{"id":65493,"date":"2020-09-19T21:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T15:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=65493"},"modified":"2020-09-19T18:11:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T12:41:10","slug":"9-pm-daily-brief-september-19th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-daily-brief-september-19th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Daily Brief \u2013 September 19th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Good evening dear reader.<\/p>\n<p>Here is our 9pm current affairs brief for you today<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-blue\">\r\n<p><strong>About 9 PM Brief<\/strong>- With the <span style=\"color: #000000;\">9 PM Daily Current affairs for UPSC brief we intend<\/span> to simplify the newspaper reading experience. In 9PM briefs, we provide our reader with a summary of all the important articles and editorials from three important newspapers namely The Hindu, Indian Express, and Livemint. This will provide you with analysis, broad coverage, and factual information from a Mains examination point of view.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>About Factly<\/strong>- The Factly initiative covers all the daily news articles regarding Preliminary examination. This will be provided at the end of the 9 PM Brief.<\/p>\r\n<p>Dear Aspirants,<\/p>\r\n<p>We know for a fact that learning without evaluation is a wasted effort. Therefore, we request you to please go through both our initiatives i.e 9PM Briefs and Factly, then evaluate yourself through the 10PM Current Affairs Quiz.<\/p>\r\n<p>We plan to integrate all our free daily initiatives to comprehensively support your success journey.<br \/><strong>Happy Learning!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>9 PM for Mains examination<\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>GS-2<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Gurushihya parampara and issues<\/li>\n<li>US- Taliban Peace Pact<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><b>GS-3<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>GST Compensation disagreement between the Centre and the States<\/li>\n<li>Market Failure<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>9 PM for Preliminary examination<\/h3>\n<h4><a href=\"#link1\">FACTLy<\/a><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"note1\"><strong><b>1.Gurushihya parampara and issues<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>Source: <\/b><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/columns\/gundecha-brothers-sexual-harassment-hindustani-music-tm-krishna-6601666\/\"><u>The Indian Express<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><b>Syllabus: <\/b><\/strong>GS-2- Society<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><b>Context: <\/b><\/strong>The guru-shishya relationship in Indian music has a power imbalance and is inherently prone to abuse.It needs to be demolished.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>How different are the practices in Hindustani music and its southern counterpart?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The shocking allegations <strong><b>of sexual abuse and harassment against (late) Ramakant Gundecha and Akhilesh Gundecha<\/b><\/strong>have shaken the Hindustani music space.<\/li>\n<li>The world of Hindustani music, though more modern compared to its southern cousin is actually more patriarchal<strong><b>and medieval in mindset.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>The pedestal on which gurus are placed by Hindustani musicians<\/b><\/strong>is far higher than any seat given to their counterparts in Dakshin Bharat.<\/li>\n<li>Despite all the differences and petty politics between musicians, <strong><b>the \u201ctradition\u201d of watching each other\u2019s back is far more prevalent in the Hindustani world.\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the issues associated with the guru-shishya parampara ?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Like most relationships<strong><b>, the guru-shishya relationship is grounded in a power imbalance, but here, crucially, the inequality is celebrated.\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>A need to be subservient to and indeed submit to, the master<\/b><\/strong>is an unspoken necessity.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Structurally flawed:<\/b><\/strong>students are forced to commit to hours of household chores just to receive those few moments of wisdom, it is celebrated as sacrifice and commitment and endurance.<\/li>\n<li>It is also true that <strong><b>abuse increases exponentially when the student comes from an economically poor or socially marginalised community.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the steps needed to be taken ?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The system must begin <strong><b>with respect for students, and recognition of their independence and rights as individuals.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>\u201cHumanise\u201d gurus:<\/b><\/strong>This is vital because the power structure is naturally tilted in favour of the guru.<\/li>\n<li>The parampara that demands obedience and unquestioning regard, only because someone is a guru, needs to be demolished.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>A problematic area in Hindustani and Carnatic music is the informality in the learning<\/b><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This informality is <strong><b>justified on the basis that it creates a unique, unconditioned space for learning.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Informality can take so many forms, sometimes resulting in episodes of incredible learning, while on other occasions, there are <strong><b>just demands made by the guru because he is in a position to make them.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>There is a lot to learn beyond the school-university-class framework, but <strong><b>such an arrangement cannot be an illogical, uncaring, student on-call system.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the positives in the gurushishya learning?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The guru-shishya parampara \u00a0provides intimate learning and sharing that goes beyond the syllabus<strong><b>.<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>There are students and teachers who share a bond that goes beyond what the university demanded of them.<\/li>\n<li>There are <strong><b>stories of great gurus and famous shishyas across disciplines and geographies.\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>Way forward<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the guru-shishya parampara , rarely can a shishya stand up against her or his guru and hope to survive another day.<\/li>\n<li>The problem with our concretised version is that this promise of magic is used as an excuse to normalise inequality.<\/li>\n<li>The system and its core structure should be safe, respectful, and non-abusive of, students.<\/li>\n<li>Irrespective of the nature of the guru, the system should provide security and strength and empower the student emotionally and psychologically to stand on her or his own.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"note1\"><strong><b>2.US- Taliban Peace Pact<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>Source-<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/tp-opinion\/another-afghan-peace-push-and-a-role-for-india\/article32645428.ece\"><u>The Hindu<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><b>Syllabus- GS 2- <\/b><\/strong>Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and\/or affecting India\u2019s interests<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><b>Context- <\/b><\/strong>The US officials and Taliban representatives have signed a final peace deal to end the United States\u2019s longest war, fought in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>What is the background of US and Afghanistan war? <\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The war in Afghanistan was launched by the\u00a0US in 2001 after the 9\/11 attack.\u00a0The US-led coalition aimed to overthrow the Taliban.<\/li>\n<li>More than 2,400 US troops have been killed during the conflict.<\/li>\n<li>About 12,000 are still stationed in the country. President Trump has promised to put an end to the conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What does the US- Taliban peace deal comprise of?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Troops withdrawal<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; US and Taliban signed an agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, which will enable the US and NATO to withdraw troops in the next 14 months.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Taliban commitment-<\/b><\/strong>The\u00a0main counter-terrorism commitment\u00a0by the Taliban\u00a0is that Taliban will not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including al-Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan\u00a0to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Sanctions removal- <\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>UN sanctions on Taliban leaders to be removed\u00a0by three months (by May 29, 2020) and US sanctions by August 27, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>The sanctions will be out before much progress is expected in the\u00a0intra-Afghan dialogue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Prisoner release<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; The US-Taliban pact says\u00a0up to 5,000 imprisoned Taliban\u00a0and\u00a0up to 1,000 prisoners\u00a0from \u201cthe other side\u201d held by Taliban \u201cwill be released\u201d by March 10. This process took longer than originally foreseen but has now been completed.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Ceasefire- <\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>It has been identified as another potential \u201ctrouble spot\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The agreement states ceasefire will be simply \u201can item on the agenda\u201d when intra-Afghan talks start and indicate actual ceasefire will come with the \u201ccompletion\u201d of an Afghan political agreement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the challenges ahead of India arising from this peace pact?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>India\u2019s Dilemma<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Due to the Taliban\u2019s coming to power, India faces a dilemma, between:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>India should reconsider its current policy that a lasting political settlement in Afghanistan must come through an\u00a0\u201cAfghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled process&#8221;\u00a0(considering that the elected Afghan Government is hardly in control of the peace process).<\/li>\n<li>India might, consider the option of entering into\u00a0direct talks with the Taliban.\u00a0But, If India does so, it would constitute a major departure from its consistent policy of dealing only with recognized governments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the interests of major powers in this agreement?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>US<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; The peace talks provide U.S. President Donald Trump an exit opportunity weeks before his re-election bid.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>European Union<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; It has made it clear that its financial contribution will depend on the security environment and the human rights record.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>China<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; It can always lean on Pakistan to preserve its security and connectivity interests.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Russia<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; Blocking the drug supply and keeping its southern periphery secure from extremist influences is key.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Therefore, no major power is taking ownership for the reconciliation talks, but merely content with being facilitators.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Way Forward<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The withdrawal of US forces has the probability of the creation of vacuum in the region and possibility of filling the void by terrorists and extremists. To ensure that regional security is maintained and Taliban does not dictate the nation, US and other stakeholders in the region like India, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia should come forward to aid Afghanistan to become politically stable for regional security and stability.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"note1\"><strong><b>3.GST Compensation disagreement between the Centre and the States<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>Source- <\/b><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/tp-opinion\/on-the-gst-issue-the-centre-holds-the-baton\/article32645434.ece\"><strong><u><b>The Hindu<\/b><\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><b>Syllabus- GS 3- <\/b><\/strong>Government Budgeting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><b>Context-<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0The onus would be on Centre to resolve this impasse with regard to compensation cess of GST reforms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>What is GST compensation?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Centre is obliged to pay to the States, for a period of five years, compensation for revenue shortfalls in return for their having ceded the power to levy the multiple taxes that were subsumed into the GST.<\/li>\n<li>The compensation is calculated based on the difference between the states current GST revenue and the protected revenue after estimating an annualized 14% growth rate from the base year of 2015-16.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What is current GST compensation situation?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Pending payment<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; GST compensation payments to states have been pending since April, with the pending amount for April-July estimated at Rs 1.5 lakh crore.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>GST revenue gap<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; The\u00a0GST compensation\u00a0requirement is estimated to be around\u00a0Rs 3 lakh crore\u00a0this year, while the\u00a0cess collection\u00a0is expected to be around Rs 65,000 crore \u2013 an estimated compensation shortfall of Rs 2.35 lakh crore.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><b>What were the Options given by the Center to the States?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Options made by the Centre- <\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>Option 1<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To provide a special borrowing window to states, in consultation with the RBI, to provide Rs 97,000 crore at a \u201creasonable\u201d interest rate and this money can then be repaid after 5 years by extending cess collection.<\/li>\n<li>A 0.5 percent relaxation in the borrowing limit under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management [FRBM] Act would be provided.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>Option 2<\/b><\/strong>&#8211;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To meet the entire GST compensation gap of Rs 2.35 lakh crore this year itself after consulting with the RBI.<\/li>\n<li>No Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act relaxation has been mentioned for this option.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>Issues raised by the States- <\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Several Sates have rejected both options and some, including Tamil Nadu- have urged the Centre to rethink in view of their essential and urgent spending needs to curb the pandemic and spur growth.<\/li>\n<li>Enforcing a cut in compensation and bringing in a distinction between GST and Covid-related revenue loss is unconstitutional.<\/li>\n<li>The two options offered to the States would impose huge debts on the states and as a result many would not even be able to pay salaries.<\/li>\n<li>States simply do not have the headroom to borrow money to make up for the GST shortfall as every single State has reached its FRBM [Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management] limit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><b>What are the expected reasons for Revenue shortfall for the fiscal year 2020-21?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Corporate tax collection loss <\/b><\/strong>&#8211; Companies in sectors such as airlines, hotels and consumer durables will show losses and therefore, pay less tax.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Less income tax collection<\/b><\/strong>&#8211; Large numbers of workers have lost employment and\/or have faced salary cuts. Many private firms are also likely to incur losses. So, income tax collection will also be short by much more than 20%.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Less import <\/b><\/strong>&#8211; The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and customs duties will also decline with fall in import.<\/li>\n<li>The production <strong><b>of luxury and sin goods has been severely impacted<\/b><\/strong>and they pay the high rate of tax \u2014 18%, 28% and cess on top.<\/li>\n<li>The direct tax\/GDP per cent may be expected to fall from 5.5% last year to less than 4% this fiscal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><b>Way forward<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Center needs to renege on its promise to find ways to compensate the state for loss of revenue. Only the Centre is in a position to do such massive borrowing as Reserve Bank has itself said that for the Central government to borrow would be both easier and simpler. Central government would pay 2% less interest than the states.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"note1\"><strong><b>4.Market Failure<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>Source: <\/b><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/todays-paper\/tp-opinion\/market-failure\/article32645423.ece\"><strong><u><b>The Hindu<\/b><\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><b>Syllabus: Gs3:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0<strong><b>Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies and Minimum Support Prices<\/b><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><b>Context: <\/b><\/strong>Recently, an allied party\u2019s Minister of NDA government has resigned in protest against the farmer Bills.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b>What was the subject matter in the bill?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bills seek to replace ordinances issued on key aspects of the farm economy \u2014 trade in agricultural commodities, price assurance, farm services including contracts, and stock limits for essential commodities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What are the issues with the bill?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Fear of ending MSP (<\/b><\/strong>Minimum Support Prices): Fears that the free market philosophy of the bill could put an end to MSPs for produce that has so far been centrally procured by the government.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Against cooperative federalism:<\/b><\/strong>Several States have already liberalised agricultural marketing, amending their APMC Acts, and some have allowed regulated private commerce including direct marketing.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>No levy\/fee<\/b><\/strong>: provisions in the Farmers\u2019 Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, providing for unfettered commerce in designated trade areas outside APMC jurisdictions without levy of any fee.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Removing APMC\u2019s will not bring in private investment:<\/b><\/strong>for example, Bihar removed the APMC system. The markets suffered loss of fee revenue but with no significant private investments in the sector.<\/li>\n<li><b><\/b><strong><b>Inaccessible APMC\u2019s:<\/b><\/strong>The small farmers, who form the majority has access levels to markets under the APMC system at the rate of one for an area of 434.48 sq. km on average. It is below the recommendation of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), at one market for 80 sq. km.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><b>What needs to be done?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strengthen competition.<\/li>\n<li>Massively fund the expansion of the APMC market system.<\/li>\n<li>Remove trade cartels and provide farmers good roads, logistics of scale and real time information.<\/li>\n<li>Empower farmers through State Farmers Commissions recommended by the NCF, to bring about a speedy government response to issues.<\/li>\n<li>Bring strong institutional arrangements.<\/li>\n<li>Agriculture and markets are State subjects, and there should be no tinkering with the MSP and Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), that form the backbone of existing trading arrangements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is no guarantee that liberalisation bring investment. Also, government need to consider that <strong><b>laissez-faire policy<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0may harm lakhs of unorganised small farmers, who have been remarkably productive and contributed to the economy even during a pandemic.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a name=\"link1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"note1\">9 PM for Preliminary examination<\/h3>\n<p>Click on &#8220;Factly articles for 19th September 2020&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/factly.forumias.com\/factly-articles-for-19th-september-2020\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read out 9 PM brief for all your current affairs needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":61408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,9],"tags":[75,1095,1075,79,1060,90],"class_list":["post-65493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","category-public","tag-current-affairs","tag-forumias-current-affaris","tag-free-current-affairs","tag-free-ias-notes","tag-free-ias-preparation","tag-free-study-material","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/9-pm-brief-1.gif?fit=2296%2C450&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704843524},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}