Category: International Relations

• The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an important milestone for the European Union (EU), reinforcing its place as a global leader in regulating the technology industry.
• With its implementation, six tech titans designated as “gatekeepers” – Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok owner ByteDance – would be compelled to follow new laws. 

EU’s Leadership in Tech Regulation

• The EU has been a pioneer in tech regulation, imposing major fines on internet firms, enforcing stringent antitrust rules, and establishing norms for social media and artificial intelligence.
• Global Impact: The DMA establishes a precedent for tech regulation around the world, with countries like as Japan, Britain, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, and India developing similar measures to avoid tech domination in digital marketplaces. 

Key Provisions of the DMA

• The DMA regulates 22 services, including operating systems, chat apps, social media platforms, and search engines, provided by certified tech gatekeepers.
• Noncompliance Penalties: Tech corporations face significant fines of up to 20% of their annual global turnover for repeated infractions, as well as potential dissolution for systematic infringements.

Implications for Tech Giants.

• Changes in Business Practices: Tech behemoths are being forced to alter their business models to comply with the DMA, like as Apple’s decision to let iPhone customers to download apps from sites other than the App Store.
• Reduced Monopolistic Practices: The DMA seeks to limit monopolistic behaviour by giving users options for default browsers, search engines, and app sources.

Challenges and Criticism

• Security worries: While Apple’s move to allow programme downloads from sources other than the programme Store gives customers more freedom, it also raises worries about potential security risks linked with third-party providers.
• Market Fragmentation: Critics believe that tech companies’ additional fees for alternate app sources may discourage developers, resulting in market fragmentation and reduced competition.
• Consumer understanding: Despite providing choice panels for default services, smaller firms such as Ecosia express fear that customers would remain with familiar options due to a lack of understanding about alternatives.

EU Vigilance and Future Outlook

• Regulatory Oversight: EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager emphasises strong scrutiny to ensure that tech corporations follow DMA legislation and do not evade rules.
• customer Choice: The DMA prioritises customer choice by allowing users to choose their default services and encouraging competition among ICT providers.
• Continuous Evaluation: The effectiveness of DMA laws will be regularly assessed in order to solve developing difficulties and maintain a fair and competitive digital ecosystem. 

Application in India: Unique Considerations

• Market Dynamics: India’s digital market differs greatly from the EU in terms of internet penetration, consumer preferences, and regulatory constraints.
• Discussion on Ex-Ante Regulation: The EU’s adoption of ex-ante laws calls into question their relevance in India, as well as the necessity for adapted methods to accommodate local market characteristics.
• Ground Reality: Legal professionals emphasise the significance of matching regulatory frameworks with ground realities and testing laws in local contexts to ensure their effectiveness. 

Way Forward: Tailored Solutions for India.

• Customised Regulation: India’s DMA should be developed in collaboration with businesses and consumers to meet the country’s distinct market characteristics and regulatory issues.
• Pragmatic Approach: Regulatory frameworks must be adaptable and sensitive to local realities, ensuring that laws efficiently address local requirements while encouraging competition and innovation. 

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/european-unions-digital-markets-act-not-suitable-for-developing-economies-including-india/

• During a recent review of Pakistan’s debt, India emphasised the necessity for tight supervision as new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought more budgetary help from the IMF.

Background:

• India has taken a harsh line, calling for “stringent monitoring” of any emergency funds supplied by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Pakistan, emphasising that such monies must not be redeployed to pay defence expenses or repay loans from other nations.
• India’s viewpoint was communicated to the IMF’s executive board at a recent assessment of the Fund’s continuing $3 billion short-term Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with Pakistan.

About the International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• The IMF strives to achieve long-term growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries.
• It accomplishes this by promoting economic policies that encourage financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are critical for increasing productivity, job creation, and economic well-being.
• The IMF is run by and responsible to its member countries.

Aims and objectives include 

• Strengthening international monetary cooperation, promoting trade and economic progress, and discouraging measures that hurt prosperity. 

Functions of IMF:

• The IMF provides policy advice at global and regional levels, identifying potential risks and recommending policy modifications to support economic growth and financial stability.
• Financial Advice: The IMF provides financial assistance to crisis-affected nations to allow them to pursue policies that restore economic stability and prosperity. It also offers preventive finance to assist prevent crises. IMF assistance is constantly adjusted to fit countries’ changing needs. Crisises can be caused by either domestic or external factors.
  • Domestic factors include ineffective fiscal and monetary policies, which can result in large current account and fiscal deficits and high levels of public debt; an exchange rate that is fixed at an inappropriate level, eroding competitiveness and resulting in the loss of official reserves; and a weak financial system. Political instability and inadequate institutions can also cause crises.
  • External variables include shocks such as natural disasters and big fluctuations in commodities prices. With globalisation, rapid shifts in market sentiment can cause money flow volatility. Both are common causes of crisis, particularly in low-income countries.

Significance of IMF monitoring:

• Crucial for recognising potential risks and making necessary policy adjustments.
• International cooperation on these endeavours is crucial in today’s globalised economy, as one country’s problems or policies can have far-reaching consequences.
• Individual countries are monitored bilaterally, while the global economy is monitored multilaterally. 

Conclusion

Uncertainty about Pakistan’s capacity to promptly negotiate a new IMF programme when the current one expires in April 2024 remains considerable. Pakistan’s government liquidity and external vulnerability concerns will remain extremely high unless there is clarity on a credible longer-term funding plan

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-to-imf-ensure-pakistan-does-not-divert-loans-to-foot-its-defence-third-country-debt-bills/article67921899.ece#:~:text=Taking%20a%20tough%20stance%2C%20India,of%20loans%20from%20other%20countries.

• India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Women, Business, and Law index has improved significantly, rising to 113 out of 190 nations in the most recent assessment.
• It’s interesting to note that none of the world’s countries received a perfect score on the new measure, revealing widespread gender discrepancies in legal rights. 

About Women, Business, and Law Index

• Overview: The Women, Business, and Law Index is a World Bank effort that tracks how laws and regulations affect women’s economic opportunities.
• Objective: The index establishes objective and measurable benchmarks for assessing global progress towards legal gender equality.
• Scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 representing equal legal rights for men and women.
• Areas Covered: The report evaluates eight crucial aspects, including mobility, workplace, wage, marriage, motherhood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension.
• Milestone Edition: The 2024 version is the report’s tenth iteration. 

India’s Performance

• India’s legal rights gap is somewhat lower than the global average of 64.2%, with women having 60% of the same rights as males.
• Regional Comparison: India surpassed its South Asian competitors, where women typically receive only 45.9% of the legal protections that men do.
• Supportive Frameworks: India’s performance in constructing supportive frameworks was inadequate, with only 54.2% of the required frameworks in place.
• Policy Efforts: India hopes to boost female labour force participation, which was 37% in 2022-23, much lower than many industrialised nations.
• OECD Comparison: In 2022, the female labour force participation rate in OECD countries surpassed 50%, underlining the gap that India hopes to close. 

Source: https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/india-ranks-113-out-of-190-countries-in-the-world-banks-legal-gender-gap-index/articleshow/108212920.cms#:~:text=India%20ranks%20113%20in%20the,force%20participation%20rate%20is%2037%25.

• The notion of grey zone warfare has acquired traction in modern international relations, reflecting a dynamic region between open combat and peace.
• This subtle type of warfare involves a wide range of activities intended at achieving national goals while avoiding open confrontation.

What is Grey Zone Warfare?

• Middle Ground: Grey zone warfare refers to an unclear environment in which actions blur the line between peace and war.
• Diverse tactics include economic coercion, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, proxy warfare, and territorial aggression, among others.

Historical Context and Rationale

• Cold War Legacy: The Cold War era, characterised by nuclear deterrence between superpowers, prompted the use of grey zone strategies to prevent catastrophic escalation.
• Resourceful Adversaries: When confronted with superior adversaries, nations use grey zone tactics to advance their goals without provoking a full-scale confrontation.
• Examples of Grey Zone Warfare: 

1. South China Sea Disputes: China’s forceful tactics in the South China Sea, which include marine militia presence and territorial claims, are an example of grey zone warfare. Confrontations with countries such as the Philippines demonstrate the problematic nature of these techniques.
2. Taiwan Strait Tensions: Chinese military manoeuvres near Taiwan, as well as Taiwanese complaints about rising Chinese military action, show the use of grey zone methods to exert pressure without risking open conflict.
3. US-China Economic Rivalry: The United States’ economic penalties, trade tariffs, and maritime reconnaissance measures against China highlight grey zone competition outside military realms. 

Motivation and Objectives

• Covert Intentions: Grey zone tactics promote strategic goals while retaining plausible deniability and avoiding direct conflict.
• Escalation Management: Adversaries attempt to exploit vulnerabilities and escalate tensions on several levels, complicating crisis management measures

Challenges and Responses

• Response Complexity: Because grey zone warfare acts are frequently secret and multidimensional, it is difficult to design acceptable responses.
• Risk of Over-Escalation: Strategies such as baiting enemies into escalation can have unexpected repercussions and raise tensions, needing cautious crisis management.

Source: https://www.iiss.org/en/online-analysis/online-analysis/2019/04/understanding-the-grey-zone/

• The EU has sanctioned Si2 Microsystems, an Indian technology business, for its connections to Russia.
• It has already faced restrictions, including a ban by the US on transferring “dual-use” technology. 

What are dual-use items?

• Definition: Dual-use products are commodities that can be used in both civilian and military applications.
• Regulatory Scrutiny: Because these devices can be initially created for civilian reasons but later repurposed for military or even terrorist activity, they are subject to strict supervision.
• Examples: Dual-use items include global positioning satellites, missiles, nuclear technologies, chemical and biological weapons, night vision equipment, drones, precision-engineered aluminium pipes, and some types of ball bearings.

Global Control Mechanisms for Dual-Use Items

(1) Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR):

• Established in 1987 by the G-7 countries.
• Goal: To inhibit the spread of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass devastation.
• Membership consists of 35 member countries.
• Guidelines: Members collaborate on national export regulations to prevent missile proliferation.
• India’s Membership: India joined as the 35th member in 2016. 

(2) Wassenaar Arrangement (WA):

• Established: in 1996, with 42 participant states.
• Purpose: To prevent destabilising accumulations of conventional armaments, dual-use items, and technologies.
• Export Controls: To prevent the development of military capabilities, member countries impose controls on the items mentioned below.
• India is not a member, but it has shown an interest in joining to improve its export controls and nonproliferation activities.

(3) Australia Group (AG):

• The formation was prompted by Iraq’s deployment of chemical weapons in 1985.
• The focus was initially on chemical weapons precursor compounds, but it has since evolved to encompass biological weapon avoidance.
• Membership consists of 42 member countries. India is not a member.
• The goal is to harmonise international export regulations for chemical and biological technologies. 

(4) Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG):

• Established in 1974 as a response to India’s nuclear testing.
• Control nuclear and nuclear-related technology in order to prevent proliferation.
• Membership consists of 48 participating governments.
• Guidelines: The goal is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons through control mechanisms.

[Note: India is also a signatory to significant accords including the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BWC).]

India’s internal mechanisms against dual-use items

• The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in India regulates dual-use commodities through the SCOMET list (Specialty Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies).
• SCOMET List: SCOMET products include unique chemicals, organisms, materials, equipment, and technologies that have dual-use potential.
• Regulatory Framework: Exporting SCOMET goods is subject to severe rules, which may need a licence or be restricted entirely.
• Alignment with International Controls: The SCOMET control list is consistent with control lists from other international export control regimes and treaties. 

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/government-examining-indian-tech-company-in-eu-us-sanctions-list/article67889474.ece#:~:text=The%20company%2C%20Bengaluru%2Dbased%20high,Indian%20authorities%20over%20debt%20defaults.

• From February 22 to March 18, India will display several Lord Buddha relics in Thailand that are now in its possession.

Kapilvastu Relics: Details

• The relics of Lord Buddha and his followers Arahata Sariputra and Arahata Maudgalayana are known as the ‘Kapilvastu Relics.’
• Origin: These artefacts, which include 20 bone fragments, have been conserved at India’s National Museum.
• They were discovered in 1898 at a site in Bihar thought to be the ancient city of Kapilvastu. An inscribed casket discovered at the stupa site in Piprahwa (near Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh) helped identify Kapilavastu.
• These artefacts, discovered in Bihar’s Piprahwa, are thought to be from the ancient city of Kapilvastu and date back to the 4th or 5th century BC.
• Excavation Details: The ASI discovered these relics during excavations from 1971 to 1977, including two inscribed steatite stone caskets containing 12 and ten religious relics, respectively.

Public Display in Thailand

• Previous Exhibitions: Portions of these relics were previously shown in Sri Lanka (1976, 2012), Mongolia (1993, 2022), Singapore (1994, 2007), South Korea (1995), and Thailand (1995).
• The Thai government has constructed a special pagoda in Bangkok to house the artefacts during the display.

Significance of Display: Promoting Indian Diplomacy

• Diplomatic Achievement: This event is a diplomatic achievement for India by building connections with Thailand and encouraging cultural interchange.
• Buddhist Circuit Development: The effort is consistent with India’s ‘Look East’ policy, emphasising the promotion of soft power through cultural exchange.
• Previous Engagements: India transferred the relics to Mongolia in 2022 and Sri Lanka in 2012, demonstrating its commitment to strengthening cultural and spiritual connections.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/buddhas-relics-at-national-museum-to-be-on-display-in-thailand-9172154/#:~:text=The%20relics%20at%20the%20National,Pradesh)%20that%20helped%20identify%20Kapilavastu.

• The INDUS-X Summit, which will take place in New Delhi on February 20-21, will represent a key milestone in India and the United States’ combined efforts in defence innovation.

INDUS-X

• The ‘INDUS-X’ conference, a joint endeavour between India and the United States, marks a watershed moment in bilateral defence cooperation by establishing strategic technology alliances and industrial engagement.
• Inception date: June 2023.
• The goal is to strengthen bilateral defence innovation and technology collaboration.
• Objectives:
  • Increasing strategic collaboration: By broadening strategic technology alliances and defence industrial cooperation.
  • Bridging Innovation Gaps: Create a defence innovation bridge that includes joint challenges, academic involvement, industry-startup collaboration, and investment in defence projects.
• Focus Areas:
  • Promoting more horizontal cooperation across governments, academics, and laboratories, as well as vertical collaboration between established defence primes and startups or Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
  • Increase the number of points of interaction between startups and prime contractors for essential defence assets including jet engines, long-range artillery, and infantry vehicles.
  • Supporting India’s goal of reaching $5 billion in defence exports by 2025.
  • Contributing to the Indo-Pacific region’s stability and security.
• Key Participants:
  • India’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), U.S. Department of Defense, U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).

About Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)

• The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, introduced iDEX as a flagship initiative in 2018.
• Aim: To promote innovation and technological growth in the defence and aerospace sectors.
• The goal is to create an ecosystem that would enable the rapid development of new, indigenous, and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sectors.
• Significance:
  • Funding: The programme provides grants and cash to support research and development efforts as well as the fabrication of functioning prototypes of national security-related products/technologies.
  • Inclusive Growth: The programme fosters a culture of interaction with creative companies, promotes co-creation in the defence and aerospace sectors, and enables a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation.
  • Engagement with the Industrial Sector: The programme focuses on bringing together industries, such as MSMEs, startups, and individual innovators, to develop technologically sophisticated solutions for modernising the defence and aerospace sectors.
  • Collaboration: iDEX operates through a variety of programmes, including the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC), which solicits issue statements from the Armed Forces, DPSUs, and OFB.
• Implementation of Program:
  • The Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), a non-profit business established under the Companies Act 2013, implements the iDEX framework and serves as a liaison between the Armed Forces and solution providers.
  • As a result, the programme aims to make India self-reliant and self-sufficient in defence by encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological growth in the defence and aerospace sectors.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/military-equipment-co-developed-by-india-us-can-be-used-to-dissuade-countries-from-going-to-mutual-adversaries/article67868477.ece

Kosovo has gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen zone, a key step towards greater integration with the European Union (EU) and the world community.

What is the Schengen Area?

• Definition: A zone of 27 European countries where internal boundaries have been removed to allow for free movement of people.
• Membership: 23 of the 27 EU member nations, as well as all EFTA members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).
• Key features:
  1. There are no internal border checks, unless in exceptional threat situations.
  2. Harmonised controls at external borders based on predefined criteria.

About the Eurozone

• A geographic and economic zone made up of European Union countries that have embraced the euro as their national currency.
• As of January 2023, the EU consists of 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
• Key features:
  1. Coordination of economic policymaking to meet EU economic objectives.
  2. The euro replaces national currencies.

Joining the Eurozone requires meeting particular requirements: 

Including four macroeconomic indicators:

1. Pricing Stability: Maintain long-term pricing performance with average inflation no more than 1.5 percent higher than that of the three best-performing member states.
2. Public Finances: Keep the budget deficit under 3% of GDP and the public debt under 60% of GDP.
3. Convergence durability is measured by long-term interest rates that cannot be more than 2 percent higher than those in the three most price-stable member states.
4. Exchange Rate Stability: Show stability by participating in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) II for at least two years without experiencing significant tensions or devaluation versus the euro.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7907