Author: Explains

Note4Students

Our growth projections demands greater energy production. Quest for cleaner energy is never ending. It is challenging to meet both cleaner and increased energy demands. Indo japan nuclear deal provides a better opportunity to actualize both targets. So understanding Indo- japan nuclear deal is important.

Introduction

1. India-Japan partnership is regarded as a significant element contributing to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
2. India and Japan, at last, signed an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Both countries took several rounds of negotiations, which helped resolve several sticky issues.
3. The joint document signed by the two countries lays down a roadmap for bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. “
4. This deal would provide for the development of nuclear power projects in India and thus strengthening of energy security of the country.

Analysis

Key Points

1. Under the accord, India may reprocess nuclear materials and by-products, but cannot make highly enriched uranium without approval from Japan. Highly enriched uranium has the potential for use in nuclear weaponry.
2. The main opposition Party in japan has spoken out against the bill, pointing out that since the provision to suspend the treaty was not included in the pact, there is no explicit guarantee to limit the use of nuclear technology.
3. Tokyo has insisted that the treaty enables a strong response — by suspending cooperation — if India were to conduct nuclear tests. Unlike nuclear deals with Jordan and Vietnam, however, the India-Japan accord does not specify nuclear testing as a condition for terminating the agreement.

Chronology

1. The negotiations have been underway for six years, but the negotiations were stuck because of political resistance in Japan after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
2. Japan and India signed a memorandum of understanding for civil nuclear cooperation in December 2015, when Abe was in Delhi for the annual bilateral summit, overcoming reservations over India’s status as a nation which has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
3. This was transformed into a deal in November last year when PM Narendra Modi was in Tokyo for the summit. Subsequently the Japanese government got approval from the Diet (parliament) for the nuclear deal with India.  ..
4. The landmark deal came into force in July this year with the completion of necessary formalities in both countries. This will enable Japan to export nuclear power plant technology as well as provide finance for nuclear power plants in India.

Importance of the deal

1. For a vast country with ambitious development targets, India is in a dire need to augment its energy resources.
2. India’s present level of electricity production cannot cope with the rapidly growing demands of the economy.
3. In addition, India is the third largest importer of crude oil and the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
4. Since nuclear energy would be relatively cheap and clean, India has to go all out to harness it. It is the only realistic option for ensuring a steady supply of energy to manage the skyrocketing demands for electricity.
5. At present India’s nuclear power accounts for only three percent of its total electricity output, but it wants to increase its share to about twenty five percent in the next twenty years.
6. In order to realise that goal, India has plans to build about eighty new nuclear reactors in the coming decades. If India could count on Japan’s advanced cutting edge reactor technologies, it could accelerate India’s progress in the nuclear power generation and take advantage of the convergent mutual interests with Japan. Japan itself is in the process of boosting the export of its nuclear technologies for peaceful uses.
7. India is the only non-NPT signatory with which Japan has entered into a civil nuclear deal in what can be described as recognition for Delhi’s impeccable non-proliferation record
8. It is indeed a much-needed moral boost for India’s aspirations of getting membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
9. The signing of the deal will boost the low volume and dipping bilateral trade.
10. It will also give an impetus to the strategic military and defence relationship.
11. The deal can be instrumental in countering China’s growing regional influence and in dealing with the uncertainty of US foreign policy after the US election outcome.
12. From a Japanese point of view, negotiations with US-based Westinghouse Electric are in advanced stages and they have agreed to build six nuclear reactors in India. Japanese companies, such as Toshiba, have significant holdings in Westinghouse and other U.S. and French partners negotiating for nuclear reactors now. Signing of this deal makes it easier for such deals to materialise.
13. Japan will assist India in nuclear waste management and may undertake joint manufacture of nuclear power plant components under Make in India initiative
14. The finance for the project from the US Exim Bank remains intact and the initiative would start in 2018.

How similar is the Japan agreement to the US deal?

1. The agreement with Japan makes an upfront commitment on safety (addressing post-Fukushima concerns) and recognises the statement made by India before the Nuclear Suppliers Group in September 2008 in the preamble itself.
2. It also combines several updates with International Atomic Energy Agency in the annexure of the agreement. Rest of the agreement mirrors that of the US with advance consent to reprocessing rights in IAEA safeguarded facility.

Concerns

1. Westinghouse is caught in a bankruptcy quagmire and there is no functional reference atomic plant –– a pre-requisite to obtain permission from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India’s nuclear watchdog.
2. Westinghouse, which was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba in 2006 for $5.4 billion, filed for bankruptcy in March. Top Westinghouse officials visited India twice since March to assure that the project is on track.

Conclusion

1. This Agreement is a reflection of the strategic partnership between India and Japan and will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy.
2. It seeks to promote full cooperation between the two countries in the development and uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes on a stable, reliable and predictable basis
3. The deal is essential for bringing a network of nuclear energy cooperation for India, especially with the U.S. as prominent American nuclear companies are owned by the Japanese nuclear majors like Toshiba.

Question

Q. “Many developed countries have been advocating for elimination nuclear usage altogether. But India – japan nuclear deal provides a better future for Indian energy security”- analyse

Note4Students/Syllabus Mapping: GS2 and GS3

India’s International relations with its neighbors has always been under limelight. Be it on the Western, northern or the eastern frontiers. The tussle between India and China has a long history and has just got renewed because of the Doklam issue. Given the threat to Internal Security from external threats, this topic has a high relevance for Mains 2017.

Current Context:

Recent border stand-off between India and China over building of a highway in the Doklam region

Where is Doklam located?

It is located at the tri-junction of India (Sikkim), Bhutan and China (Tibet) as depicted in the diagram below:

 

 

Introduction:

The present standoff in Doklam is a result of the India-Bhutan Friendship treaty of 2007, where India assures Bhutan of protecting its sovereignty from external threats. As per Bhutan, the construction of

Road inside its territory by Chinese army, is also a violation of1988 and 1998 agreements between China and Bhutan.

Significance of Doklam Plateau:

The valley holds strategic significance for India, China as well as Bhutan. India sees it as a dagger pointed towards its so-called ‘chicken’s neck’ sector in the Northeast and rapid Chinese road construction in Tibet could make things difficult for India. At the same time, Sikkim is one of the few sectors where India has an advantage.

1. In the event of war, India’s Brigade-sized military presence inside Bhutan, stationed at Ha, allows it to attack the Chumbi valley from two sides, potentially cutting off Chinese troops stationed facing Sikkim.
2. But China’s recent assertions in the area are portentous for Bhutan which has never faced territorial issues with the Dragon in the past. China, citing the 1890 China-Britain treaty, calls Doklam its own while Bhutan has disputed the fact saying the convention applies to the India-Bhutan border, not Bhutan and China.

Why is China intruding into Doklam?

1. The 21st century Belt and Road initiative by Xi Jinping to take a larger role in global affairs includes similar Silk Road and Maritime Silk road belts. The construction of this highway is also a part of same vision.
2. There is an emerging strategy from Chinese end to get closer to India through its neighbors for last decade through Pakistan (CPEC), meddling with Nepal’s politics, Sri Lanka and now Bhutan.
3. China has been keen to establish its physical presence in this region according to the 1890 Convention.
4. With China’s Belt and Road Initiative gaining momentum and completion of infrastructure programmes like Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, China appears to have turned its attention to the Doklam plateau to establish a strong presence close to the Indian border.

How should India React?

1. Given the China’s policy of asymmetric coercion, India has no option but to narrow the existing comprehensive national power gap between the two countries. Developing strategic partnerships, initiatives like ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor’, ‘Act East Policy’ and counter balancing strategies are steps in the right direction.
2. National security policy needs clear articulation, based on a realistic threat assessment. Apex organizational structures require streamlining to telescope the decision making process. The current format of military modernization demands a holistic review.
3. In an era of ‘limited wars’, a ‘joint military doctrine’ is a sine qua non and ‘tri service theatre commands’ are prerequisites for synergized application of the war waging potential.
4. In the prevailing scenario, facing the China’s Western Theatre Command are India’s seven Army and Air Force commands, which is a serious lacuna.
5. In short engagements, the timely application of requisite combat power at the point of decision is critical. This calls for creating essential infrastructure on highest priority.
6. The border management mechanism needs to be revamped. A single nodal agency is required to coordinate the functions of the various organs. Operational control astride the Line of Actual Control ought to rest with the Army.
7. A well calibrated response mechanism must be put in place, with disputed vulnerable areas effectively dominated and troops fully prepared to meet any eventuality. Paramilitary Forces deployed for manning the borders require urgent upgrade to match the China’s Border Regiments.

Way ahead:

Diplomatic engagement can open a way, but a solution that allows both sides to ‘save face’ is not immediately visible. Though undesirable, an escalation of the conflict remains a possibility. However, both the countries have expressed that they will use official diplomatic channels to reach a solution. For now, the most likely outcome is that both sides back away, giving diplomats and military strategists time to think through their options: India’s decision to commit militarily in Bhutan has changed the game for all sides.

Conclusion:

Both China and India have one of the world’s largest armies with 23 lakhs and 13 lakhs active troops respectively, any kind of war between the two will lead to heavy casualties on both the sides. Apart from that, Chinese economy is also slowing down. India’s economic growth will also be affected if there is a conflict. But no one is walking away from this century-old game just yet. To deal with China on a level footing, the Indian leadership needs to make pragmatic assessments, possess the courage to accept home truths and display audacity for bold decisions.

 

Note4Students/Syllabus Mapping: GS2

The fact that an Indian Prime Minister is making a visit for the first time in 25 years since we established full diplomatic ties is significant and termed historic in itself. The focus of the visit signifies 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties has opened a new chapter in the Indo-Israel bonhomie.

At some stages the relationship has gone faster, sometimes not so fast, but it’s been a steady upward trend. The experts calling it a watershed moment which could go beyond the current transactional relationship makes it a hot topic for 2017 CSE Mains in the context of global geo politics and India’s Act West foreign policy.

Advantage Israel

1. Israel, led by strong growth of private consumption, low inflation, rising labor force participation, a positive investors’ climate because of low interest rates, natural gas finds and responsible fiscal policies, has a lot to offer.
2. A modern economy like Israel goes well with our own flagship programmes like Make in India. Indian companies with their engineering and scale and Israeli companies with their innovation and technology can together stimulate our domestic manufacturing sector, particularly in defense.
3. Israel, at the same time, is considered as the most advanced country in SW Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development. It is a developed country having a highly skilled and educated workforce. So, developing relations between the two is important.
4. Israel has become one of the foremost technology superpowers in areas such as rainwater harvesting, use of oceanic water and using that for irrigation in the most dry land.
5. Israel has transitioned from a water-deficit state to a water-surplus state, and has pioneered the water desalination technique, something that’s absolutely significant in the era of climate change, rapid loss of fresh water bodies, and rise in seawater levels.
6. Israel achieved self -sufficiency in food production despite having 50% barren Land. Its 3.7% of workforce produces 97% of its own food. India could well follow its path by using techniques from it like Drip Irrigation, Post Harvest technology , Food Tissue culture , Plastic Culture , Vertical gardens etc

 

Background of Indo- Israel relations:

1. Since India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992, relations between the two countries have grown at an astonishing pace, covering a wide range of issues from defense and homeland security, to agriculture and water management, and now education and even outer space.
2. The formal acknowledgement of the relationship at the highest levels leaving behind hesitations of history and India’s de-hyphenation of its Israel and Palestine policies for the first time (and taking the related course-correction measures such as rethinking India’s voting choices on anti-Israel resolutions at the UN and dropping the demand for East Jerusalem as capital of a future Palestinian state), is the turning point in the relations of  both countries going forward.

 

Key areas of Camaraderie, cooperation and coordination!

Hinged on defense, intelligence-sharing, counter-terrorism on one side and cooperation in water harvesting and agriculture on the other, there are a number of avenues in which India-Israel ties would be key to the emerging global order.

1. Economic Engagement: Israel, led by strong growth of private consumption, low inflation, rising labor force participation, a positive investors’ climate because of low interest rates, natural gas finds and responsible fiscal policies, has a lot to offer.  Policy initiatives on ease of doing business and the opening of defense, construction and pharma sectors have added to India’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
2. Defense collaboration: The India-Israel equation in defense has acquired strategic dimensions but there is need and opportunity to make it “more broad-based” through production and manufacturing partnerships. Israeli defense industries are well inclined towards joint ventures to give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
3. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Culture: Israel embodies a culture of entrepreneurship highlighted by power of innovation, global leadership in R&D spending and venture capital investment. A joint innovation and research and development fund can work wonders.
4. A country that has no automotive industry for example, and yet they are the R&D centre for autonomous cars (self-driving) in the world.
5. Agricultural Partnership and Water Conservation: Arid land technology, biotechnology and a joint action plan to research India specific and export-oriented seeds deserve attention. Israel has tackled its rain deficiency by developing technology solutions for waste water management, purification, desalination techniques and water reuse in agriculture and industry. The Israeli dairy industry with its proven know-how and design, technology and genetic material can revolutionize the dairy industry in India.
6. Medical and Pharma sector cooperation: Medical technologies and devices could be the next growth areas for collaboration.
7. Diaspora potential: Another important factor in bilateral ties will be the Indian diaspora. Most Jewish Indians, about 80,000, have all moved here, and there are just about 4,000-5,000 left in India.
8. Academia-Industry- government Connect: We have to learn from their universities, how they have technology transfer companies based right on their campuses, who help convert theory into useful products in a very short period of time.
9. Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Sharing: India and Israel are boosting up the counter-terrorism cooperation and sharing real-time intelligence on issues crucial to national security.
10. Military and Strategic Ties: Israel is the second-largest source of defense equipment for India, after Russia. Arms trade between the two nations reached almost $600 million in 2016. India has purchased Barak I missiles, 3 Phalcon AWACS, and Israeli spike anti tank missiles from Israel. Israel is developing Barak 8 missile for Indian Navy and IAF and plans to purchase 2 more Phalcon AWACS are in progress.
11. Space Collaboration: In 2002, India and Israel signed a cooperative agreement promoting space collaboration. India has successfully launched TecSAR and RISAT-2 radar imaging satellites of Israelfrom PSLV of ISRO.

Sticky Points in the Relations:

1. Bilateral Trade and investment still below potential: From just $200 million in 1992, bilateral trade (excluding defense) peaked at about $5 billion in 2012 but since then it has dropped to about $4 billion. Also, bilateral trade has not diversified much—diamonds and chemicals still make up for the large chunk of the pie.
2. Private Sector still finding feet: Indian companies like Sun Pharma and ATG, a specialty tyre-maker, have big interests in Israel. But perhaps unsurprisingly, the Chinese are streets ahead of us in bilateral trade and their companies are investing heavily in Israel’s cutting-edge start-ups.
3. Connectivity between two countries still poor with just one direct flight from Mumbai 3 times a week and no direct flights from Delhi.
4. Historical retrenchment: India’s consistent support for a sovereign, independent, viable and united Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side and at peace with Israel and Pro-Arab stance has been a sticky point.
5. Limited People to People ties and cultural differences: Israelis and Indian approach business differently and often find it difficult to get on the same page. Though formal ties were established in 1992, but the ideological divide resurfaces time and again.

Way forward:

Investments to boost tourism, education and cultural ties and building bridges with the Indian diaspora in Israel can help significantly in this context. Indeed, these are the low-hanging fruits in the bilateral relationship that can be plucked right away. Taking cues of Israel’s industry-academia ecosystem, its innovation and start up culture and the state of art cutting edge technology across sectors; India can build mutual collaborations for present and future development.  Tapping each other’s potential should be the imperative in the new “Strategic Partnership” to truly make “India-Israel is a match made in heaven”!

Note4Students

Rohingya crisis needs to understand from the security and humanitarian angle. Rohingya crisis should be addressed and find a long standing sustainable solution. This crisis has its implications in India-Bangladesh, India- Myanmar relationship. So this article is an important one.

Introduction

Who is Rohingya?

1. Rohingya Muslims comprise one million out of the 53 million people that live in Myanmar, forming the world’s largest stateless population in a single country.
2. Universally reviled by the country’s Buddhist majority, they have been oppressed by the government since the late 1970s when the government launched a campaign to identify ‘illegal immigrants’.
3. Serious abuses were committed, forcing as many as 250,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.
4. The 1982 Citizenship Law in former Burma made the Rohingyas stateless people.
5. They have often been called the most persecuted minority in the world.
6. The 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims squeezed precariously into the north-west state of Rakhine, in mainly Buddhist Burma, bordering majority Muslim Bangladesh, are stateless and unwanted.

Analysis

Why No Citizenship Granted

1. To qualify for citizenship,Rohingya applicants had to renounce their identity And accept being labelled as ‘Bengalis’ on all official documents.
2. They also had to prove that they could trace the presence of their family in Rakhine back three generations, something which is extremely difficult as many Rohingya lack documents or had lost them in 2012.

Why this Rohingaya Crisis is happening

1. Since World War Two they have been treated increasingly by Burmese authorities as illegal, interloping Bengalis, facing apartheid-like conditions that deny them free movement or state education while government forces intermittently drive out and slaughter them
2. The United Nations has reported that the army may have committed ethnic cleansing
3. The latest military crackdown, which began on August 25, caused almost 90,000 Rohingyas to flee under fire to squalid, overflowing relief camps across the Bangladeshi border in just two weeks.
4. Officially close to 400 people had died by early September, but human rights activists claim to have confirmation of at least 1,000 deaths and believe the figure is much higher.
5. The death toll will inevitably rise after Burma, also known as Myanmar, blocked UN agencies from delivering vital food, water and medicine supplies to 250,000 Rakhine residents desperately in need
6. The army “clearing operations” which sparked the mass exodus of civilians in both October 2016 and in August 2017, were launched after insurgents known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked several paramilitary check posts.
7. Rohingya activists claim the insurgents are mainly young men who have been pushed to breaking point by relentless oppression.
8. A report released in early September by the Burma Human Rights Network documents the rise of systematic abuses against Burmese Muslims since 2012, including the creation of “Muslim-free zones”, denial of ID cards, and the banning of Islamic holidays.
9. The oppression has been mirrored by an upsurge of ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups who encourage an anti-Muslim rhetoric

Security Implications

1. The Rohingya issue and its spill over impact on Myanmar`s western peripheral region and security implications figured in the discussions is not clear.
2. In all probability, the import of the ferment caused by the Rohingya migration, efforts of radical Islamists to influence some of the Rohingya youth, and the Pakistan ISI’s attempts to capitalise on the situation and promote anti-India activities would not have been overlooked.
3. Rising anger in the Muslim world about the plight of the Rohingya has compounded fears of home-grown militancy as well as support from international jihadists.
4. Al Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen has already called for retaliatory attacks against Myanmar
5. The security aspect of the Rohingya issue has largely been overlooked.
6. Illegal movement of people, combined with human trafficking and cross-border migration, can weaken Myanmar’s relations with its neighbour Bangladesh and its ASEAN partners.
7. It may, in effect, undermine ASEAN’s efforts towards integration by spoiling mutual trust and confidence in each other.
8. That, in turn, would engender a stable security environment in Myanmar`s western region, and in the peripheral areas adjoining Bangladesh and India

Affected Countries

1. Bangladesh and India to the west as well as Indonesia, Malaysia and even Thailand to the east of Myanmar have been affected by the Rohingya refugee issue in recent years.
2. In India, there are nearly 40,000 Rohingya refugees, with 16,500 registered with the office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.
3. Interestingly, they are spread over several cities and states: Jammu, New Delhi, Jaipur and some places in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the north-east.
4. Some Rohingya refugees have in fact been residing for more than ten years.
5. This only indicates the protracted nature of the crisis affecting the Rohingyas.
6. While some of the Rohingyas are psychologically and socially at ease in India`s accommodative milieu, there are a few places in the country where politically instigated attempts are being made to re-locate them.

UN Efforts

1. The 34th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had passed a Resolution on 24 March 2017.
2. Adopted by a 34 to 22 majority, the Resolution constituted a three-member Commission of eminent persons in the realm of international law and human rights –
3. The Commission was tasked to undertake a Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to Rakhine province (as well as areas inhabited by other ethnic minorities) and report back to the UNHRC by March 2018
4. Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Su Kyi criticized the appointment of the FFM and Naypyitaw has hinted that the members of the commission would be denied visas.

Opinion on India

1. The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, stated that India needs to deport those Rohingyas who are illegally staying in India.
2. The Supreme Court of India, hearing a plea by two Rohingya refugees, has instructed the government to inform it about the detailed plans with regard to the deportation of Rohingya refugees
3. India’s tough stand on deporting Rohingyas back to Rakhine State in the midst of the ongoing violence has evoked criticism from national and international human rights activists.
4. The India-Myanmar Joint Statement, released when Prime Minister Modi visited Nay Pyi Taw, noted that the situation in Rakhine State has a ‘developmental as well as a security dimension’.15 India will help Myanmar under the Rakhine State Development Programme and both sides are expected to finalise the implementation plan of this programme in the coming months.
5. It will cover infrastructure development and socio-economic projects, especially in the areas of education, health, agriculture, agro-processing, community development, construction of roads and bridges, protection of environment and so on.
6. The Joint Statement, however, has no specific mention about the recent clashes between the Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists or exodus of the Rohingyas from Myanmar or India’s plan about deportation of some 40,000 Rohingya refugees who are reportedly staying in India.
7. India’s move to dissociate itself from the Bali Declaration adopted at the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development in Indonesia, and which called “on all parties to contribute to the restoration of stability and security … respect human rights of all people in Rakhine State regardless of their faith and ethnicity, as well as facilitate safe access for humanitarian assistance”, puts into question its respect for human rights and the treatment of minorities.
8. It weakens India’s moral authority to speak for minorities in other parts of its neighbourhood. Interestingly Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka joined the declaration.

Way Forward

Need for enhanced Indian diplomatic efforts

1. The success of India’s diplomacy will lie in the extent to which it can induce Naypyitaw to take a long view in the interests of its own political stability, internal security and social harmony.
2. If such a process can be initiated with the help of Indian diplomacy, the Rohingyas would be able to come out of the genocidal situation in which they find themselves at present.
3. India has a stake in the security conditions in upper western Myanmar adjoining the Naga self-administered zone where the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim operates.
4. A modicum of understanding prevails between New Delhi and Naypyitaw with a view to ensuring that the internal security environment in India`s north-eastern states is not jeopardised by the activities of the Khaplang group in Myanmar.
5. New Delhi should strive for a similar approach vis-à-vis Rakhine keeping in view the larger implications of the Rohingya issue.

Question

Q.)“Rohingya crisis is not a mere internal matter of Myanmar” Critically analyse the statement

Source

IDSA WEBSITE

THE HINDU

Note4Students

Strained India Pakistan relationship reduced the importance of SAARC. Attitude of Pakistan has not been encouraging as it was stalling many agreements. In this scenario, India has to find an alternative forum to achieve its regional development goals and enhanced trade with more connected ASEAN market.

Introduction

SAARC

1. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
2. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.
3. The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC Charter are: to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural d
4. evelopment in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials; to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of south Asia.

BIMSTEC

1. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
2. The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.
3. BIMSTEC has also established a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members. The BIMSTEC region is home to around 1.5 billion people which constitute around 22% of the global population with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.7 trillion economy. In the last five years, BIMSTEC Member States have been able to sustain an average 6.5% economic growth trajectory despite global financial meltdown.

Analysis

Recent developments

1. Indian protest: India expressed inability to participate in the Islamabad SAARC summit due to “prevailing circumstances” and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan after the September 18 attack on the military base in Uri.
2. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan followed India’s decision to stay away from the November summit to be held in Islamabad.
3. India and other countries cited “cross-border terrorist attacks in the region” as a reason for boycotting the summit.
4. Outreach to BIMSTECH During the 8^th BRICS summit, One of the biggest highlights among them was the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit, where the BRICS leaders met the heads of government of the BIMSTEC countries.
5. India chose BIMSTEC over any other regional grouping is indicative of the importance New Delhi attaches to the Bay of Bengal region.
6. The recent move to club BIMSTEC Division with SAARC in the external affairs ministry indicates the focus on strengthening BIMSTEC amid Pakistan’s continued intransigence in blocking key anti-terror and connectivity initiatives under  the SAARC.

Achievements of SAARC

1. Over the last 25 years, despite extremely difficult political circumstances, SAARC has managed to create situations, institutions and forums where Heads of State have had to shake each other’s’ hands and go into talks together.
2. SAARC has tackled important topics for the region such as a social charter, development agreements and even the sensitive subject of fighting terrorism.
3. The food and development banks, Agreement on Transportation, Energy are important steps in the right direction.
4. Exchanges in the areas of civil society and science have become one of the pillars of South Asian integration efforts.

SAARC Failures

1. The intra-regional trade of SAARC amounted to $40.5 billion in 2011, which constitutes just 5% of member countries’ trade. The number pales into insignificance when compared with the volume of trilateral trade between member-countries of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, (the US, Canada and Mexico) which hit $1 trillion in 2011.
2. No economic integration: while different regions of the world have progressed even to monetary union, SAARC has failed to even come up with a free trade agreement.
3. Attitude of Pakistan has been blocking connectivity initiatives such as SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement and SAARC Railways Agreement, and refusing to cooperate on combating cross-border terrorism

Reasons for failure

1. Conflict between India and Pakistan: Rivalry between India and Pakistan, the two largest members of SAARC, has hovered hugely on SAARC. The rivalry continues to restrain SAARC from functioning as a sub-regional organization.
2. Indian Foreign Policy actions – 1971 war, Indo-Sri Lanka Accord continue to haunt the neighbouring countries. India has not forcefully articulated South Asian Vision; even the progressive ideas like the Gujral Doctrine have not been implemented on ground.
3. Unresolved Border and Maritime Issues The region is still beset with many unresolved border and maritime issues. These unresolved borders have led to problems of Terrorism, Refugee Crisis, Smuggling, Narco-Trade. The unresolved issues continue to mar cooperative relations.
4. Failure in resolving bilateral issues:SAARC Charter Article X(2) of the SAARC Charter mandates that decisions, at all levels in SAARC, are only of multilateral issues, and only those issues are for inclusion in the agenda in a SAARC summit meeting on the basis of unanimity. The SAARC platform thus cannot be used to resolve bilateral issues; this has undermined the scope and potential of SAARC

Why BIMSTEC is Important

1. Core policy goal – Delhi needs to get Islamabad-Rawalpindi to drop its support for terror groups who conduct strikes and attacks on Indian installations as well as civilian lives
2. For India, making BIMSTEC work is important as for years; it has blamed Pakistan for holding back SAARC. As the biggest member of BIMSTEC, it’s up to India to take all members with it and show tangible results.
3. BIMSTEC more naturally lends itself to regional integration—physical connectivity as well as economic cooperation—than SAARC which is dominated by India and Pakistan and hamstrung by tensions between the two. Therefore, BIMSTEC seems an attractive alternative to SAARC.
4. Economic stability: In the last five years, BIMSTEC member states have been able to sustain an average 6.5 percent economic growth rate despite the global financial slowdown.
5. Natural resources: The BIMSTEC region has a huge amount of untapped natural, water, and human resources, from hydropower potential in the Himalayan basin to hydrocarbons in the Bay of Bengal.
6. Connectivity: BIMSTEC has at last three major projects that, when finished, could transform the movement of goods and vehicles through the countries in the grouping.
7. One is the Kaladan Multimodal project that seeks to link India and Myanmar. Another is the Asian Trilateral Highway connecting India and Thailand through Myanmar. The highway will run from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar and represents a significant step in establishing connectivity between India and Southeast Asian countries.
8. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have signed a pact for the movement of goods and vehicles among them.
9. With five countries that also belong to SAARC and two that belong to ASEAN, BIMSTEC can serve as the bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. With the lifting of sanctions on Myanmar and a democratic government at its helm, the country can particularly play this bridging role.
10. BIMSTEC also lends itself to sub-regional economic cooperation—something proposed by India and other member countries of SAARC.

Conclusion

1. BIMSTEC indeed has huge potential to emerge as a grouping that can accelerate the process of regional integration, security cooperation, and inclusive growth in this region.
2. For India in particular, BIMSTEC can be a pivot to the Act East Policy. Through enhanced cross-border connectivity and interlinkages, India’s northeast region can take centre stage as the gateway to South East Asia.
3. India as the biggest country in the BIMSTEC is giving special attention to the grouping in the 20th year of its creation. The grouping, which does not include Pakistan, could serve as an alternative to the SAARC to give countries in South Asia a new direction

Question

Q.) A strong BIMSTEC will ensure the regional development of India in particular south east Asia in general. Analyse

Q.) Failure of saarc can be offset by a strong bimstec, critically comment

Note4Students

Political inclination of US president often affects the diplomatic policies. When Mr .Trump elected as US president, there was a wide spread scepticism about trump’s presidency in India. So discussion about effect of Trump presidency is very much important for this year mains.

Introduction

1. India-US partnership has been one of the few areas that have been non-controversial and a bright spot for the USA on the foreign policy front in recent years.
2. India-US relations enjoy bipartisan support in the US Congress and across the board among the US citizens.
3. India’s past experiences with US presidents show that a Republican president is generally better for us than a Democrat one. But in recent history, Indo-US relations have broadly stuck to a steady path.
4. Donald Trump has hence inherited a vigorous and vibrant relationship between India and the USA. It is expected that Trump will do all that is necessary to take the bilateral partnership to newer heights.

Analysis

Recent developments

1. H1B: Trump, underlining his “America First” policy, signed an order last week that he said will reform the visa program for foreign technical workers. H1B visas admit 65,000 workers and another 20,000 graduate student workers each year. Most of the visas are awarded to outsourcing firms. India is affected by the order given that its IT companies bring workers on H1B visas. Many Indians are returning home, thanks to Trump’s policy.
2. China: With Trump going back on his questioning of One China policy and requiring Beijing’s help to rein in a recalcitrant North Korea, it seems Trump will look to establish a working relation with China. This could mean bad news for India which had been eyeing the possibility of Trump employing a more muscular approach vis-a-vis Beijing.
3. Afghanistan: The US priority in Afghanistan seems to be to fight the IS while India would like the Trump administration to go after the rebel Taliban, which is believed to have the support of Pakistan and is intent on destabilising the Ashraf Ghani government.
4. US tax cuts could mean bad news for “Make in India” in case US businesses find corporate tax rates more attractive at home.
5. Trump administration also supported India’s membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. “The United States welcomed India’s application to join the NSG and it continues to re-affirm that India is ready for the membership.

Challenges and Future prospects

1. India and the US are “natural partners” on a range of political, economic and security issues and the two countries have a mutual desire for global stability, the Trump administration said in a report submitted in the US Congress.
2. Trump has mostly targeted China and Mexico for taking away American manufacturing jobs and blamed them for shutdown of industries. Only on a few occasions has he criticised the off-shoring of software and IT jobs to India. Indian companies In the near future, the US government will be persuaded by its industry and will realise that the competitiveness of the US industry is critically dependent on the specialised and technically sophisticated work performed by Indian software engineers etc.
3. Outlining a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, Trump said   Washington could no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations. This position will help India in bolstering her position against terrorism in various multi-lateral platforms.
4. Trump also keen into active Indian support and help for restructuring Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development. This provides a greater opportunity for India.
5. As part of “Strategic Energy Partnership”, the US is going to export natural gas at a suitable price that’s acceptable to President Trump and clean coal. President Trump wants India to conclude the “contractual agreements between Westinghouse Electric Company and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India for six nuclear reactors.
6. India –US coordinated development of Afghanistan will generate more influence on Afghanistan.
7. Any negative development between the US and Iran is not good for India.
8. India has long eyed the Chabahar port as its gateway to Central Asia and Afghanistan, areas it cannot reach by land without passing through Pakistan, its strategic adversary.
9. But the nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the Obama administration against Iran included “secondary sanctions” – which meant that any company, government or individual that did business with the sanctioned entities could also face American sanctions.
10. That fear kept India away from investing in Chabahar till the nuclear deal Tehran struck with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union in October 2015, under which the secondary sanctions were lifted.
11. But the sanctions slapped by the Trump administration, after twin Iranian ballistic missile tests, have forced the foreign office into a quandary: meeting India’s commitments could risk the future of its investments in Iran.
12. Since taking office, Trump has moved to gut Obama’s signature climate change regulations, signed executive orders to aid the fossil fuel industry and installed a critic of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as its head.
13. Trump criticized India on Paris climate deal. Trump took a position that India signed Paris climate deal for availing “billions and billions and billions” of dollars from developed nations.
14. India should up its diplomatic and policy game in response. Part of this strategy can be to work with Japan, Europe or even new strategic partners like the United Arab Emirates on accelerating India’s own transition to renewable energy at an even more aggressive pace than today. It also needs to give more thought to making the International Solar Alliance more tangible. New Delhi’s stance has traditionally been to be a responsible climate player by focusing on its own domestic energy transition. Its accomplishments on that front are praiseworthy. But Trump’s action means it should contemplate a more global role.

Conclusion

Ministry of external affairs remarked that, the relationship between India and the US since Trump took charge were growing with the “same speed” as was the case when Barack Obama was President. India should employ its diplomatic efforts to resolve the minor issues.

Questions

India –USA relationship is in a steady path irrespective of presidency. Analyse

Trump administration is expecting more engaging role of India in regional issues. Comment

Note4Students:

Recent Indian diplomatic effort to get support from various countries. So this portion is important.

Introduction:

What is NSG?

1. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.
2. One of the critical elements for inclusion into the NSG is that the member countries need to signatories of the NPT, a proposal which India has categorically disagreed.
3. However considering India’s history of nuclear non-proliferation, the US and subsequently the NSG have shown some recognition and granted India with the waiver of dealing with other countries for nuclear technology.

Recent Developments

1. Present Indian government, embarked to pursue the ambitious goal of NSG membership aggressively.
2. Prime minister visited countries like USA,Netherlands, Mexico, and Portugal to secure the support from these countries.
3. US administration under Obama and Donald trump reiterated their support for Indian entry to the NSG. Russia also extended its support.
4. NSG takes decision based on consensus of the member countries. So it is important to secure the support of each and every member country.
5. China is against the granting membership. Insisted on a criteria-based approach for the non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatory countries.
6. China has also maintained that for non-NPT members some definite criteria should be evolved rather than granting country specific waivers. At other times, it has stated that Pakistan also has similar credentials to join the NSG; and that if India is admitted; Pakistan should also be admitted simultaneously.
7. Some other countries, including Turkey, Switzerland, Mexico and New Zealand, were among those which have stressed on the criteria-based approach, without opposing India’s application outright.

Analysis

Arguments supporting Indian effort to secure NSG membership

1. Expansion of power generation: India seeks to significantly expand its nuclear power generation and also enter the export market in the coming years.
2. Joining the NSG will give India better access to low-cost, clean nuclear energy — important for its economic growth. Nuclear power is one way India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, could cut its emissions and reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants.
3. Although the 2008 NSG waiver does provide significant possibilities for India to engage in civilian nuclear trade with other countries
4. More certainty in nuclear regime: Membership of the NSG will provide greater certainty and a legal foundation for India’s nuclear regime and thus greater confidence for those countries investing billions of dollars to set up ambitious nuclear power projects in India.
5. International stature: As India’s international political, economic, military and strategic profile enlarged, India would like to move into the category of international rule-creating nations rather than stay in the ranks of rule-adhering nations.
6. Joining the NSG is chiefly a matter of pride and desire to be taken seriously by some of the world’s most powerful nations. Since prompting international technology sanctions and limits on exports by conducting nuclear tests in 1998, India has been eager to gain legitimacy as a nuclear power.
7. Pakistan angle: If India gets the membership, India can block Pakistan to get NSG membership. This is remunerative with respect to our security angle.
8. Future prospects: NSG membership would put India on a firmer footing to propose the idea of plutonium trade for its thorium programme that has been waiting in the wings. An early adoption of thorium technology would give India enormous energy independence and security.

Arguments against Indian efforts to secure NSG membership

1. These are the bigger issues in India’s massive expansion of its nuclear capacity, not NSG membership. Nor is NSG likely to matter materially in terms of uranium supply. India has hammered out agreements with Canada (April 2013) and Australia (November 2014), and other countries such as Kazakhstan have been supplying too.
2. Indian impeccable track record has facilitated the civil nuclear deal with Japan. India was the first non NPT country with which japan signed a nuclear deal.
3. India has access to technology, because of the waiver granted in 2008. No foreign nuclear reactor supplier is waiting for India to get a NSG membership.
4. NSG is not a body with very firm legal standing for example even IAEA refers to NSG as “certain members states”
5. It’s credibility as a governance body is further reduced by the fact that it had not be able to stop even its member country China from non-proliferating.
6. no  hindrance for the expansion of India’s nuclear power programme The waiver given to India in 2008 allows for trade in civilian nuclear power, import of nuclear power reactors and fuel under International Atomic Energy (IAEA) safeguards. And, there is no hindrance for the expansion of India’s nuclear power programme
7. When the NSG members, including China, realise that India has a huge trade potential, they will automatically come around someday, and hence there is no point in India approaching them.
8. Sustainability High grade nuclear fuel may not last more than one decade. There is overwhelming evidence to show that advanced countries moving from the nuclear energy. A Global sentiment is that the renewable energy is the solution for the energy crisis. (For example, Switzerland is planning to shut down its nuclear power plants in phased manner).
9. Energy security So future of our energy security lies in the development of more efficient green energy technology.

Way forward

1. India should convince China that, its interest in NSG membership is not guided by any political or strategic considerations but only to facilitate the expansion of its clean and green nuclear energy programme.
2. India to continue with a low-key building of partnership with other NSG members.
3. Meanwhile, India should focus on developing the efficient green energy technologies to meet the massive energy requirement.
4. Our efforts for the membership should be consistent with our domestic requirements rather than mere rhetoric sentiments.

Questions

Q.) NSG membership is essential for the Indian energy security prospects. Analyse

Q.) India should aggressively pursue the NSG membership. That Is essential for the indian nuclear programmes,. Critically comment

Note4Students

BBIN is part of India’s ‘Look East Policy’. This initiative can also solve India’s longstanding problem of locational disadvantage and poor connectivity of its north-eastern states. Recently Bhutan upper house refused to ratify the agreement by citing various reasons. BBIN MVA can change the entire regional trade narrative. India can extend its trade routes with well-connected ASEAN market.

Introduction

1. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) signed a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic.
2. Aside from facilitating the cross-border movement of passengers and goods, the agreement is expected to “promote safe, economical efficient and environmentally sound road transport in the sub-region
3. It will help to create “an institutional mechanism for regional integration.”
4. It may increase trade within the South Asia region by nearly 60% and trade by the region with outside partners by more than 30% over current levels.
5. But nearly two years after ministers from Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal signed the BBIN MVA in Thimphu; the Bhutanese government withdrew from the agreement followed Bhutan’s domestic resistance to ratify the agreement.

Analysis

WHY BBIN IS NEEDED.

1. Connectivity: Although countries of South Asia are tied by shared history and culture, they are still not well connected with each other and integration remains one of the poorest in the world.
2. Economic development: Sub regional initiative is envisioned to improve economic cooperation and connectivity among these four South Asian countries.
3. Low trade: In spite of having an overarching regional free trade agreement in the form of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) signed in 2004, and various other bilateral and regional trade agreements forged since then, intra-regional trade among South Asian countries accounts for only about five percent of their total trade.
4. Regional integration: Low level of regional integration in South Asia is manifested by poor intra-regional investment, and even poorer intra-regional factor movements.
5. The lack of regional integration hurts the region’s smaller countries more. Countries such as Nepal is least developed, access to regional and international markets is crucial for their development.
6. Their very lack of economic and physical connectivity leaves them with little opportunity to create productive ties with the rest of the world, rendering them highly disadvantaged in a global economy where such relations help achieve development goals.
7. New literature on trade within South Asia indicates that trade facilitation issues have emerged as key issues blocking the rapid expansion of intra-regional trade.
8. Hurdles in the existing mechanism :Various travel restrictions at the border Land Customs Stations (LCSs), delays due to transhipment issues, poor and sometimes non-existent infrastructure at some LCSs, and other customs documentation and clearance-related problems are significantly adding up to the time and financial costs of conducting trade among these nations. In this context, the BBIN MVA is a welcome step.

Advantages of BBIN

1. Seamless connectivity: The agreement will allow vehicles to enter each other’s territory and eliminate the need for transhipment of goods from one country’s truck to another at the border, thereby eliminating a time-consuming and costly process. This is not only going to reduce trade costs between nations and facilitate smoother transactions and boost trade, but it will also possibly reduce some of the informal trade that happens among these countries.
2. Cargo movement: It will promote support for containerised movement of cargo. Containerisation of trade has lowered the cost of trade across the world significantly and it is likely that high trade costs among South Asian countries will be drastically reduced when containerisation gains more popularity.
3. One of the biggest advantages of containerised trade is that it is multi-modal and therefore, an integrated and seamless road and rail network will further facilitate containerisation in South Asia and help reduce trade costs.
4. Development of north eastern region: The north-eastern region of India will also benefit significantly from the BBIN MVA and rail network programmes. One of the major challenges faced by India’s Northeast has been poor connectivity. The BBIN agreements will reduce distance between the north-eastern states and the Kolkata port by about a thousand kilometres, as well as allow these states to access the Chittagong port in Bangladesh. This has the potential to unlock significant business opportunities in India’s northeast.
5. A study by the ADB has proposed 10 regional road networks as South Asian Corridors, out of which seven have been identified in the BBIN region. These economic corridors will allow landlocked trading centres of Nepal and Bhutan to gain access to ports in India and Bangladesh. For example, Tripura can get access to Bangladesh’s Ashugunjport; Chittagong and Mongla ports can be accessed from Kolkata and the north-eastern state.
6. Cultural contact: The BBIN initiative also promises to facilitate the movement of people across borders. This has huge implications for both business and trade as it can lead to improved people-to-people contact, encourage business travel and most importantly can give a huge boost to trade in various services.
7. Development of trade related services: It is also expected that increased economic and trade integration among these countries will generate demand for supporting services such as logistics, shipping, banking and finance and express delivery. An integrated market will also boost e-commerce services in the region
8. BBIN MVA can be seen as a first step towards a broader integration process. The locational advantage of South Asia implies that it can serve as a gateway for connecting to Southeast and East Asia. The BBIN MVA network has created the first step of this broader integration process.
9. Improved connectivity will imply much tighter economic integration between India and other BBIN countries with ASEAN.

Challenges

1. Attitude of Bhutan: Having unsuccessfully tried to ratify the proposal for more than a year, Bhutan finally declared that it was unable to proceed with the ratification process ‘for now’.
2. The Bhutanese fear that the implementation of the deal would lead to an influx of vehicles from other countries impacting its own transporters and degradation of environment.
3. Non-binding agreement: Being a non-binding agreement, the implementation of BBIN MVA may follow a best endeavour approach.
4. Insufficient infrastructure: A surge in traffic may cause damage to the existing infrastructure in the sub region, since it is not equipped to handle the additional load.
5. Managing cross border corridors is another challenge.
6. Visa regime: A liberalised visa regime and efforts to improve synergy between markets in different countries (such as the pact to bring in sync India and Bangladesh’s product standardisation systems signed during the recent prime ministerial visit to Dhaka) are just some of the other steps that will have to be taken.
7. Technical challenges: Many border crossing points do not have integrated check posts. Poor road conditions, the introduction of double-locking system on Nepalese trucks passing through Indian Territory, technical issues related to customs and tariffs, etc., are pose major challenges in this regard.
8. Synergy between governments: Coordination between inter-ministerial departments as well as between central and state agencies, especially in India, has been a major problem in implementing agreements.

Conclusion

1. The BBIN initiative fits well with the new wave of developing massive transnational road and rail connectivity networks. All these will facilitate intra- and inter-regional trade in goods and services.
2. It also integrates well with India’s ‘Look East Policy’. This initiative can also solve India’s longstanding problem of locational disadvantage and poor connectivity of its north-eastern states.
3. But India needs to utilize every possible platform to generate a favourable narrative for BBIN MVA among Bhutan political class as well as people of Bhutan.

Questions

BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement will help in regional integration. Analyse

“Though BBIN MVA offers a greater regional integration, it has large number of hurdles to overcome”. Comment

BBIN MVA will reduce developmental inequalities of North eastern India ,critically analyse

 

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Note4students

India has projected its soft power for centuries, long before the concept was even defined by political analysts. In the past decade, the country wielded its soft power in a more systematic way in the practice of diplomacy. ISRO has given a new dimension to Indian ‘Soft Power.’ World is watchin how India is helping its neighbours by giving assistance in space field, for example, SAARC satellite. This article will give you a brief description about it.

What is a hard power?

A country that exercises its power, influence, and voercion through the use of military might and economy and clout as a muscle to manipulate itself towards the people can be called as hard power.

What is a soft power?

Soft power is a concept developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University to describe the ability to attract and co-opt rather than by coercion (hard power), using force or giving money as a means of persuasion. Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defining feature of soft power is that it is noncoercive; the currency of soft power is culture, political values, and foreign policies. Recently, the term has also been used in changing and influencing social and public opinion through relatively less transparent channels and lobbying through powerful political and non-political organizations.

India becoming a hard power through use of military might, coercion and manipulating public opinion has some inherent limitations

1. Very high Expenditure
2. Diplomatic manipulations are understood
3. Being in centre of conflict generator weans people away and then requires resolution
4. Soviet experience to be a hard power not very productive
5. Forced application of country’s influence doesn’t change people and mindset
6. It  is very difficult to catch up with the developed west in the hard power arena.
7. Can actually drive people away

Soft Power in Space

1. India has a robust space programme and has made some significant progress in this field. A case in point is the recent finding of water on the surface on the moon by Chandrayan 1, which has helped the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to demonstrate the country’s leadership in the field of science and technology.
2. ISRO could even send a human being to the moon within a few years. What is equally important is for India to use the space programme as a tool for increasing its international influence. This is where India can take a leaf out of the Chinese book.
3. India is already working with a few international partners like NASA, but such partnerships are more from the point of view of technology collaboration. Such collaborations are a must in fields like going to the Moon and Mars. But at the same time there is a need to engage other countries who are novices in this field.
4. Today, there are many countries in the world who wish to collaborate with India in the space arena. India should engage with these countries in their space projects at various levels. Indirectly, this could offer India a form of ‘security’ that is beyond tanks, fighter jets and nuclear deterrence. It would help India increase its influence over other states through non-military means.
5. This is what “Soft-Power” is all about.(described above)
6. India’s success in space is attracting others to emulate it. This is an opportunity that India should not waste.
7. And this opportunity goes much beyond India’s existing commercial space policy.

 

Question

Q.) “India’s choice should be more on becoming a soft power rather than a hard power.” Analyse this statement in the light of relative advantages India enjoys in Science and Technology, especially in Space Technology and suggest ways of leveraging that advantage.

 

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Note4Students

UPSC is known to ask questions on those technologies which can have impact on daily life of Human Beings. They generally ask application based questions. Clearly mentioned in Mains Paper 3 syllabus: “developments and their applications and effects in everyday life”

What is the meaning of IoT?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low — or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network.

IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the internet. The convergence has helped tear down the silo walls between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), allowing unstructured machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights that will drive improvements.

Examples of Impact of IoT on day to day life:

Car-Calendar Connection: Say for example you are on your way to a meeting; your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take. If the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late.

Alarm Clock-Coffee Maker Connection: What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you?

IoT and Google’s Driverless Car: The car has multiple devices which track the movement of objects, captures the images surrounding it and processes the information. It has devices on board that can change the speed and direction of movement depending on the feedback it gets from the external environment. The data is then backed-up on a cloud from which it can receive instructions and behave accordingly, right from throttle accelerator to applying brakes.

Examples of Impact of of IoT on Governance:

On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks: “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live.

Challenges thrown up by advent of IoT

Data Management: Connected devices are going to produce massive amount of data. Companies need to figure out a way to store, track, analyze and make sense of the vast amounts of data that will be generated.

Privacy & Security: With billions of devices being connected together, what can people do to make sure that their information stays secure? Will someone be able to hack into your toaster and thereby get access to your entire network? The IoT also opens up companies all over the world to more security threats. Then we have the issue of privacy and data sharing.

Government of India and IoT

1. The Union government is coming up with a regulatory framework for Internet-of-Things (IoT) along with policies to promote the sector.
2. Department of Telecom has come out with a machine-to-machine (M2M) roadmap, with an aim to put regulators, industry agencies that develop standards, users and manufacturers on the same page.
3. The Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), in its draft policy, targets to create an IoT industry in India of $15 billion by 2020.
4. Currently, work is going on in the area of numbering schemes for IoT and KYC norms for SIM-embedded M2M devices.
5. Telecom Standards Society of India too is working on India-relevant standards with respect to the sector.

Indian Industry & IoT

1. IoT and Healthcare Sector: Leading hospitals are discussing how to move to preventative therapy from curative therapy by collecting more data about the condition of the patient. This is clearly a sector where the needle has moved.
2. IoT and other Sectors: The other two sectors where there has been quite a lot of movement are in big production zones — oil rigs, generators and industrial plants — and in the telecommunications world. Both have a lot of embedded devices that are collecting the data on temperature, signal strength, pressure, pH, voltage — all the technical parameters. IoT is being used to detect and predict breakdowns. This is immensely beneficial, especially for corporates, particularly those who have interests in fixed assets/machines.
3. Media: Today, internet advertisers are able to combine data from various seemingly insignificant activities to create potentially significant profiles. This correlated data allows advertisers to send users targeted advertising as they search the internet for that “must-have” new gadget or the latest song. In fact, targeted web-based ads based on correlated user profiles derived from statistical models are just the first generation of anticipatory services. Data mining will only become more accurate over time at determining our desires and needs.
4. Personal Healthcare: Many people today wear sensors when they work out or move through their daily lives to track their heart rate, miles traveled, or steps taken. These activity monitor sensors are connected wirelessly to smart phones and to the internet to enable users to track metrics over time.

What can be done to minimize the adverse impact on labour due to IoT?

We must note that this is not the first time that disruptive technology is going to come into play. It has happened before, and inevitably it will happen again. It is important to make strategies that will help our labour force to adapt to such technologies and take steps that will help mitigate the worst effects of these technologies.

For adaption, Skill India Mission can be geared to either impart higher levels of skills required to operate with IoT; furthermore, SIM can be used to impart existing workforce a diverse set of skills so that their employ-ability is not impacted beyond repair.

There may be some lay-offs temporarily. We need some new solutions to take care of those who will be laid off for no fault of theirs. Companies deploying IoT and consequently reducing workforce in a particular sector, must be encouraged to absorb the workers in another sector.

Question

Q.) What do you understand by ‘internet of things’ (IoT)? How ill digitization help IoT and how will both help India in turn? Examine

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Note4Students

Understand the DNA Profiling and examine the concerns raised against India’s DNA profiling Bill. The topic creates an interesting issue which shows connection among  Science , Law and Order, and Privacy. These kind of interconnected topics are important from the UPSC perspective. Privacy verdict will also have implication on the fate of this bill. A number of op-eds both in favor and against this bill have been written in last few months. This makes this topic important for mains 2017.

Context

1. Centre is about to finalise a fresh version of the DNA Fingerprinting Bill, a draft of which was ready in 2015
2. Law Commission of India released a revised draft of the Bill that is now called The DNA Based Technology (Use and Regulation) Bill, 2017 with some very important changes

What is DNA profiling technology?

1. DNA fingerprinting or DNA profiling is method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence of DNA.
2. DNA fingerprinting technology is utilised by police all over the world for fool-proof identification of criminals who leave their traces at crime scene while committing crime.
3. The technology plays a crucial role in solving crimes as it has potential to link a series of crimes by placing the suspects by linking them with the crime scene.

Why new bill?

It seeks to establish regulatory institutions and standards for DNA testing, and supervise the activities of all laboratories authorised to carry out such tests.

Significance of DNA analysis?

1. It is extremely useful and accurate technology in ascertaining the identity of a person from his/her DNA sample, or establishing biological relationships between individuals.
2. As a result, DNA technology is being increasingly relied upon in investigations of crime, identification of unidentified bodies, or in determining parentage.
3. But information from DNA samples can reveal intrusive information like their allergies, or susceptibility to diseases. As a result, there is a greater risk of information from DNA analysis getting misused

Bill provisions

1. It prohibits the collection of any “bodily substance” from an arrested individual (for the purposes of a DNA test) without his/her consent, except if the individual is arrested for certain specific offences.
2. However, if the consent “is refused without good cause”, and a magistrate is satisfied of the need for a DNA test, he/she can order the arrested person to give a sample.
3. The new Bill has also removed a provision that allowed DNA profiles in the databank to be used for “creation and maintenance of population statistics databank”.
4. While the penalty for misuse of data remains a prison term of up to three years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh, a reference to a minimum prison term of one month has been removed.
5. The Bill seeks to set up two new institutions — a DNA Profiling Board and a DNA Data Bank.

DNA Profiling Board

1. The Board, with 11 members, is supposed to be the regulatory authority that will grant accreditation to DNA laboratories and lay down guidelines, standards and procedures for their functioning.
2. It will advise central and state governments on “all issues relating to DNA laboratories”.
3. It will also be the authority to make recommendations on ethical and human rights, including privacy, issues related to DNA testing.

DNA Data Bank

1. A national databank of DNA profiles is proposed to be set up, along with regional databanks in every state
2. The new draft does not specify the location of the national databank. All regional DNA databanks will be mandated to share their information with the national databank.
3. Certain DNA Profiling Board-accredited labs would be authorised to carry out DNA testing and analysis. These are the only places to which DNA samples, picked up from a crime scene can be referred for analysis
4. Data from the analyses will need to be shared with the nearest regional DNA databank which will store it and share it with the national databank.
5. The databanks will maintain five sets of databases — for DNA samples picked up from crime scenes, for suspects or undertrials, and for offenders, missing persons, and unidentified dead bodies.

Issues involved?

1. There are chances that a wrong match is generated.
2. If the DNA result is taken as the ultimate evidence, no recourse will be available to an individual who has been wrongly matched.
3. Privacy-related objections-main concerns are whose DNA can be collected and under what circumstances, who can access the database etc.
4. Information like ancestry or susceptibility to a disease, or other genetic traits, is liable to be misused.
5. DNA tests have not led to an improvement in conviction rates in countries where it is already being followed.

Question

Q.) The 2015 draft DNA Fingerprinting Bill is back in a new version, and includes some important additions and deletions. What are they? What is the need for such a law in the first place, and what are the problems with having one? Critically analyse.

 

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Note4students

Due to its possible positive impact on Indian Transportation System, it is much needed technology for India. UPSC is known to ask questions on the applications of Science and Technology, this topic is one of them.

Hyperloop for India

Hyperloop one, the US based startup that plans to revolutionize the current modes of transportation, showcased its vision for India at an event in Delhi.

What is hyperloop?

1. A proposed mode of freight and passenger transportation in which a pod like vehicle will be propelled through a near vacuum tube at airline speed for the price of a bus ticket.
2. These pods essentially are autonomous which would enable high speed travel inside the tube. This will also ensure that the vehicles glide silently for miles without any turbulence.
3. As we start the next revolution on Internet of things and digitize physical things we look towards a futuristic transportation infrastructure.

Proposals from India

1. Hyperloop one plans to build networks around the world for which they need local partners, manufacturing companies and firms that innovate around the system. This is important to create common standards across the world.
2. Hyperloop one held a global competition in 2016 asking contestants to submit proposals on were the network should be built.
3. As per the company, highest number of registrations were from India and proposals from five Indian companies even made to the semi-final round. Each of these teams had proposed various routes for the network.
4. These include Delhi to Mumbai, Bengaluru to Chennai, Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram among others.

Possible Advantages for India

1. To transform urbanization and our current modes of transportation we need disruptive technology
2. Remarkable shift in which we perceive urbanization as a person can stay in Chennai and work in Bengaluru
3. It will be environmentally sustainable with no direct emissions
4. It will be cost efficient
5. Co- development will essentially mean access to technology
6. It is in line with the government’s aim to Make in India, which will create local manufacturing jobs

Concerns

1. Concerns whether a developing country like India should invest in a technology which is still at experimental stage
2. There exist regulatory challenges, whether hyperloop will come under railways or civil aviation or an entirely new body
3. Safety concerns are yet to be addressed

 

Questions

Q.) What is the science involved in Hyperloop? Can it transform how Indians Transportation System? Examine

 

Note4students

Recently, Gravitational waves, the cosmic ripples that distort space-time itself, have been directly detected for the first time. It is an important discovery and India is also doing research in this area. This makes it more important for the exam. The article presents a comprehensive view of the discovery.

What are Gravitational waves?

1. Gravitational waves are distortions or ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe
2. These ripples would travel at the speed of light through the Universe, carrying with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues to the nature of gravity itself

What are the Sources of Gravitational Waves?

1. Any object with mass that accelerates (which in science means changes position at a variable rate, and includes spinning and orbiting objects) produces gravitational waves, including humans and cars and airplanes etc.
2. But the gravitational waves made by us here on Earth are much too small to detect
3. The strongest gravitational waves are produced by catastrophic events such as colliding black holes, the collapse of stellar cores (supernovae), coalescing neutron stars or white dwarf stars, the slightly wobbly rotation of neutron stars that are not perfect spheres, and the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the Universe itself

Not one but four types of Gravitational Waves!

In order to understand the types of gravitational waves, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) scientists have defined 4 categories of gravitational waves

These categories are: Continuous Gravitational Waves, Compact Binary Inspiral Gravitational Waves, Stochastic Gravitational Waves, and Burst Gravitational Waves

But, Why Detect Them?

1. This will open up a new window of study on the Universe, giving us a deeper understanding of these cataclysmic events, and usher in brand new cutting-edge studies in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics
2. More importantly, since gravitational waves don’t interact with matter (unlike electromagnetic radiation), they travel through the Universe completely unimpeded giving us a crystal clear view of the gravitational wave
3. This will provide astronomers and other scientists, first glimpses of previously unseen and unseeable wonders, and greatly adding to our understanding of the nature of space and time itself

So, How does LIGO come into the Picture?

1. LIGO( Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) is the world’s largest gravitational wave observatory and a cutting edge physics experiment
2. LIGO exploits the physical properties of light and of space itself to detect and understand the origins of gravitational waves
3. LIGO has 2 widely separated identical detector sites working in unison as a single “observatory”: one in Hanford, southeastern Washington State and the other in rural Livingston, Louisiana
4. LIGO has a very close collaboration with the VIRGO collaboration that analyzes data from VIRGO, a 3 km gravitational wave interferometer located near Pisa, Italy
5. Data from LIGO and Virgo are combined and analyzed together by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations
6. Thus significantly increasing the capability of combined data for detecting and using gravitational waves to learn about nature

Is there any Way ahead for India?

1. Yes, because Union cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with LIGO in the US
2. The project will bring unprecedented opportunities for scientists and engineers to dig deeper into the realm of gravitational wave and take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier
3. This will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting-edge technology for the Indian industry which will be engaged in the construction of the 8-km long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum on a leveled terrain
4. With its establishment, India will join the global network of gravitational wave detectors
5. The establishment of an observatory in India assumes importance because the further the distance between the observatories, the greater will be the accuracy in locating gravity waves
6. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are among the states shortlisted for the experiment

Q.) Recently, Union cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a gravitational wave observatory, one of the mega science projects in India. Discuss, how will this project help India if it becomes a reality.

Note4students

The article explains the problems associated with the GM crops and they can be tackled. Important for Mains Paper 3.

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What is GMO?

1. GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination
2. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between non related species
3. Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods
4. Recently in India, GM mustard crop was introduced, which was later withdrawn. There is a raging debate going on advantages and disadvantages of GMOs
5. For a long time, further study was requested by farmers, environmentalist on GMO crops

 

Why are GM foods produced?

1. GM foods are developed – and marketed – because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods
2. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both
3. Initially GM seed developers wanted their products to be accepted by producers and have concentrated on innovations that bring direct benefit to farmers (and food industry generally)
4. One of the objectives for developing plants based on GM organisms is to improve crop protection

What really is India’s recently developed GM mustard?

1. A team of scientists at Delhi University led by former vice-chancellor Deepak Pental has bred DMH-11, a genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid
2. Hybrids are normally obtained by crossing two genetically diverse plants from the same species
3. The first-generation offspring resulting from it has higher yields than what either of the parents is individually capable of giving
4. But there is no natural hybridisation system in mustard, unlike in, say, cotton, maize or tomato
5. What team has done is, that they have created a viable hybridisation system in mustard using GM technology
6. The resulting GM mustard hybrid, it is claimed, gives 25-30% more yield than the best varieties such as ‘Varuna’ currently grown in the country

Is there a need, in the first place, for developing a mustard hybrid?

In 2014-15, India imported 14.5 million tonnes of edible oils valued at $10.5 billion

With the country’s own annual edible oil production stuck at below 7.5 million tonnes, of which mustard’s share is roughly a quarter

So, there is need to raise domestic crop yields and cut dependence on imports

Hybrid technology is a potential technique to boost yields, as has been successfully demonstrated in a host of crops

What are the environmental risks?

1. GMOs contaminate forever. GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel far and wide
2. It is impossible to fully clean up our contaminated gene pool
3. Genetic engineering allows plants to survive high doses of weed killers, resulting in higher herbicide residues in our food
4. GMO crops are creating ‘super weeds’ and ‘super bugs,’ which can only be killed with more toxic poisons

Are there any advantages?

Insect Resistance:

Some GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insects and other pests

This means the amount of pesticide chemicals used on the plants are reduced, so their exposure to dangerous pesticides are also reduced

Stronger Crops:

Another benefit that GM technology is believed to bring about is that crops can be engineered to withstand weather extremes and fluctuations, This means that there will be good quality and sufficient yields even under a poor or severe weather condition

Environment Protection:

GM crops often requires less time, tools and chemicals, and may help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion and environmental pollution

More Nutritious Foods:

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), some GM foods have been engineered to become more nutritious in terms of vitamin or mineral content.

Economic Benefits

Larger production leading to increased farm income, reduced poverty, low food prices and thus reduced hunger and malnutrition.

Besides new food products are also included, diversifying food varieties

Then, Why has there been so much concern about GM foods among some public interest groups, activists and consumers?

Since the first introduction on the market in the mid-1990s of a major GM food (herbicide-resistant soybeans), there has been concern about such food among activists and consumers, especially in Europe

In fact, public attention has focused on the risk side of the risk-benefit equation, often without distinguishing between potential environmental impacts and public health effects of GMOs Consumers have questioned the validity of risk assessments, both with regard to consumer health and environmental risks, focusing particulary on long-term effects

Consumer concerns have triggered a discussion on the desirability of labeling GM foods, allowing for an informed choice of consumers

What further developments can be expected in the area of GMOs?

1. GM organisms are likely to include plants with improved resistance against plant disease or drought, crops with increased nutrient levels, fish species with enhanced growth characteristics
2. For non-food use, they may include plants or animals producing pharmaceutically important proteins such as new vaccines

Q.) “GM mustard exposes our double standards when it comes to technology for farmers.” Critically comment.

Source:

Civilsdaily

 

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Particulars of the ICAR

1. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
2. The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. With 97 ICAR institutes and 45 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world.
3. Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture.
4. The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi.
5. The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
6. Union Minister of Agriculture is the ex-officio President of the ICAR Society

Role of ICAR in Indian Agriculture

1. The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequen developments in agriculture in India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country to increase the production of foodgrains by 4 times, horticultural crops by 6 times, fish by 9 times (marine 5 times and inland 17 times), milk 6 times and eggs 27 times since 1950-51, thus making a visible impact on the national food and nutritional security. It has played a major role in promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture. It is engaged in cutting edge areas of science and technology development and its scientists are internationally acknowledged in their fields.
2. The mandate of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is: To plan, undertake, aid, promote and coordinate education, research and its application in agriculture, agroforestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, home science and allied sciences.
3. To act as a clearing house of research and general information relating to agriculture, animal husbandry, home science and allied sciences, and fisheries through its publications and information system; and instituting and promoting transfer of technology programmes.
4. To provide, undertake and promote consultancy services in the fields of education, research, training and dissemination of information in agriculture, agroforestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, home science and allied sciences.
5. To look into the problems relating to broader areas of rural development concerning agriculture, including postharvest technology by developing co-operative programmes with other organizations such as the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the universities.
6. To do other things considered necessary to attain the objectives of the Society

Issue of Agri Research and extension

1. Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. Basically educating farmers about the latest technologies being developed in the labs i.e. lab to land linkage.
2. While Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with agriculture research universities played a key role in the Green revolution. Of late agriculture research has been plagued by severe under investment and neglect.

Three key weaknesses

Agri education is weak in states due to (i) resource crunch, (ii) difficulty in attracting talented faculty, (iii) limited linkages and collaborations with international counterparts, (iv) weakening of the lab-to-land connect; and, (v) lack of innovation

Low investment in public agricultural research in India. As share of agriculture GDP, it is even less than that of Bangladesh and Indonesia

Majority (63.5 per cent) of scientists have low to very low level of productivity

Solution

1. There is need of instituting performance indicators in universities.
2. Improve investment as a proportion of agri GDP
3. securing participation from the private sector
4. instituting a system in which the winner is offered a proportionately large enough award for innovating desirable agricultural traits (such as improving pules productivity considerably) but the intellectual property rights of the innovation are transferred to the government
5. Leverage mobile phones to provide timely information to farmers
6. Leverage the potential of drones (UAVs) to provide crucial information on crop health, irrigation problems, soil variation and even pest and fungal infestations that are not apparent at eye level to farmers
7. Improve regulatory process to address concerns against GM crops while adapting high yielding technologies

Q.) The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) mandate is agriculture education, research and farm extension. Critically evaluate its performance over the years and how it must be revamped?

Note4Students:

Government decision to construct 10 more PHWR Reflects the government’s commitment to prioritise the use of clean power in India’s energy mix.  It is the part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialisation. So this topic is important.

Introduction

Pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor

1. Using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel,
2. This uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator.
3. While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it creates greatly enhanced neutron economy, allowing the reactor to operate without fuel-enrichment facilities (offsetting the additional expense of the heavy water) and enhancing the ability of the reactor to make use of alternate fuel cycles.

Advantages of PHWR

1. The use of heavy water as the moderator is the key to the PHWR (pressurized heavy water reactor) system, enabling the use of natural uranium as the fuel (in the form of ceramic UO2), which means that it can be operated without expensive uranium enrichment facilities.
2. The mechanical arrangement of the PHWR, which places most of the moderator at lower temperatures, is particularly efficient because the resulting thermal neutrons are “more thermal” than in traditional designs, where the moderator normally is much hotter. These features mean that a PHWR can use natural uranium and other fuels, and does so more efficiently than light water reactors (LWRs).

Pressurised heavy-water reactors do have some drawbacks.

1. Heavy water generally costs hundreds of dollars per kilogram, though this is a trade-off against reduced fuel costs.
2. The reduced energy content of natural uranium as compared to enriched uranium necessitates more frequent replacement of fuel; this is normally accomplished by use of an on-power refuelling system.
3. The increased rate of fuel movement through the reactor also results in higher volumes of spent fuel than in LWRs employing enriched uranium.
4. since unenriched uranium fuel accumulates a lower density of fission products than enriched uranium fuel, it generates less heat, allowing more compact storage.

Recent Developements

1. Union Cabinet gave its approval for the construction of 10 units of the new indigenous 700 MWe (mega watt electric) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
2. The new reactors are of significantly higher capacities compared to the PHWRs currently under operation
3. The standard PHWR being used in India is of 220 MWe though two 540 MWe reactors were installed in Tarapur in 2005 and 2006. The ten reactors will be installed in Kaiga in Karnataka (Unit 5 and 6), Chutka in Madhya Pradesh (Unit 1 and 2), Gorakhpur in Haryana (Unit 3 and 4) and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan (Unit 1, 2, 3 and 4).

Analysis

Why PHWR

1. The main reasons for selecting PHWRs in the 1960s for the First Stage of the Indian nuclear power programme have been the use of natural uranium oxide as the fuel, the best utilisation of mined uranium in energy production and the prospect of establishing a completely self-reliant technology.
2. The government’s measure seeks to fast track its three-pronged program—developed largely during the country’s almost 30-year-long isolation from international nuclear trade—and also factors in India’s abundant thorium resources, which constitute 25% of the world’s total reserves.
3. The first step of the three-stage program involves building indigenously engineered PHWRs and light-water reactors to produce plutonium. The second stage uses fast-neutron reactors fueled by plutonium to breed U-233 from thorium. In the third stage, using wholly indigenous technology, the country will use advanced heavy-water reactors fueled with U-233 obtained from the irradiation of thorium in PHWRs and fast reactors.
4. India wants to ramp up production of power from low-carbon sources and has outlined plans to install a total of 175 GW of renewables by 2022.
5. As of March 2016, about 61% of the country’s installed capacity was coal-fired, 14% came from hydropower, 14% came from other renewables (mostly wind, followed by small hydro and biomass), 8% from natural gas, 2% from nuclear, and 1% from diesel.
6. 100% of all their components are manufactured by the Indian industry.
7. As far as the safety is concerned, the PHWR technology scores well in terms of its several inherent safety features.
8. The biggest advantage of the PHWR design is the use of thin walled pressure tubes instead of large pressure vessels used in pressure vessel type reactors.
9. This results in a distribution of pressure boundaries to large number of small diameter pressure tubes.
10. The consequence of an accidental rupture of the pressure boundary in such a design will have a much less severity than that in a pressure vessel type reactor
11. In addition, the Indian 700 MWe PHWR design has enhanced safety through dedicated Passive Decay Heat Removal System which has the capability of removing decay heat from core without requiring any operator actions similar with the technology adopted for Generation III+ plants to address the Fukushima type accident.
12. The 700 MWe Indian PHWR has steel-lined containment to reduce the leakages and containment spray system to reduce the containment pressure in case of a loss of coolant accident and for scrubbing radio nuclides in case of their release beyond the design limit.

Research and development

1. Over four decades of relentless research, design and development work in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Nuclear Power Corporation and the matching contributions of some of their industry partners who had shown the courage in taking up the challenging manufacturing and construction work have enabled India in establishing the technology in totality.
2. Mastering the entire fuel cycle including prospecting of minerals, mining, processing and manufacturing of fuel and structural materials, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and immobilization of radioactive waste has given India a unique position of self-reliance in the atomic energy domain.
3. The constraint of a limited reserve of uranium in the country which earlier impeded a rapid growth in nuclear power has now been eased by augmented production of indigenous uranium and import of uranium under the civil nuclear co-operation agreements with several countries

Clean Energy

1. India is now poised for a rapid growth in the nuclear power capacity which is essential for meeting the demand of clean electricity.
2. The per-capita electricity consumption in India (now close to 1000 KWh) is nearly one-third of the world average and there is an obvious need for a substantial enhancement of non-carbon electricity production to improve the quality of life of our people.
3. The impressive growth in the solar and wind power has made a visible impact in increased availability of electricity in many areas. However, it needs to be emphasized that the distributed and intermittent sources of energy such as solar and wind cannot meet the base load demand very effectively.
4. The nuclear energy source is concentrated, continuous and reliable and, therefore, can be complemented by solar and wind energy in meeting the overall demand of electricity with practically zero carbon foot-print.

Employment

1. Manufacturing orders of close to Rs 70,000 crore are expected to come through to the domestic industry on account of the projects and are expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment.

The merit of the closed fuel cycle

1. Which has been adopted right from the beginning of the Indian programme is not only in multiplying the fuel resource but also in reducing the radio-active burden of the nuclear waste dramatically.
2. In this context, the successful development of separation of minor actinides from the nuclear waste in India, deployed in pilot plant scale, has drawn world-wide attention. Plutonium recovered by reprocessing of spent fuel from operating PHWRs has been used in making the plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel for the full core of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) which has initiated the commissioning activities before commencing operation.

Challenges

1. The decision to step up the indigenous civil nuclear reactor programme comes amid festering concerns over the deployment of imported light water reactor-based projects in collaboration with global vendors such as Toshiba-Westinghouse and Areva
2. The speed at which we can grow our nuclear power capacity
3. In this context one can examine the experience of France and USA in nineteen seventies and of China in the recent years.
4. They all have achieved very impressive rapid growth by adopting a convoy or a serial mode of installation of nuclear power plants of a few standardised designs. In such a strategy, the industry can gear up their dedicated production lines for sophisticated nuclear components and construction companies can deploy their manpower and skill-set most effectively.

Conclusion

1. With the entry of India in her Second Stage of nuclear power programme in which Fast Breeder Reactors will not only enable the growth of the installed nuclear capacity, but also generate more fissile materials, plutonium-239 and uranium-233 by conversion of fertile isotopes, uranium-238 and thorium-232 respectively
2. An enhanced scope and an accelerated implementation of the First Stage of the programme will make a far- reaching impact on securing the energy self-reliance of the country.
3. By operating multiple recycles in the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle the supply of fissile material is expected to be enhanced by a factor of 60 and by using the huge reserve of thorium, the current estimate being four times that of uranium, India can sustain the supply of clean nuclear energy for several centuries.

Question:

Q.) PHWR will help India to achieve its Paris climate change conference commitments. analyse

 

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Note4student

INO project since its inception is mired with controversies.A number of op-eds have been written on this issue.

Context

1. India’s wait to join the elite club of countries undertaking neutrino research suffered a procedural delay
2. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) suspended the environmental clearance (EC) granted to the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)
3. It was ordered it to file a fresh application for clearance

INO project:

• 1. The proposed INO project primarily aims to study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300-m deep cavern in the
  2. Bodi West Hills in Theni district, Tamil Nadu
  3. If completed, the INO would house the largest magnet in the world
  4. It will be four times more massive than the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN’s Compact
  5. Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector’s magnet

Neutrinos:

• 1. Neutrinos are tiny particles. They are almost massless. They travel at near light speeds.
  2. They are born from violent astrophysical events such as exploding stars and gamma ray bursts
  3. Therefore, they are abundant in the universe and can move as easily through matter as we move through air
  4. They are notoriously difficult to track down. If you hold your hand towards the sunlight for one second, about a billion neutrinos from the sun will pass through it
  5. This is because they are the by-products of nuclear fusion in the sun

Aim of the INO project:

• 1. It aims to use to understand some of the unsolved mysteries of the universe Setback of delayed project
  2. The suspension of INO’s environmental clearance is a setback
  3. The scientific community hopes these procedural lapses will be addressed in an earnest and time-bound manner

Environmental issues

1. After initially denying permission to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to locate the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Singara in Nilgris District in TamilNadu, Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India accorded both environmental and forest clearance for locating the project in the Bodi West Hills (BWH) in Theni District in TamilNadu.
2. However, Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has recently suspended the environmental clearance granted to the neutrino observatory by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), due to some objections such as the proposed location being just about 4.9 kilometers from the Madhikettan Shola National Park in Idukki district of Kerala.
3. The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal has asked the project promoters to submit a fresh application with more details.
4. The project has also been objected by local people on safety consideration. The project is suffering prolonged delay.

Criticism of INO Project:

• 1. The explosives used in construction are a threat to the highly sensitive ecology of the Western Ghats
  2. The relevant radiation safety studies for carrying out the long baseline neutrino experiment in the second phase of INO have not been done
  3. There are further allegations that neutrinos are radioactive particles
  4. The INO will double up the storage of nuclear waste

The better side of the story:

• 1. The proposed excavation is planned to be carried out by a controlled blast, limiting the impact of vibrations with the help of computer simulations
  2. Additionally, building the INO involves constructing an underground lab accessed by a 2 km-long horizontal access tunnel, resembling a road tunnel
  3. Such tunnels have been built extensively in India and the relevant studies show that the environmental impact (mainly dust and noise in the initial phase) have been managed

Q.) Critically examine the uses of understanding of neutrinos, and significance of its research for India. Also critically comment why set-up of neutrino research facility in India is being opposed.

Source:

http://southasiajournal.net/why-is-neutrino-observatory-project-facing-issues-in-india/

 

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Note4students

Mains Mapping: “Mains Paper 3: Science & Technology | Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.”

UPSC always go after the topic of ‘breakthrough technologies’. Those technologies which can affect everyday life of Mankind.

What is LI-FI?

1. LiFi(Light Fidelity) is a high-speed wireless communication technology that uses visible light to transmit information. It has some similarities to existing WiFi technology, as well as some huge differences.
2. WiFi and LiFi are similar because both technologies are wireless, but also very different, because unlike WiFi, which relies on radio waves, LiFi uses visible light communication (VLC) or infrared and near-UV spectrum waves.
3. In other words, LiFi works by using visible light, like the light that is emitted by any regular lamp or bulb!.

Working of LI-FI

1. Li-Fi is a Visible Light Communications (VLC) system. This means that it accommodates a photo-detector to receive light signals and a signal processing element to convert the data into ‘stream-able’ content. Unlike Wi-Fi, which uses radio waves, Li-Fi runs on visible light.
2. Here, data is fed into an LED light bulb (with signal processing technology), it then sends data (embedded in its beam) at rapid speeds to the photo-detector (photodiode).
3. The tiny changes in the rapid dimming of LED bulbs is then converted by the ‘receiver’ into electrical signal.
4. The signal is then converted back into a binary data stream that the user would recognise as web, video and audio applications that run on internet enables devices.

What is an LED Bulb:

An LED lightbulb is a semi-conductor light source meaning that the constant current of electricity supplied to an LED lightbulb can be dipped and dimmed, up and down at extremely high speeds, without being visible to the human eye.

Advantages of LI-FI

1. LiFi presents many unprecedented advantages for its uptake and use, as far as wireless Internet connectivity is concerned.
2. LiFi relies on visible light to communicate, which is a good thing in more ways than one. These waves are able to carry far more information than the traditional radio waves used in WiFi technology.
3. The visible light spectrum is almost 10,000 times larger than the spectrum occupied by radio waves.
4. Also, LiFi is said to increase bandwidth by 100 times what we have today with WiFi.
5. A LiFi connection can transmit data at the rate of 224 gigabytes per second.
6. LiFi is also more suitable in electromagnetic-sensitive areas like hospitals, airplane cabins, and nuclear power plants (where electromagnetic disturbance can be disastrous).

Disadvantage of LI-FI

1. Along with all these benefits, there are also some disadvantages of a LiFi connection.
2. Since it uses visible light to transmit data, LiFi would be rather useless in conditions where there is no light. That means no Internet while lying in your bed at night.
3. If you have a WiFI router installed in one room of your house, you can connect your devices sitting anywhere in the house, but this is not the case with LiFi.
4. Since visible rays cannot pass through walls, you have to be in the immediate vicinity of the source of light to access the Internet on your device, which may not sound particularly convenient to many people.
5. This technology is also said to be less reliable (again, due to it being dependent on visible light) and has high installation charges.

Future of LI-FI

1. There’s no doubt that LiFi is going to transform the world of Internet connectivity, but it seems unlikely that its rise would necessarily mean the death of WiFi, since the latter is deeply embedded in the lifestyles of billions of people.
2. A more likely scenario, though, is that we’ll eventually have a wide range of technologies available at our disposal and will be free to choose the most appropriate one.
3. Having that flexibility certainly seems like the most desirable scenario to us.

Question

“Li-Fi is not expected to completely replace Wi-Fi, but the two technologies could be used complementarily to create more efficient, green and future-proof access networks.” Discuss.

Source:  http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/tFei3PUmaFtGO3T2hDSciN/LiFi-A-green-avatar-of-WiFi.html

www.Wikipedia.com