DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 19 JUNE
DNA 19th June
EDITORIAL
India coasts to win in U.N. Security Council polls
Context: India is re-elected as Non-permanent Members of UNSC with 184 out of the 192 valid votes polled in its favour.
What are ‘non-permanent seats’ at the UNSC?
-The UNSC is composed of 15 members: five permanent members — China, France, Russian Federation, the US, and the UK — and 10 non-permanent members, who are elected by the General Assembly.
-The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms — so every year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of the total 10.
-Even if a country is a “clean slate” candidate and has been endorsed by its group, it still needs to secure the votes of two-thirds of the members present and voting at the General Assembly session, which is a minimum of 129 votes, if all 193-member states participate.
Sharing of seats
-These 10 seats are distributed among the regions of the world: five seats for African and Asian countries; one for Eastern European countries; two for Latin American and Caribbean countries; and two for Western European and Other Countries.
-Of the five seats for Africa and Asia, three are for Africa and two for Asia.
-Also, there is an informal understanding between the two groups to reserve one seat for an Arab country.
-The Africa and Asia Pacific group takes turns every two years to put up an Arab candidate.
-Elections for terms beginning in even-numbered years select two African members, and one each within Eastern Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
-Terms beginning in odd-numbered years consist of two West European and Other members, and one each from the Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Current members
-The current non-permanent members of the Security Council are Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia, and South Africa, all of whose terms end this year; and Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Vietnam, whose terms end in 2021.
-India begins its term at the beginning of 2021 and will hold the position until the end of 2022.
India in the UNSC
-India’s term on the 15-member Council will be its eighth.
-India has earlier been a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.
-For the 2011-12 terms, India won 187 of 190 votes after Kazakhstan stood down from its candidacy.
-Unlike Africa, which has formalized a system of rotation of its three seats, the Asia Pacific grouping has often seen contests for seats. In 2018, there was a contest between the Maldives and Indonesia.
-On the occasions when there is a contest, the elections for non-permanent seats can go on for several rounds.
-Back in 1975, there was a contest between India and Pakistan, which went into eight rounds, with Pakistan finally winning the seat. And in 1996, India lost a contest to Japan.
Significance
-Terming India’s winning of a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council one of its best performances” ever, the Union government said.
-The strong support by almost the entire U.N. membership demonstrates the goodwill that India enjoys in the U.N. and the confidence that the international community has reposed in India.
-India’s EAM gave India’s overall objective during its forthcoming UNSC tenure as an acronym ‘NORMS’ — New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.
-NORMS includes the push for expanding the UNSC permanent membership.
United Nations Security Council
-The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
-Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
-It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
-The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members.
-These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
-The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
ECONOMY
Building a nurturing economy
The impact of pandemic -
-Unemployment is shooting up.
-Supply chains of food and essentials have been disrupted.
-Dark clouds of economic recession are on the horizon.
Invisible cost of pandemic
-The visible cost of the pandemic in terms of the lives lost are being counted by the day.
-But the invisible cost of hunger and impoverishment of the most vulnerable sections is yet to be effectively addressed.
-Vulnerable section, which includes workers, the poor and the migrants, particularly women, are at receiving end of these invisible costs.
Health of economy before pandemic
-The pandemic came at one of the worst possible times.
-India’s economy has been in deep trouble since 2016.
-In 2019-20, even before the pandemic happened, our GDP growth had dropped to 4.2 per cent, lowest growth seen in the last 11 years.
-Even the oil prices dropped at their historic low.
-Non-food bank credit is a good indicator of overall economic robustness.
-By December 2019, the growth of non-food bank credit had dropped to below 7 per cent.
-It is the lowest India has seen in the last 50 years.
Economy after the pandemic
-After the pandemic arrived, matters, of course, got worse.
-In March, $16 billion of foreign capital exited the country, which is an all-time record for India.
-India’s unemployment rate shot up to a record high of 23.8 per cent in April.
-In the same month, Indian exports dropped by 60 per cent.
-This was one of the biggest drops seen in any emerging market economy in the world.
-There is a genuine risk that this year our growth will drop to an all-time low since India’s Independence.
-This drop could be such low that it could be beating the record plunge of 1979-80.
Building a nurturing economy involves the following:
-Our economic and political policies must not be ends in themselves.
-Instead, these policies should involve instruments for building a society that is secular, inclusive and nurturing.
-It should be a society where people of all religions, caste, race and gender feel wanted and at home.
-Environment sustainability and focus on green economy is also part of nurturing economy.
-We should strive to create a society that respects knowledge, science and technology and culture.
-Today we tend to impoverish others to enrich ourselves and creating our own economic wealth at the cost of the ecosystem’s wealth.
Exploitative behaviours and three fold crisis
The outcome of our exploitative behaviour is a threefold crisis which describes India’s current predicament.
1) Rising poverty and unemployment despite abundance.
2) Rising intolerance and violence.
3) Environmental catastrophe.
Our ambition should not be to make India the richest nation in the world. We want India to be an example of an equitable society, where people are not abandoned without income and work, where no one feels the insecurity of being a minority, and of being discriminated against.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/coronavirus-covid-19-economy-empathy-6465530/
Why banning trade with China will hurt India more?
Context: The Indian government has tried to respond to the border dispute with China by training its guns on trade. The idea resonating in Indian streets is that Indians should boycott Chinese goods and thus “teach China a lesson”.
But, given China’s centrality and India’s insignificant share in global trade, banning trade will barely hurt China while adversely impacting Indian consumers and businesses.
Boycotting China is not as easy as it has following market share in products mentioned below:
-Smartphones: 72%.
-Telecom Equipment: 25%.
-Auto Components: 26%.
-Internet Apps: Market size: 66% of people use at least one Chinese app on their smartphones.
-Solar Power: 90%
-Steel: Share of Chinese products: 18-20%.
-Pharma/API: 60%.
Why are Chinese products cheaper?
-Provision of cheap labour
-Raw materials are cheaper.
-Efficient business ecosystem comprising of a network of suppliers, component manufacturers, distributors, government agencies, and customers.
-Business loans are easily accessible, especially for bigger industries, which provide a greater financial cushion to businesses in the manufacturing segment.
-The Chinese factories have been criticized for their lower compliance with health and safety regulations and environmental protection laws.
-China follows a Value Added Tax (VAT) system.
Why ‘Boycott Chinese Products’ Movement is difficult in India?
-Trade deficit: In 2018-19, India’s exports to China were mere $16.7 billion, while imports were $70.3 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $53.6 billion.
-Private Indian companies with Chinese investment: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China stood at a total of $1.8 billion between 2015 and 2019. Chinese tech investors have put an estimated $4 billion into Indian start-ups. Over a period of five years ending March 2020, 18 of India’s 30 unicorns are now Chinese-funded.
-China’s dominance in the Indian digital market: Apps with Chinese investments constituted a substantial 50% of top app downloads (both iOS and G Play combined) which includes web browsers, data sharing and social media apps as per the Gateway house report.
-A blanket ban on Chinese imports will hurt all small businesses at a time when they are already struggling to survive, apart from hitting India’s ability to produce finished goods.
What can be done?
-Estimates indicate that a third of the Chinese imports constitute low-tech goods that were either made earlier by Indians, or are still being made but in smaller quantities. These can surely be discouraged, and re-replaced by local products and brands.
-In addition, such attempts will prove to be a fillip for the hundreds of small and medium firms, which have languished due to the lack of demand.
-If the MSME segment kicks off, the overall manufacturing sector will get a boost, which will benefit the ‘Make in India’ scheme.
-As local sales grow, Indians will become competitive. They can emerge as exporters of these products, and battle globally with China.
Source:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/india-china-trade-ban-explained-6465949/
PRELIMS SPECIFIC
Dexamethasone
Context:
It has become the subject of discussion after researchers from the Recovery Trial reported that it helps reduce death rates in certain Covid-19 patients.
About it:
It is an anti-inflammatory drug, commonly used to treat conditions in which the body’s immune system does not function properly and causes inflammation and tissue damage.
Dexamethasone reduces the production of the chemicals that cause inflammation and also reduces the activity of the immune system by affecting the way white blood cells function.
It falls in a category called corticosteroids, which closely mimic cortisol, the hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands in humans.
Jagannath rath yatra
Context:
Supreme Court of India has stayed annual Rath Yatra at Puri’s Jagannath Temple in Odisha, which was scheduled from June 23. The apex court said that ‘Lord Jagannath won’t forgive us if we allow this year’s Rath Yatra’.
About festival:
-Popularly known as the ‘Festival of Chariots’, Rath Yatra festival in honour of Puri’s Lord Jagannath is grand celebration.
-The festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, his sister Goddess Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra.
-All the three deities of the temple – Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra – travel in three different chariots during this festival. The chariots are called Nandighosha, Taladhwaja, and Devadalana respectively.
-New chariots for all the three deities are constructed every year using wood even if the architect of the chariots remain similar. Four wooden horses are attached to each chariot.
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