Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 2
- Red Corridor to be redrawn by govt. {Security}
- The Battle For Turkey’s Soul. {International Affairs}
- The state of the Indian federation. {Polity}
- GS PAPER 3
- J&K gets 10% of central funds with only 1% of population. {Economy}
- India, Mexico target tourism, telecom to boost ties. {International Affairs}
- Twenty-five years on, where are the jobs?. {Economy}
GS PAPER 2
[1] Red Corridor to be redrawn by govt.
Context
Government is planning to reduce the number of Maoist affected district by 1/5th.
Analysis
- At present there are 106 districts in 10 states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – which are considered red corridor districts. 44 out of 106 distt. Are worst affected.
- Approximately 20 out of 106 maoist-affected, red corridor districts may not remain a part of red corridor in the near future.
- This is being done for the very first time since this red corridor classification was made in 2006.
- The name of such districts which are to be taken out of red corridor have been communicated to the respective states.
- However, once a district is taken out of red corridor list it will lose the financial aid available for red corridor districts.
Criteria of examination of these LWE affected districts
The considerations on which the government has examined the districts with LWE features are: their violence profile, an assessment of the kind of logistical and other support provided to armed Maoist cadres by their sympathisers and “over ground workers”, and the kind of positive changes brought about by development work that these districts have seen.
[2] The Battle For Turkey’s Soul.
Issue
- Very recently Turkey has faced a failed coup attempt to topple the present government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Several civil and military officers were believed to be involved in the coup attempt. Now Government has launched a large crackdown on the possible perpetrators.
- Following the coup, Mr. Erdogan has pointed the finger at his former ally-turned-rival Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999 and who is known to have a vast following in the police and judiciary.
Religious angle behind coup
Conflict between the AKP and the Gulen movement can be traced in the 2 philosophies of Islam:-
- Political Islamists such as the AKP that seeks to control and dominate all aspects of national life.
- Individualised-Sufistic-ethical-moral-spiritual narrative of Islam, represented by Gulen, that seeks to guide the “political” without directly participating in it
In 2014, Erdogan sacked and arrested many officials and private persons and systematically took over all Gulen movement-linked institutions.
Failed military coup has provided Erdogan with the opportunities to:-
- Win over those who remained unconvinced about regime’s rejection of the corruption charges,
- Eliminate all potentials suspects, dissenting voices and enemies,
- Overcome his growing international isolation, and
- Institutionalise himself as the Reis — lifelong serving leader, both of the Turkish nation and the ummah at large.
[5] The state of the Indian federation.
Context
After a very long gap of 10 years, a meeting of Inter State Council (ISC) was held.
What is Inter State Council
- A constitutional body under Article 263. It was set up in 1990 after the recommendation of 1st ARC.
- It’s objective is to discuss matters on which state and union have common interest and to make recommendations on such matters. These recommendation are non-binding on the centre.
- ISC was developed as a tool to promote harmony between centre and state and to foster federalism amidst the prevalent ‘unitary bias’ nation which India off late has become.
Why is ISC in news now?
The last meeting of ISC was held 10 years ago which reflects that over the past years preference for co-operation and federalism had taken a back seat.
- The government’s decision to hold ISC meeting recently is a welcome step and a big boost for states which would feel that they are being heard.
What happened at the meeting?
- Certain very important topics were discussed e.g Direct Benefit Transfer through Aadhar, education, internal security and most importantly GST.
- Discussion of such important topics signals the ushering in of cooperative federalism, wherein the centre govt. wants states to be a party in decision making rather than taking unilateral decisions and imposing it on states for mere executive actions.
Conclusion
A constitutional forum like ISC should meet once every year and.Together, the FC and the ISC should operationalize again Part XI and XII of the Constitution that ensure appropriate financial devolution and political decentralization.
GS PAPER 3
[1] J&K gets 10% of central funds with only 1% of population.
Context
During the period 200-2016, Jammu & Kashmir has received 10% of total grants given by the centre to states. This data has been
Analysis
- Despite having only 1% of the total population, J&K has received the largest share of grants. In contrast UP with 13 % of total population of country received only 8.2% of total central grants.
- Even among the special category states which already receive a higher amount from the centre, J&K received disproportionate amount from the centre.
- Experts believe that this larger share to the state might be given to ensure that it stays with India.
- Service Tax is not levied in Jammu and Kashmir and hence the state does not get a share of the same in the devolution of central taxes to states.
- This has led to a ballooning of Jammu and Kashmir’s share in the total non-plan revenue deficit of all states, which has, in turn, meant that the Centre has had to send it more money to finance this deficit.
[2] India, Mexico target tourism, telecom to boost ties.
Context
To further strengthen their bilateral ties, India and Mexico have decided to focus on sectors including renewable energy, telecom and medical devices. This was decided during bilateral meeting of High Level Group (HLG) on Trade in Mexico.
Areas of cooperation:
1. Wind Power
Mexico wants to increase its installed wind power capacity. Because of this Indian firms such as Suzlon Energy are looking to make big investments in Mexico.
2. Internet Access
- Indian companies are interested in Mexico’s telecom sector as the Mexican government is looking to provide high-speed broadband Internet access even in remote areas.
- HLG discussed proposals from Indian firms including Tejas Networks and VNL for investments in the telecom sector in Mexico.
3. Medical Devices
Mexico is a big market for Indian medical devices. Also, data reveals that mexican medical device market is only going to grow, which is a big boost for India.
Other areas
- The HLG also touched upon the area such as cooperation trade in food processing, tourism and protection of traditional knowledge.
India is also looking at establishing a mechanism for direct trade in precious metals and minerals with Mexico. Mexico is a leading producer of silver and gold — commodities that India imports in huge quantities.
[3] Twenty-five years on, where are the jobs?.
Context
Although economic liberalization has been a huge success, one area where it failed miserably is the creation of ‘good jobs’ i.e jobs in the organized sector.
Analysis
- Let us first talk about the share of men in formal sector jobs. Right from the year 1991 till 2012 (year till which data is available), there has hardly been any increase in formal jobs for men. There has been a meagre increase in number from 22..7 million in 1991 to 23.5 million in 2012
- However, the share of women in formal jobs has shown an increase since liberalization (1991). The numbers stand at 3.78 million in 1991 to 6.05 million in 2012, almost double.
- Here, one must understand that only the ratio has improved while, the number of women in organized sector is much less than men.
- The figures for total employment in formal sector stand at 26.73 million (1991) and 29.58 million (2012). A gain of just 2.85 millions in 21 years is a poor show.
- Part of the reason for the decline is the fall in public sector employment, but employment in the organized private sector has also been pathetic.
Prime reason for lack of growth in organized sector jobs:
- Restrictive labour laws are the primary reason for lack of growth in organized sector jobs.
- But then companies need to work, so for this they have been employing contract labours to do the work.
- The share of contractual workers has increased because of this. Simplification of labour laws by the states can go a long way in creating good jobs.
Due to this lack of jobs in organized sector, majority of the population has taken up informal sector jobs with almost 2o times lower salaries and no social security.
Conclusion
However, efforts are being put to change this scenario. States like Rajasthan have already eased their labour laws many more states are expected to follow suit. This needs to be done in the present day if India want to grow equitably.
Leave a Reply