Category: Strategy Sessions

Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence, the guidance, and knew the strength and weaknesses of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Arjuna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards victory.

Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

#Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

#Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

#Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

# 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

#Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

#Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

#Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

#How to revise effectively and not merely review?

#Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

# Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

#An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

#Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

-Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

See you soon!

A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

E-waste management is a complicated process given the multitude of actors that are involved in the process. Even though the e-waste management policies are in place since 2011 in India, implementation has been sluggish. As of today, some 95% of e-waste is managed by the informal sector which operates under inferior working conditions and relies on crude techniques for dismantling and recycling.

Problem of the millennium

• The world dumped a record 53.6 million tons (Mt) of e-waste in 2019, recycling only 17.4% of it.
• India has an e-waste management policy in place since 2011, with its scope expanded in 2016 and 2018. Yet, the pace of its implementation has not been satisfactory.
• An attempt is made here to outline key policy measures to improve recycling capacity in India through market-based mechanisms for policy enforcement.

What is E-waste?

• Electronic waste (e-waste) i.e., waste arising from end-of-life electronic products, such as computers and mobile phones, is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world today.

Why is it generated at such a large scale?

• With the enhancement in the standard of living, modern societies have become resource-intensive in their consumption.
• This has increased the demand for electronic items while considerably bringing down the life cycle of electronic products.
• Coupled with planned obsolescence by the producers, inadequate repair options or awareness about deposit refund policies consumers tend to dispose of electronic goods along with other household waste, thus products entering the informal market.
• Again the life span of devices is getting shorter with the rapid pace of technological advancements, improved specifications and better performance.
• This has led to product replacements much before these run out of their usable periods.

What is E-waste Management?

• E-waste is generated when the first user of the product concludes on its useful life with no intention of reuse and disposes of it by donating or selling.
• This e-waste can be managed either formally through collection or disposal in waste bins or informally through developed e-waste management infrastructure or even without it.

E-waste value chain

• E-waste management is a complicated process given the multitude of actors that are involved in the process.
• The major stakeholders in the value chain include importers, producers/manufacturers, retailers (businesses/government/others), consumers (individual households, businesses, government and others), traders, scrap dealers, dissemblers/dismantlers and recyclers.
• To critically assess each in the different stages of processing, it is important to understand the e-waste value chain.
• The process involves four stages: generation, collection, segregation and treatment/disposal.

[1] Generation (discussed earlier)

[2] Collection

• E-waste is collected by designated organizations, producers, Government retailer take-back, and producer take-back. This e-waste is then taken to a specialised treatment facility.
• The disposer resorts to openly dumping the product in a waste bin along with other household wastes. E-waste ends up being incinerated or landfilled as other domestic waste.
• Some countries may have an established network of individual waste dealers or companies who collect and trade the e-waste through various channels wherein possible metal recycling may occur at the destination.

[3] Segregation and Disposal

• The e-waste collected may be sold to an informal dealer who may repair, refurbish, or sell again to a backyard recycler.
• This recycler dismantles the product through burning, leaching, and melting, thus converting it into secondary raw materials.

India’s regulatory ecosystem

• Indian electronics sector boomed in the last decade.
• Increased production and penetration of imported electronics items led to an accelerated e-waste generation that necessitated regulatory control over the sector.
• India has Electronic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 in place since . Its scope was expanded in 2016 and 2018 through amendments.

Provisions of the 2011 Rules

• To streamline e-waste management, the Government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) whereby producers were required to collect and recycle electronic items.
• Since manufacturers were incurring the disposal cost, their designs would incorporate less toxic and easily recyclable materials, thereby reducing input material requirement.

Inherent flaws

• The pace of its implementation has not been satisfactory.
• Less than five percent of the waste is treated through formal recycling facilities.
• The rest is handled by the informal sector with very little enforcement of environmental and occupational safety norms.

Why?

• A deeper analysis revealed that the EPR regulations in India were not quantified through collection or recycling targets as in other countries with better implementation framework and mechanisms.
• In the absence of targets, producers had little incentive to ensure the collection of their used products.

Subsequent amendments

[I] Deposit-refund system (DRS): This resulted in the e-waste rules being amended in 2016 to include collection targets and implementing a deposit-refund system (DRS) by the producers. In a DRS, an upfront deposit is charged to the consumer at the time of purchase of the product, and the deposit is refunded when the product is safely returned to the producer.

[II] Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs): The 2018 amendment made provision for the registration of PROs. PROs in India offer comprehensive compliance services, from negotiating the most cost-effective regional collection and recycling contracts with different recyclers to helping producers meet outreach and awareness-raising requirement.

Current scenario and issues in e-waste recycling

• Crude and Scrappage: As of today, some 95% of e-waste is managed by the informal sector which operates under inferior working conditions and relies on crude techniques for dismantling and recycling.
• Infrastructure lacunae: Another important issue is the lack of sufficient metal processing infrastructure which is why recyclers have to export materials to global smelters.
• Price competencies: As aggregators are mostly informal, they demand up-front cash payments.
• Bloomed informal network: The informal network is well-established and rests on social capital ties that PROs have yet to establish and are hence insulated from reaching the viable number of aggregators.
• Policy failure: Policy changes have tried repeatedly to formalize the sector, but issues of implementation persist on the ground.

Stakeholder analysis

• The demand and supply side gap analysis against the backdrop of the regulatory landscape reveals two major stakeholders in the process – (1) Business Advocates and (2) Public and Media Gatekeepers.
• The Government remains a great catalyst in the entire process. Its role can be discounted to that of a facilitator and a regulator in a self-propelled market.
• It is important that consumers responsibly consume the product for its useful life and then weigh between the chances of repair or disposal with utmost consciousness towards the environment.
• On the supply side, e-waste can be reduced when producers design electronic products that are safer, and more durable, repairable and recyclable. Manufacturers must reuse the recyclable materials and not mine rare elements unnecessarily to meet new production.

Recommendations (by author)

• The electronics sector will have to adapt operations to reduce virgin material usage and build technologies around greater extraction and recycling capabilities.
• Process designs should be revolutionized to find alternatives to existing practices to not unsustainably extract rare earth resources.
• Optimising the e-waste recycling chain requires strict monitoring, enforcement and tracking, the realization of economies of scale and global cooperation.
• Failing to address any of these elements will result in suboptimal resource efficiency while posing a risk to the environment.
• Enforcement of EPR targets and comprehensive monitoring of formal recycling flows and processes is a critical first step to avoid leakage of valuable materials to an uncontrolled informal sector.
• In India, public awareness of e-waste hazards and recycling is low. People should be made aware of the trade-offs between sustainability and consumerism through both industry campaigns and media networks.

India can grab the opportunity

• Since India is highly deficient in precious mineral resources, there is a need for a well-designed, robust and regulated e-waste recovery regime that would generate jobs and wealth.
• If these materials are domestically isolated, it can lead to greater metals security and resource efficiency in the country.

Way forward

• The consumers must responsibly consume the product for its useful life and then weigh between the chances of repair or disposal with utmost consciousness towards the environment.
• On the supply side, e-waste can be reduced when producers design electronic products that are safer, and more durable, repairable and recyclable.
• Manufacturers must reuse the recyclable materials and not mine rare elements unnecessarily to meet new production.
• Rather than hoping that informal recyclers become formal it would be more feasible for companies and the state to design programs ensure e-waste easily makes its way to proper recyclers.

Conclusion

• The size and complexity of the e-waste problem are growing at a much quicker rate than the efficacy of strategies to contain it.
• The policy advocates for greater awareness campaigns on the part of producers.
• Concerted efforts are important to generate a momentum of sustained efforts towards increasing disposal through formal channels and catalyzing sustainable consumption patterns.

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Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence,the guidance, and knew the strength and weakness of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Ajruna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards the victory.

Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

#Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

#Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

#Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

# 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

#Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

#Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

#Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

#How to revise effectively and not merely review?

#Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

# Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

#An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

#Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

-Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

See you soon!

A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

Zoom Link : https://zoom.us/j/94446878902?pwd=L3pSaUNCcDM0ZWJLSGRPVjlLVXE1QT09

Register for a Live Webinar with Me – Date: 04 July 2021, Time: 3 PM

In the great war of Mahabharata between Kaurava and Pandava, both wanted Krishna on their side. He gave both of them the choice of either his entire army, or himself as charioteer on a condition that he would neither fight nor hold any weapon. Duryodhana happily chose his army while Arjuna his guidance by choosing him as his charioteer.  

There was a reason why Arjun chose Krishna, he was the person who provided the intelligence, the guidance, and knew the strength and weaknesses of Arjuna. We know the result of the Kurushetra war, which was won by Arjuna under his guidance. He guided Arjuna to avoid mistakes and strive for his best towards victory.

Similarly, for UPSC aspirants those who have right guidance to clear Prelims, while others often commit mistakes that cost them success even at the first level i.e. the UPSC prelims. Around 95% fail at this level only. 

There are Three mistakes of UPSC preparation- the mistakes which cost attempts and dreams:

#Mistake No-1: Relying on short cuts and long cuts:

#Mistake No- 2: Not developing conceptual understanding and interlinking: 

#Mistake-No 3. Poor Assessment of own preparation i.e. Practice tests

It is said that Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Let’s do that differently this time.

Understanding those mistakes and rectifying it helped me to score 145.34 and 142 in UPSC prelims GS paper when the cutoffs were 102 and 98 respectively and always above 120 plus in all attempts. 

Fortunately, there is still around 100 days before you sit in Prelims- 2021. All you need is a mentor and a guide who understands your preparation as Krishna and helps you hit only the TARGET nothing else. Someone who himself has scored 120 plus always Prelims and understands part and parcel of the exam process.

If you are willing to give your 110%, I will be available to ensure in the next 90 days  that you will come out of the examination hall with confidence and not with borderline cases, who waste next month in anticipation of prelims results, which could utilised for mains.

So if you are determined and willing to work hard, then only you are welcome to webinar on this Sunday (04.07.2021) at 3PM. 

In this webinar, you can expect to learn about:

# 90 days concrete plan for Prelims-2021

#Changed pattern of prelims- overall change and subject wise change

#Subject specific focus : Polity, economy, ecology, history, geography, art and culture, S&T and IR: resources, methods, scope and utility in pre and mains

#Current affairs: Learn keywords approach

#How to revise effectively and not merely review?

#Time Management skills and optimal utilisation of resources

# Maximum benefit from Test series: Learn 3 fold approach to solve questions 

#An interactive Q&A session with Santosh Gupta sir. 

#Important Civilsdaily softcopies takeaway for exam preparation.

-Not only ideas, but a concrete 90 days plan of execution.

See you soon!

A quick bit about Santosh Gupta:

Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interview 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. He is presently working as Assistant Commissioner in Commercial Tax Department in Government of Bihar. He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.

India has completed 30 years of liberalization regime. Multi-pronged reforms agenda was launched in 1991. Over the years India has become one of the fastest growing economies in 21st century and the reforms agenda continues to be in focus along with the quest for self-reliance. In this edition we will discuss and analyse all aspects of this issue.

In 1991, India’s population was 83.8 crore. In 2021, it is estimated at 139 crore. Effectively four of ten Indians, or 55 crore Indians scarcely know of an India which existed in perpetual want – when people waited for years for a phone, LPG connection and even a scooter. Today, the Aadhaar-based digital infrastructure enables Indians to get a phone connection or open a bank account in minutes.

1991 Economic Reforms

• The 1991 economic reforms refer to the economic liberalization of the country’s economic policies with the goal of making the economy more market and service-oriented and expanding the role of private and foreign investment.
• It was part of a general pattern of economic liberalization and modernization occurring across the world in the late 20th century.
• It was prompted by a balance of payments crisis that had led to a severe recession.
• Specific changes included reducing import tariffs, deregulating markets, and reducing taxes, which led to an increase in foreign investment and high economic growth in the 1990s and 2000s.

What was the pre-liberalization economic policy?

• Indian economic policy after independence was influenced by the exploitative colonial experience and by those leaders’ exposure to socialism.
• Policy tended towards protectionism, with a strong emphasis on import substitution industrialization under state intervention.
• Licence Raj established an “irresponsible, self-perpetuating bureaucracy” and corruption flourished under this system which created widespread economic stagnation.

The story of 30 years

This can be categorized into:

• Growth: with many regime changes, fiscal deficit has been reduced to 4% from then 8%.
• Trade policy: Tariff got reduced eventually facilitating import and multilateral trade.
• Industry and licence policy: Except Railways and atomic energy got delicensed. India has become Startup capital of the world.
• Financial sector reforms: Banking, NPAs were crux of this reforms.
• RBI and Govt relations: This have been redefined since then. Govt has not been using Ad-Hoc treasury bills and replaced by T-Bills of RBI.
• Employment: Now private companies have raised to give employment to innumerable and the hunt for govt jobs has reduced.

Major outcomes of the reforms

1991 reforms ushered in an era of high growth, declining poverty, a burgeoning, aspirational middle class and the very real possibility of a seat on the global stage.

• By the first decade of the 21^st century, India began to be seen as one of the fastest growing emerging markets.
• The 1991 reforms unleashed the energies of Indian entrepreneurs, gave untold choice to consumers and changed the face of the Indian economy.
• Far from poverty increasing, for the first time, there was a substantial reduction in it.
• From 1992 to 2005, foreign investment increased 316.9%, and India’s GDP grew from $266 billion in 1991 to $2.3 trillion in 2018.
• It redefined the role of State as facilitator & neutral regulator.

“For sure, China is enabled by the authoritarian system whereas India is a vocal democracy. Yet the fact is the authoritarian state has done better on every development indicator.”

Shortcomings of the reforms

• When we see the growth of economy on one side, on the other side, inequality has sustained. The reforms has not reached to socials sectors like education, health, skill development.
• The share of manufacturing in the GDP has largely remained stagnant.
• Economic liberalization has failed to provide secure and decent jobs to the mass of the population.
• Informality, under-employment and low inter-generational mobility persisted through the heady days of growth
• State now has become redundant and its role in the economy has reduced only as facilitator of business. This has damaged the government’s capacity in two ways.
• First, it incapacitated the government to respond to emergencies based on credible information. Second, the logic and policies of economic liberalization seriously undermined the manufacturing capabilities of India.

Challenges in 2021

Markets in India operate in the context of deep structural inequalities. Our 1991 economic imagination responded to these realities by framing the debate in false binaries of growth versus inequality.

• The pandemic-induced lockdown brought the wheels of economic activity to a grinding halt, triggering a sharp economic contraction.
• This has resulted in a collapse in production following the disruption caused by the pandemic, which, in turn, has caused a fall in demand.
• Public expenditure must happen for the next stage of economic growth.

” The economic reforms and agenda of 1991 has lot of challenges and opportunities which lie ahead in terms of economic growth, above mentioned reforms have to be taken at the earliest”

Liberalization 2.0 needed

• Economic growth is sustained by the virtuous cycle of income- consumption-demand-investment-growth.
• In theory, India dismantled licence raj but permission raj persists. Successive governments have shied away from reviewing the process of clearances.
• Small and medium enterprises are the bulwark of employment and exports but suffer from over-regulation and under-provision of capital.
• India’s policy on FDI has been defined less by objectives and more by crises.
• This has detained expansion in the areas where access to capital and technology could have made India a dominant player – for instance in electronics and computer hardware.
• Growth at a macro level is but a means to achieve ends.
• No country has progressed without investing in human development and yet India has struggled to up the spending on education and health.

Conclusion

• The defining factor in success is a sense of political purpose and efficiency of the state.
• Three decades after liberalization, India continues with a ministerial structure designed for state-led industrialization.
• Five decades after the first Administrative Reforms Commission, the political economy wrestles with the very same issues which it interrogated in the 1960s.
• To deliver on the promise of its potential, India needs to complete the unfinished agenda —install Gov 2.0 to enable minimum government and maximum governance.
• Finally, the limitations to invest in human capital, health, education, nutrition, worse, treating these as an afterthought, a luxury of high growth. This is both an economic and a moral failure.

There can be no sustainable growth without first investing in people and enabling them the opportunity to be active participants in the economy. If there is only one lesson to be learnt from the 1991 moment, let it be this.

Reference:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar set out India’s red lines for the settlement process in Afghanistan during a UNSC debate. A Qatari official revealed that there was a “quiet visit by Indian officials to speak with the Taliban”.

India has been becoming more central to the negotiations with the Talibans. In this article we will discuss and analyse all aspects of Afghan peace process from India’s perspective.

The tension is the change in “the balance of influence between regional powers and the wider international community” where non-Western states have become more influential in matters of regional security.

Afghan Peace Process

• The Afghan peace process comprises the proposals and negotiations in a bid to end the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
• This US-Taliban deal signed in February 2020 was seen in India as a “victory for Taliban and Pakistan”.
• Although sporadic efforts have taken place since the war began in 2001, negotiations and the peace movement intensified in 2018 amid talks between the Taliban, which is the main insurgent group.
• Besides the US, major powers such as China, India, Russia, as well as NATO play a part that they see as facilitating the peace process.
• The Afghan peace group People’s Peace Movement sees regional and global powers as a cause of continued war.

The peace process has not made much headway mainly because violence by the Taliban continues unabated. The Taliban now view this as an important milestone and is busy trying to establish their military superiority on the ground.

Taliban prowess is ever increasing

• Every single day since the ceasefire, the Taliban is strengthening and violence is mounting high.
• Taliban is now more organized as an organization with diplomats on par with modern democratic nations with a state apparatus propaganda.
• The Taliban strategy seems to be to capture power in Kabul by violence and intimidation despite warnings from the international community.
• At the core of its diplomacy lies the untenable violent extremism based on radical religious ideology.

India and Afghanistan

• India’s contribution has been phenomenal in every area in Afghanistan since India built the Afghan Parliament.
• India has been a major military and developmental assistance partner for Afghanistan.

After years of mortal enmity, India is reportedly recalibrating its approach to the Taliban. Reports say New Delhi has opened an exploratory channel with a few Taliban factions. What explains this shift?

Why is India engaging with the Taliban?

• As the world and India have changed there is an aspiration that Afghan can’t be brought back from the brink.
• India wants to play a positive role and sabotage those countries that support other terror groups in Afghan.
• It is visibly clear and Taliban has claimed that the US withdrawal is a victory for them. At the same time, the democratically elected Afghan government is crashing.
• India is pressing on a peace process all around Afghanistan so that all countries shall be peaceful.

India’s concerns

• India is concerned over the violence and loss of lives in Afghanistan. Violence has increased manifold after peace talks have started.
• India, which has committed $3 billion in development aid and reconstruction activities, backs the Ashraf Ghani government in war-torn country.
• New Delhi wants an all-inclusive “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled” peace process—not one that is remote-controlled by Pakistan, seen as the backers of the Taliban.
• It supports zero tolerance against violence.
• Our EAM has iterated that there is need of double peace i.e., within and around Afghan indirectly pointing towards the terror breeding centre, Pakistan.

What are the stakes for India?

• Afghanistan is a part of  India’s  extended  neighborhood and a link to Central Asia.
• But for Pakistan occupying part of Kashmir, India would have had a direct border with Afghanistan.
• Despite claims that the Taliban have changed in the past two decades, there is no proof that it has shed any of its obscurantist ideology which leans heavily towards Pakistan’s official foreign policy towards India.
• A Taliban-controlled government in Kabul would mean Pakistan controlling Afghan policy on India.
• And a repeat of the past when Pakistan used Afghanistan territory for anti-India activities.

US withdrawal raises the prospect of an India-Pakistan ‘proxy war’ in Afghanistan, it is neither inevitable nor will it be in India’s interest to engage in such a messy conflict with Pakistan in Afghanistan, especially when Pakistan will likely have the dominant hand.

Fear over sudden US withdrawal

• US withdrawal at this moment is very dangerous to Afghan. The Taliban is waiting for the US to withdraw.
• Once the last US marine leaves, it is no doubt that the Taliban would seize Kabul and bring the entire Afghan nation under control.
• With violence continuing, Afghanistan may slip back into civil war, with warlords cutting deals with the Taliban to control their areas of influence, triggering an indefinite period of instability in the entire region.

Terrorism and its export

• Cross border terrorism is increasing at the Indian borders. Pakistan has been since long sponsoring them modern arms.
• A ceasefire in Afghanistan may spill over the terror in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

International community’s role

• Many countries have been trying through multiple tracks to kickstart the stalled peace process in Afghanistan.
• UN-backed talks among Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, and the US “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan,” do not seem to be happening.

Role of regional actors: India and Pakistan

• Both rivals India and Pakistan have been in conflict regarding the Afghan peace process.
• Following a May 2020 attack at a hospital in Kabul, which the Afghan state blamed on the Taliban while the US blamed the regional ISIS branch, Pakistan accused India of trying to derail the process.
• The Afghan government denied Pakistan’s claims and cited that India is a partner.

Way forward

• India’s role in Afghan’s peace process and the road ahead is difficult as we see more process and less peace.
• India has urged for a permanent & comprehensive ceasefire in Afghanistan.
• Our External Affairs Minister has said that durable peace requires peace within & around Afghanistan. India also asserted the need for zero tolerance for terrorism.

 For a peaceful subcontinent

• Taliban have several sections that are both radical and some want talks with the international community.
• So international organizations like the UN must come forward to stop Pakistan sponsor of terrorism. The FATF should move beyond grey-listing itself.
• Nations should come together against the Taliban so that it can’t move forward without any foreign aid.
• Aid and developmental cooperation through the UN, India, USA must be done simultaneously for the restoration of democracy.

Conclusion

• A lot of complexities are involved in the Afghan theatre; tangible demonstration of commitment is required from all stakeholders for a political settlement and to have a permanent ceasefire in Afghanistan.

Reference

The End of Civilsdaily’s UPSC CS 2022, National Scholarship Test Dates extension is nearing today. By end of the day today the National Scholarship test UPSC CS 2022, submission deadline will end. We have seen a phenomenal response and pan India interest for the test. So aspirants, ensure you don’t miss out on the benefits.

Sign up fast for the test today !!

Test yourself on a national level and Get up to a 100% scholarship.

Date – 28th and 29th of June.

Please Click on Test Submit after finishing the Test.

• Mode: Online
• Registration Fee – Free
• Language: English
• Time: 2 Hrs
• Syllabus: GS Paper 1 (Preliminary exam)
• No. of Questions: 100
• Date: 26th and 27th June
• Time: 10 AM
• Result: 28/06/2022

Why should you take the CD’s Scholarship Test? 

1. Test your preparation on UPSC-CSE grade questions, at national level.
2. Chance to compete against the best. See where you stand.
3. Identify your strengths, weak points, and problem areas (subject wise).
4. Mentors will provide personalised counselling based on your performance in the scholarship test. 
5. A detailed discussion will help you navigate through the challenges during the preparation.
6. Achieve up to 100% scholarship in our exclusive mentorship programme. 

As the program is rigorous and involves individual attention thus we can take only limited enrollments. Hence, we are going to conduct a Scholarship Exam on the 26th and 27th of June. Depending on your relative score, you can get up to a 100% scholarship.

We are looking for-

• Serious and hardworking aspirants.
• Ready to dedicate a minimum of 5-8 hours daily.
• Can Complete assigned targets and tests without fail.
• Keeping single point focus of Clearing UPSC Civil Services 2022.
• Willing to take feedback from mentors after each test.

Our 1:1 mentorship program – (Achieve up to 100% scholarship)

Ultimate Assessment Program and Foundation Program includes – 

• Mentorship (1:1, throughout the preparation)
• Masterclasses (complete GS syllabus covered, Only provided in Foundation course)
• Samachar Manthan (Current affairs Programme)
• Decimate Prelims (Prelims Crash course)
• Mains Answer Writing Initiative
• Smash Mains (invite only)
• Essay Guidance Program
• Interview Guidance Program
• Civilsdaily IAS community for Peer to Peer Interaction

Post-registration, you will receive an email notification with details. If you are facing any issue in registration then pls email at dj@civilsdaily.com or WhatsApp/call on 8929987787. 

Dates are being extended for Civilsdaily’s National Scholarship Test For UPSC-CSE 2022, as we are looking at a huge turnout and want the benefits to reach the most eligible irrespective of any divide. So aspirants, sign up for the test today !!

Test yourself on a national level and Get up to a 100% scholarship.

Date – 28th and 29th of June.

Please Click on Test Submit after finishing the Test.

• Mode: Online
• Registration Fee – Free
• Language: English
• Time: 2 Hrs
• Syllabus: GS Paper 1 (Preliminary exam)
• No. of Questions: 100
• Date: 26th and 27th June
• Time: 10 AM
• Result: 28/06/2022

Why should you take the CD’s Scholarship Test? 

1. Test your preparation on UPSC-CSE grade questions, at national level.
2. Chance to compete against the best. See where you stand.
3. Identify your strengths, weak points, and problem areas (subject wise).
4. Mentors will provide personalised counselling based on your performance in the scholarship test. 
5. A detailed discussion will help you navigate through the challenges during the preparation.
6. Achieve up to 100% scholarship in our exclusive mentorship programme. 

As the program is rigorous and involves individual attention thus we can take only limited enrollments. Hence, we are going to conduct a Scholarship Exam on the 26th and 27th of June. Depending on your relative score, you can get up to a 100% scholarship.

We are looking for-

• Serious and hardworking aspirants.
• Ready to dedicate a minimum of 5-8 hours daily.
• Can Complete assigned targets and tests without fail.
• Keeping single point focus of Clearing UPSC Civil Services 2022.
• Willing to take feedback from mentors after each test.

Our 1:1 mentorship program – (Achieve up to 100% scholarship)

Ultimate Assessment Program and Foundation Program includes – 

• Mentorship (1:1, throughout the preparation)
• Masterclasses (complete GS syllabus covered, Only provided in Foundation course)
• Samachar Manthan (Current affairs Programme)
• Decimate Prelims (Prelims Crash course)
• Mains Answer Writing Initiative
• Smash Mains (invite only)
• Essay Guidance Program
• Interview Guidance Program
• Civilsdaily IAS community for Peer to Peer Interaction

Post-registration, you will receive an email notification with details. If you are facing any issue in registration then pls email at dj@civilsdaily.com or WhatsApp/call on 8929987787. 

About Anushka

Hi, I am Anusha. I am a working professional. After my 2 failed attempts, I felt I was lacking direction and decided to join any mentorship program. I have joined Civilsdaily in August 2020. I was assigned Asif Sir as my mentor.

About her mentor:

I have very great experience with my mentor. He would discuss my strengths and weakness in a topic and then use to give the targets for the week. Even if I don’t lift the scheduled call, he would message me asking my well being and my availability to discuss my progress in completing the targets.

My experience with UAP 2020 program:

In my previous attempts I have concentrated only on reading and jumping from one source to another.

Samachar Manthan helped me to start writing.

I was getting customized plan yet because of my hectic workload and other reasons, I wasn’t able to complete my targets. My mentor patiently listened to my problems and gave me motivation and way around to complete my targets.

I would surely bet that had not I have joined this initiative, I would have lost in the mid-way. Because preparing on your own being an working professional have its own challenges.

I would conclude that if one can afford the course given time constraints and exhaustive syllabus, Civilsdaily mentorship is worth joining for.