Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 1
- Deoband defends Muslim women becoming Qazi – {Women & Religion}
- GS PAPER 2
- A peaceful way out on Siachen – {India & International Border Issues}
- Reclaiming the PIL – {Judicial Activism}
- GS PAPER 3
- A protein can control spread of cancer cells – {Diseases – Science & Technology}
- How bacteria can see where they are going– {Microorganisms – Science & Technology}
- Growth Data send conflicting signlas– {Macroeconomic Indicators}
- Is the war against IS India’s war ? – {Security Issues}
- Reserve Bank tells banks to set aside more for stressed loans– {Banking}
- Government must raise public capital expenditure – {Fiscal Policy}
- India near bottom of intellectual property index– {Intellectual Property Rights}
- It doesn’t trickle down– {Economic Development}
- TRAI order: A sledgehammer, not a scalpel– {Net Neutrality}
- India should prepare its cadre for the blue economy – {Economic Cooperation – Focus on Environment}
- Demands of a digital economy– {Government Scheme – Digital India – Economic Aspects}
GS PAPER 1
[1]. Deoband defends Muslim women becoming Qazi
Context:-
Deoband’s support for the two women came days after conservative religious clerics of Rajasthan protested against the two women from the State being awarded certificate of “Qaziat” by a Islamic training centre in Mumbai
Qaziat:-
The seminary said that Muslim women have the right to become Qazi, who in Islamic legal jurisprudence has the authority to function as the head of informal arbitration centres to sort out disputes related to personal laws as well as belonging to other matters.
Islam empowers women:-
Islam empowers women through knowledge.
It does not prohibit women from a Qazi or a Mufti.
Islam doesnt discriminate between men and women when it comes to gathering knowledge.
This shows that they are moving with times and are acknowledging the sense of empowerment accorded to women by islam.
GS PAPER 2
[1]. A peaceful way out in Siachen
Context:-
The author gives a detailed picture about the Indo-Pak dispute in the Siachen Glacier and suggests measures to arrive at a compromise so that loss of lives due to natural hazards can be prevented.
Long standing issue:-
Indian military occupied the Saltoro Ridge in 1984.
India is still negotiating a withdrawal deal with Pakistan.
Its stand has become far more hardened today due to illusions of the
- glacier’s strategic value
- fear of the Chinese presence in the vicinity
- concerns about a Pakistani incursion
- emotive statements about the sacrifices made by the Indian troops there
- difficulty in retaking the glacier should circumstances so dictate in future
The closest that the two sides have ever come to a resolution of the dispute was in 1992. Indeed, the 1992 understanding, which never became an agreement
Dispute:
The Siachen dispute is a direct result of the ambiguity that exists in the Karachi ceasefire agreement of July 1949.
The agreement at the end of the 1947-1948 war, did not delineate beyond grid reference NJ 9842, which falls south of the Siachen glacier, to the Chinese border but left it as “Chalunka (on the Shyok River), Khor, thence North to the glaciers”.
This was perhaps the practical thing to do given that the entire area was not inhabited and extremely difficult to demarcate.
Indian and Pakistani sides have since interpreted the phrase “thence North to the glaciers” very differently. (see image)
Between these two interpretations lies a substantial amount of glaciated territory that both sides want control of.
India’s Demand:-
New Delhi insists that the present ground positions on the Saltoro ridge should be demarcated and authenticated on a map before any demilitarisation could be conducted.
Joint demarcation of the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) on the ground as well as the map should be the first step to be followed by a joint verification agreement and redeployment of forces to mutually agreed positions according to India.
Fearing encroachment of the high ground:-
This is because of the fear that once India withdraws from the region, the Pakistan Army could occupy the high ground, something the latter was weeks close to doing when the Indian occupation took place in 1984.
To avoid kargil like Intrusion:-
Moreover, New Delhi does not want a disagreement on the posts and locations to be vacated by the Indian side. This feeling has further strengthened after the Kargil intrusion by Pakistan.
Pakistan’s arguments against Indian Demands:-
Pakistan has traditionally objected to it arguing that:
- India is the occupying party in Siachen and it should unconditionally withdraw and the pre-1984 status quo should be maintained
- by agreeing to a joint demarcation, Pakistan would be accepting the Indian claims in Siachen, at least theoretically
- if Pakistan accepts such demarcation, it would amount to endorsing the Indian occupation of 1984.
- Islamabad also reasons that by occupying Siachen in 1984, India is in breach of the Shimla Agreement which stated that “the line of control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971 shall be respected by both sides… (and) neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally”.
Pakistan has therefore proposed that demilitarisation of the region, withdrawal of forces and authentication proceed simultaneously.
Is Siachen really strategic?
While some members of the Indian strategic community passionately contend that the country gains undeniable strategic advantage much of it is a myth than reality.
Senior commanders of the Indian Army infact the one who executed the 1984 occupation of Siachen, argued in 2004 that “Siachen does not have any strategic significance. The strategic importance being talked about is all invention”
Reasons:-
China-Pakistan nexus:-
It has become a major source of concern for the Indian strategic thinkers.
It is feared that in the event of a future war with India, could Pakistan and China launch a joint operation against India in the Ladakh region using Siachen vacated by the Indian Army. But its highly unlikey because
- If the Chinese indeed want to occupy Leh, there are better ways of doing that than by traversing the unfriendly Siachen terrain.
- Doing so would be a logistical nightmare for China as they are militarily unsustainable.
Military Value of the Glacier:-
The reality is that the Siachen glacier and Saltoro ridgeline cannot be used by India to stage a military mission either against Pakistan or the Shaksgam valley currently under Chinese occupation.
As human survival is itself hardly sustainable in Siachen, it is difficult to aid in offensive military missions.
So while it sounds impressive to argue that Siachen provides us the northernmost point of defence against China and Pakistan, in reality it is just fanciful thinking.
Fear of Pakistan occupation:-
Once India vacates the area, it is feared that the Pakistan Army could occupy the region. This again need not be a huge concern for a number of reasons.
- Once the area is demarcated, authenticated and mutually demilitarised, it would not be logistically or legally easy for Pakistan to occupy the place. To avoid such circumstances India should include in the agreement that any violation of the agreement will be considered a casus belli( a reason for war)
- There are enough sophisticated monitoring and sensing mechanisms as well as commercial satellite imagery available today to prevent a surprise Pakistani invasion;
- Pakistan tried (and India did) to occupy Siachen before 1984 because there was no clarity about the ownership of the region, but a mutual agreement to demilitarise would undo that ambiguity.
Various Alternatives to resolve the dispute:-
- To maintain the status quo, which to my mind is highly undesirable due to the high material and human costs involved.
- Mutual withdrawal of forces without delineation and authentication. This is both undesirable and unlikely.
- Mutual withdrawal from the Siachen region after delineation and authentication. While this is a desirable option for India, Pakistan is unlikely to accept that.
- Mutual withdrawal after jointly recording current military positions and exchanging them as part of an annexure without prejudice to each other’s stated positions, pending the final settlement of the Line of Control (LoC) and AGPL.
The last option is perhaps the best option and takes on board India’s demand, and may not meet too much resistance from the Pakistani side given that they had agreed to it in 1992.
Unusual Alternative but the best option:-
To turn the entire Siachen region into a peace park as suggested by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a visit to the Siachen base camp in June 2005.
By making it an international destination for glacial research and other scientific experiments the international scientific presence would act as a deterrent against any potential Pakistani attempts at occupying the territory, it could also check the Chinese activities in the greater Karakoram region.
This perhaps is the best option under the circumstances.
Conclusion:-
It is important to recognise that just because we have militarily and materially invested in the Siachen region over the years or incur lower casualties than Pakistan, it does not provide us with a strategically sound rationale to continue stationing troops there, only to keep losing them year after year.
[2]. Reclaiming the PIL
Context:-
The article criticises how increasing scope of PIL has contributed to misuse of a tool invented for a noble cause.
Recent controversy:-
Supreme court on hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the allocation of 4G spectrum to Reliance Jio by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), an NGO closely associated with lawyer Prashant Bhushan has remarked that the NGO is becoming a “proxy litigant” and “a front for settling corporate rivalry or personal vendetta
PIL – How it came?
The first PIL, Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar, was filed in 1979 on the basis of reports highlighting the pitiable conditions of prisoners awaiting trial for long periods.
This case led to the immediate release of about 40,000 prisoners and was the first action by public-spirited individuals entertained by the SC to protect the fundamental rights of unrelated disadvantaged and vulnerable sections.
Since then, the jurisprudence of the PIL has been developed through the collective efforts of concerned citizens and a responsive judiciary. Today, it constitutes a formidable tool to protect the rights of those lacking access to justice.
Expanding scope:-
The scope of the PIL has been expanded to include matters that might well affect the public at large (“diffuse or collective rights”) but don’t necessarily relate to the realisation of human rights of the poor, disabled and marginalised.
Such collective rights could ordinarily have been litigated as class action or representative action under the Indian civil procedure code.
In fact, PIL is often confused with class action, overlooking the fact that the PIL is founded on constitutional provisions enabling the judiciary to depart from its traditional role of adjudication, along with the concomitant checks and balances.
To illustrate, in a PIL, the court may be flexible in its application of procedural law and go beyond the legal issues raised to assume new roles such as that of an ombudsman, a legislator and a monitor.
This is because PIL is essentially meant as a remedial jurisprudence for those who can’t approach the court on account of poverty or some other disability
Cautious approach:-
The SC and high courts appear to be mindful of the distinction between PIL for the poor and disabled and PIL relating to diffuse or collective rights, and are more cautious when entertaining the latter.
This is certainly a positive trend that will promote judicial restraint, particularly given that, in PIL cases, the court is not subject to the traditional safeguards on judicial role.
Conclusion:-
It is, indeed, time that the PIL was reclaimed for its original constituents by limiting it to matters concerning the protection of fundamental rights of the disadvantaged and underprivileged.
This would help restore the legitimacy and efficacy not only of the PIL as a means of providing access to justice to the poorest of the poor, but also of the judiciary as an institution.
GS PAPER 3
[1]. A protein can control spread of cancer cells
Context:-
British researchers have identified a key protein that can control how breast cancer cells spread in the body.
Significance:-
The study sheds light on how cancer cells leave the blood vessels to travel to a new part of the body.
The process:-
When tumour cells spread, they first enter the blood stream and grip onto the inner walls of blood vessels.
The cancer cells control a receptor protein called EPHA2 in order to push their way out of the vessels.
When these cancer cells interact with the walls of the blood vessels, EPHA2 is activated and the tumour cells remain inside the blood vessels.
When the EPHA2 is inactive, the tumour cells can push out and spread.
[2]. How bacteria can see where they are going
Context:-
Scientists have finally figured out how bacteria “see” their world, and they do it in a remarkably similar way to us.
How do they see?
Bacterial cells act as the equivalent of a microscopic eyeball or the world’s oldest and smallest camera eye.
Cyanobacteria are found in huge numbers in water bodies or can form a slippery green film on rocks and pebbles.
Synechocystis — the species used in the study — is found naturally in freshwater lakes and rivers.
As light hits the spherical cell body of the bacteria, it refracts into a point on the other side of the cell. This triggers movement by the cell away from the focused spot.
Within minutes, the bacteria grow tiny tentacle-like structures called pili that reach out towards the light source. As they attach to the surface that they’re on, they retract and pull the bacteria along.
“The physical principles for the sensing of light by bacteria and the far more complex vision in animals are similar but the biological structures are different.
[3]. Growth Data send conflicting signlas
Context:-
GDP data was released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) .
Key points:-
The projection of 7.6 per cent growth at constant prices for the fiscal year ending March 31 sounds both attainable and impressive but the data on analyses shows some contradicting inferences.
- According to the data the pace of economic expansion is estimated to have slowed.
- The gross value added (GVA) growth projections for seven of the nine industry classifications for the full year show a slowdown from the comparable 12-month period
- The two industries where the CSO expects expansion in the current fiscal to outpace that of last year are agriculture and manufacturing.But in its latest monetary policy review the Reserve Bank of India cited “slackening agricultural and industrial growth” as a prime reason for a loss in economic momentum in the third quarter.
Is the data Reliable?
Apart from the above inferences weak overseas demand environment, reflected in the protracted exports slump, is also a dampener.
Under such circumstances this robust growth estimate brings us to a crucial related question: how reliable are the data as currently calculated, a concern raised by several economists including RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Under the new methodology indirect taxes are included and this is seen by some experts as inflating the overall figures, without necessarily resulting in increased output.
Requires Clarification:-
The government should take steps to address many of these concerns and clarify on both the data points and the rationale behind its methodology when it presents the annual Economic Survey.
It is important that it dispels all doubts and enhances the credibility of official statistics at a time when India seeks its rightful place at the high table of the world economic order.
[4]. Is the war against IS India’s war ?
Context:-
The author gives reasons why India should not cosnider war on IS as a global war on terror until and unless its international partners take its suffering at the hand of other terrorist entities seriously.
Current problem:-
The problem the world faces in dealing with terrorism is that while the bad guys think global, the good guys still think national, sometimes still departmental.
India’s stand:-
Encouraging a ‘whole of the world’ approach in countering terrorism is one of the major goals of Indian diplomacy.
Global War theory:-
The theory of a global war suggests that the threat to all countries is uniform in nature.
The IS has claimed that its Caliphate represents Muslim populations everywhere, and its targeting of people from the U.S., France, Jordan, China and Japan indicates that it does not see a difference.
Validity of the Rationale:-
On the ground, the ‘target populations’ are very different, with varied motivations.
- The threat in the U.S. and Europe comes from immigrants who have settled in these places in recent decades.
- In South and Central Asia, the Muslim populations are indigenous.
- In West Asia, many of the populations from which fighters are joining the IS were already fighting against their governments.
- And in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, those who migrated to IS territory received no opposition from their governments, which were already at odds with the Iraqi and Syrian regimes.
Therefore, while the motivation for all of them may have been the desire for an Islamist jihad, the factors influencing them are entirely different.
Different story in India:-
In particular, there is a difference between India and other countries.
The figures for Indians joining the IS are low enough to be statistically negligible (less than 0.00004 per cent) compared to the rest of the world.
In the 44 countries tracked by the U.K.-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and the Central Intelligence Agency, India finds no mention.
Avoiding Over reaction:-
These statistics should certainly not give the impression that India has nothing to fear. But they must be seen in relation to the threat perception at present, so as to guard against an overreaction.
If India were to consider sending troops under the U.N. flag to IS territories It should analyse the human costs of such a venture over the benefits.
Tied into that calculation is whether India is prepared to face the backlash of terror attacks, either in the country or on Indians based in West Asia.
These could be particularly heightened given the broad-based support the IS has found with terror groups in Pakistan.
Is india taken seriously:-
It is necessary to understand just what the idea of the “global war on terror” means for India.
If India were to believe that the war against the IS is part of the global fight against terror, is the reverse true?
Are countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which have included Pakistan in their coalition against the IS but also profess cooperation with India on terror — at all likely to pay more than lip service and offer more than a few dozen deportations to India?
Why is it that the U.S. has carried out hundreds of drone attacks on areas in Pakistan from where strikes are launched on International Security Assistance Force soldiers in Afghanistan, but has never suggested striking those who threaten India?
Instead, it is more likely that these countries will ask India to exercise restraint after attacks.
Thus the global war on terror will be India’s too only when the terrorists who wage war on India are also seen as threats to the countries which seek India’s support.
[5]. Reserve Bank tells banks to set aside more for stressed loans
Context:-
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed commercial banks to accelerate provisioning requirement, from April 1, for the existing stock of restructured loans that are showing signs of stress.
RBI has provided four quarters time to increase the provisioning at 2.5% per quarter to 15% level for substandard accounts.
However, banks are not allowed to classify these accounts as non-performing assets.
According to RBI data, stressed assets, that is gross NPA plus standard restructured advances, as a percentage of gross advances moved up to 11.1 per cent as on March 2015 as compared to 9.2 per cent two years back. Public sector banks share a disproportionate burden of the stress.
Reason:-
The central bank’s move comes in the back drop of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s drive to clean up banks’ balance sheets.
Eating up profits:-
Banks are already facing profitability pressure due to higher provisioning for bad loans.
RBI had identified several accounts during an asset quality review and asked banks to classify those as NPA in the third and fourth quarter of the current financial year.
As a result, five out of eight public sector banks that have announced October-December quarter results, reported heavy losses.
The Indian banking sector, particularly the public sector banks, have seen a sharp rise in their non-performing assets in the last three years.
[6]. Government must raise public capital expenditure
Context:-
The author argues that Fiscal consolidation is a myth and that it doesnt have any evidence or analytical argument to support it.
Fiscal deficit (FD) is the excess of government total expenditure over its total earnings or revenues.
All FD is not bad and the 3 per cent of GDP level is too arbitrary a criterion to merit serious attention.
Right move:-
The right variable to focus on is revenue deficit (RD), which governments should reduce to zero as soon as possible.
Governments in emerging economies have to borrow to build capital assets that will help employ legions of unemployed youth and reduce degrading poverty.
It is standard theory and practice that governments have to step in to try and reverse a declining investment cycle by taking counter-cyclical public capital expenditure expansion.
That creates additional capacity; crowds in private investment; and enhances productivity all of which raises the rate of growth of potential output of the economy.
Additional borrowing can be balanced by raising revenues for which several feasible measures can be adopted or by pruning wasteful revenue expenditures.
But that will require some bold and creative policy making and not simple status quo and lazy policy making.
Obstacles and how to counter them:-
The argument is made that the economy may not be able to absorb a large additional infusion of additional public capital expenditure..
There are several avenues for absorbing higher public capital expenditure: national highways; modernisation of railway stations and tracks; completion of delayed construction projects; dredging of rivers, sewage and effluent treatment plants; massive slum rehabilitation with short gestation construction technologies.
Conclusion:-
These and several options exist if the will is there to push forward with higher public capital expenditure. Alternately, of course, we will continue to take solace in the spurious GDP growth numbers that are being spewed out routinely or else blame the global conditions for our inability to meet our peoples’ eminently reasonable aspirations.
[7]. India near bottom of intellectual property index
Context:- India was ranked 37 out of 38 countries, with only Venezuela scoring lower, in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-International Intellectual Property Index.
The 38 economies benchmarked in the 2016 Index accounts for nearly 85 per cent of the global GDP.
India remains at the bottom of the Index for the fourth year in a row.
Who does the survey and the criteria:-
The Index — produced by the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) — is based on 30 criteria critical to innovation including patent, copyright and trademark protections, enforcement, and engagement in international treaties.
Why such low ranking for India?
- Patent protection in India remains outside of international best practices.
- Indian law does not provide adequate enforcement mechanisms to effectively combat online piracy. India’s score would have increased if the government had not suspended implementation of Final Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions (CRI).
- The GIPC report found that among India’s key areas of weakness was the use of compulsory licensing (CL) for commercial and non-emergency situations, and the expanded use of CL being considered by the Indian government.
- CL relates to the government allowing entities to manufacture, use, sell or import a patented invention without the permission of the patent-owner.
- Another area of weakness was “poor application and enforcement of civil remedies and criminal penalties.”
Significance of the index:-
The Index was created so that countries such as India can hear directly from the business community on the IP-related issues important to them when considering investing in new markets.
The Indian government is close to finalising a National Intellectual Property policy to improve the IP regime, increase IP awareness and strengthen enforcement of rules.
Undemining innovation ecosystem:-
The report said Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Russia introduced or maintained policies that tie market access to sharing of IP and technology.
Such forced-localization policies tend to undermine the overall innovation ecosystem and deter investment from foreign IP-intensive entities.
[8]. It doesn’t trickle down
Context:-
The article analyses how the reach of public services is limited due to lack of awareness caused by lack of information access.
What we need is explicit pro-poor targeting of efforts to enhance information access.
Myth of free basics and other zero rating services:-
It might be argued that it is likely to be the poor who are least connected now, so the gains of free basics will automatically be greater for them.
Against this, those who have the hardware and are currently connected are less likely to be poor and will probably be in the best position to benefit from these initiatives, including enjoying any new subsidies.
Not well connected:-
There is already lots of “public information” out there relevant to poor people in India, and there are various dissemination channels, including the internet.
But the poor are still not sufficiently well-connected socially to tap into the flow of knowledge,and their poverty comes with social exclusion, including exclusion from information about programmes designed to help poor people.
From this we can say that the new knowledge doenst trickle down.
Case study on MNREGA:-
It was found that most people in rural Bihar had heard about the MGNREGA, but most were unaware of their rights and entitlements under the scheme. Women were especially ill-informed about these matters.
So the research team created an entertaining and emotionally engaging story-based plot whose purpose was to provide information on how the scheme works, who can participate and how to go about participating.
The movie was found to be successful in enhancing knowledge about the scheme
Such an information campaign can throw light on how new knowledge spreads within villages.
It studies the impacts of knowledge, and the channel of that impact — notably, whether it was purely through the direct effect of watching the movie or whether it was through knowledge-sharing within villages.
Knowledge sharing among the disadvantaged:-
While we find robust evidence of knowledge-sharing, the knowledge diffusion process within villages is far weaker for disadvantaged groups, defined in terms of caste, landholding, literacy or consumption poverty.
For poor people, the direct effect of watching the movie is all that really matters to learning about the MGNREGA.
In the main, it is the non-poor who learn from knowledge-sharing. There is also some indication of negative spillover effects for illiterate and landless households, suggesting the strategic spread of misinformation.
More knowledge about public programmes like the MGNREGA does not assure an effective public response on the service supply side. The movie worked quite well in enhancing knowledge, but the supply-side response was still poor.
Conclusion:-
There is no denying that efforts are needed to improve the access of poor people to knowledge about public services that can help them. But these new research findings also suggest that such efforts need to be directly targeted to poor groups, rather than relying on prevailing processes of knowledge diffusion, which may simply reflect, and reinforce, existing inequities.
[9]. TRAI order: A sledgehammer, not a scalpel
Context:-
Trai rightly recognised the harmful potential of differential pricing (of which “zero-rating” is one form) on the basis of content/ applications/ services (“content” for short) and has, in record time, come out with a forceful order.
But the order allows some tariff schemes that may be harmful and bans some that may be beneficial, and has some unintended consequences.
While the regulator had the option of banning only anti-competitive or discriminatory forms of differential pricing, it has over-regulated in the process.
Impinging article 19(1)(a):-
Some forms of unpaid zero-rating, which were providing access to limited services to people who can’t afford access to the internet, now stand banned.
The order decreases the diversity of accessible information ans so has negative consequences on freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
Providing open internet for free:-
One way forward would be to view the internet as critical infrastructure for freedom of opinion and expression, and work out ways to provide open internet to all for free. The government has Rs 40,840 crore ($6 billion) in the universal service obligation fund (USOF) that it has collected from telecom companies — this money ultimately comes from consumers.
It could study the feasibility of incentivising telcos to provide access to the full internet at a low speed to all by lessening the USO burden of those who do so.
Exceptions:-
Trai has also provided two exceptions: For “closed electronic communications network”, and for emergency services or in times of grave public emergencies.
The first exception leads to an absurd and counter-intuitive position: Reliance Communications will be allowed to charge less for Reliance Entertainment traffic as long as it isn’t over the internet but is separately provided within an intranet.
So, closed networks are okay, but partially or even almost-open networks are not.
Unintended consequences:-
- Pro-consumer services like having a “gaming-optimised” package with lower latency for gamers will now stand prohibited.
- ISPs are banned from providing hospitals “telemedicine-optimised” services over the internet.
- And since the order covers all telecom licensees, even some non-consumer networks — like enterprise virtual private networks (for example, MPLS networks), which work atop the internet, and on which service providers charge differentially for high-quality video conferencing versus other traffic — might get covered, despite Trai not intending that.
Conclusion:-
There are reasons both to cheer this order and to be cautious. Most importantly, if these regulations end up furthering digital exclusion, increasing barriers to access, reducing speech diversity and harming freedom of expression, we might claim victory in the net neutrality battle, but we would have lost the war for an open internet that empowers all
[10]. India should prepare its cadre for the blue economy
Traditional Blue economy:-
The oceans, which have always been a source of livelihood, trade, colonialism, storms and piracy, present opportunities and challenges. Professionals connected with the oceans, including the negotiators of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), have been prominent since the 1980s.
The new blue economy:-
The new blue economy, introduced by Gunter Pauli in his 2010 book, The Blue Economy: 10 Years — 10 Innovations —100 Million Jobs, has opened new avenues for bilateral and multilateral work, involving the environment, energy, defence and food production.
What is blue economy?
The blue economy, as distinct from the blue-water economy, encompasses in it the “green economy”, with focus on the environment, and the “ocean economy” or “coastal economy”, with its emphasis on complementarities among coastal and island states for sustenance and sustainable development
Definition:-
It defines the blue economy as “marine-based economic development that leads to improved human wellbeing and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities”.
Principle:-
The central principle of the blue economy is the idea of cascading nutrients and energy the way ecosystems do.
Cascading energy and nutrients leads to sustainability by reducing or eliminating inputs, such as energy, and eliminating waste and its cost, not just as pollution, but also as an efficient use of materials.
Innovations:-
Surprisingly, these innovations have the potential to increase rather than shed jobs, as emulating natural systems will mean the deployment of humans rather than machines.
Ideas like eliminating air in freezing water, use of food-grade ingredients as fire retardants, growing mushrooms with coffeeshop waste, silk as a replacement of titanium, electricity generated by walking and talking, etc, are mind-boggling.
UNCLOS:-
Maritime diplomacy had its heyday back in the 1980s, with the sensational discovery of manganese nodules and cobalt crusts on the ocean floor. The euphoria over marine mining led to the establishment of the International Seabed Authority.
The UNCLOS, the “constitution of the seas”, which came into force in 1994, became the basis for the legal rights for mining in the open sea. The interest in seabed mining flagged because of escalating costs, but it’s being revived on account of the demand for minerals and metals in industrial development, particularly in China, Japan and India.
Indian ocean:-
The Indian Ocean has been a fulcrum of Indian diplomacy since Independence.
India is working with the states in the Indian Ocean region and others to strengthen security and economic cooperation. The re-emergence of piracy has added a new dimension.
The new focus on the Asia-Pacific highlights the security and economic dimensions.
New cold war:-
The US rebalancing of forces and counter-measures by China have created a new cold war. New partnerships are in the making in the Asia-Pacific, seeking Indian participation by competing powers.
OBOR:-
The blue waters of the Indian Ocean have become a new theatre of tension. The Chinese initiative — one belt, one road (Obor) — is a $150 billion grandiose development strategy and framework for China to push for a bigger role in global affairs and to increase its exports.
Some see it as an opportunity for India, others as a challenge. The choice has to be made cautiously, balancing our security concerns about an expanding China with economic engagement.
Given the history of Sino-Indian relations, it’s difficult to look at Obor as a benign initiative. But it will be difficult to stay out of a new global highway linking Asia with Europe.
Sustainable development:-
The blue-water economy will become central to the development of the entire region. Our competition with China is likely to be exacerbated by the competition for a piece of the blue economy, as evidenced in Bangladesh.
Both the traditional blue-water economy and the new blue economy are important for India’s sustainable development.
In September 2015, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) hosted the first Ministerial Blue Economy Conference and identified priorities. Goal 14 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” — makes detailed references to the reduction of marine pollution, conservation of coastal and marine areas and regulated fish harvest.
Conclusion:-
The convergences in the IORA and SDG agendas have to be developed into action. India’s neighbourhood policy assumes primary importance in light of the blue economy.
India can profitably integrate its ongoing programmes like Make in India, smart cities, skill development and self-reliance in defence. Delhi’s forthcoming chairmanship of the BRICS will offer a splendid opportunity to highlight the cooperation needed for the blue economy.
[11]. Demands of Digital Economy
Context:-
The article speaks about how digital wave is transforming industries and office spaces.
Trends in job productivity and growth:-
If you examine US productivity vis-à-vis employment data during the period 1947-2000, it will be evident that job growth and productivity have had a pretty much directly proportional relationship. It’s only after 2000 that the decoupling happened and a widening gap between the two became evident. Productivity went up significantly, without creating a proportional increase in jobs in the 21st century.
Digital Talent:-
A trend which has birthed concepts such as BYOD (bring your own device) and security challenges that accompany in its wake.
Another interesting insight: most companies don’t come readily equipped with the requisite “digital” talent. They will have to forge partnerships to scour talent and fill the gaps.
Car makers, for instance, are seeking collaborations with car-sharing services, battery suppliers for electric vehicles, car rental companies and connectivity experts. Business models have undergone a radical shift, and it’s impossible for incumbents to have answers to everything in-house.
Fear of automation:-
It is highly unlikely that occupations will get automated in entirety.
What’s likely to happen, and will also account for job losses, are specific activities which will get impacted due to technology. For example, the bank teller’s job has been redefined with the advent of the automated teller machine (ATM). However, this phenomena of redefinitions of jobs will strike across the line: chief executive officers and the blue-collared will be impacted unsparingly. And, the advantages extend beyond labour arbitrage alone.
Improved reliability many times over lends obvious credence to the case for increased and enhanced automation.
Redefined jobs:-
Interestingly, technology which leads to the destabilization of jobs can also be used to stabilize redefined jobs. The multifaceted nature of most jobs entail that automation and human participation work in tandem. The areas which require human participation can be reworked based on the talent available today, which is often not constrained by geography.
Machine learning and advanced analytics are putting pressure on the CEO’s job as well, as leadership roles get reoriented in a digital age.
Conclusion:-
A leader would be challenged in balancing traditional skills and specialized talent, that digital economy demands.
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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