Editorial Analysis Oct Compilation

INSIGHTSIAS
OCTOBER 2022
Table of Content:
GS1:
Art and Culture:
1. This Diwali, Light a Lamp within
2. This Hindi – and Hindi alone – counsel is flawed
GS2:
Polity:
1. Letting go of a chance to democratize telecom services
2. The death penalty and humanising criminal justice
3. Gubernatorial procrastination is unreasonable
4. The extra-constitutional delusions of Raj Bhavan
5. The democratization of India, the Mandal way
6. Choose ‘safe surrender’ over infant abandonment
International Relations:
1. The old but relevant script of the Cuban Missile crisis
2. Brexit-Britain’s challenges remain
3. Turkish foreign policy, the East-West divide
4. India, America and the China challenge
5. China’s “wolf warrior” era
6. Russia’s continued defiance of international law
7. The coalition of the world
8. Domestic ideologies in external settings
9. Changes in the UAE’s immigration rules
Social justice:
1. A decisive shift in the discourse on abortion rights
2. Food day as a reminder to ‘leave no one behind’
GS3:
Economy:
1. Utilize fiscal room to ramp up capital spending
2. Solutions by the people, for the people
Science and technology:

1. Indian Deep Tech and a case for a strategic fund
Security:
1. Today’s weapon of choice, its expanding dimensions
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
This Diwali, Light a Lamp within
Source: Indian Express
■ Prelims: Current events of national importance, democracy, covid, elections etc

■ Mains GS Paper I and II: Important aspects of governance, transparency and
accountability, institutions and other measures etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The assembly elections are going to be conducted in Himachal Pradesh and
Gujarat.
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context
Diwali:
● It is a five-day Hindu, Sikh, and Jain religious celebration that begins on
the 13th day of the dark half of the moon cycle Ashvina and ends on the 2nd
day of the bright half of the moon month Karttika.
● Deepavali, which means “row of lights” in Sanskrit, is the source of the name.
● The event is a celebration of light triumphing over darkness.
● Diwali traditions and celebrations vary by area.
Assembly elections:
● At the state level the election is called assembly elections and is divided into a
specific number of assembly constituencies.
● The elected representatives in the state are called MLAs.
● They are elected for a 5 years term.
● The democratic system in India is based on the principle of universal adult
suffrage.
Voting system in present times:

● Normally in elections, We vote once in five years
● Methods of voting in today’s world on different events:
○ Like button on social media is a vote
○ The thumbs up emoji
○ The WhatsApp forward
Impacts of voting online:

● Live in constant judgment mode.
● Live more like a consumer than a citizen.
● Constant voting mindset affects our moral reasoning.
Democracy:
● Democracy is a form of government in which rulers are elected by the people
in a free and fair elections, on universal adult franchise.
● Fundamental rules: It is governed on the basis of certain fundamental rules
like a constitution.
● Political philosophy: It has been a part of contemporary political
philosophy and other social choice theories.
● Discussions: Democracy is about a government by discussion but that
discussion should not divide us into two hard brackets.
Ambedkar about differences;

● “We are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have
equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.”
Negative impacts of polarization:

● Everyone is branded an “enemy: whether merely a political rival
● Praising political rivalry: One cannot praise an adversary.
○ Example: Mulayam Singh Yadav paised PM Modi after 2019 elections.
● Minimal democracy: makes us more of a minimal democracy rather than a
maximum democracy.
● Democracy becomes just lining up to vote once in five years: rather than
the universal human pursuit of speaking, expressing, reviewing, decision
making, valuing togetherness.
Way Forward
■ Blur the divide: The biggest ability of democracy is to blur the divide
between “for and against” and enhance the social capability of moral
reasoning.
○ We the people, we for people and we by people means that we listen to
each other.
■ The great king Ashoka argued: “For he who does reverence to his sect while
disparaging the sects of others wholly from attachment to his sect, in reality,
inflicts, by such conduct, the severest injury on his sect”.
■ Realization: that inflicting injury on others is causing severe injury on
ourselves that healing others is healing ourselves.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Q. On what grounds a people’s representative can be disqualified under the
Representation of People Act, 1951? Also mention the remedies available to such
person against his disqualification.(UPSC 2019)
(200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
This Hindi – and Hindi alone – counsel is flawed
Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Current events of national importance, Official Language Act, 1963,
Article 343 etc
■ Mains GS Paper I and II: Salient features of Indian society, diversity of India etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The 11th volume of the Report of the Official Language Committee was
submitted to the President of India.

Context
Mains recommendations in the report:
● Hindi should replace English as the language of examinations for
recruitment to the government
● Hindi should be the only medium of instruction: In Kendriya Vidyalayas,
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
and central universities
● Constitutional binding: It should be constitutionally binding on State
governments to propagate Hindi, etc
Official language committee:

● Official language Act, 1963: It is a statutory committee constituted under
Section 4 in the Official Language Act, 1963.
● Duty: To review the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official
purposes of the Union and submit a report to the President.
● Section 4(4): The Act makes it obligatory for the President to issue
directions “in accordance with the whole or any part of the report.
Constitution and other laws on Hindi:

● Article 343: It declares that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official
language of the Union.
● Constituent assembly: Hindi was declared the official language of the Union
and it was also provided that the English language will continue for 15 years
from the commencement of the Constitution.
● Official languages Act in 1963: Continuance of English indefinitely as official
language along with Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and for
transaction of business in Parliament.
Issues with recent report:
● Hindi should totally replace English as the medium of instruction: The
committee is not mandated to recommend the medium of instruction in
universities and professional institutions.
● Parliament has declared by law: English shall continue along with Hindi.
○ A statutory committee constituted under the Act has no mandate to
recommend the discontinuation of English.
Issues of Hindi replacing English:

● South Indian upsurges: The provision allowing English to be used
indefinitely helped solve upsurges in south India.
● Emotionally divide people: Language issues have the potential to
emotionally divide people.
● Language used in All India services: Once Hindi replaces English, the
language used in the examination for recruitment to the all India services will
be Hindi alone.
○ Candidates from the non-Hindi States will face a great disadvantage.
● Against Article 344(3): The commission on official language shall have “due
regard to the just claims and interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi
speaking areas in regard to public services”.
Languages in India:
● Indo-European language group(Hindi)
● The Dravidian language group:
○ Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
Way Forward
■ Maulana Azad: “we have got to admit that so far as language is concerned
North and South are two different parts. The union of North and South has
been made possible only through the medium of English. If today we give up
English then this linguistic relationship will cease to exist”.
■ The idea of one official language may not foster the unity of the people:
It may give rise to serious imbalances in regional representation in the all
India services in the long run as well as the personnel structure of the Union
government.
■ Address the issues: It is more necessary to address the concerns of the
people of south Indian region on account of language.
○ The public opinion in the south is that English should continue as one
of the official languages.
■ Natural development: Efforts should be made to ensure the natural
development of Hindi in non-hindi states, so as to be able to meet the
requirements of modern science and technology.

Q. Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss.(UPSC 2019)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Letting go of a chance to democratize telecom services
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Governance, digital India, Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022

etc
■ Mains GS Paper III: Digital India, cybercrime, Important aspects of
governance(e governance, accountability)etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 (Telecom Bill) — published
for public consultation aims to create a legal framework attuned to the
realities of the 21st century.

Context
Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022:
● Update the extant regulatory framework: The draft is to update the extant
regulatory framework in keeping with the advancements and challenges in
the sector.
● Repeal legislations: It looks to repeal three legislations and “restructure the
legal and regulatory framework” for the telecommunications sector.
● Enabling the government to order suspension of internet power: It has
been introduced through the draft Bill.
○ Currently, suspension of internet services is ordered under the
Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency and
Public Safety) Rules, 2017.
● Primary route for allocation of the spectrum is auction: when spectrum is
to be allocated for certain functions of the government such as defense or
transportation.
● TSP to exploit its spectrum resource fully: By enabling sharing, trading,
leasing, surrendering or returning unutilised spectrum.
● Simplifies: The Bill also simplifies the process for restructuring, merging or
demerging.
● Land owned by a public entity: It mandates that land owned by a public
entity should be available expeditiously unless there is an express ground of
refusal.
● Universal Service Obligation Fund: It allows this fund to be utilized for other
purposes such as urban areas connectivity, research etc.
Issues Involved:
● Democratization: The Telecom Bill misses the opportunity for the
democratization of telecommunication services.
● Centralisation: It has preferred a move towards centralisation of power
through its new licensing regime.
● Failed to include modern laws: It also fails to inculcate the learnings evolved
in courts and other institutions of authority.
● Pre-independence laws: Repackages the provisions from pre-Independence
laws to pass them off as legislative advancements.
● Clause 24(2)(b) of the Telecom Bill: It lays down a specific power for
suspension of Internet services (Internet shutdowns).
○ The clause does not solve any of the issues that exist with the current
framework for Internet shutdowns in India,
Over-the-top (OTT) communication services:

● It refers to services that provide real time person-to-person
telecommunication services.
● Some popular examples include:
○ Messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram, Signal, Messenger, Duo,
Google Meet etc.
Issues related to OTT:
● Reductionist approach: OTT services can only be accessed through telco-
controlled infrastructure.
○ Introduction of OTT communication services under the ambit of
telecommunication services is a reductionist approach.
Issues related to TRAI:

● The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) did not recognise the positive
recommendations of TRAI and diluted TRAI’s responsibility of providing
recommendations to the central government.
Privacy Issues:
● Data localisation: It requires online service providers to store data locally, in
India.
○ Such a data localisation requirement confers excessive discretion to the
Government, and adversely affects the privacy of individuals.
● Practice of E2EE: It formalizes attempts of the executive to bypass the
privacy protecting practice of E2EE and requires OTT communication service
providers to intercept or disclose any message or class of messages to the
authorized officer.
Way Forward
■ Internet shutdown: The impact Internet shutdowns have on the fundamental
right to free speech of citizens, the high economic costs have been
consistently raised as a criticism which needs to be addressed.
■ Socio-Economic growth: The Telecom Bill recognises socio-economic growth
as one of its stated objectives, steps which promote growth should be taken.
■ Anuradha Bhasin vs Union Of India: Learnings and recommendations from
the Supreme Court’s decision and the 2021 report of the Standing
Committee on Information Technology need to be taken into consideration.

Q. Discuss different types of Cyber crimes and measures required to be taken to
fight the menace.(UPSC 2020)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
The death penalty and humanising criminal justice
Source: The Hindu
Prelims: Pardoning power of president, death penalty by different courts., article

21, Provisions for Death Penalty etc.
Mains GS Paper II: Government policies and interventions for development of

various sectors and issues arising out of them, role of Judiciary, Death penalty and
Arguments Related to it.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The Supreme Court of India is ordinarily expected to follow the path laid out
by the written text of law and the binding precedents.
○ But CJI of India has ushered in that rare moment by taking several
bold initiatives to correct certain grave anomalies that have persisted
in operation of the death penalty law.

Context
Death Penalty:
● Capital punishment or death penalty, is the execution of an offender
sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offence.
● It is the highest penalty awardable to an accused.
● Generally, it is awarded in extremely severe cases of murder, rapes, treason
etc.
● The death penalty is seen as the most suitable punishment and effective
deterrent for the worst crimes.
Process of Death Penalty:

Arguments in Favour of the Death Penalty:
● Deterrence: Capital punishment is often justified with the argument that by
executing convicted murderers, we will deter murderers from killing people.
● Retribution: People should get what they deserve in proportion to the
severity of their crime. This argument states that real justice requires people
to suffer for their wrongdoing and to suffer in a way appropriate for the
crime.
Arguments Against the Death Penalty:

● Deterrence Ineffective: The statistical evidence doesn’t confirm that
deterrence works. Some of those executed may not have been capable of
being deterred because of mental illness or defect.
● Death has been prescribed in rape cases since 2013 (Sec. 376A of
IPC):rapes continue to happen and in fact, the brutality of rapes has increased
manifold, which question death penalty as an effective deterrent.
● Execution of the Innocent: The most common argument against capital
punishment is that sooner or later, innocent people may get killed, because of
mistakes or flaws in the justice system.
● Amnesty International: As long as human justice remains fallible, the risk of
executing the innocent can never be eliminated.
● Developed countries: In most of the developed countries death has been
abolished as a form of punishment.
● No Rehabilitation: Capital punishment doesn't rehabilitate the prisoner and
return them to society.
● Chance to reverse his mistakes:Death penalty does not give another chance
to person to work on his mistakes.
Death row cases taken by CJI U.U Lalit:

● Anokhilal vs State of M.P. (2019)
● Irfan vs State of M.P., Manoj and Ors vs State of M.P.
● Prakash Vishwanath case
● Review petition order in the Mohd. Firoz cases.
New Policies and uniformity in death penalty cases:

● ‘Framing Guidelines: Regarding Potential Mitigating Circumstances to be
Considered While Imposing Death Sentences’, a decision authored by the
three judge Bench.
● Reference to a larger Bench: Step in the direction of death penalty
sentencing justice reform.
Need for reforms:

● Legislative limitation: flowing from Section 354(3) in the Code of Criminal
Procedure
● Rarest of rare case: judicial limitation flowing from the ‘rarest of rare’ case;
and ‘oral hearing.
Issue with present sentencing:
● Places the convict at a hopeless disadvantage: Accused can scarcely be
expected to place mitigating circumstances on the record, for the reason that
the stage for doing so is after conviction.
Supreme Court’s rulings on the Death Penalty:

● Jagmohan Singh v. State of UP 1973 case:
1. SC held that according to Article 21 deprivation of life is constitutionally
permissible if that is done according to the procedure established by law.
2. Death sentence imposed after a trial in accordance with legally established
procedures under Cr.PC and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 is not
unconstitutional under Article 21.
● Rajendra Prasad v. State of UP 1979 case:
If the murderous operation of a criminal jeopardizes social security in a
persistent, planned and perilous fashion then his enjoyment of fundamental
rights may be rightly annihilated.
● Bachan Singh v. the State of Punjab 1980 case:
SC propounded the ‘rarest of rare cases’ according to which death penalty is
not to be awarded except in the ‘rarest of rare cases’ when the alternative
option is unquestionably foreclosed.
● Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab 1983 case:
The Supreme Court laid down certain considerations for determining
whether a case falls under the category of rarest of rare cases or not.
● Manoj and Ors. vs State of MPs 2022 case:
1. The Supreme Court took important steps towards realizing an ‘individualized
sentencing enquiry as envisaged by the court in Bachan Singh.
2. Socioeconomic circumstances have been recognised as a mitigating factor by
courts in various death penalty cases.
Rarest of Rare Cases principle:

● When the murder is committed in an extremely brutal, ridiculous,
diabolical, revolting, or reprehensible manner so as to awaken
intense and extreme indignation of the community.
● When total depravity and cruelty are the motives behind a murder.
Way Forward
■ New Guidelines: The Constitution Bench may come up with new guidelines
under which the trial courts themselves can hold a comprehensive
investigation into factors related to upbringing, education and socio-
economic conditions of an offender before deciding the punishment
■ Manoj and Ors. vs State of M.P: Trial court must take into account the social
milieu, the educational levels, whether the accused had faced trauma earlier
in life, family circumstances, psychological evaluation of a convict and post-
conviction conduct.
■ Bold initiative of the three judge Bench might have made a positive
mark:The future shape of the mission to humanize criminal justice will
ultimately depend upon composition of the larger Bench and inclination of
the judiciary.
■ Taking into consideration western critical criminal law scholars: Making
a distinction between ‘early guilt’ that is regressive, prosecutory and punitive,
and ‘mature guilt’ that is developmental and progressive
■ The Law Commission in 2015, headed by Justice A P Shah proposed to
abolish capital punishments. However, the commission had made the
proposal only to non-terrorism case.
■ Article 21: The fundamental right to life and dignity enshrined under Article
21 of the Constitution also means the right to die with dignity.

Q. Multiplicity of various commissions for the vulnerable sections of the society
leads to problems of overlapping jurisdiction & duplication of functions. Is it better
to merge all commissions into an umbrella human rights commission? Argue your
case.(UPSC 2018)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Gubernatorial procrastination is unreasonable
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Parliamentary democracy, Functions and responsibilities of Governor,

state legislature etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: State Legislature -Structure, organization, functioning and
conduct of business etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ A Bill passed by the State Assembly becomes law only after it is assented to by
the Governor.

Context
Gubernatorial procrastination:
● Governor’s action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing
something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for
doing so.
Governor:
● The Governor performs the same duties as the President, but for the State.
● The Governor stands as executive head of a State and the working remains
the same as of the office of President of India.
Appointment and powers:

● Derived from Part VI of the Indian constitution.
● Article 153:
○ There shall be a Governor for each State.
○ One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
● The governor acts in 'Dual Capacity' as the Constitutional head of the state
and as the representative.
● He acts as a bridge between union and state governments.
Power over bills:

● Article 200: Deals with the powers of the Governor with regard to assent
given to bills passed by the State legislature and other powers of the
Governor such as reserving the bill for the President's consideration.
● Article 201: ‘Bills Reserved for Consideration’.
● Veto: The Governor of India enjoys absolute veto, suspensive veto (except on
money bills) but not the pocket veto.
● Assent to bill: The Governor being a part of the State legislature, the process
of law making is complete only when he signs it, signifying his assent.
● In all democratic countries: similar provision exists in their constitutions.
Recent Controversies over Governor’s assent:

● Tamil Nadu: The Governor forwarded the Bill for exemption from the
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to the President after
considerable delay.
● Kerala: The Governor publicly announced that he would not give assent to
the Lokayukta Amendment Bill and the Kerala University Amendment Bill.
Constitutional position:
● Options under Article 200:
○ He may give assent
○ He can send it back to the Assembly(requesting it to reconsider some
provisions of the Bill, or the Bill itself).
○ Reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President.
○ Withhold the assent(not normally done by any Governor because it
would be an extremely unpopular action)
● Reserved for the consideration of the President: Only if the Governor forms
an opinion that the Bill would endanger the position of the High Court by
whittling away its powers.
● The Constitution: It does not mention any other type of Bill which is
required to be reserved for the consideration of the President.
Related issues:
● The Governor does not reflect the aspirations of the people: It defeats the
legislative programme of the elected government, it would be against the
spirit of the Constitution.
● The Constitution does not mention the grounds: On which Governor may
withhold assent to a Bill.
● Position of courts: The courts too have more or less accepted the position
that if the Governor withholds assent, the Bill will go.
● Governor’s role: It does not square with the best practices in old and mature
democracies.
Overseas practices:
● United Kingdom: By practice and usage there is no power of veto exercised
by the crown in England now.
○ Refusal of royal assent on the ground that the monarchy strongly
disapproves of the Bill or that the Bill is very controversial is treated as
unconstitutional.
● The United States: The President is empowered by the Constitution to refuse
assent and return a Bill to the House but if the Houses again pass it with two
thirds of each House the Bill becomes law.
Issue of challenge:
● Article 361: It prohibits the court from initiating proceedings against a
Governor or the President for any act done in exercise of their powers.
● No timeline for the Governor to decide the question of assent: This is
illogical and militates against the constitutional scheme in respect of law
making by the legislatures.
Way Forward
■ Governor cannot act in an arbitrary manner: Being a high constitutional
authority, the Governor cannot act in an arbitrary manner and, therefore, will
have to give reasons for refusing to give assent.
■ Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. vs Union Of India and Anr: The Court held:
“the immunity granted by Article 361(1) does not, however, take away the
power of the Court to examine the validity of the action including on the
ground of malafides.
■ Not fixing any time line: It does not and cannot mean that the Governor can
indefinitely sit on the Bill that has been passed by an Assembly.
○ Article 200 does not contain such an option.
○ The Governor is required to exercise one of the options mentioned in
that Article.

Q. Discuss the essentials of the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act and anomalies, if
any, that have led to recent reported conflicts between the elected representatives
and institution of Lieutenant Governor in the administration of Delhi. Do you think
that this will give rise to a new trend in the functioning of the Indian Federal
Politics?(UPSC 2016)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
The extra-constitutional delusions of Raj Bhavan
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Parliamentary democracy, Functions and responsibilities of Governor,

state legislature etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: State Legislature -Structure, organization, functioning and

conduct of business etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Kerala Governor said that individual Ministers that lower the dignity of the
office of the Governor can invite action including withdrawal of pleasure”.

Context
Governor:
● The Governor performs the same duties as the President, but for the State.
● The Governor stands as executive head of a State and the working remains
the same as of the office of President of India.
Appointment and powers:

● Derived from Part VI of the Indian constitution.
● Article 153:
○ There shall be a Governor for each State.
○ One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
● The governor acts in 'Dual Capacity' as the Constitutional head of the state
and as the representative.
● He acts as a bridge between union and state governments.
Constitutional position:
● Article 164(1): Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the
Governor.
● Options under Article 200:
○ He may give assent
○ He can send it back to the Assembly(requesting it to reconsider some
provisions of the Bill, or the Bill itself).
○ Reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President.
○ Withhold the assent(not normally done by any Governor because it
would be an extremely unpopular action)
● Reserved for the consideration of the President: Only if the Governor forms
an opinion that the Bill would endanger the position of the High Court by
whittling away its powers.
● The Constitution: It does not mention any other type of Bill which is
required to be reserved for the consideration of the President.
● Article 126: Governor’s Ministers shall be chosen and summoned by (the
Governor) and shall hold office during his pleasure.
Contentions between politics and constitutional facets:

● Exercise of his statutory power as Chancellor: Ousting Vice-Chancellors of
universities in the State, alleging deficits in their appointment process.
● The function of the appointed Governor: It is always subject to the policies
of the elected government, and not vice-versa.
● Article 163(1): It says that the Council of Ministers must aid and advise the
Governor.
○ Article 163(2): the Governor can act in his discretion in certain
matters as permitted by the Constitution.
● Governors cannot cause the exit of a particular Minister by
“withdrawing pleasure: unless the Cabinet or the Chief Minister advises the
expulsion of a Minister.
Judiciary stand:
● Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab (1974): The President of the Indian
Union will be generally bound by the advice of his Ministers.
○ He can do nothing contrary to their advice nor can he do anything
without their advice.
○ The same principles apply to the Governors as well.
Why should the Governor not have unlimited powers?
● The Governor does not reflect the aspirations of the people: It defeats the
legislative programme of the elected government, it would be against the
spirit of the Constitution.
● The Constitution does not mention the grounds: On which Governor may
withhold assent to a Bill.
● Position of courts: The courts too have more or less accepted the position
that if the Governor withholds assent, the Bill will go.
● Governor’s role: It does not square with the best practices in old and mature
democracies.
Way Forward
■ Constitutional Law of India(book): If Governors have discretion in all
matters under Article 163(1), it would be unnecessary to confer on Governors
an express power to act in their discretion in a few specified matters (by way
of Article 163(2)).
■ Dr B R Ambedkar(constituent assembly): ‘Pleasure’ should not continue
when the Ministry had lost the confidence of the majority.
○ When the Ministry lost the confidence of the majority, the Governor
would use his ‘pleasure’ in dismissing it.
■ The Governor is only a titular head of the State: If the Cabinet has
majority, the Governor cannot act against the Cabinet.
■ Governor cannot act in an arbitrary manner: Being a high constitutional
authority, the Governor cannot act in an arbitrary manner and, therefore, will
have to give reasons for refusing to give assent.
■ Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. vs Union Of India and Anr: The Court held:
“the immunity granted by Article 361(1) does not, however, take away the
power of the Court to examine the validity of the action including on the
ground of malafides.

Q. Discuss the essentials of the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act and anomalies, if
any, that have led to recent reported conflicts between the elected representatives
and institution of Lieutenant Governor in the administration of Delhi. Do you think
that this will give rise to a new trend in the functioning of the Indian Federal
Politics?(UPSC 2016)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
The democratization of India, the Mandal way
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Parliament-Structure, organization and functioning, article 340, tribes,

73rd and 74th amendment etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: Parliament- structure, functioning and conduct of Business
etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The socio-political movement that led to this phenomenon known as
“Mandal” has dramatically changed the demographic diversity of people’s
representatives.
■ Book:The Age of Kali: by William Dalrymple

Context
Mandal Commission:
● Article 340: The President appointed a backward class commission in
December 1978 under the chairmanship of B. P. Mandal.
● Socially and educationally backward classes: It was formed to determine
the criteria for defining India’s “socially and educationally backward classes”
and to recommend steps to be taken for the advancement of those classes.
● Reservation: The Mandal Commission concluded that India’s population
consisted of approximately 52 percent OBCs, therefore 27% government
jobs should be reserved for them.
● Indicators for backwardness: The commission has developed eleven
indicators of social, educational, and economic backwardness.
● Backward classes among non-Hindus:Apart from identifying backward
classes among Hindus, the Commission has also identified backward classes
among non-Hindus (e.g., Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists.
The social justice revolutionaries of modern India:

● Jyotiba Phule
● Savitribai Phule
● Sahuji Maharaj
● Periyar
After independence:
● B.R. Ambedkar
The depressed classes(Dalits) and tribals(Adivasis):

● Listed as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by 1935.
● The benefits of reservation in education and employment: In proportion to
their population were adopted by the Constitution.
Evolution of Backward class reservations:

● Article 340 of the Constitution resulted in two Backward Classes
commissions:
○ Kalelkar Commission (1953-1955)(did not yield anything)
○ Mandal Commission (1978-80)(led to mandal movement)
● The announcement of implementation of mandal provisions: 27%
reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the central services in
1990.
● The 73rd and 74th Amendments: It furthered the idea of social justice by
extending reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
OBCs.
● Higher education: In 2006, reservations were extended to OBC candidates in
institutions of higher learning.
Negative impact of Mandal Commission:
● Mandal parties: They installed communal mobilisations and hate mongering
by the right wing.
● Government in Uttar Pradesh: It ordered the police to fire at kar sevaks
assembled in Ayodhya near the Babri Masjid.
How to Preserve secularism?
● Fraternity: Secularism needs to be situated within the perspective of
“Fraternity” as enshrined in the ‘Preamble’ of the Constitution.
● Instilling confidence: In the minority communities.
Way Forward
■ No religious barrier: Mandal” has been the identifying of socially and
educationally backward castes and communities by not letting religion
become a barrier.
■ Homogeneous monolith: The consciousness generated by Mandal
demolished a perception about Indian Muslims being a homogenous
monolith.
■ Emergence of Pasmanda: The churning around Mandal also led to the
emergence of a pasmanda (backward in Persian) movement among backward
Muslims demanding democratization and representation.
■ The Mandal report fairly recognised: large section of Muslims and
Christians who converted from Hinduism, but with a majority of them
continuing with their earlier caste-based occupations.
■ Aspirations of lower caste: more accommodative towards the aspirations of
the lower castes such as the economically backward classes or most
backward classes
■ Political inclusion: forging alliances with parties championing Dalit and
Adivasi agendas
■ Quota within quota: In the women’s reservation Bill which is still pending.
○ Fielding more women candidates from the marginalized communities.

Q. Whether the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the
implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the
religious minority institutions? Examine.(UPSC 2018)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Choose ‘safe surrender’ over infant abandonment
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Fundamental rights, abortion laws, adoption laws, JJ Act,Central
Adoption Resource Authority etc
■ Mains GS Paper I and II: Role of women and women organizations, schemes for
vulnerable sections. Fundamental rights, Issues with adoption laws etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ National Crime Records Bureau show that no less than 709 criminal cases
of ‘exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years’ under Section
317 of the Indian Penal Code were registered in the year 2021.

Context
What is the adoption procedure in India?
Adoptions in India are governed by two laws:
● Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA): A “dattaka hom”
ceremony or an adoption deed or a court order is sufficient to obtain
irrevocable adoption rights.
● Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: Parents have to register on CARA’s portal after
which a specialized adoption agency carries out a home study report.
Abortion:
● It is defined as the termination of pregnancy by various methods, including
medical surgery before the fetus is able to sustain independent life.
Adoption status:
● Central Adoption Resource Authority: There were 2,991 in-country
adoptions and 414 inter-country adoptions in 2021-22.
● Report on Review of Guardianship and Adoption Laws, presented to the
Rajya Sabha: There were 2,430 children declared legally free for adoption
for 26,734 adoptive parents-in-waiting.
Abandoned and surrendered child:

● Abandoned child: means a child who is deserted by his biological or adoptive
parents or guardians.
● Surrendered child: relinquished on account of physical, emotional and social
factors beyond their control.
● JJ Act:It has an overriding effect on other laws in force.
○ No FIR:shall be registered against any biological parent in the process
of inquiry relating to an abandoned and surrendered child.
Reasons for child abandonment:

● Unwanted pregnancy
● Breakdown of a relationship
● Lower socio-economic status
● Either or both parents being drug addicts or alcoholics.
Surrendered child:
● Inquiry and counseling: Child can be considered eligible for surrender and
declared so after the prescribed process of inquiry and counseling.
● The disclosure of the identity: It is prohibited and all reports related to the
child are to be treated confidential by the CWC.
● No criminal action: Surrender of a child does not entail any criminal action.
Interpretations:
● The Supreme Court of India: It has just given a liberal interpretation to the
law on termination of pregnancy when it comes to single and unmarried
women.
● Section 3(2)(b) Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)
Act(amendment)2021: The words “married woman” replaced “any
woman” and “husband” with “partner.
● X vs The Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department and
Another (2022): The Court allowed an unmarried woman petitioner to abort
her pregnancy of 24 weeks arising out of a failed live-in relationship, subject
to the Medical Board’s recommendations.
Way Forward
■ Cases of unwanted pregnancies: They are known to Accredited Social Health
Activists (ASHAs), daais and anganwadi workers, who have a strong network
in villages
○ Educating and sensitizing them may reduce incidents of abandonment.
○ The staff of nursing homes should also be included in such a
programme.
■ Producing child before the CWC: Although, the surrender deed is to be
executed before the CWC, a parent or guardian may approach any police
officer, public servant, childline services etc
○ It shall be the duty of such an authority or officer to produce the child
before the CWC within 24 hours.
■ JJ Act: Wide publicity needs to be given to the provisions of the JJ Act so that
no child is deserted, and parents, guardians and functionaries who are
mandated to report any abandonment do not face a risk.

Q. Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the
status of its implementation.(UPSC 2016)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
The old but relevant script of the Cuban Missile crisis
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, cuban missile crisis,

NATO, FROG missile etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: Bilateral, regional and global grouping involving India or
affecting India’s interests etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The world marks 60 years since the fateful events of the Cuban missile
crisis.
○ The US President recently invoked revisiting the Cuban missile crisis.

Context
The Major reasons for Cuban Missile Crisis were:
1. Cuba was under threat of military invasion by the USA: USSR wanted to
help as a gesture of solidarity with Cuba which was a socialist country.
2. The USSR lost the lead in developing ICBMs: It was looking for an
opportunity to encircle the USA from a close range.
3. Cuba seemed to be an ideal place to initiate a counter strike against the
USA: USA in 1959 deployed Jupiter nuclear missiles in Turkey, which
threatened the security of the USSR.
4. As a bargaining measure: USSR wanted to use the missiles in Cuba for
bargaining with the West over removing American missiles from Europe or
a withdrawal from Berlin by the West.
The Agreement:
● The crisis came to an end after UN intervention.
● Russian ships turned back: It was followed by a compromise between the
US and USSR.
● Jupiter missiles: The US president promised to disarm the Jupiter missiles
deployed in Turkey.
● The USSR agreed to withdraw the Russian missiles and destroy the
launching sites in Cuba
● The USA agreed not to invade Cuba again.
Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis:

● Ouster of Khrushchev in USSR: He was forced into retirement by other
Soviet officials
● John F. Kennedy: His calm but firm stance in the negotiations was heralded
as great statesmanship.
● Nuclear: convinced the US of the dangers of nuclear brinkmanship.
● Treaty in 1963: United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed a
treaty banning atmospheric and underwater nuclear testing.
Circumstances around Russia-Ukraine war:

● Russia’s short ‘special military operations: To ‘deNazify and de-militarise’
Ukraine
● North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) unity: under U.S. leadership
despite visible internal differences has not collapsed
● Mr. Zelensky’s emergence as a wartime leader.
● Poor Russian military planning and performance.
Lessons from Cuban Missile crisis:

● Keeping it below the nuclear threshold: Two nuclear superpowers should
steer clear of any direct confrontation even as their rivalry played out in other
regions, thereby.
○ Deterrence theorists called it stability-instability-paradox
● Nuclear war games: They over decades remained unable to address the
challenge of keeping a nuclear war limited once a nuclear weapon was
introduced in battle.
Is there a threat of Nuclear war in the Russia-Ukraine case?

● Russia’s large-scale exercises: Involving ‘strategic forces’, and placing
nuclear forces on ‘special combat alert’.
● Bombing: Russia cited U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 as a
precedent.
● Partial mobilization: announced referendums in the four regions of
Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia,
○ warned that Russia has ‘more modern weapons’ and ‘will certainly
make use of all weapon systems available.
Implications of using Nuclear weapons:

● National resolve: It will only strengthen Ukrainian national resolve
● NATO: response is unlikely to be nuclear but will be sharp.
● International political backlash: It would be significant and Mr. Putin may
find himself increasingly isolated.
● Nuclear weapons as security: Many countries in East and Central Asia
could reconsider nuclear weapons as a security necessity.
Way Forward
■ The United Nations appears paralysed: Therefore, it is for other global
leaders who have access and influence, to convince Mr. Putin that nuclear
escalation would be a disastrous move.
■ SCO Meet: In a bilateral meeting with the Russian President, the PM of India
emphasized that “now is not the era of war”.
■ G20 meet: India and Indonesia are well placed to take a diplomatic initiative
to persuade Mr. Putin to step away from the nuclear rhetoric.
■ Deterrence: Emphasizing the deterrent role of nuclear weapons and not
expanding it
■ Reiterating Russia’s official declaratory position: that restricts nuclear
use for “an existential threat
○ It reduces growing fears of escalation and also provides a channel for
communication and opens the door for a dialogue that can lead to a
ceasefire.

Q. What is the significance of Indo-US deals over Indo-Russian defense deals?
Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region.(UPSC 2020)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Brexit-Britain’s challenges remain
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express, Indian Express
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, Brexit, EU etc

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Rishi Sunak has claimed several records this week — Britain’s first Asian
Prime Minister, the youngest in two centuries, and certainly the wealthiest in
living memory.
Context
Brexit:
● It refers to Britain holding a referendum to decide whether it wants to
continue membership under the EU or not.
● The referendum was held on 23rd June 2016 and 52% voted for BREXIT
whereas 48% voted for remaining within the EU.
● Lisbon Treaty: The UK has to invoke an agreement named Article 50 of the
Lisbon Treaty.
Reasons for Britain to seek BREXIT:
● Sovereignty: Some of the policy decisions such as competition policy,
agriculture, copyright, and patent law were against the interests of Britain.
● Regulations were becoming a Burden: Such as –limits on the power of
vacuum cleaners, non-recycling of tea bags, etc
● Immigration: Britain was not a signatory of the Schengen Border free zone
(allows easy travel across Europe)-opposition towards migration into the
country from within the EU and its effects on wages and public services.
Arguments in favour of Britain leaving the EU:

● Migration of people: It will stop migration from both within and outside the
EU, especially from West Asia (Syria and ISIS Issue) and East European
nations.
● Contributions to EU Budget: The UK’s contribution is not proportionate to
the benefits it gets back.
● Failure of EU: EU failed on several fronts in creating one community and one
identity while solving the differences among its members, including Britain.
Arguments against Britain leaving the EU:

● Great divide:It has reflected the great divide between Britain and the EU.
● Immigrants: Majority of the immigrants are young and hence would have
boosted economic growth and will help pay for the public services.
● Trade: Trade gets a major boost for Britain if it stays with the EU.
○ Selling products to other EU nations becomes easier with EU
membership.
● Security: leaving the EU affected the ability to fight cross-border crime and
terrorism.
What did the referendum indicate?

● Brexit was not an event: It was a process, and one with a long tail.
● Disentangle itself: from all the trading, financial, legal, bureaucratic and
cultural ties that bind Britain to the world’s largest single market.
What should Theresa May(former PM) have opted for?

● Norway-type agreement:
○ It would have allowed for Britain to remain in the European Economic
Area
○ Pursue a customs agreement with the EU, thereby protecting its most
important trading relationship
○ Nominally bringing political control back to Westminster.
What she opted for?
● She pursued a complete break with the EU.
Current Issues:
● National Health Service (NHS): under-funding and a lack of staff
● Turbo-charged growth: once the constraining labour laws and financial
regulations of the EU were discarded
● Comforting delusions: that countries would be lining up to sign trade deals
with a ‘free’ Britain, so too
Liz Truss stand:
● Pushing the myths of Brexit to their logical conclusion
● She persuaded slash taxes for the rich
● Appeal to bankers and their high risk strategies.
Outcome:
● Lack of international investment: International investors do not buy into
myths.
● Declining confidence: The long-term prospects for Britain was signaled
from 2016 with the fall of the pound.
● Trade deals in the form of what countries wanted in return: In the case of
India, a more favourable visa regime for its workers.
Manifesto promise by Rishi Sunak:

● Strengthening the National Health Service (NHS): the UK’s publicly funded
healthcare system:
● Investing in schools: increased funding to schools and teaching staff.
● A stronger economy: Tax cuts for the working class, protection of pensions
for the retired, and leveling up the skills of British workers and making them
more employable.
● Safer streets: more and better equipped police personnel and more prisons
● Tighter controls on immigration
Challenges:
● Stagnant economy
● Derailed government finances.
● Growing cost of living crisis
● The Moron Premium:
○ The increased interest rates are being referred to as the “moron
premium.
○ Truss-Kwasi Kwarteng decided to increase spending (including giving
tax cuts to the richest) by simply borrowing more.
Key challenge facing the UK economy:
● Trade shock: an increase in the price of imports relative to exports
● For households: the looming cost shock will hit those least able to bear it
● The weakness on the supply side of the UK economy: While output is
2.6% short of its pre-Covid trend, current excess demand is in the order of
1.4% of GDP.
● Unemployment: It is expected to rise in the near term as demand falls.
● Inflation: It is expected to rise further
Three major challenges that he must address immediately:

● Containing inflation: while addressing the cost of living crisis.
● Improving the government’s fiscal health: while preparing the grounds for
growth.
● Political stability: Re-establishing political stability.
Implications for India:
● Trade: India-UK trade got a boost. The stringent regulations of the EU which
were the biggest obstacle were done away with.
● The weakening of pounds: It will also be advantageous for Indian imports.
○ It will also benefit tourists and Indian students studying in the UK.
● Indian Businesses in the UK: Indian businesses will not be able to utilize the
UK as the gateway to the European Union.
○ Indian IT firms which have considerable exposure to the European
markets, particularly the UK, will be affected since there is a risk of a
decrease in growth levels in the EU and UK.
● Tourism: Due to the weakening of the pound, there will be a decrease in
tourists flowing into India from Britain.
● Immigration: India-UK trade agreement is locked because of the immigration
issues.
● Indian students in the UK: Got benefited since the number of applicants
from EU nations to the universities in the UK is likely to decrease after Brexit.
○ Weakening of the pound may lower down the total cost of education
for Indian students.
The Roadmap 2030:

● It was launched in 2021, during the India-U.K. virtual summit.
● Mains focus area: Free Trade Agreement(FTA) between the two countries.
● Bilateral relations: It elevated bilateral ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership.
● Framework for UK-India relations: across health, climate, trade, education,
science and technology, and defense.
Way Forward
■ Estimates calculate a 4% drop in productivity in 15 years: As a result of
the Brexit-induced loss of market access and openness to trade
■ Politically sensitive decision: It would involve difficult and politically
sensitive decisions such as asking nurses, who had risked their lives during
the pandemic, to settle for lower-than-promised raises.
■ Truss government’s attempts to repudiate ‘economic orthodoxy: with
deep, unfunded tax cuts. Though they have been reversed, the cost of the
economic folly remains.
■ Rishi Sunak’s current in-tray will have briefings on: soaring inflation,
rising mortgages, a continuing cost-of-living crisis, an NHS in crisis, and
strikes by multiple workers unions.
■ Uniting the Tories: It is the necessary first step for any economic decision-
making to be taken seriously by the markets and the rest of the world.

Q. The aim of Information Technology Agreements (ITAs) is to lower all taxes and
tariffs on information technology products by signatories to zero. What impact
would such agreements have on India’s interests?(UPSC 2014)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Turkish foreign policy, the East-West divide
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, NATO, Paris agreement

etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Turkey is at the center of regional diplomacy amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Context
Turkish Ideology:
● The origin of the ideology of pan-Turkism dates back to the mid-19th century
when campaigns for uniting Turkic people in Russia gained traction.
● Its geographic scope eventually became much wider, covering the huge
spread of Turkic people from the “Balkans to the Great Wall of China.
● However,in the 20th century, the decline of Turkey began with the
integration of Turkic people into other states.
Steps by President Erdogan to re-establish relations:

● He has rebuilt bridges with Israel: Meeting its Prime Minister on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and pledging to cooperate
on shared security and energy interests.
● Engagement with Syria: Indicated Turkey’s readiness to engage with Syrian
President
Stand on NATO members:

● NATO: It retains its tough posture on Sweden’s membership of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
● Confrontation: Maintains its confrontation with fellow NATO member,
Greece.
Issues faced by Turkey:

● Turkey is concerned about expanding ties between Greece and the
United States: The deployment of U.S. military supplies on islands in the
Aegean that are close to Turkey, in violation of several agreements, including
Lausanne (1923) and Paris (1947).
● Cyprus and the East Mediterranean: The U.S. removed restrictions on
defense supplies to Cyprus in response denying refueling and repair facilities
to Russian naval vessels.
Stand of Turkey:
● Turkey concluded an energy agreement with the Tripoli-based Libyan
government: For joint exploration of hydrocarbon resources in the East
Mediterranean.
● It is the only NATO member, which can engage with Russia and mediate in
the Ukraine war.
● Grain agreement: Turkey successfully negotiated the grain agreement with
Russia and Ukraine.
Russian-Turkish ties:
● Important differences on:
○ Armenia, Syria, Libya and the East Mediterranean.
● Significant Russian investments and financial transfers to Turkish
banks: including a $15 billion transfer from Russia’s nuclear company, to its
Turkish partner.
● Turkey’s exports to Russia: It has increased 75% over the last year.
● It has emerged as a major importer of Russian energy: The Russian
President has reciprocated by proposing that Turkey become a hub for
supplies of Russian gas to Europe.
● Turkey has indicated its interest in membership of the SCO: In response
to criticisms that this is an anti-West grouping.
Current Issues:
● Serious economic crises:with inflation well over 80%.
● Hostility and confrontation: Anti-Kurdish hostility and confrontations with
Greece.
Way Forward
■ Global level: Mr. Erdoğan has positioned Turkey at the center of the East-
West divide, reaping benefits from both sides, but fully committing to neither
of them.
■ Turkey’s military posture vis-à-vis the Kurds in Syria and Iraq: while
maintaining links with the governments in Baghdad and the Kurdistan
Regional Government in Arbil.
■ Turkey has nurtured ties: with Turkmen and Islamist groups, to the chagrin
of Russia and Iran.
■ Mr. Erdoğan foreign policy: It reflects the usage of politics and geopolitics,
mixed with strong elements of Ottoman glory.

Q. Critically examine the aims and objectives of SCO. what importance does it hold
for India(UPSC 2021)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
India, America and the China challenge
Source: The Indian Express
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance(Indo-Pacific, Regional

forums, etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: Multipolar World, Significance of Indo-Pacific for India,
Indo-Pacific Region, Free and open Indo-Pacific, International organizations.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ America’s national security strategy issued last week and the Chinese
Communist Party’s 20th Congress this week promise to reshape the
geopolitics of Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
Context
Indo-Pacific:
● The Indo-Pacific is a geopolitical construct that has emerged as a substitute to
the long-prevalent “Asia-Pacific.
● Indian ocean and pacific ocean: It is an integrated theater that combines
the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and the land masses that surround
them.
● Strategic and economic: It is both a strategic as well as an economic domain
comprising important sea-lines of communication
● Maritime security: The Indo-Pacific is also associated with maritime security
and cooperation.
● US: It describe the Indo-Pacific as a region that starts at the:
○ Western shore of the Americas and ends at the shores of the Indian
subcontinent.
● India and Japan: the concept is much broader in expanse, extending to the
shores of the African continent.
● Major stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific include: India, U.S.A., Australia,
Japan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members and other
maritime nations that occupy the strategic positions in the Indian and Pacific
Ocean including small island countries.
Phases in the US-China relationship:

● 19th century: American missionaries began to arrive in China and began to
generate empathy for the nation.
● During World War II: US backed Chinese nationalists in their fight against
Japanese occupation.
● The US tried to isolate China from 1949: when the communists prevailed
over the nationalists.
● The 1970s: It saw the US and communist China come together to counter the
Soviet Union.
● The 1980s: Beginning of an economic engagement that turned into a huge
commercial and technological partnership from the 1990s.
● 21st century: some in the US began to see China as a potential threat.
○ America believed that China’s growing economic prosperity would
inevitably lead to greater democratization of its society.
China’s stand under Xi Jinping:

● Chinese interests: Reshape the Asian as well as the global order to suit
Chinese interests.
● No effort to hide China’s new geopolitical ambition: nor been defensive
about authoritarian rule.
● Self-reliance: China has emphasized the importance of self-reliance in the
name of a “dual circulation strategy”.
● From globalization to internal economic dynamism: Now, there is a
greater emphasis on internal economic dynamism and reducing the reliance
on foreign technologies.
● Global dependence on China: China has sought to enhance the world’s
dependence on its economy and leverage it for strategic benefit.
● China has actively sought to undermine US alliances in Asia: mount
pressure on American forward military presence in Asia.
○ The US is now pushing back.
US’s response:
● Confrontational approach: More confrontational approach during the
Donald Trump presidency.
● Joe Biden: More structured policy of competing with China.
● The National Security Strategy: postulated the return of great power rivalry
and the need to respond to the challenges presented by Russia and China.
● Biden’s NSS: builds on that proposition and identifies China as the more
demanding challenge than Russia.
● The US has imposed a series of technology sanctions: against China and
has turned to the once taboo “industrial policy” to strengthen internal
innovation.
America’s national security strategy(NSS):

● Russia: It poses an immediate threat to the free and open international
system.
● China: The only country with both the intent to reshape the international
order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological
power to advance that objective.
● The European challenge is real
● Strategic theater: The Biden Administration now sees the Indo-Pacific as the
principal strategic theater.
● Broadening the coalition: To include countries that may not be democratic.
● The US will “look beyond the traditional free trade agreements and make
major “adjustments” to the old model of globalization.
India’s stand on US-China dynamics:

● Us-China dynamic: India’s engagement with the US-China dynamic has not
been an uncomfortable one in the past.
● International acceptance: When the US sought to isolate China in the 1950s,
India tried to befriend it and promote its international acceptance.
● Alliance with Russia: When the US and China joined to limit Soviet power in
the 1970s, India deepened its alliance with Moscow.
● Modernisation of China: India watched with envy as the US helped the rapid
modernisation of the Chinese economy.
India on Indo-China border dispute:

● Peace and tranquility in the border areas: It remains the basis for normal
ties between India and China and “new normals of posture” will inevitably
lead to “new normals of responses”, India said.
● Sino-India ties must be based on three mutuals:
○ Mutual sensitivity
○ Mutual respect
○ Mutual interest
Way Forward:
■ Systemic changes: To limit the Sino-US conflict recede, India and the rest of
Asia must adapt to the systemic changes that it is likely to produce.
■ Contest between the US and China: It will be the principal factor shaping
international relations of Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
○ India and the rest of Asia must now engage with at least three
dimensions of the Sino-US conflict.
■ The principal instrument in the US response: It has been rebuilding the
traditional bilateral alliances with Japan and Australia as well as constructing
new partnerships with countries like India and developing new regional
coalitions.
■ Economic, technology and geopolitical front: On the economic and
technological front, both India and the US are trying to reduce their exposure
to China.
○ On the geopolitical front, a US plan to look beyond formal alliances
suits India, which is wedded to an independent foreign policy.
■ Convergence: The current churn in Asia provides India and the US with a
historic opportunity to build on the new convergences in the areas of trade,
technology, and geopolitics.

Q. With respect to the South China sea, maritime territorial disputes and rising
tension affirm the need for safeguarding maritime security to ensure freedom of
navigation and overflight throughout the region. In this context, discuss the bilateral
issues between India and China.(UPSC 2014)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
China’s “wolf warrior” era
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance(BRI, Regional forums, EEZ,

PLA, Galwan valley etc
■ Mains GS Paper II: Significance of Indo-Pacific for India, BRI and issues
associated with it, Free and open Indo-Pacific, International organizations.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ As Mr. Xi completes a decade in office and begins an unprecedented third
term at the Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress.
○ It has become the short but sharp phrase of choice that sums up his
view of China’s place in the world.

Context
Xi Jinping about China:
● Rise of East: He declared that “the West was declining and the East was
rising, calling a world witnessing “changes unseen in a century”.
● Rejuvenation: Presents the Communist Party under his leadership as China’s
defense against this “chaos” and as leading the country’s “great rejuvenation”.
● Diplomacy: He shaped China’s diplomacy in the past decade.
● Aggressive policies: Pursuing China’s core interests ever more aggressively.
Belt and Road Initiative(BRI):

● It was announced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping-led regime in 2013.
● It encompassed five kinds of activities:
○ Policy coordination
○ Trade promotion
○ Physical connectivity
○ Renminbi internationalization
○ People to people contacts.
● The initiative envisioned a Chinese Investment of over $1 trillion in partner
countries by 2025.
● More than 60 countries have now joined BRI agreements: with China, with
infrastructure projects under the initiative being planned or under
construction in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
● Loans at commercial interest rates: To finance BRI projects, China offers
huge loans at commercial interest rates that countries have to pay within a
fixed number of years.
● Green Finance and Development Centre at Shanghai’s Fudan University:
Over the past decade, the total value of projects and investments through the
BRI stands at over $930 billion.
China’s relations:
● Rising China-U.S. rivalry and deepening China-Russia ties: The clearest
markers of the direction of China’s foreign policy in the Xi era.
● Relations with its Southeast Asian neighbours: It has deep economic ties in
the region, and managed to blunt criticism over its militarisation of the South
China Sea.
Relationship with India:
● Two “informal summits:

○ Wuhan(2018)
○ Mamallapuram(2019)
● Chinese mobile phone brands have been well-established in the Indian
market.
● Indian companies are also actively expanding the Chinese market, with a
cumulative investment of nearly $1 billion in China.
● The two countries have established 14 pairs of sister cities and provinces,
with two-way personnel exchanges exceeding one million.
Negative developments:
● Ongoing border crisis: triggered by the Chinese military’s multiple
transgressions.
● Article 370: India has protested comments by Chinese officials on the
government’s move to amend Article 370
Issues Associated to BRI:

● Chinese Monopoly in the Projects: The investments under the BRI are mostly
done by the state-owned enterprises and banks in China.
○ Most of the contracts (93%) have also gone to the state-owned
enterprises in China.
○ The host countries or other companies hardly have any role to play.
● Increased Corruption and Reduced Competition: Chinese monopoly in
lending and building infrastructure has further led to corruption.
○ Due to no private sector participation, there is no competitive element
in the programme.
● Lack of Transparency and Environmental Concerns: The debt trap
diplomacy, the lack of transparency and unreasonable loan conditions have
made the scheme extremely unpopular.
● BRI- A Recipe For Total Failure: China sold most of its connectivity projects
to the countries which were looking at China for the success of its economic
model in infrastructure projects.
CPEC’s Implications for India:

Way Forward
■ Relations with India: It has been shaped increasingly by the all-consuming
focus of Chinese diplomacy on its great rivalry with the U.S, which has
become the lens through which Beijing has come to view relations with much
of the world, including India.
■ Tension with west: The coming five years under Mr. Xi are likely to bring an
ever-sharper period of tensions with the West
■ Participatory Alternatives: Alternative projects must be launched by more
advanced countries which are also participatory in nature keeping into
account the interests of the host/recipient countries.
○ Unless there is a partnership with the host country, the success of the
project is not assured.
■ India’s Role: India will have to work with its partners in the region to offer
alternative connectivity arrangements to its neighbours.
○ Connectivity is increasingly seen as a tool for exerting foreign policy
influence.
○ India stepping forward to enhance interconnectedness will provide a
new theater for geopolitical competition with China in South Asia and
the Indian Ocean.
○ Connectivity also presents India with an opportunity to reestablish its
regional primacy.
■ Diplomatic maneuvering: Appropriate diplomatic maneuvering and
economic and military assertion is vital for the implementation of India’s
interests in the region along with leveraging the space as a building block for
a multipolar world order.
■ Supporting Indo-Pacific governments: There needs to be support for Indo-
Pacific governments, boost their capacity to make independent political
choices by helping partners root out corruption, including through foreign-
assistance and development policies.

Q. The newly tri-nation partnership AUKUS is aimed at countering China’s ambitions
in the Indo-Pacific region. Is it going to supersede the existing partnerships in the
region? Discuss the strength and impact of AUKUS in the present scenario.(UPSC
2021)
Q. China is using its economic relation and positive trade surplus as tools to develop
potential military power status in Asia” In the light of this statement. Discuss its
impact on India as her neighbour.(UPSC 2017)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Russia’s continued defiance of international law
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, referendum, UNGA, ICJ etc

■ Mains GS Paper II: Important international institutions, agencies and their
functions etc, Significance of Russia for India, International organizations, India-
Russia relations.etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Despite widespread global condemnation, including a resolution adopted by
141 countries in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) demanding
unconditionally withdrawal from Ukraine, Russia continues with its illegal
military offensive against Ukraine.

Context
What is the Conflict?
● Contesting the Post-Cold War central European territoriality and resurrecting
Russian past is at the core of the Ukraine crisis.
● They share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links.
● Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership and Russian interests in the Black Sea
accompanied by the protests in the Ukraine are the major causes of the
ongoing conflict.
International forums approached by the Ukraine to stop war:

● UN
● International courts such as the ICJ, the International Criminal Court
● European Court of Human Rights
The recent illegally annexed regions:
● Kherson
● Zaporizhzhia
● Luhansk
● Donetsk
International Laws Russia claimed to use:

● Article 51 of the UN Charter: It provides for self-defence against an armed
attack.
● Article 1 of the Charter: The right of self-determination of the people of
annexed regions.
● Article 1(International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights): It
provides that a group of people can freely determine their political status.
Issues with using these laws:
● Article 51 of the UN Charter: Russia faced no aggression from Ukraine.
● Article 1 of the Charter:The contours of the right of self-determination under
international law are debatable.
● Article 1(International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights): This
right has to be read with Article 2 of the UN Charter which lists the principle
of non-intervention as one of the seven core principles of the UN.
● Drafting of the UN Charter: The principle of self-determination has been
understood in the context of decolonisation rather than the annexation of
new territories.
Rules on occupation:
● Belligerent occupation under the Hague Convention of 1899: Article 43 of
the Convention states that if “the authority of the legitimate power over
territory” has “passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all
steps in his power to re-establish and ensure public order and safety.
● Article 43 of the Hague Convention: The Article clearly states that being the
occupier, only has ‘authority’ and not ‘sovereignty’ over the regions.
● Russia should have retained the existing Ukrainian laws: But Russia has
made these regions part of its own territory, which means, Russian laws
would apply there now.
Nuclear threats:
● Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Neither Russia nor Ukraine
has signed the Treaty.
● UN charter: It provides the right of individual and collective self-defense.
○ If Russia launches a nuclear attack, not only Ukraine but also its allies
can launch a counter-attack on Russia in collective self-defense.
○ Charter empowers the Security Council to take action even in the case
of threat of force.
● UN Security Council Chapter VII : It is not going to materialize, primarily
because of Russia’s veto power as a UN Security Council member.
○ Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of
the Peace, and Acts of Aggression (Articles 39-51)
Way Forward
■ An autocrat’s defiance of international law does not diminish its
importance. There are scores of examples in contemporary times of
totalitarian regimes violating their own country’s laws with impunity.
○ But that does not make domestic law irrelevant.
■ The need to articulate international law norms: It is highest in the face of
its blatant violation.
○ We should not end up on the wrong side of history.
■ Shift in geopolitics: In 2022, a year that has seen Russia go to war against
Ukraine, creating massive shifts in geopolitical choices across the world.

Q. What is the significance of Indo-US deals over Indo-Russian defense deals?
Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region (UPSC 2020)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
The coalition of the world
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, UNGA

■ Mains GS Paper II: Bilateral, regional and global grouping and agreements
involving India or affecting India’s interests, Important international
institutions etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The League of Nations, set up in 1920, was the first intergovernmental
organization with the aim to promote international cooperation and outlived
its utility with World War II.

Context
UNGA:
● Popularly known as the parliament of the world, where all the 193 UN
member states are represented
● The UNGA is the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the
UN.
Roles and functions:
● Takes a decision on important matters: such as peace and security,
discusses various global issues and budgetary matters.
● Admission of members: Decides on matters such as the admission of new
members.
○ Decisions are taken through a vote.
● Voting by majority: Admission of new members and budgetary matters
require a two-thirds majority, while the decision on other issues are taken
by a simple majority.
● One vote one country: Each sovereign state gets one vote and the votes are
not binding on the membership, except in budgetary matters.
● No binding veto powers: The Assembly has no binding votes or veto powers
like the UN Security Council.
● Opinion and recommendations: The UNGA can express world opinion,
promote international cooperation in various fields and make
recommendations to the UNSC and elect the Security Council’s non-
permanent members.
Upcoming opportunities for India to showcase leadership:

● India’s Presidency of the Group of 20
● UN Security Council (UNSC) in 2022
● Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2023
Challenges to Multilateralism:
● The United States: It opted for partnerships, with the most important areas
being the worst affected.
● The G7 Summit: It endorsed the goals of a cooperative international Climate
Club to accelerate climate action outside the UN.
● The dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO: without the quorum of its
members has rendered the institution dysfunctional.
● Climate funding: The promise made in 2009 to provide at least $100 billion
per year in climate finance remains unfulfilled.
China’s Stand:
● Multilateral institutions: China has opted for a rival set of multilateral
institutions.
● China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): It seeks to achieve policy,
infrastructure, trade, financial, and people-to-people connectivity by building
a new platform.
● China’s Global Development Initiative, 2021 and linked Global Security
Initiative, 2022: It is developing a conceptual frame responding to an
urbanizing world, i.e. digital governance and non-traditional security.
Other Challenge:
● Clash of institutions: It reflects the deepening divide between the Atlantic
powers and the Russia-China combine is the diffusion of wealth, technology
and power.
Way Forward
■ Time is ripe for a ‘big idea: that both keeps away from the current
multilateral focus on global rules, amount of aid and inviolability of IPR’s.
■ Recognising role for competing institutions: Countries can now secure the
best terms themselves without bargaining.
■ Vasudhaiva kutumbakam(‘world as one family): focusing on comparable
levels of wellbeing can be the core of a set of universal socio-economic
principles for a dialogue between the states.
■ Lifestyle for Environment: seeing climate change as a societal process and
combating it devoid of trade-offs characteristic of the Climate Treaty.
○ India has also offered India’s payments and linked digital ID technology
without IPR restrictions.
■ Redefining ‘common concerns: In terms of felt needs of the majority rather
than interests and concerns of the powerful.
○ It will shift the focus of a much slimmed down United Nations squarely
to human wellbeing.

Q. The long-sustained image of India as a leader of the oppressed and marginalized
Nations has disappeared on account of its new found role in the emerging global
order” Elaborate. (UPSC 2019)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Domestic ideologies in external settings
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, UNGA

■ Mains GS Paper II: Bilateral, regional and global grouping and agreements
involving India or affecting India’s interests, Important international
institutions etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ National statements by the world’s political leaders during the general debate
at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are directed primarily to
the international community but take into account domestic political and
social constituencies.

Context
UNGA:
● Popularly known as the parliament of the world, where all the 193 UN
member states are represented
● The UNGA is the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the
UN.
Roles and functions:
● Takes a decision on important matters: such as peace and security,
discusses various global issues and budgetary matters.
● Admission of members: Decides on matters such as the admission of new
members.
○ Decisions are taken through a vote.
● Voting by majority: Admission of new members and budgetary matters
require a two-thirds majority, while the decision on other issues are taken
by a simple majority.
● One vote one country: Each sovereign state gets one vote and the votes are
not binding on the membership, except in budgetary matters.
● No binding veto powers: The Assembly has no binding votes or veto powers
like the UN Security Council.
● Opinion and recommendations: The UNGA can express world opinion,
promote international cooperation in various fields and make
recommendations to the UNSC and elect the Security Council’s non-
permanent members.
Foreign Invasions in India:

● Kushan and Hun invasions of India in the remote past.
● Arab attack in Sindh in the eighth century
● Mahmud of Ghazni and later of Mohammad Ghori.
○ The latter’s invasion led to the beginning of the establishment of
centuries of Muslim rule in India.
Issues with External Affairs Minister’s speech in UNGA:

● Interpretation of Indian history: First time the basic interpretation of Indian
history. has been projected in the UNGA, although in coded language.
● India has always presented nationally unified positions abroad:
particularly at the UN and in multilateral forums rather than domestic divide.
● India’s rejuvenation is taking place in a democratic framework now: He
overlooked the fact that the Indian Republic introduced adult franchise and
that power was exercised only through the representatives chosen by the
people after independence.
Five pledges that Prime Minister has set before the people for the next 25
years:
● A developed India
● Freedom from the idea of servility
● Pride in heritage
● Unity and solidarity
● Fulfilling one's duty
Addressing of pledges in UNGA by External Affairs Minister and related issues:

● We will liberate ourselves from a colonial mindset:
○ Externally, this means reformed multilateralism and more
contemporary global governance”.
○ It is a strange proposition to put before the UNGA that the Indian
“mindset” remains “colonial” and needs to be liberated.
● Emphasizing the care and concern” for the environment “ingrained in our
traditional ethos: But the general proposition cannot be stretched so far as
to deny India’s great achievements in the United Nations itself.
Way Forward
■ Liberation from a colonial mindset: It damages India’s record as a pioneer
and leader in the global decolonisation process in the 1950s and the 1960s.
■ The view of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi: It cannot be denied that
they were heroes to the anti-colonial leadership in many countries in Africa
and elsewhere.
■ Gandhiji as inspiration: An entire generation of human rights workers in the
United States and South Africa were also inspired by Gandhiji and his non-
violent anti-colonial struggle.
■ Words, phrases, arguments and exhortations: They are the tools of
diplomacy.
○ They cannot and should not be abandoned to promote domestic
ideologies in external settings.

Q. Critically analyze India's articulation of some areas of the current domestic
agenda in the United Nations General Assembly.
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Changes in the UAE’s immigration rules
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, India-UAE relations, etc.

■ Mains GS Paper II: Significance of UAE for India, Bilateral, regional and global
grouping and agreements involving India or affecting India’s interests.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The Federal Authority of UAE for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port
Security began the trial run of the Advanced Visa System.

Context
India and UAE:
● India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972.
● India’s Prime Minister visit to the UAE: The greater push has been achieved
in bilateral relations when the visit of India’s Prime Minister to the UAE in
August 2015 marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between
the two countries.
● Comprehensive strategic partnership: Further, during the visit of the Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi to India in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s
Republic Day celebrations, it was agreed that bilateral relations were to be
upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
● This gave momentum to launching negotiations for an India-UAE
comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Salient features of CEPA:
UAE visa rules can be classified into three categories:

1. Entry visa
2. Green visa
3. Golden visa
What are the changes?
● Entry visa:
○ Do Not require a host or sponsor for visitors now.
○ Will now be available for single or multiple entries and will be valid for
60 days unlike the previous 30-day period
● Golden visa: Designed to enable exceptionally skilled foreigners to live, work
and study in the UAE without the need for a national sponsor.
Different types of visas:

● Job exploration visa: It will be granted if the applicant is classified in the first,
second or third skill level as per the Ministry of Human Resources and
Emiratisation.
○ A fresh graduate of the best 500 universities in the world, or has a
minimum educational level of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
● Entry permit visa:
○ It allows employers to sponsor visitors for temporary work
assignments on projects.
○ Universities can also sponsor visitors for attending training and study
courses.
● Business entry visa: It allows investors and entrepreneurs to explore
business and investment opportunities in the UAE.
● A five-year multi-entry tourist visa: enables them to enter multiple times on
self-sponsorship.
○ They can remain in the country for 90 days on each visit, which can be
extended for another 90 days.
Changes to the green residence and golden visas:

● The new five-year green residence visa: It is aimed at attracting exceptional
talent, skilled professionals, freelancers, investors, and entrepreneurs.
○ It replaces the previous residence visa that was valid only for two
years.
● A grace period of up to six months: To stay in the country has been
introduced after the residence permit is canceled or expired.
● Amendments to the golden visa scheme: Allowing more categories of people
to secure the coveted 10-year visa.
○ Scientists, skilled workers, exceptional talent, real estate investors,
entrepreneurs, students, humanitarian pioneers, doctors and
nurses have also been included in the list.
● Skilled professionals: They can get the long-term residency, if they have a
minimum monthly salary requirement of AED 30,000 a month.
● Investors: They can also get the visa when purchasing a property worth at
least AED two million.
Way Forward
■ The Indian expatriate community: They approximately constitute about
30% of the UAE population and they will be benefited to a larger extent.
■ Boost country’s image: The restructuring of its entry and residence system
will further boost the country’s image as an ideal destination for work and
investment.
■ Hassle free vacation: Thousands of talented professionals are expected to
find employment in the UAE and tourists can now experience a hassle-free
vacation with the simplified visa system.
■ Attractive export destination for India: As we are witnessing a big
turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market
for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.

Q. India’s relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which
cannot be rolled back.”Discuss.(UPSC 2018)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
A decisive shift in the discourse on abortion rights
Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Functions and responsibilities of union and states, schemes for
vulnerable sections( fundamental rights, abortion laws)
■ Mains GS Paper I and II: Role of women and women organizations, schemes for
vulnerable sections. Fundamental rights.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Supreme Court of India, which in the first instance, granted single woman
permission to terminate the pregnancy based on the report of the medical
board concerned.

Context
Abortion:
It is defined as the termination of pregnancy by various methods, including medical
surgery before the fetus is able to sustain independent life.
MTP (Amendment) Act, 2021:

● Termination due to Failure of Contraceptive Method or Device: Under the
Act, a pregnancy may be terminated up to 20 weeks by a married woman in
the case of failure of contraceptive method or device.
● Unmarried women: It allows unmarried women to also terminate a
pregnancy for this reason.
● Opinion Needed for Termination of Pregnancy:
○ Opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination
of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation.
○ Opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of
gestation.
○ Opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy
to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial fetal
abnormalities.
● Upper Gestation Limit for Special Categories: Increases the upper gestation
limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, including
survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (differently
abled women, minors, among others).
● Confidentiality: The “name and other particulars of a woman whose
pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed”, except to a person
authorized in any law that is currently in force.
Judgment:
● Access for termination of pregnancy services for women up to 24 weeks
irrespective of their marital status.
Why is the judgment Progressive?

● Acknowledges the context of criminality: Indian Penal Code criminalises
accessing and providing an abortion except where there is an immediate
necessity to save the life of the pregnant woman.
○ The MTP Act is an exception to this criminal offence
● Classification based on marital status is fallacious and illegal: what is
accessible and available for a married pregnant woman should be accessible
and available to any pregnant woman.
● Pregnancy on marital grounds: The judgment reiterates that you cannot
make a distinction between a woman who is pregnant because of rape only
on the grounds of her marital status.
● The identity of the pregnant person need not be disclosed: In the cases of
consensual sexual activity and where the minor and/or her guardian request
the medical service provider to maintain confidentiality.
● Recognises the extra-legal requirements: These are insisted by Medical
practitioners before providing MTP services, only to safeguard themselves
due to the context of criminality.
Way Forward
■ The judgment has created progressive jurisprudence: which interprets an
otherwise medical law from the point of view of the rights of the persons
accessing the services, though it has not been acknowledged as a right yet.
■ International commitments: The Court has also woven its reliance on the
international commitments and obligations of India in ensuring safe and legal
access to sexual and reproductive health and rights that include abortions.
■ The law acknowledges the right of every person: Capable of becoming
pregnant to be able to decide what she thinks is best for her without the need
for any third party authorisation.

Q. Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower
social strata.’ Substantiate your view.(UPSC 2018)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Food day as a reminder to ‘leave no one behind’
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of national and international importance(United

Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas
Yojana, SDGS etc
■ Mains GS Paper III: Issues related to poverty and hunger, institutions and
bodies constituted for the protection of vulnerable sections of society etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ This year’s World Food Day (October 16) has been a reminder to ensure that
the most vulnerable people within our communities have easy access to safe
and nutritious food.
○ This year’s World Food Day is themed: Leave No One Behind.

Context
The Hunger Hotspots Outlook (2022-23):
● Report by the FAO and WFP.
● Over 205 million people across 45 countries will need emergency food
assistance to survive.
Globally, food and nutrition security was impacted by:

● COVID-19 pandemic
● Climate change
● Spiraling food inflation
● Conflict
● Inequality
India’s food production:

● India is one of the largest agricultural product exporters in the world.
● During 2021-22: India recorded $49.6(forty nine point six)billion in total
agricultural exports, a 20% increase from 2020-21.
Exports by India:
● Primarily exports agriculture and allied products
● marine products
● Plantations
● Textile and allied products.
● Rice, sugar, and spices were some of the main exports.
Food aid:
● India is provider of humanitarian food aid: e.g to Afghanistan and other
countries during food supply shortages and disruptions, such as during the
current crisis in Ukraine
Steps taken by Government:

● Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana(which promotes organic farming)
● Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana(which focuses on more crops per
drop for improved water use)
● Soil Health Management(fosters Integrated Nutrient Management under the
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture)
● Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKY
● Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana (PM POSHAN Scheme)
● Take-home rations.
● National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013
● Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
● Digitisation and measures such as rice fortification, better health, and
sanitation.
Steps India need to take:

● Sustainable support to increasing population: Agri-food systems will need
to provide for and sustainably support an increasing population.
● There is a need to move away from conventional input-intensive
agriculture: towards more inclusive, effective, and sustainable agri-food
systems that would facilitate better production.
Millets:
● They are climate-smart crops: that are drought-resistant, growing in areas
with low rain and infertile soil.
● Hardier: They are hardier than other cereals
● Resilient to climate change: More resilient to changes in climate, and require
less water to cultivate (as much as 70% less than rice)
● Energy consumption is less: Less energy to process (around 40% less than
wheat).
● Fewer inputs: They need fewer inputs, they are less extractive for the soil
and can revive soil health.
● Preserves agrobiodiversity: Additionally, their genetic diversity ensures that
agrobiodiversity is preserved.
India and Millets:

● India has led the global conversation on reviving millet production:
Because of India, the UN declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
● Leading producer: It is the world’s leading producer of millets(around 41%
of total production in 2020)
● National Food Security Mission: Government is implementing a Sub-Mission
on Nutri-Cereals (Millets) as part of the National Food Security Mission.
● State-level missions: Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh revived
the indigenous crops for food security.
Importance of Millets:
● Addresses food security
● Improved nutrition
● Sustainable agriculture
● Millet production has been proven to enhance biodiversity
● Increases yields for smallholder farmers, including rural women
Way Forward
■ End hunger by 2030: Through collective and transformational action to
strengthen agri-food systems, through better production, better nutrition, a
better environment, and a better life, can we meet our promise to end hunger
by 2030.
■ Path to a better life resides in transforming food systems: Making them
more resilient and sustainable with a focus on equity, including by
incentivising the protection of the commons
■ Enhancing food and nutrition security and social protection networks: By
providing non-distortionary income support.
■ Promoting production and consumption of nutritious native foods: such as
millets, by investing in consumer sensitisation
■ Investing in making the global and regional supply chain robust and
responsive: By strengthening transparency in the agricultural system
through systems that promote labeling, traceability, etc
■ Increasing cooperation for leveraging solutions and innovations: India can
lead the global discourse on food and nutrition security by showcasing home-
grown solutions and best practices, and championing the principle of leaving
no one behind
■ Environmental implications: The degradation of soil by the excessive use of
chemicals, non-judicious water use, and declining nutritional value of food
products need urgent attention.

Q. How has the emphasis on certain crops brought about changes in cropping
patterns in the recent past? Elaborate the emphasis on millets production and
consumption.(UPSC 2018) (200 WORDS,
10 MARKS)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Utilize fiscal room to ramp up capital spending
Source: Indian Express
■ Prelims: Indian Economy(GDP, GVA, fiscal policy etc)

■ Mains GS Paper III: Fiscal policy, Monetary policy, GDP, Issues related to
planning etc.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ With the global economic environment taking a turn for the worse, with
demand slowing down in advanced economies and continued aggressive
monetary tightening by central banks.
○ How effectively states ramp up their spending will have a critical
bearing on the pace the Indian economy grows at in the second half of
the year
Context
Fiscal policy:
● The fiscal policy is concerned with the raising of government revenue and
Government Budget increasing expenditure.
● To generate revenue and to increase expenditures, the government finance or
policy called Budgeting policy or fiscal policy
The major fiscal measures are:

● Public Expenditure
● Taxation
● Public Borrowing
Analysis of fiscal spending of states:(based on 13 major state governments-

that account for 85 per cent of India’s GDP)
● These states actually have the fiscal space to ramp up capital spending
significantly Rs 7.4(seven point four)trillion this year.
● ICRA estimates: combined revenue deficit of these states at Rs 2.1(two
point one)trillion, higher than what has been budgeted for.
Resources available to states for funding their fiscal deficit:
● Unconditional market borrowings: 3.5(three point five)percent of their
gross state domestic product (GSDP)
● Additional borrowing: Linked to the completion of power sector reforms
(0.5(zero point five)percent of GSDP) and the interest-free capex loan
provided by the Center.
Off-budget borrowing:
● The off-budget borrowings by states refer to loans taken by its entities,
special purpose vehicles, etc.
● They are expected to be serviced through the state government’s own
budget: Instead of the cash flows or revenues generated by the borrowing
entity.
● The Union government recent clarification: Off-budget borrowings would
be considered as borrowing of the state government and would be subject to
the provisions of Article 293(3)
● The Center would be adjusting the incremental off-budget borrowings:
raised by the state governments in 2021-22 from their net borrowing ceiling
over a one to four-year period, beginning in 2022-23 and ending in 2025-26.
Challenges for states:

● States’ revenue prospects are confronted with:
○ Low tax buoyancies
○ Shrinking revenue autonomy under the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
framework
○ Unpredictability associated with transfers of the Integrated GST (IGST)
and grants.
Problems faced by the States in raising resources:

● Limited space for borrowing: Their borrowing space too is limited by the
fiscal responsibility and budget management limit of 3% of Gross State
Domestic Product (GSDP).
● High yield on the State bonds: Faced with an acute fund crunch, Kerala
floated 15-year bonds but was faced with a huge upsurge in the yield to
8.96%.
Way Forward
■ Tax devolution and GST compensation grants: They are likely to exceed
the amount budgeted by the states this year.
○ This will not fully offset the estimated shortfall in other revenues and
the projected higher-than-budgeted revenue expenditure in this year.
■ Based on estimates: 13 states will have adequate resources to fully fund
and/or exceed their budgeted capex this year.
○ For others, however, that may not be the case.
■ Actual capital spending by these states: It has been rather disappointing.
○ Dilemma about whether their capex will exceed the budgeted level,
despite ample fiscal space to do so.

Q. Explain the difference between combusting methodology of India's Gr Domestic
Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015.(UPSC 2021)
Q. Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced recovery ? Give
reasons in support of your answer.(UPSC 2021)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Solutions by the people, for the people
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of national and international importance(Club of Rome,

GDP, G7, G20)
■ Mains GS Paper III: Bilateral, regional and global grouping involving India,
Inclusive growth and issues arising out of it etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ Debates have raged between “Keynesian” economists and “Friedman”
economists:
○ welfarists'': who see the need for a government hand in the economy
○ Monetarists: who want governments out of the way to let private
entrepreneurs loose and let an “invisible hand” produce good
outcomes for all.

Context
Keynesian economics:
● It is considered a “demand-side” theory that focuses on changes in the
economy.
● In the 1930s in an attempt to understand the Great Depression, the British
economist John Maynard Keynes developed Keynesian theory in economics.
● macroeconomic theory: Keynesian economics is a macroeconomic theory of
total spending in the economy and its effects on inflation, employment, and
output.
Milton Friedman’s economics:

● He gave the quantity theory of money.
● The quantity theory of money is the theory where the variations in the price
are related to the variations.
● In general, the quantity theory of money is where the increase in the quantity
of money tends to create inflation and vice-versa.
Why is there a need for a shift?

● Far-sighted systems thinkers in the Club of Rome(1972): They showed that
pursuit of GDP growth was destroying the earth’s capacity to renew itself and
provide resources for unbridled economic growth.
● Natural environment external: Economists continue to treat the natural
environment as external to the economy.
● Pleas by communities: To protect the environment are dismissed as
impediments to “ease of doing business” and GDP growth.
● The 2008 global financial crisis: It revealed the fragility of insufficiently
regulated markets.
● Solutions to stabilize the global financial system: such as the austerity
package imposed on Greece, harmed common citizens even further.
● Governments of the G7 (later G20): collaboration to stabilize the financial
system: They bailed out the “too large to fail” institutions while millions of
common citizens, who lost homes and livelihoods, were barely compensated.
● Global financial system is unfair: It protects the interests of large
corporations and the wealthiest people while common citizens fall further
behind.
Simultaneously improving People, Planet, and Profit(provided in Earth for All:

A Survival Guide for Humanity):
● The guide is produced collaboratively by economists, ecologists, and social
scientists.
● The five tracks for their solutions are:
○ Ending poverty
○ Addressing gross inequality
○ Empowering women
○ Making food systems healthy for people and ecosystems
○ Transitioning to clean energy.
Big leap and too little too late:

● Too Little Too Late: It preserves the present inequitable distribution of
wealth and power.
○ The model forecasts that by 2050, on its present trajectory, India will
be the most unequal society in the world.
● Big Leap: It evolves a more equitable distribution of economic wealth and
social power
○ It avoids a need for disruptive political revolutions.
○ It can prevent catastrophe.
○ It does not require new technology breakthroughs
Social Tension Index and the Average Well-Being Index:

● These allow us to estimate whether policies related to income redistribution
might cause social tensions to rise or fall.
● If social tensions rise too far: societies may enter a vicious cycle where
declining trust causes political destabilization, economies stagnate, and well-
being declines.
○ Governments will struggle to deal with rolling shocks.
Current Issues democracy is facing:
● Democratic process: Governments are unable to find fair solutions through
conventional “democratic” processes, with elected assemblies, competing
political parties, even public referendums.
● Disillusionment: with democratic institutions is increasing, even in
democratic U.S. and Europe.
● Authoritarian governments: They are coming to power in many countries,
often supported by citizens, as alternatives.
Way Forward
■ The “3P” slogan: Demands to include the needs of ‘People’ in economic policy
are becoming louder.
○ The “3P” slogan — People, Planet, and Profit — demands a paradigm
shift in economics.
■ Policymaking must become more inclusive and less dominated: by the
powerful and the wealthy on the top.
■ Recoupling monetary policy with fiscal policy is necessary but insufficient:
GDP must also be recoupled with nature and society.
■ A paradigm shift: It is required in the process of problem solving at global
and national levels.
○ From a vertical process of experts at the top trying to understand
complex systems through numbers and then imposing solutions on the
people.
■ Process of problem solving: by deliberations amongst diverse disciplines
and dialogue amongst experts and citizens.

Q. Indian Diaspora has an important role to play in South East Asian countries
economy and society.Appraise the role of Indian Diaspora in South-East Asia in this
context.(UPSC 2017)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Indian Deep Tech and a case for a strategic fund
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Current events of national importance, CSR, high net worth (HNI) tax,
5G etc
■ Mains GS Paper II and III: Development process and the development
industry-the role of NGOs,SHGs etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ The Prime Minister is making a concerted push for self-reliance in military
technology, semiconductors and science-based businesses.

Context
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIF):
● NIIF is a government-backed entity established to provide long-term capital
to the country’s infrastructure sector.
● The Indian government has a 49% stake in NIIF with the rest held by foreign
and domestic investors.
● NIIF is considered India’s quasi-sovereign wealth fund.
● It was set up in 2015 as a Category-II Alternative Investment Fund.
● Across its three funds: Master Fund, Fund of Funds, and Strategic
Opportunities Fund, it manages over USD 4.3(four point three)billion of
capital.
Present technology battlegrounds:

● Semiconductors
● 5G
● Revolutions in biology
● Autonomy
Vulnerabilities to these technologies:

● Military conflict
● Health emergencies
● Natural disasters
Dual use of deep Technology: For example, position navigation timing technology
such as GPS is needed for Google Maps and Uber but is also an extremely important
aspect for fighter jet navigation and missile systems.
Role of funding:
● Allows startups to emerge as a bridge: Between benchtop prototypes of
academia and production-hungry large industry.
● In the United States, Israel and North Atlantic Treaty Organization
countries: Government is the largest source of funds for Deep Tech.
● Intellectual property: cutting-edge, quantum jump in capability creates an
intellectual property.
● Funding flows through agencies: such as the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, the Directorate of Defense Research etc which becomes the
oxygen for small businesses to survive.
India’s Stand:
● Government of India is changing with the launch of:
○ Indian Semiconductor Mission
○ Ministry of Defense’s flagship iDEX and TDF schemes
Avenues to build patriotic capital:

CSR budgets:
● Annual CSR budget is ₹15,000 crore, of which a substantial portion goes
unutilised.
● CSR has traditionally been utilized for the social sector: However, this
growing corpus should also be used for the development of strategic
technology.
● Large corporations can be incentivised: To use some of this budget to serve
the strategic needs of the nation.
● Strategic tech startups: The Government should allow these funds to flow
into certain strategic tech startups.
High net worth (HNI):

● HNIs can also be offered tax incentives: To make equity investment in the
same critical technology startups.
● Short term returns: It will help mitigate the pinch felt with lower short-term
returns.
● Tax deductible: The corpus of investment should be tax deductible and no
more than a certain percentage of annual income.
Way Forward
■ World class deep tech: In order to become a developed country in 25 years,
India will need to build world-class deep tech capabilities in certain sectors.
■ Certain innovations: In the existing corporate social responsibility (CSR)
budgets and high net worth (HNI) tax breaks will incentivise capital flowing
into strategic tech.
■ Be your commercial industry: India needs to be cognisant of the fact that
strategic technology cannot become the burden of commercial industry alone.
■ The pool of investable companies: They must be limited to Government of
India-recognised start ups.
○ startups should have funding or ‘acceptance of necessity’ granted from
the Indian military/Ministry of Defence.
■ Atma Nirbhar: If it is correctly aligned with the programmes launched by the
Government, CSR funds and the right tax incentives to HNIs can create an
almost self-fulfilling prophecy in the nascent Indian Deep Tech ecosystem.
Q. How is the S-400 air defense system technically superior to any other system
presently available in the world ?(UPSC 2021)
EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
Today’s weapon of choice, its expanding dimensions
Source: The Hindu
■ Prelims: Linkage of organised crimes with terrorism, Right to privacy, AI etc

■ Mains GS Paper III: Linkage of organised crimes with terrorism, implications of
cybercrimes on security etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
■ As the 21st century advances, a new danger-the cyber threat is becoming a
hydra-headed monster.
Context
Cybercrime:
● It is defined as a crime where a computer is the object of the crime or is used
as a tool to commit an offense.
● Cybercrimes are at an all-time high, impacting individuals, businesses, and
countries.
Types of Cybercrimes:
Cyber threats:
● They are a superset of interconnected information and communication
technology, hardware, software processes, services, data and systems”.
Viewed from this perspective, it constitutes a critical aspect of our national
power.
Types of Cyber Threats:

● Malware, Viruses, Trojans, Spywares, Backdoors: which allow remote
access.
● DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service): which floods servers and networks
and makes them unusable.
● DNS (Domain Name System): poisoning attacks which compromises the
DNS and redirect websites to malicious sites.
Grey zone operations:

● It is defined as "competitive interactions among and within state and non-
state actors that fall between the traditional war and peace duality.
● They have become the new battleground, especially in regard to cyber
warfare.
● The convergence of emerging technologies alongside new hybrid usages, pose
several challenges to nations and institutions.
Grey Zone Warfare:
● The recent arrest of a Russian: for hacking into computers involved in the
conduct of examinations for entry into the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs).
○ It is a reflection of how cyber criminals are significantly amplifying
their ‘Grey Zone Warfare’ tactics.
Threat:
● It has grave implications for the entire spectrum:that are totally
dependent on technologically-driven remote access functioning as a part of
their everyday business activity.
● Distortion by private players: of the concept of ‘the information
superhighway’ casts a dark shadow over the entire current systems of belief,
providing a great deal of fuel for thought.
● Several non-state actors engaging in hybrid warfare: distorting day-to-
day practices, including examinations.
The Defense Cyber Agency (DCyA):

● It is a tri-service command of the Indian Armed Forces.
● The agency is tasked with handling cyber security threats.
● The DCyA draws personnel from all three branches of the Armed Forces.
● The head of the DCyA is an officer of two-star rank, and reports to the Chief of
Defense Staff (CDS) through the Integrated Defense Staff (IDS)
Issue:
● Demands for a cyber command by the Indian military ignore the widely
varying nature of the cyber threat.
Steps taken by India:

Way Forward
■ Versatility and imaginative thinking: Dealing with the cyber threat calls for
both versatility and imaginative thinking.
■ Group of United Nations government experts: They have been deliberating
endlessly on how to promote responsible behavior of states in cyberspace,
without much success is testimony to the difficulties that prevail.
■ Niche solutions : for cyber intrusions are available (though little known or
used) and it is important that those concerned undertake a leap of faith to
install such solutions before the situation goes out of control.
■ In the case of the Russia-Ukraine war: cyberspace has become an
experiment for various players to try and support a weaker nation against a
more powerful opponent, considered essential to the success or failure of any
war strategy.
■ Hybrid warfare and distorting day-to-day practices: These pose legal,
ethical and real dilemmas
○ If left unchecked, the world may have to confront a new kind of Wild
West, before states find a common denominator for regulating
cyberspace.

Q. Discuss different types of Cybercrimes and measures required to be taken to fight
the menace.(UPSC 2020)
Q. What is the CyberDome Project? Explain how it can be useful in controlling
internet crimes in India.(UPSC 2019)

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INSIGHTSIAS

Science and technology:

Source: Indian Express

■ Prelims: Current events of national importance, democracy, covid, elections etc

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Voting system in present times:

Impacts of voting online:

Ambedkar about differences;

Negative impacts of polarization:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Official language committee:

Constitution and other laws on Hindi:

Issues of Hindi replacing English:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Governance, digital India, Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Over-the-top (OTT) communication services:

Issues related to TRAI:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

Prelims: Pardoning power of president, death penalty by different courts., article

Mains GS Paper II: Government policies and interventions for development of

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Process of Death Penalty:

Arguments Against the Death Penalty:

Death row cases taken by CJI U.U Lalit:

New Policies and uniformity in death penalty cases:

Need for reforms:

Supreme Court’s rulings on the Death Penalty:

Rarest of Rare Cases principle:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Parliamentary democracy, Functions and responsibilities of Governor,

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Appointment and powers:

Power over bills:

Recent Controversies over Governor’s assent:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Parliamentary democracy, Functions and responsibilities of Governor,

■ Mains GS Paper II: State Legislature -Structure, organization, functioning and

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Appointment and powers:

Contentions between politics and constitutional facets:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Parliament-Structure, organization and functioning, article 340, tribes,

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

The social justice revolutionaries of modern India:

The depressed classes(Dalits) and tribals(Adivasis):

Evolution of Backward class reservations:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Abandoned and surrendered child:

Reasons for child abandonment:

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Source: The Hindu

■ Prelims: Current events of international importance, cuban missile crisis,

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis: