{"id":12139,"date":"2017-11-17T14:12:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T08:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=12139"},"modified":"2017-11-13T15:13:38","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T09:43:38","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-november-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-november-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 November 16"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.1 What are commercial courts? What role has it played in promoting ease of doing business in India?(GS-2)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Commercial courts: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The commercial courts attempts to cover a broad range of disputes within the scope of a \u2018commercial dispute\u2019.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The definition broadly covers commercial disputes arising from ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders such as those relating to mercantile documents, export and import of merchandise or service, admiralty and maritime law, transactions relating to aircraft, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Commercial courts and ease of doing business:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The commercial courts provides for strict deadlines for conduct of case, filing of written statements, filing of documents, filing of written statements, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several new procedures have also been adopted by the The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of the High Courts Act, 2015 to make the process of hearing of the disputes faster.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Act has also provided some detailed guidelines with respect to the factors which the Court has to consider when giving the direction about costs, that whether one party should bear all or some of the cost of the other party.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Indian\u2019s performance within the legal framework according to the World Bank\u2019s Ranking and the government\u2019s take on it:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s performance has been varied within the legal framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The World Bank\u2019s ranking marked \u201ccourt system and proceedings in India\u201d 4.5 out of a total of 5, but in management of cases, it was 1.5 out of 6.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India also fared well in alternative dispute redress mechanism and scored 2.5 out of a total of 3 marks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government is <\/span><b>thus proposing amendments to facilitate the establishment of commercial courts, at the district level,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in places where the High Courts have ordinary original civil jurisdiction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The specified value of <\/span><b>commercial disputes would be brought down so as to expand the scope of commercial adjudication effectively and expeditiously. <\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.2 The India-ASEAN Summit symbolizes India\u2019s commitment to deepen its ties with the ASEAN member states and the Indo-Pacific region as part of the \u2018Act East Policy\u2019. In light of the statement, discuss ASEAN broadly and several other dimensions of ASEAN that is important for India.(GS-2)<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 10-member grouping ASEAN and India comprise a total population of 1.85 billion people which is one-fourth of the global population. The combined GDP has been estimated at <\/span><b>over 3.8 trillion dollars.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>ASEAN<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s relationship with ASEAN is an outcome of the significant changes in the world\u2019s political and economic scenario since the early 1990s.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Look East Policy\u2019 is India\u2019s research for economic space.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Look East Policy has today turned into a dynamic and action oriented \u2018Act East Policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM at the 12th ASEAN India Summit and the 9th East Asia Summit held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in November, 2014, formally enunciated the Act East Policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of our foreign policy and the foundation of our Act East Policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The up-gradation of the relationship into a Strategic Partnership in 2012 was a natural progression to the ground covered since India became a Sectoral Partner of the ASEAN in 1992, Dialogue Partner in 1996 and Summit Level Partner in 2002.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Security cooperation<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main forum for ASEAN security dialogue is the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has been attending annual meetings of this forum since 1996 and has actively participated in its various activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ASEAN Defence Ministers\u2019 Meeting (ADMM) is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ADMM+ brings together Defence Ministers from the 10 ASEAN nations plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States on a biannual basis.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Trade and Investment<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India-ASEAN trade and investment relations have been growing steadily, with ASEAN being India\u2019s fourth largest trading partner.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The annual trade between India and ASEAN stood at approximately US$ 76.53 billion in 2014-15.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It declined to US$ 65.04 billion in 2015-16 essentially due to declining commodity prices amidst a general slowing down of the global economy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investment flows are also substantial both ways, with ASEAN accounting for approximately 12.5% of investment flows into India since 2000.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ASEAN-India Free Trade Area has been completed with the entering into force of the ASEAN-India Agreements on Trade in Service and Investments on 1 July 2015.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASEAN and India have been also working on enhancing private sector engagement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASEAN India-Business Council (AIBC) was set up in March 2003 in Kuala Lumpur as a forum to bring key private sector players from India and the ASEAN countries on a single platform for business networking and sharing of ideas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Current relations<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The year 2017 also completes 15 years of India-ASEAN dialogue at the summit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2017 also commemorates the completion of five years of strategic partnership between Asia\u2019s third-largest economy and one of the most successful economic groupings in the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s bid to accentuate its links with ASEAN comes at a time of flux in the region with China seen as growing more assertive vis-a-vis its territorial claims in the oil and gas-rich South China Sea, which is also a major international maritime trade route.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.3 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why there have been demands of many countries including India \u00a0for the reformation of United Nations Security Council? In this context, highlight the need for reforms in UNSC. \u00a0Why India want to become a \u00a0permanent member of UNSC?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has demanded transparency in the <\/span><b>UN Security Council reform <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">process so that the people can know what is preventing the members from translating discussions into a negotiating text for the much-needed revamp of the world body\u2019s top organ.India has also been actively pursuing its quest to be included in the reformed United Nations Security Council.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India supports expansion of both permanent and non-permanent members&#8217; category. The latter is the only avenue for the vast majority of Member States to serve on the Security Council. Reform and expansion must be an integral part of a common package.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Need for UNSC reform:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to proliferating transnational threats, deepening economic interdependence worsening environmental degradation-all call for effective multilateral action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of incremental change in our approach to issues of importance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United Nations Security Council does not reflect \u201ccontemporary realities\u201d and has become dysfunctional because of the lack of reform in the institution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is institutional inertia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delays in reforming the Security Council caused by \u201cthe inability to translate discussions into a text for negotiations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even after a decade, UN members have not been able to agree on a single document that could form the basis for reforms, Akbaruddin said, while demanding greater transparency in the reform process.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNSC has to acknowledge the current geopolitical realities which are very different from the time when UNSC was formed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To reflect current global dynamics and to give equitable representation to different geographical regions in the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New emergent powers who have joined hands as G4 (India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany) have been pressing for permanent seat in the council.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNSC general ineffectiveness, it strong bent towards the already powerful P5, the veto power and the issue of geographical representation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presently, any reform of the United Nations Security Council would require the agreement of at least five two-thirds of UN member states, and that of all members of the United Nations Security Council.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNSC is facing credibility crisis.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Need for India\u2019s permanent membership:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second largest population, third largest economy in PPP terms, leading IT power, civilization legacy, cultural diversity and largest troop contributor UN Peace Keeping operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moral dimensions and image of peace loving nation which produced the likes Buddha and Gandhi.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biggest democracy in the world and in the current geo-politics our contribution and influence cannot be ignored.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has always been of the countries at the forefront of providing peacekeepers and their peacekeeping forces are often considered best.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Asia being victim of repercussions rimes like terrorism, war, extremism India gains more say on its and neighbor problems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives\u00a0 Q.1 What are commercial courts? What role has it played in promoting ease of doing business in India?(GS-2) Introduction: Commercial courts: The commercial courts attempts to cover a broad range of disputes within the scope of a \u2018commercial dispute\u2019. The definition broadly covers commercial disputes arising from ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-november-16\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 November 16<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mains-marathon-answers","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pen-paper-laptop.jpg?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}