At the high table: On the Raisina Dialogue
Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India’s foreign policy, Issue: Raisina Dialogue
Context: conclusion of the Raisina Dialogue.
Key takeaways:
- Greek Prime Minister highlighted the importance of India Middle East Economic Corridor.
- India’s foreign policy aspirations:
- Bridging power : a country seeking common ground through a “multi-vector” policy.
- Vishwamitra : friend of the world.
- A diplomatic success: participation of various ministers from central Asia and Nordic – Baltic countries.
- Minimal presence from South East Asia, Latin America, and even South Asia (excepting Nepal and Bhutan)
“The event projected India as a player rather than a playing field in global issues”.
| Prelims Connect:
Raisina Dialogue( Held Annually) · India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. · The theme of the 2024 edition – “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”. |
WTO Meet: India to push for permanent solution to public stock holding of grains.
Syllabus: GS-III
Subject: economy
Topic: Trade and External Sector
Issue: WTO-Public stockholding
Context: India’s agenda for upcoming WTO’s MC 13 – a permanent solution to public stock holding of grains for food security.
Public stock-holding (PSH) programme
- Under this the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at Minimum Support Price, and stores and distributes food grains to the poor.
Criticism: Developed nations argue that such programmes distort global trade prices of food grains.
WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA):
| 1. Total Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) is the total amount of subsidies a country provides to its agricultural sector in a given year.
2. De-minimis level refers to a threshold level of support below which countries are not required to report or reduce. It is a. 5% of the value of agricultural production for developed countries and b. 10% for developing countries. |
Bali Conference (2013) : A ‘peace clause’ was signed as an interim measure which stated that no country would be legally barred from food security programmes even if the subsidy breached the limits (10%).
The peace clause is continues until a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding and agricultural subsidies is arrived at.
| World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference(WTO MC)
It is the organisation’s topmost decision-making body. It typically meets every two years and brings together ministers from all WTO member countries. Functions: ● Review the functioning of the multilateral trading system and take action on its future work. ● Make decisions on all matters under any of the WTO agreements. ● Issue ministerial declarations and decisions to guide the work of the WTO. Recent Conferences: ● MC12: Geneva (Geneva Package) ○ Landmark agreements on fisheries subsidies and WTO’s response to emergencies. ○ Package also included decisions on agriculture, e-commerce moratorium, and transparency in government procurement. ● MC 13 is scheduled in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. |
Source: The Hindu
Armenia for strategic partnership with India
Syllabus: GS-II
Subject: International Relations
Topic: India’s relations with other countries
Issue: India-Armenia
Context: Armenia is working on elevating its relationship with India, to a strategic partnership.
India- Armenia:
- In 2020, Armenia purchased the Swathi weapon-locating radar system from India.
- Agreement for purchasing ammunition, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, as well as anti-tank munitions signed.
Prelims Connect:
Nagorno-Karabakh
- It is a conflict zone which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but its inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians.
Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers:
- It is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the DRDO for the Indian Army.
- Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in neutralising Pakistani positions on the mountain tops.
Source: Mint
India for no tariffs on textile, apparel in EU free trade deal
Syllabus: GS-III
Subject: Economy
Topic: Trade and External Sector
Issue: India-EU FTA
Context: Ongoing negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union.
- The European Union (EU) , the United States and West Asian countries, are the major export destinations for Indian garments.
- The EU is the second largest export destination for India, after the US.
| Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
A free trade agreement reduces barriers to imports and exports between countries by eliminating all or most tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and prohibitions. India-EU FTA: ● It is a proposed trade agreement. ● In 2021, the EU and India agreed to resume negotiations for the FTA which are ongoing. |
Source: Mint
RBI asks NPCI to consider Paytm’s request for TPAP: What it means, how it could benefit users?
Syllabus: GS- III
Subject: Economy
Topic: Banking and Financial Intermediaries
Issue: Third-Party Application Provider(TPAP)
Context: The RBI has asked the NPCI to examine the request of Paytm to become a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP).
Third-Party Application Provider(TPAP):
- It is an entity that provides the UPI compliant apps to the end-user customers to facilitate UPI-based payment transactions.
- Any entity which is using the UPI infrastructure for payments requires approval from NPCI.
| National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI)
● It is a non- bank entity and holds a license under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007 to operate the payment/settlements. ● NPCI has developed Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and it owns and operates it. |
Source: Indian Express
How to bridge the North-South divide
Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Federalism, Issue: Fiscal Federalism
Issues in financial relations:
- Decline in share of southern state in divisible pool of taxes ( from 21.1 per cent during 2000-05 to 15.8 per cent during 2021-26)
- Dependence of low-income state on transfer from center- Bihar (75%) U.P. (53%)
- In spite of increase in state’s share in divisible pool of taxes (11th FC -29.5 to 41% in 15th FC), the divisible tax pool itself has shrunk (88.6% in 2011-12 to 78.9% in 2021-22).
The way ahead:
- Higher weightage could be assigned to parameters such as demographic performance, tax efforts and fiscal position.
| One mark extra for mains ( data point)
· The adjusted share of state in divisible pool of taxes after surcharge and Cess is only 34%. · Share of southern state in divisible pool of taxes: o 21.1 per cent during 2000-05 o 15.8 per cent during 2021-26 |
Can the IMEC address the Red Sea crisis?
Syllabus: GS-II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: Global Issues, Issue: Red Sea Crisis
Importance of red sea:
- Crucial for global trade, 12% of international merchandise passing through it.
- India heavily relies on the Red Sea route for trade with Europe and North Africa.
- constituting 24% of exports and 14% of imports.
- Going around the Cape of Good Hope will increase the cost.
India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
Announced during the G-20 summit in 2023,
- It is a planned economic corridor which will connect India to Europe.
- Challenges:
- lack of investments,
- Israel-Palestine conflict
- vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Solutions:
- conducting an economic study,
- establishing a robust financial framework,
- forming a comprehensive multi-nation operational framework.
A new success: On collaboration in space programmes
Syllabus: GS- III, Subject: Science and Technology, Topic: Space Technology, Issue: Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme
- NASA is funding instruments onboard commercial missions to the moon.
- Under this program, U.S.-based Intuitive Machines (IM) became the first private company to soft-land a robotic craft (Odyssey) on the moon.
- NASA’s role in CLPS missions involves selecting landing sites and providing some payloads.
Lessons for India
- Healthy and diversified private space service landscapes are essential for the devolution of critical responsibilities.
- India’s recent approval of up to 100% FDI in its space program is a step in this direction
Prelims Connect
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