Answers: Mains Marathon – UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions – January 1, 2018

Q.1) India recently became a party to a group called ‘Quadrilateral grouping’. Are there any possible negative effects that India could face in future after becoming a member?(GS-2)

India has recently become a party to a group called “Quad or Quadrilateral”, composing Australia, India, Japan and U.S.A.

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) is the strategic dialogue between four countries viz. India, United States, Japan and Australia. It was originally initiated in 2007 but later disbanded with withdrawal of Australia. It has been recently revived and is being viewed as response to increased Chinese economic and military power.

The recent meeting between Quad countries held in Philippine on the Sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. The purpose of the meeting was to achieve prosperity, peace keeping and promotion of stability in South Asia.

Impact on India and its neighbours:

The initiative has some negative implications like

• It further hampers the bilateral relations between India and China.
• It went against Non-Alignment movement which is India’s initiative
• Quad may affect India-Russia relations and gave further impetus to improve China-Russia relations, which will impact India.
• It will not be able to realize trade potential for long term economic development especially for North East region.
• Domestic strategic requirements will be sidelined.
• The grouping will surely strengthen India’s global image but negligence of neighbours in its wake can be hazardous.
• It will develop clash of interest with developing neighbours.
  

Q.2) Discuss the current issues persisting in police system in India.  Why the police reforms must be implemented urgently? (GS-2)

Current issues persisting

Illegitimate political interference:

• Police is an exclusive subject under the State List (List II, Schedule 7 of the Indian Constitution).
• States can legislate any law on the issue of police. However, most of the states follow the archaic Indian Police Act 1861 with a few alterations.
• Police have become the ‘subjects’ of Parliamentarians and legislators – with a high degree of politicization and allegiance towards ruling party.
• The Police Act, 1861 vests the superintendence of the police directly in the hands of the state government.

Lowest police-to-population ratio:

• The global average ratio of police-population is 270 to 100,000, where it’s 120 in India.
• With far less police –ill-equipped and most of them posted to protect the political representatives, people of India are the least secured people on the globe.

Corruption:

• In 2016, the vigilance department had conducted 55% more inquires against its men. A Delhi Police survey found 34% of the cops to be corrupt in 2015, down from 66% in 2014. (reported TOI)

Lack of effective accountability mechanisms:

• Every act of police misbehavior may not essentially be termed as criminal offence and be tried by the courts.
• Additionally, registering a criminal case against a police officer is a long and unwieldy process.
• Sections 132 and 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) prevent courts from taking cases of alleged offences in the expulsion of official duty

Concerns due to unproductive police system

• Police misconduct: The lack of effective accountability mechanisms and periodic review of performance has misplaced the public’s confidence in the police.
• Lack of proper justice: Due to corruption in the police system, the investigation process goes on for decades. This lets the culprits roam free and even perform more crimes.
• Lack of faith and trust on the government: The police are the first place of contact for grievance redressal. But when the system fails, the public loses faith in the lawandorder of the state.

Why is that urgency in implementing Police Reforms?

As India makes rapid advances towards becoming an economic and political superpower, our police cannot continue to remain frozen in the frame of a past era.

• The avalanche of social and technological changes fuelled by the internet and the new social media are fast changing the nature, intensity and the reach of crime leading to unprecedented lawlessness and frightening dimensions of global terrorism. There is an urgent need to strengthen our Criminal Justice System and our grassroots level policing institutions;
• To prepare our police to deal with the present and emerging challenges and
• Strengthen its investigative capabilities and emergency response infrastructure.
• Traditional and linear devices used in the past towards police reform may not be sufficient.
• Considering the multiple causes and their complex interdependencies associated with today’s policing issues, there is a realization that these challenges require broader, more collaborative and innovative approaches and would involve a range of coordinated and interrelated responses.
• It was in this context that the Indian Police Foundation and Institute was established, bringing together the multiple stakeholders to collectively work for reform and modernization of the police. However this could form only part of the solution.

Q.3)What does nuclear proliferation mean? What mechanisms are available to prevent nuclear  Proliferation ?

Meaning of nuclear proliferation:

The term nuclear proliferation means spread of nuclear weapons, weapons applicable nuclear technology and information to countries which do not already possess them.

•   Proliferation is of two types: Horizontal Proliferation and Vertical Proliferation
• Horizontal proliferation means nation-states or non-state entities do not have nuclear weapons but are acquiring, nuclear weapons or developing the capability and materials for producing them.
• Vertical proliferation means nation-states that possess nuclear weapons are increasing their stockpiles of these weapons, improving the technical sophistication or reliability of their weapons, or developing new weapons.

Steps taken to prevent nuclear proliferation:

Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), 1968:

• Put forward by USA, UK and USSR, the treaty was signed in 1968 and came into force in 1970.

The main objectives of the treaty are:

1.     To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology,
2.     To promote co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
3.     To further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament

The NPT classified its state-parties into 2 groups:

     1. Nuclear Weapon States (NWS):

• It consists of United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom
• These five states had tested nuclear weapons before the treaty was negotiated in 1968.
• Three other nuclear armed states—India, Israel, and Pakistan have not joined the NPT

     2.  Non Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS):

• The treaty prohibits the NNWS from developing nuclear weapons

The three pillars of NPT:

The NPT rests on three interrelated and mutually reinforcing pillars. These are:

    Non-proliferation:

NPT prohibits NWS to transfer nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices to any NNWS. It also prohibits the NWS to assist or encourage the NNWS in developing nuclear weapons.

1. Peaceful Uses: NPT acknowledges the right of all Parties to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and to benefit from international cooperation in this area
2. Disarmament: One of the legal obligations of the treaty for the NWS is to eventually disarm.

Assessment:

• NPT has successfully restricted the Non-Nuclear weapon States from acquiring weapons of their own and has also reduced both the American and Russian nuclear weaponries
• However, few countries have not yet signed the NPT and do not adhere by the norms and process of inspection. This proves to be a major drawback of the treaty.

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty:

• CTBT is a multilateral treaty that prohibits all nuclear explosive tests, above and below the Earth’s surface.
• It was adopted in 1996 however did not come into force till date
• India, Pakistan and North Korea are non-signatories to this treaty
• With 183 signatories, CTBT is one of the most widely accepted arms control treaty. This is because its non-discriminatory nature- everyone has a same obligation of never conducting a nuclear explosion.
• CTBT is the world largest multilateral verification system. It has more than 300 stations across the globe to monitor signs of nuclear explosions.
• CTBT has also made major contributions in the field of nuclear safety.

Nuclear Weapon Prohibition Treaty, 2017:

• The NWPT prohibits and makes it illegal to possess, use, produce, transfer, acquire, stockpile or deploy nuclear weapons.
• States are also prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices
• As of October 2017, 53 countries have signed the treaty.

Nuclear Weapon Free Zones:

• It is a regional approach to strengthen global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament norms
• Many non- nuclear weapon states are party to NWFZs. Nuclear weapon-free zones are in force in South America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Africa, and Central Asia.