📰 Government releases draft national air sports policy
It proposes to declare popular air sports attractions as ‘control zones’
•The government on Sunday released a draft national policy for air sports in the country that will require entities providing these services and their equipment to be registered, as well as be liable for penalties.
•The policy proposes a two-tier governance structure for air sports in the country, which will include an apex governing body called the Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) and associations for each air sport. It will cover activities like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding, paragliding, microlighting, paramotoring, skydiving, and vintage aircraft.
•The ASFI will be an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and will represent India at the Lausanne-headquartered Fédération Aéronaautique Internationale (FAI) and other global platforms related to air sports. It will provide governance over various aspects of air sports, including regulation, certification, competitions, awards and penalties, etc.
•Each air sports association will lay down its safety standards for equipment, infrastructure, personnel and training, and specify the disciplinary actions to be taken in case of non-compliance. Inability to do so may lead to penal action by the ASFI.
•All persons and entities providing air sports services will be required to register as members of the respective air sports associations. Key equipment used will also have to be registered.
•It is proposed that popular air sports attractions in the country such as Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh, Gangtok in Sikkim, Hadapsar in Maharashtra and Vagamon in Kerala can be declared as a “control zone” for air sports in order to ensure the safety of other manned aircraft.
•Schools and colleges will be encouraged to include air sports in their curriculum and their students will have the opportunity to participate in the FAI’s international competitions.
•The draft policy also aims to promote domestic design, development and manufacturing of air sports equipment under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan; waive import duty on equipment for a few years; as well as request the GST Council to consider rationalising the GST rate on air sports equipment to 5% or less.
📰 Two new plant species discovered in Ghats
Researchers find them in Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad districts
•Researchers from SNM College Maliankara, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Payyanur College have reported two new plant species from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats regions in Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts.
•They have been christened Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii, and the findings by the research teams have been detailed in the November and December issues of the plant taxonomy journal Phytotaxa.
•Collected from the grasslands of Ponmudi hills, Thiruvananthapuram, Fimbristylis sunilii has been named after plant taxonomist C.N. Sunil, retired professor and research guide of Botany, SNM College.
Data deficient
•A perennial plant of the Cyperaceae family, it stands 20-59 cm tall and was collected from an elevation of 1,100 metres. Fimbristylis sunilii has been provisionally assessed as data deficient (DD) under the IUCN Red List categories, according to the authors M.G. Sanilkumar., E.C. Baiju, Nitya Madanan and Divya P.V., affiliated to the Research Department of Botany, SNM College.
•Neanotis prabhuii is a prostrate perennial herb named after K.M. Prabhukumar, Senior Scientist at CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, in recognition of his research on flowering plants of the Western Ghats and contributions to biodiversity conservation. Discovered in the Chembra Peak grasslands of Wayanad, it hails from the family Rubiaceae and grows on high-altitude grasslands.
•Neanotis prabhuii grows up to 70 cm in length and is many-flowered with the petals pale pink in colour, according to authors C.N. Sunil, M.G. Sanilkumar and Nitya Madanan from the Research Department of Botany, SNM College; Anilkumar and Salim Pichan from M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation; and Ratheesh Narayanan, from the Department of Botany, Payyanur College.
•Neanotis prabhuii has been categorised data deficient (DD) in the absence of any detailed observations and data on populations, the authors said.
📰 State schemes can cast a lifeline to this welfare plan
Five years since its introduction, there is vast scope for improvement in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
•India accounts for a fifth of the total childbirths in the world, with a maternal mortality rate of 113 per 1,00,000 live births. On January 1, 2017, the Government rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), where a ‘cash incentive of ₹5,000 is provided directly to the bank/post office account of pregnant women and lactating mothers for the first living child of the family (subject to fulfilling specific conditions relating to maternal and child health)’. It is aimed at improving health-seeking behaviour and to compensate for wage loss for pregnant women, particularly in the unorganised sectors. However, the performance of the scheme has been deficient, necessitating urgent need for improvement especially when the novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in economic shocks for 260 lakh women who deliver on an average a child each year in India.
How the PMMVY fares
•Since its inception, the PMMVY has covered 2.01 crore women nationally, disbursing a total amount of ₹8,722 crore. But the annual estimate of the targeted beneficiaries by the Government of India has remained the same over the years. While the estimated eligible population of pregnant and lactating mothers in India was 128.7 lakh for 2017-18 (as in a report by the Centre for Policy Research 2019-20), the target set by the Government was 51.70 lakh beneficiaries, which is only 40% of the eligible population. This means that we have an exclusion error of at least 60% since 2017, as the target has remained unchanged over the years. Further, the enrolment and disbursements under the scheme have witnessed a downward fall in the last two years, as in the data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in response to my parliamentary questions. In 2020-21, more than 50% of registered beneficiaries did not receive all three instalments and there was a 9% drop in enrolment under the scheme.
•Despite the Government’s continued emphasis on maternal and child health, the overall budget for women and child development was reduced by 20% for 2021-22. Additionally, Budget allocation for the PMMVY has also been slashed as it has been clubbed under SAMARTHYA along with multiple other schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Mahila Shakti Kendra and Gender Budgeting/Research/Training. The overall budget of SAMARTHYA is ₹2,522 crore, which is nearly equivalent to the budget of PMMVY alone in the previous financial years.
States show the way
•While the Centre rolled out the PMMVY scheme at the national level, States such as Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, respectively, chose to implement State-specific schemes for maternity benefits in the form of MAMATA (2011) or the maternity entitlement scheme, the KCR Kit (2017), which has items such as baby oil, soaps, mosquito net and dresses, and the Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme (MRMBS) with relatively increased coverage and higher maternity benefits. Odisha’s MAMATA, for instance, has been offering a conditional cash transfer of ₹5,000 as maternity benefit for up to two live births for more than a decade now.
•In a comparative analysis between the PMMVY and MAMATA for 2020-21, the PMMVY shows poor performance with a 52% drop in the number of beneficiaries covered while MAMATA showcased a 57% increase in women who received all the instalments. The scheme stands as a testament to an inclusive and efficient implementation of the maternity benefit programme, thereby serving as promising evidence for the Centre to improve the PMMVY in line with the Odisha Government Scheme.
Steps to take
•Here is the way forward for the PMMVY. Extend the maternity benefit under the PMMVY to the second live birth.
•The predecessor scheme, the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana was applicable for two live births. Of the total live births in India, 49.5% comprises first-order births and 29.9% are second-order births, as per Sample Registration Survey 2018. It is imperative to include second live birth under the maternity benefit cover particularly for women in the unorganised sector who are more vulnerable to economic shocks and nutrition loss for all child births.
•There must be an increase in the maternity benefit amount. Since the primary objective of the PMMVY is to provide partial wage compensation, we need to revisit the maternity benefit amount offered under the scheme. Most women continue to work during and post-pregnancy since they cannot afford to lose wages; additionally, they also spend on out-of-pocket expenses during pregnancy. The current entitlement of ₹5,000 provided over one year amounts to one month’s wage loss (as per the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act wage rate of ₹202). In line with the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which mandates 12 weeks of maternity leave for women with two or more children, pregnant and lactating mothers should receive 12 weeks of wage compensation amounting to ₹15,000.
Simplify the process
•Eliminate correction queues. Further, the implementation gaps in the PMMVY scheme lead to reduced coverage. These gaps stem from a lack of awareness within targeted beneficiaries and process level challenges. The current registration form requires a mother and child protection (MPC) card, husband’s Aadhaar card, bank passbook and registration form for each of the three instalments, resulting in delayed, rejected or pending applications. A simplification of the process can result in increased registration of beneficiaries.
•To fulfil India’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal of improving maternal health, an ambitious Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyan and a national maternity benefit scheme are promising initiatives by the Centre. However, targets can be achieved only if we revisit the design and implementation of this scheme, drawing lessons from States such as Odisha which are successfully prioritising maternal health and nutrition in a pragmatic manner.
📰 The crypto assets conundrum
Why legalising crypto assets is dangerous
•The Indian Government appears convinced that cryptocurrency is a dangerous proposition. Cryptocurrency enables relatively invisible transactions, with serious implications for crime, terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, etc. Another worry is that the crypto mania is getting built of purely speculative investments. The eventual bursting of such bubbles will badly hurt people. Further, crypto threatens the state’s macro-economic role. On the other hand, the Government wants to avoid any tech-unfriendly image. Caught in this dilemma, it proposes that cryptocurrencies be banned but crypto assets be legalised and strongly regulated. This way, the problem of invisible value transactions gets taken care of, the interests of investors are protected, and the tech industry’s demand is met halfway.
•This ‘solution’, however, is based on a flawed premise, rendering it unworkable in the medium to long term. The distinction between an asset and currency may not be so much legal as it is about the inherent characteristic of what is considered an asset or currency. Land, gold and stocks do not lend themselves to becoming common mediums of exchange because these assets are not easily divisible and portable. On the other hand, crypto is more divisible and portable than even physical currency. Once legalised, a crypto asset’s creep towards becoming a medium of exchange would be unstoppable.
Underlying value
•The same argument can also be made in another manner. Crypto assets are either ‘purely speculative assets’ or they have some underlying value, in which case such ‘value’ can consist only in their future as a medium of exchange. Both ways they are very problematic. A purely speculative asset has zero underlying value (unlike assets like land and gold). Regulators watch out for the purely speculative elements of any assets market, considering them dangerous. The 2008 financial crash happened largely because some ‘assets’ lost all connection to any kind of underlying value. When this happens, it is just a bubble waiting to burst, gravely hurting people. If the Government legalises a purely speculative asset, it provides a green signal to investors to invest in it and blow into the bubble. When the bubble bursts, there may be a heavy political price to pay for the ruling dispensation.
•Or crypto does have some ‘underlying value’. This value can only be in terms of the expectation that crypto assets will eventually gain widespread acceptance as currency. Such an expectation indeed has a good basis in the fact that crypto is preferred as a currency by many powerful groups because it is very private and less amenable to regulatory oversight. It basically removes the state from its existing status at the heart of currency systems. The question then is: by legalising crypto assets, is the Government trying to promote this ‘underlying value’ of crypto as a future currency with these ‘unique characteristics’? Evidently not, since it wants to ban crypto as a medium of exchange precisely because of these characteristics. So, in legally recognising crypto assets, the Government is either promoting a dangerous ‘purely speculative asset’, which, when the bubble bursts, will lead to all-around harm; or it is itself promoting the ‘underlying value’ of crypto assets in terms of their unstoppable eventual conversion to a currency.
Not a tech decision
•The argument that crypto assets need be legalised for promoting blockchain technologies and being pro-future is weak, if not bogus. Legalising cryto assets primarily to support blockchain technology is like signing on to the use of space as a new frontier of war just because it would promote India’s space industry. Blockchain has thousands of applications other than crypto. Various innovations and services, including using blockchains and those in the realm of decentralised finance, are indeed possible over the top of a monopoly platform of a Central Bank Digital Currency, as an alternative to private cryptocurrencies.
•The real decision that the Government faces is not about supporting a new technology. Certain groups and people want the state to mostly be out of currency systems because that serves their interests. Since the society is now at a fork to decide whether the future of currency will be public or private, what the Government has to decide is the side it would throw its weight behind.
•The argument to let both public and private currencies co-exist, leaving it to ‘people’s choice’, is also deceptive. The powerful resent the distributive potential contained in public currency systems. They will all immediately lap up and push private currencies. Their combined economic heft itself would ensure an overwhelming dominance of private currencies over the public currency.
•It is true that India’s decision alone would not determine this issue. But with China having already banned crypto, what India decides at this stage would count for a lot.
📰 From selective to universal engagement
In 2021, Indian diplomacy was characterised by a readiness to deal with friends and foes alike
•The remarkable hyper activism of Indian foreign policy will be the legacy of 2021, though the COVID-19 situation was not congenial for travel, high-level meetings on sensitive matters and protocol. Those who travelled ran the risk of falling sick in foreign lands. Every time I saw External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar braving it all with a mask that covered much of his stern and unsmiling face, with the demeanor and stride of a determined crusader, I whispered a prayer for my former colleague’s safety. At a time when diplomacy had retreated behind laptops, he unhesitatingly undertook extensive journeys, making him the most visible face of India last year.
•The activism was inevitable with geopolitics having turned topsy-turvy not only by the pandemic, but also by the events before and after it through periodical elections, which brought new dramatis personae to the centre stage, and the volatility of the economic and political changes across the world. The pandemic turned the wind of change into a whirlwind and it became necessary for nations to move fast even to stay in their positions. The paradigm shift in foreign policy was palpable and the field was open to nimble-footed and decisive governments, not to hesitant, doubting, calculating ones. A decisive Prime Minister and a seasoned diplomat as the External Affairs Minister (EAM) rose to the challenges of the times for India.
Priorities in 2021
•Coping with the change from President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden and the consequent changes in U.S. policy were big enough to keep the world leaders on tenterhooks. But even that appeared small against the increased onslaught of the pandemic. India suddenly became the epicentre of the tragedy after a relatively easy period which gave it the honor of being the pharmacy of the world. The exposure of the inefficiency of India’s health system and the panic caused by pictures of unattended funeral pyres put the country in the defensive and weakened its credibility as it tried to contribute to the resolution of global issues. Every global forum was compelled to find vaccines, medicines, masks and sanitisers when it met to deal with political and economic crises.
•For India, the biggest preoccupation of 2021 was the effort to get China to disengage in areas in Ladakh. Dialogue, military preparedness and economic pressure met with limited success. The sooner we achieve disengagement in the remaining sectors, the better it will be for India to be more effective in the other areas of concern. Much of the time for dialogue with others must have been spent on establishing the rationale of our position on the border.
•Afghanistan turned out to be a bigger crisis than expected, with the Taliban’s walkover in Kabul. India appeared to be the sole defender of the Americans against Pakistan, China, Iran, Russia and others. Bringing some civility to the Taliban in Kabul became a high priority in the face of a Pakistan-China-Taliban axis with some support from Russia and Iran. Wherever the Prime Minister and EAM appeared either in person or on virtual platforms, priority was given to Afghanistan and anti-terrorism rather than Chinese expansionism.
•Climate change, United Nations reform, and charges of India being only a part-democracy also demanded attention, but the Indian interest in these areas did not appear as urgent and crucial as in the other areas. India threatened to stand out of the line on the matter of net-zero emission target years, but succumbed to the pressure to commit more on promoting renewable energy and phasing down of coal. UN reform was not going anywhere and there was no need to concede on our position on expansion of the Security Council. As for Indian democracy, the Prime Minister’s assertion that India is the “mother of democracy” and the EAM’s primacy of governance went uncontested at the political level.
•What made Indian diplomacy hectic during the year was a distinct change of style of openness and readiness to deal with friends and foes alike. From selective alignment, India moved to universal engagement, even to the extent of convening meetings with antagonists. Engagements with the U.S. went beyond familiarisation with the new government to increased commitment to Quad and acceptance of AUKUS and formation of the ‘western Quad’, with the U.S., Israel and the UAE.
•The engagement with China at the level of commanders and diplomats was intense, and ministerial interaction continued even when China tore up many fundamental agreements that sustained the dialogue for many years. Major agreements were signed with Russia, despite the American threat of CAATSA against S-400 missiles and the Russian inclination to align with China in the days to come. Patience, diligence and firmness rather than reaching conclusions through concessions were the ingredients of Indian strategy. India attended a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, where a sub-group led by China took its own decisions on Afghanistan. We also attended a meeting of Russia, China and India. Such an approach demanded high-level personal involvement at the senior levels.
•Perhaps because of the unique geopolitical situation, India gave particular importance to its presidency of the UN Security Council in August 2021. Unprecedented in the history of the UN, an event at the Security Council was chaired by the Prime Minister. India also brought global issues of particular importance to the agenda of the month. Significant inputs were provided during discussions on issues like maritime security, peacekeeping and anti-terrorism for active consideration in the future. Although it is illusory to believe that the way has been cleared for India’s permanent membership of the Security Council, India’s diplomatic capabilities and its commitment to the UN were demonstrated yet again.
•The Foreign Secretary’s visit to Myanmar to engage the military junta at a time when Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders are in prison may raise eyebrows in many countries, but this is another instance of India’s readiness to engage those in power to explore possibilities of friendship and co-operation. The intention is to prevent China from having a field day in Myanmar.
Two major challenges
•Sadly, the extraordinary efforts made by India have not been fruitful in the cases of China and Afghanistan. China has not shown willingness to disengage in Ladakh and withdraw to the previous positions behind the Line of Actual Control. But the expectation is that China will take a more reasonable approach once the current convulsions end with the beginning of another term for President Xi Jinping. He cannot afford to show any sign of weakness in his external and internal policies at this critical time.
•As for Afghanistan, the haul may be longer, given the stubbornness of the Taliban and its proclivity to endanger its own people for the purity of faith. The international community is already moving in the direction of rescuing the regime by providing humanitarian assistance even without any change in the repressive regime. India has a formidable challenge in Afghanistan, regardless of its open and universal engagement with all concerned. But India’s new style of diplomacy will have an impact in shaping the world of the future.
