Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vaccines for Covid-19
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges in vaccination for Covid-19
The article explains the challenge in the vaccination program for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Issue of lack of data about the vaccine
- In the COVID vaccine roll out, there is no clear data for either of the two vaccines proposed for use in the programme.
- We do not know if they provide protection for life, for a year or six months, its efficacy among the elderly or the very sick or in stopping new infections.
- Getting such data requires at least three years and cannot be obtained in a few months.
Guidelines for implementing vaccine programme
- Given these limitations, the government has drawn up strategic guidelines for implementing an vaccine programme covering 30 crore people by July.
- The guidelines draw upon the knowledge of running national campaigns acquired over three decades of implementing the Universal Immunisation Programme.
- These guidelines detail the skills, roles and responsibilities of the required human resources, logistics for delivering vaccines at point of use, physical infrastructure, monitoring systems based on digital platforms and feedback systems for reporting adverse events.
- The approach involves 19 departments, donor organisations and NGOs at the national, state, district and block level.
- The guidelines also mention the priority criteria — caregivers, front line workers of the departments of health, defence, municipalities and transportation; persons above the age of 50 and those below 50 having diabetes, hypertension, cancers and lung diseases.
Issues with the guidelines
- Of the 28,932 cold chain points, half are in the five southern states, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
- Combined with poor human resources — doctors, nurses, pharmacists — a weak private sector, poor safety and hygiene standards, frequent power outages, poor infrastructure, the capacity to implement with the expected speed, quality and accuracy is daunting.
- The immunisation can disrupt routine health service delivery — antenatal care, national programmes like those pertaining to TB or other immunisation drives.
- While data for the above-50-year-olds is available in the electoral rolls, line listing of the under 50s with comorbidities can be challenging.
- Not only are urban-rural variations substantial, but urban areas have weak public health infrastructure and a multiple number of private providers due to the poor implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act, 2010.
- Patient tracking can be problematic.
- The non-availability of efficacy data could also impact the procurement and supply of vaccines, result in huge wastage, and can introduce scope for errors and duplication.
Way forward
- Central to the success of the roll out will be the confidence of the people in the vaccines.
- Coming out of this messy situation is necessary and one option — as adopted for the polio eradication programme — is to establish an independent team of experts under the aegis of the WHO to ensure the safety of the vaccine.
- This will create confidence in the community and international authorities as well.
Conclusion
it is important to understand that vaccination is an incomplete solution to ending the epidemic, since the virus is mutating. Adopting safe behaviour is.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kisan Credit Cards
Mains level: Paper 3- Enhancing credit flow to small and marginal farmers
The budget could be an opportunity to increase the consumption which has been impacted by the pandemic and still continues to show the declining trends.
Continuing decline in consumption
- The first advance estimates of GDP for 2020-21 are much better than the earlier market consensus.
- The demand side, however, continues to be in a decline with private consumption falling by 9.5 per cent and its share in the overall GDP reducing by full 100 basis points.
- Per capita private consumption has contracted by 10.4 per cent, while capital formation has contracted by 14.5 per cent, with imports and exports also contracting.
- Only government consumption remains in positive territory.
What should be the growth in nominal GDP for 2021-22?
- In terms of specific numbers, the average growth in nominal GDP for the decade ending in 2013-14 was 15 per cent, but the average GDP deflator at 7.6 per cent far outpaced average real GDP at 6.8 per cent.
- For the six year period ending in 2019-20, average nominal GDP growth was 10.4 per cent, with real GDP growth of 6.8 per cent far outpacing the GDP deflator at 3.6 per cent.
- It is thus extremely important that we ensure that the current inflation trajectory is kept under control through policy interventions.
Policy recommendations for the farmers
1) Changing condition for renewal of loan on Kisan Credit Cards
- Out of the outstanding bank credit of about Rs 12 lakh crore to the agriculture and allied activities sector, Rs 7 lakh crore is for Kisan Credit Cards.
- The KCC portfolio of banks is under stress over the years due to a variety of factors like crop losses, unremunerated prices, debt waivers and the rigidity of the KCC product.
- Currently, the renewal of KCC loans with payment of both principal and interest ensures interest subvention.
- It is proposed that for renewal of KCC loans of small and marginal farmers and for loans of other categories of farmers for amounts up to Rs 3 lakh, the payment of interest must be a sufficient condition for renewal as with other loans.
- The above measure has the potential to reduce the credit cost for banks considerably on KCCs as NPAs can be prevented more easily and the interest rate on KCC loans can be further reduced.
2) Formalise tenancy and provide credit to tenant farmers
- There are 11.5 crore farmers who are PM-KISAN beneficiaries — 6.5 crore farmers have KCC.
- Thus, the remaining 4-5 crore could be land owning cultivators and at least 3-4 crore of such could be tenants/lessees/landless.
- Currently, such tenant farmers are not formalised into the credit deliveries of scheduled commercial banks.
- As of now, it requires state interventions for tenancy certificates which is only available in Andhra Pradesh.
- Formation of a SHG model under the Deen Dayal Antodoya Yojana will formalise tenancy even without formal documentation of tenancy.
- This will enable formal lending to take place to three crore landless farmers.
3) Increasing investment in health and education
- For health, it government could introduce medical savings account with a defined scheme to deduct interest from the savings account and pay towards a Mediclaim policy.
- For the record, the size of the health insurance is Rs 32,000 crore and the savings bank interest is Rs 1.15 lakh crore.
- The government should also consider exempting all retail and health insurance products from GST.
Three suggestions on the fiscal situation
- First,Withdraw all tax appeals.
- Second, accept all domestic arbitration decisions against government departments/agencies.
- Third, clear all outstanding dues to all parastatal agencies within a stipulated time.
- This will be a milestone structural administrative change that could be even thought of as a one-time balance sheet entry recognising liabilities and paying them off.
- As a consequence, we could jump multiple positions on the Ease of Doing Business rankings.
Conclusion
By implementing these steps in the budget the government could use this opportnity to stimulate the economy and aid the economic recovery.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Digital Lending and associated issue
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a working group on digital lending to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector as well as by unregulated players.
NPAs are rising in India. And one may find some irritating ads and texts on our smartphones, which desperately wants to disburse easy loans (that too in a limited offer period)!
Digital Lending
- Digital lending is the process of offering loans that are applied for, disbursed, and managed through digital channels, in which lenders use digitized data to inform credit decisions and build customer engagement.
- It consists of lending through web platforms or mobile apps, by taking advantage of technology for authentication and credit assessment.
Why in news?
- The move comes in the backdrop of the three borrowers in Telangana committing suicide over alleged harassment by personnel of such digital lenders.
- There were many more complaining of being subjected to coercive methods after defaulting on repayments.
Why regulate Digital Lending?
- Digital lending has the potential to make access to financial products and services more fair, efficient and inclusive.
- From a peripheral supporting role a few years ago, FinTech-led innovation is now at the core of the design, pricing and delivery of financial products and services.
- While penetration of digital methods in the financial sector is a welcome development, the benefits and certain downside risks are often interwoven.
- A balanced approach needs to be followed so that the regulatory framework supports innovation while ensuring data security, privacy, confidentiality and consumer protection.
Risks associated
- A growing number of unauthorized digital lending platforms and mobile applications are threats to consumers.
- Such lenders charge excessive rates of interest and additional hidden charges.
- They adopt unacceptable and high-handed recovery methods and in turn misuse agreements to access data on mobile phones of borrowers.
What will the working group do?
- The RBI working group will evaluate digital lending activities and assess the penetration and standards of outsourced digital lending activities in RBI regulated entities.
- They would thus identify the risks posed by unregulated digital lending to financial stability, regulated entities and consumers; and suggest regulatory changes to promote orderly growth of digital lending.
- It will also recommend measures for expansion of specific regulatory or statutory perimeter and suggest the role of various regulatory and government agencies.
- It will also recommend a robust fair practices code for digital lending players.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GGW Project
Mains level: Combating Desertification
The Great Green Wall (GGW) Project to address desertification, land degradation and climate change in the Sahel region of Africa has hit a new low due to funds crunch.
Note the countries swept by the GGW project on the African map.
GGW Project
- The Great Green Wall project is conceived by 11 countries located along the southern border of the Sahara and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone.
- Led by the African Union, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.
- The initial idea of the GGW was to develop a line of trees from east to the west bordering the Saharan Desert.
- Its vision has evolved into that of a mosaic of interventions addressing the challenges facing the people in the Sahel and the Sahara.
Why was such project incepted?
- The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas.
- It aimed to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.
- It is a partnership that supports communities working towards sustainable management and use of forests, rangelands and other natural resources.
- It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as improve food security.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MICE tourism
Mains level: Various initiaitves tourism promotion
Gujarat CM has announced the tourism policy for 2021-25, seeking to position the state as the country’s foremost tourist destination, with a focus on investment and livelihood opportunities.
The policy seeks to make Gujarat a hub of “MICE” tourism.
Q. Given the vital importance of the tourism industry in the Indian economy, there is a need to address underneath challenges and adopt a suitable policy for overall growth. Discuss the need for a comprehensive National Tourism Policy.
What is MICE tourism?
- The acronym “MICE” stands for “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions”, and is essentially a version of business tourism that draws domestic and international tourists to a destination.
- The policy aims to make Gujarat one of the top five MICE tourism destinations in the country.
How does the policy proposals to attract MICE tourism?
- To incentivise international events, the government has announced an assistance of Rs 5,000 to the event organizer per foreign participant staying overnight, subject to an upper limit of Rs 5 lakh.
- For domestic events, the policy promises financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh per event, capped at three events per organizer per year.
- For Gujarat to emerge as a venue of big national and international conferences, large convention centres are required.
- The policy promises special incentives for building big convention centres, including 15% capital subsidy on the eligible capital investment.
- The government has also promised land on the lease if required.
- A precondition to avail the incentive is that the convention centre should have at least one hall that can seat a minimum of 2,500 persons.
Why is there a specific focus on MICE tourism?
- MICE events are major tourism generators, and there is significant scope to tap into it.
- By incentivizing the organising of MICE events and construction of convention centres in Gujarat, we are trying to plug the gaps.
- The organizer of an international event can prolong the stay of guests by one or two days, and visitors can visit tourist attractions, of which Gujarat has many.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mutual Funds
Mains level: Mutual Funds and associated market risks
The capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made it mandatory for mutual funds to assign a risk level to schemes, based on certain parameters.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly?
(a) Certificate of Deposit
(b) Commercial Paper
(c) Promissory Note
(d) Participatory Note
What are Mutual Funds?
- A Mutual Fund is a trust that collects money from a number of investors who share a common investment objective.
- Then, it invests the money in equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or other securities.
- Each investor owns units, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund.
- The income/gains generated from this collective investment are distributed proportionately amongst the investors after deducting certain expenses, by calculating a scheme’s “Net Asset Value or NAV.
- It is one of the most viable investment options for the common man as it offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively low cost.
- All funds carry some level of risk. With mutual funds, one may lose some or all of the money invested because the securities held by a fund can go down in value.
What is the risk-o-meter?
- All mutual funds shall beginning January 1, assign a risk level to their schemes at the time of launch, based on the scheme’s characteristics.
- SEBI’s decision on the “risk-o-meter”, characterizes the risk level of the schemes on a six-stage scale from “Low” to “Very High”.
- The risk-o-meter must be evaluated on a monthly basis.
A compulsory mandate
- Fund houses are required to disclose the risk-o-meter risk level along with the portfolio disclosure for all their schemes on their own websites as well as the website of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) within 10 days of the close of each month.
- Any change in the risk-o-meter reading with regard to a scheme shall be communicated to the unit-holders of that scheme.
How will the level of risk be assigned?
- Which one of the six risk levels — low, low to moderate, moderate, moderately high, high, and very high — would apply, would depend upon the risk value (less than 1 for low risk to more than 5 for very high risk) calculated for the scheme.
- So if the risk value of a scheme is less than 1, its risk level would be low, and if it is more than 5, the risk will be very high on the risk-o-meter.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: LCA Tejas
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Cabinet has approved procurement of 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircraft for Indian Air Force.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:
Q.What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news?
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea
LCA Tejas
- The Tejas is an Indian single-engine, fourth-generation, multirole light fighter aircraft.
- It is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
- It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters.
- The indigenous content of the Tejas was 59.7% by value and 75.5% by a number of lines replaceable units.
Which are the procured variants?
- Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft.
- It is the first “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)” category procurement of combat aircraft.
Significance
- Tejas enable IAF to handle repairs or servicing at their base depot so that the turnaround time would get reduced for mission-critical systems.
- This would enable IAF to sustain the fleet more efficiently and effectively due to the availability of repair infrastructure at respective bases.
- It will give a further push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and boost indigenization of defence production and the defence industry in the country.
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