13 May 2024 : Daily Current Affairs

GS3 – Indian Economy – Infrastructure

● This initiative seeks to enhance connectivity, deter migration, and gather intelligence from border villages.

● It aims at comprehensive development of select villages in 46 blocks across 19 districts bordering the northern regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh.

● Objectives include improving quality of life, stemming outmigration, and creating livelihood opportunities.

● Interventions focus on agriculture, horticulture, tourism, skill development, entrepreneurship, cooperative societies, road connectivity, housing, energy, telecom connectivity, and financial inclusion.

● Tourism and culture promotion involve infrastructure augmentation, community-managed home stays, local fairs & festivals, eco-tourism, agro-tourism, wildlife, adventure tourism, and local cuisine promotion.

● Conceived as an outcome-oriented programme, it includes indicators at village, household, and individual beneficiary levels.

● India, in contrast, has been slow in developing its infrastructure along the border, impacting military operations and logistical support.

● The India-China border spans 3488 km, with disputes in Eastern Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

● After the 1962 war, India adopted a strategy of denial, deferring infrastructure development along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

● China invested heavily in dual-use infrastructure, including roads, billeting facilities, and logistics, ensuring seamless support for military operations.

● China’s infrastructure development in Tibet includes a sophisticated network of highways, railroads, air routes, and hydroelectric projects.

● The Sichuan-Tibet railway, with its three sections, significantly reduces travel time between Chengdu and Lhasa, enhancing mobilisation capabilities.

● China has constructed numerous roads, including national highways like G 109, G 219, and G 318, connecting Tibet to Xinjiang and mainland China.

● Rail projects like the Qinghai-Tibet line and planned extensions further strengthen China’s connectivity to Tibet and its border regions.

● China’s infrastructure development includes airfields, border villages, hydroelectric projects, telecommunications, and initiatives like the “Xiaokang villages” along the Indian border in Tibet.

● Improved infrastructure provides China with faster mobilisation, logistical support, and operational flexibility along the India-China border, impacting India’s operational preparedness.

Implications for India:

● Strategic Concerns: China’s infrastructure development along the India border, including roads, railways, and military facilities, raises strategic concerns for India regarding territorial integrity and national security.

● Border Infrastructure Disparity: Disparities in infrastructure development between India and China along the border exacerbate security challenges and asymmetries in military capabilities.

● Border Intrusions: Enhanced Chinese infrastructure facilitates quicker troop mobilisation and border intrusions, increasing the risk of conflicts and tensions between the two countries.

● Economic Implications: Improved connectivity and trade routes on the Chinese side of the border could affect India’s economic interests and regional connectivity initiatives.

● Diplomatic Relations: China’s infrastructure development may strain diplomatic relations between India and China, leading to heightened tensions and competition in the region.

● Defence Preparedness: India may need to bolster its own infrastructure development and defence preparedness along the border to counterbalance China’s advancements and safeguard its territorial interests.

GS2 – Governance – Government policies – Issues arising out of their design & implementation.

• In the backdrop of India’s 2024 elections, the housing crisis looms large, with approximately 1.7 million homeless individuals and a shortage of 18.78 million houses reported in 2012.
• Government interventions like PMAY-U and PMAY-G aim to address these challenges amid concerns over affordability and implementation.
• The analysis of the news seeks to address the housing crisis in India from various perspectives.

●  Launch: Restructured from Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) on April 1, 2016.

●  Aim: To provide pucca houses with basic amenities to rural families by March 2022.

● Ministry Involved: Ministry of Rural Development.

● Beneficiaries: SCs/STs, freed bonded labourers, widows, disabled persons, minorities, etc.

● Selection Process: Through Socio Economic Caste Census 2011, Gram Sabha, and geo-tagging.

● Cost Sharing: 60:40 ratio (plain areas), 90:10 (Northeastern and hilly states).

● Features: Increased house size to 25 sq.mt, unit assistance raised to Rs. 1.20 lakh-1.30 lakh, convergence with SBM-G, MGNREGS, etc.

● Employment Generation: Provided employment to migrant labourers during lockdown.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-Urban):

● Launch: June 25, 2015, aims to provide housing for all in urban areas by 2022.

● Implemented by: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

● Coverage: Entire urban area, including statutory towns, notified planning areas, etc.

● Features: Basic amenities like toilet, water supply, electricity, and kitchen, women empowerment through house ownership.

● Verticals: In-situ Rehabilitation, Credit Linked Subsidy, Affordable Housing in Partnership, Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.

● The reasons for this slowdown are attributed to increased competition among mid-level developers post-March 2020 and challenges in executing hybrid annuity model (HAM) projects.

●  Regulatory clarity and project finance concerns further compound the situation.

• Hybrid annuity model (HAM):  The Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is a public-private partnership model used in infrastructure projects, particularly in highways and roads. Under HAM, the government bears a portion of the project cost, while the private sector invests the remainder and receives payments in the form of annuities over the project’s concession period.
• Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT): Private partner designs, builds, operates, and transfers the facility to the public sector after a contracted period. Private partner finances the project, collects revenue from users. Used for national highway projects.
• Build-Own-Operate (BOO): Private party owns the facility, and the public sector purchases goods and services produced by it based on agreed terms.
• Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer (BOLT): Government grants concession to private entity to build, own, lease facility to public sector, then transfer ownership after lease period.
• Build-Operate-Transfer (BOOT): Variant of BOT where project is transferred to government or private operator after the agreed period.
• Lease-Develop-Operate (LDO): Government or public sector entity retains ownership, leases facility to private promoter, typically used for airport development.
• Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO): Private party responsible for design, construction, finance, and operation of project during concession period.

• Delayed Project Completion: One of the primary issues with the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is the frequent delays in project completion, leading to cost overruns and financial losses.
• Financial Stress on Developers: HAM requires developers to bear a portion of the project cost, which can strain their finances, especially if there are delays in receiving annuity payments from the government.
• Land Acquisition Challenges: Land acquisition remains a major hurdle for infrastructure projects under HAM, causing delays and increasing project costs.
• Disputes and Litigations: Disputes between developers and government authorities over various project aspects, such as land acquisition, environmental clearances, and regulatory approvals, often lead to litigations, further delaying the project.
•  Limited Private Sector Participation: Despite efforts to encourage private sector participation, the complexity and risks associated with HAM projects have deterred many developers from bidding, resulting in limited competition and higher project costs.

• In a tragic incident in Kerala, a 24-year-old nurse, Surya Surendran, lost her life after accidentally chewing oleander leaves outside her home in Pallipad, Alappuzha.
• This incident prompted two Kerala government-controlled temple boards, responsible for managing thousands of temples in the state, to ban the use of oleander flowers in temple offerings.
• This decision reflects the gravity of the situation and the need for precautionary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

(a) Its extract is widely used in cosmetics

(b) It tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area in which it grow

(c) Its extract is used in the synthesis of pesticides

(d) None of the above

GS3 – Internal Security

• The Armed Forces of India are poised to undergo a significant restructuring with the establishment of integrated theatre commands.
• This move is aimed at enhancing coordination, efficiency, and jointness among the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• As part of this restructuring, the appointment of a Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) and a Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (DCDS) is being considered.

• Its creation was recommended in 2001 by a Group of Ministers (GoM) that was tasked with studying the Kargil Review Committee (1999) report.
• After the GoM recommendations, in preparation for the post of CDS, the government created the Integrated Defence Staff in 2002, which was to eventually serve as the CDS’s Secretariat.
• In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as a midway to eliminate apprehensions over the CDS.
• Finally, the post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar.
• General Bipin Rawat was the first CDS in the country and was appointed on December 31, 2019.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• His core function will be to foster greater operational synergy between the three service branches of the Indian military and keep inter-service frictions to a minimum.
• He also heads the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence.
• The CDS will be the single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister on matters involving all three services and the service chiefs will be obliged to confine their counsel to issues pertaining to their respective services.
• As the head of DMA, CDS is vested with the authority in prioritising inter-service procurement decisions as Permanent Chairman-Chiefs of Staff Committee.
• The CDS is also vested with the authority to provide directives to the three chiefs. However, he does not enjoy any command authority over any of the forces.
• CDS is first among equals, he enjoys the rank of Secretary within the DoD (Department of Defence) and his powers will be confined to only the revenue budget.
• He will also perform an advisory role in the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).

GS3 – Indian Economy

• China has emerged as India’s largest trading partner, overtaking the United States in fiscal year 2024, with bilateral trade reaching $118.4 billion.
• This shift marks a significant change from the previous two years when the US held the top position.
• Notably, India’s imports from China crossed $100 billion, indicating the depth of their economic engagement.

• Since beginning of the last decade, bilateral trade between the two countries recorded exponential growth.
• From 2015 to 2022, India-China bilateral trade grew by 90.14%, an average yearly growth of 12.87%.
• In 2022, the overall trade with China increased by 8.47% year on year to reach $ 136.26 billion, crossing the $ 100 billion mark for a second time in a row.

Trade Deficit:

• The trade deficit came at $101.28 billion, in China’s favour, as India’s imports from China witnessed an increase by 118.77% to reach $118.77 billion.
• Meanwhile, India’s exports to China decreased by 37.59% year on year to reach $17.49 billion.

Reasons for India’s Trade Deficit w.r.t. China:

The growth of trade deficit with China could be attributed to two factors:

• Narrow basket of commodities, mostly primary, that we export to China and
• Market access impediments for most of our agricultural products and the sectors where we are competitive in, such as pharmaceuticals, IT, etc.
• Our predominant exports have consisted of iron ore, cotton, copper, aluminium and diamonds/ natural gems.
• Over time, these raw material-based commodities have been over-shadowed by Chinese exports of machinery, power-related equipment, telecom equipment, organic chemicals, and fertilizers.

Bilateral Investments:

• According to the Ministry of Commerce of China, Chinese investments to India in the year of 2021 was $63.18 million.
• On the other hand, Indian investment into China for the year 2021 was $6.32 million.

(a) It is the ratio of value of imports to the Gross Domestic Product of a country.

(b) It is the total value of imports of a country in a year.

(c) It is the ratio between the value of exports and that of imports between two countries.

(d) It is the number of months of imports that could be paid for by a country’s international reserves.

Ans: (d)