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On a sunny November afternoon in Banjaras, a tribal hamlet in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, 17-year-old Pooja Banjara sports a smile when asked what she aspires to be in life.
Seated on a cot laid out on the mud porch of her brick house, she picks up her cell phone and reveals her WhatsApp profile picture, in which an actor is dressed up as a policewoman.
It is not a far-fetched ambition for the resident of Nimdi village who has overcome tremendous social pressure to fend off marriage thrice: at the age of nine, 12 and 17.
“I was just around nine years old when my family fixed my marriage for the first time,” says Pooja, who then had just enrolled herself in a local school run by an NGO.
She confided in her teacher and the marriage was called off at the last moment. Her 12-year-old sister had no such luck as she was considered “old enough” to be married.
Two months ago, when COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in the State, the family of a groom from Dausa, whom Pooja had rejected earlier, returned, seeking her hand in marriage. But she stood her ground and turned them away again.
Financial distress triggered by the closure of businesses and loss of employment during lockdowns imposed to check the spread of COVID-19 over the past two years has resulted in child marriage rearing its ugly head in Rajasthan, where the social malaise is culturally endemic. Government data show that the State has witnessed 1,216 child marriages since 2018-19. Though the country has seen a steady decline in the prevalence of the practice from 47.4% in 2005 to 23.3% in 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that pandemic-induced economic hardship could roll back the gains made so far.
Editorial
A word of advice on OTT and the draft telecom Bill (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The inclusion of Over the Top or OTT (Communication Services) within the ambit of the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 that was unveiled recently for public comments, is a feature that has drawn much attention and comment.
The main argument behind its inclusion is the principle of “same service, same rules”. Superficially, it seems logical that communication services, whether provided by telcos or OTTs, should be treated similarly.
However, this is completely erroneous. Same service means that as a user, I should be able to substitute one for the other at my own volition.
But no OTT provider including those providing communication services such as WhatsApp, Zoom, email, etc. can reach a customer without the intermediation and services of a telecom service provider.
But the converse is not true. The absence of OTT is no impediment for a telco to provide its services. OTT communication services are applications or value-added communication services that ride on the basic communication services that telcos provide.
The latter is in the domain of carriage and the former is in the domain of applications such as group and video communication, encryption, etc.
So why are telcos rooting for inclusion of OTT communication services within the new Telecom Bill? Quite simply, it is the desire to preserve the arbitrage that exists between voice and data tariffs.
In OTT services, the telco gets lower data and not a higher voice/SMS tariff. That arbitrage is anyway doomed and will be extinguished sooner rather than later. Biting the bullet now makes more sense than bringing in a convoluted interpretation in the law.
Disquiet in the Northeast (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
On November 22, five villagers from Meghalaya and an Assam forest guard were killed and two others were seriously injured in a firing incident along the boundary between the two States.
The Assam government said the incident happened after its forest guards tried to intercept a truck smuggling illegal timber. When the truck was stopped, the forest personnel were gheraoed by unknown miscreants who resorted to violence, according to Assam, which maintains that the staff resorted to firing to save their lives.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Twitter that the Assam police and Assam forest guards entered Meghalaya and “resorted to unprovoked firing”.
Versions differ and both States have instituted separate inquiries, but the mistrust and underlying conflicts in the northeast that lead to such incidents are deeper. Assam and Meghalaya have a five-decade old boundary dispute.
Meghalaya, carved out of Assam as an autonomous region in 1970, became a full-fledged State in 1972. In March, Assam and Meghalaya resolved the boundary dispute at six out of total 12 such locations along their 884.9 km boundary, and the next round of talks was to take place soon.
Though the latest flare-up did not arise out of this dispute, it happened along a disputed border stretch.
Assam has boundary disputes at various points in time with the States carved out of it — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Last year, the police forces of Assam and Mizoram clashed, killing five on the Assam side. Dozens of people have died in conflicts along State borders in the northeast over the years.
Opinion
Can poor countries afford to go green? (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) concluded on November 20 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt. Nearly 200 countries pledged to set up a ‘loss and damage fund’ to help vulnerable countries affected by climate change.
Developing countries have welcomed this development, which has been a long-time demand. Developed nations, however, are not satisfied with the level of commitment that poor countries have shown towards cutting down greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out fossil fuels
It is well established that the cost of climate change impact is considerable to economies. As temperatures rise, the cost of not addressing climate change is likely to rise. There’s enough science to suggest that this cost is high.
The question of weighing the relative costs of trying to mitigate climate change against the cost of climate change impact is more complex. We must not think about mitigation as a distinct thing, but instead think about the kinds of transitions that are required to bring about mitigation.
For example, there is a shift towards lower emission energy systems around the world; that’s a technological shift and the cost of those technologies has decreased to the point where they are now more or less cost competitive with coal-fired power plants. It makes economic sense to invest in these technologies. But the transition is difficult and is going to be costly. I think that’s how we should frame this, not whether but how we have to get there, and also how those costs are borne.
News
India, and Iran discuss the development of the Chabahar Port (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India and Iran held Foreign Office Consultations on Thursday during the visit of Tehran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani here.
Dr. Kani, who is a close relative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, handles Iran’s nuclear negotiations and is considered to be part of the ruling elite of the Iranian state.
This is the first high profile visit from the Iran since the crackdown against democratic protesters began in Iran in the second fortnight of September. India has not commented about the ongoing crackdown so far.
“During the delegation level talks, the two sides reiterated their commitment to continue cooperation for development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal of the Chabahar Port,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a press note released after the talks between the two delegations.
When asked if India would restart purchase of Iranian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said there were no updates.
The Indian delegation to the meeting was led by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The MEA said that the “entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, economic, cultural and consular” aspects were discussed during the consultations.
“The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues including Afghanistan. Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Kani briefed the Foreign Secretary on issues related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” said an MEA release. Dr. Kani also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his visit.
Unemployment rate dips marginally to 7.2% in July¬-September 2022: survey (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The unemployment rate in urban areas for persons aged above 15 eased to 7.2% in July-September 2022 from 9.8% a year ago and 7.6% in the previous quarter, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday.
The unemployment rate was 6.6% for men and 9.4% for women. It was 9.3% and 11.6%, respectively, in July-September 2021. The unemployment ratio is defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
The worker-population ratio (WPR) also witnessed a marginal increase compared with last year’s. The WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
The WPR in urban areas for persons aged 15 and above stood at 44.5% in July-September 2022, an increase from 42.3% in the corresponding period in 2021. It was 43.9% in April-June 2022. The WPR among men was 68.6% and 19.7% among women. It was 66.6% and 17.6%, respectively, in 2021.
The labour force participation rate (LFPR), defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force who are working or seeking or available for work in the population, in urban areas for persons aged 15 and above, increased to 47.9% in July-September 2022, from 46.9% in the corresponding period in 2021. It was 47.5% in April-June 2022.
The LFPR among men was 73.4% and 21.7% among women. In 2021, it was 73.5% and 19.9%, respectively. Ashoka University’s
Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA) launched on Thursday an initiative to address the country’s plunging women LFPR.
Civil Aviation Ministry notifies draft Aircraft Security Rules, 2022 (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has notified the draft Aircraft Security Rules, 2022 which enable the aviation security regulator, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to impose penalties upto ₹1 crore on airports and airlines for violation of security measures.
Once the draft Rules are finalised, the BCAS can impose a fine of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore (depending on the size of the company) on airports and airlines if they fail to prepare and implement a security programme, or if they commence operations without seeking a security clearance.
Large airports can also face a penalty of ₹1 crore if they fail to plan the design and layout of the airport in accordance with the National Civil Aviation Security Programme.
Individuals will also face penalties ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹25 lakh depending on the nature of offence. According to the proposed rules, the BCAS will also be able to suspend or cancel an entity’s airport security clearance and security programme.
In order to deal with cyber security threats, the rules also require each entity to protect its information and communication technology systems against unauthorised use and prohibit disclosure of sensitive aviation security information.
The draft rules now authorise airports to engage private security agents instead of CISF personnel at “non-core areas” and assign security duties as per the recommendation of the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016.
Once the Aircraft Security Rules 2022 are finalised, they will go a long way in ensuring an effective aviation security apparatus in the country. These are also as per ICAO norms.
The rules will supersede Aircraft Security Rules, 2011 and were necessary after Parliament passed Aircraft Amendment Act, 2020 in September 2020, giving statutory powers to BCAS, along with the Director General of Civil Aviation and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
Business
India, GCC agree to pursue FTA; resume talks: Goyal (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to pursue a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two regions and resume negotiations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The council is the largest trading bloc of India.
India's exports to the GCC member countries grew by 58.26% to about $44 billion in 2021-22 against $27.8 billion in 2020-21, according to data from the Commerce Ministry.
Bilateral trade in goods has increased to $154.73 billion in 2021-22 from $87.4 billion in 2020-21. Services trade between the two regions was valued at around $14 billion in 2021-22, with exports aggregated at $5.5 billion and imports at $8.3 billion.
"We have agreed to pursue the free trade agreement between GCC and India and resume the negotiations and conclude the same at the earliest," Mr. Goyal told reporters here in a joint press conference with GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah M Al-Hajraf here.
GCC countries contribute almost 35% of India's oil imports and 70% of its gas imports. India's overall crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were about $48 billion, while LNG and LPG imports in 2021-22 stood at about $21 billion.
Earlier in 2006 and 2008, both sides had negotiated a trade pact, which stopped because of some reasons.
When asked about the next round of talks to resume the negotiations, Mr. Goyal said teams of both sides would decide on that.