22 February 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – UPI: GS III – Topic Indian Economy:

Context:

• All overseas visitors to India now have the option to utilise the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make local payments while they are there, according to a statement from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday.
• The regulator made this announcement in its February 2008 Announcement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies.
• The service is initially available to visitors from G-20 countries at Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi’s international airports.

Information on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• Users can transfer money between various bank accounts using a technology called UPI without giving the other party access to their bank account details. Many bank accounts are combined into a single smartphone app (of any participating bank).
• It was launched in 2016 by the NPCI, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Indian Bankers Association. (IBA).

Performance of UPI:

• The UPI transaction value for the month of October (2022) hit a record high of Rs 12.11 lakh crore with 7.3 billion transactions.
• According to the RBI’s Payment Vision 2025, UPI is expected to grow by 50% on average yearly.
• Why the growth? In order to achieve overall market equilibrium while taking into account the current usage and potential of UPI, other current and new participants (banks and non-banks) have adequate time to improve their customer outreach for the extension of UPI.

Impact of this behaviour:

• Due to the 30% cap, millions of Indians will not be able to use UPI payment services, undermining the amazing growth of Indian digital payments.
• It recognises that current and upcoming UPI firms will need to put in more time, effort, and money in order to enhance their own UPI market share.

Who will profit and who will suffer from the extension?

• PhonePe and Google Pay currently hold the vast majority (80%) of the market share for UPI.
• The losers are WhatsApp Pay, Paytm (15 percent of the market), and other market players.

 Source The Hindu

2 – G 20: GS II – Topic International Relations:

Context:

• Before the G-20 working group committee meeting, which is scheduled for the end of March, construction on the seaside development between Rushikonda and Tenneti Park stretch is moving swiftly. In addition to constructing three new beaches at Sagar Nagar, next to the ISKCON temple, and at the renowned Jodugullapalem, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has deployed its staff to establish two perspectives (Near Seethakonda).

What is the G20?

• A informal alliance of 19 countries, the EU, and representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund makes up the G20.
• The G20 membership represents the greatest developed and developing economies in the world, accounting for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of worldwide trade, and 60% of global population.

How was the G20 formed?

• As a result of the G7 inviting both developed and developing countries to discuss the 1997–1999 ASIAN Financial Crisis, this ministerial-level gathering was established. In 1999, the first gatherings of governors of central banks and finance ministers took place.
• With the 2008 Financial Crisis, the necessity for fresh political consensus building was acknowledged all across the world. It was decided that the G20 leaders will meet once a year going forward.
• To aid in preparation for these summits, the G20 central bank governors and finance ministers continue to hold separate, twice-yearly meetings. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also meet at the same time as them.

What Is the G20’s Process?

The G20’s work is divided into two tracks:

• The finance track includes all discussions with the governors of the G20 central banks and their designees. They meet regularly throughout the year and focus on topics including financial regulations, money and finances, etc.
• The Sherpa track covers broader issues including political involvement, corruption prevention, development, energy, etc.
• A Sherpa, who works on behalf of the head of state to plan, direct, implement, etc., is assigned to each G20 nation. An Indian named Shri Shaktikanta Das worked as the G20 sherpa in Argentina in 2018.

Who comprises the G20?

• The other G20 members are Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
• Being a constant non-member invitee, Spain takes part in leader summits.

What are the Structure and Purpose of the G20?

• Over time, a system that alternates the G20 Presidency on a yearly basis promotes regional balance.
• For the purpose of choosing the president, the 19 nations are split into 5 groups with a maximum of 4 nations in each group. The president rotates between each faction. Each year, the G20 elects a country from a different group to lead the organisation.
• India is in Group 2 together with South Africa, Russia, and Turkey.
• The G20 does not have a set secretariat or headquarters. Instead, it is the G20 president’s job to put together the G20 agenda in response to changes in the global economy and after speaking with other members.
• TROIKA: Every year, a new country takes over as president, and it works with both the outgoing and incoming administrations. TROIKA is the name of this procedure. This ensures the continuity and stability of the group’s agenda.

 Source The Hindu

3 – NATO: GS II – Topic International Relations:

Context:

• As the Russian invasion of Ukraine moves into a more challenging stage, US Vice President Joseph Biden will meet with NATO members from the eastern flank on Tuesday in Poland.
• Putin will update Russia’s elite on the conflict in Ukraine in a significant speech.
• After an unplanned visit to Kiev on Sunday, Mr. Biden left for Warsaw on Monday in an effort to strengthen Western unity as both Russia and Ukraine prepare to launch spring offensives. The battle, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and is the worst in Europe since World War II, has also severely damaged Ukraine’s infrastructure and the global economy.

 About NATO:

• 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.

Why did NATO initially form?

• Following World War II in 1945, Western Europe had a weak economy and a weak military. (By the end of the war, the western Allies had rapidly and significantly decreased their army.)
• In exchange for their collaboration and participation in cooperative planning to hasten their various recoveries, the countries of western and southern Europe received vast amounts of economic help under the Marshall Plan, which the United States initiated in 1948.
• Under the terms of the Brussels Treaty of 1948, the United Kingdom, France, and the Low Countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—created the Western European Union, a collective-defense agreement.
• Yet, it soon became clear that a more robust alliance would be required to provide the Soviet Union with a potent military counterweight.
• In March 1948, the three governments began discussing a multilateral collective-defense strategy in the wake of a communist virtual coup d’état in Czechoslovakia in February. This strategy would improve democratic values while bolstering Western security.
• These discussions eventually included France, the Low Countries, and Norway, and as a result, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in April 1949.
• After World War 2, when ties between the US and the USSR started to deteriorate, the Cold War started.
• While the USSR wanted to use the promotion of its communist ideology to strengthen its position in Europe, the US regarded it as a danger to its way of life.
• In 1955, as the Cold War was heating up, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact. Socialist countries in Central and Eastern Europe were included (1955). The Pact, which was essentially a political-military alliance, was considered NATO’s main geopolitical opponent.
• It included East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Albania (which left in 1968).
• The Pact was formally terminated in early 1991, following the fall of the Soviet Union.

Source The Hindu

4 – Char Dham Project: GS I – Topic Indian Culture:

Context:

• The Joshimath issue has raised awareness of how delicate the ecosystems and surrounds of the Himalayas are. One of the immediate impacts was the Indian government’s choice to cease work on the Helang-Marwari bypass, a part of the Char Dham project, close to the town.

Info on Chardham Project:

• The project, which is expected to cost Rs. 12,000 crores, involves expanding and building over 900 km of national highways to link the important Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
• The project to develop it will be called as Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana, and the road will be known as Char Dham Mahamarg (also known as the Char Dham Highway) (Char Dham Highway Development Project).

What Environmental Issues Were Flagged?

• Since they enhance the risk of landslides by removing trees and shifting rocks, large-scale development projects in steep terrain are tragedies waiting to happen.
• The project’s implementation did not adhere to required environmental approvals or environmental impact assessments (EIA).
• It is very concerning for the area’s delicate environment that more than 25,000 trees have reportedly been removed to make room for the project.
• Broader carriageways would require more excavation and blasting, making the landscape more prone to slippage and landslides, which could jeopardise the goal of having an all-weather roadway.

Current updates on the Chardham Project:

• In December 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Char Dham road project.
• The project was, however, challenged in court on environmental grounds, with petitioners alleging irregularities about the project’s environmental clearances and that it was being pursued in violation of recognised rules.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) approved the project in September 2018, but the decision of the NGT was challenged because it was rendered by a different bench from the one that had heard the case. In October 2018, the Supreme Court issued a stay of the NGT order.
• In response to a writ petition, it released a ruling in September 2020 stating that the Union Road Transport Ministry’s 2018 circular’s directive that roadways for the Char Dham project not exceed 5.5 metres in width should be observed shall be obeyed. Yet in December of same year, the Military Ministry asked for a modification to the directive, allowing the breadth to be 10m.
• The top court then asked the HPC to investigate the Center’s claims about the width of the roadways.

Source The Hindu