25 Mar 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

Context:

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber behind the Pulwama attack and his Pakistan and Kashmir-based handlers used virtual SIMs.

Details:

• A request would be sent to the U.S. to seek details from a service provider of “virtual SIMs”, which were used by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide.
• The request to the US will include details of phone numbers that got in touch with the “Virtual SIM” and who had activated it, they said, adding that Internet Protocol addresses would also be sought.
• While the security agencies would attempt to find who had paid for the virtual SIM, they were also aware that the terror groups used forged identities, as was done during the Mumbai 26/11 terror strikes.

What is virtual SIM?

• It is a fairly new modus operandi where terrorists across the border were using a “virtual SIM”, generated by a service provider in the US.
• In this technology, a computer generates a telephone number and the user downloads an application of the service provider on their smartphone.
• The number is linked to social networking sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram or Twitter. The verification code generated by these networking sites is received on the smartphone and the user is ready.

Issue:

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General has unearthed anomalies in the implementation of Border Area Development Programme (BADP) from 2012-2017 along Mizoram’s border with Myanmar.

Details:

• Moving earth in mountainous Mizoram is apparently the job of two-wheelers, not excavators.
• Earth-cutting and excavation along the border were done with scooters, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws and cars.
• According to the CAG report, Mizoram’s Rural Development department and block development officers of Champhai and Lungsen Blocks hired “earth excavators” for 67 road projects along the border.
• A cross-check of the registration numbers of the “earth movers” mentioned in money receipts with the State Transport Department revealed they were two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and small cars.
• The CAG also found that the same vehicles recorded as earth excavators or trucks were used at two or more different places at the same time in 20 of the 67 BADP projects.

Border Area Development Programme (BADP):

• The BADP was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of States bordering Pakistan, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan and subsequently it was extended to all the land borders.
• It has been implemented through 17 States (viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal) which constitute the International Land Borders.
• The main objective of the BADP is to meet the special developmental needs and well-being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of Central/ State/ BADP/ Local schemes and participatory approach.
• The funds under BADP are provided to the States as a 100% non-lapsable Special Central Assistance.

In 2015, the government had released revised guidelines for the modified Border Area Development Programme (BDAP).

• BADP was extended to all villages located within 0-10 km of International border in all the 17 states that share India ‘s international borders.
• Within these villages, the villages identified by the Border Guarding Forces will get first priority.
• The Empowered Committee on BADP under the secretary, Department of Border Management would include representatives of Ministries of Rural Development, Sports, and Health etc.
• Some new schemes for convergence to BADP were included viz. Swachhta Abhiyan, Skill Development Programmes, Rural / border tourism, scientific farming etc.
• Provisions for third party inspection and quality control mechanism were included.
• Special and specific area schemes were included under which some villages were to be developed as model villages.

C. GS3 Related

Issue:

The fast-track procurement of 93,895 Close Quarter Carbine (CQB) rifles for the Army has been delayed even after the completion of cost negotiations as the case is pending with the Defence Ministry.

Details:

• Cost negotiations have been completed, and the file has gone to a three-member oversight committee where it has been held up without a decision.
• The oversight committee consists of members of the Army, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Defence Ministry.
• The status of the case was on the agenda of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting.
• In January 2018, the DAC approved the purchase of 72,400 assault rifles and 93,895 carbines through the fast-track procurement (FTP) mode.

Close Quarter Carbine:

• Carbines are nothing but, miniaturized assault rifles featuring an overall shorter barrel and is comparatively lighter in weight and easier to handle compared to Assault Rifle.
• Carbines are an effective trade-off between weight and range of a rifle to an effective mobility to allow a soldier to offset the weight of body armour and additional equipment a soldier has to carry.
• Carbines are suited for Indoor Operations during Close Quarter Battles as they are easy to handle and manoeuvre compared to full length Assault Rifles.
• They are mostly long gun with a barrel that is under 20 inch.
• The carbine should have an effective range of 200 m and weigh less than 2 kg.

Indian Army has been looking to replace age-old ‘INSAS’ (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use which has reliability issues. The close-quarter battle (CQB) carbines are critical for the Indian Army posted in the Kashmir Valley to take on terrorists holed up inside buildings. But sadly, there have been repeated failures to purchase them.

Context:

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, has forecast the impact of sea level rise on the coastal aquifer in the coming years, till 2100. Fresh water will be replaced with saline water over time, says the study.

Details:

• The fragile water table in the city’s coastal areas, particularly along East Coast Road, is under threat of severe seawater intrusion due to anticipated rise in sea levels in the next few decades, according to a study by the Department of Geology, Anna University.
• There is a rise in sea level by 2mm every year based on a report by the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• The increasing sea level would also force the water table along the coastline to move upwards. But it would slowly replace the freshwater at the bottom of the aquifer.
• Given the rate of increase in sea level, the water table would witness an incursion of sea water to the extent of 2-3mm every year.
• The volume of fresh water would gradually reduce in the coastal areas due to climate change-induced sea level rise.
• Rapid urbanisation and indiscriminate drawal have already led to salt water intrusion in areas from the Adyar river to Palavakkam. Residents are heavily dependent on other resources, including private water tankers.

Way forward:

• In general, it is expected that east coast of India will be more vulnerable than the west coast because of its low lying nature and hence the tendency of coastal flooding will rise if the sea level rises significantly.
• It is imperative to change the land-use pattern along the shoreline to tackle the impact of climate change.
• Areas closer to the coast must adopt water conservation measures to sustain groundwater.
• Only minimal groundwater extraction through open wells must be allowed and water pumped in localities along the shoreline must be replenished through rainwater harvesting.
• Large residential complexes must adopt other measures like permeable pavements.
• An integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) plan is the most appropriate and necessary tool for long-term sustainable development, which could tackle current and future vulnerabilities of the coastal area.
• The plan should actively involve the local communities, and include building regulations, urban growth planning, building institutional capacity and raising awareness.

Context:

Even after waiting for almost a month, Olive Ridley turtles have not yet arrived for mass nesting at Odisha’s Rushikulya rookery and Devi river mouth.

Details:

• The Rushikulya river mouth off Ganjam coast in Odisha, famous for mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
• Except for few occurrences of sporadic nesting, mass nesting has yet not occurred. The reasons for the delay are not fully understood yet.
• Although it is held that climatic parameters, as well as beach conditions, decide mass nesting at a coast, it is not completely understood how these parameters affect their decision-making.
• However, mass nesting has already occurred at the Gahirmatha coast of the State.
• The Forest Department has readied six artificial hatcheries to incubate eggs resulting from sporadic nesting. The beach has been cleaned up.
• A metal net fences a stretch of over five kilometres from Gokharkuda to Prayagi — this fencing is expected to protect Olive Ridleys and their eggs from predators and human intervention.
• CCTV cameras continue to keep a watch on the nesting beach.

Olive Ridley Turtles:

• Gets name from its olive colored carapace, which is heart-shaped and rounded.
• Olive Ridley sea turtles come in large numbers for nesting to Odisha coasts. The mass nesting draws worldwide attention on the conservation of Olive Ridley in Odisha.
• The synchronised nesting in mass numbers is called Arribadas.
• They are mostly carnivorous and feed on jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp. They occasionally consume algae and seaweed.
• The major breeding ground for these turtles is Rushikulya (Odisha), Dharma (Odisha), Devi estuary (Odisha), Astaranga Coast (Odisha), Gahirmatha beach (Odisha) and Hope Island of Coringa Wild life Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh).
• They are classified as Vulnerable — IUCN Red List.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

What’s in the news?

• Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the benefits Indian exports enjoy under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme
• Pursuant to this development, some experts have pointed out that the timeline of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the benefits Indian exports enjoy under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme is revealing.

Note to Students:

1. We at BYJU’S have covered the issue on the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme in considerable detail in our YouTube based video lecture as available on the below link:

2. Another important issue being touched upon in this editorial analysis is the Government of India’s FDI policy concerning the e-commerce sector. We at BYJU’S have covered this issue as well as part of our YouTube release which is as below:

A Brief Look at the Recent Past: 

• India-U.S. trade tensions escalated in the year 2018 when the U.S. took two consecutive decisions to increase import tariffs on steel and aluminium, and place India’s eligibility for GSP benefits under review.
• As a matter of fact, shortly after, India said it would impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from the U.S. and even notified the list of items on which these would apply.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. stood fast on not exempting India from its tariff hikes, with Mr. Trump complaining about India’s high import tariffs several times.
• The GSP review, however, stretched on, with the two countries holding frequent talks to address the concerns.
• India, for its part, postponed the deadline for the imposition of the retaliatory tariffs six times.

What prompted the U.S. to review India’s GSP status?

• Washington’s decision to review India’s GSP status stemmed from complaints from American medical and dairy industries, both of which said India was not providing “equitable and reasonable access to its market”.
• India has said it had tried hard to cater to most of the U.S. demands and reach an understanding, but key points of difference, especially regarding India’s cultural concerns to do with dairy products, could not be accommodated.
• Given this, and the fact that the U.S. has been expressing discontent over India’s policies to do with data localisation and FDI rules in e-commerce, the decision to withdraw the GSP status should not come as a surprise. The question is, how will New Delhi react?

Reaction by the Government of India:

• Following the U.S. announcement, the Commerce Ministry of the Government of India, was quick to downplay the impact, saying that the GSP benefits amounted to only $190 million, while India’s total exports under GSP to the U.S. stood at $5.6 billion.
• It is also important to note that Indian officials have stressed that talks on the issue would still continue during the 60-day period after which the GSP decision would come into effect.

Editorial Analysis:

E-commerce rules: A Perspective

• It begins with the change in foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in India.
• It is important to note that the tightened norms that came into effect on February 1, 2019, place several restrictions on e-commerce companies, including Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.
• The unexpected changes came after Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, paid over $16 billion to acquire Flipkart last May (May 2018). To raise the resources needed, Walmart put one of its biggest international operations, Asda, on the block for $10 billion.
• The calculations behind the $500 billion retail giant’s investment in India have gone awry after the change in the FDI rules. The Walmart family are close friends of Mr. Trump.
• On February 20, 2019, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company was disappointed that New Delhi had changed the FDI rules without consultation and hoped for a more collaborative process going forward.
• Days later, on March 4, 2019, Mr. Trump notified Congress of his intention to slap punitive action on India by ending preferential treatment for the country’s exports.

Why is India concerned?

• It is important to note that Walmart has a reputation for killing small retail businesses with ultra-low prices, a concern that influenced New Delhi’s decision to tighten the FDI rules.
• While the FDI policy might be irreversible, economic diplomacy can still defuse the situation and prevent the removal of the GSP benefits that will not take effect for until at least 60 days after the notifications to Congress and the Indian government.
• The simmering tensions go back to April 2018 when the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched a review of New Delhi’s eligibility for the GSP programme.
• Tensions escalated in June 2018, as New Delhi, in response to Washington’s 25% tariff hikes on steel and 10% levies on aluminium, immediately accused it of unfair trade practices, and, seeking to signal a muscular approach, threatened retaliatory tariffs on $235 million of U.S. imports.
• Bilateral talks since then have failed to ease tensions and India now stares at losing the GSP benefits. Foreign Secretary V.K. Gokhale returned empty-handed from Washington recently.
• India’s GSP status came under review after the U.S. medical and dairy industries complained that New Delhi is not providing them “equitable and reasonable access to its market”. India’s data localisation policies deepened the rift.
• New Delhi’s use of price control measures against imported drugs and medical devices has grown noticeably. Cardiac stents were put under price controls in February 2016 and knee implants attracted similar action in August 2017, after which trade margins for many medical devices are sought to be capped.
• S. manufacturers complain that in doing so, New Delhi has meted out differential treatment to them vis-à-vis domestic players.
• For domestic companies, the price to distributors is considered while in the case of global manufacturers the base proposed is the landed costs of imports.
• The U.S. medical device industry wants price controls on cardiac stents and knee implants withdrawn and would like products to be treated on parity with domestic medical devices through a trade margin rationalisation regime.
• New Delhi has preferred to act against unreasonable price mark-ups through price controls when exactly the same outcomes can be achieved through other types of policy alternatives.
• The USTR is right in pointing out that price capping counts as a trade barrier. New Delhi can easily address the concerns by replacing price controls with trade margin rationalisation measures, applying them equally to domestic and foreign manufacturers.
• India is the largest beneficiary of the GSP, the largest and oldest U.S. trade preference programme. The GSP is aimed at promoting economic development by allowing duty-free entry of products from designated beneficiary countries. Nearly 4,800 different goods from 129 designated countries enjoy duty-free access under the programme.
• The immediate loss for India is preferential access at zero or minimal tariffs to the U.S. in case of about 1,900 products, or about half of all Indian products.
• New Delhi has downplayed the impact of the proposed withdrawal of benefits, saying exports worth $190 million only are likely to be affected and that the tariff advantage was 4% or more on only 2,165 of a total of 18,770 tariff lines.

Estimating losses:

• Experts opine that this is an underestimation. The loss to the economy would be much larger than what the Department of Commerce is projecting.
• While it is true that the actual tariff advantage from the programme works out to a meagre $190 million, which is just 0.4% of the total Indian exports to the U.S., the actual loss will not be limited to the immediate tariff advantage.
• Indian exporters are competing for market share in the U.S. with other low-income countries in industries where margins are wafer thin. Even minor price hikes can drive significant drops in export volumes. In which case, losing GSP access will be costlier than the projections.
• Among price-sensitive products eligible for higher GSP benefits that risk losing out to competition from other countries are processed food, leather products, plastic products, building materials, tiles, hand tools, engineering goods, cycles and made-ups such as pillow/cushion sleeves and woven women’s apparel.
• Many of these are the very industries the new e-commerce FDI rules seek to protect.

A Possible Way Forward for India:

• Some experts suggest that an option the government of India can exercise is to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
• Experts have opined that the government’s efforts to downplay the impact of the withdrawal of GSP status and express readiness for more talks, however, suggest it is not keen to take a decisively strong stance. It bears emphasis that while the actual amounts at stake are relatively small, with even India’s proposed tariffs on the U.S. amounting to just $900 million, the impact on small industries in the country could nevertheless be significant.
• The best way forward is to have a broad based dialogue. The other initiative should be to involve other players in the U.S. decision making system.
• It is important to convey that there are other important elements as well in the India- U.S. bilateral relationship other than just trade.
• If the U.S. is calling India an ally, then that should also influence areas such as trade policy as well.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Twelve years later

Q1. World Happiness Report is a publication of:

Q2. Which of the following is not correctly matched?

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Voter Verifiable Paper Audit
Trail (VVPAT):

Q4. Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme was launched
in the state of:

Q5. Consider the following statements about Payments bank: