Daily Currentaffairs: 02 Oct 2020

Tables of contents

1.Question of Federalism on Farm Acts

2.Armenia-Azerbaijan clash

3.Weeding out lantana in Rajasthan

4. ICGS Kanaklata Barua

5. Defence Offsets

1.Question of Federalism on Farm Acts

Amid protests by farmers’ organisations across the country, the President gave assent to the controversial farm Bills passed by Parliament.

Arguments in favour of Farm Bills

• The government claims these Acts will transform Indian agriculture and attract private investment.

• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, provides for contract farming, under which farmers will produce crops as per contracts with corporate investors for a mutually agreed remuneration.

• According to the government, The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 liberates farmers by giving them the freedom to sell anywhere.

Arguments against Farm Bills

• The protesting farmers fear that powerful investors would bind them to unfavourable contracts drafted by big corporate law firms.

• The liability clauses in the contract would be beyond the understanding of poor farmers in most cases.

• The opposition believes that it would lead to corporatisation of agriculture, with the market, along with the monsoon, becoming an unpredictable determinant of the destiny of farmers.

Question of Federalism on Farm Acts

• As per Union of India v H.S.Dhillon (1972), constitutionality of parliamentary laws can be challenged only on two grounds i.e. the subject is in the State List or that it violates fundamental rights.

• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 do not mention the constitutional provisions under which Parliament has the power to legislate on the subjects covered.

• Federalism essentially means both the Centre and states have the freedom to operate in their allotted spheres of power, in coordination with each other.

• The Seventh Schedule of the Constitution contains three lists that distribute power between the Centre and states:

  • There are 97 subjects in the Union List, on which Parliament has exclusive power to legislate (Article 246);

  • The State List has 66 items on which states alone can legislate;

  • The Concurrent List has 47 subjects on which both the Centre and states can legislate; and

  • In case of a conflict, the law made by Parliament prevails (Article 254).

  • The Parliament can legislate on an item in the State List under certain specific circumstances laid down in the Constitution.

Source: The Hindu

2.Armenia-Azerbaijan clash

Recently, fresh clashes erupted on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on Sunday, threatening to push the countries back to war 26 years after a ceasefire was reached.

Background

• The conflict can be traced back to the pre-Soviet era when the region was at the meeting point of Ottoman, Russian and the Persian empires.

• Once Azerbaijan and Armenia became Soviet Republics in 1921, Moscow gave Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan but offered autonomy to the contested region.

• In 1988, the national assembly voted to dissolve the region’s autonomous status and join Armenia but Baku suppressed such calls.

Cause of clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan

• The largely mountainous and forested Nagorno-Karabakh, home for some 150,000 people, is at the centre of the conflict.

• Nagorno-Karabakh is located within Azerbaijan but is populated, mostly, by those of Armenian ethnicity.

• The region is still treated as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community, and Baku wants to take it back.

Strategic Significance of Nagorno-Karabakh Region

• The energy-rich Azerbaijan has built several gas and oil pipelines across the Caucasus (the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) to Turkey and Europe.

• The region includes the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Western Route Export oil pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline.

Role of Turkey in Armenia-Azerbaijan clash

• Turkey has historically supported Azerbaijan and has had a troublesome relationship with Armenia.

• In the 1990s, during the war, Turkey closed its border with Armenia and it has no diplomatic relations with the country.

• The main point of contention between the two was Ankara’s refusal to recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide.

• The Azeris and Turks share strong cultural and historical links as Azerbaijanis are a Turkic ethnic group and their language is from the Turkic family.

• After Azerbaijan became independent, Turkey established strong relations with the country, which has been ruled by a dynastic dictatorship.

Russia’s stand on Armenia-Azerbaijan clash

• Moscow sees the Caucasus and Central Asian region as its backyard but the current clashes have put Russia in a difficult spot.

• Russia enjoys good ties with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and supplies weapons to both.

• Armenia is more dependent on Russia than the energy-rich, ambitious Azerbaijan.

• Like in the 1990s, its best interest would be in mediating a ceasefire between the warring sides.

Source: The Hindu

3.Weeding out lantana in Rajasthan

Recently, a special drive to uproot the invasive lantana bushes in the famous Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan has helped in ecological restoration of grasslands and saved biodiversity.

About Mission Lantana

• The campaign included removal of lantana camara accompanied by the plantation of native species on the cleared patches of land.

• The drive involved collective efforts and ‘shram daan’ (voluntary physical work) by the forest officials, police personnel, wildlife lovers, representatives of voluntary groups and local villagers.

About Lantana camara

• Lantana camara is a small perennial shrub, which forms extensive, dense and impenetrable thickets.

• It is a highly variable ornamental shrub, native of the neotropics.

• It is native to Central and South America but its original distribution is unclear due to the introduction of a number of ornamental varieties.

• It is an invasive species which was introduced in tropical regions as an ornamental plant (introduced in India in 1807).

• It is generally deleterious to biodiversity and has been reported as an agricultural weed resulting in large economic losses.

Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary

 

It is located in the southern Aravalli hills in Udaipur district of Rajasthan.

 

It is home to animals like chitals, panthers, hares, blue bulls (Nilgais), jackals, wild boars, hyenas, and sambhars.

 

An artificial lake named Jiyan Lake supports the sanctuary which is also referred to as Tiger Lake or Bari Lake.

 

It was built by Maharana Raj Singh of Mewar dynasty.

 

In 1987, the hunting grounds were converted into a Wildlife Sanctuary to preserve and protect wildlife species.

 

Source: The Hindu

4.ICGS Kanaklata Barua

Recently, a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named ICGS Kanaklata Barua was commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard.

About ICGS Kanaklata Barua

• It is the fifth and last in a series of FPVs built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd.

  • The other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay) and ICGS Amrit Kaur.

• It is named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement.

• The FPVs are upgraded versions of the inshore patrol vessels with a modified form of the hull and can achieve a speed of 34 knots.

• The FPVs are suited for patrolling, maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching operations and also for fishery protection, and rescue and search missions.

• The FPVs are medium-range surface vessels with a length of around 50 m, and a displacement of over 300 tonnes.

Kanaklata Barua

 

She was one of the youngest martyrs of the Quit India Movement who has iconic status in Assam.

 

She led the Mukti Bahini which was a procession of freedom fighters to unfurl the Tricolour at Gohpur police station in 1942.

Source: The Indian Express

5.Defence Offsets

Recently, the Defence Ministry came up with its latest Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP 2020) and the government has decided to remove the clause for defence offsets.

What are Defence Offsets?

• The defence offset is an obligation by an international player to boost India’s domestic defence industry if India is buying defence equipment from it.

• The government wants part of the money invested either to benefit the Indian industry, or to allow the country to gain in terms of technology because the defence contracts are costly.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) defined offsets as a mechanism generally established with the triple objectives of:

  • Partially compensating for a significant outflow of a buyer country’s resources in a large purchase of foreign goods;

  • Facilitating induction of technology; and

  • Adding capacities and capabilities of domestic industry.

• The offset provision in a contract makes it obligatory on the supplier to reverse purchase, execute export orders or invest in local industry or in research and development in the buyer’s domestic industry.

Background of Defence Offsets Policy

• The first policy said that all defence procurements exceeding Rs 300 crore, estimated cost, will entail offset obligations of at least 30%, which could be increased or decreased by the DAC.

• The Sixth Standing Committee on Defence (2005-06) had recommended in December 2005 in its report on Defence Procurement Policy and Procedure that modalities for implementation of offset contracts should be worked out.

• The government stated the “objective for defence offsets” for the first time in 2012 which includes:

  • Fostering development of internationally competitive enterprises;

  • Augmenting capacity for Research, Design and Development related to defence products and services; and

  • Encouraging development of synergistic sectors like civil aerospace and internal security.

Fulfilling of Offsets Obligation by Foreign Vendor

• Until 2016, the vendor had to declare around the time of signing the contract the details about how it will go about fulfilling its offset obligations.

• In April 2016, the new policy amended it to allow it to provide it “either at the time of seeking offset credits or one year prior to discharge of offset obligations”.

• The August 2012 Defence Ministry note mentioned these avenues:

  • Direct purchase of or executing export orders for, eligible products manufactured by, or services provided by Indian enterprises

  • Foreign Direct Investment in joint ventures with Indian enterprises (equity investment) for eligible products and services

  • Investment in ‘kind’ in terms of transfer of technology (TOT) to Indian enterprises, through joint ventures or through the non-equity route for eligible products and services

  • Investment in ‘kind’ in Indian enterprises in terms of provision of equipment through the non-equity route for manufacture and/or maintenance of products and services

  • Provision of equipment and/or TOT to government institutions and establishments engaged in the manufacture and/or maintenance of eligible products, and provision of eligible services, including DRDO (as distinct from Indian enterprises).

  • Technology acquisition by DRDO in areas of high technology.

Current Scenario of Defence Offsets in DAP 2020

• The government has decided not to have an offset clause in procurement of defence equipment if the deal is done through inter-government agreement (IGA), government-to-government or an ab initio single vendor.

  • Ab initio single vendor means that there is only one vendor when the process of defence contracts starts. 

  • IGA is an agreement between two countries, and could be an umbrella contract, under which one can go on signing individual contracts.

• According to DAP 2020, all other international deals that are competitive, and have multiple vendors vying for it, will continue to have a 30% offset clause.

Source: The Indian Express

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