A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
National
[1]. Draft policy aims to ease leasing of agricultural land
Context:-
The Centre is working out ways to promote legalisation of land leasing, to ensure tenant farmers have access to institutional credit, insurance and disaster compensation without affecting the landowner title.
Key points:-
A model Land Leasing Act being drafted could allow such use of land for agriculture without restriction. The legislation – seen as the first big land reform after the failure of proposed amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013
Landowners would have full security and tenants would derive benefits and facilities from the government through a legally binding agreement.
Much of the compensation after a natural disaster, insurance claims, as well as other benefits, is usually cornered by landowners because tenancy laws in states are vague. This also harms consolidation of farms and deters widespread mechanisation.
Challenge and criticisms:-
Land being a state subject, the Centre can at best convince the states to adopt a model to bring in uniformity
It is best left to market forces and individuals to decide whether they want to legalise tenancy. The bureaucracy has not been able to properly record ownership; to expect them to record leases is far-fetched
Highlights of the draft:-
Make land leasing legal
Remove adverse possession clause from laws of states. (Adverse possession creates fear among owners, as a tenant may claim title if he keeps possession of the land for a specified period of time)
Facilitate access to short-term credit and crop insurance based on a simple lease agreement for tenants
Terms of lease to be determined mutually by owner and tenant
Allow automatic resumption of land on expiry of agreed lease period without requiring any minimum area criteria. (In some states, the criteria stipulates a minimum area to be left to the tenant on expiry of the lease to protect his future)
Rent (amount) to be agreed to by landowner and tenant
Lease to be terminated within lease period by giving an advance notice of one crop season or one crop or grounds like non-payment of rent, use of land for purpose other than what was agreed upon, lease harms the land, legal framework of leasing is not farmer-friendly and both parties are not benefiting.
Economic Digest
[1]. Dragon’s fire may singe Indian industry
Context:-
Devaluation of the Chinese Yuan has sent shock waves across the globe tumbling stock markets. India is now facing a huge trade deficit with China and has to take steps to protect its domestic industries from cheap Chinese imports.
Growing Trade Deficits:-
There is the issue of excess capacity in China leading to dumping and the apprehension that products will become even cheaper due to the currency devaluation.
There is also the fear that subsidised imports are coming in. These are worrying developments. India’s trade deficit with China will grow even more.
Cheaper Imports and Tackling the same:-
Excess capacity in China, especially in sectors such as steel might be leading to alleged instances of dumping of such products in several countries, including India, at rates below those in China or even lower than the production cost.
The government is considering proposals to protect domestic steel manufacturers from cheap steel imports mainly from China.
A tariff line-wise detailed assessment was being done on the steel sector to find out the sub-segments that are affected the most and need protection in terms of anti-dumping duty, countervailing duties (or anti-subsidy duties) and minimum import price.
China stalling Indian Exports:-
China is continuing to stall India’s exports using non-tariff barriers such as phytosanitary stipulations and standardisation measures.
This is despite India laying emphasis on sectors such as IT/ITeS, pharma, textiles, gems and jewellery, fruits and vegetables and meat to increase the country’s exports.
Chinese government has only accepted India’s concerns but had not taken action on them.
[2]. China’s contagious economic turmoil
Context:-
Investors fear that following Chinese devaluation of Yuan other countries could now be forced to consider competitive currency devaluations. The move is in line with Beijing’s move to make the Yuan a reserve currency of the International Monetary Fund and more market-linked.
Rebalancing its economy:-
The accelerating outflows from China, investors fear, could also be a sign of the country’s deepening troubles.
China is rebalancing its economy, shifting it away from a model of debt-fuelled infrastructure and low-cost exports towards lower but more sustainable growth, driven instead by domestic consumption and services.
As the world’s second largest economy goes through a recalibration, the question increasingly being asked is: are the authorities in Beijing in control of the transition?
The scale and span of China’s trade gives it an over-sized influence over the global economy. Its waning appetite for commodities and imports is hurting economies dependent on such exports
Impact on India:-
For India, though, the drop in international commodity prices, especially of oil, is providing a silver lining as it is a net importer. The pain for India will come from the big and growing trade deficit it has with China.
Indian manufacturers already suffer significant cost disadvantages.
Their competitiveness will now diminish further against imports from China.
Under the burden of China’s slowdown, global trade itself has shrunk.
India must recognise that the global economic scenario is far from healthy and take steps to spur domestic growth.
Opinions & Editorials
[1]. Save security from the establishment
Context:-
The author expresses his views about the loopholes in counter terror operations of the recent Pathankot attacks and the urgent need for a national security doctrine.
Terrorism in India:-
India has only been going around in a loop in its inability to tackle armed non-state actors.
Most terror attacks in India are characterised by three critical missteps: ignored intelligence inputs, inconsistent security response, and heavy casualties.
Terrorism has, in fact, been the biggest threat faced by the country on almost all major counts — the number of soldiers killed, duration of engagement with armed movements or the spread of the menace.
External Influence:-
The Naga insurgency is as old as independent India, several other northern movements are several decades old, and Kashmir militancy started in the late 1980s.
One can attribute their longevity to the role of neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and China in fomenting these movements, but it is a futile blame game considering the limited diplomatic options available to rein in those countries.
Besides, practical statecraft will acknowledge that the use of non-state actors for tactical and strategic aims across the border is commonplace. Every battlefield, from Bangladesh in 1971, where the Mukti Bahini militia was armed and trained by India, to the present battlefield of Syria, where the U.S. and other international powers are arming militias, has similar stories.
Strategy for State response:-
At the core of the state response should be a well-delineated national security doctrine and security strategy.
And the doctrine has to be placed firmly on constitutional values, especially equality before law. Addressing grievances of various groups and dealing with all wrongdoers with the same force of law is critical in this fight against terrorism.
It should encompass processing intelligence alerts, mobilising first responders, carrying out counter terror operations under a well-defined command-and-control system, minimising casualties and, finally, obtaining maximum intelligence to thwart possible future attacks.
Reforms in the security establishment could be done at three levels — parliamentary oversight, a well-defined national security doctrine and a national security strategy to implement the doctrine, and, finally, an independent federal commission of accountability on security matters.
Lack of accountability in Intelligence agencies:-
Political misuse of state organs and the complete lack of transparency in their operations have resulted in Indian intelligence agencies emerging as vague centres confusing facts or exaggerating things, mostly to impress political masters or for other vested interests.
The lack of accountability has also meant that even when genuine intelligence alerts are available, they are not acted upon with seriousness.
Many experts are apprehensive of an adverse effect of parliamentarians being given oversight of intelligence agencies. However, the fact is that there is no better accountability system possible. The diversity of Indian politics will ensure there is robust oversight, and that the mechanism is not held hostage by a few vested interests in Parliament.
Documented Security doctrine:-
It is time for India to have a documented national security doctrine, like the Constitution.
The doctrine should be accompanied by a security strategy that should spell out the state response to various kinds of security challenges.
If it is a terrorist strike, then the decision-makers must know the responses expected of them, and not try to improvise based on their limited awareness. Command and control for such operations should also be spelt out in the document.
Federal commission of accountability on security matters:-
India must constitute a very credible, and permanent, federal commission of accountability on security matters.
This is important not just to bring in accountability to the security establishment, but also to ensure that the many insurgencies and terrorist challenges do not result in the intelligence and security apparatus getting a free hand to misuse their powers.
Such a commission can also be a watchdog in places like Kashmir and the Northeast, where repeated allegations of human rights violations are haunting political efforts to find peace, and feeding terrorism.
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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