The significance of PM’s visit to the UAE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE on June 28 was his fourth, having visited the country earlier in August 2015, in February 2018 and again in August 2019.

Why do the Gulf and UAE matters to India?

The UAE has given crucial support to India in the Islamic world, first by inviting our late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as a guest of honour at an OIC foreign ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE stood with us on Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

The Gulf is our third-largest trading partner.

The Gulf region is our principal source of hydrocarbons.

It is also a major source of foreign investment.

The region is home to some 8 million Indians who send in over $50 billion annually in remittances.

Deepening bilateral ties

CEPA: In a virtual summit with Sheikh Mohamed in February 2022, both sides signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

CEPA is a significant milestone that was negotiated and finalised in just 88 days and promises to increase bilateral trade from $60 billion to $ 100 billion in five years.

 It is expected to help Indian exports in areas ranging from gems and jewellery and textiles to footwear and pharmaceuticals, apart from enhanced access for Indian service providers to 11 specific sectors.

Vision statement: An ambitious, forward-looking Joint Vision Statement titled, “Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestones” was also issued.

The Dubai-based DP World and India’s National Skills Development Council signed an agreement to set up a Skill India Centre in Varanasi to train local youth in logistics, port operations and allied areas so that they can pursue overseas employment.

New avenues for multilateral cooperation

The rapid normalisation of ties between the UAE and Israel following the Abraham Accords of August 2020 has also opened new avenues of trilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Technology, capital and scale: Some Israeli tech companies are already establishing a base in Dubai and seeking to marry niche technologies with Emirati capital and Indian scale.

2I2U: The US has announced that President Joe Biden’s forthcoming visit to West Asia will see a virtual summit of what it calls the 2I2U, a new grouping that brings together India, Israel, the US and UAE.

How is Vice-President of India elected?

The Election Commission has announced that the election to the post of the Vice-President (VP) will be held on August 6, as M. Venkaiah Naidu’s term was coming to an end on August 10.

About Vice President of India

The VP is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, the President of India.

His/her office is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.

The vice president is also a member of the Parliament as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Qualifications

As in the case of the president, to be qualified to be elected as vice president, a person must:

Be a citizen of India

Be at least 35 years of age

Not hold any office of profit

Unlike in the case of the president, where a person must be qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, the vice president must be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

This difference is because the vice president is to act as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Roles and responsibilities

When a bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the vice president decides whether it is a money bill or not.

If he is of the opinion that a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a money bill, he shall refer it to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The vice president also acts as the chancellor of the central universities of India.

Election procedure

Article 66 of the Constitution of India states the manner of election of the vice president.

The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament and NOT the members of state legislative assembly.

The election is held as per the system of proportional representation using single transferable votes.

The voting is conducted by Election Commission of India via secret ballot.

The Electoral College for the poll will comprise 233 Rajya Sabha members, 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members and 543 Lok Sabha members.

The Lok Sabha Secretary-General would be appointed the Returning Officer.

Political parties CANNOT issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.

Removal

The Constitution states that the vice president can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an Effective majority (majority of all the then members) and agreed by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority( Article 67(b)).

But no such resolution may be moved unless at least 14 days’ notice in advance has been given.

Notably, the Constitution does not list grounds for removal.

No Vice President has ever faced removal or the deputy chairman in the Rajya Sabha cannot be challenged in any court of law per Article 122.

Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a proposal to digitise around 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies (PACS).

What are the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)?

PACS is a basic unit and smallest co-operative credit institutions in India.

In 1904 the first Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) was established.

It works on the grassroots level (gram panchayat and village level).

PACS is the final link between the ultimate borrowers, i.e., rural people, on the one hand, and the higher agencies, i.e., Central cooperative bank, state cooperative bank, and Reserve Bank of India, on the other.

Who regulates PACS?

PACS are registered under the Co-operative Societies Act and also regulated by the RBI.

They are governed by the “Banking regulation Act-1949” and Banking Laws (Co-operative societies) Act 1965.

Various objectives of PACS

To raise capital for the purpose of making loans and supporting members’ essential activities.

To collect deposits from members with the goal of improving their savings habit.

To supply agricultural inputs and services to members at reasonable prices,

To arrange for the supply and development of improved breeds of livestock for members.

To make all necessary arrangements for improving irrigation on land owned by members.

To encourage various income-generating activities through supply of necessary inputs and services.

Functions of PACS

As registered cooperative societies, PACS have been providing credit and other services to their members.

PACS typically offer the following services to their members:

Input facilities in the form of a monetary or in-kind component

Agriculture implements for hire

Storage space

Who can form PACS?

A primary agricultural credit society can be formed by a group of ten or more people from a village. The society’s management is overseen by an elected body.

The membership fee is low enough that even the poorest agriculturist can join.

Members of the society have unlimited liability, which means that each member assumes full responsibility for the society’s entire loss in the event of its failure.

What capitalizes PACS?

The primary credit societies’ working capital is derived from their own funds, deposits, borrowings, and other sources.

Share capital, membership fees, and reserve funds are all part of the company’s own funds.

Deposits are made by both members and non-members.

Borrowings are primarily made from central cooperative banks.

Why need digitization?

PACS account for 41 % (3.01 Cr. farmers) of the KCC loans given by all entities in the country and 95 % of these KCC loans (2.95 Cr. farmers) through PACS are to the small and marginal farmers.

The other two tiers viz. State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) have already been automated by the NABARD and brought on Common Banking Software (CBS).

Majority of PACS have so far been not computerized and still functioning manually resulting in inefficiency and trust deficit.

Significance of digitization

Computerization of PACS will increase their transparency, reliability and efficiency, and will also facilitate the accounting of multipurpose PACS.

Along with this, it will also help PACS to become a nodal centre for providing services such as direct benefit transfer (DBT), Interest subvention scheme (ISS), crop insurance scheme (PMFBY), and inputs like fertilizers and seeds.

CAPSTONE: NASA’s satellite, newly launched

NASA has launched CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds (25 kg).

What is CAPSTONE?

CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is designed to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit.

It aims to help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies, and by verifying the dynamics of the halo-shaped orbit.

Its launch

It is heading toward an orbit intended in the future for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program.

The orbit is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO).

It is significantly elongated, and is located at a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon.

This offers stability for long-term missions like Gateway, NASA said on its website.

Mission details

CAPSTONE will enter NRHO, where it will fly within 1,600 km of the Moon’s North Pole on its near pass and 70,000 km from the South Pole at its farthest.

The spacecraft will repeat the cycle every six-and-a-half days and maintain this orbit for at least six months to study dynamics.