GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

In a recent test conducted, ISRO increased the carrying capacity of its LVM3 (GSLV Mk-III) rocket by 450 kg with additional propellant loading of its cryogenic engine CE20.

Highlights of the Test

• The CE20 cryogenic engine was indigenously developed for LVM3 and has been subjected to a successful hot test at an uprated thrust level of 8 tonnes for the first time.
• In addition to this 3D printed LOX and LH2 turbine exhaust casings were also been inducted into the engine for the first time.
• The Indian space agency has made some major modifications carried out on this test article compared to the previous engines which made the introduction of a Thrust Control Valve (TCV) for thrust control.
• During this test, the engine operated with about 20t thrust level for the first 40 seconds, and then the thrust level was increased to 8t by moving the thrust control valve.

Features of LVM3 rocket:

• The Launch Vehicle Mark-3(LVM 3) previously referred to as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk3) is a three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle.
• It was primarily designed to launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit.
• The cryogenic upper stage of the LVM3 vehicle (C25 stage) is powered by a CE-20 engine working with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (LOX-LH2) propellants combination.
• The LVM3 rocket is the one that is used by ISRO to launch third-party satellites on commercial terms.

Recent Successful launches:

• The first batch of 36 satellites of OneWeb was put into orbit by the LVM3 rocket.
• Chandrayaan mission

Aspiring launches:

• Gaganyaan Mission- First manned mission by India

With the rise in instances of stand-offs between State governments and Governors, there is once again a debate on the role and conduct of Governors, the relationship of Governors with the Centre and State government, and whether Chief Ministers should have a say in the appointment of Governors in their respective States.

So, let us answer these questions briefly.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a Governor? What is the significance of the post?

• The post of Governor is actually inherited from the past from the times of the Mughals. The Governor is essentially a link between the Centre and the States.
• The Governor has various functions, such as addressing the joint session of the Assembly and the Budget session and signing Bills that have been passed by the Assembly.
• The Governor has both administrative and political functions to perform.

What do the Constitutional provisions say regarding the appointment of the Governor?

• The appointment and powers of government can be derived from Part VI of the Indian constitution.
• Article 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State. One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
• As per Article 155 of the Constitution, the Governor is appointed by the ‘President’.
• The governor acts in a 'Dual Capacity' as the Constitutional head of the state and as the representative.
• He is part of a federal system of Indian polity and acts as a bridge between union and state governments.
• Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They say a governor must:
  • Be a citizen of India.
  • Be at least 35 years of age.
  • Not be a member of either house of the parliament or the house of the state legislature.
  • Not hold any office of profit.
• The term of governor's office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by:
• • Dismissal by the president on the advice of the council of ministers headed by the prime minister of the country.
  • Dismissal of governors without a valid reason is not permitted. However, it is the duty of the President to dismiss a governor whose acts are upheld by courts as unconstitutional and malafide.
  • Resignation by the governor.

Does the Chief Minister have a say in appointing a Governor?

• No, there is nowhere any procedure mentioned to involve the Chief Minister in the appointment of the governor.
• Due to its colonial legacy, this provision is not included so as to preserve the powers in single hands.

Arguments in support of the involvement of CM in the appointment of the Governor:

• The Sarkaria Commission, set up in 1983 to examine the Centre-State relationship on various points, felt that the Chief Minister should be consulted before appointing the Governor, for the proper working of the parliamentary system.
• The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution said, “It would be appropriate to suggest a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Minister of the State concerned to select a Governor.

Implications associated:

The Government launched India’s first national repository for life science data, the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) at Faridabad, Haryana.

• As per the BIOTECH-PRIDE guidelines of the Government of India, IBDC is mandated to archive all life science data generated from ‘publicly-funded’ research in India.

• With the support of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the repository has been established at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad with a data disaster recovery site at National Informatics Centre (NIC), Bhubaneshwar.
• It has a data storage capacity of about 4 petabytes and houses the ‘Brahm’ High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility.
• IBDC has started nucleotide data submission services via two data portals namely;
• Indian Nucleotide Data Archive (INDA)
• Indian Nucleotide Data Archive -Controlled Access INDA-CA
• The portals aimed to accumulate over 200 billion bases from 2, 08,055 submissions from more than 50 research labs across India.

India’s potential in the field of Biotechnology:

• Efforts in the Past: In 1986, much before any other country in the world, India recognized the enormous potential of biotechnology and established a separate department committed to this branch of science.
• Current Economic Status: India accounts for approximately 3% of the global biotech industry.
• The biotechnology sector in India has grown from $1.1 billion in 2003 to a mammoth $64 billion industry in 2019 and by 2024; it is expected to be a $100 billion industry.
• Growing Biotech Start-ups: India’s pioneering achievements in biotechnology is the primary reason why the sector employs the best of minds and contributes to the development of generic and affordable medicare.

Important Government Initiatives:

• Make in India, Skill India, and Start-up India programs are aimed to develop India as a world-class biotechnology and bio-manufacturing hub.
• Biomanufacturing hub: The government’s aspirational goal of developing the country into a $100-billion bio-manufacturing hub by 2024 is certainly going to give a fillip to the biotechnology sector as well.
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), established under the Department of Biotechnology in 2012, continues to play a crucial role in developing the biotech sector in India. BIRAC brings innovators and funders to a common table, enabling ideas to become a reality and facilitating technological advances that make human progress possible.

Recently, a SEBI panel has recommended measures for strengthening the role played by the governing board, and committees of stock exchanges with other market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) for countering the loopholes in their functioning.

What are Market Infrastructure Institutions?

• Stock exchanges, depositories, and clearing houses are all Market Infrastructure Institutions and constitute a key part of the nation's vital economic infrastructure. 

Key highlights of the recommendations:

• The panel to review the functioning of MIIs was set up against the backdrop of the governance lapses observed and the rapidly changing market dynamics of MIIs on technology.
• Ensure Transparency and Accountability: After viewing the situation, it has recommended steps to enhance accountability and transparency and reviewed the policy on the safekeeping and sharing of information held by MIIs.
• Code of Conduct to be improved: It also advised revisiting the code of conduct and code of ethics for directors of the governing board and key managerial persons (KMPs) activities.
• Working of Boards: It suggested that to ensure greater independence of the board of the MII, at least two-thirds of members of the board of the MII shall comprise Public Interest Directors (PIDs).
  • The existing process of appointment of Public Interest Directors (PIDs), non-independent directors, and managing directors should be rationalized by mapping certain expertise to PIDs while maintaining an overall balance of expertise required in the board.
• Divided among categories: Under the proposal, the functions of MIIs should be categorized into three verticals –
  • Critical operations;
  • Regulatory, compliance, and risk management; and
  • Other functions include business development.
• The KMPs heading the functions under the first two verticals should be at par in a hierarchy with the KMPs heading the third vertical.
• Ensure the Right to be informed: In order to enhance transparency, the MIIs should disclose the agenda and minutes of meetings of their board, keeping in mind their role as a 'first-level regulator'.
  • Video and audio recordings of the meetings of the board of the MII should be made mandatory.
• Penalize and Regulate: The scope of Sebi's powers under SECC (securities Contract Regulation Act) provisions should include the levy of penalties and taking other disciplinary actions like suspension, barring to attending meetings, etc. on individuals of MII, including its directors, members of statutory committees, KMPs, employees and other persons associated with the MIIs, for any contravention of rules.
• In exceptional cases including repeated breaches or violations, Sebi should explore harsher options of debarring MIIs from the introduction of new products and restricting their existing activities.
• Strengthening provisions under the law: Further, the SCRA, the Sebi Act, and the Depositories Act may be reviewed by the regulator to increase the penalty amount that may be applicable for MII and relevant persons associated with MII.
• Assigning higher positions and powers: The definition of KMPs should be changed to cover employees based on the importance of activities carried out by them and their relative hierarchy within the MII. Further, the MII must clearly segregate the roles and responsibilities of such KMPs.

India-US CEO Forum virtually discussed ways to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

About India-US CEO Forum:

• The U.S.-India CEO Forum was created in July 2005. The Forum is a true public-private endeavor to enhance bilateral trade and investment.
• This is the sixth time the Forum has been convened since its reconstitution in 2014.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIPP) is the nodal department for the Forum.
• Commerce and Industry Minister heads from the Indian government side.
• The CEO Forum, comprising of CEOs from leading Indian and US-based companies.
• This time it is co-chaired by Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, and Mr. James Taiclet, President and Chief Executive Officer, of Lockheed Martin.

Significance of the Forum:

• The Forum is a critical channel through which our two governments receive invaluable private sector input to sharpen our shared approach on issues at the heart of the U.S.-India commercial relationship.
• It is an effective platform for dialogue across key sectoral themes, and to identify areas for closer collaboration for the mutual benefit of both economies.

Highlights of the CEO Forum:

• The leads for each of the Forum's seven working groups shared their strategic outlook for their term of service.
  • This dialogue will serve as the framework under which specific recommendations will be charted out during the sixth edition of the India-US CEO Forum, due to be held early next year.
• It focused on facilitating FDI, portfolio investment, capital market development, and financing of infrastructure, ICT, Energy, Water and Environment, Pharmaceuticals, etc.

U.S.-India Economic Relations:

Bilateral Trade with the US:

• Bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 119.42 billion (2021-2022) as against USD 80.51 billion in 2020-21.
• Exports to the US increased to USD 76.11 billion in 2021-22 from USD 51.62 billion in the previous fiscal year, while imports rose to USD 43.31 billion as compared to about USD 29 billion in 2020-21.
• America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
  • In 2021-22, India had a trade surplus of USD 32.8 billion with the US.

Factors that make the US the Largest Trading Partner of India:

• India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence on China for their supplies and are diversifying their business into other countries like India.
• India has joined a US-led initiative to set up an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and this move would help boost economic ties further.
• The US has consistently been India’s largest market for services exports, but the recent overseas sales of merchandise goods to that country overtook China, making it the largest bilateral trading nation of India.
  • India’s total merchandise exports touched a record USD 418 billion in 2021-22, exceeding the Center’s target by about 5% and clocking a 40% growth over the previous year.

Associated Challenges of India-US Ties:

• Tariff Imposition
• Misunderstanding Self-Reliance as Protectionism
• Exemption from the US Generalized System of Preferences
• US’ Hostility towards Other Countries
• US policy in Afghanistan

Other High-Level Dialogue Mechanisms

• India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue: This is led by the heads of foreign and defense ministries of India and the U.S.
• India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue: This is led by India and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce
• India – U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership: This is led by the finance minister (FM) and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
• India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum: This is led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry (CIM) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
• India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership: This is led by the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
• India-U.S. Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD): The India-U.S. Homeland Security Dialogue is led by the Minister of Home Affairs and the Secretary of, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.