18-03-2024 CARE mains practice

Topic- Space technology:

Introduction:

India recently revealed the names of the four Air Force officers selected for the Gaganyaan Mission, the country’s maiden attempt at sending humans into Space. It would have the first Indian astronauts in 40 years and the first ones to go on an Indian spacecraft. Just three countries – the United States, Russia and China – have executed human spaceflight missions till now. But Gaganyaan holds a much bigger significance for Indian science in general.

Body :

• Background
• Importance of human space flight mission for India
• Benefits of space technology
• Science and technology Missions
• New policy initiatives

Conclusion :                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

India is emerging as a strong player in the global commercial market. However, scientists say the new initiatives may lose steam unless there is sustained attention and engagement and some basic issues in science education and research are addressed. The scientific community, in general, has been welcoming of new initiatives taken by government. However, it points out that these are just a small part of the structural reforms needed to significantly improve the quality and quantity of India’s science output.

UPSC Syllabus Space Technology:

 

Why was this question asked?

Q. Private players can bring in the innovation needed for developing space-based applications and services”. In the light of this statement, highlight the role of private sector in India’s space science and technology. (UPSC Mains 2022)

Introduction

India recently revealed the names of the four Air Force officers selected for the Gaganyaan Mission, the country’s maiden attempt at sending humans into Space. It would have the first Indian astronauts in 40 years and the first ones to go on an Indian spacecraft. Just three countries – the United States, Russia and China – have executed human spaceflight missions till now. But Gaganyaan holds a much bigger significance for Indian science in general.

Body Status : 

Background

• India has suffered in the past because of the technology denial policies of other countries, with access to technology often used as a blackmail measure.
• Space agency struggled with the cryogenic technology that is critical for powering rockets for decades, also due to US sanctions in the 1990s and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
• It slowed down India’s Space programme by almost two decades.
• After India conducted its nuclear tests in 1998, even basic parts, like certain kinds of transistors and semiconductors, were denied due to economic sanctions.

Importance of human space flight mission for India

• More than 600 people from about 50 different countries have travelled to Space till now. However, for a country to execute a human spaceflight mission is still a novelty.
• With the renewed interest in going back to the Moon, this time for resource extraction and building a colony, a big rush in human spaceflight missions is expected in the coming decades. Countries are making almost a fresh start this time, using newer materials and technologies.
• Becoming an active participant in this new-age Space exploration would ensure access to rights, resources and new technologies.
• India could then build expertise and opportunities for these technologies’ early adoption.
• Further, it wants to ensure that it gains access and control over novel technologies that might become critical for economic growth in the future.

Benefits of space technology

• India has used space technology in many ways to address issues in agriculture, disaster management, natural resource management, and urban planning.
• Space programmes in the past have also resulted in hundreds of important spin-off technologies, including some breakthrough interventions in the health and medicine sector like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), heart implants, and advanced water filtration.
• Sustaining a human spaceflight programme would also force the development of a science and technology ecosystem.
• This would help ensure that India never again ends up at the receiving end of technology denial regimes.

Science and technology Missions

• In the last couple of years, the government has announced separate missions on green hydrogen, quantum computing, and on artificial intelligence.
• The Union Government has approved a Rs 19,744 crore National Green Hydrogen mission that aims to make India a ‘global hub’ for using, producing and exporting green hydrogen.
• The Union Cabinet approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) in a bid to aid scientific and industrial research and development in quantum technology.
• The mission involves a cost of Rs 6,003.65 crore from 2023-24 to 2030-31, and aims to put India among the top six leading nations involved in the research and development in quantum technologies.
• IndiaAI Mission – Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore for the next five years, under which the government will allocate funds towards subsidising private companies looking to set up AI computing capacity in the country, among other things.
• National Deep Tech Startup Policy serves as a comprehensive framework to address the challenges faced by deep tech startups and provide definitive policy interventions to enhance the ecosystem.
• India has joined some of the biggest international scientific projects like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Square Kilometer Array, which would involve building several facilities within the country.

New policy initiatives

• India fares pretty poorly on most research indicators and the available resources, both human and capital, might not be adequate for putting the country on the path to becoming a technology powerhouse.
• To correct the above situation, in the interim budget this year, the government announced the setting up of a Rs 1 lakh crore fund to provide long-term low-cost or zero-interest loans for research and development.
• It also promised to launch a new scheme for promoting deep-tech capabilities in the defence sector.
• The repeated requests to foreign companies to set up manufacturing facilities within India for chips and semiconductors, vital for all sorts of electronics, also serve the same purpose.
• The human spaceflight and advanced Space programmes add another dimension to this cause.

Conclusion

India is emerging as a strong player in the global commercial market. However, scientists say the new initiatives may lose steam unless there is sustained attention and engagement and some basic issues in science education and research are addressed. The scientific community, in general, has been welcoming of new initiatives taken by government. However, it points out that these are just a small part of the structural reforms needed to significantly improve the quality and quantity of India’s science output.

Topic- India-Nepal Relations :

Introduction

The relationship between Nepal and India transcends formal documents and diplomatic agreements, as it is characterised by a deep-rooted bond that defies political boundaries and legal definitions. Therefore, the extraordinary political instability in Nepal is of concern to India. India is Nepal’s largest trade partner, and India provides transit for almost all of Nepal’s third country trade. China has been pouring aid and investment in infrastructure to wean Kathmandu away from New Delhi. New Delhi’s position on the politics and future of Nepal must remain nuanced and flexible, with the people of Nepal at its centre.

Body

• • • Nepal’s unstable polity and its impact
    • Historical ties
    • Trade relations
    • Challenges
    • China factor

Conclusion

The Nepalese Constitution was adopted in 2015 with great enthusiasm and expectations, but the frequent political instabilities are making the Constitution fail. Nepali politicians should work to stabilise Nepal’s economy, undertake reforms, crack down on corruption, and build infrastructure in the country. India needs to step up cooperation with Nepal in all areas, and India’s development and economic aid must remain open. India must ensure that China or its proxies do not get an opportunity to ride on suspicion or prejudice against India. More than an “elder brother”, India should seek to be an equal partner for Nepal.

 

UPSC Syllabus India-Nepal Relations:

 

Why was this question asked?

Q. China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia’, In the light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbour. [150 Words] [UPSC Main 2017]

Introduction:

The relationship between Nepal and India transcends formal documents and diplomatic agreements, as it is characterised by a deep-rooted bond that defies political boundaries and legal definitions. Therefore, the extraordinary political instability in Nepal is of concern to India. India is Nepal’s largest trade partner, and India provides transit for almost all of Nepal’s third country trade. China has been pouring aid and investment in infrastructure to wean Kathmandu away from New Delhi. New Delhi’s position on the politics and future of Nepal must remain nuanced and flexible, with the people of Nepal at its centre.

Body Status

Nepal’s unstable polity and its impact

• Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system.
• According to the United States Institute of Peace, Nepal has experienced political instability for the past decade, which has contributed to a lack of governance.
• The political instability in Nepal has impacted the country’s economy.
• Thousands of young Nepalis are heading abroad, mainly to the Middle East, South Korea, and Malaysia, in search of work.
• In 2022-23, about 7.7 lakh people got permits to go to foreign job destinations, and remittances sent by Nepalese expatriates has been a major source of both sustenance for many Nepalese families, and of foreign exchange for the country.

Historical ties

• The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal.
• The treaty grants nationals of one country the same privileges in the territories of the other, including residence, property ownership, participation in trade and commerce, and movement.
• India and Nepal have a long-standing military tie, with each country awarding the honorary rank of General to the other’s Army Chiefs. India has also been giving training and equipment to aid the Nepali Army in modernizing.
• Cooperation in power, water, and infrastructure has been a major element of India’s diplomatic toolkit with regard to Nepal.

Trade relations

• India is Nepal’s largest trade partner, with bilateral trade crossing $7 billion in FY 2019-20, and that India provides transit for almost all of Nepal’s third country trade.
• Indian exports to Nepal have grown more than eight times over the past decade, while exports from Nepal have almost doubled.
• During the Covid-19 pandemic, India provided assistance of more than $7 million to Nepal, which included the supply of more than 23 tonnes of medicines and medical equipment, more than 9.5 million doses of vaccines, and a medical oxygen plant.
• About 8 million Nepalese citizens live and work in India, and some 6 lakh Indians live in Nepal. Indians are about 30% of foreign tourists in Nepal.
• The bilateral remittance flow is estimated at $3 billion from Nepal to India, and $1 billion in the opposite direction.

Challenges

• One of the main challenges in the Indo-Nepal ties is the Kalapani boundary issue. These boundaries had been fixed in 1816 by the British, and India inherited the areas over which the British had exercised territorial control in 1947.
• In 2019, Nepal released a new political map claiming Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh of Uttarakhand and the area of Susta (West Champaran district, Bihar) as part of Nepal’s territory.
• The porous and poorly guarded border between India and Nepal allows terrorist groups to exploit it for smuggling weapons, ammunition, trained members and fake currency, which poses a significant security risk to India.
• Nepal wants to revise the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, as it views this as an unequal relationship, imposed by India.
• India and Nepal have had disputes over the water of several rivers, including the Kali, Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali, and Mahakali.

China factor

• Nepal established its relations with China in 1955. Nepal always played the Chinese card when it felt India was dominating its policies.
• China dispatched  arms  and ammunition to Nepal during the insurgency from 1996 to 2005 to help Maoist insurgents.
• Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is present in Nepal.
• China has opened the Confucius Institute to spread its  culture  and  language  in
• Nepal attracted attention  when  learning  the Chinese language was made mandatory by private schools in Nepal in 2019.
• Nepalese imports from China almost tripled from (Indian) Rs 49.5 billion in 2013-14 to Rs 138.75 billion ($1.67 billion) in 2022-23.

Conclusion

The Nepalese Constitution was adopted in 2015 with great enthusiasm and expectations, but the frequent political instabilities are making the Constitution fail. Nepali politicians should work to stabilise Nepal’s economy, undertake reforms, crack down on corruption, and build infrastructure in the country. India needs to step up cooperation with Nepal in all areas, and India’s development and economic aid must remain open. India must ensure that China or its proxies do not get an opportunity to ride on suspicion or prejudice against India. More than an “elder brother”, India should seek to be an equal partner for Nepal.