05 August 2022

05 August 2022 – Daily Mains Answer Writing & Model Answer

Q1. Discuss India-China Border Disputes. (250 words)

  Paper & Topic: GS II à International Relations

Model Answer:

• The India-China border dispute refers to the ongoing territorial conflict between China and India over the control of two very sizable and numerous smaller partitioned portions of land. India and China are separated by 3,488 kilometers. Regrettably, there are differences over the entire boundary. The border between the two countries is colloquially known as the McMahon Line in the region of Arunachal Pradesh after its creator, Sir Henry McMahon. It is known as the Line of Actual Control in the territory of Jammu and Kashmir (LAC). This article will quickly explore the border dispute between China and India.

Overview of India and China’s Border Conflict:

• The shared border between China and India is approximately 3,488 kilometers long (the second largest after Bangladesh).
• The majority of the Sino-Indian border is made up of the western, middle, and eastern sectors.
• Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh are the states that border China.

The history of the China-India border dispute:

Western Sector:

• They share a western border that stretches for 2152 kilometers. It is located midway between the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir and the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
• There is a territorial dispute in this region involving Aksai Chin. In 1962, a conflict between the two countries was caused by the Aksai Chin dispute. India asserts it is a part of Kashmir, while China maintains it is a part of Xinjiang.
• The Aksai Chin issue stems from the British Empire’s inability to draw a clear legal border between China and its Indian empire. While Britain still dominated India, two proposals for a border between that country and China were Johnson’s Line and McDonald’s Line.
• In contrast to the McDonald Line, which was proposed in 1893, the Johnson Line, which was proposed in 1865, placed Chinese authority over Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir.
• While India sees the Johnson Line as the proper boundary with China, China sees the McDonald Line as the proper international border.
• Currently, the Indian states of Jammu & Kashmir and Aksai Chin are separated by the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is comparable to the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line.

Middle Sector:

• In this region, India and China share a border that runs 625 kilometers from Ladakh to Nepal.
• In this region, the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are close to Tibet’s border (China). The two parties don’t really disagree on anything in this area.

The Southeast Sector:

• India and China are divided by a 1,140-kilometer border in this area. It stretches from Bhutan’s eastern border to a spot not far from the Talu Pass, which connects Tibet, India, and Myanmar. This line is known as the McMahon Line.
• Except where the Kemang, Subansiri, Dihang, and Lohit rivers cross it, the boundary was established along the Himalayan crest of that watershed.
• Following discussions between Indians and Tibetans, the British-Indian administration organized a tripartite meeting in 1913 to legally establish the border between India and Tibet.
• The boundary between India and Tibet was established as a result of a Convention.
• China asserts that the McMahon Line is illegal and unacceptable because Tibetan representatives who signed the 1914 Shimla Convention, which drew the line on a map, lacked the legal authority to do so.

Johnson Line vs. McDonald Line:

• Even on the Johnson and McDonald lines, which separate the two countries borders, the two countries have maintained their different positions.
• The Johnson Line, a recognized border between India and Myanmar, designates Aksai Chin as Indian territory.
• The McDonald Line states that Aksai Chin is a part of Chinese territory.

India-China War of 1962:

• The reason for the battle was the dispute over sovereignty between Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh.
• There were several reasons for this, but the main one was that China saw India as a threat to its authority over Tibet.
• Throughout the summer of 1962, India and China were involved in a number of battles and military encounters.
• The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China attacked India on October 20, 1962, in Ladakh and in Arunachal Pradesh beyond the McMahon line.
• India made only a few preliminary preparations before the battle began because they were certain there wouldn’t be a war.
• On November 19, 1962, China unilaterally declared an end to the fighting after a month-long conflict. By that time, China had made substantial progress on both fronts. India experienced a significant setback and was soundly defeated.
• China now has control over the Aksai chin, which was its goal. With their men in the eastern sector, they fled north of the McMahon line.
• India and China have engaged in several border wars since the war, during which Chinese troops have crossed into India and Indian troops have infiltrated Chinese territory.
• However, the Indo-China border has remained relatively tranquil save from two severe battles in 1967, the first at Nathu La and the second at Cho La.
• Everything started when the PLA attacked Indian forces at Nathu La. The conflict in Cho La lasted five days even though it ended on the same day that it started at Nathu La.
• The 1967 battles are viewed as a triumph for India because of the more amicable conclusion that resulted from India’s ability to recapture the Chinese troops.

Accord/Border dispute resolution efforts:

• A summit was held in Shimla in 1914 with representatives from Tibet, China, and British India to determine the border between that region and North East India.
• Following the negotiations, the agreement was signed by British India and Tibet, but not by Chinese officials.
• China currently contests both the Shimla pact and the McMahon line, claiming Tibet lacked the authority to sign treaties because it was not a sovereign state. According to the Shimla Convention, India recognizes the McMahon Line as the physical border between India and China.
• According to the Panchsheel idea, all parties must “respect each other’s sovereignty and geographical integrity.” Although we have come a long way since the battle in 1962 and the period of the cold peace from 1962 to 1989, It must have avoided these conflicts in the first place.
• When India and China formed a Joint Working Group for Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in 1989, they agreed to resolve any border disputes bilaterally.
• The Line of Actual Control is the name of the military line separating Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir from Aksai Chin (LAC).
• India typically utilizes the Johnson line, which places Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir and was created in 1865 by a civil officer named W.H. Johnson, to determine its borders.
• China, on the other hand, recognizes the Macartney-Macdonald Line as the actual boundary, placing Aksai Chin in the Xinjiang province of China. When then-Prime Minister Narasimha Rao visited China in 1993, he also signed the “Agreement for the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC.”
• In 1996, an agreement on confidence-building measures in the military field along the LAC was established.
• China and India signed a Declaration on Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation in 2003, and also decided to appoint Special Representatives to look into the specifics of a political boundary solution.
• In 2003, relations between China and India significantly improved. China recognized that Sikkim is a part of Indian territory. Following that, a set of guiding principles and political directives to strengthen bilateral cooperation were developed.
• The “Modalities for the Implementation of Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field Along the LAC” protocol was adopted in 2005.
• China and India agreed upon a working structure for coordination and consultation along their shared border in 2012.

Recent Clashes:

Chumar:

• When Indian soldiers attempted to obstruct Chinese building efforts into what India considers to be its territory, there was a 16-day standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh close to the settlement of Chumar.
• This standoff began on September 16, four months after Modi was elected prime minister and the day before Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first trip to India.
• Indian military prevented the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from extending the road from Chepzi to Chumar, which India considers to be its own territory, which is when the stalemate began.
• To prevent the construction of an irrigation canal, PLA soldiers had pushed residents of the Demchok village in the Chumar region into Indian territory.
• The issue was resolved following protracted diplomatic and military discussions. Both sides agreed to withdraw their soldiers at a high-level flag meeting that was facilitated by major generals.
• The impasse was broken by a compromise reached by China and India. While India agreed to demolish its observation hut at Tible and forego building bunkers there in the same sector, China opted not to build the Chepzi-Chumar route.

Burtse:

• Although it was significantly smaller in scale than the Chumar incident in 2014, Indian and Chinese forces again engaged in a stalemate in the Depsang plains of northern Ladakh in 2015. It happened in Burtse this time.
• This confrontation began when the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, ostensibly for security concerns, destroyed a temporary cabin the PLA had built close to Burtse.
• As a tit-for-tat response, the Indian side increased force deployment. The PLA subsequently asked for local reinforcements.
• The stalemate was broken by local army representatives on the ground within a week without the aid of the administration. The Indian and Chinese forces subsequently resolved to organize a 12-day joint military exercise in China as a significant measure to boost confidence.

Doklam:

• The most recent notable standoff occurred in 2017 in Doklam, which is close to where Bhutan, China, and India converge. Prior to the 73-day stalemate, the two militaries had not communicated directly with one another for up to 30 years.
• Doklam is nearly 100 square kilometers in size and is made up of a plateau and a valley. The Chumbi valley in Tibet (China), the Ha valley in Bhutan, and the Indian state of Sikkim are all about this area.
• The issue was originally brought up in June when Chinese army engineers tried to construct a road over the Doklam plateau, which is claimed by both China and Bhutan.
• After a 73-day standoff that lasted from June 16 to August 28, there were many tense weeks of diplomatic negotiations. The foreign ministries of both nations eventually reached an agreement and announced the pullout on August 28, returning the troops to their pre-16 June deployments after China’s foreign ministry had asked that India withdraw its troops unilaterally.

What happened in the Galwan Valley?

• Chinese and Indian troops clashed in the middle of June 2020 in a remote Himalayan valley while armed only with rocks and sticks. By the time the fighting in the Galwan Valley was over, at least 20 Indian soldiers had perished and 76 had been injured.
• The greatest military clash between the two nations in decades occurred over their high-altitude border, which spurred a flurry of diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation.
• Fighting broke out on June 15 in an area between Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin and Indian-controlled Ladakh at a height of more than 4,000 metres due to undetermined circumstances (14,000 feet).
• The fatal altercation occurred after another one on May 5 and during both parties’ attempts to defuse the ensuing six-week standoff.
• Due to a 1996 pact between the two parties to boost trust and begin settling the border conflict, there were no firearms present. Instead, the soldiers used fists, rocks, and sticks to fight.

Conclusion:

• China and India do not have a clear border. While India adheres to the Johnson and McMohan lines, China favours the Macartney-MacDonald line. Although neither country wants to give up the disputed territory, China’s goal of annexing the entirety of its former empire is impractical. In order to maintain a clear boundary between the two nations, diplomatic and military negotiations should be used to resolve the border conflict. The issue cannot be resolved through war or military action between these two enormously populous and powerful nations.

Q2. What is the future of Electric Vehicles in India? (250 words)

  Paper & Topic: GS III à Science and Technology

Model Answer:

• India is currently the fifth-largest car market in the world and has the potential to become one of the top three in the near future, with an estimated 40 crore people needing mobility solutions by the year 2030.
• To be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the rise in car ownership should not be seen as an increase in the consumption of conventional fuels.
• In order to achieve India’s Net Zero Emissions goal by 2070, a revolution in Indian transportation is required. Greater “walkability,” public transportation, railroads, better roads, and cars will all be products of this revolution. Undoubtedly, many of these “better cars” will be electric.
• Experts in the automobile industry and the general public have recently agreed that electric vehicles are the future. In this regard, India still has a lot of work to do, including the creation of a charging infrastructure and battery production.

Electric vehicles and India:

• Origin and Growth Scope: The push for electric vehicles is motivated by the global climate agenda established by the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit global warming (EVs).
• The rapid adoption of electric cars (EVs) in modern society serves as the standard for the global move toward electric mobility.
• By 2020, 2.1 million electric vehicles (EVs) will have been purchased, or nearly two out of every 100 new cars purchased today.
• Around the world, 8.0 million EVs were in use in 2020, accounting for 1% of all vehicles on the road and 2.6 % of all new vehicles sold.
• Also boosting EV demand globally are falling battery costs and rising performance efficiencies.
• Electric vehicles are required in India as the country’s transportation system needs to be revolutionised.
• It is not possible to carry on with the existing trend of introducing more and more cars that consume expensive imported petroleum and fill up already crowded cities that experience infrastructure problems and severe air pollution.
• The move to electric mobility is one potential global strategy for decarbonizing the transportation industry.
• India’s support for EVs: The global EV30@30 campaign, which aims to have at least 30% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, is supported by a select few countries, including India.
• India made a commitment to the same at the COP26 in Glasgow by endorsing “Panchamrit,” a programme with five components to address climate change.
• The utilisation of renewable energy to cover 50% of India’s energy needs, a reduction in carbon emissions of 1 billion tonnes by 2030, and the achievement of net zero emissions by 2070 were among the suggestions made by India at the Glasgow summit.
• A few of the steps the Indian government has taken to develop and promote the EV ecosystem in the country include the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) for the supplier side and the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme, which has been modified.
• Electric vehicle manufacturers can now make use of the just-announced PLI programme for Auto and Automotive Components.

Associated Difficulties:

Battery Manufacturing: Between 2020 and 2030, India’s total demand for batteries is expected to range between 900 and 1100 GWh.

• It is concerning because India lacks a basis for battery production, necessitating a whole reliance on imports to meet the country’s rising needs.
• Despite the electricity sector’s slow adoption of electric vehicles and battery storage, India imported lithium-ion cells worth more than $1 billion in 2021, according to government statistics.
• Customer-related issues: India reportedly had 650 charging stations in 2018 compared to its neighbours’ over 5 million, a substantial undercount.
• Consumers can’t travel far since there aren’t enough charging stations.
• In addition, it can take a vehicle up to 12 hours to fully charge when utilising a private light-duty slow charger at the owner’s home.
• Furthermore, the cost of a basic electric car is considerably greater than the average cost of a conventionally-fueled vehicle.
• Policy Roadblocks: Electric vehicle manufacturing is a capital-intensive sector that needs long-term planning to break even and turn a profit. Investment in the sector is discouraged by the lack of clarity surrounding government policy regarding EV production.
• India lacks the technological capability to develop the necessary electronics—batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.—that are the cornerstone of the EV business.
• The cost of EV maintenance is higher, and more sophisticated skills are required. For India to acquire these abilities, specialised training programs are required.
• Lack of Resources for Domestic Production: The battery is the most important component of electric vehicles.
• There are no known reserves of the metals lithium and cobalt, which are needed to make batteries, in India.
• Total independence in the battery manufacturing sector is hampered by the industry’s partial reliance on the import of lithium-ion batteries from other countries.

How to Proceed:

Future of Electric Vehicles: Since the country imports more than $100 billion worth of its entire crude oil requirements, EVs will contribute to a greater level of energy security.

• In terms of creating jobs, it is projected that the local EV manufacturing industry will gain a lot from the push for EVs.
• Through a range of grid support services, EVs are also expected to strengthen the system and help accommodate greater renewable energy penetration while maintaining secure and stable grid operation.
• Opportunities for Battery Manufacturing and Storage: Battery storage offers a great chance to support sustainable development in the country given government measures to support e-mobility and renewable energy (450 GW energy capacity target by 2030).
• As per capita income levels have increased, there has been a significant demand for consumer electronics that use advanced chemistry batteries, such as mobile phones, UPS systems, laptops, power banks, etc.
• The development of better batteries is therefore one of the biggest business opportunities of the twenty-first century.
• An EV charging infrastructure that can be constructed in private residences, public locations like gas stations and CNG stations, and in the parking lots of companies like shopping malls, railroad stations, and bus terminals can all be powered by a local energy source.
• The Ministry of Power has mandated the existence of at least one charging station in a grid of three kilometres and every 25 kilometres on both sides of the roadways.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs mandated the Model Building Bye-laws, 2016 (MBBL), which state that 20% of parking spots in both residential and commercial buildings must be reserved for EV charging stations.
• To bring the MBBL into effect, the state governments will also need to make the necessary adjustments to each of their own building byelaws.
• Since the Indian market need assistance for indigenous technologies that are suitable for the nation from an economic and strategic standpoint, R&D in EVs should be increased.
• Utilizing nearby educational institutions and well-established industrial hubs makes sense because supporting local R&D is crucial for reducing costs.
• India should work with countries like the UK to coordinate EV development.