Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 1
- Nationalism that’s progressive – {Nationalism}
- India adds 27 new billionaires – {Income Inequality}
- GS PAPER 2
- ‘Army should be used judiciously in civil crises’ – {Security Issues}
- CIC gets three Commissioners – {Government Instiutions}
- India approves $150 million Iran port plan – {Indo – Iran Ties}
- A sordid record in Chhattisgarh – {Tribal Affairs}
- A partnership to Mars and beyond / Sunita’s visit to deepen space cooperation – {International Affairs}
- Pilferage remains a problem for LPG subsidy scheme – {Direct Benefit Transfer Schemes}
- Section 124A should stay – {Laws and Acts}
- Restoring goodwill with Kathmandu – {India and Nepal}
- A healthcare prescription for India’s growth story – {Health}
- GS PAPER 3
- Stone crushing unit threatens waterfall in Telangana – {Environment}
- New range to test DRDO’s EW devices– {Defence Technology}
- A carrot for the honest– {Cashless Transaction}
- Railway Budget may tickle taste buds of passengers– {Railway Budget}
- Make names of wilful defaulters public: panel– {Loan Defaulters}
- Time for plan to roll out DBT for fertiliser subsidies – {Subsidies Targetimg}
- Increase capital infusion in PSU banks, says Moody’s– {Banking}
- Cabinet nod to incentivise cashless transactions– {Cashless Transaction}
- Focus on reviving agriculture needed– {Agriculture}
- Prelims Facts
GS PAPER 1
[1]. Nationalism that’s progressive
What is a Nation?
A “nation”, should eliminate the asymmetries between “privileged and the excluded”.
It is beyond the understanding of the nation as a territorial/narrow cultural idea.
It is a means to achieve egalitarian goals.
The “state” and its institutions — the bureaucracy, the administration, the ministries, etc have to play the “nation-building” role.
The idea of nation and nationalism for the progressive Indian is opposed to the “cultural nationalist” or the “territorial nationalist”.
Cultural nationalism
Limits the Indian nation to a majoritarian construct
It reduces India to a country that is a homeland to a particular religious practice and “spiritual culture”, differences to which are treated as alien.
Territorial nationalism:-
It imagines India as a geographical entity, promotes an idea of the country that is united in its diversities, envisages a state that is secular and a political unity of federal units (distinguished linguistically) in a constitutional republic.
This concept of territorial nationalism evolved over time, as part of India’s freedom struggle and its anti-colonial legacy.
Territorial nationalists strive to build a powerful Indian nation-state with nuclear weapons and to see it at the high table featuring other such countries rather than addressing inequities, poverty and socio-economic disparities in the country
Preogressive Nationalism:-
Progressive nationalism is a humane imagining of nationhood, where the self is committed to the betterment of the other, and in particular that of other underprivileged citizens.
It is the rank opposite of cultural nationalism, which is inward-looking, narrow and demonises the other.
And it is an advance over territorial nationalism, which accommodates differences and disparity but does not do enough to overcome them.
[2]. India adds 27 new billionaires
India- facts:-
India added 27 new billionaires
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries – top
Cumulative Indian billionaires’ wealth stood registered a 25 per cent growth over last year.
India is home to 111 billionaires and most of them are from Mumbai.
China:-
Overtook their U.S. counterparts
Beijing -`billionaire capital of the world’-first time
Number 1 in the world – generating self-made billionaires – “rags to riches,”
GS PAPER 2
[1]. ‘Army should be used judiciously in civil crises’
Assistance of Army:-
- Chennai Floods
- Jat Agitation in Haryana
- Patel agitation in Gujarat
Primary Response:-
Army is being increasingly deployed as the primary response to assist the civil administrations and state machinery in times of crisis.
Not a healthy trend
If fear of army in the public goes away it will be a tough situation.
Deploying CAPF:-
Army is called despite Large number of Central police and paramilitary forces being available.
Army had been called in for civil aid since Independence but in the past it was because there were not enough CAPFs.
Now India has one of the largest paramilitary and CAPFs in the world
[2]. CIC gets three Commissioners
CIC gets three Commissioners
Government appointed three Commissioners at the Central Information Commission (CIC).
- Amitava Bhattacharyya
- Bimal Julka
- Divya Prakash Sinha
[3]. India approves $150 million Iran port plan
What?
India approved a $150 million project to develop the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar, which includes a transit route to Afghanistan bypassing neighbouring Pakistan.
Significance:-
Provide opportunities to Indian companies to penetrate and enhance its footprint in the region.
[4]. A sordid record in Chhattisgarh
What happened?
Adivasi right activists were attacked in the recent past.
Why?
Might be for highlighting atrocities against the tribal population
Problems for tribals:-
- Killing of Adivasis in fake encounters,
- Arbitrary arrests,
- Alleged sexual assault and torture of Adivasi women by the police and security forces
Threat:-
Tribal regions though underdeveloped are mineral-rich regions and are falling prey to fierce corporate plunder of natural resources at the expense of the local population.
[5]. A partnership to Mars and beyond / Sunita’s visit to deepen space cooperation
Context:-
NASA team is holding discussions with their Indian counterparts to deepen space cooperation.
Aim:-
Agreed to further promote cooperative and commercial relations between India and the United States in the field of space.
Missions Together:-
How it started?
U.S.-India civil space cooperation dates back to 1963 with the launch of NASA’s Nike-Apache sounding rocket from Indian soil.
Mars journey:-
The U.S. is leading a journey to Mars that will send astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s.
India and US are working together to lay the groundwork.
Joint Mars working Group:-
ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft (MAVEN) have been together in Mars orbit.
Third face to face meeting of Joint Mars Working Group is scheduled.
Considering ways in which we can cooperate on MOM and MAVEN and other missions in the future.
NISAR:-
First-ever joint earth science satellite mission by India and US.
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) will acquire critical, first-ever, all-weather, high-resolution radar measurements for use in a wide range of applications such as
- global food security,
- freshwater availability,
- human health,
- disaster prediction
- hazard response,
- climate monitoring and adaptation,
- urban management and planning.
Airborne Campaign:-
Flight of an advanced NASA visible/infrared imaging spectrometer instrument on an ISRO aircraft over sites in India.
Began last December and runs through next month, is producing vast amounts of precise data.
Women Empowerment:-
Capt. Sunita Williams has a series of engagements addressing students on her journey as an astronaut and women’s empowerment through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education
[6]. Pilferage remains a problem for LPG subsidy scheme
Issue:-
Cylinders continue to be diverted to the commercial market.
‘March problem’:-
Customers in certain states said that they were approached by distributors to book the unused cylinders at the end of the financial year, in March.
Once these extra cylinders are booked, the report found,the distributor sells them at market rates while the families receive the subsidy amount in their accounts in the following month.
That works out to 6-10.5 per cent of the total LPG subsidy payments considering only half the eligible population across all states indulged in such activities.
Solution:-
Per-cylinder approach to the subsidy payments could remove the incidence of pilferage.
As of now the government gives a standard subsidy amount regardless of whether it is for the first cylinder consumed or the twelfth.
The report recommends a graded approach where the first few cylinders used receive a high subsidy amount while the 10th , 11th and 12th cylinders receive no subsidy at all.
Using this method, the overall subsidy received by the families for cylinders used will remain the same.
Significance of DBT:-
DBTs had led to a 23 per cent reduction in the number of gas connections, removing over 40 million ineligible ghost consumers.
[7]. Section 124A should stay
There’s a strong case to retain Section 124A.
Chapter Six of the IPC section 121 to 130 is titled “Offences against the state”
- which included the offences of waging war against the government of India a
- Collecting arms with the intention of waging such war.
124A, Sedition:
“Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
SC:
The day after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, two persons raised slogans of “Khalistan zindabad” and “Raj karega Khalsa”.
The Supreme Court acquitted the accused,
Observing that the raising of some slogans a few times, which did not evoke any response and did not create any law and order problem, did not attract Section 124A.
Law Commission of India:
In its 42nd report, published in 1971, it wanted the section to be extended to include disaffection towards,
- The Constitution of India
- Parliament and state legislatures
- The administration of justice
- It also wanted the punishment to be reduced to a maximum of seven years
The call for its abolition may be incorrect
- No data on the number of complaints that have been filed under this section in different states.
- What were the seditious utterances or activities?
- How many persons have been convicted?
Without an analysis of the empirical evidence on the implementation of this section, it would be incorrect to abolish it as an anachronistic colonial provision.
Many districts in different states face a Maoist insurgency and rebel groups virtually run a parallel administration.
These groups openly advocate the overthrow of the state government by revolution.
Against the backdrop of this stark reality, the abolition of Section 124A would be ill-advised merely because it has been wrongly invoked in some highly publicised cases.
[8]. Restoring goodwill with Kathmandu
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli’s just-concluded six-day visit to India ,
The visit came after:
- turmoil in the Madhes, (or plains)
- Protests on more federal framework in the new Constitution
- India backing, virtual blockade and a shortage of essential supplies in Nepal
Net result for India:
- Resurgence of jingoism in Kathmandu.
- Drained the goodwill gained from supporting Nepal during earthquake in 2015.
Nepal has to maintain cordial relations with India
- Economic dependence
- landlocked state
India needs a friendly Nepal
- Geopolitical importance due to the open border between the two .
- To prevent the spillover effect of turmoil in the bordering States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
MOU’s signed:
- reconstruction assistance that India has promised(Earthquake 2015)
- economic aid for road projects
- enhancing power transmission
- easing travel and transit of goods
Not finalizing the issue in Nepal will further lead to brinkmanship.
Brinkmanship:
It is practice of trying to achieve advantageous outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink of active conflict.
Jingoism is patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. Jingoism also refers to a country’s advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests.
[9]. A healthcare prescription for India’s growth story
India’s economy is posting among the fastest growth rates globally
Without Aarogya Bharat, the benefits from faster growth will be seriously compromised.
Morbidity cost to India:
- Is estimated at $6 trillion between now and 2030
- Three times today’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Public health spending
- Around 1% (1.2 %)of GDP while overall
- The country spends over 4% (~3.9%)~
Health system is geared towards secondary and tertiary care.
Primary care, which is significantly less costly, is unorganized and largely not covered by insurance.
Pathetic Situation
- Out of pocket expenditure is health is nearly 60% of health expenditure, three times the global average.
- Insurance penetration is just 25% overall.
- short of 2 million beds and doctors and 4 million nurses.
- Urban India accounts for around 30% of the population but has 80% of healthcare infrastructure.
- The average Indian’s life expectancy is only 66 years versus 75 in China and 74 in Brazil.
- Some states such as Kerala, where outcomes are five times better today, learning can be taken from there and from international best practices.
Points to focus:
- Increase health care spending from 1% of GDP to atleast 2.5–3%.
- Focus on 100% vaccination.
- Government, nongovernment and the private sector—must declare war on NCDs.
- Citizens must be supported with universal health insurance for primary care.
- Improve healthcare quality. The way ahead is through institutionalizing minimum standards for healthcare.
- unleash technology to increase access and affordability. Example are Swasthya Slate and 3nethra.
GS PAPER 3
[1]. Stone crushing unit threatens waterfall in Telangana
Context:-
What ?
A highly-polluting stone crushing machinery and tar mixing unit.
Where?
Pochera waterfalls in Adilabad district.
Why?
The Pochera stream bed and the hillocks closeby have enormous deposits of black Deccan trap rock, used in the construction sector.
Significance:-
A part of the stream and the huge pond at the foot of the waterfall are the only two watering holes within a few kilometres radius.
The large population of wild ungulates, black buck, spotted deer and nilgais come to these spots to quench their thirst at night.
Impact:-
Results in noise and dust pollution having tremendous impact on the wildlife here.
To recollect:-
Adilabad- Kawal Tiger reserve- Termite attack.
[2]. New range to test DRDO’s EW devices
What?
Defence Research & Development Organisation is setting up a large field, or outdoor test range, for indigenous electronic warfare (EW) devices that later get fitted on war planes, ships and army tanks
Why?
EW devices are now tested indoors in labs and are qualified for use in a year or two. An outdoor range will vastly cut this time.
What are EWs?
EW devices broadly include radars, transmitters, antennas, sensors and communication devices — the defence forces’ ‘ears and eyes’ for detecting enemy presence or to deter its intelligence gathering.
Significance:-
Some EW areas may not require imports in the near future.
Organisations Mentioned:-
Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL)- Hyderabad
Defence Avionics Research Establishment – Bengaluru
[3]. A carrot for the honest / Cabinet nod to incentivise cashless transaction
What has happened?
The government is in discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow more free ATM transactions.
Why?
Withdrawing money from an ATM costs banks less than encashment at the bank branch.
Advantages of cashless payments:-
If payments were made in cashless form
- All transcations will be automatically accounted
- With additional sales tax, service tax and other forms of tax collections it will increase government’s tax revenue.
Why a seller will not encourage cashless transaction?
Seller has a lot to lose by accepting the debit card.
- He has to pay a merchant discount rate (varying from 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent) which decreases his margin. It is the rate charged to a merchant by a bank for providing debit and credit card services.
- Every such transaction is accounted for and, therefore, liable to be taxed.
- Even by giving a sales tax concession for such electronic point-of-sale payments the shopkeeper would not be motivated as he will save the entire tax rather than claim a small indirect tax rebate.
How should we encourage cashless payments?
Idea:-
Give a small incentive to the taxpayer to use his card or mobile.
Example:-
The government could grant a 5 per cent income tax rebate for taxpayers who make more than 85 per cent of their payments in cashless mode.
The required percentage for high income groups could be even higher.
A routine bank statement/certificate stating percentage of cash debits separately should suffice to claim the rebate.
The rebate has to be earned over a year, the human tendency would be for taxpayers to switch to cashless transactions as a matter of habit.
And merchants will be pushed to opt for cashless transaction.
Rural empowerment:-
ATM subsidies for the relatively affluent could get suitably channelled to give adequate incentives for establishing an operating infrastructure in rural areas for accepting electronic payments and providing cash-out facilities.
Virtually all households have a bank account, and a big chunk of them have a RuPay card too.
We have to convert the direct benefits into purchasing power in the hands of the poor.
Benefits:-
Boost revenues for the government,
Increase productivity for the economy
Creates an effective infrastructure for direct benefit transfers and financial inclusion.
Steps taken by Government :-
Cabinet has approved several steps to promote cashless transactions
Steps:-
- mandatory card-based or electronic payments beyond a prescribed threshold
- withdrawal of any additional charge currently imposed on card or digital payments by various government entities
- Introduction of the required infrastructure for digital payments in all government offices
- Rationalisation of the merchant discount rate (MDR) on card transactions
- Rationalisation of telecom service charges for digital financial transactions to promote mobile banking
- Might levy a nominal cash handling charge on cash transactions above a specified level in future.
Significance:-
- Will be instrumental in reducing tax avoidance,
- Migration of Government payments and collections to cashless mode,
- Discourage transactions in cash by providing access to financial payment services to the citizens to conduct transactions through card/ digital means
- Shifting payment ecosystem from cash dominated to non-cash/less cash payments.
[4]. Railway Budget may tickle taste buds of passengers
Proposal:-
People can enjoy a variety of local cuisines during train journeys
Significance:-
To give greater focus on tie-ups with local vendors for offering such a choice to travellers as part of an attempt to strengthen its e-catering business.
Food on Track:-
Indian Railways’ e-catering service- ‘Food on Track’,
The facility is available from 6 am-10 pm at present only in certain stations
Mobile app:-
Start-up companies are interested in developing a mobile application for e-catering.
Awareness creation:-
Promoting helpline number for e-catering will be another priority area as passengers are unaware about the present scheme.
[5]. Make names of wilful defaulters public: panel
The Standing Committee on Finance recommended that state-owned banks make public the names of their respective top 30 stressed accounts involving wilful defaulters.
Why?
- It will act as deterrent
- Enable banks to withstand pressure and interference from various quarters in dealing with the promoters for recoveries or sanctioning further loans
Other recommendations:-
- Recommended the government amend the RBI Act and other laws and guidelines.
- Specially-tasked committees be mandated to continually monitor the status of large loan portfolios and submit periodical reports to government and Parliament on the findings.
- Forensic audits should be made mandatory for specific class of borrowers.
The problem:-
Wilful defaulters owe PSU banks about 21 per cent of total non-performing assets.
Reasons for Bad loans:-
- Diversion of funds by promoters to unrelated businesses
- Poor pre-sanction due-diligence
[6]. Time for plan to roll out DBT for fertiliser subsidies
Agriculture:-
Fifty per cent of our people are dependent on the rural and farming sector.
Aim:-
Farmer should earn adequate income on a sustainable basis.
Suggestions:-
a) Crop insurance scheme should be rolled out extensively
b) More agri-produce with processing linkages will make sure that the output gets purchased at a pre-determined price.
eg:- The direct organised linkage between farmers and sugar industry keeps the farmer in a better position and they do not depend on the vagaries of the market.
c) FDI in multi-brand retail (MBR) would actually help rural India from two perspectives.
Access to world-class technology and business practices for the entire supply chain.
With FDI in MBR, you reduce the number of middlemen; the farmer should get between 30 to 40 per cent of the final price ( 15- 25%) doubling his income.
d) Getting electricity and roads to villages .
e) Subsidies are important for agriculture and it is time for a two-year plan to roll out direct benefit transfer (DBT) for all fertiliser subsidies for effective spending.
f) Farmer producer organizations will give better negotiating power with input providers as well as buyers.
g) The APMC Act and others have to be abolished.
The roll out of the e-platform for the national agriculture market should be done quickly. Otherwise mandis will continue to charge 15 per cent of the revenue. Digital technology is helping farmers find better prices but because of these mandi rules and poor infrastructure, they can’t move their produce around.
[7]. Increase capital infusion in PSU banks, says Moody’s
What has happened?
Moodys has said that government should increase its proposed capital infusion in public sector banks.
Why?
Increase in bad loans after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to clean up banks’ balance sheets.
Credit profile will be affected:-
Credit profile of public sector banks will worsen if the government does not increase capital allocation in public sector banks in the upcoming budget.
[8]. Focus on reviving agriculture needed
Agriculture GDP:
- (-)0.2% in 2014-15
- 1% in 2015-16
The distress in agriculture is due to two factors:
- The crash in global commodity prices
- Deficit rainfall for two years in a row
- 10 states have declared drought this year.
Forward and backward linkages :
Low agriculture growth also affects the prospects of manufacturing and services. For example, tractor sales have declined.
A two-pronged strategy is required:
- Raising productivity and incomes of farmers
- Climate-resilient agriculture
Increase in productivity:
- Investment in infrastructure such as irrigation, rural roads and electricity.
- Public investment in rural infrastructure is crucial.
- The PMKSY and RKVY are good initiatives.
- Water-use efficiency has to be increased.
- The use of drip irrigation should be encouraged.
Climate-resilient agriculture (CRA):
- Diversified cropping systems in view of climate-related risks.
- Crop insurance for risk mitigation: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
- Research and extension systems.
- Reforms in fertilizer subsidies: These are overdue and subsidies should be directly given to farmers.
- Legalizing tenancy increase private investment in agriculture.
- Remunerative prices and development of markets: national agricultural market, an online platform for selling agricultural produce
- Farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have to be strengthened.
FPO:
FPO is one of the important initiatives taken by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture to mainstream the idea of promoting and strengthening member-based institutions of farmers.
As per the concept, farmers, who are the producers of agricultural products, can form groups and register themselves under the Indian Companies Act. These can be created both at State, cluster, and village levels. It is aimed at engaging the farmer companies to procure agricultural products and sell them.
Prelims Facts
[1]. The link between mindfulness and diabetes
Those who score high on mindfulness — the ability of being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings — are significantly more likely to have healthy glucose levels
[2]. ‘Influenza can hide from human immune system’
Context:-
Influenza, commonly known as “flu,” can hide itself from the immune system.
About the disease:-
influenza virus that affects mainly the nose, throat, bronchi and occasionally lungs.
How does it hide?
Contains a protein that masks the virus entering the cell.
The influenza virus can spread more easily before the immune system recognises that it is a virus and attempts to fight it.
Significance of the protein:-
It can be used to combat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis as well as the relatively rare disease lupus, which to a great extent affects young women.
Autoimmune disease:-
In such diseases the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues and creates chronic inflammation.
The protein’s immunosuppressant effect can possibly be used to develop better treatments for these types of diseases and the symptoms can be reduced.
Dodos may have been fairly smart, says new study
Dodo, an extinct bird whose name has entered popular culture as a symbol of stupidity, may have been actually quite intelligent.
A study has found that the overall size of its brain in relation to body size was on par with pigeons — birds whose ability to be trained implies they are no dummies.
[3]. ‘Excessive social media use is like drug addiction’
Social media obsession may lead to something similar to classical addiction.
How ?
Excessive use triggers two key parts of the brain associated with rewards: amygdala, which is the integrative place for emotions, behaviour and motivation and striatum, part of the forebrain and a critical component of the reward system.
It is similar to cocaine addiction to a certain level as there are certain neuro-chemicals such as dopamine which operate across brain reward pathways and are responsible for maintaining addictive behaviour
They have a hyperactive amygdale-striatal system
What is a Reward system?
The reward system is a collection of brain structures that are involved in the regulation of behaviors that are associated with desirable, approachable, or intrinsically positive stimuli.
Similar behavioural pattern:-
- Inability to abstain,
- impairment in behaviour control,
- craving,
- diminished recognition of significant behavioural problems,
- interpersonal issues
- dysfunctional emotional response
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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