The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 18th January, 2022 | Current Affairs: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - CLAT PDF Download

1. Just What the Doctor Ordered for the Livestock Farmer: With Most of India’s Livestock in Rural and Remote Areas, a Game Changer Now will be the Use of Mobile Veterinary Units

Page 6/Editorial

GS 3- Agriculture

Context: The 20th livestock census indicated that India today has a livestock population of approximately 537 million; of this, 95.8% is concentrated in rural areas. Given the fact that most of the country’s livestock is in rural and remote areas, access to veterinary services is a major challenge.

• Livestock farmers are often compelled to travel far from their villages whenever their animals need treatment — a scenario that adversely impacts the longevity and the productivity of their livestock.

Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) Programme

• Aim: It envisages control & containment of economically important animal diseases by providing central financial assistance to the States.
• Provisions under this scheme
  • Vaccination is carried out for control of diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Brucellosis, Anthrax, Hemorrhagic Septicemia (HS), Black Quarter (BQ), Classical Swine Fever, Ranikhet disease, etc.
  • Establishment & strengthening of veterinary hospitals and dispensaries for veterinary services. Presently, there are an estimated 66,000 veterinary hospitals, polyclinics, dispensaries, aid centres across the country.
  • ‘Establishment and Strengthening of Veterinary Services – Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs)’: Until now, the Government has been providing doorstep services related to artificial insemination and vaccination for livestock. The MVUs will build on the doorstep delivery model, as stationary hospitals cannot be easily accessed by most livestock farmers.
  • Training of veterinarians and para-veterinarians is conducted for latest techniques, technology and advancement in treatments.
  • To prevent the ingress of exotic animal diseases into the country through imported Livestock and Livestock Products, this Department has setup 6 (six) Animal Quarantine and Certification Services Centers (AQCS) in the country at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
  • Financial assistance for strengthening of the 5 (five) Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories (RDDLs) at Jalandhar, Banglore, Kolkata, Pune, Guwahati and a Centre for Animal Disease Research & Diagnosis (CADRAD) of IVRI Izatnagar to enhance disease diagnostic facilities in the country.
  • The National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis (NADCP): a new Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs.13,343.00 crore for five years (2019-24). It has following components:
    (i) Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Control Programme - It envisages 100% vaccination coverage of cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs at six-months interval in the entire country. Further, animals would be identified using unique animal identification ear tags. The programme also includes de-worming of the targeted population of livestock twice a year.
    (ii) Brucellosis Control Programme: It envisages 100% vaccination coverage of female cattle and buffalo calves (4-8 months of age) once in a life time.

Major Challenges

• Inadequate number of testing and treatment facilities for veterinary diseases pose a major challenge, especially now where there is a drastic rise in cases of zoonotic diseases.
• Most villages in the country lack testing facilities, and even when samples are collected, they need to be sent to blocks/districts nearby for test results. So, MVUs can play a major role in plugging the gap in this regard.
• Antibiotic resistance: Due to high or low dosages, incorrect duration of medication, and over-prescription, quacks or untrained animal health workers have been popular in rural India as they charge less for consultations and are easily accessible. The animal health issue is compounded by the growing presence of salesmen of drug distributors in rural communities. This has led to the inappropriate administration of antibiotics because of flawed prescriptions especially in cases of mastitis (inflammation of the udder in cattle). 
• Access to Credit & Insurance: The M.K. Jain Committee Report has highlighted that livestock farmers face greater challenges in comparison to traditional agricultural farmers especially while accessing credit and livestock insurance.
• Milk loss: As approximately 70% of India’s milk supply is sourced from farmers who own less than five animals, losses due to mastitis alone amount to a milk loss of approximately 10 litres per day per farm (this translates into approximately ₹300-₹350 per day.

Way Forward

• Enhancing productivity: Since a majority of livestock farmers have two to four animals per household, enhancing the longevity and the productivity of their livestock will go a long way towards alleviating rural poverty. 
• LH&DC scheme seeks to plug the challenges posed by the limitations of stationary hospitals by providing veterinary diagnostic and treatment facilities at a farmer’s doorstep for ailments, diseases or any other emergency veterinary conditions by MVUs.
• The MVU Model: A typical MVU is a four-wheeler van, with working space for one veterinarian, one para-veterinarian and a driver-cum-attendant. It also has space for essentials such as equipment for diagnosis, treatment and minor surgery, other basic requirements for the treatment of animals, audio-visual aids for awareness creation and GPS tracking of vehicle.
  • The LH&DC scheme envisages one MVU for one lakh animals; however, the number of vans in use could be higher in regions with difficult terrain.
  • MVUs have been successfully running either on hire or on State ownership basis in several States (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, etc.) with positive results. 
• As a job creator: The increasing adoption of MVUs across the country will lead to a surge in employment opportunities for veterinarians and assistants.
• In the lockdown/s during the novel coronavirus pandemic, we witnessed innovations by start-ups that provided video consultation sessions between livestock farmers and veterinarians, along with apps that provide detailed information to farmers on livestock health and nutrition.
• Further, with the growing prevalence of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the MVU model is poised to generate higher returns on investment.

2. For a Reset in India-Nepal Relations: The Urgent Need Today is to Pause the Rhetoric on Territorial Nationalism and Lay the Groundwork for a Quiet Dialogue

Text & Context - I
GS 2- IR

Context: Rakesh Sood sheds light on the Kalapani issue that has gripped India and Nepal and suggests a realignment of ties.

• Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at Haldwani where he stated that road construction was ongoing at Lipulekh and even further, top authorities at Nepal have asked their Prime Minister to note Mr. Modi’s comments and demand a response.
• The Indian embassy in Kathmandu has conveyed that India’s position on the India- Nepal border remains consistent and unambiguous. 

The Kalapani Issue

• Kalapani is a patch of land near the India-Nepal border, close to the Lipulekh Pass on the India-China border, which is one of the approved points for border trade and the route for the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra in Tibet.
• Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s exploitation of the matter, by raising the banner of Nepali nationalism and painting India as a hegemon, is part of a frequent pattern that indicates that relations between the two countries need a fundamental reset.

Kalapani and the Maps

The History

• Treaty of Singauli: India inherited the boundary with Nepal, established between Nepal and the East India Company in the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816. Kali river constituted the boundary, and the territory to its east was Nepal.
• The dispute on the origin of Kali: Near Garbyang village in Dharchula Tehsil of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, there is a confluence of different streams coming from north-east from Kalapani and north-west from Limpiyadhura. The early British survey maps identified the north-west stream, Kuti Yangti, from Limpiyadhura as the origin, but after 1857 changed the alignment to Lipu Gad, and in 1879 to Pankha Gad, the north-east streams, thus defining the origin as just below Kalapani.
• Nepal accepted the change and India inherited this boundary in 1947.
• Nepal's Agreements with China: India was ‘invited’ to set up 18 border posts along the Nepal-Tibet border in 1949. The westernmost post was at Tinkar Pass, about 6 km further east of Lipulekh. In 1961, King Mahendra visited Beijing to sign the China-Nepal Boundary Treaty that defines the zero point in the west, just north of Tinkar Pass.
• Indo-China agreements: In 1953, India and China identified Lipulekh Pass for both pilgrims and border trade. After the 1962 war, pilgrimage through Lipulekh resumed in 1981, and border trade, in 1991.
• Changes in Maps: By 1969, India had withdrawn its border posts from Nepali territory. The base camp for Lipulekh remained at Kalapani, less than 10 km west of Lipulekh. In their respective maps, both countries showed Kalapani as the origin of Kali river and as part of their territory.
• After 1979, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has manned the Lipulekh Pass. In actual practice, life for the locals (Byansis) remained unchanged given the open border and free movement of people and goods.
• After the 1996 Treaty of Mahakali (Kali river is also called Mahakali/Sarada further downstream) that envisaged the Pancheshwar multipurpose hydel project, the issue of the origin of Kali river was first raised in 1997.
  • The matter was referred to the Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee that had been set up in 1981 to re-identify and replace the old and damaged boundary pillars along the India-Nepal border.
  • The Committee clarified 98% of the boundary, leaving behind the unresolved issues of Kalapani and Susta (in the Terai) when it was dissolved in 2008. It was subsequently agreed that the matter would be discussed at the Foreign Secretary level.
  • Meanwhile, the project to convert the 80-km track from Ghatibagar to Lipulekh into a hardtop road began in 2009 without any objections from Nepal.

The 2019 Issue: The Survey of India issued a new political map (eighth edition) on November 2, 2019, to reflect the change in the status of Jammu and Kashmir as two Union Territories.

• Nepal registered a protest though the map in no way had changed the boundary between India and Nepal.
• However, on November 8, the ninth edition was issued. The delineation remained identical but the name Kali river had been deleted.
• Predictably, this led to stronger protests, with Nepal invoking Foreign Secretary-level talks to resolve issues. With the Indian Ambassador Manjeev Puri in Kathmandu retiring in end-December and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale retiring a month later, the matter remained pending despite reminders from Kathmandu.

A new Map adopted by Nepali Parliament: A new map of Nepal based on the older British survey reflecting Kali river originating from Limpiyadhura in the north-west of Garbyang was adopted by parliament and notified on May 20.

• On May 22, a constitutional amendment proposal was tabled to include it in a relevant Schedule.
• The new alignment adds 335 sq km to Nepali territory, territory that has never been reflected in a Nepali map for nearly 170 years.

The re-eruption of the Kalapani Controversy

• The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did a virtual inauguration of the 80-km road on May 8, provided Mr. Oli with a political issue.
• A subsequent comment by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Manoj Naravane, on May 15 that “Nepal may have raised the issue at the behest of someone else” was insensitive, given that the Indian COAS is also an honorary general of the Nepal Army and vice-versa, highlighting the traditional ties between the two armies.

Way Forward - Rewriting the Fundamentals

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken of the “neighbourhood first” policy.
• He started with a highly successful visit to Nepal in August 2014.
• But the relationship took a nosedive in 2015 when India first got blamed for interfering in the Constitution-drafting in Nepal and then for an “unofficial blockade” that generated widespread resentment against the country.
• Nepali Nationalism of KP Oli: It reinforced the notion that Nepali nationalism and anti-Indianism were two sides of the same coin that Mr. Oli exploited successfully.
• Chinese card: In Nepali thinking, the China card has provided them the leverage to practise their version of non-alignment.
  • In the past, China maintained a link with the Palace and its concerns were primarily related to keeping tabs on the Tibetan refugee community.
  • With the abolition of the monarchy, China has shifted attention to the political parties as also to institutions like the Army and Armed Police Force.
  • Also, today’s China is pursuing a more assertive foreign policy and considers Nepal an important element in its growing South Asian footprint.
• For too long India has invoked a “special relationship”, based on shared culture, language and religion, to anchor its ties with Nepal. Today, this term carries a negative connotation — that of a paternalistic India that is often insensitive and, worse still, a bully.
• It is hardly surprising that the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship which was sought by the Nepali authorities in 1949 to continue the special links it had with British India and provides for an open border and right to work for Nepali nationals is viewed as a sign of an unequal relationship, and an Indian imposition. Yet, Nepali authorities have studiously avoided taking it up bilaterally even though Nepali leaders thunder against it in their domestic rhetoric.