Indian Express – 18 June 14 – Opinion

1) The river must flow 

TAKEAWAY – How to clean up the Ganga river without deviating to other activities and focussing on river flow – MUST READ .

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in?  

• Paper -1, Urbanization, geographical features and their location – changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
• Paper -2 Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper-2, Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive
• Paper -3, Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
• Paper -4  Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; Probity in Governance

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2) ‘If you want to deliver a last-mile solution, the best way is to ask those affected how they might do it’

TAKEAWAY -The confluence of govt, aid institutes, bureaucracy and NGOs to provide development- MUST READ  to know about World Bank’s initiative – Development Marketplace.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Paper -2, Role of civil services in a democracy, Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate
• Paper -3, Infrastructure
• Paper -4 Probity in Governance, Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; utilization of public funds

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3) Aadhaar and the rhetoric of fear

TAKEAWAY -the debate on privacy vs. security – CAN READ to brush up the aadhaar issue with current updates.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
• Paper-3, Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges
• Paper -4 Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions.

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4) The great game folio: US and Iran

TAKEAWAY -points in history which offered collaboration between US and Iran- CAN READ to analyse these points in US & Iran history.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
• Paper -4 Ethical issues in International Relations

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Indian Express – 18 June 14 – Color coded

SUMMARY – By viewing governors through a partisan lens, Modi government would be repeating old mistakes.

The Modi government came in with the declared ambition of a “Congress-free India”, sweeping away the old ways of governance and forcing its imprint on institutions. That change, it now seems, could extend even to offices that are purportedly non-political, like the constitutional office of governor. <the current events>> UP Governor B.L. Joshi has already sent in his resignation and there is speculation that more resignations may be on the anvil, with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh unsubtly suggesting that UPA-appointed governors should step down of their own volition. <the meaning>> Any move to replace governors appointed by political rivals, with no reason furnished, would be an undermining of the constitutional office. A governor is appointed by the president, and is not an agent of the Centre. <the background>> Of course, the UPA, in 2004, had also removed governors it considered vestiges of the NDA — and it had invited rebuke. <the SC perspective>> As a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court has underscored, the Union government is obliged to furnish relevant, non-arbitrary, non-whimsical and bona fide reasons for changing a governor. <the background story>> The office of governor has been used in a partisan manner by all political dispensations, beginning with the Janata government, which in 1977 used governors to dismiss Congress governments in nine states, only to have Indira Gandhi impose president’s rule in states run by the Janata Party after she returned to power. With president’s rule mostly becoming an option in disuse now, there is less scope for such egregious misuse of power. But both the Congress and the BJP have used governorships as retirement homes for battle-scarred political veterans and favoured officials, as reward for services rendered or to delicately remove someone from the fray. <the Sarkaria recommendation??>> This despite the Sarkaria commission, which had recommended that a governor be a person of eminence, not involved in the local politics of the state to which she is sent, and not a politician associated with the ruling party at the Centre, in order to preserve the federal balance. <other inferred meanings>> The Modi government’s signalling on UPA-appointed governors could even be seen to be of a piece with the PMO’s directive to ministers to remove civil servants who have previously worked with the UPA. While ministers do have the discretion to choose civil servants based on their competence and uses, these decisions are meant to be free of vindictiveness and favouritism. <Conclusive Comment>> By openly suggesting that those who worked in one dispensation are unwelcome in another, the government risks corroding the impartiality of the administration.

Q: Elucidate as to how the post of Governor has been perceived and utilised for political advantages; and the comments made in response to such mischievous acts.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance,transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Paper -2, Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure
• Paper -2, Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance; integrity, impartiality and non- partisanship,  objectivity, dedication to public service,

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The Hindu & IE – 18 June 14 – Turning to Iran & Preserving Iraq

The rapid advance across Iraq by Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL), the Syria-based extreme Sunni militia, to the point where its forces are only 60 km from Baghdad, has caused a serious humanitarian crisis and reopened several questions that are central to the future of West Asia. <The problems so caused are..>> Over half a million people have fled Iraq’s western province, Anbar, for the northeastern province of Kurdistan; the refugees need food and shelter urgently, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is already involved. In addition, images apparently showing ISIL summarily executing captured Iraqi soldiers have been posted online; the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Navi Pillay, states that if confirmed the executions would constitute war crimes. Secondly, ISIL has caused panic in the Iraqi army, sections of which have fled leaving behind tanks and other heavy weaponry. Thirdly, the United States and the United Kingdom, which led the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, now face contradictions they themselves have created.

<What are the reasons behind such a situation??>> A key reason for this situation is that in 2003 the invaders abolished Iraq’s public and civic institutions, in the deluded belief that all Iraqi officials were fanatical Saddam Hussein followers. Almost immediately, extreme Sunni and Shia leaders started a savage civil war, dividing Iraqi society and enabling al-Qaeda to establish a powerful presence where it previously had none. Matters were then exacerbated by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s sectarianism; he sacked 700,000 Sunnis from the military and banned substantial numbers of Sunnis from civilian public-service posts. Widespread corruption and brutality on the part of government militias have made things even worse; some Mosul residents say that ISIL has brought renewed stability and an end to fighting, bomb explosions, and looting. <What about the larger picture in the Middle East??>> Moreover, two allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been funding and possibly arming ISIL with a view to overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; Riyadh and Doha might also seek to remove Mr. al Maliki’s Shia-dominated government. <And the US stand??>> Above all, the British and American lies about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction in 2003 now mean military intervention will not be tolerated by the public in either country. President Barack Obama is sending 275 troops to protect U.S. embassy staff in Baghdad, but he is on a slippery slope. <US & Iran>> As their entire political strategy towards the region collapses, and despite the harm done to Iran by western sanctions, Washington and London are finally seeking Iran’s help. <Conclusive Comment>> They are doing so for instrumental reasons, but a constructive response from Tehran could be an immense contribution to regional peace.

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SUMMARY – Baghdad needs external help to defeat ISIS. The next challenge will be to establish inclusive governance.

The lightning advance of the fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) towards Baghdad — accompanied by unauthenticated pictures of mass executions by the Islamists — has slowed as the Sunni rebels consolidate their gains, although heavy clashes have erupted near Baquba, close to the capital. While that buys US President Barack Obama some time to carefully weigh his final options in assisting the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, it is difficult to see how Iraq can return to status quo or preserve its current borders. The bloodbath in the wide stretches of territory the ISIS controls, including Fallujah, Ramadi, Mosul, Tikrit or now, the strategic city of Tal Afar, has fundamentally challenged the legitimacy of a state that, for a millennium, has been the battleground for the Shia-Sunni schism that has resurfaced with a vengeance recently and divided the Middle East along sectarian lines.

<The US stand>> The US is not putting boots on the ground, except for the military personnel needed to protect its embassy in Baghdad and perhaps to train Iraqi troops. It has deployed an aircraft carrier and warships in the Gulf and is reportedly considering drone strikes. But apart from the practical difficulty of air strikes against moving insurgent targets, Obama’s conundrum is how his policy of disengagement ended up doing exactly what his predecessor’s intervention in 2003 did — plunging Iraq into sectarian violence and civil war. Notwithstanding all talk of an uncanny cooperation between arch enemies, Washington and Tehran, Obama cannot ignore the reaction of his Arab allies — Sunni states like Saudi Arabia. For, even materially and militarily helping al-Maliki’s government, widely perceived to be Shiite triumphalist, will be read as the US taking sides and helping to indirectly strengthen Shiite Iran. That said, Sunni states too are concerned about the violence and intolerance the ISIS is unleashing. <<Notice the stand of the Sunni states in the 2 editorials> Washington and Tehran cannot afford to take things slow. <The other Middle East countries??>> Just as Iran, much like Turkey, cannot countenance a Sunni ISIS caliphate in western Iraq and eastern Syria, the US would be loath to waste its soldiers’ blood and the money poured into remaking Iraq.

<Conclusive Comment>> The ISIS advance seeks to upend a century of history, even as it wreaks destruction on human lives and shrines. While Baghdad must prepare its troops to push back against the rebels and take all the help it can get, the only means of preserving the state of Iraq is through a wider, more inclusive and representative government. To begin with, once the ISIS is defeated or restricted, there cannot be a renewed and more virulent Shia triumphalism targeting Iraq’s Sunni minority.

Q: In light of the recent invasion by ISIS/ISIL on Iraq, discuss the consequent developments at the local, regional and global level.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
• Paper -4 Moral and political attitudes, Social Influence and persuasion, ethical issues in international relations and funding.

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Indian Express – 17 June 14 – Opinion

1) An Environment for Reform 

TAKEAWAY – Innovative Regulation by authorities – MUST READ for a view to understand ‘environment AND development.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in?  

• Paper -1, Developmental Issues
• Paper -2 Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper -3 Inclusive Growth; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Infrastructure
• Paper -4  Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; Probity in Governance

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2) High-level solutions

TAKEAWAY -The need for Himalayanoscopy.- MUST READ  for a comprehensive analysis on Himalyan policy-making.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper-1. Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location – changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
• Paper -2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper -3, Disaster and Disaster Management; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Infrastructure
• Paper -4 Probity in Governance; Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance

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3) Your invasion, not mine

TAKEAWAY – – CAN READ  to brush up the Middle East history from US’ point of view.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
• Paper-3, Security challenges and their management in border areas; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; ethical issues in international relations

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4) Seize the day

TAKEAWAY – –  MUST READ  to brush up the India-Pak relations wrt J&K.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 India and its neighborhood- relations.
• Paper-3, Security challenges and their management in border areas; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; ethical issues in international relations

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Indian Express – 17 June 14 – Waiver Season

SUMMARY – Centre may not have control over state government freebies, but it should refuse to finance them

Ahead of the state assembly polls later this year, the Maharashtra government has announced a Rs 7,394 crore farm electricity waiver. The government has promised to entirely waive the interest and penalties, and pay 50 per cent of the arrears owed up to March 31. In case farmers who actually paid their dues felt left out, the government declared that it would give them three months of free electricity. But the Maharashtra government’s freebie is small change compared to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s Rs 54,000 crore farm loan waiver — in 2009, the UPA’s national loan waiver cost Rs 60,000 crore. Telangana, too, has announced a waiver, though on a smaller scale. Taken together, these announcements put the Centre’s alleged impending financial belt-tightening into perspective. The Centre may send reformist signals, but it is up to the states to trim their fiscal deficits, which collectively amounted to 2.3 per cent of the GDP in 2012-13.

<The impact of such waivers>>But more than just being financially unsustainable (Maharashtra’s fiscal deficit is estimated to be Rs 30,965 crore this year and the new Andhra Pradesh starts out with a revenue deficit of Rs 15,900 crore), there is a moral hazard problem associated with rewarding defaulting. In the case of banking, in particular, spreading the net of formal finance will not be possible unless there is entrenched repayment discipline. There may be a case that, at a time when corporate debt restructuring is widely talked about, relief to desperate farmers is not out of place. But such blanket waivers are not the way to go. They are sloppily targeted and privilege the better-off. It could be argued, for instance, that an utterly deprived farmer would not have access to a bank loan in the first place.

<What about the Union Govt in the finance part??>> The Centre may have a say when it comes to financing these schemes. Andhra Pradesh, for one, is contemplating either a special package from Delhi or issuing bonds (the latter may not be possible due to RBI rules). <Conclusive Comment>> The Union government must firmly decline to help finance such programmes, even if it means having to spurn an ally.

Q: Elaborate on the various loan waiving schemes being taken up by the State governments. What impact can such waivers have? What is the role and responsibility of the Central Government in such a situation?

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance,transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Paper -2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper -3, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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The Hindu & IE – 17 June 14 – Reaching out to Bhutan & Thimphu affirmation

Thimphu has been as out of the ordinary a choice of destination for the first bilateral visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as was his invitation to the heads of SAARC countries to his swearing-in. The common theme though is India’s neighbourhood, and the strategic overtones in the Prime Minister’s Bhutan visit were hard to miss. <The key points in India-Bhutan relationship>> Bhutan-India relations are governed by a <1.> friendship treaty that was renegotiated only in 2007, freeing Thimphu’s external relations from New Delhi, but still subjecting the Himalayan nation’s security needs to supervision. India has also provided <2.> financial assistance to its tiny neighbour’s five-year development plans since 1961, last year committing Rs.4,500 crore for the period up to 2018. < 3.> The gamut of ties between the two countries covers cooperation and investment in infrastructure development, health, education and most significantly, hydropower projects. <Bhutan’s Political Milieu>>Meanwhile, Bhutan itself has undergone radical changes, transitioning from a benevolent monarchy to a democracy. A new generation of Bhutanese have come of age under the new system. The country held its second democratic election last year, one in which, for the first time, resentment against New Delhi’s “meddling” through the cutting of fuel subsidies, among other actions, was openly expressed. Supporters of the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa, which lost the election after its first term, believed that New Delhi was cut up with the 2012 meeting between Wen Jiabao, the then Chinese premier and Jigmey Thinley, then Prime Minister of Bhutan.<What is this meeting about?? >>>

At that meeting, which was held in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of a multilateral forum, the <1.> Chinese side was quoted as saying that Beijing was “willing to complete border demarcation with Bhutan at an early date.” Both sides have held many rounds of talks on the issue, without coming close to a resolution. Chinese territorial claims in western Bhutan are close to the Siliguri Corridor, also known as Chicken’s Neck, the narrow strip of land that connects West Bengal to northeastern India.  <2.>China is also interested in establishing formal ties with Thimphu, where it does not yet have a diplomatic mission despite a nearly 500-km shared border with Bhutan. <Ok, so the impact and action by India??>> All this is no doubt causing concern in New Delhi, and is clearly part of the reason Prime Minister Modi chose to visit the country quickly. <What happened at the visit??>> During the visit, the two sides reiterated an important clause in the 2007 Treaty — neither side will allow its territory to be used for “purposes inimical” to the other. <Conclusive Comment>> India cannot stop a sovereign country from establishing diplomatic relations with other countries. What it can do though is to protect and nurture its relations with Bhutan in a way that the friendship grows and does not falter.

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SUMMARY – PM’s visit has made a strong political statement. But India cannot take a changing Bhutan for granted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Bhutan the “natural choice” for his first foreign visit after assuming charge in Delhi. That the PM would prioritise engagement with the states of the subcontinent was foretold by his bold gesture of inviting SAARC leaders to his swearing-in. Picking Bhutan, with which Delhi has enjoyed a “unique and special” relationship — as well as a nearly exclusive footprint until recently — was informed by Modi’s recognition that India’s foreign policy must begin at its borders. Reconstituting the geopolitical unity of the subcontinent, by ensuring each other’s security and integrating the regional economies, is the right way forward in leveraging India’s geographic advantages to regain Delhi’s primacy in its neighbourhood.

Underscoring how India’s prosperity can help its smaller neighbours and how the converse — a “weak and struggling” India — cannot, Modi’s two-day visit sent out a message beyond Thimphu to the other capitals of the subcontinent. This visit illustrates how soft power can drive bargains to meet the needs of hard power. <The illustrations / examples are>> Helping Bhutan develop its tourism, building e-libraries just as India built its Supreme Court, joint sport events, a university for “Himalayan studies” to harness a shared legacy, or doubling scholarships to Bhutanese students, reframes the traditional relationship and takes it beyond a transactional context. For that matter, exempting Thimphu from restrictions on the export of several items foregrounds the free trade arrangement as the two sides recommit themselves to promoting trade and investment. While Bhutan’s $2 billion economy is closely linked to India’s, its single-largest export to India is electricity, with three of its four operational hydel projects bilaterally developed for exporting power to India. The 2020 target of 10,000 MW hydel capacity in Bhutan may be missed, but the PM’s laying of the foundation stone for the 600MW Kholongchu project puts the focus back on Bhutan’s 24,000 MW hydel potential, which India must help develop for its own energy security.

<The caveat>> However, Delhi’s goodwill alone will no longer suffice. Bhutan is a changing country. Democratisation is opening it up to competitive politics, generating debate on Thimphu’s foreign policy, so far closely coordinated with Delhi. India will not only have to be more transparent in conducting its diplomacy, but also keep in mind China’s outreach that is bringing Thimphu and Beijing closer. <Conclusive Comment>> Without a comprehensive strategy tailor-made for each neighbour, the price of even the best of bilateral ties can only go up. Modi’s visit has made a strong political statement. The rest of the work begins now.

Q: The recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Bhutan has made a strong political statement. In context of the above mentioned, discuss the features and factors affecting the Indo-Bhutanese relationship in the past and the future.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, India and its neighborhood- relations.
• Paper -3, Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -3, Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, etc.
• Paper -4, Moral and Political Attitudes, Ethical Issues in International Relations

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Indian Express – 16 June 14 – Opinion

1) How India treats its NGO’s 

TAKEAWAY – A comprehensive look at what the NGO sector in India is – laws, regulations, challenges etc. – MUST READ .

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in?  

• Paper -1, Developmental Issues
• Paper -2 Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Paper -3 Inclusive Growth
• Paper -3, Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4  Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; Probity in Governance; Ethical Relations in international relations and funding

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2) 100 Day challenge

TAKEAWAY -Reforms in Economy – GST, Oil, Diesel, Petrol, Coal etc..- CAN READ  for an analysis.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper -3, Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment
• Paper -3, Infrastructure
• Paper -4 Probity in Governance

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3) No Coincidence

TAKEAWAY – – CAN READ  to brush up the Indo-Pak-Afghan situation.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2 India and its neighborhood- relations
• Paper-3, Security challenges and their management in border areas; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; ethical issues in international relations

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Indian Express – 16 June 14 – After the photo-op

SUMMARY – ‘INS Vikramaditya’ best illustrates many of the defence challenges the Modi government must meet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not have chosen a better setting than the deck of India’s new aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya for his first visit outside the national capital and the first field engagement with India’s armed forces. India’s latest and most sophisticated defence platform offered a fabulous stage to reinforce Modi’s image as a strong leader and underline the BJP’s traditional commitment to vigorous national defence. In his address to the sailors on board, Modi promised that his government would keep the multiple commitments made during the extended election campaign — from <1.> the implementation of the “one-rank one-pension” scheme to the <2.> construction of a national war memorial. Modi also reaffirmed the pledges he had made for <3.> bringing the most advanced defence technologies to the Indian armed forces and <4.> replacing costly weapons imports with indigenous arms production. <<Look out for these details through the upcoming news>

<The defence challenges >> Some of the defence challenges inherited by the Modi government are best illustrated by the INS Vikramaditya. If long delays and massive price escalation marked the acquisition of the aircraft carrier from Russia, the UPA government did not provide sufficient funds and political support for the construction of an indigenous carrier at the Cochin Shipyard. The UPA government’s mismanagement of naval arms acquisition was compounded by the huge gulf between the immense power potential of the INS Vikramaditya and the utter lack of policy competence within the higher reaches of the ministry of defence. While the carrier represents India’s emerging capability to project hard and soft military power across the Indian Ocean littoral and beyond, the MoD under the UPA government was incapable of integrating the new potential into India’s national security strategy. Worse still, the MoD actively hindered the use of naval power for the pursuit of India’s political and diplomatic interests.

<The Result>> These failures over the last decade are part of a deepening structural crisis in India’s higher defence organisation. This crisis is reflected in the deteriorating civil-military relations, an enduring inability to build a domestic defence industrial base, a continuing incapacity to imagine and implement effective military strategies to deal with threats from China and Pakistan and promote synergies with India’s diplomatic strategy. <Conclusive Comment>> The Modi government can address these challenges only if it is prepared to undertake a comprehensive reform of India’s defence policies. To get there, the PM must first appoint a full-time defence minister who has both the conviction and the competence to modernise one of the most ossified structures in the government of India.

Q: In light of the first field engagement of the Prime Minister with India’s armed forces, discuss the challenges, impacts and some solutions to resolve the defence related challenges.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance,transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Paper -2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Paper -3, Effects of liberalization on the economy; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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Indian Express – 13 June 14 – The great NGO scare

SUMMARY – Modi government must deal with, not try to wish away, pressures from civil society.

Less than a month after the Narendra Modi government took office, civil society organisations can be said to be feeling the heat. An Intelligence Bureau report to the prime minister’s office has warned against a range of NGOs, suggesting they pose a threat to the economy, <how??>> and that they have collectively cost India 2-3 per cent of its GDP. <who does it identify??>> The IB’s list includes not just international organisations like Greenpeace that have drawn attention to the environmental damage of coal-based and nuclear energy, or those with extensive foreign funding, but also many Gujarat-based NGOs that have campaigned for the victims of the 2002 riots, among other issues, including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

<The backgrounder 1.0>> This is not the first time a government has had occasion to complain about motivated civil society organisations — the UPA often deployed the FCRA to delay or revoke licences, and former PM Manmohan Singh has complained about the “foreign hand” instigating campaigns against nuclear energy. This charge is not entirely baseless. <What is the point of conflict??>> Many NGOs do have agendas that further the interests of their funders, while others are driven by the particular causes they speak for. They are not meant to take the large view and harmonise interests. By their very nature, advocacy groups take the narrow, intense position. The logic of the voluntary sector and private capital often work in concert, and try to supplant the legitimate functions of the state. They are often irritants to the government, but they also often aid governments in informal ways, fill gaps on the ground, bring a useful view to policy and legislation. In other words, there is no single theory of civil society organisations or one ideal approach to them. NGOs cannot be red-flagged and harassed — the government’s test is in how it reacts to their interventions.

<The backgrounder 2.0>>The UPA erred on the other side too, on occasion, treating NGO orthodoxy on GM crops as equivalent to the scientific consensus, for instance, or inviting civil society to take on an outsized role in drafting policy through the NAC. <The challenge for the government??>> But the Modi government must be wary of taking a repressive attitude to NGOs, merely because they articulate alternative priorities. It will be challenged, like all governments are, and its task is to accommodate diverse perspectives where possible, to shoulder past the ones that it judges irrelevant, and know that some criticism is inevitable given the tradeoffs of any decision-making. <Conclusive Comment>> It must realise that scapegoating NGOs is not going to strengthen the government.

Q: In light of the recent IB report warning against a range of NGO’s, discuss the nature of relationship between the Civil Society Organizations and the Government.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -1, Developmental Issues
• Paper -2, Important aspects of governance,transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
• Paper -2, Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Paper -3, Effects of liberalization on the economy; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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BE Consistent!

The Hindu & IE – 13 June 14 – Consistency and restraint & UPA to NDA

A quick end to an emerging controversy is in the interest of a new government, especially one that has set an ambitious agenda for itself. The question of succession in the Army leadership was expected to be one such impending row <the backgrounder>> as the Bharatiya Janata Party had raised issues of propriety when the outgoing Congress regime chose to name the next Chief of the Army Staff towards the fag end of its term and with well over two months to go for the incumbent to retire. <what has been done now??>> Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has done well to give an early quietus to this question by declaring in Parliament that Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag’s appointment is final and that the government stands by it. <The various dimensions to it!!>>The National Democratic Alliance regime has chosen wisely to stay above the temptation to politicise it. By deciding that it would continue to defend the Army chief-designate against a legal challenge in the Supreme Court, the ruling party has indicated that it never had a problem with Lt. Gen. Suhag’s suitability or merit, and had reservations only about the timing of his appointment. For sections of the ruling party, the government’s error, if any, may have been in its consistency: it has repeated in a recent affidavit in the Supreme Court the contents of an affidavit that the previous UPA regime had submitted before the Armed Forces Tribunal. Those contents include remarks against V.K. Singh, former chief of the Army and a Minister in the present government, charging him with acting without material basis and in a premeditated manner while imposing a ‘discipline and vigilance ban’ on Lt. Gen. Suhag in 2012.<<This was the underlying incident then!!>

While the Defence Ministry is expected to maintain consistency in ongoing judicial proceedings, there can be no justification for Mr. Singh to comment on the government’s conduct and cast aspersions on the reputation of the Army chief-designate. Mr. Singh is no stranger to controversy, but it was hoped that he would give up his contentious ways after getting elected to the Lok Sabha with a massive victory margin and being appointed a Minister of State, for the North East, among others. The least that was expected of him was that he would avoid voicing an adverse opinion on an issue in which he was fully involved while in service. It is disquieting that one wing of the government casts aspersions on a Minister while he publicly questions the Union government’s stand. So far, the government has merely stated that there can be no politics over the Army chief’s appointment and does not seem to be embarrassed by the whole episode.<Conclusive Comment>> It can afford to ignore calls for his resignation or removal, but there is little doubt that there is a case for Minister V.K. Singh to be advised restraint, and the adverse remarks on him toned down.

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SUMMARY – Arun Jaitley’s defence of the previous government’s appointment of the next army chief is reassuring.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has done well to distance the Centre from the intemperate remarks of his ministerial colleague, and former army chief, General V.K. Singh. More laudably, Jaitley has done so by stating the well-established principle in Indian democracy for governments: to keep issues relating to the armed forces unaffected by party politics. <What is the issue at hand??>>“The UPA government had made the appointment of [Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as] the next army chief some weeks ago,” he told Parliament. “The present government also is fully defending that appointment.” This dispels any doubts over the defence ministry’s affidavit this week in the Supreme Court in response to a petition seeking a stay on the appointment. Jaitley’s statement also carries a larger promise that, after the bitterly contested general election and the all too often personalised campaign, the transition from the UPA to the NDA will not be disruptive for the sake of partisanship. These are early days for the Modi government, and the unambiguous iteration of a higher principle as guide is a collateral benefit of this unseemly episode.

<The backgrounder>> Jaitley’s clarification was occasioned by General Singh’s tweets contesting the defence ministry’s affidavit. The case goes back to Singh’s tenure as army chief. He had piloted a disciplinary ban on Suhag for allegedly being responsible for a raid conducted by the Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit while he was commander of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps. The ministry’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, similar (and necessarily so) to that submitted to the Armed Forces Tribunal, terms the ban “illegal”. The ban would, of course, have changed the line of succession to the top post in the Indian army — and the consequent speculation whether this was by design or not strengthened the impression of an army top brass that had still not recovered from the controversy over the row involving V.K. Singh’s date of birth.

<So, the army-government relationship should be… >>>Civilian oversight of the armed forces is essential to constitutional democracy. And for it to be honoured, it requires not just established codes of engagement, but also an ethos of mutual respect to maintain institutional goodwill. Whether or not V.K. Singh is aware of the strain this ethos came under during his last months as army chief, or of the collective ministerial responsibility that his new innings as a politician commits him to, <Conclusive Comment>> this episode should highlight to the Modi government the distance yet to go to reverse an unfortunate drift in the army-government dynamic it has inherited from the UPA.

Q: Elaborate on the controversy about the appointment of the next Army Chief. In light of it, discuss about the army and government relationship.

In which topic of the CS Mains syllabi, can this article fit in? –

• Paper -2, Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Paper -4 Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance, ; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance, Probity in Governance

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BE Consistent!