Mains

INDIA AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

India assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1st December 2022.

This leads to very significant visibility for India on the global stage. India has been a non-permanent member of the security council for around two years now, and will now preside over the Council with its presidency.

India, along with other members of the G4 (Brazil, Japan, and Germany) support the expansion of the UNSC’s permanent membership—a move that is yet to materialise. As such, the presidency offers a unique opportunity to India to display leadership skills, establish itself is a responsible stakeholder, and indicate its commitment to global governance.

NARCO-TERRORISM: AN EMERGING SECURITY THREAT IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed a 2000 percent surge in heroin-related drug seizures between 2017 and 2022—from 3,000 to more than 10,000. Most recently, in August 2022, the Border Security Force (BSF) recovered eight packets of heroin worth Rs 8 crores in the Samba district after a wounded terrorist fled back to Pakistan.  Hundreds of crores worth of illegal consignments have been seized by the J&K police this year alone, particularly in Shopian and Pulwama.

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), there has been a more than 75 percent decrease in net infiltration from across the border between 2018 and 2021 and more than 80 per cent reduction in the number of terrorist incidents during the same period. Despite such efforts by the security forces in eliminating those infiltrating the Line of Control, the drug menace has not abated.

TAPI PIPELINE AND INSTC

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development Bank.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015, work on the Afghan section began in February 2018, and work on the Pakistani section was planned to commence in December 2018. The abbreviation TAPI comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States. It was established on September 12, 2000, by Iran, Russia and India. It is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The main purpose of the corridor was to reduce carriage costs and transit time between India and Russia. Another objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali, etc.

This corridor connects India Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, Islamic Rep., and is then connected to Saint Petersburg and North European via Russia.

SCO Summit: An Analysis

The 22nd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) took place in Samarkand on 15 September 2022. This was the first in-person event since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Summit took place against the backdrop of tumultuous geopolitical flux, including the war in Ukraine. The main focus of the Summit was on strengthening regional cooperation and trade connectivity in Eurasia.

Also, during this summit, India took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. During this summit, member states discussed global challenges and threats, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, challenges of economic recovery, obstacles in global supply chains, and energy and food crises.

International Trade Theories

As quoted by Wasserman and Haltman, international trade can be connoted as transactions among the inhabitants of different countries. International trade acts as a major contributing factor in global economic activity and a catalyst of economic growth in developing as well as developed countries. Differences in various conditions, like resource availability, natural climatic conditions, cost of production, etc., act as the motive behind trade between the countries. International trade has made it all possible and has provided a large number of employment opportunities as well as several goods and services for the consumer. It has been a major reason for the rising living standards of people all over the globe.

With time, economists have established theories that explain global trade. These theories explain the mechanism of international trade which is how countries exchange goods and services with each other. International trade theories help countries in deciding what should be imported and what should be exported, in what quantity, and with whom trade should be done internationally. Initially, economists developed international trade theories on the basis of the country which were termed - Classical Theories. However, these theories, later on, shifted from country-based to firm or company based by the mid-twentieth century which were termed - Modern Theories.

Mental Health in India

In India, having a mental health disorder is perceived with a sense of judgement and there is stigma associated with those having mental health issues (The Live Love Laugh Foundation, 2018). Mental disorders are also considered as being a consequence of a lack of self-discipline and willpower. The stigma associated with mental health as well as lack of access, affordability, and awareness lead to significant gaps in treatment. The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-16 found that nearly 80% of those suffering from mental disorders did not receive treatment for over a year.

XaaS: Everything as a Service

A new concept has emerged i.e Everything as a Service (XaaS) means anything can now be a service with the help of cloud computing and remote accessing. Where cloud computing technologies provide different kinds of services over the web networks. In Everything as a Service, various tools and technologies, and services are provided to users as a service. Before XaaS and cloud services, companies had to buy licensed products and install them. They had to buy all securities on their site and provide infrastructure for business purposes. With XaaS, business is simplified as they have to pay for what they need. This Everything as a Service is also known as Anything as a Service. Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) simply denotes the increasing servitization of technology.

XaaS is a collective term that refers to the delivery of anything as a service. It encompasses the many products, tools and technologies that vendors deliver to users as a service over a network -- typically, the internet -- as an alternative to providing them locally or on-site to an enterprise.

This umbrella term refers to service offerings that are accessed as needed and financed using a pay-as-you-go cloud computing pricing model. XaaS offerings can scale up or down as needed with IT services delivered on demand by a managed service provider.

India's Auto Component Industry

India’s auto components sector has always imported more than it exported, leading to a trade deficit. For the first time ever, the industry saw a significant $700 million trade surplus in FY22.  

The turnover of the automotive component industry stood at INR 4.20 lakh crore ($56.5 billion) for the period April 2021 to March 2022, registering a growth of 23% over the previous year. This was the highest ever revenue recorded by the Indian auto component industry.

Waste to Energy

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery.

WtE is not without its negatives, but it is better than landfill – and for many countries under pressure to act on climate change.

So, despite some of the drawbacks of waste-to-energy technologies, they appear to be a crucial step in dealing with the negative effects of growing landfills - as long as only non-recyclable, non-repurposable materials are fed into WtE machines and the necessary measures are taken to minimize air pollutants.

Gender and Political Inclusion

Wоmen  mаke  uр  аbоut  hаlf  оf  оur  рорulаtiоn,  but  they  аre  underreрresented  in  оur  роlitiсаl  system  in  рrороrtiоn  tо  their  numbers.  Аt  every  level,  frоm  the  hоme  tо  the  highest  levels  оf  gоvernment,  wоmen  аre  exсluded  frоm  deсisiоn-mаking.  Wоmen’s  deсisiоn-mаking  engаgement  in  роlitiсs  mаy  hаve  а  substаntiаl  imрасt  оn  wоmen’s  emроwerment,  whiсh  is  why  Indiа  is  bаttling  with  the  issue  оf  gender  disраrity.  Desрite  the  Indiаn  Соnstitutiоn’s  рrоvisiоn  оf  equаl  орроrtunity,  wоmen  hаve  а  smаll  рresenсe  in  legislаtive  bоdies  аnd  роlitiсаl  раrtiсiраtiоn  аt  аll  levels.  Ассessing  the  роssible  reаsоns,  we  see  thаt,  interestingly,  eduсаtiоn  рlаys  а  раrt  in  роlitiсs;  hоwever,  оnly  fоr  wоmen  beсаuse  the  literасy  rаte  оf  femаle  роlitiсiаns  is  higher  thаn  the  mаle  роlitiсiаns,  imрlying  thаt  оnly  wоmen  need  роlitiсаl  eduсаtiоn.

Democracy

Ассоrding  tо  the  Inter-Раrliаmentаry  Uniоn,  the  key  elements  оf  demосrасy  inсlude  hоlding  free  аnd  fаir  eleсtiоns  аt  regulаr  intervаls  аnd  enаbling  рeорle  tо  exрress  themselves.  The  eleсtiоns  in  а  demосrасy  must  be  bаsed  оn  universаl,  equаl,  аnd  seсret  suffrаge  tо  ensure  thаt  аll  сitizens  сhооse  their  reрresentаtives  in  соnditiоns  оf  орenness,  equаlity,  аnd  trаnsраrenсy  thаt  stimulаte  роlitiсаl  соmрetitiоn.

Therefоre,  when  it  is  sаid  thаt  Indiа  is  а  demосrаtiс  nаtiоn,  it  dоes  nоt  meаn  thаt  оnly  its  роlitiсаl  institutiоns  аnd  рrосesses  аre  demосrаtiс  but  аlsо  thаt  the  Indiаn  sосiety  аnd  every  Indiаn  сitizen  is  demосrаtiс,  refleсting  bаsiс  demосrаtiс  vаlues  оf  equаlity,  liberty,  frаternity,  seсulаrism,  аnd  justiсe  in  the  sосiаl  envirоnment  аnd  individuаl  behаviоr.

In  а  demосrасy,  роlitiсаl  аnd  сivil  rights  аlоng  with  the  right  tо  vоte  аnd  the  right  tо  be  eleсted  аre  essentiаl.  Оther  feаtures  оf  demосrасy  inсlude  the  right  tо  freedоm  оf  exрressiоn  аnd  аssembly,  the  right  tо  оrgаnise  роlitiсаl  раrties,  ассess  tо  infоrmаtiоn,  аnd  the  right  tо  саrry  оut  роlitiсаl  асtivities.

Hоwever,  the  рresent  аge  demосrасy  is  nоt  limited  tо  роlitiсаl  demосrасy.  It  meаns  mоre  thаn  а  mere  fоrm  оf  gоvernment. 

UPSC MAINS 2022 GS-IV PAPER ANALYSIS AND PAST YEAR TRENDS