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BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-29) for BPSC Exam

BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-29) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : प्राचीन काल में बिहार को किस नाम से जाना जाता था ?

(a) बौद्ध प्रदेश
(b) मगध प्रदेश
(c) गुप्त साम्राज्य
(d) इनमें से कोई नहीं

Q.2 : शेर खॉं का वास्तविक नाम क्या था ?

(a) सलीम
(b) फरीद
(c) मुहम्मद
(d) अकबर

Q.3 : बिहार में शेरशाह का मकबरा कहॉं स्थित है ?

(a) सासाराम
(b) हाजीपुर
(c) मुजफ्फरपुर
(d) पटना

Q.4 : हिन्दुस्तान फर्टिलाइजर्स लिमिटेड के अधीन निम्नलिखित नगरों में से कहॉं उद्योग स्थापित किया गया है ?

(a) धनबाद
(b) बरौनी
(c) डालमियानगर
(d) सिन्दरी

Q.5 : बिहार के किस नगर में कॉंच उद्योग नहीं है ?

(a) भवानी नगर
(b) शाहपुर
(c) हाजीपुर
(d) मरकुण्डा

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

Study Kit for Bihar Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination

(Written Result) UPSC Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination, 2019

(Written Result) UPSC Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination, 2019

On the basis of the result of written part of CAPF (ACs) Examination, 2019 held by the UPSC on 18th August, 2019, the candidates with the undermentioned Roll Numbers have qualified for Physical Standards Test (PST)/ Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) and Medical Standards Tests (MST). The candidature of all the candidates whose Roll Numbers are shown in the list is Provisional, subject to their being found eligible in all respects. The candidates will be required to produce the original certificates in support of their claims pertaining to age, educational qualifications, community etc. at the time of the Personality Test. They are, therefore, advised to keep the said prescribed certificates ready.

The Central Reserve Police Force (Nodal Authority nominated by Ministry of Home Affairs) will intimate to the candidates about the date, time & venue of the Physical Standards Tests/ Physical Efficiency Tests & Medical Standards Tests, to be conducted by them. In case, any candidate does not receive the call letter for Physical Standards Tests/ Physical Efficiency Tests & Medical Standards Tests in due course of time, he/she may contact the DIG (Recruitment), Central Reserve Police Force on Telephone No. 011- 26160255, FAX No. 011-26160250 & e-mail ID digrect@crpf.gov.in and the U.P.S.C. through letter or Fax or email immediately, to facilitate delivery of communications to them promptly.

The candidates who have been declared qualified in the written examination are required to get themselves registered on the UPSC’s Website (https://upsconline.nic.in) before filling up/submitting the Detailed Application Form (DAF) ONLINE along with uploading of the scanned copies of relevant certificates/documents in support of their eligibility, claim of reservation etc. Online Detailed Application Form will be available on the Commission’s Website from 30.10.2019 to 13.11.2019 till 6.00 P. M. Important instructions regarding filling up of the DAF and submitting the same ONLINE to the Commission are also available on the Website.

Candidates who have finally submitted his Detailed Application Form (DAF) will be issued call letter by the Nodal Authority i.e. CRPF to appear for the PST/PET/MST. The candidates will have to produce the call letter along with photo identity proof viz. Aadhar card, Driving Licence, Passport, Voter I Card etc. at the allotted centers for appearing at the PST/PET/MST.

Candidates are advised to intimate change in their address, if any, to the DIG (Recruitment), Central Reserve Police Force on Telephone No. 011- 26160255, FAX No. 011-26160250 & e-mail ID digrect@crpf.gov.in and U.P.S.C. through letter or FAX immediately, to facilitate delivery of communications to them promptly.

The marks-sheets of all candidates who have not qualified will be uploaded on the UPSC’s Website after the publication of final result (after conducting Personality Test) and will remain available on the Website for a period of 30 days.

The candidates can access their marks-sheet after keying in their Roll Number and date of birth. The printed/hard copies of the marks-sheet would, however, be issued by UPSC to candidates based on specific request accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Candidates desirous of obtaining printed/hard copies of the marks sheets should make the request within thirty days of the display of the marks on the UPSC’s Website, beyond which such requests shall not be entertained.

Central Armed Police Forces(Asstt.Commandants) Examination, 2019

0100355  0100400 0100414 0100657 0100689 0102676 0100914 0200010 0101614
0101844 0101852 0102046 0102198 0102215 0102602 0102712 0101554 0101825
0200036 0200082 0200101 0200245 0200355 0200358 0200626 0200840 0200926
0201341 0201595 0202200 0205455 0202228 0202566 0303909 0209456 0209645
0204917 0205688 0207558 0208276 0207890 0301221 0209705 0204598 0303933
0204676 0204908 0206058 0300772 0206417 0206080 0206599 0303741 0210625
0202767 0206450 0203078 0208927 0207460 0203255 0204963 0204260 0208009
0202562 0202630 0202359 0202935 0301220 0302408 0300224 0300128 0300173
0201419 0204949 0402144 0211181 0301484 0203249 0301050 0203486 0201168
0210125 0208976 0207160 0211344 0208787 0300061 0301289 0300344 0301304
0301622 0304423 0301684 0302223 0400367 0301925 0304234 0400960 0304319
0301449 0208701 0300670 0303550 0301786 0302441 0302921 0301693 0303127
0402897 0304331 0303402 0402189 0404430 0303699 0407436 0401309 0404507
0300532 0301397 0400450 0406746 0301477 0407100 0302960 0406761 0402220
0302167 0210946 0406083 0301230 0407180 0400589 0405104 0303203 0404524
0402845 0402531 0211296 0404044 0303532 0406049 0402428 0404048 0401241

Click here for full Result

Printed Study Kit for CAPF-AC (Assistant Commandant) Exam

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 october 2019 (Restoring maritime commons (The Hindu))

Restoring maritime commons (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Mamallapuram informal summit

Context

  • The recently held Mamallapuram informal summit between the leaderships of India and China was a reminder of an earlier golden age of sail when Asia’s seas were a common heritage of mankind.

Issues

  • The seas are now divided and have become arenas for violation of sovereign boundary rules and laws.
  • India and China control the choke points in their maritime regions and thus seek control of the trade through them.

Way forward

  • As a first step, India and China must commit to respecting each other’s ‘core’ interests and sovereign sea area integrity.
  • India, China and their Asian partners should aim to develop soft laws that fortify the ongoing development and conservationist orientation of global sea law.
  • The lessons learnt by India and China in stabilising their disputed land boundary offer useful pointers to chart a framework to regulate their interactions at sea.

Conclusion

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 october 2019 (Not green, but green wash (The Hindu))

Not green, but green wash (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Environment
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Technological solutions and combat ecological challenges

Context

  • From producing artificial meat to using renewable energy, businesses seem to be driven by concern for our planet.
  • In Mumbai, despite a sustained and widespread citizens’ campaign, the Aarey forest has been chopped down for metro infrastructure.

Issues

  • The argument of the supporters is that building a Metro will prevent an increase in emissions. They are comparing car and bus emissions saved by the building of Metro transport with the carbon absorbed by a forest.
  • It is forgotten that it cannot provide habitat, recharge groundwater, or safeguard our soil.
  • Apart from deteriorating air quality and climate, this is a crisis of the loss of biodiversity, freshwater, soil, forests.
  • Also, there isn’t much evidence that when a Metro arrives in a city or the bus system gets better, car sales drop.
  • It is opined that more fuel efficient cars have meant that car owners take many more trips, in effect nullifying the saving of fuel from the technical innovation.

Way forward

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 october 2019 (Agents of change: On investing in women’s education (The Hindu))

Agents of change: On investing in women’s education (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Highlights the scenarios of women education investment.

Context

  • There should be no doubt that educating a woman serves a larger ameliorative purpose.
  • The recently released Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey by the Heath Ministry showed a direct correlation between the nutritional status of children and their mothers’ education is a further stroke for the case of women’s education.

The findings

  • On two counts, meal diversity and minimum acceptable diet, and in terms of bolstering food with micronutrients, the children of mothers with better education did well.
  • Nobel laureate Amartya Sen reasons, has clearly shown how the relative aspect and regard for women’s well being is strongly influenced by women’s literacy and educated participation in decisions within and outside the family.

Issues

  • In Census 2011, the female literacy rate was 65.46%, much lower than for males, at 82.14%.

Way forward

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 october 2019 (The operative word must be bilateralism (The Hindu))

The operative word must be bilateralism (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level : India-US relations
Mains level : India’s foreign policy options

Context

  • The global order is now dipping into a vortex of disruptions largely caused by the United States, China and Brexit.
  • India also stands at the crossroads in terms of its foreign policy approach. In this context, it is necessary to understand India’s foreign policy options, India-US relations, issues in the relation and way forward.

What are India’s foreign policy options?

  • Non-alignment and strategic autonomy.
  • Join unilateralism.
  • Multi alignment and transactional autonomy.
  • India-US relationship.
  • The good part is linked to historic terms, a key example being.
  • The India-U.S. civil nuclear deal.
  • The signing of three “foundational defence agreements”, i.e.
  • The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement,
  • The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation.

Issues

  • The bad part is current trade challenges, the U.S.’s call for the removal of the “developing country” tag assigned by the World Trade Organisation.
  • And the ugly part is when during the 1971 war, the U.S. sent its fleet towards India to assist Pakistan.
  • The episode of procurement of defence material from Russia and some unreal expectations such as India having military boots on the ground in Afghanistan are also major issues.
  • With respect to Pakistan, there is confused signalling from the US’ leadership

Way forward

  • India must focus on multi alignment both with the U.S. and Russia especially in terms of getting a waiver under the Countering America’s Adversaries. Through Sanctions Act in purchasing the S400 missile system from Russia.
  • With respect to the IndoPacific, the U.S. views it as a platform to contain China hegemony which should be taken advantage of

Conclusion

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 october 2019 (Taking national data seriously (The Hindu))

Taking national data seriously (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Mains level: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations

Context

  • In a digital economy, data is the central resource. Data is being considered as a nation’s new wealth.
  • It is feared that all other countries, including the European Union (EU) and major developing countries such as India, will have to become fully digitally dependent on one of the two digital superpowers, China and the USA as almost all top digital corporations in the world are U.S. or Chinese.
  • And seven of the top eight companies globally today are databased corporations. In this context, it is necessary to understand the importance of data, issues related to data sharing and way forward in this regard.

What is the importance of data?

  • It is the basis of detailed and deep intelligence about a community.
  • It can be used to manipulate or cause harm to the community.

What are the issues related to sharing of data?

  • Global corporations like to consider data as a freely shareable open resource until the data is out there, with the people, communities, etc. But the moment they collect the data, it seems to become their private property and they refuse to share it, even for important public interest purposes.
  • At RCEP India may accept the free flow of data with certain public policy exceptions but it is seen that such exceptions never work well. This can lead to permanent digital dependency, with India’s data, flowing freely to data intelligence centres in the U.S., and now some in China.

What can be done?

  • The French and the U.K.’s AI strategies, numerous EU documents, and India’s NITI Aayog’s AI strategy, focus on one central issue — more datasharing within the country, and better access to data for domestic businesses but this cannot happen until the US or China remains the owner of data.
  • French AI strategy calls for an aggressive data policy, and control on data outflows. NITI Aayog’s AI strategy has sought mandated sharing of data for social purposes which are steps in the right direction.
  • Community data inscribed in India’s draft e-commerce policy considering the community’s legal right over data which it produces must be supported.
  • A complex and gradual process of classification of various kinds of data, and developing governance frameworks around them, is required.
  • We need to begin dealing with the very complex data policy issues, including data classification, data ownership rights, data sharing, data trusts, and so on.

Conclusion

INDIAN FOREST SERVICE (MAIN) EXAMINATION Date Sheet 2019

INDIAN FOREST SERVICE (MAIN) EXAMINATION Date Sheet 2019

INDIAN FOREST SERVICE (MAIN) EXAMINATION, 2019

Date & Day Subject Code Forenoon Session (9:00 AM to 12:00 PM) Afternoon Session (2:00 PM to 5:00 PM)
01-12-2019
(Sunday)		 21‐22 General English General Knowledge
02-12-2019
( Monday)
 		 --  No paper (Rest day) No paper (Rest day)
03-12-2019
(Tuesday)		 10 -13 Mathematics Paper-I/
Statistics Paper-I		 Mathematics Paper-II/
Statistics Paper-II
04-12-2019
(Wednesday)		 12 -14 Physics Paper- I/
Zoology Paper -I		 Physics Paper- II/
Zoology Paper –II
05-12-2019
(Thursday)		 05 -09 Chemistry Paper- I
Geology Paper- I 		Chemistry Paper- II
Geology Paper -II
06-12-2019
(Friday)		 01 -03 Agriculture Paper- I/
Animal Husbandry
& Veterinary Science Paper- I		 Agriculture Paper- II/
Animal Husbandry
& Veterinary Science Paper- II
07-12-2019
(Saturday)		 08 Forestry Paper- I Forestry Paper -II
08-12-2019
(Sunday)

 		 02
07
06
11
04 		Agricultural Engineering/ Civil Engineering/ Chemical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering Paper –I/ Botany Paper- I/ Agricultural Engineering/ Civil Engineering/ Chemical Engineering/ Mechanical Engineering -Paper II/ Botany Paper- II/

Click Here to Download Mains Exam Date Sheet

Study Kit for Indian Forest Service (IFoS) Prelims

BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-28) for BPSC Exam

BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-28) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : बिहार के किस शहर में देश दूसरे महिला रोजगार कार्यालय की स्थापना की गई है ?

(a) पटना
(b) भागलपुर
(c) कटिहार
(d) कैमूर

Q.2 : पाटलिपुत्र के किले का निर्माण किस शासक ने करवाया था ?

(a) अजातशत्रु ने
(b) शिशुनाग ने
(c) महेन्द्र ने
(d) अशोक ने

Q.3 : प्राचीन रोमन केथोलिक चर्च (पादरी की हवेली) का निर्माण कब हुआ था ?

(a) 1751 ई. में
(b) 1723 ई. में
(c) 1756 ई. में
(d) 1760 ई. में

Q.4 : गौत्तम बुद्ध का जन्म कब हुआ था ?

(a) 114 ई. पू.
(b) 423 ई. पू.
(c) 216 ई. पू.
(d) 563 ई. पू.

Q.5 : बिहार के "बिखारी ठाकुर" किस क्षेत्र में प्रसिद्ध थे ?

(a) चित्रकार
(b) मूर्तिकार
(c) राजनीति
(d) नाटककार

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

Study Kit for Bihar Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 18 october 2019 (Making of cyborgs and the challenges ahead (Mint))

Making of cyborgs and the challenges ahead (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Tech
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Neuromodulation

Context

  • A recent medical trial restored partial sight to six blind people via an implant that transmits video images directly to the brain.
  • The device used was called Orion, which feeds images from a camera directly to the brain.
  • “Cognitive neuroprosthetics” are devices that directly interface with the brain to improve memory, attention, emotion and much more.

Key problems with existing system

  • Current neuromodulation systems need surgical implantation of bulky components with limited battery life.
  • Batteries impact an intervention’s cost and lifetime, a device’s size and weight, the need for repeat surgeries and problems of tissue-heating and performance compromises. This is due to the relatively high power consumption of the electronics for a given performance requirement.
  • The National Institutes of Health in the US opines that pacemaker batteries last between 5-15 years, but their average lifespan is 6-7 years; a doctor has to operate again after about 7 years to replace either the battery or the pacemaker itself.

Way ahead

  • A flexible chip-type implant that harnesses glucose present in the body and converts it into electrical energy that can power a neurological implant.
  • The problem of battery size can be tackled by reducing the power consumption and operating the electronics near fundamental levels of physics.
  • Achieving a higher number of channels, better signal-to-noise ratio, and improved flexibility and robustness while working at ultra-low power can significantly lower implant sizes without sacrificing performance.
  • Ultra-low-power semiconductors to generate chipsets that have been validated in lab and animal trials.
  • Spinal cord stimulation and deep brain stimulation are major target applications.
  • Neuromodulation is the most lucrative sector in the European neurological device market.

Conclusion

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 18 october 2019 (Capital adequacy norms for banks could do with revision (Mint))

Capital adequacy norms for banks could do with revision (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Problems with monetary policy transmission

Context

  • The monetary policy committee of RBI will announce its monetary policy decision. RBI is widely expected to cut rates.

Challenges in Monetary policy transmission

  • Irrespective of the magnitude of a rate cut, the question of transmission is a big one.
  • Interest rate cuts take much longer to be passed on.
  • It is not even clear if interest rates matter in the current uncertain environment.
  • In the credit boom years up to 2007, RBI had proactively adjusted risk weights to dissuade banks from lending excessively to certain sectors and businesses.

Why reverse now

  • According to data published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), India’s credit-to-GDP gap has been negative since 2013 and is now running well below trend.
  • Banks are unwilling to lend and businesses are not keen to borrow either. The caution of banks should not starve creditworthy borrowers.
  • In the post-2008 phase, regulators around the world have embraced counter-cyclical capital buffers and macroprudential norms to better regulate credit creation while interest rates hit new lows. RBI could use the mechanism of countercyclical capital buffers to ease credit conditions.
  • Act in concert with owners of banks in enforcing lending discipline.
  • Central bank prescribing the MCLR-based lending rate as the floor in a liberalized interest rate environment is incongruous.
  • The government must use the crisis to legally enshrine non-interference in the operational decisions of banks
  • The government must incentivize banks to augment their assessment of creditworthiness and risk assessment of loans on a continuous basis.
  • Capitalization support and operational autonomy must be made contingent on skill up-gradation and other quantifiable performance measures.

Conclusion

  • As economic conditions normalize, countercyclical capital buffers must and will move in the opposite direction.
  • The bigger question is whether the capital adequacy norms prescribed under Basel III should be made uniformly applicable to all banks in India or only to internationally active banks. It will not only reduce the capitalization burden on the government but will also free up lending capacity.

    Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

    General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 18 october 2019 (The Code Red for labour (The Hindu))

The Code Red for labour (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Social Justice
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Codification of labour laws

Context

  • The Centre’s proposal to replace 44 labour laws with four codes saw the light of day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced it in her Budget speech.
  • It needs to be stated here that the original labour laws, enacted after decades of struggle, were meant to ensure certain dignity to the working-class people.
  • The Ministry of Labour’s proposal to fix the national minimum floor wage at ₹178, without any defined criteria or method of estimation.
  • This is rightly being called ‘starvation wage’, especially given that the Ministry’s own committee recommended ₹375 as the minimum.
  • Another concerning issue is that the four codes exclude over 95% of the workforce employed in informal units and small enterprises, who in fact are in greater need of legal safeguards.

Ambiguity on wording

  • There is a deliberate ambiguity maintained on wording and definitions.
  • There is no clarity on who constitutes an ‘employer’, an ‘employee’ or an ‘enterprise’, giving the owner greater discretion to interpret the provisions while making it more difficult for the worker to draw any benefits from them.
  • To minimise wage bills and compliance requirements, it is proposed that ‘apprentices’ be no longer considered employees, at a time when evidence indicates that apprentices are made to do jobs of contractual as well as permanent employees.
  • The code even has a provision on “employees below fifteen years of age”, which can be construed as legalisation of child labour.
  • The code on wages legitimises and promotes further contractualisation of labour, instead of abolishing it, by insulating the principal employer from liabilities and accountability in the case of irregularities on the part of the contractors.

Slavery-like provision

  • The wage code also brings back the draconian provision of “recoverable advances”, a system that the Supreme Court clearly linked to coercive and bonded labour, wherein distressed and vulnerable migrant labourers could be bonded to work through advance payments.
  • This is akin to modern forms of slavery, also encountered in rural labour markets.
  • The eight-hour workday shift has been done away with, and multiple provisions of increased overtime have been inserted.
  • The code also gives ample alibis to employers to evade bonus payments.
  • The government wants to provide a “facilitative” rather than a regulatory and punitive environment for the owners, with “facilitators-cum-inspectors” replacing the “inspectors” who used to ensure implementation of various labour laws to aid employees.
  • The code on industrial relations too is replete with restrictions, on forming or registering unions, calling a strike (which would entail prior permissions and notices) and seeking legal redressal for workers.

Conclusion

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 18 october 2019 (The CAG report flags the impact of an imperfect GST Network (The Hindu))

The CAG report flags the impact of an imperfect GST Network (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level : GSTN portal
Mains level : Simplification needed in GSTN portal

Context

  • GST was introduced two years back to make it easier for businesses to pay their taxes, but today they are as befuddled as ever by the GSTN portal which forces them to upload form after form, besides micro-level transactional detail. The recently released CAG report on GST implementation spells out some of the trouble spots. It says: “On the whole, the envisaged GST compliance system is non-functional.

Background

  • The deficiencies in the GST system also point to a serious lack of coordination between the Executive and the developers.
  • The number of GSTN 1 return filers (the form that requires invoice level details) is far less than those filing GSTN 3B (the form that calls for gross details).
  • This can be attributed to hassles in uploading the details for GSTN 1, and not as the bureaucrats running the show seem to believe to any general tendency to evade taxes.
  • If “all returns being filed showed a declining trend of filing from April 2018 to December 2018” the blame lies clearly with the GST Network that continues to flounder without being held accountable.
  • The so-called simplified format of uploading returns, supposed to be introduced in a couple of months, is full of rows and columns, with needless details being sought.
  • The online invoice matching, and the assumption of suspicion underlying it, should be reviewed. Rather than merely create a quarterly filing option for small businesses (below ₹5 crore turnover) and offer them a flat rate of tax under the ‘composition scheme’, GST filing rules should be streamlined for all.
  • Small businesses still suffer overheads on account of GST compliance (which includes filling forms in English without any other language option), despite efforts to simplify processes for them.

Key highlights of the CAG report

  • The CAG report has highlighted ‘technical’ lapses, the big picture is of GST per se being a complicated affair.
  • The rates, well above 10 in number, are higher than such systems elsewhere in the world. The GST Council has not helped by creating dual systems in certain sectors such as real estate, where 5 per cent can be paid without claiming input tax credit and 12 per cent with ITC.
  • The unorganised sectors continue to operate below the radar not necessarily because they wish to do so, but because the rates are high, more so if they have to remain under the composition scheme where tax credit is ruled out, and compliance formalities daunting.
  • At the federal level, the CAG points to IGST dues not being paid on time to States, some ₹2.11-lakh crore in 2017-18.
  • This could disrupt the existing consensus over GST reforms.

Conclusion

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 18 october 2019 (Should act tough and exit RCEP (The Hindu))

Should act tough and exit RCEP (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level : RCEP
Mains level : Major highlights of the RCEP agreement

Context

  • India at last seems to have found its lost voice at the on-going Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations.
  • The Indian negotiating team finally went to attend the RCEP Ministerial meet in Beijing last week with a clear mandate.
  • An aggressive posture and listed out India’s demands individually to the partner countries of the RCEP in the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.
  • The message to each of the partners be it the ten-member ASEAN, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia or New Zealand seemed to be common: if you don’t humour us, we may quit the game.

Can it face the diplomatic pressure from its friends in the ASEAN?

  • It doesn’t have very long to decide as the year-end deadline for implementing the pact, that was reinforced at the Beijing meeting, is looming near.
    While from the looks of it, the proposed RCEP with a third of world’s GDP, almost half its population and 40 per cent of exports seems to be too big a market for India to ignore, if one thinks lucidly enough the country may not lose out on much if it decides to keep out of the pact.

Key demands from India

  • India has demanded that the 10 countries improve their offers in the services sector so that Indian professionals and workers can have easier entry into their market, it is doubtful whether much would come from it.
  • The very reason the ASEAN had not offered anything to India in services in the FTA they have already in place is that most of its members are very sensitive about protecting the sector and have not offered much liberalisation even within the bloc to each-other.
  • So, in terms of enhanced market access, India would get relatively much less from its RCEP partners than it would be giving to them.
  • In fact, tariff elimination could worsen the trade deficit with RCEP, at $105.2 billion in 2018-19. Since import duties are also a source of revenue for India, it could experience a disproportional loss of customs revenue if it gets into the pact.

Change in stance

  • The fact that Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stayed away from the Ministerial meeting and sent the Commerce Secretary to take his place was the first indication of the change in India’s defensive stance adopted so far.
  • While the official reason for the Minister skipping the meeting was the extended Parliament session, many in the Ministry say that it was the industry consultations on RCEP that Goyal held just a few days prior to the Ministerial meet that left him confused and unsure.
  • The marathon sessions that Goyal had with the Indian industry pointed towards the total disaster that the pact could end up being for the country.
  • Of the over 500 representatives that the Minister met from numerous sectors ranging from steel, engineering goods and plastics to dairy and sea-food, most were completely against dismantling of tariffs for the RCEP countries, especially China.

Outcome of the RCEP agreement

  • Almost every sector registered its apprehension that once the RCEP agreement was in place, China would wreak havoc in the domestic market with its cheap exports and would also dump its products.
  • The Indian industry also feared that Japan and South Korea, which were already reaping huge benefits for items like steel and electronics from the bilateral free trade agreements signed with India, would penetrate the local markets further.
  • A large number of farmer organisations also came together to appeal jointly to the government not to sign the RCEP as they said that it would threaten farm livelihoods, autonomy over seeds and also endanger the country’s self-sufficient dairy sector.
  • Thus, when Wadhawan left for Beijing with his team for the RCEP meeting where all countries were expected to move towards final outcomes, the instruction was to be offensive rather than defensive.

Way forward

  • It is important to ensure that this offensive posture does not dissipate after the Beijing meeting. India already has had an unhappy experience with many of the RCEP members it had earlier signed FTAs with.
  • There are a number of research papers that point out how the Indian industry has suffered after signing FTAs with its regional partners, one done by the NITI Aayog explicitly says that India’s trade deficit with the ASEAN, Korea and Japan has widened post-FTAs.
  • True, the lure of being part of the largest free trade bloc in the world can indeed be very strong.
  • But when it is difficult to find any support for a pact from the sections it is intended to serve it shouldn’t be very difficult for the government to decide what to do.

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