China’s list of names in Arunachal Pradesh

GS Paper - 1 (International Relations)

The Chinese government released a list of “standardised” names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian authorities on 4 April 2023 said they rejected the move “outright”. In a statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson categorically stated that “Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always” be an integral part of India.

Why is China giving names to places that are in India?

1. China claims some 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. It calls the area “Zangnan” in the Chinese language and makes repeated references to “South Tibet”.
2. Chinese maps show Arunachal Pradesh as part of China, and sometimes parenthetically refer to it as “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.
3. China makes periodic efforts to underline this unilateral claim to Indian Territory. Giving Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh is part of that effort.

Which places were featured in the previous lists?

1. The first list came out on 14 April 2017, containing six places in the state.
2. The six names on that list then, written in the Roman alphabet, were “Wo’gyainling”, “Mila Ri”, “Qoidengarbo Ri”, “Mainquka”, “Bumo La” and “Namkapub Ri”.
3. These six places spanned the breadth of Arunachal Pradesh — “Wo’gyainling” in the west, “Bumo La” in the east and the other four located in the central part of the state.
4. Then, four and a half years later, China put out another set of names for places in the state.
5. This included eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers, and a mountain pass.

Centre foresees ‘stagnation’ in milk production

GS Paper -3 (Economy)

The Centre is foreseeing “stagnation” in milk production and a possible scarcity in the availability of ghee and butter as an impact of the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) that took the lives of about 1.89 lakh cattle recently.

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v  Union Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying said all options, including import of certain milk products, would be considered by the government if the situation remained unchanged.

v  He said increase in the prices of fodder and its scarcity was another reason for the “price inflation” in milk and its products. The last time when the country imported milk products were in 2011.

v  Milk production is growing at 6% per year, this year, it is either stagnant or has grown at 1 or 2%. The demand of milk, however, has grown up by about 8 to 10%. The demand was suppressed during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

v  Fodder crop cultivation area is around 4% for the last five decades; our dairy sector is growing at a rate of 6%. Seasonal and regional scarcity results in price rise.

v  The aim is to ensure that farmers are protected, but consumers also don’t face too much of a burden. The intervention will be through the public sector such as the National Dairy Development Board.

v  In the current situation of LSD, 1, 89,000 livestock have died due to the pandemic. Nine crore, almost one-third, of the cattle have been vaccinated. The only way to protect us from future pandemics is through a holistic approach called ‘One Health’,which focuses on the health of people, animals and the environment.

Political Leaders Cannot Claim Higher Immunity

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

The Supreme Court told a united Opposition of 14 national parties that political leaders stand absolutely on the same footing as any ordinary citizen of India and are not entitled to "higher immunity" from investigation, arrest or prosecution. The parties withdrew their joint petition claiming that the Centre was arbitrarily using agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrest and institute criminal proceedings against Opposition leaders who expressed their fundamental right to dissent or disagree with the NarendraModi -led government.

Triple test

• The parties had suggested a “triple test” to be followed before ordering arrest and remand of political leaders. These included factors like whether a person was a flight risk or whether there was a reasonable apprehension of the tampering of evidence or of the influencing or intimidation of witnesses.
• They also proposed that alternatives like interrogation at fixed hours or, at most, house arrest be used to meet the demands of investigation.
• The petition said that courts should follow the principle of ‘bail as rule, jail as exception’, especially in cases involving "non-violent offences".
• "A political leader is basically a citizen. As citizens, we are all amenable to the same law. Political leaders do not enjoy immunity".
• The court referred to instances when a political leader may be accused in a scam involving hard-earned savings or pensions.

No Separate laws

• The CJI pointed out that the statistics enumerated by the parties applied only to politicians, but the court cannot devise guidelines to apply only to politicians.
• Any guidelines, especially concerning personal liberty and life, issued by the apex court would apply equally to all citizens alike, and not just the political class.

PM holds talks with Bhutan King

GS Paper -2 (Bilateral Relations)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck discussed the latest situation along the India-Bhutan border as well as the progress in boundary talks between China and Bhutan, particularly above the Doklam tri-junction point.

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The two leaders had discussed the “entire gamut” of bilateral cooperation and issues of national and regional interests, the two countries share an “exemplary” relationship of “trust, goodwill and mutual understanding”.

 ‘Shared national interests’

v  India has reiterated its position that any questions over the tri-junction between India, China and Bhutan would be resolved “trilaterally”.

v  Both countries deeply value close friendship and the vision in guiding India-Bhutan relations to new heights.

About reforms and development focus:

Ø  The focus of the talks was on bilateral ties and, in particular, the Bhutanese King’s “Transformation Initiatives and Reforms Process”, as well as India’s support for Bhutan’s development plans, including the 13th Five Year Plan that starts from next year.

Ø  Bhutan is set to graduate from the list of Least Developed Countries in 2023, and its 21st century Economic Roadmap aims to turn the Himalayan kingdom into a developed country with a per-capita income of $12,000 in the next 10 years.

Ø  India has also agreed to extend Bhutan a third additional standby credit facility.

Ø  The leaders discussed India’s financial support for reforms and institutional capacity building, infrastructure and connectivity projects, energy cooperation including hydropower and solar energy projects,as well as space cooperation including the recent launch of the India-Bhutan satellite.

Hydropower:

• The government has agreed to a long pending demand to increase the power tariffs for the Chhukha hydro-electric project, which began operations with India’s help in 1986.
• India has also agreed to discuss buying power from the Basochhu hydel project that was built with Austrian support in 2008.
• The two sides would try to expedite the long pending negotiations on the reservoir-based 2,500 MW Sankosh hydel project thathas been stuck for decades over environmental and cost concerns.

Infrastructure:

ü  India is also examining the possibility of setting up the first Integrated Check Post along the India-Bhutan border at Jaigaon and expediting the proposed Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link project.

ü  Bhutan is working on constructing its second international airport at Guelph, near the border with India, and the rail link project would help build the southern Bhutanese city into a hub for attracting international investment.

ü  This would be the first ever rail link between India and Bhutan, naturally links up well to the rest of the regional connectivity infrastructure in South Asia.

Skilling investments:

Ø  Bhutanese citizens continue to receive “national treatment” in India, on par with Indian citizens, but that both countries were looking for new ways to build on the partnership.

Ø  Indian companies alsokeen to invest in Bhutan, in terms of skilling and training, in the areas of education and digital technology.

Ø  India and Bhutan have been collaborating on the fin-tech, start-up and emerging technology fronts and should expand the ambit of this collaboration to properly utilize the energy and potential of our youth.