Monday, October 21, 2019

Insight IAS Prelims 2020 SUBJECT WISE Test 7 With Solution PDF

Click Here to download Insight IAS Prelims 2020 SUBJECT WISE Test 7 Question
Click Here to download Insight IAS Prelims 2020 SUBJECT WISE Test 7 Answer
Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks

The HINDU Notes – 21st October 2019

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 18:55

📰 After Mamallapuram, the reality of asymmetry

If India does not wish to live in a China-dominated global order, it must make difficult choices now

•Describing India-China summits as marking a “new era” in bilateral relations follows a predictable pattern, and both sides are guilty. Rarely have such summits deserved these high sounding labels. There are exceptions. The Vajpayee-Hu Jintao summit in 2003 established the Special Representatives mechanism to seek a political settlement to the boundary issue. China acknowledged Sikkim as part of the Indian Union. The Manmohan Singh-Wen Jiabao summit in 2005 had more significant outcomes. India and China were able to conclude the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question.

•This document is important in that it conceded two very important principles from the Indian perspective. One, it accepted that prominent geographical features would be a basis for determining the border. For India this means the Himalayan watershed. Two, there was an acknowledgement that interests of “settled populations” must be taken into account while arriving at a border settlement. This was a code phrase for the status of Tawang which China claims. During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India in April 2005, the Chinese side shared official maps showing Sikkim in the same colour wash as the rest of India.

Guiding principles

•The two leaders, Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao, arrived at a consensus on four key points which would henceforth guide India-China relations: one, India is not a threat to China and China is not a threat to India; two, there is enough room in Asia and the world for both a resurgent India and China; three, India-China relations have now acquired a strategic and global dimension and their cooperation is critical to tackling a host of global challenges such as Climate Change; and four, India and China should seek an early settlement of the border issue within this larger perspective so as to better work together on the strategic dimension of their relations.

•In private conversations, Wen Jiabao also conveyed to his Indian counterpart that China welcomed a more active participation by India in the United Nations and was not opposed to India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

Two different settings

•This positive turn in relations had as its backdrop the deepening relationship between India and the United States and the prospect that these would be further cemented by the proposed India-U.S. civil nuclear deal. India was also emerging as a rapidly growing emerging economy registering GDP growth of 8-9% per annum and globalising its economy further through a slew of trade agreements. It was seen as the next China in terms of commercial and investment opportunities. It was anticipated that India would continue to narrow the gap in GDP terms with China given its faster rate of growth. The phrase, Chindia, reflected this perception. China recognised India’s convening power and leadership role among developing countries, whether on global trade, public health or climate change.

•The setting for the second informal summit (October 11-12, 2019) between India and China at Mamallapuram, off Chennai, could not have been more different. India’s $3-trillion economy looks modest against China’s $14-trillion. India’s economy has been slowing and is now barely keeping up with China’s 6% growth rate. China does have an interest in the Indian market where its companies have already emerged as major players in the mobile and smartphone market and in the fast expanding digital space — in particular, digital payments and social media. India is the largest market for TikTok, the Chinese owned video sharing platform. India is critical to the global success of 5G, where China’s Huawei is the leader. This is one important leverage India has and it appears to have persuaded the Chinese to address India’s concerns over access to the Chinese market and on the yawning trade deficit. The agreement to set up a high-level ministerial mechanism to deliberate on this issue is an important take-away from the summit.

Summit and China’s strategy

•Like the earlier Wuhan informal summit, Mamallapuram was more of a holding operation, aimed at keeping bilateral relations on an even keel in the aftermath of serious differences threatening to derail them. It was the Doklam stand-off which was defused by Wuhan; at Mamallapuram, “differences” over Jammu and Kashmir and over Indian military exercises in Arunachal Pradesh were prevented from becoming “disputes”. Neither summit was expected to address or resolve any of the outstanding issues. But they conveyed the message that the leaders were keen to maintain high level and cordial engagement and dialogue, and project to the world that they are mature enough to manage differences.

•China’s strategy towards India may be characterised as “neutralisation”, that is to inhibit India from pursuing policies inimical to Chinese interests even while accepting no constraint on its own policies which undermine India’s interests or are insensitive to India’s security concerns. The calculated display of bonhomie and cordiality which accompany such summits do inhibit India from seeking stronger countervailing arrangements with other major powers which could constrain China. China displays no such restraint as was apparent during the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing on the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s India visit this month as well as Mr. Xi’s visit to Nepal soon after. This is the dynamic unleashed by the power asymmetry between the two countries. The Mamallapuram summit, while a useful and positive development, should not be over-interpreted.

Growth, foreign links are key

•Given the reality of asymmetry, what are the options available to India? In the medium to long term, India can only tackle this asymmetry through a return to sustained and accelerated economic growth which alone can generate resources comparable to China’s. India must be seen as shrinking the power gap with China in order to enjoy credibility as a countervailing power. This is the lesson to be drawn from the 2003-2007 experience, when despite the gap in their volumes of GDP, India was growing faster than China and expected to catch up with it or even surpass it. China treated India as a serious contender in geopolitical contention and was more sensitive to India’s concerns. This phase began to fade after the global financial and economic crisis of 2007-8, from which China emerged as a more powerful and confident country. India needs to engage in careful and nuanced balancing, seeking closer partnerships with other major powers which share India’s concerns over the Chinese penchant for unilateral assertion of its new found power. The upgradation of the Quad, a consultative forum of India, Australia, Japan and the United States, to the ministerial level is a good move. Bringing in Australia into the annual ‘Malabar’ exercises should be a logical next step. This should be accompanied by a significant transfer of resources to the Indian Navy to enable India to retain its current edge in the Indian Ocean.

•Safeguarding its immediate neighbourhood must be India’s primary foreign policy focus. And this must translate into more regular and high-level political engagement, a renewed and vigorous push for enhanced physical connectivity and economic integration and leveraging the size of India’s economy to become the engine of growth for the entire subcontinent. The perennial problem of poor delivery on projects should no longer be tolerated.

•India is the only country which has the potential to match China in comprehensive national power. Realising this potential requires making difficult choices. The current political leadership has the ability to mobilise national opinion to make sacrifices today which may enable a more hopeful future. If India does not wish to live in a China-dominated global order, it must make the difficult choices now.

📰 A time-tested way to trade away conflict

Daily Current Affairs, 21st October 2019

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 18:39

1) World Statistics Day: 20 October

•World Statistics Day is observed on October 20, once every 5 years. The next World statistics Day celebrates on 20 October 2020. The day acknowledges the fundamental importance of sustainable national statistical capacity. This year World Statistics day theme is “Better Data, Better Lives”.

•The first World Statistics Day was celebrated in 2010, as decided in resolution 64/267, and was deemed an overwhelming success, with activities organized in more than 130 Member States and by at least 40 international and regional organizations and entities.

2) Col. Chewang Rinchen Setu inaugurated in Ladakh

•Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Col. Chewang Rinchen Setu (Bridge) which has been constructed at an altitude of 14,650 feet in the forward area of Ladakh region. It is named in honour of Colonel Chewang Rinchen who was one of the highly decorated officers in Indian Army from Ladakh. He was also a Maha Vir Chakara awardee (1952).

•The Bridge, which is 1400 feet span, is constructed by the Border Road Organization. According to BRO, micropile technology was used during the foundation of the bridge to overcome the technological challenges in this remote area of Ladakh. The construction of the Bridge was completed within 15 working months using 6900 cubic meters of concrete and 1984 metric tons of steel.

3) Sri Lanka has removed from FATF’s Grey List

•Sri Lanka has been removed from the “Grey List” of the international terror financing watchdog FATF. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), whose five-day plenary concluded in Paris, France stated that Sri Lanka made significant progress in addressing the strategic AML/CFT deficiencies identified earlier.

•In October 2016, the FATF announced that Sri Lanka will be subjected to a review of the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the terror financing watchdog to assess the progress of AML/CFT effectiveness in the country.

4) IIT Kharagpur graduate develops unique device “PM 2.5” to curb vehicular air-pollution

•IIT Kharagpur graduate Debayan Saha has invented a device called “PM 2.5” which he claimed when fitted near the silencer pipe in vehicles will curb air pollution. The technology developed by uses a combination of electric energy and wave energy to influence the pollutants like PM 2.5 such that they act like a magnet attracting other particulate pollutants from the ambient atmosphere to get attached to it. This device can neutralise the pollution emitted from 10 cars in its vicinity.

5) India-Myanmar Naval Exercise: IMNEX-2019

•The India-Myanmar Naval Exercise called IMNEX-2019 is being organised in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The opening ceremony of the second edition of Indo-Myanmar joint naval exercise was conducted onboard INS Ranvijay. Myanmar naval ships UMS Sin Phyu Shin (F-14) and UMS Tabinshweti (773) arrived at Visakhapatnam. The exercise would be conducted in two phases: Harbour phase and Sea Phase.

•The joint exercise will encompass a variety of operations including anti-air and surface firing exercises, flying exercises using integral helicopter and seamanship evolutions at sea.

6) PM Modi releases book titled ‘Bridgital Nation’

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a book titled ‘Bridgital Nation’ in New Delhi. The book has been authored by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Roopa Purushothaman Eminent industrialist. He presented books’ first copy to eminent industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata.

•The book presents a powerful vision of the future where technology and human beings co-exist in a mutually beneficial ecosystem. The cutting edge digital tools can act as a bridge between aspirations and achievements – hence the term ‘bridgital’.

7) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presents Most Eminent Senior Citizen Award to K Parasaran

•The Vice President Shri Venkaiyah Naidu presented the “Most Eminent Senior Citizen Award” to the scholar, legal luminary and former Attorney General of India K Parasaran. He was honoured with the award on the occasion of Elder’s Day celebration organized by Age Care India. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2003 and Padma Vibhushan in 2011.

8) Sudarshan Chakra Vahini War exercise begins in Jaisalmer

•Two-day long manoeuvres by Sudarshan Chakra Vahini of Indian Army Started at Jaisalmer, field firing range in Rajasthan. In this war exercise, the army is going to exhibit its strength regarding Agni Missile and artillery.

•Artillery, Arms and mechanized forces, Army air defence and helicopters of army aviation are participating in this exercise to test mutual coordination. Endogenously manufactured light helicopter Rudra and self-propelled artillery gun system K-9 vajra are also taking part in this exercise.

9) Upender Singh Rawat elected as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Nicaragua

•The Ministry of External Affairs appoints Upender Singh Rawat (IFS: 1998), Ambassador of India designate to the Republic of Panama will be concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Nicaragua. He will replace Yogeshwar Varma.

10) SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar elected as the new chairman of IBA

•SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as the new chairman of Indian Banks’ Association. He will succeed Sunil Mehta, who was the MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank. The MD & CEO of IDBI Bank Rakesh Sharma will be honorary secretary of IBA for 2019-20.

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 21.10.2019

the hindu articles

VisionIAS 06:45

FRONT PAGE

3 PoK terror camps destroyed: Army chief

Govt. should reverse cuts on corporate taxes: Abhijit Banerjee

NATIONAL

‘I think India could be going through a hard time’

Two panels formed to revamp ‘British-era’ IPC

India to pitch itself as alternative to China

India, Maldives to take defence ties forward

SAARC varsity move upsets academics

INTERNATIONAL

Trump drops his golf resort as G-7 venue

OPINION

After Mamallapuram, the reality of asymmetry

A case for abjuring custodial interrogation

A time-tested way to trade away conflict

The buzz that accompanies the blowfly

The victory of pluralism

Charging Chidambaram

It’s a deal

Minister opposes tour by S. Africa