9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – February 4th, 2023

Mains Oriented Articles

GS PAPER - 1

There’s a lot in a name: Use of the term ‘northeast’ doesn’t do justice to the complex history of the region’s states

Source– The post is based on the article “There’s a lot in a name: Use of the term ‘northeast’ doesn’t do justice to the complex history of the region’s states” published in The Indian Express on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS1- Regionalism

Relevance–

News– The article explains the issues related to use of term northeast for extreme eastern parts of country

What is the meaning of the term northeast?

It is a metaphor used to describe the complex, rich and heterogeneous area in India’s eastern extreme.

The identity of the northeast is shaped primarily by its oppositional relationship with other parts of the country. The term remains a shorthand for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

The “backward”, “underdeveloped”, “culturally isolated”, or “historically distant” are used to mark its distinctiveness from other parts of the country.

It is further reinforced through exclusive region-wide planning bodies, separate ministries and region-specific area studies centres.

What is the history associated with the region?

In its colonial origins, the northeast was a frontier inhabited by the wild peoples of farther India who are culturally outside Bharat.

The adoption of the term by independent India was the recognition of its conflict-mediating and order-keeping functions in a politically unsettled region. After 75 years of independence, there is no shift in our understanding of the term.

What are issues with the use of the term northeast?

There is no agreement on what unifies the constituents of the northeast. There is no single criterion of culture, language, religion, ecology, economy, or agriculture that unifies the region. Yet, it is treated as a distinctive cultural zone.

Its use has generated complex images, assumptions, beliefs and cultural justifications about the region and its peoples.

It essentializes the history and identity of the various states and their peoples. They are considered unique and incomparable.

The continued use of the term distorts its constituent states’ complex social and cultural environment and their deep historical links with other parts of the country.

It misrepresents the political, cultural and historical richness of the individual states.

GS PAPER - 2

Going green – The Budget can help India transition out of its dependence on fossil fuels

Source: The post is based on the article “Going green – The Budget can help India transition out of its dependence on fossil fuels” published in The Hindu on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Energy.

Relevance: About green initiatives in budget 2023-24.

News: In the recent budget highlighted the government’s commitment to move towards net-zero carbon emission by 2070.

What are the major green initiatives in budget 2023-24?

Read here: Major thrust planned for green energy

What is the rationale behind the announced green initiatives in budget 2023-24?

Inter-State transmission system for the grid integration of renewable energy from Ladakh: With its vast stretches of barren land and one of the country’s highest levels of sunlight availability, Ladakh is considered an ideal location to site photovoltaic arrays for producing a substantial capacity of solar power.

The transmission line will address the hurdle in setting up solar capacity in the region.

Viability gap funding for battery energy storage systems: Energy storage systems are crucial in power grid stabilisation and essential as India increases its reliance on alternative sources of power generation including solar and wind.

Exemption of customs duty on the import of capital goods and machinery required to manufacture lithium-ion cells: With the electric vehicle (EV) revolution poised to take off, the availability of indigenously produced lithium-ion batteries have become a necessity, especially to lower the cost of EVs.

Why India’s green initiatives in budget 2023-24 is essential?

a) India holds the key to hitting global climate change targets given its sizeable and growing energy needs, b) With the country’s population set to overtake China’s this year, India’s need for energy is set to surge exponentially, and c) The energy transition is urgent to leverage new industries, generate jobs on a sizeable scale, and add to overall economic output.

Pakistan Conundrum – Islamabad’s economic collapse won’t be good for India

Source: The post is based on the article “Pakistan Conundrum – Islamabad’s economic collapse won’t be good for India” published in The Times of India on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Relevance: About Pakistan’s economic crisis.

News: Recently, the IMF review mission rejected Pakistan’s debt management plan and demanded a steep increase in electricity tariffs to restrict subsidies. In response, Pakistan’s PM agreed to implement the harsh conditions.

What is the status of Pakistan’s economic crisis?

Pakistan is in the midst of a deep forex crisis with reserves down to just $3. 09 billion as of January 27. This can cover only 18 days of imports. Thus, Pakistan desperately needs to complete the pending ninth review of the IMF to avoid default.

Why Pakistan’s power sector is a cause of concern?

Pakistan’s power sector has a) unsustainable subsidies, b) poor transmission, c) lack of accountability, c) privatisation of the power sector led to the creation of 12 local distribution companies that mostly provided employment to military retirees, and d) The government is also paying more than Pakistani Rs 1 trillion as Tariff Differential Subsidy.

Why does India need to worry for Pakistan’s economic crisis?

Pakistan is also facing a new spate of home-grown terrorism. A total collapse of the Pakistani government could see the entire stretch from the Iran-Afghanistan border to Lahore becoming an extremist hotbed.

This will complicate India’s security challenges and lead to an even greater Af-Pak problem than the one the world has faced.

Charge sheet scrutiny is not a case of prying eyes

Source– The post is based on the article “Charge sheet scrutiny is not a case of prying eyes” published in The Hindu on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Functioning of judiciary

Relevance– Issues related to Criminal justice system

News–  The Supreme Court has ruled that a charge sheet filed against an accused in a criminal case is not a ‘public document’ under the ambit of the Right to Information Act 2005 or the Indian Evidence Act.

What is the reasoning provided by SC in this decision?

In the Court’s view, the charge sheet is different from the FIR. It cannot be shared with anyone other than the accused and the victim. A charge sheet is a comprehensive account of the crime in question.

It has vital information such as a list of prosecution witnesses and documents in support of the investigating officer’s conclusions.

The details contained in these documents even before a trial begins would be detrimental to the accused and the victim.

What are the arguments against the decision of the SC?

The judgement seems to contradict an order passed by the Court in Youth Bar Association of India vs Union of India (2016). It directed that the FIR should be on the relevant investigating agency’s website within 24 hours of its registration.

In earlier days of the Republic, confidentiality was the tradition of the judiciary. Courts were a sacrosanct institution. The slightest criticism of judicial decisions invites contempt and punishment.

We now have a situation where judges are often criticised in the media for judicial decisions that are unconventional.

It is true that vested interests might engage in finding loopholes in the charge sheet to undermine the prosecution case.

But this should not prevent the public from access to the charge sheet before commencement of the trial. It should not be denied an opportunity to evaluate the quality of an investigation.

Critical analysis by an outsider has the potential to enhance the soundness of an investigation. It can prevent prosecution against innocent individuals.

A trial court will actually benefit from outsider scrutiny of the prosecution case if a charge sheet is made available to the public.

A chance for the public to study a charge sheet will ensure that prospects of loosely framed charge sheets will be fewer.

On Budget 2023: Health in Amrit Kaal

Source– The post is based on the article “On Budget 2023: Health in Amrit Kaal” published in The Indian Express on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to development and management of health

Relevance– Health spending

News– Recently, the central government presented the budget for this year.

The total central government budget for health will be roughly Rs 86,175 crore. It is roughly Rs 615 for every citizen.This is a 2.7% increase from the previous fiscal year.

In real terms, the central government’s health spending has declined.

What are issues with health spending in India?

A day of hospitalisation at a public hospital is estimated at Rs 2,800. At a private hospital, it is Rs 6,800. The Ministry of Health is expected to provide health services at a low budget . Therefore, the system fails the most vulnerable and they are forced to turn to the expensive private sector.

The poor, elderly and sick are already at a disadvantage. A greater proportion of disposable incomes is taken away from a poor household as compared to a non-poor one. It further broadens the gap between the two.

If a working member of the household falls sick, he must often withdraw from active employment. Their main source of income dries.

Households have to often sell or mortgage their productive assets to cover the treatment costs. This further reduces their capacity to bounce back.

According to the WHO, 55 million people fall into poverty or deeper poverty every year due to expenditures on health.

India currently spends about 3.2% of its GDP on health. This is much lower than the average health spending of the Lower and Middle Income Countries. It is around 5.2% for these countries.

The government spends about Rs 2.8 lakh crore roughly 1.1% of the GDP. In contrast, China spends 3%, Thailand 2.7%.

What is the way forward for health funding in India?

First, the National Health Mission allocates less than 3% for non-communicable diseases. In comparison, the allocation for communicable diseases is three times more and for reproductive and child health services about nine times greater.

The burden of disease from NCDs accounts for more than half of the total burden of disease. Greater focus on communicable diseases should be rebalanced now to pay attention to non-communicable diseases.

Second, public health and primary health care focus on rural areas. Urban areas have poorly developed infrastructure for primary care. Greater resources are needed to improve health here.

Third, health research has been neglected for too long. Spending Rs 20 per Indian is inconsistent with the need for innovations and technologies in the sector.

The bulk of the resources provided to the ICMR goes towards maintaining the large pool of scientists and the output is poor.

India should follow the example of countries where government-funded health research is conducted at academic institutions.

The government’s role is to make grants and not to carry out the majority of research. Competitive funding will encourage the best research.

We must find ways to both find more money for health, and also more health for the money to ensure that all Indians achieve their true potential.

Two years after Myanmar coup, how the country is a mess — and India’s headache has worsened

Source: The post is based on the article “Two years after Myanmar coup, how the country is a mess — and India’s headache has worsened” published in The Indian Express on 4^th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – International Relations

Relevance: India-Myanmar Relations

News: The article discusses the changing political scenario of Myanmar and its effect on the bilateral relations between India and Myanmar.

How did the political scenario of Myanmar change?

The Myanmar army seized power on February 1, 2021. The reason behind the coup was the fear that the party which won the election would rewrite the 2008 Constitution and move the powers of the military out of it.

Therefore, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government and returned Myanmar from democratic state to military dictatorship.

However, the army led government/junta regime has failed to bring the country under its control.

Pro-democracy civilian resistance groups (People’s Defence Forces or PDFs) are fighting the junta and they have been joined by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs).

Furthermore, a National Unity Government comprising many of the elected parliamentarians has been lobbying foreign governments for diplomatic recognition.

The situation in Myanmar has turned violent.

How is the situation of Myanmar present concerns for foreign policy for India?

India has pursued a “dual-track policy” for over three decades with Myanmar, i.e.,  doing business with the junta and as well as sympathizing with the pro-democracy forces.

In the mid-1990s, Myanmar military helped India in securing the borders of its Northeastern states from Northeastern insurgencies. From that time, India has had a good relation with Myanmar military rulers.

Furthermore, India’s engagement with the junta was also seen as retaining its influence in Myanmar in the backdrop of rising threat from China.

Now, with the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, India is held between supporting pro-democratic groups and military rulers. It has its own national interest involved in it, i.e., border security management and restricting China in Myanmar.

What are other associated concerns with India?

Obstacle in cross boundary transport: PDFs control large parts of the area in the Sagaing region through which the trilateral highway passes. There have been occasions when Indian officers had to intervene with the local PDF leaders to allow project vehicles to pass.

Obstacle in developmental project: Sittwe port in Myanmar has been developed by India as part of the Kaladan project. The port was developed with the objective of India-Myanmar maritime trade and to provide alternate access to India’s landlocked north-east states.

It was said that it was ready for inauguration.  However, now it seems way far.

Security concerns with the North-eastern states of India: The Myanmar coup has led the people to move out of the country. Mizoram is hosting thousands of refugees from the adjoining Chin state in Myanmar.

Moreover, the Myanmar Air Force has bombed the area on the border with Mizoram. Its effect was also seen in the state which triggered panic in the area.

Further, as per UN Office for Drugs and Crime, there has been a 33 percent spike in poppy cultivation in Myanmar. The sharpest increase has been noticed in Chin state, in an area that borders northern Mizoram and southern Manipur.

Threat to national security: The Myanmar junta has recruited Indian insurgent groups (IIGs) in regions adjoining Manipur and Nagaland to fight against the local PDFs and other groups. The group has been renamed as junta.

The People’s Liberation Army, one of the groups of IIGs, has been held responsible by India for the deadly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy.

Rohingya crisis: The Myanmar military has not been able to resolve the Rohingya crisis, which has also been the cause of regional destabiliser.

Concerns with India’s image: India describes itself as the “mother of democracy”. Its presidency of the G20 is an opportunity to project the voice of the global south. Therefore, India would be in a dilemma in supporting the type of government in Myanmar and representing its stand on it globally.

What is the way ahead for India?

Despite these concerns, India has options like it can – a) open channels to the democratic forces and to some ethnic groups; b) can work more actively with ASEAN; c) could open an army-to-army channel with the junta; d) increase people to people channels; e) offer scholarships to Myanmar students like it did for Afghan students.

GS PAPER - 3

‘India’s much-hyped tiger recovery needs a total reboot and official monopoly over tiger research should end’

Source: The post is based on the article “‘India’s much-hyped tiger recovery needs a total reboot and official monopoly over tiger research should end’” published in The Times of India on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment and Bio-diversity Conservation.

Relevance: About issues of tiger conservation.

News: According to a world-renowned conservation scientist, India has about 3,000 tigers, but with focused efforts based on the science of the tiger-prey relationship, India has the potential to hold 10,000-15,000 tigers in the wild.

Why man-animal conflict is a central problem in tiger conservation?

Man-animal conflict is a national problem. This is because a) competition for space is high among tigers, leading to intraspecific aggression. This causes evicted tigers to come into conflict with humans, b) India has 3. 8 lakh sq km of suitable forests but the viable breeding tiger population is concentrated only in about 50,000 sq km area.

How to address man-animal conflict to enhance tiger conservation?

State chief wildlife wardens have enormous powers under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They need to take some hard decisions such as Tigers that predate and have lost the fear of humans should be immediately killed. This will mitigate the conflict by at least 70%.

This is because capturing tigers is not a solution as there are no places with abundant wild prey for tigers.

The role of forest bureaucracy should be only to protect tigers from people and people from tigers.

What are the other steps that have to be done for tiger conservation?

a) The government should take steps to increase prey density to more natural levels, b) National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) should remove restrictions on the tranquilising or killing of dangerous problem tigers, c) Adherence to habitat management principles should be based on solid science and not whims and fancies, d) Official monopoly over tiger research, monitoring, nature education, tourism, filmmaking, and even village relocation should end.

NTCA and India’s much-hyped tiger recovery need a total reboot. For that, a new wildlife task force with experienced officials, scientists, and enlightened political leaders needs to be set up to ensure a radical overhaul of tiger conservation.

AI chatbot, my future colleague

Source– The post is based on the article “AI chatbot, my future colleague” published in The Indian Express on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS3- Awareness in the field of IT and Robotics

Relevance– AI enabled technologies

News– Over the past few months, a chatty bot has become a sensation.

What is chatbot?

It is a generative AI or algorithm that can be used to make content. We can type questions on Chatbot and receive written answers.

It enables the human-machine hybrid work mode that is slowly becoming popular.

It maintains objectiveness in its response and does not have subjective biases.

What is the potential of this technology?

ChatGPT or similar AI tools are already being used by architects, lawyers and coders in their workplaces.

For architects, it can generate images of designs based on inputs. For lawyers, it creates first drafts of basic agreements. It swiftly writes simple codes for coders.

It’s also good for examinations. Recently, ChatGPT scored higher than many human candidates on an MBA exam at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Microsoft Corp has announced that it will make a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI. It will incorporate AI tools like ChatGPT into all its products and make them available for other businesses to build on.

Why is there a need to be cautious about the use of this technology?

It is no substitute for thoughtful and careful research. Its findings cannot be relied on to substitute the judgement of a lawyer, doctor or engineer or other professionals.

It might also start eliminating junior-level positions in fields like law, architecture, coding and research-oriented jobs.

The future of white-collar work will be impacted as AI will steadily replace them. It creates challenges for countries like India where unemployment is already high.

 

Co-ops Get Their Moment In The Sun

Source: The post is based on the article “Co-ops Get Their Moment In The Sun” published in The Times of India on 4^th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Government Budgeting

Relevance: Budget 2023-24 for the cooperative sector

News: The article discusses measures announced by this year’s budget to boost the cooperative sector.

What are some of the measures announced in the budget for cooperatives?

Decentralised storage capacity: The budget has announced setting up of massive decentralised storage capacity so that farmers can store their produce and receive remunerative prices by selling at an appropriate time. It will be the world’s largest grain storage facility.

Concessions in income tax rate: The budget has announced a concessional income tax rate of 15% for cooperatives to promote the growth of new cooperative manufacturing societies.

Increase in the limit of cash deposits and loans: The budget has increased the limit of cash deposits and loans to Rs 2 lakhs in cash provided by primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACs), primary cooperative agricultural and rural development banks.

Higher Limit for TDS: Cooperative societies has been given a higher limit of Rs 3 crore for tax deducted at source (TDS) on cash withdrawals.

Relief to sugar cooperatives: The claims for payment made to sugar farmers before the assessment year 2016-17 will now be considered an expenditure. This is expected to provide approximately Rs 10,000 crore in relief to the sugar cooperatives.

Model bye-laws: The budget also announced that model bye-laws for PACS are being formulated. It will enable them to become multipurpose cooperatives to meet the country’s diverse needs and remain financially profitable.

What are the other developments made by the government for cooperatives?

National database of cooperatives: The government is establishing a national database of cooperatives to reduce the sectoral and geographical variations.

National Cooperative Policy: A committee has been constituted by the cooperation ministry to formulate a National Cooperative Policy. It will include stakeholders’ recommendations and become a link to connect the masses with the country’s financial system.

National Cooperative University: The government is also working towards establishing a National Cooperative University to provide trained manpower to cooperatives.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU): Recently an MoU has been signed, enabling PACS to provide the services offered by the Common Service Centre.

Computerisation: The computerization of 63,000 agricultural cooperatives has also been started.

These are some of the measures taken up by the government. Further to read what are cooperatives: Click Here.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

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