Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Bangladesh relations
The article highlights the need for Indian leaders to respect the sentiments of Bangladesh by avoiding adverse comments during elections and recognition of Bangladesh’s importance for India.
Diplomacy with Bangladesh
- Long-standing bilateral problems: As a neighbour nearly surrounded on all territorial sides by India, there are the inevitable bilateral problems of long duration.
- Such problems include a perennially favourable balance of trade for India, drought and flood in the 54 transboundary rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh, and the smuggling of goods and vulnerable human beings across the approximately 4,100 kilometre land border.
- Cultural ties with India: There are several sections who regard their Bengali roots and traditions as being of equal validity as their religious affiliation, and treasure the linguistic and cultural ties with adjacent India.
- India’s expectations: For India’s attentions and support, India’s expectations are that a neighbour will keep India’s concerns in mind when devising and pursuing its policies.
Steps taken to consolidate the bilateral ties
- Bangladesh has successfully dealt with Muslim fundamentalist terrorists.
- Bangladesh has also controlled the Northeast militant movements sheltering in Bangladesh.
- This has facilitated the pacification of India’s Northeast.
- Bangladesh facilitated a considerable degree of connectivity between India and its Northeast by land, river and the use of Bangladeshi ports.
- Indian investments in Bangladesh have been encouraged.
- There are at least 100,000 Indian nationals now living and working in that country.
- For economic integration along with free movement of commerce and capital, the movement of persons on the lines of Nepal and Bhutan will have to be considered.
Consider the question “To a certain degree both India and Bangladesh depend on each other for security and stability. In light of this, take an overview of the consolidation of the bilateral ties between the two countries and discuss the issues that need to be addressed between the two countries.”
Conclusion
Responsible individuals on both sides of the border, whether in government or the Opposition, must be actively discouraged from words and actions detrimental to the consolidation of the existing cordiality.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Freedom of Speech
Mains level: Kedarnath Singh Guidelines
The Supreme Court has quashed the case of sedition filed against a journalist in Himachal Pradesh for allegedly making remarks against PM and the government’s handling of the migrant crisis during the Covid-19 lockdown last year.
What is the story?
- In a video, the journalist had criticized PM Modi and the Centre for the handling of the migrant crisis last year.
- A sedition case was filed against him under Section 124A of the IPC which penalizes sedition as punishable with either imprisonment ranging from three years to a lifetime, a fine, or both.
- He was charged for spreading misinformation or incorrect information and cause panic in the perception of the general public.
What has the court ruled?
- The case was quashed by SC. It held that his remarks constituted genuine criticism of the government and could not be labeled seditious.
- In doing so, the court also reiterated the principles in the landmark case on sedition — Kedar Nath Singh v Union of India (1962).
What are the Kedar Nath Singh guidelines?
- In the landmark 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the sedition law, it attempted to restrict its scope for misuse.
- The court held that unless accompanied by incitement or call for violence, criticism of the government cannot be labeled sedition.
Seven principles in the Kedar Nath Singh ruling specify situations in which the charge of sedition cannot be applied:
- The expression “ ‘the Government established by law’ has to be distinguished from the persons for the time being engaged in carrying on the administration. ‘Government established by law’ is the visible symbol of the State. The very existence of the State will be in jeopardy if the Government established by law is subverted.”
- The effect of subverting the Government by bringing that Government into contempt or hatred, or creating disaffection against it, would be within the penal statute because the feeling of disloyalty to the Government established by law or enmity to it imports the idea of a tendency to public disorder by the use of actual violence or incitement to violence.
- Comments, however strongly worded, expressing disapprobation of actions of the Government, without exciting those feelings which generate the inclination to cause public disorder by acts of violence, would not be penal.
- A citizen has a right to say or write whatever he likes about the Government, or its measures, by way of criticism or comment, so long as he does not incite people to violence against the Government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder.
- The provisions of the Sections read as a whole, along with the explanations, make it reasonably clear that the sections aim at rendering penal only such activities as would be intended, or have a tendency, to create disorder or disturbance of public peace by resort to violence.
- It is only when the words, written or spoken, etc. which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder or disturbance of law and order that the law steps in to prevent such activities in the interest of public order.
- The court proposed to limit its operation only to such activities as come within the ambit of the observations of the Federal Court, that is to say, activities involving incitement to violence or intention or tendency to create public disorder or cause disturbance of public peace.
What has been the impact of that verdict?
- The significance of the verdict lies in the Supreme Court’s subsequent reiteration of the Kedar Nath Singh principles.
- A fresh constitutional challenge by two journalists against the sedition law pending before the Supreme Court, and the ruling in Dua’s case, make a strong case against keeping the colonial law in the books.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cooperative Banks
Mains level: Regulations of cooperative banks
Maharashtra government has approved a plan to set up a task force to prepare an action plan against a recent change in the law that has brought cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
What are Cooperative Banks?
- Co-operative banks are financial entities established on a cooperative basis and belonging to their members.
- This means that the customers of a cooperative bank are also its owners.
- These banks provide a wide range of regular banking and financial services. However, there are some points where they differ from other banks.
- They came into being with the aim to promote saving and investment habits among people, especially in rural parts of the country.
Structure of co-operative banks in India
- Broadly, cooperative banks in India are divided into two categories – urban and rural.
- Rural cooperative credit institutions could either be short-term or long-term in nature.
- Further, short-term cooperative credit institutions are further sub-divided into State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
- Meanwhile, the long-term institutions are either State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) or Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs).
- On the other hand, Urban Co-operative Banks (UBBs) are either scheduled or non-scheduled.
Who oversees these banks?
- In India, cooperative banks are registered under the States Cooperative Societies Act.
- They also come under the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under two laws, namely, the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, and the Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.
- They were brought under the RBI’s watch in 1966, a move that brought the problem of dual regulation along with it.
Now answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- In terms of short-term credit delivery to the agriculture sector, District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCB) delivers more credit in comparison to Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks.
- One of the most important functions of DCCBs is to provide funds to the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
Which of the statements given above is / are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
How has The Banking Regulation Act been amended?
- Cooperative banks have long been under dual regulation by the state Registrar of Societies and the RBI.
- As a result, these banks have escaped scrutiny despite failures and frauds.
- The changes to The Banking Regulation Act approved by Parliament in September 2020, brought cooperative banks under the direct supervision of the RBI.
Changes brought
- The amended law has given RBI the power to supersede the board of directors of cooperative banks after consultations with the concerned state government.
- Earlier, it could issue such directions only to multi-state cooperative banks.
- Also, urban cooperative banks will now be treated on a par with commercial banks.
- And a cooperative bank can, with prior approval of the RBI, issue equity shares, preference shares, or special shares to its members or to any other person residing within its area of operation, by way of public issue or private placements.
- It can also issue unsecured debentures or bonds with a maturity of not less than 10 years.
- This essentially means non-members can become shareholders of the bank, and this will allow the RBI to merge failing banks quickly.
What triggered the need for the changes in the law?
- India has some 1,540 urban cooperative banks, with a depositor base of 8.6 crore and deposits of at least Rs 5 lakh crore.
- Finance Minister told Lok Sabha last year that the financial status of at least 277 urban cooperative banks was weak, and around 105 cooperative banks were unable to meet the minimum regulatory capital requirement.
- According to RBI’s latest financial stability report, the gross non-performing asset ratio of urban cooperative banks deteriorated from 9.89 percent in March 2020 to 10.36 percent in September 2020.
- Not only do these banks have high levels of bad loans, they also have a small capital base — something that the changes in the law have tried to address by allowing these banks to issue shares with RBI’s approval.
- Political interference in staff appointments is also a problem with these banks, which has added to inefficiencies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MGNREGA
Mains level: MGNREGA
The Centre has asked the States to split wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme into separate categories for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and others from this financial year.
What is MGNREGA?
- The MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
- This is a labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
- The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The objectives of the MGNREGA are:
- To enhance the livelihood security of the rural poor by generating wage employment opportunities.
- To create a rural asset base that would enhance productive ways of employment, augment and sustain a rural household income.
What is so unique about it?
- MGNREGA is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
- The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
- Any Indian citizen above the age of 18 years who resides in rural India can apply for the NREGA scheme. The applicant should have volunteered to do unskilled work.
- Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
- Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee act”?
(a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households.
(b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households.
(c) Adult members of households of all backward communities.
(d) Adult members of any household.
What is the move?
- States were asked to verify if job cards for SC and ST beneficiaries were being properly allocated at the field level.
- They were told they would be given fund allocations according to this criterion, indicating that labour budgets would also be segregated on a caste basis.
- It was aimed at timely wage payments.
Reasons behind
- There is some inbuilt positive discrimination in the scheme, reflected in the fact that more than 50% of workers are women and almost 40% are SC/ST.
- However, it felt that the proposed reform would not help SC/ST workers, but would expose all workers to further uncertainties as the system struggles with changes.
Issues with the announcement
- Workers’ advocates feared this move would cause unnecessary delays and complications in the payment system, and worried that it could lead to a reduction in scheme funding.
- The rationale was very simple. It is not as if the payments made to SC and ST are not reported on the NREGA website, but overall, in terms of the budgetary outlay.
- When people take an assessment merely on the Budget head under which the programme is budgeted, then they miss out on this intricate nuance.
- So the Finance Ministry advised that both the Centre and States should make Budget provisions under SC and ST components as well.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SCO
Mains level: India-SCO cooperation
The Union Cabinet has accorded an ex post facto approval for signing and ratifying an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media between all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Highlights of the Agreement
- The agreement, which was signed in June 2019, would provide an opportunity for the member states to share best practices and new innovations in the field of mass media.
- It aims to promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among associations in the field of mass media.
- The main areas of cooperation in the agreement are the creation of favorable conditions for the wide and mutual distribution of information through mass media in order to further deepen the knowledge about the lives of the peoples of their states.
- It will assist in broadcasting television and radio programmer and those, distributed legally within the territory of the state of the other side.
What is SCO?
- After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the then security and economic architecture in the Eurasian region dissolved and new structures had to come up.
- The original Shanghai Five were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
- The SCO was formed in 2001, with Uzbekistan included. It expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan.
- Since its formation, the SCO has focused on regional non-traditional security, with counter-terrorism as a priority.
- The fight against the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and extremism has become its mantra. Today, areas of cooperation include themes such as economics and culture.
Try this PYQ now:
Q. In the context of the affairs of which of the following is the phrase “Special Safeguard Mechanisms” mentioned in the news frequently?
(a) United Nations Environment Programme
(b) World Trade Organization
(c) ASEAN- India Free Trade Agreement
(d) G-20 Summits
India’s entry to the SCO
- India and Pakistan both were observer countries.
- While Central Asian countries and China were not in favor of expansion initially, the main supporter — of India’s entry in particular — was Russia.
- A widely held view is that Russia’s growing unease about an increasingly powerful China prompted it to push for its expansion.
- From 2009 onwards, Russia officially supported India’s ambition to join the SCO. China then asked for its all-weather friend Pakistan’s entry.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EAGLE Act
Mains level: US Visa policies and its impact for Indians
Legislation to remove the per-country cap on permanent residency visas, or green cards, for the US has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
What is the EAGLE Act?
- Eagle stands for Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act, 2021.
- The act seeks to phase out the seven percent per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas and raises the per-country limit on family-sponsored visas from seven percent to 15 percent.
- It provides for a nine-year period for the elimination of this limit.
- The seven percent limit was introduced in the mid-20th century, which has led countries with relatively small populations to be allocated the same number of visas as a relatively large-population country.
Benefits of the act
- It will benefit the US economy by allowing American employers to focus on hiring immigrants based on their merit, not their birthplace.
- The bill will be advantageous for Indian job-seekers who currently rely on temporary visas or await green cards to work in the US.
How does it help Indians?
- 75 percent of the backlog for employment‐based visas was made up of Indians.
- Backlogged Indian workers face an impossible wait of nine decades if they all could remain in the line.
- More than 200,000 petitions filed for Indians could expire as a result of the workers dying of old age before they receive green cards.
- With the EAGLE Act, the per-country cap would be removed, which may expedite the petitions for those applying for employment-based green cards.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pandav leni complex
Mains level: Ancient buddhist cave architecture
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found three more caves in the Trirashmi Buddhist cave complex, also known as Pandav Leni, near Nashik, Maharashtra.
Answer this PYQ first, in the comment box:
Q.There are only two known examples of cave paintings of the Gupta period in ancient India. One of these is paintings of Ajanta caves. Where is the other surviving example of Gupta paintings?
(a) Bagh caves
(b) Ellora caves
(c) Lomas Rishi cave
(d) Nasik caves
Pandav Leni Complex
- The Pandav Leni Complex or Nasik Caves are a group of 23 caves carved between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE.
- Also called Trirashmi Buddhist caves, this complex was first documented in 1823 by Captain James Delamaine and is now an ASI- protected site.
- Though additional sculptures were added up to about the 6th century, it is a major landmark of changes in Buddhist devotional practices.
- Most of the caves are viharas except for Cave 18 which is a chaitya of the 1st century BCE.
- The style of some of the elaborate pillars or columns, for example in caves 3 and 10, is an important example of the development of the form.
- The “Pandavleni” name sometimes given to the Nasik Caves has nothing to do with the characters Pandavas, characters in the Mahabharata epic.
- Other caves in the area are Karla Caves, Bhaja Caves, Patan Cave, and Bedse Caves.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2021
Mains level: Unemployment since the pandemic
The report titled World Employment and Social Outlook was recently released by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
About the report
- The report analyses the impact of the crisis on the labour market across the world.
- It offers projections for recovery and gives details of the unequal impact of the crisis on different groups of workers and enterprises and calls for a broad-based human-centred recovery.
Findings of the report
- There has been an unprecedented disruption to labour markets worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the lives of the younger generation and brought about disruption to their education.
- Also made it more difficult for them to enter the labour market and hold on to their jobs.
- The pandemic worsened long-standing inequalities with many women workers dropping out of the labour force.
- For informal and low-skilled workers, working from home was not an option.
- Many had to face huge health risks to keep their jobs, often with no access to social security benefits.
Major highlights of the report
- Global unemployment is expected to be at 205 million in 2022, surpassing the 2019 level of 187 million.
- The jobs shortfall induced by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was 75 million in 2021 and is expected to be 23 million in 2022.
- An estimated additional 108 million workers and their family members now live in poverty.
The long road to recovery
- The recovery would remain fragile in many countries due to the uneven rollout of vaccination campaigns and higher levels of public debt and deficits that would make it difficult to tackle the effects of the pandemic.
- There is an urgent need to build back better — create productive employment opportunities and foster long-term labour market prospects for the most vulnerable.
- There is a need to strengthen social protection schemes like the MGNREGS in India and make sure nobody is left behind.
- This would require strong institutions and social dialogue and strong international cooperation to fight global disparities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Model Tenancy Act
The Union Cabinet has approved the Model Tenancy Act (MTA) to be sent to the States and Union Territories to enact legislation or amend laws on rental properties.
Model Tenancy Act
- MTA is aimed at opening up of the vacant housing stock for rental housing purposes and helping bridge the trust deficit that exists between tenants and landlords by clearly delineating their obligations.
- The housing and urban affairs ministry had floated the draft model tenancy law in July 2019.
Major provisions of MTA
(1) Rent Court and Rent Tribunal:
- To ensure speedy redressal of disputes, the Act calls for establishing a separate Rent Court and Rent Tribunal in every state/UTs to hear appeals for matters connected to rental housing.
- Only the rent court and no civil court will have the jurisdiction to hear and decide the applications relating to disputes between landowner and tenant and matters connected with it.
- It calls for the disposal of complaints and appeals by the Rent Court and Rent Tribunals within 60 days.
(2) Tenancy Agreements:
- It also seeks to establish an independent authority in every state and Union Territory for the registration of tenancy agreements.
- Under the Act, unless otherwise agreed in the tenancy agreement, the landlord will be responsible for activities like structural repairs except those necessitated by damage caused by the tenant etc.
- On his part, a tenant will be responsible for drain cleaning, switches and socket repairs, kitchen fixtures repairs, replacement of glass panels in windows, doors and maintenance of gardens and open spaces, among others.
For residential and commercial properties
- The Act will apply to premises let out for residential, commercial or educational use, but not for industrial use. It also won’t cover hotels, lodging houses, inns, etc.
- This model law will be applied prospectively and will not affect existing tenancies.
- It seeks to cover both urban as well as rural areas.
- The Act says that a security deposit equal to a maximum of two month’s rent in the case of residential premises and a maximum of six month’s rent in the case of non-residential premises would have to be paid by the tenants.
How will states implement it?
- As per the MoU signed under PMAY-U, the states and union territories would legislate or amend the existing rental laws on the lines of the MTA.
Why was a need felt to bring this on?
(1) For a rental economy
- Without a well-rounded rental policy and the proper implementation of the rental contracts, there was no sound mechanism to resolve tenant-landlord conflicts.
- Property owners find it challenging to evict tenants if they misuse the property.
- To steer clear of such complications, such property owners often chose to keep these homes vacant instead of renting them out.
(2) Unattractive rental yield
- In India, the rental yield for residential property is quite low, even in bigger cities. It is in the range of 1.5% to 3% of the capital values.
- This has disincentivized people from investing in second or third homes which could be rented out.
- Often, they also prefer to leave their properties vacant in case they return to India.
- NRIs avoid leasing their residential properties for fear of squatters and dealing with the legalities of eviction.
How will MTA help?
(1) Unlocking homes
- It will unlock vacant houses for rental purposes
- It will enable the creation of adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing the issue of homelessness.
(2) Helping migrants
- Rental housing is a preferred option for students and migrants.
- It will balance the rights of both landlords and tenants.
(3) Effective negotiations
- There is no monetary ceiling under MTA, which enables parties to negotiate and execute the agreement on mutually agreed terms.
- It will give confidence to landlords to let out their vacant premises, the housing ministry said.
- The Act also tries to address how a renter can legitimately increase the rent.
(4) Control over encroachments
- It has proposed limiting the advance security deposits to two months’ rent and has also suggested heavy penalties for tenants who decide to overstay.
- Those who do may have to shell out double the rent for two months and even four months.
(5) Rights of tenants
- The landowner cannot cut power and water supplies in case of a dispute and would have to provide a 24-hour notice to tenants to carry out repair work.
- Should the landlords wish to increase the rent, they will need to provide a three-months notice to the tenants.
- These measures would go a long way in protecting the rights of a tenant as it regulates the rent hikes that tenants have had to face.
Challenges ahead
While the proposals of the Act have been widely welcomed, their implementation may not be very simple.
(1) Not Binding nature
- The Act is not binding on the states as land and urban development remain state subjects.
- Like in the case of RERA, the fear is that states may choose not to follow guidelines, diluting the essence of the Model Act.
(2) Issues over paltry rents
- Also, the Model Act is prospectively applicable and will not affect the existing tenancies.
- The repeal of rent control Acts can be governed by political exigencies.
- This may be a complicated process in cities like Mumbai, where tenants have occupied residential properties in prime areas for absurdly low rents.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Digital Services Taxes
Mains level: Read the attached story
The US government has announced the further suspension of punitive tariffs for six months on India, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK while it continues to resolve the DST investigation amid the ongoing multilateral negotiations at the OECD and the G20.
Do you remember?
GAFA tax—named after Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon—is a proposed digital tax to be levied on large technology and internet companies.
What are the Digital Services Taxes in India?
- The NDA government had moved an amendment in the Finance Bill 2020-21 imposing a 2 percent digital service tax on trade and services by non-resident e-commerce operators with a turnover of over Rs 2 crore.
- The new levy has expanded the ambit of the equalization levy for non-resident e-commerce operators involved in the supply of services, including the online sale of goods and provision of services.
- E-commerce operators are obligated to pay the tax at the end of each quarter.
- Estimates by the USTR indicate that the value of the DST payable by US-based company groups to India will be up to approximately $55 million per year.
Also read:
What are Digital Services Taxes?
What is the story?
- The US is focused on finding a multilateral solution to a range of key issues related to international taxation, including our concerns with digital services taxes.
- It is trying to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD and G20 processes.
Investigation regarding DST
- The US has conducted a year-long investigation into digital services taxes imposed by countries, stating that they are against tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook.
- It had determined that the digital services taxes adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK has discriminated against US digital companies and were inconsistent with principles of international taxation, and burdened US companies.
What’s the case against India?
- In the case of India, the USTR’s proposed course of action includes additional tariffs of up to 25 percent ad valorem on an aggregate level of trade.
- Around 26 categories of goods are in the preliminary list of products that would be subject to the additional tariffs.
- This includes shrimps, basmati rice, cigarette paper, cultured pearls, semi-precious stones, silver powder and silver articles of jewelry, gold mixed link necklaces, and neck chains, and certain furniture of bentwood.
Why does India need DST?
- The agenda to reform international tax law so that digital companies are taxed where economic activities are carried is still a work in progress.
- Due to this, countries are worried that they might cede their right to tax incomes. Therefore, many countries have either proposed or implemented a digital services tax.
- The proliferation of digital service taxes (DSTs) is a symptom of the changing international economic order.
- Countries such as India which provides large markets for digital corporations seek a greater right to tax incomes.
- The taxation of the digitalized economy turned out to be a relatively contentious issue because there is a huge asymmetry in digital service providers and consumers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Missions on Venus
Mains level: Planetory exploration
NASA has selected two missions to the planet Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbor. The missions are called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.
DAVINCI+ and VERITAS
(1) DAVINCI+
- DAVINCI+ is short for ‘Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging’ and is the first US-led mission to the planet’s atmosphere since 1978.
- It will try to understand Venus’ composition to see how the planet formed and evolved.
- This mission also consists of a decent sphere that will pass through the planet’s thick atmosphere and make observations and take measurements of noble gases and other elements.
- Significantly, this mission will also try to return the first high-resolution photographs of a geological feature that is unique to Venus.
- This feature, which is called “tesserae” may be comparable to Earth’s continents.
- The presence of tesseraes may suggest that Venus has tectonic plates like Earth.
(2) VERITAS
- The second mission called VERITAS is short for ‘Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy’.
- It will map the planet’s surface to determine its geologic history and understand the reasons why it developed so differently from Earth.
- VERITAS will orbit Venus with a radar that will help to create a 3D reconstruction of its topography which might be able to tell scientists if processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active there.
- This mission will also map the emissions from Venus’s surface that may help in determining the type of rocks that exist on Venus–a piece of information that is not exactly known yet.
- It will also determine if active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.
Why study Venus?
- The results from DAVINCI+ are expected to reshape the understanding of terrestrial planet formation in the solar system and beyond.
- Taken together, both missions are expected to tell scientists more about the planet’s thick cloud cover and the volcanoes on its surface.
- Further, scientists speculate about the existence of life on Venus in its distant past and the possibility that life may exist in the top layers of its clouds where temperatures are less extreme.
Have humans visited Venus?
- Because of the planet’s harsh environment, no humans have visited it and even the spacecraft that have been sent to the planet have not survived for a very long time.
- Venus’ high surface temperatures overheat electronics in spacecraft in a short time, so it seems unlikely that a person could survive for long on the Venusian surface.
- So far, spacecraft from several nations have visited the planet.
- The first such spacecraft was the Soviet Union’s Venera series (the spacecraft, however, could not survive for long because of the planet’s harsh conditions).
- It was followed by NASA’s Magellan Mission that studied Venus from 1990-1994. As of now, Japan’s Akatsuki mission is studying the planet from Orbit.
Back2Basics: Venus
- For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon.
- It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light.
- Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.
Some unknown facts
- While Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.
- For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
- Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly.
- This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East.
- One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets.
- Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OneWeb, LEO
Mains level: Space internet concept
Following the successful launch of 36 satellites, OneWeb’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation reached 218 in-orbit satellites.
What is OneWeb?
- OneWeb is a global communications company that aims to deliver broadband satellite Internet around the world through its fleet of LEO satellites.
- OneWeb satellites are built at a OneWeb and Airbus joint venture facility in Florida that can produce up to two satellites a day.
- The launch roll-out of the satellites is facilitated by French company Arianespace using Russian-made Soyuz rockets.
- The company has announced plans to enter the Indian market by 2022.
About its constellation
- The company has one more launch to complete before it obtains the capacity to enable its ‘Five to 50’ service of offering internet connectivity to all regions north of 50 degrees latitude.
- The Five to 50 service is expected to be switched on by June 2021 with global services powered by 648 satellites available in 2022.
What are LEO satellites?
- LEO satellites have been orbiting the planet since the 1990s, providing companies and individuals with various communication services.
- They are positioned around 500km-2000km from earth, compared to stationary orbit satellites which are approximately 36,000km away.
- Latency, or the time needed for data to be sent and received, is contingent on proximity.
- As LEO satellites orbit closer to the earth, they are able to provide stronger signals and faster speeds than traditional fixed-satellite systems.
- Additionally, because signals travel faster through space than through fiber-optic cables, they also have the potential to rival if not exceed existing ground-based networks.
- However, LEO satellites travel at a speed of 27,000 kph and complete a full circuit of the planet in 90-120 minutes.
- As a result, individual satellites can only make direct contact with a land transmitter for a short period of time thus requiring massive LEO satellite fleets and consequently, a significant capital investment.
Criticisms of LEO satellites
- During the days of the Sputnik and Apollo missions, governments dominated and regulated space-based activities.
- There are logistical challenges with launching thousands of satellites into space as well.
- Satellites can sometimes be seen in the night skies which creates difficulties for astronomers as the satellites reflect sunlight to earth, leaving streaks across images.
- Satellites traveling at a lower orbit can also interrupt the frequency of those orbiting above them, an accusation that has been leveled against Starlink satellites already.
- Another worry is that there are already almost 1 million objects larger than 1cm in diameter in orbit, a byproduct of decades of space activities.
- Those objects, colloquially referred to as ‘space junk,’ have the potential to damage spacecraft or collide with other satellites.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Artificial Sun
Mains level: Concept behind artificial sun
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which mimics the energy generation process of the sun, set a new record.
What is China’s ‘artificial sun’ EAST?
- The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
- The purpose of the artificial sun is to replicate the process of nuclear fusion, which is the same reaction that powers the sun.
- The EAST is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.
- Apart from the EAST, China is currently operating the HL-2A reactor as well as J-TEXT.
- Since it first became operational in 2006, the EAST has set several records for the duration of confinement of exceedingly hot plasma.
- The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035.
- The project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.
How does the ‘artificial sun’ EAST work?
- The EAST Tokamak device is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
- Nuclear fusion is a process through which high levels of energy are produced without generating large quantities of waste.
- Previously, energy was produced through nuclear fission — a process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom was split into two or more nuclei of lighter atoms.
Fission vs. Fusion
- While fission is an easier process to carry out, it generates far more nuclear waste.
- Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with a lower risk of accidents.
- Once mastered, nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs.
But what is Fusion?
- For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together. `
- The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
- Fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
- With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy.
- The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.
What is the latest record and why does it matter?
- The EAST reactor set a new record on Friday when it achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million degrees Fahrenheit and also managed to run for 20 seconds at 288 million degrees Fahrenheit.
- To put this in perspective, the sun’s core only reaches about 15 million degrees Celsius, which means the reactor was able to touch temperatures that are 10 times hotter than that.
- The next goal for the scientists behind the experimental reactor is to maintain the high temperature for a long period of time. Previously, the EAST had reached a record temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018.
China is not the only
- But China is not the only country that has achieved high plasma temperatures.
- In 2020, South Korea’s KSTAR reactor set a new record by maintaining a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SDG Index
Mains level: India's quest for SDGs
The third edition of the SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 was released by NITI Aayog.
SDG India Index
- The index measures the progress at the national and sub-national level in the country’s journey towards meeting the Global Goals and targets.
- It has been successful as an advocacy tool to propagate the messages of sustainability, resilience, and partnerships, as well.
- From covering 13 Goals, 39 targets, and 62 indicators in the first edition in 2018-19 to 17 Goals, 54 targets and 100 indicators in the second; this third edition of the index covers 17 Goals, 70 targets, and 115 indicators.
Aims and objectives
- The construction of the index and the ensuing methodology embodies the central objectives of measuring the performance of States and UTs on the SDGs and ranking them.
- It aims at supporting States and UTs in identifying areas which require more attention; and promoting healthy competition among them.
Methodology and Process
- The index estimation is based on data on indicators for the first 16 goals, with a qualitative assessment for Goal 17.
- The technical process of target setting and normalization of scores follow the globally established methodology.
- While target setting enables the measurement of the distance from the target for each indicator, the process of normalization of positive and negative indicators allows for comparability and estimation of goal-wise scores.
- The composite score of a State is derived by assigning each goal the same weight, keeping in mind the indivisible nature of the 2030 Agenda.
- The selection of indicators is preceded by a consultative process undertaken in close coordination with MoSPI, Union Ministries and stakeholders from States and UTs.
Highlights of the 2021 Report
States and Union Territories are classified as below based on their SDG India Index score:
- Aspirant: 0–49
- Performer: 50–64
- Front-Runner: 65–99
- Achiever: 100
Its significance
- The index represents the articulation of the comprehensive nature of the Global Goals under the 2030 Agenda while being attuned to the national priorities.
- The modular nature of the index has become a policy tool and a ready reckoner for gauging the progress of States and UTs on the nature of goals including health, education, gender, economic growth and climate change and the environment.
Back2Basics: Sustainable Development Goals
- The UN General Assembly in its 70thSession considered and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years.
- The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from 1st January 2016.
- Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have the potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the next fifteen years.
- Countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving these goals.
- Implementation and success will rely on countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans, and programs.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Real interest rate
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenge of managing inflationary pressure
The article discusses the challenges in managing the inflationary pressure while ensuring the low interest rates and sufficient liquidity in the covid battered economy.
Growing inflationary pressure
- As the second wave eases, producers could pass on more cost increases to consumers, pushing up inflation.
- Inflationary pressures are on the rise, globally and domestically.
- Real rates in India have moved into the negative terrain and some measures of inflation expectations have begun to rise gently.
- WPI inflation was subdued last year during the first wave of the pandemic due to falling global commodity prices.
- This year is different, as inflationary pressures have surfaced in the WPI.
- And within WPI inflation, input prices are rising much faster than WPI output prices.
- Producers do not seem to be passing on much of the rise in raw material costs to output prices, perhaps worried that already uncertain demand could weaken further.
- After states roll back local lockdowns, the demand for goods and services will gradually picks up, producers may feel more confident about passing on raw material cost increases to output prices, pushing core inflation higher, particularly in the second half of FY22.
RBI’s role: Dealing with impossible trinity?
- Last year, RBI was faced with conflicting objectives on inflation, bond yields and the rupee, also known as the impossible trinity.
- It bought dollars to prevent the rupee from strengthening too much and purchased government bonds to keep bond yields from spiralling out of control.
- But this created excess rupee liquidity in the banking system, which over time can stoke inflation and other financial imbalances.
- These conflicting objectives are also likely to linger this year, and RBI will have to juggle them carefully.
- As the year progresses, space could open up for RBI to gradually shift the focus to inflation control.
- With the current account moving into deficit, the balance of payments surplus is likely to fall, so RBI may not have to purchase as many dollars as last year.
- The will result in decrease in domestic liquidity and ultimately an important part of the normalization of monetary policy and inflation control.
- RBI would still need to buy government bonds to support the administration’s borrowing programme.
- However, a large carry-over of cash balances could act as a buffer—they totalled ₹2.5 trillion at the end of FY21, almost double the recent average.
- This could help fund some of the unbudgeted rise in the fiscal deficit.
Way forward on controlling inflation
- If the need to buy dollars is lower than last year, RBI could gradually shift the focus to controlling inflation.
- Starting in 4Q 2021, when the proportion of the population vaccinated will hopefully reach critical mass, RBI need to start reducing the level of surplus liquidity, raise the reverse repo rate, and change its monetary stance to neutral.
- The aim should be to gradually push up short-end rates towards 4%, so that real rates don’t remain hugely negative for too long.
- An increase in the benchmark repo rate— currently 4%— can wait, perhaps until there are surer signs that the private investment cycle is rising.
Conclusion
Dealing with the three elements of impossible trinity this time is not as difficult for the RBI as it was last year, it needs to shift focus to inflation control at the opportune moment.
Back2Basics: Real interest rate
- A real interest rate is an interest rate that has been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation to reflect the real cost of funds to the borrower and the real yield to the lender or to an investor.
- The real interest rate of an investment is calculated as the difference between the nominal interest rate and the inflation rate.
Real Interest Rate = Nominal Interest Rate – Inflation (Expected or Actual)
The impossible trinity
- A theory that states that, in the long-run, a central bank that hopes to conduct independent monetary policy must choose between maintaining a fixed foreign exchange rate and allowing the free movement of capital.
- For instance, a central bank that chooses to increase the total money supply by adopting loose monetary policy cannot hope to maintain the foreign exchange value of its currency unless it resorts to restricting the sale of domestic currency in the currency market.
- The idea is derived from the academic works of Canadian economist Robert Mundell and British economist Marcus Fleming.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Growing tendency towards centralisation
The article highlights the challenges faced by the federalism in India in various domains and forms and suggests the ways to deal with these challenges.
Growing tendency towards Centralisation
- Moves to erode the powers of State governments are not new.
- The Centre, on several occasions, has used its powers to dismiss or use the Governor to intimidate democratically elected governments.
- During the Emergency, education was moved to the Concurrent list which was until then a State subject under the constitutional division of responsibilities.
- However, the changes to federal relations at present are more systemic.
- There has been increasing centralisation in resource allocations and welfare interventions.
- After GST, the gap between the revenue that State governments are allowed to generate and the expenditure that they are expected to incur has been widening.
- The Centre has been encroaching into domains under State government control through centrally sponsored schemes in sectors such as education and health.
Three domains in which federalism faces challenges
1) State-capital relation
- At present there is growing trend towards centralising economic power in conjunction with political centralisation.
- The consolidation and expansion of a few big business groups is taking place, probably at the expense of smaller players.
- On the one hand, the Centre has sought to insulate Indian big business from global competition by choosing not to enter into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
- But the power of small businesses is eroded through support for GST and the call for a single national market.
- So, big businesses are more likely to benefit from a removal of State-level barriers to trade at the expense of smaller regional players.
2) Institutional transgression
- Central institutions are increasingly weakening the policy levers of State institutions.
- There are growing allegations of the misuse of institutions such as the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency are being used to intimidate opponents..
- Direct transfers to beneficiaries of welfare schemes bypassing States are also contributing to this dynamic.
- The Centre is increasingly ignoring elected representatives of State governments, holding meetings with State secretaries and district collectors on issues that are primarily under State control.
- Governors perform active administrative roles instead of their signatory roles.
- To ensure national uniformity in educational institutions NEET was introduced in medical education.
- But it subverts the affirmative action policies developed at the regional level in response to local.
- In the domain of health, the Centre has now put State governments at a disadvantage in vaccine usage by fixing differential pricing for procuring vaccines.
3) Socio-cultural foundations
- Beside the legal-constitutional aspects of federalism, it is diversity in cultural foundation of regions that sustains Indian federalism.
- Markers of regional identities and regional socio-cultural practices are now interpreted as belonging to a pan-Indian Hindu tradition.
Conclusion
To stem this trend towards centralisation we need to provide more legal and constitutional safeguard to the States, strong regional political assertion and a strong federal coalition.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Global Minimum corporate tax and issues associated with it
The article deals with the issue of global minimum tax proposal floated by the US, challenges it faces and its implications for India.
The US proposal for global minimum tax
- In its recent proposal, the U.S. sought to impose a global minimum tax on foreign income earned by U.S. corporations.
- The proposal is intended to disincentivise American companies from inverting their structures due to the increase in the U.S. corporate tax rate.
- The U.S. is now discussing a floor of 15% for the minimum tax rate.
- The proposal is similar to Pillar Two, except for the rate of the effective minimum tax.
Similarity with Pillar Two Proposal
- The Pillar Two proposal was the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) plan to plug the remaining Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) issues
- It provide jurisdictions the right to “tax back” where other jurisdictions have either not exercised their primary taxing right or have exercised it at low levels of effective taxation.
- For instance, if an Indian-headquartered multinational corporation (MNC) has an entity in Singapore or the Netherlands through which global operations are run, and its income from global operations is not taxed at an effective rate of 10% or 15%, then it can be taxed in India.
- India has been part of the Pillar Two discussions and has not objected in principle to the proposal.
How Global Minimum Tax would benefit India?
- The proposal, along with the increased tax bill for U.S. companies, may benefit the Indian revenue department.
- The State of Tax Justice report of 2020 notes that India loses over $10 billion in tax revenue due to the use of offshore structures, particularly through investments made by Indian residents through Mauritius, Singapore and the Netherlands.
- This is supported by the overseas direct investment (ODI) data from 2000 to 2021 published by the Reserve Bank of India.
- Start-ups and large Indian conglomerates commonly use offshore structures for conducting global operations.
- Revenue from such operations is often retained offshore and not repatriated to India.
- Tax advantages incentivise such structures, due to which taxes on such income are not paid in India.
- Once these proposals are implemented, Indian companies would have to pay additional taxes on their offshore structures to the extent that the effective rate of tax is lower than the global minimum tax rate.
Challenges
- Lack of consensus: Several countries have taken a different approach to the rate of global minimum tax.
- While France and Germany have expressed support, the EU has raised concerns regarding the high rate proposed by the United States.
- Tax sovereignty issue: Countries have stated that the proposal infringes upon their tax sovereignty and that the fight against unfair tax competition should not become a fight against competitive tax systems.
Consider the question “What are the factors that led to the demand of global minimum corporate tax? What will be its implications for India?”
Conclusion
As economies struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity of encouraging trade and economic activity should be prioritised over disagreements on tax allocations. A tax-related trade war or entrenchment of unilateral levies may further harm both global and national economies.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- What explained increased total FDI in Indian?
The article analyses the factors contributing to the claim of 10% rise in total Foreign Direct Investment in 2020-21 and its impact on economy.
Making sense of increased FDI
- Total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in 2020-21 is $81.7 billion, up 10% over the previous year, reported a recent Ministry of Commerce and Industry press release.
- The short press release highlighted industry and State-specific foreign investment figures without detailed statistical information.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin, which was released a week earlier, has the details.
What explains increased gross inflows
- The gross inflow consists of (i) direct investment to India and (ii) repatriation/disinvestment.
- The disaggregation shows that direct investment to India has declined by 2.4%.
- Hence, an increase of 47% in “repatriation/disinvestment” entirely accounts for the rise in the gross inflows.
- In other words, there is a wide gap between gross FDI inflow and direct investment to India.
- Similarly, measured on a net basis (that is, “direct investment to India” net of “FDI by India” or, outward FDI from India), direct investment to India has barely risen (0.8%) in 2020-21 over the last year.
- What then accounts for the impressive headline number of 10% rise in gross inflow?
- It is almost entirely on account of “Net Portfolio Investment”, shooting up from $1.4 billion in 2019-20 to $36.8 billion in the next year.
- That is a whopping 2,526% rise.
- Further, within the net portfolio investment, foreign institutional investment (FIIs) has boomed by an astounding 6,800% to $38 billion in 2020-21, from a mere half a billion dollars in the previous year.
- This explains the surge in gross FDI inflows which is entirely on account of net foreign portfolio investment.
How FDI is different from FII
- FDI inflow, in theory, is supposed to bring in additional capital to augment potential output (taking managerial control/stake).
- In contrast, foreign portfolio investment, as the name suggests, is short-term investment in domestic capital (equity and debt) markets to realise better financial returns.
- But the conceptual distinctions have blurred in official reporting, showing an outsized role of FDI and its growth in India.
How FPI distorted equity markets?
- The deluge of FII inflow did little to augment the economy’s potential output.
- It added a lot of froth to the stock prices.
- When GDP has contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21 on account of the pandemic and the economic lockdown, the BSE Sensex nearly doubled from about 26,000 points on March 23, 2020 to over 50,000 on March 31, 2021.
- BSE’s price-earnings (P-E) multiple — defined as share price relative to earnings per share — is among the world’s highest, close behind S&P 500 in the U.S.
FDI inflow’s contribution to domestic output
- As Figure below shows, between 2013-14 and 2019-20, the ratio of net FDI to GDP has remained just over 1% (left-hand scale), with no discernible rising trend in it.
- The proportion of net FDI to gross fixed capital formation (fixed investment) is range-bound between 4% and 6%.
- These stagnant trends are evident when the economy’s fixed investment rate — gross fixed capital formation to GDP ratio — has plummeted from 31.3% in 2013-14 to 26.9% in 2019-20 (right-hand scale).
- Thus, FDI inflow’s contribution to domestic output and investment remains modest.
Conclusion
The flood of FIIs has boosted stock prices and financial returns. These inflows did little to augment fixed investment and output growth.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: India's farm sector and its contribution to the GDP
2020-21 saw the Indian economy register its worst-ever contraction since Independence and also the first since 1979-80. There has been recording economic contraction, however, the farm sector actually grew by 3.6%.
Growth in Farm Sector
There are two main reasons why agriculture didn’t suffer the fate of the rest of the economy last year.
(1) Better monsoon and yields
- 2019 and 2020, by contrast, were above-normal monsoon years, with the country receiving an area-weighted rainfall.
- It led to the filling of reservoirs and recharging of groundwater tables and aquifers, unlike after the deficient monsoons of 2014 and 2015 and the near-deficient one of 2018.
- Not surprisingly, 2019-20 and 2020-21 produced back-to-back bumper harvests.
(2) Ease during lockdowns
- The second reason had to do with agriculture being exempted from the nationwide lockdown that followed the first wave of Covid-19.
- Lockdown restrictions only spared PDS ration shops and other stores selling food, groceries, fruits & vegetables, milk, meat and fish, animal fodder, seeds and pesticides.
- But within days, an addendum was issued, extending the lifting of curbs to fertilizer outlets, all field operations by farmers and farmworkers, intra- and inter-state movement of agricultural machinery, sale of produce in wholesale mandis and procurement.
Inherent resilience of India’s farm sector
- Simply put, farmers made sure they did not waste a good monsoon, finding ways to even mobilize harvesting and planting labor during peak lockdown.
- The inherent resilience and adaptability of rural economic actors — meant that the farm sector was relatively insulated from lockdown-imposed supply-side
What were the issues faced?
- The problems agriculture encountered due to the lockdown had more to do with the demand
- The closure of hotels, restaurants, roadside eateries, sweetmeat shops, hostels, and canteens — and no wedding receptions and other public functions — resulted in a collapse of out-of-home consumption.
- This was demand destruction not from rising prices — “movement along the demand curve”.
- Instead, it was from forced consumption reduction, translating into lower demand for farm produce even at the same price — “a leftward shift in the demand curve”.
Various successes
(1) Success of MSP procurement
- MSP procurement was effective largely in crops and regions where the institutions undertaking such operations — be it the Food Corporation of India, NAFED, Cotton Corporation of India or even cooperative dairies.
- These all were active and could stem price declines during the period of demand destruction.
- Such intervention wasn’t possible in non-mainstream produce (vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, flowers, spices, etc) and regions (maize in Bihar), where the corresponding institutional mechanisms were non-existent.
- The demand situation improved, though, with the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions and also the recovery in global agri-commodity prices.
(2) MGNREGA
- While agriculture grew amid an unprecedented economic contraction, 2020-21 was also notable for the record person-days of employment generated under MGNREGA.
- This flagship employment scheme was yet another source of liquidity infusion and, again, a pre-existing program that the government could deploy to support rural incomes during a crisis.
- Rural consumption, in turn, provided some cushion to the economy and preventing a bad situation from turning much worse.
Prospects for this Year
The one obvious difference between now and last year is Covid-19 cases. Covid’s impact on agriculture per se would depend on the spread, intensity, and duration of the infection.
- Rural areas were mostly unaffected by the pandemic’s first wave.
- Farm-related activities could, then, go on relatively unhindered, which government policy, whether to do with lockdown or public procurement, also facilitated.
- That situation has changed with the second wave and rising share of rural districts in total cases, even without factoring in the higher probability of underreporting in these places.
What next?
- While fear of the virus may induce precautionary behavior and economic growth, it is unlikely to affect normal agricultural operations.
- And if last years’ experience is any guide, the adaptability of farmers and myriad rural economic agents should not be underestimated.
(1) The first factor to be considered is the monsoon. The good news this time is that there is no El Niño.
- There are increasing chances of a La Niña — El Niño’s counterpart that is associated with above-normal rains and lower temperatures in India — for the autumn and winter months.
- El Nino is the abnormal warming of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface waters, resulting in increased evaporation and cloud-formation activity around South America and away from Asia.
(2) Uncertainty is prices
- Global prices — be it of wheat, maize, soybean, palm oil, sugar, skimmed milk powder or cotton — have scaled multi-year highs in the recent period, helping India’s agri-commodity exports.
- But export demand alone cannot sustain prices, especially in a scenario where job and income losses, accelerated post the pandemic that has severely dented domestic purchasing power.
- Diesel prices alone have gone up by over a third in the last year; so have that of most non-urea fertilizers.
Way forward
- The real challenge for Indian agriculture and farmers will be on the demand side.
- That is specifically going to come from declining real incomes and particularly affecting demand for milk, pulses, egg, meat, fruits, vegetables and other protein/micronutrient-rich foods.
- While rising rural wages and overall incomes is what propelled the demand for these foods in the past — in turn, contributing to dietary and cropping diversification — the ongoing slide presents a frightening proposition.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 5G technology
Mains level: Issues with 5g rollout
A notable actor has filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court against the 5G telecom technology up-gradation, trial runs for which have started in India now.
What is 5G technology?
- 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
Issues with the rollout
- However, 5G and its rollout in many countries have been hampered due to fears over health concerns even some conspiracy theories as well, which have tried to link it with the coronavirus among other things.
- The recent lawsuit is asking questions around the overall impact of 5G and low intensity radiofrequency (RF) electronic magnetic field (EMF) radiation on human health, and its environmental impact as well.
- These concerns, while not yet proven, have been raised by various scientists before too.
Arguments raised in the lawsuit
- It has stated that the ‘radiation’ it will emit will be “extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people”.
- While using wireless devices one is in a constant dilemma about “RF radiation from wire-free gadgets and network cell towers”.
- There is sufficient reason to believe that the radiation is extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people.
- It wants the concerned department to certify that 5G technology is safe for humans and also animals and birds.
Why is 5G essential?
- 5G promises to revolutionize mobile broadband and is a big generational leap over the existing 4G technology.
- This new technology will be capable of not just ensuring fast internet on our phones, but also help power IoT (Internet of Things) networks to run connected cars and homes smarter.
- It will also support the streaming of rich media.
Rollout status in India
- 5G has not yet been rolled out in India though some companies have been given a trial spectrum to test 5G technology in the country.
- Once this is over, it is expected that networks will go live with the 5G bands by the end of this year.
- The 5G rollout is expected to gather pace in the country by 2022.
Fear around the impact of 5G radiation on human health
- The claim is that the more powerful 5G waves will emit more radiation and cause harm to humans as well as other living beings.
- Also, 5G will require more towers in order to ensure better connectivity, and since it will power more than just our smartphones, it will increase human exposure to such radiation in general.
- This is an extension of the idea that cellular towers, which emit low-level RF-EMF radiation, are in general damaging our bodies.
- But radiation from cellphone towers, mobile phones, WiFi routers is typically called non-ionizing radiation like radio waves, microwaves, and optical radiation.
- RF fields have been classified by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B).
Layman understandings over such radiations
- There’s no doubt that radiation at very high levels, also referred to as ionizing radiation, heats up our tissue and can eventually lead to cancer.
- This applies to medical devices such as a CT-scan machine or X-ray machine, which emit high-level ionizing radiation.
- That’s exactly why doctors don’t recommend that you go get a CT scan for every health issue because it does increase unnecessary exposure to radiation.
- But there are increasing concerns that our smartphones, other WiFi-ready devices such as laptops, and mobile phone towers which also emit low-level RF radiation are damaging our bodies given the constant exposure.
What WHO has to say?
- On its page on 5G, the World Health Organization (WHO) says “no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies.”
- But it also states that “only a few studies have been carried out at the frequencies to be used by 5G.”
- Given the growing concerns, the WHO is conducting “a health risk assessment from exposure to radio frequencies, covering the entire radiofrequency range, including 5G.”
- This study will be published by 2022.
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