DAILY NEWS ARTICLES/EDITORIALS 12TH JANUARY 2021
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Best IAS Coaching in Bangalore Daily News Articles/Editorials 12th January 2021
Shiksha IAS https://iasshiksha.com/daily-news-article/daily-news-articles-editorials-12th-january-2021/
DAILY NEWS ARTICLES/EDITORIALS 12TH JANUARY 2021
Posted on January 20, 2021 by admin
Page: 1Best IAS Coaching in Bangalore Daily News Articles/Editorials 12th January 2021
Shiksha IAS https://iasshiksha.com/daily-news-article/daily-news-articles-editorials-12th-january-2021/
Reframing India’s foreign policy priorities.
CONTEXT:
1. India’s foreign policy priorities, Apart from an ideational restructuring, prudent plans, achievable
objectives and a line of continuity are a must.
2. Geopolitical move of Europe, EU has turned its back on the U.S. and revived its China links;
Europe has thus shattered all hope that China would remain ostracised in 2021.
3. The concern of India remains isolated from two important supranational bodies of which it
used to be a founding member.
IS China stronger ever in 2021?
Europe has turned its back on the U.S. and revived its China links, by ‘concluding in principle the
negotiations for an EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment’. In one swift move,
Europe has thus shattered all hope that China would remain ostracised in 2021.
EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) will be the most ambitious agreement that
China has ever concluded with a third country. In addition to rules against the forced transfer of
technologies, CAI will also be the first agreement to deliver on obligations for the behaviour of state-
owned enterprises, comprehensive transparency rules for subsidies and commitments related to
sustainable development.
China is only major country which had a positive rate of growth at the end of 2020, and its
economy is poised to grow even faster in 2021.
Militarily, China has further strengthened itself, and now seeks to dominate the Indo-Pacific Ocean
with its announcement of the launch of its third aircraft carrier in 2021.
China is seeking to strengthen its military coordination with Russia. Consequent on all this and
notwithstanding Chinese intransigence in several matters including its heavy-handed actions in
Hong Kong and Uighur, China’s position across Asia is, if anything, stronger than in 2020.
India issue with china:
Trade deficit issue:
Since the beginning of the 21st century, trade between China and India has grown from less than $3
billion to nearly $100 billion, an increase of about 32 times. In 2019, the trade volume between
China and India was $92.68 billion.
In fiscal year 2019-20, India's trade deficit with China was $48.64 billion which was lower than
the trade deficit of $53.56 billion in 2018-19.
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A border issue with China :
1962: India-China War and origin of LAC,
1967: In Sikkim, India pushes China back
2013: Stand-off at Daulat Beg Oldi.
2017: Doklam Stand-off
2020: Ladakh stand-off (lake Pangong Tso)
Gilgit-Baltistan, as an implicit attack on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over the
South China Sea.
IS Economy first for Europe?
1. Europe, minus Britain following Brexit, and the retirement of Germany’s Angela Merkel, could
become even less relevant in world affairs.
2. The China-EU Investment Treaty which saw Europe capitulating to China’s brandishments is
an indication that Europe values its economy more than its politics.
3. Russia is beginning to display greater interest in the affairs of countries on its periphery and,
together with strengthening ties with China and reaching an entente with Turkey, this seems to
signal reduced interest in countries such as India.
4. Saudi Arabia could find the going difficult in 2021, with a Biden Administration taking charge
in Washington. The healing of wounds among the Sunni Arab states in the region should be
viewed as a pyrrhic victory at best for Saudi Arabia.
India issues with European Union:
Free Trade Agreement Talks on an EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement have stalled
after failing to resolve differences related to matters such as the level of FDI & market access,
manufacture of generic drugs, greenhouse gas emissions.
India issues with Russia:
1. India’s biggest problem with Russia is its dependency on the latter forits arms’ spare parts.
2. Continuously sourcing spares from Russia and ensuring that Indian weapon systems eventually
move away from Russian machinery is no lean task.
India issues with Saudi Arabia:
Issues such as the Arab Israeli conflict and India's principled support to the Arab Peace Initiative
started by Saudi and on various counter terrorism issues.
IS India isolated?
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No breakthrough in Sino-Indian relations has, or is likely to occur, and the confrontation between
Indian and Chinese armed forces is expected to continue.
Tensions between the two neighbours, and in the process, also helped Pakistan to cement its
relations with China.
India has made valiant efforts to improve relations with some of its neighbours such as Bangladesh,
Myanmar and Sri Lanka, but as of now worthwhile results are not evident.
India is Founding member, of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) but not interested in his policy so enough.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), objective
has hardly been successful.
India has opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (a majority of
Asian countries are members), and failed to take advantage of the RIC, or the Russia, India and China
grouping, even as relations with Russia and China have deteriorated.
Today seem to be a mixture of misplaced confidence, sometimes verging on hubris (as in the case
of Nepal), a lack of understanding of the sensitivities of neighbours such as Bangladesh and long-
time friends (such as Vietnam and Iran).
India fare of influence is widens:
India’s foreign policy objectives are to widen its sphere of influence, enhance its role across nations,
and make its presence felt as an emerging power in an increasingly disruptive global system
India’s voice and counsel are seldom sought, or listened to. This is a far cry from what used to
happen previously.
India will serve as the president of the powerful UN Security Council for the month of August, 2021,
Quad (India, USA, Japan, and Australia).The growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific.
Way Forward:
Despite China’s rise, the world will remain committed to multi-polar order. The article highlights
the emerging trends in the global order against the backdrop of a pandemic and explains how there
could be an opportunity for India.
The opportunity as well as challenge is that the two nations are at very different levels of
development. There can be converging and diverging interests.
There is a need for India and China to sit together to deliberate on the consequences of such
misadventures in an area where massive earthquakes are bound to take place.
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Dialogues for democracy, lessons from Rajasthan Federalism and
good governance need engagement between people and officials, as
the MGNREGA programme shows.
CONTEXT:
Policy makers and law making of a government programme as much as a continuous
dialogic for effective programme implementation and need for deliberation with
beneficiaries.
The implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) in Rajasthan.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
1. The Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing
hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult
members (at least 18 years of age) volunteer to do unskilled work.
2. The central government bears the full cost of unskilled labour, and 75% of the cost of material
(the rest is borne by the states).
3. It is a demand-driven, social security and labour law that aims to enforce the ‘right to work’.
4. Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Government of India in association with state
governments, monitors the implementation of the scheme.
What are the issues?
1. MGNREGA wages are now directly credited from the central government to a worker’s bank
account. Introduce friction between Centre-state about wage and payment issue.
2. The troubles are compounded when things go wrong as workers run from pillar to
post knocking on the doorsof various government officials, banks, payment disbursement
agencies, panchayat officials, etc.
3. There are numerous reasons as complex payment architecture that not only involves various
line departments and banks but also the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Solution:
1. To resolve payment rejections, the Department of Rural Development held numerous
2. Workshop involving worker groups and civil society organisations who interacted directly with
the aggrieved workers, administrative officers from the village level to the State level, and
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bankers.
3. As the dialogue evolved, detailed guidelines were issued with well-defined responsibility,
clear timelines, and monitoring and protocols to be followed by officials.
4. Open communication channels, an eagerness to work with worker groups and a keen ear to
the ground have benefited thousands of MGNREGA workers
Other Issues with MGNREGA?
1. A supply-based programme.
2. Workers had begun tolose interest in working under it because of the inordinate delays in
wage payments.
3. with verylittle autonomy of gram panchayats,
4. State governments were only interested in running the programme to the extent funds
were made availablefrom the Centre.
5. Allocating work on demand, and not having enough funds to pay wages on time
Social audits in MGNREGA are the solution:
1. Social audits show how people’s participation in the planning, execution and monitoring of
public programmes leads to better outcomes.
2. They have strengthened the role of the gram sabha
3. Social audits were first mandated by law in 2005 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
4. Subsequently, Parliament, the Supreme Court and many Central ministries mandated them
in other areas as well
5. Following a sustained push from the Rural Development Ministry, the CAG and civil society
organisations, social audit units (SAUs) have been established in 26 States (Rajasthan,
Haryana and Goa are yet to establish them
Way forward:
1. With nearly eight crore migrant workers returning to their villages, and with an additional
allocation for the year, this could be a moment for the true revival of MGNREGA. A revival led
by workers themselves.
2. strengthening the MGNREGA would be more prudent than a targeted cash transfer plan like
PM-KISAN.
3. In an employment programme, adequacy of fund allocation and respectable wages are
crucial, so meaningless claims of “highest ever allocation” and other dubious claims are
unhealthy for democracy.
4. The Central government should focus on improving the existing universal infrastructure of the
MGNREGA before plunging into a programme pretending to augment farmers’ income.
Page: 6Best IAS Coaching in Bangalore Daily News Articles/Editorials 12th January 2021
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5. MGNREGS daily wage rate increased by Rs 20 (Rs 202 from Rs 182). This will result in a Rs 2,000
increase in annual income of workers under the schemes. NREGA workers can work on ground
by following the central advisory for maintaining social distancing.
A step back in gender equality:
CONTEXT:
1. Is the electoral promise of paying women for carrying out domestic work and care work a
progressive public policy?
2. Recognition the women efforts but may not reduce and redistribute their burden.
Disproportionate burden of work among woman:
1. Women bear a disproportionately high burden of unpaid domestic work and care work in
India.
2. The all-India Time Use Survey (2019) says that 82% of females (six years and above) as against
24% of males from Tamil Nadu participate in unpaid domestic work.
3. The huge disparity persists even if we look at the age group of 15-59 years: 90% of females and
24% of males participate in domestic work.
4. A similar disparity prevails at the all-India level as well: 81% of females (six years and above)
and 26% of males participate in unpaid domestic work.
5. The data suggest that females bear more than 83% of the burden of domestic and care work
both in Tamil Nadu and India.
Current Challenges:
1. Cultural values, limited role as homemaker with status of mother, sister and wife
2. Partnership and industries, not considered capable enough to handle it.
3. Gender equality studied in isolation, The crime against boys and men go unreported, even this
group should be studied.
4. The laws made are gender biased rather than gender neutral laws.
5. Hardly any steps for political representation of women
6. Gender exploitation in unorganized sector go unrecorded.
7. Study limited to women empowerment rather than youth empowerment.
How to insure gender equality:
1. Triple-R,(recognition, reduce, redistribute)that is ‘recognition’. Paying a wage is a formal
recognition of the fact that unpaid domestic and care work are no less important than paid
Page: 7Best IAS Coaching in Bangalore Daily News Articles/Editorials 12th January 2021
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market work.
2. The monetary reward is a recognition of their contribution to the well-being of the household
and the opportunities forgone by women.
3. The proposal appears progressive, for this reason and to that measure.
4. Strategies for the advancement of women should be, Higher literacy ,More formal education,
Greater employment opportunity.
5. Opportunities and skills,health and safety, disparity in pay structure and right to decide the size
of their family
Article 243 D – Women Empowerment in the Domain of Governance
1.In Governance this inequality was visible, after decades of independence. Hence, Article 243 D of
the Constitution provides provision of 33 percent reservation for women in the Panchayati Raj
Institutions and 33 percent of the office of chairpersons will be reserved for women
Conclusion:
Gender equality should encompass men and women both. There is a need of change in societal
mindset. Men and women should respect each other. Real education begins at home. So it is even
the duty of parents and teachers to incorporate healthy values right from the young age.
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