Comprehensive News Analysis 22-10-2021

By BYJU'S IAS|Updated : October 22nd, 2021

Comprehensive News Analysis covers all the important articles and editorials of 'The Hindu' from the UPSC/IAS examination point of view.

2. Do you want to revisit ₹8 lakh slab for EWS quota, SC asks Govt.

Context:

The Supreme Court has asked the Government if it wants to revisit the limit of ₹8 lakh annual income fixed for determining the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category for reservation in NEET admissions for medical courses under the all-India quota.

This topic has been covered in Oct 8th, 2021 CNA

Issue:

  • The Supreme Court’s query is significant as the One Hundred and Third Constitutional Amendment of 2019, which introduced the 10% EWS quota, is itself under challenge before a larger Bench.

  • The Amendment is under question for making economic criterion as the sole ground for grant of reservation benefits.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

1. UN unveils fund for ‘people’s economy’ in Afghanistan

Context:

The United Nations has set up a special trust fund to provide urgently-needed cash directly to Afghans through a system tapping into donor funds frozen since the Taliban takeover.

Details:

  • Cash will be provided to Afghan workers in public works programmes, such as drought and flood control programmes.

  • Grants would be given to micro-enterprises.

  • Temporary basic income would be paid to the vulnerable elderly and disabled.

Concerns:

  • According to the International Monetary Fund, Afghanistan’s economy is set to contract up to 30% in 2021 and this is likely to further fuel a refugee crisis that will affect its neighbouring countries, Turkey and Europe.

  • The Taliban takeover saw billions in central bank assets frozen and international financial institutions suspend access to funds.

  • While humanitarian aid has continued, the major concern is that the banks are running out of money, civil servants have not been paid and food prices have soared.

2. Pakistan retained on FATF’s ‘greylist’ again

Context:

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan in the ‘greylist’ yet again.

Details:

  • The Global terror financing watchdog has retained Pakistan in the greylist observing that it needed to further demonstrate that investigations and prosecutions were being pursued against the senior leadership of UN-designated terror groups.

    • The terror groups include the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

  • The Pakistan Government has two concurrent action plans with a total of 34 action plan items.

    • It has largely addressed 30 of the items.

    • Its most recent action plan from June 2021, which largely focused on money laundering deficiencies, was issued after the FATF’s regional partner – Asia-Pacific Group, identified a number of serious issues.

  • At the previous Plenary in June 2021, the FATF had kept Pakistan in the list of “jurisdictions under increased monitoring” owing to its failure in prosecuting the top operatives of the Security Council-designated terror groups.

    • It had advised that Pakistan should continue to work to address its six strategically important deficiencies, which included enhancing international cooperation by amending the money-laundering law and demonstrating that assistance was being sought from foreign countries in implementing the UNSCR 1373 designations.

    • UNSCR 1373 designations relate to Counter-Terrorism sanctions regime.

This topic has been covered in  June 28th, 2021 CNA.

Category: ECONOMY 

1. ‘Need strategic reserves of coal and gas’

Context:

The Centre has asked States to lift their hydropower output in a bid to conserve scarce coal supplies, stressing the need to build strategic reserves of imported coal and gas as was being done for petroleum products.

The Coal Crisis:

  • Coal accounts for more than 70% of India’s power generation.

  • India, the world’s second largest coal importer with the world’s fourth largest reserves, must also compete for supplies with China.

  • A surge in power demand combined with a fall in imports due to high global coal prices have led to supply disruptions and power cuts lasting up to 14 hours a day despite record supplies from state-run Coal India.

  • Most of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel stocks of less than three days.

Read more on this topic covered in  Oct 17th, 2021 CNA.

Need for Strategic Reserves:

  • At least in the foreseeable future, all the countries, especially major economies, will be dependent on fossil fuel supplies for base load and for grid balancing.

  • And it is important for such economies to take measures to insulate themselves from these supply shocks of imported fuel. This becomes important in the backdrop of major supply disruptions due to the soaring global prices of coal, gas and oil.

  • Keeping a strategic reserve of these fuels — gas, oil, imported coal would help the economies adjust and tide over these supply shocks at least in the short term.

  • Many countries have started keeping strategic reserves, because when it comes to a crunch, every country will meet its needs first.

    • For instance, Russia has curtailed gas supply to Europe because they want more gas to be consumed within their country.

  • In the absence of a well thought out strategy, high prices will make energy security very challenging.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

1. Squaring off again in the Himalayan heights

Context

  • The article analyses the growing Chinese assertiveness along the India-China border

An aggressive focus on India

  • Threat from China has persisted from a long time and it looks like they are not interested in ending the prolonged deployment along the border area

  • They have stepped up the border infrastructure, placed advanced military equipment and we have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of military exercises directed towards India.

  • These actions are not limited to Ladakh but have also been initiated in the middle and eastern sectors of the 3,488-kilometre long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Border incidents

  1. Barahoti in Uttarakhand

  • Barahoti is a disputed area between the two sides but it has been a demilitarised zone. No persons in uniform enter the area.

  • This was violated when the Chinese soldiers reportedly crossed over to Barahoti ridge through Tun Jun Pass.

    • The Barahoti ridge lies north of the Nanda Devi National Park

    • The ridge is connected to Joshimath, where the Indian Army and ITBP have camps to counter any major PLA operations.

      • The ITBP monitors the nearly 350 km border in Uttarakhand which is part of the Line of Actual Control that divides India and China.

    • They damaged some infrastructure, including a bridge and is believed that the group stayed in the vicinity for around three hours.

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  1. Arunachal Pradesh

  • China has increased the number of military exercises across the contested border in Arunachal Pradesh, denoting the PLA’s intention to keep the Indian military under pressure.

  • It will carry a risk of triggering an unintended escalation

Reasons for PLA’s aggressive approach against India

  1. Reestablishing the credibility of China’s Army

  • The first is its institutional interest as the ‘army of the revolution’ which is now losing its primacy to the PLA Air Force and PLA Navy when it comes to Taiwan or the South China Sea.

  • With China having resolved its boundary disputes with most countries, the only major adversary available for the PLA to reassert its importance is India.

  1. India’s growing presence and development of Infrastructure in the border area

  • India is now expanding its footprint in those areas along the border which it had previously abstained. This expansion is due to better connectivity and development of Infrastructure.

  • India’s intervention in Doklam to protect its interests, may have allowed China to reconsider its India strategy, reinforcing its apprehensions about territorial losses.

  • Western scholars say that there is a strong constituency in the PLA that wants to put India in its place, evoking an eerie parallel to the discourse in Mao’s China after 1959.

India’s response

  • In response to the PLA’s actions on the LAC, the Indian military has also inducted more modern military platforms and systems on the China border which has been backed by infrastructure construction.

  • Vast operational experience of Indian troops in hostile climactic and terrain conditions can help India to challenge China’s Assertiveness.

Weakness

  • Demonetization and COVID-19 has affected India’s defense spending.

  • Technological asymmetry

    • Indian Air Force (IAF) would need about 60 fighter jet squadrons by 2020 for a serious two-front threat from China and Pakistan but it is currently at 30 with numbers further reducing.

    • The Indian Navy Chief proposed for another aircraft carrier but was declined due to dearth of funds

    • The parliamentary standing committee on defence has repeatedly warned about the abnormally high share of vintage equipment in the Indian Army’s profile.

  • Majoritarian Politics has affected India’s Interest

    • India’s Policy change in Kashmir may have troubled the United Arab Emirates-brokered backchannel deal with Pakistan

      • Infiltration continues further aggravating violence in the region.

    • Bangladesh’s minorities are living in fear because of extreme events in the country

      • India may have put pressure on Dhaka to address violence

      • However, India should also be careful that its influence is not treated as interference

    • lack of institutional checks and balances on the political executive

      • In the Ladakh border crisis, the Government and its supporters were in denial about the Chinese ingress into Indian Territory

        • Use of euphemisms like ‘friction points’ for places of Chinese ingress or

        • removal of an official report about Chinese presence across the LAC from the Defence Ministry’s website or

        • Non-acknowledgement of Indian soldiers in Chinese captivity after the Galwan clash have been done to evade political accountability.

      • Parliament has not been allowed to ask questions or seek clarifications; nor has the parliamentary standing committee deliberated upon the issue.

      • Large sections of Indian media have been complicit in this cover up, keeping the public in the dark and blocking the feedback loop that keeps democratic governments honest and responsive.

Geopolitics arising out of the great power competition in the Indo-Pacific.

  • India’s active participation in Quad has irked China, it sees the grouping as a threat against its expansionist interests in the South China Sea.

  • S.-India Defense relations, expanded trade relationship has further made China look at India with suspicion

Way forward

  • India has been applying a combination of building up pressure through military presence, economic policies, and diplomatic advances. India needs to keep up and build upon this pressure.

  • China’s aggression in Ladakh is an opportunity for India to redefine its security architecture.

F. Prelims Facts 

1. ‘U.K., India joint military exercise is to keep peace and stability’

What’s in News?

Exercise Konkan Shakti.

  • It is one of the biggest joint exercises being held between the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and India’s armed forces.

  • It is the 1st tri-service exercise between India and the United Kingdom.

  • In the exercise, there will be re-entry of UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) into western Indian Ocean waters.

  • K’s HMSQueen Elizabeth aims to strengthen cultural ties with India with an intent to “demonstrate that democracies that have similar views of the world want to work together to keep peace and stability”.

G. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

I.UPSC Mains Practice Questions

 
  1. India marked a major milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by completing 100 crore vaccine doses in a record time.  In light of this, analyse the factors that helped India achieve this feat. (15 marks, 250 words)[GS-2, Governance]

  2. Despite the onerous nature of their duties, the police are a neglected lot. Discuss with relevant examples. (15 marks, 250 words)[GS-3, Internal Security]

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