DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 17 JUNE
DNA 17th June
Editorial
Nepal ties and the Banaras to Bengaluru spectrum
This article deals with changing India-Nepal relations
Various changes in Nepal
1. Democracy
-The obvious change in Nepal is that it is now a democratic republic after nearly 250 years of being a monarchy.
-The Nepali Congress and Maoist leader, Prachanda, claim democracy (1990) and the abolition of monarchy (2008) as their legacies.
2. Societal change due to exposure to globalisation
-More pervasive is the societal change from Nepal’s exposure to globalisation.
-Geography, too, stands to change, with the Chinese now having the potential to bore through the Himalayas and exhibiting their presence in Kathmandu in economics and politics.
3. Nationalism
-The constant in Nepal is nationalism which is really a mask for anti-India sentiment.
-Politicians use it for personal gain, and it is deeply ingrained in the bureaucracy, academia and the media.
-Today, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is cementing his legacy as a nationalist by extending Nepal’s map into Indian territory.
-The cartographic aggression and the embedding of the new map in the country’s national emblem and Constitution are untenable and should have been avoided under all circumstances.
-In 2015, the Nepali Congress government adopted the new Constitution, ignoring India’s concerns.
4. Identity politics
-Identity politics with India is also visible within the country.
-Nepali citizens from the Terai (Madhesis) feel discriminated as being “Indian”- to Nepal, their attitudes reflect the angst of a small state. To India, Nepal appears incorrigible.
Globalisation changed Nepal
-After democracy was restored in 1990, passports were more liberally issued, and Nepalis began looking for work opportunities globally, beyond just India.
-West Asia and South-East Asia specifically became major destinations for labour migration.
-Security uncertainties with the Maoist insurgency at home also propelled the trend of migration.
-Students and skilled personnel began moving to Europe, the United States, Australia, Thailand and even to Japan and South Korea.
-As of 2019, nearly a fifth of Nepal’s population, from all parts of the country, were reportedly overseas.
-At an estimated $8 billion, global remittances account for nearly 30% of Nepal’s nominal GDP.
-This makes Nepal one of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world.
-Leftist ideology and the prominent presence of international non-governmental organisations — ostensibly there to resolve conflict and alleviate poverty — have added to Nepal’s exposure to the world.
-Nepal’s 2011 Census shows that over 80% of its 28 million-strong population were Hindus, and since 1962, it had formally been a Hindu kingdom.
-The new Constitution in 2015 makes Nepal a secular country.
-The proliferation of communication technology has also spread a certain cosmopolitanism but without accompanying metropolitanism.
Nepal exploring options beyond India
-Kathmandu has continued its long-standing efforts to spread Nepal’s options beyond India.
-Multilateral development banks are by far the biggest lenders and players in the country’s development efforts.
-And in fact, one of Nepal’s largest aid donors is the European Union.
-India and China are not the only players for big projects either.
-A long-delayed project to pipe water into Kathmandu was with an Italian company.
-Major investments in the telecom sector are coming from Malaysia, and the largest international carrier in Nepal is Qatar Airways.
Weakening of natural bond:
-The outward movement of students, along with the growth of institutions of higher learning at home, has meant that most young people in Nepal, including emerging contemporary leaders in politics, business or academics, have not studied in India.
-This lack of common collegiate roots removes a natural bond of previous generations that had provided for better understanding and even empathy.
-While most Nepalis understand Hindi, because of the popularity of Bollywood, articulation is quite another matter.
Despite diversification, robust ties with India
-Despite Nepal’s efforts to diversify its options globally, its linkages with India remain robust.
-Nepal’s trade with India has grown in absolute terms and continues to account for more than two-thirds of Nepal’s external trade of around $12 billion annually.
-This clearly reflects the advantages of geography, both physical and societal.
-India continues to be the largest aggregate investor in Nepal.
-The massive under-construction Arun-III 900 MW hydro-electric project is slated to singly produce as much power, when completed in five years, as Nepal produces today.
-Moreover, the peg with the Indian Rupee provides unique stability to the Nepali Rupee.
Unique advantage to Nepal
-Nepal’s per-capita income is just above $1,000.
-While the huge remittance economy has brought a semblance of well-being, the country has a long way to go in reaching prosperity.
--The relationship with India, with open borders and Nepalis being allowed to live and work freely, provides Nepal a unique advantage and an economic cushion.
The latter is particularly important today with COVID-19-caused global contraction positioned to pop the remittance bubble.
-Neither the Chinese nor any others are likely to write blank cheques.
-India for its part should also focus on developing its border areas with Nepal, with better roads and amenities of interest (such as shopping malls) to the burgeoning Nepali middle class.
-This would have economic pluses for both sides and keep ties strong at the people’s level. It would also be an image makeover.
WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT
Context: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is being observed on June 17, 2020 with the theme “Food. Feed. Fibre. - the links between consumption and land.”
June 17
This day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution in 1995, after the day when United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was drafted.
Desertification:
-Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations.
-Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts.
-It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use.
-Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land.
About UNCCD:
-Established in 1994.
-It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
-It is the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21.
-To help publicise the Convention, 2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification”.
Focus areas: The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
Aim: Its 197 Parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The end goal is to protect land from over-use and drought, so it can continue to provide food, water and energy.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for this Convention.
Concerns for India:
-India has witnessed increase in the level of desertification in 26 of 29 states between 2003-05 and 2011-13, according to the State of India’s Environment (SoE) 2019
-More than 80 per cent of the country’s degraded land lies in just nine states: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.
10TH SCHEDULE OF THE CONSTITUTION
Context:
The Supreme Court has asked the Goa Assembly Speaker to respond to a plea filed by the opposition Congress party to decide on the disqualification proceedings against 10 legislators who joined the ruling BJP in July last year.
The issue
-In July last year 10 MLAs, purportedly claiming to form a two-third of Indian National Congress (INC), decided to merge the said legislature party with the BJP and accordingly addressed a communication to that effect to the Speaker.
-Based on the communication, the Speaker took note of the “alleged merger of INC’s legislative party in the Goa Legislative Assembly, and allotted the 10 seats in the Assembly along with the members of the BJP”.
-However, petitioners contended that the legislators in question have incurred disqualification under Article 191(2) of the Constitution, read with para 2 of the Tenth Schedule (defection), and are liable to be disqualified as members of the Legislative Assembly.
Anti-defection law
-The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
-It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
-The decision on question as to disqualification on ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, and his decision is final.
Disqualification:
-If a member of a house belonging to a political party:
-Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or
-Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party. However, if the member has taken prior permission, or is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified.
-If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
-If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
Exceptions under the law:
-Legislators may change their party without the risk of disqualification in certain circumstances.
-The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger.
-In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge, nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.
Decision of the Presiding Officer is subject to judicial review:
The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review. This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1992, thereby allowing appeals against the Presiding Officer’s decision in the High Court and Supreme Court. However, it held that there may not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.
Source: https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/anti-defection-law-explained
Prelims:
Schizothoraxsikusirumensis:
-It is a new species of fish discovered in Arunachal Pradesh recently.
-The fish species belongs to genus Schizothorax.
-The name of this fish species has been derived from the name of the rivers where it was found- junction of River Siku and Sirum near Gakang area under Mebo circle of East Siang District.
NASA’s GATEWAY LUNAR ORBITING OUTPOST
Context: NASA recently finalised the contract for the initial crew module of the agency’s Gateway lunar orbiting outpost. The contract, which is worth $187 million, has been awarded to Orbital Science Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Space.
More information:
-NASA has issued this contract to design the habitation and logistics (HALO) support for the Gateway, which is a part of NASA’s Artemis program that aims to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024.
-Essentially, the Gateway is a small spaceship that will orbit the Moon, meant for astronaut missions to the Moon and later, for expeditions to Mars.
-It will act as a temporary office and living quarters for astronauts, distanced at about 250,000 miles from Earth.
-The spaceship will have living quarters, laboratories for science and research and docking ports for visiting spacecraft.
-Further, astronauts will use the Gateway at least once per year and not stay around the year like they do on the International Space Station (ISS). Compared to the ISS, the Gateway is much smaller, while the ISS is about the size of a six-bedroom house.
-NASA has targeted the completion of the Gateway for 2026, while work on the spaceship is already underway. By 2022, NASA plans to ready the power and propulsion for the spaceship, which will be launched on a partner-provided commercial rocket.
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