Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- Restriction on fundamental rights, use of internet protected by the constitution
Context
The SC verdict on the restrictions has some important takeaways.
What the SC verdict means
- Infinite ban on internet impermissible: It states categorically that an indefinite ban on the internet is impermissible, but fails to direct the restoration of services.
- Section 144 and legitimate expression of opinion: The SC said that Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure “cannot be used as a tool to prevent the legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights”.
- No ruling on the Govt. actions: The SC stops short of ruling on the validity of the government’s actions.
- The ruling fails to hold the government to account for the manner in which it exercised its powers.
- It states categorically that an indefinite ban on the internet is impermissible, but fails to direct the restoration of services.
- The SC does not go beyond directing the authorities to review all their orders and restrictions forthwith.
The key takeaways from the verdict
- Internet use constitutionally protected: The use of the Internet as a medium for free speech as well as for trade and commerce is constitutionally protected.
- Test of proportionality: It also lays down that any reasonable restriction on fundamental rights, be it an Internet ban or a Section 144 order, will have to survive the test of proportionality.
- The proportionality test means that is, the restriction should be proportionate to the necessity for such a measure.
- At the same time, it cautions against the “excessive utility” of the proportionality doctrine in matters of national security.
- No secret orders: The government is bound to publish all orders it passes regarding such restrictions so that they can be challenged in a court of law.
- While the government’s stand that it could not produce all the orders on the restrictions imposed the SC did not strike them down on that ground.
Conclusion
The SC judgment, while laying down some important principles in a fundamental rights case, appears to have the character of an advisory opinion.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Drones, applications and security threats.
Context
Increasing the use of drones in warfare and other areas has brought into focus the potential the use of drones hold and the other issues related to its misuse.
Recent events featuring drones
- A drone was used by the U.S. to fire the missile at Qassem Soleimani to assassinate him.
- A few days before that, less-lethal drones monitored crowds of student protesters rocking India.
A potential area of use of drones
- Military and Policing: Drones are largely used for military or policing purposes, but they also have other uses.
- Recreation and Sports: They are used for recreation and sports. The Chinese company DJI dominates this space.
- Logistics: Logistics is another use, with Amazon developing last-mile drone delivery.
- At scale, this delivery model can save money, energy and time.
- Domino’s extended this logic to deliver its first pizza by drone in New Zealand and is experimenting with scaling this model up in many markets.
- Botswana has had some successful trials where drones have delivered blood and life-saving drugs to villages out in the wilderness.
- Agriculture: A startup called Terraview uses drones with advanced image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to increase the productivity of vineyards.
- A drone can be used to measure the amount of grain that’s piled up after harvest.
- Mining Output: Tata Steel has used drones quite effectively to measure mining output.
- Access the inaccessible places: Drones can go where people cannot.
- So, inspection and repair at remote wind farms on an island, or pipelines in the remote tundra, or equipment in a rainforest can be done more cheaply and precisely.
- Drone surveillance is now widely used by the insurance industry in the aftermath of floods or pest inspections.
- They can provide organizations a 360-degree view of the status of any construction project and its assets.
- Explosive detection and defusing: In many places, it is just safer to send a drone, such as while using explosives in deep mines or defusing suspected bombs.
- Wildlife protection and survey: drones are used to survey wildlife and detect poaching in the jungles of Africa.
Drones as commodity
- Drones will soon become a hardware commodity, much like personal computers.
- It will be the software loaded on it that will be the real force-multiplier.
- Industry 4.0 revolution: Business like “drones-as-a-service” will emerge, dramatically reducing the time taken for tasks and serving as a vital tool in the Industry 4.0 revolution.
A potent tool for Swarm-attack by military
- Perhaps the most fascinating developments will occur where drones originated, in
- Drones will mutate into swarms, where multiple, intelligent, small drones act as one vast network, much like a swarm of birds or locusts.
- Advanced militaries have drone swarms under trial that could revolutionize future conflicts.
- These swarms could overwhelm enemy sensors with sheer numbers and precisely target enemy soldiers and assets using data fed into them.
- They will be difficult to shoot down as there will be hundreds of small flying objects rather than one big ballistic missile.
- The swarm will use real-time ground data to organize itself and operate in concert to achieve its goal.
Issues with drones
- It will be us humans who will decide whether we use drones for beneficial or malevolent ends.
- National Security Issues: Drones have demonstrated the potentials for their threat to the security of a country. Drones are operated remotely and can strike where it want it to strike. Raising serious security issues.
- Terrorism: Drones have been used by various terrorist organisations like ISIS in Syria and Iraq to hit their targets.
- Aviation safety: Drones flying too close to commercial aircraft has called for regulations.
- Privacy: Drones have been used by the paparazzi to take the images of individuals breaching their privacy.
Conclusion
Drones can indeed be a fantastic tool for good projects, from helping save the planet to identifying and nabbing criminals, and preventing the loss of human life. However, for that, we will have to change the DNA that they were born with, as lethal weapons of war. Otherwise, they will remain anonymous killers, wreaking death and destruction as they hover innocuously above.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3-Changes in policy and their effects.
Context
The government eased the regulations for coal mining in India.
What does the opening mean?
- Removal of restrictions: Until now there were restrictions on who could bid for coal mines.
- Only those in power, iron and steel and coal washery business could bid for mines.
- The bidders needed the prior experience of mining in India.
- Who can buy now?: The move will open up the coal mining sector completely, enabling anyone with finances and expertise to bid for blocks and sell the coal freely to any buyer of their choice.
Benefits of opening
- More value extraction: The restrictions limited the potential bidders to a select circle of players and thus limited the value that the government could extract from the bidding.
- Now the Government can extract more value from the auction of the blocks.
- Development of coal market: Second, end-use restrictions inhibited the development of a domestic market for coal.
- Job creation: Large investment will create jobs in the sector.
- Increase in Demand: It will also set off demand in critical sectors such as mining equipment and heavy commercial vehicles.
- Technology infusion: The country may also benefit from an infusion of sophisticated mining technology, especially for underground mines, if multinationals decide to invest.
- Ease on Current account: In value terms, coal imports touched $26.18 billion in 2018-19, up from $15.76 billion in 2016-17.
- This surge in coal imports, along with oil and electronics imports, has exerted pressure on the country’s current account in recent years.
Why the move matters
- 70 % of energy production in India is coal-based.
- Until now Coal India was the only commercial miner in the country for more than four decades accounting for 82 per cent of the coal production in the country.
- The productivity of coal is still an issue in the country. Coal is a very crucial raw material that is used in the power sector and also in cement and metal sectors.
Way forward
The relaxation in regulations, along with previous initiatives such as allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment through the automatic route in commercial coal production, can aid in boosting coal production in the country and help reduce imports.
Coal India Limited (CIL) has to be nurtured even as private players are welcomed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3-Slowdown in the economy, supply side-demand side, way forward for recovery.
Context
In order to revive the economy, the Government must choose between tax reductions and increasing rural spending.
The Current Status of the Indian Economy
- 5 % in 2019-20: The first advance estimate pegs India’s economic growth at 5 per cent in 2019-20.
- Cause of the slowdown: The slowdown can be attributed largely to a structural demand problem in the economy along with some cyclical
- Stagnant income and stagnant incomes: Despite largely stagnant incomes, private consumption has been financed over the past few years through lower savings, easy credit, and certain one-offs such as the Seventh Pay Commission led pay-outs.
- Private consumption is the largest driver of growth.
- Depleting savings: The household savings rate has dipped to 17.2 per cent of GDP in FY18, from 22.5 per cent in FY13.
- Depleting credit in the system: Overall credit in the system has dried up.
Rural economy
- Low wages and stagnant incomes: Rural wage growth has averaged around 4.5 per cent over the past five years, but adjusting for inflation it has been only 0.6 per cent.
- Weak real estate sector: The rural population, which was dependent on urban real estate/construction has faced headwinds in the recent past.
- The sector is experiencing lower private sector investments recently.
Limited scope for a sharp recovery
- The following factors render the scope for sharp recovery limited.
- Consumption issue is structural: The slowdown in private consumption is a structural issue linked to low household income growth.
- Low job creation: Low consumption is in turn, linked to the basic problems of low job creation.
- Low Income: Low consumption is also linked with stagnant farm incomes.
- None of the above factors is likely to change suddenly, limiting the scope of recovery.
- Low Investments: Investment is unlikely to rebound sharply given the challenges on both income and balance sheet of the government, private sector, and households.
- Stressed Government consumption: Which has been supporting growth over the past few years, remains under stress.
- The combined Centre and states’ fiscal deficit is close to 6.5 per cent of GDP.
- The public sector is already weighing on the limited domestic financial resources, ruling out space for an aggressive fiscal stimulus.
- NBFC’s role: Recovery will also depend on the health of the financial sector, especially that of NBFCs.
Use of the fiscal space
- Supply-side: The government has shown a clear preference to rely on supply-side measures (like corporate tax cut) to support growth.
- Need to address demand-side: Expectations will be high that the upcoming Union budget addresses the demand side concerns as well.
- Spending on rural infrastructure and employment (MGNREGA, PM-KISAN, PMGSY) can decrease pain in rural areas.
- Given the narrow income tax base, any sacrifice of the fiscal room would be beneficial only for a limited number of people.
Way forward
- Widening of the tax base- Given the narrow income tax base, any sacrifice of the fiscal room would be beneficial only for a limited number of people.
- Broad-basing of the income and consumption profile: Economic reforms in the past have worked to enhance the capacity of the top few hundred million consumers.
- The next set of reforms should enhance the capacity of those in the middle and the bottom of the income pyramid.
- Role of the private sector: Given the huge infrastructure gap in the country, it is essential that the private sector’s role in infrastructure creation is much more inclusive.
Conclusion
Reforms that increase the productivity of the factors of production, provide an enabling environment for competitive production of goods and services and ensure steady and substantial growth in purchasing power for a larger section of the population should be the focus.
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Context
State of Climate of India report by IMD should occasion interventions to make people resilient to extreme weather events.
What does the report confirm?
- Frequent extreme weather events: The report states that extreme weather events have become par for the course in the country.
- The report notes that excessive heat, cold and rainfall killed 1,562 people during the year.
- Intense dry spells, even droughts, were interspersed with floods in several parts of the country
- Above normal temperature: The mean temperature last year was 0.36 above normal.
- The excess rainfall: The country also recorded excess rainfall during both the southwest and northeast monsoons.
Long-term meteorological trends:
- The IMD report should be seen in conjunction with long-term meteorological trends.
- The warmest decade: The World Meteorological Organisation reckons that the decade starting 2011 remains on track to be the warmest on record.
- Increase in the relative humidity: At the same time, data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Forecast shows that the relative humidity in the mid-troposphere in the Subcontinent has increased by about 2 percent in the past four decades.
- Such warming has increased the capacity of oceans to form intense cyclonic disturbances.
Implications for disaster-preparedness:
- Cyclones: Last year, as the IMD report notes, the Indian Ocean witnessed eight cyclones.
- Cyclones don’t kill but buildings can turn hazardous during such extreme weather events.
- The vulnerability of the poor: In Odisha winds blowing at more than 140 kilometers per hour ripped off roofs and window frames in modern houses and also exposed the vulnerability of the mud and bamboo houses of the poor.
- Guidelines: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs does have guidelines for climate-friendly construction.
- But planners in coastal cities and towns rarely pay heed to its provisions.
- Cooperation between the states: The changing dynamics of weather also demands cooperation between states that share a river basin.
- Maharashtra and Karnataka bickered over opening the gates of the Almatti dam on the Krishna.
Implications for the farmers:
- For farmers, vagaries in nature mean disruptions in the entire cropping cycle.
- This year, Kerala, southern Karnataka, and Gujarat were heavily deficient till July.
- But within a few days in the last week of July, these states recorded surplus rainfall.
- Rainwater storage and use: Increasing their resilience calls for efficient rainwater storage and use.
Conclusion:
It’s clear that dealing with exceptional weather will require interventions at the national, state and local levels. The Statement on Climate of India 2019 drives home the urgency of such interventions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2-Relations with China and the U.S.
Context
After the gap of 200 years, Asian economies are once again larger than the rest of the world combined.
The Asian Century
- Providing an alternative order: With the rise of India and China, Asia is providing a multilateral alternative to the world base on values.
- Asian Century corresponds to the re-emergence of the two countries, leveraging the size and technological competence
- Civilizational values: Both countries have civilisational values that are different from the west.
- Peaceful existence: In the case of India and China balance of power is a western construct and both lived in peace across the ages.
- The rise of China on the global landscape: In 2013, after attaining 15% of global wealth, announced the multilateral Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In 2014, launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, challenging the global governance paradigm.
- India in 2015, established the International Solar Alliance, laying out a distinct global sustainable development framework.
- Current multilateralism and its problems: The U.S. has recognised the ‘Asian Century’ bypassing multilateralism and recognised Indo-Pacific construct.
- The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the inclusion of intellectual property rights into the trade regime point to the colonial origin of the present order.
New Framework- Country-specific to global value chain
- Changing competition: Competition is moving from country-specific to fragmented competition based on global value chains.
- Imposing the U.S. determined national security standards has led to only a handful of countries agreeing to ban Huawei for 5G technology.
- The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran that have affected India’s interests.
- A different approach of China: It is based on “common interests” as different from the agreed goals of a negotiated treaty. BRI is an example of this.
- It optimise not maximise the financial returns with countries remaining out of it.
- The BRI offers the benefit of integration and connectivity with European markets to the member countries.
Potential of BRI
- It acts as a strategic framework: It provides a strategic framework for new global institution building.
- Its scope is as wide as multilateral treaties.
- Internationalizing the Renminbi: With state-owned enterprises in the infrastructure sector in the sector in BRI and backing from national banks is internationalising the Renminbi.
- Developing blockchain bases infrastructure: As a leader in digital transactions, China is developing blockchain-based infrastructure in BRI countries. Thus reducing the dependence on the dollar.
The shared interest of India and China
- RCEP: China and the rest of the countries are eager that India joins the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the largest trading block.
- Security and border dispute: With the U.S. pivot to Asia, China is eager to resolve the dispute with India to avoid constraints.
- Huawei: India has rejected American opposition to Huawei taking part in 5G trials, India allowed all applicants to participate.
The emergence of new values
- The emergence of the new order should not be seen through a western prism.
- The triumvirate: India, the U.S., and China are intertwined with each other. China was the largest supplier of the goods to the U.S. in 2018 and it has been India’s major trading partner.
- They take part in limited sectoral cooperation on a regional basis.
- Both the U.S. and China have a regular high-level discussions on strategic issues with India.
Area of future differences
- In Asia, differences will center on overlapping priorities.
- Security-The U.S.’s effort to maintain hegemony.
- Economy-China’s emphasis on connectivity, markets, and growth.
- An equitable and sustainable development-India-led framework of digital infrastructure designed as a public good.
Conclusion
With the rise of India and China in Asia and the presence of the U.S. with them is going to make the new order centered around Asia a new reality in the near future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2-The Constitution in favour of strong Centre
Context
The Centre-State conflict over CAA, and the Constitutional obligation on the state to implement the laws made by the Parliament, has once again brought to the fore the fault lines in the Indian federalism.
The opposition of the States to the Central law
- Several state governments have declared that they would not implement the CAA.
- Legislative Assembly of Kerala passed the resolution stating that the law contradicts the basic values.
- The resolution is only symbolic.
- Passage of such a resolution is not constitutionally barred.
- But it may not be in tune with the federal scheme under the Constitution.
What are the obligations on the States?
- Article 256 obligates the State governments to ensure the implementation of the laws made by Parliament.
- The Centre may give such direction as may appear to be necessary to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament.
- The refusal to enforce the law even after the Centre issues direction would empower the President to impose the President’s Rule in the State.
- Neither the refusal to implement not the official protests registered by the States carry much legal force.
- The Calcutta High Court directed the state government to remove anti-CAA advertisements from the website.
- The High Court barred the state from campaigning against a parliamentary law.
The diminishing role of the Opposition
- The parliament has been reduced to a site for procedural formalities.
- There is a poor understanding of the role of the parliamentary Opposition in Indian politics.
- Once the elections are over the Opposition is expected not to meddle in the governance.
- The absence of Leader of Opposition in the Parliament for the last 6 years manifests this attitude.
- Further, in the absence of the Opposition showing any resilience, national politics seems to be operating without a credible political check.
The unitary tilt of the Constitution
- Single-party dominance at the Centre has always revealed the tendency of our Constitution to concentrate the power.
- The concentration of power is embedded in the very structure of the Constitution.
- A ‘centrist bias’ of the Constitution further augments the power of single-party dominance.
- Against the backdrop of the fissiparous tendencies in the backdrop of partition, it was justified for the founders to be hesitant in favour of stronger federalism.
The rise of Electoral federalism
- Change in voting patterns.
- Over the last couple of years, there is huge vote swings between national and State elections in the same constituencies and separated by only a few months.
- In other words, federalism is not a mere legal division of power, the democracy and voters too are becoming federal.
- This embrace of electoral federalism may be one of the most significant achievements of Indian democracy.
- Hence, parties that lose in national elections can still win State elections and form governments.
- The State governments are thus filling the opposition deficit at the Centre.
- This shift of opposition from Delhi to State capitals is likely to become the politics over federalism.
Conclusion
- The conflict that CAA triggered might become a template for future contestations over the federal question, while the politics seem to be ripe for the advancement of federalism.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: The post of CDS and its responsibilities.
Mains level: Paper 3-Security forces and their mandates.
Context
Recently Chief of Defence Staff post was created by the Government. The utility of this post and the problem it could create are debated.
History leading to the post
- First World War brought to the fore the command and control dilemmas of concurrent conflicts.
- During the colonial years of Great Britain, an issue that received consideration was the British higher command and control structures.
- With the declaration of the Second World War, the responsibility of higher command fell on War Cabinet serviced by the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
- Winston Churchill as prime minister given the supreme power but remained responsible to the parliament.
- After the U.S. entered the war, a unified command required a single commander.
- After the war ended and the Cold War started, Eisenhower became the supreme commander of NATO.
- While political powers were vested in the NATO council.
- Despite the experience of the World Wars the U.S. has not created CDS.
- In the U.S., the military chain of command runs directly from theatre commanders to civilian secretaries to the President.
- Britain, however, created the post of the Chief of Defence Staff.
The outline for India
- The three-tier defense management structure was adopted by Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Cabinet Committee on security has served India for well over the years.
Role of CDS
- Department of Military Affairs, headed by CDS will deal with the Army, Navy and Air force and The Territorial Army.
- Works related to procurement related exclusively to the services except for capital acquisition.
- He will also act as a Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister.
- CDS will not exercise any military command, including the three Service Chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.
A subordination
- There would be an implied subordination of the three service chiefs to the CDS notwithstanding any declaration to the contrary.
- CDS is tasked with facilitating the restructuring of military commands.
- Bringing about jointness in operations including through the establishment of joint/ theatre command.
- This could encroach upon the domain of the service chiefs.
- The CDS would outrank the three service chiefs even though all are four-star.
- CDS could override the Service Chiefs on critical tactical and perhaps even strategic issues.
Conclusion
- The Department of Military Affairs would exercise control over the three services and also most problematic is the erosion of the civilian supremacy which could result with the creation of the post.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- International relations.
Context
The raging fire in Australia gives provides an opportunity for India and Australia to deepen their dialogue including on energy.
Scope for the two countries
- At this moment India and Australia have a rare opportunity to translate their converging interests into a partnership.
- At Australia India Leadership Dialogue last month in Melbourne, the breadth and depth of the relationship was evident.
- As a consequence of the bushfires, the debate on global warming, climate change and fossil fuels is going to intensify in the weeks ahead.
- Environmental activism has gained ground throughout Australia.
- Indian Ocean Dipole may have triggered the drought that is related to the fires.
- The campaign against fossil fuels and the export of coal is sure to intensify.
- India and Australia are two economies with a great stakeholding in fossil fuels.
- It is critical for India and Australia to ensure that their dialogue on energy acquires momentum.
- Both countries must simultaneously strengthen the International Solar Alliance and the search for other alternative green fuels.
Common threat of China
- Leadership Dialogue also recognised that we are living through a period of immense turbulence, disruption, and even subversion.
- Presence of assertive China is the single biggest challenge to our two countries.
- In India, there is a consensus that the Australia-India relationship is an idea whose time has well and truly come.
Area of coordination
- India and Australia can work on the area of water management to trauma research to skill and higher education.
- Both the countries can also work in the area of maritime security, cybersecurity, counterterrorism,
- In a survey, Indians ranked Australia in the top four nations towards which they feel most warmly.
- Both have a strategic interest in ensuring a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
- Indians are today the largest source of skilled migrants in Australia.
- there is need for an early conclusion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
Conclusion
There is a large scope for both countries to coordinate on wide issues like energy, research, security and work together for the benefit of both countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- Health.
Context
The deaths of nearly 200 children in Kota, from largely preventable diseases, lays bare the condition of the healthcare system in India.
Where does India stand?
- According to UNICEF’s ‘State of World’s Children 2019’ report, India reported the maximum number of deaths of children under five in the world in 2018.
- 8,82,000 children under five died that year.
- That means around 2,416 deaths per day.
- The death of children due to largely-preventable illnesses is a matter of serious concern and calls for urgent introspection.
Factors that govern child health
- Most of the children who died in Gorakhpur, Muzaffarpur and Kota belong to the lowest strata of the society.
- It won’t be wrong to conclude that they were victims of structural violence.
- This structural violence is unleashed through a multitude of social, political and economic factors apathy of healthcare professionals, poor health services/infrastructure
- And low rates of female literacy, economic inequality, the rigid caste system, social apartheid, lack of political will and patriarchy play role.
- As a society, we have stopped looking at the deaths of our citizens through the prism of compassion and concern.
- Structural violence influences the nature and distribution of extreme suffering.
What is being done in the wrong way?
- The government is considering the takeover of 750 district hospitals by private medical colleges through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
- This, despite ample evidence about the failure of the model in the country’s healthcare system.
- Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow demonstrated that profit and private involvement in healthcare lead to an erosion of trust.
- An Individual’s demand for medical services is irregular and unpredictable, the involvement of a private market model for such services can be disastrous.
- The U.S.’s experiences in the PPP model in healthcare have shone a light on the deficits in transparency and highlighted the lack of care of vulnerable groups.
Conclusion
- What urgently a sincere engagement by the state in matters concerning peoples’ health.
- We need to question the government’s priorities in a country where nearly a million children die every year
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 1-Climate change,Forest fires.
Context
In Australia, forest fires, among the worst in the country’s history, have been raging since September and show no signs of abating.
Unabated fire in Australia
- The fire, worst in Australia’s history, has been raging since September and shows no signs of abating.
- At least 24 people lost their lives, 500 million animal have perished, and more than 12bn acres of land has turned to cinders.
- New South Wales, the country’s worst-affected state, declared an emergency last week in its southeastern region.
Climate change and the fire
- Australians have vented their anger at Prime Minister for playing down the blaze’s association with climate change.
- Bushfires are actually a part of Australia’s ecosystem. Many plants depend on them to cycle nutrients and clear vegetation.
- Eucalyptus trees in Australia depend on fire to release their seeds.
- The prolonged blaze this year has coincided with Australia’s harshest summer.
- Parts of the country recorded their highest recorded temperature in December.
- Much of Australia is facing a drought that is a result of three consecutive summers with very little precipitation.
- This, according to climate scientists, is unprecedented.
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s 2018 State of the Climate report had given a hint of the change.
- It said “Australia’s climate has warmed by just over 1 degree Celsius since 1910, leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.’’
- This has led to more rainfall in northern Australia but created drought-like conditions in the more densely populated southeast.
Damage caused to the flora and fauna of Australia
- Australia is home to nearly 250 animal species.
- Some of them like the koalas and kangaroos are not found elsewhere.
- The region also has the highest rate of native animals going extinct over the past 200 years.
- Experts, for example, reckon that more than a quarter of the koala habitat has been consumed by the blaze.
- The fires have also caused a drop in the bird, rodent and insect populations.
Conclusion
- These creatures perished are the building blocks of the ecosystem and the fall in their population is bound to have long-term impacts. In Australia’s bushfires lies a warning about the complex ways in which climate variables interact.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper2 - International relations
Context
Targeted killing of powerful Iranian Major-General could have done more bad than good for the U.S.
Series of events after the assassination
- The Iraqi parliament voted to expel the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and deny them access to its airspace, land or water.
- Pro-Iranian groups could attack across the region where thousands of U.S. troops and official personnel are stationed.
- Soleimani’s assassination has awakened the deep strain of Iranian patriotism.
- And Iran is not alone.
- In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called Soleimani the “glue that held the Resistance Axis together”.
- The U.S threat of striking “52 Iranian sites” did not win the U.S. any support on the international stage.
- Even the Europeans, otherwise steadfast with the U.S. in these sorts of adventures, hesitated.
- Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the situation and asked for calm.
- This is the same man who had, only a few weeks ago, accused Iran of sowing chaos in the region.
- It is likely that China and Russia will table a resolution at the UN that calls for calm as well as criticises the U.S.
- This will certainly be vetoed by the U.S.
Desperate and irrational policy
- Till now the U.S. has not been able to extricate itself from its illegal war against Iraq.
- That war provided a massive advantage to Iran not only in Iraq but also across the region.
- This is what terrified two of the U.S.’s allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of whom pressured Washington to increase its threats against Iran.
- S. create the conditions for the rise of the worst kind of violence in Iraq, and later Syria
- It also weakened the strategic position of its allies.
- No attempt by the U.S. to regain its authority has worked.
- The U.S. policy against Iran and Iraq appear desperate and irrational.
Conclusion
- The U.S recklessness has isolated it further and deepened anxieties amongst its increasingly isolated regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tulu language and its region in India.
Mains level: Paper 2-Official languages of the union and the states.
Context
With numerous languages in the country, placing all deserving languages on an equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity.
Figures and facts
- According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each.
- It also has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each.
- It also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects.
- These are restricted to specific regions and many of them are on the verge of extinction.
- Article 29 provides every citizens of India with a distinct culture, language, and script, the right to conserve the same.
- It is the responsibility of both the state and the citizens of this distinct language, script or culture to preserve the same.
Eighth schedule and Tulu language
- Sanskrit has 24,821 speakers and it is in the Eighth Schedule according to the 2011 Census.
- However, many languages with sizeable speakers are not in the schedule.
- Bhili/Bhilodi has 1,04,13,637 speakers. Garo has 11,45,323 speakers, Ho has 14,31,344 speakers.
- Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
- The Tulu language speakers are larger in numbers than Sanskrit and Manipuri which included in the Eighth Schedule.
- The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi, and Kasaragod are the epicenter of Tulu culture.
What are the benefits of being on the Eighth Schedule
- Tulu would get recognition from Sahitya Academy.
- The book in Tulu would get translated into other recognised Indian languages.
- The MP’s and MLA’s could speak in Tulu in the Parliament and Assemblies.
- Candidates could write all-India competitive examination like the Civil Services exam in Tulu.
Yuelu Proclamation
- It was made by UNESCO at Changsha, The People’s Republic of China, in 2018.
- It says the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity help to improve social inclusion and partnerships.
- It helps reduce the gender and social inequality between different native speakers.
- It guarantee the rights for native speakers of endangered, minority, indigenous languages, as well as non-official languages and dialects to receive education, enhance the social inclusion level and social decision-making ability by encouraging them to participate in a series of actions to promote cultural diversity, endangered language protection, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage.
Conclusion
- Tulu, along with other deserving languages, should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in order to substantially materialise the promise of equality of status and opportunity mentioned in the Preamble.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2-Effects of politics and policies of developed and developing countries on India's interest, Indian diaspora.
“Phase one” of the trade deal between the U.S. and China notwithstanding, the ongoing dispute between the U.S. and China and other changing scenarios could turn out opportunities in various forms for India.
Oil prices windfall
- Slack demand and increased production by the U.S., had lowered oil prices which was good news for India.
- It could also help India address its current account deficit.
- But oil prices have surged more than 4% following the killing of Iranian general by the U.S.
- An outbreak of hostilities could send the oil prices soaring.
- India’s energy import from the U.S. is likely to touch $10 bn by 2019-20.
- While China is increasing its stake in Saudi Aramco- one of the largest oil production company in the world.
- China is also increasing its ties with the other oil producers which gives China the opportunity to increase its naval presence in the Indian Ocean increasing the Strait of Hormuz.
On trade front
- According to the State Bank of India report-Ecowrap, India has scarcely benefited from the trade war.
- Of the $35bn decline in China’s export to the U.S. $21bn was diverted to the other countries and the rest $14bn was made good by the U.S. producers.
- India contributed only $755-million of this diversion.
- The U.S. tariff made some other players-Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam even more competitive.
- China is facing pork shortage but India exports pork indirectly through Vietnam, increasing its cost and reducing market share.
- China’s thrust on the AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and space technology has raised the U.S. suspicion, raising the prospects of high-tech war.
- The big three Chines high-tech companies, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent together invested $5bn in India.
- India could use this opportunity to insist China open its market for the IT sector and other tech exports.
- India has allowed all the players including Huawei to participate in the 5G trials but the outcomes are far from over.
- With all that said, the U.S.-China tensions drive supply chains out of China, with the right policies as Vietnam has done, India could emerge as an alternative destination.
- Restriction by the U.S. on China could lead to difficulties in reducing emissions and mitigate climate change in China.
- Restrictions on technology export often lead to an increase in domestic research.
- So, China could succeed in developing all the technologies that are denied to it by the U.S. under the restrictions.
- With the protests in Hong Kong showing no signs of abating, India may have to cater to refugees of Indian origin if things turn uglier.
Key regional issues
- The situation in the South China Sea is in favour of China as it already has occupied several of them.
- Though India is a member of “Quad” dialogue on border issues, it has no role in negotiating the “Code of Conduct” with the ASEAN.
- On the connectivity issues, the U.S. position is helpful for India. Recently the U.S. criticised China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
- India is not a member of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum created by the U.S., Japan, and Australia.
- India is also not a member of Blue Dot network created by the U.S., Japan, and Australia.
- In future India might have to reconcile its regional connectivity issues with BRI projects that have mushroomed in the region.
- On the ideological fronts, China is so emboldened by its economic success that it seeks to challenge the liberal democratic model and offers an alternative based on its own system.
- India might have to contend with the greater Chinese presence in the Asia-Pacific theatre.
Conclusion
India’s relations with the U.S. and Chinas growing influence in economic as well as all the other sphere represents multiple challenges for India and are likely to grow in the future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 1-Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism.
Context
In India, the debate on the issue of secularism needs to be based on a more principled and practical basis.
Change in public discourse
- Popular skepticism of secularism has been growing these days.
- Secularism is being increasingly discounted not only by the hardliners but also by the moderate middle.
- It is no longer taboo to raise questions that were formerly the preserve of the fringe.
- Today, democracy is taken for granted by all the Indians. No one raises questions over its utility.
- Secularism need to be elevated to the same level as is the democracy today, where no one raises the question on its utility.
What are the issues with the defenders of secularism?
- Rather than make case for secularism, its champions indulge in name-calling and citing the example from the past to tarnish and shut down critics.
- They also cite the Constitution in their support-without realising that it is this very document’s secular thrust that has became suspect.
- They also assume the obvious correctness of their cosmopolitan worldview.
What changes need to be made?
- They must make a case for secularism anew-principled and practical.
- On principled basis-individual equality, freedom of conscience and personal habits.
- On a practical basis-no country can flourish by degrading their minority.
- They must stress the India’s plurality and “live and let live” culture, syncretic traditions and long history of respect and accommodation of differences.
- They also need to show some humility.
- They also have to show openness to fair-minded criticism.
Conclusion
These suggestions are urgently needed to be followed by those arguing in the defence of secularism otherwise there is a very real possibility of a large section of a society losing faith in secularism. In this anxious hours India needs to engage in open and self-critical debate-rather than polarising polemic.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3-Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices, Public Distribution System- Objectives, functioning, limitations,revamping, issues of buffer stocks, and food security, Technology missions, economics of animal rearing.
Context
There is a large scope for the improvement in the efficiency of grain management system under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Declining Agri-sector growth rate
- India’s growth rate plummeted to 4.5 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal.
- The quarterly growth in GDPA (agri-GDP) is hovering at around 2 percent, it is a cause for great concern.
- Agriculture still engages about 44 per cent of India’s workforce, which has serious consequences for the overall economy of the country.
The bleak picture of the economy
- Recently inflation has started to surge after a long time.
- Inflation is led by the different components of the food segment- cereals, pulses, and vegetables.
- There is a challenge of containing inflation and increasing the demand at the same time.
- At the same time, there is also the challenge of maintaining the fiscal deficit by 3.3 %.
- Recently Finance minister has launched an investment package of 102 lakh crores.
- So, there is a need to take a look at the inefficiencies in food grain management.
Inefficiencies in NFSA
- It supplies a certain quantity of wheat and rice to 67 percent population.
- It gives wheat at Rs. 2/kg and rice at Rs. 3/kg.
- While the cost of these grains to FCI is at Rs. 25/kg and Rs. 35/kg respectively.
- This led to the provision of Rs 1.84 lakh crores for food subsidy.
- The buffer stocks with the FCI is far more than double the buffer stock norms as on January 1 every year.
- This excess stock is the result of an inefficient strategy for food management.
- The strategy where the procurement of these grains is open-ended while the disbursement is restricted.
- The money locked in these excess stock is about 1 lakh crores.
- If the rabi season procurement is good FCI may run out of storage space to accommodate.
Suggestions for improvement
- The open market operation should be increased.
- Even if the government liquidate half of the excess stock it would fetch Rs.50,000 crores.
- The Shanta Kumar panel had submitted the blueprint for the improvement in the grain management system.
- Only three reiterations are needed.
- First-while the Antyodaya category should keep getting the maximum food subsidy, the issue price should be fixed at 50% of the procurement for the rest.
- Second- restrict the percentage of population covered under the scheme to 40 % from the present 67%
- Third-stop the procurement of rice in the north-western states of Punjab and Haryana where the water table is depleting.
Conclusion
- If the government implements these three points it can save the country another Rs. 50,000 crores annually. On top of this, it will help the government to reduce its fiscal deficit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2-Issues relating to development and management of Social sector/services relating to health,education, Human resources.
Context
Death of 100 children in the month of December at a Government Hospital in Kota highlights the state of the public health system in India.
Public health as a political agenda
- After the incident of a large number of children in such a short span, Rajasthan CM appealed not to politicise the issue.
- But it is high time the issue is in fact politicised.
- The issue of public health needs to be pushed at the top of the political agenda.
- Citizens must hold political parties accountable for the state of healthcare in the country.
Poor infrastructure
- Until the number of deaths crosses a certain threshold the poor state of infrastructure fails to attract the attention of the authorities.
- This hospital came to light like Gorakhpur Medical college where scores of children had died only after media reports of 963 child deaths.
Conclusion
Every single death in a hospital ought to be seen as a failure that needs to be addressed urgently. For that, the government needs to make public health a priority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nothing much.
Mains level: Paper 2- International relations
Context
The recent targeted killing of Commander of Quds Forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by the US raised the tension in the region to a new high level. The imminent blowback from Iran could have several consequences for the rest of the world including India.
Different from past killings
- Though the U.S. has carried out many such targeted killings in the past but this case bears two important differences to the past killings.
- Unlike Osama bin Laden or Abu Bakr, Gen. Soleimani was a state actor.
- Unlike the above mentioned two, he was not past his prime.
Roles played by Gen. Soleimani
- He was the founder-commander of Iran’s Quds Force-formed for extra-territorial operations.
- He enhanced Iran’s influence in the Arab countries by leveraging the disarray in the region.
- Arab countries with a significant Shia population such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen came under Iranian influence.
What could be the fallouts
- Tit-for-tat between Iran and the U.S. could easily go out of hand and precipitate into a major confrontation.
- Both countries have domestic compulsions- there are elections due in both countries.
- These compulsions limit options for both countries to low-intensity skirmishes.
- The fact that the killing was carried on the Iraqi soil also assumes significance.
- The incident could increase the problems in Iraq which is rocked by three months of youth protests against undue foreign interference by both Iran and the U.S.
- The event is also likely to re-polarise the Iraqi society along sectarian lines.
- In the worst-case scenario Iraq could turn into the new Syria.
Potential fallout for India
- Global oil prices have already seen a 4% rise in within hours of the incident.
- India has already faced difficulty in maintaining relations with both countries because of the U.S.-Iran cold war.
- While we want to be on the right side of the U.S., our ties with Iran apart from being civilisational have their own geostrategic logic.
- With conflict turning hot, its adverse impact on India could magnify.
- High oil prices will definitely increase our import bill and increase difficulties in supplies.
- Safety of an estimated 8 million expatriates in the Gulf may be affected.
- Iran could influence the U.S.-Taliban peace process in Afghanistan which in turn increases India’s woes.
- After Iran, India has a large number of Shia population and some of them could be radicalised due to the event.
Conclusion
The event, if turn into a wider conflict between the two countries, could have many consequences for India from soaring oil prices and maintaining the balance between the two countries to the safety of expatriates in the Gulf.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2-Issues relating to development and management of social sector/ services relating to health, education, human resources.
At the End TB summit, 2018 the prime minister of India made a bold commitment to end tuberculosis by 2025-five years ahead of the global target. Which is possible to achieve if the efforts are put at the level it was done in case of polio.
The toll taken by TB
- Despite the disease being fully curable, people still die from it.
- TB usually affects people in their most productive years and drives families into debt.
- It has a direct link to human suffering, discrimination and also poverty.
- Due to its infectious spread, it directly affects our economic growth as well.
- With resilience, sufficient investment, innovative approaches and strategies and the participation of all stakeholders, TB can be defeated.
First Step- Awareness
- The first step is the creation of awareness and empowering of communities.
- TB affects millions, yet very few know enough about it.
- Multilingual, multi-stakeholder awareness effort to ensure that all Indians knows about the challenges of TB and where to seek treatment is required.
- With the expansion of the media and evolving technology, it is possible to reach everyone with the right information.
Second Step- Access to diagnosis and treatment
- Ensuring that every Indian get access to correct diagnosis and treatment for TB, regardless of their ability to pay for it is the second step.
- To do so, working with the private sector is necessary as was done in the case of polio.
- There are numerous innovative private-sector programmes and partnership schemes for TB.
Role of Private sector
- Recently launched programmes for doctors and labs offer the private sector various incentives.
- Even today, about half a million TB cases go unnotified, especially those seeking care in the private sector.
- Those cases need to be tracked and ensured that everyone in the need of treatment and care gets it.
- Organisations like Indian Medical Association and Indian Academy of Paediatrics are working with the private sector to ensure patient-centric care as per “Standards of TB Care in India” (STCI).
Drug-resistant TB
- A key challenge is building a forward-looking plan to address and control drug resistance.
- Drug-resistant TB is a man-made menace that is a major roadblock in a fight against TB.
- Every TB patient must be tested for drug resistance at the first point of care, whether in the public or private sector, to rule out any drug resistance.
Efforts by the government
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana -in which TB patients receive Rs 500 every month while on treatment was launched.
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana ensure that the patients have economic support and nutrition during the required period.
- ‘TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign’ was launched to accelerate the efforts to end TB by 2025.
- The campaign aims to initiate preventive and promotive health approaches.
- By applying “multi-sectoral and community-led” approach, the government is building a national movement to end TB by 2025.
- Resource allocation towards the TB Elimination Programme has been increased by four-fold.
- Sincere efforts need to be made to make our health systems more accessible and reliable.
- It also required to ensure that those seeking care trust the healthcare system and get the appropriate care for completing treatment.
- There is a need to create more labs, point of care tests, an assured drug pipeline, access to new drugs.
- The government should also ensure counselling and support for those affected.
- Every patient who is diagnosed late and does not receive timely treatment continues to infect others.
- To break this cycle, government machinery at the field level should work with communities and provide free diagnosis and treatment to every affected individual.
Conclusion
With all the efforts, planning and resource put in place to eradicate the menace of TB from India, it is possible to achieve the goal by 2025.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nothing much
Mains level: Paper 3-Cyber security
Context
The Personal Data Protection Bill which was introduced in Lok Sabha contains a certain provision that might have implications for India’s digital economy. These provisions must be carefully considered as Parliament reviews the proposed legislation.
What are the stated objectives of the bill?
- The first purpose deals with privacy concerns.
- Its purpose is to safeguard the constitutional guarantee of privacy for Indian citizens
- The second purpose is to provide a just and equitable vision for the future of India’s digital economy
What are the incongruent provisions?
- One of the provision enables the central government to direct the regulated entity under the act to provide anonymised personal data.
- The government wants to use this anonymised personal data to enable the targeted delivery of services or evidence-based policymaking
- The above provisions could have certain implications that need to be carefully considered.
Anonymised data and issues with it
- Under the bill, anonymised data refers to data from which all the markers of identity have been irreversibly removed.
- Recent research shows that the present methods of anonymisation are imperfect.
- With the use of modern machine learning techniques, the data released as “anonymous” can be re-identified.
- So, the approach to regulation of anonymised data must be contextual and sectoral- with a focus on finance and healthcare.
Use of big data and AI in governance
- The government also plans to use big data and artificial intelligence within governance and planning systems.
- The use of these techniques has the potential to increase government capacity and transparency.
- It can also help in making an informed decision about economic and social planning.
- However, the provision ignores the multiplicity of existing and inchoate rights like IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights), copyrights and trade secret protections.
Consequences of the conflicting provision
- While the government wants the data to be open for acquisition similar to the power of “eminent domain” over land, but it comes in conflict with existing laws.
- It comes in conflict with the copyright acts, intellectual property rights, and trade secret laws.
- Databases are commercially significant for commercial companies.
- Overlap of these existing rights within the government system can jeopardise accountability and transparency.
Problems with Big data and AI in governance
- Unregulated use of the database in governance could have consequences for the people and communities who are being made visible or being invisible by this data.
- A shift from a qualitative method like census to the quantitative method like big data which is collected in a different context and used for a different purpose may not be smooth.
- Such data will be incomplete for governance.
- The data could also be replete with biases of the private entity collecting the data.
- So, the use of this unregulated data for policymaking or targeting beneficiaries could be disastrous.
Way forward
The regulation of non-personal data must take into account both the potential harms to individual privacy as well as the wider social and political consequences of the use of data for governance.
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