Weekly Current Affairs (1st to 7th September 2022) - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

India-South Africa Bilateral Meeting

Context

• Recently, India and South Africa agreed to develop institutional mechanisms for tie-ups between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) & Skill Institutions.

Why are the Key Highlights of the Meeting?

About

• The bilateral meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia.
• It was decided to develop institutional mechanisms for educational tie-ups.
• Also, it was agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on Education between the two countries.

Significance

• This would further extend the cooperation that already exists and also to realise the full potential of bilateral cooperation in education.
• Introduction of National Education Policy (NEP) has already paved the way for the internationalisation of Indian education. India and South Africa relations are close and friendly and are rooted in shared values and interests.
  • Institutional mechanisms for educational tie-ups would strengthen the academic & skill development partnerships and bilateral education cooperation.
  • Further, it will be helpful in mutual recognition of skill qualifications & capacity building in skill development.

How has been the India-South Africa Relations?

Background:

• India’s links with the struggle for freedom and justice in South Africa date back to the period during which Mahatma Gandhi started his Satyagraha movement in South Africa over a century ago.
• India was at the forefront of the international community in its support to the anti-apartheid movement.
  • It was the first country to sever trade relations with the apartheid Government (in 1946) and subsequently imposed a complete -- diplomatic, commercial, cultural and sports -embargo on South Africa.
• After a gap of four decades, India re-established trade and business ties in 1993, after South Africa ended its institutionalised racial segregation (apartheid).
  • In November 1993, diplomatic and consular relations were restored.

Political Relations:

• After South Africa achieved democracy in 1994, it was the Red Fort Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and South Africa, signed in March 1997 which set the parameters for a rekindled relationship.
• The Strategic Partnership between the two countries was again reaffirmed in the Tshwane Declaration (October 2006).
  • Both these declarations have been instrumental mechanisms that have contributed in the past to both South Africa and India for achieving their respective national objectives.
• India and South Africa have a long history of working together by coordinating their views and efforts in institutions of global governance/multilateral fora, in order to achieve greater autonomy and ensure that the agenda of ‘South’ is prioritised.
  • For Example: BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), IBSA (India, Brazil, and South Africa), G20 , Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Economic

• In 2016, both the countries agreed to collaborate in the defence sector, especially in terms of the opportunities available for South African private sector under ‘Make in India’ initiative, energy sector, agro-processing, human resource development, and infrastructure development.
• Trade between India and South Africa has exceeded the USD 10 billion target set by the leaders of the two countries in 2020.

Science & Technology

• The Department of Science and Technology of both countries have collaborated, especially in the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project.

Culture

• With the help of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an intensive programme of cultural exchanges is organised throughout South Africa including scholarships for South African nationals.
• The 9th World Hindi Conference was held in September 2012 at Johannesburg.

Indian Community

• The major part of the Indian origin community came to South Africa from 1860 onwards as farm labours.
• South Africa is home to the highest number of Indian Diaspora in the African continent, with a total strength of 1,218,000 thereby constituting 3% of South Africa’s total population.
• Since 2003 onwards, India has celebrated Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) each year on 9th January (the day Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to India).

What should be the Way Forward for Both Countries?

• Academic collaboration and student exchange programmes should be commenced in the field of Sanskrit language, Philosophy, Ayurveda and Yoga.
  • This will pave the way for broadening the understanding of Hinduism and the shared spiritual, cultural & economic ties.
• Arrangements for the collaborations in skilling sector must be made.
  • It will encourage tourism preneurship, help build capacities in emerging areas of travel, tourism, hospitality & business and boost people-to-people linkages.

Corruption in Civil Service

Context

• The Prime Minister in his 76th Independence Day’s address targeted the twin challenges of corruption and nepotism and raised the urgent need to curb them.

What is Corruption?

• Corruption is dishonest behavior by those in positions of power.
• Those who abuse their power may be individuals or they may belong to organizations, such as businesses or governments.
• Corruption can entail a variety of actions, including giving or accepting bribes or inappropriate gifts, double-dealing, and defrauding investors.
• India was ranked 85 among 180 countries in the corruption perception index 2021.

What are the Reasons for the Prevalence of Corruption in Civil Service?

• Politicization of the Civil Service: When civil service positions are used as rewards for political support or swapped for bribes, the opportunities for high levels of corruption increase significantly.
• Lower Wages Compared to Private Sector: Lowering wages for civil servants compared to those in the private sector.
  • Certain employees may resort to taking bribes in order to compensate for the difference in wages.
• Administrative Delays: Delays in the clearance of files are the root cause of corruption.
• Colonial Legacy of Unchallenged Authority: In a society which worships power, it is easy for public officials to deviate from ethical conduct.
• Weak Enforcement of Law: Various laws have been made to curb the evil of corruption but their weak enforcement has acted as a hindrance in curbing corruption.

What can be the impact of Corruption?

On People and Public Life

• Lack of Quality in Services: In a system with corruption, there is no quality of service.
• To demand quality, one might need to pay for it. This is seen in many areas like municipality, electricity, distribution of relief funds, etc.
• Lack of Proper Justice: Corruption in the judiciary system leads to improper justice. And the victims of offense might suffer.
• A crime may be proved as a benefit of the doubt due to a lack of evidence or even the evidence erased.
• Due to corruption in the police system, the investigation process has been going on for decades.
• Poor Health and Hygiene: In countries with more corruption, one can notice more health problems among people. There will be no fresh drinking water, proper roads, quality food grains supply, milk adulteration, etc.
• These low-quality services are all done to save money by the contractors and the officials who are involved.

Failure of Genuine Research: Research by individuals needs government funding and some of the funding agencies have corrupt officers.

• These people sanction the funds for research to those investigators who are ready to bribe them.

On Society

• Disregard for Officials: People start disregarding the official involved in corruption by talking negatively about him.
  • Disregard officials will also build distrust and even lower-grade officers will be disrespectful to higher-grade officers. So even he may not obey his orders.
• Lack of Respect for Rulers: Rulers of the nation like the president or prime ministers lose respect among the public. Respect is the main criteria in social life.
  • People go for voting during the election with the desire to improve their living standards by the election winner and respect for the leader.
  • If the politicians are involved in corruption, people knowing this will lose respect for them and will not like to cast their vote for such politicians.
• Lack of Faith and Trust in Governments: People vote for a ruler based on their faith in him/ her, but if leaders are found to be involved in corruption, people lose faith in them and may not vote next time.
• Aversion for Joining the Posts Linked to Corruption:
  • Sincere, honest, and hardworking people develop an aversion for the particular posts deemed corrupt.
  • Though they like those jobs, they tend not to opt for them as they believe that they also would have to be involved in corruption if they get into the post.

On Economy

• A Decrease in Foreign Investment: Corruption in government bodies has led to many foreign investments going back from developing countries.
• Delay in Growth: An official who needs to pass clearances for projects or industries delays the process in order to make money and other unlawful benefits. A work which can be done in a few days may be done in a month.
  • This leads to delays in investments, the starting of industries, and also growth.
• Lack of Development: Many new industries willing to get started in a particular region change their plans if the region is unsuitable.
  • If there are no proper roads, water, and electricity, the companies do not wish to start up there, which hinders the economic progress of that region.

India Bangladesh Agreements

Context

• Recently, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has visited India and held talks with Indian Prime Minister.
• India and Bangladesh have signed seven agreements for cooperation in areas ranging from sharing of river waters to space and unveiled new connectivity and energy initiatives.

What are the Key Highlights of the Meeting?

• The two sides seven Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which includes:
  • The withdrawal of water from the cross-border Kushiyara river.
  • The agreement will benefit southern Assam in India and the Sylhet region of Bangladesh.
  • Cooperation in space technology.
  • Collaboration on Information Technology systems used by railways in areas such as movement of freight.
  • Science and technology cooperation.
  • Training of Bangladesh Railway personnel and Bangladeshi judicial officers in India.
  • Cooperation in broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and Bangladesh Television.
• Thermal Power Project:
  • The two nations unveiled the first unit of the Maitree super thermal power project being built in Khulna division of Bangladesh with concessional funding from India.
  • The unit was synchronized with Bangladesh’s power grid in August 2022, and the project will generate 1,320MW, when completed.
• Rushpa Rail Bridge:
  • The 5.13-km Rupsha rail bridge was also inaugurated, a key part of the 64.7-km Khulna-Mongla port broad gauge railway project.
  • The bridge was constructed with an Indian line of credit of $389 million.
  • It will increase connectivity with Mongla, Bangladesh’s second largest port.
• Loans and Advances:
  • India has provided concessional loans worth USD 9.5 billion for development projects in Bangladesh, which includes:
  • Rail connectivity between Khulna and Dhaka, Chilahati and Rajshah.
  • Connecting Mongla port with Darshana-Gede at a cost of USD 312 million.
  • The Parbatipur-Kaunia rail project to facilitate the transportation of fuel is being built at a cost of USD 120 million.
  • Supply of road construction equipment and machinery worth USD 41 million to repair and maintain Bangladesh’s road network.
• Defence Procurement:
  • In 2018, India has extended USD 500 million defence Line of Credit (LoC) to Bangladesh.
  • In May 2018, Defence public sector undertaking of Kolkata had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh to provide assistance and know-how in the design and construction of warships.
  • Dhaka has shared a wish list of military platforms and systems that its armed forces would like to procure from India.
• Bangladesh Army has approved procurement of three items:
  • 5 Bridge Layer Tanks (BLT-72) at USD 10 million
  • 7 Portable Steel Bridges (Bailey) at USD 2.2 million
  • 1 Mine Protective Vehicles at USD 2.2 million.
• Other Proposed Procurements include
  • Off-road vehicles, heavy recovery vehicles, armoured engineer reconnaissance vehicles and bullet proof helmets.
  • Modernisation and extension of automobile assembling unit for a Bangladesh machine tools factory, supply of explosives, raw materials and tools
  • The Bangladesh Navy has proposed the procurement of a logistics ship, floating dock, oil tanker, and an ocean-going tug.

What is India’s Vision on CEPA with Bangladesh?

About:

• The Prime Minister of India has said that India and Bangladesh will soon commence negotiations on a Bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
• The CEPA is likely to focus on trade in goods, services, and investment, with a key objective being the reduction of the trade gap between the two countries.
• Bangladesh prepares to graduate into a developing nation by 2026, after which it may no longer qualify for trade benefits that it currently enjoys as a least-developed country; it is keen to clinch the CEPA within a year.

India Bangladesh Trade Relations:

• In 2021-22, Bangladesh has emerged as the largest trade partner for India in South Asia and the fourth largest destination for Indian exports worldwide.
• Exports to Bangladesh grew more than 66% from USD 9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.
• Despite Covid-19 related disruptions, bilateral trade grew 44% from USD 10.78 billion in 2020-21 to USD 18.13 billion in 2021-22.

India’s Exports to Bangladesh:

• Raw cotton, non-retail pure cotton yarn, and electricity

India’s Imports from Bangladesh:

• Pure vegetable oils, non-knit men’s suits, and textile scraps.

What are some Issues which Both Nations should Resolve?

• There should be efforts to resolve pending issues concerning sharing of waters, resolving continental shelf issues in the Bay of Bengal, bringing down border incidents to zero, and managing the media.
  • PM of Bangladesh held out the hope that the two countries will resolve the issue of sharing the waters of the Teesta River – an agreement on the matter has been pending since 2011.
• Bangladesh has already raised concerns over roll out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, an exercise carried out to identify genuine Indian citizens living in Assam and weed out illegal Bangladeshis.
• Currently, Bangladesh is an active partner of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that Delhi has not signed up to.
• In the security sector, Bangladesh is also a major recipient of Chinese military inventory, including submarines.

Hyderabad Liberation Day

Context

• The Telangana Government and Central government will observe 75 years of Liberation of Hyderabad on 17th September 2022 to signify the merger of erstwhile Hyderabad State under Nizam rule with the Indian Union.

What is the History about Integration of Princely State of Hyderabad into India?

• Hyderabad was one of the largest natives/princely states in India. It was ruled by the Nizams who accepted the paramountcy of the British sovereign.
• The Nizam of Hyderabad like the Nawab of Junagadh and the ruler of Kashmir did not accede to India before the date of independence, i.e., 15th August 1947.
• He was encouraged by Pakistan and Muslim natives peoples, to stay as an independent power and improve his armed forces to resist the integration.
• During this military improvisation, internal chaos emerged in the state of Hyderabad because of which, on 13th September 1948, the Indian Army was sent into Hyderabad under Operation Polo (military operation to annex Hyderabad into the Union of India), on the grounds that the law-and-order situation in Hyderabad threatened the peace of South India.
  • The troops met little resistance by the Razakars (the private militia who were resisting the integration), and between the 13th and 18th September, the military took complete control of the state.
  • The operation led to massive communal violence with estimates of deaths ranging from the official one of 27,000 to 40,000 to scholarly ones of 200,000 or more.
• After the integration, the Nizam was retained as the head of state in the same manner as the other princes who acceded to India.
• He thereupon, disowned the complaints that had been made to the UN and, despite vehement protests from Pakistan and strong criticism from other countries, the UN Security Council did not deal further with the question, and Hyderabad was absorbed into India.