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At the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) in Sharm el-Sheikh, India on Monday announced its long-term strategy to transition to a “low emissions” pathway, which is premised on expanding its nuclear power capacity by at least three-fold in the next decade, apart from becoming an international hub for producing green hydrogen and increasing the proportion of ethanol in petrol.
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said these steps were consonant with India’s “five-decade journey” to net zero, or being carbon neutral by 2070 — a commitment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Glasgow, where the 26th COP was held last year.
While 195 member countries, signatories to the UN climate agreements, were obliged to submit the long-term document by 2022, only 57 — India is the latest addition — have done so.
The LT-LEDS (Long Term-Low Emission Development Strategy) has been prepared in the framework of India’s right to an equitable and fair share of the global carbon budget.
We have ensured that the strategy emphasises energy security, energy access, and employment, while keeping focus on our vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The journey to net zero is a five-decade-long one and India’s vision is therefore evolutionary and flexible, accommodating new technological developments and developments in the global economy and international cooperation.
SC says forced conversions may affect national security, freedom of religion (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Supreme Court said religious conversions by means of force, allurement or fraud may “ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens”, while directing the Centre to “step in” and clarify what it intends to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions.
There may be freedom of religion, but there may not be freedom of religion by forced conversion. This is a very serious issue. Everybody has the right to choose their religion, but not by forced conversion or by giving temptation,” a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Hima Kohli said.
The court was hearing a petition by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, which said a special law should be enacted against forced conversions or the act should be incorporated as an offence in the Indian Penal Code.
Mr. Upadhyay has alleged “mass conversions” of socially and economically underprivileged people, particularly those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
The court ordered the Centre to file an affidavit on or before November 22, detailing what actions it proposed to take to curb forced conversions, and scheduling the case for hearing on November 28. It said such conversions were reported more in poor and tribal areas.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said forced conversions were “rampant” in tribal areas. “Giving of rice, wheat, clothes, etc., etc., can never be a ground for asking a person to change his conscience, or bargain on my fundamental right to religion,” he said.
In many cases, the victim would not know he has been the subject matter of a criminal offence… He would say that he was helped.The court said the Union now had to make “very serious and sincere efforts to stop forced conversions”.
Editorial
Mutual benefit (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to India last week highlights the renewed focus in the U.S. on strengthening economic ties with Asia’s third-largest economy and ‘one of America’s indispensable partners’.
The current global environment with its macroeconomic, trade and strategic challenges makes it all the more compelling for the world’s two largest democracies to deepen their engagement in a way that is mutually beneficial.
In Delhi, Ms. Yellen emphasised that “the United States and India share an interest in strengthening our supply chains in a world where certain governments wield trade as a geopolitical weapon”.
The U.S. was particularly keen to minimise its vulnerability to supply-chain disruptions and was therefore pursuing a strategy of ‘friendshoring’, with India, a key element in the plan to cut its reliance on ‘countries that present geopolitical and security risks’ to the supply chain.
Citing the Ukraine invasion and asserting that Moscow had ‘weaponised’ its supply of natural gas to Europe, as well as the challenges of China’s dominance in the production of products such as solar panels, she underlined Washington’s keenness to nurture local partners in developing countries to help mitigate over-concentration on select suppliers.
Ms. Yellen’s visit also highlights the opportunities and challenges in the bilateral economic relationship, especially as the current dispensation in Washington moves to mend the ruptures caused by the Trump administration’s antagonistic decisions on trade including the withdrawal of duty-free access to Indian exporters under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) as well as a 2020 decision to put India back on the U.S. Treasury’s ‘Monitoring List’ over its currency practices. The U.S. is still to reinstate the GSP benefit and exporters on both sides still face challenges, notwithstanding the fact that the U.S. is one of India’s largest trading partners.
In fact, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. notes in its investment climate summary on India that “new protectionist measures, including strict enforcement and potential expansion of data localisation measures, increased tariffs... and Indian-specific standards not aligned with international standards effectively closed off producers from global supply chains and restricted the expansion in bilateral trade and investment”.
With India set to take up the reins of the G-20 presidency, New Delhi has a chance to steer the global economic and trade agenda towards greater equity, including on climate change, especially given Ms. Yellen’s vocal assurance of U.S. backing. Both sides stand much to gain by enhancing mutual trust and cooperation, particularly on trade.
Opinion
Where no child is left behind (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
It is alarming that India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the 2021 Human Development Index, which is a measure of a nation’s health, average income, and education.
The National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 states, “A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy will be set upon priorityfor attaining universal foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools, identifying state-wise targets and goals to be achieved by 2025, and closely tracking and monitoring progress of the same.
Ever since the 1990 World Declaration on Education for All at the Jomtien Conference, concerted efforts have been made to bring all children to school.
Even before the conference, in 1987, the Shiksha Karmi Project was started in schools to tackle teacher absenteeism in remote villages in Rajasthan.
Active involvement of the local communities was a crucial part of the project. By supporting and training local persons, the project succeeded in creating teachers.
The premise was to focus on the basics of teaching through practice. Unfortunately, this lesson is given up when we work with regular teachers.
The Bihar Education Project was introduced in the early 1990s to give a fillip to the universalisation of primary education. It developed a 10-day residential in-service training for teachers, called the Ujala module. This proved to be a challenge as communities viewed understaffed and dilapidated schools only as election booths.
The Lok Jumbish, or Peoples Movement for Education for All, was launched in 1992 in Rajasthan. By providing a thrust to innovations and emphasising civil society partnership, this programme demonstrated successes, especially in tribal districts. However, the inertia of the mainstream continued to reign supreme.
In 1993, the Supreme Court ruled in Unni Krishnan v. State Of Andhra Pradesh that the right to education for children up to age 14 is central and fundamental.
The District Primary Education Programme was started in 1994, to universalise and transform the quality of primary education. This too remained a project as Directorates did not own the initiatives fully.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, aimed at the universalisation of elementary education, was launched in 2001. While it has made a difference to school participation and has brought about improvement in school infrastructure, uniforms, toilet access, water and textbook availability, classroom processes still remain a challenge.
Explainer
The significance of the Bali G-20 summit (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The leaders of the G-20 nations will gather at Bali’s Nusa Dua resort for the 17th summit of the world’s most advanced economies.
G-20 countries represent 85% of the global GDP, 75% of global trade and 66% of the world population. While the focus will be on post-pandemic recovery and dealing with energy and food security impacted by the Russian war in Ukraine, much interest will be around which leaders choose to hold bilateral summits on the sidelines.
Notable by his absence is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had earlier accepted Indonesian host President Joko Widodo’s invitation, but as the war with Ukraine continues, has sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to represent Russia.
The motto for this G-20 is Recover Together, Recover Stronger. President Jokowi has made recovering from the pandemic a major focus despite geopolitical tensions overshadowing the summit.
The leaders will engage in discussions over three sessions: on Food and Energy security, Health Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and Digital Transformation.
In addition, to highlight the concerns over climate change issues, Mr. Jokowi will lead his guests to the Indonesian mangroves of Taman Hutan Raya, which have been restored over a 30-year project covering nearly 700 acres.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to spell out his agenda for the year ahead under India’s G-20 presidency, with special focus on the Global South and the problems it is facing due to geopolitical tensions, food and fuel shortages.
For the world, this is the first G-20 since Russia began the war in Ukraine and the west imposed sanctions on Russia. Efforts will be made to build global consensus over issues that have clearly divided the world.
For India, the importance of the summit of the world’s most advanced economies is that it is India’s turn to host the summit next. Mr. Modi will receive a handover from the Indonesian President Joko Widodo after which India will assume the presidency on December 1.
Additionally, this is only the second time Chinese President Xi Jinping has travelled abroad since the COVID pandemic, and the first time since he was re-elected at China’s Party Congress last month.
The summit in Bali will be attended by leaders of Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. Spain is a permanent invitee, and the special invitees this year also include leaders of Cambodia, Fiji, the Netherlands, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, Suriname and UAE.
In addition, heads of several international agencies like the UN, the IMF, ASEAN, the African Union will attend the 2022 G-20.
The Indonesian President has also invited the Ukrainian President to address the summit virtually, while Russian President Putin, and leaders of Mexico and Brazil (which is in a leadership transition), will not attend the summit.
What are the hurdles to building school for tribals (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The Narendra Modi-led government is pushing to set up 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for tribal students — one each in every sub-district that has at least a 20,000-odd Scheduled Tribe population, which must be 50% of the total population in that area.
The government is persisting with its mission despite the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Ministry noting this year that the population criteria was “impractical” and needed an “immediate review”.
The EMRS model was first introduced in 1997-98 to provide quality education to tribal students with residential facilities in remote corners. The aim was to build schools at par with the Jawahar NavodayVidyalayas and KendriyaVidyalayas.
Until 2018-19, the scheme was overseen by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with maximum control of identifying new schools, recruiting, management and admissions lying with State governments.
While the Union government had sanctioned a certain number of preliminary EMRS, the guideline of the scheme noted that States and Union Territories would be responsible for seeking sanction of new schools as and when they needed it.
The funds for these schools were to come from the grants under Article 275(1) and the guidelines mandated that unless States finished constructing the schools sanctioned by the Centre, they would not be entitled to funds for new ones.
Apart from the infrastructural requirements of 20-acre plots for each EMRS, the guidelines did not have any criteria of where the EMRS could be set up, leaving it to the discretion of State governments.
In 2018-19, at the bidding of Mr. Modi, the Cabinet approved the revamping of the EMRS scheme. The new guidelines gave the Union government more power to sanction schools and manage them.
A National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) was set up and entrusted with the management of the State Education Society for Tribal Students (SESTS), which would run the EMRS on the ground.
The new guidelines set a target of setting up an EMRS in every tribal sub-district and introduced a “population criteria” for setting them up.
The new guidelines also reduced the minimum land requirement from 20 acres to 15 acres. Since the new scheme was put into place, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs sanctioned 332 of the targetted 452 schools till 2021-22.
However, the Standing Committee in its report noted that a large number of schools were being delayed because the area (15 acre) requirement and the population criteria were making identification and acquisition of land “more cumbersome”, especially in hilly areas, leftwing extremism-affected areas and the northeast.
News
Trade with India doubled to $2 billion in the past two years:Norway Envoy (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Bilateral trade between India and Norway has doubled to $2 billion in the last two years, Norway’s Ambassador to India, Hans Jacob Frydenlund.
During an interaction with journalists, Mr. Frydenlund elaborated on Norway’s interests in climate investments, clean energy and ocean technology, among others. He was in the city to take part in the silver jubilee celebration of the National Institute of Ocean Technology.
Norway would invest $1 billion from its climate investment fund in five years worldwide, Mr. Frydenlund said, adding that how much of the funds would be invested in in India would depend on the projects.
India is one of the countries with large potential for solarenergy. Most of the investment has been in solar energy infrastructure.
To a query on Norway’s possible interest in offshore wind energy, Mr. Frydenlund said his country was working with the National Institute of Wind Energy, and that there were a number of companies active here. The problem in India, when it came to wind energy, was that only Tamil Nadu and Gujarat had stable wind to make it viable.
Replying to a query on the ship-breaking industry in India, especially in Alang in Gujarat, the Norwegian Ambassador said Norway has the fifth largest commercial fleet in the world, and ship recycling was crucial to keep up a modern fleet, both for environmental as also for competitive reasons. Norway was cooperating closely with India over this.
Recalling the visit of Norway’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, whom Mr. Frydenlund accompanied to Alang, the Ambassador said they had urged India to join the Hong Kong Convention, which India did eventually.
So, we are working closely together to find a way to get enough countries to ratify the Hong Kong Convention. It will be a binding international legal instrument.
A joint working group on maritime issues between Norway and India would meet in Mumbai to discuss this subject, among others. Officials from Norway’s Ministry of Trade and Commerce, and officials from the Norwegian Shipowners Association.
Speaking about ties between institutions in Tamil Nadu and Norway, he underscored academic relations between the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and the Institute of Wind Energy in Chennai with institutions in Norway.
The Norwegian company, Piql, was involved in creating a digital archive for Indian monuments such as the Taj Mahal, he said. The company was also involved in digitalising historical monuments — Dholavira in Gujarat and the Bhimbhetka Caves in Madhya Pradesh.
Asked about former Norwegian peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, being back in Sri Lanka as an international climate adviser, Mr. Frydenlund said Mr. Solheim was not an official representative of Norway and was acting in his own capacity.
Projects to track small fishing vessels along India’s coast now makes progress (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
A delayed project to install transponders on small fishing vessels, under 20 metres in length, as part of coastal security measures instituted post 26/11 Mumbai attacks is now making progress, with a project underway in Tamil Nadu.
In a related development, the third edition of the ‘pan-India’ coastal defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ is scheduled to be held on November 15 and 16, the Navy said on Monday.
The Exercise was conceptualised in 2018 to validate various measures that have been instituted towards enhancing maritime security since ‘26/11’.
The process of installing transponders on sub-20 metre boats commenced with a pilot project in Tamil Nadu for 5,000 vessels is underway, said Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar (Retd.), National Maritime Security Coordinator.
To allay the concerns of fishermen, the transponders with positioning navigation systems have been modified into a two-way communication system.
There are close to three lakh registered fishing vessels of which around 2.5 lakh are under 20 metres, Vice Admiral Kumar added.
An Automatic Identification System (AIS) was made compulsory for all vessels above 20 metres after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The decision was taken by the National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, set up to look into issues related to coastal security. However, for vessels under 20 metres, the process has been delayed for several reasons.
Trials were conducted in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation on one of their communication satellites last year along the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The Vehicle Management System (VMS) has advanced features and enables two-way communication. The technology has been handed over to four companies for commercial production.
Verification and monitoring of a large number of fishing vessels in India has been greatly eased by the creation of the online ReALCraft (Registration and Licensing of Fishing Craft), the Indian Navy said in written response to questions.
This information is available to the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. “Further, issuance of biometric identity cards to the majority of fishermen and composite card readers to the maritime security agencies has been done to enable biometric verification of the identity of fishing vessel crews at sea.
In this direction, as part of overall efforts for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) on the high seas, the Quad grouping, comprising of India, Australia, Japan and U.S., at the Tokyo summit early this year announced an ambitious Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative to track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters” integrating three critical regions in the Indo-Pacific - the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).