Genetically Modified Crops

Genetically Modified Crops

This article deals with ‘Genetically Modified Crops  – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


Introduction

  • GMOs are organisms whose DNA or genetic makeup has been altered using various techniques of genetic engineering. 
  • In 1982, the first genetically modified crop, i.e. GM Tobacco, was produced. GM foods have been sold in the market since the early 1990s. 
  • Genetic Modification develops specific traits in crops like:
    1. Herbicide resistance 
    2. Viral resistance 
    3. Pest resistance 
    4. Fungal and bacterial resistance 
    5. Slow ripening 
    6. Quality improvement – protein and oil
    7. Value addition – vitamins, micro and macro elements 
  • GM plants are developed by private companies and public research institutions like International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (public research institution) and Monsanto (an American private company).


Examples of Genetically Modified Crops (GMCs)

Genetically Modified Crops
Genetically Modified Crops (GMC)

Herbicide Resistant Crops

  • GM varieties of crops like soybean, maize, canola etc., have been developed, which are resistant to herbicide Glyphosate. Hence, it simplifies the weed control by Glyphosate application. (Note: Glyphosate herbicide is produced by Monsanto (of USA) under the trade name ‘Round up’.)
  • Gene has been inserted into DMH-11 (Mustard) which makes it resistant to herbicide named Basta. 

Insect Resistant Crops

  • GM crops such as Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal are insect resistant because Bt genes can produce insecticidal toxins to the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, cotton bollworms, Lepidopberan insects (damages brinjal) and gadflies.

Flavr-Savr tomato

  • It was the first GM crop that was granted permission for human consumption. 
  • It was produced by an American MNC named Calgene.
  • Through genetic modification, the ripening process of the tomato was slowed down, thus preventing it from softening and increasing the shelf life.

Biofortification

  • Golden Rice is the Genetically Modified Variety of Rice that can accumulate -carotene in the endosperm. Beta-Carotene is the precursor of Vitamin-A. It can be used in areas with Vitamin-A deficiency (which leads to night blindness).

GM Rubber

  • GM Rubber was developed at Kerala based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) and was planted in the outskirts of Guwahati. It has additional copies of gene MnSOD which is expected to handle severe cold conditions during winter in North-East India.

Others

  • CSIR has developed (truly) Blue Rose using the gene from pansy (variety of flowers).
  • The University of Texas has produced cotton with edible seeds by reducing its toxicity levels, thus converting cotton into an important food source. 
  • Tearless Onions have been produced by removing genes that synthesize sulphur compounds which act as tearing agents.

Note: Indian government has allowed the commercialisation of only one GM crop, the Bt cotton with the Cry 1 Ac gene (Bollgard I).


Side Topic: Companies involved in GM Crops

Monsanto 

  • It is an American MNC working in the field of applying biotechnology to agriculture.
  • It is the leading producer of herbicide Glyphosate (Round-Up).
  • Monsanto was the first company that create a biotechnology business model revolving around the company’s patent rights. 

MAHYCO

  • MAHYCO = Maharashtra Hybrid Corporation
  • It was started in 1964 and is headquartered in Jalna (Maharashtra).
  • MAHYCO has developed a large number of high-quality hybrid seeds.
  • MAHYCO also collaborates with academia and industry, and its association with Monsanto to produce BT cotton seeds using BT Technology of Monsanto since 1998 is such an example. 

Should we allow GM Crops?

Arguments in favour of the introduction of GM Crops

  • The world population is increasing. Yet, the amount of farmland is shrinking. GM crops can help to feed the growing population. 
  • Sustainable Agriculture: Scientists can give crops built-in resistance to pests (e.g., Bt gene), thus reducing the need for harmful pesticides. 
  • Higher-income for farmers: GM crops cut costs and increase yields, thus raising the income of farmers.
  • Fighting Malnutrition: Biofortification helps in increasing the vitamins and micro-nutrients in staple crops. Examples include Golden Rice is biofortified with Vitamin A.
  • Face climate change: GM crops with suitable genetic editing can help make crops that can withstand stress like high temperature or drought.  
  • Other countries are already growing GM Crops: We can’t stop the import of GM foods produced in the world. Hence, there is no point in restricting their cultivation in India and losing ground to foreign competitors. It has to be noted that India annually imports 3 million tonnes of soyabean oil which is predominantly GM.
  • Father of the green revolution – Norman Borlaug recommends GM crops for food security too.

Arguments against the introduction of GM Crops

MS Swaminathan has called GM crops a failure due to the unbearable costs of seeds and inputs on poor farmers and stagnated yields of BT cotton at 500 kg/ha (lower than that of China & Egypt).

Along with that, it has to be noted that GM crop isn’t a purely scientific issue. It is situated at a socio-economic & political nexus involving market monopolies in seeds leading to suicides. 

  • Farmer Suicides: The introduction of GM cotton is the cause for increasing farmer suicides in Karnataka and Vidarbha region. Farmers are using expensive GM seeds in a drought-prone region.  
  • Threat to indigenous varieties and biodiversity: Due to GM crops, farmers don’t cultivate indigenous varieties. This practice results in biodiversity loss. Vidarbha district in Maharashtra is nearly a 100% BT cotton-producing region. Local varieties of cotton seeds have almost disappeared.  
  • Threat to Natural Pollinators: Some important pollinators also die due to the consumption of BT crops, thus impacting the overall productivity and biodiversity.
  • Terminator Genes in Hybrid Seeds: Hybrid GM seeds are ‘programmed in such a way that they lose their ‘hybrid vigour’, so new seeds must be purchased every planting season. 
  • Loss of vigour: GMCs gradually lose their vigour, exemplified by the following incidents 
    1. White pest attack on Bt-cotton in Punjab. 
    2. Monsanto also accepted that Bt Cotton is now susceptible to Pink Bollworm.  
  • Stringent labelling provisions are required when GM crops are cultivated and sold in the market because those consuming GM food have the right to know that. But in India, vegetables are sold loose, and this is not possible.
  • Monoculture: There is desperation among farmers as the introduction of Bt cotton has ended the market of traditional varieties of cotton. Hence, all the farmers have started to grow the same crop to ensure that their produce finds a buyer. This has led to monoculture.
  • Parliamentary committee says that GM crops benefit only wealthy farmers & companies like Monsanto are filled with monopolistic characteristics. 
  • GM crops require more water, fertilizers unlike what they are advertised. 
  • GM Crops can unintentionally introduce allergens and other anti-nutrition factors in the foods.  

While billion-dollar companies like Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, and Syngenta have scientists lobbies who conduct research and publish research in high numbers in favour of GM crops and try to push it in India, there is nothing wrong with GM crops. Still, we should remember that Dow chemical was behind Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Bayer was Endosulphan supplier. Such billion-dollar companies often hide the harmful effects of GM in the long term.


Way forward

  • Legal measure: The presence of a liability clause, like present in the US, if GM tech affects traditional crops will ensure that seed companies take proper precautions in fear of penalty. 
  • Government should effectively implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Biological Diversity Act of 2002.
  • There is a need for formulating the National Policy on GM Crops.
  • Parliament should pass the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Act and replace GEAC with BRAI.

Mandatory labelling of GM Food

  • In 2018, FSSAI released Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, making it mandatory to clearly state on the label if the packaged food contains GM ingredients. 
  • Any food will be considered GM food if it contains 5% or more GM ingredients. 


Side Topic: Terminator Gene

  • Terminator Gene is the genetic code inserted in the DNA of the seed that makes the seeds harvested in the yield sterile. Hence, the farmer can’t use the harvested crop as seed and can buy new seeds every season. 
  • CoP-8 of the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) has prohibited the use of terminator genes. Consequently, India has passed a law banning this technology. 


Term: Traitor Genes

In genetic engineering, the use of an external chemical to switch a plant’s genetic traits on or off. Seed companies use it to force farmers to use a particular pesticide or insecticide to get a large output.


Hybrid Seeds / Hybridisation

  • Hybridisation is the technique or method involving cross-pollination among two different varieties to bring their desired characters together into one progeny called hybrid.  
  • Hybridisation is the common method of creating a genetic variation to get improved varieties. Humanity has used this technique since pre-history. 
Hybrid Seeds

Examples of Hybrid Crops

  • Seeds produced during the Green Revolution like Sonalika and Kalyan Sona (Dwarf varieties of wheat) and IR-8 (dwarf variety of rice) were hybrids. 
  • Case of Hybrid Sugarcane for North India:   
Hybrid Crops

Other hybrid seeds include

Insect-resistant Pusa Sawani: Hybrid Ladyfinger, which is resistant to shoot and fruit borer. 
Disease-resistant Himgiri: Rust resistant variety of Wheat.
Biofortified – Protina, Shakti and Rathna: Protein-rich maize hybrids.
– Atlas 66: Protein-rich wheat variety.

BT Cotton Issue

What is BT (Bacillus Thuringeinsis) ?

  • Bt refers to Bacillus Thuringenesis. It is a gram-positive soil-dwelling bacterium.  This bacteria produces more than 200 toxins that have insecticidal properties wrt the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, cotton bollworms and gadflies but are harmless to other life forms.
Bacillus Thuringenesis
  • When specific genes from Bacillus Thuringenesis are introduced into the native cotton and brinjal varieties, it starts to produce toxins that destroy the digestive system of bollworm and stem borers. 
Bt Cotton

Analysis: Bt Cotton in India

Positive Effects

The government approved to grow Bt Cotton in 2002 & as a result, India witnessed a great revolution in the cotton sector, not seen for another crop.

  • The yield of cotton increased due to the effective control of bollworms. After the introduction of Bt Cotton, India saw a rise in cotton production by 178%. India has emerged as the most significant global cotton player and is presently the largest cotton producer (surpassing China).
  • A significant reduction was witnessed in the use of insecticide in the cultivation of Bt cotton. 
  • The cost of cultivation was also reduced as artificial insecticides were not required. 

Issues

  • The issue is increasing farmer suicides in Karnataka and Vidarbha region.  Farmers are using expensive GM seeds in drought-prone areas.
  • There are other problems too – 
    1. High input cost of seeds, 
    2. Genetic erosion of local varieties, 
    3. Farmer’s dependence on private seed companies whose sole aim is profit maximization. 
  • Recently, cotton plantations in various parts of the country have been hit due to the infestation of Pink Bollworm (PBW). Following reasons are responsible for this : 
    1. Absence of crop rotation.
    2. Not growing 20-30% regular cotton along with BT Cotton.

Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11)

  • DMH-11 Mustard is produced by the Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants. 
  • DMH-11 is a GM Mustard Hybrid.
  • In 2017, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee had cleared GM mustard for environmental release and use in farmers’ fields. However, the approval is contingent on a final nod from Environment Minister. 

Justifications for allowing DMH-11

  • In an ordinary situation, hybrids can be obtained by cross-pollination of two varieties of the same species. But the case of Mustard is different as natural hybridization isn’t possible in Mustard because its flowers contain both female (pistil) and male (stamen) reproductive organs. Hence Genetic Modification is the only way to make High Yielding Variety (HYV).
  • Moreover, India is importing 15 million tonnes of edible oils. Hence, there is a need to raise domestic crop yields.  
  • Cotton-seed oil from Bt cotton is already used in India and is perfectly safe. Cotton-seed oil is the second largest produced edible oil in the country (1.4 million tonnes) after Mustard (2 million tonnes).
  • India is already importing GM oil: India imports 3 million tonnes of soyabean oil annually, predominantly Genetically Modified.  
  • The developer is a government-funded institution (Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at Delhi University), as opposed to BT cotton, which is the intellectual property of multinational, namely Monsanto.

Issue

  • Another gene has been inserted into DMH-11 which makes it resistant to herbicide named Basta. It will compel farmers to use specific herbicides and be dependent on one company (i.e. Bayer) having a monopoly over pesticides.

Government and Biotechnology

Last Updated: June 2023 (Government and Biotechnology)

Government and Biotechnology

This article deals with ‘Government and Biotechnology  – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


Department of Biotechnology

Department of Biotechnology

Department of Biotechnology is the nodal ministry responsible for issues related to biotechnology in India.


Timeline

1982 National Biotechnology Board was set up by the government.
1986 It was replaced by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Aim

  • Promote the development of modern biology and biotechnology in the country. 
  • Promoting international cooperation in the field of biotechnology.
  • Promoting manufacturing activities.

Department of Biotechnology has also set up BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) agency to strengthen and empower emerging biotechnology enterprises to undertake strategic research and innovation.


Present Status of Biotechnology Sector in India

Government and Biotechnology
  • Biotech Sector is one of the sunrise sectors in India. 
  • Within the Indian biotechnology sector, the major share is that of the biopharma sector accounting for a massive 55% of revenues while bioagri is the distant sector with a 22% share.
  • Indian Biotech Sector holds about a 3% share of the global biotech industry.
  • Indian Biotech Industry is valued at $ 11 Billion. 
  • India has emerged as a leading destination for clinical trials, contract research and manufacturing activities.


Some Indian Companies

Biotechnology Industries in India

The biotech sector comprises five segments – Biopharma, Bio-services, Bio-Agri, Bio-industrial, and Bioinformatics.


1. Bio-Pharma

  • This industry comprises of production of vaccines, bio-similars, regenerative medicine etc.
  • Biopharma has a major share in the Indian biotechnology sector, comprising 55% of revenue.
  • It has to be noted that India is the supplier of 60% of global vaccines and 22% of global generic drugs.

Example of Indian companies in this sector includes

Serum Institute of India Largest vaccine producer in the world (including producer of Covishield).
Panacea One of the largest biopharma companies and producer of Pentavalent Vaccine.
Haffkine Haffkine Pharmaceutical (Mumbai) is famous for manufacturing oral polio vaccines and anti-snake venom. 

2. Bio-Agri

Bio-Agri companies are associated with GM seeds, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides etc.

Prominent companies related to this sector include

Mahyco MAHYCO = Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company
The company was founded in 1963.
The company has collaborated with various academic institutions and industries for development in the agri-business. Its well-known collaboration is with multinational Monsanto for using Bt Technology in cotton since 1998.
Other Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Development Corporation Limited.
JK Agri Genetics Limited
Kalash Seeds Limited
Kaveri Seeds Company Limited
National Seeds Corporation Limited

3. Bio-Services

It involves industry related to contract manufacturing and clinical research.

Leading Indian companies involved in this include

  1. Advinus: Tata company engaged in drug discovery and end to end bio services.
  2. GVK Bio: Involved in drug discovery and clinical trials.

4. Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the integration of biotechnology and Information Technology (IT). Indian companies in this field include

  1. Tata Elxsi
  2. iLABS (Hyderabad)
  3. Satyam Computer Services
  4. Navya Biologicals

5. Bio-industrial

The bio-Industrial sector is mainly involved with the production of enzymes and energy generation using biomass and biofuel.

Prominent companies involved in this include

  1. Novozyme, Rossari Biotech and Zyrtec: Companies involved in the development and production of industrial enzymes.
  2. Hindustan Bioenergy, IKF Green Fuels and  Indian Oil Creda Biofuels: Companies engaged in the production of biofuels.

Initiatives to develop Biotech Sector in India

1. National Biotech Development Strategy

  • Aim: Develop India into Manufacturing Hub.
  • Primary Focus Areas (4): Food, Health, Clean Energy & Education 
  • Target: Develop a $100 billion biotechnology industry in India by 2025. 
  • Using startups and incubation centres, this will be achieved by converting scientific studies and technology into viable commercial products. 

2. National Biopharma Mission

  • Under the Mission, Industry and Academia will collaborate for the development of biopharmaceuticals.
  • It is assisted by World Bank to create an ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship in the biopharma sector.
  • The main focus of the mission includes:-
    1. Development of new vaccines and therapeutics.
    2. Bring centres of excellence in the educational sector together to strengthen current bio clusters.
    3. Attract FDI in the Biopharma sector.
    4. Deliver at last 6 to 10 new products in biopharma in next five years.

3. The North East States specific schemes

North East is the primary focus in Bio-Pharma sector, and there are special programs for North East like

  • Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission   
  • Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4): Under this program, large boats will be set up in the river with a well-equipped laboratory and cold storage facility to store samples.

4. Atal Jai Anusandhan Biotech Mission

  • Atal Jai Anusandhan Biotech Mission has started with the aim of transforming the health, agriculture and energy sectors in the next 5 years. 
  • It has four components
    1. GARBH-ini: To promote Maternal and Child Health  
    2. IndCEPI – To develop affordable vaccines and biofortified wheat to promote nutritional security.
    3. Mission on Anti-Microbial Resistance  
    4. Clean Energy Mission: To promote the invention of innovative technologies to promote Swachh Bharat. 

5. Foreign Direct Investment

  • 100% FDI is allowed for greenfield biotechnology projects. 
  • 74% FDI is allowed for brownfield biotechnology projects.

6. Other Steps

  • To financially support the biotech industry, the government has set up a venture capital fund.
  • Patents are essential for biotech companies. Indian Parliament has passed the Patents Act, which allows a 20-year patent term in line with the WTO and TRIPS provisions.
  • The government is going to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to make it more compatible with the international standards to attract Biotech companies in this sector.

Challenges faced by Biotechnology Sector

  • The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill to create a regulatory body for the Biotech sector is pending in the parliament since 2008. 
  • Issues with Intellectual Property Regime of India
    1. Stricter standards of patents and Intellectual Property in India acts as a hindrance to foreign investment.
    2. Provision of compulsory licensing in India act as a hindrance as well. 
  • Jobs offered in the Indian job market are lesser than the workforce supply available.  
  • Biotech Startups are not able to get early-stage funding.
  • India is fast losing to competition created by China and Korea due to regulatory and infrastructure challenges.
  • R&D activities are abysmally low in Indian biotechnology. Most of the industry is involved in the manufacture of outsourced products. R&D expenditure is also very low in India 
    • India = 0.67% of GDP
    • Japan and USA = 3% of GDP
    • China = 2% of GDP
  • Most of the development has happened in the BioPharma sector (drugs & vaccines) only (~55%), while other sub-sectors within Biotechnology have been neglected. 
  • IPR protection issues: Biotech (especially Biopharma) companies demand TRIPS+ protection & are worried about provisions like Compulsory provisioning.

GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee)

  • GEAC works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and was established under the provisions of GM Rules 1989 of the Environment Protection Act.  
  • GEAC is responsible for granting approvals to release genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment, including experimental field trials. It can also punish someone found guilty for environmental damage under Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Problem with present Process

  • Environment Ministry has a veto over the decisions of GEAC. In UPA Regime, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh vetoed BT Brinjal even after approval by GEAC.
  • Since Agriculture is a State Subject, States can refuse approval even after approval by the Environment Ministry.  
  • GM crop is an agricultural issue, but the Ministry of Environment is the nodal ministry. 

Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013

  • Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI)  will replace GEAC.  
  • It will consist of chairperson & 5 members who can be eminent scientists or government officials with experience in the field. 
  • It also established an Appellate Authority.  
  • The single body will be responsible for any use and clinical trials of Genetically Modified crops, vaccines, drugs etc.

Issues with Bill

  • The Bill says that the Tribunal will have jurisdiction over ‘substantial question regarding modern biotechnology’ but fails to explain the term. On the positive side, keeping the term undefined gives flexibility to the judiciary but increases the ambiguity.
  • Technical Members of the Tribunal can be eminent scientists or government officials. But the technical expertise of both isn’t the same.
  • The Bill doesn’t have the provision of financial liability in case of damage.

Biotechnology and its applications

Last Updated: June (Biotechnology and its applications)

Biotechnology and its applications

This article deals with ‘Biotechnology and its applications – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles on Science and technology, you can click here


What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is the use of biological organisms, processes or systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. 

Traditional biotechnology or kitchen technology is as old as human civilization. It involves using bacteria and other microbes daily to prepare dairy products like curd, ghee, cheese and food preparation like bread.

The present age is the age of Modern biotechnology. The main feature of this technology that differentiates it from conventional biotechnology is that it involves changing the genetic material for getting new products with specific traits.

Presently, biotechnology is a billion-dollar business worldwide, wherein pharmaceutical companies, breweries, agro-industries and other biotechnology-based industries apply biotechnological tools for their product improvement.

Branches of biotechnology, based on their applications, includes:-

Blue Applied to marine & aquatic applications of biotechnology.
Green Applied to agricultural processes like selection and domestication of plants via micropropagation. 
Red Applied to medical processes like designing an organism to produce antibiotics.
White Industrial biotechnology is using an organism in creating useful chemicals.

Timeline

6000 BC – 3000 BC Bread making and production of alcoholic beverages.
1770 Antoine Lavoisier explained the chemical process involved in alcoholic fermentation.
1798 Edward Jenner produced a viral vaccine against smallpox.
1876 Louis Pasteur explained microorganisms’ role in fermentation.
1919 Karl Ereky coined the term ‘biotechnology’.
1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.
1944 Avery–MacLeod–McCarty discovered that DNA is the genetic material.
1953 James Watson and Francis Crick discovered that DNA has a double-helical structure.
1973 Cohen and Boyer used Genetic Engineering / Recombinant DNA Technology.
1978 Human Insulin was produced. It was the first biopharma product.

Side Topic: DNA and RNA

DNA

  • DNADeoxyribose Nucleic Acid
  • It is found in the nucleus of all cells (prokaryotic and eukaryotic) along with some viruses.
  • DNA contains the genetic code. Hence, DNA is the hereditary material responsible for transferring traits from one generation to another.
  • It has a double-helical structure.

Structure of DNA

  • DNA is a polymer formed by the combination of millions of nucleotides (monomer). A nucleotide is composed of 3 components:-
    1. Sugar Molecule: Deoxyribose Sugar 
    2. Nitrogenous Base: They are of two types, i.e. (1) Purines (Adenine & Guanine) and (2) Pyrimidines (Cytosine & Thymine).
    3. Phosphate group.
  • Sugar and phosphate act as the backbone of DNA, while the nitrogenous base is placed at the centre and is linked by hydrogen bonds. The pairing always happens between purine and pyrimidine in a specific way 
    1. Adenine (A) links with Thymine (T)  
    2. Cytosine (C) links with Guanine (G)  
  • Each turn is 34 A° (3.4 nm) and consists of ten base pairs per turn.
Structure of DNA

RNA

  • As an exception, it acts as the transmission of inheritance in some viruses. 
  • It has a single-stranded structure.
  • It is also found in the Nucleus and is a polymer of nucleotide.
  • Nucleotides of RNA consist of Ribose sugar molecule to which is attached 
    • Phosphate group 
    • One of four nitrogenous bases:
      • Two purines (Adenine and Guanine)
      • Two pyrimidines (Cytosinevand Uracil).
  • Based on work, it is of three types
mRNA Messenger RNA RNA  which takes information from DNA to Ribosome
rRNA Ribosomal RNA Responsible for producing Ribosomes in the cell.
tRNA Transport RNA RNA which transports Amino Acid to Ribosomes in the cell

DNA vs RNA

  DNA RNA
Type of Sugar Deoxyribose Sugar Ribose Sugar
Nitrogenous Bases 4 i.e. Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thiamine 4 i.e. Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and  Uracil
Structure Double Helical Structure Single Stranded
Main Function Inheritance of characters Protein formation
Types It isn’t divided based on function It is of three types based on work

Applications of Biotechnology

1 . Medicine

1.1 Pharmacogenomics

  • The study of the impact of a person’s gene on response to the administered drugs is known as Pharmacogenomics. It involves pharmacology, i.e. the science of drugs and genomics, i.e. the study of functions of genes, to develop safe and tailored medications according to a person’s genetic makeup.

1.2 Regenerative Medicine/ Stem Cells Therapy

  • Stem cell therapy means using the stem cells or their derivatives to promote the reparative response of diseased or injured tissue.

1.3 Making Pharma Products

Biotechnology can be used to produce pharmaceutical products. E.g., Using genetically altered E. coli to produce synthetic Insulin. Previously, it was extracted from the pancreas of abattoir animals like cattle and pigs. But using this technique, a large quantity of pure Insulin can be produced at a fraction of the earlier cost.


1.4 Genetic testing

  • Genetic testing means the examination of DNA using the DNA Fingerprinting technique.
  • It scans the patient’s DNA for mutated sequences. 
DNA Fingerprinting

1.5 Gene Therapy

Gene Therapy is used to treat genetic & acquired diseases (like Cancer & AIDS) by using normal genes to supplement or replace defective genes or bolster normal functions like immunity.

Gene therapy

1.6 Monoclonal Antibodies

  • The immune system of organisms creates Antibodies to fight against infections. Monoclonal antibodies are cloned artificially inside the lab from the antibodies produced inside our body in response to a particular infection. Thus, they mimic the natural antibodies.
  • Monoclonal Antibodies can treat diseases, which can be treated using an antibody. 
  • One can receive the antibodies either from the recovered patient or artificially infect the lab animal such as a mouse. These antibodies are then mixed with the cancer cell, known as Hybridoma, for rapid division and making similar antibodies in a short time. These antibodies when introduced in the body of an infected person, makes him capable of fighting the disease.  
  • Such therapies are expensive because of difficulty in extracting and cloning the antibodies. Along with that, it is a time consuming task.
  • E.g. : 
    1. Trastuzumab for Breast cancer.
    2. REGEN-COV2 (cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies (Casirivimab and Imdevimab)) against Covid.
Monoclonal Antibodies

1.7 Recombinant Vaccines

  • Recombinant Vaccines are affordable vaccines for a variety of diseases like Rotavac for Diarrhea and Typbar-TCV for Typhoid.
  • These vaccines are of uniform quality with lesser side effects compared to conventional vaccines.

1.8 Recombinant Testing Kits

  • ELISA [Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay]: It is a technique to detect the presence or absence of a particular antigen or antibody in the body. Hence, it is used to determine whether a person is infected with a specific disease (like HIV) or not. 
  • RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction): This technique synthesizes millions of identical copies of DNA of interest and identifies the presence of a pathogen’s DNA. It is used to diagnose TB, genetic diseases and Covid-19.

1.9 Biopharming

  • Biopharming is the production and use of genetically engineered transgenic plants to produce pharmaceutical substances for human beings. 
  • These are different from naturally available medicinal plants.
  • Examples of Biopharming include 
    1. Golden rice (to produce Vitamin A)
    2. Transgenic sheep producing human α-1-antitrypsin in their milk (whose deficiency cause Emphysema in humans).
    3. Tobacco can be genetically modified to produce therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines.

1.10 Other Medical Uses

  • Cyclosporin A produced by a fungus named Trichoderma polysporum is used as an immunosuppressant in organ transplantation.
  • Statins used to lower blood cholesterol is produced by yeast Monascus purpureus. 

2 . Agriculture

  • Biotechnology can increase crop yield by the production of Hybrid and Genetically Modified Varieties of the crop. 
  • Biotechnology can also be used to reduce the dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals. E.g., the introduction of the Bt gene in the DNA of seeds can be used to produce a protein with insecticidal properties in the crops (BT Cotton, BT Brinjal etc., are based on this).
  • Biotechnology can also be used to reduce the vulnerability of crops to environmental stresses. Eg 
    1. At-DBF2 (Gene): This gene is extracted from a plant named Arabidopsis Thaliana. When inserted into tobacco & tomato cells, this gene makes them more resistant to stresses like salt, drought, cold, etc. 
    2. Samba Mahsuri: It is a hybrid variety of RiceIt has resistance to Blight and is rich in protein.
    3. Vivek 9: It is a hybrid variety of Maize. It is rich in protein and can be grown in hilly areas. 
  • Biotechnology can be used to improve the taste, texture or appearance of the food. It can also slow down the spoilage process so that fruit can ripen longer on the plant & then be transported to the consumer with a reasonable shelf life.
  • Biotechnology can be used to produce ‘Bio-fortified crops’ with a higher quantity of vitamins and micronutrients to fight malnutrition. E.g., Golden Rice contains the beta carotene gene, which helps in the synthesis of vitamin A.

Side Topic: Fortification of food vs Biofortification of food

Fortification

  • Food Fortification means deliberately adding micronutrients like iron, vitamins, zinc, iodine etc., in food.
  • Salt iodization started in Switzerland in the 1920s and was then adopted by the world is the first example of food fortification.
  • In 2017, FSSAI released standards and a logo (+F logo)  for all fortified packaged food.
  • In the Independence Day speech of 2021, PM Modi announced that fortified rice (fortified with iron, vitamins, zinc etc.) will be provided under government schemes like PDS and mid-day meals. This will help in addressing the challenge of malnutrition in India.

Biofortification

  • Biofortification is the process of use of agronomist practices or modern biotechnology to improve nutritional quality of food crops.
  • The aim is to increase nutrients in natural crop rather than manual addition during food processing.

3. Bioremediation and Biodegradation

  • Bioremediation or Biodegradation is the use of natural or genetically modified microbes to degrade pollutants (pesticide or hydrocarbons) in the presence of oxygen. 
  • Examples include Pseudomonas putida (a GM organism that is used to clean oil spills and patented by Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty).
Bioremediation
  • Another microbe, Ideonella Sakaiensis is currently tried for recycling of PET plastics
Bioremediation and Biodegradation
  • Genetically Engineered Microbes like  Pseudomonas sp., Flavobacterium, Azetobacter etc. can degrade different pesticides

1.4 Animal Husbandry

  • Transgenic Animals: Earlier, selective breeding was used to improve the characteristics of livestock. But with the advancements in biotechnology, it is possible to introduce extra (foreign/exogenous) DNA into the gene to get the desired traits in animals (like increased milk or presence of certain nutrients in the milk of animals etc.)
Transgenic Animals
  • Cloning  allows for genetic replication of selected animals.  Cloning can also be used for conservation of endangered species.

5. Industrial Applications 

  • Biotechnology can be used to develop efficient techniques to reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes
  • E.g., By using Biocatalysts, the same chemical can be produced more economically & more environment friendly   


6. Biofuels

Biofuels are fuels derived from living organisms (plants, animals or microbes). The two most common bio-fuels are 

  • Bio-ethanol obtained from fermentation of sugars.
  • Bio-diesel obtained from trans-esterification of oil of plants like jatropha

Side Topic: Biogas 

  • Biogas is a mixture of various gases (primarily methane (63%) and carbon dioxide and hydrogen). It is obtained by the breakdown of organic matter (like cow dung or plant waste) in the absence of oxygen.  
  • Methane producing bacteria called Methanobacterium is used in this process. 
  • Biogas is devoid of smell and burns with a blue flame without smoke.
  • The excreta of cattle (dung) is called “Gobar”. Gobar gas is the special type of biogas formed by anaerobic decomposition of (only) cattle dung.
Biotechnology and its applications

7. Sewage Treatment

  • Due to the presence of organic matter and microbes in the Sewage, it shouldn’t be directly dumped into water bodies without treating in the Sewage Treatment Plants. 
  • In the Sewage Treatment Plants, Microbes (mass of bacteria floc) are allowed to grow in aerated water. They consume a major part of organic matter in the effluent and reduce the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the wastewater
Sewage Treatment

8. Others

  • Bioplastics: Biotechnology can be used to make biodegradable plastics or bioplastics that can be broken by microorganisms (unlike normal plastic).
  • Xenotransplantation: It is the process of transplanting animal organs into humans to keep them alive. It was first tried in the 1980s when a baboon’s heart was transplanted into a baby in the US, but the baby died within a month as her body rejected the heart. Recently (in 2022), a pig’s heart was transplanted into a man. The pig was genetically engineered, so that the immune system of human fails to recognize that the heart is from some other species.
  • Food and beverage industry: Microbes, especially yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is used in the production of beverages like wine since time immemorial. 
  • Restoring the artefacts: Bacterias such as Desulfovibrio Vulgaris and P. Stutzeri, having bio cleaning properties, have been used in restoring artefacts by cleaning paintings, caves, chapels etc.
  • Blood Substitute: Biotechnologists are trying to synthesize artificial blood. This can bridge the gap between the need for blood for transfusion and available blood during accidents and disease outbreaks.
  • DNA Forensics: 
    • It involves the identification of possible suspects whose DNA may match proof remained at crime scenes
    • Acquitting those persons who are falsely accused of crimes. 

BIMSTEC and India

BIMSTEC and India

This article deals with ‘BIMSTEC and India Relations – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


About BIMSTEC

Members

  1. Bangladesh
  2. India 
  3. Bhutan
  4. Nepal
  5. Myanmar
  6. Sri Lanka 
  7. Thailand

(important missing countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore (MIS))


Secretariat

  • Dhaka

Type

BIMSTEC is a sector-driven cooperative organization. 

  • Initially started with six sectors— trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries. 
  • In 2008, it expanded to embrace eight more sectors— agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-person contact, and climate change.

Important Statistic

  • BIMSTEC consists of 20% of the world’s population.
  • BIMSTEC countries have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) close to $2.7 trillion. 
BIMSTEC and India


Timeline

1997 BIST-EC, i.e. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation, was formed headquartered in Dhaka.  
2004 Nepal and Bhutan joined.
BIST-EC was renamed to BIMSTEC .  
BIMSTEC = Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.  
2004 Talks on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) started between BIMSTEC nations.   
2008 2nd BIMSTEC Summit held in Delhi.  
2014 3rd BIMSTEC Summit in Nay Pyi Taw (Capital of Myanmar).  
2016 BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit held on side-lines of 2016 BRICS Summit in Goa => India started to promote BIMSTEC instead of SAARC.  
2018 4th BIMSTEC Meet held in Nepal.  
2019 BIMSTEC leaders were invited to Prime Minister’s swearing-in ceremony (in 2014, SAARC leaders were invited ). Therefore, it can be seen as a change in policy.  
2020 5th summit was proposed to be held in September 2020 in Sri Lanka, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
2022BIMSTEC charter was finalized. Charter presents BIMSTEC as “an inter-governmental organization” with “legal personality.”

Why BIMSTEC is important for India?

Alternate to SAARC

  • Due to Pakistan’s hostility, SAARC is not able to achieve anything substantial. In such a situation, BIMSTEC presents a viable alternative to SAARC. 

Strategic Importance

  • BIMSTEC can act as a platform to counter assert China in South and Southeast Asia, where it has undertaken investments through the Belt and Road initiative.  
  • It is in line with India’s policies, namely 
    1. Neighbourhood First Policy 
    2. Act East Policy


Economic Benefits

  • Being a party to the BIMSTEC, India can utilize the FTA agreement once signed.
  • BIMSTEC can provide a big market to Indian companies (as 20% of the world population lives in the BIMSTEC area).
  • BIMSTEC has great tourism potential. The Bay of Bengal could rival the Caribbean as a high-end tourist destination. Buddhist heritage sites for religious tourism can help in this regard too.
  • BIMSTEC FTA & BIMSTEC Motor Vehicles Agreement are on the cards, which, when signed, will bolster trade.
  • The Bay of Bengal is also rich in untapped natural resources, with reserves of gas and other seabed minerals, oil, and fishing stocks.
  • Better connectivity with BIMSTEC countries opens up opportunities for Indian coastal states and North-East states to unlock the potential for development in the region. 

Benefit North-East

  • The trade between BIMSTEC has the potential to benefit North-East as well. Energizing it would also accelerate India’s Act East policy. Various projects already running will help in this 
    • India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.
    • India-Myanmar Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project.

Challenges

  • India, the largest member of the grouping, has been criticized for not providing strong leadership to BIMSTEC. 
  • Both Thailand and Myanmar are criticized for ignoring BIMSTEC in favour of ASEAN. 
  • It took more than 15 years to set up Secretariat for BIMSTEC, which was set up in 2014 in Dhaka.
  • Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are not included, which are an essential part of the Bay of Bengal littoral.
  • Issues of refugee and ethnic tension among BIMSTEC member countries would challenge the grouping. For example. The Rohingya Refugee crisis has impacted the relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
  • So far, BIMSTEC has held only 4 summit meetings.  

BIMSTEC, though valuable, is no substitute as this leaves out our troublesome western periphery.


Revival of BIMSTEC (& death of SAARC) 

SAARC vs BIMSTEC

Why the change in policy?

  • The stagnation of SAARC is crucial for India to reach out to BIMSTEC as the stagnation limited the scope of India’s growing economic aspirations. 

Why does SAARC remain relevant?

  • SAARC, as an organization, reflects the South Asian identity of the countries. BIMSTEC, despite its achievements, is not tied with such an identity. 
  • South Asian countries are closely tied in their socio-political state as they face similar threats and challenges like terrorism, similar economic challenges, disasters etc. 
  • Although BIMSTEC offers a lot of potential, it has remained as ineffective as SAARC. The relatively rich /powerful countries are India and Thailand. If they take the lead, others will follow. But in recent times, Thailand has been caught up in internal coups & India too has remained passive. 

Commonwealth and India

Commonwealth and India

This article deals with ‘Commonwealth and India Relations – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


About

Members

Association of nations that were colonies of England previously.
Total Members: 54 nations  
Newest Entry: Rwanda 
Secretariat London
Head

King Charles III
It was announced at CHOGM (2018) that Prince Charles would ‘succeed’ Queen Elizabeth as the head of the Commonwealth.  
Secretary-General Present: Patricia Scotland (2018-)
Commonwealth and India

Requirement

  • Almost all the members are former colonies of England. 
  • Member nation has to be a democracy and follow the rule of law.
  • Those member nations where democracy is side-lined on military coups etc., are suspended from Commonwealth.


Why did India join?

  • Membership of the Commonwealth helped India to improve her economic ties with other nations and seek aid from England.
  • Membership also provided India with an additional channel to conduct her foreign relations.
  • As a Commonwealth member, India can promote the interests of people of Indian origin living in various Commonwealth Nations.


Indian role in Commonwealth 

  • India has fought against racism in South Africa, Zimbabwe etc.
  • India has influenced other members of the Commonwealth to protect the interests of people of Indian origin.
  • During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Commonwealth countries extended moral support and assistance to India.


CHOGM

  • CHOGM or Commonwealth Head of Governments Meet is the meeting of Heads of Governments of Commonwealth nations.
  • The first CHOGM was held in Singapore in 1971.
  • Latest: 25th CHOGM was held in London (April 2018) 
  • Theme: “Towards a Common Future“.


Relevance of Commonwealth  in today’s world

  • Commonwealth has gradually moved away from political issues to social and economic issues to make itself relevant again. It played an important role in ending apartheid and colonialism in the Cold War period. 
  • Because of its composition (54 nations), if the Commonwealth can agree on something important, it is already a prototype of a global idea.  
  • Commonwealth makes it incumbent on member states to hold free, fair and credible elections. 
  • Commonwealth gets a lot of credit for helping end military rule in Pakistan in 2007, and it played a pivotal role in championing the boycott of Apartheid in South Africa.
  • It would be wrong to caricature the Commonwealth as a relic, given that countries with no historical connection with the “British Empire” (Mozambique and Rwanda) have decided to join. These countries can see the value of a global voluntary association of equal member states cooperating to pursue commonly held goals.
  • The Commonwealth provides an international platform for small states in particular. Of 54 member states, 32 are classified as small states. In many other global arenas, these voices are often not heard. 
  • Commonwealth Games held once every four years is a popular event and is looked forward by all the world.
  • After BREXIT, the role of the Commonwealth has increased. The leaders of Great Britain want to leverage Commonwealth as an alternate platform after their exit from the EU. 
  • In CHOGM 2018, there were substantive statements on the Blue Charter on Ocean Governance and on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment, which could together counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative. 


Problems faced by Commonwealth

  • Commonwealth is a relic of old times and a tool of the UK to maintain her fast losing position as super-power.
  • The grouping has no political or economic power. Considering its declining importance, former PM Manmohan Singh skipped two CHOGM meets, and Narendra Modi didn’t attend the last one.

Revenue Systems of British Raj

Revenue Systems of British Raj

This article deals with ‘ Revenue Systems of British Raj – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

 

 

Changes in Revenue system during British Empire

  • Pre Colonial Indian society was a feudal society & in its place was established semi-feudal & semi-colonial structure
  • Old feudal structure was mostly dismantled
  • Land now become a commodity ie it became alienable private property & peasant’s occupancy right of land was totally abolished
  • Extraction of maximum surplus from the peasant’s produce became the basis of early system of colonial plunder
  • Indian economy & agriculture was converted into a raw material supply appendage to metropolitan Britain

 

Three important land revenue settlements were introduced in three different regions

Permanent Settlement Bengal , Bihar & Orissa By Cornwallis
Ryotwari Settlement Bombay & Madras Presidency By Munro & Elphinstone
Mahalwari Settlement North + North West + Parts of Central India By Mackenzie

These systems differed only in nomenclature but aim was same – plunder of India & maximisation of revenue

 

Main Characteristics of these Systems

  • British land revenue settlement  introduced in India the notion of private property in land. Such kind of land- proprietorship meant that its holders were granted ownership rights. Although, in the pre-colonial times, a massive and pyramidal structure of leasing and sub- leasing of revenue functioned and cultivators also enjoyed certain rights in land according to local customs, yet, there were no well-defined proprietary rights. The British invested such rights in certain groups in accordance with the local conditions. Thus they favoured certain groups of landed magnates who were integrated into the colonial agrarian structure & such groups were to become the powerful allies of the British.

 

  • Overassessment of revenue and inflexible method of collection :  attempt to maximise the land-revenue demand. Revenue demands were fixed in cash rather than on a proportion of produce, or kind and  assessments were generally exorbitant.

 

  • Impetus to Money lending and usury : As a result of exorbitant land-revenue demands, peasants borrowed money from rural creditors and grain dealers in order to avoid defaults. Sale and auction of land tended to increase as cultivators usually borrowed money on the security of their newly acquired proprietary rights in land. This created agrarian tensions.

 

  • Commercialization of Agriculture

During Dual Government in Bengal

  • 1765 :  Under Treaty of Allahabad , East India Company got Diwani Rights of Bengal, Bihar & Orissa from Mughal Emperor
  • But Clive & his successors continued old system of revenue collection i.e. through intermediaries or zamindars in which revenue official after deducting 10% of revenue  deposited remaining in treasury . Collected amount increased from 81 lakh in 1764 to 2.3 crore in 1771
  • East India Company’s administration wasn’t concerned with how revenue would be collected & what impact it will have on common people. They increased their demand every year , collectors in turn demanded more from peasants
  • Peasants were the main sufferers & many of them left land

 

Ijaredari System

  • Farming System : Warren Hastings in 1772  introduced the farming system by which agriculture estates were auctioned out to highest bidder for leases not extending beyond 5 years
  • Obviously, such contractors (they were called ‘farmers’ in those days), would try and extort as much as possible during the period that they held the contract; it would not matter to them if people were ruined &  production in the later years declined.
  • As there was no permanence of tenure, the farmers took no binding interest in the development of land & it proved disastrous
  • Colonial officials began to feel that a sound administration must have security as its basis & nothing but a Permanent Settlement could ensure that
  • Appointed Amini Commission(first commission in British India) in 1776 to enquire real value of land which submitted report in 1778

 

Permanent Settlement

Introduction

  • Cornwallis realised that the existing system was impoverishing the country, ruining agriculture and was not producing the large and regular surplus that the Company hoped for. Company’s trade also suffered, because of the difficulty in procuring Indian goods for export to Europe. Production of silk or cotton, two of the Company’s major export items, was mainly agro-based
  • Was introduced by Lord Cornwallis but it was not his brainchild . Even before  Cornwallis, number of  officials were advocating for tax being permanently fixed eg Alexander Dow in his book History of Hindostan & Pitts India Act of 1784 also laid down directions for Permanent Settlement of land revenue
  • Introduced by Cornwallis as decennial (10 years) settlement & made permanent in 1793
  • Introduced in Bihar, Bengal , Orissa & some parts of Varanasi & some parts of Madras

 

 

 

Move towards Zamindari System

  • Lord Cornwallis came to India as Governor General in 1786 & land revenue has created many problems . Different English officials were expressing different opinions
  • There were two schools
James Grant State was the owner of land & Zamindar was just rent collecting agent . Zamindars have no permanent rights whether as proprietor of soil or as official who collected revenue
John Shore Proprietary rights belonged to Zamindars & state was entitled only to demand customary revenue from them

 

Cornwallis , who himself was English landlord accepted the version of John Shore

 

Cornwallis also got Instructions from Court of Directors which said that after assessing the records for past years , a settlement should be made with zamindars for some years that could be made permanent in future. Hence, Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement   in 1793

 

 

 

Main motives behind Permanent Settlement

  • Security of revenue
  • Creating politically reliable landed elite to act  as pillar of colonial rule
  • Since it was Permanent Settlement and state would not increase its demand if land under cultivation increased =>  these Zamindars would invest in land to bring more land under cultivation to increase their income.
  • To solve bullion issue (Indian revenue would be used for trade instead of bullion from Britain)
  • Failure of farming system
  • Capital formation: capital would flow from rural to urban areas(which would increase trade )  & agriculture development
  • Physiocratic school of thinking that assigned primacy to agriculture in a country’s economy

 

 

From minutes of Cornwallis

  • The improving landlords would bring the waste lands under cultivation , improve their tenure by better system of embankment & drainage & encourage scientific farming

 

 

 

 

Main Features

  • Zamindars had several (sometimes as many as 400) villages under them. In Company calculations, the villages within one zamindari formed one revenue estate. The Company fixed the total demand over the entire estate whose revenue the zamindar contracted to pay. The zamindar collected rent from the different villages, paid the revenue to the Company, and retained the difference as his income.
  • Zamindars were made landowners & proprietary  rights were given to them . They were not only to act as agents of government collecting revenue but also became owners of land
  • Ownership of land was hereditary & transferrable
  • Cultivators were reduced to level of mere tenants & use of pasture lands , irrigation lands , fisheries etc were all given to zamindar . Main motive –  zamindars might pay land revenue on time
  • Zamindar were expected to improve condition of tenants & agriculture
  • State kept no direct contact with peasants
  • Zamindars were made proprietors of land & they have to pay give 10/11 of the assessed rental to the colonial state and keep 1/11th of the rental for themselves.
  • In case of excess rental due to extension of farming or greater extraction, zamindar could keep entire increased amount
  • In 1794, Sales Law/ Sunset Law was introduced under which Zamindari rights would be auctioned in event of failure to pay revenue
  • Regulation of 1799 & 1812 – Zamindar was given right to seize property of tenant in case of non payment of rent (the permanent assessment was the largest sum that could be got from the land. It was a heavy and oppressive assessment.  Such oppressive taxes could only be collected by oppressive methods. If the zamindars were not allowed to oppress the peasants then they would not be able to meet the demands of the State)
  • Initial fixation of revenue was made arbitrarily & without consultation with zamindars . Attempt was to secure maximum amount as a result rates of revenue were fixed very high

 

 

 

Impacts

  • Initially, Zamindars were to give 10/11 of the assessed rental to the colonial state and keep 1/11th of the rental for themselves. However, the sums to be paid by them as land-revenue were fixed in perpetuity. If the rental of a Zamindar’s estate increased due to the expansion of cultivable area or rise in agricultural productivity or simply due to his capacity to extract more from the tenants, he was entitled to keep the entire amount of the increase. This would constitute loss to income of East India Company / State
  • As a result of this settlement, most of the tenants including the pre-existing Khud-khast tenants enjoying occupancy rights in their lands were reduced to the status of mere tenants-at-will of the Zamindars who could easily evict them and enhance their rents.
  • No margin was left for shortfalls due to flood, drought or other calamity. As a result, many zamindars had their zamindaris taken away and sold in the decades immediately after the Permanent Settlement. In Bengal alone, it is estimated that 68 per cent of the zamindari land was sold between 1794 and 1819.
  • Village based zamindars were replaced by rich people from Calcutta who went on buying spree of agricultural estates of old zamindars who fell prey to Sunset Law
  • There is a view that this is the reason why Bengali people didn’t invest in industry because they found investing in land more profitable
  • Process of Sub-infeudation started – Finding it difficult to pay amount, Raja of Burdwan(others followed too)   divided most of his estate into ‘lots’  called Patni Taluqs. Each such unit was permanently rented to a holder called a Patnidar, who promised to pay a fixed rent. If he did not pay, his Patni could be taken away and sold.

 

 

 

Merits

  • Secured fixed & stable income for the state
  • Expenses of frequent assessment of lands were saved
  • Made a class of Indians who were loyal to British empire & their existence depended on continuance of British empire
  • Before settlement East India Company was required to maintain big establishment of collectors which weren’t required now
  • Judicial services improved because Permanent Settlement set free ablest servants of Company for judicial services
  • Value of land increased because zamindars devoted their attention towards improvement of soil & many wasteland & forests were converted into cultivable land
  • Britishers envisaged that it would be helpful in spreading education as zamindars would act as natural leaders & show public spirit in spreading education & charitable work

 

 

 

Demerits

  • Permanent Settlement was  a great blunder & it affected adversely the interests of East India Company , zamindars & worst of all that of Peasants
  • System overlooked interests of peasants
        • They were not owners of land
        • Could be expelled from land
        • Couldn’t appeal anyone against rise in taxes
        • Rights over pastures ,forests & canals were abolished as well
        • In 1799 : Zamindars were given right to court & zamindar could also take away their property even if peasant was not able to pay tax due to calamity

 

  • Created feudalism at top & serfdom at bottom
  • No improvement in agriculture happened . Most of the landowners didn’t take any interest in improvement of land but were merely interested in maximum possible extraction of the rent.
  • Politically although class loyal to them was created but East India Company alienated masses to gain loyalty of few
  • Disadvantageous for Company as although Company’s expenses were increasing, revenue remained same & they lost contact with peasants

 

 

 

Ryotwari System

Reasons for introduction of Ryotwari System

Lord Cornwallis wanted to extend Permanent Settlement to other areas & Wellesley shared same idea & gave orders for extension to Madras presidency but there were problems

  • There wasn’t sizeable Zamindar class in Madras as in Bengal . Still between 1801 to 1807 Permanent Settlement was introduced by recognising Poligars as local zamindars & where poligars were not found , villages were aggregated into estates & sold to highest bidder
  • Scottish enlightenment – They insisted on primacy of agriculture & celebrated importance of farmers within agricultural societies . Thomas Munro & Elphinstone were Scots
  • Nature of Permanency in Permanent Settlement : After 1810, agricultural prices rose, increasing the value of harvest produce, and enlarging the income of the Bengal zamindars. Since the revenue demand was fixed under the Permanent Settlement, the colonial state could not claim any share of this enhanced income. Keen on expanding its financial resources, the colonial government had to think of ways to maximise its land revenue. So in territories annexed in the nineteenth century, temporary revenue settlements were made.
  • David Ricardo’s theory began to influence .  It says that – Rent was surplus from land ie Income – (minus) cost of production – (minus) labour & state has legitimate claim over that at expense of unproductive intermediaries . This  argument was used to eliminate zamindars
  • Most important cause was Financial pressure due to wars   – financial crisis of Madras Presidency worsened by rising expenses of wars .

 

 

 

 

Experiments in Ryotwari Settlement

  • Started by Alexander Reed in Baramahal in 1792 & continued by Thomas Munro from 1801. But after 1807, System was almost abandoned with departure of Munro back home.

 

  • 1820 : Munro returned &   he argued
        • Ryotwari was ancient land tenure system & best suited to Indian conditions
        • Security & administration of empire need elimination of overmighty poligars & zamindars
        • Historically land in India was owned by state which collected revenue from individual peasants through hierarchy of officials . When military power of state declined , these poligars appropriated land & usurped sovereignty . Hence, there is need to reverse it now

 

  • Its adoption was due  to one main reason – it resulted in a larger revenue than any other system could have produced. This was because there were no zamindars or other intermediaries who received any part of the agricultural surplus – whatever could be squeezed from the cultivator went directly to the State. The Madras government was chronically short of funds, and such a system would naturally appeal to it.

 

  • In Bombay : Introduced by Elphinstone in 1819 after defeat of Marathas . There was no large Zamindars here too

 

  • Instead of collecting from the zamindars, they began to collect directly from the villages, fixing the amount that each village had to pay. After this they proceeded to assess each cultivator or ryot separately – and thus evolved what came to be known as the ‘Ryotwari’ system.

 

 

 

Main features of Ryotwari Settlement

  • Revenue was assessed for each cultivator or ryot separately
  • It created individual property right in the land & it was vested in peasants rather than in zamindars .
  • It was a temporary settlement & was to be revised periodically (20 years )

 

Rate

Madras
Unirrigated Dry Land 50% of Gross Produce
Irrigated Wet Land 2/3rd of Gross Produce
Bombay
  • Land revenue was not assessed as in the case of Madras on basis of gross agriculture produce 
  • Fertility of land & market price of agricultural produces were given priority in assessing land revenue upon ryots

 

But in order to be attractive & equitable , it required detailed land survey, quality of land , area of the land, average produce of every piece of land had to be assessed but in practice these estimates were often guessworks & hence revenue demand often was very high .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impact in Madras

  • Peasants soon discovered that large number of zamindars were replaced by one giant zamindar ie Colonial state
  • Raised revenue income of government but put cultivators in great distress . In many areas no survey was carried out & tax of a ryot was assessed on an arbitrary basis based on village accounts
  • Revenue to be  paid by ryot was fixed on entire farm & not on each field which might have varying irrigation facilities & hence different levels of productivity
  • Contrary to Munro’s insistence that cultivator would be given freedom to take as much or as little land as he choose , this provision was dropped in 1833 . Government  officers began to compel the cultivators to hold on to (and of course, pay for) land that they did not really want to cultivate. Since cultivation was not voluntary, it was always difficult to collect the revenue, and so the use of beating and torture to enforce payment was also widespread. These methods were exposed by the Madras Torture Commission in 1854. After this certain reforms were introduced. A scientific survey of the land was undertaken, the real burden of tax declined, and there was no need to use violent and coercive methods to collect revenue.
  • Even  Ryotwari system didn’t eliminate village elites as intermediaries between government & peasantry . Privileged rents & rights of the Mirasidars were recognised & Mirasidars were pivotal to  British ideal of sedentary agricultural community .

 

 

 

Impact of Ryotwari System in Bombay

Impact of Ryotwari in Bombay is subject of major controversy as it give rise to rural uprising in Bombay Deccan in 1875 aka Deccan Riots , in which marwaris & banias were attacked because of alienation of peasant’s land.

 

Historians differ on the impact of Ryotwari

Neil Charlesworth
  • It  reduced village Patil to ordinary peasant & a paid employee of government reducing his power . In other regions eg Gujarat where superior rights of Bhagdars & Narwadars were respected , there was stability.
  • Hence,   power vacuum was created

 

Ian Cataunch
  • Dispossession of land did occur but that didn’t necessarily cause Deccan riots

 

Ravinder Kumar

 

  • Significant social upheaval was being caused by Ryotwari system which undermined the authority of village headman & thus causd a status revolution or redistribution of social power in the villages of Maharashtra”  & ultimately propelled into Deccan riots .
  • Kumar further argue that there were combination of factors such as
      • the dislocation of the economy by the American Civil War,
      • an ill-conceived revision of land tax,
      • agitation initiated by the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
      • And finally the longstanding hostilities between the Kunbi peasants  and money­ lenders.

Mahalwari  System

  • Introduced in 1822
  • Introduced in parts of Central India, Punjab & parts of UP
  • First serious attempt towards this by MACKENZIE (Secretary to govt in territorial department)
  • It was a modified version of the Permanent Settlement
  • The new regulation permitted the government officials to form settlement with all co-sharers in mahals or estates jointly owned by the village communities
  • Total revenue thus fixed was to be shared by the members of co-sharing body
  • In this , revenue was to be collected through Pradhan or village headman or Lumbardar (influential landowners) .In the records the word used for a fiscal unit was a ‘mahal’, and the village wise assessment therefore came to be called a mahalwari settlement.
  • Joint proprietary rights in land were vested in the village communities .
  • There was problem of over assessment in this system too so that maximum share can be extracted from peasants
  • Was not permanent & was revised periodically but peasants were made to go through same kind of oppression

 

UNSC Reforms

UNSC Reforms

This article deals with ‘UNSC Reforms – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

 

UN  reform  is  a  long  drawn  process  which  encompasses  five  key  issues:

  1. Categories  of  membership
  2. Question of  the veto  held  by  the  five  Permanent  Members
  3. Regional  representation
  4. Size  of  an  enlarged  Council  and  its working  methods
  5. Security  Council-General  Assembly  relationship. 

Inclusion  of  new  members  is  part  of this reform  process.

 

Any  reform  of the  Security  Council would  require

        • Agreement of at  least  2/3 of  UN member  states
        • Agreement of  all the  Permanent  Members of  the UNSC  enjoying  the  veto  right.

 

 

Why UNSC Reforms are needed?

  • UNSC represents  post WWII realities . After 7 decades, the realities of world dynamics have changed a lot

 

  • In economic sphere , bodies like NDB , AIIB etc came up as Bretton Woods organisations (WB & IMF)   representing post WWII realities failed to accommodate legitimate interests of new economic powers eg India, Brazil, China etc.  If similar thing happened in case of UN , that will be detrimental to world peace. 

 

  • UNSC isn’t  representative enough
        • No permanent member from Africa despite 75% of UN work focusses on Africa
        • No islamic nation

 

  • Not responsive to new issues that are emerging like terrorism & climate change .

 

  • Also parties are going to alternate forums or try to adjust other powers than P5 to reach at consensus. Eg to deal with Iran P5+1 platform was made

 

  • It has failed to tackle the recent crisis of Syria, Gaza and Ukraine. Need to make it efficient, effective, and credible and a legitimate body.

 

  • Numbers of members since formation of UN has increased from 51 to 193 but that is not reflected in UNSC .

 

Various Proposals for UNSC Reforms

G-4
  • Economically strong states along with one from Africa should get permanent seats
  • This proposal has support of many nations

Dealt in detail below.

 

African Union
  • Increasing the number of both permanent & non-permanent members where 2 permanent & 5 non-permanent members from Africa should be included

 

United for Consensus (UfC)
  • Aka Coffee Club
  • Mainly created to counter the proposals of G-4 .
  • 40 members like Italy (against Germany) , Pakistan (against India), Columbia(against Brazil) , S Korea (Japan) , Nigeria & Egypt (against SA)  etc
  • They propose
        • Enhancement of non permanent members to be increased from 10 to 20 members.
        • Later they proposed idea of regional representation rather than national representation. This has benefit of giving representation to bigger body (but not all the regions have strong regional organisations eg Asia .

 

Other suggestions

  • Member states that have demonstrated credibility and capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of the principal UN organ should have a presence in form of “semi-permanent” seats with term of  six-eight years 

 

  • Veto Reforms:  There shouldn’t be any Veto power.

 

Variants of the veto provision have been suggested, such as the requirement of double veto, i.e. at least two permanent members must exercise veto for it to be valid.

G4 and its issues

  • Comprises of  Brazil, Germany, India & Japan . These 4 countries support each other’s bids for permanent seats on UNSC
  • The G4’s primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council.

 

Claims of different nations of G4

Germany
  • 3rd largest contributor to UN funding
  • Several times elected to Security Council
  • Biggest economy in Europe
  • UK & France support Germany’s claim
  • But Italy & Spain which are part of UfC oppose Germany
Brazil
  • Largest country in Latin America in terms of population, territory & economy
  • It has been elected to Security Council many times
  • 10th largest contributor to UN funding
  • UK, Russia & France support
  • But Mexico & Argentina oppose due to regional dynamics
Japan
  • 2nd largest contributor to UN budget
  • One of the largest contributor to Official Development Assistance
  • Many times elected to Security Council
  • US, UK , France & Russia supports
  • China (having veto) opposed to it

India & Permanent  Membership ?

India’s Claim

  • Biggest  democracy  in the  world  &  represent 1/6th of humanity
  • Second-largest and one of the largest constant contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping
  • It   frequently  serves  as  a  non-permanent  (rotational)  member (7 times till now )
  • It  has  the support  of  some  major  players  (France,  Russia,  United  Kingdom,  and  United  States )
  • It is also the world’s7th largest economy by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity.
  • India maintains the world’s third largest active armed force and is a nuclear weapon state but at the same time known for her peaceful credentials
  • It  is  part  of  an  otherwise  underrepresented  region,  with  large  unrepresented  religions  (Hinduism  and Islam).

 

Impediments

  • Would be very difficult to make P5 members to share their power with others . They would like to maintain status quo .
  • Very difficult to garner support of 2/3rd members
  • United for Consensus bitterly oppose these reforms
  • India’s position on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its border “disputes” with Pakistan and China
  • Asia already has representation in form of China but Africa is not represented by any nation. Along with that G-4 has two Asian nations which if accepted will take Asian number to 3 .

 

 

Latest Development : India is in favour of expansion of Permanent Members without Veto Powers since Permanent Members don’t want to share Veto Power with any other power

 

 

SAARC and India

SAARC and India

This article deals with ‘SAARC and India Relations- UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


About South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Members

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Bangladesh
  3. Bhutan
  4. India
  5. Maldives
  6. Nepal
  7. Pakistan
  8. Sri Lanka
SAARC and India

Headquarter

  • Kathmandu, Nepal

Last Summit

  • Held in Kathmandu (Nepal)  in 2014

Secretary General

  • Arun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal

Objectives

  • Promote welfare economics.
  • Collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia.
  • Accelerate socio-cultural development in the region.

Type of Organization

  • Decisions are taken by consensus
  • The organization reflects the South Asian identity of the countries based on shared history, language, religion, cuisines, etc.

Important Statistics

  • SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 4% of the global economy.
  • 35% of the global youth resides in the SAARC region
  • South Asian nations also make an integrated “condominium” of common rivers, a mountain system, an ocean and a conjoint ecological system.

Timeline

1980 The idea of regional political and economic cooperation in South Asia was first raised in 1980
8 Dec 1985 The first summit was held in Dhaka
Last Summit Kathmandu (Nepal) – 18th Summit in 2014

Critical Evaluation

It was formed to promote regional development and improve ties among nations. But SAARC has not been able to generate the benefits of cooperation. The reasons for this are as follows:-

1. Political reasons

  • The boundary dispute between India and Pakistan has overshadowed the functioning of SAARC. 

2. Economic reasons

  • Low inter-regional trade: While organizations like ASEAN record trade of 20%, SAARC’s trade figures are at a dismal low at about 3%.
  • GDP of SAARC nations except India is small, hampering the effective economic relations among them. 
  • Other nations fear that competition would lead to injury to the industry of other members.

3. Historical reasons

  • Different nations have fought wars and past differences in the past, which hamper cooperation in present times.

4. Geographical reasons

  • This region has poor infrastructure. Hence, economic connectivity is low due to poor road transport. 

5. Fear about India’s Big Brother attitude

  • India constitutes 70% or more of SAARC’s area and population and has political conflicts with all her neighbours. 5 members have common borders with India but not each other. They perceive India as “Big Brother” and fear using the SAARC to pursue hegemony in the region.

6. Others

  • SAARC is an organization of countries not of equal stature-economically, geographically & politically.
  • There is an increase in Chinese influence on SAARC nations like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Maldives.

But even after that, SAARC provides a platform to meet and discuss important issues with hostile nations such as India and Pakistan, even during tense moments.


China  factor in SAARC

  • China holds an observer status in the group.
  • All SAARC nations except India and Bhutan are part of OBOR. 
  • Pakistan, China’s all-weather friend, also demands a more participatory role for China in the SAARC grouping. 
  • China is building large scale infrastructure in SAARC nations. E.g., China has started CPEC with Pakistan, the Hambantota project with Sri Lanka, FTA with the Maldives and the railroad pact with Nepal.
  • Pakistan is pursuing its regional connectivity goals exclusively with China through CPEC. 

But

  • China is constructing a dam on the Brahmaputra without taking Indian and Bangladeshi concerns onboard.
  • The behaviour of China in other engagements is not so pleasant. For instance, it almost shook ASEAN by bringing Cambodia, which did not even make a final statement nowadays. 

Indian Initiatives for SAARC

1 . SAARC Satellite

  • South Asia Satellite is communication-cum-meteorology satellite by ISRO for the South Asia region. 
  • It was announced in June 2014 & launched in May 2017.
  • It has 12 Ku Transponders, with each nation getting at least One Transponder.
  • India bore the cost of the whole launch and satellite. 

2. Initiatives during Corona Period

India has taken the following measures to help SAARC countries in these challenging times

  1. COVID-19 Information Exchange Platform (COINEX), developed by India, facilitated various online learning modules. 
  2. SAARC Food Bank mechanism.
  3. Creation of SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund and contribution of $10 million in it.


3. Others

  • SAARC Disaster Management Centre in New Delhi 
  • Immediate medical visa for the entire region.  
  • E-connectivity– online courses and e-libraries.

South Asian Economic Union (SAEU)

All SAARC countries are committed to making South Asia an Economic Union in a phased manner

  1. Free Trade Area (Presently, we are in this stage – SAARC FTA)
  2. Customs Union
  3. Common Market
  4. Common Economic and Monetary Union. 


Bangladesh, Bhutan, India & Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN MVA )

Aim

  • Easing cross-border movement of people and goods

Timeline

November 2014

SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement was proposed at the 2014 summit held at Kathmandu, suspended after objection from Pakistan. 
June 2015

BBIN MVA Agreement signed at Thimpu between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
April 2017 Bhutan decides to withdraw from the agreement. 

Reasons
1. Environment Pollution: Diesel heavy vehicles traffic   
2. Noise Pollution: Heavy traffic will destroy the calm of the valley. 
3. Meagre Economic Benefits: Manufacturing Industry is not strong in Bhutan, so it will not benefit from this agreement 
4. Tourism may be affected. 
5. Opposition from rival parties. 
6. Fear of smuggling activities. 
April 2019

Bhutan Government announced that it would place a bill to ratify the BBIN initiative in Senate soon.

Provisions

  • The agreement removes all obstacles to the movement of vehicles within the member countries. A vehicle from one country can easily go to other without much hindrance. 
  • But vehicles will be allowed to ply only on the stipulated routes and attain specific permits. 
  • Also, drivers of these vehicles will have to carry a valid passport.

Benefits

  • For Nepal and Bhutan, two landlocked countries, this would improve their access to the open seas.
  • It will promote tourism. 
  • Economic interdependence had existed among these countries for centuries, as most of the region was one country before the partition of British India in 1947. later, partition disrupted the lines of communication.
  • South Asian region suffers from poverty, with a significant population living below $1 a day. Also, it is one of the least integrated regions globally. BBIN MVA can help change the scenario. 
  • It can help to counter China’s Belt and Road (BRI) Initiative in these countries. 
  • It will help in improving Logistics Performance Index (LPI) in the region. 

Future challenges

  • Cost  for implementation of the agreement will be borne by the respective countries. Since most of the countries are poor there is apprehension whether they will be ready to spend that amount.
  • Giving transit to India is a sensitive issue in Bangladesh.

Alternatives of SAARC

  • SAARC is not going anywhere. All decisions in SAARC are taken by consensus, and Pakistan blocks all the initiatives taken by India. Hence, Indian Policymakers have started to look for alternatives that exclude Pakistan. 
  • The suggested alternatives include BIMSTEC and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).


Need to revive SAARC

  • SAARC serves an essential purpose as it reflects the South Asian identity of the member countries. 
  • India subcontinent, while geographically is one of the most integrated regions in the world in terms of terrain,  ecosystem,  river system etc.  But its polity, history,  economics, and below-par engagement make it one of the world’s least integrated regions of the world  –  This lack of integration can be overcome by  SAARC. 
  • South Asian countries are closely tied and face similar traditional and emerging issues like terrorism, energy shortage, hydro-politics, climate change.
  • Placing the bet on other platforms such as BIMSTEC is faulty as BIMSTEC can complement but can’t replace SAARC as SAARC is an old organization with a permanent secretariat and well-established conventions. 
  • SAARC is in line with India’s Neighbourhood First policy, of which SAARC could become the central pillar.
  • The European and ASEAN experience is testimony to the contribution of regional cooperation in economic growth.

BRICS and India

BRICS and India

This article deals with ‘BRICS and India – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.


Introduction

  • The term was coined by Jim O Neil, an economist at Goldman Sachs, in 2001 as BRIC (Without ‘S’)
  • BRIC was officially formed at the Yekaterinburg summit in 2009. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, and it became BRICS.
  • It is an ‘Economic grouping with political motives’.
  • The notion behind the coinage was that these nations’ economies would collectively dominate global growth by 2050. Along with that, if BRICS nations start to trade in their domestic currencies, it would break the dominance of the dollar.
BRICS and India

Timeline

2001 Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neil coined the term ‘BRIC’.
2006 First Informal Meeting held.
2009 First formal meeting held in Yekaterinburg (Russia).
2010 South Africa joined the ‘BRIC’.
2014 New Development Bank or BRICS Bank was formed at Fortaleza (Brazil).
2016 8th BRICS Summit held in Goa.
2021 India hosted the 13th BRICS Summit through virtual mode.  
2022
Beijing hosted the 14th BRICS Summit through virtual mode.
 
The main declarations include 
1. Discussions on counter-terrorism, health, environment etc.
2. Support talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the crisis. 
3. Denali of safe havens to corruption 

BRICS as an organisation

  • Membership: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
  • It is a non-western multilateral economic organization.
  • Purpose goals: economic and geopolitical.
  • Norms: BRICS follows the norms of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and respects other international institutions.
  • BRICS is against uni-polarity and searches for multipolarity.


Factors that led to the creation of BRICS 

BRICS is a unique organization of countries that came together not because of geography, history or wealth, but because of their promise as key “emerging economies”.

  • Western economies faced the 2008 financial crisis while the BRICS nations kept on growing during that phase.
  • IMF and World Bank have become unrepresentative institutions dominated by western economies. BRICS countries shared a common objective of reforming the international financial and monetary system dominated by IMF and World Bank.
  • Search for multipolarity was another reason for the formation of BRICS.

Basic stats of BRICS

BRICS grouping has

  • 42% of the world population 
  • 25% of world GDP 
  • 30% of the world landmass 
  • 18% of the global trade
  • All are members of G20.
  • All have reiterated their support of the Paris Agreement. 

Importance of BRICS

  • Economic Importance :
    • The combined GDP of BRICS nations account for roughly 25% of the total gross world GDP. 
    • BRICS nations are the fastest growing economies of the world.  
    • BRICS nations are lucrative investment destinations in the world. 
    • Emerging multilateral financial institutions like AIIB and BRICS Bank are alternatives to Western-dominated World Bank and IMF. 
  • Political and military: China, Russia, and India are the most powerful countries by military strength after the US with advanced naval forces.   
  • Demographic: BRICS nations account for nearly 42% of the world population, with a considerable number in working-age groups.
  • BRICS membership elevates India’s global profile. China may still not be interested in dehyphenating India and Pakistan, but India’s BRICS membership automatically de-hyphenates India and Pakistan while it casts India and China as equals.
  • BRICS countries have emerged as the voice of the developing countries or the economic south. Furthermore, all the BRICS nations are members of G-20 and WTO and safeguard the interest of developing countries against the aggressive club of developed countries. 
  • Safe Space to modulate rivalry: BRICS provides alternative space to keep the dialogue open in case of conflicts between the member nations. For example, during the Doklam Crisis, India and China remained engaged through BRICS.


Issues

  • Competition: All BRICS countries want to become regional powers & frequently, their interests collide. 
  • The dominance of the Chinese economy makes it the union of unequal members. Jim O’ Neil observed that the Chinese forex is bigger than all other BRICS nations combined.
  • Members are too similar in some key areas. Hence, they don’t compliment each other. Each member has the same strength and weaknesses. 
  • Too much Diversity in other areas like starkly varying political systems, economies, and national goals.
  • Geographical separation: Members are fragmented along 4 different continents. 
  • BRICS nations compete in third markets. In many areas, from clothing (China, India and Brazil), through economic influence in Africa (China, South Africa and India) etc. BRICS countries compete with one another.  
  • Contradictions on Trade: Brazil and Russia are commodity-exporting countries and want high commodity prices, while China and India are importing countries.
  • A large number of conflicting issues between members
    • India-China, China-Russia border disputes
    • China artificially undervalues Renminbi 
    • China has ~30 trade disputes with BRICS nations. 
  • Diverging stands on multilateral forums
    • NSG: China stopping the entry of India in NSG.
    • UNSC reforms: India & South Africa want reforms while China opposes them.

The way forward from BRICS

  • With BRICS going nowhere and China using it to promote its interests, there is a need to look toward the formation and re-activation of alternate forums (this doesn’t mean India should abandon BRICS altogether. India should remain in the group but betting all on BRICS will be futile). These forums can be 
    • There is a need to revive the forgotten India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA) group—perhaps enlarge it to include Turkey, Indonesia, South Korea and the like to develop alternatives to China-centric groupings.
    • India also needs to invest more in building groups that bridge the north-south divide. The G4 (Brazil, India, Germany and Japan) aspirants are one such group to the UN security council. 
  • The BRICS grouping has to go and demand multilateral reforms such as UNSC, World Bank, and IMF Reforms. 
  • All the BRICS nations should reach a common ground to resolve the issue of terrorism.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India

This article deals with ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India- UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here


Information at Glance

Members

  1. China
  2. Kazakhstan
  3. Kyrgyzstan
  4. Russia
  5. Tajikistan
  6. Uzbekistan
  7. India (joined in 2017)
  8. Pakistan (joined 2017)

Headquarters

  • Beijing

Type of Organization

  • It evolved from a border dispute solving mechanism to a regional security organisation in 2004 to a deliberation forum on all subjects. 
  • It works on the norms of consensus, voluntarism and non-interference. 

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India

Timeline

1996 Shanghai 5 was formed for security and border peace between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia and China.
2001 SCO was formed in Shanghai with 6 members (5 + Uzbekistan). India was also offered membership which it declined.
2017 India and Pakistan became members of SCO.
2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was held in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
2020 SCO Summit held in virtual format amid COVID-19 pandemic and increased tension between India and China over Galwan standoff. 
2021 SCO Summit was held in Tajikistan

Significance of SCO

It is an important organisation with

  • 3 significant world powers, Russia, China and India, under its umbrella. 
  • 50% of the world’s population.
  • 25%  of the world’s GDP. 


Uniting factors in SCO

  • Countering U.S. hegemony (the U.S. is trying to influence regimes through Colour revolutions).  
  • Economy: To enhance economic cooperation. 
  • Security: Issue of Islamic Fundamentalism, Terrorism, Secessionism/Separatism, Countering Drug Trafficking.

Conflict of Interest in SCO

  • Rising China in Central Asia is a concern for Russia.
  • Russia has created CSTO (a mutual defence alliance) & EEU (the Economic Union of the Eurasian region).
  • China is more focused on the stability of Xinjiang rather than these Central Asian nations or containing NATO.


Importance of SCO for India

Energy security

  • Some of the member countries of the grouping are rich in energy resources – both hydrocarbons and uranium. India, being energy deficient, need these resources. Russia has also mooted the idea of ‘Energy Club‘. 

Security

  • The Eurasian block can play a key role in stabilizing Afghanistan. India has invested heavily in Afghanistan (2 billion $), and India needs to protect its assets there. 
  • SCO can help in forming a joint platform against terrorism & controlling the menace of drug trafficking in the following way 
    • Members share a high volume of information on counter-terrorism through the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO RATS) SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO RATS) based in Tashkent.  
    • SCO conducts annual Military exercises involving ground troops, aerospace & cyber threat.  

Economic integration/ Gateway to Eurasia

  • An important factor is promoting India’s economic integration with the Central Asian republics, which is in line with India’s Connect Central Asia Policy. India is also investing heavily in INSTC and Chabahar Port development.
  • Central Asian Republics provide a huge possibility for Indian Automobile, Banking, I.T. & related sectors. 

Alternative platform for dialogue with Pakistan and China

  • SCO provides an alternate platform for Indo-Pak & Sino-India dialogue to resolve their disputes. 

Other

  • With Russia and China taking the lead, the SCO could even prove a guarantor for projects like the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) pipelines that India has held off due to security concerns. 


Issues

  • SCO is already dominated by two UNSC Permanent Members, i.e. China and Russia. Hence, it will not be easy for India to have a significant say in such an institution.
  • SCO will be the second regional grouping after SAARC to have India and Pakistan as members. It in itself can limit the effectiveness of SCO, as has been the case with SAARC.  
  • On the issue of terrorism, China and India have different attitudes vis a vis Pakistan based Terrorist Organizations. Also, the definition of terrorism is different for different states – Eg: the Chinese consider Tibetan Freedom Movement as terrorists while India doesn’t. 
  • In terms of connectivity, India has not joined China’s ambitious One Belt, One Road project and has concerns over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).  
  • SCO is seen as Anti-NATO by the USA and European countries, which doesn’t augur well for Indian ties with the USA and other western allies. 
  • SCO will help in strengthening China-Russia-Pakistan Axis, which is bad for Indian interests.