1962 India-China War

The boundary dispute that led to the 1962 war with China remains unresolved.

• Historical legacy: The border between India and China remain disputed from pre-independent India
  • g. In the eastern sector, the McMahon Line had been drawn in 1914 without even a survey and taking China into confidence.
• Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh: The main reason for the Indo-China war was a dispute over the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions.
  • Claim over territories: India claimed Aksai Chin to be part of Ladakh whereas China claimed it as part of Xinjiang.
• India’s intelligence failure: India remained unaware that this area was already in use by China.
  • The Chinese built a 220-km-long road there only after the completion of the project was announced in 1957.
• Failure at leadership:
  • Tibet agreement in 1954: India consciously avoided discussions about the border, leaving the boundary question open.
  • The meeting between Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai: It failed to bridge their differences.
• India had misguided optimism about the ‘moral’ superiority and peaceful intentions of the Chinese leadership: It resulted in a weak Indian Army that was ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face the realities of hard power.
• Underestimation of the strength of the Indian Air Force (IAF): which resulted in its offensive fleet not being used.
• Political interference in affairs was purely military mismanagement of events from the top.

Result of the war: China emerged victorious. It occupied a large part of Ladakh and Arunachal but eventually returned to territories occupied in Arunachal but retained control of about 38,000 square kilometres of Aksai Chin in Ladakh.

Impact: It severely demoralized the Indian army, showed its weakness ( eventually leading to war with Pakistan in 1965) and led to decades of handicapped relations with China.

Agreement between India and China:

• ‘Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity’ (1993)
• Military CBMs (1996)
• Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the settlement of boundary question (2005)
• Border defence cooperation (2012)

FCRA and NGO

Recently, The Ministry of Home Affairs has cancelled the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) for alleged violations of the provisions of the Act.

• The NGOs came under the scanner in July 2020 over the possible violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Income Tax Act and the FCRA.

What is the FCRA?

The “Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act” (FCRA) regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.

• First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 in which a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
• The FCRA act is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Under the new rules notified by MHA in 2015, NGOs are required to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.

The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations. It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.

Provisions of the Act:

• The FCRA requires every person or NGO wishing to receive foreign donations to be registered under the Act.
• To open a bank account for the receipt of foreign funds in State Bank of India, Delhi is mandatory.
• These funds can be utilised only for the purpose for which they have been received, and as stipulated in the Act.
• The receivers of foreign funds are also required to file annual returns, and they must not transfer the funds to another NGO.

Who Cannot Receive Foreign Contributions?

• The Act prohibits the receipt of foreign funds by:
• Candidates for elections,
• Journalists or newspaper and media broadcast companies,
• Judges and government servants,
• Members of the legislature and political parties or their office-bearers, and
• Organisations of a political nature.

Registration under FCRA:

FCRA registrations are granted to individuals or associations that have definite cultural, economic, educational, religious, and social programmes.

• MHA makes inquiries through the Intelligence Bureau into the antecedents of the applicant and accordingly processes the application.
• The MHA is required to approve or reject the application within 90 days — failing which it is expected to inform the NGO of the reasons for the same.
• Once granted, FCRA registration is valid for five years.
• NGOs are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration. In case of failure to apply for renewal, the registration is deemed to have expired.

When is a registration suspended or cancelled?

The government reserves the right to cancel the FCRA registration of any NGO if it finds it to be in violation of the Act.

• Registration can be cancelled for a range of reasons including, if “in the opinion of the Central Government, it is necessary for the public interest to cancel the certificate”.
• Once the registration of an NGO is cancelled, it is not eligible for re-registration for three years.

How we can protect migrant workers

There has been massive reporting of exploitation and labour violations faced by Indian workers in the Gulf countries.

Migration to Gulf countries:

• Globally, India ranks as number one in terms of international migrants and remittances and six countries in the Gulf alone account for close to 50 per cent of Indian migrants.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, there are over 13.4 million Non-Resident Indians worldwide.
  • Of them, 64% live in the GCC countries, the highest being in the UAE followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
• Almost 90% of the Indian migrants who live in GCC countries are low- and semi-skilled workers, as per International Labor Organization

Issue faced by migrants:

• Ill effects of Kafala system: It is a sponsorship system in the Gulf that enables employers to wield significant power over the lives of migrant workers.
  • The media have likened employment conditions under kafala to “modern-day slavery.”
• Labour rights violations: More recently, the media offered wide coverage of labour rights violations at three events — the Dubai Expo, the construction of stadiums for the Qatar world cup and the Covid pandemic.
• Social security: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been accused of not providing healthcare services, employment and social protection for workers.
  • g witnessed during Covid 19 lockdown.
• Wage theft: The Return Migration Survey revealed that among 47 per cent who lost their jobs, 39 per cent have reported non-payment of wages and reduction in wages.
  • Similarly, during the construction of the Football Stadium in Qatar for the coming FIFA World Cup, there were several reports of non-payment of wages, contract violations and intimidation of workers.
• Occupational safety: As per the reports published by The Guardian, 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia have died in Qatar in the last 10 years majority being Indians mainly due to occupational hazards.

Efforts taken:

• Reform by GCC countries in labour laws: Much of this is symbolic and tries to project the region as migrant-labour friendly.
  • However, the changes should be seen as a positive sign on the road to abolishing Kafala and other anti-labour laws.
• Emigration bill 2021: It envisages comprehensive emigration management, institutes regulatory mechanisms governing overseas employment of Indian nationals and establishes a framework for the protection and promotion of the welfare of emigrants.
  • The bill is yet to be passed.
• MoUs with GCC countries on domestic workers’ recruitment and prevention of irregular recruitment has had very little impact.
• Madad Portal: It has enabled migrant workers from the country to file their grievances.
  • According to the Ministry of External Affairs website, about 95 per cent of the registered grievances were resolved.

Efforts needed: –

• Need for a joint effort to address the issues of migrants rather than playing a blame game during situations like the pandemic and migrant deaths.
• Developing a collective conscience on global labour mobility.
• Building regional alliances: India should play a leading role in building regional alliances in the South Asia-GCC corridor.
• Involving stakeholders: A joint effort of all stakeholders including government, trade unions, recruitment agents and civil society can bring notable changes.

Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC)

Context:  The world marks 60 years since the fateful events of the Cuban missile crisis. The US President recently invoked revisiting the Cuban missile crisis.

Reason for the crisis: During the Cold war phase, USA and USSR were sceptical of each other moves. In retaliation to the USA placing Jupiter missiles in Turkey, USSR wanted to place its missile in Cuba (a socialist country and very close to the USA). This led to CMC.

The Agreement: After UN intervention, the crisis was averted with each side withdrawing its missiles. Also, the USA agreed not to invade Cuba again.

Consequences:  The agreement was seen as demoralizing for USSR, it led to the ouster of its president Khrushchev whereas John F. Kennedy was heralded for his statesmanship. The event highlighted the dangers of nuclear brinkmanship. Also, in 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed a treaty banning atmospheric and underwater nuclear testing.

SC directions on hate speech

Context:  Recently Supreme court has directed the police chiefs of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to take “immediate” suo motu action against any hate speech by lodging criminal cases without waiting for formal complaints.

What is Hate Speech?

Hate speech is an incitement to hatred against a particular group of persons marginalized by their religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, and so on.

• The Law Commission, in its 267th report on hate speech, said such utterances have the potential to provoke individuals and society to commit acts of terrorism, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.

Laws on hate speech in India

• India does not have a formal legal framework for dealing with hate speech, a set of provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), loosely defining hate speech, are invoked.
• Section 295 of IPC: – it defines and prescribes punishment for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
  • Origin: it was brought in 1927 (Rangila Rasool case). Its antecedent lies in the “communally charged atmosphere of North India in the 1920s.
• Section 298 IPC penalises ‘uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.
• Section 153A IPC penalises ‘promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony’.
• Section 66A of the IT Act: – punishes sending offensive messages through communication services is added when such speech is made online.
• Part VII of the Representation of People Act, 1951 classifies hate speech as an offence committed during elections into two categories: corrupt practices and electoral offences.

Supreme court rulings on 295A:

• Ramji Lal Modi v State of Uttar Pradesh (1957): – Supreme Court upheld the law on the grounds that it was brought in to preserve “public order”.
  • Public order is an exemption to the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to religion recognised by the Constitution.
• Baba Khalil Ahmed v State of Uttar Pradesh (1960): – the Supreme Court said that the “malicious intent” of the accused can be determined not just from the speech in question but also from external sources.
• Baragur Ramachandrappa v State of Karnataka, (2007 ): – The SC adopting a pragmatic approach ordered that public order supersedes the individual interest of free speech.

RBI monitoring Bank

Context: RBI has put Dhanalakshmi Bank under observation due to decreasing capital-to-risk-weighted asset ratio(CRAR) of the Bank.

What is the role of RBI in the functioning of banks–

Under the Banking regulations act 1949, RBI has the duty to inspect and regulate all commercial banks including Basel norms, CRR, SLR etc.

The capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio or capital adequacy ratio measures a bank’s financial stability by measuring its available capital as a percentage of its risk-weighted credit exposure.

Under the Basel norms, a bank must keep a minimum Capital to Risk Weighted Asset Ratio(CRAR) of 9% or higher.

• As NPA increases→ asset quality decreases→RWA increase→ And so Bank would need to increase their CRAR to maintain the confidence of the market.
  • In Dhanalakshmi bank, NPA increased but CRAR decreased. Hence RBI took it under direct observation.

Terms:

Basel Norms: These norms were set by the member countries of the Bank of International Settlements to ensure global financial stability.

Liquidity coverage ratio should be more than or equal to one.

• It means a bank has enough high-quality liquid assets(cash, gold etc) to survive a high-stress scenario of cash outflow(the bank run) for at least 30 days or more.

Prompt Corrective Action framework: Under PCA, all commercial banks are monitored for asset quality and capital sufficiency. Accordingly, they are classified into three risk categories(the higher the number higher the risk). All commercial banks and Non-deposit taking NBFCs are covered under the PCA norms of RBI. NABARD sets PCA norms for Regional Rural banks.

• Exit from PCA norms is possible only if no breach is detected in 4 consecutive quarterly audit statements.

NAREDCO Finance Committee

Context: National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), has formed a “NAREDCO Finance Committee” (NFC) to enable real estate developers easy access to funds based on merit and viability of the projects.

NAREDCO is an apex body formed under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

Highlights:

Significance:

• The newly-formed Committee will focus on project financing, which would fulfil the practical requirements of construction by adhering to the construction cycle.
• The NFC has been formed to help the industry and developers infuse liquidity into the system and help the consumers too with ready-to-move-in projects.

InvITs

Context: The Government of India is increasingly using the InvIT route to monetise assets held by government entities and bring in broad-based public shareholding.

What are Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs)?

An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) are an in-between vehicle that has features of stocks, bonds and mutual funds. It is a pooled investment vehicle like a mutual fund but applicable to the Infrastructure sector.

• While mutual funds invest the sum received in financial securities, an InvIT invests the same in real infrastructure assets like roads, power plants, transmission lines, pipelines etc.
• They are regulated under the Sebi (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 and the Indian Trust Act, 1882.

How do they work?

InvITs list on the bourses to raise money to acquire a portfolio of infrastructure assets that are already running and generating regular cash flows.

Sugarcane production shifting from South to North: NSO report

Context: According to the latest National Statistical Office (NSO) report- Between 2011 and 2020 period Six sugarcane-producing northern Indian states saw a 42 per cent increase in their output value while that of five states from the south declined 32.4 per cent during the same period.

Reason for production shifting:

This northward shift in sugarcane production is on account of the larger irrigated area in the region and higher State Advisory Price (SAP) over and above the Centre’s Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) being offered in the north, especially by Uttar Pradesh.

FRP is fixed under a sugarcane control order, in 1966. It is the minimum price that sugar mills are supposed to pay to the farmers. However, states determine their own State Agreed Price (SAP) which is generally higher than the FRP.

About NSO:

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) merged with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) to form the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2019. It comes under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).

Basmati Rice

Context: Five new varieties of seeds of Basmati rice, developed by a group of Indian scientists are all set to bring revolutionary changes in the way Basmati rice is cultivated in the country.

• Three of the five varieties can resist two common diseases of paddy (one bacterial and one fungal).
• The other two varieties can save 35% of water as the method of Direct Sowing of Rice (DSR) can be used to raise them.
• These two seeds are resistant to herbicides too, helping the farmers control weeds more efficiently.

Basmati rice production in India:

India is known for its Basmati rice, with seven States — Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — earmarked for geographical indication (GI).

• Basmati, known for its mouthfeel, aroma, and length of the grain when cooked and tasted, has a market abroad and brings about ₹30,000 crores in foreign exchange every year.
• While 75% of the export is to West Asian countries, European Union countries also import Indian Basmati.
• However, recently, the export to EU countries faced certain hurdles due to the increase in the pesticide residue levels in the rice from India.

Doping Violations

Context: Kamalpreet Kaur, the 26- year-old Indian discus thrower, was banned for three years with effect from March 29 after she tested positive for a prohibited substance earlier this year.

• According to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics, 62 Indian athletes have been caught doping or in possession of banned substances.
• Only Russia has recorded more doping violations than India with 87 athletes receiving punishment.

How are anti-doping activities regulated?

World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) states an athlete is required to provide a sample at any time and at any place to an anti-doping organisation that commands authority to carry out anti-doping activities in the country.

• At international events, the organiser is expected to carry out the testing, for example, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in the case of the Olympics.
• If tested positive for intake of any banned substance, the individual player, upon the decision of the organising body, is not only liable to be disqualified but also stands to forfeit all medals, points and prizes.
• The punishment does not apply to other competitions that the athlete participated in unless it is established that the same drug was used to alter the performance capability of the other competitors too.
• As for team sports, in case two or more members of the team are found to violate the anti-doping code, the entire team could forfeit points and prizes and be disqualified.

What is WADA?

Established in 1999, WADA is a global, independent anti-doping agency responsible for facilitating education, scientific research, development of anti-doping capacities, and ensuring compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).

• India has the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

What is WADC?

WADC is the fundamental and universal document dictating the terms of administration and jurisprudence pertaining to all anti-doping activities.

Neanderthals

Context: Nobel laureate Savante Paabo and his team-led study of neanderthal DNA has given new insights into the family life of neanderthals.

Who were neanderthals-

Neanderthal was a member of a group of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia in periods from 2 lakh to 24000 years ago(in the Pleistocene epoch). According to recent theories, all of them were either wiped out or merged into larger homo sapien groups.

What do recent studies suggest-

• They lived in close units of 14-20 members only.
• DNA evidence in the study of coalescence time suggests that nearly 60% of female members in neanderthal groups migrated from elsewhere.
• This is in contrast to earlier theories that men constituted a major migrant group.
• The sophisticated structure of skeletons suggests that neanderthals buried their dead.

Important terms to know

• Names to remember Chagyrskova and Okladnikova– limestone caves in Russia.
• Coalescence time: It is the time gap indicating how far in the past their most recent ancestors lived.

Sampurnanand Optical Telescope(SOT)

Context: Sampurnanand Optical Telescope completed 50 years of operations

About ST: Name after the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Dr Sampurnanand, the 104-cm Sampurnanand Telescope, situated at ARIES, Manora Peak in Nainital. It was installed in 1972.

Some landmark observations: Discovery of rings of Uranus, and additional rings around Saturn, afterglows of Gamma-ray-bursts (GRBs) and micro-lensing events etc.