9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – 21 March 2017

—

---

Live Mint

---

—

---

Front Page / NATIONAL

---

[1]. Green nod for Neutrino project suspended

 

The Hindu

 

Context

The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal suspended the Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Theni district, Tamil Nadu

 

Argument

The Tribunal was informed that the Madhikettan Shola National Park in Idukki district of Kerala was just about 4.9 km from the proposed project site and the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border was just a kilometre away, making it a Category ‘A’ project

 

New facts

• The MoEF had called it a Category ‘B’ project, for which an Environmental Impact Assessment is not necessary, but the department processed it as an additional measure
• Category A Project: Any project that falls within 5 km from an inter-State boundary or within a notified national park or a sanctuary has to be considered a Category ‘A’ project that involves a number of processes before an EC is granted
• Since it was near a national park, the INO was also asked to get clearance from the National Board for Wildlife
• The Bench disposed of the petition and asked the INO to make a fresh application

 

[2]. Kishenganga off the menu in Indus talks

 

The Hindu

 

Context

India & Pakistan bilateral talks on Indus water treaty

 

What has happened?

• India and Pakistan began discussions on the Indus Water Commission after 22 months amid optimism that the meeting may lead to resumption of the composite dialogue between the neighbours
• Kishenganga and Ratle were not discussed in the latest round of talks. But the designs of the PakalDul, Lower Kalnai and Miyar hydroelectric plants were taken up

History

The talks were suspended in May 2015 after the Pakistani Commissioner objected to the designs of the Kishenganga and the Ratle hydropower projects of India

---

Editorial/OPINION

---

[1]. Russia: Sound, fury, but not much clout

 

The Hindu

 

Context

As it courts Pakistan and wades into Afghan diplomacy, the question is whether Russia is truly a world power

 

Article is all about Russia. You can give it a go through once.

 

[2]. Framing the right prescription for health expenditure

 

The Hindu

 

Context

Strategic shifts are needed in the level of government control on the financing and provision of health

 

Health-care spending

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries spend 8-11%, middle-income countries close to 6%, and India’s peers, the lower-middle-income countries 4.5%. By these measures, India’s health-care spending, while still somewhat low, is not unusually so
• However, on an index measuring country performance on the health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, India ranks poorly at 143 out of 188 countries
• According to Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) (measure that more accurately corresponds with our actual standard of living):
  • India is the third largest economy in the world, at almost PPP $8 trillion
  • Due to the large size of our population, our 5% allocation to health translates to a mere $267 per individual, a number far lower than the OECD average of $4,698
  • Fact:Yet, countries with comparable or even lower per capita health expenditures, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Ghana, are ranked better on the SDG Index at 91, 112, and 141, respectively, out of 188, and offer us hope and a few lessons
  • Difference between India and Other Countries: Extent of pooling of health expenditures and the level of government control of the health system

Pooling of expenditure

• India has among the lowest pooled expenditure for health care
• Pre-payment and pooling of resources are critical to ensure financial protection against catastrophic health shocks
• The extent of pooling is determined by the government’s tax allocation to health and insurance coverage in the country
• Reasons
  • India’s low tax to GDP ratio and allocations of around 5% of general government expenditure to health impact the total quantum of funds available
  • Other Countries such as Thailand which have a comparable tax to GDP ratio have prioritised health within their budgets and allocate 13% of it to health care

Suggestions to increase the pooled expenditure

• To increase pooled funds for health care, India needs to both provide a significantly higher level of allocation to health care in its annual Budgets, as in Thailand, as well as extend schemes such as the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) — currently a mandatory insurance scheme only for low-wage earners in the formal sector in India — to all employee
• Gradually the informal sector, both in upper and lower income, can be included by making it mandatory for all residents to buy into national or state health insurance schemes as has been successfully done in Kyrgyzstan, China, and South Korea

 

Government Control

• What other countries have done
  • Successful health systems, the world over, including in entirely free market developed economies such as Germany, Switzerland, South Korea, and Japan, do not necessarily have the government as a provider
  • Nevertheless, they all have a high degree of direct government control on the services that are offered; the pricing of health services, referral pathways, and treatment protocols that are followed
  • Governments such as those of Japan and Switzerland exercise direct price controls on services like how much physicians and hospitals may charge

 

• What India should do
  • Similar to the control in some mandated drug pricing, setting a price control on what hospitals and physicians may charge for their services, are critical elements that India may consider
  • The other area could be instituting licensing processes for hospitals, similar to the Certificate of Need process in the U.S., which can help a regionally-equitable distribution of hospitals by incentivizing the setting up of facilities in poorly served areas

 

Conclusion

It is clear that significant, strategic shifts in the level of control that the government exerts on both the financing and provision of health are urgently required,

• Prioritizing resources for health within government budgets
• Pooling existing resources
• Greater government control over the health sector
• It can also allow for a customized approach based on its context

 

Such a path will allow India to deliver on quality health care and equitable health outcomes to all of its people

 

 

[3]. Death of a fisherman

 

The Hindu

 

Context

The humanitarian dimension to the long-pending issue between India and Sri Lanka is highlighted again by K. Britjo’s killing.

 

What has happened?

1. Britjo and his colleagues set out from the Rameswaram fishing jetty in southern Tamil Nadu and tried trawling the rich Sri Lankan waters for seer fish and pompano after not finding much in Indian waters

 

Issue: Tamil Fishermen

 

Has been covered in previous briefs. Please refer to the earlier briefs like, 10^th March 2017 , 7^th Nov 2016

 

---

Economy

---

[1]. Union Cabinet approves draft GST bills, to be introduced in Parliament soon

 

The Economic Times

 

Context

GST

 

What has happened?

• The Union Cabinet approved four legislations required to implement the goods and services tax (GST), allowing for their introduction in parliament
• The government hopes to complete the legislative work for this biggest reform of the indirect tax regime in the ongoing budget session so that it can be rolled out from July 1, 2017

Four legislations

• The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The CGST Bill): Sets the tax regime for the levy of GST on intra-state supply of goods or services or both by the central government
• The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The IGST Bill): deals levy of GST on inter-state supply of goods or services or both by the central government
• The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The UTGST Bill): provides for levy of GST on intra-UT supply of goods and services in the Union Territories without legislature
• The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to the States) Bill 2017 (The Compensation Bill): The Compensation Bill provides for compensation to the states for loss of revenue due to GST for a period of five years

• The bills are likely to be introduced as money bill, ensuring they do not get stalled in the RajyaSabha where the NDA government does not have the numbers
• All state assemblies will have to separately approve the state GST legislation before this one-nation one-tax regime can be rolled out

 

[2]. New Delhi, Kabul talks soon to boost trade

 

The Hindu

 

Context

India will soon hold talks with Afghanistan on ways to boost bilateral trade and investment.

 

Why

• This is to help in the development of Afghanistan which is a land-locked and Least Developed Country (LDC)
• To boost trade and investment in South Asia through better regional connectivity
• it will also help India to improve trade ties with Central Asian nations
• Other Reason: Also aimed at mounting pressure on Islamabad to facilitate trouble-free transit of goods from India to Afghanistan through Pakistan (Wagah-Attari route)

 

The ‘India-Afghanistan Joint Working Group on Trade, Commerce and Investment’ :

• Will discuss ways to make use of the United Nations TIR (Transports InternationauxRoutiers or International Road Transport) Convention to boost trade between India and Afghanistan through Pakistan

The TIR

• The TIR Convention facilitates trade and international road transport by permitting customs-sealed vehicles and containers to transit nations without them being generally inspected at border crossings
• The Union Cabinet granted its nod for India’s accession to the TIR Convention, Pakistan and Afghanistan are also ‘contracting parties’ to the TIR Convention

Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA)

• Afghanistan can use Pakistan’s territory for transit trade while Pakistan’s goods can move through Afghanistan to nations bordering Afghanistan
• However, Islamabad has not agreed to allow using APTTA for goods to be transported from India to Afghanistan through Pakistan’s territory (via the Wagah-Attari route)
• India is keen to join APTTA and Afghanistan has backed India’s readiness to be an APTTA member but Pakistan has so far rejected such a proposal

 

Transit route

Bypass Pakistan:

• In the absence of transit route through Pakistan, India depends on other countries, including Iran, to send goods to Afghanistan even though it increases time and costs for Indian exporters
• India is also planning to strengthen air cargo links with Afghanistan as well as help expedite the development of Chabahar Port in Iran to bypass the Pakistan route to increase trade relations with Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian countries

Also to be considered more support from India to Afghanistan through Line of Credit, especially the Buyer’s Credit for project exports by Indian companies to Afghanistan

 

Facts

India’s main export items to Afghanistan are textiles, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, iron & steel and electrical machinery, while its imports from Afghanistan are fruits and nuts, gums and resins, coffee, tea and spices

---

Indian Express

---

—

---

Live Mint

---

—

---

---