[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 28 December 2022

GS Paper 1

Syllabus: Effects of Globalisation on Indian Society

Source: IE

 Direction: The article highlights the evolution of globalisation to hyper-globalisation and signs of the end of the era of hyper-globalisation.

 Context: Two wars (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an economic war – a geopolitical confrontation between two superpowers – the US and China) are raging in 2022, which have undermined the assumption of “hyper-globalisation”.

 Background:

• Though the term “globalisation” refers to the increasing integration of world trade and financial markets, the term “hyper-globalisation” refers to the dramatic increase in international trade.
• This occurred for about a decade and a half beginning in the early 1990s, resulting in unprecedented capital and human movement across borders.

Ups and downs in the globalisation era:

• The first golden age of globalisation (1870 – 1914): It saw the world trade in goods surging from 9% to 16% of global GDP, leading to the internationalisation of economic and social life.
  • This led the British journalist Norman Angell (in his book ‘The Great Illusion’) to claim in 1910 that war in the modern era was an economic impossibility due to the sheer extent of financial and commercial interdependence between countries.
  • This made conflict as futile for the conqueror as the conquered.
• The era of world wars and the decline in world trade:
  • In 1914, World War-I broke out and War War II began in 1939.
  • The share of merchandise trade in global GDP had collapsed to 5.5%, recovering gradually to reach the pre-World War-I levels only towards the late-1970s.
• The second golden age of globalisation – The era of “hyper globalisation”:
  • Between 1990 and 2008, global trade in goods soared from 15.3% to 25.2% of the world GDP.
  • Thomas L Friedman asserted in 1996 that no two countries with Mcdonald’s have ever fought a war against each other.
  • Hyper-globalisation’s chief protagonist was China which emerged as the “world’s factory” and a “mega-trader.”
  • China’s estimated share in world merchandise trade has risen from 1.8% in 1990 to 11.1% in 2012 compared to the US (11.3% to 8.4%).
• Characteristics of a hyper-globalised world:
  • In such societies, there was the absence of wars and economies largely followed the laws established by late-18th/early-19th century economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo.
  • According to Smith (in his book ‘Wealth of Nations), if a foreign country can supply us with a commodity at a lower cost, then we should buy it.
  • Ricardo gave the concept of “comparative advantage” – each country devoting its resources to produce goods most beneficial to each. For example, wine shall be made in France and Portugal, corn shall be grown in America and Poland, etc.
  • The entire system of free trade was founded upon trust and comparative advantage trumping geopolitics. For example, Russia supplied close to 40% of the European Union’s total natural gas consumption in 2021.
• The end of the era of hyper-globalisation: It formally ended in 2022, which has seen not one, but two wars.

Impact of the end of the era of hyper-globalisation:

• The greatest collateral damage is to the global trading order. From production based on comparative advantage and gains from trade, it’s each nation for itself now.
• For example, India is granting incentives amounting to 30-50% of project cost for semiconductor units manufacturing less-sophisticated chips that can be used in mobile phones, home appliances and cars.
  • Five years ago, it may not have considered this to be worth spending taxpayer money on.

Conclusion:

 According to the French philosopher Montesquieu – “Commerce heals the most harmful biases,” and “peace is the inevitable result of trade.” However, rebuilding trust and restoring global trade from the ravages of militarism takes time.

Insta Links:

Impact of globalisation on the Indian economy

Mains Links:

Q. Are diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your answer. (UPSC 2020)

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Source: TH

 Direction: The article highlights the NRC exercise in Assam and the issues raised in a recent CAG report. The article also covers the exercise of delimitation of constituencies that recently began in Assam.

 Context: The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) have flagged serious concerns in a compliance report of ‘logistical arrangements for National Register of Citizens (NRC) update project in Assam’ tabled in the Assam Assembly recently.

What is the NRC exercise?

• It contains demographic information on all legal Indian citizens, allowing illegal immigrants to be recognised and deported.
• It is mandated under a 2003 amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955, which specifies the criteria under which a person obtains Indian citizenship.
• Until now, such a database has only been maintained for Assam. However, India’s Home Minister recently stated that the register would be expanded to include the entire country.

 Background:

• An NRC was first created in 1951 in Assam to identify those born in India and migrants from erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
• In 2013 (on a petition urging the removal of illegal immigrants’ names from voter lists), the Supreme Court issued directions to the Centre and State to initiate an exercise to update the 1951 register.
• The final list (2019) included those who could establish their Indian citizenship by being residents or descendants of people living in Assam before March 25, 1971 – the cut-off date for deportation of foreigners as per the Assam Accord of August 1985.
• As many as 06 lakh people out of 3.3 crore applicants were excluded due to a lack of adequate documents to prove their citizenship.
• The final list was rejected by some stakeholders as faulty, and the process is still on hold because the Registrar General of India (RGI) is yet to notify the final list.

Findings in the CAG report:

• Haphazard development of software for the exercise, making it prone to data tampering.
• Undue profits worth crores amassed by the system integrator (SI) by violating the Minimum Wages Act.

Concerns raised by the CAG:

• The process to update the NRC has seen a five-fold increase in the cost (Rs 1,600 crore) due to time overruns and updates in the software.
• Irregularities in the utilisation of funds including excess and inadmissible payment to vendors.

Recommendations of the CAG:

• Penal measures against Wipro Limited for violating the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act and for paying data operators less than minimum wages.
• Action against the State Coordinator of National Registration (SCNR) for excess, irregular and inadmissible payments.
• Fixing accountability of the SCNR as the principal employer for not ensuring compliance with the Minimum Wage Act.

Insta Links: NRC

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Environment: Environmental impact assessment

Source: Economic Times

Context: The National Green Tribunal has extended the stay on the Ministry of Environment notification modifying the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conditions for certain construction projects.

Previously, in the 2018 notification, the ministry had given the powers to local bodies instead of State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) to do EIA of:

• Construction projects (built-up areas between 20,000 sqm to 50,000 sqm)
• Industrial sheds, educational institutions, hospitals and hostels for educational institutions (built-up areas between 20,000 sqm and 1,50,000 sqm)

Issues:

• NGT has now given the decision that such changes will result in diluting the mechanism of EIA by SEIAA and thus cannot be sustained.

About EIA:

Significance of EIA for Developmental Projects in India:

• Make all the stakeholders aware of the environmental and socio-economic impact of the project
• Facilitates a basis for policy decisions: EIA provides the impact assessment well before the project is implemented.
• Helps to eliminate or minimize the adverse impact of developmental projects
• EIA encourages the adaptation of mitigation strategies in the developmental plan
• Protects the biodiversity of the environment by suggesting alternative safe project designs and methods.
• Simplifies the technical issues: EIA produces an environmental management plan and summary for the non-tech general public.

EIA is backed by the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. EIA notification of 2006 made it mandatory to take EIA for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure and industries. EIA was drastically changed in the ministry’s 2020 notification.

 EIA notification 2020 and its impact:

• Public Consultation: Reduced to max 40 days and only 20 days (from 30 days) for submitting a response
  • This will help speed up the process of EIA. However, it may give very little time for Tribal and forest dwellers who are not aware of technical details or have the means to access them.
• More Discretionary power for Government: Power to declare ‘economically sensitive areas’ without a public hearing as well as give any project a ‘strategic tag’ (so no EIA obligation)
  • This is important for the clearance of strategic projects related to defence and national security as well as projects deemed too important for the nation.
  • However, there is fear of misuse of this clause for political or economic reasons to circumvent EIA
•   Post-Facto-project clearance:
  • This will enable ease of doing business and reduce bureaucratic delays. But it is a violation of the fundamental principles of environmental jurisprudence and is contrary to both the precautionary principle as well as the need for sustainable development.
• An extended period of Environmental clearance: From 30 years to 50 years
  • However, it raises the risk of irreversible environmental, health, and social consequence.
• Common assessment for all the seasons by replacing seasonal assessment: No need to cover all the seasons in a year.
  • This may make EIA less reliable and not reveal the full impact of EIA
• Report Issues: reduced from once every six months to once every year.
  • This will dilute the scrutiny and it may be late before any mitigation measures could be taken for highlighted project impact.

 Conclusion:

EIA needs to provide the balance between ‘ease of doing business and maintaining environmental sustainability. In this context, an Independent EIA Authority can be set up for fair and objective decisions. Also, a centralized data bank for storing information and providing access to local communities and the general public to all the aspects of projects.

Insta Links

EIA

Amendment of EIA rules

Practice Questions

Q. Environmental Impact Assessment studies are increasingly undertaken before a project is cleared by the Government. Discuss the environmental impacts of coal-fired thermal plants located at coal pitheads. ( UPSC 2014)