Table of Contents
• The SCO grew out of the Shanghai Five grouping
1. Russia
2. China
3. Kazakhstan
4. Tajikistan
5. Kyrgyzstan
• Set up: 1996
• Aim/objective: to resolve boundary disputes between China and each of the four other members.
• 2001: Uzbekistan got entry and the group got a new name SCO.
• The SCO’s relevance for India lies in
Geography
Economics
Geopolitics
• Its members occupy a huge landmass adjacent to India’s extended neighborhood, where India has important economic and security interests.
• Its Central Asian countries border Afghanistan, Pakistan and China.
• A narrow sliver of land separates southern Tajikistan from Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
• When you have complicated relations with your neighbors, it makes sense to strengthen relations with your neighbors’ neighbors.
P.S. Raghavan
• Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the optimal development of
India’s relations with Central Asian countries has been constrained by
lack of overland access through Pakistan and Afghanistan/Iran,
because of political and/or security reasons.
• China has since consolidated its energy and economic foothold in the
region, where ambitious infrastructure and connectivity projects are
envisaged as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• Russia’s role as net security provider.
• The Central Asian countries would welcome India breaking into this
Russia-China duopoly.
• The India-Pakistan interaction was closely watched in Qingdao.
• The SCO will, however, nudge both countries to cooperate in sensitive
areas. One example is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of
the SCO.
• RATS: coordinates cooperation for security and
stability, through intelligence-sharing on criminal and
terrorist activities.
• Defence cooperation is another tricky area: India has
agreed to participate in the SCO’s counter-terrorism
military exercises in Russia later this year, when
Indian and Pakistani troops will operate together.
• SCO is a platform for articulating a non-Western — as
distinct from anti-Western — perspective on global
issues.
• This includes opposition to selective advocacy of
regime change, self-serving homilies on human rights
and intrusive advice on domestic policies.
• The challenge for India — besides that of security and defence
cooperation with Pakistan — may come from increasing Chinese
dominance of the SCO.
• This could happen if Russia-U.S. relations worsen further, leading
Russia to an even greater dependence on Chinese political and
economic support.
• If, as Mr. Trump has hinted, peace in the Korean peninsula leads to
reduced American military presence in the region, it would
dramatically change the balance of forces in the Asia-Pacific in favour
of China.
#WithRefugees petition
The imperative to offer refuge
• India is host to over 200,000 refugees who have been forced to flee
conflict and persecution in their home countries.
• There is a need to reassess India’s approach to refugee protection,
particularly in light of the regional refugee crisis after the mass
exodus of the Rohingya from Myanmar.
• Traditionally, India has hosted several persecuted groups such as
Tibetans and Sri Lankans.
• While it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and has no
domestic asylum law, it has reiterated its commitment towards the
protection of refugees at various international fora, including the UN
General Assembly.
• September 2016: India became a signatory to the New York
Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which was adopted by 193
countries
• Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)
1. Ease pressures on host countries
2. Enhance refugee self-reliance
• The GCR recognises that certain refugee situations can last for
decades and acknowledges that the burden is borne largely by
developing countries, that now host over 80% of the refugee
population in the world.
• India: has done little beyond providing asylum.
• Asylum Bill 2015: private member’s bill by Shashi Tharoor
• For instance, due to their unclear legal status and lack of uniform
documentation, refugees have limited access to essential services and
almost no avenues for livelihood.
Less talk, more action
• Too many children are not learning and every moment
that we don’t act is a moment wasted in a child’s life.
• While there has been an increase in education spending
over the last five years, learning outcomes have been
poor and have been declining.
1. We need clear examples of what good quality
education looks like.
2. Teacher training
3. Involve parents
4. Programmes must be rigorously evaluated for impact
before they are scaled.
5. We need to partner more
‘We expect the economy to grow at 7.3% this year’
• The economy is now on track to go above 8%. All our
inherited problems are somewhat behind us. Private
investments had simply stopped at that point due to
issues such as the twin balance sheet problem.
• So far, commercial banking credit has largely been for
retail loans that include housing and automobiles, and
actual commercial credit growth to industry —
manufacturing and services — is not that high.
• NPAs: corporate governance within commercial banks.
• For me, the NPA issue is what [former Reserve Bank of
India Deputy Governor] Rakesh Mohan called the result
of ‘lazy banking’. By lazy banking, I mean the lack of
capacity within commercial banks to properly and
diligently assess credit risk and manage credit risk.
• P.J. Nayak committee had done a careful diagnosis
• Disinvestment has to be done in consonance with existing market
conditions.
• GST collections are at a lakh crore rupees/month level. This is despite
the fact that only about 90 lakh businesses have registered, of which
67 lakh now pay or file a return under GST. But if you compare that
with the total number of business units in the country with a turnover
of ₹20 lakh, we are still at a fairly small percentage of the potential
indirect taxpayers.
• As we grow, we can start reducing dependence on oil taxes.
• The government is acutely aware that you have had synchronised
recovery of the global economy after a very long time. The growth of
global trade is higher than that of the world economy in many years.
Despite all the talk of protectionism, all this noise that you hear
coming out of [Washington] DC particularly, the multilateral trading
order has held and global trade is growing.
• There is this constant temptation to go for newer markets and newer
commodities, and I use the word temptation for a very valid reason.
• Why can’t we make sure that 30% of the world’s gems and jewellery
come out of this place? There are other sectors like that which can
also be related to domestic demand… use the emerging demand in the
domestic market to create globally competitive and global scale
capacities in your country and get on in those sectors rather than
constantly look to diversify your export efforts because that I don’t
think is a good idea.
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•‘India for rules-based world order’
•‘India stands for a multi-polar order’
•Rajya Sabha fault lines clear for Deputy Chairman poll
• Sushma writes to Maldives on visa row
•Kim makes third China trip
• PSU bank deposits safe: Goyal
•India to defend GSP benefits at USTR
1. From the below given statements regarding Bird Flu.
1. Bird flu is caused by viruses and bacteria.
2. India has declared itself free from it.
3. Bird Flu can be a reason to restrict imports via sanitary and
phytosanitary measures.
Choose the correct option
A. Only 1 and 3
B. Only 3
C. Only 2 and 3
D. All of above
2. With reference to about APEC consider the below given statements
1. APEC headquartere is in Singapore.
2. APEC One of member is India.
3. APEC Summit-2018 will be held in Papua New Guinea
Choose the correct option
A. Only 1 and 3
B. Only 2
C. All of above
D. Only 1
Answers-
1. From the below given items identify hormone/s that is/are produced by the
human body?
1. Insulin
2. Cytokinin
3. Thyroxine
Choose the correct option
A. Only 1
B. Only 2 and 3
C. Only 1 and 3
D. All of above
2. Which parts of circulatory system that carry oxygenated blood?
1. Pulmonary artery
2. Left Ventricle
3. Pulmonary Vein
• Choose the correct option
A. Only 1
B. Only 2 and 3
C. Only 1 and 3
D. All of above
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