DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Monthly DNA

07 Oct, 2022

26 Min Read

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Paper	Topics	Subject
GS-II	CAATSA Sanction and (JCPOA)	International Relations
GS-II	Parliamentary Committee	Indian Polity
GS-III	Aatmanirbhar in Defence Production	Economic Issues
GS-III	Sustainable Finance for the Future	Economic Issues
PT Pointer	World Cotton Day	Indian Geography

GS-II : International Relations Iran

CAATSA and Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA)

The United States recently sanctioned Tibalaji Petrochem Pvt Ltd., a Mumbai-based petrochemical company, for selling Iranian petroleum products.
It is the first Indian entity to be designated by the US under unilateral sanctions imposed in 2018-19, following the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

What exactly was the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action?

The agreement is also known as the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.
The JCPOA was the result of lengthy negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany) between 2013 and 2015.
Iran agreed to significantly reduce its stockpiles of centrifuges, enriched uranium, and heavy water, all of which are critical components of nuclear weapons.
Iran also agreed to implement a protocol that would allow IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear sites, ensuring that Iran would not be able to develop nuclear weapons in secret.
While the West agreed to lift sanctions related to Iran's nuclear proliferation, other sanctions related to alleged human rights violations and Iran's ballistic missile programme remained in place.
The United States committed to lifting sanctions on oil exports while continuing to restrict financial transactions, discouraging international trade with Iran.
Nonetheless, after years of recessions, currency depreciation, and inflation, Iran's economy stabilised significantly after the deal went into effect, and exports skyrocketed.
Following the US withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and the reinstatement of banking and oil sanctions, Iran resumed its nuclear programme in earnest, returning to approximately 97% of its pre-2015 nuclear capabilities.

What happened after the United States backed out of the agreement?

The United States announced its intention to lift sanctions in April 2020. The other partners, however, objected to the move, claiming that because the US was no longer a party to the agreement, it could not unilaterally reimpose sanctions.
Following the withdrawal, several countries continued to import Iranian oil under Trump administration waivers. After much international criticism, the US ended the waivers a year later, significantly reducing Iran's oil exports.
To keep the deal alive, the other powers launched a barter system known as Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) to facilitate transactions with Iran outside of the US banking system. INSTEX, on the other hand, only covered food and medicine, which were already exempt from US sanctions.
After the US assassinated Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani, in January 2020, Iran announced that it would no longer limit its uranium enrichment.
Iran and International Atomic Energy Agency officials met in September 2022 to discuss the possibility of Iran agreeing to allow inspectors back into the country to oversee reactors.
The United States and Iran have also exchanged positions on rejoining the JCPOA through the European Union.

What is the JCPOA's significance for India?

Increase Regional Connectivity: The removal of sanctions may rekindle India's interest in the Chabahar port, the Bandar Abbas port, and other regional connectivity plans.
This would aid India in neutralising the Chinese presence in Pakistan's Gwadar port.
Apart from Chabahar, India's interest in the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), which will improve connectivity with five Central Asian republics, may be boosted.
Energy Security: As a result of the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), India is required to reduce its oil imports to zero.
The re-establishment of relations between the United States and Iran will enable India to obtain cheap Iranian oil and improve its energy security.

Source: The hindu

GS-II : Indian Polity Parliament

Parliamentary Committee

The reorganization of 22 Standing Committees took place recently.

What exactly are Parliamentary Committees?

A Parliamentary Committee is a group of Members of Parliament appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
The committee reports to the House or the Speaker/Chairman and works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
Parliamentary Committees originated in the British Parliament.
They derive their authority from Articles 105 and 118.
Article 105 addresses MPs' privileges.
Article 118 empowers Parliament to make rules to govern its procedure and conduct of business.
Need: To begin the legislative business, a Bill is introduced in either House of Parliament. However, the legislative process is often complex, and Parliament has limited time for detailed discussions.
Furthermore, political polarisation and a shrinking middle ground have resulted in increasingly heated and inconclusive debates in Parliament.
Because of these issues, much legislative business is conducted in Parliamentary Committees instead.

What are the various Parliamentary Committees?

There are various types of committees in India's Parliament. They can be distinguished by their work, their membership, and the length of their tenure.

Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees are the two types of Parliamentary Committees.
The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:
Financial Committees
Departmental Standing Committee
Committees to Enquire
Committees to Scrutinise and Control
Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.
The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.

What are the Roles of Parliamentary Committees?

Legislative expertise is provided:

Most MPs are not subject matter experts on the issues being debated; rather, they are generalists who understand the pulse of the people but rely on expert and stakeholder advice before making decisions.
Parliamentary committees are intended to assist MPs in seeking expertise and giving them time to think about issues in depth.

Assembling a Mini-Parliament:

These committees function as a mini-parliament because MPs from various parties are elected to them using a single transferable vote system in roughly the same proportion as their strength in Parliament.

An instrument for Detailed Scrutiny:

When bills are referred to these committees, they are thoroughly examined and input from various external stakeholders, including the public, is sought.
It serves as a check on the government:
Although committee recommendations are not legally binding on the government, their reports provide a public record of the consultations that occurred and put pressure on the government to reconsider its position on contentious provisions.
Discussions in committee meetings are also more collaborative because they are held behind closed doors and away from the public eye, with MPs feeling less pressured to posture for media galleries.

Why is the marginalisation of Parliamentary Committees a problem?

Government Weakening of the Parliamentary System: A parliamentary democracy is based on the doctrine of fusion of powers between the legislature and the executive, but the legislature is supposed to maintain oversight of the government and keep its power in check.
By avoiding Parliamentary committees in the passage of significant legislation, there is a risk of undermining democracy.
Using Brute Majority: Bills are not required to be sent to committees in the Indian system. It is up to the Chair — the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha — to decide.
By granting the Chair discretionary power, the system has been made especially vulnerable in a Lok Sabha where the ruling party has a landslide majority.

Way Forward

Mandating scrutiny for major bills passed is not a barrier to the legislative process; rather, it is necessary to maintain the quality of legislation, and thus the quality of governance.
As a result, a strong parliamentary committee system is required to ensure the primacy of Parliament in the legislative process.

Source: The Indian Express

Aatmanirbhar in Defence Production

GS-III : Economic Issues Defense industry

Aatmanirbhar in Defence Production

India ranks fourth among the 12 countries in the Indo-Pacific in terms of its ability to produce weaponry independently, according to new research.

Details about the study by SIPRI:

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published the findings
SIPRI is a well-known independent source for information on international security.

Countries:

The study's 12 participants were chosen because they had the largest military expenditures in the region.
The following countries are included: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Results: China is at the top of the list, followed by Japan, South Korea, and Pakistan.
China: From 2016 to 20, China's imports of weapons ranked seventh worldwide.
India is the world's second-largest importer of weapons for its armed services between 2016 and 20.
Major foreign arm imports from other countries, including several that were made under license or as parts for home production, are extremely important to India.
84 percent of India's total volume of purchases from 2016 to 20 were made outside of the country.
Less than 16 percent of its entire procurement comes from domestic armaments industry.
The biggest Indian arms servicing firms include Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Indian Ordnance Factories, Bharat Electronics, Mazagaon Docks, and Cochin Shipyard.
One of the biggest truck suppliers to the Indian Army, Ashok Leyland, is the sole business ranked in the top 50 in the Indo-Pacific.

Indicators:

Three self-reliance indicators for each nation are used in the study, which measures self-reliance through the year 2020:
Arms procurement: The government's overall purchases of significant conventional arms divided by imports, licenced domestic manufacture, and domestic production;
Industry of arms: Where data are available, the study ranks the top five arms manufacturers in each nation by the amount of military hardware it will sell domestically and abroad in 2020;
Unmanned maritime vehicles, or drones on the sea:
Covering both unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), this report aims to provide a qualitative understanding of how countries engage domestic research institutes and firms to develop such cutting-edge systems.

Aatmanirbhar in defence production

Make-I Category:
About: The 'Make' Category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 aims to achieve self-reliance through increased participation of Indian industry.
This category includes projects involving the design and development of equipment, systems, major platforms, or upgrades to them by the industry.
Financial Assistance: The Ministry of Defence will cover up to 70% of the total cost of prototype development.
Category: Make-II
It is supported by industry through guaranteed procurement. The following platform has been identified:
Anti-jamming Systems for a Variety of Platforms
iDEX: Projects of Start-ups, MSMEs, and others involving high-end innovation would be pursued under the iDEX category, and the following platform - Low Orbit Pseudo Satellites - has been selected under this category v.

The study's importance:

The study chose the maritime domain because the Indo-Pacific region is a "maritime theatre," and the majority of its flashpoints involve navies.
Understanding and determining the extent of self-reliance in the Indo-Pacific region, which has several ongoing flashpoints, is critical for trust and confidence-building among states, according to the study.
This region has also seen an increase in state spending on defence procurement.
In 2020, eighteen regional arms manufacturers were ranked among the world's largest arms manufacturers.
China's ranking: The Chinese arms industry is dominated by nine large state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
China is also working on projects with universities and other organisations to develop "long-range precision, intelligent, stealthy, or unmanned weaponry and equipment."

India's situation:

According to the study, India's significant arms sales and high level of licensed production propel it to fourth place on the list.

Source: Times Of India

Sustainable Finance for the Future

GS-III : Economic Issues Financial Market

Sustainable Finance for the Future

A Committee on Sustainable Finance, appointed by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), has submitted its report on Sustainable Finance, which includes recommendations for the development of the carbon market, among other things.

What exactly is Sustainable Finance?

Sustainable finance is defined as investment decisions that consider an economic activity's or project's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
Environmental factors include climate change mitigation and the use of renewable resources.
Human and animal rights, as well as consumer protection and diverse hiring practises, are examples of social factors.
The management, employee relations, and compensation practises of both public and private organisations are referred to as governance factors.

What are the Committee's Recommendations?

Among other things, this includes developing a voluntary carbon market, a framework for transition bonds, enabling de-risking mechanisms, promoting a regulatory sandbox for green fintech, and facilitating the formation of a global climate alliance.
Establishment of a dedicated MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) lending platform for long-term lending.
Facilitating the use of novel instruments such as catastrophe bonds, municipal bonds, green securitization, and blended finance.
IFSC aggregation facilities, impact funds, green equity, and so on.
IFSCA must play an important role in capacity building, which will lay the groundwork for greening the financial system.

What exactly is IFSCA?

The International Financial Services Centres Authority Act of 2019 established the IFSCA in 2020.
Its headquarters are in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, at GIFT (Gujarat International. Finance Tec-City).
The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services, and financial institutions.
The GIFT IFSC is currently India's first international financial services centre.
Prior to the establishment of IFSCA, domestic financial regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) regulated IFSC business.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority is made up of nine members who are appointed by the central government.
They include the authority's chairperson, representatives from the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA, as well as two representatives from the Ministry of Finance. A Selection Committee also recommends two additional members for appointment.
Term: All members of the IFSCA serve three-year terms that are renewable.

What exactly are Carbon Markets?

Carbon markets enable the purchase and sale of carbon emissions with the goal of reducing global emissions.
Carbon markets existed under the Kyoto Protocol, which will be replaced in 2020 by the Paris Agreement.
Carbon markets have the potential to reduce emissions above and beyond what countries are doing on their own.
For example, in India, a brick kiln's technology can be upgraded and emissions reduced in two ways:
A developed country that is unable to meet its reduction target can provide money or technology to an Indian brick kiln and thus claim emission reduction as its own.
Alternatively, the kiln can invest and then sell the emission reductions, known as carbon credits. Another party, struggling to meet their own goals, can purchase these credits and present them as their own.

What are the Indian Government Initiatives Related to This?

PAT Scheme: The government has launched the PAT scheme, which aims to reduce carbon emissions in 13 energy-intensive sectors.
Encourage Foreign Capital: Under the automatic route, the government has allowed up to 100 percent FDI in the renewable energy sector.
Encouraging Renewable energy: The government has waived inter-state Transmission System (ISTS) charges for projects involving the inter-state sale of solar and wind power.
Making plans for the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and establishing Renewable Energy Parks
India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC): Under the Paris Agreement, which was adopted by signatory countries in 2015, India submitted a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) with quantified targets to reduce the emissions intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33-35% by 2030 from 2005 levels, to achieve approximately 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, and to create an additional carbon sin

GS-I : Indian Geography Agro based industries

World Cotton Day

Every year on October 7, World Cotton Day is observed. The international event will celebrate its third anniversary in 2022.

The Story of the Day

History/Background: The Cotton Four, four Sub-Saharan African cotton producers Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, proposed the first World Cotton Day to the World Trade Organization on October 7, 2019. (WTO).
On October 7, 2019, the WTO welcomed the Cotton-4 countries' initiative to organize World Cotton Day.
Theme: Weaving a Better Cotton Future
The theme focuses on sustainable cotton cultivation in order to improve the lives of cotton laborers, smallholders, and their families.
The significance of the day is that it provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about cotton and cotton-related products, as well as the need for developing countries to have greater access to international markets in order to sell cotton-related goods.
It encourages ethical trade practices and allows developing countries to profit from each stage of the cotton value chain.
The event benefits farmers and emerging economies in terms of economic development.

Cotton Crop Information

It is a Kharif Crop derived from the natural fibres of cotton plants native to tropical and subtropical regions.
China, India, the United States of America, Brazil, and Pakistan are the top five cotton-producing countries, accounting for more than three-quarters of global production.
Cotton is the most environmentally friendly raw material for the textile industry when compared to synthetic alternatives because it is renewable and biodegradable.
Cotton plants have a long growing season that can last up to 200 days. Cotton cultivation begins between December and March. Over a long growing season, these plants require a relatively high temperature (21-30°C).
Cotton is a xerophyte that can grow in dry, arid environments, so it is not a thirsty crop.
Cotton cultivation takes up only 3% of the world's land. Despite this, it meets 27% of the world's textile demand.

Cotton production in India

India is the world's largest cotton producer and third largest exporter. It is also the world's largest cotton consumer.
Gujarat and Maharashtra are the top cotton producing states in India. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
All four cultivated cotton species are grown in India: G.arboreum and Herbaceum (Asian cotton), G.barbadense (Egyptian cotton), and G. hirsutum (American Upland cotton).
G.hirsutum (American upland cotton) accounts for 94% of hybrid cotton production in India, and G. hirsutum is the source of all current Bt cotton hybrids.
In the global cotton trade, India's cotton is now known as 'Kasturi Cotton.'
Since their introduction in 2002, pest-resistant Genetically Modified (GM) Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market (covering over 95% of the cotton area).
These now cover over 95% of cotton land, with seeds produced entirely by the private sector.
India is the only country that grows cotton as hybrids and the first to develop hybrid cotton back in 1970.

Source: The Hindu

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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

GS-II : International Relations Iran

GS-II : Indian Polity Parliament

GS-III : Economic Issues Defense industry

GS-III : Economic Issues Financial Market

GS-I : Indian Geography Agro based industries

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