A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
National
[1]. Rs. 1.4 lakh crore cess money lies idle
Context:-
More than Rs. 1.4 lakh crore of funds collected by the government under various cesses for purposes as varied as higher education, road development and the welfare of construction workers are lying unutilised.
As a normal process, the cesses are allowed for a specific purpose. For example, the education cess can only be used for education. Using the funds in other areas would amount to misuse.
What you need to know?
Tax: Any money the government takes from you (legally) for doing any economic activity is tax. Generally, this is a percentage of the money you receive or give. Taxes are either direct, where the money goes directly from your pocket to the govt’s pocket, or indirect, where the money goes from your pocket to someone else’s pocket and then to the govt’s pocket. (Lemme know in comment if you need further explanation of these terms)
Duty: This is an on-border tax charged on goods (commodities, or things that you can physically touch) either while coming into the country or going out of the country. Generally, a percentage of the value of the good.
Cess: This is a tax on tax, levied by the govt for a specific purpose. Generally, cess is expected to be levied till the time the govt gets enough money for that purpose. The education cess, that is levied currently, is meant to finance basic education in the country.
Surcharge: This is an additional burden to the tax being already levied. Generally, surcharge is levied for a certain period time. For instance, the 10% surcharge being levied on super rich in India for one financial year.
NOTE: Surcharge and Cess may look the same, but the difference is in the way of charging. For instance, say some tax is 30%, so out of Rs 100 earning; Rs 30 is paid as tax. Now if the govt levies a 10% cess, the total tax will become Rs 33. However, if the govt levies a 10% surcharge, the total tax will become Rs 40.
[2]. Winter session ends in deep frost/Winter chill
Context:-
This session has been a victim of a strategy conceived to see that Parliament is paralysed, come what may.
The only time where it looked as though public pressure was exerted on MPs to run the House was during the debate on the Juvenile Justice Bill.
The Juvenile Justice Bill is a classic example where disrupting proceedings of the House will result in a political cost, of falling demonstrably foul of the public mood, hence the reaction.
Otherwise, one can put frequent disruption of the House, of even low levels of scrutiny of the government through question hour [only 13% of the allotted time for it was utilised] to the fact that these have no effect on electoral prospects.
If these disruptions persist the Indian Republic will be subjected to dangers.
Failure of Rajya Sabha:-
The Constitution’s founding fathers had envisioned that the House of Elders would refuse to “fall prey to passionate rhetoric” and “instil calm” to the legislative process.
In the case of a law that called for reasoned and rigorous debate, the Rajya Sabha showed undue urgency and failed its mandate.
[3]. Rural development, farm spending rises by 10%
Official data show a nearly 10 per cent increase in real expenditure on agriculture and rural development.
a) No reduction in spending is visible in the health sector with expenditure rising.
b) The increases are substantial both in absolute terms as well as a percentage of GDP.
c) The quality of spending has improved too with the shift in expenditure away from current to capital investments.
[4]. Min Starts Work on MoP for Judges Appointment
Context:-
Supreme Court left the task of bringing in a new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointments to the higher judiciary to the government and the Centre has initiated a consultation process.
Four key issues:-
The ministry has asked states to give suggestions on four key issues underlined last week by the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench.
These four are:
a)eligibility criteria,
b)transparency in the appointment process,
c) a permanent secretariat and
d)a process to evaluate and deal with complaints against candidates.
Significant Development:-
Legal experts view the development as significant for two reasons.
Firstly, the government has decided to refrain from entering into any confrontation with the judiciary as it has postponed the issue of immediately coming up with a revised or new National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in October.
The second reason is the intent shown by the government to “improve“and incorporate transparency into the procedure.
The court also gave the government the liberty to lay down eligibility criteria, like minimum age for the judges of high courts and the Supreme Court.
International Relations
[1]. Worst humanitarian tragedy of 2015
[2]. ‘Seychelles committed to Indian naval base’
What has happened?
A plot of land for India to build its first naval base in the Indian Ocean region has been allocated by the Seychelles government in the Assumption Island.
Highlights:-
Joint Project:-
This is a joint project between India and Seychelles involving the two Defence Forces in enhancing mutual security along the western coast of Indian Ocean.
Exercise greater control:-
It will help India exercise greater control over the Indian Ocean’s western region all the way to the piracy-prone eastern African coastline.
Staging post:-
It will be one of the major staging posts for a large maritime security network that India is setting up with the help of the various Indian Ocean region partner countries.
Piracy and security issues:-
It will play a key role in eradicating the scourge of Somalia-based piracy as well as other maritime security issues such as arms trafficking and financial fraud in the banks of the Indian Ocean region islands.
A new patrol vessel from India will be handed over to Seychelles in mid-January 2016.
India, with its strong intelligence network, will also be helpful in maritime law enforcement by Seychelles.
Importance of Small Nations:-
Pointed out that small nations are equally important in the contemporary world order and need to be taken seriously for the sake of preserving the security and order.
To counter China:-
The project has acquired significance following China acquiring its first African naval base in Djibouti in November.
[3]. India should reclaim its space in Afghanistan
Context:-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kabul, and will be inaugurating Afghanistan’s Parliament building, which is a symbolic gift from the world’s largest democracy.
Government has also decided to transfer four Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan.
Importance:-
Both India and Russia have a convergence of interest as far as political stability in Afghanistan is concerned.
Apart from Taliban, the increasing presence of Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan greatly worries both India and Russia.
India was the first country with which Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011.
It is also the fifth largest bilateral donor and the largest among the non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries—to Afghanistan.
India has a lot at stake in the future of Afghanistan.
India is an inevitable partner for Afghanistan not just for cultural exchanges and building democratic institutions but for defining the contours of security arrangement as well.
[4]. What all is at stake as PM Narendra Modi visits Russia
Context: Indian PM Narendra Modi first state visit to Russia.
A Little of History:
Cold War made sure that India – Russia inter-dependency grew giving strong foundation to strategic relationship between two.
Aftermath of Cold War, USSR disintegrated, started a phase in Russia which fascinated with west to revive its economy. This was the time when India was taken for granted by increasing prices of arms supplies and supplying sub standard products.
This made India to look at other countries to diversify her arsenal purchase.
Current Scenario:
Once economically wrecked, Russia has started a new phase of economic revival on the back of oil economy as well as consolidated its space in geopolitics with continuous strikes on ISIS leaving no choice for west but to join Russia in this fight. At the same time Russia has been involved in Crimean Annexation, disturbances in Ukraine and support of Assad regime in Syria.
At the same time India, has started a new projection of itself under new regime which is of selfish of national interest but at the same time accommodating and cooperative. The diplomacy has shown that no past preconceived standards will be adhered blindly.
Author States that,
That India and Russia has share a special bond and have stood behind each other in geopolitical arena. India shares cooperation in many field with Russia – nuclear, defence, infrastructure over a long period and now with Make in India initiative time is ripe to take this strategic cooperation to next level as there are many defence programmes of intense cooperation between two countries.
Expected Programmes to be Signed:
a) Manufacture of Kamov helicopters, armoured vehicles and naval vessels
b) Outsourcing manufacture of spares and repairs of major components to Indian industries
c) Resolve the impasse afflicting programmes such as FGFA and MTA, and space and nuclear power
Conclusion:
India and Russia are at the crossroads of a major transformation—with China’s growth slowing, India is going to be the bright spark, and it needs to leverage its position to gain technologically and strategically. For Russia, it makes sense to strengthen its relations with India more than ever before. The stakes for both are enormous.
Opinion & Editorials
[1]. For now, ‘Make in India’ is a mere slogan
Context:-
Defence deals with Russia, US and France in the recent past are only following the legacy — import-dependent, risk-averse and corruption-riddled Defence Procurements.
India accounted for 15 per cent of the volume of global arms imports in the previous five years. In terms of financial value India was only second to Saudi Arabia in 2014 on military purchases from the global bazaar.
The Chinese story:-
India’s imports are three times that of China, which in the early 1990s took a dramatic turn towards indigenisation after following a pattern very similar to that of India.
Between 2010 and 2014, China also turned into a major exporter of arms, increasing exports by 143 per cent over the period.
China is the world’s third-largest military exporter today; India does not even figure in the top ten.
Even if its stolen from foreign countries and reverse-engineered, China has rapidly built itself a very robust military-industrial complex.
Reforms Needed:-
Invest in domestic Manufacturing:-
It would be best to deploy money spent in the international bazaar into rapidly building the domestic military manufacturing base.
These big-ticket purchases are taking away a major pie from the capital budget of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Already, most of the capital budget is going towards committed liabilities — payment for contracts concluded in the past.
The current deals will also ensure that the capital budget will, for years to come, be heavily committed to previous contracts.
Level playing field for Private sector:-
The major reform needed was to end the stranglehold of government-run public sector units (PSUs) and the Ordnance Factory Board over military supplies, with the Indian private sector allowed entry into defence contracts.
Over the years, the FDI limit has also been raised to 49 per cent but the response is still lukewarm.
Skilled Man power:-
The creation of a robust military-industrial complex would require an overhaul of higher education to create well-trained manpower.
IPR and Design Control:-
One of the most significant recommendations of the MoD Expert Committee is that Make in India should not end up being “assemble in India with no IPR (intellectual property rights) and design control”.
This is a lesson learnt from the defence sector PSUs, which have largely become local integrators for foreign systems.
Increase Domestic acquisition:-
India decided to increase its defence acquisition from within India from 30 per cent to 70 per cent by 2005. However, till today indigenous acquisition is still hovering around 35 per cent.
The MoD expert committee has now suggested that 2027 should be the target year to achieve 70 per cent self-reliance.
Defence Vs Civilian goods Debate:-
The defence budget is 13 per cent of the Central government’s total expenditure, and almost 2 per cent of the GDP.
Discussions about guns versus butter (defence versus civilian goods) can be endless, but the merit of an indigenous military-industrial complex is also important.
As its ability to better lives beyond the military realm, its criticality for securing the nation state, and ability to bring down corruption in purchases are proven.
[2]. Rage of the self-righteous Republic
The Rajya Sabha has just passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2015, which allows for children between the ages of 16 and 18 to be tried in adult courts for heinous crimes.
The article critically analyses the impact of such harsh laws on Indian Youth.
Lawmaking in a fit of frenzy:-
Parliament is being criticised in the mistaken belief that a legislative fix could have ensured continued imprisonment of the juvenile.
It is being suggested that legislative inaction in the Rajya Sabha has been responsible for the juvenile walking free.
The amended law is considered an effective deterrent which will protect middle-class India from being attacked by juvenile criminals.
Worse than the crime:-
Has juvenile criminal behaviour reached epidemic proportions requiring legislation is a question to be asked?
It is said that juvenile crime has risen by 47 per cent but its also true that juvenile crime is still less than 2 per cent of reported crime figures.
Also most of it is non-violent crime and often the result of vagrancy.
Most importantly, most children in trouble with the law come from extremely poor backgrounds and are often runaways from hunger and abuse at home.
Does this most vulnerable section of our society require legislation to keep it from being a menace to the rest of us?
Harsh Legislation:- “Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny”
It is a cheap fix for politicians to douse public anger at events.But harsh laws do not diminish the problem, nor do they protect future victims.
TADA [Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act] and POTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] did not end up reducing terrorism, but they ended up empowering lazy policing.
Criminalising cheque bouncing has resulted in our criminal courts being flooded with cases from financial institutional lenders and magistrates ending up as recovery agents.
We as a society keep clamouring for harsher laws, which politicians enact to escape being targets of outrage
Criminal laws made to benefit a particular section end up being misused against them.
The maximum proportion of female offenders in any Indian jail is women arrested under the dowry laws. Their accusers are women as well but often put up to such accusations by male relatives and lawyers.
Heinous crime:-
Heinous crime is defined as crime that carries a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more under any law.
A variety of acts, including non-violent crimes such as forgery, or even crimes of incitement such as sedition, attract a prison term of seven years or more.
From the policeman who makes the arrest, to the Juvenile Justice Board that takes the call on whether to allow prosecution as an adult, large amounts of discretion will necessarily operate.
Those who can afford it can and will challenge any decision to prosecute in higher courts. The result is more likely to be greater uncertainty, and lesser justice, as criminal trials get stalled by appeals to superior courts.
Conclusion:-
Extreme justice is often injustice
Whether safety lies in the path of harshness, or in effective implementation of existing laws, is a call for the republic to take.
Has Nirbhaya’s death necessitated harsh laws to deal with India’s young people or have we elders failed our succeeding generations of youngsters by exposing them to adult penalties
The amended law confirms that we are better off treating our children in conflict with the law as adult offenders to be punished rather than juvenile delinquents to be reformed.
[3]. Supreme error
Context:-
Disenfranchising candidates based on the requirements of having a toilet and certain minimum educational qualifications by Haryana government and upholding of the same by the Supreme court
Constitutional right:-
Contesting and voting in any election (adult suffrage) is a constitutional, and not just a statutory, right
Statutory rights may be limited or extinguished by an amendment or repeal;
Fundamental rights are subject to reasonable restrictions and what is “reasonable” is for Parliament and the Supreme Court to finally decide;
Constitutional rights are neither fundamental nor statutory, but these can be changed only by a constitutional amendment without abrogating the essential features of the basic structure of the Constitution.
Reasonable restriction:-
The right to contest panchayat elections is subject to any law made by the state legislature, and identical provisions (Articles 101 and 191)
It prescribes specific grounds for disqualification for Parliament and state legislatures. But this does not mean that the state may disenfranchise panchayat contestants at will.
Constitutional rights are subject to reasonable restrictions. But the regulation has to be “reasonable” as not being arbitrary under Article 14 and that the due process of law has to be upheld.
Conclusion:-
The toilet requirement is held to be reasonable because a “salutary provision designed as a step for eliminating the unhealthy practice of rural India of defecating in public and those who aspire to get elected to those civic bodies and administer them must set an example for others.
But the difficulties of the affected people are unclear and needs more insight to know the actual reason.
It is also said that education gives a human being the power to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad. Though it’s true to some extent; formal credentials are not the only things that enable us to distinguish between right and wrong.
[4]. The good news/Decoding social sector innovations
Context:-
In collaboration with the UNDP, Niti Aayog brought out a book titled Good Practices Resource Book 2015, focusing on social-sector delivery.
Highlights:-
Arbitrary choice:-
The choice of those heads can be a trifle subjective and arbitrary.
For instance, is the integrated basin development and livelihood promotion programme in Meghalaya is not about environment management but it’s more about driving entrepreneurship and synergising existing public expenditure schemes .
Only for the current year:-
This is documentation only for 2015, although one cannot necessarily pin down an intervention to a specific year.
It’s not an inventory of all good practices in social-sector service delivery.
States represent neat administrative boundaries:-
Good practices often originate in districts, sometimes even in blocks and villages but the practices are attributed to states. Consider the rehabilitation of manual scavenging. This is listed against UP, but is really a Badaun district initiative.
To replicate elsewhere:-
This initiative is to disseminate and advocate its replication elsewhere.
Benefits:-
This illustrates the success stories of decentralisation, fiscal devolution and community participation, providing the District Magistrate (DM) (or Block Development Officer (BDO)) with flexibility and independence.
This is an aspect of civil service reform, and not just all-India services alone.
It also imparts an element of optimism to the development and governance discourse.
Economic Digest
[1].Weak balance sheets, bad loans increase risks for banks: RBI/RBI sees big problem with big borrowers
Context:-
A significant increase in the gross non-performing asset ratios of large borrowers among public sector banks, from 6.1 per cent in March 2015 to 8.1 per cent in September 2015, has led to an increase in the GNPA ratio of the banking system, according to the report
Reasons:-
Loans to the industrial sector account for a major share of their overall credit portfolio as well as stressed loans.
The profitability and as a consequence, the debt-servicing capacity of companies, has seen a decline.
This is an indication of halted projects, rising debt levels per unit of capex, overall rise in debt burden with poor recoveries on resources employed.
Consequences:-
It is inhibiting new investments.
Way forward:-
Corporate sector vulnerabilities and the impact of their weak balance sheets on the financial system need closer monitoring
[2]. Parliament passes bonus Bill; benefits to accrue from April 2014
Parliament on Wednesday passed the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill.
It showcases the resolve of the government to ensure job security, wage security and social security for the workforce of the country to realize the vision of Make in India, Skill India and Digital India.”
Based on CPI (IW):-
The revision of the bonus eligibility and the amounts are done by factoring in the relevant price increases, the measure used being the consumer price index-industrial workers or CPI(IW).
Applicability:-
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, is also applicable to every factory and other establishments in which 20 or more persons are employed on any day during an accounting year.
[3]. Why no corporate bond market?
Context:-
Underdeveloped Corporate Bond Market in India.
Why there is a need for Corporate Bond Market:
a) Such a venue will provide an important alternative source of funding for corporations, which will enable them to optimize capital structure in an environment of friction.
b) Such a market should enable additional cash to fund operations or long-term expansion plans without diluting corporate control
c) The government should also welcome the development of the corporate bond market because it would spur corporate activity and thus economic growth.
c) Investors such as pension funds and insurance companies will have an additional set of instruments in which to invest, providing, in theory, a better overall risk to reward trade-off since there would be more opportunities for diversification.
If such a good thing why is it underdeveloped?
The huge pile of corporate debt that is currently being held in the form of loans, especially by state-owned banks. This massive inventory of loans generates significant incentives for three parties—banks, corporations and the government—to delay or inhibit the development of a significant corporate bond market. (How they benefit is something that we guess is not needed for UPSC)
Science & Technology
[1]. Indian American professor wins top honour for research on tumours
Context:-
U.S. President Barack Obama will present the National Medal of Science to Rakesh K. Jain, an Indian American professor.
The award is considered as their nation’s highest honours for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology.
Prof. Jain is regarded as a pioneer in the area of tumour micro-environment and widely recognized for his seminal discoveries in tumour biology, drug delivery, in vivo imaging and bioengineering.
His work includes uncovering the barriers to the delivery and efficacy of molecular and nano-medicines in tumours, developing new strategies to overcome these barriers; and then translating these strategies from bench to bedside.
[2]. Indian startup grows human liver in lab
Context:-
Pandorum Technologies, a Bengaluru-based biotech startup, has developed an artificial tissue that performs the functions of the human liver.
Uses:-
Do away with human/animal trials:-
3D-printed living tissues made of human cells would enable affordable medical research with reduced dependence on animal and human trials.
It will serve as test platforms for discovery and development of drugs and vaccines.
Organ transplant:-
This research will also eventually lead to full scale transplantable organs.
The cell-based miniature organs can be used to develop bio-artificial liver support systems for preserving life in patients who have developed liver failure.
Such bio-printed organs will address the acute shortage of human organs available for surgical transplantation
[3]. Unfree basics
Context:-
TRAI has asked telecom operators to put Facebook’s Internet.org on hold as it violates net neutrality.
Facebook’s argument:-
It wants to save Free Basics — arguing that the platform would bring those people online who find the cost of using mobile data prohibitively expensive.
For Net Neutrality:-
The “free” in Free Basics, for instance, is subject entirely to Facebook’s, and its mobile operator partners’, discretion.
Conclusion:-
The spectacular growth of the internet was made possible by its openness and level playing field, which allowed once-upstarts like Google and Facebook to topple giants.
With smartphones and tablets becoming the default gateways to the Web for more and more people, the design of telecom policy is crucial to ensuring India doesn’t become home to a stratified, uncompetitive internet.
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