- Front Page / NATIONAL [The Hindu]
- Rail Bhavan, North Block spar after Budget merger
- Drones keep surveillance during polls in Odisha
- Editorial/OPINION [The Hindu]
- Upsetting a very fine balance
- Speak in our own voice
- Economy [The Hindu]
- Urjit Patel takes fresh guard, changes stance
- Indian Express
- Afghan bottomline
- Live Mint
- The growing importance of trade for India
- Escaping the middle-income trap
Front Page / NATIONAL
[1]. Rail Bhavan, North Block spar after Budget merger
Context
Finance Ministry demand for dividends from PSUs leaves Railways fuming
What has happened?
The Finance Ministry has asked the Railway Ministry to hereafter forward the annual dividends it receives from the 14 central public sector units (CPSUs) under its purview
Rail ministry’s stand
The Railway Ministry has shot back, arguing that giving away the dividends from the CPSUs – estimated at about ₹850 crore for 2017-18 – would hit its earnings.
[2]. Drones keep surveillance during polls in Odisha
Context
Communication network do not work properly in the area
What has happened?
For the first time, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones were used for surveillance of polling booths in the Maoist-infested Malkangiri district during the fourth phase of panchayat polls in the State on 19th Feb 17
- Footage from the drones is immediately transferred live to the special control room at Malkangiri district headquarter for analysis, monitoring and action. Internet and conventional communication network do not work properly in the Maoist-infested area of Balimela reservoir where these drones were used for surveillance.
Fear of the Maoists
Due to Maoists threats, tribal inhabitants of Kalimela block had not dared to vote in the past several elections, including the panchayat polls in 2012, and the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls in 2013
Drones kept a watch
Drones fitted with high-resolution cameras kept watch on regions around several hypersensitive booths in the Maoist-threat prone panchayats like Bodigeta, Telarai, Gomphakondaetc of Kalimela block of the district
Remote Jungle Terrain
Flying at a height of 300 to 500 m, the drones were able to provide detailed information about movements in the remote jungle terrain around the remote hypersensitive booths in Maoist-infested region
Editorial/OPINION
[1]. Upsetting a very fine balance
Context
Three recent instances invite disturbing questions about the transformation of the Supreme Court
Trusting the people
Author states that
- Universal Adult Suffrage: Our constitution makers trusted Indian people when they entrusted Universal adult suffrage upon them
- Fundamental rights: At the same time, their distrust and suspicion of the rulers was on the display when they guaranteed fundamental rights to all the citizens subject only to certain specified restrictions
Layers of safeguards
Author points out the two layers of safeguards that were placed by framers of the constitution,
- Restrictions after deliberation by elected legislature: The legislature had to make a law,
- Restrictions open to challenge: The courts could be called upon to test the constitutionality of such law
Author’s contention
Author contends that the delicate balance B/w State & Citizen, b/w rights & public goals & b/w legislatures & courts is under stress from the Supreme Court itself.
- SC has transformed itself from a guardian of fundamental rights to a moral and political censor
- Instead of our elected representatives making laws, which the Court then tests for constitutionality, the Court has now begun to make its own laws limiting, restricting, and suffocating speech
Author goes on to cite 3 such instances
Instance 1: Case of Jolly LLB 2
What happened?
The High Court of Bombay found that certain scenes in the film Jolly LLB 2 “defame” the legal profession. Despite the fact that the film had been cleared by the Censor Board, the Court set up an entirely fresh committee to “review” the film, and ordered four “cuts” to be made.
Did SC intervene?
No. The producers moved the Supreme Court, arguing that while the High Court could, admittedly, review the decision of the Censor Board, it could not create an entirely new censoring mechanism. However, the Supreme Court refused to intervene or to hear the producers on the merits of their case until the High Court had passed its final orders.
What did happen finally?
The film was released with a reduced number of cuts as producers managed to bargain over the cuts to be made. Going back to the SC was not an option as film was due to be released after 4 days. Commercial losses would have been huge.
Result: Film was released but it set a dangerous precedent
Instance 2: Play the anthem
What happened?
Acting upon a “public interest litigation”, and without any basis in existing law, in November 2016, the Court passed an “interim order” compelling all cinema halls to play the anthem.
Author throws following questions to the reader regarding the above ruling,
Q: Is it legal?
Q: It is constitutional?
Q: Is this kind of compelled performance of patriotism something India’s Supreme Court can impose upon India’s free and independent citizens?
Instance 3: Regarding sex-determination tests
What happened?
The Court, acting under the authority of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994 (PCPNDT Act), which prohibits advertisements regarding pre-natal sex determination, directed search engines such as Google to constitute in-house committees to “block” access to such websites, and (in continuation of previous orders) to do so by blocking search “keywords”
What’s wrong with that?
- In one stroke, the Supreme Court has vested vast censorship powers in unaccountable private committees
- The Court’s orders amount to making entire stretch of the Internet off-limits for everyone, no matter what the purpose: research, investigation, or even simple curiosity
Implications
The implications of these orders are frightening. Today, the Court wants Google to block access to search results involving the word “gender selection”. What will it be tomorrow? “Secession”? “Terrorism”? Or just about anything that the courts, in their wisdom, feel that Indian citizens cannot be trusted to read about?
Misuse of PIL
- PIL: Author states that all the above cases have been brought before court as PIL. PIL was meant to democratize the access to courts but presently it seems that it is being used as a weapon to cut down rights
After-effect
Author points to the resultant impact such decisions of the SC are having on the lower rungs of the judiciary
- In 2016, the Madras High Court ordered that the teaching of the Tamil epic Thirukkural be made compulsory in all schools, in the absence of any law whatsoever
Supreme Court, not a Supreme censor
The Supreme Court should not tell us
- What we can watch and what we can’t watch
- What we can search on the Internet, and what we can’t search
- We must be patriotic, and how, where, and when, we must be patriotic
[2]. Speak in our own voice
Context
Why India must keep charge of its bilateral engagement with its largest neighbor
Author’s contention
Author contends that India is allowing, possibly even encouraging, the U.S. to be its voice on what are essentially bilateral issues between India and China
Why is it bad?
At a time when India and China have had major differences over a series of issues, allowing an external voice into this bilateral equation can compromise India’s own voice
Interventions by American officials on India-China issues
Author cites following instances,
- U.S. Ambassador to India, Richard Verma held an unusual dinner at his residence, inviting the Minister of State for Home KirenRijiju as well as the Sikyong, or Leader of the Tibetan ‘Government in Exile’
- Richard Verma became the first U.S. envoy to visit Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in October 2016, a visit that drew a sharp response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry about “third parties” interfering
- Verma’s visit followed comments by U.S. Consul General Craig Hall, during a visit to Arunachal, in April referring to the State as an “integral part of India”
- In April 2016, the Indian government let in the U.S. federal government’s religious freedom body (USCIRF) commissioner Katrina Lantos Swett to attend a conference in Dharamsala for Chinese dissidents, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Falun Gong activists
- In June 2016, Thomas Shannon , then U.S. Undersecretary of State, visited New Delhi, warning that China’s actions in the South China Sea were “madness” and its next “target” was the Indian Ocean
Why a “middle power coalition” to counter Chinese maritime hegemony is futile?
Author states that there have been calls for India to enter into a trilateral with Australia, Japan and US to counter the maritime hegemony of China esp wrt South China Sea. While Indian naval presence would boost efforts to police the South China Sea, the other members of this coalition would hardly be able to help India on its most prominent frontier with China, the unresolved Line of Actual Control
Three and a half-fronts
Author points out that at present India and China have conflicts over three and a half fronts, viz.,
- The land front, where they have fought one war in 1962
- The maritime front, where the U.S. and its allies want India to take part in joint patrols to confront China’s naval ambitions
- India’s neighbourhood, particularly Pakistan, where Chinese investment is altering bilateral equations
- The Tibetan front, which could be considered a half-front
Way forward
Author states that despite the obvious conflicts, both India and China have kept their bilateral co-operation steady. The way forward should be an increased bilateral engagement and to not allow the voice of others to shape up the dynamics of the relationship.
Economy
[1]. Urjit Patel takes fresh guard, changes stance
Context
The RBI’s latest bimonthly policy saw its Governor reassert the central bank’s monetary independence
Article is a brief commentary on the perceived threat to RBI’s autonomy over demonetization issue.
No pertinent points from exam point of view.
Give it a light read.
Indian Express
[1]. Afghan bottomline
Context
New Delhi and Kabul need to remind the global community of dangers of turning the clock back vis a vis Taliban
Afghanistan Peace Conference
Russia hosted meeting on Afghanistan on 15th Feb 17. Following nations were a part of the meet,
- Iran
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Afghanistan
- India
Outcome of the meet
- India and Afghanistan wanted that the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution on terrorist groups be respected.
- Russia, Iran and Pakistan agreed to respect the international red lines but refused to end the ongoing channels of talks with the Taliban
Read More: Afghanistan Peace Conference
Author’s contention
The issue at the heart of the matter is not the Taliban, but the so-called Islamic State (IS)
Why Russia & Iran want to talk to Taliban?
Moscow and Tehran see the IS in Afghanistan, which they fear will extend into the region, as a greater threat to their internal security.
- Russian concerns: Russian fears are compounded by the presence of 5,000 Russian-speaking fighters in the IS, which could shift to Afghanistan as the war ends in Syria. They could then expand into the central Asian nations
- Iranian concerns:As a Shia republic, Iran remains firmly opposed to the IS and worries about the terror group targeting Shias in Afghanistan and then threatening Iran
So, considering IS a bigger threat, these countries want to open negotiations with the Taliban, perceived by them as a lesser danger because it does not wish to expand beyond Afghanistan
The impact
Above narrative plays beneficially into the hands of Pakistan which controls Taliban as it will again gain a position of pre-eminence for the United States, Russia and China hurting long-standing Indian efforts to have Pakistan recognised globally as a state which supports terror
Disrespecting the sacrifices
Author states that the Taliban are no “good terrorists”. When they last occupied the seat of power in Kabul in the 1990s, the Taliban ruled brutally and provided a base to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
- Any negotiation which leads to the return of the Taliban disrespects the sacrifices made by Afghan soldiers and the international forces which fought and continue to fight the Taliban
Way forward
New Delhi, along with Kabul, needs to remind the global community of the dangers of turning the clock back and undoing all the gains made in Afghanistan in the past 17 years
Live Mint
[1]. The growing importance of trade for India
Context
Trade enriches countries because it extends the scope for efficient division of labour
Issue: Internal economic integration & eliminating barriers to international trade
Use of Big Data
In the first paragraph, article has lauded the Economic Survey for using the Big Data like,
- Use of Railway passenger data to estimate internal migration patterns
What is Big Data?
They are extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interactions
Increased level of interstate trade
The estimates in the Economic Survey show that interstate trade flows, which include the movement of goods between firms and within firms, are around 54% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Reason: Large countries with substantial domestic markets have robust internal trade, can explain why interstate trade is so active in India
India maintains the lead
Article mentions that India has since 2011 traded more with the rest of the world than China does.
Robust trading culture
Above two facts indicate that India actually has a robust trading culture
Way forward
The way forward is to keep dismantling the internal and external barriers to trade.Free trade has helped hundreds of millions of Indians and Chinese emerge from the shackles of poverty.
- Collaborating with other countries: There is immense strategic value for India to combine with countries such as China and Japan to keep the flag of free trade flying in the age of Donald Trump
- Increased emphasis on even more internal trade: Article mentions that the case for even more internal trade is a solid one. Restrictions like the agricultural produce market committee laws restrict the ability of farmers to sell across state borders should be abolished
[2]. Escaping the middle-income trap
Context
Nations are often ‘trapped’ in the middle-income category because of excessive dependence on a resource economy or inadequate innovation, reform, competitiveness.
Article goes into the detail of the near future transition of China from middle-income to High-income country that is bound to happen. It delves into the factors responsible for it.
Article mentions the concept of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) stating that India, a low middle-income country, must prepare for a decline in TFP in the future by investing in a well-developed financial market (including corporate bonds) that allocates capital efficiently and, most importantly, a trained workforce that is part of an innovation economy.
What is TFP?
(TFP) is the portion of output not explained by the amount of inputs used in production. As such, its level is determined by how efficiently and intensely the inputs are utilized in production. TFP growth is usually measured by the Solow residual
Read More: How income thresholds are calculated?
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