01 April 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

 1 – CIC: GS II – Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies:

Context:

• Gujarat University was ordered to disclose details on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s M.A. by the Central Information Commission (CIC) in a 2016 decision. by the Gujarat High Court reversed. Delhi’s chief minister is Arvind Kejriwal.

Information on the Central Information Commission (CIC):

• Establishment: The Central Government established the CIC in 2005 in compliance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act. (2005). For it, there is no constitutional body.
• The membership consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten Information Commissioners.
• They are chosen by the President based on the recommendations of a committee that is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes a member of the Union Cabinet that the Prime Minister has proposed as well as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• Each Central Public Authority is subject to the Commission’s authority.
• Until they turn 65 years old, whichever comes first, the Chief Information Commissioner and each Information Commissioner shall serve for the Central Government’s statutory periods.
• They are not eligible for reappointment.

Power and the Goals of CIC:

• to accept and look into complaints regarding information requests filed under RTI, 2005.
• It has the authority to order an investigation into any issue if there are sufficient grounds (suo-moto power).
• When conducting an investigation, the Commission has the same summoning, seeking of documents, etc., powers as a civil court.
• Commission for Federal Communications:
• It was created by the State Government.
• On the recommendation of the Chief Minister-led Appointments Committee, the Governor may appoint up to 10 State Information Commissioners (SIC) in addition to the State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC).

Issues:

Delays and backlogs:

• Usually 388 days (or more than a year) after it was presented to the commission, the CIC resolves an appeal or complaint.
• According to a study released last year, the Central and State Information Commissions are now processing more than 2.2 lakh Right to Information cases (ICs).

Without Sanctions:

• The research claims that authorities hardly ever hold them accountable for breaching the law.
• Penalties were only applied in 2.2% of resolved cases, despite prior data showing a rate of approximately 59% violations that should have triggered the procedure of penalty imposition.

Vacancy:

• Despite numerous court orders, there are still three openings in the CIC.

Problems with transparency:

• The selection criteria or other variables have not been reported.

Source The Hindu

2 – Indo – Pacific Region: GS II – International Relations:

Context:

• G-7 and G-20 collaboration was the main topic of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s March 2023 visit to India, during which he met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about global and bilateral issues (Japan and India hold their presidencies, respectively). Along with this, Mr. Kishida also introduced “Japan’s New Strategy for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific” and talked about methods to strengthen the “Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership” (FOIP).

About:

• The Indo-Pacific concept is a recent one. Almost ten years ago, the Indo-Pacific region initially gained notoriety; since then, it has expanded tremendously.
• One of the factors influencing the term’s use is the realisation that the Indian Ocean and the Pacific are connected strategic theatres.
• Asia has also taken on the role as the gravitational centre. There are maritime routes because the Pacific and Indian oceans provide the sea lanes. The majority of world trade occurs in these waters.

Significance:

• The Indo-Pacific area, one of the world’s most populous and rich regions, includes Asia, Africa, Australia, and America.
• Given that it is home to 60% of the world’s population and 2/3 of the world’s economic production, the region’s dynamism and vitality are clear.
• The region excels at drawing in and receiving foreign direct investment. Several of the key and substantial supply networks in the world have connections to the Indo-Pacific.
• Massive amounts of marine resources, including offshore hydrocarbons, methane hydrates, seabed minerals, and rare earth metals, can be found in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• Thanks to their long coasts and Exclusive Economic Zones, littoral countries have competitive capacities for exploiting these resources (EEZs).
• A few of the world’s greatest economies, including those of China, Japan, Australia, the United States, and India, are located in the Indo-Pacific region.

In what ways does India view the Indo-Pacific?

• Together, let’s create a security architecture. The US, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia are just a few of India’s close friends that want India to be present in the South and East China Seas, principally to counter China.
• India, however, wishes to cooperate in building a system for peace and stability in the area. For everyone to enjoy prosperity and security, the states must cooperate to create a shared rules-based structure for the region.
• From Africa to America, the Indo-Pacific area is located. The Indo-Pacific is a free, inviting, and open region for India. Every nation in the region is included, as well as anyone else who has an interest in it. India’s geographic size is determined by taking into account the area between the shores of Africa and America.
• Equitable Trade and Investment Participation: India advocates for an open, balanced, rule-based, and stable trading environment in the Indo-Pacific, which lifts all nations up on the trade and investment wave. The same thing is anticipated from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by the country (RCEP).
• Contrary to China, India favours a united rather than a divided ASEAN. By putting some ASEAN members against one another, China tries to employ the “divide and rule” conquest strategy.
• India rejects the American vision of the Indo-Pacific, which seeks to restrain Chinese dominance, and instead favours cooperation with China. Finding ways to work with China is more of an interest to India.
• In order to challenge the hegemony of one player, India aims to democratise the sector. In the past, the area resembled a lake in America almost exactly. Yet there are worries that the region may now become a Chinese lake. Any participant in the region attaining hegemonic dominance is opposed by India.

What difficulties does the Indo-Pacific region face?

• For geostrategic conflict between several multinational organisations, as QUAD and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Indo-Pacific area serves as the primary theatre.
• The Indian Ocean’s stability as well as India’s interests are now in danger due to China’s military buildup. China supports its neighbours militarily and economically, especially by providing frigates for Sri Lanka, submarines for Burma, and its overseas military base in Djibouti (Horn of Africa).
• A few hundred miles from the coast of India, in Sri Lanka, China also controls the port of Hambantota.
• Hotspot For Non-Traditional Problems: Due to the breadth of the region, it is difficult to recognise and address a number of risks, including piracy, human trafficking, and terrorism.
• Major risks to the ecological and geographical stability of the Indo-Pacific region include climate change and the three successive La Nina periods that are causing cyclones and tsunamis in that region.
• Moreover, maritime pollution and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing are affecting the aquatic life in this region.
• Indian Navy’s Limited Naval Capability: The Indian Navy’s Resources and Ability to Enhance its Efforts are Restricted as a result of India’s Low Military Budget Allocation. Due to the lack of overseas military sites, India also has a serious logistical challenge in sustaining its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

How to Proceed:

• All nations in the region should be granted an equal right under international law to use common sea and airspace, which would require freedom of navigation, unrestricted commerce, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts in accordance with international law.
• On the tenets of respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty, consultation, good governance, openness, viability, and sustainability, connectivity must be developed across the region.
• The Indo-Pacific area depends on marine domain awareness for security (MDA). A full understanding of every maritime operation that might have an impact on the environment, the economy, security, or safety is referred to as MDA.
• Multipolarity: It is crucial that the countries in the area live in safety, peace, and legality. Moreover, this will allow for multipolarity in the region. The smaller governments in the region expect India to step up and provide them greater options, both militarily and economically. India ought to make an effort to meet their needs.

Source The Hindu

3 – NATO: GS II – International Relations:

Context:

• According to a senior American source, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is “open” to enhancing relations with India. At a virtual news briefing on Friday, Ambassador Julianne Smith, the United States’ ambassador to NATO, said that Russia should leave Ukraine and that NATO is monitoring China-Russia relations in light of Moscow’s continued military operation in Ukraine.

About:

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 as a military alliance to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. It was sometimes referred to as the Washington Treaty and was signed by the United States, Canada, and other Western European nations.
• There are now 30 member states.
• The original members of the group were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Greece and Turkey joined the original signatories in 1952, followed by West Germany in 1955 (renamed Germany in 1990), Spain in 1982, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 1999. (2020).
• France remained a NATO member but vacated its position in the organization’s integrated military command in 1966. 2009 saw its comeback.
• Recently, interest in joining NATO has been shown by Finland and Sweden.
• Brussels, Belgium, is the headquarters.
• The Allied Command Operations headquarters are in Mons, Belgium.

What objectives does NATO intend to fulfil?

• Protecting each member state’s freedom and security through political and military action is NATO’s primary and ongoing objective.
• Political objectives: NATO promotes democratic principles and offers members the chance to engage and cooperate on defence and security-related issues in order to resolve disagreements, build trust, and, in the long term, prevent conflict.
• Military Objectives: NATO is committed to finding peaceful solutions to conflicts. If diplomatic attempts fail, it has the military power to carry out crisis-management operations.
• According to a United Nations mandate or the collective defence clause of the Washington Treaty, Article 5, which served as the foundational agreement for NATO, they are carried out independently or in cooperation with other nations and international organisations.
• Only once, on September 12, 2001, in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on the US World Trade Center, did NATO ever use Article 5.

How is NATO set up?

• Although NATO has an integrated military command structure, the organisation only fully owns a small portion of its forces and resources.
• The majority of forces continue to be under total national command and control until member nations choose to carry out NATO-related duties.
• Its members must preserve the essential values that underpin the Alliance, such as democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law. Decisions made by the Alliance must be unanimous and consensual. In the Alliance, each of the 30 allies has an equal voice.
• NATO members are not covered by the alliance’s protection during civil conflicts or internal uprisings.
• NATO is financed by its members. The United States covers three-quarters of NATO’s budget.

Source The Hindu

4 – Gamosa: GS I – Indian Culture:

Context:

• This week, a scarf was the subject of discussion in Assam. The recently formed Bangla Sahitya Sabha Assam (BSSA) cut an Assamese gamosa in half and stitched a Bengali gamcha back together to honour guests at a function on Sunday (March 26). Some Assamese society members found this to be offensive.

About:

• It normally consists of a rectangle of white fabric with red woven patterns on the other two sides and a border of crimson.
• Although Chinese silk is occasionally used, cotton yarn is the most common material used to make or weave gamosas.
• It represents the culture and identity of Assamese people and was accorded the Geographical Indication (GI) designation in 2022.

Source The Hindu