Australia to Join Malabar Exercise

Why in News

Recently, Australia has agreed to join the Malabar Exercise on India’s request. The exercise is scheduled to be held in November 2020.

Key Points

• 2020 Malabar Exercise:
  
  • The 2020 Exercise is expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. In 2019, the exercise was conducted off the coast of Japan.
  • Due to Covid-19 pandemic the exercise had been planned in a ‘non-contact - at sea’ format.
  • Its objective is to enhance safety and security in the maritime domain.
• Australia’s Inclusion:
  
  • The issue of Australia’s inclusion in Malabar had again come up for discussion at the Quad foreign ministers meet in Tokyo held in October 2020. Thereafter, India invited Australia to join the Exercise.
    
    • Quad is the informal strategic dialogue between India, the USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
  • The move will bolster the ability of India, Australia, Japan and the United States to work together to uphold peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.
  • It is also expected to further lay the foundations for the eventual formalisation of the Quad grouping.
• Background:
  
  • Despite regular requests from Australia, India resisted issuing the invitation due to its concerns that the move would give the appearance of a ‘quadrilateral military alliance’ aimed at China.
    
    • In 2017, Australia had requested for observer status in the Malabar Exercise.
    • China has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to any expansion of the Malabar Exercise, which it sees as a multilateral naval construct designed to “counter and contain” it.
  • However, the recent India-China tensions over the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) may have brought more flexibility to India's decision making process.
  • Japan and the U.S.A also have been pressing India for Australia’s inclusion in Malabar Exercise.
• Other Cooperation Between Quad Members:
  
  • India and Japan had signed a military logistics agreement in September, 2020.
  • India has signed maritime information sharing agreements for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) with Australia and Japan and a similar agreement is under discussion with the U.S.A.
    
    • MDA is defined by the International Maritime Organization as the effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of a country.
  • India and U.S.A. are also stepping up efforts to conclude the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) ahead of the Indo-US 2+2 ministerial meeting on 26-27 October, 2020.
    
    • BECA, a key military pact, will allow India to use U.S.A.’s geospatial intelligence and enhance accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.
    • BECA is one of the four foundational military communication agreements between the two countries. The other three being GSOMIA, LEMOA, CISMOA.
      
      • GSOMIA: General Security Of Military Information Agreement
      • LEMOA: Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement
      • CISMOA: Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement
    • Defence and Foreign ministers of the two countries will Participate at the 2+2 ministerial meeting.

Way Forward

• As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain, high-end military exercises like Malabar are key to enhancing maritime capabilities, building interoperability with its close partners, and demonstrating its collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
• The fast-tracking of work on BECA and the decision of the four Quad countries to participate in the Malabar Exercise are perceived to be a strategic signal to an aggressive China.

Source: TH

Fertiliser Subsidy

Why in News

The Centre is working on a plan to restrict the number of fertiliser bags that individual farmers can buy during any cropping season.

Key Points

• Fertiliser Subsidy:
  
  • Farmers buy fertilisers at Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) below their normal supply-and-demand-based market rates or what it costs to produce/import them.
    
    • For example, the MRP of neem-coated urea is fixed by the government at Rs. 5,922.22 per tonne, whereas its average cost-plus price payable to domestic manufacturers and importers comes to around Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 23,000 per tonne, respectively.
  • The difference, which varies according to plant-wise production cost and import price, is footed by the Centre as subsidy, which goes to the companies.
  • The MRPs of non-urea fertilisers are decontrolled or fixed by the companies. However, the Centre pays a flat per-tonne subsidy on these nutrients to ensure reasonable prices.
    
    • The per-tonne subsidy ranges from Rs. 10,231 to Rs. 24,000 for different types of fertilisers.
  • Decontrolled fertilisers retail way above urea, as they attract lower subsidy.
    
    • In April 2020, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cut the subsidy for non-urea fertilisers, which was about 3% lower than the previous year.
• Subsidy Mechanism:
  
  • From March 2018, a new direct benefit transfer (DBT) system was introduced, wherein subsidy payment to the companies would happen only after actual sales to farmers by retailers.
  • Each retailer has a point-of-sale (PoS) machine linked to the Department of Fertilisers’ e-Urvarak DBT portal. Anybody buying subsidised fertilisers is required to furnish their Aadhaar or Kisan Credit Card (KCC) number.
  • Only upon the sale getting registered on the e-Urvarak platform can a company claim subsidy, with these being processed on a weekly basis and payments remitted electronically to its bank account.
• Loophole:
  
  • Currently, the Centre follows a “no denial” policy where anybody, non-farmers included, can purchase any quantity of fertilisers through the PoS machines.
  • It allows for bulk buying by unintended beneficiaries, who are not genuine or deserving farmers.
  • There is a limit of 100 bags that an individual can purchase at one time but it does not stop anyone from buying any number of times.
• Reason Behind the Restriction Plan:
  
  • The main motive is to curb diversion, which is natural with any under-priced product.
    
    • For example, urea whose basic MRP (excluding taxes and neem-coating cost) has been raised by hardly 11% since April 2010.
  • Being super-subsidised, urea is always prone to diversion for non-agricultural use.
    
    • For example, it is used as a binder by plywood/particle board makers, cheap protein source by animal feed manufacturers or adulterant by milk vendors, apart from being smuggled to Nepal and Bangladesh.
• Proposed Measures:
  
  • Discussions are going on to cap the total number of subsidised fertiliser bags that any person can buy during an entire Kharif or Rabi cropping season.
    
    • It is expected that it would end even retail-level diversion and purchases by large buyers masquerading as farmers.
  • A reasonable cap for a total of 100 bags only once would easily cover the seasonal requirement of a 20-acre farmer. Those wanting more can well afford to pay the unsubsidised rates for the extra bags.
• Other Associated Costs to the Farmers:
  
  • Apart from fertilisers, there are other things for which farmers need to pay like Goods and Service Tax (GST) and other taxes on inputs.
    
    • It ranges from 12% on tractors, agricultural implements, pumps and drip/sprinkler irrigation systems to 18% on crop protection chemicals.
    • Fertiliser itself is taxed at 5%.
    • Excise and value-added tax on diesel.
  • And since there’s no GST on farm produce, farmers cannot claim any input tax credit on their sales, unlike other businessmen.

Way Forward

• The time has come to seriously consider paying farmers a flat per-acre cash subsidy that they can use to purchase any fertiliser. The amount could vary, depending on the number of crops grown and whether the land is irrigated or not.
• This is, perhaps, the only sustainable solution to prevent diversion and also encourage the judicious application of fertilisers, with the right nutrient (macro and micro) combination based on proper soil testing and crop-specific requirements.

Source: IE

Assam-Mizoram Border Dispute

Why in News

Recently, Assam-Mizoram border witnessed firing over a territory dispute, which spotlights the long-standing inter-state boundary issues in the Northeast, particularly between Assam and the states which were carved out of it.

• Mizoram borders Assam’s Barak Valley and the boundary between present-day Assam and Mizoram is 165 km long. Both states border Bangladesh.

Key Points

• Ongoing Tussle:
  
  • Residents of Lailapur village in Assam’s Cachar district clashed with residents of localities near Vairengte in Mizoram’s Kolasib district.
  • Earlier in October 2020, a similar clash took place on the border of Karimganj (Assam) and Mamit (Mizoram) districts.
  • Mizoram civil society groups blame “illegal Bangladeshis” (alleged migrants from Bangladesh) on the Assam side.
• Background:
  
  • The boundary issue between present-day Assam and Mizoram dates back to the colonial era when inner lines were demarcated according to the administrative needs of British Raj.
  • The issue could not be settled once and for all when the state was created in independent India. The result is both states continue to have a differing perception of the border.
    
    • Mizoram was granted statehood in 1987 by the State of Mizoram Act, 1986.
    • Assam became a constituent state of India in 1950 and lost much of its territory to new states that emerged from within its borders between the early 1960s and the early 1970s.
  • The Assam-Mizoram dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
    
    • During colonial times, Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills, a district of Assam.
  • Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873.
    
    • Mizo leaders have argued in the past against the demarcation notified in 1933 because Mizo society was not consulted.
  • The Assam government follows the 1933 demarcation, and that is the point of conflict.
  • According to an agreement between the governments of Assam and Mizoram, the status quo should be maintained in no man’s land in the border area.
  • In the Northeast’s complex boundary equations, clashes between Assam and Mizoram residents are less frequent than they are between other neighbouring states of Assam, like with Nagaland.
• Other Boundary Issues in Northeast:
  
  • During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which became separate states one by one.
  • Currently, Assam has boundary problems with each of them.
  • Assam-Nagaland:
    
    • Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary with Assam.
    • It achieved statehood in December 1963 and was formed out of the Naga Hills district of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (then North-East Frontier Agency).
    • Violent clashes and armed conflicts, marked by killings, have occurred on the Assam-Nagaland border since 1965.
    • The boundary dispute is in the Supreme Court.
  • Assam-Arunachal Pradesh:
    
    • Both states have a boundary of over 800 km.
    • Arunachal Pradesh was granted statehood by the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 in 1987.
    • Clashes were first reported in 1992 and since then, there have been several accusations of illegal encroachment from both sides, and intermittent clashes.
    • This boundary issue is also being heard by the Supreme Court.
  • Assam-Meghalaya:
    
    • The 884-km boundary between the two states also witnesses flare-ups.
    • Meghalaya came into existence as an autonomous state within the state of Assam in April 1970 comprising the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills districts. In 1972, it got statehood.
    • As per Meghalaya government statements, today there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states.

Source: IE

Rationalisation of Autonomous Institutions

Why in News

The Ministry of Finance has recommended that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) “disengage” from five autonomous institutions working under it and merge two others, thus reducing the 16 autonomous organisations under the ministry to 9.

Key Points

• Background:
  
  • The recommendations are a part of the report that has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines prescribed under rule 229 of General Finance rules 2017.
    
    • Rule 229 pertains to ‘General Principles for setting up of Autonomous Organisations’.
    • The purpose of the report is to make specific and actionable recommendations for rationalisation of autonomous bodies with a view to furthering the aim of ‘minimum government, maximum governance,’ ensuring efficient use of public funds.
• Recommendations for MoEFCC:
  
  • Disengagement from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII-Dehradun), Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM-Bhopal), Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (Bengaluru), CPR Environmental Education Centre (Chennai) and Centre for Environment Education (Ahmedabad).
    
    • ‘Disengagement’ will involve two aspects - phasing out government support to the institution in a time-bound manner, disassociating from the management of the institutions and allowing the relevant industry/stakeholders to run them.
    • Disengagement by the government with a three-year timeline and a gradual budget reduction of 25% each year is recommended.
    • Both WII and IIFM can be converted to deemed universities.
  • The Society of Integrated Coastal Management (New Delhi) should be merged with the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (Tamil Nadu), as both perform similar roles of promoting coastal management. This will avoid duplication of activities and attain economies of scale.
  • Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (Tamil Nadu), which receives Rs. 14 crore annually from MoEFCC, should be merged with the ministry.
  • Statutory bodies such as Central Pollution Control Board, Central Zoo Authority (CZA), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), National Biodiversity Authority should continue to function under and with the financial support of MoEFCC.
    
    • These bodies should be encouraged to become ‘self-financed’.
• Appreciation:
  
  • This is the first time ever that such an audit has been done of institutions which took around four years to get completed.
  • Making WII and other institutions into deemed universities will give more freedom to the institutions to initiate more courses and have enhanced faculties.
• Criticism:
  
  • The disengagement will make these institutions worry for financial issues rather than research, which should be their prime focus.
    
    • The environment is a public issue and there must be good public institutions to safeguard it.
  • The government’s disengagement from these institutions is seen as ‘the first step towards sending them into private hands’.
    
    • If the government feels that funds are not being utilised properly or the institutions are not performing well, their officials should be held accountable rather than taking the route of disengagement as this will have an impact on those students who dream of studying these specialised subjects but cannot afford the high fees charged by private universities.
• Other Related Steps:
  
  • Recently, the Ministry of Textiles has abolished the All India Handloom Board and the All India Handicrafts Board.
  • In 2018, the Union Cabinet had approved the proposal for closure of Autonomous Bodies, namely, Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK) and the functions were proposed to be vested in Department of Health & Family Welfare (DoHFW).

Way Forward

• There is a need to review the governance of ABs, and devise uniform procedures. Many of ABs act as interfaces between the government and the public. Thus, each ministry should undertake a comprehensive review of ABs under their jurisdiction. ABs that have outlived the cause for which they were established may need to be closed or merged with a similar organisation or their memorandum altered as per the new charter.

Source: IE

Economic Performance Comparison Between India and China

Why in News

According to the September 2020 Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data, economic recovery after the lockdown has thrown up some paradoxes for India. However, China has recorded growth for the consecutive third quarter (July-September 2020).

• CMIE is a leading business information company. It was established in 1976, primarily as an independent think tank.

Key Points

• Employment:
  
  • The CMIE data shows that there is a revival in employment amid a fall in labour force participation. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
    
    • However, usually when more people find jobs a greater number should have come in looking for jobs.
    • The unusual trend can be explained by a rural-urban disaggregation of the data. Rural India is seeing an increase in jobs due to post harvest activity whereas employment in urban India is decreasing.
    • Also, better quality and higher paying jobs in urban areas are being lost and substituted by lower-paid rural jobs.
    • This phenomenon points to the fact that a reversal of migration back to the cities is not happening to the extent that it should have.
• Inflation:
  
  • The supply side shock due to lockdown has led to an increase in headline inflation mainly driven by increase in food prices.
    
    • Headline inflation is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices.
  • However, the unexpected trend is the rise in core inflation i.e. non-food, non fuel inflation, that too during a period when growth is set to register a record contraction.
    
    • Core inflation is the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors.
  • Ideally, the collapse in demand due to lockdown should have triggered a drop in core inflation.
• Consumer Confidence:
  
  • Another unexpected development is evident in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI)’s latest consumer confidence survey.
    
    • The central bank’s ‘current situation index’ fell to an all-time low in September, 2020 even as its ‘forward-looking surveys’ show that consumer confidence for the year 2020-21 has improved.
      
      • Current situation index is a sub index that measures overall consumer sentiment regarding the present economic situation.
    • So even as the current situation of households has been progressively worsening, the survey points to households reporting better prospects for the future.
• Growth:
  
  • According to the recent IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, Indian economy is going to be the worst affected among the comparative countries like China, U.S.A., Pakistan and Brazil.
  • India is not only going to be worst-affected in the short term but also in the medium term.
  • The IMF has also doubled the rate of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) contraction for India. However, globally the growth has become better.
• China’s Economic Performance:
  
  • China’s economic growth continued to gain momentum in the third quarter, with the GDP expanding 4.9% from a year earlier in the July-September, 2020 period.
  • China is witnessing an increase in tourism; growth in industrial production and exports that has generated revenue and jobs for millions Chinese people. However, Consumption is yet to regain its normal vigour in China.
  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted that China’s economy will expand by 1.9 % in 2020, making it the only major economy to register growth in a pandemic-hit year.
  • The economic rebound follows China’s broad return to normalcy in early months of 2020, following sweeping Covid-19 curbs including stringent lockdowns, extensive contact tracing, and restrictions on international travel through the first half of the year.

Source: IE

Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

Why in News

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched Ayushman Sahakar, a scheme to assist cooperatives in creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.

Key Points

• Formulated By: National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
  
  • NCDC was set up under an Act of Parliament in 1963 for promotion and development of cooperatives.
  • It functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
  • Recent initiatives include Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel (Youth-focussed), Sahakar Mitra (Internship Programme), etc.
• Features:
  
  • NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs.10,000 crore in the coming years.
    
    • Any Cooperative Society with suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund.
    • The scheme covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure.
  • NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives.
  • The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements.
  • Further, the scheme provides interest subvention of 1% to women majority cooperatives.
• Significance:
  
  • It has a comprehensive approach-hospitals, healthcare, medical education, nursing education, paramedical education, health insurance and holistic health systems such as AYUSH.
    
    • The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into focus the requirement of creation of more facilities.
    • There are about 52 hospitals across the country run by cooperatives. They have cumulative bed strength of more than 5,000. The scheme would give a boost to provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
  • The scheme aligns itself with the focus of the National Health Policy, 2017, covering the health systems in all their dimensions- investments in health, organization of healthcare services, access to technologies, development of human resources, encouragement of medical pluralism, affordable health care to farmers etc.
  • It is in line with the National Digital Health Mission and would bring transformation in rural areas.
    
    • Cooperatives have a strong presence in rural areas, thus, cooperatives utilizing the scheme would revolutionize the way healthcare delivery takes place in rural areas.

Source: PIB

Heeng Cultivation Project in India

Why in News

Scientists at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur are on a mission to grow heeng (asafoetida) in the Indian Himalayas.

• IHBT is the only laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Himachal Pradesh.

Key Points

• Heeng:
  
  • It is a herbaceous plant of the umbelliferae family. It is a perennial plant whose oleo gum resin is extracted from its thick roots and rhizome. The plant stores most of its nutrients inside its deep fleshy roots.
  • It is endemic to Iran and Afghanistan, which are also the main global suppliers of it. It is very popular in India and is used in cooking.
  • Climatic Condition: It thrives in dry and cold desert conditions. The plant can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degree, whereas during winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degree.
    
    • Regions with sandy soil, very little moisture and annual rainfall of not more than 200mm are considered conducive for heeng cultivation.
    • During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.
  • Properties: It has medicinal properties, including relief for digestive, spasmodic and stomach disorders, asthma and bronchitis.
    
    • The herb is used to help with painful or excessive bleeding during menstruation and premature labour.
• India’s Heeng Cultivation Project:
  
  • Heeng is not cultivated in India. India imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw heeng worth Rs. 600 crore from Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
  • In 2017, IHBT approached the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) with an experimental project idea to cultivate heeng in the Indian Himalayas.
  • In June 2020, the IHBT inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the agriculture ministry of Himachal Pradesh to jointly cultivate the heeng.
    
    • The agriculture ministry has identified four locations in the Lahul-Spiti valley and has distributed heeng seeds to seven farmers in the region.
  • However, the challenge for the scientists is that heeng seeds remain under a prolonged dormant phase and the rate of seed germination is just 1%.

Source: IE

Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center

Why in News

Recently, the NITI Aayog and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC), the first of its kind in India.

• AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon, multinational tech and online-shopping giant.
• It provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and Application Programming Interfaces (API) to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.

Key Points

• CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Program, which provides an opportunity for government agencies, nonprofits and educational institutions, to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas, and access the technical expertise of AWS.
• Frontier Technologies CIC will identify and prioritise projects as well as collaborate with local leaders, including subject matter experts at the state and district levels, to solve critical challenges.
  
  • Local enterprises, start-ups, researchers, and universities in India can experiment and build prototypes on AWS Cloud.
• It is aligned to the visions of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission and the Atal Innovation Mission.
• Aims of Frontier Technologies CIC:
  
  • To address societal challenges through digital innovation.
  • To enable budding innovators and start-ups and help in piloting state-of-the-art, cloud-centric digital innovations by leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, etc.
  • To identify and deploy leading-edge technologies to drive continuous innovation in delivering citizen services.

Source: PIB