Exam View: Satinder Lambah; India-Pakistan current situation; Challenges to India-Pakistan relations; Soft diplomacy success.

Context: In his book published posthumously, ‘In Pursuit of Peace: India-Pakistan Relations Under Six Prime Ministers’, Satinder Lambah insists that it is unwise for India not to engage a large and significant neighbour like Pakistan. This is not a view widely shared within the Indian strategic community today.

Background: Satinder Lambah was the Prime Minister of India’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He led the 2004-2007 negotiations between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir question.

• The Kashmir talks almost came to fruition under his diplomatic efforts.
• The political failure to conclude them marked the end of an era in India-Pakistan relations.

Decoding the editorial: India-Pakistan

• Current situation: India is completely detached from Pakistan’s multi-faceted crisis.
  • There has been little visible engagement between the governments of India and Pakistan for some years now. The only exception was the ceasefire agreement of February 2021.
• India’s demands: Delhi insists on a terror-free environment to resume the dialogue.
• Pakistan’s demands: Pakistan wants Delhi to reverse the constitutional changes in Kashmir that were introduced in August 2019.
  • The major elements of the current government including Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League and Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party have at various times in the last three decades made a sincere effort at negotiating peace with India. But they were overruled by the then-Army leadership.

Challenges to India -Pakistan relations:

• Pakistan’s internal volatility in terms of engagement with India.
  • There was no guarantee that the results from the negotiations with one leader would be honoured by his successor.
• Massive public emotion attached to the relationship in both countries brings in a reluctance to turn even successful negotiations into formal compacts.
  • However, there is mutual goodwill at the level of individuals and large sections of civil society.

• Negotiations between 2004 and 2007 faced several interventions:
  • The course of history between India and Pakistan and the subcontinent could have turned towards a “permanent peace” if the negotiations had succeeded.
  • Besides Kashmir, Delhi and Islamabad came close to agreements on Siachen and Sir Creek disputes, liberalising trade ties, cross-border energy and power trading, expanding tourism and people-to-people contact. However, the two sides failed to convert them into concrete outcomes.
  • On the Pakistan side, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who succeeded General Musharraf was unwilling to pursue the peace process.
  • The downfall of Musharraf also saw the return of cross-border terrorism, as witnessed in the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008.
  • The attack steadily diminished the public support in India for the engagement with Pakistan.

India-Pakistan soft diplomacy success: Finalising of Kartarpur corridor has shown a narrow ray of hope for India and Pakistan.

• India and Pakistan agreed to set up the border crossing linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district. Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/c-raja-mohan-writes-diplomat-memoir-india-pakistan-peace-8551221/

In News: Recently, The Prime Minister expressed happiness over the impact of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

About

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched in 2016 and is being administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It replaced the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). The primary goal of the initiative is to reduce the burden of insurance premiums on farmers and ensure early settlement of claims.
• Coverage under PMFBY: The scheme provides coverage for the entire cropping cycle from pre-sowing to post-harvest and midseason adversities.  All food & oilseed crops and annual commercial/horticultural crops for which past yield data is available.
• Eligibility criteria for PMFBY: Farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage. Before 2020, the scheme was compulsory for loanee farmers, but the Centre made it voluntary for all farmers.

Objectives of PMFBY

• To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
• To stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
• To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
• To ensure the flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

Insurance Coverage or Premium:

• Farmers have to pay a maximum of 2 percent of the total premium of the insured amount for Kharif crops, 1.5 percent for rabi food crops and oilseeds as well as 5 percent for commercial/horticultural crops.
• The balance premium is shared by the Union and state governments on a 50:50 basis and a 90:10 basis in the case of northeastern states.
• The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and the balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide the full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
• There is no upper limit on Government subsidies. Even if the balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.
• In February 2020, the Centre decided to cap the premium subsidy at 30% for unirrigated areas and 25% for irrigated ones, which was previously unlimited. The central subsidy had no maximum limit earlier.
• For more efficiency and transparency center introduced Weather Information and Network Data Systems (WINDS), a Yield Estimation System based on Technology (YES-Tech), and the Collection of Real-Time Observations and Photographs of Crops (CROPIC).

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1915547

In News: The Centre issued a draft on ‘Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy’ with an aim to nurture startups and other entities to co-create the future of India’s growing maritime sector.

About Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy

• The draft policy issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) aims at creating a strong ecosystem for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.
• There is also a need to collaborate with national and international stakeholders for mentorship, knowledge sharing and facilitate access to global subject matter experts and investors.
• Draft policy has identified several key areas for the startups to flourish, including decarbonisation, optimising processes through data, maritime education, multi-modal transportation, manufacturing, alternate/advanced materials, maritime cybersecurity, smart communication and marine electronics.
• Other details of the draft Sagarmala Innovation and Start-up Policy:
  • Digital Portal based selection of startups ensuring a transparent process
  • Grants to create a minimum viable product/ services (MVP), commercialization of proprietary technology including market entry or scaling up
  • Creation of ‘Launch pads’ at Ports for carrying out trials, facilitating pilot projects, establishing working space and adopting products and solutions
  • Annual Start-up Awards in the maritime sector recognizing distinguished efforts of innovation
  • Organizing Buyer-Seller Meetings and providing Technical Knowledge Support for VCs
  • Guidance to Non Registered Start-ups and Individuals with promising ideas in Maritime Sector including registration of start-up and availing Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognition
  • Regulatory support in Tenders and Subcontracting
  • Legal and accountancy back up to start-ups for IP-Patent filing, Company registration, annual filings and closures

Source: 

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/centre-issues-draft-on-sagarmala-innovation-and-start-up-policy-11681134276147.html

In News: The Election Commission has recognised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party, while revoking that status of the All-India Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI).

About National Party

• A party with a national presence is known as a national party. These are usually bigger parties like Congress and BJP. However, some smaller parties are also recognized as national parties.
• The country now has six national parties namely BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), CPI(M), National People’s Party (NPP) and AAP.
• Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, stipulates the criteria for recognition as a national or state party. Any of these three conditions need to be met if a party is to be called a "national party".
  • A party's candidates in a minimum of four states must get at least 6 per cent of the total votes polled in each of those states in the last national election. In addition to this, it should have won four seats in the Lok Sabha.
  • A party should win a minimum of 2 per cent of the total seats in the Lok Sabha. The party's candidates should have been elected from not less than three states.
  • A party is recognised as a "state party" in at least four states.
• AAP has very large vote shares in Delhi and Punjab. In the Goa Assembly elections last year, it received 6.77% of the vote. This way it already fulfilled the criteria for recognition as a state party in three states.
• It received almost 13% vote in Gujarat and became recognized as state party in the fourth state and qualified for the national party.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ec-revokes-national-party-status-of-tmc-ncp-cpi-grants-status-to-aap-8549118/

In News: Recently the Supreme Court, while setting aside a preventive detention order, observed that such laws in India are a colonial legacy and have great potential to be abused and misused.

About Preventive Detention:

• There are 2 types of Detention:
  • Preventive detention is detaining a person in order to prevent a situation of crime that a person can possibly commit..
  • Punitive detention is when someone is detained due to a crime they committed. It happens following the actual commission of the crime, or at the very least following the attempt.
• The power to make preventive detention in India comes from the constitution itself which empowers the parliament to make such laws for ensuring the safety and security of the country.

• Constitutional legitimacy to Preventive detention:
  • Article 22 of the Indian Constitution provides protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. It allows for preventive detention and restriction on personal liberty for reasons of state security and public order.
  • Article 22 (4) states that no law providing for preventive detention shall authorise the detention of a person for a longer period than three months unless the advisory board reports sufficient cause for extended detention.
  • Under Entry 9 of the Union List, Parliament has the exclusive power to enact a law for preventive detention for the reasons connected with defence, foreign affairs, or security of India.
  • Under Entry 3 of Concurrent List, both Parliament and State Legislature have powers to enact such laws for the reasons related to maintenance of public order or maintenance of supplies or services essential to the community.
• The SC clarified that in cases of preventive detention, the Courts should always give the benefit of doubt to the detainee. Even minor lapses in procedural compliance should be resolved in the detainee's favour.
• According to Article 22(5), representations against preventive detention must be decided as soon as possible.

Source:

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/preventive-detention-law-a-colonial-legacy-confers-arbitrary-powe-supreme-court-226087

In News: Recently, Microsoft Internet watchdog said Israeli spyware Quadream was used to hack across 10 countries.

About

• Quadream Spyware is a type of malware that is designed to infiltrate and compromise electronic devices.
• It can monitor a wide range of activities on the infected device, including keystrokes, browsing history, and other sensitive information.
• Quadream Spyware can be used for various malicious purposes, such as stealing personal data, intellectual property theft, financial fraud, espionage, and cyber-attacks.
• It can spread through various channels, including malicious websites, email attachments, software downloads, and social engineering tactics.

Source:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-watchdog-group-say-israeli-spyware-used-hack-civil-society-2023-04-11/

Why in news? Dakar Declaration has been adopted in principle by 21 African countries after the first African sub-regional conference on implementing Global Plan for Road Safety in Dakar, Senegal.

About:

• It is a guiding document to support the implementation of Decade of Action for road safety 2021–2030.
• It sets the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2023.
• It aims to strengthen regional and national road safety policies and actions, boost coordination, and enhance the role of business and civil society.

https://allafrica.com/stories/202304070058.html

Why in news? Ways to strengthen the NM-ICPS were discussed at National Workshop on Technology Innovation in Cyber-Physical Systems (TIPS).  

About:

• NM-ICPS was launched in 2018 and Department of Science &Technology is its implementing agency.
• It aims to develop technology platforms to carry out R&D, translational research, product development, incubating & supporting start-ups, and commercialization.
• It brings together academia, industry, government and international organizations.
• It has created an ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship, develops next-generation skilled manpower, and promotes commercialization of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) technologies.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1914750

Why in news? NASA’s James Webb telescope reveals never before seen details in Cassiopeia A.

About:

• Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a supernova remnant located about 11,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It spans approximately 10 light-years.
• It is one of the strongest sources of radio emission in sky beyond solar system.
• Cassiopeia Constellation ranks as 25th largest Constellation.
• Constellation resembles an irregularly shaped letter “W”.

More Information:

• Exquisite new mid-infrared Webb Space Telescope images of Cassiopeia A (Cas A) —- our Milky Way Galaxy’s youngest known core collapse supernova remnant —- may finally enable astronomers to understand this colorful agglomeration of dust and debris.
• Such remnants are thought to be crucial in seeding new generations of stars and planets with biologically important elements like calcium and iron.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2023/04/09/astronomers-blown-away-by-new-nasa-webb-images-of-cassiopeia-a-supernova-remnant/?sh=54c6242c4186

Why in news? Recently, The Indian-American statistician C R Rao has been awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics at the age of 102.

About:

• International Prize in Statistics was established in 2016 by a group of five major statistical organizations, American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, International Biometric Society, International Statistical Institute, and Royal Statistical Society.
• It is awarded once every two years to an individual or team for major achievements using statistics to advance science, technology and human welfare.
• The ultimate goal of the International Prize in Statistics is to enhance public understanding of the depth and scope of statistics.
• It is awarded once in every two years to an individual or a team.
• Prize is given for major achievements using statistics to advance science, technology and human welfare.

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/c-r-rao-awarded-international-prize-in-statistics-2023-8547841/

Why in news? Recently, the Prime Minister paid tributes to freedom fighter and former Deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 116th birth anniversary.

About:

• Babu Jagjivan Ram, populary known as “Babuji”, was a national leader, freedom fighter, and advocate for social justice.
• He holds the world record for being a parliamentarian for 50 uninterrupted years, from 1936 to 1986. In addition, he is the longest-serving cabinet minister in Indian history, having served for a remarkable 30 years.
• Jagjivan Ram was born on 5th April 1908 in Chandwa in Bihar to a Dalit family.
• Despite facing discrimination due to his caste, he passed his matriculation with guidance from his mother.
• He later completed his Inter Science Examination from Banaras Hindu University and graduated from Calcutta University.
• Babu Jagjivan Ram devoted his life to fighting for equal rights for the oppressed classes.
• He became a legislator in 1936, as a nominated member of the Bihar Legislative Council.
• Babu Jagjivan Ram played a key role in the establishment of the All-India Depressed Classes League in 1935.
  • This organisation was dedicated to achieving equality for the untouchables.
• He held several important positions in the Indian government, including minister of labour and minister of communications under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
• He also served as India's defence minister during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
• Jagjivan Ram left the Congress party in 1977 to protest against the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
  • He joined the Janata Party alliance along with his newly formed party, Congress for Democracy.
  • He was later appointed as the deputy Prime Minister of India, a position he held from 1977 to 1979.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/babu-jagjivan-ram-remembering-babuji-on-his-116th-birth-anniversary-101680673723096.html

Why in news? Recently the wood carvings of Ladakh have been granted Geographical Indications under the Geographical Indications Act, 1999.

About:

• The wood carvings of Ladakh are popular for their intricate designs and unique patterns.
• The designs and unique patterns are mostly inspired by Buddhist themes and motifs.
• The wood carvings are made from local wood such as willow and apricot.
• They are often used for decorating doors, windows, and other household items.
• The unique form of wood carving which has received a GI tag is concentrated in the Wanla and Cjoglamasar districts of Leh.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Ladakh%E2%80%99s-wood-carving-gets-GI-Tag&id=458997