{"id":8496,"date":"2017-09-19T12:58:36","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T07:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=8496"},"modified":"2017-09-15T13:02:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T07:32:00","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-september-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-september-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 September 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Q1. Striking out at cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s new policy on Afghanistan. With reference to the above statement, discuss how this move to help target \u201csafe havens\u201d of terrorism in South Asia.(GS2)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Diplomat\u2019s views on this<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senior diplomats said the American leader\u2019s call for an end to Pakistan\u2019s involvement in terrorism in Afghanistan and his support for Afghan-led peace process had addressed a core Indian concern.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also mentioned that Mr. Trump had supported long-held Indian foreign policy principles of non-intervention and non-interference and ended uncertainties regarding the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The south Asian Strategy<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As they reviewed their South Asia strategy over the past several months, Trump aides split into two, somewhat overlapping camps on Pakistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One group pushed measures such as cutting off all U.S. military aid and revoking Pakistan\u2019s status as a major non-NATO ally.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other camp argued for more incremental steps to avoid losing Islamabad\u2019s cooperation entirely and sparking more violence by Pakistan-backed militant groups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. access to Pakistani transportation corridors need to supply troops in Afghanistan, although the U.S. has developed alternative supply lines over the years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India will be an important partner in the effort to ensure peace and stability in the region, and welcome its role in supporting Afghanistan\u2019s political and economic modernization.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>U.S. concerns with Pakistan<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the United States has showered Pakistan with more than $30 billion in military and economic aid to gain its undivided loyalty in the effort to bring peace to Afghanistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Militants fighting in Afghanistan can still find safe havens just across the border in Pakistan\u2019s tribal regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afghan Taliban leaders, as well as some Al-Qaeda leaders, are believed to operate in Pakistani cities such as Karachi.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pakistan also was where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden spent his final years until a U.S. raid killed him in the city of Abbottabad in 2011, an episode that deeply soured U.S.-Pakistani relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. officials accuse Pakistan\u2019s powerful military and intelligence apparatus of retaining ties to Afghan Taliban groups, including the deadly Haqqani network.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Consequences<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One potential consequence of a hardened U.S. approach to Pakistan is that Islamabad may deepen its cooperation with China.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pakistan leaders unhappy with the United States not-so-subtly describe China as an \u201call-weather friend.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump\u2019s harsher stance on Pakistan also risks delaying the possibility of a negotiated peace settlement between the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government. Pakistan is believed to be a critical influence on Afghan Taliban leaders who may wish to discuss a settlement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, unless the United States can convince Pakistan that cutting links with Afghan Taliban fighters will benefit it in its rivalry against India, it\u2019s not likely Islamabad will change its ways.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Q2- The recent report of Justice B.N. Srikrishan\u2019s committee, has recommended many changes in India\u2019s arbitration law. Discuss the key recommendations of bilateral treaty? How India\u2019s bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with other countries are affecting the rights of the tribal people in India?(GS2)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ans:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Answer:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee was constituted to prepare a road map to make India a hub of international arbitration. The recommendations are largely on the issue of managing and resolving bilateral investment treaty (BIT) disputes. The recommendation on BIT assumes importance as India is currently battling 20-odd BIT disputes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bilateral investment treaty is an agreement made between two countries containing reciprocal undertakings for the promotion and protection of private investments made by nationals of the signatories in each other\u2019s territories. These agreements establish the terms and conditions under which nationals of one country invest in the other, including their rights and protections. This type of investment is called foreign direct investment (FDI). BIT is the dispute resolution mechanism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Various recommendations on BIT:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>1-<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><b>On BIT:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee recommended on issues of managing and resolving BIT disputes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For better management of BIT disputes, the committee recommends the creation of an inter-ministerial committee (IMC), comprising officials from the Ministries of Finance, External Affairs and Law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also recommends hiring external lawyers having expertise in BITs to boost the government\u2019s legal expertise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating a designated fund to fight BIT dispute<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appointing counsels qualified in BITs to defend India against BIT claims.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boosting the capacity of Central and State governments to better understand the implications of their policy decisions on India\u2019s BIT obligations<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee also recommended the designation of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) as the nodal agency for receiving correspondences in existing BITs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The creation of a database of arbitrators having relevant expertise and experience<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee also recommended to create a post of international law adviser(ILA) with the rank of additional solicitor general, who shall be responsible for advising the government on dispute resolution strategy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2-<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><b>Recommendation on Dispute Management of BIT:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For better management of BIT disputes, the committee recommends the creation of an <\/span><b>inter-ministerial committee (IMC).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also recommends hiring external lawyers having expertise in BITs to boost the government\u2019s legal expertise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most significant recommendation is the creation of the post of an <\/span><b>\u2018international law adviser\u2019 (ILA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to advise the government on international legal disputes, particularly BIT dispute.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3-<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span> <b>Recommendations on Dispute resolution of BIT:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee recommended establishing a <\/span><b>BIT appellate mechanism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>multilateral investment court.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee also recommended to establish investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, given in Article 15 of the Indian Model BIT, provides an effective mechanism for settling BIT disputes between an investor and state.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How India\u2019s Bilateral Investment Treaty\u2019s (BIT) with other countries are affecting rights of the tribal people in India?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bilateral investment treaty is an agreement ensuring foreign investor protection and host state regulatory powers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though, this has been catalyst in development but has often affected the rights of tribal people in India enshrined in the <\/span><b>5th &amp; 6th schedule<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Constitution and <\/span><b>Recognition of Forest Act, 2006<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There has been frequent incidence of <\/span><b>dilution of the rights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> conferred to them because of persistent threat on states of <\/span><b>Investment Treaty Arbitration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for enforcement of investor protection in case of project getting stalled due to <\/span><b>protest or license<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> getting cancelled.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Q3) India remain one of the few liberal democracies who have signed the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention nor won\u2019t its 1967 Protocol. Why India, according to you, has not signed Refugee Treaty despite having one of the largest refugee populations in south Asia? Explain why India further needs an appropriate domestic refugee law?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The need of Internal Refugee law<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian State has treated a few refugee communities reasonably well but has not formulated a well-defined refugee law and judicial interventions have been case specific.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The absence of clearly defined statutory Standards subjects refugees and asylum seekers to inconsistent and arbitrary government policies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has given shelter to more than 400,000 refugees from myriad countries including Tibet, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Somalia and Ethiopia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legal rights of refugees have thus been governed by ad-hoc administrative mechanisms that are ambiguous and distinguish between refugee groups on account of political considerations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus refugees are left dependent on the benevolence of the state rather than on a rights regime to reconstruct their lives with dignity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why won\u2019t India sign the Convention or the Protocol?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reasons are primarily security-related, borders in South Asia are extremely absorbent and any conflict can result in a mass movement of people.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is home to varied groups of refugees, ranging from Buddhist Chakmas from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, to Bhutanese from Nepal, Muslim Rohinygas from Myanmar and small populations from Somalia, Sudan and other sub Saharan African countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the time, UNHCR played a stellar role in helping devise India\u2019s administrative response to the 9.8 million Hindu refugees who poured in from Bangladesh.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also helped to assemble huge international finances to pay for Indian bills (and it wasn\u2019t even the West\u2019s war).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2015, amid the biggest refugee crisis in the West since World War II, none of the reasons listed above justifies India\u2019s continuing refusal to sign the Refugee Convention.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives\u00a0 Q1. Striking out at cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s new policy on Afghanistan. With reference to the above statement, discuss how this move to help target \u201csafe havens\u201d of terrorism in South Asia.(GS2) Diplomat\u2019s views on this \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Senior diplomats said the American leader\u2019s call for an end to Pakistan\u2019s&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-september-18\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 September 18<\/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-8496","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":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1702881517},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8496","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=8496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8496\/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=8496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}