09 May 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Shaping India’s response in a global hinge moment

Current Geo-political Scenario:

India finds itself in a world that is fragmenting and slowing down economically. The country is in a new geopolitical situation, caused primarily by the rise of China, India and other powers — Indonesia, South Korea, Iran, Vietnam — in a crowded Asia-Pacific, which is the new economic and political centre of gravity of the world.

• • Rapid shifts in the balance of power in the region have led to arms races and to rising uncertainty, also fuelled by the unpredictability, disengagement and the transactional America First attitude of the President of the United States. 
  • China-U.S. strategic contention is growing, uninhibited so far by their economic co-dependence. 
  • As China seeks primacy in a world so far dominated by the U.S., the world faces a destabilising power transition which may or may not be completed. 

What should India’s response be to the new situation? 

• India must maintain its strategic autonomy.
• While many suggest that India must enter into an alliance with the U.S., it is to be understood that a common thread running through the foreign and security policies of successive governments of India irrespective of their various political persuasions has been the pursuit of strategic autonomy for India.
• In the current situation that calls for creative diplomacy and flexibility, adjusting to the fast-changing balance of power and correlation of forces around, India, must maintain its strategic autonomy. 
  • The Doklam crisis of 2017 is only the most recent example that shows that no one else is ready to deal with India’s greatest strategic challenge — China. It saw a tepid reaction from the rest of the world. 

The China question:

• China’s rise is the foremost challenge which could derail India’s quest. But it is also an opportunity. 
• One possibility for India is to engage China bilaterally to see whether the two countries can evolve a new Modus vivendi (way of coexistence), to replace the one that was formalised in the 1988 Rajiv Gandhi visit.  
  • That framework is no longer working and the signs of stress in the relationship are everywhere.
• The India-China relations are more complex than simple narratives suggest, nevertheless, there is room for both sides to seek a new modus vivendi. 
  • This would require a high-level strategic dialogue between the two sides about their core interests, red lines, differences and areas of convergence.
• The balance will keep shifting between cooperation and competition with China, both of which characterise that relationship. The more India rises, the more it must expect Chinese opposition.
• The U.S. is an essential partner for India’s transformation. However, since it is withdrawing from the world, it will no longer be the upholder of international order, economic or political. It is less certain as to how it will choose to deal with China.
• India must work with other powers to ensure that its region stays multi-polar and that China behaves responsibly. It should also ensure that its interests are protected in the neighbourhood, the region and the world.

Double opportunity:

• The China, U.S contention is structural and, therefore, likely to continue for some time with a paradigm shift away from cooperation to increasing contention, despite temporary deals and victories declared by one or both, opens up opportunities and space for other powers.
• Both China and the U.S. will look to put other conflicts and tensions on the back burner while they deal with each other (their primary concern).
• Here, India has a moment of double opportunity if it changes its ways. 

Other Concerns for India:

• In the present world order, there is a deep sense of strategic confusion. For India, that confusion extends to it being not just about the ultimate goal India’s foreign policy should pursue but also over the best means to achieve them.
• India’s Prime Minister has declared a goal of India to be a ‘Vishwa guru’, or world teacher. This is still a long way away considering the fact that India is an importer of knowledge and technology.
• At present, India is more dependent on the outside world than ever before. It relies on the world for energy, technology, essential goods like fertilizer and coal, commodities, access to markets, and capital.
• When the new security agenda, the contested global commons in outer and cyberspace and the high seas is added to India’s traditional state-centred security concerns, there is greater worry or a sense of insecurity.

Conclusion:

• India risks missing the bus to becoming a developed country if it continues business and politics as usual, or tries to imitate China’s experience in the last 40 years, does not adapt, and does not manage its internal social and political churn better. 
• The most important improvement that India needs to make concerns its national security structures and their work — introducing flexibility into India’s thinking and India’s structures. For change is the only certainty in life.

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Eradicate it

Context:

Sudan has criminalized the act of female genital mutilation (FGM).

What is FGM?

• The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation (FGM) as involving “the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
• The practice has no health benefits for girls and women. 
• FGM can cause severe bleeding and problems in urinating,  cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
• According to the UN, over 200 million women in several African countries, including Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria, Djibouti and Senegal, and some in Asia, have been subject to this brutal social custom. 

Details:

• Sudan’s decision to outlaw the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a landmark victory for women’s rights in a country that is still in a transition from dictatorship to democracy.
• The development follows the transitional government’s decision to scrap the repressive social codes and humiliating penalties that targeted women during the nearly 30-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir, which fell last year amid protests. 
• Under the law, any offenders will serve a punishable sentence of up to three years in prison. 
• It is a historic move in a country where the United Nations says 9 out of 10 women between the ages of 15 to 49 have been subjected to the practice.
• The UN estimates that some 87% of Sudanese women have had their external genitalia removed on non-medical grounds during childhood, leaving them with life-long emotional and physical injuries.

Concerns:

• The new measure, which entails punishment with a fine and a prison sentence, must still be approved by the Supreme Council (made up of civilians and military officials, that oversees the democratic transition). The government’s decision builds on the curbs already in place in a number of provinces, although enforcement has been a concern.
• While the latest measure has been widely welcomed, campaigners remain cautious about a shift in attitude against this custom, as it is regarded as crucial prior to matrimony.
• Even in countries where FGM is outlawed, enforcement remains an issue. 
  • In Egypt’s first FGM trial in 2014, six years after Cairo clamped a ban, the doctor who had carried out the procedure, as well as the father of the deceased girl, were acquitted, despite incriminating forensic evidence. 
  • In Somalia, the country with the highest prevalence rate but no legal ban, the death of a girl in 2018 after a similar procedure led to the first prosecution in such incidents. 
  • In Uganda, reports in 2019 of some 300 cases of mutilation within a month shed light on the government’s uphill task to back existing legislation with vigorous awareness campaigns. 
  • In Kenya, where the practice was criminalised in 2011, the government strategy requiring girls to be tested for circumcision raised concerns of victimisation and privacy violation.

Practice of FGM in India:

• Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practised in India by the Dawoodi Bohras, a sect of Shia Islam with one million members in India.
• The procedure is generally performed when a girl is seven years old and involves the total or partial removal of the clitoral hood.
• In May 2017 a public interest litigation (PIL) case was raised in India’s Supreme Court, seeking a ban on FGM in India.
• The petition claimed the practice violated children’s rights under Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution of India.
• The defendants argue that khafz (FGM) is an essential part of the community’s religion, and their right to practise the religion is protected under Articles 25 and 26.
• The community believes that male and female circumcision is required as “acts of religious purity”.
• In September 2018 the Supreme Court referred the PIL to a five-judge constitution bench for further hearing.

Conclusion:

• These practices suggest that legislation alone may not stop this practice that has deep cultural roots. The governments must eradicate it. 
• While there is ongoing research to rectify the damage, WHO is somewhat sceptical about the effectiveness of recent reconstruction surgeries. 
• The prevailing scenario thus underscores the need for stronger campaigns and bold actions to stop this social scourge.
• Sustaining the country’s (Sudan) progressive currents and the democratic transition would be crucial to consolidate the gender reforms it has introduced in recent months.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Contempt for labour

Context:

With the need for revival of business and economic activity after weeks of forced closure, interests of labourers and workers are being sacrificed. Several States across India are ignoring the welfare laws for workers in the name of boosting economic activity.

Details:

• Madhya Pradesh has embarked on a plan to give a boost to business and industry by allowing units to be operated without many of the requirements of the Factories Act — working hours may extend to 12 hours, instead of eight, and weekly duty up to 72 hours.
  • It appears the State has used Section 5 of the Act, which permits exemption from its provisions for three months, in the hope that the Centre would approve such suspension for at least a thousand days. 
  • However, this exemption can be given only during a ‘public emergency’, defined in a limited way as a threat to security due to war or external aggression.

• Uttar Pradesh has approved an ordinance suspending for three years all labour laws, except a few relating to the abolition of child and bonded labour, women employees, construction workers and payment of wages, besides compensation to workmen for accidents while on duty. 

Concerns:

• Reports suggest that several States are following these examples in the name of boosting economic activity.
• The country watches with horror the continuance of the collective misery of migrant workers. The attitude of the ruling class towards labour remains one of utter apathy, bordering on contempt.
• India’s inability to protect the most vulnerable sections and its vast underclass of labourers from the impacts of lockdown shows the flaws in the country’s response to the pandemic. 
• The emphasis in the initial phase was on dealing with the health crisis, even when the consequence was the creation of an economic crisis. 

Way forward:

• It is amoral and perverse on the part of the States to address the need of revival of business and economic activity by granting sweeping exemptions from legal provisions aimed at protecting labourers and employees in factories, industries and other establishments.
• Changes in the manner in which labour laws operate in a State may require the Centre’s assent. 
• The factories must in no case be relieved of elementary duties such as providing drinking water, first aid boxes and protective equipment (Or) ensuring requirements such as cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, canteens, restrooms and crèches.
• The Centre, which is pursuing a labour reform agenda through consolidated codes for wages, industrial relations and occupational safety, health and working conditions, must not readily agree to wholesale exemptions from legal safeguards and protections that the law now offers to workers.

F. Tidbits

1. GoI borrows $500 million from AIIB

• The Government of India has taken a $500 million loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to support its emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is part of a $1.5 billion project being co-financed by the World Bank.

2. Govt. raises borrowings to 12 lakh crore in FY21

• The government resorts to market borrowing to make up for mismatch between its revenue and expenditure.
• The government has revised its borrowing estimates considerably. 
  • The estimated gross market borrowing in FY 2020-21 will be 12 lakh crore rupees as against the initial estimate of 7.80 lakh crore rupee as per BE 2020-21. 
• This move will help deal with the expected shortfall in revenue due to the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the economy.
• With the increase in the estimate, the government would have to revise upwards its fiscal deficit target of 3.5% pegged for the current fiscal.

3. Pharma exports grow 7.57% in FY20

• Pharmaceutical exports from India have grown by 7.57% to $20.58 billion during 2019-20.
• Despite this being a rather subdued performance as against previous performance and estimates, the sector stands out while all other sectors have witnessed a drastic fall in revenues.
• India depends on China for 60-70% of its bulk drug needs.

G. Prelims Facts

1. ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ to cover more European nations

• The ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ is meant to evacuate and repatriate Indian citizens stranded in different countries owing to the lockdown.
• Official sources have announced a plan for repatriation of Indians aboard INS Jalashwa and INS Magar from the Maldives.

2. U.S. pulls out Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia

• Saudi oil installations in Khurais and Abqaiq had been attacked in September 2019 by Tehran and Houthi-backed rebels in Yemen through rocket and drone attacks.
• Following this, the U.S. had deployed its Patriot missile systems in Saudi Arabia.
  • Patriot (MIM-104) is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft. 
• India is also looking to purchase the Patriot missile system from the U.S.

3. Rajnath opens new road to Kailash Mansarovar

• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the border designation for India and China.
• The Lipulekh Pass in the state of Uttarkhand, is part of an alternate route to Kailash Mansarovar.

4. HC declines plea by animal rights activist

• Pench Tiger Reserve is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the first one to straddle across two states – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Ordinarily, the reference to Pench is mostly to the Tiger Conservation in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is a major Protected Area of Satpura-Maikal ranges of the Central Highlands and is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura range.
• The river Pench divides the National Park into nearly two equal parts. 
• Pench Tiger is among the sites notified as important bird areas of India.

Q1. Which of the following countries are not members of the Gulf Cooperation Council?

Q2. Which of the following pair is wrongly matched?

Q3. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

Q4. The Patriot Missile system has been developed by which of the following country?