India-Mongolia Relations

Why in News

Recently, India and Mongolia have reviewed bilateral cooperation in hydrocarbons and steel sectors.

Key Points

• India reiterated its commitment to timely completion of the Mongol Refinery Project, the country’s 1^st oil refinery.
  
  • The greenfield Mongol Refinery Project is being built under a Line of Credit from the Government of India.
  • It is expected to cut some of Mongolia’s fuel import dependence.
  • The Project came in the backdrop of Mongolia, which has large uranium deposits signing an agreement for civil nuclear cooperation with India in 2009 and China unfolding its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
    
    • India is opposed to the BRI, which seeks to invest about USD 8 trillion in infrastructure projects across Asia, Europe and Africa, as it says the initiative lures countries into debt traps and does not respect sovereignty or address environmental concerns.
• India welcomed the keenness of Mongolian companies in supplying coking coal to Indian steel industry. According to a recent report, India will overtake China as the largest importer of coking coal by 2025.
  
  • Further, India looks forward to substantial partnerships with Mongolian companies in the areas of minerals, coal and steel.
• India expressed its willingness to further share its expertise in the oil and gas sector including capacity building in accordance with the developmental priorities of Mongolia.

India-Mongolia

• Historical Relations:
  
  • India and Mongolia have interacted through Buddhism throughout history.
• Diplomatic Relations:
  
  • India, the first country outside the former Soviet bloc of nations to open diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955, has upgraded ties with Mongolia to a strategic partnership.
  • In 2015, Mongolia witnessed the first ever visit by the Prime Minister of India (a part of India’s Act East policy).
• International Cooperation:
  
  • Mongolia has publicly reiterated its support for India’s membership to the permanent seat of the expanded United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
  • India has played an important role in getting Mongolia membership to key international forums, including the United Nations (UN), despite strong opposition from China and Taiwan. India also championed the inclusion of Mongolia in the Non-Aligned Movement.
    
    • In a reciprocal gesture, Mongolia co-sponsored a 1972 UN resolution with India and Bhutan for the recognition of the newly liberated Bangladesh.
  • Other Forums of which both the countries are members: Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), World Trade Organisation (WTO).
    
    • India is a member whereas Mongolia is an observer state at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• Economic Cooperation:
  
  • India - Mongolia bilateral trade was USD 38.3 million in 2019, down from USD 52.6 million in 2018.
• Defence Cooperation:
  
  • Joint defence exercises code-named Nomadic Elephant.
  • India is also an active participant in an annual week-long joint training exercise called the Khaan Quest, hosted by Mongolia.
• Cooperation over Environmental Issues:
  
  • Part of the Bishkek Declaration (snow leopard).
• Cultural Relations:
  
  • The Ministry of Culture (India) has taken up the project of reprinting 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
• Other Possible Areas of Cooperation:
  
  • Solar energy is abundant and cooperation is solicited especially as India has emerged as the leader by way of International Solar Alliance and its very own ambitious alternate and renewable energy projects.
  • Mongolia’s mining sector including copper and Uranium hold exceptional cooperation possibilities.
  • In the area of cooperatives, India has the capacity to share its expertise for the vastly dispersed farmers and milkmen in Mongolia.

Way Forward

• Mongolia’s strategic position at the cross junction of Central Asia, Northeast Asia, far East, China and Russia attracts major powers towards it. India should consider Mongolia as a green zone of economic development that absorbs hi-tech features and production skills in a modernization process.
• To preserve and promote the common heritage of Indo-Mongolian culture is important. This should serve as the basis for nurturing and pursuing future common interests.

Source: PIB

Seventh Trade Policy Review of India at the WTO

Why in News

Recently, the final session of India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR) concluded at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

• The TPR is an important mechanism under the WTO’s monitoring function in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined by the WTO with an aim to contribute towards improved adherence to WTO rules.
• India’s last TPR took place in 2015.

Key Points

• Appreciation for India:
  
  • Introduction of Goods & Services Tax in 2016.
  • India’s efforts in the implementation of WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
  • Role played by India in furthering “Ease of Doing Business” in the country.
  • India’s improved ranking in “Trading across Borders” indicator under the Ease of Doing Business Report.
    
    • Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), aims to speed up customs procedures and make trade easier, faster, and cheaper.
  • The steps taken by India for liberalizing its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regime and India’s National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, 2016.
• Concerns for India:
  
  • India’s trade policy remained largely unchanged since the previous review.
  • India continues to rely on trade policy instruments such as the tariff, export taxes, minimum import prices, import and export restrictions, and licensing, WTO said.
    
    • These are used to manage domestic demand and supply requirements, protect the economy from wide domestic price fluctuations, and ensure conservation and proper utilization of natural resources.
    • As a result, frequent changes are made to tariff rates and other trade policy instruments, which create uncertainty for traders.
• India’s Request:
  
  • The ongoing pandemic has again brought to the fore, the importance of food and livelihood security and urged for a permanent solution to Public Stock Holding (PSH) for food security.

Public Stockholding (PSH)

• It is a policy tool used by governments to procure, stockpile and distribute food when needed.
• Currently, public distribution programmes of developing countries are included under trade-distorting Amber Box measures that attract reduction commitments of WTO.
• India with the group of developing countries is demanding that the programmes for food security purposes be exempted from subsidy reduction commitments of WTO.
  
  • India has repeatedly demanded a permanent solution for public stockholding issues.

Trade Policy Review Mechanism

• The Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) was an early result of the Uruguay Round.
• It is the main transparency instrument of the WTO, affording opportunities for a process of collective evaluation of the trade policies and practices of individual members.
• Objectives:
  
  • Facilitating the smooth functioning of the multilateral trading system by enhancing the transparency of Members’ trade policies.
  • To examine the impact of a Member’s trade policies and practices on the multilateral trading system.
• Mechanism:
  
  • The reviews take place in the Trade Policy Review Body which is actually the WTO General Council — comprising the WTO’s full membership — operating under special rules and procedures.
• Function:
  
  • The trade policy review allows members to put the overall trade and economic policies of a country under the scanner.
  • The trade policies of developing countries are taken up for review every four years while developed ones face similar scrutiny every two years.
  • The mandate of the TPRM was broadened to cover services trade and intellectual property.
• All WTO Members are subject to review under the TPRM.

Source:PIB

Japan Provides Loan to India

Why in News

India and Japan signed an agreement for a loan of up to 50 billion yen (about Rs. 3,550 crore) to back India’s economic support programmes for the poor and vulnerable affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Key Points

• About the Loan:
  
  • It is a part of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan.
    
    • ODA is defined as government aid designed to promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries.
    • Loans and credits for military purposes are excluded.
  • The loan has an interest rate of 0.65% per annum and a repayment period of 15 years, including a five-year grace period.
  • The financial support aims to support the Indian government’s programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), which aims to mitigate socio-economic impacts and strengthen socio-economic institutions.
    
    • This includes schemes for distributing food grains to the poor and vulnerable, provision of assistance and support to construction workers, and provision of special insurance for health workers fighting Covid-19.
  • It is for the implementation of health and medical policy by the Government of India, and is expected to lead to the development of hospitals equipped with ICUs (Intensive Care Units) and infection prevention and management facilities.
    
    • It is also expected to lead to the enhancement of telemedicine using digital technology in numerous villages across India.
• Previous Support:
  
  • Japan had earlier provided budget support of 50 billion yen and grant assistance worth one billion yen to support the Indian government’s efforts to counter the Covid-19 crisis.
  • Japanese assistance to India now totals approximately Rs. 5,800 crores.
• India-Japan Economic Relations:
  
  • India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958.
  • In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has strengthened and grown into strategic partnership.
    
    • Japan was the 4^th largest investor for India in FY2019.
    • India has been the largest recipient of Japanese ODA Loan for the past decades. Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA.
  • Further, Japan continues to cooperate in supporting strategic connectivity linking South Asia to Southeast Asia through the synergy between ''Act East'' policy and ''Partnership for Quality Infrastructure.''

Source: PIB

Wages for Housework

Why in News

Recently, a political party of Tamil Nadu has promised salaries to housewives as a part of its electoral campaign.

• A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2018 shows that, globally, women perform 76.2% of total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men. In Asia and the Pacific, this figure rises to 80%.

Key Points

• Background:
  
  • Wages for Housework Movement:
    
    • The International Wages for Housework Campaign started in Italy in 1972 as a feminist movement that highlighted the role of gendered labour in the home and its connection to the production of surplus value under capitalism. The movement further spread to Britain and America.
    • Alongside other demands for social and political equality, women’s rights campaigners made visible and also politicised women’s everyday experience of housework and child care in the ‘private’ realm of the household.
  • Scenario in India:
    
    • In 2010, an application by the National Housewives Association, seeking recognition as a trade union was rejected by the deputy registrar of trade unions on the ground that housework is not a trade or an industry.
    • In 2012, the then minister for Women and Child development announced that the government was considering mandating a salary for housework to wives, from husbands. The purpose was to empower women financially and help them live with dignity.
      
      • The proposal never materialised and with the change in the government in 2014, the idea was put to rest.
• Issue:
  
  • Housework demands effort and sacrifice, 365 days a year, 24/7. Despite this, a huge proportion of Indian women are not treated equal to men.
  • A large number of women live with domestic violence and cruelty because they are economically dependent on others, mainly their husbands.
  • Time-use data from 2019 gathered by the National Sample Survey Organisation revealed that only about a quarter of men and boys above six years engaged in unpaid household chores, compared to over four-fifths of women.
    
    • Every day, an average Indian male spends 1.5 hours per day in unpaid domestic work, compared to about five hours by a female.
• Arguments in Favour of Household Wage:
  
  • More Accurate National Income Accounting: Domestic labour of women is not accounted for in either the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the employment metrics. Neglecting to include it would thus mean underestimating GDP of the economy.
  • Makes Woman Autonomous and Controls Domestic Violence: The wage that the state ought to pay women would make them autonomous of the men on whom they were dependent.
    
    • Most women continue in an abusive relationship because they don’t have a way out, as they are financially dependent on their partner.
  • Redefines the Role of Women: More fundamentally, the very demand for a wage was a repudiation of housework as an expression of women’s nature. It was a revolt against the assigned social role of women.
  • Welfare of a large Segment of Population: According to the Census in 2011, people engaged in household duties have been treated as non-workers, even when 159.9 million women stated that “household work” was their main occupation.
  • Recognition as the first step to Equality: Recognition of household work is one of the most central processes in empowerment. It gives them a claim to equality within the patriarchal Indian household that only recognises the work done by men.
    
    • Once recognised as work, this arena of unpaid domestic labour that is dominated almost entirely by women can become one where women can demand some degree of parity in terms of the time and energy expended on it.
  • Time Poverty: Combining paid work commitments with a mountain of menial, domestic labour at home means poor women are more likely to suffer from ‘time poverty’.
    
    • Time poverty fundamentally undermines women’s human rights since it undermines women’s agency and ability to make choices. The immense burden of work therefore prevents women from pursuing further education, employment opportunities, raising their skill-level and tending to their own well-being.
• Against Household Wage:
  
  • Increased Responsibility: Asking men to pay for wives’ domestic work could further enhance their sense of entitlement. It may also put the additional onus on women to perform.
  • Strengthen the Position of Men: Buying domestic labour from wife poses a serious risk of formalising the patriarchal Indian family where the position of men stems from their being “providers” in the relationship.
  • Acceptance and application: Despite a legal provision, equal inheritance rights continue to be elusive for a majority of women.
  • Burden on Government: There are still debates on who would pay for the housework done by women, if it is to be done by the State then this will put additional fiscal burden on government finances.

Way Forward

• We need to strengthen awareness, implementation and utilisation of other existing provisions. Starting from the right to reside in the marital home, to streedhan and haq meher, to coparcenary and inheritance rights as daughters and to basic services, free legal aid and maintenance in instances of violence and divorce.
• Women should be encouraged and helped to reach their full potential through quality education, access and opportunities of work, gender-sensitive and harassment-free workplaces and attitudinal and behaviour change within families to make household chores more participative.

Source:IE

SC Notice on Plea to Bar Disqualified Legislators

Why in News

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India (EC) to respond to a plea to debar legislators, disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, from contesting byelections during the rest of the tenure of the House.

Key Points

• Background:
  
  • The plea comes in the backdrop of recent political events in several States such as Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka in which Members of Legislative Assemblies resign, followed by the collapse of the incumbent government. They surface again as Ministers in the new government formed by a rival political party.
• Arguments made by the Petitioner:
  
  • The plea said that once a member of the House incurs disqualification under the tenth Schedule, he or she cannot be permitted to contest again during the term for which he was elected (considering Article 172 of the Constitution).
  • If a seat falls vacant due to disqualification then that particular disqualified member of the House has to incur disability under Article 191 (1)(e) of the Constitution and be debarred from being chosen again during the term for which he/she was elected.
• Related Constitutional Provisions:
  
  • Para 2 of the Xth Schedule:
    
    • It says defecting legislators “disqualified for being a member of the House.”
  • Article 172:
    
    • It makes a membership of a House coterminous with the term of 5 years of the House.
  • Article 191(1) (e):
    
    • A person shall be disqualified for being a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of a State if he is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule.
• Tenth Schedule:
  
  • The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52^nd Amendment Act.
  • It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature.
  • The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.
  • Disqualification:
    
    • If a member of a House belonging to a political party:
      
      • Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or
      • Votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by his political party without obtaining prior permission of such party and such act has not been condoned by the party within 15 days.
    • If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
    • If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
  • Exceptions under the Law:
    
    • If a member goes out of his party as a result of a merger of the party with another party. A merger takes place when two-thirds of the members of the party have agreed to such merger.
    • If a member, after being elected as the presiding officer of the House, voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or rejoins it after he ceases to hold that office.
  • Decision of the Presiding Officer is Subject to Judicial Review:
    
    • In the Kihoto Hollohan case (1993), the Supreme Court declared that while deciding a question under the 10th Schedule, the presiding officer should function as a tribunal.
      
      • Hence, his/her decision (like that of any other tribunal) was subject to judicial review on the grounds of mala fides, perversity, etc.
  • Time limit within which the Presiding Officer decides:
    
    • There is no time limit as per the law within which the Presiding Officers should decide on a plea for disqualification.
    • The courts also can intervene only after the officer has made a decision, and so the only option for the petitioner is to wait until the decision is made.
    • There have been several cases where the Courts have expressed concern about the unnecessary delay in deciding such petitions.
      
      • The SCin a recent judgement held that unless there are “exceptional circumstances”, disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule should be decided by Speakers within three months.

Source:TH

Demand For Autonomy in Assam

Why In News

There has been a demand for implementation of Article 244A for the creation of an autonomous State within Assam.

Key Points

• Background:
  
  • The appeal to the Centre has been for the creation of an autonomous State for the Karbi Anglong region.
    
    • This has been a demand since 1986.
  • The districts are currently governed by two autonomous councils Karbi Anglong and North Cachar hills.
• Definition of Scheduled and Tribal Areas:
  
  • The areas inhabited by the socially and educationally backward ‘Aboriginals’ are called Scheduled Areas.
• Administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas:
  
  • There are two schedules (5^th and 6^th) of the Indian Constitution which entail the details about the control and management of the Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
  • Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution:
    
    • The provisions regarding the administration and control of Scheduled and Tribal Areas of any state except the four states (Assam, Meghalaya,Tripura, Mizoram) are mentioned under this schedule.
    • At present, 10 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.
  • Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
    
    • This schedule deals with the administration and control of the scheduled and tribal areas of the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.
  • Scheduled and Tribal Areas are dealt with two articles:
    
    • Article 244:
      
      • This article deals with the administration of the Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
      • It defines Scheduled Areas as the areas defined so by the President of India and are mentioned in the fifth schedule of the Constitution.
    • Article 244A:
      
      • Formation of an autonomous state comprising certain tribal areas in Assam and creation of local legislature or Council of Ministers or both therefore.

Source:TH

Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services Project

Why in News

Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) India Forum-2021 is being organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in virtual format.

• The MoSPI has taken up several initiatives under the project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES)” which aims to advance the theory and practice of ecosystem accounting in India.

Key Points

• About the Project:
  
  • The NCAVES Project, funded by the European Union, has been jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • India is one of the five countries taking part in this project - the other countries being Brazil, China, South Africa and Mexico.
  • In India, the NCAVES project is being implemented by the MoSPI in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Department of Space.
• Natural Capital Accounting (NCA):
  
  • It is an umbrella term covering efforts to make use of an accounting framework to provide a systematic way to measure and report on stocks and flows of natural capital.
    
    • Natural capital is another term for the stock of renewable and non-renewable resources that combine to yield a flow of benefits to people.
  • NCA covers accounting for individual environmental assets or resources, both biotic and abiotic (such as water, minerals, energy, timber, fish), as well as accounting for ecosystem assets (e.g. forests; wetlands), biodiversity and ecosystem services, in both physical and monetary terms.
  • Just like the compilation of national accounts of a country is guided by the System of National Accounts (SNA), for natural capital accounting, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is taken.
    
    • The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) provides a framework for measuring the link between the environment and the economy.
    • SEEA-Central Framework was adopted in February 2012 as an international statistical standard by the UN Statistical Commission.
    • The SEEA accounts bring into direct focus the relationship between the environment and economy not revealed through traditional measures of economic activity, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• Ecosystem Services:
  
  • As a part of an ecosystem, humans derive lots of benefits from the biotic and abiotic components. These benefits are collectively termed as ecosystem services.
  • Ecosystem services are classified into four types:
    
    • Provisioning Services: This includes the products/raw materials or energy outputs like food, water, medicines and other resources from ecosystems.
    • Regulating Services: This includes the services which regulate the ecological balance. For example, forests purify and regulate air quality, prevent soil erosion, and control greenhouse gases etc.
    • Supporting Services: These form the basis for other services. They provide habitat for different life forms, retain biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and other services for supporting life on the earth.
    • Cultural Services: It includes recreational, aesthetic, cultural and spiritual services, etc. Most natural elements such as landscapes, mountains, caves, are used as a place for cultural and artistic purposes.
• Benefits:
  
  • The participation in the project has helped MoSPI commence the compilation of the Environment Accounts as per the UN-SEEA framework and release environmental accounts in its publication “EnviStats India” on an annual basis from 2018.
  • Several of these accounts are closely related to the social and economic attributes, making them a useful tool for the Policy.
  • Another tool under the NCAVES project is the development of the India-EVL Tool which is essentially a look-up tool giving the values of various ecosystem services in the different States of the country.
  • Ecosystem accounting can produce information on the extent of ecosystems, their condition based on selected indicators, and the flow of ecosystem services.

Source:PIB

South African Variant of Coronavirus

Why in News

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised a concern over the South African variant of Coronavirus.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • South Africa named the variant 501Y.V2 because of the N501Y mutation they found in the spike protein that the virus uses to gain entry into cells within the body.
    
    • Changes in spike protein could possibly affect how the virus behaves in terms of its ability to infect, or cause severe disease, or escape the immune response made by vaccines.
  • This mutation was also found in the new strain that the UK notified WHO..
    
    • While the mutant virus from the UK also has the N501Y mutation, phylogenetic analysis has shown that 501Y.V2 from South Africa are different virus variants.
    • Phylogenetic analysis is the study of evolutionary development of a species or a group of organisms or a particular characteristic of an organism.
• Concerns:
  
  • Preliminary experiments have shown that monoclonal antibodies that were effective against SARS-CoV2 are less effective against the South Africa variant.
• Effect of Vaccination:
  
  • The serum of persons who have been administered the Covid vaccine is now being tested in labs in the UK and South Africa to check whether it can neutralise the South African strain.
• Tracking Mutation in Virus:
  
  • Global scientific collaboration and public genomic sequence databases like Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) enables WHO and partners to track the virus from the beginning.
    
    • GISAID is a public platform started by the WHO in 2008 for countries to share genome sequences.
    • The GISAID Initiative promotes the international sharing of all influenza virus sequences, related clinical and epidemiological data associated with human viruses, and geographical as well as species-specific data associated with avian and other animal viruses.
• Mutant Variant in India:
  
  • India reported a total of 82 persons with new UK mutant strain and presently there are no reports on the South African mutant.
• Earlier Mutation:
  
  • D614G Mutation:
    
    • This particular mutation aided the virus in attaching more efficiently with the ACE2 receptor in the human host, thereby making it more successful in entering a human body than its predecessors.
    • D614G showed increased infectivity but it also displayed greater ability at attaching itself to the cell walls inside an individual’s nose and throat, increasing the viral load.
  • N501Y mutant:
    
    • In this case there has been a single nucleotide change in one portion of the spike protein, so there would be no bearing on the disease biology or even diagnostics.
    • There is no evidence that this strain is more transmissible or more severe/resistant to treatment or vaccination.

Mutation

• A mutation means a change in the genetic sequence of the virus.
• In the case of SARS-CoV-2, which is an Ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus, a mutation means a change in the sequence in which its molecules are arranged.
  
  • SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes Covid-19.
  • RNA is an important biological macromolecule that is present in all biological cells.
    
    • Principally involved in the synthesis of proteins, carrying the messenger instructions from Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), which itself contains the genetic instructions required for the development and maintenance of life.
  • DNA is an organic chemical that contains genetic information and instructions for protein synthesis. It is found in most cells of every organism.
• A mutation in an RNA virus often happens when the virus makes a mistake while it is making copies of itself.
  
  • Only if the mutation results in a significant change in the protein structure can the course of a disease be altered.

Source:IE