China: India’s Top Trading Partner in 2020

Why in News

According to provisional data from India’s commerce ministry, China regained its position as India’s top trade partner in 2020 despite high border tensions between the two countries.

Key Points

• China as a Top Trading Partner:
  
  • Data: The two-way trade between India and China stood at USD 77.7 billion for the year 2020.
    
    • Trade with China was USD 85.5 billion total in the previous year (2018-2019).
  • Replaced USA: Now, China is the largest commercial partner displacing the US bilateral trade at USD 75.9 billion amid reduced demand for goods in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Imports from China: Total imports from China at USD 58.7 billion were more than India’s combined purchases from the USA and the UAE, which are its second- and third-largest trade partners, respectively.
  • Exports to China: India has only managed to increase its exports to China by about 11% from a year ago to USD 19 billion last year.
  • Trade Deficit: Thus, a bilateral trade gap with China stood at almost USD 40 billion in 2020, making it India’s largest.
    
    • Trade Gap/Deficit is the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.
• Analysis:
  
  • Emergence of China as the top trading partner is due to increased import of Chinese medical supplies.
  • Online shoppers seem to prefer Chinese mobile phones and electronic gadgets despite the environment of anti-China sentiments in the nation.
    
    • As per the Prime Day 2020 sale data of Amazon, an e-commerce giant, OnePlus, Oppo, Huawei’s Honor and Xiaomi were among the top-selling smartphone brands in India.
  • Also, India continues to rely heavily on Chinese-made heavy machinery, telecom equipment and home appliances.
  • The increase in trade is despite the tense relations between the two countries and India’s ambitions to bolster its manufacturing capabilities under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Measures Taken to Reduce Import Dependence on China:
  
  • Recent Ban: The ban on more than 100 Chinese apps citing national security reasons.
  • Increased Scrutiny: It has increased scrutiny of Chinese investments in many sectors, and is weighing a decision to keep Chinese companies out of 5G trials.
  • Curb Opportunistic Takeovers: The government recently put import restrictions on tyres, while also making its prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India to curb "opportunistic takeovers" of domestic firms - a move which will restrict FDI from China.
  • Focus on Self-Sufficiency: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also identified 12 sectors - food processing, organic farming, iron, aluminium and copper, agro chemicals, electronics, industrial machinery, furniture, leather and shoes, auto parts, textiles, and coveralls, masks, sanitisers and ventilators - to make India a global supplier and cut import bill.
    
    • To cut import dependency on China for APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), the government in March 2020 approved a package comprising four schemes with a total outlay of Rs. 13,760 crore to boost domestic production of bulk drugs and medical devices in the country along with their exports.

Way Forward

• India cannot afford to sever all its economic links with the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese finance can help in sustaining India’s start-up economy.
• India needs to be very selective in its measures. For example, India can curb Chinese firms' involvement in the telecom sector in India, especially 5G trials. But at the same time a large part of the infrastructure India already has in place in the 4G network is all Chinese, so India will still need China for maintenance and servicing.
• However, through Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, India can try to replace chinese products with domestic products in the sectors where it is possible. Further, it needs to boost up its economic relations with other countries.

Source: IE

Anti-Dumping Duty on Steel Imports from China

Why in News

Recently, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has initiated a probe to review the need for continuing imposition of anti-dumping duty on certain types of steel products imported from China, following complaints from domestic industry.

• The duty on the certain steel products was first imposed in February 2017 and is set to expire on 16th May 2021.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • Some of the major private domestic producers of steel have filed an application before the DGTR for a sunset review of anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of seamless tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of iron, alloy or non-alloy steel from China.
  • The applicants have alleged that dumping of these products from China has continued even after imposition of anti-dumping duty, and there has been a significant increase in the volume of imports.
  • DGTR would review the need for continued imposition of the duties in force and examine whether the expiry of existing duties is likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and impact the domestic industry.
• Anti Dumping Duty:
  
  • About Dumping:
    
    • Dumping is said to occur when the goods are exported by a country to another country at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market.
    • This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade.
  • Objective:
    
    • Imposition of Anti-dumping duty is a measure to rectify the situation arising out of the dumping of goods and its trade distortive effect.
      
      • In the long-term, anti-dumping duties can reduce the international competition of domestic companies producing similar goods.
    • It is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
    • The use of anti-dumping measures as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the World Trade Organisation.
  • Different From Countervailing Duties:
    
    • An Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) is a customs duty on imports providing a protection against the dumping of goods at prices substantially lower than the normal value whereas Countervailing duty is a customs duty on goods that have received government subsidies in the originating or exporting country.
• WTO's Provisions Related to Anti-Dumping Duty:
  
  • Validity: An anti-dumping duty is valid for a period of five years from the date of imposition unless revoked earlier.
  • Sunset Review: It can be extended for a further period of five years through a sunset or expiry review investigation.
    
    • A Sunset review/ expiry review is an evaluation of the need for the continued existence of a program or an agency. It allows for an assessment of the effectiveness and performance of the program or agency.
    • Such a review can be initiated suo moto or on the basis of a duly substantiated request received from or on behalf of the domestic industry.

Source:TH

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 Scheme

Why in News

Recently, the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 3.0 scheme has been rolled out to cover children and pregnant women who missed routine immunisation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key Points

• About the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 3.0 Scheme:
  
  • Objective:
    
    • To reach the unreached population with all the available vaccines under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) and thereby accelerate the full immunization and complete immunization coverage of children and pregnant women.
  • Coverage:
    
    • It will have two rounds this year which will be conducted in 250 pre-identified districts/urban areas across 29 States/UTs.
      
      • The districts have been classified to reflect 313 low risk, 152 medium risk and 250 high risk districts.
    • Beneficiaries from migration areas and remote areas would be targeted as they may have missed their vaccine doses during the pandemic.
  • Significance: It will foster India’s march towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Universal Immunization Programme:
  
  • Launch:
    
    • The Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    • In 1985, the Programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)’.
  • Objectives of the Programme:
    
    • Rapidly increasing immunization coverage,
    • Improving the quality of services,
    • Establishing a reliable cold chain system to the health facility level,
    • Introducing a district-wise system for monitoring of performance, and
    • Achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine production.
  • Analysis:
    
    • UIP prevents mortality and morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. But in the past, it was seen that the increase in immunization coverage had slowed down and it increased at the rate of 1% per year between 2009 and 2013.
    • To accelerate the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was envisaged and implemented since 2015 to rapidly increase the full immunization coverage to 90%.
• Mission Indradhanush:
  
  • Objective:
    
    • To fully immunize more than 89 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated under UIP.
    • Targets children under 2 years of age and pregnant women for immunization.
  • Diseases Covered:
    
    • Provides vaccination against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD) i.e. diphtheria, Whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B infections, Japanese encephalitis (JE), rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR).
    • However, Vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenzae type B is being provided in selected districts of the country.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 1.0:
  
  • Launch:
    
    • It was launched in October 2017.
  • Coverage:
    
    • Under IMI, greater focus was given on urban areas which were one of the gaps of Mission Indradhanush.
    • It focused to improve immunisation coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunisation to more than 90% by December 2018 instead of 2020.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0:
  
  • Launch:
    
    • It was a nationwide immunisation drive to mark the 25 years of Pulse polio programme (2019-20).
  • Coverage:
    
    • It had targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts spread over 27 States.
    • It aimed to achieve at least 90% pan-India immunisation coverage by 2022.

Source:TH

6 Years of UJALA and SLNP

Why in News

The UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) and SLNP (Street Lighting National Programme) completed six years of successful implementation. The two programmes revamped household and public lighting systems across the country.

• Both schemes have been implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power.
• These programmes have bagged global awards like the South Asia Procurement Innovation Award (SAPIA) 2017, Global Solid State Lighting (SSL) award of excellence for the transformational contribution to the LED sector, etc.

Key Points

• Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA):
  
  • About:
    
    • UJALA is a zero-subsidy scheme launched by the Government in 2015.
    • It is touted as the world’s largest domestic lighting project.
    • Also known as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), it aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings and lighting.
    • Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
  • Achievements:
    
    • Under UJALA, EESL has distributed over 36.69 crore LED bulbs across India. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and estimated GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes CO₂ per year.
    • It has helped in the growth of domestic LED (Light-Emitting Diode) markets.
    • It has helped to bring down the average household electricity bills by 15%.
• Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP):
  
  • About :
    
    • The SLNP, launched in 2015, is a government scheme to promote energy-efficiency in India.
    • Under the programme, EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs, with no upfront investment by the municipalities, thereby making their adoption even more attractive.
    • This scheme is expected to enable peak demand reduction of 500 MW, annual energy savings of 190 crore kWh, and reduction in 15 lakh tons of CO₂.
    • The SLNP has plans to bring investment of Rs. 8,000 crores by 2024 to cover the entire rural India.
• Achievements:
  
  • Over 1.14 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 7.67 billion kWh per year with an avoided Peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 5.29 million tons CO2 annually.
  • With the help of the scheme, the municipalities were able to save 5,210 crores of Rupees in their electricity bills.

Source: PIB

Draft National Migrant Labour Policy

Why in News

Recently, NITI Aayog, along with a working subgroup of officials and members of civil society, has prepared a draft National Migrant Labour policy.

• Earlier in December 2020, the Indian government decided to create a database of migrant workers, including workers in the informal economy.

Key Points

• Migration:
  • Migration is the movement of people away from their usual place of residence, across either internal (within country) or international (across countries) borders.
  • The latest government data on migration comes from the 2011 Census. As per the Census, India had 45.6 crore migrants in 2011 (38% of the population) compared to 31.5 crore migrants in 2001 (31% of the population).
• Current Issues with Migrants:
  • Independent Migrants:
    • The Inter State Migrant Workers Act, 1979 covers only labourers migrating through a contractor, and leaves out independent migrants.
  • Community Building Organisations (CBO):
    • The absence of CBO and administrative staff in the source states has hindered access to development programmes, pushing tribals towards migration.
  • Lack of Engagement by State Governments:
    • State labour departments have little engagement with migration issues, and are in halting human trafficking mode.
  • Middlemen:
    • The local administration, given the usual constraints of manpower, is not in a position to monitor, making the way for middlemen to thrive on the situation and entrap migrants.
• NITI Aayog’s Draft Approach:
  • The draft describes two approaches to policy design:
    • Focus on cash transfers, special quotas, and reservations.
    • Enhance the agency and capability of the community and thereby remove aspects that come in the way of an individual’s own natural ability to thrive.
• Draft Recommendations:
  • Facilitate Migration:
    • Migration should be acknowledged as an integral part of development, and government policies should not hinder but seek to facilitate internal migration.
  • Increase Wages:
    • However, the draft asks source states to raise minimum wages to bring major shifts in local livelihood of tribals which may result in stemming migration to some extent.
  • Central Database:
    • There should be a central database to help employers “fill the gap between demand and supply” and ensure “maximum benefit of social welfare schemes”.
    • It asks the Ministries and the Census office to be consistent with the definitions of migrants and subpopulations, capture seasonal and circular migrants, and incorporate migrant-specific variables in existing surveys.
  • Migration Resource Centres:
    • The Ministries of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, and Housing and Urban Affairs should use Tribal Affairs migration data to help create migration resource centres in high migration zones.
    • The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship should focus on skill-building at these centres.
  • Education:
    • The Ministry of Education should take measures under the Right to Education Act 2009 to mainstream migrant children’s education, to map migrant children, and to provide local-language teachers in migrant destinations.
  • Shelter and Accomodation:
    • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs should address issues of night shelters, short-stay homes, and seasonal accommodation for migrants in cities.
  • Grievance Handling Cells:
    • The National Legal Services authority (NALSA) and Ministry of Labour should set up grievance handling cells and fast track legal responses for trafficking, minimum wage violations, and workplace abuses and accidents for migrant workers.
• Previous Recommendations:
  • Report of the Working Group on Migration, released in January 2017 by the then Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation recommended a comprehensive law for these workers, which would form the legal basis for an architecture of social protection.
    • This was in line with the recommendations of a 2007 report by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Way Forward

• A rights-based approach to welfare and social security would work only if the workers have agency, politicisation, unionisation and mobilisation as workers in the past have forced parties and governments to see welfare as an essential aspect of industrial development.
• The government has taken steps to ensure portability of welfare schemes, especially access to the public distribution system, beyond state borders. More needs to be done on that front.
• The NITI Aayog draft is a prompt to reimagine labour-capital relations while integrating the migrant workers within the formal workforce. This is necessary to build a compassionate society and a competitive economy.

Source:IE

Pagri Sambhal Movement

Why in News

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) is celebrating 23^rd February as Pagri Sambhal Diwas, honouring the memory of Ajit Singh-founder of the Pagri Sambhaal Movement of 1907.

• Farmer unions part of the ongoing protests in Delhi claim that farm laws passed by Parliament will ultimately force them to sell their land to corporates. It was a similar complaint that fueled the farm protests in 1907.

Key Points

• Pagri Sambhal Movement:
  
  • About:
    
    • It was a successful farm agitation that forced the British government to repeal three laws related to agriculture back in 1907.
      
      • The Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900, the Punjab Land Colonisation Act 1906 and the Doab Bari Act 1907.
      • These acts would reduce farmers from owners to contractors of land, and gave the British government the right to take back the allotted land if the farmer even touched a tree in his field without permission.
  • Slogan:
    
    • The slogan, Pagdi Sambhal Jatta, the name of the movement, was inspired by the song by Banke Lal, the editor of the Jang Sayal newspaper.
  • Protest:
    
    • The protests were violent and the protestors ransacked government buildings, post offices, banks, overturning telephone poles and pulling down telephone wires.
  • Leader of the Agitation:
    
    • Bhagat Singh’s uncle Ajit Singh was the force behind this agitation.
    • He wanted to channel people’s anger over the farm laws to topple the colonial government.
    • Bhagat Singh’s father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh, with their revolutionary friend Ghasita Ram, formed Bharat Mata Society, aiming to mobilise this unrest into a revolt against the British government.
      
      • Many young revolutionaries like Sufi Amba Prasad, Zia-ul-Haq, Lal Chand Falak, Din Dayal Banke, Kishan Singh and Lala Ram Saran Das were among the members of Bharat Mata Society.
• Sardar Ajit Singh:
  • Birth:
    • Born on 23^rd February, 1881 he was an Indian revolutionary, an Indian dissident and a nationalist during the colonial era.
    • He was an inspiration to Indian revolutionaries and his nephew Bhagat Singh.
  • Work:
    • He openly criticised the colonial government and was amongst the early protests in Punjab.
    • With his brother Kishan Singh, worked among the people in famine-stricken regions like Barar (Madhya Pradesh) and Ahmedabad and in flood-and-earthquake-affected areas of Srinagar and Kangla in 1905.
    • He launched the Bharat Mata Book Agency ( part of Bharat Mata Society), which, because of its strident anti-government, propagandist publications, attracted the attention of the British government.
    • He built a network of solidarity with people who were struggling for India’s liberation in different parts of Europe. He also founded in this period the Indian Revolutionary Association (Bharatiya Krantikari Sangh).
  • Exile:
    
    • In May 1907, Sardar Ajit Singh along with Lala Lajpat Rai was exiled to Mandalay in Burma.
    • However, due to great public pressure and apprehension of unrest in the Indian Army, both of them were released in October 1907.
  • Escape:
    
    • In 1909, Sardar Ajit Singh along with Sufi Amba Prasad escaped to Iran and lived in a self-imposed exile for 38 years.
  • Death:
    
    • In March 1947, he returned to India and died on 15^th August 1947, the day India gained independence at Dalhousie, Punjab.

Source:IE

Black-Necked Crane

Why in News

Recently, a group of Buddhist monks in Tawang district has opposed the Arunachal Pradesh government’s renewed push for hydropower projects.

• The proposed projects would not only affect the nesting grounds of the endangered Black-Necked Crane but also threaten several holy Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the region.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • Both the sexes are almost of the same size but male is slightly bigger than female.
  • The upper long neck, head, primary and secondary flight feathers and tail are completely black and body plumage is pale gray/whitish.
  • A conspicuous red crown adorns the head.
  • The juveniles have a brownish head and neck and plumage is slightly paler than that of an adult.
• Special Significance:
  
  • The bird is revered by the community of Monpas (major Buddhist ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh) as an embodiment of the sixth Dalai Lama (Tsangyang Gyatso).
    
    • Monpas inhabit the West Kameng and Tawang districts, are essentially Buddhists who follow the Mahayana sect.
• Habitat and Breeding Grounds :
  
  • The high altitude wetlands of the Tibetan plateau , Sichuan (China), and eastern Ladakh (India) are the main breeding ground of the species, the birds spend winter at lower altitudes.
  • In Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, it only comes during the winters.
  • In Arunachal Pradesh, it can be seen in three areas:
    
    • Sangti valley in West Kameng district.
    • Zemithang in Tawang district.
    • Chug valley in Tawang district.
• Threats:
  
  • Damage to the eggs and chicks, caused by feral dogs.
  • Loss of habitat due to human pressure (Development Projects) on the wetlands.
  • Increased grazing pressure on the limited pastures near the wetlands.
• Steps for their Conservation:
  
  • World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu & Kashmir, has been working towards conservation of high altitude wetlands, with black-necked cranes as a priority species in Ladakh region.
    
    • In Arunachal Pradesh, WWF is working for the conservation of the small wintering population.
• Protection Status:
  
  • IUCN Red List: Near Threatened
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Source:TH

Olive Ridley Turtles

Why in News

The Orissa High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of around 800 Olive Ridley sea turtles due to negligence by Odisha’s forest and fisheries departments.

Key Points

• Features of Olive Ridley Turtles:
  
  • The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
  • These turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive colored carapace.

• Protection Status:
  
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Scheduled 1
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
• Habitat:
  
  • They are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
  • The Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is known as the world’s largest rookery (colony of breeding animals) of sea turtles.
• Arribada (Mass Nesting):
  
  • They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
  • They lay their eggs over a period of five to seven days in conical nests about one and a half feet deep which they dig with their hind flippers.
• Threats:
  
  • Marine pollution and waste
  • Human Consumption: They are extensively poached for their meat, shell and leather, and eggs.
  • Plastic Garbage: An ever-increasing debris of plastics, fishing nets, discarded nets, polythene and other garbage dumped by tourists and fishing workers.
  • Fishing Trawlers: Overexploitation of marine resources by use of trawlers often violates the rule to not fish 20 kilometres within a marine sanctuary.
    
    • There were injury marks on many dead turtles indicating they could have been trapped under trawls or gill nets.

Source: DTE