31 Mar 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. China cuts Hong Kong’s elected seats

Context:

China’s legislature formally approved sweeping changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system that will see a sharply reduced share of directly elected representatives and a tightening of Beijing’s control in the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Details:

• The changes were passed by the 167 members of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.
• China’s President signed orders to promulgate the amended annexes to Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the constitution that has governed the SAR under the “one country, two systems” model since its return to China in 1997.

What has changed?

• The amendments mark the biggest changes to Hong Kong’s political system since the handover, and reduce the share of directly elected representatives in its Legislative Council (LegCo).
• While previously, 35 of its 70 members were directly elected, that number has been reduced by 15.
• Now, Hongkongers will only be able to directly vote for 20 representatives while the size of LegCo has been expanded to 90, thereby drastically reducing the share of elected representatives.
• The 70 others will be broadly chosen from pro-establishment bodies.
• The other big change is the setting up of a Candidate Eligibility Review Committee “for reviewing and confirming the eligibility of candidates”.
• Also, a Committee for Safeguarding National Security will be set up that will make findings as to whether a candidate for Election Committee member or for the office of Chief Executive meets the legal requirements.
• There will be no scope for legally challenging the findings.
• District Councillors, who are directly elected, will no longer have a place either in the Election Committee or in LegCo.

Concerns-Erosion of autonomy:

• Pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have seen the political changes, as well as national security law that punishes subversion as the most significant changes in the “one country, two systems” model and as dramatically eroding the autonomy enjoyed by the SAR previously.
• The National Security Law allows Beijing to draft national security laws for Hong Kong and also operate its national security organs in the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

“One country, two systems”:

• Since the return to China in 1997, Hong Kong, a former British colony, has been governed by the Basic Law, which allows the territory “to enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication”, barring matters of defence and foreign affairs.
• Article 23 of the Basic Law requires Hong Kong to pass national security legislation, but past attempts to do so were shelved amid protests.

E. Editorials

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. India does not shine when only some gleam

The article talks about the need for a new architecture of economic growth which begins from the ground, to create better lives for the majority of the population in India.

What are the issues?

Widening Inequalities:

• The pandemic has revealed structural flaws in countries’ economies.
• According to a report released by the World Bank, while India’s stock markets rose during the pandemic and the very rich became even richer, the number of people who are poor in India (with incomes of $2 or less a day) is estimated to have increased by 75 million.
  • This accounts for nearly 60% of the global increase in poverty, the report says.
• When only some shine, India does not shine.

Global indices:

• The Global Hunger Index which places India 94 amongst 107 countries put India under serious category with a score of 27.2.
  • India ranks lower than her neighbours such as Bangladesh (75) and Pakistan (88).
• According to the WHR20 Happiness Report released in March 2021, Indian citizens are amongst the least happy in the world.
  • The report released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network compares citizens’ own perceptions of their well-being in 153 countries.
  • India ranks a very low 144^th.
• According to global assessments, India ranks 120 out of 122 countries in water quality, and 179 out of 180 in air quality.

Lapsing to the old ways:

• Instead of the new normal post-pandemic, sadly, the old ways are returning with the government back to chasing its $5 trillion GDP target.
• Wealth creators (large companies and wealthy individuals) are being touted as the solution for growth.
• Power is being centralised.

Way Forward:

• New ways must be adopted to create a new post-pandemic normal.
• India urgently needs a new strategy for growth, founded on new pillars.
  • One is broader progress measures as GDP does not account for vital environmental and social conditions that contribute to human well-being and the sustainability of the planet.
• The universal solution for improving well-being is for local communities to work together to find their own solutions within their countries, and in their villages and towns as they know which factors in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals matter the most to them.
• Communities must be allowed to, and assisted to, find their own solutions to complex problems.
• The old global economy was very good for migrant capital. However, due to the restrictions on mobility of varying degrees, and nationwide lockdowns, the pandemic has revealed that the old economy was not good for migrant workers.
  • Their “ease of living” was often sacrificed for capital’s “ease of doing business”.
• The Indian economy must grow to create more incomes for its billion-plus citizens.
• Until the incomes of all rise, India will be a poor country from the perspective of the majority of its citizens, no matter how large its GDP.
• Moreover, economic growth must no longer be at the cost of the environment.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Good neighbours

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Bangladesh to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war of liberation and the centenary year of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Read more on the recent developments in India-Bangladesh relationships covered in 26^th March 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Category: ECONOMY

1. A road to progress

The article discusses how cooperatives and unions are a pathway to financial stability for women dairy farmers.

White Revolution:

• Women dairy farmers have contributed immensely to India’s ‘White Revolution’.
• Their success despite a majority of dairy farmers owning only small landholdings (typically households own two to five cows) is also a testament to the success of the dairy cooperatives models that were at the heart of Operation Flood.
• The approach made it possible to enhance backward and forward linkages in the dairy value chain, paving the way for freeing small farmers from the clutches of middlemen, and guaranteed minimum procurement price for milk.

Challenges facing Small Dairy Farmers:

• A major challenge in this sector is information asymmetry among farmers.
• Statistics indicate that small and marginal farmers have access to only 50-70% of the resources that large and medium farmers have.
• The majority of the dairy farmers own small landholdings.
• Many of the dairy farmers have not had a formal education and lack financial literacy.

Training the dairy farmers:

• A study by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) indicates that 93% of women farmers who receive training alongside financial support succeed in their ventures, compared to the 57% success rate of those who receive financial aid alone.
• The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) organises farmer orientation programmes across the country, under which women farmers are trained in scientific best practices on animal health, fodder quality, clean milk production, and accounts management.

Enhanced incomes:

• There are more than 1,90,000 dairy cooperative societies across the country, with approximately 6 million women members.
• A study conducted on Women Dairy Cooperative Society (WDCS) members across Rajasthan showed that with the income generated through dairying, 31% of the women had converted their mud houses to cement structures, while 39% had constructed concrete sheds for their cattle.

Enhancing Bargaining Power of Women:

• The presence of collectives in the form of cooperatives and milk unions plays a significant role in enhancing the knowledge and bargaining power of women.
• Women-led cooperatives also provide fertile ground for grooming women from rural areas for leadership positions.
• In many instances, this becomes the first step for women in breaking free from traditional practices.

Conclusions:

Many individual women dairy farmers have not had a formal education, but through the process of dairying and working with larger collectives, such as milk unions and cooperatives, they have mastered the nuances of finance and marketing. These unions and cooperatives provide a pathway to success and financial stability.

Q1. Who among the following were the members of the State Reorganization Commission 
of 1953? 

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Vajra Prahar:

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to the TAPI gas pipeline:

Q4. Which of the following banks was established through the Fortaleza Declaration of 2014?

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In order to create better lives and wipe out inequalities post-pandemic, India should strive for a vaccine against indifference to the conditions of those less well off. Elucidate.  (GS 2 Governance) (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2. Throw light upon the recent developments in the India-Bangladesh relationship. What are the straining points and major irritants in the bilateral relations? (GS 2 International Relations) (15 Marks, 250 Words)

Read previous CNA here.