24 May 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. China suggests shift in BRI approach amid debt concerns
HEALTH
1. Dengue, JE strike as Assam battles COVID-19
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Extend loans without fear of 3Cs: FM
AGRICULTURE
1. More area under cotton crop this season
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Details of 2.90 crore job seekers on dark net
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. What explains the India-China border flare-up?
2. Why are India and Nepal fighting over Kalapani?
F. Prelims Facts
1. Tension along LAC continues with China
2. New plant species found in Western Ghats
3. Heatwave conditions prevail in Odisha
G. Tidbits
1. Latin America is the new epicentre: WHO
2. ‘Dual advantage to benefit India in 2020, post-COVID’
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Extend loans without fear of 3Cs: FM

Context:

• Financial crisis due to the COVID-19 impact.

Background:

Credit guarantee:

• As part of the Rs. 20.97 lakh crore economic package, the government has announced the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) worth Rs. 3 lakh crore for the MSME sector.

Fear of 3C’s:

• It has often been alleged that genuine bonafide decisions in the banking sector are being impacted because of the worry of undue harassment by 3Cs — Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Details:

• The Finance Minister has called on the banks to extend loans automatically to eligible borrowers without ‘fear of 3Cs — CBI, CVC and CAG’.
• The government has argued that the banks should not be scared to extend loans as 100% guarantee is being given by the government.
• In case of default, the individual bank or official will not be hauled up.

Way forward:

• Everybody eligible for additional term loan and additional working capital should be given loans from the bank.
• The government has also emphasised that loans should be sanctioned in a simple manner and if possible, digitally to avoid any physical contact.
• The government hopes that this step will ensure that liquidity would start flowing from banks without any new collateral.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. What explains the India-China border flare-up?

Context:

• Rising tensions on the India-China border.

Background:

• Border skirmishes have been reported in at least four different locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
  • Pangong lake in Ladakh, Naku La in Sikkim, the Galwan valley in Ladakh and in Demchok.

Causes of the stand-off:

Non-delineated borders:

• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) has never been demarcated.
• Differing perceptions of the border, particularly acute in certain spots across the Western (Ladakh), Middle (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), and Eastern (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) sectors of the India-China border lead to face-off and stand-off situations.
• Though the boundary in the Sikkim sector is broadly agreed upon, that too has not been delineated.

India’s moves to strengthen infrastructure:

• China, along the LAC, has enjoyed an advantage in infrastructure as well as terrain that is more favourable to mobilisation of troops and resources.
• The broader context for the tensions appears to be a changing dynamic along the LAC, wherein India seems to be catching up with China by improving its border infrastructure.

Increasing assertiveness of China:

• The latest skirmishes at the Galwan Valley and Sikkim are somewhat unexpected as the contours of the LAC are broadly agreed to in these sectors.
• The Galwan Valley incident was triggered by China moving in troops and equipment to stop construction activity by India. India is claiming that the construction activity was well within India’s side of the LAC.

Boundary negotiations:

• A three-stage boundary negotiation was proposed between India and China.
  • Agreement on political parameters and guiding principles
  • Evolving a framework to resolve the dispute
  • Delineating and demarcating of the boundary
• In 2005, the agreement on political parameters and guiding principles was completed. The current and most difficult stage involves agreeing to a framework to resolve the dispute in all sectors.
• The 22nd round of talks between the Special Representatives was held in Delhi in December 2019.
  • Both sides noted that an early settlement of the boundary question serves the fundamental interests of both countries and resolved to intensify their efforts to achieve a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.

Concerns:

Failed negotiations:

• India has long proposed an exercise to clarify differing perceptions of the LAC to prevent border stand-offs. India has argued that such an exercise could help both countries understand the claims of the other, paving the way to regulate activities in contested areas until a final settlement of the boundary dispute is arrived at.
• Maps were exchanged in the Middle Sector, but the exercise fell through in the Western Sector where divergence is the greatest. China has since rejected this exercise, viewing it as adding another complication to the on-going boundary negotiations.

Prospects of a settlement:

• The prospects of a settlement appear bleak given the fact that there are major differences in the Western and Eastern sectors.
• India claims around 38,000 sq km in Aksai Chin. While in the east, China claims as much as 90,000 sq km, extending all across Arunachal Pradesh. One particular sticking point is China’s claims to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Neither side will be willing to part with territory already held by them.

Strategic move by China:

• The broader issue appears to be a fundamental difference in how the two countries view the boundary question.
• China appears to view an unsettled border as holding some leverage with India, one of the many pressure points it could use to keep India off-guard. The unrealistic claims of China to Tawang indicate this tendency.
• Given this strategic calculus of using border disputes by China, the stalemate over boundary delineation will likely endure.

Way forward:

• Protocols agreed to in 2005 and 2013, detailing the rules of engagement to prevent border incidents, must be adhered to.
• There is a need to follow the principles agreed to in the previous agreements between the two countries which call for “mutual and equal security” in border negotiations.
• The most realistic solution will involve only minor adjustments along the LAC.

For more information on this issue, refer to:

CNA dated 22 May, 2020

2. Why are India and Nepal fighting over Kalapani?

Context:

• The boundary dispute between India and Nepal.

For information on the dispute:

Also read CNA dated 23rd May, 2020

Details:

• Kalapani is a region located in the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
• The region shares a border on the north with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal in the east and south.
• The area is in India’s control but is claimed by Nepal.
• Kalapani is the largest territorial dispute between Nepal and India, consisting of at least 37,000 hectares of land in the High Himalayas.

Differing perception of the Sugauli Treaty provisions:

• The Treaty of Sugauli was signed between the Gurkha rulers of Kathmandu and the East India Company after the Gurkha War/Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16).
• According to the treaty, Nepal would give up its claims on the regions of Kumaon-Garhwal in the west and Sikkim in the east.
  • According to Article 5, the King of Nepal gave up his claims over the region west of the river Kali originating in the High Himalayas.
  • According to the treaty, the British rulers recognised Nepal’s right to the region that fell to the east of the river Kali.
• The dispute is mainly because of the varying interpretation of the origin of the river.
  • Nepal claims that the source of the river is in the mountains near Limpiyadhura. India, on the other hand, claims that the border begins at Kalapani, which India says is where the river begins.

Significance of Lipulekh pass:

• Kalapani is connected to Tibet through the Lipulekh pass, which has been used for centuries by Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims and tourists on their way to Kailash Mansarovar.
• The Himalayas have several passes that connect the Gangetic region with the Tibetan plateau but Lipulekh is strategically located as it is nearest to the National Capital Region and can be of particular concern in case of an armed conflict with China.
  • The importance of Himalayan passes with the Tibetan plateau was amply highlighted in the 1962 war. The military defeat clearly demonstrated that weakly guarded passes were a major vulnerability of Indian military preparedness against China.

Concerns:

Lack of efforts at resolution:

• Nepal’s call for a resolution of the issue has been overlooked. There have been no serious efforts to negotiate the border dispute.

Lack of consultation:

• India and China were in clear violation of Nepal’s concerns during the 2015 Lipulekh agreement between India and China, which renewed India’s Mansarovar pilgrimage connection. Neither side consulted Nepal or sought its opinion before the agreement.

Hardening stance:

• Recently, Nepal had published a revised official map incorporating the territory from the Limpiyadhura source of the Kali to Kalapani and Lipulekh pass as its territory. The Nepali Cabinet has registered a constitution amendment motion to grant constitutional status to the map.
• Such a move makes any future solution on the Kalapani issue nearly impossible as a constitutional guarantee will make Kathmandu’s position inflexible.

G. Tidbits

1. Latin America is the new epicentre: WHO

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared South America as the new epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Brazil, with 3,30,000 cases and 21,000 deaths, emerges as the worst-hit country in the region.
  • Unlike in Europe and the United States, where the elderly were the hardest-hit, a significant number of deaths in Brazil have been younger people, who are often driven by poverty to work despite the threat of infection.
• Peru has also witnessed an intense outbreak.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Arrange the following cities from east to west:

1. Beijing
2. Xian
3. Urumqi
4. Kuala Lumpur
5. Hanoi

Options:

1. 1, 2, 5, 4, 3
2. 1, 5, 2, 3, 4
3. 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
4. 1, 4, 5, 2, 3

See

Q2. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

1. Acute Encephalitis Syndrome is always a viral infection.
2. Japanese Encephalitis has no available vaccine.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q3. Arrange the following places from North to south.

1. Pangong Tso
2. Galwan Nalah
3. Demchok

Options:

1. 1, 2, 3
2. 1, 3, 2
3. 2, 1, 3
4. 2, 3, 1

See

Q4. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

1. Brazil shares its borders with 6 other countries.
2. Brazil is the largest country in South America both area-wise and population-wise.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

See