A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
National
[1]. Russian defence choppers to be ‘made in India’
Deals signed
- Joint manufacture of 226 military helicopters
- Construction of 12 atomic plants with involvement of local companies in India.
Fight against terrorism.
Strong support” to India’s bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council
International
[1]. Syria ready for Geneva peace talks
Context:-
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting an international road map for a Syrian peace process.
Syrian Government’s stand:-
Syrian Government is ready to take part in peace talks in Geneva with the opposition and hopes that the dialogue will help it form a national unity government.
It will be participating in the Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference.
This government will form a constitutional committee to look for a new Constitution with a new law of election so the parliamentary election will be held within the period of 18 months.
Sticking Points:-
The obstacles to end the war remain discouraging, as no side in the conflict was able to secure a clear military victory.
Despite their agreement at the UN, the major powers are bitterly divided on who may represent the opposition as well as on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Chinese Role:-
China has played host to both Syrian government and opposition figures before, though it remains a peripheral diplomatic player in the crisis.
While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave West Asian diplomacy unlike the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council—the U.S., Britain, France and Russia
[2]. New old friends
Context:-
The series of annual summits between India and Russia and the resultant defence and economic cooperation deals which were signed.
India will need a variety of regional and big-power partners to pursue its interests in a complex world. Russia will, without doubt, be among the most important of them.
How India’s relationship with the US is of enormous strategic significance, so too is its relationship with key powers like Russia.
Regarding ISIS:-
In Afghanistan, for example, Russia has been seeking an alliance with the Taliban and Pakistan to hold back the Islamic State; India sees both as the source of the problem.
Hence building a common platform will need focused work.
Economic Digest
[1]. Govt. to amend ‘deal-breaker’ mining law in Budget session
Context:-
Government is planning to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) or MMDR Act of 2015, to allow transfer of captive mines during mergers and Acquistion.
Need for amendment:-
The MMDR act 2015 aims to ensure transparent auctions of minerals.
According to it the transfer of mineral concessions shall be allowed only for concessions which are granted through auctions.
In many circumstances, when these businesses change hands via mergers and acquisitions, it could be an issue if the captive mines linked to production capacities are not transferable.
Example:-
Birla Corp’s purchased two Lafarge India cement units.
As per the current law Birla Corp. can take over Lafarge’s cement plant, but won’t get access to the captive limestone mines linked to the plant.
Birla Corp even after buying the plant will have to source limestone from elsewhere, much farther, while Lafarge will keep holding the mining lease.
The limestone mines in Lafarge have over 100 million tonnes of reserves will become an unviable resource.
What is a Captive Mining?
The intent of the captive mining policy is to allocate a specific block (mine) to a specific need for the country. Captive mining in coal was used to supply the iron and steel production in 1976, then for power generation in 1993 and finally coal gasification and liquefaction in 2007.
Benefits of the amendment:-
Consolidation, in stressed sectors such as metals and cement, is critical as companies seek to lower their debt levels by hiving off assets.
[2]. Cess proceeds in a black hole/ CEss Pool
Context:-
Over Rs.1.4 lakh crore of cess proceeds lie unutilised and inadequately accounted for in the government’s books.
Need not be shared with states:-
The money collected through cess doesn’t have to share the proceeds with State governments.
With the Fourteenth Finance Commission increasing States’ share of the common pool of resources, cesses are tempting for the Centre.
This in fact goes against the concept of Cooperative Federalism.
Deployment plan:-
That the government has failed to even set up a fund to pool the proceeds shows the lack of planning after levying a cess.
The government should start disclosing a deployment plan to achieve the intended outcomes from cess collections before imposing the next such levy on citizens.
Stagnates Economy:-
It just stagnates and distorts the economy further: the additional tax brings down real incomes without any accompanying gain in socio-economic indicators as targeted.
Example:-
The case of the Secondary and Higher Education Cess paid by all income tax payers that has yielded over Rs.64,000 crore between 2006 and 2015 has not been spent.
The government has discontinued the non-National Eligibility Test fellowship and leaving hundreds of students without financial aid.
[3]. The big deal about WTO
Context:-
Analysing the outcomes of the WTO meet and virtual end of the Doha Development Agenda the article explains the way forward for India in the changing geopolitics .
US Builds the WTO Bypass:-
US is actively pursuing mega-regional plurilateral trade deals under the umbrella of the Trans-Pacific Partn ership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
This was aimed at bypassing the WTO in taking the trade liberalisation agenda beyond the limits of the DDA.
US seeks to retain its status as the architect of global institutions and in response, China is creating its own global economic institutions.
India’s Approach:-
India needs to take a rational and reasoned approach to the geoeconomic trends and see how its economic interests can be best addressed.
Based on a clear-headed assessment of the Doha Development Agenda, India should re-examine its approach to external trade, its domestic policy priorities and what it hopes to get out of the WTO and the various plurilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements.
A more efficient, business-friendly and faster growing economy will be able to deal better with global economic challenges and opportunities.
[4]. In ill health
Context:-
The latest financial stability report (FSR) of the Reserve Bank of India highlights the worsening state of India’s banking sector.
Public sector banks account for almost 70 per cent of the total assets in the banking space.
PSBs have recorded the highest level of stressed assets (14.1 per cent), much higher than in the private sector (4.6 per cent) and among foreign banks (3.4 per cent
Problems with PSB’s:-
The problem lies with the way PSB boards are run.
The P.J. Nayak committee report released last year proved that in comparison to private sector banks, PSB boards are neither driven by the profit motive nor developmental concerns.
The problem lies in the way the bank board members are appointed and the ways in which they function.
Research shows that the number of risk-related issues discussed by PSB boards is negatively correlated with the net NPAs (as a percentage of advances).
Government intervention:-
The government assured that political interference will be brought down.
The government launched “Indradhanush”, a seven-point action plan, to reform the regulatory framework.
Urgent need for reforms:-
But, in reality, there has been no real structural reform, like diluting the government’s stake in PSBs to below 51 per cent and letting them function more freely.
The FSR shows that the delay in ushering in reforms is beginning to take a toll. If some action is not taken soon, India’s growth story will be hurt further
Opinion & Editorials
[1]. After Paris, promises to keep
Context:-
The article discusses the policy initiatives that should be taken by the Indian government inorder to fulfil the Paris climate deal promises.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will provide a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways.
What needs to be done?
- Adopt policies that can speedily remove carbon from the energy mix
- Stop the degradation and destruction of forests
- Conserve water resources
- Improve resilience in agriculture
- Help communities adapt to the destructive impacts of climate-related events
Approach to be followed:-
India is the third-largest emitter among individual countries. Let us see some of the approaches to cut emissions below.
Scaling up solar power
India should scale up of renewable energy capacity to 175 gig watts (GW) by 2022, of which solar power will form 100 GW (up from the current level of about 4 GW).
Solar photovoltaic is the only technology that is on track to meet the power generation target for a 2°C temperature rise scenario.
Fabrication of solar cells and production of modules need a dramatic “Make in India” initiatives.
Efforts should lead to mass proliferation of solar photovoltaic rooftop installations on the lines of the mobile phone revolution that swept the country as it also boost employment.
State electricity grids should be required by law to introduce transparent, well-functioning, feed-in tariffs for rooftop solar installations (which Japan has done in recent years), and to amend building codes to make it mandatory for all new constructions.
Decarbonising travel:-
Transport sector accounts for about 14 per cent of national emissions.
The share of private cars and two-wheelers is expected to rise, with a marked decline for public modes. Carbon emissions from passenger transport are likely to rise at the rate of six per cent a year.
Decarbonising this sector and increasing its efficiency needs strong mandates for State governments, requiring them to comply with standards of minimum performance.
This would require raising standards of bus and urban rail travel, encouraging suitable investments, both public and private, and fast-track sustainable urban development.
Providing a cross-subsidy for capital expenditure and operations through a dedicated fee on fossil fuels would be the way forward.
Social forestry:-
The plan to trap carbon through expansion of forests and massive tree-planting could transform rural communities if it can combine livelihood opportunity in the form of social forestry produce.
[2]. Liveable Cities Mission is what we need
Context: –
The author feels that Smart Cities Mission should be converted into a Liveable Cities Mission, with focus clearly on quality of life using social and cultural yardsticks rather than a drastic change in merely physical infrastructure.
Making Smart Cities Liveable:-
The ultimate aim of Smart Cities Mission is to make people’s lives better.
The government has to broaden the definition of smart cities to make them more inclusive. It is not just infrastructural change; it is behavioural and needs to be more incentivised.
Some of the world’s most liveable cities scores high on quality of living.
A large part of what constitutes “quality of living” has to be social and cultural in nature and it needs to be inclusive cities (for both the disabled community as well as for sexual minorities).
India’s Smart Cities Mission does not place these interests on top; instead it puts physical infrastructure as the issue to tackle the quickest. For instance, while there is emphasis on public transport and safety of women, there is no word on policing.
With increasing crime rates efficient law and order system should be in place to ensure safety.
Several European cities have put work-life balance at the centre of their social fabric. They encourage bicycle riding, more green spaces to improve quality of life.
Challenges ahead:-
As India continues to improve its agricultural yields by mechanisation, the dependence on manual labour in villages will reduce.
This will lead to rural to urban migration. The challenge for cities would be to not only create employment opportunities for these labourers but also equip them with skills to earn those jobs.
[3]. Putting the House in order/ A Question for Parliament
Context:-
The winter session that ended followed the trend of the previous session, with very little work done.
Parliament is an institution designed to allow voicing of diverse views on various national issues. The underlying assumption is that members discuss issues and convince others through persuasive arguments.
What is at stake?
The very foundation on which our republic is founded is at stake.
Parliament is expected to fulfil the critical role of representing the aspirations of citizens, and guiding the nation towards social and economic justice.
If Parliament’s performance continues to deteriorate, citizens could lose faith in it to perform these functions.
Political parties need to answer whether they will continue to prioritise their political interests over the national interest.
Structural Constraints:-
Several structural constraints have weakened this process.
For example, the topic to be debated and the rule under which the debate would happen are determined in all-party meetings through consensus.
This process enables the government to block the discussion on any issue that could embarrass it.
To address this British model could be followed where days can be marked out when the Opposition determines the topics to be taken up.
Another suggestion is to include a topic if a significant minority (say, 20 per cent or 25 per cent of the membership) demands a discussion through a written notice.
Lack of scrutiny:-
This session also saw 71 per cent of the bills being introduced and passed in the same session — the highest in the last decade.
The depth of scrutiny of bills by the legislature impacts the quality of laws. Earlier this year, the apex court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
Willingness to follow rules of procedure:-
The above measures will work only if members are willing to follow such rules.
Unless the members follow certain norms of conduct and decorum like allowing other members to speak and express their opinions, raise issues through due procedure such as during Question Hour, Zero Hour, and longer discussions there is unlikely to be a change in behaviour
Will Suspension work?
If there are one or two unruly members, they can be suspended. However, if all the members of a major opposition political party disrupt proceedings then its a serious concern.
If major opposition is excluded from law making then it might question the legitimacy of the institution.
Way Out:-
The route lies in changing the power equation between the leadership and members of political parties through internal democracy.
After getting elected, the MP is subject to the party whip and the anti-defection law, which means that he or she cannot form an independent view on any issue.
It should be made mandatory for party members to elect their leadership in a transparent and credible manner — perhaps, the Election Commission could be tasked with conducting elections for all recognised political parties.
Candidates need to be determined by bottom-up processes such as local committees or through primaries.
The anti-defection law should be repealed, and an MP elevated back to being a decision-maker rather than a number for the party to count for a vote.
[4]. Upside down state
Context:-
The author stresses the need for restoring clarity on the roles of the state and the market, the public and the private. The article points out the imbalances in their roles which has led to the false impression that regulation of the private sector can produce social justice.
Key Points:-
The two areas where you would expect the public to take a lead role, health and education, are on a privatisation trajectory. Much of this is due to state failure.
The state is willing to put all its energies into running loss-making airlines, reviving defunct fertiliser plants. But it cannot commit itself to infusing new energy in public education, at all levels.
The state feels that the private sector should bear costs of state failure and be burdened by excessive regulation.
Price controls can work in some areas but as a generalised principle, a price-controlled private sector is a bit of an oxymoron. As private sectors are profit oriented.
It is ignored that a strong public system will automatically “regulate” the private system by reducing demand.
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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