17 Nov 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Govt. keeps no Net shutdown record

Context:

• Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology on internet shutdowns in India.

Background:

• There has been an increasing trend of administrations resorting to internet shutdowns on the grounds of maintaining public safety or in a scenario of public emergency. Though some situations warrant such an approach in the interest of safety and security, the frequent and prolonged internet shutdowns are a cause of concern.
  • A study by the advocacy group Access Now reports that India topped the list of countries that resorted to government-imposed Internet clampdown.
• A key concern is that the Net shutdowns have been reduced to a routine policing and administrative tool whereas it should be used only in exceptional and rare cases as stated by various rules and Supreme Court guidelines.

Concerns with frequent and prolonged internet shutdowns:

• Frequent and prolonged internet shutdowns amount to a violation of some human rights as noted by the Supreme Court in the Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India case of 2020. The Supreme Court declared that freedom of speech and expression and freedom to practice any profession over the medium of the Internet enjoyed constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g).
• The absence of Internet and regular telecom services also has other adverse impacts.
  • Internet/telecom shutdown cost the telecom operators substantial revenue losses. Apart from this, online trade, which is now heavily dependent on Internet banking, also tends to be adversely impacted.
• Also with increasing trends of telemedicine and e-education, internet shutdowns can impact critical social sectors as well.

Major findings of the report:

• The report points out that there are no verifiable and centralised records of Internet shutdowns in the country maintained by either the Union Home Ministry or the Department of Telecom.
• The report laments that the absence of such a database makes it nearly impossible to review whether the Internet shutdowns followed the laid-down rules or the Supreme Court guidelines on the issue.
• The report also points out the drawback of there being no coherent rules dictating internet shutdowns in India. Also, the grounds on which internet shutdowns are generally imposed like “public safety” and “public emergencies” are not clearly defined.
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology has called for a detailed study on the economic impact of frequent and prolonged Internet shutdowns.

Recommendations:

• The importance of the Internet has only grown over time. Hence there is the need to maintain a delicate balance between the citizen’s right to access the Internet and the State’s duty to deal with a public emergency.
• Internet shutdowns even if used should be based on stated guidelines and should follow standard operating procedures. Such internet shutdowns need to be reviewed from time to time and the shutdown should be lifted as the situation improves.

C. GS 3 Related

Category: DEFENCE AND INTERNAL SECURITY

1. ‘Navy’s plan for a 170-ship force on course’

Context:

• Revision of the Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP).

Background:

Changing dynamics in OIR:

• Global and regional balances of power are shifting rapidly and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is emerging as a geo-strategically important area.
• There has been an increasing number of players in the Indian Ocean Region and the complexity of the maritime environment has only increased as a result.
• China has been rapidly expanding its Navy, rolling out more ships than any other country amid its expanding global footprint, especially in the Indian Ocean Region. This development poses serious security as well as strategic challenges to India.

Details:

• India has been focussing on expanding its capacity in the naval segment to enhance the capability of the Indian Navy in meeting the emerging challenges in the IOR and beyond.
• Indian Navy has planned for a 170 ship force in its Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP). The Navy has also budgeted for a second indigenous aircraft carrier.
  • The Navy currently has 130 ships and had earlier planned to achieve securing 200, which was revised to 170 ships by 2027.
• The Navy plans to have diverse platforms like an aircraft carrier, submarine and maritime patrol aircraft each of which plays its own definite role and is required to make a balanced naval force.
• India has also undertaken focussed efforts at indigenization of the defence production. The soon to be commissioned first Project-15B class stealth-guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam and the fourth Scorpene-class submarine Vela showcase indigenous capacity to build complex combat platforms.
• The MCPP of the Navy is being reworked to bring it in line with the 10-year Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP) being formulated by the Department of Military Affairs to bring in service integration. The MCPP will have to also factor in the budgetary allocations and constraints.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Kabul, Kashmir and the return of realpolitik

Context

Recently, the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was held with an aim to help stabilise Afghanistan.

Background:

• In 2020, in Doha, Qatar, the US and the Taliban inked a “deal for bringing peace” to Afghanistan.
• In 2021, the Taliban swept across Afghanistan, taking control of towns and cities all over the country, including Kabul. Afghan security forces collapsed in the face of the Taliban advance.

Source: Maps of India

Who are the Taliban?

• Taliban first appeared in the civil conflict that erupted after the Soviet soldiers left in 1989, primarily in the south-west and along the Pakistan border.
• They promised to eliminate corruption and increase security, but they also adhered to a strict interpretation of Islam.
• By 1998, they had seized control of nearly the whole country.
• They imposed their own strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, as well as harsh penalties.
• Men were forced to grow beards, while women were forced to wear the burqa, which covered their whole body. Television, music, and movies were all outlawed.
• They gathered in Pakistani border regions after their ouster.
• The Taliban’s goal is to create an Afghan state that is firmly ruled by Shariah.

Challenges Posed by Taliban for India

1. Unfriendly neighbourhood:

• Due to the China-Pakistan partnership, India’s efforts to create a regional consensus to stabilise Afghanistan would be constrained.
• China and Pakistan, two crucial players in Afghanistan’s stability, have opted to remain away from the country.
• Pakistan and China will benefit geopolitically as a result of it.

2. China

• China is expected to participate in Taliban-led Afghanistan as a means of regional involvement.
• The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which Afghanistan has been a part since May 2016, is key to China’s long-term strategy for Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan may become a component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in the future (CPEC).

3. Pakistan

• The current Pakistani Afghan approach smacks of triumphalism.
• Pakistan is adamant about keeping India as far away from Afghanistan as possible so that it does not continue to participate and provide development aid.
• The Taliban and Pakistani governments refer to the US-led coalition as “colonisers” who have recently left Afghanistan.

4. Other countries

• Russia or the Central Asian states have neither the ability nor the desire to pursue a role in Afghanistan autonomous from the larger Chinese or Pakistani designs there.
• Iran has limited interests in Afghanistan and is unlikely to go against the Chinese plan for the region, especially in the broader context of being under United States sanctions.

Implications of Taliban on India

• India faces a dilemma in Afghanistan to decide whether to engage the Taliban or not.
• To irritate Pakistan, the Taliban administration wanted to establish relations with India.
• Pakistan resents the Taliban’s desire for India to participate and assist in the country’s stabilisation.
• The closer India gets to the Taliban, the more Pakistani assaults in Jammu and Kashmir will escalate.
• If India assists the Taliban-led Afghan government, it would find itself in a Catch-22 situation.

1. Threats of Terrorist Attacks: Many terrorist organisations are not included in the Doha Agreement. Anti-India terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are examples. Since the hijacking of an Air India aircraft to Kandahar in 1999, there has been a high level of suspicion of the Taliban.
2. Indo-Taliban Relations: The Taliban’s close proximity to Pakistan has impeded Indo-Taliban ties.
3. Increased tensions with India and Pakistan: Pakistan’s Afghan policy earned prominence with the withdrawal of US soldiers. With the Taliban in charge, this proxy conflict will intensify.
4. Challenges to Internal Security: The United States has departed Afghanistan having failed to achieve any of its goals. Furthermore, the Taliban have obtained access to various modern weaponry and sophisticated weapons as a result of their long-running conflict with the United States.
5. Surge in Drug Trafficking: Geographically, Afghanistan is a part of the Golden Crescent. With the Taliban in control, India may see a surge in illegal drug trafficking on a big scale.
6. Pakistan’s Kashmir policy: The ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan and the subsequent reduction in violence in Kashmir were a direct result of the backchannel understanding between the two sides.

Conclusion:

• There is a need to work on the India-Pakistan cooperation in Afghanistan. Similarly, the role of Beijing, Iran and the Central Asian countries should also be considered.
• India needs to coordinate its Afghan policy with Russia, the USA and the various western capitals while steadfastly engaging the Taliban.

F. Prelims Facts

1. UN tourism body’s honour for weavers hub Pochampally

Pochampally ikat sarees:

• Pochampally is an artisanal village in Telangana known for its ikat saree weaving.
  • Ikat saree weaving gets initiated by a dyeing technique that is used to pattern fabrics that use resist dyeing of the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the cloth. Keeping the design in mind a proper chart of warp and weft are visualized on a graph paper for this particular style of weaving. Later as per the chart, the design is carefully transferred on weft and warp.
• Pochampally Ikat received  Geographical Indication status in 2004.

Context:

• Pochampally village in Telangana is set to be named as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the world body for promoting sustainable tourism.
  • The ‘Tourism Villages’ is a global initiative to highlight villages where tourism preserves cultures and traditions, celebrates diversity, provides economic and livelihood opportunities and safeguards biodiversity.
• India had nominated two other villages in the same category, Kongthong in Meghalaya and Ladhpura Khas in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Kongthong is a village and tourist attraction in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state. Kongthong is a popular tourist destination known for the panoramic picturesque views and the unique culture of inhabitants who use the whistled language “Jingrwai Lawnei” and also build the living root bridges.

G. Tidbits

1. Biden, Xi agree on need to avoid conflict amid differences

• U.S. President and China’s President interacted in their first bilateral virtual summit.
• The two leaders though agreed on the need to manage competition and differences and also called for increasing cooperation in global climate action efforts, failed to arrive at any significant breakthrough on any of the key issues that have led to increasingly confrontational ties between the two powers – Taiwan, Freedom of navigation and safe overflight in the South China Sea, human rights issues in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.
• Both sides have reinforced their positions on these core issues that have strained the relationship.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q.1 Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Kartarpur Corridor?

1. The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and corridor between India and Pakistan.
2. It enables both border trade and pilgrimage.
3. It is built across the Chenab river.

Options:-

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.2 Which of the following statements is/are correct about the UNWTO?

1. The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
2. It promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
3. It runs a global initiative known as ‘The Tourism Villages’ to highlight villages where tourism preserves cultures and traditions, celebrates diversity, provides opportunities and safeguards biodiversity.

Options:-

1. 1 and 2only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.3 What led to the latest crisis at Belarus-Poland border?

1. Dispute over trade negotiations between EU and Belarus.
2. Territorial conflict between Poland and Belarus.
3. Belarus enabling migrants from the Middle East and Africa to enter the European Union through Poland.
4. Dispute over water sharing of a trans-boundary river.

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• At the Belarus – Poland border, there has been a sudden surge of migrants, including women and children, causing tensions to rise between the two countries.
• The migrants, estimated to be 2,000-4,000 in number, and mostly from West Asia, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, have made several attempts to cross over into Poland with the aim of seeking asylum in a European Union (EU) country. According to media reports, they were aided in their efforts by Belarusian border guards.

Image source: https://theconversation.com/

Q.4 If your fundamental rights have been violated, how can you seek remedy from the courts?

1. By filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the nearest court
2. By filing a police complaint and then approaching the District Court with a contempt petition
3. By filing a writ petition directly at the High Court or Supreme Court
4. By filing a curative petition at the Supreme Court

Q5. It is possible to produce algae based biofuels, but what is/are the likely limitation(s) 
of developing countries in promoting this industry? (UPSC-2017)

1. Production of algae based biofuels is possible in seas only and not on continents.
2. Setting up and engineering the algae based biofuel production requires high level of expertise/technology until the construction is completed.
3. Economically viable production necessitates the setting up of large scale facilities which may raise ecological and social concerns.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Is India right in going ahead with the purchase of S-400 missile defense system from Russia despite the fears of US sanctions? Give reasons to support your argument. (250 words; 15 marks)[GS-2, International Relations]
2. Enlist the various initiatives taken by the government to bring India’s tribal population into the mainstream and evaluate the success of such initiatives. (250 words; 15 marks)[GS-2, Social Justice]