General Studies – II
International Relations
1) The only solution for Myanmar’s troubles is the restoration of democracy. Assess the role of India’s foreign policy with respect to this view (200 Words)
Refer - The Hindu
General Studies – III
Economy
2) Various long term and short term policy initiatives have been undertaken to increase oil and gas production in the country. Discuss (200 Words)
Refer - Business Line
Infrastructure
3) It is time for India to promote the Indian ship building industry and provide fillip to the exports. Analyse (200 Words)
Refer - Business Line
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 2 years
KEY POINTS
· The National Unity Government (NUG), the parallel administration formed by opposition groups, as well as witnesses, said a fighter jet and a combat helicopter bombed the gathering.
· In the past, the main opposition that the military regimes had faced was the non-violent democratic movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
· The NUG and its armed wing, the People’s Defence Force (PDF), have joined hands with ethnic militias to oust the military.
· The military has lost swathes of territories, mostly sparsely populated rural and jungle areas.
· The junta faces pressure from the resistance groups, but it still controls most of the country’s population centres.
· The current approach of the generals is to hold on to territories under their control while continuing to use disproportionate force against opposition fighters and civilians in rebel-held areas.
· With the tacit support of Russia and China and silence from India, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing does not face any regional pressure either.
· They should use their economic and political clout to force the generals to stop the violence and enter into talks with the opposition.
· The only sustainable, long-term and just solution for Myanmar’s myriad woes is the restoration of its democracy under a federal constitutional order.
KEY POINTS
· Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members announced voluntary production cuts of about 1.15 million barrels a day, effective May.
· New Delhi has been raising issues such as high prices, high volatility and Asian premium faced by it and other consuming countries at various international forums.
· According to BP Stats 2022, India is the world’s third largest consumer of oil and LPG, and the fourth largest LNG importer, refiner. It is also the fastest growing major energy economy.
· Talking about strategic reserves, according to the government, the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves facility is 5.33 million tonne, which is estimated to meet 9.5 days of crude oil requirement.
· Crude oil and petroleum products available with oil marketing companies (including their capacity at Strategic Petroleum Reserves) can provide for about 77 days’ requirement , based on the net oil imports of April-December 2022.
· In the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Demands for Grants (2023-24) report, the committee has recommended the creation of more Strategic Petroleum Reserves capacity in a time-bound manner across the country.
· While India will still have oil as major energy resource for reasonable time, to cushion itself from global impacts it will need to make use of all types of energy sources to meet the growing demand.
KEY POINTS
· The Union Budget 2023-24 proposes to promote coastal shipping as an energy efficient and lower cost mode of transport both for passengers and freight, through public-private partnership (PPP) mode with viability gap funding.
· However, apart from coastal shipping which would contribute to economic growth, policymakers also need to focus on the shipbuilding industry to build a shipping line of international repute.
· India is endowed with a 7,500 km coastline and an infrastructure of 14 major ports and 200 minor/intermediate ports has not utilised its geography to develop its national economy.
· India’s contribution to commercial shipbuilding globally is less than 1 per cent today, which is far lower than the 3.5 per cent achieved in 2007-12.
· Indian private shipyards are not competitive to win global orders for those classes of ships that match in size to their infrastructure, despite the government’s financial subsidy of nearly 16 per cent.
· India’s critical contribution to the international maritime industry are its seafarers who rank among the top four nationalities, whom shipowners employ globally.
· Clearly, foreign shipowners recognise this education and experience and employ Indians to operate and manage their ships. Therefore, one thing that has really changed is the number of ship management companies which operate out of India.
