Answers: Mains Marathon – UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions – September 20, 2018

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Q.1) According to UN report, Infant deaths in india are highest in the world. Discuss the causes and suggest the solutions to tackle this problem.

Answer: 3 infants die every two minutes on an average in India.

Causes:

1. Poor state of mother’s health. Most of the women continue to be anaemic and undernourished.
2. Poverty of the family leads to poor nutrition to the child.
3. Lack of hygiene and awareness on hygiene in the families and surroundings makes children vulnerable to infections.
4. Poor breastfeeding practices due to lack of awareness and economic compulsions of women.
5. Lack of timely, affordable and accessible health care facilities.

Solutions:

1. Improving institutional delivery and monitoring health of mother.
2. Strengthening immunisation is already happening.
3. POSHAN abhiyan tries to ensure holistic nutrition.
4. Investing in healthcare services in rural areas.
5. Awareness generation on right breastfeeding practices. MAA is a step in the right direction.

Q.2) Evaluate the impact of trade war between USA and China on international trade, with special emphasis on India.

Answer: The trade war between USA and China has began with each country introducing tariffs on goods traded with the other.

Impact on international trade:

1. According to IMF estimates, the unilateral trade actions could cost the world $430 billion by 2020.
2. Taxing foreign steel and aluminium is to make US companies buy local steel instead. But this may push up steel and aluminium prices in the US thus rising manufacturing costs for local industry depending on steel.
3. It could affect people around the world – especially since China has retaliated. A global trade war could hurt consumers around the world by making it harder for all companies to operate, forcing them to push higher prices onto their customer.
4. The tariffs cast a shadow over Beijing’s rise and the image that the world had no choice but to accept and accommodate China’s rise.
5. Threat to WTO’s rule-based trading order. It indirectly hurts many small and developing nations engaged in trade as they cannot afford an ad hoc trade regime.

Impact on India:

1. As a late convert to economic globalisation, India will have much to lose, if the current trading order breaks down.
2. If crude oil prices fall due it may benefit India. But if lower oil prices are caused due to trade war, its positive impact on the economy can get negated due to other negative developments such as weaker confidence and disruption in global trade.
3. Impact on domestic steel industry likely because Duties imposed by the U.S. would trigger “trade diversion” from other steel makers, who would dump their products in India
4. Investment across borders is likely to get impacted. A recent UNCTAD report says FDI has already slowed down. The rupee will weaken more on account of capital flows.

Q.3) Supreme Court continues entertaining PILs, even as it continues to be plagued by massive backlogs of cases. Discuss.

Answer: PIL is a legal mechanism through which court of law can initiate and enforce action to serve and secure significant Public Interest.

Why PILs should be considered:

1. Article 39A of the Constitution provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity.
2. Expensive legal procedures in India often make justice inaccessible.
3. It provides a mechanism to demand rights for the community, different from the individual’s rights guaranteed under Fundamental Rights.
4. It is a significant part of Judicial Activism.
5. It protects the interests of the poor who cannot afford justice.
6. To make the legislature and executive organs of the government work, when they turn dysfunctional.

However, Supreme Court is plagued by backlogs amounting 34,000 and overall judicial pendency in India being 3.3 crores. The need to speed up justice delivery should be given equal priority to PIL.

What else to do – to reduce pendency

1. Filling up judicial vacancies.
2. Aligning judges’ salaries with global standards.
3. Increase the no of hours of working of courts.
4. E- Courts can be adopted in all the high courts and district level courts.
5. Need to improve the quality of courts.
6. Strengthening trial courts

Q.4) Raja Ram Mohan Roy is called the father of Indian renaissance and maker of modern india. In light of the statement discuss his role in reforming Indian society.

Answer: Father of Renaissance:

1. He founded the Brahmo Samaj. Through the Brahmo Samaj, he advocated widow remarriage, divorce, civil marriage, and education for women.
2. He was against the caste system, as it put barriers in the ways of growth of Indian society.
3. His main aim was to relate religion to all aspects of life – individual, social and national. Universal theism was his message.
4. He fought against orthodox Hindus and fanatic Christian missionaries.

Maker of Modern India:

1. He strongly advocated use of modern science and technology in education and also use of the English language.
2. He did not hesitate in borrowing good from the British Raj and western culture.
3. Even though he hailed from a  Zamindar background, he fought for the liberation of the poor tenants exploited by Zamindars. He continuously fought against the fixed revenue for the cultivators in Bengal and opposed heavy export duties imposed on India.
4. Though he never demanded independence for India, he fought for the civil rights of the Indians and opposed the racial superiority of Europeans.