POLITY
1. India to ratify amended version of Kyoto Protocol
· The Union Cabinet gave its approval to ratify the deal that is set to expire in 2020.
· Kyoto protocol is an international agreement to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
o The 1997 Kyoto Protocol came into effect in 2005.
o It obligated the rich and industrialized countries to reduce emissions by 5.2% of 1990 levels during the 2008-2012 periods.
Doha Amendment
· The Doha Amendment established a second commitment period (2013–20) for the Kyoto Protocol.
· Until now, 75 countries have ratified the so called Doha Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol.
· The 144 countries ratification needed to bring it into force.
Limitations
· The refusal of the U.S., the second largest polluter, to be part of the Protocol and lack of commitments by Canada, Japan and other major developing countries meant that global emissions actually rose during this period.
Effects on India
· Implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under this commitment period in accordance with sustainable development priorities will attract some investments in India as well.
· Developing countries like India have no mandatory mitigation obligations or targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
· The Kyoto Protocol incentivized several firms in India to retrofit their polluting plants with newer technology in the hope of earning carbon credits.
· However after an initial spike, carbon credit prices that could be traded in emission-trading markets like shares have crashed to rock-bottom prices.
2. 69% of political funds from unknown sources
· A report on funding of political parties by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)says the income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 31.
Party wise distribution of the increase in income, ADR Report
· The total income of national and regional political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at 11,367 crore, with the highest of 3,982 crore being the Congress’s share.
· However, 69% of the income of these parties was from unknown sources.
· The income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 313% during the decade.
· For the regional parties, it went up by 652%.
· The income from other known sources, such as the sale of assets, membership fees, bank interest, the sale of publications and party levy, was about 15% of the total.
Voluntary contributions
· The total donations above 20,000 per entry, for which the national parties are to declare the sources, was about 1405.19 crore.
· BJP topped the list for declaring the maximum of 918 crore voluntary contributions in the category.
· The Income-Tax returns of 42 of the 51 regional parties analysed were unavailable for at least one financial year.
Recommendations of ADR
· The full details of all donors should be made available for public scrutiny under the RTI.
· Some countries where this is done include Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the United States and Japan.
· In none of these countries it is possible for almost 75% of the source of funds to be unknown.
· Any organization that receives foreign funding should not be allowed to support or campaign for any candidate or political party.
Recommendations of Central Information Commission
· In 2013, the Central Information Commission ruled that political parties were covered under the Right to Information Act.
· It was pointed out that they got tax exemptions, land allotments and free airtime on state-owned media, in effect benefiting significantly from the exchequer.
· It would mean the list of donors, regardless of size of contribution, is open to public scrutiny.
· For this, parties would have to maintain records of small donors as well.
· State funding, perhaps partial, of elections is another solution to reduce the dependency on contributions, though the financial implications of this needs careful consideration.
· A regulatory authority can be established to receive authentic reports on political funding, scrutinize them and put them in the public domain.
· Transparency in funding is essential to ensuring clean, democratic governance.
Recommendations of Election Commission
· Tax exemption should be awarded only to those political parties which contest and win seats in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections.
· The details of all donors who donate above 2,000 should be made public.
· Scrutiny of the political party’s financial documents should be conducted annually by a body approved by the EC and the Comptroller and Auditor General for greater transparency and accountability.
3. India on transparency list for failing to curb big corruption
Annual Index of TransparencyInternational
· A major international index of corruption and transparency has placed India on the watch list for its inability to curb mega corruption scandals and petty bribery.
· South Asiahad performed poorly.
· Bangladeshat 27th and Nepal at 29th positions were slotted in the highly corrupt section.
· Pakistan,at 32, also came in the red zone.
· Afghanistanranked 15th was in the “highly corrupt” list with South Sudan, North Korea and Libya.
Annual Index of TransparencyInternational on India
· It placed India with Brazil and China in the 40th position.
· India’s condition showed growth with inequality.
· It reiterates the state’s inability to effectively deal with petty corruption and large-scale corruption scandals.
· The impact of corruption on poverty, illiteracy and policy brutality showed that along with the economy inequality is also growing.
Reasons :
· The government had not done enough on the issue of Lokpal and whistleblower protection.
· The demonetization process is the latest indicator of the lack of transparency in the system, where even the Reserve Bank of India is not able to spell out the exact details of the operation.
· Growth with inequality legitimizes corruption.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. UAE signals a Look East policy
Military modernization
· The UAE will want its troops in the Republic Day parade to be viewed as the indicator of the UAE’s growing power in the Indian Ocean.
· These troops embody the UAE and GCC’s new ‘Look East’ policy of engaging Asia as a counterbalance to the West.
· The UAE has been carrying out military modernization in recent years and, according to SIPRI, was one of the five biggest arms importers in the world between 2011 and 2015.
· Alongside Qatar, the UAE has spread out to several conflict zones in the world in a show of Arab assertion.
· This presence forms part of a wider GCC effort to exercise regional influence in the vacuum left by the Arab Spring and to counter similar efforts byIran, which Abu Dhabi regards as a threat.
Strategic partnership
· The vigor in India-UAE ties today owes its origins to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE in 2015, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the Emirates in 34 years.
· Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is likely to conclude the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations.
· The partnership is recognition of the unique role of India’s immigrant population in the UAE’s development story.
· The two sides will underscore their commitment to deal with terrorism.
· They also hope to work closely in Afghanistan, where five UAE diplomats were killed in a terror attack and where regional alignments are in flux.
· India is positioned to emerge as a credible security and economic partner of the UAE and the larger Gulf region at a time when the West is looking inwards and China’s rise is getting hobbled by its aggressive rhetoric on territorial issues.
Trade and investment
· India and the UAE have a $350 billion bilateral trade, which they plan to increase three times in the near future.
· After China and the U.S., the UAE is India’s largest trading partner.
· The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, is seeking to identify investment opportunities in the Indian infrastructure sector.
· The $75 billion UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, to support investment in India’s infrastructure sector over a decade
Terrorism
· Both sides denounced and opposed terrorism in all forms and manifestations
· Dismantle terrorism infrastructures and bring perpetrators of terrorism to justice.
· The target was clearly Pakistan, as they came down strongly on countries sponsoring terrorism against other states.
· Concerns over the rise of Islamic state
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
· New Delhi has tried to anchor its UAE policy in a broader regional framework as the economic dimension of India’s Gulf policy
· GCC is India’s second-largest trading partner.
· The largest single origin of imports into the country.
· The second largest destination for exports from India.
· The GCC countries supply 45 per cent of India’s petroleum, with the UAE being the sixth largest source of imports of crude oil.
· The region remains a major destination for Indian investment.
· The Gulf states are interested in human resources from India in order to develop sectors as varied as information technology, construction, transportation and services.
Trade and Energy security
· India’s trade and energy security is linked to the security of the Straits of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb.
· The Indian Navy regularly visits Gulf ports, and trains with states in the region.
· Indian warships have also been deployed in the Gulf of Aden to carry out anti-piracy patrols.
Expatriate labour
· Indians are the largest expatriate community in the GCC states, numbering around 7 million.
· There are an estimated 2.6 million Indians in the UAE alone.
· Indian expatriate labour constitutes around 30 per cent of the total population of the UAE.
· India receives around 52 per cent of its remittances from its Gulf expatriates.
· There have been growing concerns about the living and working conditions in the host countries.
· India is pursuing manpower and labour agreements with Gulf states to help Indian workers in the region.
· It has also launched the eMigrate system for recruitment of Indian workers across the 17 Emigration Check Required countries.
History
· There has been continuous Indian presence in the UAE since at least the 18th century.
· Today, Indians make up 30% of the country’s population — the single largest expatriate community in the UAE.
2. Trumps moves to pull out of TPP
· U.S. President Donald Trump had denounced it as a “job killer”.
· TPP trade pact was aimed to set trade rules for the 21st century and bind U.S. allies against growing Chinese economic clout.
Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, Death knell for the pact?
· It is a Trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and the United States.
· Promoted by Washington and signed by 12 countries in 2015, the TPP had yet to go into effect and U.S. withdrawal is likely to sound its death knell.
· Its signatories together represent 40% of the world economy.
· The attempt was to overturn trade deals — such as TPP and the North American Free Trade Agreement — that have drained U.S. jobs and destroyed its industrial heartlands.
3. Japan threatens to drag India to WTO on steel as Trump era heralds trade tensions
· Japan has requested WTO for dispute consultations with India over steel safeguard duties and a minimum import price for iron and steel products.
· India imposed duties of up to 20% on some hot-rolled flat steel products in 2015.
· Set a floor price in February 2016 for steel product imports to deter countries such as China, Japan and South Korea from undercutting local mills.
Reasons
· Japan is the world’s second-biggest steel producer.
· Steel Industry of Japan sells nearly half of its products overseas.
· Japan is also worried about the more rough and tumble climate for global trade being engendered by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.
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