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Distribution: weekly

  • Municipal finances

    Context

    Recently, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) analysed data from 80 urban local bodies (ULBs) across 24 States between 2012-13 and 2016-17 to understand ULB finance and spending, and found some key trends.

    Health of municipal finances

    • The 74th Constitution Amendment Act was passed in 1992 mandating the setting up and devolution of powers to urban local bodies (ULBs) as the lowest unit of governance in cities and towns.
    • Constitutional provisions were made for ULBs’ fiscal empowerment.
    • Challenges in fiscal empowerment: Three decades since, growing fiscal deficits, constraints in tax base expansion, and weakening of institutional mechanisms that enable resource mobilisation remain challenges.
    • Revenue losses after implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the pandemic have exacerbated the situation.

    Analysing the trends in municipal finances

    Recently, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) analysed data from 80 ULBs across 24 States between 2012-13 and 2016-17 to understand ULB finance and spending, and found some key trends.

    1] Own sources of revenue less than half of total revenue

    •  Key sources of revenue: The ULBs’ key revenue sources are taxes, fees, fines and charges, and transfers from Central and State governments, which are known as inter-governmental transfers (IGTs).
    • Important indicator of financial health: The share of own revenue (including revenue from taxes on property and advertisements, and non-tax revenue from user charges and fees from building permissions and trade licencing) to total revenue is an important indicator of ULBs’ fiscal health and autonomy.
    • The study found that the ULBs’s own revenue was 47% of their total revenue.
    • Of this, tax revenue was the largest component: around 29% of the total.
    • Property tax, the single largest contributor to ULBs’ own revenue, accounted for only about 0.15% of the GDP.
    • Figures for developing countries: The corresponding figures for developing and developed countries were significantly higher (about 0.6% and 1%, respectively) indicating that this is not being harnessed to potential in India.

    2] High dependence on IGTs

    • Most ULBs were highly dependent on external grants — between 2012-13 and 2016-17, IGTs accounted for about 40% of the ULBs’ total revenue.
    •  Transfers from the Central government are as stipulated by the Central Finance Commissions and through grants towards specific reforms, while State government transfers are as grants-in-aid and devolution of State’s collection of local taxes.

    3] Tax revenue is largest revenue for larger cities, while smaller cities are more dependent on grants

    • here are considerable differences in the composition of revenue sources across cities of different sizes.
    • Class I-A cities (population of over 50 lakh) primarily depend on their own tax revenue, while Class I-B cities and Class I-C cities (population of 10 lakh-50 lakh and 1 lakh-10 lakh, respectively) rely more on IGTs.
    • Own revenue mobilisation in Class I-A cities increased substantially.
    • It was primarily driven by increases in non-tax revenue

    4] Increasing operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses

    • Operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses are on the increase but still inadequate.
    • While the expenses were on the rise, studies (such as ICRIER, 2019 and Bandyopadhyay, 2014) indicate that they remained inadequate.
    • For instance, O&M expenses incurred in 2016-17 covered only around a fifth of the requirement forecast by the High-Powered Expert Committee for estimating the investment requirements for urban infrastructure services.
    • O&M expenses should ideally be covered through user charges, but total non-tax revenues, of which user charges are a part, are insufficient to meet current O&M expenses.
    • The non-tax revenues were short of the O&M expenditure by around 20%, and this shortfall contributed to the increasing revenue deficit in ULBs.

    Way forward

    • Improving own revenue: It is essential that ULBs leverage their own revenue-raising powers to be fiscally sustainable and empowered and have better amenities and quality of service delivery.
    • Stability in IGT: Stable and predictable IGTs are particularly important since ULBs’ own revenue collection is inadequate.
    • O&M expenses: Increasing cost recovery levels through improved user charge regimes would not only improve services but also contribute to the financial vitality of ULBs.
    • Measures need to be made to also cover O&M expenses of a ULB for better infrastructure and service.
    • Tapping into property taxes, other land-based resources and user charges are all ways to improve the revenue of a ULB.

    Conclusion

    The health of municipal finances is a critical element of municipal governance which will determine whether India realises her economic and developmental promise.

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  • How to increase production of coal

    Context

    With inflation at unprecedented levels in many countries, concerns over energy security have gained centre stage.

    National Coal Index to factor in the increased price of imported coal

    • This index was created to provide a benchmark for revenue-sharing contracts being executed after the auctions for commercial mining of coal.
    • The NCI had to be introduced as the wholesale price index (WPI) for coal has no component of imported coal.
    • For the last six months, the WPI for Coal has been stable at around 131.
    • Over the same period, the NCI has jumped from about 165 to about 238 reflecting the sharp increase in international coal prices.

    Needs to increase domestic coal production

    • High prices of coal and coal-based generation will only encourage imported coal and expose the country to price risks from international energy prices.
    • The domestic coal industry has responded to increasing internation prices with an increase of over 30 per cent in coal production from April to June this year.
    • Anticipating these problems, a big effort toward permitting commercial mining has been made to get the private sector to produce more coal.
    • Gradual transition: Looking at coal from a singular focus on GHG emissions will give a myopic view of energy requirements for a growing economy like India.
    • The path to achieving 500 GW of renewables needs to be gradual, ensuring an orderly transition as coal is unavoidable in the near future.
    • Reducing coal imports and increasing domestic production of coal needs focused attention

    Suggestions to increase domestic production of coal

    1] Sensitising the financial community

    • The financial community has to be sensitised to the need of increasing domestic coal production to meet the growing energy demand.
    • The draft National Electricity Policy released in May 2021, recognised the need to increase coal-based generation.
    •  This policy has not yet been finalised.
    • It should clearly articulate the importance of domestic coal-based generation.
    • Holistic approach in ESG criteria: Apart from the government, the industry should also take up this issue with the financial community in adopting a more holistic approach toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

    2] The regulator needs to facilitate  greater role of private sector

    • There is the need for a regulator to address the issues arising from a greater role of the private sector.
    • The current arrangements were put in place at a time when the public sector dominated.
    • There are several issues where new private commercial miners would need help.
    • Single point of contact: A single point of contact for the industry in the form of a dedicated regulator would give great comfort to private players and would help to overcome problems that could arise in due course.

    3] Diversifying the production base

    • Increasing domestic production of coal and diversifying the production base are both needed.
    • This must be complemented with efforts to improve the quality of the coal produced.

    4] Remove financial burden due to cross subsidies

    • The undue financial burden on the coal sector due to various cross subsidies needs attention.
    • The regime needs to be reformed.

    Conclusion

    Action on the issues discussed above will only help to deepen and strengthen these reforms which are needed to overcome the challenges that have resurfaced over the past few months.

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  • Key terminologies in news: Yield Inversion, Soft-Landing and Reverse Currency Wars

    This article provides a quick summary of what has been happening in the global economy. These are few key terms that one is likely to hear repeatedly in the coming days and weeks:

    1. Yield Inversion
    2. Soft-landing and
    3. Reverse Currency War

    Here’s a quick look at what they mean and why they are significant at present.

    (1) Bond Yield Inversion

    What is Bond Yeild?

    • Bonds are essentially an instrument through which governments (and also corporations) raise money from people.
    • Typically government bond yields are a good way to understand the risk-free interest rate in that economy.
    • This 2019 piece provides an introduction to government bonds and explains how yields are calculated.

    What is Yield Curve?

    • The yield curve is the graphical representation of yields from bonds (with an equal credit rating) over different time horizons.
    • In other words, if one was to take the US government bonds of different tenures and plot them according to the yields they provide, one would get the yield curve.

    The chart below provides a sense of the different types of yield curves one could have.

    How to see this?

    • Under normal circumstances, any economy would have an upward sloping yield curve.
    • That is to say, as one lends for a longer duration — or as one buys bonds of longer tenure — one gets higher yields. This makes sense.
    • If one is parting with money for a longer duration, the return should be higher.
    • Moreover, a longer tenure also implies that there is a greater risk of failure.
    • An inversion of the yield curve essentially suggests that investors expect future growth to be weak.

    Inversion of bond yield

    • However, there are times when this bond yield curve becomes inverted.
    • For instance, bonds with a tenure of 2 years end up paying out higher yields (returns/ interest rate) than bonds with a 10 year tenure.
    • Such an inversion of the yield curve essentially suggests that investors expect future growth to be weak.

    Here’s how to make sense of this?

    • When investors feel buoyant about the economy they pull the money out from long-term bonds and put it in short-term riskier assets such as stock markets.
    • In the bond market, the prices of long-term bonds fall, and their yield (effective interest rate) rises.
    • This happens because bond prices and bond yields are inversely related.
    • However, when investors suspect that the economy is heading for trouble, they pull out money from short-term risky assets (such as stock markets) and put them in long-term bonds.
    • This causes the prices of the long-term bonds to rise and their yields to fall.

    Why use inversion curve?

    • Over the years, inversion of the bond yield curve has become a strong predictor of recessions. Of course, for it to be taken seriously, such an inversion has to last for several months.
    • Over the past few weeks, such inversion is happening repeatedly in the US, suggesting to many that a recession is in the offing.
    • In the current instance, the US Fed (their central bank) has been raising short-term interest rates, which further bumps up the short-end of the yield curve while dampening economic activity.

    (2)  Soft-Landing

    • The process of monetary tightening that the US is currently unveiling involves not just reducing the money supply but also increasing the cost of money (that is, the interest rate).
    • US is doing this to contain soaring inflation.
    • Ideally, the US Fed or any central bank doing this would like to bring about monetary tightening in such a manner that slows down the economy but doesn’t lead to a recession.
    • When a central bank is successful in slowing down the economy without bringing about a recession, it is called a soft-landing — that is, no one gets hurt.
    • But when the actions of the central bank bring about a recession, it is called hard-landing.

    (3) Reverse Currency War

    • A flip side of the US Fed’s action of aggressively raising interest rates is that more and more investors are rushing to invest money in the US.
    • This, in turn, has made the dollar become stronger than all the other currencies. That’s because the dollar is more in demand than yen, euro, yuan etc.
    • On the face of it, this should make all other countries happier because a relative weakness of their local currency against the dollar makes their exports more competitive.
    • For instance, a Chinese or an Indian exporter gets a massive boost.
    • In fact, in the past the US has often accused other countries of manipulating their currency (and keeping its weaker against the dollar) just to enjoy a trade surplus against the US.
    • This used to be called the currency war.

    What explains this reverse currency war unfolding at the moment?

    • The important thing to understand is that a stronger dollar has had a key benefit — importing cheaper crude oil.
    • A currency which is losing value to the dollar, on the other hand, finds that it is getting costlier to import crude oil and other commodities that are often traded in dollars.
    • But raising the interest rate is not without its own risks.
    • Just like in the US, higher interest rates will decrease the chances of a soft-landing for any other economy.

     

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  • GST Slab Changes

    Customers will have to pay a 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on pre-packed, labelled food items such as atta, paneer and curd, besides hospital rooms with rents above ₹5,000.

    What is GST?

    • GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
    • It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
    • For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
    • GST, being a consumption-based tax, resulted in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.

    What are GST Slabs?

    • In India, almost 500+ services and over 1300 products fall under the 4 major GST slabs.
    • There are five broad tax rates of zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, plus a cess levied over and above the 28% on some ‘sin’ goods.
    • The GST Council periodically revises the items under each slab rate to adjust them according to industry demands and market trends.
    • The updated structure ensures that the essential items fall under lower tax brackets, while luxury products and services entail higher GST rates.
    • The 28% rate is levied on demerit goods such as tobacco products, automobiles, and aerated drinks, along with an additional GST compensation cess.

    Why rationalize GST slabs?

    • From businesses’ viewpoint, there are just too many tax rate slabs, compounded by aberrations in the duty structure through their supply chains with some inputs taxed more than the final product.
    • These are far too many rates and do not necessarily constitute a Good and Simple Tax.
    • Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6% from the original revenue-neutral rate of 15.5%.
    • Merging the 12% and 18% GST rates into any tax rate lower than 18% may result in revenue loss.

     

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  • Does Tropical Ozone Hole exist?

    A new ozone hole has been detected over the tropics, at latitudes of 30 degrees South to 30 degrees North, a recent study claimed. But some experts are divided over this.

    Do you know?

    The Antarctic ozone hole — one of the deepest, largest gap in the ozone layer in the last 40 years — has closed, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

    What is Ozone and Ozone Layer?

    • An ozone molecule consists of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two (the oxygen we breathe, O2, makes up 21% of the atmosphere).
    • It only exists in the atmosphere in trace quantities (less than 0.001%), but its effects are very important.
    • Ozone molecules are created by the interaction of ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the Sun with O2 molecules.
    • Because UV radiation is more intense at higher altitudes where the air is thinner, it is in the stratosphere where most of the ozone is produced, giving rise to what is called the ‘ozone layer’.
    • The ozone layer, containing over 90% of all atmospheric ozone, extends between about 10 and 40km altitude, peaking at about 25km in Stratosphere.

    Why need Ozone Layer?

    • The ozone layer is very important for life on Earth because it has the property of absorbing the most damaging form of UV radiation, UV-B radiation which has a wavelength of between 280 and 315 nanometres.
    • As UV radiation is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere, it heats up the surrounding air to produce the stratospheric temperature inversion.

    What is Ozone Hole?

    • Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely.
    • The Dobson Unit (DU) is the unit of measure for total ozone.
    • The chemicals involved ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs for short), halons, and carbon tetrachloride.
    • They are used for a wide range of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning, foam packaging, and making aerosol spray cans.
    • The ozone-depleted region is known as the “ozone hole”.

    Tropical Ozone Hole

    • According to the study, the ozone hole is located at altitudes of 10-25 km over the tropics.
    • This hole is about seven times larger than Antarctica, the study suggested.
    • It also appears across all seasons, unlike that of Antarctica, which is visible only in the spring.
    • The hole has become significant since the 1980s. But it was not discovered until this study.

    What caused an ozone hole in the tropics?

    • Studies suggested another mechanism of ozone depletion: Cosmic rays.
    • Chlorofluorocarbon’s (CFC) role in depleting the ozone layer is well-documented.
    • The tropical stratosphere recorded a low temperature of 190-200 Kelvin (K).
    • This can explain why the tropical ozone hole is constantly formed over the seasons.

    Significance of the finding

    • The tropical ozone hole, which makes up 50 percent of Earth’s surface, could cause a global concern due to the risks associated with it.
    • It is likely to cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative effects on the health and ecosystems in tropical regions.

    Back2Basics: Antarctic Ozone Hole

    • The Antarctic “ozone hole” was discovered by British Antarctic Survey scientists Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin in 1985.
    • It was caused by the chemical reactions on polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in the cold Antarctic stratosphere caused a massive.
    • Though localized and seasonal, an increase in the amount of chlorine present in active, ozone-destroying forms.

    Role of PSCs

    • The polar stratospheric clouds in Antarctica are only formed when there are very low temperatures, as low as −80 °C, and early spring conditions.
    • In such conditions, the ice crystals of the cloud provide a suitable surface for the conversion of unreactive chlorine compounds into reactive chlorine compounds, which can deplete ozone easily.

     

    Try this PYQ

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    Chlorofluorocarbons, known as ozone-depleting substances are used:

    1. In the production of plastic foams
    2. In the production of tubeless tyres
    3. In cleaning certain electronic components
    4. As pressurizing agents in aerosol cans

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (b) 4 only

    (c) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”c3bai87zru” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Rise in Unvaccinated Children in India

    The number of children in India who were unvaccinated or missed their first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) combined vaccine doubled due to the pandemic, rising from 1.4 million in 2019 to 2.7 million in 2021, according to official data published by the WHO and UNICEF.

    Why in news?

    • This data signifies that the world recorded the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years.
    • There was an increase in zero dose.
    • This is the first time ever there has been a decline in evaluated coverage in immunisation for India as a whole.

    Vaccination measures in India

    • Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0: India started IMI 4.0 from February 2022, which is expected to further reduce the number of unvaccinated children.
    • India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP): It provide free vaccines to all children across the country to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).

    About Intensified Mission Indhradhanush (IMI) 4.0

    • IMI 4.0 aims to fill gaps in the routine immunisation coverage of infants and pregnant women hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and also aims to make lasting gains towards Universal Immunization.
    • It will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts across 33 states.
    • Unlike the past, each round under IMI 4.0 will be conducted for seven days, including Routine Immunization (RI) days, Sundays, and public holidays.

    Mission Indradhanush (MI)

    • Mission Indradhanush (MI) was launched in 2014 with the goal to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) for children up to two years of age and pregnant women.
    • It targets achieving 90% full immunization coverage in all districts.
    • Under MI, all vaccines under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) are provided as per National Immunization Schedule.
    • UIP provides free vaccines against 12 life-threatening diseases, mentioned above.

    Back2Basics: Universal Immunisation Programme

    • The Expanded Programme on Immunization was launched in 1978.
    • It was renamed as UIP in 1985 when its reach was expanded beyond urban areas.
    • UIP is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 2.67 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually.
    • Under UIP, Immunization is provided free of cost against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.
    • The two major milestones of UIP have been the elimination of polio in 2014 and maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in 2015.
    • To speed up the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was planned and implemented to rapidly increase the full coverage to 90%.

     

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  • Political tussle over Podu Cultivation and Forest Lands in Telangana

    Activists have taken up the issue of Podu cultivation of adivasis and tribals in forest areas in Telangana.

    What one means by Podu?

    • Podu is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India, whereby different areas of jungle forest are cleared by burning each year to provide land for crops.
    • It is a form of shifting agriculture using slash-and-burn methods. The word comes from the Telugu language.
    • Traditionally used on the hill-slopes of Andhra Pradesh, it is similar to the jhum method found in north-east India and the bewar system of Madhya Pradesh.

    What is the ‘Podu’ Land Issue?

    • The Telangana government had decided in 2021 to move landless, non-tribal farmers engaged in shifting cultivation inside forests to peripheral areas in an effort to combat deforestation.
    • It ensured that all steps would be taken to ensure that forest land was not encroached upon.
    • It is observed that podu progressively degrades large areas of the forest.

    Shifting cultivation in India

    • In this type of agriculture, first of all a piece of forest land is cleared by felling trees and burning of trunks and branches.
    • After the land is cleared, crops are grown for two to three years and then the land is abandoned as the fertility of the soil decreases.
    • The farmers then move to new areas and the process is repeated.
    • Dry paddy, maize, millets and vegetables are the crops commonly grown in this type of farming.

    This practice is known by different names in different regions of India:

    1. Jhum in Assam,

    2. Ponam in Kerala,

    3. Podu in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and

    4. Bewar masha penda and Bera in various parts of Madhya Pradesh.

     

    What TS has to offer as alternative to Podu?

    • To stop this deforestation, the government wants to move out cultivators from deep inside forests to the periphery by allotting them land for cultivation.
    • Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades would not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers.
    • The land ownership titles have been given to tribals and more than 3 lakh acres have been allocated to tribal farmers state-wide.

    And what about non-tribal farmers?

    • These farmers can apply to the state government to allocate them land outside the forests.
    • Those who are moved out of the forests would be given land ownership certificates, power and water supplies and Rythu Bandhu benefits.

    Back2Basics: Rythu Bandhu

    • Rythu Bandhu is a scheme under which the state government extends financial support to land-owning farmers at the beginning of the crop season through direct benefit transfer.
    • The scheme aims to take care of the initial investment needs and do not fall into a debt trap.
    • This in turn instills confidence in farmers, enhances productivity and income, and breaks the cycle of rural indebtedness.

    DBT under the Scheme

    • Each farmer gets Rs 5,000 per acre per crop season without any ceiling on the number of acres held.
    • So, a farmer who owns two acres of land would receive Rs 20,000 a year, whereas a farmer who owns 10 acres would receive Rs 1 lakh a year from the government.
    • The grant helps them cover the expenses on input requirements such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and labor.

     

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  • Draft disability policy

    Context

    The Department of Empowerment of Person with Disabilities (DoEPwD) recently released the draft of the national policy for persons with disabilities.

    Why new policy?

    • Signing of UN convention: The necessity for a new policy which replaces the 2006 policy was felt because of multiple factors such as India’s signing of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
    • Increased number of disabilities: Enactment of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, which increased the number of disabilities from seven conditions to 21 necessitated the change.
    • Incheon Strategy: Being a party to the Incheon Strategy for Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 (“Incheon commitment”).
    • Changed discourse from medical model to human right: These commitments have changed the discourse around disability by shifting the focus from the individual to society, i.e., from a medical model of disability to a social or human rights model of disability.
    • The principle of the draft policy is to showcase the Government’s commitment to the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities by providing a mechanism that ensures their full participation in society.

    Absence of commitment to political uplift

    • Article 29 of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates that state parties should “ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives….”
    • The Incheon goals also promote participation in political processes and in decision making.
    • The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 embodies these principles within its fold.
    • India does not have any policy commitment that is aimed at enhancing the political participation of disabled people.
    • The exclusion of disabled people from the political space happens at all levels of the political process in the country, and in different ways.
    • Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act prescribes that “The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them”.
    • Although this mandate has been in existence for a few years, the disabled people still report accessibility issues before and on election day. 
    • There is often a lack of accessible polling booths in many locations.
    • Lack of aggregate data: The lack of live aggregate data on the exact number of the disabled people in every constituency only furthers their marginalisation.

    Lack of representation

    • Representation plays an imperative role in furthering the interests of the marginalised community.
    • Disabled people are not represented enough at all three levels of governance.
    • However, few States have begun the initiative at local levels to increase participation.
    • For instance, Chhattisgarh started the initiative of nominating at least one disabled person in each panchayat.
    • If a disabled person is not elected then they are nominated as a panchayat member as per changes in the law concerned.
    • This is a step that has increased the participation of the disabled in the political space at local level.
    • The goal of the policy document — of inclusiveness and empowerment — cannot be achieved without political inclusion.

    Suggestions: Follow four pronged approach

    • The policy can follow a four-pronged approach:
    • 1] Capacity building: Building the capacity of disabled people’s organisations and ‘empowering their members through training in the electoral system, government structure, and basic organisational and advocacy skills’;
    • 2] Legal and regulatory framework: The creation, amendment or removal of legal and regulatory frameworks by lawmakers and election bodies to encourage the political participation of the disabled;
    • 3] Participation of civil society: Inclusion of civil societies to ‘conduct domestic election observation or voter education campaigns’;
    • 4] Framework for outreach by political parties: A framework for political parties to ‘conduct a meaningful outreach to persons with disabilities when creating election campaign strategies and developing policy positions’.

    Conclusion

    The document lays emphasis on the point that central and State governments must work together with other stakeholders to “make the right real”. This right can be made real only when it includes political rights/political participation within it.

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  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

    Andhra Pradesh has decided to rejoin the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from the ongoing kharif season.

    Why in news?

    • Andhra Pradesh was one of six states that have stopped the implementation of the scheme over the last four years.
    • The other five, which remain out, are Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Telangana.

    What is PMFBY?

    • The PMFBY was launched in February 2016. It is being administered by Ministry of Agriculture.
    • It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the income of the farmers.
    • It is implemented by general insurance companies.

    Its functioning

    • PMFBY insures farmers against all non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest.
    • Farmers have to pay a maximum of 2 per cent of the total premium of the insured amount for kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi food crops and oilseeds as well as 5 per cent for commercial / horticultural crops.
    • The balance premium is shared by the Union and state governments on a 50:50 basis and on a 90:10 basis in the case of northeastern states.

    Farmers covered

    • All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
    • Earlier to Kharif 2020, the enrolment under the scheme was compulsory for following categories of farmers:
    1. Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called as Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season. and
    2. Such other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.

    Risks covered under the scheme

    • Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to non-preventable risks, such as Natural Fire and Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado.
    • Risks due to Flood, Inundation and Landslide, Drought, Dry spells, Pests/ Diseases also will be covered.
    • Post-harvest losses coverage will be available up to a maximum period of 14 days from harvesting for those crops which are kept in “cut & spread” condition to dry in the field.
    • For certain localized problems such as loss/damage resulting from the occurrence of identified localized risks like hailstorm, landslide, and Inundation affecting isolated farms in the notified area would also be covered.

    Why many states has opted out?

    The opting-out states had mentioned several reasons:

    • The scheme should be voluntary.
    • States should be given options to choose the risks covered and the scheme should be universal.
    • State should be given option to use their own database of E-crop, an application used by the state government to collect information about crops.
    • Many state government wanted zero premium for farmers (meaning the entire premium should be paid by the government.
    • The non-payment of the State Share of premium subsidy within the prescribed timelines as defined in the seasonality discipline lea to the disqualification of the State Government.
    • The reason for West Bengal not implementing the PMFBY is purely “political” as it wants to implement the scheme without mentioning Pradhan Mantri in the name.

    How was the scheme structured, and what has changed since?

    • Initially, the scheme was compulsory for loanee farmers; in February 2020, the Centre revised it to make it optional for all farmers.
    • Now states and UTs are free to extend additional subsidy over and above the normal subsidy from their budgets.
    • In February 2020, the Centre decided to restrict its premium subsidy to 30% for unirrigated areas and 25% for irrigated areas (from the existing unlimited). Earlier, there was no upper limit.
    • Food crops (cereals, millets and pulses); oilseeds; and annual commercial / annual horticultural crops are broadly covered under the scheme.

     

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  • Kerala reports India’s first Monkeypox Case

    The first known lab-confirmed case of monkeypox in India has been reported in a 35-year-old man in Kerala.

    What is Monkeypox?

    • The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox, and vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine.
    • It causes symptoms similar to smallpox, although they are less severe.
    • While vaccination eradicated smallpox worldwide in 1980, monkeypox continues to occur in a swathe of countries in Central and West Africa, and has on occasion showed up elsewhere.
    • According to the WHO, two distinct clade are identified: the West African clade and the Congo Basin clade, also known as the Central African clade.

    Its origin

    • Monkeypox is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
    • Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.
    • According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus.

    Symptoms and treatment

    • Monkeypox begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches, back ache, and exhaustion.
    • It also causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), which smallpox does not.
    • The WHO underlines that it is important to not confuse monkeypox with chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis and medication-associated allergies.
    • The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days.
    • There is no safe, proven treatment for monkeypox yet.

     

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