April 3, 2025

Current Affairs

US-India Agriculture Trade and Reciprocal Tariffs

Context: The US is India’s top market for agricultural goods, with bilateral farm trade totalling $6.6 billion in 2024. The US has imposed a 26% “reciprocal tariff" on Indian imports. The introduction of a ‘reciprocal tariff’ policy may pose certain challenges to agri-exports from India.

Relevance of the Topic:Mains: India-US Agriculture trade- Statistics, Potential, Challenges, Way forward

Key Stats India-US Agri Trade

Tariff Disparity: Historically, a tariff disparity of 32% has existed between India and the US. India imposes an average 37.7% tariff, while the US applies only 2.6% on agricultural products. A reciprocal tariff policy could impact the trade dynamics between the two countries.
Bilateral Trade Statistics (2024):
- Total India-US agricultural trade: $6.6 billion
- India’s exports to the US: $5 billion
- US exports to India: $1.5 billion
India’s Agricultural Imports from the US primarily include Pulses, vegetable oils, tree nuts and Fresh fruits. Tariff changes could disrupt this trade.

Impacts of Tariffs on India’s major Agri-Exports to the US

Tariffs can hit key agricultural exports, particularly basmati and non-basmati rice, shrimp, wheat, and buffalo meat, which together account for 46% of India’s farm trade with the US.
Shrimp (India’s largest seafood export to the US) will become un-competitive in the US market. Currently, it is subjected to around 7% duty including countervailing duty and anti-dumping duty. With the increase (26%) in tariff, Indian exporters would be subjected to 33% tariff.
Tariff hike on processed foods, sugar, and cocoa exports will make Indian snacks and confectionery less attractive to US buyers.
Dairy products (ghee, butter, and milk powder) would be costlier in the US.

Potential for India’s Agri-Exports to the US:

India can expand its export portfolio by increasing trade in: Rubber and derivatives; Beverages, spirits, and vinegar; Tobacco; Fish and dairy produce; Cotton.
GTRI has suggested that to soften the impact, India can propose a 'zero-for-zero' tariff strategy' to the US, under which both countries would mutually eliminate tariffs on select goods rather than negotiating a full bilateral trade agreement.

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)

Signed in May 2022 between the US and 13 Indo-Pacific countries, including India.
Aims to: Strengthen food safety and trade standards; Reduce agri-trade barriers for US agricultural exports.

Challenges Hindering India’s Agri-Export Growth

Logistics and Infrastructure Issues: India’s logistical efficiency improved from 54th in 2014 to 38th in 2023 (World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index). However, India still lags behind countries like Canada, China, South Africa, and Malaysia. Cold storage and supply chain infrastructure remain major bottlenecks.
High Post-Harvest Losses: 40% of food waste in India due to poor post-harvest management (FAO report). 30% of fruits and vegetables perish due to inadequate storage.
Stringent Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Standards: Trade agreements by the US, European Union etc. require adherence to strict environmental and quality regulations. Attaining compliance remains a major issue in increasing exports to these countries.
Structural Issues in Indian Agriculture: Small and fragmented landholdings reduce economies of scale. Lack of aggregation and processing facilities for small and micro-enterprises results in limited value addition in agricultural produce and makes them less competitive in global markets.

Way Forward for Strengthening India’s Agri-Exports

Modernising supply chains with improved cold storage and logistics.
Enhancing compliance with international food safety and environmental regulations.
Diversifying export products to reduce dependency on a few commodities.
Strengthening trade agreements to secure preferential access to US markets.
Supporting small farmers through aggregation models and export incentives.

Anti-Defection: Judicial Oversight on Speaker’s Role

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court emphasised that the court is “not powerless” if a Speaker chooses to remain “indecisive” on disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule. The Court may frame directives as a ‘request’ for a timely action. However, if ignored, the court can invoke Article 142 (extraordinary powers) to enforce compliance.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Anti-defection law; Speaker’s Role in ADL.

Mains: Partisan role of Speaker in deciding the question of disqualification.

Anti-Defection Law (ADL)

Introduced by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985.
Aim: To curb political instability caused by elected representatives switching parties for personal gains.

Disqualification on grounds of defection:

A legislator belonging to a political party will be disqualified if he:
- Voluntarily gives up his party membership.
- Votes/abstains to vote in the House contrary to the direction issued by his political party. A member is not disqualified if he has taken prior permission of his party, or if the voting or abstention is condoned by the party within 15 days.
- Independent members will be disqualified, if they join a political party after getting elected to the House.
- Nominated members will be disqualified, if they join any political party six months after getting nominated.
Exemptions: Members are exempted from disqualification when at least two-thirds of the original political party merges with another political party.

Decision Making Authority:

The decision to disqualify a member from the House rests with the presiding officer of the House (Speaker in Lok Sabha / Chairman in Rajya Sabha). They act as quasi-judicial tribunals under the anti-defection law.
There is no time limit for the presiding officer to decide such a case.

Originally, the act provided that the decision of the presiding officer is final, and cannot be questioned in any court.
In the Kihoto Hollohan case (1993), the SC held that the presiding officer, while deciding a question under the Tenth Schedule, functioned as a tribunal. Hence, his decision (like that of any other tribunal) is subject to judicial review on the grounds of mala fides, perversity, etc.

Challenges Associated

Absence of a fixed timeframe for Speakers poses several challenges:

The Anti-Defection Law (1985) was meant to prevent instability caused by party-switching. Delaying decisions goes against the spirit of the law, allowing defectors to enjoy full terms in office.
Undermines democratic mandate: Delay in decision making has resulted in members, who have defected from their parties, continuing to be members of the House.
Encourages political opportunism and horse trading, due to lack of immediate action. E.g., Maharashtra (2022), defections were allowed to stand for months before a decision was made.
Unfair delays favour ruling parties, as Speakers often belong to the government’s party. Opposition’s strength in legislatures gets artificially reduced.
Erodes the trust in democratic institutions, when the Speaker fails to act impartially.

Way Forward

Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990): Disqualification under ADL should be decided by a neutral authority, such as the President/Governor or by the Election Commission.
The law commission has recommended the removal of Exemption for merger.
The SC has urged Speakers to decide anti-defection pleas within a “reasonable time”. However, the court had not specified the reasonable time.

The SC should set a fixed timeline for the Speaker to decide on the question of disqualification under ADL. The lack of a reasonable time restriction weakens democracy, promotes political opportunism, and reduces public faith in the system.

North Sentinel Island in Andaman

Context: Recently, a U.S. man was arrested on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for allegedly entering the prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Sentinel Island and Sentinelese people.

North Sentinel Island

Geography

Location: Sentinel Island belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian UT Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The island lies about 64 kms west of Port Blair.

The island has a tropical climate. The entire island is forested, largely covered in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest.
North Sentinel is surrounded by coral reefs, and lacks natural harbours.

Demography

It is home to the indigenous Sentinelese people, one the most isolated tribes in the world.
Sentinelese practice primordial hunting and gathering. They use bows, arrows, and spears for hunting and defence. They have not developed agriculture or metalworking.
The tribe has had minimal contact with outsiders and has usually been hostile to those who approach or land on the island. Their language remains unclassified.
In 1956, the government of India declared North Sentinel Island as a tribal reserve and prohibited travel within 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometres) of it. It maintains a constant armed patrol in the surrounding waters to prevent intrusions by outsiders
Sentinelese are listed under Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) by the government of India.

ChaSTE: First in-situ measurement of Surface Temperature

Context: Chandrayaan-3's ChaSTE provided crucial temperature data from the Moon's high-latitude regions, enhancing the understanding of potential water-ice deposits.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Chandrayaan Mission 3; Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE).

Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE)

ChaSTE is an instrument aboard the Vikram lander to measure temperatures in situ near the moon’s south pole.
ChaSTE became the first mission to successfully penetrate the soil of a celestial body to deploy a thermal probe for in-situ measurement of the surface temperature.
- The ChaSTE probe features 10 temperature sensors spaced about 1 cm apart along its length.
- The probe was pushed into the lunar soil using a rotation-based deployment mechanism.
- ChaSTE tunnelled into the soil to a final depth of 10 cm, then collected the measurements throughout the Chandrayaan-3 mission lifespan (1 lunar day).

Observations:

In-situ temperature measurement: The peak surface temperature at Shiv Shakti landing site was measured to be 355 K (82°C) — 25 K higher than the expected 330 K, predicted by earlier observations.
The observations indicate that the lunar surface temperatures show a significant spatial variability at high latitudes, unlike at the equatorial regions.

Scientists used the data from ChaSTE to report that water ice is more prevalent on the moon than expected. Water-ice prospecting is a crucial step in unlocking the Moon’s potential for supporting human habitat and furthering exploration.

Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 Hop Experiment