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 GIST OF GEOGRAPHY AND YOU,
RSTV AND EPW- DECEMBER 2019

Context

The Global Assessment Report of UNDRR (2018) has presented a new picture of disaster risk in
developing countries that warns of major risks from air pollution and biological hazards,besides
floods,drought,landslides and earthquakes.

The report estimated a USD 79.5 billion loss from climate-related disasters in 20 years in India alone.
Although the recent years see a substantial reduction in deaths due to disasters,there is an increasing
property,livelihood and resource damage that has to be managed.

The GAR was launched at the ‘Global Platform’ organised by the UNDRR. The Global Platform for
Disaster Risk Reduction (GP) is a biennial multi-stakeholder forum, critical component of the monitoring
and implementation process of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).
Policy Research Contexts

Concrete measures for prevention and mitigation to reduce disaster risk has been a key aspect of recent
research.

The sub-set of hydro-meteorological and environmental disasters coupled with land-use complexities has
emerged as a critical focus vulnerabilities of the people,land-inhabitations resources and infrastructure are
governed and modified by the availability of natural resources,bio-productivity, technological
know-how,people's practices and behaviour.

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into environment and development framework at local and regional
levels,therefore has to be a core strategy for sustainable development.

In transition from HFA,the SFDRR has sought to place greater attention on integrating climate change
adaptation,mainstreaming across sectors of development with relevant tools of planning and
implementation at national,sub-national and local levels.
Resilient Development : Critical to Sustainability

There is a growing demand for integrating disaster risk analysis into programmes for promoting
community resilience and building sustainable social systems.It is a widely accepted sentiment that secure
and resilient people will constitute sustainable and healthy societies.

It requires developing flexible models of disaster risk reduction strategy with integration of tools in policy
and programmes at national,sub-national, district or local levels.

It also needs to break the preoccupation with mega-disasters-tsunamis and earthquakes-to deal with
chronic shocks from frequent floods,droughts,storms,etc.to rapid urbanisation,air pollution,water
crisis,and food insecurity that keeps communities locked in a cycle of crisis.

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction approaches have been enumerated with specific reference to project
cycle management,sub-national development and land-use/ physical planning(NIDM 2014),tools for use
by developmental organisations and governance process.

India's Lessons and Contexts of Journey Ahead

The Sendai Framework(2015-30) calls for quantitative evaluation and reporting

mechanisms,accountability,and integration, which coincides with two strategic national reviews of
disaster management in India-Review of Disaster Management Act 2005(PK Mishra Committee)and
CAG Audit of Disaster Management System Performance(2013).
Disaster response authority and functions need a shift towards decentralisation and local capacity building
for self-reliance the understanding of which could help stress risk mitigation.

Community based preparedness and raising voluntary disaster response corp by involving various
stakeholders would help strengthen local capacities.

What are India’s Needs and Priorities : Key Strategis

Livelihood Security

● Handling of cyclones such as Phalin-2013 and Phani-2019 has been successful as the efforts in
the backdrop and local capacity building for self-reliance. ground level awareness and local
capacity networks resulting in minimising loss of life.
● However,the particular and general experience of other disasters such as Uttarakhand floods and
Kosi floods etc. made a reiterate on permanent or lasting losses to livelihood resources including
ecosystem services.

Sustainable Infrastructure

● Disaster risks,with underlying factors intensified with the impact of climate change,ecological
degradation and lack of proper governance, has resulted in greater damage to infrastructure in key
sectors-power, transport,communication,agriculture,health,education,and industrial
production-thereby hampering development.
However, disasters like the Nepal Earthquake have put infrastructure resilience(safety,redundancy,
functional continuity)at the forefront in disaster mitigation and preparedness.

Synergising the Sendai Framework with Paris Agreement and SDGs

● Environment and disasters are inextricably linked and important in achieving the goals of
sustainable development(SDGs).
● Therefore,a convergence between disaster risk reduction,climate actions and the SDGs is
imperative for planning line departments actions and budgets.
● The district and local plans need to categorically draw mitigation plans with district/local level
environmental actions plans as an adaptation strategy based on hazard-risk vulnerability
contexts,eventually contributing to resilience building.

Financial Strategies

● Well-known financial mechanisms in India for disaster response and relief-National Disaster
Response Force- NDRF,State Disaster Response Fund-SDRF, National Calamity Relief
 Fund-NCRF,Calamity Contingency Fund-CCF,are largely in place to address damages and to
assist partly in reconstruction/repairs.
● However,the paradigm shift to disaster risk reduction head's a strong focus in mainstreaming it
wilh implementable guidelines and capacities for operationalising financing investments rather
than merely funding response and relief expenses.
● Insurance mechanisms need to be integrated with provident funds,saving bank accounts and/ or
basic amenities(electricity,water,etc)to encourage people to adopt such measures.

Institutional Framework-Needs and Opportunities

Governance

● It is high time that a systematic study to operationalise the recommendations of Comptroller and
Auditor General(CAG) Reports on Disaster Management Performance and Mishra Committee
Report(Disaster Management Act Review)is carried out in the light of recent developments.
● The disaster management authority at the national level and subnational level needs to be
empowered and equipped not only for policy recommendations/monitoring but also as 24x7
operational disaster response headquarter.

Capacity building

● Despite progress, institutional strengthening for education/ training,research,extension and

independent policy review/consulting in disaster management has been lacking in India.

● National Institute of Disaster Management(NIDM) are to be established at zonal levels,to host

expert and capacity consortium with nationally established institutes in the state.
● Disaster risk reduction curriculum(including climate risk management).needs to be integrated
with professional education and interdisciplinary programmes,viz.management/business
continuity,environment/natural resources, health/medicine,and engineering.

Role of Ministries and International Agencies

● Ministries at all levels needs to mainstream disaster risk reduction into their governance and
development structure by creating a specialized cell and integrating strategies into working plans
● Also they may establish specialised institutions/centres for disaster resilience with help from
International Agencies.

Making the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Operational

 ● The Sendai Framework builds on both the successes and shortcomings of progress in
strengthening disaster resilience over the past ten years under the overarching direction of the
previous global framework.
● It specifies goals for reducing mortality,minimising economic and infrastructure losses and
getting countries to commit to disaster risk reduction strategies.
● It also emphasises the role of international cooperation and global partnership.However,the
operationalisation and effectiveness of such global policies at national,sub-national and local
levels are found to be uneven from country to country and within the states.

Way forward

With an excellent network of professional and research institutions in coordination with National Disaster
Management Authority(NDMA), National Executive Committee(NEC) on disaster management and NITI
Aayog, along with proposed network of NIDMs may enable a consolidated national capacity in the form
of Indian Institute of Sustainable and Resilience(IISAR), which may be mandated to support capacity
building, policy monitoring for professional advances and promotion of fundamental learning and
innovations at International level.

CAPACITY OF COASTAL ECOSYSTEM :

VIOLATION OF CRZ NOTIFICATION
Need for a Coastal Regulation Zone

Due to climate change,the water cycle is expected to undergo significant shift.A warmer climate causes
more water to evaporate from both land and oceans;in turn,a warmer atmosphere can hold more
water,roughly 4 percent more water for every 1'F rise in temperature

These changes are expected to lead to negative consequences,with increased precipitation and
runoff(flooding)in certain areas and less precipitation and longer and more severe scarcity of
water(droughts)in others

Most of the natural ecosystems on the coast such as estuaries,backwaters and mangroves are highly
degraded and encroached upon for anthropogenic reasons.Hence,the coastal ecosystem's resilience
capacity on climate change and other natural calamities is considerably reduced.
India is therefore facing frequent floods and an increasing threat of sea level rise.In this context,it is
important to explore the intent of India's CRZ Notifications,their violations and the possible threats to
food resilience.

India’s Coastal Ecosystem

India has about 7517 km of coastline along nine states and four union territories covering 75
districts(Fig.1).Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have the longest coastline,followed by Tamil
Nadu,Maharashtra,Kerala,Odisha,Karnataka, Goa and West Bengal.

India has an exclusive economic zone(EEZ)area of 2.02 million sq km, comprising 0.86 million sq km on
the west coast, 0.56 million sq km on the east coast and 0.6 million sq km around the Andaman and
Nicobar islands.

Coastal Regulation Zone and its Management

India's coastal districts are home to around 171 million people,constituting 14.2 per cent of the nation's
total population.

The major human induced drivers of coastal ecosystem degradation include habitat(coastal fragile
land)conversion to other forms of land use,overexploitation of resources and associated destructive
harvesting practices,spread of invasive alien species etc.
The CRZ Notification is the law that has been specifically established to control and regulate the growth
and development of different activities along India;s coasts.

Background

With the objective of conservation and protection of the coastal environment, the Ministry of
Environment and Forest and Climate Change notified the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification in 1991,
which was subsequently revised in 2011.

A need was felt overtime to undertake a comprehensive revision, particularly related to the management
and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems, development in coastal areas, eco-tourism, livelihood
options and sustainable development of coastal communities etc.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change constituted a Committee in June 2014 under the
Chairmanship of Dr. Shailesh Nayak (Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences) to examine the various
issues and concerns of Coastal States/UTs and other stakeholders for recommending appropriate changes
in the CRZ Notification, 2011.

The draft notification of 2018 incorporates the recommendations made by the Shailesh Nayak
Committee, which submitted its report in 2015.

● CRZ-I​: includes ecologically sensitive areas, where no construction is allowed except activities
for atomic power plants, defense.
● CRZ-II​: includes designated urban areas that are substantially built up. Construction activities are
allowed on the landward side only.
● CRZ-III​: includes relatively undisturbed areas, mainly rural areas. No new construction of
buildings allowed in this zone except repairing the existing ones. However, constructions of
dwelling units in the plot area lying between 200-500m of the high tide line is allowed.
● CRZ-IV​: includes the water area covered between Low Tide Line and 12 nautical miles seaward.
Except for fishing and related activities, all actions impugning on the sea and tidal water will be
regulated in this zone.
Though as per the government. the proposed CRZ notification 2018 will lead to enhanced activities in the
coastal regions thereby promoting economic growth while also respecting the conservation principles of

coastal regions.

It will not only result in significant employment generation but also a better life and add value to the
economy of India.

But, by opening up 6,068 kilometres (km) mainland coastline for more commercial activities, it has put at
risk the ecology and communities vulnerable to extreme weather events and sea level rise.

Regularising population and commercial pressure on the active play zone of the sea waves was at the
heart of the notification, when it was first issued in 1991 under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, which killed 10,000 people along the eastern coast, CRZ
Notification 2011 was brought in to beef up coastal zone. But over the period, CRZ has been more
violated than protected.
In fact, over the last 27 years, the notification has been iterated twice and modified 34 times, making it the
most amended law in the history of India.

Also Coastal areas are facing constant encroachment and a rise in the built up area and the new
notification of 2018 will further deteriorate the fragile ecosystem.

It will promote tourism and other developmental activities in the coastal areas, at the same time it will
disrupt the coastal ecosystem.

Violation of CRZ Notification and Supreme Court Action

A recent report of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority listed 66 high-rises across the state,
which included the five high-rises at Maradu in Kochi that faces a Supreme Court's demolition order.

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations came into prominence in Kerala after the Supreme Court
ordered to demolish four apartment complexes in Maradu municipality, bordering Kochi Corporation,
recently.

The court said CRZ violations should not be treated lightly in view of the natural calamities happening in
different parts of the country.

The Supreme Court had constituted a three-member committee to report on whether the area wherein the
apartments were sanctioned and constructed comes within CRZ II or CRZ III. The committee had
submitted its report stating that as per the CRZ notification of 1991 and Kerala Coastal Zone Management
Plan 1996, the area in question comes under CRZ III.

The Bench noted the building permit was granted by the panchayat to the respective builders without
obtaining the concurrence of KCZMA, which is the competent authority to grant approval for
construction within the CRZ area. Hence the permit granted by the panchayat and the construction made
pursuant to the same is illegal

Uncontrolled construction activities in these areas would have devastating effects on the natural water
flow that may ultimately result in severe natural calamities.

The High Court had ignored the significance of approved Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) while
protecting the constructions of the builders.

Way Forward

Coastal zones are ecologically sensitive areas having high population density and experiencing rapid
economic development.Hence,these areas require stringent and scientific management plans and their
strict enforcement.
The implementation of the CRZ Notification over a period basically reflects the demand for a coordinated
approach to manage the increasing use and protection of the requirements of India's coastal populace.

Therefore,a concerted view needs to be taken on existing illegal constructions in coastal zones and the
Maradu incident can serve as an eye-opener against future violation.

RSTV
TACKLING INFANT MORTALITY: RSTV

Context

● The recent increase in the death toll of infants in Rajasthan and Gujarat has triggered discussions
regarding measures to be taken to improve the health infrastructure of India with respect to
infants.

Infant Mortality Rate

● Death of children under the age of 1 is measured by Infant Mortality Rate, which is the number of
deaths per 1000 live births.
● The major causes of congenital infant mortality are sudden infant death syndrome,
malformations, accidents, maternal complications during the pregnancy and unintentional injuries
How is the Infant Mortality Rate significant for a country?

● It provides key information about maternal and infant health, the infant mortality rate is an
important marker of the overall health of a society.
● It acts as a measure of population health development. IMR also reflects the intuition that
structural factors affecting the health of entire populations have an impact on the mortality rate of
infants.
● It can also be used to analyse the strength of the health architecture of a country.
● The number of young children dying can indicate the ability of communities to access basic
healthcare, adequate nutrition and clean water and sanitation.

How high are the mortality numbers in India ?

● The infant mortality rate (IMR) in India currently stands at 33 per 1,000 live births, which means
infants numbering in the region of 8,50,000 die every year in India, or an average daily toll to 2,350.
● Rajasthan’s Infant Mortality Rate in 2017 stood at 38 which is higher than the national average of 33,
while the figure for Gujarat was below the national average in 2017 at 30.
● Though, India has brought down its infant mortality rates from 80 infants (1995) per 1000 live births
to 33 infants (2017) dying per 1000 live births.
● The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME) reported about
8,00,000 infant deaths in India in 2017. It

was the lowest in five years.

Infant Mortality Rate-Globally

● In 2017, 4.1 million (75% of all under-five deaths) occurred within the first year of life.
● The risk of a child dying before completing the first year of age was highest in the WHO
African Region (51 per 1000 live births), over six times higher than that in the WHO
European Region (8 per 1000 live births).
● Globally, the infant mortality rate has decreased from an estimated rate of 65 deaths per 1000
live births in 1990 to 29 deaths per 1000 live births in 2017.
● Annual infant deaths have declined from 8.8 million in 1990 to 4.1 million in 2017.

Global Initiative to end IMR

● In 2015, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all United Nations
Member States which provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the
planet, now and into the future.
● SDG goal 3 calls for an end to preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of
age and specifies that all countries should aim to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as
12 deaths per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 deaths per
1,000 live births by 2030.
● Child mortality rates have declined, but the world is not on track to reach the Sustainable
Development Goal for child mortality.
● The life of every child is precious and precautions should be taken to ensure that the child or
infant does not die due to preventable causes.

Causes and Factors of Infant Mortality Rate in India

● The ​current GDP allocation for the health sector is just 1.2% of the total GDP as
compared to 5% at the time of Independence, which leads institutional and infrastructure
failure, causing infants deaths.
● In India, ​high rates of anemia (affecting 50% of pregnant women nationally), ​low nutrition
levels (23% of mothers are underweight) and over-burdened government and private
health facilities​ are part of the ​challenge in delivering healthy children.
● Babies born to the ​poorest families are 40 per cent more likely to die than those born to the
least poor.
● Complications during labour and delivery as well as infections like ​sepsis, meningitis and
pneumonia ​are also major contributors of IMR.
● The hospitals remain understaffed and unequipped, such as As recommended against 4 beds
there must be 1 nurse in the Infant Care Unit, but in hospitals in India, the ratio was 1 nurse
per 13 beds.
● Noncommunicable diseases such as ​preterm birth complications and congenital
abnormalities​ were usually the leading causes in states with low under-five mortality
● The provisions for the district medical clinics to access the main government medical centre is
not available.
 ● The provisions for the ​district medical clinics to access the main government medical
centre is not available.

Efforts being made by India

The ​National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched by the Government of India to provide
accessible, affordable and quality health care to the rural population, especially the vulnerable groups.

The various programmes and schemes under National Health Mission implemented by the States/
Union Territories are:

● Navjat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (NSSK) aims to train healthcare personnel in

newborn care and resuscitation.

Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC​): These centres are set up with the aim of reducing the
fatality rate of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) children through standard case management protocol
like specialized treatment and prevention interventions

Schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK),
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) ​etc. were started to promote institutional
deliveries so as to reduce the prevalence of IMR.

India Newborn Action Plan (INAP​)was launched in 2014, aims to make concerted efforts towards
the attainment of the goals of ​“Single Digit Neonatal Mortality Rate” and “Single Digit Stillbirth
Rate,” by 2030.

Way forward

● The ​budget allocations for the health sector have to be improved​. This would help enhance
the socio-economic conditions.
● Efforts must be taken to improve the coordination amongst various departments in the
health sector.
● The ​systemic gaps need to be plugged​, keeping in mind the differentiated ability of each
state to respond.
● Quality research must be undertaken to support the diagnosis of untimely deaths of infants and
the public in general and its results and the findings must be shared and efforts must be taken
to implement the suggestions given by scientists.
● Concerned ministries can collaborate with each other to ensure better coordination,
convergence and holistic integration of different schemes.
● Education campaigns should be taken up to aware the mother of the merits of antenatal
care, institutional delivery, importance of exclusive breastfeeding, immunization, home care
for diarrhoea.
● Health and hygiene is an issue of cross-cutting importance and working with less
privileged communities across the country is important. Through a number of initiatives,
organisations can weave in behaviour change and give access to the necessary remedies
community outreach model.
 SCO Summit 2020
Context

● Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be invited to attend the 19th Council of Heads of
Government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which will be hosted by
India in 2020.
● Invitations will be sent to all the member countries of the SCO for the summit.
● There are various speculations regarding the presence of Prime Minister Khan during the
meeting, given the relationship between the two countries.

Previous Meetings of India and Pakistan

● In 2014, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif had visited India after an invite for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in was sent to all heads of SAARC countries.
● In 2017, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former External Affairs Minister
late Sushma Swaraj had attended the event in what was the first meeting of Heads of Government
after the two nations became full members of the SCO.
● In August 2019, India's decision to revoke the special constitutional status of its part of Kashmir
and impose a lockdown on the region further spiked tensions between the two nations

What is SCO?

● The SCO, a China-led eight-member organisation, was formed in 2001. The organisation has its
roots in Shanghai Five – a multilateral forum founded by five countries namely, China, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in 1996 in Shanghai.
● The SCO, an economic and security bloc, comprises eight member states – India, Kazakhstan,
China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Besides these members, it has
four observer states and six dialogue partners. India and Pakistan became full-time member of the
organisation in 2017.
● Its driving philosophy is known as the “Shanghai Spirit” which emphasises harmony, working by
consensus, respect for each other's culture, non-interference in the internal affairs of others and
non-alignment.
● India and Pakistan joined the SCO as full members in 2017 during a summit at Astana,
Kazakhstan.
Importance of SCO?

● The SCO covers around 40 per cent of the global population, nearly 20 percent of the global GDP
and 22 percent of the world’s land area.
● Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), established in 2002 under the aegis of the SCO, is
mandated for counter-terrorism activities, collecting military intelligence and security of the SCO
region.
● The SCO has another strategic importance in Asia due to its geography, which enables the bloc to
have a strong connection with Central Asia, limiting the US' influence in the region.

Under what circumstances did India enter the SCO?

● While Central Asian countries and China were not in favour of expansion of SCO initially, the
main supporter of India’s entry in particular was Russia.
● A widely held view is that Russia’s growing unease about an increasingly powerful China
prompted it to push for its expansion.
Significance of SCO to India

● The SCO’s significance for India lies in its economics and geopolitics with the Eurasian states.
● Being a member of the organisation, India can effectively raise the issue of cross-border terrorism
emanating from Pakistan. On the other hand, the SCO's main objectives of working cooperatively
against terrorism, separatism and extremism are in line with India's interests.
● India can leverage its membership to achieve regional integration, promote connectivity and
stability across borders.
● The SCO provides a platform for India to simultaneously engage with its traditional friend Russia
as well as its rivals, China and Pakistan.
● The SCO provides India with a potential platform to advance its Connect Central Asia Policy,
which is vital to diversify the country’s energy sources and expand its trade opportunities.
● This would also enable India to gain access to intelligence and information from SCO’s
counter-terrorism body – the Tashkent-based Regional Anti Terror Structure (RATS).

Why was Pakistan invited?

● India would be hosting the SCO summit for the first time.
● The SCO protocol mandates that all heads of government be invited to the meeting for the
meeting to take place.
● India, being the host, had to invite the Pakistan Prime Minister, to carry out a constructive role
and expand engagements in a multilateral forum like the SCO.
● The speculations regarding Pakistan Prime Minister’s presence are based on the ideology that
Pakistan does not have many options left but to accept the invitation and that the country wants to
work on its relations with India.
● This can also open up the possibility of a bilateral meeting with Pakistan.
● However, there are other pressing issues that should be considered for discussion on the
multilateral forum, rather than placing a lot of focus and attention on the invitation extended to
Pakistan.

Could the relationship between India and Pakistan change?

● The joining of India and Pakistan to the organization has shifted its focus from being Central Asia
centric to considering the issues and security of Southern Asia too.
● Also, Pakistan wants to project itself as different to the world and may attend the summit since
we have gone ahead and invited them.
● Pakistan’s army even wants the pressure to be brought down because of economic sanctions
which it is facing

Issues of concern for India

● India’s prime concerns are to address terrorism and connectivity.

 ● India should, therefore, try to highlight the issue of terrorism and put pressure on Pakistan to stop
supporting terrorist organization.
● Connectivity stands as one of the most formidable hurdles before India. Most Central Asian
countries would like to engage with India due to their apprehensions with Russia and China.

Challenges for India

● While India has made its opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative clear, all other SCO members
have embraced the Chinese project.
● The growing closeness of Russia and China might prove to be worrisome for India.
● India’s bilateral trade with Central Asia and Russia is very low compared to China’s trade with
Russia and Central Asia.
● The lack of connectivity between regions rich in hydrocarbons and India has proved to be a
hurdle in the development of energy ties between the Central Asian countries and India.

Way Forward

● India has to utilize the opportunities that SCO provides for India to interact with the leadership of
Central Asian countries.
● India should use this opportunity for promoting an informal dialogue process with the SCO
member states.
● India should utilize this opportunity to expand its trade relations with other countries.
● It should also use the multilateral platform to put pressure on the issue of terrorism.
● India should maintain its relations with China by using its soft power while working on
strengthening its relations with Russia.
● The forum also presents India with an excellent opportunity to showcase its potential and enhance
its collaboration with other SCO countries.
● India should learn to manage the Rimland and the Heartland, which will enhance India’s power in
the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific region.

ACT EAST
Context
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 ● India’s Act East policy was initiated 30 years ago as “Look East” policy to cultivate strong economic
and strategic ties with the South East Asian countries. In 2014, the Modi government renamed it to the
more dynamic sounding “Act East”.

Evolution of India's Act East Policy

● In order to recover from the loss of the strategic partner -USSR (end of the Cold war 1991), India
sought to build up a relationship with the USA and allies of the USA in Southeast Asia.
● In this pursuit, former Prime minister of India P V Narasimha Rao launched Look East policy in 1992,
to give a strategic push to India’s engagement with the South-East Asia region.
● It was a diplomatic effort to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of
Southeast Asia to bolster its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic
influence of the People’s Republic of China.

How is Act East different from Look East policy?

● It makes the North east an integral part of India's foreign policy. The region will be the main
beneficiary and primary actor in the policy.
● It identifies the economic and geo-political importance of Southeast Asian countries.

Act East Policy

● This policy has given importance to India-ASEAN cooperation in the country’s domestic agenda on
manufacture, infrastructure, skills, trade, smart cities, urban renewal, and other initiatives like the
Make in India.
● The policy also puts emphasis on connectivity projects, people-to-people exchanges, space
cooperation, science and technology, etc. which have the potential for furthering regional integration
and prosperity
● The Objective of ”Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop
strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at
bilateral, regional and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of
North Eastern Region including Arunachal Pradesh with other countries in our neighbourhood.

How India is harnessing the benefits of Act East Policy?

● India has upgraded its relations to strategic partnership with Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan,
Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, Singapore and Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and forged close ties with all countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
● Further, apart from ASEAN, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and East Asia Summit (EAS), India has
also been actively engaged in regional fora such as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Mekong
Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
● India’s northeast is a priority area in the Act East Policy. This policy offers an interface between the
northeast especially Arunachal Pradesh and the ASEAN countries.
 ● Different plans at regional and bilateral levels comprise of steps to develop and fortify connectivity of
the NE with the ASEAN via culture, commerce, people-to-people exchanges, physical infrastructure,
etc.
● Some of the major projects include Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, the
India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project, Rhi-Tiddim Road Project, Border Haats, etc.

Concerns about foreign investments

● Suddenly, every major power seems to be interested in the “potential” of the North Eastern Region
(NER).
● Japan has shown interest in investing in various infrastructure projects in India through various
agencies, particularly the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
● There are now geriatric care service providers in Assam, where the language of instruction is
Japanese, and non-governmental organisations are scrambling to create “investment opportunities” for
Laotian and Thai businessmen.
● These are not necessarily bad developments, but it will do us good to pause and think about how these
activities might affect us.
● The fact that a lot of this development is inorganic (and not homegrown) remains a cause for concern.

Consequence of foreign investments

● The money that foreign countries and their development agencies are “giving” us comes with
conditions.
 ● It is a loan, and loans always need to be repaid with heavy interest and in some case, the interest might
be more than just monetary.
● One of the very real consequences of these changes is that with this new money coming in (and it is
big money to the tune of billions of dollars), corruption and inequality in the region are set to take off
on an unprecedented scale.
● Government leaders will have to ensure that their financial backers are happy, meaning that contracts
will need to be signed in favour of certain people, resulting in the concentration of more wealth in
fewer hands.

Conclusion

● Though it is true that the past year has seen a flurry of activities, all in all, it seems to hold nothing
significant for the people of the North East, especially the rural poor.
● The infrastructure and the techno-structure that the Act East policy seeks to install are problematic.
● The economic and job promises are great if they come true, but should we sacrifice long-term goals
for short-term gains? It is a question of how much control we are willing to give up for prosperity and
wealth.

SHORT SIGHTEDNESS OF FARM LOAN

WAIVERS
Context

● The Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farm Loan Waiver Scheme announced by the newly-formed Maha
Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra is the latest scheme that aims to waive off farm loans up to
₹ 2 lakhs.

Background of Loan Waiver Schemes in India

● India has a long history of loan waivers. In 1990, the then Prime Minister announced an
agricultural debt relief scheme totalling to ₹10,000 crore for agricultural borrowers.
● In the same year, a similar scheme was announced by then Chief Minister of Haryana, waiving
₹227.5 crore of farm loans by banks and cooperatives.
● Over the next decade despite the RBI’s warning of the adverse consequences of such measures,
several States resorted to them. In 2008, the UPA government announced one of the largest debt
waiver schemes in history.
● The Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme waived ₹60,000 crore spread across 237
districts and reaching 30 million farmers. Over the next few years the programme received
widespread criticism from economists.
Agrarian Crisis in India

● Farm distress is mainly caused by droughts, rising costs, inadequate crop prices and falling
incomes.
● The crisis has also been caused by policies that focus on inflation targeting due to overt focus on
the consumer and not on the producer.

● The increasing monetisation and mechanisation of agricultural operations and the shifts in
cropping pattern towards cash crops and horticulture require more investments in marketing and
storage infrastructure.
● The farmer has become more vulnerable to price movements and is increasingly falling into a
debt trap.
● Declining prices of agricultural commodities and increase in price volatility have worsened the
agrarian distress.

Farm loan waivers

After the recent Assembly elections, the new governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh announced farm loan waivers.

According to SBI Research, around ₹70,000 crore was spent on farm debt waivers till May 2019. The
clamour for farm loan waivers has been growing, but this “'populist” measure alone cannot be a
permanent solution to mounting agrarian distress.

Since the post-reforms policy regime in 1991, agriculture has been facing multiple crises. The rising
pressure of population on land and agriculture, besides sluggishness in the shifting of workforce away
from agriculture, has adversely affected small and marginal farmers
Issue of farm loan waivers

● The farmers had demanded loan waivers to deal with increasing indebtedness and suitable
mechanisms to ensure stable and remunerative prices for their produce, given that vulnerability to
price movements and the incidence of falling into a debt trap have been high.
● While the loan waiver policy could work as a short-term measure given the extent of indebtedness
of farmers, empirical studies suggest that loan waivers have not had any long-term beneficial
impact.
● However, more sustained long-term interventions are required for the resolution of the
deep-rooted agrarian distress, which has been the result of a long-term crisis situation prevailing
in agriculture.

Why do farm loan waivers do not offer long term solutions?

● Loan waivers cannot address the problems of rising costs and falling profitability owing to
declining farm prices, which is the primary reason for the worsening of the agrarian crisis.
● Stagnant incomes and deceleration in agricultural output have characterised rural distress, but the
entire rural economy has been afflicted by a severe decline in demand, including the non-farm
sector.
● The deceleration in the unorganised sector has led to growing unemployment and a decline in
rural demand.

Negative Impacts of farm loan waivers

Various studies suggest that loan waiver policies not only benefit institutional borrowers but also tend to
disproportionately benefit better-off farmers.

One section of economists and bankers argues that loan waivers represent poor policy for a variety of
reasons.

● First, loan waivers have “reputational consequences”; that is, they adversely affect the repayment
discipline of farmers, leading to a rise in defaults in future.
● Second, earlier debt waiver schemes have not led to increases in investment or productivity in
agriculture.
● Third, after the implementation of debt waiver schemes, a farmer’s access to formal sector
lenders declines, leading to a rise in his dependence on informal sector lenders; in other words,
waivers lead to the shrinkage of a farmer’s future access to formal sector credit.

States need to follow Kerala’s blueprint

 ● The Kerala Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission Act, 2006 is an excellent model in this regard. This
scheme defines debt as “any sum borrowed by a farmer from the creditor”, with the creditor
defined as “any person engaged in money lending, whether under a licence or not”.
● The commission’s mandate included the right “to fix, in the case of creditors other than
institutional creditors, a fair rate of interest and an appropriate level of debt, to be payable”, that is
the commission could waive, reschedule or reduce any debt on a need-basis after a detailed
hearing of both the parties.

Short Term Measures

● As a short-term measure, farmers need to be freed of the tyranny of the middlemen by reforming
the rent-seeking, anti-farmer commission agent (arthiya) system.
● The interlocking of the credit and the output markets is a major factor for the crises of
indebtedness.
● The system of making payments through the commission agent needs to be dismantled to break
the credit-crop nexus.
● The government should give the agro-processing industry a policy push to pull rural people out of
agriculture.

Long Term Measures

● In the long run, there’s an urgent need for integration of agriculture with industry, and that too
with the involvement of the local workforce in such a manner that surpluses should be invested
locally.
● The subsidies and tax concessions which have been offered or given to the corporate sector
should be given to rural entrepreneurs who are willing to start manufacturing firms that will
process local raw materials and employ rural labour.
● The transformation is possible if primary producers are integrated with both manufacturing and
marketing activities for reaping surpluses generated by them.

Way forward

● Unless there are steps ‘to raise productivity, reduce costs of cultivation by providing quality
inputs at subsidised rates, provide remunerative prices following the recommendations of the
Swaminathan Commission, ensure assured procurement of output, expand access to institutional
credit, enhance public investment for infrastructural development, institute effective crop
insurance systems and establish affordable scientific storage facilities and agro-processing
industries for value addition’, farmers will continue to be bonded to low income equilibrium and
repeated debt traps.
 SUBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

1. “India's Act East policy remains the bedrock of the national Indo-Pacific vision and the centrality
of ASEAN is embedded in the Indian narrative.” Discuss
2. Explain the formation of SCO and its mandate. Mention the opportunities and challenges it
presents for India?
3. Is Farm loan waiver good for the country? Why do farmers need more than loan waivers
4. Explain the impact of short-term populist measures in agriculture? Suggest long-term measures to
bring sustainable reforms in the agrarian sector?
5. What is the meaning and objective of India’s Act East Policy? How is it different from the Look
East Policy of India?
6. What is Infant Mortality Rate? Discuss the causes and factors of Infant Mortality Rate in India?
7. There is urgent need for political commitments in the region towards devising future strategies for
identification of risks, challenges, and equal distribution of scarce resources, so that one can
achieve disaster risk management strategies. In the light of the above statement, discuss post
Sendai initiatives taken by India?