Daily News Simplified -

DNS
03 08 21
Notes
SL. THE HINDU
TOPICS
NO. PAGE NO.

Ex-Australian PM Abbott in India to push trade talks

1 09
(India-Australia relations)

2 At $35 bn, July exports 34% higher than pre-COVID level 01

3 Digital payment solution e-RUPI 10

4 The hacking of Indian democracy 06

1. UPSC Current Affairs: Ex-Australian PM Abbott in India to push trade talks | Page – 09

UPSC Syllabus: Mains – GS Paper II – International

Sub Theme: India-Australia bilateral relations | UPSC

 Background: 
o India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, believed Australia is a natural part of Asia
and invited it to participate in the Asian Relations Conference in Delhi in 1947, a few
months before independence.
o 20th century, a period of drift and alienation: That there was a gap of nearly three
decades between Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Australia in 1986 and PM Modi’s trip in 2014 only
underlines how short-sighted India’s neglect of Australia has been. 
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o The  end  of  the  Cold  War  and simultaneously India’s decision to launch major
economic reforms in 1991 provided the first positive  move  towards  development  of 
closer  ties  between  the  two  nations. 
o India’s nuclear test, 1998: It complicated the possibilities of improving the bilateral
relations. 
o Improvements since 2000s: The bilateral  relationship  between  the  two  nations was
upgraded to  a ‘Strategic Partnership’, including a Joint  Declaration  on  Security 
Cooperation in  2009.
 Political relations: The  two-way Prime Ministerial  visits in  2014 built  significant momentum  in
the bilateral  relationship,  signifying deepening relations.
 Trilateral   Dialogues: 
o India-Australia-Japan   Trilateral   Dialogue
 Indonesia-Australia-India  Trilateral  Dialogue

 Economic relations:
 Bilateral Trade: India is the 5th largest trade partner of Australia with trade in goods and
services  at  A$  29  billion  representing  3.6%  share  of  the  total  Australian  trade  in  2017-18, 
with export at A$ 8 billion and import at A$ 21 billion. 

 India’s  main  exports  to  Australia  are  Refined  Petroleum,  medicaments, while our major
imports are Coal, copper ores & concentrates, Gold, and  education  related  services.

 A  Civil  Nuclear  Cooperation  Agreement: It provides the framework for substantial new trade
in energy between Australia and India. It ensures that Uranium mining companies in Australia may
fulfil contracts to supply Australian uranium to India for civil use.

Defence cooperation: 

 The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement has been signed during the summit that should
enhance defence cooperation and ease the conduct of large-scale joint military exercises. 
 There is a technical  Agreement  on  White  Shipping Information  Exchange.
 Recently Australia and India conducted AUSINDEX, their largest bilateral naval exercise, and there
are further developments on the anvil, including Australia’s permanent inclusion in the Malabar
exercise with Japan. 
 In 2018, Indian Air Force participated for the first time in the Exercise Pitch Blackin Australia.The
third edition of AUSTRAHIND (Special Forces of Army Exercise) was held in September 2018.
 A broader maritime cooperation agreement with a focus on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is
also in the works and Australia has agreed to post a Liaison Officer at the Indian Navy’s
Information Fusion Centre - Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram. 

Education 

 Under  the NewColombo  Plan of  Australian  government,  900 Australian undergraduates have

studied and completed internships in India during the period 2015-16
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Diaspora

 The Indian community in Australia has the population of nearly half a million (2.1 % of the
population), and another over 1,50,000 persons of Indian descent immigrated from other
countries (Fiji, Malaysia, Kenya and South Africa). 
 India is one of the top sources of skilled immigrants to Australia. 

Significance of Indo-Australia bilateral relations

 Pandemic control lessons: Australia is one of the few countries that has managed to combat
COVID-19 so far through “controlled adaptation” by which the coronavirus has been suppressed to
very low levels. Two of the leaders of this great Australia-wide effort are Indian-born scientists. 

 Agricultural cooperation: From farming practices through food processing, supply and
distribution to consumers, the Australian agribusiness sector has the research and development
(R&D) capacity, experience and technical knowledge to help India’s food industry improve supply
chain productivity and sustainability and meet the challenges of shifting consumption patterns. 

 Trade: Australia is the 13th largest economy in the world, following closely behind Russia which
stands at $1.6 trillion. 
o Australia is rich in natural resources that India’s growing economy needs. 
o It also has huge reservoirs of strength in higher education, scientific and technological
research.
o The dominance of Indo-Pacific countries in India’s trade profile: Fostering deeper
integration between India and Australia will provide the necessary impetus to the
immense growth potential of the trade blocs in this region.
 Strategic:  The two countries also have increasingly common military platforms as India’s defence
purchases from the U.S. continue to grow.
o Australia has deep economic, political and security connections with the ASEAN and a
strategic partnership with one of the leading non-aligned nations, Indonesia. Both
nations can leverage their equation with ASEAN to contain China.
o Economic and Maritime dynamics in the Indo-Pacific:The Indo-Pacific region has the
potential to facilitate connectivity and trade between India and Australia.
o Quad: Being geographically more proximate than the US or Japan, India and Australia
can emerge as leading forces for the Quad. 
 Health and safe food as well the supply chains: The promise of DTC-CPG (direct to consumer;
consumer packaged goods) which could transform global supply chains. Here too there is much
room for collaboration and new thinking.
 International cooperation:
o WHO’s handling of pandemic: India and 62 other countries have backed a draft
resolution led by Australia and the EU to 'identify the zoonotic source' of Covid-19 and its
'route of introduction' to humans.
o Australia supports India’s candidature in an expanded UN Security Council.
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o Both  India  and  Australia  are members of the Commonwealth, IORA, ASEAN Regional
Forum, Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate  and  Clean  Development,  and  have 
participated  in  the  East  Asia  Summits.  
 Australia   is   an   important   player   in   APEC   and   supports   India's
membership of the organisation. In 2008, Australia became an Observer in SAARC.
o Both countries have also been cooperating as members of the Five Interested Parties
(FIP) in the WTO context.

Concerns

 (Im)balance of trade: India’s trade deficit with Australia has been increasing since 2001-02 due
to India-Australia Free Trade Agreement. It is also a contentious issue in the ongoing RCEP
negotiations which India left.
o The  two  countries  are  also  discussing  a Comprehensive  Economic  Cooperation 
Agreement  (CECA),  however,  the  progress  is currently stalled.
o Non-trade barriers such as Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) measures some of the
products where Australia has a genuine comparative advantage are not exported in
substantial amounts to India. 
o Australia’s relatively lower share of services trade with India (4.3 percent) can be
attributed to legislative barriers such as licence requirements. 
o Fall in FDI: Statistics from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry indicate that there is
a fall in the FDI inflow from Australia to India from US$ 518.64 million in 2010-12 to US$
260.49 million in 2016-18.
 No coherent Indo pacific strategy:
o For Australia a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ means establishing a regional architecture
with fellow democratic countries to help maintain the ‘rules-based order’ as China
becomes the most powerful actor in the region.
o India’s preferred formulation of a ‘free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific’ refers to a
multipolar regional order within which Delhi can maintain its strategic autonomy
o Fate Of Quad: India’s unwillingness to invite Australia to participate in the Malabar naval
exercise, despite Australian lobbying, has also sparked speculation over the fate of the
Quadrilateral Consultative Dialogue (the ‘Quad) involving India, Australia, Japan and the
United States.
 China’s expansive OBOR project: Although neither India nor Australia are members of the OBOR
—primarily due to concerns over security and unsustainable debt burden—they are not, in any
sense, less encumbered by the dynamics posed by OBOR in the Indo-Pacific. 
 India’s foreign policy shortcomings: China has transformed its relationship with Australia during
the period in which India ignored Australia.
o Delhi’s temptation to judge nations on the basis of their alignments with other powers
stands in contrast to Beijing that puts interests above ideology, promotes
interdependence with a targeted middle power, turns it into political influence and tries to
weaken its alignment with the rival powers.
 Racist Attacks on Indian Students in Australia is another concerning issue which needs to be
addressed with care.
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Way forward: There are a host of emerging issues — from reforming the World Health Organisation to
5G technology and from strengthening the international solar alliance to building resilience against
climate change and disasters — that lend themselves to intensive bilateral political and institutional
engagement. 

 Utilising current innovations in digital trade; such digitisation of economic activities have
changed the landscape of trade, enhancing associations between economies and, in particular,
South-South flows.
 Improving trade: Removal of trade barriers would lead to an increase in the exports of these
commodities, although the increasing number of disputes at the WTO with regard to the
Australian sector can act as a serious impediment.
o Imports of intermediate inputs would enhance the export-competitiveness of domestic
firms and boost the ‘Make in India’ campaign, in addition to curbing cost-push inflation in
the domestic economy.
 Leveraging the trilateral dynamics between ASEAN, Australia and India: It is evident in policy
areas such as maritime security, climate change, energy security, law enforcement, governance
and the politics of security institutions.
 Engaging Indonesia, Japan, France and Britain for securing Indo-Pacific: 
o Engaging Indonesia in Eastern Indian Ocean: Eastern Indian Ocean, connecting the two
oceans, is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. The sea lines of communication between the
Indian and Pacific oceans run through the Indonesian archipelago. 
 Given the shared political commitment to the Indo-Pacific idea between Delhi,
Jakarta and Canberra and the growing pressures on them to secure their shared
waters, India and Australia must seek trilateral maritime and naval cooperation
with Indonesia.
o Tokyo has close ties with both Delhi and Canberra. Their current trilateral dialogue can be
expanded from the diplomatic level to practical maritime cooperation on the ground. 
o France is a resident power with territories in the Western Indian Ocean and the South
Pacific. Paris and Canberra are eager to develop a trilateral arrangement with Delhi that
will supplement the bilateral cooperation among the three nations which India should
endorse.
o In the east, Britain continues to lead the so-called Five Power Defence Arrangement(FPDA)
set up back in 1971, after Britain pulled back most of its forces from the East of Suez. 
 The FPDA brings together the armed forces of the UK, Malaysia, Singapore,
Australia and New Zealand. India & Australia must explore the possibilities for
engagement between India and the FPDA. 
 An ‘engage and balance’ China strategy is the best alternative to the dead end of containment.
The role of the US is of particular importance as it has recently been a driver of efforts towards
bringing similarly aligned states in counterbalancing China.
 Upgradation of 2+2 talks: In addition, it may be prudent too for New Delhi and Canberra to
elevate the ‘two plus two’ format for talks from the Secretary level to the level of Foreign and
Defence Ministers.

2. UPSC Current Affairs: At $35 bn, July exports 34% higher than pre-COVID level | Page 01

UPSC Syllabus: Prelims: Economy | Mains – GS Paper III – Economy

Date: 03-Aug-2021 DNS Notes - Revision

Sub Theme: Exports | Merchandise Exports | Imports | UPSC

 India’s merchandise exports in July were 34% higher than the pre-COVID levels of July2019, at
$35.17 billion, but the trade deficit hit a three-month high as gold imports jumped 145.4% from
the 2019 levels.
 Imports rose from $41.8billion in June to $46.4 billion, 14.75% higher than pre-pandemic activity.
But without factoring in oil and gems and jewellery brought in, imports actually shrank 0.17% over
the same period.
 Total merchandise exports during the first four months of 2021-22 now stand at $130.6 billion,
about22% higher than 2019. The government is confident of meeting the $400 billion target for
the full year. Let us look into past trend and composition of India’s external trend.
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Date: 03-Aug-2021 DNS Notes - Revision

3. UPSC Current Affairs: Digital payment solution e-RUPI | Page 10

UPSC Syllabus: Mains – GS Paper III– Indian Economy

Sub Theme: e-RUPI | National Payments Corporation of India | UPSC

e-RUPI has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India

Features
• Person and purpose specific cashless digital payment solution,
• It is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment medium
• It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of beneficiaries.
• It could be used as a voucher in case of payments to medical treatment, education etc.
• It is one-time use voucher.
• It is offline hence can be accessible even in the remotest areas.
• A beneficiary has to carry an SMS or QR code which is then scanned to make payments.
• It works even on basic phones.
• It does not require any physical interface for transactions.

Benefits:
• Private sector can also leverage the new system for employee welfare and corporate social
responsibility programmes
• ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.
• digital solution is safe as it ensures payment only after the transaction is completed.
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• Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without the
involvement of any intermediary
• No need for bank account make it universally available in rural India.
• It would help in meeting financial inclusion targets.

4. UPSC Current Affairs: The hacking of Indian democracy | Page 07

UPSC Syllabus: Prelims: Polity & Governance | Mains: Polity & Governance

Sub Theme: Pegasus Scandal | Privacy Rights | Imperils of Snooping | UPSC

Context: In the backdrop of snooping scandal through Pegasus, the Article by a senior Supreme Court
lawyer mentions that snooping by any government cannot be justified on grounds of national security as
it has serious implications on violation of fundamental right to privacy, civil liberties and also goes against
the internationally established principles of human rights.

When can Government Restrict Right to Privacy?

 Supreme Court in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs Union Of India has ruled Right to Privacy as an
integral part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution.
 The Court held that these rights are recognised by the Constitution as inhering in each individual
as an intrinsic and inseparable part of the human element which dwells within. However, right to
privacy is not absolute and state can make law to restrict right to privacy.
 A law on invasion of life or personal liberty must meet the three-fold requirement of:
1. Legality, which postulates the existence of law i.e. state action must have a legislative mandate
2. Need, defined in terms of a legitimate state aim i.e. there must be a legitimate state purpose
3. Proportionality which ensures a rational nexus between the objects and the means adopted to
achieve them.

Imperils of Snooping
 Violates right to privacy and dignity as part of Article 21
 Suppress political and social freedom of individuals
 Suppress any kind of dissent in the society carried out by social activists, media persons, lawyers
or other members of civil society
 Reflects autocratic functioning of the state which undermines democracy
 Violates international principles laid down in UDHR – Article 12 & ICCPR – Article 17 – thereby
violating Article 51 (DPSP) which calls India to foster respect for international law and treaty
obligations
 Makes “we the people” from whom sovereignty is derived susceptible
 Undermines Rule of Law
 Shows complicity of national security institutions like Intelligence Bureau, the Research and
Analysis Wing, and the National Security Council Secretariat in snooping

International Principles to protect Human Rights of Privacy

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 UDHR - Article 12 - No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family,
home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right
to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – ICCPR - Article 17 - No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of
the law against such interference or attacks.
 2014 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) –
Digital Communications Technologies offers promise of improved enjoyment of human rights by
amplifying the voices of human rights defenders and providing them with new tools to document
and expose abuses.
 Resolution 68/167 adopted by UN General Assembly - The Resolution expressed “deep
concerns” at the negative impact that surveillance and/or interception of communications,
including extraterritorial surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as the
collection of personal data, in particular when carried out on a mass scale, may have on the
exercise and enjoyment of human rights.
 Based on the deep concerns against invasion of right to privacy, the Resolution reaffirmed the
following:
 Reaffirmed the right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary
or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the
right to the protection of the law against such interference, as set out in article 12 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights1 and article 17 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
 Affirmed that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online,
including the right to privacy.
 Call upon member states to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the
context of digital communication and take measures to put an end to violations of those
rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that
relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human
rights law.
 To establish or maintain existing independent, effective domestic oversight mechanisms
capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for State surveillance
of communications, their interception and the collection of personal data.

Concerns Expressed in the Article

 Despite these international obligations on member states including India, communications
technologies have also enhanced the capacity of Governments, enterprises and individuals to
conduct surveillance, interception and data collection.
 This in a way results in breach of international obligation to protect privacy, civil liberty and basic
dignity of human lives.
 Based on these concerns, the author has expressed the need to constitute a commission of
inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge to unravel the truth behind Pegasus Scandal.