CNA 03 March 2023:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. The aftermath of Sri Lanka’s economic crash POLITY 1. Panel of PM, CJI, LoP to pick CEC, says court C. GS 3 Related D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. India’s Stand on the Ukraine War ECONOMY 1. Human Capital in South Asia F. Prelims Facts 1. Ashtamudi lake 2. World Wildlife Day G. Tidbits 1. Ornamental fish aquaculture to help women in Lakshadweep islands 2. India, Italy elevate ties, sign MoU on defence cooperation H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The aftermath of Sri Lanka’s economic crash
Syllabus: India and its neighbourhood
Mains: IMF’s bail-out package and other key issues associated with the Sri Lankan economy.
Context:
This article talks about the aftermath of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
Details
- Sri Lanka has been relying upon the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country is experiencing a balance of payments problem that escalated in 2022.
- The citizens of the island nation who experienced crippling shortages and long power cuts undertook massive protests and ousted the Rajapaksas and the chants seeking IMF support persisted through these demonstrations.
- In July 2022, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected the President and one of his initial tasks was to negotiate an IMF deal to restructure Sri Lanka’s economy.
- Later on September 1, 2022, Sri Lanka reached an agreement with the IMF.
IMF’s bail-out
- The Sri Lankan President announced that the government had completed 15 tasks prescribed by the IMF and that the provisional package of $2.9 billion would come through soon.
- While Sri Lanka had hoped to avail the package by the end of 2022 the process was delayed as IMF had sought written financing assurances from Sri Lanka’s top three bilateral creditors namely China, Japan, and India.
- India was the first country to send its assurances followed by the Paris Club group of creditors, which includes Japan. However, China’s written financing assurances are still pending.
- Experts believe that a $2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility, over a period of four years would not be big money for Sri Lanka as the country even after streamlining its imports to save dollars spends a significant amount of dollars every month on essential imports alone and with a substantial drop in exports the trade deficit has been widening.
- However, the IMF package will still help Sri Lanka become more creditworthy to global lenders such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or even the bilateral lenders.
Opposition against the IMF package
- As per critics, the IMF package has been seen as part of the problem and not the solution.
- Critics opine that the austerity measures that come attached with the package could impact the working class of the country.
- Even worker unions have expressed displeasure and are protesting against the increase in taxes and utility bills which have been introduced by the government in anticipation of the IMF bail-out.
- However, these protests have only been over specific policy measures that are hurting them. Otherwise, there is no popular resistance to the IMF within Sri Lanka.
Tackling corruption
- The IMF, while extending its package, has emphasised correcting Sri Lanka’s corruption vulnerabilities.
- According to various economists and policy analysts in Sri Lanka, widespread corruption along with the government’s tendency to introduce populist welfare schemes that were unsustainable made the country’s economy fragile.
The problem of food insecurity
- In the last year, poor households in the country have been forced to reduce their food intake as the soaring prices have made food such as eggs, fish, and meat out of reach for many which has resulted in concern over nutrition levels.
- According to a survey conducted by Save the Children, a humanitarian organisation, inflation levels of over 50% have forced more than half of the families in Sri Lanka to reduce the amount they feed their children.
- Furthermore, the World Food Programme has said that about 33% of Sri Lankan households are food insecure.
Path ahead
- The island nation is experiencing new waves of demonstrations by various worker organisations.
- The government is also criticised for postponing the local body elections and various surveys indicate a significant rise in support for the opposition parties.
- The latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2019 conducted before the pandemic and the crisis, showed an increase in the Gini coefficient to 0.46 which indicates increasing inequalities.
- Against the backdrop of underlying challenges, it is to be seen how Sri Lanka plans its path of economic recovery.
- Furthermore, it is to be seen how the government supports the most vulnerable group of citizens as even the IMF had indicated that the main element of its assistance would be to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the poor by increasing social spending.
Nut graf: The path towards economic recovery still looks rocky even as Sri Lanka avails IMF’s provisional $2.9 billion package as the problems such as corruption, food insecurity, widening inequalities and political instability continue to daunt the country’s economy.
1. Panel of PM, CJI, LoP to pick CEC, says court
Syllabus: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Prelims: Procedure for appointment Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners
Mains: Issues associated with the appointment of members to various Constitutional Bodies
Context:
Supreme Court’s judgment on the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).
Supreme Court’s judgment
- A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in its landmark judgment has held that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners will be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee that includes:
- The Prime Minister,
- The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, or the leader of the single largest party in Opposition, and
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI)
- This judgement of the Supreme Court has put an end to the practice of appointing the CEC and ECs on the advice of the Council of Ministers, as is laid down in the Constitution.
- As per Article 324 (2) of the Constitution, the CEC and ECs are to be appointed by the President, with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, till Parliament enacts a law fixing the criteria for selection, conditions of service and tenure.
- The court pointed out that despite 75 years since Independence, successive governments have failed to formulate legislation guiding the appointments to the Election Commission thereby leaving a vacuum.
- Such a vacuum has led to the criminalisation of politics, and an increase in the influence of money power and the role of certain sections of the media who have forgotten their role.
- This has called for immediate and unpostponable filling up of the vacuum.
- The court while ruling its judgment said that the independence, neutrality and honesty envisaged in the institution of the Election Commission of India (ECI) require efforts to end the government monopoly and exclusive control over such appointments.
- This judgment has now brought the appointment process of CEC and ECs on par with that of the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) Director.
- Furthermore, Justice Rastogi who was a part of the Bench said there is a need to extend the safeguards available to the CEC under the provisions of Article 324 (5) of the Constitution to the ECs too.
- As per Article 324 (5), the CEC shall not be removed from his office except in a like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
- CECs and the Supreme Court judges can only be removed through an order of the President which is passed by both Houses of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting.
- Further, the grounds of removal are “proved misbehaviour or incapacity”.
- The court also noted that according to the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, the CEC and ECs must hold the post for a period of six years. However, the Election Commission has witnessed appointments who have not completed the six-year tenure in recent times.
- The court also urged the Parliament and the government to establish a permanent secretariat that draws its expenses directly from the Consolidated Fund of India and not the government in order to ensure the independent functioning of the Election Commission.
Read more about – Election Commission of India
Nut graf: Recognising that the power to vote is more potent than the most powerful gun and that the Election Commission is the guardian of the citizenry and its Fundamental Rights the Supreme Court has stepped in and has ended the monopoly of the government and the excessive executive control over the appointment to the Election Commission.
C. GS 3 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. India’s Stand on the Ukraine War
Syllabus: GS-2, Effect of Policies & Politics of Developed & Developing Countries on India’s Interests
Mains: Implications of Ukraine war on India
Context: India abstained from voting for United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Introduction:
- UNGA adopted a resolution, calling for an end to the war on February 23, 2023, on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The resolution was favoured by 141 members and opposed by seven, while 32 states abstained.
- India was one among the 32 states that abstained from voting.
- This is in line with the position India has been taking on the Ukraine crisis from the beginning.
- India has refused to condemn Russia for the invasion; it has refused to join the West’s sanctions; has stepped up buying Russian fuel at a discounted price, and has consistently abstained from UN votes on the war.
Democracies versus autocracies:
- The United States and Atlanticists in general perceive the ongoing war by an authoritarian Russia on a “democratic” Ukraine as an insult to global democracy.
- To save global democracy, the rules-based order and international law, the US and its allies expect all democratic and law-adhering states to take a position against Russia and join the western coalition.
- However, large democracies like India, South Africa and Brazil and smaller democracies (and non-democracies) across geographies have consistently abstained from votes at the UN and refused to join the sanctions — because the sanctions were unilateral, imposed by specific countries or blocs, without UN approval.
- Even some countries that are part of the western alliance system, such as Israel and Turkey, are hesitant to join the western alliance.
- Most of these countries see the war as a European problem between two former Soviet countries which is less about global democracy than the post-Cold War security architecture in Europe.
Morality versus national interests:
- In the instance of the Ukraine war, there is a convergence of moral positions and foreign policy goals for the U.S. and much of Europe.
- The U.S. wants to “weaken” Russia and Europe wants to make Russia’s invasion costly to deter them in the future.
- However, this position on morality has hardly been consistent. Western allies have always embraced national interests over morality when there is a divergence between the two.
- For instance, in 2003, the U.S. launched its illegal invasion of Iraq, violating the country’s sovereignty. In 2011, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) turned a UN Security Council resolution to establish a no-fly zone in Libya into a full-scale invasion.
- Israel has illegally annexed East Jerusalem and Syria’s Golan Heights and keeps building illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
- The U.S. has recognised Israel’s annexation of the Golan and moved its embassy to Jerusalem while giving billions worth of military aid every year whereas Russia is being pounded with sanctions.
India’s Stand:
- India has taken a nuanced approach to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, balancing its strategic interests with its commitment to international law and principles of territorial integrity.
- On the one hand, India has traditionally had a close relationship with Russia and sees it as a key partner in areas such as defence, energy, and space technology. India has also been critical of what it sees as the West’s “punitive” approach to Russia, including economic sanctions.
- Russia has so far reduced $30 on every barrel of oil it sells to India. India is estimated to have saved over Rs 35,000 crore by importing cheap Russian crude since February 2022.
- Russia has fulfilled over 46% of India’s defence needs in the last five years.
- Furthermore, to manage its continental interests and tackle its continental security concerns, India has to work with powers in the Eurasian landmass where the U.S. is practically absent. Russia plays a key role in India’s continental foreign policy.
- In February 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India issued a statement calling for an immediate end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. India has consistently supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Read more on Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Nut Graf: The ongoing Ukraine war has complex historical, geopolitical, and cultural roots that cannot be reduced to a dichotomy between democracy and autocracy. India’s approach reflects its commitment to balancing its strategic interests with its adherence to international law and principles of territorial integrity.
1. Human Capital in South Asia
Syllabus: GS-3, Growth & Development
Mains: Role of government in enhancing resilient human capital
Context: This article discusses the potential of human capital in South Asia.
Introduction:
- South Asia, which includes countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, has significant and diverse human capital.
- However, the region still faces significant challenges in fully realising its human capital potential due to various factors such as poverty, inequality, and limited access to education and health services.
- The recent pandemic, economic slumps and extreme weather events have hit South Asia in rapid succession since 2020. These events have already undermined decades of development gains.
- With nearly half its population under the age of 24 and over one million young people set to enter the labour force every month until 2030, the region could reap an enviably high demographic dividend.
Underutilisation of human capital:
South Asia, despite having a large and diverse human capital, is facing underutilization of its human resources. Some of the factors contributing to this underutilization are:
- Limited access to education: This limits the ability to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to participate fully in the labour market and contribute to economic growth.
- Poor quality of education: Many graduates lack the skills and knowledge needed for employment in modern industries, and are instead relegated to low-paying and low-skilled jobs.
- South Asian governments on average spend just 1% of GDP on health and 2.5% on education. In comparison, the global average is 5.9% on health and 3.7% on education.
- Poor healthcare: Many people in South Asia face limited access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas. Poor health can limit individuals’ ability to work and contribute to economic growth.
- South Asia is also home to over one-third of the world’s stunted children. And a child born in the region today can, by the age of 18, expect to attain only 48% of their full productive potential.
- Discrimination: Women, minorities, and marginalised groups often face discrimination in South Asia, limiting their opportunities to participate fully in the labour market and contribute to economic growth.
- Inadequate infrastructure: Inadequate infrastructure, such as poor roads, unreliable electricity, and limited access to technology, can limit economic growth and job opportunities.
- Brain drain: Many highly skilled professionals from South Asia choose to migrate to other countries in search of better employment opportunities and higher wages. This brain drain can further limit the region’s ability to utilise its human capital fully.
- Pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic pushed an additional 35 million people across South Asia into extreme poverty, dealing an unprecedented blow to the region’s human capital.
- It resulted in a rise in learning poverty as schools remained closed for in-person learning between 2020 and 2022 for 225 days in South Asia against the global average of 141 days.
- Coupled with ineffective remote instruction, this increased South Asia’s learning poverty from 60% to 78%.
Way Forward:
- A robust human development system would not only mitigate the damage but also help ensure lives and livelihoods are protected and provide the resilience South Asia needs to prosper in an increasingly volatile world.
- Addressing these challenges will require significant investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and efforts to promote equality and reduce discrimination.
- It will also require a focus on creating more high-quality employment opportunities, particularly in modern industries such as technology and healthcare.
- Recent evidence suggests that even simple and low-cost education programmes can lead to sizable gains in skills.
- For instance, in Bangladesh, attending a year of additional preschool through two-hour sessions significantly improved literacy, numeracy, and social-development scores.
- In Tamil Nadu, six months of extra remedial classes after school helped students catch up on about two-thirds of lost learning linked to 18 months of school closures.
- Along with improving access to education, countries must also focus on enhancing the quality of education. This could involve revising curriculums to be more relevant to modern industries, training teachers to provide high-quality instruction, and investing in education technology.
- South Asian countries could also invest in research and development in areas such as technology and healthcare, which could lead to new innovations and create more employment opportunities.
- The health, education and skills people acquire at various stages of their lives, build and depend on each other. To be effective, human development systems must recognise and exploit these overlapping connections.
Nut Graf: Human capital is a critical source of resilience that South Asian countries rely on for recovery from the recent pandemic and economic slumps. To strengthen resilience and protect the well-being of future generations, governments across South Asia need to take urgent policy action and invest in human capital.
F. Prelims Facts
Syllabus: GS-1; Geography; Water Bodies
Prelims: About Ashtamudi lake
Context:
A huge chariot was ferried through the Ashtamudi lake as part of the annual festival of the Thrikkadavoor Sree Mahadevar Temple.
About Ashtamudi Lake
- Ashtamudi Lake is located in the Kollam district of Kerala.
- It is the second-largest lake in Kerala.
- Ashtamudi Lake is regarded as the “Gateway to Kerala Backwaters”.
- The name Ashtamudi is derived from “Ashta” meaning eight and “Mudi” meaning branch.
- The lake which resembles the shape of a palm conifer or an octopus is one of the well-known tourist destinations in Kerala.
- The lake is fed by the River Kallada that originates in Kulathupuzha in the Western Ghats.
- The lake is known for its unique ecosystem and evergreen coconut groves.
- The lake houses over 50 avifauna species and about 97 aqua fauna species.
- Traditional houseboats or “Kettuvallams” across this lake attract visitors and tourists.
- In 2012, the brackish water Ashtamudi Lake with eight creeks was declared a Ramsar site by designating it as a wetland of international importance.
Syllabus: GS-3; Environment and Ecology; Conservation
Prelims: About World Wildlife Day and CITES
World Wildlife Day
- All member states of the United Nations observe March 3 as World Wildlife Day.
- In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed March 3rd as the UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of protecting the world’s wild animals and plants.
- This day is significant, as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed on the 3rd of March in 1973.
- The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of CITES.
- World Wildlife Day is celebrated annually to draw attention to the issues of the conservation of flora and fauna.
- Theme for 2023: “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”.
Learn more about – World Wildlife Day
G. Tidbits
1. Ornamental fish aquaculture to help women in Lakshadweep islands
- Community-based ornamental fish aquaculture with the use of local resources is expected to help women in the Lakshadweep islands take a step towards self-reliance.
- In a first-of-its-kind experiment, about 82 islanders (77 of them being women) have been selected and they underwent intensive training with technical support from the ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR).
- The NBFGR maintains a germplasm resource centre for marine ornamental organisms on Agatti Island for conservation and improving the livelihood sources for the islanders.
- Four cluster-mode community aquaculture units with the participation of women have been set up and the group has been raising ornamental shrimps to marketable size.
- Further, along with the two species of ornamental shrimps, captive-raised clownfish seeds have also been supplied to expand the activity.
- The NBFGR has supplied culture devices such as rearing tubs, aeration tubes, mini blowers, hand nets, feed, beneficial bacteria, and seeds of shrimps and clownfish.
2. India, Italy elevate ties, sign MoU on defence cooperation
- After a period of stagnancy in bilateral relations in the past few years, India and Italy look to elevate the bilateral ties to the level of strategic partnership as the countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation.
- Further, India and Italy also announced the establishment of a “Startup Bridge” between the two countries.
- The Indian Prime Minister welcomed Italy’s active participation in the Indo-Pacific and said that Italy has also decided to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI) which would help enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The two countries also concluded a Declaration of Intent (DOI) on migration and mobility.
- While delivering the inaugural address of the 8th Raisina Dialogue organised by the Observer Research Foundation jointly with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Italian Prime Minister said that global interconnection has enabled the economies to grow and flourish but it has also come at a cost, especially in times of turbulence in the international community.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Lok Sabha Speaker: (Level – Moderate)
- Whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker shall vacate his office immediately.
- The Speaker, if he decides to resign, shall submit his resignation to the Leader of the House.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is not correct, The Speaker doesn’t vacate his/her office immediately whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved but continues till the first meeting of the newly elected Lok Sabha.
- Statement 2 is not correct, The Speaker may, at any time, resign from Office by writing under his/her hand to the Deputy Speaker.
Q2. Which of the following is/are correctly matched? (Level – Moderate)
Events of Buddha’s Life Symbol
- Birth Lotus
- Renunciation Horse
- Nirvana Bodhi Tree
- First Sermon Wheel
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 and 4 only
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- The five forms that represent Buddha are:
- Lotus and Bull – Birth
- Horse – Renunciation
- Bodhi Tree – Mahabodhi
- Dhammachakra Pravartana – First sermon
Q3. With respect to Nano Fertilizers, which of the following statements is/are correct? (Level – Moderate)
- Nano-encapsulated conventional fertilizers help in the slow and sustained release of nutrients over an extended period of time.
- Nano-fertilizers reduce the crop cycle period and increase crop yield.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, Nano-encapsulated conventional fertilizers help in the slow and sustained release of nutrients over an extended period of time.
- Statement 2 is correct, Scientists have further identified that nano-fertilizers increase agricultural productivity by improving photosynthetic activity, seedling growth, rate of seed germination, nitrogen metabolism, carbohydrate and protein synthesis and reducing the crop cycle period.
Q4. Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to Joint Parliamentary Committee? (Level – Easy)
- It is a temporary organisation formed to consider a specific issue for a predetermined amount of time.
- JPC recommendations have value and are binding upon the government.
- The number of members can vary, there is no fixed number.
Options:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, A Joint Parliament committee (JPC) is a temporary organisation formed to consider a specific issue for a predetermined amount of time.
- Statement 2 is not correct, The JPC recommendations have value but are not binding upon the government.
- The government may accept it or launch a fresh investigation based on the report.
- Statement 3 is correct, The number of members can vary as the Members of the JPC are decided by the Parliament and there is no fixed number.
Q5. Consider the following statements: (Level – Difficult) [PYQ 2008]
- The albedo of an object determines its visual brightness when viewed with reflected light.
- The albedo of Mercury is much greater than the albedo of the Earth.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, The albedo of an object will determine its visual brightness when viewed with reflected light.
- Example: the brightness of planets depends upon the amount of light received from the sun and their albedo.
- Statement 2 is not correct, The albedo of Mercury is less than the albedo of the Earth.
Image Source: hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) has often been criticised for its lack of autonomy and independent functioning. In this context, discuss the significance of the recent Supreme Court ruling related to appointments to the ECI. (15 marks, 250 words) [GS-2, Polity]
- India has taken a pragmatic and realist stand on the Russia – Ukraine war, keeping in mind its core national interests. Elaborate. (15 marks, 250 words) [GS-2, IR]
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CNA 03 March 2023:- Download PDF Here
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