27 Oct 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India to sign geo-spatial cooperation deal with U.S.

Context:

The Defence Ministry has said that India and the U.S. will sign the last foundational agreement, Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) during the 2+2 ministerial dialogue.

Background:

• India has already signed three foundational military communication agreements with the US. They are:
  1. The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016.
  2. The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018.
  3. General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) – GSOMIA, signed in 2002, paved the way for greater technology cooperation in the military sector.
• An extension to the GSOMIA, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA), was signed at the last 2+2 dialogue (2019).

Details:

• The Defence Minister of India and the U.S. Secretary of Defence reviewed bilateral defence cooperation spanning “military-to-military cooperation, secure communication systems and information sharing, defence trade and industrial issues”.
• Ways to take bilateral cooperation forward were also discussed.

What is BECA?

• BECA is the last of four foundational agreements for strengthening defence ties between India and the US.
• The agreement pertains to exchange of Geospatial-Intelligence information for use by the governments for defence and other purposes.
• Under the agreement, the US would exchange technical and procedural information about standardisation of methods, specifications and formats for the collection, processing and production of geo-intelligence information with India.
• It shall also include the tools and models to process GPS data and transform Latitude, Longitude and Height coordinates across various reference frames and others.

How will it help India?

• It would enhance the geospatial cooperation between the countries.
  • It will allow India and the US to share geospatial and satellite data with each other.
• It is likely to help in improving the accuracy of missile systems of India.
• BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Predator-B from the US.

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Contesting neighbours, revised geopolitical playbooks

Context:

• The article analyzes the changing approaches to foreign policy by two emerging global powers -India and China especially in the context of the West Asian region.

Background:

• The tectonic geopolitical shifts of 2020, from deteriorating U.S.-China ties, followed by the Ladakh crisis, is forcing a drastic change in the geopolitical strategy of both India and China, and, by association, global security architectures as well.

West Asian region:

• Traditionally three nations Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel have been the major powers of the region.
• The region has been characterized by its multi-layered conflicts and political fissures with the general tensions between the Gulf states and Iran being the most visible geopolitical factor at play.
• The region has witnessed multiple wars and conflicts.
  • E.g.: the ongoing Syrian and Yemen war.
• Recently major shifts have taken place in West Asia.
  • First, there seems to be a growing perception in the Gulf that the American security safety net is not absolute, and they need to invest more in others.
  • Second, the Gulf economies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been attempting a shift away from their reliance on the petrodollar and reform their economic systems.
  • Israel’s recent peace accords with the UAE and Bahrain hold immense potential in ensuring a more stable Gulf region.

Details:

India’s Approach:

• India’s outreach to West Asia sharpened since 2014 with heightened economic and political preference from the government.

Economic angle:

• India has been looking to attract investments from the oil-rich Gulf nations especially UAE and Saudi Arabia who themselves are looking for investment alternatives away from the West. India with its large and growing economy and large population makes it an attractive investment destination.
• There have been multiple billion-dollar investments on Indian shores by entities from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Strategic shift in relations with Israel:

• Unlike previously, wherein India seemed reluctant to deepen its bilateral relationship with Israel, in a welcome departure, India’s engagements with Israel have also moved steadily forward.
• India-Israel relations have diversified with cooperation and collaboration in the areas of defence technology, agriculture, water engineering, biotechnology, etc.

Declining India-Iran engagement:

• One area of concern for India in its West Asian outreach has been its relations with Iran.
• The U.S. sanctions on Iran and India’s increasing alignment with the U.S. have resulted in a lower degree of India-Iran engagements.
• However, there has been no complete shut off of relations given India’s investments in Iran (Chabahar port).

China’s approach:

• Given the increasingly isolationist approach being employed by the U.S. and its perceived retreat from the West Asian region, China, being second only to the U.S. in both economic and military terms today has been increasing its presence in the region.

Military outreach:

• China supplied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chinese Wing Loong drones in 2016 – a copy of U.S.’s armed MQ-9 ‘Reaper’ drone that the U.S. had refused to sell.

Economic muscle:

• With China being one of the largest importers of crude, the oil-rich Gulf economies view China as a major market for their produce.
• Taking advantage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal, China has been strengthening its relationship with Iran. Iran and China recently signed a 25-year Cooperation Program or Comprehensive Strategic Partnership pegged at around $400 billion.
• China with its Belt and Road Initiative and high investment potential has emerged as a major economic power in the region.

More proactive role:

• Unhappy with its previous passive role, China has been proactive in the region. It along with Iran recently suggested the development of a “new forum” to address the region’s tensions — an alternative to the West-led ecosystems that have prevailed for decades.

Comparison of India and China’s approach:

Similarities:

• Both India and China have employed similar versions of ‘non-alignment’ thinking in West Asia without stepping into the entanglements of the region’s multi-layered conflicts and political fissures.

Contrasts:

• Unlike India which has adopted a more or less balanced approach with its outreach to the three powers of the region – Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran, China seems to be backing Iran more aggressively.

Conclusion:

• The theory of interests superseding ideology in foreign policy has been a predominant theme in current times.
• The foreign policy approach to the West Asian region is an apt example of this metamorphosing approach towards the international arena by India and China.

Category: HEALTH

1. The many lessons from COVID-19

Context:

• The article analyzes the impact of COVID-19 in India and suggests certain measures to ensure a more robust healthcare sector in India.

Background:

Impact on women:

• In India, the pandemic has had a differential impact on women.
  • The pandemic resulted in decreased access to contraceptive services and safe abortions. As per a recent modelling study, because of the reduction in coverage of essential services, the prevalence of wasting in children could increase by 10% to 50%, there could also be 60% more maternal deaths. The progress made in maternal mortality, infant mortality, institutional births and replacement level fertility could be reversed.
  • There have been reports of an increase in domestic violence incidents in India. The accessibility of domestic violence-affected women to support systems have also decreased.
  • Given that more women than men work in the informal economy and the fact that the informal economy was the most affected segment during the COVID-related lockdown, many women have lost their work and livelihoods. This has reduced their incomes by large proportions and could push them into poverty.

Impact on children:

• COVID-19 has also disrupted the education system. It has also adversely affected access to nutritious food as a huge number of children depend on school meals.
• Over 70% of countries reported partial or complete disruption of immunisation services.

Disrupted health services:

• Critical health services of diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases, cancer diagnosis and treatment, family planning, contraception, antenatal care, malaria and TB case detection, treatment facility-based births, and urgent blood transfusions, as well as emergency surgery, have been disrupted.

Suggestions:

• The COVID-19 experience has brought to light many deficiencies in our approach to the healthcare sector and going forward the following aspects could help ensure a more robust and effective response to future challenges.

Gender-specific responses:

• Given the differential impact on women, there should be an increased emphasis on gender analysis and gender-responsive public health policies.

Evidence-based policies:

• Given the lack of availability of data that are disaggregated by sex and age and the lack of accurate data on violence against women and children, states should focus on collecting data disaggregated by sex and analyse it to formulate appropriate responses.

Financial protection:

• Apart from ensuring the availability of essential medical services, there needs to also be a focus on ensuring financial protection with respect to accessing health services. This could be in the form of either a health coverage scheme, like Ayushman Bharat, or through private health insurance.
  • Out-of-pocket payments cause about 100 million to fall into extreme poverty every year, and 800 million globally spend more than 10% of their household budget on healthcare.

Digital healthcare:

• Digital technology can help ensure increased access to healthcare services in the form of telemedicine. This could also help in collecting, using and sharing data, enabling local, contextualised decision-making.
  • Platforms like ECHO have been used in many states to train healthcare workers and the government’s e-Sanjeevani platform is enabling telemedicine appointments.

For more information on the benefits of digital healthcare, refer to:

CNA dated Aug 16, 2020: Digital health mission will liberate citizens

Role for the private sector:

• The private sector should also be encouraged to play a bigger role in the health sector given the fact that they are already playing a very big role in technology.
• However, the government should continue its participation and even enhance its participation given the basically public good nature of health services.

Countering infodemics:

• False or misleading information leading to harmful behaviours, and mistrust in governments and the public health response have had a negative impact on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The fear, stigma and discrimination circulated on social media must be countered by health literacy.
• The tech companies must play a bigger role in infodemic management through a more proactive role in managing the spread of false news. Additionally, the state should provide timely advices to counteract the spread of false news.

Emphasis on nutrition:

• There is the need to further integrate social protection systems, food systems and health systems in order to have a positive impact on nutrition as a major component of preventive healthcare.
• The existing social protection systems need to be expanded to protect the most vulnerable population groups to ensure nutritional security.

More integrated approach to health:

• The risk factors and the social and environmental determinants of health, such as the quality of water and air need greater consideration. All arms of the government must look at the impact of their policies on health.

Empowering the health workers:

• Recognizing the critical role played by the health workers at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic, the state policy must focus on empowering frontline health workers. There should be higher investments in training and mentoring and equipping them with better resources.

Higher public investments in health:

• India needs to invest more in public health institutions and primary healthcare, given that countries that have previously invested in primary healthcare have been reaping the benefits of a healthier population.

Emphasis on science:

• There needs to be greater emphasis on science and research and development given the successful examples of the global collaboration between scientists to take forward advances in knowledge and its role in informing mankind’s response to the pandemic.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Assumption Island:

Q2. India holds ministerial level ‘2+2’ Dialogue with which of the following countries?

Q3. Arrange the following military communication agreements between India and the US 
in chronological order in which they were signed:

Q4. Arrange the following Elephant Reserves from North to South:

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. ‘Strategic autonomy’ should not be understood as ‘non-alignment’. Issue-based alignment may be a necessary component in contemporary times. Analyze in the backdrop of the evolving geopolitical situation for India. (15 marks, 250 words)(GS Paper 2/International Relations)
2. Putting women at the heart of the post-COVID economic recovery and ensuring an environmentally sustainable approach will make the process faster, just, inclusive and also sustainable. Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)(GS Paper 3/Economy)

Read the previous CNA here.