Category: Burning Issues

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Context

India’s approach towards FTAs is now focusing more on gaining meaningful market access and facilitating the Indian industry’s integration into global value chains. As Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has repeatedly emphasized, India would no longer be signing trade agreements just to join a group, but the new approach of FTA negotiations would respond to the need of new emerging dynamics in international trade and the Indian economy.

What is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?

It is an arrangement between two or more countries under which they agree to end tariffs and non-tariff barriers on a large value of imports from partner countries.

Coverage: The agreement may also cover, among others, services, investment, and economic cooperation.

• FTA normally covers trade in goods (such as agricultural or industrial products) or trade in services (such as banking, construction, trading etc.).
• FTA can also cover other areas such as intellectual property rights (IPRs), investment, government procurement and competition policy, etc.

Main focus: The focus of an FTA is primarily on economic benefits and encouraging trade between the countries by making it more efficient and profitable. But FTAs may also have political, or strategic benefits.

India’s revamped FTA strategy

• Gaining meaningful market access: India’s approach towards FTAs is now focusing more on gaining meaningful market access and facilitating Indian industry’s integration into global value chains.
• Under the revamped FTA strategy, the Government of India has prioritised at least six countries or regions to deal with, in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) figures at the top of the list for an early harvest deal.
• The others are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Israel and a group of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
• The early harvest deal is to be enlarged into a comprehensive FTA in due course of time.

Why does the FTA with UAE matter?

• Important economic hub: The UAE has emerged as an important economic hub not just within the context of the Middle East/West Asia, but also globally.
• Strategic location: The UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
• Although the UAE has diversified its economy, ‘the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
• Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.
• As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, meaning the UAE shares a common market and a customs union with these nations.
• Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) Agreement, the UAE has free trade access to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.

India-UAE Bilateral Relations

• The relation has greatly flourished especially after the accession of H. H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, and subsequently with the creation of UAE federation in 1971.
• The greater push has been achieved in bilateral relations when the visit of India’s Prime Minister to the UAE in August 2015 marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries.
• Further, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to India in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, it was agreed that bilateral relations were to be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
  • This gave momentum to launching negotiations for an India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

• Indian Diaspora in UAE: Around 3 million Indians are living harmoniously in the UAE.
• UAE – A willing partner: As India seeks to enhance economic engagement and deepen security cooperation with the Gulf, it finds a willing partner in the UAE.
• India being a natural partner: As UAE ‘Look[s] East’ to find partners for its economic growth and with security concerns emanating from turmoil in West Asia and growing threat from terrorism, it finds a natural partner in India.
• UAE has a special place due to its business-friendly atmosphere, willingness to invest in the Indian economy and its important role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

• India’s West Asia policy:  The UAE occupies a key place in India’s West Asia policy. The high-level visit from both sides has given a new impetus to this partnership.
• In 2017 the two sides signed the agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

Why UAE is tilting towards India?

• Geopolitical conditions as Iran is threatening continuously to close the Strait of Hormuz in case there is a conflict with Saudi Arabia or US. This will adversely affect UAE as well.
• Failure of Pakistan to meet expectations: UAE saw Pakistan as a partner and incorporated a deep economic and security relationship with it. But in the present day, Pakistan does not seem to be of much help to UAE.
  • Already facing internal issues, Pakistan failed to come to the aid of Saudi Arabia in its war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and has been unable to curb jihadists operating from its land across West Asia.
• India is an important destination for oil and energy purchase as the US is on the way of becoming hydrocarbon independent.
• UAE’s massive sovereign wealth funds can act as a great resource in the development of infrastructure in India.
• Issue of Terrorism: There has been a rising convergence between India and UAE on the terror issue and both the countries talked of the need to combat terror groups without any discrimination.
  • Recently,five UAE diplomats were killed in an attack in Kandahar in Afghanistan.
• Violent conflicts around without any resolutions: Countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are suffering from violent conflicts. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has not produced expected results.

What is the Economic Significance of the UAE?

• The UAE has emerged as an important economic hub not just within the context of the Middle East/West Asia, but alsoglobally.
  • The UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
• In recent years, the UAE, through its ‘Vision 2021’, has sought to diversify its economy and reduce its dependency on oil.
  • Since 2012, growth has been led, according to a World Trade Organisation document, by the non-hydrocarbon sectors reflecting the successful diversification of the economy.
• Although the UAE has diversified its economy, the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
  • Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.

India-UAE trade and investment ties

• Trade and commerce forms the backbone of the bilateral relations. UAE has been one of India’s leading sources of FDIs. India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972.
• The India-UAE total trade merchandise has been valued at U.S.$52.76 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2021-22, making UAE India’s third largest trade partner after China and the United States.
• The UAE accounts for 8 percent of India’s oil imports and was fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
• As India and the UAE strive to further deepen trade and investment ties, the soon-to-be-announced early harvest agreement comes at the most opportune time.
• The aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above U.S.$100 billion and services trade to U.S.$15 billion in five years.
• Attractive export market: As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
• Ninth biggest investor: The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around U.S.$11.67 billion, which makes it the ninth biggest investor in India.
• On the other hand, many Indian companies have set up manufacturing units either as joint ventures or in Special Economic Zones for cement, building materials, textiles, engineering products, consumer electronics, etc.

Advanced Technology and the Knowledge Economy

• In 2018, in an effort to keep pace with the changing technological imperative to attain their national aspirations, India and UAE signed a MoU to generate an estimated $20 billion in the span of a decade.
• The Emirates have stepped up efforts to invest in the development of the knowledge economy by expanding “golden visa” residency permits in order to attract the best minds to the country so as to fuel the knowledge economy.
• These ten-year visas are granted to doctors, engineers, PhD scholars and specialists in high-end technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, virology and epidemiology.

Space Cooperation

• Space is a new arena in which India and the UAE have collaborated through the work of the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• Space cooperation between India and the UAE gained quick momentum during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Emirates in 2015.
• Together, the two space agencies have developed the nano-satellite, Nayif-1, which was launched from the Satish Dhavan Space Centre, Sriharikota in India.
• The two countries are likely to work together on Emirates’ ‘Red planet Mission’. 

Security and Defence Cooperation

• Another significant pillar of India-UAE ties is reflected in their growing cooperation in security and defense sector.
• With the spread of radicalism in Gulf and South Asia, India looks to enhance security cooperation with UAE to counter terrorist threats and combat radicalization.
• ‘Desert Eagle II’, a ten day air combat exercise, was held between the air forces of India and UAE.

What is an Interim Trade Agreement (ITA)?

• An interim or early harvest trade agreement is used to liberalise tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive FTA is concluded.
• Government’s emphasis on interim agreements may be tactical so that a deal may be achieved with minimum commitments and would allow for contentious issues to be resolved later.
• Recently, India and Australia have announced plans to conclude an ITA in March 2022.
  • India is also looking to complete an early harvest agreement with the UAE and the UK in the first half of 2022.

Challenges

• The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC, and the applied average tariff rate is 5%. Therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
• The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) which have mostly been covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
• The UAE has 451 SPS notifications.
• Most of the notifications are related to consumer information, labelling, licensing or permit requirements and import monitoring and surveillance requirements.
• These compliances pose a challenge for Indian exporters.

Way Forward

(1) Needs to ensure the execution of the investment projects with the required expertise

• Potential areas to enhance bilateral trade include defence trade, food and agricultural products as well as automobiles. Medical tourism can be an important area where India can attract Emiratis.
• Indian companies with expertise in renewable energy sector can invest in UAE.
• In defence sector, there is a need to further enhance cooperation through joint training programmes.

(2) Manifold Benefits of India-UAE Trade Agreements

• With India’s newfound strength in exports, a trade agreement with an important country such as the UAE would help sustain the growth momentum.

• As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
• As both the UAE and India are aggressively pursuing FTAs with several important countries, not only companies from these two countries but also MNCs from other geographies too would find the UAE and India an attractive market to invest in.

(3) Improving the relations with the GCC

• As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman and shares a common market and customs union with these nations.
• Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) Agreement, the UAE has free trade access to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
• This FTA with the UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE’s strategic location, and have relatively easy access to the Africa market and its various trade partners.
• This can help India to become a part of that supply chain especially in handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma.

(4) Solving the issue of UAE’s Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) 

• The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC (applied average tariff rate is 5%), therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
• The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) mostly covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
• The SPS notifications are mainly related to live poultry, meat, and processed food and the TBT notifications are related to fish, food additives, meat, rubber, electrical machinery, etc.
• The FTA agreement must try to bring more transparency and predictability in the use of NTBs so that their compliance becomes less cumbersome.

Conclusion

India-UAE Relations have become a pivot of India’s Extended Neighborhood and Look West Policy in the region. Shared economic visions and geopolitical outlooks have spurred the two sides to seek to expand cooperation across multiple domains, notably in investment, technology, the knowledge economy, and defense and security. The recently signed India-UAE free trade agreement will enable two-way investment flows and help achieve ambitious export targets.

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Context

A recently launched Bollywood film is facing legal trouble after individuals claiming to be family members of the main protagonist, Gangubai Kathiawadi, have objected to her portrayal in the film.

This issue has brought a long slated debate of legalizing sex work in India. In this context let us know about various dimensions of the issue.

Who are sex workers?

• Sex worker means a female, male or a transgender over the age of eighteen years who receives money or goods in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or occasionally.

What is the status of sex workers in India?

• Three million women are engaged in commercial sex activity (CSA) in India, a 50% rise from 1997.
• Over 60% of those trafficked into sex work are adolescent girls in the age group of 12-16 years. More than 35% girls in India enter CSA before 18 years of age.
• India has three lakh brothels in 1,100 identified red-light areas, housing nearly five million children in addition to commercial sex workers.
• More than 25 percent women in commercial sex activity in India are in Maharashtra (14.20 percent) and West Bengal (13 percent).
• Despite increasing public outcry about violence against women in India, systematic large scale abuse in the name of commercial sex work remains socially acceptable.
• The report aims to draw attention to the growing victimization of women, highlights high impact non-profits working on the issue and the outlines the role of philanthropy in scaling their efforts.

Forms of violence faced by sex workers

(1) Physical violence

• Being subjected to physical force which can potentially cause death, injury or harm.
• It includes, but is not limited to: being slapped, pushed, shoved, hit with the fist or with something else that could hurt, being kicked, dragged, beaten up, choked, deliberately burnt, etc.
• These acts are operationally defined and validated in WHO survey methods on violence against women.

(2) Sexual violence

• Rape, gang rape, sexual harassment, being physically forced or psychologically intimidated to engage in sex or subjected to sex acts against one’s will or that one finds degrading or humiliating.

(3) Emotional or psychological violence

• Being insulted or made to feel bad about oneself; being humiliated or belittled in front of other people; being threatened with loss of custody of one’s children; being confined or isolated from family or friends; being threatened with harm to oneself or someone one cares about, etc.

(4) Human-rights violations that should be considered in conjunction with violence against sex workers are:

• having money extorted
• being denied or refused food or other basic necessities
• being refused or cheated of salary, payment or money that is due to the person
• being forced to consume drugs or alcohol
• being arbitrarily stopped, subjected to invasive body searches or detained by police
• being arbitrarily detained or incarcerated in police stations, detention centers and rehabilitation centers without due process
• being arrested or threatened with arrest for carrying condoms
• being refused or denied health-care services
• being subjected to coercive health procedures such as forced STI and HIV testing, sterilization, abortions
• being publicly shamed or degraded (e.g. stripped, chained, spat upon, put behind bars)
• being deprived of sleep by force

Covid-19 pandemic and sex workers

• The pandemic has hit millions of people and caused a great deal of suffering across communities. But there is one community that is especially hard hit and that is sex workers.
• Owing to the non-recognition of sex work as “legitimate work”, sex workers have mostly been kept at arm’s length from the government’s relief programmes.
• COVID-19 has thus provided more reason to consider a long-pending demand of sex workers in India — decriminalisation of sex work and a guaranteed set of labour rights.

What are the current legal protections?

• The legislation governing sex work in India is the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
• The Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Children Act was enacted in 1956.
• Subsequent amendments were made to the law and the name of the Act was changed to Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
• The legislation penalises acts such as:
  1. keeping a brothel,
  2. soliciting in a public place,
  3. living off the earnings of sex work and
  4. living with or habitually being in the company of a sex worker.
• Article 23(1) of the Constitution prohibits traffic in human beings and beggars and other similar forms of forced labor. 
• Article 23(2) declares that any contravention of this provision shall be an offense punishable in accordance with the law.

What are the issues with the Immoral Traffic Act?

• This act represents the archaic and regressive view that sex work is morally wrong and that the people involved in it, especially women, never consent to it voluntarily.
• After all, in popular depiction, entry into sex work is involuntary, forced, and through deception.
• As a consequence, it is believed that these women need to be “rescued” and “rehabilitated”, sometimes even without their consent.
• While this is a valid argument for minor girls, for many consenting adult sex workers, it has been a problem.

What are the consequences of the ‘archaic belief system’ on sex workers?

• This is what has led to the classification of ‘‘respectable women” and “non-respectable women”.
• This view is based on the belief that sex work is “easy” work and no one will or should choose to practise it. It thus perpetuates the prejudice that women who do practise sex work are morally devious.
• The Act has not only criminalised sex work but also further stigmatised and pushed it underground thus leaving sex workers more prone to violence, discrimination and harassment.
• The Act denies an individual their right over their bodies. Moreover, it imposes the will of the state over adults articulating their life choices.
• It gives no agency to the sex workers to fight against the traffickers and in fact, has made them more susceptible to be harassed by the state officials.
• The Act fails to recognise that many women willingly enter into agreements with traffickers, sometimes just to seek a better life as chosen by them.
• Evidence shows that many women choose to remain in sex work despite opportunities to leave after ‘rehabilitation’ by the government or non-governmental organisations.

Major judicial observations

(1) Justice Verma Commission

• Itacknowledged that there is a distinction between women who are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and adult, consenting women who are in sex work of their own volition.

(2) Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal (2011)

• The judiciary is moving in the direction of recognising sex workers’ right to livelihood.
• The Supreme Court opined that sex workers have a right to dignity.

Intended benefit sought from legalization

• If prostitution is legalized, the State will acquire responsibility to manage brothels and it can fulfil this obligation by issuing a license to authorized persons.
• It shall also formulate guidelines regarding the age of prostitutes, database on clientele, adequate remuneration and medical facilities to the prostitutes.
• By this method, the prostitutes can acquire some rights such as the right to medical care, the right to education of their children, right against exploitation and rape, etc.
• This method can facilitate the eradication of sex racquet operations, hidden and street prostitution, abuse of prostitute, etc.
• There shall be protection houses established for those prostitutes who have lost their livelihood, or those who were forced into prostitution but do not want that lifestyle anymore.
• Also, the government can impart training and basic education to these prostitutes so that they find other means to earn money and sustain their livelihood.

Threats posed by legalization

• On the flipside, legalization of prostitution could be misinterpreted as the promulgation of prostitution.
• This could pave the way for easy money for prostitutes and could encourage more women to practice prostitution.
• There is a great possibility that this could be a revenue-generating industry for the Government.

National scheme for rehabilitation of sex workers

• A panel constituted by the Supreme Court of India to look into the rehabilitation of sex workers has submitted a rehabilitation scheme to the Supreme Court.
• The scheme is first of its kind and provides rehabilitation to sex workers as well as victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
• Some of the important high lights of the scheme are –
  • Provision for shelter – institutional & non institutional.
  • Scheme provides various kinds of options – education, vocational training, job, economic enterprise, etc.
  • Support for education of children of sex workers
  • Victim can be referred for the scheme by any one –social work organization, department of women & child development, self-group, police, sex work collective, etc.
  • Victims can themselves make an application for the scheme
  • Introducing, the concept of “Mentor”, a person to assist the victim in her rehabilitation and he will be paid for providing services
  • A monitoring team consisting of victims, district collector, social workers, and representatives from department of women and child development, police, district chambers of commerce and industries
  • Provision of assisting the sex worker to get voting card, ration card, Aadhar card, etc. to get benefits from government schemes

Values and principles for addressing violence against sex workers

• Promote the full protection of sex workers’ human rights: This includes the rights to: nondiscrimination; security of person and privacy; recognition and equality before the law; due process of law and the highest attainable standard of health; employment, and just and favorable conditions of employment; etc.
• Rescue and Rehabilitation: Reject interventions based on the notion of rescue and rehabilitation. Even when supposedly focused on minors, such raids deprive sex workers of their choice, control and power to act for themselves and increase the likelihood that they will experience violence.
• Promote gender equality: Intervention strategies should aim for more equitable power relationships between sex workers and others in the wider community.
• Respect the right of sex workers to make informed choices about their lives, which may involve not reporting or seeking redress for violence, not seeking violence-related services, or continuing in an abusive relationship.
• Use participatory methods: Sex workers should be in decision-making positions where they can engage in processes to identify their problems and priorities, analyses causes and develop solutions.
• Use an integrated approach in designing interventions: Holistic programmes that include provision of health services, work with the legal and justice sectors and are community-based so that it can have a greater impact on violence against sex workers and the risk of HIV.
• Evaluate programmes to identify strategies that reduce risk factors and levels of violence faced by sex workers, in order to build the evidence base and ensure that resources are directed to the most beneficial strategies.
• Provide necessary infrastructure: This may include local mobile phone numbers and/or hotlines staffed by trained community members. The availability of support services may need to be advertised through word of mouth, fliers and other communication channels.
• Providing health services to sex workers who experience violence

Way Forward

• The Supreme Court, in Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal (2011), opined that sex workers have a right to dignity.
• Parliament must also take a re-look at the existing legislation and do away with the ‘victim-rescue-rehabilitation’ narrative.
• The country must thus rethink sex work from a labour perspective and guarantee basic labour rights to sex workers.

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Context

In the backdrop of the 2070 carbon neutrality target set by India at the CoP26 in Glasgow, the Union Budget for 2022-23 has listed “climate action” and “energy transition” as one of the four priorities for the Amrit Kaal.

Agriculture contributes 73 percent of the country’s methane emissions. India has kept away from the recent EU-US pledge to slash methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, despite the country being the world’s third-largest emitter of methane.

India’s status with respect to emissions

• World Air Quality Report 2020: 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India and Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital.
• Global Carbon Atlas: India ranks third in total greenhouse gas emissions by emitting annually around 2.6 billion tonnes (Bt) CO2eq.
• India’s per capita emission is just 1.8 tonnes, significantly lower than the world average of 4.4 tonnes per capita.
• India ranked seventh on the list of countries most affected due to extreme weather events, incurring losses of $69 billion (in PPP) in 2019 (Germanwatch, 2021).
• In India, energy sector contributes highest emission (44 %), followed by manufacturing and construction sector (18 %), agriculture, forestry and land use sectors (14 %), with remaining being shared by transport, industrial processes and waste sectors.
• Share of agriculture in total emissions has gradually declined from 28% (1994) to 14% (2016).
• But in absolute terms, emissions from agriculture have increased to about 650 Mt CO2 in 2018, which is similar to China’s emissions from agriculture.
• Agricultural emissions in India are primarily from livestock sector (54.6 %), use of nitrogenous fertilizers (19 %), rice cultivation (17.5 %), livestock management (6.9 %) and burning of crop residues (2.1 %).

Agriculture and Greenhouse gases

• Farming in particular releases significant amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, two powerful greenhouse gases.
• Methane is produced by livestock during digestion due to enteric fermentation and is released via belches.
• It can also escape from stored manure and organic waste in landfills. Livestock is alone responsible for 44% of methane emissions.
• 53% of Nitrous oxide emissions are an indirect product of organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizers. Fertilizers rich in nitrogen pollute water and threaten the aquatic ecosystem.

Monoculture

• Monocultures along with pesticides and herbicides lead to the loss of biodiversity. Monoculture cropping systems leave soil bare for much of the year, rely on synthetic fertilizer, and plow fields regularly.
• These practices leave soils low in organic matter and prevent formation of deep, complex root systems leading to reduced water holding capacity.
• Clearing uncultivated land for farming can lead to the destruction of natural ecosystems, which may have a devastating effect on the local wildlife and biodiversity and the micro-climate.
• Many agricultural sectors need large amounts of water, which may cause water scarcity and drought.

Reasons for agricultural emissions to be so high

• Subsidies: The damage is largely a result of the various kinds of subsidies — on urea, canal irrigation and power for irrigation.
• The Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and procurement policies concentrated on a few states and largely on two crops, rice, and wheat has led to their overproduction.
• Unplanned wheat and rice production: As of 1 January 2022, the stocks of wheat and rice in the country’s central pool were four times higher than the buffer stocking requirement.
• Despite the record distribution of rice in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and exports in 2020-21, the rice stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are seven times the buffer norms for rice.
• This data not only reflects inefficient use of scarce capital, but also the large amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) embedded in these stocks.

Changing Climate Affecting Agriculture

• Extreme heat: Crops need suitable soil, water, sunlight, and heat to grow. However, extreme heat events and reductions in precipitation and water availability have hampered the crop productivity.
• Changing Rainfall Patterns: Rainfall patterns have already begun shifting across the country, and such changes are expected to intensify over the coming years.
  • This is likely to mean more intense periods of heavy rain and longer dry periods, even within the same regions.
• Floods: Flooding in many agricultural regions of the country have been witnessed and these floods have devastated crops and livestock, accelerated soil erosion and have polluted water.

What is climate-smart agriculture?

• Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to help the people who manage agricultural systems respond effectively to climate change. 
• The CSA approach pursues the triple objectives of:
  • Increased Productivity: Produce more and better food to improve nutrition security and boost incomes, especially of 75% of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and mainly rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.
  • Enhanced Resilience: Reduce vulnerability to drought, pests, diseases and other climate-related risks and shocks, and improve capacity to adapt and grow in the face of longer-term stresses like shortened seasons and erratic weather patterns.
  • Reduced Emissions: Pursue lower emissions for each calorie or kilo of food produced, avoid deforestation from agriculture and identify ways to absorb carbon out of the atmosphere.
• Different elements of climate-smart agricultural systems include:
  1. Management of farms, crops, livestock, aquaculture and capture fisheries to balance near-term food security and livelihoods needs with priorities for adaptation and mitigation.
  2. Ecosystem and landscape management to conserve ecosystem services that are important for food security, agricultural development, adaptation and mitigation.
  3. Services for farmers and land managers to enable better management of climate risks/impacts and mitigation actions.
  4. Changes in the wider food system including demand-side measures and value chain interventions that enhance the benefits of CSA.

What are the issues raised in global negotiation on climate change?

• Nations are still quibbling about historical global emitters and who should take the blame and fix it.
• Global negotiations on climate change often talk about emissions on a per capita basis and the emission intensity of GDP.
• Per capita emission: Of the top five absolute emitters, the US has the highest per capita emissions (15.24 tonnes), followed by Russia (11.12 tonnes).
• India’s per capita emissions is just 1.8 tonnes, significantly lower than the world average of 4.4 tonnes per capita.
• If one takes emissions per unit of GDP, of the top five absolute emitters, China ranks first with 0.486 kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP, which is very close to Russia at 0.411 kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP.
• India is slightly above the world average of 0.26 (kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP) at 0.27 kg, while the USA is at 0.25, and Japan at 0.21.
• In our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in 2016, India committed to “reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.”

Way Forward

1. Reward farmers through carbon credit: A carbon policy for agriculture must aim not only to reduce its emissions but also reward farmers through carbon credits which should be globally tradable.
2. Focus on livestock: With the world’s largest livestock population (537 million), India needs better feeding practices with smaller numbers of cattle by raising their productivity.
3. Efficient fertiliser use: Agricultural soils are the largest single source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the national inventory.
4. An alternative for better and efficient fertiliser use would be to promote fertigation and subsidise soluble fertilisers.
5. Incentives and subsidies: The government should incentivise and give subsidies on drips for fertigation, switching away from rice to corn or less water-intensive crops, and promoting soluble fertilisers at the same rate of subsidy as granular urea.
6. Revisiting Policies: The Economic Survey 2021-22 points out that the country is over-exploiting its ground water resource, particularly in the northwest and some parts of south India which is primarily due to paddy cultivation on 44 million hectares.

6. This calls for revisiting policies to subsidise power and fertilisers, MSP and procurement and reorient them towards minimising GHG emissions.
7. Three-Pronged Approach for GHG Emissions: India has the potential to cut 18% of its annual greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and livestock sector. 50% of this reduction could be achieved by implementing these three measures:
   1. Efficient use of fertiliser
   2. Adoption of zero-tillage
   3. Management of water used to irrigate paddy
8. Carbon Pricing: According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world needs a carbon tax of $75 per tonne by 2030 to reduce emissions to a level consistent with a 2℃ warming target.
   1. Many countries have begun to implement carbon pricing; Sweden leads the pack with a carbon price as high as $137 per tonne of CO₂ equivalent while EU is at $50/tonne of CO₂ equivalent.
   2. It is high time for India to announce indicative carbon pricing and create a vibrant carbon market to incentivise green growth in Amrit Kaal.
9. Increasing Farmer Awareness: The right approach is to give the rice-producing-farmers the right advice and incentives at the right time so that they add only as much water or fertilisers as the rice plant needs.
   1. Rice farming shall be made more sustainable, without having a negative impact on farmers livelihood.
10. Sustainable Dairy Practices: There is a need to proactively ramp up sustainable dairy practices, which may include:
    1. Realising the existing potentials for GHG emission reduction through technological and farm best practices interventions and solutions.
    2. Reducing its demand for resources by better integrating livestock into the circular bio-economy.
    3. This can be achieved by recycling and recovering nutrients and energy from animal waste.
    4. Closer integration of livestock with crops and agro-industries at various scales to make use of low value and low-emission biomass.

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Context

Ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda, Oxfam International presented its annual global Inequality Report titled ‘Inequality Kills’ which presented the quantum growth in wealth of a minuscule few, and the simultaneous impoverishment of millions of working people. The findings of the report remain dismal for India as well.

The report discussed India’s governance structures that promote wealth accumulation by a few and fail to provide safety nets to the rest of the population.

What is the “Inequality Kills” Report?

• “Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of COVID-19” is a report released in January 2022 by Oxfam, a U.K.-based consortium.
• The report argues for sustained and immediate action to end the pandemic, address global inequality and initiate concerted measures to tackle the climate emergency.
• The central argument of the report is that inequality is a death sentence for people that are marginalized by social and economic structures and removed from political decision-making.

What are the key highlights of the report?

• Inequality: a death sentence: The central argument of the report is that inequality is a death sentence for people that are marginalised by social and economic structures and removed from political decision making.
• A new billionaire created every 26 hours since the pandemic began: The world’s 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes, while over 160 million people are projected to have been pushed into poverty.
  • Meanwhile, an estimated 17 million people have died from COVID-19—a scale of loss not seen since the Second World War.
• Covid-19 effect: The wealth of the 10 richest men has doubled, while the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off, because of COVID-19.
  • The 10 richest men in the world own more than the bottom 3.1 billion people. If the 10 richest men spent a million dollars each a day, it would take them 414 years to spend their combined wealth.
• Vaccine Apartheid: It identifies “vaccine apartheid” (unequal access to vaccines between countries) and the lack of universal vaccination programs in many countries as a cause of the emergence of multiple new strains of the coronavirus that has led to the continuation of the pandemic.
• Government expenditure resulting into inflation: It also demonstrates how emergency government expenditure (estimated at $16 trillion) that was meant to keep economies afloat during this crisis, inflated stock prices.
  • This resulted in billionaires’ collective wealth increasing by $5 trillion during the pandemic.
• A 99% windfall tax on the COVID-19 wealth gains of the 10 richest men could pay to make enough vaccines for the entire world and fill financing gaps in climate measures, universal health and social protection, etc.

What Does The Report Say About India?

• Inequality of Wealth: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the report reveals –
  • more than half the world’s new poor are from India,
  • 84% Indian households have suffered a loss of income,
  • with 4.6 crore people falling into extreme poverty
• In this period, the richest 142 people have more than doubled their wealth to more than ₹53 lakh-crore.
• And India’s top 10 per cent had around 45 per cent of the country’s total national wealth in 2020. Imposing tax on the rich in India can take care of vital public services like health and education.
• Decline in Social Security Expenditure: As Covid continued to ravage India, the country’s healthcare budget saw a 10% decline from RE (Revised Estimates) of 2020-21.
  • The budgetary allocation for social security schemes declined from 1.5% of the total Union budget to 0.6%.
• Increasing Fiscal Deficit: Lowering corporate taxes from 30% to 22% to attract investment last year (2020) resulted in a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, which contributed to the increase in India’s fiscal deficit.
• Imposing a 4 per cent tax on 98 wealthiest families in the country can look after –
  • the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for more than two years,
  • the Mid-Day Meal Programme for 17 years or
  • the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan for six years
• The report also revealed that one-third of respondents with a ration was were not able to buy ration at a PDS outlet.

What are the factors of inequality?

• Budgetary Decline: India is one of the few countries in the world where during the Covid pandemic the health Budget has declined — and that too by a huge 10% in 2021.
• Social security expenditure has declined from an already low 1.5% in 2020-21 to 0.6% of the Union Budget in 2021-22. People are deprived of the most basic services and entitlements and are unable to survive.
• Inequality in Salaries and Allowances: Social security pensions, for the elderly, for the disabled, and widows have been frozen at ₹200-₹300 a month for almost 15 years. However, in contrast, there has been an increment in the salaries and pensions of the policymakers.
• The increase for one crore central government employees and pensioners has cost the exchequer more than the total social security pension budget for 3.3 crore beneficiaries.
• Unavailability of Subsidized Food grain: The priority list of households under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) has been frozen in absolute numbers, based on a percentage determined from the 2011 Census.
  • In the last 11 years, population increases amounting to approximately 10 crore eligible beneficiaries have been kept out.
  • Therefore, approximately 12% legally entitled people — even children of existing “priority households” — cannot get subsidized foodgrain.
• Unequal Access to Education: The pandemic has also produced a generation of children who have forgotten what formal education is. Many teenagers from poor households have already joined the workforce.
  • In this period, there has been a 6% cut in the education Budget. Relying on online teaching, accompanied by Budget cuts, amounts to the institutionalization of endemic multidimensional poverty.

How does the report propose to rectify global inequality?

The “Inequality Kills” report proposes far-reaching changes to structures of government, economy, and policymaking to fight inequality.

• It urgently asks for “vaccine recipes” to be made open source so that every qualified vaccine manufacturer can manufacture them.
  • In doing so the report asks for monopolies over vaccines held by pharmaceutical giants and anchored in place through the World Trade Organisation, to end.
• The report then asks for governments to “claw” back the wealth from billionaires by administering solidarity taxes higher than 90% especially on the billionaires that have profited during and because of the pandemic.
• In addition to this, the report asks for permanent cancellation of tax havens, progressive taxation on corporations and an end to tax dodging by corporations.
• The report then suggests that all of this regained wealth be redirected towards building income safety nets, universalising healthcare for everyone, investing in green technologies and democratising them, and, investing in protecting women from violence.
• Finally, the report advocates for redistributing power along with wealth by strengthening workers’ unions, boosting political representation of marginalised groups, and asserting human rights.
• Change rules and shift power in the economy and society: Governments must rewrite the rules within their economies that create such colossal divides, and act to pre-distribute income, change laws, and redistribute power in decision-making and power in the economy.
• That includes ending sexist laws, including those which mean that nearly 3 billion women are legally prevented from having the same choice of jobs as men.
• It must include tackling the barriers to representation for women, racialized groups, and working-class people. Women still make up only 25.5% of parliamentarians globally.

Implications of inequality

• Crime and violence: The report identifies higher inequality with more crime and violence and less social trust.
• Impact on marginalized: The brunt of inequality and the violence is borne, for instance, by women across the world, Dalits in India, Black, Native American and Latin persons in the US and indigenous groups in many countries.
• Victimization of women: Pointing to the example of women, the problem runs a lot deeper as 13 million women have not returned to the workforce and 20 million girls are at risk of losing access to education.
• Inequality causes a wide range of health and social problems, from reduced life expectancy and higher infant mortality to poor educational attainment, lower social mobility and increased levels of violence and mental illness.
• Societal breakdown: It further leads to a societal breakdown in trust, solidarity and social cohesion, reducing people’s willingness to act for the common good.
  • For instance, social conflict among the social groups in India, like Patidar unrest and Jaat Andolan.
• Denial of basic services: Due to the prevailing inequality in digital access, the digital solutions offered for providing basic services such as health and education face failure.
• Environmental degradation: Greater inequality can lead to more rapid environmental degradation because low incomes lead to low investment in physical capital and education
• The gap between the top 1% and the bottom 50% is wider for India than the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France.

What is the pattern of inequality over the years?

• During Independence– In the Nehruvian years and after that too, a bid was made to battle the basic absence of social democracy in India, but it remained confined to States and regions.
  • The Five Year plans contributed to reducing the share of the top 10% who had 50% of the income under colonial rule to 35%-40% in the early decades after Independence.
• During economic reforms– Since the mid-1980s, deregulation and liberalisation policies have led to the top 1% majorly profiting from economic reforms whereas the growth among low- and middle-income groups has been relatively slow.
  • The income of the bottom 50% in India grew at the rate of 2.2% per year between 1951 and 1981, but that the growth rate remained exactly the same over the past 40 years.
• Post-2014– India seems to have got into a phase of an even greater reliance on big business and privatisation to fix economics and the latest World Inequality Report concludes that the bottom 50% share has gone down to 13%.

What flaws can be attributed to this?

• Moving away from secularisation-The Union government’s now-stated policy to prioritise members of one religion and one language, has severe economic consequences widening the income inequality.
• Reverse modernisation– By choosing to reverse the idea of modernisation, linking religion firmly into the public sphere, trying to unmake the modernity, we may be setting ourselves on a narrow path that nations in the world have already arrived at.
• One size nation– The quick descent into a one size nation does not fit its much diversity. The state is now fanning systems and principles to further inequalities.
• Denial of equality– B.R. Ambedkar had issued a grim warning in 1949 that if we continue to deny social and economic inequality for long, we could blow up the structure of political democracy.

What are the different forms of inequality prevalent in India?

• Income and wealth inequality, as mentioned above in the findings of the World Inequality Report.
• Digital inequality: According to National Sample Survey (2017), only 6% of rural households and 25% of urban households have a computer. Only 17% in rural areas and 42% in urban areas have access to internet.
• Social inequality: It is the differential access to wealth, power, and prestige. Social inequality may exist on gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, and kinship. This form of inequality is widely prevalent in India.

What are the reasons behind high inequality in India?

• The slow economic and GDP growth: GDP growth has been rather slow since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and has completely lost its momentum since the start of 2017. For a relatively poor country such as India, the most durable and dependable way to reduce inequality is to increase the size of GDP.
• Lack of digital access: Poor households are not able to afford devices to ensure digital access for their children. Most of the rural students could not access online classes, due to lack of devices, shared devices, inability to buy “data packs”, etc.
• Increased penetration of technology and industrialization: Some experts argue that as technology is skill biased, so those who are able to use technology experience an increase in productivity and wages compared to their less-skilled counterparts.
  • The increase in productivity leads to the spread of technology, which, in turn, creates a higher demand for skilled workers. This self-reinforcing cycle increases wealth and income inequality.
• Large numbers of the labor force work in sectors with low productivity. Consider agriculture. It provides 53 per cent jobs, while contributing only 17% to the GDP

Way Forward

• Multi-Pronged Approach to Tackle Inequality: Programs such as the National Food Security Act must receive the quantum of allocations needed.
  • Also, the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) has estimated that approximately ₹2,64,000 crore will be needed to guarantee 100 days work for currently active job cards.
• The social security pensioners need to be protected from hunger, sickness and poverty. The election season offers an opportunity to fetch the basic rights of the unorganized and vulnerable people.
• Gains from Tax: All the governments should immediately tax the gains made by the super-rich during this pandemic period.
• Increasing the Reach of Basic Necessities: Given the growing inequality in India, the direction that public policy should now take is evident, there is a need to spread health and education far more widely amidst the population.
  • By ensuring universal access to public funded high quality services like Public health and education, social security benefits, employment guarantee schemes, inequality can be reduced to a great extent.
• Employment Generation: The labor-intensive manufacturing sector of India has the potential to absorb millions of people who are leaving farming while the service sector tends to benefit the urban middle class.

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Context

The Supreme Court refused to lay down the “yardstick” for determining the inadequacy of representation for granting reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in government jobs.

The court’s judgement came in a batch of petitions from across the country seeking further clarity on the modalities for granting reservation in promotion.

Current Scenario of Reservations in Promotions for SC/ST

• The 2006 verdict on Nagaraj vs Union of India brought in a creamy layer filter for promotions for SC/ST employees.
• Also, the judgement ruled that the state had to collect ‘quantifiable data on backwardness’ of the SC/ST class if it wished to provide reservation in promotions.
• The judgement finally held that when it comes to promotion of SC/ST employees, the creamy layer concept does apply.
• So now, only in direct recruitment of the SC/STs, the creamy layer concept does not apply.

What does the Supreme Court rule?

Cadre for Collecting Data

• It held ‘cadre’ and not class, group or the entire service as the unit for the purpose of collection of quantifiable data for giving promotion quotas.
• It said otherwise the entire exercise of reservation in promotions would be rendered meaningless if data pertaining to the representation of SCs and STs was done with reference to the entire service.

No Yardstick

• The question of adequate representation of an SC/ST community ought to be left to the respective States to determine and it cannot lay down any yardstick for determining the inadequacy of representation.

Set Aside the Judgement in B.K. Pavithra Case (2019)

• With the recognition of ‘cadre’ as the unit for collection of quantifiable data, the court set aside its earlier judgement in the B.K. Pavithra case.
• SC held that the conclusion of this court approving the collection of data on the basis of groups and not cadres is contrary to the law laid down by the SC in Nagaraj and Jarnail Singh judgments.
• The court held that the Nagaraj judgement would have “prospective effect.”

Review Ordered

• The SC ordered that a review had to be conducted regarding the data for the purpose of determining the inadequacy of representation in promotions.
• However, the court left it to the Union government to fix a “reasonable” time for the States to conduct the review.

What does the Constitution say on reservations?

• Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of laws to everyone.
• Similarly, Article 16(1) and 16(2) assure citizens equality of opportunity in employment or appointment to any government office. 
• Article 15(1) generally prohibits any discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, caste, sex or place of birth. 
• However, Articles 15(4) and 16(4) state that these equality provisions do not prevent the government from making special provisions in matters of admission to educational institutions or jobs in favor of backward classes, particularly the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
• Article 16(4A) allows reservations to SCs and STs in promotions, as long as the government believes that they are not adequately represented in government services.

What do the precedents say?

(1) Reservation in Promotions

• The Central and the State Government since the 1950s have been following a policy of reserving seats in promotions in favours of SC and ST communities on the ground that they are not adequately represented at the decision making level of public services.

(2) Mandal judgment/ Indra Sawhney case 1992

• The Supreme Court’s Indra Sawhney vs Union of India(1992) has been hailed as a landmark judgment as it upheld reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• However, this judgment also held that reservations in appointments, under Article 16(4) of the constitution, don’t apply to promotions.
• The Supreme Court upheld the Mandal Commission’s 27% quota for backward classes, as well as the principle that the combined SC, ST and backward-class beneficiaries should not exceed 50% of cap.
• The court also struck down the government notification reserving 10% government jobs for economically backward classes among the higher castes in 1992.
• It held that, backward classes of the citizens of in Article 16(4) can be identified on the basis of caste and not only on the economic basis.
• Reservation shall not exceed 50%. The court said that this rule should be applied every year. However, it may be relaxed in favour of people from far-flung and remote areas because of their peculiar conditions.
• Carry forward rule is valid but it is subject to 50%. There should be NO reservation in the Promotions.

(3) 77th and 85th Constitutional Amendment Acts

• The Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995
  • According to this Act, the Government has decided to continue the existing policy of reservation in promotion for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 
  • It inserted Article 16(4A) which allows the State to provide reservations to SCs/STs in matters of promotion, as long as the State believes that this category of the marginalized populations –the SCs and STs – aren’t adequately represented.
• The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001 provided for consequential seniority in the case of promotion by the virtue of rule of reservation for the government servants belonging to the SCs and STs with retrospective effect from June 1995.

(4) Nagraj Case

• In this case applying the creamy layer concept in SC/ST reservation in promotions, the SC reversed its earlier stance in the Indra Sawhney case (1992), in which it had excluded the creamy layer concept on SCs/STs (that was applicable on OBCs).
• The SC had upheld the Constitutional amendments by which Articles 16 (4A) and 16 (4B) were inserted, saying they flow from Article 16 (4) and do not alter its structure.
• It also laid down three conditions for promotion of SCs and STs in public employment.
  • The SC and ST community should be socially and educationally backward.
  • The SC and ST communities are not adequately represented in Public employment.
  • Such a reservation policy shall not affect the overall efficiency in the administration.
• The court held that the government cannot introduce a quota in promotion for its SC/ST employees unless it proves that the particular community was backward, inadequately represented and providing reservation in promotion would not affect the overall efficiency of public administration.
• The opinion of the government should be based on quantifiable data.

(5) Jarnail Singh Case 2018

• Later in 2018, in the Jarnail Singh case, SC modified the Nagaraj judgement to the extent that State need not produce quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment.
• The court had given a huge fillip to the government’s efforts to provide “accelerated promotion with consequential seniority” for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) members in government services.

(6) Karnataka’s Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation act 2017

• It was passed by the Karnataka Government to protect thousands of SC/ST employees who faced demotion in view of the 2017 judgment.
• It allows the reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with consequential seniority(Consequential seniority is seniority given to employees from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in government jobs as a consequence of reservation. It provides reservation in the first promotion as well as subsequent ones. This is not the case for general category employees).
• It gives the state government to make rules to carry out the purpose of this act.
• The repeals the Karnataka Determination of Seniority of the Government Servants Promoted on the basis of Reservation (to the posts in the civil services of the State) Act, 2002

Arguments against Quota in Promotions

• Not a Fundamental Right: The Supreme Court reiterated in a judgment that reservation in promotion in public posts cannot be claimed as a fundamental right.
• Impact on Efficiency: Promotions to SCs and STs during appointments to services and promotions may make it difficult to maintain the efficiency of administration.
• Redundancy of Reservation: The SCs and STs are getting the benefits of reservation in the appointments to various servicers. Therefore, it is undesirable and inefficient to provide quota in promotions for key posts.
• Not a Compulsion for Government: The Constitution empowers the State to make reservation in matters of appointment and promotion in favour of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes only “if in the opinion of the State they are not adequately represented in the services of the State”.

Need for Quota in Promotions

• Representation in Higher Echelons: The main reason for giving promotions in promotions is that there are very few SC/ST candidates in the higher echelons of government.
• Proper Access to Opportunity: Centuries of discrimination and prejudice suffered by the SCs and STs in a feudal, caste-oriented societal structure poses real barriers of access to opportunity.
• Constitutional Mandate: Constitution mandates realisation of substantive equality in the engagement of the fundamental rights with the directive principles
• Special Measures Needed: Unless special measures are adopted for the SCs and STs in promotions also, the mandate of the Constitution for the consideration of their claim to appointment will remain illusory.
• False Notion of Efficiency: The Constitution does not define what the framers meant by the phrase efficiency of administration. It is a stereotypical assumption that the promotees drawn from the SCs and STs are not efficient or that efficiency is reduced by appointing them.

Why does reservation matter for equality?

• Reservation is no more seen by the Supreme Court as an exception to the equality rule; rather, it is a facet of equality.
• The terms “proportionate equality” and “substantive equality” have been used to show that the equality norm acquires completion only when the marginalized are given a legal leg-up.

 Substantive Equality under question

• Formal equality is about treating all people alike and distributing resources equally among them.
• However, someone at a disadvantage needs support to a greater extent than someone who is comfortably placed. Substantive equality recognizes this qualitative difference.
• Unlike formal equality, it classifies the prospective beneficiaries on the basis of their need and the likely scope of benefit to them.
• It takes into account people’s location along an axis of advantages and disadvantages. If substantive equality is part of our right to equality, it is untenable to insist that reservation is not a right.
• While a limited interpretation of fundamental rights may be technically correct, it will not make for sound policy.

Way forward

• Meanwhile, calls for reform and ret­hinking reservation policies get louder; one question is whether there’s a need to continue with reservation and if benefits have reached targets.
• The challenge for India is that while many sections of the society remain disadvantaged, political action has resulted in the relative discrimination within reserved groups.
• As the reservation pie grows larger, in effect, it becomes a method of exclusion rather than inclusion.
• It is time that India has to make a critical assessment of its affirmative action programs.
• Simplification, legislative sunsets, and periodic reviews should be important principles in the redesign.

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Context

The Central Government has proposed four amendments to Rule 6(1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954 dealing with deputation, and has sought the views of State governments before January 25, 2022.

Historical background of All India Services

• It was Sardar Patel who had championed the creation of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) as “All India Services” (AIS) whose members would be recruited and appointed by the Centre and allotted to various States, and who could serve both under the State and the Centre.
• Speaking to the Constituent Assembly on October 10, 1949, Patel said, “The Union will go, you will not have a united India if you have not a good All India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has a sense of security….”.
• The All India Services (AIS) comprises three civil services:

1. the Indian Administrative Service,
2. the Indian Police Service and
3. the Indian Forest Service

• A unique feature of the AIS is that the members of these services are recruited by the centre (Union government in federal polity), but their services are placed under various State cadres.
• They have the liability to serve both under the State and under the centre.
• Officers of these three services comply to the All India Services Rules relating to pay, conduct, leave, various allowances etc.
• The All India Services Act, 1951, provides for the creation of two more All India Services, namely, the Indian Engineering Service and the Indian Medical Service.

Central deputation of All India Service officers

• Consultative process: AIS officers are made available for central deputation through a consultative process involving the Centre, the States and the officers concerned.
• The Centre would choose officers only from among those “on offer” from the States.
• Concurrence of the State government: The existing Rule 6(1) states that a cadre officer may be deputed to the Central Government (or to another State or a PSU) only with the concurrence of the State Government concerned.
• However, it has a proviso which states that in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government.
• Unfortunately, both the Centre and the States have at times flouted these healthy conventions for political considerations.

The politicization of the deputation process

• Unfortunately, both the Centre and the States have at times flouted the above healthy conventions for political considerations.
• In July 2001, the Centre unilaterally “placed at its disposal” the services of three IPS officers of Tamil Nadu cadre.
• In December 2020, the Centre did the same in respect of three IPS officers of West Bengal cadre.
• In May 2021, the Centre unilaterally issued orders for the central deputation of the Chief Secretary of West Bengal just before his last day in service.
• In all these cases, the States concerned refused to relieve the officers. 
• Some States used to vindictively withhold the names of some of the officers who had opted for central deputation or delay their relief after they were picked up by the Centre.
• On the other hand, Union government was unable to fill vacancies at director and joint secretary level in various Central ministries.
• Around 40% or 390 Central Staffing Scheme (CSS) posts are at joint secretary level (more than 19 years experience) and 60% or 540 such posts are at the rank of deputy secretary (nine years) or director rank (14 years of service).
• The proposed amendment to rule: The Central Government has proposed four amendments to Rule 6(1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954 dealing with deputation.

Proposed amendments

Four amendments are proposed to Rule 6 of IAS (Cadre) Rules.

• One of the major changes proposed is if the State government delays posting a State cadre officer to the Centre within the specified time, “the officer shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as may be specified by the Central government.”
  • Presently, officers have to get a no-objection clearance from the State government for Central deputation.
• The other change proposed is the Centre will decide the actual number of officers to be deputed to the Central government in consultation with the State and the latter should make eligible the names of such officers
  • According to existing norms, States have to depute the All India Services (AIS) officers, including IPS officers, to the Central government offices and at any point it cannot be more than 40% of the total cadre strength.
• The third proposed amendment says that in case of any disagreement between the Centre and the State, the matter shall be decided by the Central government and the State shall give effect to the decision of the Centre “within a specified time.”
• The fourth change proposed is that in specific situation (discretionary power) where services of cadre officers are required by the Central government in “public interest” the State shall give effect to its decisions within a specified time.

Is the problem acute?

• According to 2021 data, of the total 6,709 IAS officers in the country, 445 were posted with the Union — only 6.6%. In 2014, of the 4,605 officers, 651 were posted with the Union (14 %).
• In 2021, only 10% mid-level IAS officers (deputy secretary/director, 9-14 years experience) were posted with the Centre in 2021, a sharp fall from 19% in 2014, even though the total pool of such officers at this rank expanded from 621 in 2014 to 1130 in 2021, an increase of around 80%.

Issues with the proposed amendments

• The contemplated changes have grave implications for the independence, security and morale of IAS officers.
• Infringement of rights of States: States are right in perceiving the proposed amendments as a serious infringement of their rights to deploy IAS officers as they deem best, especially when the cutting edge of policy implementation is mostly at the State level.
• States may prefer officers of the State Civil Services to handle as many posts as possible.
• Against cooperative federalism: In S.R. Bommai vs Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court held that “States have an independent constitutional existence and they have as important a role to play in the political, social, educational and cultural life of the people as the Union. They are neither satellites nor agents of the Centre”.

• Consent of Officers neglected: The proposed amendment more or less compels a State government to offer IAS officers for central deputation even when these officers themselves may not wish to go on central deputation.
• Scope for Political Misuse: New rules may be misused for political considerations. For instance: Centre can unilaterally place at its disposal the services of the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to CM and other key officers of a State ruled by a rival party, thereby hampering the smooth administration of states.
• May decline the sheen of All India Services: The contemplated changes have grave implications for the independence, security and morale of IAS officers. If States begin to doubt the loyalty of IAS officers, they are likely to reduce the number of IAS cadre posts and also their annual intake of IAS officers. They may prefer officers of the State Civil Services to handle as many posts as possible

Conclusion

In a federal setup, it is inevitable that differences and disputes would arise between the Centre and the States. But all such quarrels should be resolved in the spirit of cooperative federalism and keeping the larger national interest in mind.

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The position of women in the armed forces, which is described as a male-dominated establishment generally, offers a limited window for any kind of change in the role of women in occupational and bureaucratic structures. However, breaking the glass ceiling, two women officers have been selected to train as helicopter pilots at Combat Army Training School, Nashik. Till now, women officers were only limited to performing ground duties in the Army Aviation Corps.

The Supreme Court last year ruled that women could serve as army commanders further granting permanent commission and promotions equal to their male counterparts. 

India’s women in uniform: A timeline

• The role of women in the Indian Army began in 1888 when the ‘Indian Military Nursing Service’ was formed during the British Raj.
• During 1914-45, British Indian Army nurses fought in World War I (1914–18) and World War II (1939-45), where 350 nurses either died or were taken prisoner of war or declared missing in action.
• But it was only in 1992 that the organisation opened doors and started inducting women in non-medical roles. In 2015, India also opened new combat air force roles for women as fighter pilots.
• During 1914-45, British Indian Army nurses fought in World War I (1914–18) and World War II (1939-45), where 350 nurses either died or were taken prisoner of war or declared missing in action.
• However, despite all these developments, the women in the Indian armed forces that constitute 3% of the Indian army are still not allowed to be a part of the active combat.
• Since 2008, women were inducted as permanent commissioned officers in the legal and education corps and as permanent commissioned officers in eight more non-combative corps in 2020.

A timeline of women’s inductions into the military –

Present context

• The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union government to explain the admission of merely 19 women in the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) for 2022.
• The court also asked the Centre to place the figures on record the total number of candidates, including women, who appeared in the NDA, Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Rashtriya Military School (RMS) entrance tests.
• The NDA exam was held and 8,009 candidates qualified for the Service Selection Board test as also medical tests, out of which 1,002 candidates were women and 7,007 men.

Supreme Court’s ruling to grant Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers

• In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the right of serving Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers of the Navy to be granted Permanent Commission (PC) on a par with their male counterparts.
• The Court has directed that SSC women officers found suitable for the grant of PC shall be entitled to all consequential benefits, including arrears of pay, promotions and retirement benefits as and when due.
• All serving women SSC officers in at least seven wings, including the executive, engineering, electrical, education, law and logistics, will be eligible to apply.
• The grant of PCs will be subject to: (i) availability of vacancies in the stabilized cadre; (ii) Suitability of the candidate; and (iii) recommendation by the chief of Naval Staff.

India has limited experience as regards the induction of women in the armed forces. The first batch had joined in 1992. Therefore, our knowledge of the complexities and long-term effects of the issues involved is highly limited.

On the other hand, women have been serving in the militaries of developed countries for a long time. These countries have acquired a deep understanding of all the issues involved.

Let’s have a look:

United States

• The United States is considered a pioneer and a trend-setter as regards induction of women in the services.
• There are approximately 200,000 American women on active duty in the US armed forces. They constitute nearly 20 percent of its strength.
• Women are also participating in Iraq operations in large numbers, albeit in support functions as they are forbidden to be placed in direct ground combat with enemy. They, however, are assigned ‘combat support’ duties on voluntary basis.
• Prior to November 1975, if women became pregnant, they were given the option to terminate pregnancy or seek discharge.
• A number of important steps were initiated during President Clinton’s time. Women were permitted to join as combat aircraft pilots and could also be assigned for prolonged duty on combat naval ships. The scope of combat-risk assignments for women was redefined to open additional appointments to them.

Israel

• Though Israel has conscription for women (as well as men), a large number of them are exempted for various reasons.
• Women are generally not allotted active battle field duties. They serve in many technical and administrative posts to release men for active duty.
• Although they make excellent instructors as well, most women occupy lower and middle level appointments. Only a handful reaches senior ranks.

Other Countries

• In the Australian Army, women are still not allowed in the field/battle. In Russia, women generally serve in nursing, communications and logistic support functions.
• Like all Islamic states, Pakistan does not permit women in the armed forces. It is feared that women would create distraction and cause disruption of internal order.
• There is also a great deal of concern for the safety of women from the organisational environment itself.

Why males have ever dominated the armed forces?

• Militaries across the world help entrench hegemonic masculine notions of aggressiveness, strength and heterosexual prowess in and outside their barracks.
• The military training focuses on creating new bonds of brotherhood and camaraderie between them based on militarised masculinity.
• This temperament is considered in order to enable conscripts to survive the tough conditions of military life and to be able to kill without guilt.
• To create these new bonds, militaries construct a racial, sexual, gendered “other”, attributes of whom the soldier must routinely and emphatically reject.

Dimensions of the Issue

Indeed, the court’s strong statements against the gender stereotypes employed by the government come as a welcome relief. Equally, ensuring that women can hold permanent commissions in the army recognizes the equal effort and service that they put in.

• Gender is not a hindrance: As long as an applicant is qualified for a position, one’s gender is arbitrary. It is easy to recruit and deploy women who are in better shape than many men sent into combat.
• Military Readiness: Allowing a mixed-gender force keeps the military strong. The armed forces are severely troubled by falling retention and recruitment rates. This can be addressed by allowing women in the combat role.
• Effectiveness: The blanket restriction for women limits the ability of commanders in theatre to pick the most capable person for the job.
• Tradition: Training will be required to facilitate the integration of women into combat units. Cultures change over time and the masculine subculture can evolve too.
• Cultural Differences & Demographics: Women are more effective in some circumstances than men. Allowing women to serve doubles the talent pool for delicate and sensitive jobs that require interpersonal skills, not every soldier has.

The road is not so simple

Capabilities of women

• The Centre states that although women are equally capable, if not more capable than men, there might be situations that could affect the capabilities of women such as absence during pregnancy and catering to the responsibilities of motherhood, etc. 
• The arguments are presented on the basis that a role in combat would require tough training, whereas the current training for women is different and at a much lower level than that of their male counterparts.
• However, Lieutenant Colonel Mitali Madhumita and IAF squad leader Minty Agarwal are examples of women who stand as a testament to the capabilities of women in commanding positions.

Adjusting with the masculine setup

• To then simply add women to this existing patriarchal setup, without challenging the notions of masculinity, can hardly be seen as “gender advancement”.
• In fact, in order to succeed within the army, women are forced to deride their femininity and work harder than men to establish parity in the eyes of their counterparts.
• They are forced to blend in while standing out for their exceptional work in order to be taken seriously.

Fear of sexual misconduct

• This superficial approach to gender equality defines parity solely based on the opportunity to participate hence fails to address several fallouts most notable of which is sexual harassment and abuse.
• Sexual harassment faced by women military officers is a global phenomenon which remains largely unaddressed, and women often face retaliation when they do complain.
• Extensive and rigorous data on the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the Indian armed forces is not available.
• However, a relatively small 2015 study, which questioned 450 members of the armed forces on sexual discrimination in their workplace, found that sexual harassment is rampant in the military.

Gender progressiveness could be an illusion

• In reality, there are several factors behind the decision to include women in the forces, including using the illusion of gender progressiveness within the army to shame populations for their gender inequities, brand them as backwards and use this to justify military control.
• Women’s inclusion is criticized as just another manoeuvre to camouflage women’s subjugation and service as women’s liberation.

Battle of ‘Acceptance’

• The only way to command is to show the lower ranks that the orders are fair and just, both in spirit and action.
• Acceptance of women in the military has not been smooth in any country. Every country has to contend with sceptics who consider it to be a counterproductive programme.
• They tend to view it as a political gimmick to flaunt sexual equality, or, at best, a necessary liability.
• Additionally, every country has to mould the attitude of its society at large and male soldiers in particular to enhance acceptability of women in the military.
• For trained soldiers “acceptance” is not an option; they have undergone rigorous regimentation to accept orders from the command.

Job Satisfaction

• Most women feel that their competence is not given due recognition. Seniors tend to be over-indulgent without valuing their views.
• They are generally marginalised and not involved in any major decision-making. They have to work twice as hard as men to prove their worth. Additionally, a woman is always under scrutiny for even minor slip-ups.
• Many women complain that despite their technical qualifications, they are generally detailed for perceived women-like jobs. Either they get routine desk work or are asked to perform duties related to social minutiae.

Doubts about Role Definition

• The profession of arms is all about violence and brutality. To kill another human is not moral but soldiers are trained to kill.
• They tend to acquire a streak of raw ruthlessness and coarseness. This makes the environment highly non-conducive and rough for women.
• Women, in general, are confused about the way they should conduct themselves. If they behave lady-like, their acceptance amongst male colleagues is low.
• On the other hand, their active participation in casual repartee carries the danger of their losing colleagues’ respect.

Societal Impact

• The government has argued that if a woman is taken captive by insurgents/terrorists or as a Prisoner of War (PoW) by an enemy state, then it would become an international and deeply emotive issue which could have an impact on the society.
• However, times have changed and this cannot be a valid reason for denying command roles and permanent commission to women.

Physical and Physiological Issues

• The natural physical differences in stature, strength, and body composition between the sexes make women more vulnerable to certain types of injuries and medical problems.
• The vigorous training might also have an effect on the health of women officers.
• The natural processes of menstruation and pregnancy make women particularly vulnerable in combat situations.
• Such positions usually leave the commanding officer with no privacy and during adverse situations, the lack of sanitation can have an impact on their health.

Comfort Level

• Most women accepted the fact that their presence amongst males tends to make the environment ‘formal and stiff’.
• The mutual comfort level between men and women colleagues is often very low.
• Men miss their light-hearted banter which is considered essential to release work tensions and promote group cohesion. They consider women to be intruding on their privacy.

Whose concern is National Security…

Many defense analysts are disgusted with the ongoing emulsive debate incorporating issues of national security with gender justice. Few of their opinion are discussed as under:

• The recent debate about the entry of women officers in the armed forces has been highly ill- informed and subjective in nature.
• People have taken stands and expressed opinion without analysing the matter in its entirety. It is imprudent to consider it as an issue of equality of sexes or gender bias or even women’s liberation.
• It is also not a question of conquering the so-called ‘last male bastion’.
• That would amount to trifling a matter that concerns the well-being and the war-potential of a nation’s armed forces.
• Armed forces have been constituted with the sole purpose of ensuring defence of the country and all policy decisions should be guided by this overriding factor.
• All matters concerning defence of the country have to be considered in a dispassionate manner.
• No decision should be taken which even remotely affects the cohesiveness and efficiency of the military. Concern for equality of sexes or political expediency should not influence defence policies.

Way Forward

 Defense readiness is one major aspect which is required to be borne in mind throughout while considering their employability options. The career aspects and opportunities for women need to be viewed holistically keeping the final aim in focus.

• Misleading information such as using the patriarchal nature of the society as an excuse to deny women their deserving opportunities should be stopped. India has come a long way, and society should be supportive of women being inducted in to combat roles. 
• So far combatant roles are concerned, an all-women combat squadron should be designed and studied extensively before any further development or decisions are made.
• The training provided to men and women should be similar to eliminate differentiation on the basis of physical standards.
• It is the responsibility of the Government to create both administrative and social infrastructure for the easy induction of women into the Armed Forces. Administrative issues should not be cited as a barrier to women’s entry in the Armed Forces.
• The framework for the induction of women should be incorporated into a policy. As for the concern of preserving the female officers’ modesty and dignity, there should be elaborate codes of conduct to ensure no adverse incident occurs.

Finally, no decision should be taken which even remotely affects the cohesiveness and efficiency of the military. Concern for equality of sexes or political expediency should not influence defense policies.

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Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) approved the country’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) – which is designed to be a “Comprehensive National Security Framework” and covers a five-year period from 2022-26. Pakistan’s (official) policy now leaves the door open for trade with India even without the settlement of the Kashmir issue – provided there is headway in bilateral talks. Earlier, Kashmir used to be at the centre stage of all Pakistani outcry.

New Security Policy

• The country’s new policy would act as an umbrella document, to be used as a guideline for Pakistan`s foreign, international and defence related policies.
• The five-year-policy document, which will span 2022-26, is being touted by the Pakistan government as the country’s first-ever strategy paper of its kind.

Key highlights of the document

• Focus on trade: The 100-page policy document has also put out elaborate plans to open trade and business ties with India.
• Silent on Kashmir: Kashmir issue with India has been identified as a ‘vital national policy’ issue for Pakistan.
• No public discussion: Only a part of the national security policy will be made public.
• Defying hostility with India: The document states that Pakistan is not seeking hostility with India for the next 100 years.
• Curbing militancy: The new policy also deals with the issue of militant and dissident groups and advocates dialogue with ‘reconcilable elements.’
• No re-conciliation with India: There are no prospects of rapprochement with India under the current government.
• Others: On the internal front, the new policy identifies five key areas of population/migration, health, climate and water, food security and gender mainstreaming.

Significance of such policy

• Pakistan and India have mostly been at loggerheads with each other throughout history.
• During the first term of Narendra Modi in 2014, the relations took a positive turn when he announced his intentions to have cordial relations with Pakistan.
• He had also visited Islamabad in 2015 unannounced to attend a marriage ceremony in Ex-PMs family.
• However, the relations deteriorated following the horrific 2016 Uri attacks.

Concerns with Pakistan’s National Security Policy

• The vision laid out in the policy: There are concerns that this will result in increasing unchecked military control within the country and affect the borer-tensions with India as well.
• Increased corruption: The Pakistan Army has never fully exposed the country’s defence spending and it does not allow inspection of its huge network of economic businesses and real estate.
• Might increase extremism: There are concerns that Pakistan’s National Security Policy will result in increased radical events of extremism in the wake of challenging the security issues.
• Hamper country’s growth: Diverting resources from development to military, in addition to Pakistan’s philosophy and attitude, is seen to hamper the country’s social growth and economic management.

Implications of the National Security Policy of Pakistan on India

• The policy hints at peace with other countries, especially in the neighbourhood.
• Strategic establishment in India would need to look at the policy in the context of security challenges.
• The policy will impact Pakistan’s approach to India as an open-ended subject by changing the military engagements and infrastructure built up along the border areas.
• The economic pressures and primacy in the National Security Policy make India review its trade policy towards Pakistan and take advantage of better economic dynamics.
• India needs to demarcate a clear distinction between geo-politics and geo-economics in the context of provision of the policy.
• The policy is unlikely to bring any change in Pakistan’s active support to cross-border terrorism and position on Kashmir.

China as anchor

• Stoutly refusing to open up trade with India, Pakistan has looked to other economic and commercial partners among whom China is by far the most important.
• The security relationship was the anchor of the China-Pakistan ties. Now, Pakistan hopes that China will offer its assistance to transform its economy.
• It looks to the mechanisms under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to play a crucial role through connectivity, port development, power production and other investments.

Factors behind the complex bilateral ties between the two countries

(1) Cross-border Terrorism

• Terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan’s control remains a core concern in bilateral relations.
• India has consistently stressed the need for Pakistan to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action to end cross-border terrorism against India.
• Pakistan has yet not brought the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks 2008 to justice in the ongoing trials, even after all the evidence have been provided to them.
• India has firmly stated that it will not tolerate and comprise on issues regarding national security.
• Based on attacks in India and involvement of the neighboring country, the Indian Army had conducted surgical strike at various terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control, as an answer to the attack at the army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.
• India had again hit back over the cross-border terror attack on the convey of Indian security forces in Pulwama by carrying out a successful airstrike at a training camp of JeM in Balakot, Pakistan.

(2) Kashmir

• Due to political differences between the two countries, the territorial claim of Kashmir has been the subject of wars in 1947, 1965 and a limited conflict in 1999 and frequent ceasefire violations and promotion of rebellion within the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The then princely state remains an area of contention and is divided between the two countries by the Line of Control (LoC), which demarcates the ceasefire line agreed post-1947 conflict.

(3) Siachen Glacier

• Siachen Glacier is located in Northern Ladakh in the Karakoram Range.
• Most of the Siachen Glacier is disputed between India and Pakistan. Before 1984, neither of the two countries had any permanent presence on the glacier.
• Under the Shimla Agreement of 1972, the Siachen was called barren and useless. This Agreement also did not specify the boundary between India and Pakistan.
• When India got intelligence that Pakistan was going to occupy Siachen Glacier, it launched Operation Meghdoot to reach the glacier first.
• Following the success of Operation Meghdoot, the Indian Army obtained the area at a higher altitude and Pakistan army getting a much lower altitude. Thus, India has a strategic advantage in this region.
• Following the 2003 armistice treaty between the two countries, firing and bombardment have ceased in this area, though both the sides have stationed their armies in the region.

(4) Sir Creek Dispute

• Sir Creek is a 96 km estuary in the Rann of Kutch. Rann of Kutch lies between Gujarat (India) and Sindh (Pakistan).
• Pakistan claims the entire Sir Creek in accordance with a 1914 agreement that was signed between the Government of Sindh and Rulers of Kutch.
• India, on the other hand, claims that the boundary lies mid-channel as per a 1925 map.
• If one country agrees to the other’s position, the former will lose a vast amount of Exclusive Economic Zone that is rich with gas and mineral deposits.

(5) Water disputes

• The Indus Waters Treaty is the water distribution treaty signed between India and Pakistan, brokered by World Bank.
• According to the treaty, three rivers, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas were given to India for exclusive use and the other three rivers, Sindh, Jhelum and Chenab were given to Pakistan.
• This treaty failed to address the dispute since source rivers of Indus Basin were in India, having the potential to create drought and famines in Pakistan.
• Last year, Modi Government had stated that India would no longer allow its share of river waters to flow into Pakistan in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
• According to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, India can exploit rivers under its control without disturbing the flow or quantum. India plans to divert its three rivers to the Yamuna.

Major Achievements

Some of the confidence-building measures taken to improve Indo-Pakistan relations are as follows:

(1) Military CBMs

• Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities was signed in 1988 and ratified in 1990. The first exchange took place on January 1, 1992.
• As per the Agreement, India and Pakistan exchange the list of their nuclear installations to prevent attacking each other’s atomic facilities. This practise has been followed to date.
• Agreement on Advance Notification on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements were brought into effect in 1991 played a crucial role in deescalating the tensions on both sides of the LoC.
• A communication link between Pakistan Maritime Security Agency and the Indian Coast Guard was established in 2005 to facilitate the early exchange of information regarding anglers who are apprehended for straying into each other’s waters.
• A hotline between the Directors-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both the countries have been in effect since 1965 and was used in an unscheduled exchange to discuss troop movements and allay tensions in the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks.

(2) Non-military CBMs

• Delhi-Lahore Bus Service was initiated in 1999. It was suspended in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament Attack.
  • The bus service was later resumed in 2003 when bilateral relations had improved.
  • This service was recently suspended in 2019 in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution.
• Samjhauta Express was launched following the signing of the Shimla Agreement connects the Pakistani city of Lahore and the Indian town of Attari.
  • It had been suspended frequently, but due to negotiations, it was restarted. In 2019, it was suspended after the revocation of the special status of Kashmir.
• Weekly Bus Service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad was initiated in 2005. It has withstood the test of times and still operational.
• Since 2014, India has been successful in the repatriation of 2133 Indians from Pakistan’s custody (including fishermen), and still, about 275 Indians are believed to be in their custody
• The Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines was signed between the two countries in 1974.
• The protocol provides for three Hindu pilgrimages and four Sikh pilgrimages every year to visit 15 shrines in Pakistan while five Pakistan pilgrimage visit shrines in India.
• An agreement between India and Pakistan for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Pakistan, was signed on 24 October 2019 in order to fulfill the long-standing demand of the pilgrims to have easy and smooth access to the holy Gurudwara.

Failures in the CBM process

• Although there are hotlines connecting both military and political leaders in both countries, they have been scarcely used when required the most.
• The absence of communications has led to suspicions and accusations of misinformation.
• There is a disproportionate emphasis on military CBMs and inadequate recognition of several momentous non-military CBMs.
• Governments of both sides often use CBMs as political tools to win over specific constituencies, which can be very damaging in the long-run.
• Public conciliatory statements, which are meant to be CBMs, can have the opposite effect if they are insincere.

Way Forward

(1) Reforming Pakistan’s political structure

• Despite the democratic elections in Pakistan, the military wields real power in the country. This holds true especially on matters of defence, national security and foreign policy.
• Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), consisting for personnel from Pakistan Armed Forces, is often accused of supporting and training separatist militant groups operating in India.
• This makes it highly difficult for India to undertake diplomatic relations with the Pakistani government since it is not the decision-maker in the country.
• Thus, a strong political reform in Pakistan, one that focuses on the welfare of the Pakistani nationals is vital to improving its relations with India.

(2) People-to-people relations

• Propaganda is currently being used by both sides through the media to justify each other’s stand on conflicting issues.
• This is creating misconception, hatred and stereotyping among the people of both countries.
• This method is also used for political gains of both nations, with the least consideration towards people’s welfare and the need for peace.
• Steps must be taken to facilitate travel between the two countries, ease up visa regimes, provide security for tourists, set up student and faculty exchanges, and invite professionals, intellectuals and artists to events to promote the bilateral ties.

(3) Promote trade

Steps that can be undertaken to improve bilateral trade include:

• Remove non-tariff barriers and bureaucratic hurdles that are currently impeding trade.
• Cut down duties
• Improve customs clearance procedures
• Proportionate trade is beneficial for both sides and is possible through the right government policies.

(4) Promoting soft diplomacy

• Use of Indus Waters Treaty to promote hydro diplomacy. Both nations can come together to construct Water Grid between their territories to address the water problems in the region.
• Cultural diplomacy can be used through the exchange of ideas, values, traditions, and other cultural aspects to strengthen bilateral ties, enhance socio-cultural cooperation and promote individual national interest.
• Promotion of Cricket diplomacy i.e., the use of cricket as a diplomatic tool to overcome differences between the two countries.
• To a certain extent, soft diplomacy improved the people-to-people relations between the two countries and eased the tensions on both sides.

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The surge in demand for gig workers, particularly in the shared services and logistics segments, in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic led to mushrooming of job discovery platforms.

What is the gig economy?

• In a gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees.
• A gig economy undermines the traditional economy of full-time workers who rarely change positions and instead focus on a lifetime career. e.g Employee models of Uber, Ola, Swiggy etc
• In this economy, tech-enabled platforms connect the consumer to the gig worker to hire services on a short-term basis. Gig workers include self-employed, freelancers, independent contributors and part-time workers.
• This project-based gig economy allows the service adopter to cut overhead costs, and the gig worker to get paid for a specific task performed instead of receiving a fixed salary.
• The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles.

• At the same time, the gig economy can have downsides due to the erosion of traditional economic relationships between workers, businesses, and clients.
• Sectors such as media, real estate, legal, hospitality, technology-help, management, medicine, allied and education are already operating in gig culture.

Is Gig economy a new concept?

• The ‘Gig concept’ is very common in advanced countries like the US, Europe, who hire part time workers.
• With freelancing evolving into the Gig Economy, the concept is attracting a lot of people in India as well.
• Gig economy is remunerative and gives a wide range of choices but it also leads to casualization of the labor.

Trends in Gig Economy 

• The digital gig economy generated a gross volume of approximately $204 bn from worldwide customers in 2018. Transportation-based services contributed to over 50% of this value.
• The size of the gig economy is projected to grow by a 17% CAGR and generate a gross volume of ~$455 bn by 2023.
• Digital platforms have emerged as enablers for employment creation with the power to easily discover job seekers and job providers in the absence of middlemen.
• Due to the rapid developments in technology, the transaction cost for outsourcing non-core activities is reducing and facilitating an increase in the number of tasks which can be performed by each worker.
• Thus, firms are shrinking in size and we are witnessing a rise in start-ups which are outsourcing many activities to expert service providers on a contractual basis.
• While the gig economy is popular amongst the blue-collar workers in India, there is now huge potential for the white-collar workers as well, due to increasing demand in industries – project-specific consultants, logo/content design, web design etc.
• The gig economy is expanding from less skilled services to more skilled jobs.

Gig Economy in India

• The COVID-19 pandemic-induced remote working has blurred the age-old skepticism over the efficiency and dependability of contractual or part-time employees, with companies increasingly looking to hire gig workers.
• As per a report by ASSOCHAM, India’s gig sector is expected to increase to US$455 billion at a CAGR of 17% by 2024 and has the potential to expand at least 2x the pre-pandemic estimates.
• India has emerged as the 5^th largest country for flexi-staffing after US, China, Brazil and Japan. 
• Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana have most opportunities in terms of growth for the flexi-workers.
• In another estimate, India is likely to have 350 million gig jobs by 2025, presenting a huge opportunity for job seekers to capitalize and adapt to the changing work dynamics.
• At present, India has a pool of ~15 million freelance workers staffed in projects across IT, HR and designing. In addition, India’s workforce is growing by ~4 million people annually.
• And as most of them are young millennials, they are showing an increasing preference for gig contracts. This trend is expected to significantly impact gig economy in the near future.

Key Drivers for Gig Economy

(1) Unconventional work approach by millennials

• Hectic lifestyles of employees in private sectors have created a negative perception of full-time employment among millennials.
• Factors such as growth opportunities, flexibility, better work-life balance and option to not acquire a college degree are encouraging millennials to opt for freelancing opportunities as opposed to corporate work culture.

(2) Emergence of a start-up culture

• The start-up ecosystem in India has been developing rapidly. For start-ups, hiring full-time employees leads to high fixed costs and therefore, contractual freelancers are hired for non-core activities.
• Start-ups are also looking at hiring skilled technology freelancers (on a per project basis) in areas such as engineering, product, data science and ML to bolster their tech platforms.

(3) MNCs are hiring contractual employees

• MNCs are adopting flexi-hiring options, especially for niche projects, to reduce operational expenses after the pandemic. This trend is significantly contributing to the gig culture in India.

(4) Rise in freelancing platforms

• Rise in freelancing platforms has also aided in the development of the gig economy. Many home-grown platforms such as Upwork, Truelancer and Guru provide access to high-skilled freelancers.
• The number of freelancing platforms has significantly increased—from 80 in 2009 to 330 in 2021. These platforms boast of a clientele comprising not only start-ups, but also Fortune 500 companies.

(5) Business Models

• Gig employees work on various compensation models such as fixed-fee (decided during contract initiation), time & effort, actual unit of work delivered and quality of outcome.
• The fixed-fee model is the most prevalent; however, time & effort model comes a close second.

(6) Impact of Covid-19

• According to the survey, India stands to lose ~135 million jobs because of the pandemic and this is likely to push the full-time workforce towards the gig economy.
• Moreover, many laid-off employees are focusing on developing skills to avail freelance job opportunities and become a part of this burgeoning economy.

Why is Gig Economy preferred by workers?

• One can work on freelancing as well as work full-time somewhere else. Hence it is profitable to the worker as he can hit two targets together and multitask.
• It is very beneficial for women who work on this concept when they cannot continue their work or take a break from career due to marriage or child birth.
• Retired people can stay active after retirement as this will keep them engaged away from loneliness and depression and can earn as well on their own rather than depending on their children or pensions.
• It offers flexibility and diversity to the workers. It offers flexibility when workers can work according to their convenience and schedule rather than routine like in full-time jobs.
• The travel costs and energy to travel to the workplace is reduced.

Why is Gig Economy preferred by Employers?

• The efficiency, efficacy and productivity of workers in gig economy are much more than that of a stable full-time job.
• More Economical for employers – When employment givers can’t afford to hire full-time workers, they hire people for specific projects and pay them.
• Start-up companies and entrepreneurs – who do not have big financial space – can grow only if they can leverage the services of contract employees or freelancers.
• In a gig economy, businesses save resources in terms of benefits, office space and training. (Reference – Whatis)
• Competition and efficiency among workers improved.

Challenges faced in Gig economy

• There are no labour welfare emoluments like pension, gratuity, etc. for the workers.
• Gig workers may face unfair termination. They may also attain minimum wages and less paid leave.
• Workers do not have the bargaining power to negotiate a fair deal with their employers.
• Unionization of workers will be difficult.
• Confidentiality of documents etc of the workplace is not guaranteed
• The gig economy is not accessible for people in many rural areas where internet connectivity and electricity is unavailable.
• The social welfare objectives can be neglected if business and profitable avenues of freelancing are prioritized.

What are the major impacts of the gig economy?

• Gig economy companies had introduced innovative systems and methods to the labour market. These methods are offering workers flexibility and the freedom to choose how and when they work.
• But this chaotic and amoebic environment has helped create an environment of exploitation where workers get minimal protection and low wages.
• A government study in the UK recently established that a quarter of the people working in the country’s gig economy are being paid below the national minimum wage.
• As most of the gig economy companies act as an aggregator and digital companies, their interaction with the labourers and customers is minimal.

Gig Economy and the women empowerment

• The women are considerably placed in a victimised position in the workplace. The flexibility that the gig economy offers women help to come out of the shackles of the male domination.
• The financial independence is often considered as the first step towards the women empowerment. The labour of the women will be valued and paid worth for.
• Rise and participation of the women in the job market would help in improving the indicators where women participation is considered the least and they will occupy roles as the decision makers.
• But women due to lack of certain options are forced to perform the dual responsibility of work and home.
• Dual exploitation faced as they are sandwiched between the familial and professional responsibilities where they have to forego their professional lives.

Code on Social Security 2019

• To aid gig workers, the govt passed the ‘Code on Social Security’, which will provide workers with life and disability cover, accidental insurance, health & maternity benefits old age protection and others.
• Under this code, the central and state governments will primarily fund social security measures, with a nominal contribution (1-2% of their annual turnover) by the aggregator.
• Also, the contribution made by the aggregator/platform will not exceed 5% of the amount payable to gig and platform workers.
• In addition, the code proposed to establish a ‘National Social Security Board’, which will supervise and formulate schemes for the well-being of gig and platform workers.

Way Forward

• The gig economy has been on the rise and is expected to beat the pre-pandemic estimates due the expected influx of gig workers transitioning from full-time employment.
• While the government has taken the initial steps to ensure social security of gig workers, the ‘Code on Social Security’ needs to be fine-tuned.
• Further, all platform workers should be offered mandatory coverage under the Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
  • This can be facilitated through the employer companies and will ensure employee protection; thus, guaranteeing a sustainable gig economy.
• There should be revamped of employee policy assessments and evaluations. An effective evaluation process is required to ensure consistent and quality work, where customized assessment procedures need to be developed.
• India should learn from developed countries like the US and basic training and courses on freelancing, etc. should be provided to people.
• Career Avenues, choices, counselling should be available to students and workers on gig economy.
• Companies will also need a human resource department that can manage a diverse workforce and imbue the company’s culture into gig workers.

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