19 Sep 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Geopolitics without geoeconomics, a fool’s errand

Syllabus: Bilateral, regional, and global groupings and agreements involving and affecting India’s interest.

Mains: Geoeconomics and Geopolitics.

Prelims: Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

Context: Recent decision of India to stay away from the trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Strategy adopted by India in Indo-Pacific:

• India has shown a keen desire to be an important part of the geopolitical developments of the Indo-Pacific. And has consequently emerged as a major pivot in the region. 
• It has considerably avoided the temptations to militarize the Quad and has taken efforts in the direction to ensure that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations are not apprehensive of the changing balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.

For more information on Indo-Pacific importance, read here: Strategic Importance of Indo Pacific: RSTV – Big Picture

Issues with India’s strategy:

• India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific appears to be unsustainable in the long run as India has not given adequate attention to the geo-economic developments in the region.
• The decision of India to stay away from the region’s two key multilateral trading agreements shows that geoeconomics and geopolitics are imagined and pursued parallelly in contrast to a complementary approach. The two multilateral agreements:
  • India has refused to join the trade pillar, which is considered to be the most important aspect of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). However, New Delhi has joined the other three pillars of the IPEF namely clean energy, supply chains, and tax and anti-corruption.
  • The other trading arrangement is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• India has shown more interest in bilateral agreements in contrast to multilateral, plurilateral, and even soft agreements like IPEF.
• The absence of India from various regional trading fora will enhance the geo-economic hegemony of China. 
• It would become very difficult for India to integrate into regional and global supply chains if it is not a part of important regional multilateral trading agreements.
• Not creating economic relations in the region, India might have to face serious repercussions. For instance, India’s ‘Act East’ policy might revert to its earlier stage of ‘Look East’. 
• India might have to face the impact of economic isolation in the region and consequently in the geo-economic world.

Measures Ahead:

• India should take a comprehensive view on the matter of trade with China as even after the military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control(LAC), India-China trade has only increased in the past years. 
• Though India should not shy away from trading with China as part of various multilateral arrangements, but should also join arrangements that don’t have a Chinese presence. IPEF is one such example.
• Joining multilateral trade arrangements will help improve India’s policy which appears to be out of order. This is reflected in the fact that various companies that left China, diverted to countries like Vietnam instead of India.
• In order to give impetus to maritime strategy, India should create more economic stakes in the region because maritime strategy is not solely military in nature.
• There is a need to rethink the decision on RCEP. India should also look forward to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
• India should also proactively join the Minerals Security Partnership.
  • Mineral Security Partnership is a U.S.-led eleven-member grouping that secures supply chains of critical minerals.

Nut Graf: If India wants to be part of the unfolding of the Indo-pacific potential and consequently the Asian Century, it needs to make big changes in its geoeconomic stance as the geopolitics and the geoeconomics go hand-in-hand with each other.

2. A disruptive nexus of China and Pakistan

Syllabus: India and Neighborhood relations.

Mains: China-Pakistan Relations.

Prelims: UNSC 1267

Context: China recently blocked a joint India-U.S. attempt to put a Pakistan-based terrorist on the UN Security Council’s 1267 list.

Details:

• China has obstructed the UN Security Council’s Al Qaida and ISIL (Daesh) Sanctions Committee’s listing of terrorist Sajid Mir. He belongs to the terrorist outfit Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) and is India’s most wanted terrorist associated with the Mumbai attacks of 2008.
• The UN Security Council’s Al Qaida and ISIL (Daesh) Sanctions Committee is also called UNSC 1267 Committee.
• China has continuously misused its power and has disrupted many such listings in the past. Such an attitude of China disrupts collective efforts to counter the serious issue of terrorism. 

For more information, read here: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Sep 18th, 2022 CNA. Download PDF

China- Paksitan Nexus:

• The two countries collude in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They often collaborate in military matters, infrastructure, and connectivity.
• They have a strong nexus in the field of nuclear missile proliferation. They have also extended help to North Korea by providing them with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) technologies. 
• The bedrock of relations between the two is strong military ties since the 1960s. This has benefitted China in countering India and keeping it hemmed in the south-Asia. Approximately  47% of China’s military exports are sent to India’s hostile neighbour Pakistan.
• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crucial component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) disrupts both India-China and India-Pakistan relations.
  • CPEC is strategically significant for China as the Karakoram Highway provides direct linkages between occupied Kashmir territory on both sides, including the trans-Karakoram tract of Shaksgam ( India’s claim)which is currently a part of China-occupied Kashmir. 
  • China also uses the CPEC for accessibility to the Indian Ocean and natural resources.
• Trade aspect: China the largest lender to Pakistan has a whopping 27%  share of Pakistan’s debt. Bilateral trade between the two countries is approximately $20 billion. 
• China has supported Pakistan in the issue of Jammu and Kashmir multiple times in the past and has even shown its support to Pakistan in United Nations resolutions in 1960s and 1970s.
• Post the abrogation of Article 370 in India, China tried to take the matter to UN Security Council at the behest of Pakistan. China made three unsuccessful tries in this regard.
• China and Pakistan are looking for new avenues like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to further strengthen their ties with each other. 
• Pakistan is also playing a crucial role in reducing pressure on China with respect to the human rights issue of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province of China. China is accused of the ill-treatment of its Muslim minorities. 
• Pakistan also remains sensitive to Chinese concerns with respect to East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), where separatists are seeking refuge in Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA).

Nut Graf: Pakistan has moved closer to China, post the formers drift from the United States of America. China uses Pakistan as a proxy power against India, whereas Pakistan uses it for economic backing. The two countries are also seen supporting each other on international platforms like the United Nations Security Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Category: INDIAN SOCIETY

1. The gender pay gap, hard truths and actions needed

Syllabus: Issues related to women.

Mains: The gender pay gap.

Prelims: International equal pay day.

Context: The Third International Equal Pay Day is observed on the 18th of September.

Details:

• India has shown immense improvement in economic growth with a commensurate development in labour market outcomes.
• However, the pandemic has created a disproportionate impact on women workers in terms of income and job losses. A large number of women have left their jobs and reverted to full-time care of children and the elderly.
• According to the International Labour Organization’s Global Wage Report 2020–21, the massive downward pressure was inflicted on the total wages of women in contrast to that of men. This implies that pre-existing gender pay gap has further widened.

Trends in wages of men and women:

• In 1993-94 Indian women on an average earned 48% less than their male counterparts.
• However, according to labour force survey data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) the wage gap declined to 28% approximately. 
• As per the preliminary estimates of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21, there is an increase in the gap by 7% during the span of 2018-19 to 2020-21. 

Factors responsible for Gender pay gaps:

• The basic factors include education, skills, and work experience.
• The major factor that is responsible for the persisting wage gap is discrimination based on gender/sex. Gender-based discrimination includes within its ambit:
  • Undervaluation of women’s work, especially in feminized enterprises and occupations
  • Payment of lower wages to women even for work of equal value.
  • The motherhood pay gap. It refers to the practice of giving lower wages to mothers in comparison to non-mothers.

For more information on Gender Pay Gap, read here: Gender Pay Parity| Gender Wage Gap Between Men & Women

Efforts taken to reduce Gender pay gaps:

• International Level:
  • United Nations has placed the challenge of eliminating various forms of gender inequality at the heart of its actions. 
  • The ILO’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)  has provided an international legal framework for promoting gender equality. It has also adopted the principle of ‘equal pay for work of equal value’.
• India:
  • India is one of the first countries to adopt the Minimum Wages Act in 1948.
  • In 1976, the Equal Remuneration Act was adopted. 
  • India undertook comprehensive reforms in 2019. It adopted the legislation as well as enacted the Code on Wages.
  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005: This law has considerably benefited rural women and has immensely helped in reducing the gender wage gap both directly and indirectly. 
    • It raised the pay levels of women workers who participated in the programme.
    • It also benefitted women engaged in agricultural occupations as MGNREGA contributed in enhancing agricultural wages in the country thereby contributing to rapid rural economic growth.
  • Moreover, the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 was amended in 2017, to increase the ‘maternity leave with pay protection’ from twelve weeks to twenty-six weeks for all women that worked in establishments with 10 or more employees. This will be beneficial for the motherhood pay gap, especially in the formal economy.
  • The government has also provided initiatives like Skill India Mission that will provide market-relevant skills to women.

For more information on MGNREGA, read here: MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) Notes For IAS Preparation

Nut Graf: Even after various efforts, India’s labour market is still bound by asymmetries like the widening gender pay gap. To achieve full and productive economic growth, it is very important that the participation of women in the workforce increases along with ensuring equal pay for equal work.

Category: SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. What numbers don’t tell us

Syllabus: Issues related to the vulnerable section of the population.

Mains: Mental health issues in prisoners

Prelims: Prison statistics report

Context: National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Prison Statistics India Report  2021.

Mental Health Crisis in India’s Prisons:

• Findings of the NCRB Prison statistic report: 
  • There are approximately 9,180 prisoners suffering from mental illness.
  • There were around 150 suicides.
  • Apart from that five prisoners died of epilepsy and schizophrenia.
  • Out of the total people with mental illness, nearly 58.4% were undertrials and about 41.3% were convicts.
• There is a lack of information on the parameters considered while assessing mental health illness. For instance, whether persons still undergoing medication forms the part of the survey is unknown.
• Moreover, factors like the type of illness, onset of the illness, and length of illness do not form part of the report.
• According to a first-of-its-kind report, Deathworthy’s – Project 39A, reveals that over sixty percent of prisoners on death row suffered from episodes of mental illness. 
• Deathworthy has highlighted that suicide is not very much related to mental illness. Infact, it is largely dependent on violence, distress, despair, and the absence of social support.
• Although the National Mental Health Policy, 2014, of India considers prisoners as a vulnerable group, it does not provide any solution for the same.

Measures Ahead:

• It is important to analyze the current findings in a meaningful context to build a robust response system for the mental health crisis. 
• The poor healthcare infrastructure in prison also requires considerable improvements.
• A purely medical approach is required to resolve the issues of mental health. Moreover, the approach should move beyond the identification and treatment to an all-encompassing approach of determining social and structural perspectives.
• It should also include measures to address the distress among the prisoners:
  • The distress should be addressed through an approach that is not just restricted to providing medications.
  • The aspects of violence in incarceration also need a rejig, as violence can be a major factor behind mental distress.
• The process of reform, rehabilitation, and reintegration should be empathetic and caring instead of violent and harsh.

Nut Graf: The rising cases of mental issues in the prisons of India question the aim and effectiveness of the penal and social justice policy of the country. Prisons are the places that are meant to rehabilitate and reform criminals but it has instead become spaces causing disempowerment and disenfranchisement.