Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for December 15, 2023. If you missed the December 14, 2023 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here THE WORLD House approves Biden impeachment inquiry Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. • What is the case against Biden and his son? • What is the evidence? • For Your Information-According to Republicans, a US government document shows an informant referring to the head of Burisma — a Ukrainian company for which Hunter Biden sat on the Board of Directors. The document, referring to alleged payments to the two members of the Biden family, says: “It cost 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden.” According to AP news, an associate of Hunter Biden, in an interview with congressional investigators, had said that he was not aware of any such payments. The head of Burisma said he did not have any contact with Joe Biden or his staff, and that Biden did not help him or the company while he was the Vice President, AP quoted a transcript of an interview released by Jamie Raskin — the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. The associate also told the investigators that Hunter Biden had put his father over the phone with foreign investors or associates “maybe 20 times” over the course of about ten years. He said that Biden’s son had sought to create “an illusion of access to his father,” but that those conversations did not involve any sort of business dealings, and that he was not aware of any wrongdoing by the elder Biden. • What is an impeachment inquiry, and what does it lead to? • What has Biden said on the inquiry? What do the Democrats say? • Impeachment of President in India-Know in detail • Impeachment of President in India and Impeachment of President in USA-Compare and Contrast Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Biden impeachment inquiry: What is happening, how has the US President responded FRONT PAGE Mathura dispute: HC allows survey of Shahi Idgah mosque complex Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance and History of India Mains Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court Friday declined to stay the Allahabad High Court order allowing an application for an inspection of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex in Mathura by a court-appointed commissioner. Hindu petitioners contend that the mosque was built on the Krishna Janmasthan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. • What is the latest plea in Shahi Idgah mosque complex? • For Your Information-The latest application, filed under Order 26 Rule 9 CPC, is part of a petition (353/2023) filed by eight people including “next friend” of Bhagwan Shree Krishna Virajman. It seeks a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque — which was allowed by a Bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain on Thursday. Moreover, the petition pleads that the High Court passes an order directing the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Shahi Idgah mosque committee “to remove the construction raised by them encroaching upon the land” in dispute. The petition further asks the court to direct the two opposing parties to hand over the land to the Shree Krishna Janmbhoomi Trust within the time provided by the court. The plea further seeks an order restraining the Waqf Board and the mosque committee, and that people on their behalf from entering into premises of the 13.37 acres of land at Katra Keshav Dev City and District Mathura. It also says that a “compromise agreement” dated October 12, 1968 between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan — the temple management authority, a registered society under law — and the Trust Shahi Masjid Idgah – was “illegal and void”. The reasoning behind this, as per the plea is that, “society Shree Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh had no right over the property involved”. The petition filed by the Hindu side says that “it is matter of fact and history that Aurangzeb ruled over the country… (and) had issued orders for demolition of large number of Hindu religious places and temples including the temple standing at the birth place of Lord Shree Krishna at Katra Keshav Dev, Mathura in the year 1669-70 (Sixteen Sixty Nine- Seventy) AD”. “The army of Aurangzeb partly succeeded to demolish Keshav Dev Temple and a construction was forcibly raised showing the might of power and said construction was named as Idgah Mosque,” it says. The petition also says that “the order (for demolition) passed by Aurangzeb finds place in the Official Court Bulletin (Akhbaraat) of January – February 1670 (Sixteen Seventy)”. • What is Muslim side’s counterclaims? • Do You Know-The mosque was built by Aurangzeb in 1670 on the site of an earlier temple. The area was regarded as nazul land — non-agricultural state land owned by the Marathas, and then the British. Before the mosque was built, Raja Veer Singh Bundela of Orchha had also built a temple on the same premises in 1618. In 1815, Raja Patni Mal of Benaras bought the 13.77 acres in an auction from the East India Company. The Raja’s descendants — Rai Kishan Das and Rai Anand Das — sold the land to Jugal Kishore Birla for Rs 13,400, and it was registered in the names of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Goswami Ganesh Dutt, and Bhiken Lalji Aattrey. The Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was set up by Birla, and it acquired the ownership rights over the Katra Keshav Dev temple. In 1951, the 13.77 acres were placed in the trust, with the condition that the “trust property will never be sold or pledged.” In 1956, the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Sewa Sangh was set up to manage the affairs of the temple. In 1977, the word ‘Sangh’ in the registered society’s name was replaced with ‘Sansthan.’ • The case so far and Gyanvapi order-know in detail Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Allahabad HC allows survey of Mathura Idgah: current plea, age-old dispute After troop removal demand, Maldives says ending pact with India on water survey Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-Barely a month after asking India to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives, the government of President Mohamed Muizzu, whose party rode to power on an ‘India Out’ poll campaign, has decided not to renew the previous government’s agreement with India on a hydrographic survey of the island nation’s waters. • What was the hydrographic survey pact? • What was planned as part of this pact? • For Your Information-Hydrographic surveys are carried out by ships, which use methods such as sonar to understand the various features of a water body. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these surveys help “map out water depth, the shape of the seafloor and coastline, the location of possible obstructions, and physical features of water bodies”, to ensure the efficiency and safety of maritime transportation. Prime Minister Modi travelled to the Maldives for a State Visit in June 2019, the first overseas visit of his second term. Various MoUs were signed during the visit, including one for Cooperation in the Field of Hydrography between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). • Does India have such water survey pacts with other countries as well? • Why does Maldives want to end the pact? • India and Maldives Bilateral Relations-Know the Historical Background • How are things between India and the Maldives now? • What is the India Out campaign? • Why Maldives is Geo-Strategically Important to India? • India and Maldives-What are the Major issues in Bilateral Relations? • Political developments in the Maldives in the last few years-Know in detail • ‘The String of Pearls’, Maldives and India-Connect the dots • What Steps India has taken in the recent years to ensure friendly relations with Maldives? • Map Work-Maldives Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Maldives to not renew 2019 water survey pact with India: What are hydrographic surveys? ECONOMY As PLI takes centre stage, govt puts new industrial policy on backburner Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-A new industrial policy, which has been in the works for over two years and a draft of which was circulated for consultation in December last year, has now been pushed to the backburner with the government firmly placing its bets for now on its flagship production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to drive up manufacturing and catalyse private investments. • What is production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme ? • How PLI scheme works? • Which sectors currently have the PLI scheme? • Which sectors are likely to see PLI schemes introduced in the near future? • For Your Information-The industrial policy, expected to be released this year, would have been the third such framework in the history of independent India, replacing the historic policy of 1991 that came in the backdrop of the balance of payment crisis, ushering in the liberalisation of the economy. Economists said that while the PLI is incentivising and compensating for the disadvantages that exist in the economy for invigorating manufacturing activity, it may not be adequate to attract companies looking for an alternative to China amid the emerging geopolitical realities and the continuing challenges of high logistics costs, infrastructural bottlenecks and the lack of funds for MSMEs. “The industrial policy is on the backburner. Discussions have happened on it and it may be released eventually. But it is not coming out anytime soon… We are looking at significant improvement in our manufacturing base with the combination of free trade agreements (FTA) and the flagship PLI scheme. The share of manufacturing in our GDP is very low at 15 per cent is atypical for our economy. It creates difficulty to generate enough employment for our people. We are working on it,” a government official said, requesting anonymity. The Commerce and Industry Ministry had circulated the draft policy, ‘Industrial Policy 2022—Make in India for the World’, among other ministries in December 2022 for consultation. The policy proposed bold moves such as the creation of a specialised development finance institution (DFI), suggesting the use of India’s forex reserves to provide low-cost finance to companies. The draft industrial policy also proposed setting up a technology fund that would spur pioneering companies in advanced technology. To resolve the problem faced by MSMEs to access funds, the policy proposed ways to help small businesses better access corporate bond markets. “We have had a rich history of industrial policy but we have a rich history of industrial policy failure too. The PLI is the industrial policy. If there was a new policy, PLI would have been the dominant part of it as it is encouraging selective sectors to grow. Given the developments around the world, if we need a bigger footprint in a new sector, PLI can be extended to that sector. The responsiveness of the scheme depends on how we are tracking the policy,” said former chief statistician Pronab Sen. “However, PLI is a partial solution. It is subsidising the sector so that the disadvantages can be compensated. In order to bank upon the China+1 policy, India has to be made an attractive destination for investors. Merely PLI cannot do what India requires to be an alternative destination for China,” Sen said. The NDA government has announced PLI schemes for 14 sectors with an outlay of incentives worth over Rs 1.90 lakh crore. According to Crisil, the PLI scheme will account for 13-15 per cent of the average annual investment spending in key industrial sectors over the next three to four years. The National Manufacturing Policy announced by the Union government in 2011 had set an objective of increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent and creating 100 million jobs by 2022. The NDA government had reiterated the target of 25 per cent, even though manufacturing’s share hovers around 17 per cent of GDP currently. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: What is PLI scheme, and which sectors will be under it? EXPLAINED Art 370 verdict and the world Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: • General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure. • General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court’s seal of approval this week on the constitutional changes in Jammu and Kashmir evoked no major international reactions except from the usual suspects. • What Article 370 of the constitution said? • How was Article 370 enacted? • What happened in Aug 2019? • What did the Centre do in 2019? • How the world reacted to Article 370 abrogation? • For Your Information-Pakistan refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the Indian Constitution over Jammu and Kashmir. China said it did not recognise the “so-called union territory of Ladakh set up unilaterally and illegally by India”, and the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) reiterated its call to reverse “all illegal and unilateral measures taken since 5 August 2019 aimed at changing the internationally recognised disputed status of the territory”. • How New Delhi responded? • For Your Information-India had reached out to both permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC in the days after August 5. Then Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale briefed envoys in New Delhi, and Jaishankar rang some of his counterparts in UNSC countries. In the third week of August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump by phone that “extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence” by certain leaders in the region was “not conducive to peace” — a reference to Imran Khan of Pakistan, who had threatened to “teach Delhi a lesson”. Hours later, Trump asked Imran to “moderate” his rhetoric over J&K. Modi visited Biarritz, France on August 25-26 for the G7 summit, and held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron stressed no outside interference was warranted in J&K, and that no one should incite violence over this issue. Modi travelled to France from the UAE and Bahrain. In Abu Dhabi, he received the backing of Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and was honoured with the UAE’s highest civilian award. In September, Jaishankar toured Europe and the US, and India categorically told the international community that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution was its internal matter, and advised the world to “accept the reality”. On September 26, Qureshi boycotted a meeting of SAARC foreign ministers in New York for the duration Jaishankar was present. Qureshi later called the Indian minister names, but it was apparent that Pakistan’s Interior Minister Brig. Ijaz Ahmed Shah (retd) had made the right assessment on September 13, when he said that “people (the world) don’t believe us, and rather believe India”. Fast forward to December 2023, and the endorsement from the Supreme Court has given ballast to New Delhi’s global diplomatic strategy to communicate to the world that Kashmir is India’s. India’s position that J&K is an “internal issue” with no external repercussions has been more or less accepted. The only two issues that major powers had flagged were that the human rights of the people of J&K, which includes the right to free and fair elections, should be protected and, a possible escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan should be avoided. The challenge for New Delhi is to now work on these counts. The Supreme Court has asked the government to hold elections by September 2024. The international diplomatic community, which has been taken on tours of J&K by the government over the last four years, will be watching that space closely. Pakistan is expected to hold national elections in February next year, just ahead of India’s own elections in April-May. A window to move the ball in the direction of engagement could open up after that. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Key aspects of Article 370 verdict 📍ASYMMETRIC FEDERALISM For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com The Indian Express UPSC Hub is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Updates. Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.
