12 October 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A.GS1 Related
B.GS2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Modi and Xi discuss investment, unbalanced trade
2. India rejects RCEP e-commerce chapter
C.GS3 Related
D.GS4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
1. Aarey Milk Colony tree-felling case
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Making a friend of the neighbour
POLITY
1. Ending malice: On FIR against celebrities
F. Tidbits
1. Delhi CM launches ‘Clean Air Cities Declaration’ along with Mayors of various world cities
1. Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wins Nobel Peace Prize
2. ‘Graves’ of Chalukyan kings found in Karnataka
3. Thanjavur painting
4. Warli
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

Context:

• Indian negotiators have declined to agree to the e-commerce chapter of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
• Acceptance would have prevented it from implementing the rules on data localisation.
• While the e-commerce chapter has some clauses that affect data localisation, India has been trying to water these down.
• Clouding the issue further is that the annexe on financial services, already agreed upon by all the RCEP countries, says that the domestic laws of a country regarding keeping financial data within a country supersede the RCEP agreement.

This issue has been covered in 10^th October 2019 Comprehensive News Analysis under GS 3 Economy. Click Here to read.

C. GS3 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

Nothing here for today!!!

Category: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Aarey Milk Colony tree-felling case

Introduction

• Every government will have to factor in three geopolitical constituents while setting its broader foreign policy trajectory —
  • immediate neighbourhood,
  • extended neighbourhood and
  • great powers
• An emerging power should stay focused on building capacities while maintaining good ties with the neighbours, deep engagement with the extended neighbours and balancing between great powers.
• India has a hostile relationship with Pakistan, but has cultivated strong partnerships with the other neighbouring countries. It has deepened engagement with the extended neighbourhood, which, for India is both a source of energy and a transit to the rest of the world.
• Though there’s a pro-American tilt in its foreign policy, New Delhi has been wary of not disturbing the equilibrium between the great powers and rising great powers.

Of this, relations with Beijing are doubly critical for India as China is both a neighbour and a rising great power.

• But there are structural problems in ties —
  • the boundary dispute,
  • The Pakistan factor, and
  • Historical mistrust.

The conventional understanding of the India-China relationship is centred on these challenges.

A look at history and its current Linkage

• India-China ties have seen a turnaround over the past three decades, since Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 visit to Beijing, to be specific. Since then, the countries have decided to strengthen ties in areas that were not constrained by structural issues.
  • Economy was the chosen field, as in the early 1990s, India, following China’s footsteps, started liberalising its economy.
  • Trade ties between the two countries boomed over the years (it touched $95 billion last year), though it’s largely skewed towards China as the latter was fast emerging as an industrial and technological powerhouse.
  • The border has been largely peaceful during this period.
• Even when the Chinese and Indian militaries were in a standoff in Doklam at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction in the Himalayas in 2017, both governments were careful enough not to let the situation spiral out of control.
  • That the Doklam incident was followed by the first informal summit in Wuhan in 2018 between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, with an aim of dialing down tensions and rebooting ties, showed how New Delhi and Beijing look at each other.
  • They don’t share the antagonism of conventional wisdom. The Mamallapuram summit should be seen against this background.

Challenges for both countries

The test before Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi is to deepen the relationship, and for that they should not allow strategic glitches dictate terms for a bilateral partnership. In this, they face fresh challenges today.

• India and China warmed up to each other in a different world. The U.S. and China were in a better relationship. Beijing’s focus was entirely on economic development and “peaceful rise”. It was also the beginning of the golden age of globalisation and free trade that softened borders between big trading and investment partners.
• Now, U.S.-China ties have turned hostile at a time when India is steadily enhancing its strategic partnership with Washington.
  • China under Mr. Xi is also a more assertive and confident power.
  • Both the U.S. and China see India as “a swing power”.
  • Washington wants India to swing to its side and join its Indo-Pacific strategy, the undeclared aim of which is to contain China’s rise.
  • Beijing, obviously, doesn’t want India to swing to the other side.
• Second, the Pakistan factor looms large over ties. With Mr. Modi’s nationalist government taking an aggressive approach towards Pakistan and cracking down on Kashmir, Beijing’s Pakistan card is now stronger.
• Third, the border disputes remain unresolved, and are unlikely to be resolved in the near future.

Taking it to the next level

1. The avenues of economic cooperation between the two countries are still wide open.

• China is keen to make investments in India, especially in building infrastructure and fifth generation technology architecture.
• India, on the other side, wants greater market access in China, and action by Beijing to address the trade imbalance.
• At the Wuhan summit, both Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi had, in principle, agreed to India-China cooperation in projects in third countries. They could perhaps come up with a plan to take economic ties to the next level, addressing mutual concerns.

2. Second, India and China are pillars of an emerging world order.

• Both countries see the unilateral world order in decline, and are champions of multilateralism.
• Security and stability in Asia, which is billed to be the 21th century’s continent, is in the common interests of both countries, and they are already cooperating on global issues like tackling climate change.

3. Third, China had shown in the recent past that when it comes to deal-making and tackling international pressure, the Pakistan card is negotiable.

• When India is patient, has the international opinion in its favour, and is cautiously bargaining for China’s action against Pakistan, Beijing has taken U-turns on its “iron friend”. 2018, it agreed to Pakistan being placed on the FATF grey list, after India offered support for China’s vice-chair push at the FATF.
• Earlier in 2019, amid mounting international pressure, China removed its technical hold on the declaration of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.
• So it’s critical for New Delhi to stay engaged patiently with Beijing on issues related to Pakistan.

4. Last, and most important, there has to be a doctrinal consensus in India’s foreign policy thinking.

• Should it
  • compete with China for dominance of Asia or
  • Should it stay focussed on its own rise in which competition with China will be a part?
• India should perhaps learn from both China’s rise and its engagement with the U.S. post Nixon’s visit. For decades, China hid its strength, bid for time. It was building capacities without letting external strains to derail the process.
  • Now it’s confidently challenging the U.S., at least in the sphere of the economy.
• India should also turn the focus to its rise and building capacities, not on conflicts and rivalries. If it’s driven by such a broader but a realist vision, India could expand the avenues of deep tactical engagement with a powerful China.

Introduction

Read about Sedition under the topic Criticism is not sedition

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/upsc-exam-comprehensive-news-analysis-oct07-2019/

Context

• The police in Muzaffarpur district in Bihar have ordered for the closure of a sedition case against 49 eminent personalities for addressing an open letter to the Prime Minister on the need to stop hate crimes and lynching.
• The complaint has now been closed as false.

Details of the incident

• Sudhir Kumar Ojha, the lawyer who approached the magistrate, had produced no supporting documents, not even a copy of the letter signed by the writers, filmmakers and artists.
• Further, it would have been quite obvious that there was nothing in the appeal that promoted disaffection against the government or brought it into hatred and contempt.
• The complaint had further absurdities. It included penal provisions related to making imputations against national integration, public nuisance, affray and even trespassing into a burial ground

The police have now decided to Book Complainant for Filing ‘False’ Case

• Section 182 of the IPC makes giving false information to a public servant with a view to causing injury or annoyance to another an offence punishable with a six-month jail term or a fine of ₹1,000.
• And under Section 211, making a false charge of an offence, knowing that there is no lawful ground for doing so, attracts a two-year prison term; and, if a more serious offence is alleged, the accuser may be jailed for even seven years.

A lesson for the future

• In times when outrage, feigned or real, is used to accuse people of defamation, obscenity, cyber-insults and injuring religious sentiments, it would be wise to recall the Supreme Court’s caution in Khushboo vs. Kanniammal (2010) in which the court quashed multiple private complaints against actor Khushboo for remarks on pre-marital sex with the observations, “It is not the task of the criminal law to punish individuals merely for expressing unpopular views” and that courts should not allow a criminal trial “triggered by false and frivolous complaints, amounting to harassment and humiliation to the accused.”

F. Tidbits

• Delhi CM launched the ‘Clean Air Cities Declaration’ along with the Mayor of different cities across the world.
• The Declaration was unveiled at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen, an event that occurs once every three years and is designed to implement “substantive clean air policies by 2025”.
• By signing the pledge, mayors commit to using their power and influence to reduce air pollution and work towards meeting the WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines.
• This means cities will continually reduce their local emissions and advocate for reductions in regional emissions, resulting in continuous declines in air pollution levels that move towards the WHO guidelines.
• Signatories are obliged to:
  • Set ambitious pollution reduction targets within two years that meet or exceed national commitments.
  • Implement substantive clean air policies by 2025 that address the unique causes of pollution in their cities.
  • Publicly report progress on achieving these goals.
• Delhi is one among the 94 cities attending the summit to have committed to clean its air in a time-bound manner.
• It was also announced that the Delhi government will constitute a Special Task Force that will monitor Delhi’s progress towards meeting the goals in the declaration.

C40 Cities Climate Summit:

• C40 is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change.
• The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a group of 94 cities around the world.
• It represents one-twelfth of the world’s population and one-quarter of the global economy.
• C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens.
• C40 is also positioning cities as a leading force for climate action around the world, defining and amplifying their call to national governments for greater support and autonomy in creating a sustainable future.
• While C40 originally targeted megacities for their greater capacity to address climate change, C40 now offers three types of membership categories to reflect the diversity of cities taking action to address climate change, i.e, Megacities, Innovator cities and Observer cities.
• The categories consider such characteristics as population size, economic output, environmental leadership, and the length of a city’s membership.

G. Prelims Facts

• The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who made peace last year with Eritrea, through his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with the neighbouring country.
• Mr Abiy’s peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war.
• He was named as the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize.
• This is the second year in a row that an African has received the award.
• Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege shared the prize with Yazidi activist Nadia Murad in 2018 for their work combating sexual violence.

• Graves of Chalukyan rulers have been found in a village in Pattadakal of Karnataka’s Bagalkot district.
• The Chalukyan kings were famous for building gigantic temples with intricate architecture in places such as Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal in Bagalkot district.
• Built between the sixth and eighth centuries, these monuments are examples of the best of architecture of that era in the entire South India.
• There are 11 temple-like structures that are believed to be the final resting place of the royal family.
• Popular belief was that these temples are a depiction of the holy Jyotirlinga.
• It is now found that that these temples are nothing but the graves of the Chalukyan royal family.
• In support of the claim, it is said that it was a tradition and part of customs among Hindu kings that they selected one place where all members of their dynasty were to be buried.
• It was also a custom in the past to place a Linga over such graves. Thus, it is most likely that these small temple-like structures are the graves of the family members of the Chalukyan kings.

Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal:

• The temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal are the largest, earliest group of monuments which comprehensively demonstrates the evolution in Hindu rock-cut and temple architecture in India.
• The prototypes of 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines were developed in Badami and Aihole, which reached its most matured form in Pattadakal.
• This transformed the Malaprabha river valley into a ‘cradle of Temple Architecture’, where experimentation defined the components of a typical Hindu Temple.
• In Temple architecture, two fundamental types of layout, sandharaand nirandhara (with and without circumambulatory path respectively) were developed in the structural temples of Aihole and Badami which was finalised in Pattadakal.
• The two types can be further categorized based on the type of Shikhara(tapering superstructure) – mundamala (temple without super-structure), rekha-prasada (prevalent in northern and central India), dravidian vimana (prevalent in southern India) and kadamba-Chalukya shikhara (indigenous form prevalent in Deccan region).
• In addition to the two types of plan-form is the apsidal one, an adoption of what is followed in a Buddhist chaitya combined with a rekha-prasada shikhara.
• The groups of monuments of Pattadakal show a shift in focus of development from the form to elaboration of scale, as evident in the principle shrine (than those in Aihole and Badami), addition of associated structures (subsidiary shrines, nandimantapa) enclosed in a prakara (wall), entered by a pratoli (gateway).

Read more about the Chalukya Rulers. Click here.

• Tanjore Painting of India was devised during the 16th century.
• It is one of the popular forms of classical South Indian painting.
• It is the native art form of Tanjore city of Tamil Nadu.
• Tanjore painting flourished during Maratha rule. The Marathas took over Thanjavur in the late 1600s. They were great patrons of art and artists.
• They are locally known as ‘Palagai Padam’ as it is mainly done on solid wood planks.
• It generally consists of one main figure- a deity, with a well-rounded body & almond-shaped eyes. This figure would be housed in an enclosure created by means of an arch, curtains, etc.
• The painting would be made by the gilded and gem-set technique – a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight certain aspects of the painting like ornaments, dresses etc.
• Most of them depicting child Krishna, the paintings would be bright & colourful and breathtakingly beautiful. They’re intended to have a glowing presence even in a low lit room or a dark place.
• The art was practised mainly two communities namely – the RAJUS in THANJAVUR and TRICHY and NAIDUS in MADURAI.

• They are an indigenous tribe or Adivasis, living in mountainous as well as coastal areas of Maharashtra-Gujarat border and surrounding areas
• The Warlis speak an unwritten Varli language, classified as Konkani, with some degree of influence from the Gujarati language.

Painting

• It is vivid expression of daily & social events of Warli tribe, used by them to embellish the walls of village houses.
• It uses very shapes: a circle, a triangle and a square. The circle represents the sun and the moon, the triangle derived from mountains and pointed trees, the square indicates a sacred enclosure or a piece of land.
• Painted on austre mud base using one color.
• Human and animal bodies are represented by two triangles joined at the tip; the upper triangle depicts the trunk and the lower triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe.

H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Gangetic Dolphins:

1. It is the National Aquatic Animal of India.
2. It is classified as Critically Endangered as per the IUCN Red List
3. It is the only surviving freshwater dolphin in India.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 1 and 2 only
c. 2 only
d. 1 and 3 only

See

Q2. Consider the following statements:

1. “Operation Peace Spring” is a military operation against Kurdish-led forces in north-eastern Syria.
2. The military operation is led by Turkey together with the Syrian National Army.

Which of the given statement/s is/are INCORRECT?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Invasive alien species:

1. They may lead to changes in the structure and composition of ecosystems.
2. They are a threat to amphibians, reptiles as well as mammals.
3. Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 touches upon the issue of Invasive alien species.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1, 2 and 3 only
b. 1 and 2 only
c. 1 and 3 only
d. 2 and 3 only

See

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Swacch Survekshan:

1. It is a ranking exercisetaken up by the Government of India to assess rural and urban areasfor their levels of cleanliness and active implementation of Swachhata mission.
2. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation takes up the Swachh Survekshan in urban and rural areas.
3. Quality Council of India (QCI) has been commissioned the responsibility of carrying out the assessment.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 1 and 3 only
c. 2 only
d. 1 and 2 only

See

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Bilateral partnership with China is critical for India as it is both a neighbour and a rising great power. Comment on the challenges in enhancing cooperation between the two countries and suggest measures. (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2. The sedition law stifles dissent, contrarian views and is a weapon against the constitutional spirit of modern democracy. Is it time India’s Sedition law be buried? Discuss. (15 Marks, 250 Words)

 

October 12th, 2019 CNA: –Download PDF Here

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