12 Dec 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Cooperative Societies Act

Syllabus: Government Policies & Interventions for Development

Mains: Characteristics, merits and limitations of cooperative form of organisation.

Context: The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Introduction:

• The Bill to amend the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 7,2022.
• Multi-State cooperatives are societies that have operations in more than one State.
• The amendments have been introduced to improve governance, reform the electoral process, strengthen monitoring mechanisms and enhance transparency and accountability. 
• The Bill also seeks to improve the composition of the board and ensure financial discipline, besides enabling the raising of funds in multi-State cooperative societies.
• Opposition parliamentarians alleged that the Bill’s provisions encroached upon the rights of State governments, demanding that it be referred to a Standing Committee.

Key provisions of the Bill:

• Under the Act, elections to the board of a multi-state co-operative society are conducted by its existing board. The Bill amends this to specify that the central government will establish the Co-operative Election Authority to conduct and supervise such elections.
• Further, only active members will be eligible to be elected as a board member or office bearer of the co-operative society.   
• • Active members are those who are availing a minimum level of products or services of the society, or attending at least three consecutive general meetings.  
• The Union government will appoint one or more Co-operative Ombudsman with territorial jurisdiction to inquire into complaints made by members of co-operative societies.
• • Appeals against the directions of the Ombudsman may be filed with the Central Registrar (appointed by the central government) within a month. 
• The Bill allows co-operative societies (registered under state laws) to merge into an existing multi-state co-operative society.  
• • At least two-thirds of the members of the co-operative society present and voting at a general meeting must pass a resolution to allow such a merger. 
• The Bill establishes the Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund for revival of sick multi-state co-operative societies. 
• • This fund shall be financed by existing profitable multi-State co-operative societies which will have to deposit either ₹1 crore or 1% of the net profit into the Fund.
•  The Bill amends the composition of the board of directors to mandate the inclusion of: (i) one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member, and (ii) two women members. 
• • This will promote equity and facilitate inclusiveness.
  • Further, the co-opted members should have experience in the field of banking, financing, co-operative management or specialisation fields related to the functioning of multi-state co-operative society.

Issues with the amendment bill:

• Provisions enabling central Co-operative Election Authority appointed by the Centre may lead to the concentration of power of the Centre, which could impact the “autonomy” of MSCSs and create potential for “misuse”. 
• The constitutional domain of States in regulating cooperative societies was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2021 when it struck down a part of the 97th Constitution Amendment.
  • In 2021, the Supreme Court in Union of India vs Rajendra Shah and others case had upheld a judgement of the Gujarat High Court which struck down Part IXB on the ground that the amendment was passed without the requisite ratification by the States.
• Creation of a Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund financed by existing profitable multi-State co-operative societies would put an additional burden on MSCSs.

What are multi-State cooperatives?

• According to the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), cooperatives are people-centred enterprises jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realise common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations.
• Multi-State cooperatives are societies that have operations in more than one State — for instance, a farmer-producers organisation which procures grains from farmers from multiple States. 
• The board of directors, which represents all the States where these collectives do business, is in charge of all administrative and financial decisions.
  • In India, there are around 1,500 MSCSs registered, with Maharashtra having the most.

Issues with the cooperative sector:

• The inclusion of cooperatives in the planning process as development instruments made it an avenue for giving patronage to the supporters of ruling political parties. 
• Cooperative societies have to follow certain rules and regulations as imposed on them by the cooperative departments of the state government concerned. These rules include submission and auditing of accounts which results in excessive state control.
• The management of a cooperative society generally comprises part-time or inexperienced people who are not well equipped with the skills required to handle the managerial functions effectively. 
• MSCSs are  also facing issues regarding trust, which is the very basis of cooperation. This has brought MSCSs under multiple controls from the Centre. 
• Central government monitoring takes a top-down approach as opposed to a grassroots one. 

Read more on Cooperative Society

Nut Graf: The independent and autonomous character of cooperative societies was to be crucial in their functioning.  To plug the “loopholes” in the MSCS Act, the Union government recently introduced a Bill seeking to amend the 2002 law for more “transparency” and “ease of doing business”.

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATION

1. The role of the ‘China Test’ in India’s grand strategy

Syllabus: India and its neighborhood relations.

Mains: India-China relations.

Concept of Principal Contradiction:

• The concept of a principal contradiction is defined as a useful method of optimizing and prioritizing strategic decision-making.
• It poses an extreme challenge to an individual/organization and has the potential to shape future choices and associated consequences. 
• In the present scenario, India’s principal strategic contradiction is China. Whereas challenges like Pakistan, internal insurgencies, and difficulties in relations with neighboring countries are secondary contradictions.
• It should be noted that secondary contradictions are also important and can add to the primary contradiction. 

China Test:

• India’s major strategic decisions should pass the China test by asking and answering a direct question: “Does a particular development/decision/relationship help tackle the China challenge?”
• This test would help prioritize strategic decision-making in the long run with potential policy utility.
•  The test involves 3 distinct elements from an operational point of view:
  • An assessment of certain Indian decisions or regional developments and their association with Chinese regional strategy/interests. 
  • An assessment of the need for modifications at the secondary contradiction level in case of India’s certain decisions or developments. 
  • An assessment of requirements of any major policy changes internally. 

Examples highlighting utility of the China Test:

1. INDIA-U.S. RELATIONS:
   • India had a complicated relationship with the U.S. which is getting normalized and interest-driven gradually. For instance, the U.S. is looking forward to re-engaging southern Asia – Pakistan, South Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and even the Taliban, despite its withdrawal from the region. 
   • It was observed that the standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control in 2020 was the outcome of India’s growing proximity to Washington.
   • As per the ‘China test’ of India-U.S. relations, it is clearly not in China’s interest to see an American re-engagement of the region or growing India-U.S. proximity. The test further suggests that India should not give in to the short-term temptation of not being on the wrong side of China given its consequences in the long term. 
2. INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATION:
   • According to the China test, making peace with Pakistan would help deal with China in a better way.
   • It is strategically sensible for India to have a course correction with Pakistan because if India is vigorously preoccupied with Pakistan then Beijing would get the opportunity to displace Indian primacy in South Asia.
   • Similarly, India should not oppose the American engagement of Pakistan as it would help in preventing Pakistan from going into the China camp completely. It should be noted that Pakistan’s engagement with the U.S. and the West is much better for India.

For more information on India-Pakistan relations, read here: India – Pakistan Relations – BYJU’S

1. INDIA-RUSSIA RELATION:
   • Applying the China test to the India-Russia relation does not provide a simple and straightforward answer as the U.S. and its allies want India to stop engaging with Moscow and condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This in turn would help in greater accommodation of Indian diplomatic and political interests against China’s aggression.
   • Moreover, the proximity between China and Russia is expanding which reduces the robustness of India-Russia relations.
   • The China test suggests that even though the relation between New Delhi and Moscow is on the wane, India should expand its relations with Russia because:
     1. In the absence of an India-Russia relationship, Sino-Russian relations would further strengthen, and India will be cut out of the continental space to its north and west. 
     2. India gets several benefits like discounted energy, cheaper defence equipment, support at the United Nations Security Council, etc. Furthermore, Russia better understands India’s ‘political sensitivities’ in comparison to the western partners.
     3. The discontinuation of the relationship might also push Russia towards Pakistan.
     4. It should also be noted that Moscow does not want China to dominate the strategic space around it and has been keen to balance the growing influence of China in Central Asia with partners like New Delhi. India’s turn away from Russia will ensure that China gets a free hand in Central Asia too.

Related Links: India – China Relations: Updates about the Recent Clashes at the LAC and other Events

Nut Graf: There is great importance of the ‘China test’ in India’s strategic planning and decision-making as that would help in smart balancing China in Southern Asia and eventually the geopolitics of the world.

2. The narrative of a post-truth world

Syllabus: Policies and politics of developed and developing countries.

Mains: Some modern terms of world affairs.

Context: Merriam-Webster dictionary word of the year 2022- Gaslighting. 

Some recent terms used in World Affairs:

• POST-TRUTH:
  • The term was perceived to be a narrative of the modern world. 
  • It was declared as Oxford Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” in 2016.
  • It implies relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
  • The term remained somewhat shadowy and a bit incomplete. It was supplemented by another term “gaslighting”.
• GASLIGHTING:
  • It means manipulating (someone) using psychological methods into questioning their own sanity or powers of reasoning.
  • It was named a “buzzword” by The Guardian in 2018 and was shortlisted for the “word of the year” by Oxford Dictionary. 
  • It ultimately became Merriam-Webster dictionary’s word of the year in 2022 as online searches spiked by nearly 1,740%. 
  • According to Merriam-Webster “In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes — gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time.”
  • Gaslighting is described by Psychology Today as “a form of manipulation where targets are urged to doubt their memories, beliefs, feelings, or sanity”.
  • Gaslighting is not just an incident but an entire process involving confusion, lying, deception, isolation, denial, accusation, and manipulation.

Nut Graf: Gaslighting has emerged as a new buzzword in both political and societal matters. It has the potential to shape the outlook of society in various ways and directions.

Q1. Which of the following statements best describes ‘Tele-MANAS’? (Level-Medium)

 Q2. ‘Sudesa Geethangal’ was written by (Level-Difficult)

Q3. Consider the following pairs: (Level-Difficult)

Q4. ‘Lisu Wren-Babbler’ a songbird seen in news was spotted in: (Level-Medium)

Q5. Consider the following pairs: (PYQ-CSE-2017) (Level-Difficult)

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. What are the various changes in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022? Will it undermine the authority of the States? Critically Examine. (10 Marks; 150 Words) (GS-2; Governance)
2. What do you understand by End-to-end encryption? Why are governments against End-to-end encryption? (10 Marks; 150 Words) (GS-3; Science and Technology)

Read the previous CNA here.