Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tangam tribe
Mains level: Tribal issues in the NE
Last week Arunachal CM released a book titled “Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh”.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India:
- PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.
- A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
- There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
- Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 1, 3 and 4
Who are the Tangams?
- The Tangams is a little-known community within the larger Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and resides in the hamlet of Kugging in Upper Siang district’s Paindem circle.
- In 1975, the community’s population was pegged at 2,000 spread across 25 villages.
- From 2016 to 2020, a team from the Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL) of Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), carried out extensive field research and documented the community.
- Their survey revealed that Tangams were now concentrated in only one village (Kugging), with only 253 reported speakers.
- As per the UNESCO World Atlas of Endangered Languages (2009), Tangam — an oral language that belongs to the Tani group, under the greater Tibeto-Burman language family — is marked ‘critically endangered’.
Why are there only a few speakers?
- Kugging is surrounded by a number of villages inhabited by Adi subgroups such as Shimong, Minyongs, as well as the Buddhist tribal community of Khambas, among others.
- To communicate with their neighbours over the years, the Tangams have become multilingual, speaking not just Tangam, but other tongues such as Shimong, Khamba and Hindi.
- They rarely speak their own language now since their population is restricted to a single village. Moreover, the Tangams are relatively unknown — even within their state.
- The village lacks proper infrastructure in all basic sectors of education, health, drinking water facilities, road and electricity. Roads have reached Kugging only in 2018.
- Not a single person from the community has gone to university.
Why are the languages at risk?
- The diversity of languages has led various communities to depend on English, Assamese and colloquial variety of Hindi called Arunachalee Hindi as the link languages.
- Many believe this shift has led to the loss of native languages of the tribal communities.
- Even the numerically larger tribes like Nyishi, Galo, Mishmi, Tangsa etc. whose population exceed the ten thousand mark are also not safe from endangerment, hence marked unsafe.
- The younger generation of these tribes especially in the urban areas has mostly discarded the use of their mother tongue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Islands of Polynesia
Mains level: NA
How did the Polynesian peoples come to live on the far-flung islands of the Pacific? The question has intrigued researchers for centuries.
The newscard contains some trivial facts. However, aspirants are advised to observe the map.
Study on Polynesia
- Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl brought the topic to public attention when he sailed a balsa-wood raft called the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947.
- His goal was to demonstrate such voyages were possible, supporting theories linking Polynesian origins to the Americas.
- Decades of research in archaeology, linguistics and genetics now show that Polynesian origins lie to the west, ultimately in the islands of Southeast Asia.
New evidence for American interlopers
- A new study published in Nature reports genetic evidence of Native American ancestry in several Polynesian populations.
- Other researchers have previously found evidence of indigenous American DNA in the genomes of the modern inhabitants of Rapa Nui.
- Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is the part of Polynesia closest to South America.
- This suggests the “Amerindian” genetic component was likely introduced later via Chilean colonists.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mont Blanc
Mains level: Alps and its orogeny
The melting Mont Blanc glacier in the French Alps yielded a clutch of newspapers with banner headlines from when Indira Gandhi became India’s first and so far only woman Prime Minister in 1966.
Try this MCQ
Q.The Mont Blanc in the Alps can be located near the conflux of which of the following two countries?
a)France and Spain
b)France and Italy
c)Spain and Italy
d)Greece and Slovenia
Mont Blanc
- Mont Blanc is the second-highest mountain in Europe after Mount Elbrus. It is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe.
- It rises 4,808 m above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence.
- The mountain stands in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France.
- It is the tallest peak in the Alps and the highest summit in Western Europe, hence its epithet the “Roof of Europe”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smart Cities Mission
Mains level: Paper 2- Lack of focus on public health in smart cities mission
“Smart Cities Mission” lacks the focus on public health. This article highlights the consequences of this. The article suggests strengthening the of local governments and provisions for the livelihood through an urban employment guarantee scheme.
“Smart Cities Mission”: Progress so far
- The ‘Smart Cities Mission’, a flagship programme of the government, completed five years, in June 2020.
- The Mission had sought to make 100 selected cities “smart”.
- Cities are being developed under “Area-Based Development” model.
- Under this model, a small portion of the city would be upgraded by retrofitting or redevelopment.
- Many of the projects undertaken under the ‘Smart Cities Mission’ are behind schedule.
- According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, of the 5,151 smart city projects, only 1,638 projects have been completed.
- In terms of expenditure, of the total investment of ₹2,05,018 crore, only projects worth ₹26,700 crore have been completed.
Lack of focus on Public health in Smart Cities Mission
- ‘Smart Cities Mission’ has given little importance to basic services such as public health.
- An analysis shows that only 69 of over 5,000 projects undertaken under the Mission were for health infrastructure.
- These projects are for an estimated cost of ₹2,112 crore, amounting to just around one per cent of the total mission cost.
- Hence, public health seems to be a major blind spot in India’s smart city dreams.
Public Health: Essential local government function
- ‘Smart Cities Mission’ had the stated aim of improving the quality of life of urban residents.
- Further, public health is an essential local government function in India’s constitutional scheme.
- As per the 74th Amendment ( 12th Schedule), “public health” is one of the 18 functions that are to be devolved to the municipalities.
- However, public health infrastructure of cities has often been neglected over the years.
Strengthening Local Governments
- Success of Kerala in containing the pandemic has shown how a decentralised political and administrative system can be effective.
- It is important to strengthen local government capacities.
- Investment in urban public health systems is needed.
- Promoting programmes that improve the livelihoods of urban vulnerable communities should be the priority.
- Programs such as the National Urban Livelihoods Mission and National Urban Health Mission, need to be strengthened.
Focus on Urban Employment
- It is time to consider the introduction of a national urban employment guarantee programme.
- Kerala has been running such a scheme since 2010.
- States such as Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand have also recently launched similar initiatives in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Consider the question “Covid pandemic has highlighted the lack of focus on public health in our Smart Cities Mission. Suggest the measures to make our cities resilient and source of livelihood.
Conclusion
As Indian cities face an unprecedented challenge, it is important to get the priorities of urban development right and invest in programmes that improve the health and livelihoods of its residents.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Illegalities by the police
Custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu and death of a criminal in UP has brought to the fore the issue of illegalities carried out by the police. This article discusses the ways in which people face such illegalities and need for the reforms.
Issue of illegalities by police
- It is common practice in police stations to ignore the statute, laid down processes and Supreme Court guidelines.
- So frequent is the brazen disobedience to the law that a lot of illegality seems to have morphed into accepted practice.
Following are the ways in which police illegalities are carried out
1) Custodial deaths
- The National Crime Records Bureau records 853 custodial deaths between 2010 to 2018.
- At 1,636, the National Human Rights Commission puts the death figure much higher.
- For this, just 3 policemen have been convicted.
2) Issues of encounters
- The Supreme Court is clear that in each encounter case, an FIR must be registered and the matter probed independently.
- If false, an “encounter” is premeditated murder.
- Encounter threaten the basis of the rule of law.
3) Avoiding registering complaint
- Avoiding registration of complaint is the most common problem faced by the people.
- Even when the complaint is registered its magnitude is often diluted.
- It is difficult for women, in particular, to get crimes registered.
- So, in 2013, the law itself had to be changed.
- Now a policeman who refuses to register a complaint of a sexual assault faces a two-year sentence.
- The crime rate in India in 2018, it stood at 383.5 per 1,00,000 population.
- By contrast, the crime rate in the US was over 2,500 per 1,00,000 .
- This difference in crime rate highlights the reluctance by the police to registering crime.
- This low crime rate on paper makes a fine excuse for governments to leave vacancies unfilled, go short on equipment and upgrades.
- At 158, India’s police to population ratio which is police staff per 1,00,000 citizens, is one of the worst in the world.
4) Detention without cause
- People with prior records form a pool of easy pickings, as do the powerless.
- Often it is because the local public wants a quick arrest and the police want a scapegoat.
5) Discrimination in arrest and investigation
- In the Tuticorin custodial murder, it took six days, the Madras High Court’s dogged intervention and a national hue and cry before six policemen could be arrested.
- While police act swiftly in some cases, it goes soft against in other cases.
Mechanisms and Checks and balances
- There are many checks and balances from taluka to the national level to avoid police transgressions.
- Internally, there are disciplinary mechanisms.
- Outside, there are the courts.
- Every state has human rights commissions, special interest bodies like the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women, and minorities commissions, and some have the police complaints authorities.
- The Supreme Court’s clear directions coupled with the criminal code provide ample safeguards against excess.
Why these checks and balances fail
- In real life, internal mechanisms are overindulgent of illegal behaviour, obscure and dilatory.
- The first responder lower courts are constrained by capacity and circumstance.
- Very few of the over one hundred guardian bodies dotted around the country work effectively
Issues with the Guardian bodies
- Many bodies are without any functions and powers.
- Others are deliberately left understaffed and under-resourced.
- The Andhra Pradesh SHRC has no chairperson nor members.
- Gujarat, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu SHRCs function with acting chairs.
- The few institutions that have the power and resources restrain their own functioning through terminal timidity.
Consider the question “Issue of the illegalities by the police raises the question of guarding the guardians. Examine the ways in which police illegalities are manifested and suggest ways to deal with the issue.”
Conclusion
The number and regularity of heinous crimes by the police calls out for root and branch repair of the police and the many guardian agencies tasked with keeping them lawful.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Presidents rule, ECI
Mains level: ECI's power of conducting elections
Political parties are increasingly voicing concerns over holding elections in Bihar amid a pandemic.
This newscard contains some interesting facts related to conduct and postpone of elections.
EC’s power to hold elections
- The EC is mandated under law to hold elections at any time within six months before the five-year term of the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly expires.
- The polls are timed in a way that the new Assembly or Lok Sabha is in place on the day of the dissolution of the outgoing House.
- In the case of early dissolution, EC has to ensure, as far as possible, a new Lok Sabha or Assembly is in place within six months of the dissolution.
Powers to delay
- An election once called usually proceeds as per schedule. However, in some exceptional cases, the process can be postponed or even scrapped after its announcement under extraordinary circumstances.
- Under Section 153 of the Representation of the People Act, the poll panel can “extend the time” for completing an election.
- But such extension should not go beyond the date of the normal dissolution of the Lok Sabha or the Assembly.
- In 1991, the Commission, under this provision read with Article 324 of the Constitution, postponed the ongoing parliamentary elections after then PM’s assassination during his campaign in Tamil Nadu.
- As recently as March this year, elections to 18 Rajya Sabha seats were postponed by the Commission due to the COVID19 pandemic.
So can EC postpone elections in Bihar under Section 153 of the RP Act?
- Powers under Section 153 can be exercised only after an election schedule has been notified.
- If the EC wants to postpone Bihar elections, it will have to be done through its extraordinary powers under Article 324.
- The Commission will have to inform the government of its inability to hold polls on time.
- The government and the President will then decide the future course — to impose President’s Rule or allow the incumbent Chief Minister to continue for six months.
Back2Basics
Explained: President’s Rule
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Churachandpur Mao Fault
Mains level: Plate tectonics and continental drift theories
Mizoram’s zone of “scary” earthquakes is caught between two subterranean faults called the ‘Churachandpur Mao Fault’.
Try this question from CSE Mains 2014:
Q.Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association between the global distribution of Fold Mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes.
Churachandpur-Mao Fault (CMF)
- The CMF is named after two places in Manipur and runs north-south into Myanmar along the border of Champhai.
- The Mat Fault runs northwest-southeast across Mizoram, beneath river Mat near Serchhip.
- It is defined by straight valleys; most prominent being between Kangpokpi and Maram region of Mizoram.
- The fault takes a north-easterly trend from Maram where the fault zone is characterized by active landslides during the monsoon.
Why study CMF?
- Faults are discontinuities or cracks that are the result of differential motion within the earth’s crust.
- Vertical or lateral slippage of the crust along the faults causes an earthquake.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATGRID, CCTNS, NCRB
Mains level: Police reforms
The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has signed an MoU with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to access the centralised online database on FIRs and stolen vehicles. The MoU would enable the NATGRID to get information about details of a suspect as mentioned in the FIR such as his/her father’s name, telephone number and other details.
Practice question for mains:
Q.What is NATGRID? Discuss its role in facilitating criminal investigation and intelligence by various agencies.
About NATGRID
- NATGRID initially started in 2009 is an online database for collating scattered pieces of information and putting them together on one platform.
- It links intelligence and investigation agencies.
- At least 10 Central government agencies, such as the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing and others have access to the data on a secured platform.
- NATGRID is exempted from the Right to Information Act, 2005 under sub-section (2) of Section 24.
Utility of NATGRID
- The NATGRID enables multiple security and intelligence agencies to access a database related to immigration entry and exit, banking and telephone details, among others, from a common platform.
- The 10 user agencies will be linked independently with certain databases which will be procured from 21 providing organisations including telecom, tax records, bank, immigration etc. to generate intelligence inputs.
Back2Basics: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
- The NCRB is a government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL).
- NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
- NCRB was set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
- Mission: To Empower Indian Police with IT and criminal Intelligence to enable them to uphold the law and protect people & to provide leadership and excellence in crime analysis particularly for serious and organized crime.
Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS)
- The CCTNS is a project for creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through e-Governance.
- The concept was first conceived in the year 2008 by the then Home Minister in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
- The system includes a nationwide online tracking system by integrating more than 14,000 police stations across the country.
- The project is implemented by NCRB.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: T-Cells Immunity
Mains level: Coronovirus outbreak and associated medical research
A recent study has shown that people unexposed to and not infected with novel coronavirus may still exhibit T cell responses specific to this virus. It is thought that Coronavirus specific T cell responses seen in healthy people might arise from memory T cells derived from exposure to ‘common cold’ coronaviruses.
Try this question from CSP 2010:
Q. Widespread resistance of malaria parasite to drugs like chloroquine has prompted attempts to develop a malaria vaccine to combat malaria. Why is it difficult to develop an effective malaria vaccine?
(a) Malaria is caused by several species of Plasmodium
(b) Man does not develop immunity to malaria during natural infection
(c) Vaccines can be developed only against bacteria
(d) Man is only an intermediate host and not the definitive host
What are T Cells?
- T Cells also called T lymphocyte, type of leukocyte (white blood cell) that is an essential part of the immune system.
- T cells are one of two primary types of lymphocytes—B cells being the second type—that determine the specificity of the immune response to antigens (foreign substances) in the body.
- T cells originate in the bone marrow and mature in the thymus.
Why are they called memory cells?
- In the thymus, T cells multiply and differentiate into helper, regulatory, or cytotoxic T cells or become memory T cells.
- They are then sent to peripheral tissues or circulate in the blood or lymphatic system.
- Once stimulated by the appropriate antigen, helper T cells secrete chemical messengers called cytokines, which stimulate the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells (antibody-producing cells).
How do they control immunity?
- Regulatory T cells act to control immune reactions, hence their name.
- Cytotoxic T cells, which are activated by various cytokines, bind to and kill infected cells and cancer cells.
- Because the body contains millions of T and B cells, many of which carry unique receptors, it can respond to virtually any antigen.
Vaccination outcomes on T cells
- There is a possibility that pre-existing T cell memory might influence vaccination outcomes.
- Pre-existing immunity could help elicit better immune responses against novel coronavirus, and these responses can manifest faster.
- Meanwhile, pre-existing immunity could be mistaken as an enhanced efficacy of the vaccine in eliciting immune responses.
- This could be particularly confusing in Phase-1 trials where the vaccine is tested on a small group of healthy participants.
Its drawbacks
- The pre-existing immunity can reduce the immune responses that the vaccine causes through a mechanism called the “original antigenic sin”.
- It can also lead to antibody-mediated disease enhancement, where antibodies present at sub-neutralizing concentrations can actually augment virus infection and cause more severe disease.
- This was seen in the case of chikungunya and dengue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: KZ-11
Mains level: Not Much
China’s 19th launch of 2020, the Kuaizhou-11 rocket, failed in its mission.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q.Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched?
| Spacecraft |
Purpose |
| 1. Cassini-Huygens |
Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth |
| 2. Messenger |
Mapping and investigating the Mercury |
| 3. Voyager 1 and 2 |
Exploring the outer solar system |
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
The Kuaizhou-11
- Kuaizhou, meaning “fast ship” in Chinese, was operated by the commercial launch firm Expace and was originally scheduled for 2018 after being developed three years earlier.
- Also known as KZ-11, it had a lift-off mass of 70.8 tonnes, and was designed to launch low-Earth and Sun-synchronous orbit satellites.
- It was carrying two satellites — the first being a remote sensing satellite that would provide data to clients on a commercial basis for forecasting and managing geological disasters.
- It would also provide the information required for natural resource exploration. The second was part of a series of satellites for low-Earth orbit navigation.
- Both satellites were built by Changguang Satellite Co. Ltd., a commercial entity born out of the state-owned firms.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various terminologies mentioned
Mains level: Not Much
The C/2020 F3 comet also dubbed NEOWISE will be visible with the naked eye for around 20 minutes every day for 20 days across India.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?
(a) Bright half of material on the comet
(b) Long tail of dust
(c) Two asteroids orbiting each other
(d) Two planets orbiting each other
What are Comets?
- Comets or “dirty snowballs” are mostly made of dust, rocks and ice, the remnants from the time the solar system was formed over 4.6 billion years ago.
- The word comet comes from the Latin word “Cometa” which means “long-haired” and the earliest known record of a comet sighting was made by an astrologer in 1059 BC.
- Comets can range in their width from a few miles to tens of miles wide.
- While there are millions of comets orbiting the sun, there are more than 3,650 known comets as of now, according to NASA.
How do they illuminate?
- Comets do not have the light of their own and what humans are able to see from Earth is the reflection of the sun’s light off the comet as well as the energy released by the gas molecules after it is absorbed from the sun.
- The visibility cannot be precisely predicted since a lot depends on the way the “outbursts” of gas and dust play out determining how much of a “good show” the comet will put out for observers.
- As they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up and release debris of dust and gases that form into a “glowing head” that can often be larger than a planet.
Why do they get close to the sun?
- Comets may be occasionally pushed into orbits closer to the sun and the Earth’s neighbourhood due to forces of gravity of other planets.
- The appearance of some comets, like those that take less than 200 years to orbit around the sun is predictable since they have passed by before.
- These may be referred to as short-period comets and can be found in the Kuiper belt, where many comets orbit the sun in the realm of Pluto, occasionally getting pushed into orbits that bring them closer to the sun.
- One of the most famous short-period comets is called Halley’s Comet that reappears every 76 years. Halley’s will be sighted next in 2062.
- Comets in this cloud can take as long as 30 million years to complete one rotation around the sun.
Significance of the comets
- NASA tracks all Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that includes comets and asteroids using telescopes placed all around the Earth, as part of its NEO Observation Program.
- Comets hold important clues about the formation of the solar system and it is possible that comets brought water and other organic compounds, which are the building blocks of life to Earth.
Back2Basics
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: All India Tiger Estimation 2018 results
Mains level: Tiger conservation
The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, results of which were declared to the nation on Global Tiger Day last year has entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.
Before reading this newscard, try these PYQs:
Q. The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of: (CSP 2017)
(a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna
(b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves
(c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System
(d) Security of National Highways
Q.Consider the following protected areas: (CSP 2012)
- Bandipur
- Bhitarkanika
- Manas
- Sunderbans
Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
About All India Tiger Estimation
- The tiger count is prepared after every four years by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) provides details on the number of tigers in the 18 tiger reign states with 50 tiger reserves.
- However, this time, the census also included data collected from the rough terrains of north-eastern states which were not possible due to logistic constraints before.
- The entire exercise spanned over four years is considered to be the world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage and intensity of sampling.
- Over 15, 000 cameras were installed at various strategic points to capture the movement of tigers. This was supported by extensive data collected by field personnel and satellite mapping.
Highlights of the 2018 estimation
- India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014, according to results of a tiger census.
- India has achieved the target of doubling tiger population four years before the 2022 deadline.
- According to the census, Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka at 524 and Uttarakhand at number 3 with 442 tigers.
- While Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tigers, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu registered the “maximum improvement” since 2014.
- Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in their tiger numbers while tiger numbers in Odisha remained constant. All other states witnessed a positive trend.
Back2Basics: Project Tiger
- Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 during PM Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
- In 1970 India had only 1800 tigers and Project Tiger was launched in Jim Corbett National Park.
- The project is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
- It aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction etc.
- Under this project the govt. has set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers and funded relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues faced by steel industry
The steel industry forms the backbone of the economy. This article highlights the difficulties of the industry magnified the pandemic. Ans suggest ways to revive demand.
BAT could help
- Introduction of a Border Adjustment Tax, known as BAT could help India’s steel industry.
- Many countries use BAT to protect local steel manufacturers.
- With economic pain unleashed by the pandemic and threat posed by Chinese state-subsidised steel imports, India hardly affords not to BAT.
- BAT would create a level playing field.
Why Indian steel industry is non-competitive
- Indian steel manufacturers bear multiple local taxes – electricity and cross-subsidy duties, clean energy cess and royalties on ore and there are more.
- These taxes make up 12% of the price of steel.
- In rival markets, these levies either do not exist or are comparatively lower.
- So Indian steel is non-competitive even before it leaves our plants.
Impact of Covid
- Impact of Covid on India’s biggest steel mills, which make up 65% of the country’s annual output of about 110 MT, was calamitous.
- During the pandemic, the mills’ massive blast furnaces continued to burn.
- Closure and reopening of furnaces can take up to 12 weeks; the process is complex, and maintenance costs are high.
- So, the furnaces were burning during the lockdown.
- India’s mills have continued to bear high fixed costs: firing furnaces but without making much steel.
- Because of this, smaller mills, which account for about a third of national output, lack the strengths to survive a trough, and many have capitulated.
Significance of Steel Industry
- Steel is front and centre in India’s recovery.
- The industry rests on mutual support – investment is made by entrepreneurs, the government offers supportive policies.
- Government will lend weight to India’s competitive and comparative advantages, especially in manufacturing, in a post covid-19 economic order.
- Indian steel’s guiding light is a steel ministry vision of 300MT of capacity by 2030, currently at about 138 MT.
- The pandemic will put pressure on this target.
Short term hurdles faced by Steel industry
- Government capital expenditure is diverted to public health.
- Real estate builders have an interest in large scale construction.
- Car manufacturing will not see upturn until the second half of the year.
- The pandemic has also hurt demand for capital utilisation, weighing heavily on capex.
How the demand can be improved
- Steel needs more infrastructure projects. Also, the fillip would be for the government to pay on time. Expedite the work.
- An initiative to consign old cars to the scrap heap would significantly lift demand for steel to build replacement cars.
- Improving the logistics chain would help transport finished goods and materials more quickly and less expensively.
- Make steel the material of choice in the construction of flyovers, roads bridges and crash barriers, improving their safety, durability and, as a result, their life-cycle cost.
- Indian mills possess world-class infrastructure and capacities and have integrated backwards by acquiring mining rights, partly to mitigate costs. As mentioned, one is high taxes on input materials such as energy.
Consider the question “Examine the issues Indian steel industry faces. Suggest the ways to make it more competitive.”
Conclusion
A revived economy means a revived steel industry. The government should provide the wider and deeper support to the government to bring this vital sector back on the track and make help achieve global competitiveness.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FRBM Act
Mains level: Paper 2- Issue of devolution to state under the recommendations of 14th finance commission.
Faultlines in the Centre-State fiscal relations have widened due to Covid. This article examines how States are not getting what they should as per the 14th Finance Commission report.
Centre-state tussle
- The tussle for the rights of States has been focused on Article 356.
- Partial behaviour by the Governors, regional party governments were politically destabilised.
- Little was done to implement the report of Justice R.S. Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations.
- The new faultline in the Centre-State relation could be over the way report of 14th Finance Commission is being implemented.
- This began well before COVID-19, but the pandemic and its economic disruption have brought things to an edge.
Issues over the implementation of 14th Finance Commission report
- The 14th Finance Commission report in 2015 promised devolution of more finances to the States.
- As part of the process, States would have new responsibilities, especially in the social sector.
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime was also justified as a grand bargain that would eventually leave all States better off.
- In reality, tax devolution to States has been consistently below 14th Finance Commission projections.
- One reason for this has been the economic slowdown, and lower-than-expected GST collections.
- The shortfall in GST collection for 2018-2019 was 22% when compared to projections.
- Payments to the States have been delayed as well.
- There is a ₹6.84 lakh crore gap between what the 14th Finance Commission promised to States and what they have received.
- States undertook programmes and projects spending 46% more than the Central Government; today the figure is 64%.
- Despite spending less than the states the Centre’s fiscal deficit exceeds the consolidated State deficit by 14%.
Need to revisit the FRBM provisions
- Due to pandemic, the fiscal deficit for States, collectively, is inevitably going to breach the projection of 2.04%.
- As per provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the GSDP can actually accommodate a fiscal deficit of 3%.
- Now, post-pandemic, this limit will be crossed.
- The FRBM has an “escape clause” that allows for a one-time relaxation of the fiscal deficit threshold upto 0.5% in a time of exigency.
- The escape clause has been utilised by the Centre but it has proven woefully insufficient in addressing the current crisis.
- Fiscal policymakers and technocrats agree that the rigidity of the FRBM has to be revisited.
- It should allow for greater flexibility and consultation as to when and how the “escape clause” can be applied.
- The Centre has gone in for subjective interpretation, imposing conditions that are outside the scope of the FRBM.
Consider the question “Fiscal tensions have emerged as a new front in the Centre-State relations. Suggest the steps the Centre should take to address it.”
Conclusion
Centre government needs to be more considerate of the financial woes of the State and try to deliver on the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission report.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Fiscal Council and why it won't be the solution
Why there is a need for Fiscal Council?
- With a complex polity and manifold development challenges, India need institutional mechanisms for prudent fiscal practices.
- An independent fiscal council can bring about much needed transparency and accountability in fiscal processes across the federal polity.
- International experience suggests that a fiscal council improves the quality of debate on public finance, and that, in turn, helps build public opinion favourable to fiscal discipline.
- In a globalised world of enormous capital flows, market volatility across the world and especially in emerging markets, in response to monetary policy changes in major economies, and geopolitical tensions that ebb and flow, causing currencies and commodity prices to swing, countries like India need macroeconomic management as an active function round the year.
- Also, it is supposed to report to the parliament regarding the practicability of government forecasts in the budget. This will make executive more responsible in budget preparation.
- For the last eight years the projections of the government has fallen short by a consistent 10 percent, leading to fund cuts in the middle of the year. Thus, an independent Fiscal council would evaluate budget proposals and forecasts using objective criteria.
- This would also boost confidence in global credit rating agencies about government’s fiscal commitment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quorum, Parliamentary committees
Mains level: Not Much
The opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha has contradicted the holding the virtual meetings of standing committees to ensure quorum during deliberations.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.With reference to the Parliament of India which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub rules, bylaws, etc. conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament is being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
(a) Committee on Government Assurances
(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation
(c) Rules Committee
(d) Business Advisory Committee
What is Quorum?
- A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group.
- The requirement for a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons.
- Article 100 (3) of the Constitution of India stipulates that at least 10% of the total number of members of the House must be present to constitute the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament.
- Article 189 (3) and (4) provides for similar provisions for State Legislatures.
- For example, if the House has a total membership of 500, at least 50 members must be present for the House to proceed with its business.
What did RS Secretariat say over the requirement of quorum?
- Parliamentarian these days are unable to travel to Delhi for obvious COVID reasons.
- The Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that quorum was essential only when the committees are making decisions or adopting reports and not during routine deliberations.
Back2Basics: What are Standing Committees?
- Standing Committee is a committee consisting of Members of Parliament.
- It is a permanent and regular committee which is constituted from time to time according to the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
- The work done by the Indian Parliament is not only voluminous but also of a complex nature, hence a good deal of its work is carried out in these Parliamentary Committees.
- Standing Committees are of the following kinds :
- Financial Standing Committees (FSC)
- Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC)
- Others Standing Committees (OSC)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Carbon enrichment of the Universe
Mains level: Formation of the universe and the Big Bang
A recent study has provided new insights on the origins of the carbon in our galaxy.
Try this question from CSP 2016:
Q.Consider the following:
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration
- Decay of organic matter
- Volcanic action
Which of the above add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on earth?
(a) 1 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Why study Carbon?
- Carbon is essential for life: It is the simple building block of all the complex organic molecules that organisms need.
- It is known that all the carbon in the Milky Way came from dying stars that ejected the element into their surroundings.
- What has remained debated, however, is what kind of stars made the major contribution.
- The study shows the analysis of white dwarfs — the dense remnants of a star after its death.
How does carbon come from stars?
- Most stars — except the most massive ones — are doomed to turn into white dwarfs.
- When the massive ones die, they go with a spectacular bang known as the supernova.
- Both low-mass and massive stars eject their ashes into the surroundings before they end their lives.
- And these ashes contain many different chemical elements, including carbon.
How is it synthesized?
- Both in low-mass stars and in massive stars carbon is synthesized in their deep and hot interiors through the triple-alpha reaction that is the fusion of three helium nuclei.
- In low-mass stars, the newly synthesized carbon is transported to the surface [from the interiors] via gigantic bubbles of gas and from there injected into the cosmos through stellar winds.
- Massive stars enrich the interstellar medium with carbon mostly before the supernova explosion, when they also experience powerful stellar winds.
Findings of the news research
- It was earlier debated that whether the carbon in the Milky Way originated from low-mass stars before they became white dwarfs or from the winds of massive stars before they exploded as supernovae.
- The new research suggests that white dwarfs may shed more light on carbon’s origin in the Milky Way.
- The researchers measured the masses of the white dwarfs, derived their masses at birth, and from there calculated the “initial-final mass relation”.
- The IFMR is a key astrophysical measure that integrates information of the entire life cycles of stars.
- They found that the relationship bucked a trend — that the more massive the star at birth, the more massive the white dwarf left at its death.
- So far, stars born roughly 1.5 billion years ago in our galaxy were thought to have produced white dwarfs about 60-65% the mass of our Sun.
What explains this?
- From an analysis of the initial-final mass relation around the little kink, the researchers drew their conclusions about the size range for the stars that contributed carbon to the Milky Way.
- Stars more massive than 2 solar masses, too, contributed to the galactic enrichment of carbon.
- Stars less massive than 1.65 solar masses did not. In other words 1.65-Msun [1.65 times the mass of the Sun] represents the minimum mass for a star to spread its carbon-rich ashes upon death.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ASEEM Portal
Mains level: Atmanirbhar Bharat
Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee-Employer Mapping (ASEEM) portal to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.
There are various web/portals/apps with peculiar names such as YUKTI, DISHA, SWAYAM etc. Their core purpose is similar with slight differences. Pen them down on a separate sheet.
ASEEM Portal
- ASEEM refers to all the data, trends and analytics which describe the workforce market and map demand of skilled workforce to supply.
- It is developed and managed by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with Bengaluru-based Company named Betterplace.
- It is an AI-based portal which will map details of workers based on regions and local industry demands and will bridge the demand-supply gap of skilled workforce across sectors.
- It will provide employers with a platform to assess the availability of a skilled workforce and formulate their hiring plans.
- It will also provide real-time granular information by identifying relevant skilling requirements and employment prospects.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tribes mentioned in the newscard
Mains level: NA
The Gujarat government will constitute a commission to identify the members of Rabari, Bharvad and Charan communities who are eligible to get the benefits of Schedule Tribe (ST) status.
Try this question from CSP 2017:
Q.Every year, a monthlong ecologically important campaign/festival is held during which certain communities/ tribes plant saplings of fruit-bearing trees. Which of the following are such communities/ tribes?
(a) Bhutia and Lepcha
(b) Gond and Korku
(c) lrula and Toda
(d) Sahariya and Agariya
About the Tribes
(1) Rabari
- The Rabari, also called the Rewari are an indigenous tribal caste of nomadic cattle and camel herders and shepherds that live throughout northwest India, primarily in the states of Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan.
- The word “Rabari” translates as “outsiders”, a fair description of their primary occupation and status within Indian society.
- They speak ‘Bhopa’ which is a mixture of Gujarati, Kachchi, Marwari words and Pharasi (Persian) and use Gujarati script.
- The Rabari are known for their distinctive art, particularly the mirrored and whitewashed mud sculpture-work that adorns their homes and villages.
- Rabari women are responsible for this artwork and also traditionally spin the wool from their sheep and goats, and give it to local weavers to make their woollen skirts, veils, blankets and turbans.
(2) Bharvad
- The Bharwad are tribals primarily engaged in herding livestock.
- The Bharwad name may derive from the Gujarati word badawad, constructed from bada (sheep) and wada (a compound or enclosure).
- The Bharwads have numerous subgroups known as ataks or guls (clans) whose main purpose is to determine eligibility for marriage.
- Constrained exogamy is practised between clans.
(3) Charan
- The Charan, also called Gadhvi, is a small tribe in Gujarat and the name Charan is derived from the word ‘Char’ which means grazing.
- Members of the caste are considered to be divine by a large section of society.
- Women of the caste are adored as mother goddesses by other major communities of this region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhashan Char Island and its location
Mains level: Rohingya Crisis
Bangladesh has announced that it will not move the Rohingyas settled on the Bhashan char island amid Corona pandemic.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?
(a) Andaman and Nicobar
(b) Nicobar and Sumatra
(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep
(d) Sumatra and Java
Bhashan Char Island
- Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
- The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
- It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
- In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
- The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.
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