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In an unprecedented move, India has issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) — a bilateral agreement that was signed in September 1960 and survived three wars, the Kargil conflict, and the terror attacks in Mumbai and Kashmir.
Sources said Pakistan’s “intransigence” forced India to issue the notice of modification and update the treaty to “incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years”. This would effectively mean that the treaty can be opened for re-negotiations for the first time in over six decades.
The objective of the notice for modification is to provide Pakistan an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of IWT.
Sources said the notice was conveyed by India to Pakistan on January 25 through the respective Commissioners for Indus Waters according to Article XII (3) of the IWT.
The Article states: “The provisions of this Treaty may from time to time be modified by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments.”
Pakistan said that “a Court of Arbitration is holding its first hearing in The Hague” on its objections to two hydroelectric power projects in J&K and attention should not be diverted from “the important proceedings.
Sources in Delhi said that while India has always been a “steadfast supporter” and a “responsible partner” in implementing the treaty in letter and spirit, Pakistan’s actions have “adversely impinged” on its provisions and their implementation.
The notice is the latest twist in a sequence of events that began in 2015, when Pakistan requested for the appointment of a “Neutral Expert” to examine its technical objections to the Kishanganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs). In 2016, Pakistan retracted this request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration adjudicate on its objections.
Outlining the Indian position, sources said the “initiation of two simultaneous processes on the same questions and the potential of their inconsistent or contradictory outcomes creates an unprecedented and legally untenable situation, which risks endangering IWT itself”.
Express network
India, South Africa sign pact, 12 cheetahs to be brought to Kuno in February (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
A second batch of 12 cheetahs — seven male and five female — will be brought from South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh next month.
The central government confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in reintroduction of cheetahs has been signed between the two countries.
India had been waiting for the signing of this MoU to bring more big cats to supplement the first batch of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia last year. The South African cheetahs range from 18 months to 4 years in age.
In India, the big cat population got completely wiped out in the early 1950s, mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss. Under the ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’, 50 cheetahs will be brought from African countries to various national parks over 5 years.
In terms of the agreement, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs are to be flown in from South Africa to India during February 2023.
The cats will join eight cheetahs introduced to India from Namibia during 2022,’’said a statement from the Environment Ministry.
The exact date of bringing the cheetahs has not been fixed yet. We are sending an Indian delegation to South Africa in the first week of February and once they give the green light, we will decide on the date , additional director, Project Tiger, and member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Yadav said while the protocol for bringing the second batch of cheetahs remains the same, some improvements have been made to the existing bomas (wildlife enclosures built usually for the treatment or quarantine of animals) based on the observations of the last few months.
These improvements include building a gallery around the acclimatisation enclosure where food and water can be given to the big cats as unobtrusively as possible.
Ideas page
Stigma scatters in light (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Every other day, we wake up to a disturbing headline of a young person having left us by committing suicide. Suicides rates in India are amongst the highest when compared to other countries at the same socio-economic level.
According to WHO, India’s suicide rate in 2019, at 12.9/1,00,000, was higher than the regional average of 10.2 and the global average of 9.0. Suicide has become the leading cause of death among those aged 15–29 in India.
While every precious life lost through suicide is one too many, it represents only the tip of the mental health iceberg in the country, particularly among young adults.
Women tend to suffer more. Across the world, the prevalence of some mental health disorders is consistently higher among women as compared to men.
The pandemic has further exacerbated the problem. Globally, it might have increased the prevalence of depression by 28 per cent and anxiety by 26 per cent in just one year between 2020 and 2021, according to a study published in Lancet. Again, the large increases have been noted among younger age groups, stemming from uncertainty and fear about the virus, financial and job losses, grief, increased childcare burdens, in addition to school closures and social isolation.
Increased use of certain kinds of social media is also exacerbating stress and mental ill health for young people. Social media detracts from face-to-face relationships, which are healthier, and reduces investment in meaningful activities. More importantly, it erodes self-esteem through unfavourable social comparison.
Mental ill-health has larger socio-economic implications. It is a leading cause of disability globally and is closely linked to poverty in a vicious cycle of disadvantage.
People living in poverty are at greater risk of experiencing mental health conditions. On the other hand, people experiencing severe mental health conditions are more likely to fall into poverty through loss of employment and increased health expenditure.
Stigma and discrimination often further undermine their social support structures. This reinforces the vicious cycle of poverty and mental ill-health.
Not surprisingly, countries with greater income inequalities and social polarisation have been found to have a higher prevalence of mental ill-health.
Explained
Indus Treaty notice to pak (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
New Delhi has issued a notice to Islamabad seeking modification of the more than six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) that governs the sharing of waters of six rivers in the Indus system between the two countries.
New Delhi said the notice follows Pakistan’s continued “intransigence” in implementing the treaty, by raising repeated objections to the construction of hydel projects on the Indian side.
The notice, sent on January 25 through the Commissioner for Indus Waters, gives Pakistan 90 days to consider entering into intergovernmental negotiations to rectify the material breach of the treaty.
This process would also update the IWT to incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years. The notice has invoked Article XII (3) of the treaty which says: The provisions of this Treaty may from time to time be modified by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two Governments.
The notice appears to be a fallout of a longstanding dispute over two hydroelectric power projects that India is constructing – one on the Kishanganga river, a tributary of Jhelum, and the other on the Chenab.
Pakistan has raised objections to these projects, and dispute resolution mechanisms under the Treaty have been invoked multiple times. But a full resolution has not been reached.
In 2015, Pakistan asked that a Neutral Expert should be appointed to examine its technical objections to the Kishanganga and Ratle HEPs.
But the following year, Pakistan unilaterally retracted this request, and proposed that a Court of Arbitration should adjudicate on its objections.
Economy
Core inflation continues to be sticky, elevated: RBI Governor (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said even as inflation has eased in November and December, it continues to remain elevated.
The core inflation also remains sticky and elevated, he said. Consumer price-based inflation (CPI), or retail inflation, eased to 5.72 per cent in December from 5.88 per cent in November.
Our inflation remains elevated, but there has been a welcome softening during November and December 2022. Core inflation, however, remains sticky and elevated,” Das said at the FIMMDA-PDAI Annual Conference organised in Dubai.
Speaking on the external front, Das said the slowing global demand is weighing on merchandise exports, but the country’s exports of services and remittances remain strong.
The net balance under services and remittances also remains in a large surplus, partly offsetting the trade deficit. “Consequently, the current account deficit is eminently manageable and within the parameters of viability.
Das said that despite the hostile and uncertain international environment, the Indian economy continues to be resilient, drawing strength from its macroeconomic fundamentals.
He said the journey of Indian financial markets through the last decade had been a story of steady progress with stability. Das said going forward, more significant challenges will emerge as the footprints of Indian banks increase in the offshore markets, the range of products expands, non-resident participation in domestic markets grows, and capital account convertibility increases.
The market participants will have to prepare themselves to manage the changes and risks associated with globally integrated markets.
The achievement of desired outcomes is contingent on financial institutions and market participants taking forward the reform agenda so that we have more vibrant and resilient financial markets.
The governor further said the secondary market liquidity in g-secs is concentrated in a few securities and tenors. The MIBOR-based overnight index swaps (OIS) remain the only major liquid product in the interest rate derivative market.
He said a term money market remains absent despite a host of facilitative policy measures. Access of the retail segment to markets, especially derivative markets, needs to improve further.