Increase in Non-Oil exports to UAE
India’s non oil exports to the UAE have grown 14% between June and August, the Commerce and
Industry Ministry said.
● India’s global non petroleum exports during the same period grew by just 3% on a year on year
basis.
● Excluding petroleum related imports, the imports from the UAE in the three months grew by 1%
to $5.61 billion.
● Import increase in oil/petroleum products is largely on account of the rise in global prices and to a
certain extent on an increase off take in volumes.
● The sharpest jump in Indian exports to UAE was seen in sugar (up 237%), cereals (161%),
vegetables (82%), inorganic chemicals (74%) and electrical machinery and equipment (67%).
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
● India-UAE CEPA was signed on 18th February 2022, during the India-UAE Virtual Summit. The
Agreement is expected to enter into force on 1st May 2022.
● CEPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two
countries
What are the Salient features of India-UAE CEPA?
● The Agreement is a comprehensive agreement, which will cover:
○ Trade-in Goods.
○ Rules of Origin.
○ Trade-in Services.
○ Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
○ Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
○ Dispute Settlement.
○ Movement of Natural Persons.
○ Telecom.
○ Customs Procedures.
○ Pharmaceutical products.
○ Government Procurement.
○ Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Investment, Digital Trade and
Cooperation in other Areas.
What will be the Benefits of India-UAE CEPA?
● Trade-in Goods: India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the
UAE, especially for all labour-intensive sectors.
○ Such as Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods,
plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering products,
medical devices, and Automobiles.
● Trade-in Services: Both India and UAE have offered each other market access to the
broad service sectors.
○ Such as ‘business services’, ‘communication services’, ‘construction and related engineering services, ‘distribution services’, ‘educational services’, ‘environmental services’, ‘financial services, ‘health-related and social services, ‘tourism and travel-related services, ‘recreational cultural and sporting services’ and ‘transport services’.
● Trade-in Pharmaceuticals: Both sides have also agreed to a separate Annex on
Pharmaceuticals to facilitate access to Indian pharmaceuticals products, especially
automatic registration and marketing authorisation in 90 days for products meeting
specified criteria.
What is the Background of India-UAE CEPA?
● About: India and the UAE enjoy excellent bilateral relations, which are deep-rooted and
historical, sustained and nurtured by close cultural and civilizational affinities,
frequent high-level political interactions, and vibrant people to people linkages.
○ The India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership was initiated during the
visit of the Prime Minister of India to UAE in 2015.
● Status of Trade: India and the UAE have been each other’s leading trading partners.
○ Trade: From USD 180 million per annum in the 1970s, India-UAE bilateral
trade has steadily increased to USD 60 billion in FY 2019-20 making the
UAE, India’s third-largest trading partner.
○ Exports: The UAE is also the second-largest export destination of India.
○ Investments: The UAE is also the eighth largest investor in India with an estimated investment of USD 18 billion.
■ Moreover, India and the UAE have recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby the UAE has committed USD 75 billion towards infrastructure development in India.
● Economic Importance of UAE: The UAE is an important source of India’s energy supply and a key partner of India in the development of strategic petroleum reserves, upstream, and downstream petroleum sectors.
● Significance: The India-UAE CEPA will further cement the already deep, close and strategic relations between the two countries and will create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of the peoples of the two countries.
Arogya Manthan 2022
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated “Arogya Manthan 2022” to celebrate four
years of the implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and one year of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) on 25 September 2022.
About ABDM
● The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to
support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.
● It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the Healthcare ecosystem
through digital highways.
● On 26 February 2022, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister approved the national
rollout of the Central Sector Scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with a budget of Rs 1,600 crores for five years.
● The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of the Ayushman
Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
● Digital health solutions across the healthcare ecosystem have proven to be of immense benefit
over the years, with CoWIN, Arogya Setu and e-Sanjeevani further demonstrating the role
technology can play in enabling access to healthcare.
● The mission will improve equitable access to quality healthcare by encouraging use of
technologies such as telemedicine and enabling national portability of health services.
Flashback
● Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM)
trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
(ABDM) is creating a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based
digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal
information.
● Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health
Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked.
● This will enable the creation of longitudinal health records for individuals across various
healthcare providers, and improve clinical decision-making by healthcare providers.
Controversy over NAAC’s system
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which carries out quality checks or
assessments of Indian Higher-level Educational Institutions (HEIs), courted controversy over the
rating of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and allegations of bribery in the process. When the NAAC released the ratings, the institute’s score changed from A to A+ on the back of improvementac ross parameters.
What is NAAC?
- The NAAC, an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC), assesses
and certifies HEIs with gradings as part of accreditation. - Through a multi-layered process, a higher education institution learns whether it meets the
standards of quality set by the evaluator in terms of curriculum, faculty, infrastructure,
research, and other parameters. - The ratings of institutions range from A++ to C. If an institution is graded D, it means it is not accredited. How is the accreditation process carried out?
- The current approach has been described as “input-based”. In other words, NAAC relies heavily on self-assessment reports of applicant institutions.
- The first step has an applicant institution submitting a self-study report of information related to quantitative and qualitative metrics.
- The data is then validated by NAAC expert teams, followed by peer team visits to the institutions. This last step has sparked controversy. How many institutions in India are credited?
- There are 1,043 universities and 42,343 colleges listed on the portal of the All India Survey on Higher Education.
- As per the latest data from 21 June 2022, there were 406 universities and 8,686 colleges that
were NAAC-accredited. - Among the states, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of accredited colleges at 1,869 – more than twice as many as Karnataka’s 914, the second highest. Tamil Nadu has the most accredited universities at 43.
Sapta Kosi high dam project
India and Nepal have agreed to take forward the Sapta Kosi high dam project through further studies, as senior officials of the two sides met in Kathmandu and comprehensively reviewed the bilateral water-sector cooperation, including the implementation of the Mahakali Treaty and cooperation in areas of flooding and inundation.
What
● The 9th meeting of the Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR) was preceded by the 7th
meeting of the Joint Standing Technical Committee on Water Resources.
● These meetings comprehensively reviewed the bilateral water-sector cooperation between
India and Nepal, including the implementation of the Mahakali Treaty, the Sapta Kosi-Sun
Kosi Project and cooperation in areas of flooding and inundation.
● The Mahakali Treaty was signed in 1996 over the integrated development of the Mahakali
River, including Sarada Barrage, Tanakpur Barrage and Pancheshwar project.
● The progress of various bilateral committees, including Joint Committee on Inundation and
Flood Management (JCIFM) and Joint Committee on Kosi and Gandak Project (JCKGP),
was also discussed.
● It was agreed to take forward the Sapta Kosi high dam project through further studies which
take into consideration the planned upstream projects, submergence area of the Project as well
as other social, environmental and technical aspects.
The geographic location map of Fig.1 the The Kosi geographic River basin. location map of the
Kosi River basin
Election Commission to push for internal democracy in parties
After taking action against registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) for failing to comply with norms, the Election Commission is likely to take up the issue of internal democracy within parties.
● Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected the idea of a ‘permanent
president’ for a party, while taking issue with the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party
(YSRCP), which rules Andhra Pradesh.
● The party reportedly elected Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as its president for life in
July 2022. The ECI says such a step is inherently anti-democratic
● This has reignited the discussion of whether all political parties should be required to have
internal elections.
Is there a legal basis for mandating elections within political parties?
● There is no such law, political parties were mandated to hold internal elections by executive order
during the [1990s], when T.N. Seshan oversaw the Election Commission of India (ECI).
● Every recognised party has since staged elections on a regular basis.
● If for any reason they are unable to hold an election, they seek condonation for the delay, which is usually granted.
● Furthermore, the ECI has traditionally been fairly lenient on this.
● The outcome and the process that the parties followed are not under dispute by the ECI.
● When political parties register with the ECI, a copy of their constitution is also sent to the
commission. The ECI requires political parties to abide by this constitution.
● If someone is chosen without opposition, the commission should not intervene or voice its
opinion.
● In India, candidates are subject to all laws and regulations more so than political parties.
● Nothing in Article 324 of the Constitution or Section 29(A) of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951, has been interpreted by the courts to mean that the ECI can really control the
internal organisation, structures, or elections of the party.
● Political parties were not defined or mentioned in our Constitution. Through the anti-defection
law of 1985, the concept of a political party was introduced for the first time.
● This is why parties have not been conducting internal elections as you want them to conduct
them.
Need for Internal elections
● It is crucial to hold these internal elections, meetings, and debates. Internal elections are essential
for upward mobility.
● Any party that wishes to govern and pass laws through a democratic process must have
regular and official elections for office holders as part of its associational structure.
● A party that is unified and worships a single leader risks becoming a high command culture in
which only that leader’s favourites are promoted over others who actually popular leaders.
Intra-party democracy in other countries
● The evidence from other democracies indicates that there is a trend toward increased
transparency, decentralisation, and intraparty democracy.
● For instance, in Germany, parties must fulfil requirements before nominating individuals for
party positions.
● At both the constituency and federal levels, they must be chosen by a direct, secret vote.
● In the United States, laws that mandated the use of secret votes in intraparty elections were
passed.
● Movements by party activists and the rank and file to curtail the influence of firmly established
party leaders have been observed in the British Labour Party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’
Party, the Democratic Party in the United States, and the Progressive Conservative Party of
Canada.
What are the concerns of the lack of intra-party democracy?
● lack of intra-party democracy has a led to increased party fragmentation, closed autocratic
organizations, the selection of unqualified candidates for office, a rise in crime, and the
exploitation of financial power during elections.
● Criminalization of politics: Tickets are awarded to candidates based on the hazy concept of
winnability because there is no clearly established method for the allocation of tickets to
candidates before to elections.
● Nepotism: The growing nepotism in political parties is also a result of the absence of
democratic internal party processes.
● Accountability: A political party cannot be held accountable for upholding democratic values in
national governance if same values are not upheld in the party’s internal operations. Internal
dictatorship and democratic operation are incompatible Why internal elections are not being held?
● Increased dominance by “charismatic” individuals or their families has resulted from the
fragmentation of India’s polity into a federalized, multi-party system.
● Strong leaders typically oppose institutionalisation because it limits their personal authority
and discretion.
● This is primarily due to the type of support that these parties receive or because of their financing
structures, which call for centralised control by a single coterie or a family.
● This is why many political parties do not insist on full internal elections to choose their leaders;
even when they do, the results are used to confirm the authority of the high command because
there is insufficient competition.
● The ECI lacks any Statutory to compel elections or enforce party internal democracy.
● Parties only obey the ECI’s orders in a mechanical fashion as a result of the lack of such
substantial power.
Way forward
● Political parties are an integral aspect of politics because they serve as the main implements of the nation’s democracy.
● Political parties are used for a variety of purposes, including candidate selection, voter
mobilisation, agenda creation, and legislation enactment.
● Political parties must become aware of the growing calls for electoral political change and take
action to establish intra-party democracy.
