Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 1
- Mogao caves reveal powerful India-China Buddhist link { Art and Culture- Paper I}
- GS PAPER 2
- Commerce Ministry’s visa plan hits MHA wall {Bills and laws – Paper II}
- India, Japan, U.S. to hold naval exercises {Foreign Policy – Paper II}
- Rs.100-cr. fine proposed for wrong India map {Bills and Laws – Paper II}
- Back home to Italy? {Foreign Policy – Paper II}
- How not to fight corruption {Bills and Laws – Paper II}
- Just prescription { Judiciary – Paper II}
- How efficient is Indian education? {Governance – Paper II}
- GS PAPER 3
- Journalism as investigation {Media – Paper III}
- LS clears decks for MPC {Indian Economy – Paper III}
- India eyes bad debt cleanup as wary state-run banks balk {Indian Economy – Paper III}
- Bitter sweet {Agriculture – Paper III}
GS PAPER 1
[1] Mogao caves reveal powerful India-China Buddhist link
News
- In Gobi desert, there exist hundreds of caves, whose intricately painted walls and magnificent statues have described the journey of Buddhism.
Geography, and specifically the ancient Silk Road, had indeed played a foundational role
Dunhuang was a major point of intersection along the Silk Road, one of whose branch lines headed towards India.
Dunhuang
- Dunhuang is a city in China’s northwestern Gansu Province, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Once a frontier garrison on the Silk Road,
- It is known today for the Mogao Caves, a complex of 492 grottoes.
Movement of people and goods along the branch proved critical in channeling a masterly artistic fusion that is evident at Dunhuang’s magnificent Mogao caves.
Along the route, which passes through the other oasis settlements of Miran, Endere, Niya, Keriya and Khotan, Yarkand in China’s Xinjiang province has long been recognised for its key role in the permeation of Buddhist influence from India.
Credit to monks, scholars, travelers
- It was the monks, scholars and travelers frequenting the Silk Road, who brought the essential message of Buddha to China.
Art
- it was the Graeco-Buddhist Gandhara School, known for depicting Buddha in human form, that finally reached China, heavily influencing the emergence of Serindian art, embodying a powerful Chinese artistic tradition as well.
Director of the Dunhuang Academy said:
- “India is the root of Buddhist culture here. That is why we are willing to establish a long term stable relationship [with India]. This is the starting stage and there is long way to go, but there is a huge potential,”
- He points out that once the ongoing process of digitising the artworks in Mogao caves is completed, the Chinese and the Indian sides should be ready to work together to hold joint exhibitions.
Culture as the unifying strand
- Dunhuang Academy stresses that academic visits should add another layer to this phased revival of cultural ties.
- Deputy Mayor of Dunhuang, points out to establish a sister-city relationship between Dunhuang and Aurangabad. He says that the arrangement is a statement of intent by the two countries to leverage culture as a major strand for building Sino-Indian ties.
GS PAPER 2
[1] Commerce Ministry’s visa plan hits MHA wall
News
- The Union Commerce Ministry has proposed an ambitious scheme to waive the visa requirement for business visitors and tourists from 18 countries,
- Critical for economic and trade strategy,
- But the Home Ministry has raised objections to an omnibus exemption.
The countries which are included are:
- The 18 countries belong to BRICS, in which India joins Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
- The Asia Pacific group that is part of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
India has large pool of skilled workers and independent professionals.
- The Commerce Ministry is, therefore, keen that as part of the strategy, internal reforms are undertaken unilaterally to enable easier temporary movement of such persons from its trade partner countries.
- This will make it possible to later demand the same facility from them.
Home ministries objection:
- Giving a visa waiver to Chinese citizens as part of the package.
- Security concerns have been cited in the case of visitors from China and Pakistan.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP):
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan,South Korea and New Zealand).
MFN status
- Pakistan, a SAARC member, is yet to give India the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status or practise non-discriminatory treatment. It is thus not a full-fledged FTA partner.
- India also does not have an FTA with China.
Main issue:
- Indian security establishment has strong objections to granting such benefits to citizens of China and Pakistan due to security concerns.
It needs further clarification and discussions on the waiver:
- The Commerce Ministry will soon hold further discussions on the proposed visa waiver with the Home and External Affairs Ministries.
- Despite adverse reports from intelligence agencies, New Delhi recently extended electronic tourist visa facility to China, through Beijing is yet to reciprocate.
Some free entries:
- Currently, India has a visa-free entry regime for Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
- The e-Tourist Visa Scheme (for tourism, healthcare, business and family visits) is available to citizens of around 113 countries, including some 40 countries for whom India has already granted visa on arrival facility.
[2] India, Japan, U.S. to hold naval exercises
What happened?
- In a move that is sure to raise eyebrows in Beijing, four Indian warships will join the navies of the United States and Japan in the second half of June for the next edition of Malabar exercises east of Okinawa, a Japanese island.
Exercise Malabar
- Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
- Originally only a bilateral exercise between India and the U.S., Japan became a permanent partner of the exercise in 2015.
- Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
- The annual Malabar series began in 1992, and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers, through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises
Australia wants to join too
- Australia has repeatedly expressed interest in joining Malabar on a permanent basis and the United States had been pushing its inclusion, but India has so far resisted the move so as not to antagonise China.
[3] Rs.100-cr. fine proposed for wrong India map
What happened?
- The government has proposed a law where wrong depiction of the map of India could land the violators in jail with a maximum term of seven years and fine up to Rs. 100 crore.
Why this measure has been proposed?
- This measure has been envisaged by the government against the backdrop of instances where certain social networking sites showed Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as part of Pakistan and China respectively.
Key provisions in the ‘The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016,’
- According to the draft, it will be mandatory to take permission from a government authority before acquiring, disseminating, publishing or distributing any geospatial information of India.
- The draft Bill will ensure that online platforms like Google will have to apply for a licence to run Google Maps or Google Earth in India.
- “No person shall depict, disseminate, publish or distribute any wrong or false topographic information of India including international boundaries through internet platforms or online services or in any electronic or physical form.
- “Whoever acquired any geospatial information of India in contravention of the law shall be punished with a fine ranging from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 100 crore and/or imprisonment for a period up to seven years,” according to the draft Bill.
[4] Back home to Italy?
For background, refer to earlier article, Italy marine may go home
Because of this case, unfortunate impression has been created that India’s legal and judicial system is under-equipped to handle such cases.
The process should have been sustainable and credible from the beginning, instead of being marked by doubt and uncertainty.
What were the doubts?
- Initially it was a question of whether Kerala had the jurisdiction to try them.
- In January 2013, the Supreme Court held that it was the Centre that had the jurisdiction.
- The National Investigation Agency took over the probe, but its insistence on invoking an anti-piracy law which led to further delay, as Italy objected to the implication that its marines were ‘pirates’, as well as to the death penalty that the Act attracted.
- Because of delay, India decided to drop the charges under it.
Italy’ cause in delaying the case
- In 2015, Italy approached the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and sued for provisional measures pending reference of its dispute to an arbitral tribunal.
- One such measure froze all progress in the case: both parties were asked to suspend all pending court proceedings.
- Italy’s action delayed matters further as the Supreme Court had already allowed the marines to raise the issue of jurisdiction during the trial, as well as the applicability of Article 100 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which says all states shall cooperate in the repression of piracy.
Justice should be done
- India and Italy should cooperate, without further delay or diplomatic wrangling, in the interests of justice.
- The case must be settled on purely legal grounds, and without the kind of political one-upmanship that has contributed to the delay over the past four years.
[5] How not to fight corruption
Context
- Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) is set to be amended by Parliament. The proposed Bill includes several contentious amendments that are likely to have far-reaching ramifications. They require considerable deliberation.
Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)
- PCA is the key legislation which defines what constitutes corruption and prescribes penalties for corruption-related offences.
What is wrong with the proposed amendments?
- The proposed amendments make all actual and potential bribe-givers offenders under the PCA.
- While it is desirable to treat giving bribes aimed at receiving illegitimate gains as an offence, people, especially the poor and the marginalised, are often forced to pay bribes to get what is legitimately theirs.
- If they are also prosecuted, it would be a double wrong.
How to correct this wrong?
- The proposed amendments to the PCA are, practically and morally, a retrograde step.
- The government would be well advised to reconsider this and offer immunity to at least three types of bribe-givers.
- First, those who are coerced to pay a bribe to obtain their legal entitlements;
- Second, those who voluntarily come forward to complain and bear witness against corrupt public officials; and
- Third, those who are willing to turn approvers.
- For the second and third categories though, immunity should be provided only from criminal liability — bribe-givers must be made to return any benefit they secured as a result of the bribe.
- Providing immunity to these categories of bribe-givers would encourage them to complain about corruption and ensure that corruption is not a low-risk, high-return activity.
What about Grievances?
- Currently, if anyone files a complaint regarding denial of their entitlements, the complainant almost never gets redress nor is any penal action initiated against the guilty.
- The objective of combating coercive corruption would be more effectively achieved if the government puts in place a comprehensive grievance redress mechanism.
- This can be remedied by the enactment of the grievance redress bill, which was introduced in the Parliament in 2011 and had support across party lines, but unfortunately lapsed with the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.
Approval for investigation
- The proposed amendments state that complaints regarding corruption that relate to decisions taken or recommendations made by public servants in the discharge of their official duty, shall not be investigated without the prior approval of the Lokpal or Lokayuktas, as the case maybe.
- Such complaints shall be forwarded to, and deemed to be complaints made to the Lokpal or Lokayuktas.
- The proposed amendments must either be dropped or state that complaints about all offences under the PCA shall be dealt with by the Lokpal at the Central level and Lokayuktas at the State level, for all categories of public servants covered in the respective laws.
Insulation is required
- The PCA must insulate prosecuting agencies from government influence.
- The Lokpal law has vested the power of granting sanction for prosecution in the Lokpal.
- The proposed amendments must appropriately reflect this.
- Wherever the procedure for granting prosecution is defined in the Lokpal or Lokayukta laws, it should be applicable.
- For all other cases, including where no Lokpal or Lokayukta has been set up, an independent committee should be tasked with the responsibility of giving prior approval for prosecution.
What else?
If the government is serious about tackling corruption, it should, in addition to re-introducing the grievance redress bill, immediately operationalise the Lokpal Act and the Whistle Blowers Protection Act which were passed by Parliament more than two years ago. These laws, together with the PCA, form the necessary anti-corruption statutory framework.
[6] Just prescription
News
- Supreme Court has transferred its statutory functions to a three-member committee headed by former chief justice RM Lodha.
Concern:
- The Centre now has a year to frame rules to restructure the organisation, whose legitimacy is at rock bottom because of accumulated inefficiencies and allegations of graft.
- An intervention is immediately required to correct an imbalance between the volume of MBBS and postgraduate seats.
Challenges:
- The biggest challenges before a refurbished MCI could stem from shortfalls in medical ethics, rather than the lack of facilities in the system.
- Some of the unethical issues are:
- Prescription of expensive medicine to get commission from pharma companies.
- Rampant growth of the diagnostic laboratory. Prescribing lucrative tests before even seeing patient.
- Education system which is only degenerating a mere certifications.
The new, improved MCI must consider factors like
- Entry of private capital in a not-for-profit teaching system, doctors’ reluctance to take rural postings versus capital’s enthusiasm for running poorly manned rural institutes, and so on.
- MCI will have to respect the principles of medicine rather than those of accounting.
- Serve the public good first and the profit motive afterwards.
[7] How efficient is Indian education?
Issue
- There is a need to develop a system where efficiency of our education system can be measured.
Context
- With Right to Education (RTE) Act and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the goal of ensuring universal primary education has been aggressively pursued, and a significant quantitative impact in terms of the enrolment ratio has been seen. However, an assessment of the actual learning levels reveals the flip side of the coin.The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2014 indicates learning levels of students are still a huge concern.
Need to measure efficiency
- It is important for state administrations to realize that improving infrastructure and resources should be accompanied by commensurate learning levels of students.
- Thus, the need for a measure of efficiency emerges in order to assess education systems in their ability to convert educational inputs to outputs.
- This can help provide an objective way for states to get feedback on their education delivery process and do away with the practice of judging the performance of states based solely on their inputs, or outputs.
- There is a need to develop a methodology to measure the relative efficiency of the education delivery process and provide insights on what states can learn from peer-to-peer exchanges.
Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
- It has been used extensively in several investigations and researches across countries and sectors for efficiency analyses.
- It compares each entity (states in this case) with its peers in the set, and assigns a relative efficiency to it.
- The first step in efficiency measurement using DEA is to identify relevant inputs and outputs for the educational process.
- The learning outcomes reported by ASER are used as outputs, namely reading levels in local language, basic arithmetic ability and learning levels in English.
- Similarly, the resources and infrastructure provided by state authorities to facilitate education are the quantifiable inputs.
Applying it to RTE
- The RTE lays down certain minimum requirements, and the percentage of schools adhering to those norms serve as input values in this method.
- The seven factors, as mandated by RTE, considered in this analysis are pupil-teacher ratio, classroom-teacher ratio, availability of drinking water, availability of usable toilets, availability of buildings and playgrounds, availability of library with books and mid-day meals being served.
- Two additional inputs to represent the socioeconomic background of students as well as the local village infrastructure are also used.
Conclusion
- A careful inclusion of inputs as well as outputs is needed in assessment of the status quo, and data-driven insights need to be drawn to identify the right focus areas for improvement.
- DEA fulfils all such requirements, and can aid in the policymaking process in other sectors too.
- A sound elementary education system is essential for our country to tap the potential of its vast human resource, and the importance of data-driven policy in this context can never be overemphasized.
GS PAPER 3
[1] Journalism as investigation
Issue
- Worldwide, journalism and the news industry are struggling, in this digital age, to reassert their relevance and value under profoundly changed and changing circumstances.
- Over the past half-century, there has been an ebb and flow of investigative journalism across the world, including of course India. Related to this, but separate from it, there has been an ebb and flow of public engagement with the results of investigative journalism, in response to larger events, trends, and issues in politics, economy, culture, society, and international relations.
What is investigative journalism?
- Investigative journalism is the discipline of digging deep and bringing to light verified facts about wrongdoing, or about a matter of significance, which are sought to be covered up or are otherwise inaccessible to the public.
- But getting the facts right only lays the foundation for investigative work, which will not be worth very much if the reporter does not get the ‘meaning of events right.’
One of the great writers puts forward the view that the education and training of young journalists must rest on three central pillars:
- The priority of aptitudes and vocations
- The certainty that investigation is not a professional speciality but that all journalism should, by definition, be investigative
- The awareness that ethics are not an occasional condition but should always accompany journalism like the buzz accompanies the blowfly.
Journalism at its core
- Some old-school journalists insist that there is nothing special that needs to be called investigative journalism.
- When you take the broad view of journalism that sees investigation as one of its intrinsic and core tasks, rather than as a super-speciality or a sequestered discipline, a vast and wonderful vista opens up of work that is truth-seeking, richly themed, exploratory, imaginative, creative, literary, and, above all, passionate about freedom, humanity, and justice.
- While investigating, exploring, and experimenting, journalists of the first rank are not satisfied with bringing to light a mass of material facts that they manage to unearth through diligent work, or that falls into their lap by a stroke of luck. Their real pursuit is to invest these hitherto concealed or inaccessible facts with social, moral and, often, historical meaning and weave them into a coherent and compelling story, so that the journalism contributes significantly to raising social awareness of the issues involved and also stands the test of time.
- Taking the wide-angle approach does not mean that news organisations should not increase investigative bench strength, or form special investigative teams for particular projects.
- They should, of course. But it does mean that a much larger pool of journalists, educated and trained in the precepts and practice of quality journalism, can be drawn into the task of investigation than current professional practice allows.
- Motivating and empowering this greatly enlarged pool of young women and men to do thorough, thoughtful, and carefully supervised investigations into subjects of social and moral significance could have dramatic effects in terms of developing capabilities, improving work culture, and raising quality in the profession.
Investigation and ethics
Two problematical issues that face reporters who investigate sensitive subjects —
- the frequent, almost endemic resort to deception
- dealing with anonymous and confidential sources.
- The frequent, almost endemic resort to deception
The generally agreed rules relating to the use of deception in investigation are clear enough;
- The problem is with their implementation or, rather, enforcement in newsrooms.
- The first rule prohibits resort to deception unless it becomes clear that the information sought by the journalist, on a matter of significance, cannot be obtained in a straightforward way.
- The second rule requires that the ‘public interest’ test be applied if the deception contemplated is serious and would not be countenanced in the normal professional course.
- The third rule lays down that any investigation that relies on deception must be closely monitored by an editorial supervisor with sufficient experience to make calls on what is and is not legitimate from the standpoint of professional ethics.
- The use and misuse of anonymous and confidential sources is a global phenomenon, a minefield that has claimed many casualties and also taken a toll of the public’s trust in journalism.
- The real problem for Indian journalism today is not so much the protection of anonymous and confidential sources.
- It is the licence given to official, corporate, and other privileged sources to use and abuse its columns and broadcast time and space, hiding behind the veil of anonymity.
- If they are free from scruple, these sources are able to wield power and influence without responsibility — promoting official agendas and special interests, attacking and, at times, scandalising opponents and opposing views, planting self-serving stories and, from time to time, plain disinformation.
- Since the justification for the demand of anonymity and confidentiality is rarely questioned by reporters, and since the deals struck routinely between reporter and privileged source to grant confidential status are rarely monitored and supervised properly within the newsroom, the misuse of sources by journalists, and what is even more damaging, the misuse of journalists and the news media by privileged sources have assumed epidemic proportions.
- This is where clear, precisely formulated, and well-publicised editorial guidelines are badly needed in Indian newsrooms.
Conclusion:
- Investigative journalism of quality and relevance is valuable in itself, in what it can do for ordinary folk and for society, typically holding up truth to power.
- But it can also play an instrumentalist role in re-energising and revitalising the field of professional journalism that often seems to be tired, losing steam, and shedding value.
- In India and South Asia, the news media are still in growth mode, but there are indications that the global trends will catch up with us sooner than we think.
[2] LS clears decks for MPC
What happened?
- The Lok Sabha has approved the Finance Bill 2016 which included an amendment to the RBI Act clipping the central bank governor’s powers to set monetary policy.
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
- The amendment has removed the governor’s powers to singularly set monetary policy vesting them in a six-member Monetary Policy Committee.
- Of the six members, the government will nominate three.
- The Deputy Governor in-charge of monetary policy and another officer to be nominated by the central bank’s board will also be members.
- Decisions will be taken by majority vote with each member having a vote.
- The RBI Governor will chair the committee and have a second or casting vote in case of a tie.
What else?
- In respect of additional dividend tax to be levied at the rate of 10 per cent in case of the specified tax payers, it has been clarified that it will be levied if the aggregate amount of dividends received by such tax payer from a domestic company or companies exceeds Rs.10 lakh.
- With the passage of the Bill, the government has also succeeded in amending retrospectively the definition of foreign companies in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, paving the way for political parties to receive funds from Indian registered foreign companies, where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed.
- Government has clarified that it has no intent to impose Income-Tax on agriculture income as under the Constitution, the Centre had no powers to levy tax on agriculture income.
[3] India eyes bad debt cleanup as wary state-run banks balk
News
- India is considering setting up an independent panel to help state-owned banks negotiate settlements with big businesses on bad loans, in order to shield bankers from a populist backlash they say is hobbling efforts to clean up their balance sheets.
- Some have blamed banks for going too easy on corporate tycoons, and do not want taxpayers propping up the struggling banking sector.
Bad debt has hampered banks’ ability to lend, threatening to throttle a nascent economic recovery. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made repairing bank balance sheets his administration’s “top-most priority”.
Proposal:
- Setting up a panel comprising leading bankers and government and central bank officials
- To review some larger outstanding loans and try to arrive at a settlement, finance ministry and central bank.
- The proposal, being examined by the government and in its early stages, would give the panel power to define the “haircut” a bank should face on a loan gone sour, protecting bankers from critics who want failed Indian firms to pay back in full.
- There is also a suggestion to include judges.
Now the question arises that how this proposal would fit into India’s existing legal framework?
Gaping capital hole
- RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has set a deadline of March 2017 for banks to clean up their books
- Government said it would inject $11 billion in state banks by March 2019 to help them repair their balance sheets.
Importance of the Panel:
- An independent panel for deciding haircuts on non-performing assets would accelerate decision making and help banks focus on their core lending business.
- The decision-making will be much better under an independent panel.
[4] Bitter sweet
Context
- Central and State Governments’ interference in the price mechanism of sugarcane is detrimental to the farmers.
Sugarcane
- Sugarcane is a long duration, high water and high nutrient-demanding crop.
- It is grown under wide range of climate, ranging from sub-tropical to tropical conditions.
- Temperatures above 50°C and below 20°C are not suitable for its growth.
- For optimum productivity it requires 750-1200 mm of rainfall during its entire growth period.
- Sugarcane is grown extensively in the tropical belt including States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, as sugar cane, which is a tropical crop, has favourable agro climatic conditions for its growth in these States.
- The yields are substantially higher in the tropical belt as compared to the sub-tropical regions.
Sugarcane Crop Cycle
- Generally, January to march is the period of sowing and December to March is the period of harvesting. After harvest, generally a ratoon crop is cultivated from the re-growth.
- A Ratoon Crop is the new cane which grows from the stubble left behind are harvesting.
- Taking one ratoon after normal planted crop is a common practice in India.
- The crushing season in the country starts from October, when the ratoon crop of previous year’s plantation is harvested, and reaches its peak in January before finally ending in March or April of the next year.
- But based on cane availability, the start of the crushing season may postponed by one to one and a half months in different states of the country.
How is sugarcane different from standard agricultural crops?
- One, unlike wheat or paddy, which can be stored for long after harvesting, sugarcane must be crushed within 24 hours because the sucrose content depletes rapidly post harvest.
As such, it is in the interest of both farmers and millers to have a streamlined process of trade.
- Second difference is regarding the length of the crop cycle.
Depending upon the variety and sowing time it takes about 12 to 18 months for sugarcane to mature. Thus, a sugarcane cropping decision binds a farmer for 20-22 months at a stretch, unlike wheat where the cycle from sowing to reaping lasts just about three-four months.
- Both these factors imply that a sugarcane farmer is even more in need of certainty of prices than an average farmer.
Plight of a sugarcane farmer
- Non-payment of dues by the sugar mills.
- Sugar prices have gone up by 25 per cent over the past six months, but the farmers have not received any incentive for this.
What the Government has done?
- Instead of enforcing the payment of dues to the farmers, the efforts of both the state as well as the Central governments have focused on keeping the sugar prices low by the arbitrary imposition of price ceilings and curbs on stockholding.
- Government has not allowed the markets to smoothen the price fluctuations.
- Irrespective of how the state government fixed the price — either too high or too low in comparison to what would have been a market-determined price — it is the farmers who have suffered. That’s because millers are always unwilling to take a hit or pass the benefit.
- Such efforts are not only ill-directed but also ill-advised since they reduce the incentive and the capacity of farmers to produce sugarcane in future.
What the Government should do?
The state government should allow millers to enter into a contract with farmers under the conditions of a free market, and restrict itself to ensuring the enforcement of such contracts.
1. The lead article of the day is covered under Editorial Today. Click here to read.
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