9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – May 27th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• National Assessment Survey lays out post-Covid challenges. Teacher- and student-centred approaches are needed
• Who wields the power to pardon?
• Gyanvapi and the principle of non-retrogression
• Sighting the finishing line in measles-rubella elimination

GS Paper 3

• Universal basic income plan faces implementation issues
• Making sense of the GST bonanza
• You can’t fight a pandemic without IP: Intellectual property rights were vital in producing life-saving Covid vaccines
• Knotty supply chains deepen global chip shortage
• The Indian consumer will have to spend more for a little longer
• India can’t feed the world with a major chapaati crisis at home

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future?
• India’s GDP to take a big hit due to pandemic-linked learning losses for students: ADB study
• Share of non-CO2 pollutants contributing to global warming almost as much as carbon dioxide: Study
• End discrimination, frame specific policies for LGBTIQ+ workers: ILO
• MeitY holds Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI – India’s AI led language translation platform
• Road accidents in India — 2020: Road accidents parameters register a significant decline in 2020 , Total accidents decrease on an average by 18.46 per cent, number of persons killed decrease by 12.84 per cent

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

National Assessment Survey lays out post-Covid challenges. Teacher- and student-centred approaches are needed

News: A study commissioned by the Centre, the National Assessment Survey (NAS), details the magnitude of the learning crisis during the pandemic across the country.

Conducted in November 2021 among students of more than one lakh schools in 720 districts, the NAS shows a sharp dip in the performance of students in almost all subjects during the pandemic years.

The Union education ministry has said that the NAS data will help states in taking remedial measures, both short-term and long-term.

What is the learning crisis that developed during the pandemic?

India witnessed one of the longest school closures in the world.

For the better part of the past two years, teachers struggled to cope with the pedagogical challenges posed by the switch to online classes.

The country’s digital divide proved to be a hurdle for a large number of underprivileged learners.

Field reports by private agencies and state government bodies have indicated that this disruption resulted in an alarming regression in children’s foundational skills — reading, writing, doing simple mathematics.

– The NAS 2021 report reveals that the breakdown affected even states that traditionally do well on educational parameters. The average scores of Delhi’s Class V students in mathematics, for instance, were well below the national average.

What are some challenges that need to be overcome?

The pandemic seems to have put on the back-burner the implementation of school education reforms envisaged by the NEP.

Funds for training teachers have been slashed by nearly 50% in the current budget

The outlay for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme — whose positive impact on school enrollment, student retention and nutrition of children is well-documented — has come down by almost 10%.

Instead, there seems to be an over-reliance on e-learning. But as the NAS shows, these methods cannot be a substitute for the interactions in a classroom.

What needs to be done?

The first step should be to acknowledge that children are returning to schools with diminished skills, as well as recognise that some learners may have experienced more setbacks than their peers.

Planners and school administrators should give teachers the freedom to adopt creative approaches that turn classrooms into spaces where students can shed the anxieties of the past two years and regain skills at their own pace.

– This would require re-imagining pedagogical practices and a shift from syllabus-centred approaches of the past to learner-centric methods. The New Education Policy 2020, announced in the first year of the pandemic, recognises this imperative.

Way forward

Several studies, including the annual ASER reports, have underlined that most of the failings of the country’s educational system arise from the lack of connect between the lived experiences of most students and what is taught in classrooms.

The pandemic-induced crisis is an opportunity to take corrective measures. Failure to do so will endanger the academic future of an entire generation.

Who wields the power to pardon?

News: The Supreme Court has ordered to release A.G. Perarivalan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. This has brought into limelight the Governor’s powers of pardon or remission under Article 161 of the Constitution of India.

Supreme Court’s Observation

The SC ruled that a Governor is bound by the State government’s advice in matters relating to commutation/remission of sentences under Article 161. The Court invoked its extraordinary power under Article 142 and ordered the release of Perarivalan.

What is the criticism against the office of the Governor?

In the past, there are numerous instances in which the gubernatorial offices of the Governors have been used by the Centre for political purposes.

The Constitution makers never thought of giving Governors powers similar to those of elected representatives. Therefore, the post is a nominated one and not an elected one.

The Governor’s post is “useless when inert and dangerous when active”. For example, in the Perarivalan episode, there was inertness of the Governor which proved dangerous.

The Governors are often accused of becoming agents of the party at the Centre and obstructing the implementation of welfare measures by the popularly elected State governments.

The Governors are alleged sitting on Bills passed by State legislatures without performing their duties under the Constitution.

Why did the Supreme Court issue a release order under Article 142?

The Governor had not done his duty under the Constitution. The Governor was given enough time, opportunity and warnings by the court. The Governor was blatantly disregarding the court’s observations.

The delay impacted the liberty of a person who was legally and constitutionally entitled to be released.

The judiciary is the final arbiter of the Constitution. If the Governor does not do his job, the court could pass appropriate orders.

What is the significance of the Perarivalan judgment?

The verdict has underlined the imperative of federalism in the context of gubernatorial amnesty. The judgment in this case is being seen as a victory for federalism and State autonomy.

The Article 161 is more about the Governor’s duty, rather than power.

The Governor’s duty is to abide by the recommendations of the State cabinet while performing his functions, including the power to remit, suspend or commute sentences under Article 161.

The Governor need not have sent the matter to the President. The Governor’s power under Article 161 is in no way inferior to the President’s role under Article 72.

The Governors should exercise their power timely.

The judgment recognises the power of the state in matters of remission, commutation, etc.

The verdict upholds the human rights of prisoners. The judgment shows a great amount of judicial discipline by adhering to the established principles of law. The court invoked Article 142 to do “complete justice”.

What are the lessons for our justice system?

Justice delayed is justice denied. Each organ of governance has to work towards the preservation and promotion of human rights.

The institution is working very hard. India has one of the lowest judge-to-population ratios in the world.

There is a problem of judicial vacancies in various High Courts and tribunals. The High Courts are functioning with 50% strength.

The judgment shows the importance of pursuit of the cause by litigants, their lawyers, the court and the media.

The judgment upheld the individual’s freedom and dignity, the basic promises of the Constitution.

Way Forward

The Governor

The Governor is not bound by an arbitrary decision by the cabinet passed by non-application of mind or extraneous considerations. The device of judicial review is the most effective check against such aberrations.

The powers of nomination of the Governor should be re-considered.

The Justice Sarkaria Commission wanted the Governor to act as “a friend, philosopher and guide” to the Council of Ministers. The Governor should be a “detached figure and not too intimately connected with the local politics of the State”.

The Governor should act within the constitutional framework.

Indian Judiciary

We need to have Regional Benches of the Supreme Court to reduce the workload.

The retirement age of judges can be increased to 70.

Gyanvapi and the principle of non-retrogression

News: Recently, the Gyanvapi-Vishwanath dispute has come up in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah mosque has come up in Mathura in which the petitions are seeking the removal of the mosque and exclusive ownership of the property.

What are the relevant legal statutes?

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act clearly prohibits altering its status quo.

– The Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of a place of worship of a religious denomination or any of its sections into a place of worship of a different section of the same denomination or of a different religious denomination.

– Section 4 declares that the religious character of a place of worship existing on August 15, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day. Any legal case pertaining to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship pending as on August 15, 1947 shall abate.

Impact of the Babri Masji Judgment

The judgment may have been the beginning of unending demands for the handing over of hundreds of other “disputed” mosques in India.

What are the issues with the judiciary actions?

The Supreme Court has been reluctant to stay such judicial interventions under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

The Court observed that ascertainment of the religious character of a place may not fall foul of Sections 3 and 4 of the Places of Worship Act.

What are the historical facts related to the issue?

There is no disagreement among historians on the fact that the emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the Vishwanath temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque on its ruins.

Aurangzeb destroyed the temple when he suspected that its builder, Jai Singh, the great grandson of Raja Man Singh, had helped Shivaji escape from imperial detention.

How modern day regimes differ from the earlier ones in terms of deriving legitimacy from religious monuments?

(A) Early Time

According to Eaton, ruling dynasties in those days derived legitimacy from state deities (rashtra devta) installed in royal temples. It was common that conquerors used to destroy such temples and used to place their own place of worship on the ruins. It used to be a message that the king no longer enjoyed the protection of his deity.

(B) Medieval Period- More a show of power

The temple destruction was done more to show brute power than an act of religious bigotry.

(C) Modern Period

The present intellectual regime strongly disapproves of the violent cold-bloodedness and acquisitive expansionism.

In modern societies, the principle of non-retrogression, or the doctrine of progressive realisation of rights, has been adopted.

Way Forward

India is signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Its Article2(1) seeks to “achieving progressively the full realisation of the rights by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures”.

The Supreme Court has reiterated the principle of non-retrogression in a number of cases. For example, (a) in Navtej Singh Johar judgment 2018 , the court held that there is no place for retreat in a progressive society. Therefore, the state should not take steps that deliberately lead to retrogression on the enjoyment of rights either under the Constitution or otherwise”, (b)  in Babri Masjid verdict 2019, it was mentioned that non-retrogression “is a foundational feature of the fundamental constitutional principles of which secularism is a core component”. The Act is thus “a legislative intervention which preserves non-retrogression as an essential feature of our secular values”.

The Supreme Court of India must ensure the continuity of this doctrine of progressive realisation of rights

The historical wrongs cannot be remedied by people taking the law into their own hands. Through the Places of Worship Act, Parliament has mandated that histroical wrongs shall not be used as instruments to oppress the present and the future”.

The Parliament must retain the Places of Worship Act without amending or repealing it.

Sighting the finishing line in measles-rubella elimination

News: The COVID-19 pandemic stole two years from the MR Elimination programme. The MR elimination target has been re-set to 2023.

About measles-rubella (MR) Program

It is a program for providing immunisation to children from 5 to 15 years. It is being implemented as a school-based vaccination programme and is being conducted in all States.

Furthermore, it will lead to vaccination-induced immunity against both Measles and Rubella diseases.

To cover immunity gaps after one dose of measles vaccine, a second dose was necessary.

Why is MR Elimination important?

MR elimination is defined as zero transmission of measles and rubella viruses. It should have evidence of zero clinical disease, sustained over three years.

It can be achieved through two methods: (a) surveillance: identify places where either virus is still in transmission, and (b) vaccination: two doses of the MR vaccine — the first dose between nine and 11 months and second dose ideally in the second year of life

The MR vaccine is a combined product which targets two diseases in one shot. This is because fever and rash surveillance cover both diseases

How was the program implemented?

The district was chosen as the ideal population-cum-administrative unit for efficiently implementing all activities.

For epidemiological reasons, rubella vaccination had to cover children up to 15 years. School registration and attendance are high in all States and as a programme, therefore children were to be vaccinated in schools. 

(A) Why should measles be eliminated?

In the pre-vaccination era, while polio paralysed about 1% of all children before the age of five, measles actually killed 1% of all under-five children. During measles outbreaks, the case-fatality rate may range from 10%- to 15%.

It leads to loss of weight as well as cognitive development and scholastic performance.

Measles affects the immune system rendering the child vulnerable to other infectious diseases.

(B) Why should rubella be eliminated?

The rubella virus is a slower transmitter. The risk of rubella extends from childhood through adolescence into the reproductive age range.

It can show no symptoms, or with a short fever and a skin rash that is less pronounced than that of measles.

In case of an infected pregnant woman, the virus has a tendency to cross the placenta. Affected babies are born with severe birth defects such as cataracts, deafness, heart defects and developmental delay which is called as ‘congenital rubella syndrome’ (CRS). This is preventable with vaccination if given prior to pregnancy.

What are the issues in the implementation of the MR Elimination program?

The stakeholders such as school managements, teachers, children themselves and parents were not properly informed about the basis and features of the new programme.

Due to a lack of information, there was antipathy towards about the programme, in the minds of parents and school authorities.

Lack of information has led to shifting of goal posts. For example, the Government first missed target of 2015, and second missed target of 2020

Way Forward

In order to achieve the MR Elimination in all 773 districts, the Immunisation Division of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should support the state governments, and all the states should galvanise the district administration to carry out activities.

The District Magistrate should activate the Task Force mechanism overseeing the Universal Immunisation Program (UIP) that is managed by the District Immunisation Officer.

Clinical and laboratory surveillance and vaccination have to be sustained. Measles virus, could be imported from outside.

There are 19 months available to achieve the target before the finishing line b of y July-August 2023.

The cooperation of parents, health-care personnel at all levels, opinion leaders, influencers, the media, non-governmental organisations such as the Rotary and Lions, can play a role in making this district-by-district programme a story of success.

GS Paper 3

Universal basic income plan faces implementation issues

News: Practical challenges in implementation have come in the way of rolling out a universal basic income scheme proposed by experts and mooted in the 2016-17 Economic Survey, an official privy to the government discussions said.

Background

Universal basic income has often come before on the radar of policymakers as a means of support for the bottom of the pyramid, but designing the scheme has proven to be a big challenge.

The latest recommendation for such a scheme came earlier this month in a report commissioned by the economic advisory council to the PM on income inequality.

The idea of universal basic income, or a single unconditional income that reduces government efforts to ensure last-mile delivery of individual social security schemes, first featured in the Economic Survey 2016-17 prepared by the then Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.

– The suggestion then was that the scheme will provide every citizen unconditional cash transfer in place of the many benefits, like health facilities, fertilizer, fuel, food subsidies etc. The case for a single unconditional income is that it reduces government efforts to make sure individual schemes reach the right targets.

But over the years, the idea has turned from being a universal scheme to a targeted scheme that brings with it implementation challenges and problems in identifying the right beneficiaries.

What are the challenges that have cropped up?

For rolling out universal basic income, an institutional mechanism has to be in place.

Which institution can do it, who are the eligible beneficiaries and how to track and verify the delivery of benefits on a large scale—these are questions that need to be looked into before taking a decision on UBI.

Also, the problem in the scheme comes when cut-offs are set and benefits are targeted at certain groups, i.e. instead of being a universal scheme, a targeted scheme is aimed at.

Fiscal issues also surface when, rather than having a fixed budget for the scheme covering all citizens, cut-offs for various segments have to be worked out.

A targeted scheme cannot be called universal and this will also require another round of Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to get updated data on beneficiaries as the 2012 data is now outdated and does not provide the correct picture.

Why a universal scheme would be unsustainable?

In its original form of being a universal scheme, applicable for all Indian citizens, the scheme is expected to become unsustainably large, stretching the country’s finances to a breaking point.

– Even going by the decade-old urban poverty line of ₹1,000 per person per month, providing UBI to about 1.3 billion citizens would cost the government ₹15.6 trillion a year.

Making sense of the GST bonanza

News: There has been a remarkable upswing in GST collections in recent months. In fact, collections touched a record high of Rs 1.67 lakh crore in April.

What are the reasons behind an inc in the GST collections?

First, the sharp rise in inflation has played a significant role. After all, as output turnover increases, taxes paid per filing will automatically increase. Thus there is a price effect. However, even after taking away the price effect, collections have grown at a pace faster than GDP, indicating an increase in buoyancy.

Second, part of the overall increase in collections can be traced to higher imports. But even if one is to exclude the revenue accruing from imports, the rise in GST collections has outstripped GDP growth, indicating higher buoyancy.

Third, in order to improve compliance levels, the GST Council has been modifying the rules to tighten the system. This can be observed at multiple levels.

– Earlier, filers could get away without submitting returns for a few months. But the screws have now been tightened. As a consequence, returns filed have gone up, while the number of non-filers and those who delay filing have fallen.

– Alongside, the administration has also taken steps to tackle the menace of fake invoices by placing restrictions on the quantum of input tax credit that can be used to pay off tax obligations.

– The introduction of e-invoicing has also played a role. Until recently, this was being implemented for firms with a turnover of more than Rs 50 crore. From April, this process has been extended to firms above Rs 20 crore.

Fourth, some part of the revenue gains are likely to have accrued due to the changing structure of the economy.

– The formalisation of firms, the growing concentration of economic power in the hands of a few, imply that for the same level of output, the tax paid will be higher.

This explanation is also in line with data that shows a rise in GST registrations, filings and tax paid per registration.

Way forward

Considering that some of the drivers discussed above are unlikely to sustain at current levels, tax rates will need to be raised to fulfil expectations of higher collections. However, this requires careful consideration.

Lower compliance levels and greater exemptions require higher rates to garner the same level of revenues. Hence, compliance must be improved.

Considering the current economic situation, now may not be an opportune moment to raise taxes. But there is no getting around it. Both the Centre and the states need to work towards this.

You can’t fight a pandemic without IP: Intellectual property rights were vital in producing life-saving Covid vaccines

News: Recent data from ‘Our World in Data’ suggest Covid-19 related infection around the world and India is waning. Hospitalisations and deaths are very low.

Vaccines must take great credit for keeping Covid largely out of the headlines after two years. There are now 10 Covid-19 vaccines recommended by the WHO, and over 60 vaccine candidates in late stage clinical trials or pending regulatory review.

How have IPRs played a critical role in quick vaccine development?

The intellectual property (IP) rights have given companies ownership and rights over their inventions.

– IP has enabled dozens of research collaborations and manufacturing partnerships all over the world, often between competitors. Rivals have shared proprietary compounds, platforms and technologies to develop new vaccines and flood the market in record times.

– Since June 2021, the number of vaccine manufacturing partnerships has risen from 93 to 357.

What are some concerns related to IPR?

Health NGOs and some governments argue that developing countries will get speedier access to new vaccines if IP rights are suspended so that manufacturers everywhere can produce them.

Others argue that patented drugs and vaccines by increasing price create deadweight loss for the consumers, negating the idea of endogenous growth models that innovation leads to economic growth and prosperity.

That argument drives a World Trade Organisation proposal to dismantle IP rights for Covid vaccines, now in the final stages of negotiation. Meanwhile, an equal push to weaken IP rights in a new treaty on Pandemic Preparedness is in its early stages at the WHO.

• A deadweight loss is a cost to society created by market inefficiency, which occurs when supply and demand are out of equilibrium.
• Endogenous growth theory maintains that economic growth is primarily the result of internal forces, rather than external ones. It argues that improvements in productivity can be tied directly to faster innovation and more investments in human capital from governments and private sector institutions.

What happens if IP rights are diluted?

Removing or weakening IP rights for pandemic vaccines and therapeutics would be highly counterproductive, undermining the incentive to invest in new technologies and treatments.

– IP rights allow for risk-taking that brings rewards – such as the first mRNA vaccines that underpin global Covid vaccination.

Removing IP rights in pandemic situations would also destroy the international manufacturing collaborations and partnerships essential to saving millions of lives in the current pandemic.

If IP rights are weakened, few private sector companies would be willing to commit resources to pandemic vaccines and therapeutics. This would leave the world reliant on alternative open source or IP-free models of drug and vaccine development.

– One IP-free vaccine from the University of Helsinki was unable to secure funding for clinical trials, while Corbevax, another patent-free vaccine developed by Texas Children’s Hospital has been authorised for use in India, but there is no public data on its efficacy or clinical trials.

If successful, IP-free vaccines could prove useful additions to the pandemic preparedness arsenal. But these patent-free models face difficulties in securing the capital and expertise to rapidly scale up global production. In other words, they would be unreliable if needed quickly in another pandemic.

By contrast, vaccines that have leveraged IP rights have moved quickly through clinical development, regulatory authorisation, and into mass manufacture and distribution.

What’s the way forward?

The TRIPS Agreement already gives flexibility to the individual countries to minimise the deadweight loss that may arise from higher drug and vaccine prices.

– For example, any individual country may decide not to grant patents to diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for treating patients.

Many other governments are already subsidising patented drugs to lessen the impact of drug price rise. Jan Aushadhi outlets in India are a step in that direction.

There’s also a need for greater global harmonisation of regulation.

Meanwhile, various trade barriers have disrupted vaccine availability globally. Governments should agree on a legally-binding way to ensure this can’t happen again, preferably at the WTO.

Covid has shown what works and what doesn’t in pandemics. IP is clearly fundamental. It would be a mistake to remove it, either for Covid or for future pandemics.

Knotty supply chains deepen global chip shortage

News: Recently, Toyota Corporation has been struggling to meet its production targets. It has apologised to its suppliers and customers a third time in less than two months for delaying making new vehicles and changing production plans.

Nature of Semiconductor Industry

The manufacturing process is a complex, and interconnected ecosystem with its own ebb and flow.

The chip-making process is divided into front-end and back-end parts. Wafer fabrication and probe are generally referred to as front-end operations, and assembly and test as back-end operations.

The front and back-end processes are spread out across the globe, creating a global chip-making ecosystem. This semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem involves roughly 25 countries in the direct supply chain, and 23 countries in allied functions.

A semiconductor-based product could cross international borders about 70 times before finally making it to the end customer.

Semiconductors are produced as 200mm or 300mm wafers. The larger wafers are expensive and mostly used for advanced equipment, whereas smaller diameter wafers remain in high demand in automobile sector, laptops, tablet, and smartphone production.

Why there has been a global shortage of semiconductor chips?

There has been a global shortage of chips or semiconductor devices. This has been due to many reasons:

The industry faced its share of glut and shortage in the past decade as consumer preferences shifted from one electronic fad to another.

The manufacturing equipment needed to make the semiconductor devices were in short supply even before the pandemic began. That’s because the industry was moving in the direction of 5G and advanced communication, which required expensive wafers.

The chip making production also halted as the factories were closed during Covid-19 induced lockdowns.

Due to the pandemic hit, people switched to work from home, children connected to schools through laptops, get-togethers happened over video calls, and subscription-based mobile games became popular. This shift led to a surge in demand for semiconductors in laptops and tablets production.

Post-lockdown, the industry gradually tried to pull itself out of the supply crunch, but they started facing the problem of exacerbated logistical complexities. The global supply chains were disrupted.

The Just-In-Time (JIT) Approach used by the chipmakers became a weakness. It let firms take inputs from suppliers only when they are needed. During, due to poor demands from automobile industry, chipmakers concluded deals with other industries.

About a decade and half back, semiconductors have been produced through global supply chain by interconnecting several parts of the world.

The geopolitical events in Central Europe and production shutdowns in China add pressure to the already complicated semiconductor supply chain.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine strained exports of essential commodities required to make chip sets. For example, Moscow supplies rare materials like palladium, and Kyiv sells rare gases to make semiconductor fab lasers.

Way Forward

Europe and the US have taken measures such as the European Chips Act (45 billion euros) and CHIPS for America Act ($52 billion). These measures would incentivise fab makers to set up their units in these regions and balance.

Together, these two will enable the semiconductor manufacturers to have equal investments in the East and West by 2030. At present, 80% is in Asia, and 20% is in Europe and the U.S.

The Indian consumer will have to spend more for a little longer

News: In April 2022, the consumer price index-based inflation for food had reached 8.4%. This implies that the gap between wholesale and retail food inflation has been narrowing, suggesting a higher pass-through of input costs.

Situation of Inflation

Around 40% of overall consumer spending is on food. Its purchase frequency is also higher. Thus, food witnessed a higher impact on inflation expectations.

The headline inflation started picking up for imported commodities. For example, edible oils and cereals.  Now, domestically produced items are getting caught in the price fire.

What are the causes of concern?

The average food inflation, of 6% in the past three years, is significantly higher than the pre-pandemic five-year average of 3.5%.

The driving forces behind current inflation are exogenous. Further, their impact will become worse when domestic demand improves.

There is little that monetary and fiscal policies can do to soften the primary exogenous blow in the short-term.

The frequency of purchase, rather than the share of expenditure, shapes inflation-related expectations of consumers.

Why is food inflation surging?

Proximate Causes

There are three reasons: (1) a surge in transportation costs; (2) rising cost of production; and (3) elevated global food prices.

Ultimate Causes

The Russia-Ukraine war is a cause of concern. It is affecting everything, including the food prices.

A sharp rise in transportation costs has pushed up retail prices of agricultural commodities like vegetables,

The domestically produced commodities such as wheat and products, coarse cereals, and meat are witnessing inflation due to a low base and a sequential price rise in these components.

The food production costs have risen also due to increase in fertiliser, pesticides and also animal feed prices.

Impact of the inflation

Rising food inflation hurts consumers a lot more than inflation in other commodities since households do not have much discretion in altering food consumption.

The consequences are more adverse for the rural population which spends a higher share (around 47%) than the urban (roughly 30%) on food; and the bottom 20% of the population which spend out a higher share (60%) on food consumption.

Measures Taken by the government

The Monetary policy has seen hiking of the repo rate, the cash reserve ratio and gradually winding down the easy liquidity situation.

On the fiscal policy front, the government has reduced excise duties on petrol and diesel, increased fertiliser and cooking gas subsidies, and allowing duty-free imports of edible oils.

Way Forward

The RBI is expected to raise repo rates by another 75-100 basis points in the rest of this fiscal.

The pressure on prices of agricultural commodities will take time to soften. Therefore, the government can go for extending the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana beyond the stipulated period.

India can’t feed the world with a major chapaati crisis at home

News: India has imposed ban on wheat import amid the global food crisis.

What are the reasons behind the export ban by the government?

First, this year India’s wheat output is around 6.5% less than the previous year.

Second, the hottest March in 122 years has stunted grain formation. Last year, a kilogram of Indian wheat resulted in about 770gm of flour. This year, that might go down to 720gm.

Third, India’s crop will at best exceed 100 million tonnes this year, it is a  steep decline from the initial government estimate of a record 111 million-tons harvest.

Fourth, Food Corporation of India (FCI), also slashed its procurement target to less than half of the last year’s target of 43 million tonnes.

What can be done to tackle the issues?

If prices of food grains increase, the following options can be adopted:

The government can impose stock limits to force traders to release their hoards.

FCI could also offload more rice than wheat into the subsidized public distribution system. This could free up about 10 million tonnes of wheat for government-to-government supply deals such as with Egypt, as most of the Indians use both rice and wheat.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future?

Source: The post is based on the article “Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future?” published in The Hindu on 27th May 2022.

What is the News?

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, India has said that India will emerge as the leader of green hydrogen by taking advantage of the current energy crisis across the globe.

Note: Recently, Oil India Limited (OIL) commissioned India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.

What is Green Hydrogen?

Click Here to read about it

Why is India pursuing green hydrogen?

Under the Paris Agreement, India is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 33-35% from the 2005 levels. At the 2021 Conference of Parties in Glasgow, India reiterated its commitment to move from a fossil and import-dependent economy to a net-zero economy by 2070.

To fulfil those commitments, India launched the National Hydrogen Mission in 2021. The mission aims to cut down carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable sources of energy.

How much green hydrogen is India producing?

India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat unit has an installed capacity to produce 10 kg of hydrogen per day and scale it up to 30 kg per day.

What are the advantages of hydrogen as a fuel?

a) Green hydrogen can be stored for long periods of time, b) The stored hydrogen can be used to produce electricity using fuel cells. In a fuel cell, hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water vapour. Hydrogen, thus, can act as an energy storage device and contribute to grid stability.

c) The oxygen, produced as a by-product (8 kg of oxygen is produced per 1 kg of hydrogen), can also be monetised by using it for industrial and medical applications or for enriching the environment.

India’s GDP to take a big hit due to pandemic-linked learning losses for students: ADB study

Source: The post is based on the article “India’s GDP to take a big hit due to pandemic-linked learning losses for students: ADB study” published in The Hindu on 27th May 2022.

What is the News?

A new working paper named ‘Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 related School Closures’ has been published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

What are the key findings of the paper?

Economies with a significant population of schoolchildren and college-going youth in rural areas and in the poorest and second wealth quintile — have been worst-hit.

GDP decline will widen in future: School closures lead to declines in global GDP and employment. The report also found that the losses in global GDP and employment increase over time. For instance, declines in global GDP amount to 0.19% in 2024, 0.64% in 2028, and 1.11% in 2030.

Migration to the unskilled labour force: Learning and earning losses are significant because a notable portion of the impacted population will migrate to the unskilled labour force.

Note: According to ADB, India’s workforce is constituted of unskilled labour (408.4 million) compared to 72.65 million skilled workers.

Immediate challenge: A most immediate challenge for governments is to help students recover “lost opportunities” by conducting assessments among impacted children.

What are the findings related to India?

India has one of the longest school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The gross domestic product (GDP) of India would see the highest decline in South Asia due to learning losses for the young.

Children enrolment: The report found that India has the highest number of children enrolled in primary and secondary education among the Asian economies. The number of students in tertiary education was second only to China at 36.39 million.

Alarming forecast: India may witness a $10.5 billion dent in 2023, and the country’s economy could take a nearly $99 billion hit by 2030, translating into a 3.19% reduction in GDP from the baseline growth trends

Highest GDP decline in South Asia: In terms of absolute change, India experiences the highest GDP decline in South Asia. In percentage terms, its GDP decreases by 0.34% in 2023, 1.36% in 2026, and 3.19% in 2030.

What are the recommendations of the report?

a) Identify the learning gap and specific learning needs of individuals, b) Effective learning programs should be devised to offer appropriate support such as tutoring or special classes and help them to bridge the learning gap, c) Governments need to direct adequate funding and resources to young populations

Share of non-CO2 pollutants contributing to global warming almost as much as carbon dioxide: Study

Source: The post is based on the article “Share of non-CO2 pollutants contributing to global warming almost as much as carbon dioxide: Study” published in DTE on 26th May 2022.

What is the News?

According to the study published in the journal, the share of non-CO2 pollutants contributing to global warming is almost as much as carbon dioxide.

What is the potential of non-CO2 pollutants on Climate Change?

IPCC Working Group reports have shown that the contribution of CO2 and non-CO2 greenhouse gases to global heating was 52-57% and 43-48%, respectively.

Some aerosols released from fossil fuel sources are known to warm the planets, while others have the opposite effect. Cooling aerosols include sulfates, nitrates and organic carbon primarily.

Though decarbonisation efforts will lower the levels of CO2, the warming caused will not go down in the near term next 25 years. Hence, global temperatures will likely exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels by 2035 and 2 °C by 2050 if the focus is merely on decarbonisation efforts.

What is the status of non-CO2 pollutants in global policy decisions?

Government’s focus only on CO2: The ill impacts of the non-CO2 counterparts are well-known. But the government’s climate mitigation efforts target only CO2 emissions.

Neglection from International Agencies: The Working Group III report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), which deals with mitigating climate change, focuses on CO2 and a few greenhouse gases, but excludes other non-CO2 pollutants.

Hence, there is a need to urgently bend the emission curve of methane, HFCs, black carbon and a few other precursor gases that increase lower atmosphere ozone.

How to avert the non-CO2 pollutants?

The government’s have to simultaneously devise strategies targeting CO2 and non-CO2 pollutants like methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), tropospheric ozone and nitrous oxide.

Combining decarbonisation measures with targets can provide net cooling by 2030, bring down the rate of warming from 2030 to 2050 by roughly 50%, and avoid the 2 degrees Celsius level.

Oil and gas-consuming countries, Coal-consuming and rice-producing countries should also reduce methane levels.

End discrimination, frame specific policies for LGBTIQ+ workers: ILO

Source: The post is based on the article “End discrimination, frame specific policies for LGBTIQ+ workers: ILO” published in The Hindu on 25th May 2022.

What is the News?

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a document on “Inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons in the world of work.” The document provides certain recommendations to ensure equal opportunities and treatment for LGBTIQ+ persons at work.

What is the need for ILO document?

Around the world, LGBTIQ+ persons face harassment, violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.

This Discrimination has an economic cost not just to LGBTIQ+ persons and their families but also to enterprises and national economies.

What are the recommendations of ILO on the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ community?

Launch social protection programmes: The ILO recommended member countries, employers’ organisations and representatives of workers to launch social protection programmes to remove barriers that LGBTIQ+ persons.

Social dialogue with employers’ and workers’ organisations: Consultation with LGBTIQ+ communities and social dialogue with employers’ and workers’ organisations will allow the identification of barriers faced by LGBTIQ+ persons. Especially when entering the labour market and accessing government schemes, including those on social protection.

Focus on the informal economy: The governments have to work with small and medium industry associations, sectoral unions and informal economy workers’ associations to monitor discrimination in the informal economy and address stigma and discrimination related to gender and sexual identity.

End sexual discrimination: Studies have shown that diversity in the workplace, including LGBTIQ+ persons, is better for business. It signals a creative environment that creates the right conditions for economic growth.

Hence, Employers’ organisations should encourage ending sexual discrimination in workplaces. Further, organisations can provide policy guidance to their members, to raise awareness on including LGBTIQ+ persons in workplaces.

Role of Trade unions: The ILO asked trade unions to help LGBTIQ+ workers to organise and exercise their right to freedom of association.

Workers’ associations should also ensure that issues affecting LGBTIQ+ workers are represented in collective bargaining agreements with employers and in workplace policies.

MeitY holds Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI – India’s AI led language translation platform

Source: The post is based on the article “MeitY holds Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI – India’s AI led language translation platform” published in PIB on 24th May 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Electronics and IT conducted a brainstorming session with Researchers and Startups aimed to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI [BHASHa INterface for India].

What is Digital India BHASHINI?

It is India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) led language translation platform. The Bhashini Platform is a part of the National Language Translation Mission.

A Bhashini Platform will make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available to MSMEs, Startups and Individual Innovators in the public domain.

Aim:

-To empower Indian citizens by connecting them to the Digital Initiatives of the country in their own language thereby leading to digital inclusion.

-To increase the content in Indian languages on the Internet substantially in the domains of public interest, particularly, governance-and-policy, science & technology, etc.

Functions of the Mission: The mission will create and nurture an ecosystem involving Central/State government agencies and start-ups, working together to develop and deploy innovative products and services in Indian languages.

What is the significance of Digital India BHASHINI?

Content in Indian Languages: The platform will encourage citizens to use the Internet in their own language.

Create a digital ecosystem: The Bhashini platform is interoperable and will catalyze the entire Digital Ecosystem.

Revolutionise the startup ecosystem: The Multi-linguality of the platform presents a major opportunity to startups for developing innovative solutions and products that can cater to all Indian citizens irrespective of the language.

Startups are an important part of India’s Digital ecosystem and will be supported for developing India-specific and Indian Languages enabled IT solutions through Mission Digital India Bhashini.

Increase the reach of governance: The platform is a giant step to realize the goal of Digital Government. Initiatives arising out of the confluence of AI techniques and NLP, such as the development of speech and text translation techniques, will increase the reach of governance.

Further, as public websites become multilingual and interactive, and the reach of public welfare schemes will also increase.

Road accidents in India — 2020: Road accidents parameters register a significant decline in 2020 , Total accidents decrease on an average by 18.46 per cent, number of persons killed decrease by 12.84 per cent

Source: The post is based on the article “Road accidents parameters register a significant decline in 2020, Total accidents decrease on an average by 18.46 per cent, number of persons killed decrease by 12.84 per cent” published in PIB on 26th May 2022.

What is the News?

As per the Road accidents in India — 2020 report, the number of road accidents has been on a decline since 2016 except for a marginal increase of 0.46 per cent in 2018.

What is Road accidents in India — 2020 report?

The 2020 edition of the report provides information on various facets of road accidents in the country during the calendar year 2020. It has ten sections and covers information relating to road accidents in the context of road length and vehicular population.

Prepared by: Transport Research Wing (TRW) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Data sourced from Police departments of States/Union Territories was collected on a calendar year basis. The data were used in standardized formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.

What are the findings of the Road accidents in India — 2020 report?

Road accident parameters registered a significant decline in 2020 compared to 2019.

Total accidents decreased on an average by 18.46%, the number of persons killed decreased by 12.84% and the number of injuries decreased by 22.84% over the previous year’s average.

Fatalities and Injuries: About 3.6 lakh road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2020, which claimed more than 1.31 lakh lives and caused 3.48 lakh injuries.

Young people faced more accidents: For the third consecutive year in 2020, the fatal road accident victims largely constitute young people in the productive age groups.

Young adults in the age group of 18 – 45 years accounted for 69% of victims in 2020. People in the working-age group of 18 – 60 years share 87.4% of total road accident fatalities.