Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GVA
Mains level: Paper 3- Role informal sector can play in Atmanirbhar Bharat
The article highlights the important role the informal sector can play in the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Economic development through Atmanirbhar Bharat
- The vision of the Atmanirbhar Bharat is rooted in the classical paradigm of economic development, based on demand injection in the economy via two sources, domestic and external.
- ‘Vocal for local’ exhorts a distinct and decisive shift in consumer preferences towards locally-produced goods and services.
- ‘Make for the world’ is more ambitious and resembles the export-led growth strategy adopted in East Asia.
- Thus, the Atmanirbhar Bharat categorically bestows the Indian economy with twin engines of growth.
Important role informal sector can play
- The strategy is based on an assumption of lack of adequate demand.
- So a prognosis of supply side with respect to the ability of domestic producers of goods and services to seize the opportunity at the requisite scale and scope is pertinent.
- The nature, character, structure and contributions of the informal sector require retrospection.
- The size of India’s informal sector is massive, it accounts for about 50% of GVA and a major share in the export basket.
- This position proffers it with growth opportunities emanating from domestic as well as external sources.
Constraints faced by informal sector
- Most firms are micro in size and deploy little capital.
- They have a small scale of production, substandard/unbranded quality of products, and localised scope of procuring raw material and marketing their products.
- They are vulnerable to business downturns and other market uncertainties, as reflected in high mortality.
- Their access to cheap, reliable and long-term credit sources is highly restricted.
- The sector also endures a lack of official identity and recognition of its existence and contribution.
Three transformations informal sector need to adopt
- Atmanirbhar Bharat promises enhanced demand for domestically-produced goods and services, but the exposure to stiff global competition, especially for informal sector units, is imminent.
- In such a scenario, the informal sector must embrace for three tectonic shifts with respect to internal transformation, strategic positioning and labour-market dynamics.
1) Internal transformation
- Enterprises must undergo drastic internal transformation, progressively converging at incremental formalisation through spontaneous and self-propelled transition into economically-viable units.
- It requires infusion of capital to ensure enhanced labour productivity and higher wages.
- A systemic disruption, fostering natural growth must be ushered in, which would also curb the birth of new informal enterprises.
- Moreover, internal consolidation in the sector via merger and acquisitions of units would bring benefits accruing from scale economies.
2) Strategic positioning
- Two, because the vision of the Atmanirbhar Bharat exposes the informal sector to global competition, entrepreneurs must embrace the subtle art of strategic positioning in global mega-supply chains.
- They must pick their products and markets with utmost care, and engrain two mantras of success at the global stage in the DNA of their business strategies.
- Global mega-supply chains demand ultra-flexibility in production cycle in addition to heightened resilience to withstand headwinds emanating from not just domestic factors but also global.
3) Labour market dynamics
- The informal sector employs more than 80% of India’s workforce.
- The changes in the first two spheres i.e. higher capital intensity-led enhanced labour productivity and ultra-flexibility in production cycles may have severe repercussions on the availability and quality of jobs in India.
- To alleviate these concerns, the first assumption is that the proportionate increase in expected demand must be more than the enhanced labour productivity to at least retain the currently employed workers.
- To generate good quality jobs, diversification (both horizontal and vertical) must be encouraged.
- Vertical diversification entails products not just be partly produced or assembled in India, they must be the end-products of fully indigenised and integrated production and supply chains, from design to made in India.
- Horizontal diversification involves expansion into newer products and markets, smartly aligning with India’s comparative advantage of surplus labour.
Consider the question ” India’s vast informal sector is poised to play an instrumental, decisive and intriguing role in the vision of the Atmanirbhar Bharat. But the sector, in its current form, appears severely constrained to harness the opportunities. In lights of this, examine the constraints faced by the sector and suggest the measures needed to transform the sector.”
Conclusion
The vision of the Atmanirbhar Bharat is an inflexion point for India’s informal sector, which stipulates adroit manoeuvring between contrasting forces of continuity and change.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- US in support of IP waiver for Covid-19 vaccine
US in support of TRIPS waiver
- The United States announced its support to an initiative at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) protection for COVID-19 vaccines.
- The initiative was first floated by India and South Africa last October.
- Over a 100 countries have supported the proposal, according to the Associated Press.
Opposition to the move
- Among the arguments proffered to retain IP protection are that biotech jobs will be transferred from the U.S. to foreign countries and that waiving IP still not does overcome bottlenecks like manufacturing capacity.
- Twelve Republican Members of Congress wrote to Mr. Biden on Tuesday urging him to consider other means to increase vaccine access that did not involve weaking IP protections.
- Weakening protections would hamper American competitiveness and innovation, they said.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jal Jeevan Mission
Mains level: Paper 2- Annual Action Plan submitted by Kerala for Jal Jeevan Mission
Annual Action Plan presented
- Annual Action Plan (AAP) on planning and implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Kerala was presented.
- Kerala State officials outlined the roadmap of the financial year 2021-2022 to the national committee via video conferencing.
- The State plans to achieve the target of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ by 2024.
- The State also plans to provide potable water in all quality-affected habitations by June 2021 through piped water supply or Community Water Purification Plants (CWPP).
- The national committee analysed and advised on the plan presented by the State.
- The committee emphasized the preparation of Village Action Plans and the constitution of Village Water &Sanitation Committee/ Pani Samiti as a sub-committee of Gram Panchayat with a minimum 50% of women members.
- Also, emphasis is required on Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities to ensure Field Test Kit testing at Gram Panchayat level, Aanganwadi centres and schools.
About Jal Jeevan Mission
- Jal Jeevan Mission is the flagship programme of Government of India, which aims to provide household tap water connection to every rural household by 2024.
- Since announcement of the mission in August 2019, 4.17 Core new tap connections have been provided in the rural areas of the country during this period.
- As a result, 7.40 Crore (38.56%) rural households have tap water supply vis-à-vis 3.23 Crore (17%) in 2019.
- Efforts are made to dovetail all available resources by convergence of different programmes viz. MGNREGS, SBM, 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, CAMPA funds, Local Area Development Funds, etc.
Allocation for the JJM
- In 2021-22, Rs. 50,000 Crore budgetary allocation has been made for Jal Jeevan Mission.
- In addition to this, there is also Rs. 26,940 Crore assured fund available under the 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs for water & sanitation, matching State share and externally aided projects.
- Thus, in 2021-22, more than Rs. 1 lakh Crore is planned to be invested in the country on ensuring tap water supply to rural homes.
- This huge investment will give a boost to manufacturing activities, create employment opportunities in rural areas as well boost the rural economy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WTO
Mains level: Paper 2- Growing support for IP waiver for Covid vaccines
What is the vaccine patent row about?
- Medicines and other inventions are covered by patents which provide legal protection against being copied, and vaccines are no exception.
- Patents give makers the rights to their discoveries as well as the means to make more money from them – which is an incentive to encourage innovation.
- But these are not normal times.
- Last autumn, developing nations led by India and South Africa proposed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the patents on vaccinations and other Covid-related items should be waived.
- They argued that, given the extreme nature of the pandemic, the recipe for the life-saving jabs should be made widely available so they could be produced locally in bulk by other manufacturers.
What’s the problem?
- The proposals were met with immediate criticism from pharmaceutical companies and Western nations including the EU, UK and the US.
- The obvious objection to lifting patents is that it could erode revenue and deter innovation.
So, does this just come down to money?
- The key argument from vaccine producers and their home countries is that waiving patents alone wouldn’t solve much. It would, they say, be like handing out a recipe without the ingredients or instructions.
- The patent covers the bare bones of the blue print but not the precise production process. That’s crucial here. Vaccines of the mRNA type – such as Pfizer and Moderna – are a new breed and only a small number of people understand how to make them.
- BioNTech, the German company which partnered with Pfizer, have said that developing the manufacturing process took a decade and validating production sites can take up to a year. The availability of the raw materials needed has also been an issue.
- Industry bodies fear that without access to all the know-how and parts, a waiver could result in quality, safety and efficacy issues and possibly even counterfeits. They point out that Moderna has already said it would not prosecute those found to be infringing their patent – but no one has yet.
What’s the alternative?
- The EU says it is ready to talk, but it previously said the best short-term fix would be supply chain improvements and pushing richer countries to export more jabs.
- The UK says it is one of the biggest donors to Covax, which is masterminding the rollout of vaccines to many poorer countries. It also favours voluntary licensing – such as collaborations between the Serum Institute of India and Oxford-AstraZeneca. It wants the WTO, which oversees the rules on global trade, to support more partnerships.
- The WTO system allows for this licensing arrangement to go even further. Governments can impose compulsory licenses on vaccine makers, compelling them to share their know-how and overseeing the production process along the way. But those pharmaceutical companies would have to be compensated for doing so.
Why did the US change its mind?
The announcement came after the US Trade Representative Katharine Tai held meetings with the big vaccine makers in an effort to supercharge vaccine production.
What happens next?
- Now the discussions will continue at the WTO where decisions are made by consensus.
- Without the backing of other key nations, the proposals may stall. But they may pave the way to a compromise that could boost production.
- The key question is when – and by how much.
Support grows for IP waiver
- Attention is now turning to those richer nations, notably in the European Union — and France was the first to voice its support.
- France joined the United States in supporting an easing of patent and other protections on COVID-19 vaccines that could help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin also said he supported the idea of a waiver on patent protections for coronavirus vaccines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IICEP
Mains level: Paper 2- India-UK cooperation in STI
Enhance partnership in science, education, research and innovation
- The Prime Minister of India and the UK met virtually on 4 May 2021 and emphasised their shared commitment to an enhanced partnership in science, education, research and innovation.
- In keeping with this commitment, both the leaders welcomed the following:
- The new MoU on Telecommunications/ICT and the Joint Declaration of Intent on Digital and Technology.
- There was also the establishment of new high-level dialogues on tech.
- A new joint rapid research investment into Covid19.
- A new partnership to support zoonotic research,
- New investment to advance understanding of weather and climate science.
- There will be continuation of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI).
Key points to strengthen STI cooperation
- Enhance cooperation between India and the UK on strengthening the role of women in STEM at schools, universities, and research institutions through initiatives like Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) project.
- Develop collaborations between Industry, Academia and the Government to foster innovation among school students by focusing on teacher training, mentoring and sharing of global best practices through initiatives like the India Innovation Competency Enhancement Program (IICEP)
- Build on the two countries’ existing bilateral research, science and innovation infrastructure and governmental relationships to continue to support high-quality, high-impact research and innovation through joint processes.
- Forge partnership across the pipeline of research and innovation activity, from basic research to applied and interdisciplinary research.
- Leverage and build on existing, long-standing bilateral partnerships such as on education, research and innovation, to stimulate a joint pipeline of talent, excellent researchers and early-career innovators.
- Work together to share knowledge and expertise regarding artificial intelligence, scientific support to policies and regulatory aspects including ethics, and promote a dialogue in research and innovation.
- Through Tech Summits, bring together tech innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and policy makers to work together on challenges including the norms and governance of future tech under the cross-cutting theme of ‘data’.
- Grow programmes such as the Fast Track Start-Up Fund to nurture innovation-led, sustainable growth and jobs, and tech solutions that benefit both countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TRIPS
Mains level: Paper 2- What IP waiver for Covid vaccine mean to India
Background of waiver proposal
- U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced its support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.
- Following the onset of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation proposed a COVID-technology access pool as a knowledge sharing initiative to rapidly scale up vaccine output around the world.
- As vaccine research progressed last year, wealthy and advanced countries, placed huge advance purchase orders for vaccines.
- This meant that smaller, developing countries would take longer to get vaccines and find resources to pay for them.
- In October 2020, India and South Africa floated a proposal at the World Trade Organisation’s TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council to waive certain provisions of the WTO’s TRIPS pact till the pandemic subsides.
- The proposal envisaged facilitating wider access to technologies necessary for the production of vaccines and medicines.
- While a majority of the least developed countries backed the proposal, some like China, Turkey and Thailand sought more clarity.
- However, the proposal was nixed with the E.U., the U.S., Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.K. rejecting it outright, along with Brazil.
- Among other things, the argument was that such waivers could dampen innovation and research in areas such as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic technologies.
What next
- The WTO’s TRIPS Council is tentatively expected to hold a meeting on the waiver proposal again later this month.
- If and when an agreement is reached here, the WTO’s Ministerial Council will also have to sign off.
- Since WTO decisions are based on consensus, all 164 members need to agree on every single aspect of the negotiated waivers and conditions attached.
Way forward for India
- The Centre can take two steps immediately in consonance with its stance at the WTO, following the U.S.’ statement of support.
- The Union government must issue notification under Sections 92 and 100 of the Patents Act to freely licence all patents necessary for vaccine and drug production to treat COVID-19.
- Issues of the amount of royalties can be decided in due course as laid out in the Patents Act, but that should not come in the way of immediate licensing by the government.
- The government need to provide full support to companies to scale up vaccine production.
- Indian industry has a well-respected expertise and capability to rapidly manufacture raw materials, consumables and equipment necessary to produce drugs, vaccines, medical devices and equipment if Intellectual Property barriers are removed.
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BACK2BASICS
- COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) will compile, in one place, pledges of commitment made under the Solidarity Call to Action to voluntarily share COVID-19 health technology-related knowledge, intellectual property and data. C-TAP works through its implementing partners, the Medicines Patent Pool, Open COVID Pledge, UN Technology Bank-hosted Technology Access Partnership and Unitaid to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health technologies.
Understand how the story has progressed:
India seeks TRIPS waiver for Vaccines
How IPR served as barrier to the right to access healthcare
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