmness, consideration, and constitutional accuracy.

Nut Graf: The President spoke extensively about India’s economic development while also emphasizing how far we still have to go before realizing the goals of the leaders of the freedom movement.

2. India, ASEAN agree to review goods trade pact by 2025 to fix ‘asymmetry’

• India-ASEAN Trade Pact Review Agreement
  • India and ASEAN countries have agreed to review their free trade pact for goods.
  • The objective is to address trade “asymmetry” and enhance bilateral trade relations.
  • The Commerce Ministry announced the agreement.
• Joint Committee’s Deliberation
  • The Joint Committee of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), signed in 2009, discussed the review roadmap.
  • Terms of reference for the fresh negotiations were finalised.
  • This took place before an ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting in Indonesia.
• Review Progress and Summit
  • The AITIGA review will be taken up at the India-ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in early September.
  • The aim is to seek further guidance and direction.
• Benefit to Trade and Indian Businesses
  • Indian businesses have long demanded a review of AITIGA.
  • Early commencement of the review aims to facilitate trade and bring mutual benefits.
  • The Commerce Ministry stated that the review will enhance and diversify trade while addressing existing trade imbalances.
• Scheduled Negotiation Timeline
  • Ministers have agreed to conduct negotiations on a quarterly basis.
  • The review is expected to conclude by 2025.

3. ICSSR to develop Indianised research methodology tools

• Research Award Results: ICSSR to announce results of research award proposals studying the impact of Union government schemes and policies.
• Funding and Focus: Around 500 researchers receive funding for fieldwork, focusing on specific geographical regions.
• Indianised Research Methodology Tools: ICSSR plans to develop unique research methodology tools to analyse India’s social and economic changes.
• Empirical Research on Government Policies: ICSSR mandated for primary data-driven empirical research on social and economic impact of government policies.
• Range of Schemes: Studies to include policy initiatives like PM Ujjwala Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and PM Gati Shakti, among others.
• Two Types of Studies: Collaborative studies with institutions (₹30 lakh for six months) and individual studies (₹6 lakh for six months) encouraged.
• Equitable and Sustainable Development: Research aims to guide equitable and sustainable development, recommending policy directions and informing the public.
• Crucial Role of Social Science: As India aims for developed status by 2047, social science is crucial for informed policy decisions.
• Institutional Collaboration: 24 research institutes and six regional centres to contribute to the research process.

Q1. Consider the following statements about the dark side of the moon:

Q2. Which one of the following is not a part of the Amazon Basin?

Q3. Consider the following women leaders:

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding the Indian Council of Social 
Science Research (ICSSR):

Q5. Consider the following countries: