Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- What are the factors that helped Kerala deal with Covid-19 successfully compared to the rest of the country?
With figures emerging of Kerala’s success in dealing with the Covid-19, the rest of the nation has lessons to learn from it. This article describes the approach adopted by Kerala, and how various factors like robust health infrastructure, past experience etc. are helping it.
Kerala stands out in India: some figures and facts
- The COVID curve in Kerala is flattening.
- Every day, for a week now, the number of recoveries has exceeded the number of new infections.
- The recovery rate in Kerala is nearly 50 per cent while the all-India average is around 11.
- While the mortality rate among the infected is 5 per cent in Kerala, the all-India average is 3.4 per cent.
- The transmission rate of a primary carrier is 6 while in Kerala it is only 0.4.
With Covid-19, we are in unknown territory in many ways. If Kerala emerges as the success model, the question can be framed from that perspective. So, note down the factors described below that are helping the state in tackling Covid-19 successfully.
Preparing for the next challenge
- Kerala is preparing for the next challenge, the outcome of which will determine the result of the war against COVID.
- Lifting of the lockdown is going to result in an influx of returning migrants from foreign countries and other states.
- Hundreds of thousands would have to be quarantined, tested and, if positive, treated, ensuring there is no secondary spread.
- State authorities have already identified accommodation and other facilities for more than two lakh persons.
- Use of big data analytics: The state is also exploring the possibility of big data analytics to plan a strategy and, if necessary, for reverse quarantining.
- Authorities have access to WHO data covering nearly two-thirds of the state`s population.
- Integrating this data with the information currently being generated, we will be able to map vulnerable sections of the population, simulate scenarios and plan ahead.
- Exit strategy: An exit strategy from the lockdown is being prepared to protect livelihoods and stimulate the economy.
Strength of the public health system of Kerala
- The single most important factor that enabled Kerala to be prepared for the COVID is the strength of the public health system.
- Kerala’s health system is a proud legacy of our past.
- It has had a big push in infrastructure and equipment investment of around Rs 4,000 crore from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board.
- Five thousand seven hundred and seventy-five new posts have also been created.
- The Aardram Health Mission was launched with a focus to transform the PHCs into family health centres.
- Distinctive feature: There is also the distinctive flavour of Kerala — mass participation in preventive and palliative healthcare.
- Training to health workers: The morale of health personnel has been exceptionally high.
- Special training, protective gear, scientific duty rotation and, most importantly, societal empathy and solidarity, have all contributed.
Learning from the past experience
- Nipah outbreak experience: The recent experiences of successful containment of the Nipah outbreak and management of the two post-flood health situations have provided a kind of herd immunity to the health workers to crisis situations.
- Covid-19 preparedness: Once news of the Wuhan pandemic came, the Kerala health system scrambled to readiness — the control room was set up, mock drills were organised and the first influx was contained.
- Once migrants from the Gulf and Europe began to return, things began to get out of hand.
- But now this battle has been successfully concluded.
Testing and tracing in Kerala
- A route map of each COVID positive case is prepared and given publicity, alerting everybody who might have been in contact.
- The protocol of cycles of intense test, trace, isolate and treatment has been the norm.
- Kerala has the highest test rate in the country.
- Break the Chain Campaign to promote social distancing has been successful.
- Lockdown by itself is not going to contain the COVID spread. It would continue to multiply within households and dormitories.
- Testing has been woefully insufficient in the national response so far.
Welfare payment in Kerala more than the rest of the country
- In Kerala, 55 lakh elderly and disadvantaged have received Rs 8,500 as welfare payments.
- An equal number of workers have been paid Rs 1,000-3,000 each from the welfare funds.
- Every family has been provided with a food kit.
- Interest-free consumption loan of Rs 2,000 crore has been distributed.
- Besides, nearly 4 lakh meals are distributed every day to the needy from community kitchens set up by local governments.
- Local governments are also duty-bound to monitor the camps of migrant workers, set up new ones and ensure medicine and food to them.
Decentralisation paying off in Kerala
- All the above was not made possible by the state government alone.
- It is the synergy generated by integrating state government plans and programmes with the local governments, the co-operatives, women neighbourhood groups (Kudumbashree) and civil society organisations that make Kerala distinct.
- The floods and the pandemic have given testimony for the potential of democratic decentralisation.
- It is a case of multi-level planning with technical committees and groups working at the state level coordinated by the chief minister.
Conclusion
Though it is too early to declare Kerala as a success story, still there are many lessons to be learned by the rest of the country in its fight against Covid-19.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IBC, difference between operational and financial creditor, threshold limit to file insolvency case etc.
Mains level: Paper 3- Purpose and issues with IBC, its various provisions and changes that needs to be made in the wake of Covid-19.
This article argues the suspension of IBC for six months. The issues arising out of suspension like damage to the creditors are also dealt with here. Reading of this article will help us understand the finer details of IBC that are relevant from the UPSC point of view. We have also covered one article from livemint dealing with the same issue, but that article covered the issue in a broader sense.
Who are operational and financial creditors?
- After the lockdown is over, several companies are likely to default on their dues to both operational and financial creditors.
- Who is a financial creditor? The financial creditors include banks and others who have given financial assistance to a company in the form of loans and debentures.
- According to a 2018 amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2017, flat purchasers are also deemed as financial creditors.
- An operational creditor is just about anyone who has to receive money from a company.
- The IBC provides a fast-track mechanism to deal with companies which are unable to repay their creditors and have become financially unviable.
- Section 22 of the Code mandates the appointment of a Resolution Professional (RP) who is expected to miraculously turn around the company in 330 days.
- If this attempt fails, the company goes into liquidation.
The two types of creditors were in the news, so pay attention to these terms.
Increase in threshold limit to file an insolvency petition
- The IBC’s provisions have been extensively used by various creditors whose dues were not paid.
- What was the threshold limit? Initially, the threshold limit was just Rs 1 lakh and the IBC became an effective recovery mechanism for all operational creditors.
- What is the limit now? Just before the lockdown, the finance minister raised the threshold for invoking the insolvency provisions to Rs 1 crore.
- This limit was raised to prevent proceedings being initiated against small and medium enterprises.
Possibility of the domino effect after the lockdown is over
- After the lockdown, several enterprises, large, medium and small, might not be able to pay their dues, at least in the short-term.
- The easiest way for a creditor to recover money is to initiate insolvency proceedings against the debtor company and threaten it with liquidation.
- The shutdown of business after the lockdown could have a domino effect.
- How would the domino effect come into play? If an auto-manufacturer has shut down its operations, the ancillary units will not get their dues.
- This would then lead to non-payment to downstream vendors and service providers as well.
- It might take at least three to four months for the situation to stabilise.
Steps that should be taken to avoid the domino effect
- Moratorium on the IBC: The most important, and immediate, step that needs to be taken is to have a six-month moratorium on the IBC.
- It may be necessary to promulgate an ordinance suspending the prospective operation of Sections 7 and 9 of the IBC so that no fresh petition is filed against a company.
- Impact on creditors: While this could hurt some of the creditors, the damage that could be done to the corporate sector by invoking the IBC is likely to be far greater.
- A distressed creditor is not without a remedy as he can always approach the civil courts for relief, which will not be so severe on a defaulting company.
- If an insolvency petition is filed and the RP appointed, it is difficult to stop the insolvency process.
- The IBC requires a financially-stressed company to be taken over by a financially-sound
- For example, Essar Steel was taken over by ArcelorMittal and Bhushan Steel was taken over by Tata Steel.
- In the current scenario, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for an RP to find a suitable buyer and the only option would be to liquidate the company.
- Using the insolvency process to recover dues is contrary to the IBC’s objectives.
The objective of the IBC is not just insolvency but the reorganisation of companies, maximisation of value of assets and the need to balance the interests of all stakeholders. Pay attention to this point.
How the suspension of the IBC will be beneficial?
- Suspending the IBC for a short period would enable several companies to return to normalcy.
- It will help them function without the constant threat of an insolvency application and its Board of Directors and management being taken over by the RP.
- Moreover, the National Company Law Tribunal benches will simply be unable to take any additional workload.
Conclusion
Suspending the IBC for six months would be a much-needed step to prevent further damage to the economy. It would be in the larger public interest. Indeed, at this critical stage, permitting the legal remedy of insolvency could be the last nail in the coffin of many companies.
Back2Basics: What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code?
- IBC provides for a time-bound process to resolve insolvency.
- When a default in repayment occurs, creditors gain control over debtor’s assets and must take decisions to resolve insolvency.
- Under IBC debtor and creditor both can start ‘recovery’ proceedings against each other.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 was implemented through an act of Parliament.
- It got Presidential assent in May 2016.
- The law was necessitated due to huge pile-up of non-performing loans of banks and delay in debt resolution.
- Insolvency resolution in India took 4.3 years on an average against other countries such as United Kingdom (1 year) and United States of America (1.5 years), which is sought to be reduced besides facilitating the resolution of big-ticket loan accounts.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PICS
Mains level: Mental health concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Various news reports in recent weeks have pointed out that for some COVID-19 patients who needed intensive care, the journey to recovery is a long one.
- After leaving the ICU, they may suffer from what is known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can happen to any person who has been in the ICU.
Infectious disease outbreaks, like the current Coronavirus (COVID-19), can be scary and can affect our mental health. This pandemic is going to leave a bigger trauma for those who had lost their dear ones as well those who recovered.
What is PICS?
- PICS comprise impairment in cognition, psychological health and physical function of a person who has been in the ICU.
- Further, such patients may experience neuromuscular weakness, which can manifest itself in the form of poor mobility and recurrent falls.
- The psychological disability may arise in a person in the form of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Its symptoms
- The most common PICS symptoms are generalized weakness, fatigue, decreased mobility, anxious or depressed mood, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbances and cognitive issues.
- These symptoms may last for a few months or many years after recovery, the authors of the aforementioned article note.
- Patients who develop this may take at least a year to fully recover, until which time they may have difficulty in carrying out everyday tasks such as grooming, dressing, feeding, bathing and walking.
What causes PICS?
- A combination of factors can affect aspects of an ICU survivor’s life.
- PICS may be induced if a person was on prolonged mechanical ventilation, experienced sepsis, multiple organ failure and a prolonged duration of “bed-restore deep sedation”.
Treatment
- It is recommended that to avoid PICS, patients’ use of deep sedation is limited and early mobility is encouraged, along with giving them “aggressive” physical and occupational therapy.
- Further, patients should be given the lowest dose of pain medications when possible and should be put on lung or cardiovascular rehabilitation treatments along with treatments for depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Anastomosis Surgery
Mains level: Not Much
The chopped off-hand of a Punjab Police officer has been successfully re-implanted after hours of surgery.
Anastomosis is a general term in surgical sciences used to join amputated limbs or organs. The term has made headline due to its recent application. A piece of general information regarding novelties of medical sciences should be known to the aspirants.
Anastomosis Surgery
- A surgical Anastomosis is a surgical technique used to make a new connection between two body structures that carry fluid, such as blood vessels or bowel.
- It involves conjoining various parts of the arm and the hand — bones, muscles, tendons, arteries, veins as well as nerves.
- Both radial and ulnar arteries, accompanying nerves and the dorsal vein were anastomosed successfully, allowing for the hand to receive adequate circulation.
- The bones are attached using K wires (used for orthopaedic surgery) which can be removed once the bones conjoin organically.
In which cases is re-implantation possible?
- When a surgeon makes that decision, the factors that he or she considers include how much time has elapsed since the injury.
- The condition of the severed organ and the nature of the injury are also taken into account.
Can a reattached hand get its function restored?
- That is the goal of doing such surgery. The extent of restored function, however, can vary from case to case.
- While a successful surgery can result in the good return of motor function, studies have shown that sensory recovery can often be poor.
- Whether the blood circulation is optimum after surgery can only be observed within the next few days.
- The patient also needs to attend regular physiotherapy sessions for total restoration of motor movement and sensation in his hand.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trimeresurus Salazar
Mains level: Not Much
The new species, Trimeresurus Salazar is a snake been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
Another specie spotted with one more peculiarity, the name Salazar 🙂 Such species are most likely to be asked in prelims to match the columns with their habitat state.
Trimeresurus Salazar
- Salazar’s pit viper belongs to the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède comprising “charismatic venomous serpents with morphologically as well as ecologically diverse species”.
- Pit vipers are venomous snakes distinguished by their heat-sensing pit organs between the eye and the nostril.
- The name was inspired by Salazar Slytherin, the co-founder of J.K. Rowlings’ fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nanomaterials, Semiconductors
Mains level: Applications of nanomaterials
Researchers are exploring ways to develop plasmonic semiconductor nanomaterials for removal of toxic organic compounds from water by harvesting solar light.
Nanotechnology is a pathbreaking technology which can create many new materials and devices with a wide range of applications, such as in nanomedicine, nanoelectronics etc. PSN is one such application. Topics like PSN are most likely to be asked in the competitive examinations.
Plasmonic Semiconductor Nanomaterials
- PSN are metal-like materials with free electrons on the surface that oscillate collectively when hit by light.
- It uses solar light to increase the photocatalytic efficiency to degrade pollutants as well as generate renewable Hydrogen.
- These materials can easily adsorb toxic ions like arsenic and fluoride, which are often found in water in North East India and convert it to its not toxic forms when they are exposed to sunlight.
- PSN can be used for hydrogen energy generation, a process which has shown high photon to hydrogen conversion efficiency under visible and near infra-red light.
What are Semiconductors?
- Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors (generally metals) and nonconductors or insulators (such as most ceramics).
- Its resistance falls as its temperature rises; metals are the opposite.
- They can be pure elements, such as silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide or cadmium selenide.
Back2Basics: Nanomaterials
- Nanomaterials are materials of which a single unit small-sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale).
- Materials with structure at the nanoscale often have unique optical, electronic, or mechanical properties.
- They are created from the gas phase by producing a vapour of the product material using chemical or physical means.
- Examples of nanomaterials include carbon nanotube, nanoparticles, metal rubber, quantum dots, nanopores and many more.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Committee of creditor, difference between financial and operational creditors etc.
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues in the IBC and suggestion to improve it.
The article is about the aftermath of Covid-19 for the Indian business. Though the government has announced the slew of relief packages, one expects a significant spike in the number of bankruptcies. Will India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code be able to deal with this new normal? Some pressing issues that could arise and solutions are discussed here.
Rise in the pending cases with NCLT
- Since the commencement of the IBC and setting up of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), 12,000 cases have been filed.
- Around 4,500 cases have been settled before resolution, with a settlement amount of almost ₹2 trillion.
- 1,500 cases have been admitted and 6,000 cases are waiting in the queue.
- The covid-19 epidemic will only increase this traffic jam.
- Increasing the capacity of NCLT: The pile-up of cases needs to be addressed by increasing capacity of the NCLT, and by ensuring that as many cases as possible are settled without going to the IBC.
Every issue mentioned here is important from Mains point of view. IBC has been a significant step by the government to streamline the process of insolvency and bankruptcy.
Need for a relook at section 29A(c) of IBC
- What is section 29A(c) of IBC? This provision makes ineligible the defaulting person (promoter) from bidding for the asset (buying back) if it has been NPA for a year or more.
- What was the purpose of section 29A(c): The intent of section 29A is to prevent persons who, by their misconduct or fraudulent motives contributed to the default of the corporate debtor, from “buying back” the corporate debtor from the creditors, potentially at steep discounts.
- What’s the issue? While this is clearly a justifiable objective, the short window of one year has prevented even genuine promoters who faced major setbacks on account of unforeseen circumstances from being given a second chance.
- Even though such promoters are often in good the best position to revive their businesses.
- In view of the current force majeure, we recommend that the grace period of one year under section 29A(c) be extended to two years.
- And further extensions should be made possible on the approval of a supermajority (i.e. 75%) of the Committee of Creditors.
- Further, the newly introduced Section 12A allows the bank, which was the insolvency applicant, to exit the insolvency process.
- Which brings the promoter back in control—provided 90% of the Committee of Creditors agrees and the public bidding process has not commenced.
- The requirement for exit should be reduced to 75% of the committee.
Extension of timelines
- Recently, the Supreme Court did well by passing a suo-moto order on the extension of limitation generally.
- Based on these SC orders, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has ordered that such extension also apply to the outer limit of 330 days for the resolution of corporate insolvency cases.
- This could be further extended once the gravity of the situation becomes clear over the next few months.
- The moratorium period on debt financing recently announced by RBI should also be extended to cover money market instruments.
Need for providing more financing options to corporate debtors
- While the IBC does provide for interim finance with a preferential position for a corporate debtor, there are known limitations and residual risks on the provision of such finance.
- The government would do well to look at expanding the market by making changes.
- The changes could include permitting interim funding by asset reconstruction companies even without being creditors.
- And making provisions for a minimum return even in case of liquidation, and extending the enhanced priority standing given to interim financiers in the IBC phase to the pre-IBC phase.
- Post the lockdown, incremental working capital support upto, say, 25% of existing working capital exposure could be allowed in deserving cases even if the account is in default or NPA.
- This can be deemed to be priority lending to also protect bankers’ interests.
- The provision could also be made for the extension of concessional finance within limits based on demonstrated export potential.
- For example- order, short lead-time business, margin adjustments) in order to contribute to the recovery of exporting industries.
Equitable treatment of operational creditor
- In the Swiss Ribbons judgment, the Supreme Court urged equitable, though not equal, treatment of operational creditors.
- The need to protect the interests of operational creditors in bankruptcy proceedings is all the more critical in difficult market conditions where credit would be hard to obtain.
- Some broad guidelines appear to be desirable.
- For instance, one could stipulate that in the absence of quality issues, two operational creditors belonging to the same sub-class in terms of the type of product or service sold, should be treated equally.
- This should be irrespective of group relationships or continuity in the business of the resolved entity.
Facilitating resolution outside the corporate insolvency resolution process
- On the issue of closing a case before the onset of insolvency proceedings, there was a case for doing this even before the corona outbreak, and even without the paucity of processing capacity.
- The labelling of a company as insolvent or bankrupt has a chilling effect on its already dim prospects.
- Vendors, customers and employees start having second thoughts about associating with this company.
- Certain rules get triggered—for instance, the rule barring an infrastructure company from accepting new orders.
- The current outbreak amplifies the case for facilitating resolution outside the corporate insolvency resolution process.
- At the same time, there is a need to streamline the process to ensure enhanced proceeds.
Conclusion
All institutions of the economy will need to fire together in order to maximize the prospects of recovery. A suitably modified bankruptcy framework has a crucial role to play.
Back2Basics: Difference between financial and operational creditors
- Financial and operational creditors are different in the sense that their liabilities arise from different origins.
- Where a financial creditor is liable because of a contract such as a loan or debt and operational creditor is liable because of operational transactions.
- The difference between a financial creditor and an operational creditor is that a financial creditor is an individual whose relationship with the entity is solely based on financial contracts, such as a loan or debt security.
- Whereas, an operational creditor is an individual whose liabilities from the entity comes in the form of future payments in exchange for goods or services already delivered.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WHO.
Mains level: Paper 2- How failure of WHO to alert the world in time of Covid-19 pandemic matters for India?
The article elaborates on the role played by China in manipulating WHO to its advantage and to the detriment of the rest of the world. India must take cognisance of the growing Chinese influence at various global platforms and act accordingly.
China’s role in electing Director-General of WHO
- Tedros was Ethiopia’s Minister of Health (2005—2012) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012 to 2016).
- In 2017, China catapulted him to lead the WHO as its Director General (DG).
- India, the world’s largest democracy, played second fiddle.
- We will never know who gamed India inside and abroad, but tough questions must be asked.
Pandemic as a wake-up call for India
- Public health is a rights-driven developmental track for any country, especially for India.
- The ministries of foreign, trade, information and broadcasting, home, finance, women and child development, law, infrastructure and industry, among others, should be part of the country’s health equation and decision-making on a daily basis.
- Should the WHO be sitting in on high-level health ministry discussions given what we now know about its allegiance to all things Chinese?
- China, an economic and military behemoth, now seeks the same power in public health.
- India, with its double burden of disease and an uncritical alignment with the WHO, is fertile ground for data and dollars.
Dependence on China for API
- For now, India, like most countries, is at China’s mercy because of years of short-sightedness and corruption in the health sector.
- While it is hailed as the pharmacy of the world and has sent drugs as humanitarian assistance, India relies heavily on raw materials from China.
- Quick thinking and swift action can reverse this.
The above points highlight the implications of Chinese dominance for India. Questions related to China is a recurrent theme in the UPSC papers. Next thing to note here is India’s dependence on China for APIs.
The US’s stand on WHO funding
- Some are blaming US President Donald Trump for contemplating cutting off funding for the WHO and not Tedros, for taking orders from China about the pandemic.
- The war is not between an American President and Tedros.
- It is between Tedros, a global public health head, and his subservience to China.
- That ship of trust, the cornerstone of public health work that the WHO should have been leading, has long set sail.
- Protecting Tedros is important as the WHO needs money to help poor countries with weak health systems.
Last year, UPSC asked about UNESCO when the US and Israel withdrew from it. This year, WHO has been in focus for allegedly towing China’s line.
Issue of funding and spending by the WHO
- War chests are being mobilised to help the WHO help China disburse aid and assistance to dying people and gasping economies.
- The recent announcement by the World Bank to fast track $1.9 billion for health systems to respond to Covid-19 also includes Ethiopia.
- For the first time in its history, the WHO has opened its doors to private funding via a Solidarity fund and China is expected to keep an eye on this.
- To keep track of how the money is spent is a problem.
Conclusion
India must decide if it wants to blindly follow the blind or lead by bringing the WHO back to its original promise. At stake is the country’s economic security of which public health is a key component. India can either be a part of history or pick up the pen even in these times of distress and rewrite it.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- The dominance of private health sector in India makes partnership with it a must to deal effectively with any pandemic.
The article delineates five areas in which partnership with the private sector is essential to deal effectively with the epidemic and ensure a whole-of-society response. Ensuring the participation of the private sector has been the recurring theme of many op-eds we have come across after the outbreak.
Significance of private healthcare in India
- According to the WHO, a critical lesson from the 2014-16 West African Ebola epidemic was that both the public and private sector need to work in tandem in responding to large-scale epidemics.
- In the COVID-19 response in India, the private sector has to play an even more important role, as it is the dominant provider of health services in the country.
- The private sector includes the for-profit and not-for-profit segments.
- The dominance of the private sector in India: The NSSO 71st round data on social consumption of health show that private hospitals, clinics and nursing homes provide over 70 per cent of healthcare.
- Data on the nearly 1 crore treatments received under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) corroborate this finding.
- AB PM-JAY data shows that over half of all treatments are being availed of from private providers, accounting for over 60 per cent of total disbursements.
UPSC asked about community-level healthcare intervention in 2018. So, pay attention to the significant role played by the private health sector in India.
Following five are the areas in which cooperation with the private sector will be essential-
1 Testing
- Creating a large and accessible testing infrastructure is the first weapon in the armoury.
- Countries like South Korea, Singapore, Germany and Japan have been successful at controlling the spread of COVDID-19 and reducing mortality through early detection and quick containment.
- This has been possible only through widespread testing.
- India has opened testing up to private labs.
- Testing has been included under the AB PM-JAY as well.
- We need to substantially expand testing capacity.
- This cannot happen without the active participation of the private sector.
2 Converting private hospitals into Covid-19-only hospitals
- As the government deepens its containment efforts, the country will need to rapidly surge the numbers of quarantine units, isolation wards and ICU beds in COVID-19-only
- It will also need to ensure increased and continued supply of essential medical products — from testing kits, masks and other PPEs to oxygen and ventilators.
- According to a recent ICMR study, around five per cent of those infected will need intensive care and half of those in intensive care units will need mechanical ventilation.
- These projections translate into large numbers that considerably exceed the capacity of the government health system.
- Private hospitals with adequate infrastructure will need to convert in COVID-19-only hospitals.
- There should be a clear policy framework of designated hospitals, reporting and referral systems and an appropriate payment system.
- With many government facilities being converted into COVID-19-only hospitals, a large number of non-COVID-19 patients will need facilities and providers to take care of their other urgent, critical or continuing healthcare needs.
- The AB PM-JAY has started a process to bring on board more hospitals to respond to such needs.
3 Protecting healthcare workers
- As more private providers join this fight, a major concern that will arise is keeping healthcare workers from becoming infected.
- In addition to being at a high risk of contracting the virus, healthcare workers are also potential carriers.
- Ensuring their protection is of paramount importance.
- Increasing the production: Companies manufacturing essential medical products such as ventilators, masks will need to crank up their production.
- Direct support from banks may be needed to keep production and supply chains going.
4 The private sector has to support the ecosystem driving health system
- The private sector will need to vigorously support the large ecosystem that drives the health system as the lockdown and ongoing epidemic restrict movement and normal economic activities.
- Activities such as the production of essential drugs and medical products, logistics to maintain smooth supply need to not only continue but also accelerate.
- Support for community activities such as night shelters and community kitchens will need to be strengthened.
5 Collaborate to share knowledge on the epidemic
- An adequate stage-wise response to the pandemic and its economic, social and political aftermath will require the rapid filling of the many knowledge gaps.
- Government, private and not-for-profit research institutions need to collaborate to understand the nature of transmission of the virus.
- They must understand the factors that slow its spread, the most at-risk communities, or the optimal quarantine period.
In 2015, UPSC asked whether the private health sector could help bridge the gap in providing universal health coverage. A question can be asked based on the same theme but in reference to dealing with the pandemic.
Conclusion
The fight against COVID-19 is not a race to a hilltop. It involves the continuous management of an evolving public health crisis that threatens to spawn economic and social crises. These multiple dimensions will require a whole-of-society approach that goes beyond the government alone.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: WHO and its funding
Mains level: Fall of major global institutions amid COVID-19 outbreak
The US has announced to halt the funding it gives to the WHO accusing it of mismanagement of the COVID-19 spread.
WHO is facing the biggest pandemic in human history. For all the responsibility vested in the WHO, it has little power. Whatever the causes of this disaster are, it is clear that the WHO has failed in its duty to raise the alarm in time. This shortfall of WHO is failure indicative of a deeper malaise: the global institutional framework is a pawn in the hands of the great powers, cash-strapped.
About WHO
- The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
- It is part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group.
- The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency’s governing structure and principles, states its main objective as ensuring “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”
- It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with six semi-autonomous regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.
Where does WHO get its funding from?
- It is funded by a large number of countries, philanthropic organisations, UN organisations etc.
- Voluntary donations from member states (such as the US) contribute 35.41%, assessed contributions are 15.66%, philanthropic organisations account for 9.33%, UN organisations contribute about 8.1%; the rest comes from myriad sources.
- India contributes 1% of member states’ donations.
- Countries decide how much they pay and may also choose not to.
Its expenditure
- The WHO is involved in various programmes. For example, in 2018-19, 19.36% (about $1 bn) was spent on polio eradication, 8.77% on increasing access to essential health and nutrition services, 7% on vaccine preventable diseases and about 4.36% on prevention and control of outbreaks.
- The Africa countries received $1.6 bn for WHO projects; and South East Asia (including India) received $375 mn.
How does WHO prioritise its spending?
- The annual programme of work is passed by the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly.
- It is attended by delegates from all member states and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
- The main functions of the Assembly, held annually in Geneva, are to determine WHO policies, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
- The decision on which country gets how much depends on the situation in the countries.
WHO and India
- India became a party to the WHO Constitution on January 12, 1948.
- The first session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia was held on October 4-5, 1948 in the office of India’s Health Minister, and inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
- The WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) 2019-2023 has been developed jointly by the Health Ministry and the WHO India country office.
- The CCS aims to address complex challenges such as the prevention of NCDs, the control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the reduction of air pollution, and the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses.
- On the ground, the WHO has been a key partner in the immunisation programme, tackling TB and neglected diseases such as leprosy and kala azar, and nutrition programmes across states.
Immediate reason for US withdrawal
- The US contributes almost 15% of the WHO’s total funding and almost 31% of the member states’ donations, the largest chunk in both cases.
- It receives $62.2 mn for WHO projects.
- That is where most of the WHO funding comes from and the least of it goes.
Impact
- For the WHO, the loss of about 15% of its total funding is bound to have an impact on the world over.
- However, unless other countries do the same as the US, the move may not severely hamstring WHO operations.
Also read:
[Burning Issue] World Health Organization (WHO) And Coronavirus Handling
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TRAI
Mains level: TRAI and its regulations of telecom services
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that all set-top boxes (STBs) in the country must be interoperable, meaning that consumers should be able to use the same STB across different DTH or cable TV providers.
The TRAI and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal are quite often seen in the news. Most recent was the dispute risen due to AGR dues.
TRAI has a wide range of jurisdiction over Telecoms. Keep a track on all such news.
Why such a recommendation?
- TRAI noted that while the STBs deployed in the cable TV networks are non-interoperable, those by DTH players complied with licence conditions to support common interface module based interoperability.
- However, in practice, even in the DTH segment the STBs are not readily interoperable.
- The lack of interoperability of set-top boxes between different service providers deprives the customer of the freedom to change her/his service provider.
- It also creates a hindrance to technological innovation, improvement in service quality, and the overall sector growth.
About TRAI
- The TRAI is a statutory body set up under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
- It is the regulator of the telecommunications and its tariffs in India.
- The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI.
- TRAI regularly issues orders and directions on various subjects such as tariffs, interconnections, quality of service, DTH services and mobile number portability.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India
Mains level: EIA and its stages
To address unprecedented situation arising from the global outbreak of COVID-19 and to ramp up availability or production of various drugs, the MoEFCC has made an amendment to EIA Notification 2006.
EIA is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse. Its a hot topic for mains.
What is the amendment about?
- All projects or activities in respect of bulk drugs and intermediates, manufactured for addressing various ailments, have been re-categorized from the existing Category ‘A’ to ‘B2’ category.
- Projects falling under Category B2 are exempted from the requirement of collection of Baseline data, EIA Studies and public consultation.
- The re-categorization of such proposals has been done to facilitate decentralization of appraisal to State Level so as to fast track the process.
Projects Categorization and Clearance under EIA
- Environmental clearance is required in respect of all new projects or activities listed in the Schedule to the 2006 notification and their expansion and modernization, including any change in product –mix.
- Since EIA 2006 the various developmental projects have been re-categorised into category ‘A’ and category ‘B’ depending on their threshold capacity and likely pollution potential.
- They require prior EC respectively from MOEFCC or the concerned State Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs).
- Where state-level authorities have not been constituted, the clearance would be provided by the MOEFCC.
Back2Basics: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India
- EIA is a management tool to minimize adverse impacts of developmental projects on the environment and to achieve sustainable development through timely, adequate, corrective and protective mitigation measures.
- The MoEFCC uses EIA Notification 2006 as a major tool for minimizing the adverse impact of rapid industrialization on the environment and for reversing those trends which may lead to climate change in the long run.
- EIA has now been made mandatory under the Environmental (Protection Act, 1986 for 29 categories of developmental activities involving investments of Rs. 50 crores and above.
EIA stages
- Screening: This stage decides which projects a full or partial assessment need study.
- Scoping: This stage decides which impacts are necessary to be assessed. This is done based on legal requirements, international conventions, expert knowledge and public engagement. This stage also finds out alternate solutions that avoid or at least reduce the adverse impacts of the project.
- Assessment & evaluation of impacts and development of alternatives: This stage predicts and identifies the environmental impacts of the proposed project and also elaborates on the alternatives.
- EIA Report: In this reporting stage, an environmental management plan (EMP) and also a non-technical summary of the project’s impact is prepared for the general public. This report is also called the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
- Decision making: The decision on whether the project is to be given approval or not and if it is to be given, under what conditions.
- Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and environmental auditing: This stage monitors whether the predicted impacts and the mitigation efforts happen as per the EMP.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: India-US arms trade
The US has approved a military sale to India of 16 MK 54 all round up lightweight torpedoes and ten AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles. India plans to use the equipment requested in both the deals on the Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I maritime aircraft.
What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)” , sometimes seen in the news? (CSP 2018) .
MK 54 lightweight torpedo
- The MK 54 lightweight torpedo is known as the Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo (LHT).
- It weighs around 608 pounds, while its warhead weighs around 96.8 pounds and is highly explosive.
- The primary use of this equipment is for offensive purposes when deployed by anti-submarine warfare aircraft and helicopters, and for defensive purposes when deployed by ships and against fast, deep-diving nuclear submarines and slow-moving, quiet, diesel-electric submarines.
AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles
- The Harpoon missile system will be integrated into the P-8I aircraft to conduct anti-surface warfare missions in defence of critical sea lanes.
- It uses GPS-aided inertial navigation to hit the designated target.
- Its warhead weighs over 500 pounds and is capable of delivering lethal firepower against targets, including land-based targets, coastal defence sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft and industrial or port facilities.
About P-8I aircraft
- Boeing’s P-8s are designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
- The P-8s India version is called the P-8I, and helps the Indian Navy carry out important maritime operations.
- According to Boeing, the aircraft can surpass 25,000 flight hours, and gives the Navy a significant edge in the strategically important Indian Ocean.
- India currently has eight of these aircraft and is scheduled to receive four more by 2022.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3- How the Covid-19 brought into focus the faults of economic liberalisation.
The article describes the problems economic liberalisation has created. Covid-19 has exposed these problems even as developed countries faced shortages of masks and ventilators. The focus is on China’s dominance as a manufacturing hub and its implication for the world and India.
Background of the end of the ‘Licence Raj’ in India
- Manmohan Singh’s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj’ in India.
- The Budget also announced the reduction of import duties and paved the way for foreign-manufactured goods to flow into India.
- Following this, most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to foreign direct investment.
- India’s industrial policy was virtually junked, and policymakers and the political leadership became contemptuous of the idea of self-reliance.
Shifting of the base in developing countries
- In the late 1980s, transnational corporations started shifting the production base to smaller companies in developing countries, especially Asia.
- The reason for this shift was cheap labour and raw materials.
- Developed countries supported the move because shifting the polluting and labour-intensive industries suited them as long as ownership remained with their companies.
- Development of global supply chains: The world witnessed the development of global supply chains in many products starting with garments.
The dominance of China in the global supply chain is at the root of trade war between the US and China. The outbreak of Covid-19 has added it a new dimension and has forced many countries to reframe their trade policies. And India is no different. This makes it an important topic for UPSC. A question can be framed from an impact angle or the US-China trade war angle.
The emergence of China as a global manufacturing hub
- Though many developing countries participated in the global production/value/supply
- The substantial value addition in developing countries happened in a few production hubs, of which China emerged to be a major one.
- Decentralised to localised production: Manufacturing shifted from a decentralised production system spread across different counties to just a few locations.
- The countries like China defied the logic of supply/value chains ensuring substantial value addition for themselves.
- They even carried out backward integration and thus emerged as global manufacturing hubs for certain products.
- In the case of health products, China became the global supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), personal protective equipment (PPE), and medical devices diagnostics.
What were the implications of China’s dominance in a fight against Covid-19?
- China’s dominance has major implications for the COVID-19 outbreak.
- The resultant loss of manufacturing base has affected the ability of many governments, including of developed countries, to put up an effective response to the crisis.
- The U.K. Prime Minister asked the country’s manufacturers to produce ventilators in order to provide care for critical COVID-19 patients.
- Similarly, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 to ramp up N95 mask production.
- Under this legislation, the U.S. President can direct U.S. manufacturers to produce goods according to the directions of the government.
- Similarly, the French Health Minister stated that the country may nationalise vaccine companies if necessary.
- Spain nationalised all its private hospitals.
- Israel and Chile issued compulsory licences to ensure that medicines are affordable.
- Lack of preparedness and dependence: This exposes the poor state of preparedness and dependence on imports for essential goods required to meet the challenge of any major disease outbreak.
- This shows that what is good for the company may not be good the country in all circumstances.
- So, the overwhelming objective of private sector-led economic growth has proved to be disastrous.
Pay attention to the impact on India. The following two points are very important.
How economic liberalisation affected India’s ability?
- In India, economic liberalisation has damaged the government’s capacity in two ways.
- 1. It incapacitated the government to respond to emergencies based on credible information.
- The dismantling of the ‘Licence Raj’ resulted in the elimination of channels of information for the government, which is crucial to make informed policy choices.
- For example, it took the government several meetings to determine the production capacity of various pharmaceutical companies.
- Similarly, there were difficulties in finding out India’s production capacity of PPE, medical devices and diagnostics.
- 2. The logic and policies of economic liberalisation seriously undermined the manufacturing capabilities of health products in India.
- The short-sighted policy measures, with the objective of enhancing profitability of the private sector, allowed the import of raw materials from the cheapest sources and resulted in the debasing of the API industry, especially in essential medicine.
- According to a report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), nearly 70% of India’s API import is from China.
- The CII report lists nearly 58 API where the dependence is 90% to 100%.
- The disruption in the supply of API due to the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the production of not only medicines required for COVID-19 patients, but also of other essential medicines in India.
- As a cost-effective producer of medicines, the world is looking to India for supply, but it cannot deliver due to its dependence on China.
- This dependence has also forced India to impose export restrictions on select medicines.
- Similar dependence exists with regard to PPE, medical devices and diagnostic kits.
- The 100% dependence on Reagents, an important chemical component for testing, is limiting the capacity of the government from expanding testing because the cost of each test is ₹4,500.
- Dangers of dependence: In the name of economic efficiency, India allowed unconditional imports of these products and never took note of the dangers of dependency.
Loss of jobs and poor working conditions
- Destruction of manufacturing base: Global supply/production chains destroyed the manufacturing base in developed and developing countries.
- That also resulted in the loss of jobs and poor working conditions in these sectors.
- Developing countries were asked to ease their labour protection laws to facilitate global production and supply chains popularly known as global value chains.
- As a result, people were forced to work in precarious working conditions without any social security net.
- This created an unorganised army of labourers and is preventing many developing country governments from effectively offering relief.
Conclusion
A virus has made us rethink our obsession with the economic efficiency theory. It implores us to put in place an industrial policy to maintain core capacity in health products so that we can face the next crisis more decisively.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3- Need for the stimulus and relief package to in the wake of Covid-19 and issues involved in its size.
D. Subbarao in this article discusses how the government is facing the hard choice of choosing between saving lives and saving the economy. On the government’s response on economic front he argues that the government, unlike the rich countries should keep an upper limit on its spending because of the dangers involved in unrestricted spending.
Why the dilemma is sharpest for India?
- This dilemma is arguably the sharpest for India.
- Because of our high population density and poor medical infrastructure, any laxity in prevention can result in a huge health disaster.
- On the other hand, an extended lockdown will force millions into the margins of subsistence, push small and large firms alike into bankruptcy, seriously impair financial stability and land us in a humanitarian and economic disaster.
Why is the relief package criticised as too little?
- After the lockdown, the government announced a relief package amounting to 0.8 per cent of GDP, that’s been criticised as being too little.
- From a study of a sample of countries, the latest issue of The Economist reports that India’s lockdown has been the most stringent while its fiscal relief package is the smallest in proportion to GDP.
What could be the reasons for a cautious approach in the relief package?
- A possible explanation for the government’s timid fiscal response may be the fear of spooking the market.
- For years, every economist and analyst has been warning the government of the dire consequences of fiscal irresponsibility.
- And that warning message must have been so hardwired into the government’s collective mind that it was unable to get over the mental overhang.
We should be aware of the reasons from the macroeconomic point of view that force the government to limit its fiscal deficit. In this case, India government is exercising the caution owing to the same constraints.
Uncertainties in the crisis
- Uncertainty is a defining feature of every crisis.
- During the global financial crisis, a big uncertainty around the world was about how much risk there was in the system, where it lay and who was bearing it.
- The uncertainty of the corona crisis is much deeper.
- There are far too many known unknowns not to speak of unknown unknowns.
- Uncertainties in corona crisis: We just don’t know enough about the effectiveness of the lockdowns, the age and gender profile of susceptibility to the virus.
- We also don’t know about the process of recovery, the tipping point if any for mass immunity, whether the virus will attack in waves.
- And most importantly, when we might have a vaccine and a cure.
- Governments are, for the large part, having to fly blind.
Issues over relief and stimulus package
- There are many issues to be decided and planned on the way forward.
- A big issue will be an expenditure plan for relief during the crisis and stimulus after some normalcy is restored.
- Borrow more spend more: Even the most ardent fiscal hawks are now agreed that the government needs to abandon its fiscal reticence, and borrow more and spend more.
- Even the most extreme monetary purists are agreed that the RBI should fund the government borrowing by printing money.
- Even the staunchest advocates of financial stability are agreed that more regulatory forbearance is necessary.
- And virtually everyone is agreed on where additional spending should be directed.
Debate on how much additionally the government should borrow
- There is disagreement on how much additionally the government should borrow.
- There are two opposing views in this regard, which are discussed below.
- 1. Fiscal risk without preset fiscal deficit: One view is that the government should err on the side of taking a fiscal risk without any preset fiscal deficit number.
- It should simply determine what needs to be done and borrow to that extent, acting as if there were no fiscal constraint at all.
- In other words, act as per the diktat of the now famous three words — “whatever it takes”.
- 2. Set a limit: An opposing view is “whatever it takes” is not an option for India.
- Many analysts have estimated that just the loss of revenue due to the economic shutdown will take the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and states beyond 10 per cent of GDP.
- The borrow and spend programme will be in addition to the above loss.
- Unlike rich countries, we can’t afford to ignore the risks of fiscal excess of that magnitude, no matter the compelling circumstances.
- What are the risks involved? There will be a heavy price to pay down the road by way of inflation and exchange rate volatility.
From the UPSC point of view you must pay attention to the both the arguments made here, question can be asked in UPSC based on the suggestions and their pros and cons. Both the arguments cited above have their merits and demerits.
Way forward
- It’s important to keep in mind that we have resources and capability in the near future should there be another wave of the virus later in the year.
- It will be advisable for the government to fix an upper bound for fiscal deficit and operate within that. For now, the borrow and spend programme should be restricted to 2 per cent of GDP.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Aarogya Setu App.
Mains level: Paper 3- Using technology for tackling the Covid-19.
The article argues for the greater adoption of technology in tracing the Covid-19. Taking a cue from the success of JAM and UPI, recently launched app Aarogya Setu could also be the next game-changer in the fight against the pandemic. However, there are several challenges that are also discussed here.
Success story of domestic digital platforms
- The success of two domestic digital payment platforms offers us an opportunity to show how the tracing of COVID-19 cases can be done at scale and with greater speed.
- The JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity for DBTs (Direct Benefit Transfers) and UPI (Unified Payments Interface) have made India a technology leader in money transfers.
- The JAM has lent efficiency to the transfer of funds to the needy.
- It was drafted into action recently to channel payments to the more vulnerable who need help in dealing with the adverse economic consequences of the lockdown.
- The UPI is emerging as a transaction vehicle of choice for all retail payments.
- In March, 148 banks were on the UPI platform, helping process over 120 crore transactions worth over Rs 2 lakh crore.
The success story of the UPI and JAM is important from the UPSC point of view. Riding on the success of these two, the Aarogya Setu could also become the third and help in the fight against the epidemic. So, we should be aware of the basics of its working and problems the app could face.
How the Aarogya Setu works?
- Widespread adoption is required: The success of India’s Aarogya Setu mobile application will depend on its widespread adoption.
- Based on bluetooth technology: The app relies on bluetooth technology to map and deconstruct the contact history of individuals who may have come in contact with potential carriers of the coronavirus.
- Exchange of information between apps: If two individuals are at the same place at the same time, their apps can exchange information-up to a maximum distance of about 15 feet.
- Exchange of the above information is without the server knowing anything about it.
- The app notifies users and authorities of individuals who are at risk.
- Privacy safeguards: Some privacy safeguards have been put in place to ensure that individuals do not share personally identifiable information with each other but only with authorities — that too, in select cases.
- A confidence-building measure would be to release the code for public scrutiny with the aim of further bolstering privacy standards.
What are the possible challenges in the success of Aarogya Setu?
- The distribution of the detection framework necessitates a rethink, beyond an app.
- Issues with app download in India: Nandan Nilekani has underlined that app downloads in India are perhaps the most expensive compared to any other developed or fast-developing nation.
- Despite the falling cost of data, Indian users consider several factors before downloading an app such as required storage space, the potential impact on battery and data usage.
- Given India’s open internet, several publishers from across industries and geographies are vying for smartphone real estate.
- Challenge involved: In such a situation, drawing attention to particular use-cases i.e. Aarogya Setu-howsoever urgent-is challenging.
Following are the suggestions to overcome the shortcoming of the Aarogya Setu. Though they are for Aarogya Setu, we can apply these in other situations in which mobile technology bases app is used by the government in the larger public interest such as rescue operation or warnings in case of disaster.
So, what could be the alternate strategy?
- The alternative strategy involves using the reach of the other famous apps (for ex. Paytm) to do what we want to do i.e. tracing by delinking.
- Delinking involves separating the technology we want to use for tracing (the backend) from the channels (the front end).
- A fine-tuned backend can be pushed to, and used by, publishers (other apps) who already have the reach.
- Similarity with UPI: This is akin to the UPI being used by several banks and technology firms for payment.
- The government did build its frontend in the form of the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app but mostly for signalling purposes.
- In the current context, the government can consider using its own app for tracing and for additional use-cases such as passes and approvals for movement when the lockdown is gradually eased out.
- It could even host other health-related features.
- Expanding its ambit and making it a conduit like JAM will likely increase the incentive for people to embrace it.
Limitations of using GPS and Bluetooth for tracing in India
- Another area where improvisations are called for is the tooling for tracking.
- While reports have indicated that the developers are using bluetooth for tracing and are also capturing GPS coordinates, both users and device manufacturers limit their usage of these technologies in favour of other optimisations.
- Users are concerned with both data and battery usage while device manufacturers kill background jobs even if the publishers have sought and secured permissions from users.
- These tendencies are pronounced on Android, the dominant mobile operating system in India.
- What are the other options? In such a scenario, developers ought to think about using other techniques.
- For instance, using cell tower data and WiFi identifiers to bolster tracing efforts.
- This is especially important in a context where only a third of our population has smartphones and even fewer people have devices with bluetooth capability.
- Even the recently announced Google-Apple partnership may not have meaningful results in this setting.
Conclusion
With the potential ramifications of COVID-19’s spread in India and across the globe, the nation’s recent history of technological successes and a government committed to agile governance, the pandemic presents an opportunity for the country to show its people and the world how technology is a force of good.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Poona Pact, Communal Award
Mains level: Read the attached story
Yesterday was the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of our constitution. On that occasion, author of the news (originally published in TH) highlights the significance of Poona Pact in the formation of our Constitution.
The Poona Pact of 1932 is a landmark event in India’s struggle for independence. It marked the start of social justice movement in the country under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar.
What is Poona Pact?
- In late September 1932, B.R. Ambedkar negotiated the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi.
- The background to the Poona Pact was the Communal Award of August 1932, which, among other things, reserved 71 seats in the central legislature for the depressed classes.
- The Award was made by then British PM Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932 to extended separate electorate.
- It aimed to grant separate electorates in British India for the Forward Caste, Lower Caste, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and then Untouchables.
- Gandhi, who was opposed to the Communal Award, saw it as a British attempt to split Hindus, and began a fast unto death to have it repealed.
How Poona Pact defeated the Communal Award?
- Reserved seats: In a settlement negotiated with Gandhi, Ambedkar agreed for depressed class candidates to be elected by a joint electorate.
- More representation: On his insistence, slightly over twice as many seats (147) were reserved for the depressed classes in the legislature than what had been allotted under the Communal Award.
- Doors opened for Public Services: In addition, the Poona Pact assured a fair representation of the depressed classes in the public services while earmarking a portion of the educational grant for their uplift.
- Social acceptance: The Poona Pact was an emphatic acceptance by upper-class Hindus that the depressed classes constituted the most discriminated sections of Hindu society.
- Increased political say: It was also conceded that something concrete had to be done to give them a political voice as well as a leg-up to lift them from backwardness they could not otherwise overcome.
Significance of the pact
- The concessions agreed to in the Poona Pact were precursors to the world’s largest affirmative programme launched much later in independent India.
- It would also not have been lost on him that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, with the separatist tendencies strongly backing him, was watching and waiting to take advantage of the evolving situation.
- A slew of measures was initiated later to uplift Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Major outcomes
- The Poona Pact emphatically sealed Ambedkar’s leadership of the depressed classes across India.
- He made the entire country, and not just the Congress Party, morally responsible for the uplift of the depressed classes.
- Most of all he succeeded in making the depressed classes a formidable political force for the first time in history.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pooled testing
Mains level: Intensive measures required for the containment the ongoing pandemic
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an advisory for using pooled samples for testing of COVID-19 in order to increase the number of tests conducted by laboratories across the country.
COVID-19 containment measures are pacing up across the country. However, it is argued that we are lagging in the number of tests to be carried out. With certain limitations, pooled testing promises an edge over individual testings of suspected patients.
What is pooled testing?
- In a pooled testing algorithm, samples of multiple individuals are put together in a tube and screened through the PCR test.
- In case the pooled test turns out to be positive, individual samples are tested, which is referred to as pool de-convolution.
- If there’s no positive result, all individual samples in the pool are regarded as negative, resulting in substantial cost savings.
What the ICMR has recommended?
- ICMR has advised that while more than two samples can be pooled together, the number should not exceed five samples to avoid sample dilution, which can lead to false negatives.
- This method can be used in areas where the prevalence of COVID-19 is low, which means a positivity rate of less than two per cent.
- In areas with a positivity rate between two to five per cent, sample pooling of PCR screening may be considered in a community survey of surveillance among asymptomatic individuals.
- Samples of individuals with known contact with confirmed cases or healthcare workers should not be included in the pooled samples.
- Also, ICMR has said pooling of sample is not recommended in areas or population with positivity rates of over five per cent.
Benefits of pooled testing
- Using this method, substantial costs and testing kits are saved.
- For instance, if a pooled sample consists of the samples of five individuals and it tests negative, the cost of four testing kits is saved and more number of people are covered with fewer resources.
- Significantly, pooled screening can also help in tracking down the asymptomatic cases of the disease, thereby tracking community transmission.
- But in case the sample tests positive, all individuals need to be tested separately.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CollabCAD tool and its utility
Mains level: Not Much
Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launched CollabCAD.
CollabCAD
- It is a computer-enabled software system which provides a total engineering solution from 2D drafting & detailing to 3D product design.
- It helps the user to build models in virtual 3d space and create and engineering drawings for the shop floor which makes it a complete package for smart manufacturing.
- The aim of this initiative is to provide a great platform to students of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across the country to create and modify 3d designs with free flow of creativity and imagination.
- This software would also enable students to create data across the network and concurrently access the same design data for storage and visualization.
Back2Basics: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
- The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country.
- AlM’s objectives are to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country at school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.
- At the school level, AIM establishes Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in all districts across India. ATLs provide tinkering spaces to children to hone their innovative ideas and creativity.
- At the university, NGO, SME and Corporate industry levels, AIM is setting up world-class Atal Incubators (AICs) that would trigger and enable successful growth of sustainable startups in every sector.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: "DekhoApnaDesh" Webinar
Mains level: Various initiaitves tourism promotion
The Ministry of Tourism has launched its “DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series to provide information on the many destinations and the sheer depth and expanse of the culture and heritage of India.
Tourism and tourist sites carry a high incidence of possible prelims questions. Take time to quickly revise the Swadesh Darshan , PRASHAD Schemes. Click here for the repository of all such initiaitives.
About DekhoApnaDesh
- Under this, a series of webinars will showcase the diverse and remarkable history and culture of India through a documentary series on various cities.
- It will be including various monuments, cuisine, arts, dance forms, natural landscapes, festivals and many other aspects of the rich Indian civilization.
- The core of the webinar is based on tourism awareness and social history.
- The webinar will be available in the public domain through the Ministry’s social media handles- “Incredible India” on Instagram and Facebook.
- The first webinar, which was part of a series that shall unfold, touched upon the long history of Delhi as it has unfolded as 8 cities.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now