9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – January 21st, 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Federalism: The Republic Day is a reminder of the spirit of federalism – and why it is under strain
• Ukraine Conflict: Why India needs to pay attention Russian military build-up in Ukraine
• Countering China: India’s long game with China and challenges posed by a ‘soft’ state
• Drop the IAS cadre rules amendments

GS Paper 3

• About the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021: Counting trees properly
• Amazon’s legal entanglement in India offers a cautionary tale
• Say’s Law works: Supply does create its own demand
• Should the government loosen its purse strings?
• Explained: The concern over 5G and flight safety
• Environment Ministry’s plan to rank states draws ire

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• YEAR END REVIEW 2021: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Year-End Review of Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI)
• Year End Review – 2021 of Ministry of Defence
• Centre may reduce the moisture content limit for wheat, paddy. Why this will hurt farmers
• 70% indigenous BrahMos cruise missile test-fired
• Connecting the Dots: Plastic pollution and the planetary emergency report: Global treaty to cut plastic production needed urgently: EIA report ahead of UN summit
• Year End Review 2021-Department of School Education & Literacy
• The gigantic and magnificent scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ installed at Rajpath for Republic Day 2022 celebrations
• Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota in NEET admissions
• Union Minister releases revised Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines
• New tax regime disincentivizes charity donations, says study

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Federalism: The Republic Day is a reminder of the spirit of federalism – and why it is under strain

News: Drafters of the constitution made every possible provision for an equitable share of powers and responsibilities among different levels of government. But today, India is witnessing challenges in the federal system and institutions.

What provisions are provided in the constitution to ensure federalism?

7th Schedule of the constitution: The list divides the responsibilities between three tiers  Union, state and concurrent. Here, each level of government has its own sphere, enabling context-sensitive decision-making to them.

73rd and 74th amendment Act: It provided the institutions for local self-government, which helps in strengthening grassroots democracy.

Article 246 , Article 280, Article 263, Article 243 G are provided in the constitution to enrich the spirit of federalism.

Apart from these provisions, there are several consultative and deliberative bodies like the Planning Commission that worked for the different developmental requirements of states. The inter-state tribunals, the National Development Council and other informal bodies also served as vehicles of consultations between the Union, states and UTs.

How the spirit of federalism is withering away?

Several instances like scrapping of Planning Commission, meeting of the Inter-State Council only once in the last seven years, no meeting of National Development Council, Removal of Article 370 without consulting the state legislature, stripped autonomy of state under GST and making of indirect tax regime unitary in nature are some of the examples where country’s federal structure is in question.

Also, Parliament legislated on “agriculture”, entry no. 14 in the state list, to enact the three contentious farm laws is an example of overstepping its jurisdiction and imposing a law on the states. Suicide of students in Tamil Nadu over the discriminatory nature of the NEET examination, Extension of BSF jurisdiction in Assam, West Bengal and Punjab without any consultation with the concerned states, Rejection of the Republic Day tableaux of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal by the Centre, Controversial post of governor are some of the examples which disregard the diversity of the country and contempt for constitutional values.

What is the way forward?

There is a need to understand that Article 1 of our Constitution declares that “India that is Bharat is a union of states”, and that devolution of powers is necessary for such a setting. So, there is a need to recognize the federal character of our polity to protect the national character.

Ukraine Conflict: Why India needs to pay attention Russian military build-up in Ukraine

News: Russian military build-up near Ukraine can impose several implications for India. It can complicate India’s objectives vis-à-vis Russia, China, the US, Europe, and even Ukraine.

What are the potential challenges which India has to face?

Hinder ties with Russia: A Russian invasion and a rupture with the US and its allies would lead to pressure on India to choose between the Western alliance and Russia. This would further lead Russia more inclined towards China. There is a possibility that a similar situation like in Cuba missile crisis might occur when Russia needed Beijing’s backing. It resulted in Soviet support for ally China versus friend India at a crucial moment in the China-India war.

Complicate India’s efforts to balance ties: It would complicate India’s efforts to maintain a delicate balance between its partnerships with the US, Europe, and Russia. Post the Russian annexation of Crimea, India neither openly criticized nor endorsed Russian actions. However, Russia can use India’s silence as an endorsement as it did in the case of Crimea, and recently when it unilaterally issued a joint statement on Afghanistan.

Shifting attention: The deteriorating situation in Europe could draw US attention away from the Indo-Pacific theatre-like visible in Afghanistan and Middle East crises. This would make it difficult for India to bring the USA attention towards the rise of China.

Moreover, in order to focus on the Russian challenge, European capitals could seek to stabilise ties with China, rather than act against its assertive actions.

Countering China: India’s long game with China and challenges posed by a ‘soft’ state

News: Chinese economy is more than five times of Indian size. Its defence capabilities are more than that of India. China is also eyeing global leadership in the field of IT, robotics, Artificial Intelligence etc. All these, place India at a great disadvantage. It is time that India should now act proactively for countering China.

On what parameters, India should work for countering China?

Rising young working-age population: China is currently facing a serious problem of ageing, while India has a rising share of the working-age population. To make use of it efficiently, India should productively employ its growing labour force. Employer survey indicates that only about 40% of the Indian workforce have the necessary skills to be productively employable.

Literacy: Free basic education is a legal entitlement in India, but learning outcomes reflects the failure of Indian education policies. For India to implement a high growth strategy like Japan, China and other countries, it needs to switch to an outcome-based oriented approach and integrate it with the skilling programme.

Reforms in policies: India has to shed its image of what Gunnar Myrdal called a soft state if it is to implement an East Asian development strategy. A large share of state revenue is spent on accommodating subsidies and transfers for competing special interests. As well as asserted by Thomas Piketty that India remains one of the most unequal countries in the world.

Regulatory Framework: India’s regulatory framework has led to the stunting of businesses. This has resulted in few very large enterprises coexisting with hundreds or thousands of small businesses.

Bureaucracy:  India’s bureaucracy is elitist, guided by lifetime job security at high salaries, and salary is not directly related to performance.

According to various stakeholders, India should exercise strategic patience and play a long game and should ensure a higher growth than China over the next 2-3 decades. For this, India could draw lessons from the growth story of China and other East Asian ‘miracle’ economies. It should also make full use of its certain parameters, which it has in a more advantageous position than of China.

India should take the right steps to leverage its demographic dividend to move onto a high growth path and to counter China in the coming times.

Drop the IAS cadre rules amendments

News: Recently, the Union Government proposed to amend Rule 6 (Deputation of cadre officers) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules 1954.

To know about the existing rules, proposed amendments, reasons for amendment, challenges and way forward

GS Paper 3

About the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021: Counting trees properly

News: The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 has been released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

What is the Indian state of Forest Report 2021?

ISFR 2021 shows an increase of 154 0 km² of Forest area.  They also contain data on growing stocks, carbon stock, forest cover etc. The assessment is done using satellites along with ground-truthing. Since 2001, high resolution satellite data and digital interpretation have been used.

What does the data signify about the health of the forests?

Forest Cover: ISFR 2021 recorded a total forest cover of 21.71% of the country’s geographical area. While ISFR 2001 recorded the total forest cover as 19.5% of the geographical area. 

In the last 20 years, India’s forest cover has increased by 38,251sq km. But, during this period, dense forests have reduced by 10,140 sq km, and open forests have increased by 48,391 sq km. So, while the total forest cover has grown, they have increased mainly in the degraded forest category; good quality forests have reduced.

Recorded Forest Area: It includes only those areas recorded as forests in government records. RFA in the country is 23. 58% of the country’s geographical area.

In the last 10 years, forest cover inside RFA has reduced by 14,071 sq km, while it has increased by 35,779 sq km outside. So, forest cover is expanding on private land (mainly as plantation) and decreasing in forests managed by the government.

The volume of all trees: Growing stocks in forests have reduced from 4,781.4 million cubic metres (cu-m) in 2003 to 4,388.15 million cu-m in 2021. This is a decline of 8% in the last two decades, which indicates a significant degradation of the forest.

What does the comparison show?

It shows that the health of our forests has declined significantly in the last two decades. The increase in forest cover shown in subsequent ISFRs is mainly due to the growth in plantations on private land. Forest areas, on the other hand, have lost large tracts of rich biodiverse forests and have experienced significant degradation.

What is the way forward?

There is a need to adopt a new approach in which forest-dependent communities will have a significant role in forest management, with the forest department as a facilitator and enabler.

Amazon’s legal entanglement in India offers a cautionary tale

News: Amazon’s legal dispute throws light on uncertainties, quality of legal and regulatory protection that investors face in India.

What is Amazon’s legal dispute?

Recently, Amazon was fined by the Indian competition watchdog. Its capital infusion in Future Coupons during 2019 was put in suspension.

The Competition Commission said it was denied an opportunity to assess the effects of the actual combination that gave Amazon strategic rights over publicly-traded Future Retail.

How is Amazon’s dispute different?

One, Amazon has dominance as it is not a retailer in India. It’s an online marketplace for buyers and sellers. But this case has little to do with dominance.

Two, according to India’s India’s foreign investment rules, Amazon is barred from acting as a retailer. That’s why Amazon sought to control Future Retail indirectly via its investment in Future Coupons. It has also kept its voting rights in another of its acquisitions, the grocery chain More, below 26%.

Three, Future Retail founder was desperate and wanted to channel funds to his debt-ridden retail network, and Amazon was willing to play.

Four, the competition regulator also approved the deal. Amazon also listed names of parties to which Future’s assets cannot be divested without its permission, which included Reliance.

However, after lockdown in 2020, future sold his 1,500-plus stores to Reliance. Amazon began arbitration proceedings in Singapore for breach of contract.

Five, the definition of dominance is expanding beyond price fixing. For example, China has imposed an antitrust fine on Alibaba Group for using data and algorithms to obtain an unfair advantage over merchants.

How different interpretations by court is increasing uncertainty?

First, Future tried to use the loophole to get hearings in Singapore quashed. However, a Delhi high court judge said interference by courts must be kept to a minimum. However, another bench set aside the order and stayed proceedings by the Singapore tribunal.

Second, Future Retail is gradually going toward bankruptcy and recently missed a few payments. The dispute over the fate of its assets isn’t resolved.

Third, Amazon has challenged the latest Delhi high court order at Supreme Court and has appealed against the antitrust agency before a company-law tribunal.

What are the questions raised due to this dispute between Amazon and the founders of a retailer?

First, what is the meaning of approval by India’s antitrust authority mean if an entire chain of investment based on the approval has to be undone or reversed after two years?

Second, it is related to dispute settlement. Can one rely on international arbitration to enforce Indian contracts, or local courts will recommend alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms?

What is the way forward?

First, investors need to be protected from expensive and time-consuming litigation to protect the value of their transactions.

Second, the Indian government needs to reduce bureaucratic complexity to make it easier for global firms to navigate.

Say’s Law works: Supply does create its own demand

News: Supply-based interventions can help in increasing demand and thereby have a positive impact on the economy. That is why they are a popular public-policy choice.

What is “Says law”?

It says supply creates its own demand. However, John M. Keynes has refuted “Say’s Law”. According to Keynes, say’s law was the only major tenet of classical economics. Also, it is different from Keynes approach which suggested the usual gap filing by State.

Why supply-side interventions are significant?

One, to optimize state expenditure and maximize its benefits across sectors, as developing countries have limited fiscal resources.

Two, budget allocations require more thinking and have a multiplier effect on the economy. For example, according to the Reserve Bank of India report (2019), infrastructure spending has a multiplier ratio of 3.25.

Three, it increases production capacity and demand. That’s why a measured approach to developing an enabling base for the economy has been at the core of strategy for all countries.

Four, it pushes the economy into a virtuous cycle of mutually-reinforcing supply and demand. It helps in nudging supply that generates jobs, boosts incomes, and creates demand.

Five, infrastructure plays an important role in times of economic disruption and transition. According to Crisil, India’s central Capex grew 31% this year, and if the trend continues, it will exceed by 12% the pre-pandemic trend level.

How India’s focus on infrastructure reinforces Say’s law?

First, infrastructure received attention for the first time in the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85) and continued to be a crucial component of all budgets. Its share has increased both in terms of budget allocation and policy focus.

Second, the government has made financial commitments through production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes as well as the “Panchamrit Commitments” at CoP-21. India has also announced ₹111 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in 2019 for a six-year period.

The schemes aim to develop a cutting-edge and adaptive infrastructure base to boost India’s growth engine. Along with this, it will also help in manage climate change.

How Say’s law is followed by other countries?

 One, developing and developed countries are taking the same fiscal path of supply-based expansion to meet their economic objectives.

China has focused on investing in infrastructure to revive its economy whenever there are signs of slowdown. For US infrastructure plan has both geo-strategic element and a tool fight covid economic crisis.

Two, not only for India but infrastructure spending is significant for other countries also. For instance, China spent $8 trillion in 2020 and the US is in the process of getting approval for its Build Back Better bill, which aims for advanced infrastructure.

What is the way forward?

First, a detailed scrutiny is needed to understand the importance of an initial supply push and its impact.

Second, acknowledge supply and demand move in an interlinked cycle and this should support further policy responses.

Should the government loosen its purse strings?

News: Experts discuss the perceived threats due to inflation and suggests what governments fiscal policy can do to contain inflation

Some analysts believe that the government must limit its spending to prevent price rise from getting out of control. (Retail inflation is close to 6%, the wholesale inflation rate is in double digits).

Other analysts, however, believe that the current rise in prices is a temporary phenomenon, and that the government must ignore the fiscal deficit and increase spending to support the ailing economy.

This article presents the view of various experts (Prashanth Perumal J., N.R. Bhanumurthy and Himanshu) with respect to the above said dilemma.

What are the factors contributing to rising inflation in India?

Factors contributing to Inflation

Supply-side constraints

Domestic factors have added to the problem. for example, taxes on petroleum goods and services

Increase in international oil prices,

Risk of transmission of international inflation to the domestic economy

What are the various views of experts on rising Inflation?

According to experts, retail inflation is not a concern, they believe that the RBI has many instruments to contain the Retail inflation pressure. However, they are concerned about the widening gap between the Wholesale Price Index and retail market prices.

There is a chance that some inflation in wholesale prices will be passed on to consumer prices, and it will be a cause of concern for the overall health of the economy

What is their expectation on governments fiscal policy stance in upcoming Budget?

One, N.R. Bhanumurthy expects that the government will focus on the social sector as well as medium-term growth prospects as it has enough fiscal space. However, he cautions that economic recovery stimulus has to be on a more sustainable basis rather than in the form of short-term spikes.

Two, author Himanshu suggests the government increase spending rather than opting for fiscal prudence that leads to the growth slowdown. Because

-There is excess capacity in the economy

-Aggregate consumption, which is a big part of GDP, is slowing down.

He suggests, the government should increase spending by providing social security schemes and by increasing the transfers to States.

Can the government’s fiscal policy address inflation driven by the supply side?

There’s not much that the government can do. However, the government should try to protect demand, the economy, the middle class, and particularly the poor and vulnerable, from the impact of high inflation. For example, by lowering direct and indirect taxes.

The government should allow people to have a larger disposable income so that consumption in the economy increases.

Explained: The concern over 5G and flight safety

News: Air India and several other airlines have cancelled flights to the US. They are worried that the 5G roll-out there may affect aircraft and passenger safety, a concern raised by Boeing and Airbus in the past.

Read more about the issue here; https://forumias.com/blog/why-5g-roll-outs-are-disrupting-flights-to-the-us/

How do flight radar altimeters help in safe flight operations?

For all airborne vehicles an aircraft, spacecraft, or even a missile an altimeter is crucial to gauge the altitude and the distance covered.

Altimeters are of three main kinds: barometric, laser, and radio or radar altimeters.

Most commercial passenger and cargo aircraft use a combination of all these altimeters along with global positioning system (GPS).

They are used to determine their path, as well as factors such as height above sea level, presence of high-rises, mountains, and other obstacles, and the likely flying time.

The radio or radar altimeter is a very small, low-power radar system that operates in the 4.2-4.4 GHz frequency microwave C-band.

The high frequency of these altimeters enables aircraft makers to install small antennae that produce powerful signals that can be relayed quickly and accurately.

Why is there concern about radar altimeter interference specifically in the US?

The situation is critical in the US, which auctioned 5G bandwidth in 2021 in the 3.7-3.98 GHz on the C-band spectrum range.

This band is very close to the 4.2-4.4 GHz range in which radio or radar altimeters operate.

According to industry experts, there are chances of interference of the two bands as telecom service operators, in order to extract the full value of 5G and give customers the best experience, push operations to the highest band possible.

Altimeters too need to operate at higher frequencies in order to get the most accurate readings possible.

Environment Ministry’s plan to rank states draws ire

News 

Union Environment Ministry has recently brought out a proposal of ranking States on how quickly they could give environmental clearances to proposed infrastructure projects. 

Many environmentalists have objected to this step and also stated that it contravenes the basic principles of environmental regulation.  

What are State Environmental Impact Assessment Agencies (SEIAA) and What do they do? 

SEIAA consists of State officers and independent experts. Infrastructure projects above a certain size which have a potential to significantly alter the natural environment need to be approved by SEIAA. 

Projects that are even bigger or involve forest (category A) get clearance by Centre.  

Category B, which get clearance by SEIAAs are relatively smaller though they make up the bulk of projects that are presented for approval. They include building and construction, small mining, and small industry projects and are considered to be ‘less polluting.’. 

Companies seeking approval upload the required documents on the portal called Parivesh.  

What are the concerns regarding the recent proposal? 

Environment Ministry has set out seven criteria to rate State Environmental Impact Assessment Agencies (SEIAA). 

They get better ratings if they give faster clearance. Also, if lesser projects prompted a site visit by committee members, the SEIAA will get better ratings. 

This has been termed by some organisations working in environment sector as being “violative” of the Environment (Protection) Act. According to them it gives greater weightage to less scrutiny and faster clearance while the main task of SEIAA is to undertake a ‘detailed scrutiny’. 

However, ministry officials have clarified that the ranking criteria was not intended to accelerate the speed with which clearances were accorded. It is to encourage the SEIAA to adhere to timelines already specified by the provisions of the Act. 

What should be the way forward? 

Even the EoDB rankings are not the sole determinants of actual investment flows. Tamil Nadu ranks lower than both UP and Bengal. But the state attracts some very big projects. For example-Ola’s e-scooter plant in Krishnagi. 

Although government should try to balance economic and environmental interests but SEIAAs should only strive to safeguard the environment.  

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

YEAR END REVIEW 2021: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

Source: This post is based on the article ‘YEAR END REVIEW 2021: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the news?

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) has launched several initiatives in the year 2021.

Initiatives by MeitY in 2021

Common Services Centers (CSCs)

e-District Mission Mode Project (MMP): e-District is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) that aims at electronic delivery of identified high volume citizen centric services at the district or sub-district level. 

Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS): It is designed to track and monitor public vehicles with the help of GPS-based tracking devices which get fitted in Vehicles. The system also has a provision to send panic alerts which triggers emergency response procedures to support passengers in distress with the help of effective monitoring using Command Control Center (CCC).

Electronic Human Resource Management System (eHRMS): eHRMS application is responsible for the maintenance of employee records in electronic form from hiring to retiring. 

Open Government Data (OGD 2.0): It has been set up by the National Informatics Center (NIC) in compliance with the Open Data Policy of India. The objective of the policy is to provide proactive access to Government owned shareable data.

E-Government Development Index (EGDI): 

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been publishing the EGDI and survey report since 2001.

The index presents the state of E-Government Development of the United Nations Member States.

The index incorporates the access characteristics, such as the infrastructure and educational levels, to reflect how a country is using information technologies to promote access and inclusion of its people.

The index is a composite measure of three important dimensions of e-government, namely: online service index, telecommunication infrastructure index and the human capital index.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the nodal ministry for EGDI. 

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)

Future Skill PRIME

Special Manpower Development Programme for Chips to System Design (SMDP-C2SD): 

It was initiated under ‘Digital India Programme’ in 2014 at 60 academic/ R&D institutions spread across the country.

It aims to train 50,000 members of specialized manpower over a period of 6 years in the area of VLSI design and inculcate the culture of System-on-Chip (SoC)/ System Level Design at Bachelors, Masters and Research level.

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing

Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) 

Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for IT Hardware: It shall extend an incentive of 4% to 2% / 1% on net incremental sales of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segment, to eligible companies, for a period of four (4) years. The Target Segment under PLI shall include (i) Laptops (ii) Tablets (iii) All-in-One PCs and (iv) Servers.

Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS): It aims to support the domestic software product ecosystem and address significant objectives of National Policy on Software Product (NPSP). NGIS is launched with focus on 12 Tier-II locations.

Software Technology Parks of India(STPI)

MeitY Startup Hub (MSH)

TIDE (Technology Innovation Development for Entrepreneurs) 2.0: It will promote tech entrepreneurship through financial and technical support to incubators engaged in supporting ICT startups primarily engaged in using emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, Block-chain, Robotics etc. in pre-identified areas of societal relevance.

Center of Excellence (CoE) for Blockchain

Fab Lab

National Language Translation Mission(NTLM): It aims to enable the wealth of governance-and-policy related knowledge on the Internet being made available in major Indian languages.  

National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

Rudra: It is the first indigenous server. It has been developed by the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). The server design can be used for manufacturing classical standalone commercial servers and also as building blocks for building large supercomputing systems of tens of petaflops of computing performance.

Microprocessor Development Programme (MDP): It aims to design and develop indigenously, a family of Microprocessors, related IPs and the complete ecosystem to enable fully indigenous product development that meets various requirements in the strategic, industrial and commercial sectors.

e-RaktKosh

Certification of Biometric Devices (BDCS): It aims to facilitate availability of quality assessed authentication/ enrolment Biometric Devices along with QR Code scanner device for offline authentication to user agencies.

National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT): It is an Autonomous Scientific Society under the administrative control of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MoE&IT). It was set up to carry out Human Resource Development and related activities in the area of Information, Electronics & Communications Technology (IECT).

Year-End Review of Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI)

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Year-End Review of Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI)’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI) has launched several initiatives in the year 2021.

Initiatives by MoFPI in 2021

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Act 2021: It was passed in 2021 to declare NIFTEM and IIFPT as Institutions of National Importance (INI). The INI status will enable the institutes to have functional autonomy, premium branding of the institution, start new innovative courses, attract the best faculties / students, etc.

Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry

Prime Minister- Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme

Operation Greens (OG) Scheme

Northeast Summit on Food Processing Industries: Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries this summit at IIM Shillong with the aim of building partnership for inclusive growth in the food processing sector in the region.

The MoFPI constituted a Project Development Cell with the prime objective of accelerating investments. 

Year End Review – 2021 of Ministry of Defence

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Year End Review – 2021 of Ministry of Defence’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the news?

The Ministry of Defence has launched several initiatives in the year 2021.

Initiatives by MoD in 2021

Missiles: Brahmos, Tejas, Astra, Arjun Main Battle Tank, Shakti, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier(IAC) ‘Vikrant’, INS Visakhapatnam,  INS Vela, Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo(SMART), Agni-P, Vertically Launched Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM), Akash Prime, Pinaka-ER, Abhyas

Swarnim Vijay Varsh: India celebrated the year-long Swarnim Vijay Varsh, marking Nation’s victory over Pakistan in December 1971 War, which led to creation of Bangladesh.

Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs):Government has set up defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These defence corridors will facilitate a well-planned and efficient industrial base that will lead to increased defence production in the country.

Women in Combat Role

Project Himank

National Cadet Corps(NCC)

Sainik Schools

Department of Military Affairs(DMA)

Positive indigenisation list 

SCG PS Zoroaster: It is a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE). India has gifted this to Seychelles Coast Guard.

UN peacekeeping operations: The Indian Army currently has approximately 5,300 personnel deployed in eight United Nations (UN) Missions and is currently the third-largest troop contributor to the UN.

Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

Defence India Startup Challenge 

Army Battle Casualties Welfare Fund (ABCWF) 

Permanent Commission for Women

NAVDEX 21: Indian Navy participated in the NAVDEX 21 (Naval Defence Exhibition).It is organised by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces.

Exercise LAPEROUSE: The Indian Navy participated in the multilateral Ex-Laperouse in Bay of Bengal with French, Australian, Japan and US Navies. The first edition of La Pérouse joint exercise, initiated by France in 2019, included ships from Australia, Japan and the US.

SAGAR

Operation Sankalp Operation Samudra Setu-II

Cutlass Express, Konkan SIMBEX Malabar Konkan Shakti

Scientific Expedition to Antarctica 

Clean India Programme

Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR): It has been developed and flight tested by DRDO. Success of SFDR propulsion technology is a significant milestone which paves the way for development of long-range air-to-air missiles in the country.

ATGMs Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version): Helina and Dhruvastra are third generation, Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) fire and forget Anti-Tank Guided Missiles that can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode. The system has all-weather day and night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as with explosive reactive armour.

ICGS Ships: Vigraha, Sarthak

Advanced Chaff Technology

Air-independent propulsion (AIP)

Centre may reduce the moisture content limit for wheat, paddy. Why this will hurt farmers

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Centre may reduce the moisture content limit for wheat, paddy. Why this will hurt farmers’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the news?

Government of India’s recent draft proposal proposes to change the moisture content limit for wheat and paddy. This has made farmers worried ahead of the rabi procurement season that begins April 2022. 

What is Moisture Content?

Moisture content (MC) is the weight of water contained in paddy or wheat expressed in percent.

The moisture content has been a sensitive issue for farmers. After harvesting, wheat absorbs moisture while rice loses it. On an average, wheat contains 15 to 22%  moisture on harvest. Farmers have to dry their produce after harvesting and even at mandis before procurement. 

However, untimely rain ahead of procurement season and lack of sheltered storage space at the mandis makes it difficult for farmers to keep their stocks dry. 

What is the new proposed moisture content limit for wheat and paddy?

Currently, farmers have to take a price cut on Minimum Support Price (MSP) when selling wheat stocks above the 12% moisture limit. Stocks with above 14% moisture are rejected.

However, according to the new rules, the ideal moisture content in wheat may be reduced to 12% from 14%. This means that wheat stocks with moisture content above 12% will not be procured even with a price cut.

In the case of paddy, permissible moisture content has been reduced from 17% to 16%.

Other provisions being discussed are reducing foreign matter in wheat crop to 0.50% from 0.75% and in paddy to 1% from 2%.

How are farmers seeing these proposed rules?

Farmers are also seeing this move as the government trying to gradually withdraw itself from the procurement operations and MSP regime. 

70% indigenous BrahMos cruise missile test-fired

Source: This post is based on the article ‘70% indigenous BrahMos cruise missile test-fired’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the news?

An improved version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.

What is Brahmos Missile?

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How was this Brahmos missile test different from earlier?

Firstly, the BrahMos that was originally built had 50% indigenous content. But the missile tested now had an increased indigenous content of 70%.

Secondly, the missile has also been fine-tuned to achieve an enhanced capability and  improved performance. 

Other News Covered in the Article

Saab awarded Indian contract for AT4 support weapon: AT4 is a man portable single shot anti armour weapon. It has been built by Swedish defence major Saab.

It can be used to hit enemy tanks, armoured vehicles, helicopters and landing craft.

The weapon weighs around 9 kg and has an effective range of 200 m.

It will be used by the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.

Connecting the Dots: Plastic pollution and the planetary emergency report: Global treaty to cut plastic production needed urgently: EIA report ahead of UN summit

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Global treaty to cut plastic production needed urgently: EIA report ahead of UN summit’ published in Down To Earth on 20th January 2022.

What is the News?

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has released a report titled “Connecting the Dots: Plastic pollution and the planetary emergency”.

What are the Key Findings of the Report?

The world’s plastic pollution threat constitutes a ‘planetary emergency’ that’s equal to climate change and biodiversity loss.

The report has revealed that an estimated 250 million tonnes of plastic will make it to the oceans by 2025 and this number could increase to 700 million tonnes by 2040. 

This increment in number is due to the overproduction of virgin plastics, which is the type of plastics manufactured from non-recyclable materials. 

Moreover, the increase in plastic production is also leading to an increment in the emissions of carbon dioxide and the resulting waste is also causing death among animals. An estimated 1.78 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide was released during plastic pollution in 2015 alone. 

What are the suggestions given by the report?

New global plastics Treaty

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) synthesis report entitled: “Making Peace with Nature’’ identified three existential environmental threats – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Two of these – biodiversity and climate change – have had dedicated multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) for nearly 30 years but, despite plastic pollution being one of the most prevalent and destructive environmental pollutants in existence, no such instrument for plastic exists. 

Hence, a global plastics treaty that takes into account the entire lifecycle of plastics needs to be developed urgently.

Prioritize policies that address multiple threats acting at different timescales

This must include measures to urgently eliminate the discharge of plastics into the environment, phase plastic production down to sustainable levels as well as promote the upscaling of reuse, refill and traditional packaging systems tailored to national contexts.

Meeting nationally determined contributions

Countries need to work toward reducing the climate impact from extraction, processing, cracking and polymerisation through targeted measures in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement.

Year End Review 2021-Department of School Education & Literacy

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Year End Review 2021-Department of School Education & Literacy’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the News?

The Department of School Education & Literacy has launched several initiatives in the year 2021.

Several of these initiatives are

Samagra Shiksha

SARTHAQ

National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021

National Bal Bhavan: It is an institution that aims at enhancing the creative potential of children by providing them various activities, opportunities and common platforms to interact, experiment, create and perform according to their age, aptitude and ability. It offers a barrier-free environment with immense possibilities of innovation, minus any stress or strain.

NISHTHA

NIPUN Bharat

VIDYA PRAVESH

NEP Achievements Booklet

DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing)

SAFAL

TERMs: Central Board of Secondary Education has developed Teacher Energized Resource Material (TERM) handbooks that will aid teachers in aligning their classroom transactions to a competency framework. 

Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat : Library grant and Promotion of reading

Performance Grading Index (PGI)

UDISE Plus

School Nutrition (Kitchen) Gardens (SNGs)

Manodarpan

Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI)

VeerGatha : In order to disseminate the details of acts of bravery and the life stories of the brave hearts among the students, the Department of School Education& Literacy and the Ministry of Defence organized the Veer Gatha Project.

Adolescent Peer Educators Leadership in LifeSkills, Health and Wellbeing Programme: CBSE has planned to initiate and support the Adolescent Peer Educators Leadership Program for enriching Life Skills, Holistic Health and Wellbeing of its students in collaboration with Expressions India. 

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA)

PM eVidya

Vidyanjali

National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

The gigantic and magnificent scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ installed at Rajpath for Republic Day 2022 celebrations

Source: This post is based on the article ‘The gigantic and magnificent scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ installed at Rajpath for Republic Day 2022 celebrations’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the News?

The gigantic and spectacular scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ have now been installed at the Rajpath for the Republic Day 2022 celebrations.

What is Kala Kumbh?

Kala Kumbh is organised by the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).

Purpose: It is an artist workshop for painting scrolls representing the tales of valour of unsung heroes of India’s freedom movement.

Aim: To amalgamate ​​varied forms of visual and performing arts of the country to represent the true essence of unity and diversity in India. 

The works of art done on the gigantic scrolls will form an integral part of the Republic Day celebrations 2022. This workshop marks a unique collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Defence.

The paintings at these workshops were done by more than five hundred artists spread over two locations, Odisha and Chandigarh.

Significance: The workshop will garner the interest of each individual to dig deep into the history of the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle and would also draw attention towards the unified visual aspects of modern, indigenous and contemporary arts of India.

What is the National Gallery of Modern Art?

It is a premium art gallery under the Ministry of Culture.

It was established in 1954 by then vice-president Dr S Radhakrishanan in the presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

It is a repository of the cultural ethos of the country and showcases the changing art forms through the passage of the last hundred and fifty years, starting from about 1857 in the field of Visual and Plastic arts.

Headquarters: Jaipur House, New Delhi.

Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota in NEET admissions

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota in NEET admissions’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of quota for Other Backward Classes candidates in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test’s (NEET) All India Quota seats for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses.

What was the case about?

Recently, the Central Government has announced to extend 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% reservation for the economically weaker section(EWS) under the All India Quota (AIQ) Scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate medical/dental courses.

But this was challenged before the Supreme Court.

What did the Supreme Court say?

The Supreme Court upheld the OBC quota in NEET admissions (On EWS Verdict refer here).

What are the arguments given by the court while upholding the OBC quota in NEET admissions?

Supreme Court on Reservation 

The court held that reservation is not at odds with merit. It observed that Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination, which only provides formal equality of opportunity.

Moreover, Open competitive examinations do not reflect the social, economic and cultural advantage that accrues to certain classes and contributes to their success in such examinations.

Hence, Merit should be socially contextualised and reconceptualized as an instrument that advances social goods like equality that we as a society value. In such a context, reservation is not at odds with merit but furthers its distributive consequences.

Supreme Court on Article 15

The power of the government to provide reservations under Article 15(4) and (5) of the Constitution is not an “exception” to Article 15(1) which enshrines the mandate that “the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them”.

Moreover, the power of the government to craft reservations for the OBC amplified the principle of “substantive equality” manifested through Article 15 (1).

Union Minister releases revised Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Union Minister releases revised Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.

What is the News?

Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj has released the revised Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation(RADPFI) Guidelines. 

What is the need for Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) Guidelines?

There have been spatial development initiatives that have been implemented in India, especially in urban areas. However, there has been no comprehensive exercise for rural spatial planning of panchayats/villages. 

In recent times, there has been a large growth in rural areas, but this unplanned growth has led to inefficient utilization of geospatial potential in rural areas. 

Thus, spatial planning especially for the villages located in the vicinity of the urban centres and those, along the major road corridors, becomes necessary.

Hence, keeping this in view, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has revised these guidelines.

What is the purpose of RADPFI Guidelines?

The plan aims to serve as the basis for rural transformation and enable effective Land use planning in rural areas. 

The plan will also ensure ease of living in villages and help minimising migration to big cities by providing all necessary infrastructure and facilities and also resources and opportunities for livelihood in rural areas.

What are the key features of the RADPFI Guidelines?

Village Planning Scheme(VPS) on the lines of Town Planning Schemes in urban areas; 

provisions of linking Gram Panchayat Development Programme (GPDP) with Spatial Land Use Planning,

Planning for environmental benefit and disaster preparedness.

Linking to the 15th Central Finance Commission(CFC) and respective State Finance Commission (SFCs).

Improving the E-Governance through Spatial Data Infrastructure

Integrating/Consolidation of GP Development with RURBAN CLUSTERS/ Block District Plan,

Using the  SVAMITVA (and other digital tools) for the Abadi area (linking to land records).

New tax regime disincentivizes charity donations, says study

Source– This post is based on the article “New tax regime disincentivizes charity donations, says study” published in Business standard on 21st Jan 2022.  

What is the news? 

Budget of 2020 option introduced an optional tax regime for personal income tax. 

What was this optional tax regime? 

Under this a taxpayer can choose between two structures. One structure, the older one, has higher rates and incentivizes philanthropic giving. The other one has lower rates but does not incentivize donations. 

These changes were analyzed in a study conducted by Ashoka University and Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA).  

What are the issues highlighted by the study? 

Study concludes that these changes, coupled with the lowering of rates of personal income tax and corporate income tax over time, have disincentivised donations for charity.   

Note-Section 80G of the Income Tax Act provides deduction from one’s income for donating to specified charitable institutions. 

What needs to be done? 

India should reintroduce inheritance tax and wealth tax. 

This will generate additional tax revenue and will also increase the resources of the charitable sector 

These can act as one of the most effective policy instruments against inequality specially in the pandemic period.