Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with crisis-hit Sri Lanka, in a first step before extending a $2.9 billion loan package that the Fund has made contingent on assurances from the island nation’s creditors.
IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities have reached a staff-level agreement to support Sri Lanka’s economic policies with a 48-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about $2.9 billion.
The announcement comes even as Sri Lanka endures an agonising economic downturn that has left scores of families starving, as they cannot afford basic food items.
Headline inflation soared to 64.3% in August 2022, while food inflation rose to 93.7%. As the crisis worsened this year, at least six million people, or about 30% of Sri Lanka’s population, became food insecure, according to the World Food Programme.
President RanilWickremesinghe termed the staff-level agreement “an important step in the history of Sri Lanka”. “The beginning will be difficult, but we know as we go on that we can make more progresses.
The objectives of the new programme — Sri Lanka’s 17th with the Fund — are “to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, while safeguarding financial stability, protecting the vulnerable, and stepping up structural reforms to address corruption vulnerabilities and unlock Sri Lanka’s growth potential.
However, the international financial institution has laid out expectations that Sri Lanka must meet, before the IMF management and Executive Board can approve the programme.
“Prior actions” on Sri Lanka’s part include raising fiscal revenue through a “more progressive” income tax regime, rebuilding foreign reserves, and increasing social spending.
Significantly, Sri Lanka, which opted for a pre-emptive sovereign default on its $51 billion foreign debt in April, must work to obtain debt relief from its creditors and additional financing from multilateral partners “to help ensure debt sustainability and close financing gaps.”
Financing assurances to restore debt sustainability from Sri Lanka’s official creditors and making a good faith effort to reach a collaborative agreement with private creditors are crucial before the IMF can provide financial support to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s chief creditors are International Sovereign Bond holders, to whom the island owes the largest chunk of its foreign debt; multilateral agencies, and bilateral lenders — mainly China, Japan and India.
States
Kerala passes University Laws (Amendment) Bill (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The Assembly passed the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which alters the composition of the search-cum-selection committee to appoint Vice Chancellors and effectively provide the State government greater leverage in the process.
While the Opposition staged a walkout accusing the government of attempting to relegate universities to the status of party offices, the treasury benches said the Bill was driven by the compulsions of keeping SanghParivar forces at bay in the administration of universities.
While the Bill awaits the Governor’s assent, its passage will enhance the appointment age of Vice Chancellors to 65 years and increase the strength of the selection committee to five (from the existing three).
The government had initially proposed the inclusion of the vice chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) as convener of the committee.
But, Higher Education Minister R. Bindu moved an official amendment to bring an academic expert who is nominated by the council vice chairman as replacement to the particular position.
The move comes amidst claims that the inclusion of the KSHEC vice chairman, who could be perceived as linked to universities by way of his/her position, could be in violation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.
The other members of the committee will include one nominee each of the State government, UGC, Chancellor and the university Senate. In the absence of a unanimous choice, the panel decided by a majority of members can be submitted to the Chancellor.
Even while reiterating that the legislation would not curtail the Chancellor’s powers, Dr.Bindu said universities could not completely disassociate themselves with State governments.
She cited the laws that govern universities in States including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where the governments play a key role in the appointment of Vice Chancellors.
Former Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel (Independent) bluntly alluded to the political motive behind the Bill. Two nominees (those of the Chancellor and the UGC) are bound to nominate SanghParivar-backed candidates.
Under such circumstances, the State government cannot remain a mute spectator when attempts are made to bring such persons at the helm of universities. A similar attempt had been thwarted in Calicut University.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan cautioned the Bill would set a dangerous precedent in the higher education sector by eroding the autonomy of universities.
Alleging the proposed law is aimed at bringing universities under the firm grip of the government, Ramesh Chennithala (Congress) said the amendments were legally untenable and would not prevail over the UGC norms.
Editorial
Academia, research and the glass ceiling in India (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 1, Role of Women)
Gender issues, particularly gender inequality and discrimination in academia relating to higher education, perhaps came under the spotlight for the first time in India in 1933 when Kamala Sohonie approached Sir C.V. Raman to pursue research in physics under his guidance.
The Nobel Laureate and illustrious director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, turned the request down on the ground that ‘she was a woman’.
Sohonie ignored the refusal which was based on gender discrimination and went on a satyagraha in front of the director’s office. She was then admitted for one year on condition that her work for the year would not be recognised till the director was satisfied with the quality of her research and that her presence did not distract her male colleagues pursuing research.
Similarly, in 1937, Professor D.M. Bose, then Palit Professor of physics at Calcutta University, was reluctant to include BibhaChowdhuri in his research group on the ground that he did not have suitable research projects to assign to women.
Chowdhuri was unfazed and had her way. She joined D.M. Bose’s research group. Her work on cosmic rays in determining the mass of mesons is legendary.
These are only two well-known examples of gender discrimination in academics and there are many more such examples.
In 2018, Prof. Alessandro Strumia of Pisa University, a theoretical physicist who regularly works at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, claimed at a workshop organised by CERN that “physics was invented and built by men, it’s not by invitation” and that ‘male scientists were being discriminated against because of ideology rather than merit’ implying that women are less capable than men in physics research.
CERN called the presentation “highly offensive” and suspended him pending an investigation. Ironically, a day later, Donna Strickland was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, for her work on lasers, and became the third woman to win a physics Nobel, after Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert Mayer in 1963.
The general bias against women which arose out of suspected capability of their intelligence and their mettle in undertaking the arduous task of research was quite common in the 20th century.
Things have changed and the glass ceiling has been broken. But how far have we progressed in the last 100 years in shedding this bias and ensuring that women are on a par with men in academic institutions.
Despite the remarkable improvement in the participation of women in higher education and participation in the workforce over the past decades, progress has still been quite uneven.
The big picture takeaways from China’s Taiwan drills (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The recently concluded military drills by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait just after the United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in early August reveal a great deal about the nature of the military capabilities of the People’s Republic of China.
The Chinese military conducted these exercises in six zones around Taiwan with the express aim of testing their capacity to execute an encircling invasive attack against the Taiwanese main island.
There are three areas the Chinese have built capabilities in order to successfully prosecute an invasion of Taiwan. The first of these is China’s air assault capabilities consisting of rotary and fixed wing aircraft for an invasion of Taiwan.
The second is in the area of missile capabilities. The third is the PLA’s Joint Logistic Support Force (PLAJLSF). Although a detailed analysis may take time, there is a reasonable amount of preliminary evidence to indicate where the relative strengths and weaknesses of the PLA exist following the conclusion of these exercises.
Although China’s Eastern Theater Command (ETC) is responsible for planning and executing any potential invasion of Taiwan, the Southern Theater Command (STC) was also in an advanced state of alert for these drills.
First, the Chinese have made substantial progress in the development and operation of rotary and fixed wing aircraft for dedicated assault missions against Taiwan.
The People’s Liberation Army Army (PLAA) latest helicopters are almost as advanced as their American variants. The comprehensive reorganisation of the PLA into group armies has enabled the Chinese to significantly operationalise their rotary wing aircraft.
Indeed, the latter could play a key role in any initial assault to capture Taiwan. An aviation brigade is part of each of the PLAA’s 13 group armies and also integral to the group armies deployed in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Alternatively, the rotary component of aviation brigades, which represents frontline combat capabilities of the PLAA, could be kept in reserve and pressed into action for a prospective invasion of Taiwan following an initial assault with less advanced rotary aircraft in the PLAA inventory.
There are two specialised air assault brigades as part of the PLAA’s 75th and 83rd group armies that are directly geared for an air assault mission against Taiwan.
These brigades have a demonstrated capacity to remain airborne for a long period, but this is insufficient as any potential invasion would require them to fly in close formations while simultaneously maintaining effective air-ground and air-sea communication.
The latest drills do not definitively confirm these capabilities. The aviation brigades of the PLAA are a growing strength, but will only reach optimum strength, both operationally and technologically, over the next decade.
OPED
Can civil servants express their views on law, governance? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
On India’s 75th Independence Day, the Gujarat government released 11 men convicted on charges of gang-raping BilkisBano, who was 21 years old and five months pregnant at that time, and murdering seven members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, during the 2002 riots.
The convicts, once released, were felicitated with garlands and sweets. Two days later, Ms. Bano issued a statement saying, “the trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again.”
Soon thereafter, a senior IAS officer, Smita Sabharwal from Telangana, tweeted from her personal account in support of Ms. Bano and questioned the Gujarat government’s decision, sparking off a row over whether she was in breach of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules of 1964 and reviving the debate on the freedom of civil servants to express their personal views on matters of law and governance. In an interview moderated by SonamSaigal, Justice B.N. Srikrishna and K. Sujatha Rao discuss the issue.
The citizens of this country have the fundamental right of free speech guaranteed to them under the Constitution, which is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of securing the state’s sovereignty, international relations, health, morality, etc. She has the right to tweet.
But when you undertake a government service, you subject yourself to certain disciplinary rules. That prevents a government servant from becoming a member of a political organisation, or any organisation of such a nature, or expressing herself freely with regard to anything that has to do with the governance of the country.
This rule is of the British era. There is no doubt that the British were very, very strict and didn’t want their officers to be talking about how bad the governance was.
But in a democracy, the right to criticise the government is a fundamental right and nobody can muzzle that. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity to express myself by sitting on the bench either in Bombay or in Kerala or in the Supreme Court, but I would have said this very loudly and without hesitation.
There is a recent judgment of then Tripura High Court Chief Justice AkilKureshi, one of the best judges I have come across, who did not get enough due because of obvious reasons.
He said something very interesting in a (2020) judgment ( Lipika Paul v. The State Of Tripura), “As a Government servant the petitioner is not devoid of her right of free speech, a fundamental right which can be curtailed only by a valid law.” She (the petitioner) was entitled to hold her own beliefs and express them in the manner she desired, subject to not crossing the borders laid down in the Conduct Rules which were applicable in Tripura.
Explainer
Effecting the ban on single use plastics (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on August 12, 2021. In keeping with the spirit of the ‘AzadikaAmritMahotsav’, the country is taking steps to curb littered and unmanaged plastic waste pollution.
Since July 1, 2022, India has banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single-use plastic (SUP) items with low utility and high littering potential.
India is a party to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). In all, 124 nations are party to the UNEA, and India has signed a resolution to draw up an agreement in the future that will make it legally binding for signatories to address the full life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal.
The purpose of single-use plastics is to use them once or for a short period of time before disposing of them. Plastic waste has drastic impacts on the environment and human health. There is a greater likelihood of single-use plastic products ending up in the sea than reusable ones.
India has taken resolute steps to mitigate pollution caused by littered single-use plastics. A number of items are banned, including earbuds with plastic sticks, balloon sticks, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decorations, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers, etc.
Littered single-use plastic items have an adverse effect on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. All countries face a major environmental challenge due to pollution caused by single-use plastic items. India piloted a resolution on single-use plastics pollution at the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, recognising the urgent need for the global community to address this issue.
This resolution was adopted at the UN Environment Assembly as an important step forward. In the recently concluded 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022, India engaged constructively with all member states to develop a consensus on a resolution to drive global action against plastic pollution.
However, India is not the first country to ban single-use plastics. Bangladesh became the first country to ban thin plastic bags in 2002; New Zealand banned plastic bags in July 2019. China had issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with a phased implementation.As of July 2019, 68 countries have plastic bag bans with varying degrees of enforcement.
With effect from September 30, 2021, the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibited the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of plastic carry bags whose thickness is less than 75 microns. From December 31, 2022, plastic carry bags whose thickness is less than 120 microns will be banned.
Why has the Supreme Court relaxed the ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka? (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
On August 26, 2022, the Supreme Court raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining for Ballari (from 28 MMT to 35 MMT), Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts (from 7 MMT to 15 MMT collectively) in Karnataka, saying conservation of the ecology and environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development.
Earlier, on May 20, 2022, the apex court had relaxed the ban on sale outside the state and export of already excavated iron ore from mines in these three districts. It also allowed mine lessees to enter into direct contracts, without taking recourse to electronic auctions.
Ten years after it clamped down on production and sale of iron ore in Karnataka, why has the Court relaxed its own orders? What does this mean for mining operations in the state?
Karnataka’s mining story is closely linked to the notorious Reddy brothers of Ballari. In 2002, GaliJanardhan Reddy incorporated the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district.
Eight years later, in 2010, it was shut down by the Supreme Court, after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe was initiated against Reddy in 2009 for illegal mining.
The unprecedented illegal mining left in its wake a plunder of public wealth, massive losses to the exchequer, encroached forest land, a ravaged environment and large-scale health issues among the local population.
The two Lokayukta Reports of 2008 and 2011 exposed over 700 government officials, including three chief ministers in the illegal mining scandal laying bare the nexus between the political class and the mining and steel industries.
The second report led to the resignation of BJP leader B S Yediyurappa. After the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report brought to light accounts of rampant violations in mining, the apex court passed an order on September 23, 2011 to stop mining operations in Ballari.
Furthermore, the SC banned export of iron ore pellets from Karnataka with an aim to prevent environmental degradation and to ensure that the mineral resources of the state are preserved for future generations as part of the concept of inter-generational equity. It then fixed maximum permissible annual production limit at 35 MMT for A and B category mines.
After it banned mining in Ballari in 2011, the Supreme Court directed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to draw up a reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) plan to reverse the environmental damage caused by illegal mining. It also directed the state government to undertake the creation of core zones and buffer zones for the protection of “ancient monuments”.
A year later, in September 2012, the SC allowed 18 “category A” mines to resume operations. Mines were categorised into A, B and C depending on the extent of illegalities committed by them.
A category mines are “leases wherein no illegality/marginal illegality have been found”. Mines with more serious infractions fall into B and C categories, based on their respective offences. Once the mines were allowed to restart, the ore was sold through e-auctions.
News
Vostok ¬2022 begins in Russia with India, China participating (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
An Indian Army contingent comprising troops from 7/8 Gorkha Rifles is participating in the multilateral strategic and command exercise ‘Vostok-2022’ which commenced at the training grounds of the eastern military district in Russia. The exercise also includes participation by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The exercise is aimed at interaction and coordination amongst other participating military contingents and observers. The exercise is scheduled to be held from September 01 to 07. The war games also come as the war in Ukraine enters the seventh month.
The Indian Army contingent over the next seven days will undertake joint manoeuvres to include joint field training exercises, combat discussions, and firepower exercises, the statement said.
The Indian Army contingent will look forward to sharing practical aspects and putting into practice the validated drills, procedures and practice amalgamation of new technology through discussions and tactical exercises.
Russia has stated that Vostok-2022 will be conducted in two phases. Participating contingents include observers from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and other partner states including Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria and Tajikistan, said Russian Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Alexander for foreign military attachés in a briefing in Moscow.
The exercise comes as the standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh continues for over two years now. While disengagement has been undertaken in some areas, friction areas remain in addition to the overall de-escalation.
India also defended its participation in the exercises in response to U.S. criticism.India has been regularly participating in multilateral exercises in Russia, along with a number of other countries," said MEA spokesperson ArindamBagchi, stressing that the Vostok exercises were routine, and added that they would only include Army contingents.
Seven States cold to Centre’s crime portal (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
At least seven States and one Union Territory have given a cold shoulder to the Centre’s online platform meant to share information and coordinate action among law enforcement agencies on serious criminal incidents, including human trafficking, data show.
The Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) was launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to share information on crime and criminals 24x7 with various law enforcement agencies and ensure a seamless flow of information among them.
The application run by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) aims to help in early detection and prevention of crime incidents across the country.
West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim and Union Territory of Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have not uploaded a single alert on Cri-Mac since the portal was launched in March 2020.
Delhi, Assam and Haryana uploaded the maximum number of alerts on the portal, which included information on release of a hardened criminal from jail or an incident of terror, murder, dacoity among others.
As on July 1, the number of alerts uploaded on the portal stood at 35,145 though there are 16,361 police stations in the country.
The MHA held a meeting with State nodal officers on August 17 on steps to curb human trafficking.In the meeting, the MHA asked States to make use of the Information Technology intervention Cri-MAC to coordinate action in sharing inputs and alerts on trafficking incidents.
The Home Ministry said “Cri-MAC facilitates dissemination of information about significant crimes, including human trafficking across the country on real-time basis and enables inter-State coordination. This can, inter-alia, help in locating and identifying the trafficked victims as also in prevention, detection and investigation of crime.”
In a presentation to States, the MHA said the “Government of India recognises that human trafficking is a grave crime” and attaches high importance to the efforts directed at preventing and countering it.
It said human trafficking was a highly organised crime often involving inter-State gangs and by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code was substituted with a modified Section 370 and a new Section 370 A was also inserted.
These Sections provide comprehensive definition of human trafficking and also provide for strict punishment to be awarded to the offenders for exploitation of a trafficked person.
The MHA cautioned that human trafficking cases are not registered under Sections 370/370A of the IPC by some police authorities and States are requested to make optimal use of the penal Sections.
It urged States to sensitise and train police personnel posted at bus depots, railway stations, State borders etc. to keep a close watch on suspicious activities and persons.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment is requested to sensitise officers of the Labour Department of all States and Union Territories for keeping a close watch on the activities of suspicious placement agencies.
Indian made HPV vaccine this year (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
India’s first indigenously developed vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, CERVAVAC, will likely cost ₹200-400 a shot and be commercially available later this year, said Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India (SII), on the sidelines of a launch event.
CERVAVAC, developed by SII, was approved by the Drug Controller General of India in July. The event also underlined the role of the Indian government, particularly the Department of Biotechnology, in facilitating trials and investments in the vaccine candidate.
CERVAVAC is a quadrivalent vaccine, meaning it is effective against at least four variants of cancer-causing Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and resulted from a partnership of DBT’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that supported Serum’s development efforts.
Annually, about 1.25 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and over 75,000 die from the disease in India. Close to 83% of invasive cervical cancers in India and and 70% of cases worldwide are attributed to HPV-types 16 or 18.
HPV transmission is influenced by sexual activity and age. Almost 75% of all sexually active adults are likely to be infected with at least one HPV type. However, a vast majority of the infections resolve spontaneously and only a minority (<1%) of the HPV infections progress to cancer.
Though vaccines are reportedly effective in both males and females, there is a greater push to inoculate adolescent girls and women as they are more prone to contracting cancer from an HPV infection.
Besides CERVAVAC, two vaccines licensed globally are available in India; a quadrivalent vaccine (Gardasil, marketed by Merck) and a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix, marketed by Glaxo Smith Kline).
Both vaccines are manufactured by recombinant DNA technology that produces non-infectious VLPs (Virus Like Particles) comprising of the HPV L1 protein.
These vaccines — though available for over a decade — are unaffordable for the vast majority of Indians and therefore CERVAVAC, say officials, is likely to be more popular because it will be around 10 times cheaper.
CERVAVAC is also made using an approach that introduces VLP to stimulate an immune response from the body resulting in production of antibodies.
World
UN accuses China of Uighur rights abuses (Page no. 17)
GS Paper 2, Effect of Policies & Politics of Countries on India's Interests
The UN accused China of serious human rights violations that may amount to “crimes against humanity” in a report examining a crackdown on Uighurs and other ethnic groups. Beijing denounced the assessment as a fabrication cooked up by Western nations.
Human rights groups have accused China of sweeping a million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps, where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion. The camps were just one part of what the rights organisations have called a ruthless campaign against extremism in the far western province of Xinjiang that also included draconian birth control policies and restrictions on people’s movement.
The assessment from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (HRC) largely corroborated earlier reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media, and it added the weight of the world body to the conclusions.
Still, among Uighurs who have fled overseas, there was a palpable sense of relief that the report had finally seen the light of day.
The report is pretty damning, and a strong indictment on China’s crimes against humanity, a Uighur lawyer, whose brother is imprisoned in Xinjiang. For years, the Chinese government has said the Uighurs are terrorists. Now, we can point to them and say, you’re the terrorists.
Human rights groups, Japan and Germany also quickly welcomed the report. The assessment concluded that China has committed serious human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies and calls for “urgent attention” from the UN, the world community and China itself to address them.
Human rights groups renewed calls for the UN rights body, which meets next month, to set up an independent body to investigate the allegations. But China showed no sign of backing off its blanket denials.
The assessment is a patchwork of false information that serves as political tools for the U.S. and other Western countries to strategically use Xinjiang to contain China. It again shows that the UN Human Rights Office has been reduced to an enforcer and accomplice of the U.S. and other Western nations.