9 PM Daily Brief – 2nd December 2015

A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation

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National

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[1].Gujarat’s controversial labour law bill gets presidential assent

 

What has happened?

President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the controversial Labour Laws bill, 2015.

 

Why the controversy?

Bill has certain provisions against which it has been termed as ‘anti-labour’ and ‘pro-private’ by the opposition parties in Gujarat.

1. Time limit: The time limit for workers to raise objections to the decisions of the industries has been reduced to one year from three years.
2. Dispute settlement: ‘out of court’ settlement of disputes wherein a set amount of penalty would be deposited by the employer with the government and 75% amount would be given to the affected labourer. Gujarat government says that this has been done to arrive at quick solution in a dispute as such matters drag for years in courts.
3. Strikes: ban strikes in public utility services for up to one year

State laws sent to President this year = 65

State laws given assent = 34

Sikkim Promotion of Local Employment Bill, 2008

The President refused to give assent to the Sikkim Promotion of Local Employment Bill, 2008, which proposed 80 per cent employment in the private sector for people carrying the Sikkim Subject Certificate.

Why?

It violated Sections 14 (Equality before law), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 19 (Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc) of the Constitution.

Are all state laws sent for presidential assent?

No. Only those laws which run against the central laws and national policies & whose legal and constitutional validity can be challenged are sent for presidential assent.

[2]. A synthetic mridangam sans animal skin

 

What has happened?

Bengaluru-based vocalist and scientist K. Varadarangan has designed a mridangam without using animal skin.

Construction of mridangam

The mridangam is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollowed piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick. The two mouths or apertures of the drum are covered with a goatskin and laced to each other with leather straps around the circumference of drum. These straps are put into a state of high tension to stretch out the circular membranes on either side of the hull, allowing them to resonate when struck.

Mridangam

The new design consists of ‘synthetic fibreglass shell mridangam’ with polyester films and rubber material used for drumheads.

It has been named as ‘SRI Mridangam’.

Significance of Mridangam in Hindu culture

In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle and follower of Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva’s primordial tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The mridangam is thus also known as “Deva Vaadyam,” or “Divine Instrument”

Significance in Tamil culture

In Tamil culture, it is called a tannumai. The earliest mention of the mridangam in Tamil literature is found perhaps in the Sangam literature where the instrument is known as ‘tannumai’. In later works like the Silappadikaram also we find detailed references to it as in the Natyasastra. During the Sangam period, it was one of the principal percussion instruments to sound the beginning of war.

The mridangam is nicknamed as the “King of Percussion”.

What is a percussion instrument?

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater (including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles); struck, scraped or rubbed by hand; or struck against another similar instrument.

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International

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[1]. 13th Amendment to be basis of constitutional reforms: Chandrika Kumaratunga

 

Former Srilankan President has said that the 13^th Amendment would be a part of the basis of the constitutional reforms vis-a-vis ethnic issues plaguing Srilanka.

What is this 13^th Amendment?

The Thirteenth Amendment (13A) to the Constitution of Sri Lanka is amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka which created Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka. This also made Sinhala and Tamil as the official language of the country and English as link language. This amendment was done after the Indo-Lanka accord of 29^th July 1987 between Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan president J.R Jayawardene.

What is Indo-Lanka accord?

The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July, 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan civil war. Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms.

[2]. Terror, climate among BRICS focus areas

What has happened?

1^st media summit of BRICS was hosted in Beijing.

 

6-point agreement was finalised at the summit. Major points in the agreement are,

1. Institutional development in the BRICS countries
2. Establishing a BRICS media foundation,
3. A liaison office that would coordinate summit activities,
4. Training of media personnel
5. Coordination of BRICS media covering G-20 summits,
6. Holding a photo exhibition along BRICS summits
7. Setting up BRICS Media Journalism Awards.

 

[3]. Rajan keeps repo rate unchanged, stresses ‘accommodative stance’ to continue

 

What has happened?

The Repo rate has been kept unchanged by the RBI at 6.75%.

What is Repo rate?

It is the interest rate at which RBI lends money to the banks.

RBI had reduced the repo rate by 125bps in 2015 to boost growth (as Banks can borrow money for lesser interests).

Transmission mechanism: The way in which Repo rate affects inflation and the rest of the economy is called as Transmission mechanism.

An increase in Repo rate = decrease in inflation

A decrease in Repo rate (as done by RBI in 2015) = increase in inflation. Inflation is on the increase as denoted by Consumer Price inflation (CPI) which stands close to 5% but RBI has set a target of 6% inflation by January so this trend is on the expected lines.

Factors that influenced RBI’s decision,

1. Recently announced pay hike by 7^th pay commission can increase inflation but RBI is banking on government’s fiscal consolidation. Fiscal deficit has decreased from 5.7% of the GDP in 2011-12 to 4% last year. A number of subsidy reducing measures and steps to improve tax revenue have contributed to this.
2. Food inflation has also lowered

 

Conclusion

Repo rate is a tool used by RBI to control inflation. This time it has been kept unchanged as results of previous Repo rate decrease have been favourable and economy is on the recovery plane.

[2]. Manufacturing sector growth drops to 25-month low

 

What has happened?

India’s manufacturing sector grew at its slowest pace in 25 months in November on sluggish pace of new business orders.

Indian output manufacturing growth has continued to decline for the 4^th consecutive month as per the monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey conducted by Markit and Nikkei India.

What is Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)?

An indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector, the PMI index is based on five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment.

A PMI of more than 50 represents expansion of the manufacturing sector, compared to the previous month. A reading under 50 represents a contraction, while a reading at 50 indicates no change.
Contraction is a phase of the business cycle in which the economy as a whole is in decline.

PMI fell to a 25-month low of 50.3 in November, from 50.7 in October.

[3]. IMF gives China’s currency prized reserve asset status

 

What has happened?

The International Monetary Fund admitted China’s yuan into its benchmark currency basket on 30^th November 2015, in a victory for Beijing’s campaign for recognition as a global economic power.

The decision to add the yuan, also known as the renminbi, to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket alongside the dollar, euro, pound sterling and yen, is an important milestone in China’s integration into global finances and a nod to the progress it has made with reforms.

What is SDR?

It is an international type of monetary reserve currency, created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1969, which operates as a supplement to the existing reserves of member countries.

SDR Basket contains key international currencies like Dollar, Euro, Pound, Sterling etc. To this basket Yuan or renminbi has also been added

What has China done to achieve this?

Many reforms have been carried out like,

1. better access for foreigners to Chinese currency markets,
2. more frequent debt issuance
3. Expansion of Yuan trading hours.

 

[4]. Govt to announce Rs 10,000-crore corpus to push electronics manufacturing, innovation

 

What has happened?

The government will announce a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore towards an Electronics Development Fund. The fund will start with an initial corpus of Rs.2500 Crore.

Why this fund has been created?

This fund has been created to provide financial assistance to domestic companies so as to encourage electronics manufacturing and innovation in the sector.

1. This will fund venture capitalists, who in turn will fund domestic companies in the field of electronics system design and manufacturing
2. It will be used to encourage innovation and support entrepreneurship.

 

[5]. Nominal GDP Growth Rate at 10-Year Low

Why corporate profits are decreasing despite an increase in GDP growth rate of 7.4% during 2015-16?

It is because the 7.4% growth rate is actually the real growth rate not the Nominal growth rate on which the corporate profitability is measured.

Calculation of Real growth rate

The inflation rate (popularly known as GDP price deflator) is reduced from nominal GDP growth rate to calculate the real GDP growth rate

Nominal GDP growth rates are measures at current market prices

In the past, India’s Nominal GDP growth rates were in the range of 12% – 15% & inflation was at 4% – 8%

So, Real GDP growth rate was = 6%-9%

What is happening now?

Now, the inflation is falling and Nominal GDP growth rate is also falling so real GDP growth rate is still holding to a respectable level of 7.4%

The GDP price deflator or inflation rate now is negative 2.2%. If it had been positive our Real growth rate would have been 5.2%

[6]. India Lags in Net Access, Ranks 131 in ICT Index

What is ICT development Index?

The ICT Development Index (IDI) is an index published by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union based on internationally agreed information and communication technologies (ICT) indicators. This makes it a valuable tool for benchmarking the most important indicators for measuring the information society. The IDI is a standard tool that governments, operators, development agencies, researchers and others can use to measure the digital divide and compare ICT performance within and across countries.

What has happened?

India has been ranked 131 out of 167 countries by the ICT Development Index

1. Although India has made tremendous progress in raising its telecom density, the country remains far behind when it comes to providing internet access.
2. Only 18% Indians have access to the internet
3. 3% of households have internet access in India

 

Must see infographic: http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?eid=31816&id=02_12_2015_007_006_003&type=P&artUrl=India-Lags-in-Net-Access-Ranks-131-in-02122015007006

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Opinions & Editorials

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[1]. No diplomacy by stealth

 

What has happened?

At the ongoing Paris COP-21 summit PM Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif shook hands with each other. Author in this article talks about various issues plaguing bilateral relations of India and Pakistan coupled by the conclusion that both countries should be clear about this fact that non-engagement is not an option

Issues

1. The implementation of a liberalised visa regime,
2. Upgradation of trade checkpoint infrastructure at the international border and the Line of Control,
3. bank facilities to further trade
4. India’s concerns about Pakistan giving free rein to terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and establishment support to terror groups

 

Addressing these issues through bilateral engagement is the only way forward. India’s initiative in bilateral arena would give it considerable leverage when PM shall attend SAARC summit in 2016 in Pakistan.

[2]. Time to abolish criminal defamation

What has happened?

SC has recently made an observation that political leaders should not take criticism as personal insults.

Why SC made this remark?

The court’s remark came in the context of several of cases of defamation reaching its portals in recent years. For example: 100-odd cases of defamation have been filed by Tamilnadu government against politicians and media houses

Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalise defamation in India, have been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Why criminal defamation should be scrapped?

1. Against free speech: coercing the media to observe self-censorship and self-restraint undermines the ideal of free speech
2. Discourages expositions: In 2011, the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights called upon states to abolish criminal defamation, noting that it intimidates citizens and makes them shy away from exposing wrongdoing.
3. Instrument of harassment: Its misuse as an instrument of harassment is pervasive in India. Often, the prosecutor’s complaint is taken at face value by courts, which send out routine notices for the appearance of defendants without any preliminary examination whether the offending comments or reports come under one of the exceptions spelt out in Section 499. Thus, the process itself becomes the punishment.

 

[3]. Prelude to next big conflict?

What has happened?

A Russian jet was shot down by the Turkish armed forces after it intruded into its airspace over its border with Syria.

Russian stance

Russia claims that the plane was never inside the Turkish airspace. After the downing of the jet, Russian government has only hardened its stance against anything Turkish. Like,

1. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already stepped up the political war by calling Turkey’s Islamist government “an accomplice of terrorists”, accusing it of supporting jihadist groups in Syria, buying oil from the Islamic State (IS) and driving Turkey towards the path of radical Islam.
2. He has also turned down Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to meet in Paris, where world heads of state have gathered for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
3. Russian officials have announced they are suspending military cooperation with Ankara and cancelling visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.
4. Moscow has advised its own citizens — millions of whom visit Turkey’s Mediterranean coast every year — to stay away from the country,
5. A number of Turkish firms have been raided and
6. Imports have been sent back,
7. Joint energy and infrastructure projects might also be halted,
8. A draft law has been submitted to the Duma (Russian parliament) that would criminalise the denial of the 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, a charge that Turkey officially rejects.

 

Turkish stance

1. President Erdoðan has ruled out any apology for what his government insists was a legitimate reaction to the alleged violation of its airspace by a foreign warplane. This is the official Turkish justification for its role in the crisis. The underlying motive, however, is Ankara’s frustration with Russia’s recent military operations in Syria, officially against IS, but in fact targeting a wide range of groups fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, including those supported by Turkey and the U.S.
2. Nationalist sentiments have been swelling among Turks on the back of pro-government media reporting of alleged Russian atrocities against the Turkmen community of northwest Syria, which has ethnic and historical ties to Turkey. (Moscow claims it is targeting jihadists fighting alongside IS or the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front; Ankara argues that these are civilians defending themselves against the Syrian regime.) It was in this mountainous area that the Russian plane was shot down.

 

How author sees this grandstanding by both Russian and Turkey?

Two macho men with oversized egos, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Putin see themselves as the heirs to the defunct Ottoman and Russian empires, driven by a sense of mission to restore their nations’ past imperial glory.

The main issue which is IS should be the one which is dealt with such show of pride and strength. Engaging with each other is only going to further the terrorist organisation’s hideous agenda.

[4]. Now, don’t pass the buck

Context: The article deals with the Sec 377 of the Indian Penal Code and it alludes to the Koushal vs Naz foundation case verdict which decriminalised consensual homosexual sex between consenting adults.

What is Sec 377?

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, introduced during British rule of India, criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. This phrase was interpreted to mean all forms of sexual activity other than heterosexual penile-vaginal intercourse

The verdict is overturned

On December 11, 2013, the Supreme Court’s two member bench (Justices G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya) overturned the decision of the Delhi High Court. It said that the 2009 order of the High Court is “constitutionally unsustainable as only Parliament can change a law, not courts.

Author says that what court did in 2013 court by passing the buck to the legislature to amend the law is being done by the legislature now, as it is now asking courts to reconsider its decision rather than taking a pro-active approach and amending the law on its own.

[5]. In Paris, a chance to lead

Context: How India can benefit from a credible Paris agreement is what has been discussed in this article by the author

 

Why India should work for a cleaner economy?

1. Human casualties: About one in five premature deaths in India — perhaps 2 million each year — is caused by environmental factors. Household air pollution, from burning solid fuels, accounts for half of these. Outdoor particulate matter pollution, from burning fossil fuels for power and transport, caused an estimated 6, 30, 000 premature deaths in India in 2010, and costs the equivalent of 5.5-7.5 per cent of GDP each year.
2. Polluted cities: Half the world’s most polluted cities are here in India, including the top four: Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur.
3. Financial cost: Domestic energy production has not kept pace with growth in demand, which is doubling every 15 years. As a consequence, energy imports have surged. Between 2008 and 2012, we spent an average of 6.4 per cent of GDP importing fuel from overseas

 

What should India do?

1. Distributed, small-scale renewable energy can deliver to rural communities the social and economic benefits of electrification much more quickly than if we rely solely on extending the electric grid.
2. Solar power, potentially coupled with batteries, can improve public health, enable access to education and provide economic opportunities.
3. Reducing reliance on coal: Reducing our reliance on dirty coal-fired power plants will help improve air quality. Providing poor people with clean cookstoves would also help address indoor pollution.
4. Improving urban planning: Addressing some of the problems in India’s existing model of urban planning could benefit the economy and the climate. For example, compact, connected and well-coordinated cities are more energy efficient. The World Bank estimates that for every 1,000 km of new bus rapid transit lanes, 1,28,000 new jobs are created and 27,000 premature deaths from pollution and accidents are avoided, all the while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
5. More than 42 of the largest businesses in the country voluntarily participate in the India GHG (greenhouse gas) programme — an initiative that facilitates measurement and management of GHG emissions.

 

Conclusion

Greater ambition on renewable energy and reducing carbon intensity would lead to greater economic benefits for India. It is in our country’s interest to capitalise on the low-carbon economy. It will allow us to enjoy cleaner air in more liveable cities and, hopefully, in a more stable and hospitable climate.

[6]. Balance the force

 

What has happened?

The Union home ministry has decided to discontinue collection and publication of data on the share of Muslims in the police.

In this article author declares this decision as being a misguided one.

Why?

This data helped the policymakers in deciding that whether the police force which is serving the society truly reflects the diversity that exists in it.

Why we need a diverse police force?

A diverse police force encompassing representation from all the sections of the society helps in building trust and credibility amongst the masses. Minority should not feel that the force is a tool which majority can use to rule over them.

What Sachar Committee report says regarding attitude of police force wrt Muslims?

The Sachar Committee reported that Muslims lacked a “sense of security” and felt that “every bearded man is considered an ISI agent” by the police and, should any incident occur, immediately, and likely unjustly, picked up — this may explain why, according to NCRB data, 21 per cent of jailed undertrials are Muslims. Indeed, the report suggests that this intense vulnerability and fear is accentuated by a diminished Muslim presence in the police, which also heightens insecurities in communally sensitive moments, and recommends that more Muslims be inducted into the force. –

Conclusion

A diverse police force having members from all the sections of the society helps ward off the feelings of institutionalised racism and prejudice. This decision is therefore a misguided one and should be reverted back in the interest of our nation.

By: ForumIAS Editorial Team