9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – May 13th, 2023

Mains Oriented Articles

GS PAPER - 2

Welfare spending has been getting a regular pruning

Source: This post is created based on the article “Strategic convergence between India and US is growing”, published in The Hindu on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2, Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population

Context: The Union Budget has been criticised for decreasing allocations for welfare schemes. Central government spending on essential social programmes has been for last 6-7 years.

Government has done well in providing tangible goods like cooking fuel, electricity, and promoting financial inclusion of women. However, there has been a decline in traditional government services like primary education and child nutrition.

During pandemic, significance of social security programmes was acknowledged by the government when it raised the Budget allocation for all the social schemes to 4.3% of GDP; but the allocation if again back to just 1.5%.

How have Welfare schemes faced funding cuts recently and what are the issues associated with it?

The Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programmes designed to fight child malnutrition have experienced a significant decrease in allocation, even though malnutrition rates remain high in India.

The mid-day meal (MDM) scheme has seen a 50% decrease in Budget allocation as a share of GDP. Evidence shows that the scheme has led to an improvement in class attendance, learning as well as nutritional outcomes and reduced stunting in children.

The PM Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) that offers maternity benefits to women in the unorganised sector has also been underfunded.

MGNREGA and the Public Distribution System were key to averting disaster during the pandemic. However, the allocation to both these schemes has been reduced.

Out-of-pocket expenditure on health in India remains much higher than the global average, which leads to financial distress and pushes millions into poverty each year.

Central expenditure on school education (primary and secondary) has steadily declined from 0.37% in 2014-15 to 0.23% 2023-24.

There is an urgent need to increase allocations for welfare schemes, especially those aimed at education, nutrition, and health. It is essential for India to invest in its human capital if it aspires to become a global superpower.

Asymmetry, power – on SC judgement in the LG vs Delhi Government case

Source: This post is created based on the article

“Asymmetry, power”, published in The Hindu on 13^th May 2023.

“Supreme Court’s Delhi verdict carries promise of a constitutional renaissance” published in Indian Express on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2, issues associated with federalism in India.

News: The article provides and analysis of the SC judgment in the Delhi case

Asymmetric federalism has been a key positive feature of India’s polity, but it hasn’t always ensured peaceful relations between the Centre and its constituent units. The ongoing disagreement between the Union government and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) serves as a prime example. The Supreme Court has frequently intervened to clarify the governance parameters of the territory.

SC Ruling in the Delhi Case

Read – The SC ruling in the LG Vs Delhi Government case

What is the significance of SC ruling in the Delhi Case?

In the judgement, SC emphasised on the sui generis (unique) nature of Delhi and stated that the Union Territory’s status should not be used to curtail the role of the elected government.

The verdict reinforces the principle that a representative regime shouldn’t be undermined by an unelected administrator.

The judgement reaffirms Thomas Jefferson’s idea that “just government should derive its powers from the consent of the governed”.

It emphasises that the central government has a significant mandate, but its consent is to govern the country, not Delhi. Delhi’s elected representatives have a more legitimate constitutional right to govern.

The Court maintained that Union Territories (UTs) with their own legislative assemblies should be treated akin to states. The judgment dismissed the idea of a homogenous class of UTs.

Justice Chandrachud emphasised the importance of federalism in a diverse country like India. He argued that recognising regional aspirations strengthens the unity of the country.

The Court disagreed with the argument that the Constitution has strong unitary features in respect of UTs. Quoting B. R. Ambedkar, it reiterated that the Indian Constitution is neither a league of states nor are the states administrative units or agencies of the government. Instead, the Centre and states under the Constitution are co-equals.

Diagnostic imaging of the Rajasthan Right to Health Act

Source: The post is based on the article “Diagnostic imaging of the Rajasthan Right to Health Act” published in The Hindu on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Government Policies & Interventions in Various Sectors

Relevance: concerns associated with Rajasthan’s Right to Health (RTH) Bill

News: The Rajasthan Right to Health (RTH) Bill has been controversial and there have been oppositions to it.

What are some of the flaws in the Rajasthan’s Right to Health (RTH) Bill?

Addition of extra provisions:  The problem with the bill is that additional changes/amendments have been added in the bill other than those recommended by the select committee.

For instance, the term ‘designated health care centres’ was introduced, and a reimbursement clause for unpaid emergency care was added.

These extra additions are praiseworthy but most other changes in the amended Bill were not beneficial in protecting public health interests.

Lack of representation of medical representatives: The bill initially included three representatives, from ayurveda, homoeopathy, and unani, as ex-officio members from the state health authority.

However, the amended bill had provision for only one representative from the alternative medical systems, with medical education representatives filling for the remaining two.

Further, the amended Bill swapped public health experts with Indian Medical Association (IMA) representatives as nominated members. This left state and district health authorities with little or no representation.

Restricting powers of the administrative organs: The grievance redress system proposed in the initial iteration underwent a considerable change in the amended Bill.

For example, the grievance redress system was initially proposed to be handled through web portals, helpline centres, and officers concerned within 24 hours.

However, patient grievances will now be handled by the concerned health-care institution within three days. This may lead to conflict of interests and add more burdens to the hospitals.

Lacks in public health representation: Health care laws should also focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and nutrition. However, the RTH does not aim to serve these purposes.

Repealing the Act: Some of those opposing the bill have called to repeal the law due to the ambiguous definitions of some terms such as the definition of emergency.

However, there are ambiguities even with widely accepted medical definitions. Therefore, it is required that all parties should come together to best elaborate the definitions rather than repealing a Bill.

What are some of the advantages of the bill?

The State government has stated that private multispecialty hospitals with less than 50 beds, and those that have not received government subsidised land/buildings, will be temporarily exempted from the bill.

This provision of the bill was widely accepted by the doctors’ associations.

Click Here to Read More

What lessons can be learnt from the RTH bill of Rajasthan?

The lessons learnt are – a) laws should be carefully drafted to avoid oppositions, b) the government should not get influenced by organised medical interest alone in preparing any health policy, c) governments and the medical community should also make themselves aware of the broader social dimensions of health and health legislation and d) governments should be aware that adopting such kind of legislation without being financially ready might backfire.

Strategic convergence between India and US is growing

Source: This post is created based on the article “Strategic convergence between India and US is growing”, published in Indian Express on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2, International Relations, Bilateral Relations of India

Context: India-US relations are growing under the present government.

Previously India has seen US, with the suspicion and tried to renew the idea of non-alignment. However, present government discarded India’s “historic hesitations” in engaging the US over the last decade.

What are the strong points of India US relations in the recent years?

The US is now India’s largest trading partner with the trade worth $190 billion. Unlike China, it supports India on issues of territorial integrity and terrorism.

The US is offering to modernize India’s defence production and transfer advanced civilian and military technologies.

India found common ground with the US in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.  India participates in such coalitions as the Quadrilateral Forum with US, Japan and Australia in the east and with Washington, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh to the west of the Subcontinent.

AYUSH collaboration with ICMR for scientific validation is right step

Source: This post is created based on the article “Strategic convergence between India and US is growing”, published in The Hindu on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2, Issues associated with health

News: Ministry of AYUSH and ICMR have at last joined hands to undertake quality human clinical trials.

The collaboration will generate evidence on the benefits of using ayurveda along with modern medicine in treating certain disease conditions of national importance.

This collaboration will be for ayurveda only, initially. The other systems of AYUSH will be included when central councils of the respective AYUSH systems are ready to work with the ICMR.

How will it create a path for inclusion of Ayurveda along with modern medicines?

First, an expert committee will soon decide the area/disease conditions to be included for detailed clinical testing.

Second, clinical trials for each disease will be done by two arms: 1) modern medicine as the standard of care, 2) A combination of modern medicine and ayurveda.

Third, if clinical trials scientifically validate the superiority of combining ayurveda and modern medicine, it will form the basis on which integrated medicine will be offered to patients.

Fourth, trial outcomes will form the basis on which integrated medicine will be offered to patients.

What is the significance of this collaboration?

It is the first major step in the evidence-based approach of validating AYUSH medical interventions.

Previous trials conducted for validating use of AYUSH medicines were not successful.

Evidence-based approach of ICMR will be helpful for scientific validation of traditional medicines in India.

GS PAPER - 3

Home to 70% of the world’s tigers, India has a huge part of the species’ total genetic variation

Source: The post is based on the article “Home to 70% of the world’s tigers, India has a huge part of the species’ total genetic variation” published in The Times of India on 13^th May 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment, Science & Technology

Relevance: benefits of molecular genome research in conserving endangered species

News: Every organism on earth has genetic material which is passed on from generation to generation. The article explains how molecular genome research can help in conserving endangered species.

How does molecular genome research help with conserving species?

Endangered species live in specific habitats. These habitats are often taken up by the people and infrastructure.

This fragmentation of habitat causes endangered species to undergo population crash, thereby decreasing in the population and leading them into isolation.

Hence, genome research can provide information about the loss in genetic variation and the impacts of loss of habitat on genetic variation.

Further, genetic variation is extremely important to study the small populations of endangered species. This is because small populations can undergo chance events where certain genetic variants increase or decrease.

For instance, a study conducted on the population of tigers in Odisha found how by chance, in a very small population, the frequency of a black mutation and the corresponding phenotype has grown more common.

Another problem with the small population of endangered species is that inbreeding amongst them causes disadvantageous mutations or inbreeding depression which further lower survival rates.

Studying these can help conservation strategies of endangered species.

What are some of the findings on tiger genomes in India?

India is home to 70% of the world’s tigers. Hence, a large proportion of the total genetic variation of the species is found in India.

Studies have found isolated populations of tigers in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve have chances of inbreeding twice compared to other regions.

This is because tiger habitat around highways and densely populated areas are harmful to the species connectivity.

Moreover, there are efforts going on to figure out tigers’ predatory nature which often leads to animal-human conflicts and historical samples are being used to study the lost genetic variation. These studies would help in tiger conservation.

[Yojana May 2023 Summary] Cybersecurity challenges in the 5G age – Explained, pointwise

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Introduction

The ultra-fast speed of 5G indeed holds the promise of revolutionary changes in communication and Internet consumption. The country is estimated to have over 150 million 5G users by the end of 2024 – a tiny fraction of the current 1.2 billion mobile phone users. This number will expand significantly once the 5G network is progressively deployed in tier-2 and tier-3 geographies. Along with the spread, the cybersecurity challenges in the 5G age will also increase many folds.

What is 5G Technology?

Read here: 5G Technology

Every few years, a new generation of mobile communications takes shape and is described as 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G networks, and so on. Each of these new generations brings higher data transfer speeds and lower latency rates.

The high speed and low latency of 5G will enable the connected devices to communicate in real-time, offering better and more reliable performance. This will benefit household purposes (such as lol-enabled smart homes) and the industrial sector (for example, smart factories and automated manufacturing). According to one study, by 2035, 5G will enable USD 13.2 trillion of global economic output and support 22.3 million jobs.

5G will subsequently impact edtech, autonomous and robotic systems, telemedicine and precision agriculture.

What are the benefits of 5G technology?

Must read: 5G Impact: Traffic To Teaching, Factories To Farming

What are the geopolitical fights associated with 5G technology?

Commercial motives: Leading tech-powered nations have strived to attain the ‘first mover’ advantage in 5G technology. So, major world telecom leaders may have taken the lead in developing 5G technology. For instance, Chinese telecom companies have been aggressively penetrating new markets by commercialising the technology and offering it at cheaper rates. 

The Chinese threat: There are apprehensions that China might weaponise 5G technology by coercing the Chinese telecom companies to share their consumer data with the government or even force them to shut down 5G networks in times of geopolitical tumult.

Various instances and allegations of Chinese telecom companies engaging in cyber espionage in many countries have only reinforced these concerns. For example, the Australian government report on Papua New Guinea’s National Cyber Security Centre built by China said that the project had multiple cybersecurity issues, which exposed confidential government data.

The US counter on China: The United States has spearheaded a campaign to counter the Chinese telecom companies’ dominance in the 5G market. For instance, the US government has designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats and also banned the sale and import of new communications equipment from five other Chinese companies. Further, the US has also persuaded its allies not to use Chinese equipment in their domestic 5G networks.

Democratic states and authoritarian regime fight: There have been efforts to bring together like-minded and leading democratic states to jointly tackle the tech challenge posed by authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia. For example,

–The idea of D-10: The former UK Prime Minister floated the idea of D-10, a coalition of ten democracies, to create an alternative supply chain for 5G and other emerging technologies.

-The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad has pledged to advance interoperability and security and work on 5G supplier diversification and Open RAN technology.

On the other hand, authoritarian regimes are pursuing emerging technologies beyond 5G.

Read more: 5G technology in India – importance, challenges and solutions

What are the potential cybersecurity challenges in the 5G?

With 5G there will be an increased tendency among threat actors to target critical national infrastructure.

5G will play in a crucial role in national development and economic growth. So, it can undoubtedly be regarded as a critical infrastructure. Hence, 5G communication networks will represent a valuable target for cyberattacks, including sabotage.

Threat actors will exploit several vulnerabilities of the 5G network and ecosystem. Such as,

a) Due to the complexity of technology, there are many moving parts in the 5G ecosystem. This raises uncertainty about the resilience of each of those parts. For instance. If some systems in the network are not fully patched, they can potentially act as the weakest link in cyber defence.

b) Due to the higher speeds and enhanced capacity, 5G requires more access points and network edges, where the local network or device connects with the internet. This shifts much of the core network functions closer to the end user, making it challenging to enforce the requisite security compliance and ensure trusted third-party vendors.

c) There are mixed types of networks — 5G systems with legacy systems such as 4G. This also exposes the 5G network to the vulnerabilities of previous-generation networks.

d) Unlike 4G, 5G have a much smaller area of coverage. Hence, they require several smaller antennas and base’ stations. This can allow precise location tracking of mobile phone or internet users inside and outside, thereby increasing privacy risks.

e) The 5G network will bring about a wider proliferation of loT-enabled devices. According to one estimate, by 2025, there will be approximately 27 billion connected loT devices. This magnifies the threat canvas, as these devices will offer new malware and botnet distribution vectors.

These will bring increased avenues for attacks such as Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks or Man-in-the-Middle attacks. For example, in 2016, the Mirai botnet exploited unsecured loT devices’ vulnerabilities to disrupt the functioning of thousands of routers, security cameras, and digital video recorders.

f) 5G inherits the vulnerability from previous generation protocols, i.e., threat actors can get hold of the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)

Note: The IMSI number is used to identify and authenticate subscribers on the mobile network.

By seizing the IMSI, threat actors can intercept mobile traffic in a defined area to monitor an individual user’s activity, including tracking location and intercepting calls.

Read more: “5G Technology” roll-out in India

What needs to be done to limit the cybersecurity challenges in the 5G?

5G will require an enhanced focus on the security of the connections, devices, and applications.

Explore next-generation technologies: Leading tech companies and global partnerships have already started exploring next-generation technologies. For instance, The Quad countries have announced plans to collaborate on space-based 6G to ensure that security-by-design and best cybersecurity practices are incorporated as the technology takes shape.

China is also formulating plans to advance research and innovation in 6G technologies.

Formulate a cyber resilience plan: 5G technology and network are not secure by design. So, countries adopting 5G, including India, must have a dedicated cyber resilience plan in place.

Constant update of policies: the cyber and information-security policies of the 5G network ecosystem must adopt adequate security protocols. This will need constant updating and upgrading since threat actors continue exploiting emerging vulnerabilities.

Enhance awareness of end-user: End users’ cyber hygiene — their understanding of safe practices in cyberspace — can help them better tackle the threats and protect themselves. So, the government should take steps to increase awareness among end user.

Source: Yojana

Syllabus: GS 3: Security Issues: basics of cyber security.

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