13 Oct 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. China’s “wolf warrior” era
POLITY
1. Section 66A of IT Act
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY
1. The Court and the problem with its collegium
ECONOMY
1. The war against illegal goods as India’s fight
GOVERNANCE
1. Unfilled vacancies, stagnant workforce delay RTI replies
F. Prelims Facts
1. World Sloth Bear Day
2. Slender Loris
G. Tidbits
1. Vande Bharat freight trains
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. China’s “wolf warrior” era

Syllabus: Effect of Policies & Politics of Developed & Developing Countries on India’s Interests

Mains: China’s foreign policy

Context: President of the Republic of China Mr. Xi Jinping recently completed a decade in office and begins an unprecedented third term.

Wolf warrior diplomacy:

• It is a new approach inside China which reinforces a presumed transition of Chinese diplomacy from conservative, passive, and low-key to assertive, proactive that goes as far as insulting or threatening those deemed to violate China’s interests. 
• Wolf Warrior and Wolf Warrior II are Chinese action blockbusters that highlight agents of Chinese special operation forces. They have boosted national pride and patriotism among Chinese viewers.
• ‘Wolf-warrior diplomacy’, named after these movies, describes offensives by Chinese diplomats to defend China’s national interests, often in confrontational ways.
• Many Chinese believe the Western media portrayal of China is highly biased, often with ideological and racist tinges. Wolf-warrior diplomacy is part of the Chinese government’s endeavour to “tell the China story.”
• Wolf warrior diplomacy has been widely used in the past few years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Debt Trap:

• The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 was a foreign policy initiative and a platform to stake China’s claim to global leadership. 
• According to the estimates of the Green Finance and Development Centre at Shanghai’s Fudan University, over the past decade, the total value of projects and investments through the BRI stands at over $930 billion.
• China today is facing criticism for rising debt levels in many partner countries and for unsustainability in some of its projects in order to expand its global influence along with its political, economic and military strategies.
• It is alleged that China has been extending loans to financially vulnerable states, thereby paving the way to intrude into the sovereignty of such states. This practice, over the gradual progress of time, has taken the shape of a debt trap. 
  • China has emerged as the biggest official creditor with its international loans reported to surpass more than 5% of the global GDP.
• Criticism aside, the fact that indebted partners have only returned to Beijing for more assistance underlines the reality of China’s economic capacity, as well as an apparent push to evolve the BRI away from a hard infrastructure focus to a wider array of financial assistance. 
  • For example, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which have received more than $26 billion from China in the past five years, and are dealing with financial crises, are turning again to Beijing for more monetary support.

Great power rivalry:

• Beyond the BRI, rising China-U.S. rivalry and deepening China-Russia ties have been the clearest markers of the direction of China’s foreign policy in the Xi era. 
• China under Xi Xingping recognizes the need to overcome obstacles in the country’s pursuit of its national goals. To do so, China appears to be pursuing a three-pronged medium-term strategy: 
  • Maintaining a non-hostile external environment in order to focus on domestic priorities; 
  • Reducing dependence on America while increasing the rest of the world’s dependence on China; and 
  • Expanding the reach of Chinese influence overseas. 
• Every Chinese leader from Chairman Mao to President Xi Jinping has been clear-eyed that the U.S. represents an existential threat to the continued supremacy of the communist regime.
• Worsening relations with the U.S. have been accompanied by warming ties with Russia.
• The assertive diplomatic strategy has undercut China’s global image and further exacerbated its relations with countries across the world, ranging from Europe to Asia.

Relationship with India:

• In the 1950s, the leaders of the older generation of the two countries made the historical decision to establish diplomatic relations between China and India, and jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. 
• In the 1980s, the two sides agreed to solve the boundary question through peaceful and friendly consultation, established a strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity, and achieved the all-round development of bilateral relations.
• After 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated “hometown diplomacy”, held two informal summits in Wuhan (2018) and Mamallapuram (2019) respectively, carried out strategic communication on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance, and agreed to strengthen the closer partnership for development between the two countries.
• The still ongoing border crisis triggered by the Chinese military’s multiple transgressions plunged the relations between both countries to the lowest level since the normalisation of ties in the 1980s which reflects the tensions in China’s diplomacy in the Xi period. 
  • Under Mr. Xi, China has come to view territorial problems with neighbours not as “disputes” to be mutually resolved but as threats to China’s “sovereignty”, thus reducing the space for resolution. 
• Apart from the security and strategic dimension, there has also been turbulence on the trade front with improved focus and importance on greater ‘protectionism’. 
• Despite signs of some diplomatic normalcy, there are also contradictory signs indicating India and China moving away from each other. 
  • Immediately after the clashes, India leaned toward the Quad.
  • Similarly, China is also getting closer to Russia, creating a partnership to target the United States and its partners, like India.

Nut Graf: China’s foreign policy under President Xi Jinping appears to be caught between presenting itself as the saviour of the UN-centred world order and globalisation and pursuing China’s core interests ever more aggressively, regardless of the consequences to global politics.

Category: POLITY

1. Section 66A of IT Act

Syllabus: Fundamental rights

Mains: Freedom of Speech and Expression

Context:  The Supreme Court recently ordered States and their police forces to stop prosecuting free speech on social media under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.

Introduction:

• Taking note of law enforcement agencies continuing to book people under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which has been struck down, the Supreme Court recently directed that no person should be prosecuted under it anymore.
• A three-judge bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit directed “all Directors General of Police as well as Home Secretaries of the States and competent officers in Union Territories to instruct their entire police force in their respective States/Union Territories not to register any complaint of crime with respect to alleged violation of Section 66A”.
• The Supreme Court said that in all cases where citizens are facing prosecution for violations of Section 66A, the reference and reliance upon 66A shall stand deleted.
• However, the court also clarified that this direction would apply only to a charge under Section 66A and not extend to other offences in a case. 

Background:

• In 2015, the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case declared Section 66A of the Information Technology Act unconstitutional and a violation of free speech.
• The court observed that the weakness of Section 66A lay in the fact that it had created an offence on the basis of undefined actions: such as causing “inconvenience, danger, obstruction and insult”, which do not fall among the exceptions granted under Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of speech.
• The Information Technology Act, 2000 was amended in 2009, to include Section 66 A. With the advent of the internet and technology, Section 66A was included with the objective of addressing cases related to Cyber Crimes. 
• Over the years there was a rise in the incidents of attracting criminal penalties under Section 66(A) due to the expression of thoughts by individuals, and sharing of information to a wider audience on the internet.
• The above actions led to serious debates and discussions about the application, powers and constitutionality of Section 66 A of the IT Act.
• The court examined the abusive powers of the police, suppression of the Freedom of Speech and Expression, and ambiguity pertaining to the issue of “grossly offensive” as there were no guidelines about it.
• The Supreme Court of India observed that Section 66-A was over-broad and vague, hence it violated Article 19(1)(a).
• As this Section 66A IT Act violated the fundamental right of free speech, this law was struck down by the Supreme Court.

Nut Graf: Section 66A of the IT Act arbitrarily invades the right of free speech under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court expressed “serious concern” over states continuing to register FIRs for offences under the unconstitutional provisions of the Act and issued certain guidelines to the administration on remedial measures.

C. GS 3 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

Category: ECONOMY

1. The war against illegal goods as India’s fight

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Mains: The thriving illicit market in India – its causes and consequences, and viable solutions.

Context: This article talks about how the high inflation rate has given rise to a thriving market of cheap inferior, illegal and fake goods and recommends ways to address the issues.

Details

• Despite the decline to a certain extent, India’s wholesale inflation rate has continued to remain in double digits since April 2021.
  • The inflation rate was seen to be 12.41% in August 2022 as compared to 13.93% in July.
• This consistently high inflation has forced consumers to defer purchases or purchase less or reuse and recycle or look for cheaper alternatives.
• The search for cheaper alternatives by the consumers has led to a situation wherein the markets are being flooded with inferior quality goods or fake brands which has provided an impetus to the parallel economy players.
• In the wake of a festive session, these parallel economy players who require access to such cheaper goods are looking towards China as such low-cost goods are manufactured in China at a large scale.
  • Example: Markets will be flooded by Chinese goods such as Diwali lights, idols, electronic items, etc.

Flourishing illegal market in India

• The demand for cheaper alternatives has given rise to a thriving smuggled and illegal goods market in the country.  
• As per the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE), the illegal market in India is booming in five important industries namely mobile phones, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), FMCG-packaged foods, tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages. 
  • The overall size of the illegal market in these industries was recorded to be about ₹2,60,094 crores in 2019-20.
• India has been ranked low on the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index which covers 82 countries and said that India required quantifiable actions to tackle the risks posed by illegal trade on the economy. 

Challenges associated with the thriving illicit market

• Tax losses: The thriving illicit and smuggling market is detrimental to the overall economy of a country as it is done at the cost of taxes to the government which deprives the required capital for the country to drive social transformation. 
  • As per reports, the estimated tax loss to the Government on account of illicit trade in key industries is said to be around ₹58,521 crores.
  • Tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, which are two highly regulated and taxed industries, constituted about 49% of the overall tax losses.
• Job losses: Further, the CASCADE report also points out that the illicit trade in the key industries has led to an estimated employment loss of over 15.96 lakh. 
  • Out of this, the FMCG industry alone has accounted for over 68% of job losses. 

Recommendations

• Rationalisation of taxes: Rationalisation of taxes in the industries which are plagued by the illicit trade and market is seen as the only practical option available for the government to control smuggling and illicit trade.
• Incentivising domestic manufacturing: By promoting and incentivising domestic manufacturing, the reliance on international manufacturers can be reduced significantly.
  • Incentivising domestic manufacturing and rationalisation of taxes will help India compete with global brands and become a global hub for these goods.
• Restrictions on profits repatriation: MNCs operating in the country must not be allowed to remit royalties and profits out of India earned from items sold to Indians.
• Adoption of advanced technology: As per CASCADE, enforcement and seizure of illicit goods and items can be enhanced by the adoption of advanced technology like AI, blockchain, and location technology.
• Awareness drives: The government must undertake awareness campaigns to inform consumers about how the illicit markets fuel crime syndicates and parallel economies.

Nut graf: The booming illegal goods market and parallel economy have become a significant threat to the government’s vision of “Atmanirbharta” and measures such as rationalisation of taxes, promotion of local manufacturing, restrictions on profit repatriation and stringent law enforcement are said to be the key to tackle the thriving illicit market.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Unfilled vacancies, stagnant workforce delay RTI replies

Syllabus: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

Prelims: About the Right to Information Act

Mains: The implications of rising pendency in RTI requests on transparency and accountability in governance

Context: The report named “Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2021-22” released by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan highlights that close to 3.15 lakh complaints and appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act are still pending with 26 information commissions across India.

Background

For background information on this issue, refer to the following article: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis dated 12 Oct 2022

The structure of the implementation of the RTI Act

• The Right to Information (RTI) Act is implemented as a three-level structure.
• The first level consists of the Central Assistant Public Information Officer or the Central Public Information Officer (CAPIO/CPIO). 
  • As an RTI appeal reaches the CAPIO/CPIO, they are required to reply within 30 days. 
• The second level consists of First Appellate Authority (FAA), wherein an applicant can appeal to the FAA if he finds the reply of the CAPIO/CPIO not satisfactory or not on time.
• The third level consists of the Central Information and State Information Commissions which can be approved if the FAA’s answer is not satisfactory or if the FAA has failed to answer.

Data on the backlogs in RTI applications

• Increase in the number of pending appeals: the number of pending appeals and complaints has increased from 2.18 lakh to 3.14 lakh since 2019.

•  State-wise backlogs: reports show that the highest number of pending cases was seen in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, the Central Information Commission (CIC) and Bihar.

• Delay in the disposal of applications: the report has calculated the time taken by the Information Commissions to dispose of an appeal by taking into account the backlog data and the monthly disposal rate.
  • As per the Report, West Bengal State Information Commission required 24 years and 3 months to dispose of an appeal filed on July 1, 2022.
  • Odisha and Maharashtra would require five years. 
  • Further only Meghalaya and Mizoram states showed no waiting time.

• Increase in the number of RTI requests at the start of every year and the number of new RTI requests filed in a year.

• The number of CAPIOs, CPIOs and FAAs working for Central government agencies: this number has remained constant in recent years.

Nut graf: The increase in the number of new RTI applications along with the failure to increase the number of information officers have led to the piling up of RTI complaints. The increasing pendency and the long waiting time must be addressed to make the RTI regime effective.

F. Prelims Facts

1. World Sloth Bear Day

Syllabus: Biodiversity and Conservation

Prelims: IUCN red list, WIld life (Protection) Act,1972

Context: The first World Sloth Bear Day was observed on October 12, 2022 in India.

Key Details:

• Wildlife SOS India, an organisation involved in sloth bear conservation and protection for over 25 years, proposed to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that October 12 be declared as ‘World Sloth Bear Day’ to draw attention to the conservation and protection of the unique bear species endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
  • Wildlife SOS has rescued and rehabilitated over hundreds of performing dancing bears while also providing alternative livelihoods to the nomadic Kalandar community members who are involved in the 400-year-old tradition of dancing bears.
• The  Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), along with other stakeholders observed the day at Agra Bear Rescue Facility in Uttar Pradesh. 
  • This is the world’s largest Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre for sloth bears that was established by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with Uttar Pradesh Forest Department in 1999.

Sloth Bears (Melursus ursinus):

• They are endemic to the Indian subcontinent and 90% of the species population is found in India with small populations in Nepal and Sri Lanka. 
• Sloth Bears are Classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List.
• Sloth Bears are listed under Schedule I of the (Wildlife Protection) Act of India, 1972, the species has the same level of protection as tigers, rhinos and elephants. 
• Sloth bears are omnivorous and survive on termites, ants and fruits. 
• It has long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws. It is lankier than brown and Asian black bears.

G. Tidbits

1. Vande Bharat freight trains

• The Indian Railways is planning to launch high-speed freight trains on the Vande Bharat platform. 
• It is aimed at capturing high-value and time-sensitive cargo consignments now being moved using other forms of transport. 
• The trains have been designed for palletised container transportation at a speed of 160 kmph. 
• The 1,800-mm wide rakes with automatic sliding doors would have provisions to load reefer containers for temperature-sensitive cargo, a pneumatically retractable roller floor system with locking facility for easy handling of pallets, and a payload of 264 tonnes. 
• The Integral Coach Factory in Chennai is expected to rollout the first freight EMU rake in December 2022.

Read more on Vande Bharath Express 2.0

Vande Bharat Trains:

• It is an indigenously designed and manufactured semi high speed, self-propelled train.
• The first Vande Bharat was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, as part of the ‘Make in India’ programme, at a cost of about Rs. 100 crore.
• The Vande Bharat was India’s first attempt at adaptation of the train set technology compared with conventional systems of passenger coaches hauled by separate locomotives.
• These trains, dubbed as Train 18 during the development phase, operate without a locomotive and are based on a propulsion system called distributed traction power technology, by which each car of the train set is powered.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. The recently announced PM-DevINE scheme focuses on – (Level – Easy)

1. Offering free pilgrimage to senior citizens
2. Revamping of religious sites in a depleted condition
3. Development of North East part of India
4. Revamping of the educational curriculum followed at Madrasas

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation: 

• PM Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) has been launched for the development of infrastructure and social development projects in the North East part of India with an initial allocation of Rs 1500 Crore. 
  • The Scheme will be implemented through the North-East Council.

Q2. Consider the following statements with regards to Living Planet Report published 
by the World Wildlife Fund: (Level – Difficult)

1. There has been a 69% decline in the wildlife population from 1970 to 2018.
2. The IUCN Red List shows cycads – an ancient group of seed plants – are the most threatened species.
3. Land use change is considered one of the biggest threats to nature.

Choose the correct code:

1. 3 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 1 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation: 

• Statement 01 is correct. There has been a 69 per cent decline in the wildlife populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, across the globe in the last 50 years from 1970 to 2018, according to the latest Living Planet Report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released on October 13, 2022. 
  • The highest decline (94 percent) was in Latin America and the Caribbean region.
  • Africa recorded a 66 per cent fall in its wildlife populations from 1970-2018 and the Asia Pacific 55 per cent.
• Statement 02 is correct,  Cycads, a group of prehistoric palm-like plants commonly used in dryland landscaping, are the world’s oldest seed-bearing plants and are the most threatened species as per IUCN Red List.
• Statement 03 is correct, WWF has identified five major threats to nature. Across the board, changes in land and sea use account for the largest portion of the loss, making up 50% of recorded threats to biodiversity on average. 

Q3. Consider the following statements with regards to DART mission: (Level – Easy)

1. The DART mission was launched from a NASA rocket.
2. This is the first time that humans have been able to intentionally change the motion of a celestial object.
3. Dimorphos asteroid was targeted since there was a possibility of this asteroid hitting the earth.

 Choose the correct code:

1. 1 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 2 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation: 

• Statement 01 is incorrect, The Dart Mission was launched by a SpaceX rocket in November 2021.
• Statement 02 is correct, The Dart spacecraft crashed into the asteroid and succeeded in nudging the rocky moonlet from its natural path into a faster orbit, marking the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, The Dimorphos is an egg-shaped asteroid, roughly the size of a football stadium, that was orbiting a parent asteroid about five times bigger called Didymos once every 11 hours, 55 minutes. It is one of 27,500 known near-Earth asteroids of all sizes tracked by NASA. None of these asteroids is known to pose a foreseeable hazard to humankind.

Q4. Consider the following statements with regards to the Committee of Parliament on 
Official Language: (Level – Medium)

1. Section 4 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 says “there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses”.
2. The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister and has 21 members.
3. Unlike the other Parliamentary panels, the Committee of Parliament on Official Language is constituted by the Home Ministry, and it does not submit its report to Parliament.

 Choose the correct code:

1. 1 & 2 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 1 & 3 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation: 

• Statement 01 is correct,  The Committee of Parliament on Official Language was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963. 
  • Section 4 of the Act says “there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses”.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members — 20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha.
• Statement 03 is correct, Unlike the other Parliamentary panels, the Committee of Parliament on Official Language is constituted by the Home Ministry, and it does not, like the Committees of Parliament, submit its report to Parliament. 
  • Under the provisions of the 1963 Act, the panel submits its report to the President, who “shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments”.

Q5. Which one of the following observations is not true about the Quit India 
Movement of 1942? (CSE-PYQ-2011) (Level – Easy)

1. It was a nonviolent movement
2. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi
3. It was a spontaneous movement
4. It did not attract the labour class in general

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: 

• The Quit India movement was largely supported by the labour class as they agitated through bandhs and hartals.
• Many Indian businessmen were profiting from heavy wartime spending and did not support Quit India.