TOPIC: GS 2 India and its Neighborhood- Relations.

Aftermath

What is the news?

• Abrupt change of regime in Afghanistan, will seek answers to many questions about the nature of the new Taliban government that controls most of the territories.
• An emergency measure that reflects the sense of alarm in Afghanistan’s prospects of a stable future, U.S and U.K. have agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders’ meeting to discuss a common strategy and approach.

G7 Approach to Afghanistan

• It will be a complex task for the G7 to reconcile its position on minimum governance norms for Afghanistan with the ground realities of rule by the Taliban.
• The G7 noted that a sustainable, inclusive political settlement would be the only way to achieve a just and durable peace that benefits all Afghans.
• The group promised its support to the negotiations in Doha and efforts to convene a high­level conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul.
• The sheer courage of the Taliban takeover and its promise to make Sharia orthodoxy the basis of authority
• It suggest that Taliban intermediaries attending these parleys may not truly represent the voice of their commanders and administrators on the ground.

Discussion of Importance

• G7’s enduring aspiration for meaningful participation and inclusion of the voices of women, young people, and those from minority groups, looks to be dashed.
• Given that the project of long­term military occupation and regime change has amount in this country
• The only lever that G7 might have to press for internal change in Afghanistan is foreign aid and should the circumstances warrant it sanctions.

Way Forward

• Current and future support to the Afghan government relies on the adherence to the principles set out in the Afghanistan Partnership Framework
• The progress towards the outcomes in the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework II as decided upon at the November 2020 Geneva donors’ conference.
• One signal that the conditional norms clarify by the G7 will be disregarded by the Taliban it is that they have already been disregarded to the extent that the Islamist group
• It has been linked to numerous attacks on civilians, including targeted campaigns against women in public life, human rights activists, and media persons
• Renouncing violence and allowing unhindered access to humanitarian aid may fall on unless there is a disciplinary element that lends teeth to such demands.
• The Taliban have past strategic learnings, it might hold out hope that this time around, they will limit the damage they inflict on the fabric of mainstream Afghan society
• If nothing for fear that the backlash that it will bring from the global community will once again break their grip on power.

 

Mains Question

Explain the threat of global backlash can stop the Taliban from inflicting harm on Afghan society?

 

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/aftermath-the-hindu-editorial-on-afghanistan-under-the-taliban/article35987057.ece

 

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

1. National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm

The launch a new Mission on Oil palm to be known as the National Mission on Edible Oils  Oil Palm NMEO-OP as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a special focus on the North east region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  Due to the heavy dependence on imports for edible oils, it is important to make efforts for increasing the domestic production of edible oils in which increasing area and productivity of oil palm plays an important part.

The scheme will immensely benefit the oil palm farmers, increase capital investment, create employment generation, shall reduce the import dependence and also increase the income of the farmers. The fact that even currently around 98% of CPO is being imported, it is proposed to launch the Scheme to further increase the area and production of CPO in the country.  The proposed scheme will subsume the current National Food Security Mission-Oil Palm programme. The oil palm farmers produce Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) from which oil is extracted by the industry. Presently the prices of these FFBs are linked to the international CPO prices fluctuations.  For the first time, the Government of India will give a price assurance to the oil palm farmers for the FFBs. This will be known as the Viability Price (VP).

Sources : https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1746942

 

2. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB)

It was constituted by the Indian Government to hear and resolve the appeals against the decisions of the registrar under the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. It  has been authorized to hear and adjudicate upon the appeals from most of the decisions, orders or directions made by the Patent Controller under the Patents Act. Therefore all pending appeals of Indian High Courts under the Patents Act were transferred to IPAB.

The headquarter of the IPAB is located in Chennai. IPAB also has sittings at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. In IPAB an appeal can be made against the decision of the Controller or Central Government of India in matters related to refusal of application for failure to comply with the requirements of the Act orders related to divisional application, orders related to dating of application, decisions related to anticipation; decisions and cases of potential infringement, orders regarding substitution of applicants; revocation of patents in public interest; correction of clerical errors, etc.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/an-obituary-for-the-ip-appellate-board/article34352587.ece

 

3. Adi Cascade Frog (Amolops Adicola)

A team of researchers from Delhi University, along with biologists from the Wildlife Institute of India and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, USA, have discovered a new species of cascade frog in Arunachal Pradesh. It has been named after the indigenous Adi tribe and the hills they inhabit.

Discovered on the Adi hills in Arunachal Pradesh, the new frog species has been named Adi Cascade Frog (Amolops Adicola). The hills are home to the Adi tribe. Cascade frogs are named so because of their preference of small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams.

Sources : https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/scientists-discover-new-species-of-frog-in-arunachal-pradesh-7461140/

 

4. Velu Nachiyar

The queen of Sivaganga estate. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India. She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai “brave woman”. She was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam, horse riding and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English and Urdu. She married the king of Sivagangai.

She formed an army and sought an alliance with Hyder Ali with the aim of launching a campaign against the East India Company in 1780. When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, she arranged a suicide attack on the location, blowing it up. Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years. In 1790, the throne was inherited by her daughter Vellacci. She granted powers to her daughter with the Marudu brothers to help with the administration of the kingdom in 1780.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/floral-tributes-paid-to-velu-nachiyar-sivaganga/article25901219.ece

 

Prelims Question

1. Consider the following statement with regard to Velu Nachiyar
2. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India.
3. She formed an army and sought an alliance with Hyder Ali with the aim of launching a campaign against the East India Company in 1780.

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : C

The queen of Sivaganga estate. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India. She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai “brave woman”. She was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam, horse riding and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English and Urdu. She married the king of Sivagangai.

She formed an army and sought an alliance with Hyder Ali with the aim of launching a campaign against the East India Company in 1780. When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, she arranged a suicide attack on the location, blowing it up. Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years. In 1790, the throne was inherited by her daughter Vellacci. She granted powers to her daughter with the Marudu brothers to help with the administration of the kingdom in 1780.

 

2. Adi Cascade Frog was recently found in which of the following state
3. Assam
4. Arunchal Pradesh
5. Nagaland
6. Meghalaya

Answer : B

A team of researchers from Delhi University, along with biologists from the Wildlife Institute of India and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, USA, have discovered a new species of cascade frog in Arunachal Pradesh. It has been named after the indigenous Adi tribe and the hills they inhabit.

Discovered on the Adi hills in Arunachal Pradesh, the new frog species has been named Adi Cascade Frog (Amolops Adicola). The hills are home to the Adi tribe. Cascade frogs are named so because of their preference of small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams.