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IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs- 15th September, 2015

NATIONAL

The bias against women keeps countries poorer

In 100 nations around the globe, ladies are excluded from doing certain work exclusively in light of the fact that they are ladies. More than 150 nations have no less than one law that is prejudicial towards ladies. What's more, just 18 nations are free of any law disadvantaging ladies.

New World Bank Group research in the ‘Women, Business and the Law 2016' report demonstrates that in

• 32 nations ladies can't make a difference for driving license permits in the same way as men
• 18 nations they can't work and hold a position if their spouses feel it is not to the family's advantage; Jordan and Iran are among them.
• In 59 nations, there are no laws against sexual harassment at workplace.
• Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Armenia are among 46 nations where there is no legitimate assurance against domestic violence.
• Basically, the research makes for discouraging perusing when you think about consideration and closure neediness.

Outcome of gender disparity:

• Nations whose laws oppress ladies and don't advance gender balance suffer monetarily. Past researches revealed that gender gaps in women’s entrepreneurship and labor force participation represent estimated income losses.

Positive outcome of Increased Women Participation Rate:

• Nations like Bangladesh are empowering cooperation of ladies in the workforce. On the off chance that they remain focused, their female workforce will develop from 34 to 82 percent over the next decade, adding 1.8 percent to their GDP.

Progressive way ahead: Enabling women in decision making

• When women are permitted to work in a calling of their decision, when they have entry to money related administrations and when they are secured, by law, from domestic violence, they are not just financially enabled, they likewise live more.
• The more say they have over the family income and the more they take an interest in participation in the economy, the more young girls are registered in schools, the bigger the advantages lie ahead for their children, their groups, and their nations.
• Research also suggest countries where women had more noteworthy representation on boards, those associations were more averse to be hit by scandals like bribery or fraud.

Way Ahead:

• Policy makers can take steps to enable women to participate in economic activities and tackle gender based barriers.
• It will help in maintaining decent gender equality in our country. In turn, women participation will insure informed decisions, rise in economic activities, better earning of families and raised living standards.

Connecting the dots:

GS paper 1: Role of Women and women’s organization

• What steps can government take to increase the women’s participation in working force? What positive implications such a move of government will have?
• How a nation suffers on economic front if gender disparity is high? What steps can be taken to ensure gender disparity? How will ‘gender equality’ help a country in terms of socio and economic front?

INTERNATIONAL

The new Great Game in Asia:

• Two strategic agreements are currently being negotiated by the world’s trading giants which is likely to determine the global balance of economic power for years to come.
• The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are two free trade agreements (FTAs) being designed to lower tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade between countries that conduct the bulk of global commerce.
• The TPP negotiations are led by the U.S. and involve 11 other nations that share a Pacific Ocean coastline. Seven of those countries — Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam — are also party to RCEP negotiations.
• RCEP comprises the ASEAN nations and six others: India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Comparing TPP and RCEP :

• RCEP is the more modest, seeking to implement and build on World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments without stressing more on IPR. TPP seeks to frame a new agenda for global trade, requiring countries to commit beyond their existing multilateral obligations under the WTO which includes IPR protections especially in cyberspace.
• The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the centrepiece of U.S.’s Asia policy, with USA investing considerable political and diplomatic capital in it. RCEP even though is not a China-led process, but involves Beijing as a key player.

Why RCEP Is Vital for India?

• From India’s point of view, the RCEP presents a decisive platform which could influence its strategic and economic status in the Asia-Pacific region and bring to action its “Act East Policy.
• It is expected to be an ambitious agreement bringing the five biggest economies of the region – Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea – into a regional trading arrangement.
• It would be the world’s largest trading bloc covering a broad spectrum of issues such as trade in goods, services, investment, competition, intellectual property rights, and other areas of economic and technical cooperation.
• Together, the RCEP group of countries accounts for a third of the world’s gross domestic product, and 27.4 per cent and 23.0 per cent of the world’s goods and services trade, respectively.
• It is interesting to note that, compared with the TPP group of countries, India’s trade share with the RCEP group of countries as a percentage of its total trade has increased over the past decade and half, underlining the importance of its trade with key countries in this group.

Advantages of joining RCEP:

There are three immediate benefits for India by joining RCEP

• First, the RCEP agreement would complement India’s existing free trade agreements with the Association of South East Asian Nations and some of its member countries, as it would deals with Japan and South Korea.
• In this respect, the RCEP would help India streamline the rules and regulations of doing trade, which will reduce trade costs.
• It will also help achieve its goal of greater economic integration with countries East and South East of India through better access to a vast regional market ranging from Japan to Australia.
• The RCEP can be a stepping stone to India’s “Act East Policy.”
• Second, the RCEP will facilitate India’s integration into sophisticated “regional production networks” that make Asia the world’s factory.
• The RCEP is expected to harmonize trade-related rules, investment and competition regimes of India with those of other countries of the group.
• Third, India enjoys a comparative advantage in areas such as information and communication technology, IT-enabled services, professional services, healthcare, and education services.
• In addition to facilitating foreign direct investment, the RCEP will create opportunities for Indian companies to access new markets.

Way forward :

• On the foreign policy front, India has moved closer to the U.S, but wants to remain invested in RCEP. At the same time, it does not want to be seen as being too close to China, whose IPR and cyber policies leave a negative point for India.
• At this backdrop, any step by India should benefit it as a whole, as in foreign policy there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies only permanent interests.

Connecting the dots:

• Compare and contrast TPP and RCEP.
• India benefits more from joining RCEP than going with TPP. Critically analyse.
• Can India emerge as a regional superpower in Asia by joining RCEP. Analyse.