12 Feb 2024: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. A privileged strategic partnership, without a gulf

Syllabus: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Mains: India UAE relation 

Introduction:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frequent visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) underscore the deepening bilateral relationship.
• The visit, scheduled from February 13-14, 2024, includes the inauguration of a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, highlighting cultural and religious ties.
• Prime Minister Modi’s attendance at the World Government Summit in Dubai as the ‘Guest of Honour’ further solidifies diplomatic relations.

Pillars of Cooperation:

• Economic Partnership: Bilateral trade has flourished, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner and a major export destination. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement aims to further boost trade to $115 billion.
• Fintech Collaboration: Initiatives like the acceptance of RuPay cards and the establishment of a Rupee-Dirham settlement system enhance financial integration between the two countries.
• Energy Security: The UAE’s investment in India’s strategic oil reserves strengthens energy cooperation, ensuring mutual security.
• Defence and Security Cooperation: Both nations prioritize defence collaboration, enhancing regional stability and security.

Regional and Global Engagement:

• Both countries are part of important groupings like the I2U2 and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
• The visit coincides with critical regional developments, providing an opportunity for dialogue on pressing issues like the conflict in Gaza.

Exceptional Diplomatic Gestures:

• Despite regional tensions, both countries have extended diplomatic courtesies, such as inviting Indian leaders to key events and conferring prestigious honours.
• India’s recognition of the UAE’s regional role and the UAE’s acknowledgement of India’s emerging global leadership underlines the mutual respect within the partnership.

Conclusion: Both nations anticipate further strengthening of their strategic partnership, recognising its potential for growth and cooperation in various sectors.

Nut Graf: The India-UAE relationship has transformed into a robust strategic partnership, underpinned by deep economic, diplomatic, and security cooperation. Mutual respect and shared interests drive this burgeoning alliance, poised for further growth.

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. How women can be represented in politics

Syllabus: Role of Women and Women’s Organization

Mains: Can the Women’s Reservation Bill be a solution for increasing women’s representation?

Introduction:

• The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in Parliament to address the issue of low women’s representation in politics.
• Rajasthan Assembly elections highlighted the issue of women’s participation and the effectiveness of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
• Both major political parties, BJP and Congress, faced criticism for their ticket distribution to women candidates.

Performance of Women Candidates in Rajasthan Elections:

• Out of 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan, 20 women candidates were fielded by BJP, with a success rate of 45%.
• Congress fielded 28 women candidates, with a success rate of 32%.
• The total number of women MLAs decreased in the new Assembly compared to the outgoing one.

Challenges Faced by Women Candidates:

• Despite the Women’s Reservation Bill, political parties showed reluctance in giving more tickets to women candidates.
• Voters seemed less enthusiastic about voting for women candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

Electoral Trends and Voter Preferences:

• Analysis of Assembly constituencies where women candidates were pitched against each other or against male candidates from rival parties.
• Voters showed a preference for male candidates over female candidates, affecting the winnability of women candidates.

Lack of Contagion Effect and Policy Implications:

• Examples from other states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh show that simply increasing the number of women candidates does not guarantee higher women’s representation in the Assembly.
• The first-past-the-post system may not incentivize other parties to follow suit in implementing gender quotas.

Nut Graf: The Women’s Reservation Bill’s passage in Parliament seemingly resolves debates on enhancing women’s political representation. However, analysis of Rajasthan Assembly elections reveals challenges with women candidates’ performance and voter preference, questioning the efficacy of quotas.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Decoding India’s economic realities

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Mains: Past decade trend of the Indian Economy

Context: The “White Paper” published by the Finance Ministry assesses the economic performance of UPA and NDA regimes.

GDP Growth Rate and Economic Health:

• IMF’s concerns regarding the accuracy of India’s GDP growth rate raise doubts about its reflection of economic health.
• Finance Ministry claims economic turnaround in the past decade but IMF questions official growth estimates, recommending statistical upgrades.
• The fiscal deficit is projected to decrease from 9.2% of GDP in 2020-21 to 5.1% by 2025-26, indicating a shift towards fiscal consolidation.

Interim Budget and Public Finance:

• Significant cutbacks in public expenditures are evident, including a reduction of effective capital expenditure by ₹1 lakh crore and welfare and subsidy allocations.
• Despite nominal GDP growth of 9%, down from 10.5% the previous year, challenges persist due to a slowdown in economic activity.
• IMF projects India’s real GDP growth as 6.7% for 2023-24 and 6.5% for 2024-25, reflecting economic deceleration.

Fiscal Trends and Government Expenditure:

• Fiscal trends over the past 20 years show no clear pattern between UPA and NDA regimes.
• NDA-I reduced expenditures relative to GDP while NDA-II increased spending significantly post-pandemic.
• The revenue mobilization strategy of NDA focused on indirect tax collections through GST rollout and high excise duties on petro-products.

Growth and Inflation:

• Real GDP growth was on average one percentage point higher during the UPA decade compared to the NDA.
• The sectoral pattern of growth remained largely unchanged between the UPA and NDA periods.
• UPA’s growth record, although higher, was plagued by high inflation, particularly double-digit food inflation.

Monetary Policy and Inflation Control:

• Both UPA and NDA regimes relied on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to control inflation by adjusting the repo rate.
• Despite repo rate hikes, inflation rates remained stubbornly high, indicating the limited influence of RBI’s monetary policy on food prices.

Nut Graf: The Finance Ministry’s “White Paper” compares UPA and NDA economic policies, alleging a turnaround. However, concerns arise over data accuracy, fiscal deficits, and inflation control, raising questions about India’s economic health.

Q1.KIRAN (Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing) aims to :

Q2) Consider the following statements:

Q3) Consider the following statements:

Q4) Which commonly occurring disease of rice is also known as the 
"poor rice farmer's disease”?

Q5)  In which one of the following states is Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary located?