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Editorial
In a press statement issued on May 12, 10 Kuki-Zo legislators of the Manipur Assembly, seven of whom belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called for a “separate administration.”
They said that the Government of Manipur tacitly supported the “unabated violence” by the majority Meiteis “against the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi hill tribals,” which has “already partitioned the State and effected a total separation from the State of Manipur.”
Not surprisingly, in response, a new valley-based Meitei committee staged a rally in Thoubal on May 20 urging for protection of the State’s “territorial integrity.” Of late, media and public debates have centred around the “sacrosanctity” and “inviolability” of borders.
The demands for a separate administration and for the protection of the territorial integrity of Manipur override the differences within and across the segmented Kuki-Zo and Meitei societies.
The road to a separate administration will naturally be a bumpy one. And despite the grandstanding of the Biren Singh-led BJP government and the position taken by Meitei frontal organisations on the “inviolability” of borders, effecting a change of Manipur’s border lies outside the exclusive preserve of the State. For, it is Article 3 of the Constitution that gives unilateral power to the Centre on a State’s border change.
Earlier demands by tribal communities for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory or a Territorial Council or the Sixth Schedule were what the report of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution, constituted by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in 2000, called “non-serious” as they did not have popular support.
Also given dissension within and across different segments of the Kuki-Zo groups in the past, a sustained mobilisation for a separate administration remained elusive.
Now, faced with a common antagonistic “other,” whose position on this demand is not likely to change in the short term, popular support for this edition of the demand for a separate administration is likely to be sustained and gain more political traction.
International trade has a carbon problem (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The European Union’s (EU) key climate law, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), has spooked India. New Delhi fears that CBAM will cripple the export of its carbon-intensive products to the EU. While India’s exports may be limited to aluminium, iron, and steel, and affect only 1.8% of its total exports to the EU, India has reportedly decried CBAM as being protectionist and discriminatory.
There is also talk of challenging the CBAM at the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s dispute settlement body. This debate brings to the forefront the inter-linkages between trade and the environment.
While the international trade regime allows countries to adopt unilateral measures for safeguarding the environment, environmental protection should not become a smokescreen for trade protectionism. The CBAM needs to be viewed from this standpoint.
In 2005, the EU adopted an important climate change policy known as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Now in its fourth stage, the ETS is a market-based mechanism that aims at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by allowing bodies emitting GHG to buy and sell these emissions amongst themselves.
However, the EU’s concern is that while it has a mechanism for its domestic industries, emissions embedded in products imported from other countries may not be priced in a similar way due to a lack of stringent policies or due to less stringent policies in those countries.
This, the EU worries, would put its industries at a disadvantage. To tackle this, the impacted industries in the EU had so far been receiving free allowances or permits under the ETS.
Furthermore, the EU also apprehends the phenomenon of ‘carbon leakage’, that is, due to the application of ETS, European firms operating in carbon-intensive sectors might possibly shift to those countries that have less stringent GHG emission norms.
CBAM is aimed at addressing this quagmire, and, thus, levelling the playing field for the EU industries. Under the CBAM, imports of certain carbon-intensive products, namely cement, iron and steel, electricity, fertilizers, aluminium, and hydrogen, will have to bear the same economic costs borne by EU producers under the ETS. The price to be paid will be linked to the weekly average of the emissions priced under the ETS. However, where a carbon price has been explicitly paid for the imported products in their country of origin, a reduction can be claimed.
News
OTT players seek satellite bandwidth for better streaming (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
In a consultation about satellite spectrum pricing, OTT streaming players pitched for greater use of satellite bandwidth to reach viewers.
Hundreds of millions of Indians rely upon [the media industry] for entertainment, information, education, religious participation and so on,” the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) said.
Reaching these consumers, now and in the future, requires satellite-based distribution. In this, India is like every other large country on the globe.
AVIA, which represents Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ Hotstar, and other Asian OTT players, was responding to a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India consultation paper.
There is no other country on the globe that actually auctions satellite frequency assignments,” AVIA said, echoing the sentiment of other global satellite service operators.
Satellite frequencies are today re-used many, many times at the same geographic location. This re-use is governed by ITU [International Telecommunication Union] international rules.
By auctioning and granting exclusive rights to one user, all the current extensive re-use would be gone and the spectrum resources available to India would be greatly reduced compared with today.
AVIA urged the government to encourage satellite broadband systems, which usually rely on a constellation of Internet-connected satellites to deliver Internet access to remote areas.
India currently only uses satellite broadband as ‘backhaul’ in places like Lakshadweep, which is not yet connected terrestrially or with an undersea cable to the Indian mainland’s networks.
World
U.S. averts first-ever default with 11th-hour debt deal (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
U.S. senators voted to suspend the federal debt limit on Thursday, capping weeks of fraught negotiations to eliminate the threat of a disastrous credit default just four days ahead of the deadline set by the Treasury.
Economists had warned the country could run out of money to pay its bills by Monday — leaving almost no room for delays in enacting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which extends the government’s borrowing authority through 2024 while trimming federal spending.
Hammered out between Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republicans, the measure passed the Senate with a comfortable majority of 63 votes to 36 a day after it had sailed through the House of Representatives.
“No one gets everything they want in a negotiation, but make no mistake: this bipartisan agreement is a big win for our economy and the American people,” Mr. Biden said in a statement posted to social media. He said he would sign the bill “as soon as possible” and address the nation.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer added that the nation could “breathe a sigh of relief” after avoiding a “catastrophic”economic collapse.
“But, for all the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.
The Bill — which now heads to Mr. Biden’s desk to be signed into law — ended a day of intense back-and-forth between party leaders and rank-and-file members who had threatened the Bill’s quick passage with last-minute gripes about the details.
Democratic leaders had spent months underlining the havoc that a first default in history would have wrought, including the loss of millions of jobs and $15 trillion in household wealth, as well as increased costs for mortgages and other borrowing.
Business
IRDAI eyes insurance push in rural areas with ‘Bima Vahak’ (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
IRDAI’s plan to improve insurance awareness and penetration in the hinterland is all set to gain momentum with the insurance regulator issuing draft guidelines for Bima Vahak, a dedicated distribution channel to reach out to every Gram Panchayat.
A core component of its ‘Insurance for all by 2047’ goal, Bima Vahak will be the crucial last-mile connect for insurers in the form of a field force comprising corporate as well individual Bima Vahaks, primarily comprising women, who can gain the trust of locals for the distribution and servicing of insurance products.
However, insurers will remain responsible for ensuring KYC and AML compliance with respect to the policies sourced through the Bima Vahaks, according to the draft guidelines that will be open for comments up to June 22.
Bima Vahak holds immense promise and will be a powerful force to enhance insurance inclusion. With the Bima Vahaks engaging with the diverse needs in every Gram Panchayat, insurers can adapt their offerings to provide comprehensive coverage and address financial protection needs.