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27th June 2022 – The Hindu Newspaper Analysis
27th June 2022 – The Hindu Newspaper Analysis
Page 1: ‘China upgraded firepower on LAC’
- Vastly expanded troop accommodation within 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector, long-range artillery and rocket systems, upgraded air defence systems, expanded runways and hardened blast pens to house fighter aircraft — these are some of the major upgrades undertaken by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on its side in the past two years since the stand-off in the eastern Ladakh began.
- They have also set up captive solar energy and small hydel power projects all along the LAC. This enhances their winter sustenance capability manifold.
Note :- Amaranthus refers to a wide variety of leafy vegetables including Kirkire Soppu and Dantina Soppu, highly nutritious and still consumed but in a limited quantity it has economic benefits too and farmers can have multiple harvest to supplement their income. Amaranthus was an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, B and C, and an incredible source of vitamin K and the crop offered the most nutrition per calorie than most foods.
Page 8: Regressive, inhumane
- When a democracy rolls back a constitutional right that has been in place for almost half a century, it must consider itself in deep peril.
- Supreme Court of US withdrew from women anywhere in the country their right to reproductive and bodily autonomy.
- States can now decide whether to ban abortion, and at what stage in a pregnancy and under what circumstances. The fight over abortion has been the U.S.’s most passionately waged ideological battle.
- The decision has in effect divided the U.S. territorially — States where women have the right to abortion, and those where they do not. Where they do not, women with unplanned or unwanted pregnancies, including possibly in some jurisdictions those that endanger the mother’s life or are a result of rape or incest, may have no option but to seek medical assistance in other States. This needs resources and support structures, and many women will be left with no option other than clandestine, unsafe abortions nearer home.
- Chillingly, there is fear that miscarriages could be subject to criminal investigations.
Page 8: Making sense of New Delhi’s Taliban rapprochement
- The Pakistan-led coalition’s success and luck in toppling a United States-supported constitutional order in Afghanistan has brought to surface unexpected developments.
- Just hours after the Taliban’s takeover, in 2021, India was the first country to immediately ban all Afghans travelling to India, including students and patients with a valid Indian visa.
- India chose to abstain from the UN Security Council’s calling on the Taliban to open girl schools and continues to remain silent about a worsening situation in Afghanistan.
- Afghanistan is a security-centric concern, in particular, the nexus of Islamic militancy, illicit drugs and proxy warfare. India is a primary target for this alliance. The Taliban’s victory realised two important ideological and strategic goals of militant Islamists and their Pakistani patron: establishing a “pure Islamic Government” in the Heart of Asia and securing Pakistan’s “Strategic Depth”. ∙ Mahmud Ghaznavi was the first to recruit tribal warriors from today’s Afghanistan/Pakistan border region to attack and plunder India more than 1,000 years ago.
- In its first war against India in 1948, Pakistan mobilised a tribal army to attack India.
- The U.S.’s peace agreement with the Taliban ended the U.S.’s half-hearted and confused hostility with the Taliban. It did not however terminate other drivers of the Afghan conflict.
- The Taliban have excluded all non-Taliban Pashtuns from public space, there are also systematic violations of the human rights of the non-Pashtun communities which amount to crime against humanity, and ethnic cleansing which borders on genocide.
- An “India First” policy seems to drive Delhi’s Taliban rapprochement. If so, it will destroy a central pillar of India’s foreign and security policy, the dismantling of the region’s “terrorist infrastructure”.
- Notwithstanding India’s strategic hesitancy and caution during the last two decades in Afghanistan, it attained two important benchmarks of becoming an ideational and trustworthy partner.
- Afghanistan needs a strong UN mandate, including a UN-led political transition process supported by a UN peace keeping/making force. India can lend its support to such endeavours which are worthy of its character, ambition and Afghanistan’s needs.
Page 9: Bringing MSMEs into global value chains
- Micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSME) actually account for over 99% of businesses. MSMEs are the largest employer in India outside of agriculture, employing over 11.1 crore people, or 45% of all workers.
- It is no exaggeration to call MSMEs – privately owned enterprise with less than RS 50 crore in investments in plant and machinery and turnover below Rs 250 crore – the backbone of the Indian economy.
- The disruption of the pandemic severely impacted MSMEs, especially those in the services sector.
- Their small size and lack of access to resources meant that many were only beginning to mount a fragile recovery just when renewed war, supply shocks and soaring fuel, food and fertilizer prices presented a host of new threats. And all of this comes against the backdrop of the ongoing climate crisis, the greatest disruption multiplier of all.
- While some MSMEs operate at the highest industry standards, most do not meet today’s standards on productivity, environmental sustainability, and health and safety of workers. This is further exacerbated by the high degree of informality in the sector, with many enterprises unregistered, and both employers and workers are lacking awareness of and commitment to comply with labour and environmental laws. As a result, informal enterprises cannot access formal MSME support and financing nor participate in global value chains that require full compliance with all applicable regulations.
- The Government of India has rightly identified the development of the country’s MSME ecosystem as a top priority for achieving Atma Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). India’s ambitious “Make in India” campaign aims to catapult the country up the manufacturing value chain to position itself as a global manufacturing hub. Initiatives such as the production linked incentives (PLI) schemes and the recently launched zero effect zero defect (ZED) certification are helping to promote and boost the sector.
- Agencies such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, IFAD and others are working with MSMEs as they navigate a rapidly changing post-pandemic economic landscape shaped by large-scale transitions, chiefly digitalisation, greening and the reorganisation of value chains.
- Therefore, there is a need for replicable digital solutions adapted for MSMEs, including digital enhancements for machinery and equipment currently in use. Government initiatives such as the Digital Saksham and the interlinking of the Udyam, e-Shram, National Career Service (NCS), and Atmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) portals show the promise of targeted digitalisation schemes.
- The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is also creating opportunities for self-employment and micro enterprises.
- ILO, together with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and corporates, is supporting MSMEs in creating and retaining jobs, with over 150 MSMEs having improved productivity, aligned to international standards and integrated into global supply chains, and the Start and Improve Your Business programme.
- To fully unlock emerging opportunities in the rapidly changing global value chain ecosystem and maximise the demographic dividend, MSME owners need to further commit to formalising their businesses, investing in improved productivity, compliance and most of all, decent work and jobs for India’s aspiring youth.
Page 9: How Hanoi and New Delhi are fortifying defence ties
- The furtherance of India’s Act East Policy, maritime multilateralism, maritime security outreach and the building of stronger networks across the Indo-Pacific are some of the key elements which have made New Delhi and Hanoi natural partners. The two countries recently deepened bilateral cooperation with the singing of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030.
- The Joint Vision Statement is aimed at boosting the scope and scale of the existing defence cooperation between the two nations.
- The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Logistics Support. This is the first agreement of its kind that Hanoi has entered into with any other country and elevates the standing of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) which Hanoi shares with New Delhi since 2016 (along with only Russia and China).
- Because of the volume of maritime trade that passes through sea lanes of communication in the Indo-Pacific and potential as well as estimated energy reserves in these waters, maritime cooperation between countries in the region have expanded exponentially. Undoubtedly, for India and Vietnam too, the maritime domain in particular has occupied a central focus. Both countries find convergence in their approaches towards the maintenance of stability and security of the Indo-Pacific which has translated into diplomatic and political support in the context of developments within the region.
- Defence partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily following the singing of the Defence Protocol in 2000 and today covers extensive navy-to-navy cooperation spanning the exchange of intelligence, production and logistical support for Vietnam’s defence requirements, development of naval facilities such as Nha Trang, defence dialogues, high-level visits and the supply of warships and cruise missiles.
- Vietnam has and continues to be one of the most vocal countries with respect to China’s periodic transgressions in the South China Sea. In India, Vietnam has found an equally uncompromising partner when it comes to the question of violations of freedom of navigation and threats to sovereign maritime territorial rights as enshrined under international maritime law.
- Both countries have expanded areas of collaboration and are supportive of each other’s individual and multilateral involvements within the rubric of the Indo-Pacific.
Page 10: Indian laws on abortions
- In the 1960s, in the wake of a high number of induced abortions taking place, the Union government ordered the constitution of the Shantilal Shah Committee to deliberate on the legalisation of abortion in the country.
- In order to reduce maternal mortality owing to unsafe abortions, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was brought into force in 1971. This law is an exception to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions of 312 and 313 and sets out the rules of how and when a medical abortion can be carried out.
- Under Section 312 of the IPC, a person who “voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry” is liable for punishment, attracting a jail term of up to three years or fine or both, unless it was done in good faith where the purpose was to save the life of the pregnant woman.
- Section 313 of the IPC states that a person who causes the miscarriage without the consent of the pregnant woman, whether or not she is the in the advanced stages of her pregnancy, shall be punished with life imprisonment or a jail term that could extend to 10 years, as well as a fine.
- Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, abortion is permitted after medical opinion under stipulated circumstances. The 2021 Act increased the upper limit of the gestation period to which a woman can seek a medical abortion to 24 weeks from 20 weeks permitted in the 1971 Act. But this renewed upper limit can only be exercised in specific cases.
- Gestational age, calculated in weeks, is the medical term to describe how far along the pregnancy is and is measured from the first day of the woman’s last menstruation or period.
- Another major amendment was that MTP could not be accessed on the opinion of a single registered medical practitioner up to 20 weeks of the gestational age. From 20 weeks up to 24 weeks, the opinion of two registered medical practitioners is required.
- Under the 2021 Act, medical termination of pregnancy is permitted if it is backed by medical opinion and is being sought for at least one of the following reasons — (1) If the continuation of pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman (2) If its continuation would result in grave injury to the woman’s physical or mental health (3) In the case of a substantial risk that if the child was born, it would suffer from serious physical or mental abnormality.
- The pregnancy can be terminated upto 24 weeks of gestational age after the opinion of two registered medical practitioners under these conditions — (1) If the woman is either a survivor of sexual assault or rape or incest (2) If she is a minor (3) If her marital status has changed during the ongoing pregnancy (i.e. either widowhood or divorce) (4) If she has major physical disabilities or is mentally ill (5) On the grounds of foetal malformation incompatible with life or if the child is born, it would be seriously handicapped (6) If the woman is in humanitarian settings or disaster, or emergency situations as declared by the government.
- Besides, if the pregnancy has to be terminated beyond the 24- week gestational age, it can only be done on the grounds of foetal abnormalities if a four-member Medical Board, as set up in each State under the Act, gives permission to do so.
- The law, notwithstanding any of the above conditions, also provides that where it is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, abortion can be carried out at any time by a single registered medical practitioner.
- Unmarried women can also access abortion under the above mentioned conditions, because it does not mention the requirement of spousal consent. If the woman is a minor, however, the consent of a guardian is required.
- Despite the fact that existing laws do not permit unconditional abortion in the country, in the landmark 2017 Right to Privacy judgement in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India and others, the Supreme Court had held that the decision by a pregnant person on whether to continue a pregnancy or not is part of such a person’s right to privacy as well and, therefore, the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- The MTP Act requires abortion to be performed only by doctors with specialisation in gynaecology or obstetrics. However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 2019-20 report on Rural Health Statistics indicates that there is a 70% shortage of obstetrician-gynaecologists in rural India.
- As the law does not permit abortion at will, critics say that it pushes women to access illicit abortions under unsafe conditions.
Page 11: Implications of India’s new VPN rules
- India’s cybersecurity agency passed a rule mandating Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers to record and keep their customers’ logs for 180 days. It also asked these firms to collect and store customer data for up to five years. It further mandated that any cybercrime recorded must be reported to the CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team) within six hours of the crime.
- In response to the CERT-In rules, VPN providers are either moving its servers out of the country or will shut down their physical servers in India and cater to users in India through virtual servers located outside India.
- CERT-In directions are applicable to data centres, virtual private server (VPS) providers, cloud service providers, virtual asset service providers, virtual asset exchange providers, custodian wallet providers and government organisations. Firms that provide Internet proxy-like services through VPN technologies also come under the ambit of the new rule. Corporate entities are not under the scanner.
- VPN suppliers leaving India is not good for its burgeoning IT sector. Taking such radical action that highly impacts the privacy of millions of people in India will most likely be counterproductive and strongly damage the IT sector’s growth in the country.
- A virtual server is a simulated server environment built on an actual physical server. It recreates the functionality of a dedicated physical server. The virtual twin functions like a physical server that runs software and uses resources of the physical server. Multiple virtual servers can run on a single physical server.
- Virtual servers are also said to offer higher security than a physical server infrastructure as the operating system and applications are enclosed in a virtual machine. This helps contain security attacks and malicious behaviour inside the virtual machine.
- Virtual servers are also useful in testing and debugging applications in different operating systems and versions without having to manually install and run them in several physical machines. Software developers can create, run, and test new software applications on a virtual server without taking processing power away from other users.
Page 13: ‘Restoration of trust between States and Centre essential for GST system’
- Restoration of trust between the States and the Centre is essential for the smooth continuation of the GST system.Indian States are extremely diverse economically, apart from being politically diverse. GST was a misfit in India.
- There are three issues that form the backdrop of the GST Council meeting. First is the complete breakdown of trust between the States and the Centre. Second is the Supreme Court order that said the Council’s decisions are not binding on the States. Third is the lapsing of the revenue guarantee, which the Centre had promised the States for five years.
- The pandemic exposed GST’s deficiencies. Had there been no GST, the States could have managed the situation better through their resource mobilisation and allocation. They ended up fighting with the Centre.
- Restoration of trust is the most fundamental challenge. In order to reverse the centralising direction of governance, the Centre should consider giving States powers of direct taxation that they have only in agriculture.
Page 15: G7 proposes $600-bn global infra plan to rival China
- The G7 group announced an attempt to compete with China’s formidable Belt and Road Initiative by raising $600 billion for global infrastructure programmes in poor countries.
- It aims to fill a huge gap left as communist China uses its economic clout to stretch diplomatic tentacles into the furthest reaches of the world.
- U.S. to bring $200 billion to the table, with the rest of the G7 another $400 billion by 2027.
- To give a positive, powerful investment impulse to the world, to show our partners in the developing world that they have a choice.
- Unlike China’s state-run BRI initiative, the proposed G7 funding would depend largely on private companies being willing to commit to massive investments and is therefore not guaranteed.
Page 16: Decrypting the crypto myth
- Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are generally perceived as assets, currencies or both.
- Cryptocurrencies are computer-managed ledger entries that can function as money if someone is willing to value these entries as money and use them in transactions.
- The benefits boasted by Bitcoin (the most prominent cryptocurrency) promoters are anonymity and security. ∙ Bitcoin is promoted as a financial asset which can be used as a storehouse of value analogous to gold.
- For a currency to be a viable medium of exchange, the primary requirement is for it to be relatively stable in value. Bitcoin has spectacularly failed in this respect.
- Gold, in comparison with Bitcoin, has been able to hold its own. Gold has been a mainstay in human society for millennia. However, like Bitcoin, it also derives a significant portion of value from the price people place on it.
- Bitcoin proponents’ claim of supposed anonymity and untraceability has been falsified in multiple instances in which governments have tracked criminal activity and recovered stolen Bitcoins.
- Most of the small-time investors lured into buying and holding cryptocurrencies are those looking to profit from the massive surge in Bitcoin price by more than 400% from the year 2020-21.
- When one sees their peers make money, it is hard to resist the urge to mimic their actions. The accompanying effect of faulty decision-making is called an ‘information cascade’.
- An information cascade causes people to value the judgment and actions of others in contrast to their own.
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