UPSC Key—8 September, 2023: India’s link with ASEAN, Cryptocurrency and Nataraja

Unveils 12-point plan to build ASEAN-India partnership

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- As world leaders headed to New Delhi for the G20 Summit this weekend amid divisions in the grouping over the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions with China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a veiled message Thursday, called for “joint efforts” to “strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries”, underlining that “it is imperative to adhere fully to international laws”.

• ASEAN And EAS Summit-What are the key takeaways?

• “Today’s era is not of war” and “dialogue and diplomacy” form “the only path to resolution”-Discuss

• Discuss India’s interest in South China Sea (SCS)

• At the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation-what are those 12 Points?

• For Your Information-At the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement, addressing contemporary challenges, people-to-people contacts and deepening strategic engagement. These are:
—Establishing multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West Asia-Europe
—Offered to share India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners
— Announced ASEAN-India fund for Digital Future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity
—Announced renewal of support to Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to act as knowledge partner for enhancing our engagement.
—Called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora
—Invited ASEAN countries to join Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India
—Called for working together on Mission LiFE
—Offered to share India’s experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras
—Called for collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation
—Invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
—Called for cooperation in disaster management
—Called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness

• What is ASEAN?

• What is India’s link with ASEAN?

• Map Work-ASEAN

• What is East Asia Summit?

• For Your Information-On 8 August 1967, five leaders – the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – came together in Bangkok, according to the website of ASEAN. Thailand was brokering some disputes among Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and it eventually led to the signing of a document. “The five Foreign Ministers who signed it – Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand – would subsequently be hailed as the Founding Fathers of probably the most successful inter-governmental organisation in the developing world today. And the document that they signed would be known as the ASEAN Declaration,” the website added.
Over the next few decades, five other countries joined them – Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. They have an anthem, a flag and biannual summits (twice a year) with a rotating chairmanship. An example of the focus on unity, its official motto is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
The ASEAN Declaration signed by the five leaders conveyed the aspiration to further regional cooperation. These were about cooperation in the economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields, and in the promotion of regional peace and stability and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. It stipulated that the Association would be open for participation by all States in the Southeast Asian region subscribing to its aims, principles and purposes.
Its major pillars that help lay out a blueprint for cooperation are Political-Security Community (APSC), Economic Community (AEC) and Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).
ASEAN is central to India’s Act East policy, which focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region. The policy was originally conceived as an economic initiative but has gained political, strategic and cultural dimensions including the establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation.
India is part of the ASEAN Plus Six grouping, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia as well.
In 2010, a Free Trade Agreement was also signed and entered into force between India and ASEAN. While India was part of negotiations to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2020, it ultimately decided not to do so. However, in the past eight years, trade has grown in terms of value, barring the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍China on mind, PM says laws apply to all in Indo-Pacific, flags territorial integrity

📍Amid ‘crises’, Delhi, ASEAN to focus on food security, growth

📍2 sides to join forces on blue economy, maritime security

Regulating, licensing crypto better than ban: Key G20 paper

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- While raising concerns around the potential impact of cryptocurrencies on nations’ monetary policies, a policy paper prepared under India’s G20 Presidency to form a global framework on dealing with crypto assets, has suggested licensing crypto service providers and called for countries to implement the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) standards in the sector.

• What are the recommendations put forth by the policy paper issued under India’s G20 Presidency in relation to crypto assets?

• For Your Information-The policy paper, prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), at the request of the Indian G20 Presidency, however, has suggested that an outright ban might not work given the borderless nature of cryptocurrencies. The paper comes days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, earlier this week, called for setting up a framework for handling challenges related to crypto assets. New Delhi will seek consensus on the policy paper’s recommendations of world leaders who will be in India later this week for the final leg of the G20 Summit. Alarming the potential impact that crypto-assets could have on the financial stability of nations, the paper said that widespread adoption of crypto-assets could “undermine the effectiveness of monetary policy, circumvent capital flow management measures, exacerbate fiscal risks, divert resources available for financing the real economy, and threaten global financial stability”. “These risks could reinforce each other, as financial instability can make maintaining price stability more difficult and vice versa; cause destabilising financial flows; and strain fiscal resources,” it added. To address macroeconomic risks, the paper has recommended that jurisdictions should “safeguard monetary sovereignty and strengthen monetary policy frameworks, guard against excessive capital flow volatility and adopt unambiguous tax treatment of crypto-assets”.

• Cryptocurrency or Virtual Currency-what do you understand by this term?

• Inception of Cryptocurrencies in India-Know in detail

• RBI’s first circular regarding cryptocurrencies in 2013-Know in detail

• Demonetisation and RBI’s Banking Ban on Crypto-Why ban on crypto

• The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021-Highlights

• What Supreme Court said on Cryptocurrency?

• What are the issues involving Cryptocurrency in mainstream financial Markets or simply market?

• What is Bitcoin?

• What is Blockchain Technology and why it is associated with Bitcoin?

• Initial coin offering (ICO)

• Cryptocurrency and Blockchain-know the differences

• Blockchains- What are they?

• Blockchains-How does it operate?

• Issues and Challenges Associated to Blockchain Technology

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Digital currencies and how they work

📍The monetary, fiscal challenges of cryptocurrency

SC hands over its green watchdog committee to Environment Ministry

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Two decades after it was set up by the Supreme Court to flag cases of official non-compliance with its orders related to conservation, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) will now report to the Environment Ministry which will nominate its members and have the final say on the merit of its recommendations. The Environment Ministry notified the new order on September 5 after the SC permitted the move “in the interest of all the stakeholders”.

• Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee-Know its area of work?

• Why Supreme Court constituted Central Empowered Committee?

• What is the ‘Godavarman Thirumulpad judgment’ and how it shaped forest related policies in India?

• What is the new structure announced by the Union government recently?

• The notification has diluted the CEC’s autonomy on four key counts-Know them

• For Your Information-The notification, sources said, diluted the CEC’s autonomy on four key counts: the committee will report to the ministry, instead of the SC; the ministry will pick all the members and the SC will have no role in the process; the ministry, and not the court, will fund the committee; the provision of having two NGOs in the committee has been done away with. Now anyone considered an “expert” can be included as a member. The notification makes it clear that “the Committee shall function under the administrative control of the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment”. “In case any suggestion or recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee is not acceptable to the State or Central Government, the Government shall give reasons in writing for not accepting the same and such decision of the Central Government shall be final,” it says.
The current CEC is chaired by retired IAS officer PV Jayakrishnan and includes retired Forest service officers Amarnatha Shetty, Dr Maharaj K Muthoo, SK Patnaik, and lawyer and naturalist Mahendra Vyas. While the government is yet to name the new members of the CEC, three serving members, when contacted by The Indian Express, declined to comment. “This marks the end of an era…Until now, the CEC reported directly to the SC and often evaluated the ministry’s decisions. All that will be impossible in the new set-up where the ministry will have total control over the committee,” said conservationist Valmik Thapar who was a member of the CEC during 2002-2007. Many acknowledged that the CEC required reforms but said they were shocked that the new CEC will be accountable to the ministry.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Experts irked over revised structure of Central Empowered Committee

EXPRESS NETWORK

Indore tops clean air survey among cities with mn-plus people

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday announced awards under the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 (clean air survey) in Bhopal, with Indore in Madhya Pradesh clinching the top rank in the million-plus population cities. The second year of the Swachh Vayu Survekshan, carried out by the ministry based on self-assessments submitted by 130 identified cities under the National Clean Air Programme, saw Agra in Uttar Pradesh securing the second rank, followed by Thane in Maharashtra on the third spot. The awards are announced in three categories of cities — million plus cities, cities with a population between three and ten lakh and cities of under three lakh population — based on the 2011 population census.

• What is Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan?

• How the assessment for Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is done?

• What are the Key takeaways from the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023?

• What is the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)?

• National Clean Air Program (NCAP) 2019-Key Features

• National Green Tribunal-Role and Mandate

• National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Directives to NACP

• National Clean Air Program (NCAP) and Target to bring down pollution by 2024-Initiatives taken

• What is Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Swachh Survekshan 2023: Field surveys of cities’ cleanliness begins, to culminate in 2023 rankings

EXPRESS NETWORK

TN to blame for its woes, can’t release more after Sept 12: Karnataka to SC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Stating that Tamil Nadu has only itself to blame for its current water woes, the Karnataka government has told the Supreme Court that it may not be feasible for Karnataka to release any more water after September 12, as it is “facing severe drought situation both in Cauvery and Krishna basins”.

In an affidavit filed before the court, which is hearing the Cauvery river water-sharing issue, the Karnataka government backed what was said by the Centre’s representative in the 23rd meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) — that water would have been available for a longer period had Tamil Nadu used it more judiciously.

• Map Work-Cauvery and Krishna basins

• Why is the Cauvery water-sharing dispute resurfacing?

• Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA)-Know in brief

• Why the Tamil Nadu government sought the Supreme Court’s intervention recently in Cauvery water-sharing?

• How is the Cauvery water being shared?
• What is the Cauvery River Dispute?

• Map Work- Cauvery River (Source, drainage pattern, tributaries, distributaries, delta etc.)

• What does the Indian Constitution say about the water?

• What is interstate water dispute?

• Interstate water dispute-give some example

• What are the major causes of conflicts over water?

• How many interstate water disputes Tribunal are there in India?

• The resolution of water dispute is governed by which act?

• Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956-Know the highlight

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Cauvery water dispute: All you need to know

📍Cauvery verdict today: What is this dispute?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

📍Which of the following Protected Areas are located in Cauvery basin? (UPSC GS1, 2020)
1. Nagarhole National Park
2. Papikonda National Park
3. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
4. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

EXPLAINED

G20: five things to note

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- On Saturday morning, the world’s top leaders will gather in New Delhi for the G20 Summit to discuss the global challenges of our times — and to possibly find a direction towards resolving some of them. India has hosted multilateral conferences, events, and summits earlier — the UNESCO conference in 1956, the Asian Games of 1982, the famous NAM Summit of March 1983, the Commonwealth Games of 2010, and the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015. None of those could have rivalled the scale and importance of the G20 Summit of 2023.

• For the first time, leaders of all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — called the P-5 countries — will be in New Delhi at the same time-So, why this will be crucial for India?

• From India’s perspective, what are the five things to take note of?

• The Russia-Ukraine conflict has polarised the grouping, and India’s biggest challenge is to negotiate a “compromise” document in the G20 communique-what India can do in this situation?

• India and G20- Analyse India’s position within the G20

• For Your Information-Earlier this year, India overtook China to become the most populous country in the world, according to data from the United Nations. In 2022, the latest year for which comparable data is available, India and China each accounted for more than a quarter of the G20 members’ total population. The third largest region, the European Union, accounted for about 9%.
In purchasing power parity terms, India is the fourth largest economy in the G20, according to World Bank data. But despite its relatively rapid growth since liberalisation, India still has the lowest per capita income in the group. China’s per capita income is more than twice India’s, while the United States’s is more than nine times India’s.
Despite seeing a marked improvement since Independence, India has the second lowest life expectancy at birth in the G20. Only South Africa’s is lower while Japan’s is the highest. India, though, has the lowest expenditure on health as a percentage of its GDP at 3%. The US spends about 19% of its GDP on health and only three countries spend less than 5%.
On education expenditure, India matches countries like South Korea and Italy. But in terms of literacy rate, India is still a laggard. While most G20 members are close to 100% literacy, India remains at 77% as of 2017-18.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India had the fifth highest military expenditure among G20 members in 2021 and the highest number of armed personnel as of 2019. Only Saudi Arabia, Russia, the US and South Korea spent more on their militaries as a percentage of their GDPs.
But India is still heavily reliant on arms imports – it had the highest arms imports in the world between 2017 and 2021, followed by Saudi Arabia. In terms of exports, India ranks near the bottom, ahead of only Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Most countries across the world, not just G20 members, are failing to meet their Paris Accord climate targets to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. China, the US and India have the highest greenhouse gas emissions, but in per capita terms, the wealthier and more developed nations are responsible for the most emissions. For instance, the average Indian was responsible for emitting 2 metric tonnes of CO2 in 2020, but the average Australian emitted 15 metric tonnes of CO2.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Most populous, 4th largest economy, lowest spending on health: India among G20 members 

LORD OF DANCE: HISTORY, SYMBOLISM OF SHIVA’S NATARAJA FORM

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Greeting G20 leaders in front of Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan this weekend will be a magnificent 27-foot Nataraja, the tallest statue of Lord Shiva’s dancing form in the world. The statue is an ashtadhatu (eight-metal alloy) piece of art, crafted by sculptors from Swamimalai in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Weighing about 18 tonnes, it was hauled across the country on a 36-wheel trailer.
Srikanda Sthapathy, 61, who crafted the statue along with his brothers, told The Indian Express that the design draws inspiration from three revered Nataraja idols — the Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram, the Uma Maheswarar Temple in Konerirajapuram, and the Brihadeeswara (Big) Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Thanjavur.

• Nataraja-Know in detail

• What are the Key Facts about Lord Nataraja?

• The Cholas and Nataraja-Connect the dots

• For Your Information-All three temples the Bharat Mandapam Nataraja statue is inspired from were originally constructed by the Cholas, who at their peak around the 9th-11th centuries AD, ruled over much of peninsular India.
The Cholas were great patrons of art and high culture. Historian of art and culture and Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex Partha Mitter wrote in ‘Indian Art’ (2001): “Chola art and architecture in South India was a product of a prosperous, highly efficient empire during the period of its greatest territorial expansion.”
The Cholas were devout Shaivites, building elaborate Shiva temples (like the one in Thanjavur) across their territories. “Among icons which form the most important part of Chola sculpture, Shaiva figures predominate…although very fine Vaishnava and Jain images are not unknown,” K A Nilakanta Sastri, the pioneering historian of South India, wrote in The Colas (1937).
Although Shiva was first portrayed in sculpture as Nataraja in the fifth century AD, its present, world-famous form evolved under the Cholas. “The Nataraja image in its various forms…holds the first place among Chola bronzes,” Sastri wrote. While stone images of Nataraja are not uncommon, it is the bronze sculpture that has had the greatest cultural resonance through the years.

• Why Lord Shiva is known as the Lord of Dance?

• Nataraja signifies what?

• Do You Know-In a typical portrayal, Nataraja is encompassed by flaming aureole or halo, which Sastri interpreted as “the circle of the world which he [Nataraja] both fills and oversteps”. The Lord’s long dreadlocks flare out due to the energy of his dance, and he strikes a rhythmic pose with his four arms.
In his upper right hand He holds a damru (a hand drum), whose sounds “draw all creatures into his rhythmic motion”, and in his upper left arm, he holds agni (fire), which he can wield to destroy the universe, Sastri wrote. Beneath one of Nataraja’s feet lies crushed a dwarf-like figure, representing illusion, which leads mankind astray.
Yet, amidst all the destructive symbolism, Nataraja also reassures, and shows Shiva as the Protector. With his front right hand, he makes the ‘abhayamudra’ (a gesture that allays fear), and with his raised feet, and with his front left arm he points to his raised feet, asking his devotees to seek refuge at his feet. Strikingly, Nataraja almost always wears a broad smile.
“He smiles at death and at life, at pain and at joy alike, or rather…his smile is both death and life, both joy and pain,” the French historian Renee Grousset wrote describing Nataraja (quoted by Sastri in ‘A History of South India’, 1955).

• What is the lost wax method?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Meet the master sculptors who crafted Nataraja towers at G20 summit venue

Without sperm or egg, how scientists grew whole model of human embryo

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Scientists have successfully grown a “human embryo” in the lab without using an egg or sperm. They used a mix of stem cells — early cells that have the ability to differentiate into other types of cells — that was able to spontaneously assemble into an embryo-like structure, mimicking molecular characteristics of an early embryo.

• How was the embryo model created?

• Why are embryo models and research important?

• Can lab-grown embryos be used to get pregnant?

• Why is there a 14-day limit on embryo research?

• What have these models shown about the early stages of development?

• What is Stem cell?

• Is stem cell therapy the same as cell therapy?

• Have stem cells already been used to treat diseases?

• What are the potential problems with using embryonic stem cells in humans?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Research shows synthetic stem cells could improve therapy

THE WORLD

Japan’s Moon mission takes off, expected to land next February

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-After several weather-related postponements, Japan’s Moon-lander mission, called SLIM, finally took off Thursday morning. A successful landing on the Moon by the SLIM spacecraft would make Japan only the fifth country in the world to do so.

• What is Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)?

• What is JAXA?

• Do You Know-SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, is taking a uniquely long route to the Moon and is scheduled to make a landing in four to six months. If successful, SLIM would be the smallest and lightest spacecraft to land on the Moon. The H-IIA rocket that took the SLIM in space also carried an X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a satellite meant for astronomical observations. XRISM was separated from the rocket 14 minutes after the launch and deployed in its intended orbit. XRISM will perform high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations of the hot gas plasma wind that blows through the galaxies, and its studies would focus on determining mass-energy flows, composition and evolution of celestial objects.
The SLIM spacecraft was detached from the rocket 47 minutes after the launch and deposited in an Earth-orbit where it will perform orbit-raising manoeuvres over the next few days just like Chandrayaan-3 did in its initial phase.
This is the first Moon-landing attempt being made by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). An earlier attempt made by a private Japanese company in May this year had ended in a failure.
SLIM is a pretty small spacecraft, weighing just about 200 kg. In comparison, Chandrayaan-3 lander module weighed about 1,750 kg. The main objective of SLIM is to demonstrate precision landing, within 100 metres of the chosen site. The mission is being pitched as one that would demonstrate that it was possible to land on the Moon “where we want, not just where it is easy to land”.
JAXA said “pinpoint” landing technology was essential to ensure that a spacecraft was close enough to scientifically-interesting sites on the Moon, accessible by a rover. The chosen landing site for SLIM is near a small crater named Shioli in the equatorial region of the Moon.
“Because the landing site is located near a crater, the surrounding area is sloped to approximately 15 degrees. Therefore, the method of landing safely on such a slope becomes important,” JAXA said.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Japan moon mission to kick off on Sept 7, will take at least four months to reach Moon

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com
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