Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Consumer Protection Act 2019
Mains level: Paper 2- Right to repair
Context
The U.S. state of New York recently passed the Fair Repair Act, which requires manufacturers to supply repair information, tools, and parts to independent repair shops and not just their own stores or partners.
What is the right to repair?
- It refers to proposed government legislation that would allow consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products (e.g. electronic, automotive devices).
- The idea behind âright to repairâ is in the name: If you own something, you should be able to repair it yourself or take it to a technician of your choice.
- People are pretty used to this concept when it comes to older cars and appliances, but right-to-repair advocates argue that modern tech, especially anything with a computer chip inside, is rarely repairable.
Why is such right significant?
- Lifespan enhancement:Â The goal of the movement is to increase the lifespan of products and to keep them from ending up in landfills.
- Against planned obsolescence:Â The electronic manufacturers are encouraging such culture so that devices are designed specifically to last a limited amount of time and to be replaced.
- Scarcity of natural resources:Â Obsolescence leads to immense pressure on the environment and wasted natural resources.
- Mitigating climate change:Â Manufacturing an electronic device is a highly polluting process. It makes use of polluting sources of energy, such as fossil fuel.
- Boost to repair economy:Â Right to repair advocates also argue that this will help boost business for small repair shops, which are an important part of local economies.
Why we need the right to repair?
- Exorbitant repair price: Often, manufacturers reduce the durability of the product, compelling consumers to either repurchase the product or get it repaired at exorbitant prices affixed by the manufacturers.
- Violation of rights: This tramples upon the right to obtain information about the quality of the product, the right to procure products at reasonable prices, and the right to seek redress against unscrupulous practices.
- Implicit in Consumer Protection Act: The âright to repairâ can be said to be implicit in Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Right to repair provides consumers with the right to repair and refurbish their purchased goods.
- Providing livelihood to repair technicians: An entire repair class is, in effect, denied its right to conduct business as it does not have the tools, parts, guidelines and technical know-how to repair these high-tech products.
- In addition to protecting their right to livelihood, it may also prove beneficial as tech companies are required to share their repair manuals with certified technicians.
What are the concerns of the manufacturers?
- IP rights, security and quality concers: While right to repair is a victory for consumer rights, privacy, security and quality concerns along with blatant intellectual property (IP) rights violations of the manufacturers cannot be sidelined.
- Impact on quality and functioning: Manufacturers claim that the quality and functioning of the product might be adversely affected if they allow repairs by consumers and third parties.
- The fear of manufacturers is so potent that they incorporate warranty clauses which lapse when the product is repaired by a third party.
Way forward
- Avoiding blanket waiver: While necessary clauses to maintain the quality of the product can be included, a blanket waiver should be avoided.
- For instance, the quality assurance clause can be incorporated for use of company-recommended spare parts and certified repair shops.
- Making available the repair manual: Making repair manuals available to certified business owners could go a long way in balancing the rights of consumers and manufacturers.
- Sign non-disclosure agreement to protect IP rights: Manufacturers can sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the IP with the certified repairers/businesses.
- Alloting certification/license: Further, the lack of certification/licensing of repair workers is seen as a reflection of their lack of skills.
- But a repair certification/licence can be allotted to those who pass certain criteria and skill tests.
- Insert right to repair in Consumer protection Act: The âright to repairâ can be said to be implicit in Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Its apparent disregard merits an explicit insertion of a âright to repairâ clause in the said provision.
- This would make consumers more aware, provide tooth to an already implicit right, and aid in advancing repair-related liability on various stakeholders.
- Reparability parameter: The product liability clause under Section 84 can be amended and expanded to impose product liability concerning various reparability parameters of the product.
- France requires manufacturers to display a repairability index on their products which consists of five parameters.
- Duration of product liability: The duration of imposing product liability may vary depending on the product and its longevity.
- Here, we can rely on the EUâs guidelines on Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations, 2021, which mandate manufacturers to provide spare parts for up to 10 years to avoid premature obsolescence.
Conclusion
The New York legislation is a reminder that it is time to not only acknowledge the right to repair of consumers but also respond to the corresponding rights of the manufacturers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CERC
Mains level: Paper 3- Power crisis
Context
The recent power crisis due to the coal shortage in India underscores the need for measures to avoid a repeat of episodes in the future.
Factors contributing to power crisis
- Spike in power demand: With the sudden early onset of summer in 2022, power demand spiked, riding on the back of the post-Covid economic recovery.
- Increase in price due to Ukraine crisis: The matter was further exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, which led to a sharp increase in the price of imported coal.
- Consequently, power stations designed on imported coal stopped importing because it was no longer economical for them to generate, given their contract price with the distribution companies.
- Availability of railway rakes: Itâs not that domestic coal was not available since enough stock had been built in the mines.
- The issue was of availability of railway rakes for transportation.
What were the measures taken by the government ?
- 1] Import of coal to 10 per cent: First, all generators have been asked to import coal to the extent of 10 per cent (as against 4 per cent earlier) and that half of this should be physically available by the end of June.
- CIL as aggregator: Coal India will function as the aggregator on behalf of the generators.
- CIL functioning as the aggregator is a better idea and it may be able to import at a cheaper cost by accumulating demand as well as standardising the coal grade to be procured.
- Moreover, it would be easier for regulators to calculate the revised energy charge since the price at which coal was imported would be well-documented.
- 2] Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003 (Act) invoked: Under this section, the government directed imported coal-based plants to run at full capacity with the assurance that their enhanced cost of operation would be compensated.
- 3] Tolling: The government invoked the concept of tolling, which allowed states to transfer their allotted coal to private generators located near the mines instead of transporting it to far away state generators.
- This move would ease the burden on the availability of railway rakes.
- 4] Seeking the consent of beneficiaries for hike: the government issued policy directions to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) overriding CERCâs regulations that made it mandatory to seek the consent of beneficiaries if the tariff went up by more than 30 per cent, if some alternate fuel is used.
- 5]Â Committee to rework the energy charge: A committee of officials was set up to rework the energy charge for imported coal-based generators.
- 6] Additional working capital: The government is cognisant of the fact that there is a need for additional working capital and has advised REC/PFC as well as commercial banks to arrange for this.
Issues with the measures
- Use of Section 11: The government invoked Section 11 to give direction to private generators to import coal at a higher cost.
- Section 11(1) allows the government to give direction to a generation company to operate and maintain a generating station in extraordinary circumstances.
- Section 11(2) of the Act mentions that the adverse financial impact on generating compacy due to directions referred to in sub-section (1) would be offset by the regulator.
- Going by Section 11(2), the government should have left the job of working out the energy charge to the regulator instead of setting up a committee of officials to do so though, of course, the CERC was represented in the committee.
- 2] No transparency: The committee has already worked out the revised energy costs for six of the plants but there is no transparency regarding the coal cost assumed, its calorific value, transportation cost, etc.
- 3] Additional rakes: We have to bear in mind that the coal problem arose because of the non-availability of rakes.
- With 38 MT of coal to be imported by October this year, and half of that by end of June, the need for rakes will not only go up but would be front-loaded.
- We need the requisite number of rakes otherwise, we are back to where we began.
Conclusion
While the government is taking steps to increase coal imports and addressing the other issues, it must ensure that domestic production does not dip during monsoon season.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Indiaâs Nuclear Doctrine, Nuclear Proliferation
India had 160 nuclear warheads as on January 2022 and it appears to be expanding its nuclear arsenal, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a defense think tank.
What is the news?
- Indiaâs nuclear stockpile increased from 156 in January 2021 to 160 in January 2022.
Nukes in thy neighbour
- Pakistanâs nuclear stockpile has remained at 165, SIPRI claimed.
- China is in the middle of a substantial expansion of its nuclear weapon arsenal, which satellite images indicate includes the construction of over 300 new missile silos.
- China had 350 nuclear warheads in January 2021 and 2022.
Why do countries proliferate nuclear weapons?
- Proliferation models centered on security concerns or dilemmas dominate nuclear literature.
- Nuclear weapons provide an overwhelmingly destructive force that increases a stateâs relative power in comparison to its neighbors.
- It provides a powerful tool in an anarchic system where superpowers dominate other nation-states sovereignty.
- Hence weaponizing helps establish a deterrence to prevent war.
What is the Deterrence Theory?
- Deterrence is widely defined as any use of threats (implicit or explicit) or limited force intended to dissuade an actor from taking an action (i.e. maintain the status quo).
- The topic gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons.
- It is related to but distinct from the concept of mutual assured destruction, which models the preventative nature of full-scale nuclear attack that would devastate both parties in a nuclear war.
- The central problem of deterrence revolves around how to credibly threaten military action or nuclear punishment on the adversary despite its costs to the deterrer.
Issues in Nuclear Disarmament
- Notion of Nuclear âHavesâ and âHave-Notsâ: The proponents of disarmaments are themselves nuclear armed countries thus creating a nuclear monopoly.
- Concept of Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE): conducted for non-military purposes such as mining.
Indiaâs commitment for de-nuclearization
India has always batted for a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework.
- It has outlined a working paper on Nuclear Disarmament submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2006.
- India participated in the Nuclear Security Summit process and has regularly participated in the International Conferences on Nuclear Security organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- India is also a member of the Nuclear Security Contact Group (but has signed off the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)).
- India has expressed its readiness to support the commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).
- India couldnât join the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) due to several concerns raised by India.
- India has piloted an annual UNGA Resolution on âMeasures to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons of Mass Destructionâ since 2002, which is adopted by consensus.
Back2Basics: Indiaâs Nuclear Doctrine
- This was first articulated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on May 27, 1998, days after India had undertaken a series of nuclear tests in Pokhran.
- It outlined various principles:
- Building and maintaining a Credible Minimum Deterrence
- Posture of âNo First Useâ– nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian Territory or on Indian forces anywhere
- Massive Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be designed to inflict unacceptable damage
- Non-use against non-nuclear states
- In response to biological or chemical weapons, India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various types of Pardons
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Union Home Ministry issued a set of guidelines to the States and the Union Territories on the grant of special remission to prisoners to commemorate the 75th year of Independence.
What is the news?
- The decision comes as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
- The special remission would be granted to a certain category of prisoners, and they would be released in three phases.
What is Remission?
- The suspension is the stay or postponement of the execution of the sentence.
- In remission, the duration of the sentence is reduced, without changing the nature of the sentence.
- In remission, the nature of the sentence is remained untouched, while the duration is reduced i.e. the rest of the sentence need not be undergone.
- The effect of the remission is that the prisoner is given a certain date on which he shall be released and the eyes of the law he would be a free man.
- However, in case of breach of any of the condition of remission, it will be cancelled and the offender has to serve the entire term for which he was originally sentenced.
Constitutional provisions for Remission
- âPrisonsâ is a State subject under the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
- Indian laws provide pardoning power sourcing from statuary and constitutional authorities.
- By virtue of Article 72 and 161 of the Constitution of India, the President and Governor can grant pardon, to suspend, remit or commute a sentences passed by the courts.
What are the new norms?
The prisoners who would qualify for premature release under the scheme are:
- Women and transgender convicts of ages 50 and above
- Male convicts of 60 and above who have completed 50% of their total sentence period without counting the period of general remission earned
- Physically challenged or disabled convicts with 70% disability and more who have completed 50% of their total sentence period
- Terminally ill convicts
- Convicted prisoners who have completed two-thirds (66%) of their total sentence
- Poor or indigent prisoners who have completed their sentence but are still in jail due to non-payment of fine imposed on them by waiving off the fine
- Persons who committed an offence at a young age (18-21) and with no other criminal involvement or case against them and who have completed 50% of their sentence period would also be eligible for the remission
Exceptions to these norms
Following persons would not be eligible for the grant of special remission:
- Persons convicted with death sentence or where death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment or persons convicted for an offence for which punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments
- Persons convicted with sentence of life imprisonment
- Convicts involved in terrorist activities or persons convicted under the Terrorist and Disruptive (Prevention) Act, 1985, Prevention of Terrorist Act, 2002, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Explosives Act, 1908, National Security Act, 1982, Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016
Back2Basics: Pardoning powers in India
- Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
- A similar and parallel power vests in the governors of each state under Article 161.
- President
- Article 72 says that the president shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
- The pardoning powers of the Indian President are elucidated in Art 72 of the Indian Constitution. There are five different types of pardoning which are mandated by law.
- Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free. The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen.
- Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence.
- Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation.
- Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc.
- Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing twenty-year rigorous imprisonment to ten years.
Cases as specified by art. 72
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court-martial;
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends;
- in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
- Governor
- Similarly, as per article 161: Governor of a State has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law.
- It must be relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
- Please note that President can grant pardon to a person awarded death sentence. But a governor of a state does not enjoy this power.
Nature of the Pardoning Power
- The question is whether this power to grant pardon is absolute or this power of pardon shall be exercised by the President on the advice of Council of Ministers.
- The pardoning power of the president is not absolute. It is governed by the advice of the Council of Ministers.
- This has not been discussed by the constitution but is the practical truth.
- Further, the constitution does not provide for any mechanism to question the legality of decisions of President or governors exercising mercy jurisdiction.
- But the SC in Epuru Sudhakar case has given a small window for judicial review of the pardon powers of President and governors for the purpose of ruling out any arbitrariness.
- The court has earlier held that court has retained the power of judicial review even on a matter which has been vested by the Constitution solely in the Executive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 142
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Supreme Court has crafted a victory for a disabled student by using its special powers under Article 142 to declare the successful completion of her Master of Designs course from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
What is Article 142?
Article 142 titled âEnforcement of decrees and orders of the Supreme Court and orders as to discovery, etc.â has two clauses:
[1] Article 142(1)
- The Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.
- Any decree so passed or order so made shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India.
- It may be in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament and, until provision in that behalf is so made, in such manner as the President may by order prescribe.
[2] Article 142(2)
- The Supreme Court shall have all and every power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any documents, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of itself.
Important instances when Article 142 was invoked
- Bhopal Gas tragedy case: The SC awarded a compensation of $470 million to the victims and held that âprohibitions or limitations or provisions contained in ordinary laws cannot, ipso facto, act as prohibitions or limitations on the constitutional powers under Article 142.â
- Babri Masjid demolition case: The Supreme Court ordered framing of a scheme by the Centre for formation of trust to construct Ram Mandir at the Masjid demolition site in Ayodhya.
- Liquor sale ban case: The Supreme Court banned liquor shops within a distance of 500 metres from National as well as State highways in order to prevent drunken driving.
- Ex-PM Assassin case: In the case of Perarivalan, the Supreme Court invoked Article 142(1) under which it was empowered to pass any order necessary to do complete justice in any matter pending before it.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.With reference to the Constitution of India, prohibitions or limitations or provisions contained in ordinary laws cannot act as prohibitions or limitations on the constitutional powers under Article 142. It could mean which one of the following?
(a) The decisions taken by the Election Commission of India while discharging its duties cannot be challenged in any court of law.
(b) The Supreme Court of India is not constrained in the exercise of its powers by laws made by the Parliament.
(c) In the event of grave financial crisis in the country, the President of India can declare Financial Emergency without the counsel from the Cabinet.
(d) State Legislatures cannot make laws on certain matters without the concurrence of Union Legislature.
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Diabetes , its types
Mains level: Not Much
Last week, the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) released guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and management for type-1 diabetes.
Why such move?
- India is considered the diabetes capital of the world, and the pandemic disproportionately affected those living with the disease.
- Type 1 or childhood diabetes, however, is less talked about, although it can turn fatal without proper insulin therapy.
- Type 1 diabetes is rarer than type 2. Only 2% of all hospital cases of diabetes in the country are type 1.
What is Diabetes?
- Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.
- Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar (also called glucose) and released into your bloodstream.
- When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin.
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
- Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the pancreas completely stops producing insulin.
- Insulin is the hormone responsible for controlling the level of glucose in blood by increasing or decreasing absorption to the liver, fat, and other cells of the body.
- This is unlike type 2 diabetes â which accounts for over 90% of all diabetes cases in the country â where the bodyâs insulin production either goes down or the cells become resistant to the insulin.
How lethal diabetes is?
- Type 1 diabetes is predominantly diagnosed in children and adolescents.
- Although the prevalence is less, it is much more severe than type 2.
- Unlike type 2 diabetes where the body produces some insulin and which can be managed using various pills, if a person with type 1 diabetes stops taking their insulin, they die within weeks.
How rare is it?
- There are over 10 lakh children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes in the world, with India accounting for the highest number.
- Of the 2.5 lakh people living with type 1 diabetes in India, 90,000 to 1 lakh are under the age of 14 years.
- For context, the total number of people in India living with diabetes was 7.7 crore in 2019.
- Among individuals who develop diabetes under the age of 25 years, 25.3% have type 2.
Who is at risk of type 1 diabetes?
- The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, but it is thought to be an auto-immune condition where the bodyâs immune system destroys the islets cells on the pancreas that produce insulin.
- Genetic factors play a role in determining whether a person will get type-1 diabetes.
- The risk of the disease in a child is 3% when the mother has it, 5% when the father has it, and 8% when a sibling has it.
- The presence of certain genes is also strongly associated with the disease.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Web and its evolution
Mains level: Not Much
Former Twitter CEO recently announced his vision for a new decentralized web platform that is being called Web 5.0 and is being built with an aim to return âownership of data and identity to individualsâ.
Various versions of Web
- Web 1.0 was the first generation of the global digital communications network. It is often referred to as the âread-onlyâ Internet made of static web-pages that only allowed for passive engagement.
- Web 2.0 was the âread and writeâ Internet. Users were now able to communicate with servers and other users leading to the creation of the social web. This is the World Wide Web that we use today.
- Web 3.0 is an evolving term that is used to refer to the next generation of Internet â a âread-write-executeâ web â with decentralization as its bedrock. It leverages the blockchain technology and will be driven by Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.
- Web 4.0 is not really a new version, but is a alternate version of what we already have. Web needed to adapt to its mobile surroundings. Web 4.0 connects all devices in the real and virtual world in real-time.
What is Web 5.0?
- Web 5.0 is aimed at building an extra decentralized web that puts you in control of your data and identity.
- Simply put, Web 5.0 is Web 2.0 plus Web 3.0 that will allow users to âown their identityâ on the Internet and âcontrol their dataâ.
- Both Web 3.0 and Web 5.0 envision an Internet without threat of censorship â from governments or big tech, and without fear of significant outages.
What are the use cases for Web 5.0?
There can be two use cases for how Web 5.0 will change things in the future.
- Control of identity: A digital wallet that securely manages user identity, data, and authorizations for external apps and connections.
- Control over own data: Say, we can grant any music app access to settings and preferences, enabling the app to take our personalized music experience across different music apps.
Try this question from CSP 2022:
With reference to Web 3.0, consider the following statements:
- Web 3.0 technology enables people to control their own data.
- In Web 3.0 world, there can be blockchain based social networks.,
- Web 3.0 is operated by users collectively rather than a corporation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Mains level: Paper 3- Food crisis due to price shocks
Context
This increase in global food prices which manifested itself in the three food price crises since the 1960s offers some pertinent lessons for global food systems and the international community.
Managing year-to-year volatility Vs. periodic spikes in food prices
- Year-to-year volatility is easily managed by most countries through changes in their trade and domestic policies.
- But steep and severe periodic price shocks can lead to some sort of a crisis at the global and national levels.
- Implications: The crisis can emerge in the form of food shortages, trade disruptions, a rise and spread in hunger and poverty levels, depletion of foreign exchange reserves, a strain on a nationâs fiscal resources, a threat to peace, and even social unrest in some places.
History of food crises after since adoption of Green Revolution
- Data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank/International Monetary Fund show that since the onset and the adoption of Green Revolution technology in the early 1960s, the world has been struck thrice by food price crises.
- First shock-1973-76: The first shock was experienced during 1973-76 when the food price index (based on prices in U.S. dollars) doubled in nominal terms.
- Declining trend: For the next two decades, food prices in real terms followed a declining trend and were at their lowest around 2002.
- After this, nominal as well as the real prices of food began rising.
- Second crisis-2008: This momentum built up to culminate in the next food price crisis of 2008, which was further intensified by 2011.
- While the price shock began softening after 2014, food prices did not move back to their pre-2006 level.
- Third crisis-2020:Â This time the increase in the food price index happened very quickly and it turned out to be very big – it has taken the food price index to its historically highest level.
- Cause outside agriculture: All the three food price crises were triggered by factors outside agriculture.
- They were not caused by any serious shortfall in agriculture production.
- The interval between crises is reducing: The interval between two consecutive price shocks has narrowed down considerably and the severity of shock is turning stronger.
What are the causes responsible for the recent food price crisis?
- 1] Covid-19 and Ukraine crisis: It was triggered by supply disruptions due to COVID-19 and further aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
- The current food price spike first began in vegetable oils and then expanded to cereals.
- Higher the global trade higher disruption: The effect of global trade disruption will be higher for commodities that are traded more and vice-versa.
- 2] Diversion of food for biofuel: Another factor underlying the rising trend and spikes in food prices is the diversion of food for biofuel needs.
- When crude prices increase beyond a certain level it becomes economical to use oilseeds and grains for biodiesel and ethanol, respectively.
- The second reason for the use of food crops for biofuel is the mandates to increase the share of renewable energy resources.
- 3] Increased cost of agrochemicals and fertilisers: Food prices are also expected to go up in the current and next harvest season because of an increase in the prices of fertilizer and other agrochemicals.
Way forward for India
- Transmission of international prices to domestic prices can be prevented only if there is no trade.
- 1] Trade policy changes: This transmission of global prices to the domestic market can be moderated through trade policy and other instruments.
- When international prices go too low, India has checks on cheap imports to protect the interests of producers; and when international prices go too high, the country liberalises imports and imposes checks on exports to ensure adequate availability and reasonable food prices for domestic consumers.
- 2] Buffer stock: The policy of having a buffer stock of food staples has also been very helpful in maintaining price stability, especially in the wake of global food crises.
- 3] Strategic liberalisation: India should continue with a policy of strategic liberalisation, as followed in the past, to balance the interests of producers and consumers.
- 4] Maintain image as a reliable and credible exporter: The importance of agriculture exports to mop up food and agriculture surplus from the country is increasing.
- Ongoing trends in domestic demand and supply imply that India will be required to dispose of 15% of its domestic food output in the overseas market by 2030.
- This underscores the need to maintain Indiaâs image as a reliable and credible exporter.
- However, it is important to differentiate between the two situations: disturbing normal export and regulating exports exceeding the normal level.
What are the implications for India?
- Increased prices in India: Export and import in the agriculture sector constituted 13% of gross value added in agriculture during 2020-21.
- Therefore, some transmission of an increase in global prices on domestic prices is inevitable.
- Wheat export ban and implications:Â The recent ban on wheat exports and restrictions on the export of other food commodities by India need to be seen in the light of an abnormal situation created by spikes in international prices.
- Some experts see it as a setback to Indiaâs image as a reliable exporter as this move is seen to disrupt (regular) export channels.
- A closer examination of data reveals that Indiaâs action to ban or restrict food exports is not disrupting its normal exports.
- India was a very small exporter of wheat, with its share in global wheat trade ranging between 0.1% to 1% during 2015-16 to 2020-21.
- The international market is looking for around 50 million tonnes of wheat to compensate for the disruption in wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine.
- If India had not imposed a ban on wheat export, it would have resulted in a severe shortage of wheat within the country.
Global impact and suggestions
- As the steam of Green Revolution technology slowed down with the start of the 21st century, food prices began increasing in real terms.
- New breakthroughs required: The world requires new breakthroughs such as Green Revolution technology, for large-scale adoption in order to enable checks on food prices rising at a faster rate.
- Increase spending on agri-research: This in turn requires increased spending on agriculture research and development (especially by the public sector and multilateral development agencies).
- Strengthen global agri-research system: There is a need to strengthen and rejuvenate the global agri-research system under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) which is heading towards disarray.
- Rethink biofuel protocols: Biofuel protocols have contributed to the global food crisis for the second time in the last 15 years.
- Diversion of land under food crops and food output for biofuel should be carefully calibrated with implications for food availability.
Conclusion
- The last three food price crises were primarily caused due to an increase in energy prices and disruptions in the movement of food across borders.
- Factors related to climate change are going to be an additional source of supply shocks in the years ahead.
- Therefore, the global community must plan to have a global buffer stock of food in order to ensure reasonable stability in food prices and supply.
Back2Basics: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
- CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.
- CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Duopoly threat in India's telecom sector
Context
The near-death of competition signalled by the incipient exit of Vi late last year pushed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to announce steps to prevent the premature exit of a sagging operator.
About 5G
- 5G is the 5th generation mobile network.
- It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
- 5G can be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second (Mbps) average data rates.
- 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
- 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.
- Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connects new industries.
- With high speeds, superior reliability and negligible latency, 5G will expand the mobile ecosystem into new realms.
- 5G will impact every industry, making safer transportation, remote healthcare, precision agriculture, digitized logistics â and more â a reality.
Indiaâs telecom sector: From monopoly to hyper-competition to duopoly
- Indiaâs telecom market has seen monopoly as well as hyper-competition.
- Twenty-five years ago, the government alone could provide services.
- Technology and deregulation: In the following years, the combined forces of technology and deregulation helped break the shackles of public sector dominance despite the latterâs stiff resistance
- In the following years, there were nearly a dozen competing operators. Most service areas now have four players.
- However, the possible exit of the financially-stressed Vodafone Idea would leave only two dominant players-Airtel and Jio in the telecom sector.
- A looming duopoly, or the exit of a global telecommunications major, are both worrying.
- They deserve a careful and creative response.
Government package for telecom sector to prevent duopoly
- The near-death of competition signalled by the incipient exit of Vi late last year pushed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to announce steps to prevent the premature exit of a sagging operator.
- As a part of its support package for the telecom sector, in October 2021, it dispensed with the requirement of performance bank guarantees required earlier as security.
- It increased the tenure of spectrum holding from 20 to 30 years.
- It allowed for the surrender of the unutilised or underutilised spectrum after 10 years.
- Most importantly removed the levy of spectrum usage charges.Â
Why competitive telecom market is important?
- Key to achieving digital ambitions: A competitive telecom sector is fundamental to realising Indiaâs digital ambitions.
- Innovation: Monopolies have no incentive to innovate.
- Investment: The competition will guarantee that operators find it attractive to invest in network infrastructure upgradation and offer consumers a wide range of innovative service options.
- Source of revenue: A competitive telecom sector would be an indirect source of tax revenue as well.
- How to make market competitive? Competition cannot be willed into the sector.
- It needs careful nurturing, assiduous fostering and regulatory neutrality.Â
Way forward on 5G
- Structural changes: While the package may have prevented the exit of Vi from the market, to embed competition within the sector, structural changes are necessary.
- The imminent 5G networks demand massive investment and sophistication of operations.
- 1] Level playing field: This will not be achieved unless the playing field is level across the relevant operators and honest incentives are provided to operators to embrace new technology.
- Â 2] Change the spectrum allocation method: There is no doubt that spectrum auctions have served India well in the past due to the acrimonious political economy associated with administrative spectrum assignment, including First Come First Serve (FCFS) method.
- The auction regime worked well when demand exceeded supply, but if there is an adequate quantity of spectrum for everyone, that constraint would not exist.
- Administrative assignments can thus be considered once again.
- 3] Administrative assignments:Â An administrative assignment will include the possibility that all spectrum can be assigned at reasonable prices and in the process, a grand bargain can be struck with telecom operators.
- 4] Assigning 5G spectrum for private enterprise business: TRAI and the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) are considering whether 5G spectrum should be assigned to companies like TCS, Amazon and Google, among others, for their private enterprise business.
- 5G spectrum assignment for enterprises would adversely affect the business model of telcos.
- But there will be enterprises that telcos could serve that are not large enough to purchase 5G spectrum.
- A grand bargain that allows enterprises to buy 5G spectrum while assigning spectrum to the existing telcos through the administrative route will also serve the revenue needs of the government.
- 5] Privatise public sector operator: This is an opportunity to also signal to the public sector operator that 5G business is outside the range of its capability set.
- Hence like Air India it needs to be privatised in the fullness of time.
- These are difficult decisions and will need much more political will than in 1994.
Consider the question “Why a competitive telecom market is a prerequisite for achieving India’s digital dream and why an eminent duopoly in the sector stands to threaten that dream? Suggest way forward.”
Conclusion
It would be tragic if Indiaâs telecom-access market was to be reduced to only two competing operators, as we have a long way to go. What we need is structural changes in the sectors as well as the way the sector is regulated.
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Back2Basics: Spectrum usage charges
- Companies had to pay 3-5 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as spectrum usage charge to the department of telecom.
- If they share spectrum with another operator, operators must pay an additional 0.5 per cent of AGR for that band as SUC.
- However, in September 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decided to remove the floor rate of 3% of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for operators to pay their spectrum usage charge (SUC).
- The removal of the clause fixing a floor rate of 3% was done to give effect to the recently announced telecom relief package.
- Though the telecom package talks of scrapping SUC only on spectrum acquired in future auctions like that of 5G, if the 3% floor is abolished, as and when operators acquire more spectrum in future auctions, their SUC will become zero on the entire holding.
- This is because of a complex weighted average formula to calculate the SUC of operators who have a mix of administratively allocated spectrum and acquired through auctions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Inflation triggering factors
Context
Inflation is turning into a global concern fueled by multiple global factors. However, in India there are a few other triggers that will have a bearing on the inflationary trajectory.
Global inflation concerns
- All that could have possibly triggered higher inflation globally has already occurred â multiple waves of the pandemic, supply disruptions, an overdose of policy stimuli, war, sanctions, energy shocks, geopolitical adversity and weather disruptions.
1] Impact of MSP on inflation
- The MSP that is fixed by the government for kharif and rabi crops has been one of the key policy instruments.
- Policymakers in India have often acted with alacrity to protect the interests of farmers over the years.
- In the last 20 years, the weighted average MSP for kharif crops saw double-digit growth four times â in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2018.
- Food inflation shot up to 12 per cent in 2007-08 as against 8 per cent in 2006-07 and 4 per cent in 2005-06.
- The inflationary surge continued in 2009 as a monsoon failure hit agricultural output hard.
- Global agricultural commodity prices started to rise in 2010 again and the FAO food price index reached an all-time high in July 2012.
- One of the key reasons for the increase in food prices was the oil price surge and a rise in demand for biofuel production.
- The global upside in food prices coincided with a 22 per cent increase in MSP for Kharif crops in India.
- Following the rise in MSP, food inflation in 2012 increased by 14.6 per cent as against 3.6 per cent the preceding year.
- In  2018, for the first time, the MSPs for all 23 kharif and rabi crops were fixed at a margin of at least 50 per cent higher than the cost of cultivation.
- The cost of cultivation (A2 + FL) includes the paid-out cost and cost of imputed family labour.
- Accordingly, the MSP of kharif crops in 2018 saw an annual increase of about 14 per cent.
- However, despite the significant rise in MSP, food inflation in 2018-19 was muted at 0.3 per cent.
- This was because farm input costs were under control and the terms of trade for farmers remained positive.
2] Impact of GST on inflation
- Raising the revenue-neutral rate: In the upcoming meeting, there is talk of changes in GST slabs and rates with an eye on raising the revenue-neutral rate from around 11.5 per cent, which is far lower than the 15.5 per cent estimated at the time of the launch of GST.
- Avoid the shock: However, a GST rate shock to the system is best avoided given the global inflationary backdrop and the fragility of consumer balance sheets.
3] Influence of weather
- While the dependence of agricultural output on the quantum of rainfall has reduced, variance in the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall is emerging as a key risk.
- A look at 2021 â a normal monsoon year with rainfall at 99 per cent of its long period average â is instructive.
- The late excess rains delayed the crop cycle and led to crop damage in several parts of the country.
- Likewise, the spatial distribution of rainfall remained uneven in 2021.
- Thus, even with normal rainfall in 2021, there were several disruptions to the crop cycle and farm cash flows.
Conclusion
The government has taken various steps lately to rein in inflation. However, the RBI will have little freedom in case the GST council decides to accord revenue protection to states via higher GST rates or if the monsoon is not in line with expectations. One hopes these events pan out right, like the MSP hike, when most other things have gone wrong.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CoWIN
Mains level: Paper 2- CoWIN platform
Context
Seeing its success, other nations have also expressed interest in availing CoWIN and using it as a bridge for erecting their digital health systems. Responding to this incoming interest, our prime minister has offered CoWIN as a digital public good, free of cost, for all nations globally to adopt.
About CoWIN
- In late 2020, even before the Covid-19 vaccines had arrived, the Government of India had commenced preparations for launching the worldâs largest vaccination drive.
- This led to the beginning of the CoWIN journey in January 2021.
- Scalability, modularity, and interoperability: CoWIN, or the Covid-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network, was developed in a record time, with consideration given to scalability, modularity, and interoperability.
- The platform has been made available in English and 11 regional languages to allow citizens across multiple states to access the platform with ease.
- To circumvent the lack of digital access, the platform allows for up to six members to be registered under one mobile-number linked account.
- CoWIN has scaled every 100 million milestone faster than any other platform.
- It reached the coveted one billion registered user mark which only a handful of platforms have been able to achieve globally, and none in such a short time.
- A key feature of the platform has been its modularity and evolvability.
- The CoWIN team has been adept at keeping pace with the changing policy environment and scientific research and developments in the administration of vaccines.
- It was never that CoWIN became the bottleneck or delayed the implementation of our vaccination policies or drive.
- Time and again, CoWIN has proved itself as one of the most secure and robust platforms with minimal data input and zero risk of personal data hacks.Â
Major phases of CoWIN
- The journey of CoWIN was staggered across three major phases, with multiple additions subsequently.
- In phase 1, the registration process went online where healthcare workers and frontline workers were sent system-generated notifications about their vaccination schedule.
- In subsequent phases, beneficiaries were allowed both walk-in and online vaccination registration, along with the choice of location and time slot as per their convenience.
- An assisted mode was also made available through the 240,000+ Common Service Centres (CSCs) and a helpline number.
- After ensuring successful orchestration using scalability and agile features of the platform to vaccinate individuals over 45 years of age, the APIs of the platform were made available to private players at the beginning of Phase III of the vaccination drive.
- Once access to its services was opened through APIs, more than 100 applications integrated with CoWIN for providing search, booking and certification facilities to their users.
Way ahead
- The inevitable question is what will we do with CoWIN when no further Covid-19 vaccines are to be administered?
- Repurpose the platform: The decision is to repurpose the platform as a universal immunisation platform.
- The credentialing service of DIVOC, used in CoWIN, has proven to be a game-changer in the world of digital certificates.
- CoWIN service is being implemented in five other countries after India and receiving global acceptance for its veracity and sound architecture.
- There is a proposal for opening the credentialing service for more use cases in health.
Conclusion
The story of CoWIN has truly been one of national impact and importance. And while the story started during the pandemic, it wonât end with the pandemic: it will segue into a repurposed digital platform for more health use-cases.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EPI
Mains level: Paper 3- Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and related issues
Context
The 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by Yale and Columbia Universities and released on World Environment Day (June 5) has triggered much consternation in India, as the country is ranked last (180th).
Issues with EPI 2022
- Ignoring the past effects: Indicators may focus on current rates of increase or decrease in environmental pressures (flows) â as the EPI does for carbon dioxide emissions and tree cover gains â but under-state the accumulated effect (stocks) that relates to actual harm, thereby ignoring past effects.
- Same standard in different socio-ecological context: When ranking countries, one is essentially applying the same standard across vastly different socio-ecological contexts â this involves difficult choices.
- For example, the EPI leaves out arsenic in water, which is a major threat in Bangladesh.
- Difficulty in measurement of frogress on climate change: Climate change is a global environmental problem, and because its effects depend on the accumulation of greenhouse gases over time, measuring progress in a given country is challenging.
- Climate change mitigation has to be measured against what it is reasonable and fair to expect from different countries, taking into account their past emissions as well as national contexts.
- There has been an inconclusive 30-year debate on this question; any choice of benchmark involves major ethical choices.
- EPI has given 38 per cent weight to the climate change in the index.
- They assume that the world must reach net zero emissions by 2050, and so the appropriate benchmark is whether all countries are reducing emissions and reaching zero by 2050.
- Against CBDR: This approach is contrary to widely accepted ethical principles, especially the global political agreement on common-but-differentiated-responsibility (CBDR).
- The Yale-Columbia approach ignores the fact that countries have different responsibilities for past accumulations and are at different levels of emissions and energy use.
- The inclusion of indicators on emissions intensity and emissions per capita partly addresses this issue, but these two account for 7 per cent of the weight, versus 89 per cent for indicators derived from current emission trends.
Implications EPI’s approach
- This approach is guaranteed to make richer countries look good, because they have accumulated emissions in the past, but these have started declining in the last decade.
- Â Meanwhile, poorer countries that have emitted comparatively little in the past, look bad.
- The EPIâs flawed and biased approach distracts from a much-needed honest conversation about the environment in India.
- Indiaâs local environmental performance on air, water and forests is deeply problematic.
- Air quality in India is now the second largest risk factor for public health in India, behind only child and maternal nutrition.
- Rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted, rivers are drying, groundwater tables are rapidly declining, and gains in tree cover hide declining natural productivity and diversity of forests and grasslands.
Conclusion
While indices like these have a limited attention-grabbing purpose, they serve this purpose well only when they are focused, limited to easy-to-measure metrics, and consciously minimise value judgements. The EPI 2022 resoundingly fails this test.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FATF
Mains level: Terror financing and money laundering
Pakistan which continues to face an economic crunch from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), is hoping for some respite in the form of its removal from the FATFâs âgrey listâ.
What is the FATF?
- The FATF is an international watchdog for financial crimes such as money laundering and terror financing.
- It was established at the G7 Summit of 1989 in Paris to address loopholes in the global financial system after member countries raised concerns about growing money laundering activities.
- In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack on the US, FATF also added terror financing as a main focus area.
- This was later broadened to include restricting the funding of weapons of mass destruction.
- The FATF currently has 39 members.
Working of FATF
- The decision-making body of the FATF, known as its plenary, meets thrice a year.
- Its meetings are attended by 206 countries of the global network.
- It includes members, and observer organisations, such as the World Bank, some offices of the UN, and regional development banks.
Functions of FATF
- The FATF sets standards or recommendations for countries to achieve in order to plug the holes in their financial systems and make them less vulnerable to illegal financial activities.
- It conducts regular peer-reviewed evaluations called Mutual Evaluations (ME) of countries to check their performance on standards prescribed by it.
- The reviews are carried out by FATF and FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), which then release Mutual Evaluation Reports (MERs).
- For the countries that don’t perform well on certain standards, time-bound action plans are drawn up.
- Recommendations for countries range from assessing risks of crimes to setting up legislative, investigative and judicial mechanisms to pursue cases of money laundering and terror funding.
What are the Black List and the Grey List?
- The words âgreyâ and âblackâ list do not exist in the official FATF lexicon.
- They however designate countries that need to work on complying with FATF directives and those who are non-compliant.
- Black List:Â The blacklist, now called the âCall for actionâ was the common shorthand description for the FATF list of âNon-Cooperative Countries or Territoriesâ (NCCTs).
- Grey List:Â Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
Consequences of being:
(1) In the grey list:
- Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
- Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
- Reduction in international trade
- International boycott
(2) In the black list:
- High-risk jurisdictions subject to call for action
- Countries have considerable deficiencies in their AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing) regimens
- Enhanced due diligence
- Members are told to apply counter-measures such as sanctions on the listed countries
Note: Currently, North Korea and Iran are on the black list.
Pakistan and FATF
- Pakistan, which continues to remain on the âgrey listâ of FATF, had earlier been given the deadline till the June to ensure compliance with the 27-point action plan against terror funding networks.
- It has been under the FATFâs scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
- FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistanâs processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
Why is Pakistan on the grey list?
- Pakistan has found itself on the grey list frequently since 2008, for weaknesses in fighting terror financing and money laundering.
- It never addressed concerns on the front of terror financing investigations and prosecutions targeting senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups.
- However, now steps had been taken in this direction such as the sentencing of terror outfit chief Hafiz Saeed, prosecution of Masood Azhar and seizure of their properties.
- India meanwhile, a member of FATF, suspects the efficacy and permanence of Pakistani actions.
Steps taken by Pakistan
- Pakistan is currently banking on its potential exclusion from the grey list to help improve the status of tough negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to get bailout money.
- Pakistan is now making a high-level political commitment to the FATF and APG to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Misleading Advertisements and Consumer Rights
The Centre has announced a new set of guidelines for advertisements preventing misleading ads by Celebrities.
Guidelines on Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022: Key takeaways
(1) Conditions for non-misleading and valid advertisement
An advertisement shall be considered to be valid and not misleading:
- If it contains truthful and honest representation;
- Does not mislead consumers by exaggerating the accuracy,
- Scientific validity or practical usefulness or capability or performance or service of the goods or product;
- Does not present rights conferred on consumers by any law as a distinctive feature of advertiserâs offer.
 (2) Bait Advertisement
- A bait advertisement shall not seek to entice consumers to purchase goods, products or services without a reasonable prospect of selling such advertised goods, products or services at the price offered.
- The advertiser shall ensure that there is adequate supply of goods, products or services to meet foreseeable demand generated by such advertisement.
(3) Prohibition of surrogate advertising
- No surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement shall be made for goods or services whose advertising is otherwise prohibited or restricted by law.
- No circumventing of such prohibition or restriction and portraying it to be an advertisement for other goods or services shall be allowed.
(4) Free claims advertisements
- A free claims advertisement shall not describe any goods, product or service to be âfreeâ, âwithout chargeâ or use such other terms if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable costs.
- Seller must make clear the extent of commitment that a consumer shall make to take advantage of a free offer.
(5) Children targeted advertisements
- An advertisement that addresses or targets or uses children shall not condone, encourage, inspire or unreasonably emulate behaviour that could be dangerous for children or take advantage of childrenâs inexperience, credulity or sense of loyalty.
(6) Limitations on Celebrity Endorsers
- The government has tightened norms for endorsers, including celebrities and sportspersons.
- They are now required to make material connection disclosures and undertake due diligence while doing advertisements.
- Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, belief or experience of the endorsers.
- The endorsers have to make material connection disclosures and failing to do so will attract penalty under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
- Material disclosures mean any relationship that materially affects the weight or credibility of any endorsement which a reasonable consumer would not expect.
- Violation of these guidelines will attract a penalty of âš10 lakh for the first offence and âš50 lakh for the subsequent offence, under the CPA.
(7) ASCI rules
- The latest guidelines will also apply to government advertisements.
- Moreover, the advertising guidelines for self-regulation issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) will also be in place in a parallel manner.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BrahMos Missile System
Mains level: Not Much
On June 12, 2001 the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was first tested from a land-based launcher in Chandipur.
What is BrahMos Missile System?
- BrahMos is a joint venture between Indiaâs Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russiaâs NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
- The missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
- Beginning with an anti-ship missile, several variants have since been developed.
- It is now capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets and has constantly been improved and upgraded.
Its capabilities
- BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine.
- Its first stage brings the missile to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
- The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to three times the speed of sound in cruise phase.
- The missile has a very low radar signature, making it stealthy, and can achieve a variety of trajectories.
- The âfire and forgetâ type missile can achieve a cruising altitude of 15 km and a terminal altitude as low as 10 m to hit the target.
Background and development
- The early 1980s the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was conceived and led by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.
- It started developing a range of missiles including Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag, with a wide spectrum of capabilities and ranges.
- In the early 1990s, Indiaâs strategic leadership felt the need for cruise and guided missiles.
- The need was felt primarily following the use of cruise missiles in the Gulf War.
- An Agreement was signed with Russia in Moscow in 1998 by Dr Kalam, who headed the DRDO.
- This led to the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), the Indian side holding 50.5% and the Russians 49.5%.
Tests and induction
- In 1999, work on development of missiles began in labs of DRDO and NPOM after BrahMos Aerospace received funds from the two governments.
- The first successful test in 2001 was conducted from a specially designed land-based launcher.
- The missile system has since reached some key milestones, with the first major export order of $375 million received from the Philippines Navy this year.
Strategic significance
- Cruise missiles such as BrahMos, called âstandoff range weaponsâ, are fired from a range far enough to allow the attacker to evade defensive counter-fire.
- What makes the missile system unparalleled is its extreme accuracy and versatility.
- With missiles made available for export, the platform is also seen as a key asset in defence diplomacy.
Variants of Brahmos
- Versions currently being tested include ranges up to 350 km, as compared to the originalâs 290 km.
- Versions with even higher ranges, up to 800 km, and with hypersonic speed are said to be on cards.
- Efforts are also on to reduce the size and signature of existing versions and augment its capabilities further.
- Versions deployed in all three Armed forces are still being tested regularly, and so are versions currently under development.
- LAND-BASED: The land-based BrahMos complex has four to six mobile autonomous launchers, each with three missiles on board that can be fired almost simultaneously. They are described as âtidyâ as they have very few components.
- SHIP-BASED: The Navy began inducting BrahMos on its frontline warships from 2005. These can hit sea-based targets beyond the radar horizon. The Naval version has been successful in sea-to-sea and sea-to-land modes.
- AIR-LAUNCHED: On November 22, 2017, BrahMos was successfully flight-tested for the first time from a Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal. It has since been successfully tested multiple times.
- SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED: This version can be launched from around 50 m below the water surface. The canister-stored missile is launched vertically from the pressure hull of the submarine and uses different settings for underwater and out-of-the-water flights.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA)
Mains level: Parliamentary efficiency
A delegation of MLAs from Gujarat visited the UP Legislative Assembly to learn about the novel e-Vidhan system for paperless proceedings that has been recently adopted by the UP state assembly.
E-Vidhan System
- The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a system for digitising the legislative bodies of all Indian states and the Parliament through a single platform.
- It includes a website and a mobile app.
- The house proceedings, starred/unstarred questions and answers, committee reports etc. will be available on the portal.
- Nagaland became the first state to implement NeVA, in March this year.
Significance of NeVA
- There has been a shift towards digitisation in recent years by the government.
- NeVA aims for streamlining information related to various state assemblies, and to eliminate the use of paper in day-to-day functioning.
- PM Modi mentioned the idea of âOne Nation One Legislative Platformâ in November 2021.
- A digital platform not only gives the necessary technological boost to our parliamentary system, but also connects all the democratic units of the country.
Has this been done elsewhere?
- Himachal Pradeshâs Legislative Assembly implemented the pilot project of NeVA in 2014, where touch-screen devices replaced paper at the tables of the MLAs.
- Though both Houses of Parliament have not gone fully digital yet, governments world over are heading towards embracing the digital mode.
- In December last year, the Government of Dubai became the worldâs first government to go 100 percent paperless.
- It announced all procedures were completely digitised.
- This, as per a government statement, would cut expenditure by USD 350 million and also save 14-million-man-hours.
What are the challenges?
- Access to devices and reliable internet and electricity was an issue particularly for legislators representing rural constituencies.
- Lack of training and heightened concerns over security are some more recent issues in the road to digitization.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Microplastics pollution
Mains level: Not Much
Scientists have found microplastics â plastic pieces much smaller than a grain of rice â in freshly fallen Antarctic snow for the first time.
What are Microplastics?
- Microplastics are tiny bits of various types of plastic found in the environment.
- The name is used to differentiate them from âmacroplasticsâ such as bottles and bags made of plastic.
- There is no universal agreement on the size of microplastics. It defines microplastic as less than 5mm in length.
- However, for the purposes of this study, since the authors were interested in measuring the quantities of plastic that can cross the membranes and diffuse into the body via the bloodstream.
- Hence they agreed on an upper limit on the size of the particles as 0.0007 millimetre.
Why in news?
- Researchers have found microplastics in the snow samples from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Threats posed by Microplastics
- Microplastics has the potential to influence the climate by accelerating melting of ice.
- They limit growth, reproduction, and general biological functions in organisms, as well as humans.
Try this PYQ:
- Why is there a great concern about the âmicrobeadsâ that are released into environment?
(a) They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.
(b) They are considered to cause skin cancer in children.
(c) They are small enough to be absorbed by crop plants in irrigated fields.
(d) They are often found to be used as food adulterants.
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics: Ross Ice Shelf
- Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica roughly the size of France.
- It is several hundred metres thick.
- The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 kilometres long, and between 15 and 50 metres (50 and 160 ft) high above the water surface.
- Ninety percent of the floating ice, however, is below the water surface.
- Most of Ross Ice Shelf is in the Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand.
- It floats in, and covers, a large southern portion of the Ross Sea and the entire Roosevelt Island located in the east of the Ross Sea.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021
Mains level: Read the attached story
A person has approached the Delhi High Court to question why marital status, age or gender should be the criteria for prohibiting someone from commissioning a surrogacy.
Why in news?
- Under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 a married couple can opt for surrogacy only on medical grounds.
- The petitioner have challenged in the court the surrogacy law and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 which provides a regulatory framework for surrogacy.
Issues raised by the petition
- Currently, the laws does not allow single men to have child through surrogacy.
- Married women can only avail surrogacy services if they are unable to produce a child due to medical conditions.
- Otherwise, for women to avail of surrogacy services, they must be aged between 35 and 45 and widowed or divorced.
- Women can only offer surrogacy if they are aged between 25 and 35 and married with at least one biological child.
- The laws also require a surrogate to be genetically related to the couple who intend to have a child through this method, their petition said.
Basis of the Petition
- The personal decision of a single person about the birth of a baby through surrogacy, i.e., the right of reproductive autonomy is a facet of the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Thus, the right to privacy of every citizen or person affecting a decision to bear or beget a child through surrogacy cannot be taken away.
Distinct features of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021
- Definition of surrogacy: It defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
- Regulation of surrogacy: It prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy which involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses and insurance.
- Purposes for which surrogacy is permitted: Surrogacy is permitted when it is: (i) for intending couples who suffer from proven infertility; (ii) altruistic; (iii) not for commercial purposes; (iv) not for producing children for sale, prostitution or other forms of exploitation; and (v) for any condition or disease specified through regulations.
- Eligibility criteria: The intending couple should have a âcertificate of essentialityâ and a âcertificate of eligibilityâ issued by the appropriate authority ex. District Medical Board.
Eligibility criteria for surrogate mother:
- To obtain a certificate of eligibility from the appropriate authority, the surrogate mother has to be:
- A close relative of the intending couple;
- A married woman having a child of her own;
- 25 to 35 years old;
- A surrogate only once in her lifetime; and
- Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.
- Further, the surrogate mother cannot provide her own gametes for surrogacy.
Also read:
[Burning Issue] Surrogacy in India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WANA region
Mains level: Paper 2- Engagement with Gulf countries
Context
A controversial remark by the ruling party spokesperson against the Prophet has snowballed into a diplomatic row. Against this backdrop, New Delhi should not stop engaging the Gulf countries and strive to move beyond damage control.
International reaction against the remarks
- The United Arab Emirates, Oman, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Jordan, Libya and Bahrain have joined the growing list of countries in the Islamic world that have condemned the remarks.
- Earlier, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar had called Indian ambassadors to register their protest, and Saudi Arabia had issued a strongly-worded statement.
- Campaigners (including a few GCC regimes) demand that Prime Minister of India should tender an apology for all that happened.
- But New Delhiâs stance is categorial and legitimate insofar as the Union government has nothing to do with such unsolicited comments.
Why WANA is important for India
- Engagement with WANA: Countries in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region do not have a fixed position vis-Ă -vis India.
- Delhi has vibrant economic and strategic ties with almost all regimes in the region.
- Thatâs precisely the reason these countries are unwilling to join the Islamabad-led chorus or go beyond passing resolutions.
- Indiaâs signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UAE and the ongoing negotiations for a wider FTA with the GCC could be an eye-opener for the countryâs detractors.
- India’s energy needs: As much as 40 per cent of oil and an equal share of gas requirements are met through Indiaâs strategic cooperation with the Gulf regimes.
- Mutuality of interests: India and the WANA regimes know that there is a mutuality of interests in these transactions which cannot be substituted by any other segments of the world system.
- Indian diaspora: Equally important is the role of the more than eight million-strong Indian diaspora in the WANA region.
- The âGulf remittanceâ is an important part of the Indian economy, as important as the Indian investment in the GCC and GCC investment in India.
Way forward
- India’s foreign policy strategy â which includes strategic bargaining with regional and international actors â would fetch reasonable dividends.
- The response to its Ukraine war strategy has convinced South Block that it has adequate manoeuvrability in global affairs.
Conclusion
New Delhi should not stop engaging the countries, especially the ones in the WANA region, as both have shared interests. Therefore, South Block must go beyond a mere damage-control exercise.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tendu Leaves, NTFP
Mains level: Not Much
Tribal residents in Chhattisgarh have decided to file an FIR against an official of the state forest department after he confiscated the tendu leaves that they had collected.
Tendu Leaves
- Leaves of tree species Diospyros melanoxyion are used as wrappers of tobacco to produce bidi.
- This tree is commonly known as “tendu,” but also called “abnus” in Andhra Pradesh, “kendu” in Orissa and West Bengal, “tembru” in Gujarat, “kari” in Kerala, “tembhurni” in Maharahstra, and “bali tupra” in Tamil Nadu.
- This leaf is considered the most suitable wrapper on account of the ease with which it can be rolled and its wide availability.
- Tendu is also called âgreen goldâ and is a prominent minor forest produce in India.
How it is traded?
- In 1964, the trade in tendu leaves was nationalised in then-undivided Madhya Pradesh.
- Until then, people were free to sell tendu leaves in markets across the country.
- Maharashtra adopted the same system in 1969, undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1971, Odisha in 1973, Gujarat in 1979, Rajasthan in 1974 and Chhattisgarh in 2000.
- Under this arrangement, the state forest department collects tendu leaves, allows their transportation and sells them to traders.
Why is there a dispute?
- The dispute is essentially about who has the right to sell the leaves.
- State governments say only they can do so due to nationalization.
- On the other hand, tendu leaf collectors cite The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the 2013 Supreme Court verdict in the Niyamgiri Case to say private collectors can sell them on their own.
- Tendu leaf collectors allege that the government gives them a lower price for the leaves, while it fetches a higher price in the open market.
What do the tribals want?
- The tribals, after having obtained forest rights leases under the FRA 2006, now want to sell tendu leaves on their own, with the permission of Gram Sabhas and make good profits.
- Many types of minor forest produce like Mahua, Salbeej or the seeds of the Sal tree (Shorea robusta) and Chironji or Almondette kernels (Buchanania lanzan) are collected and sold by tribals.
- Hence, there should not be a dispute over tendu leaves.
Back2Basics: Forest Produce in India
- Forest produce is defined under section 2(4) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Its legal definition includes timber, charcoal, catechu, wood-oil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, mahua flowers, trees and leaves, flowers and fruit, plants (including grass, creepers, reeds and moss), wild animals, skins, tusks, horns, bones, cocoons, silk, honey, wax, etc.
- Forest produce can be divided into several categories.
- From the point of view of usage, forest produce can be categorized into three types: Timber, Non-Timber and Minor Minerals.
- Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are known also as minor forest produce (MFP) or non-wood forest produces (NWFP).
- The NTFP can be further categorized into medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), oilseeds, fibre & floss, resins, edible plants, bamboo, reeds and grasses
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