Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Social media and spread of fake news.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to explain its âmechanismâ against fake news and bigotry on air, and to create one if it did not already exist.
Discuss how Fake News affects free speech and informed choices of citizens of the country?
What did the Centre say?
- The media coverage predominantly has to strike a balanced and neutral perspective.
- It explained that as a matter of journalistic policy, any section of the media may highlight different events, issues and happenings across the world as per their choice.
- It was for the viewer to choose from the varied opinions offered by the different media outlets.
What is Fake News?
- Fake news is untrue information presented as news. It often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.
- Once common in the print and digital media, the prevalence of fake news has increased with the rise of social media and messengers.
- Political polarization, post-truth politics, confirmation bias, and social media have been implicated in the spread of fake news.
Threats posed
- Fake news can reduce the impact of real news by competing with it.
- In India, the spread of fake news has occurred mostly with relation to political and religious matters.
- However, misinformation related to COVID-19 pandemic was also widely circulated.
- Fake news spread through social media in the country has become a serious problem, with the potential of it resulting in mob violence.
Countermeasures
- Internet shutdowns are often used by the government as a way to control social media rumours from spreading.
- Ideas such as linking Aadhaar to social media accounts have been suggested to the Supreme Court of India by the Attorney General.
- In some parts of India like Kannur in Kerala, the government conducted fake news classes in government schools.
- The government is planning to conduct more public-education initiatives to make the population more aware of fake news.
- Fact-checking has sparked the creation of fact-checking websites in India to counter fake news.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Writ jurisdiction, Art. 32, 225
Mains level: Writ Jurisdiction
A Supreme Court bench headed by CJI has observed that it is âtrying to discourageâ individuals from filing petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following is included in the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
- Dispute between the Government of India and one or more States
- A dispute regarding elections to either House of the parliament or that of Legislature of a State
- A dispute between the Government of India and Union Territory
- A dispute between two or more States.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 4
(d) 3 and 4
What is Article 32?
- Article 32 deals with the âRight to Constitutional Remediesâ, or affirms the right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the rights conferred in Part III of the Constitution.
- It is one of the fundamental rights listed in the Constitution that each citizen is entitled.
- It states that the Supreme Court âshall have the power to issue directions or orders or writs for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this Partâ.
- The right guaranteed by this Article âshall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by this Constitutionâ.
- Dr B R Ambedkar has called it the very soul and heart of the Constitution. It cannot be suspended except during the period of Emergency.
Rights protected by A32
- The article is included in Part III of the Constitution with other fundamental rights including to Equality, Freedom of Speech and Expression, Life and Personal Liberty, and Freedom of Religion.
- Only if any of these fundamental rights is violated can a person can approach the Supreme Court directly under Article 32.
Types of Writs under it
Both the High Courts and the Supreme Court can be approached for violation or enactment of fundamental rights through five kinds of writs:
- Habeas corpus (related to personal liberty in cases of illegal detentions and wrongful arrests)
- Mandamus â directing public officials, governments, courts to perform a statutory duty;
- Quo Warranto â to show by what warrant is a person holding public office;
- Prohibition â directing judicial or quasi-judicial authorities to stop proceedings which it has no jurisdiction for; and
- Certiorari â re-examination of an order given by judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative authorities.
- In civil or criminal matters, the first remedy available to an aggrieved person is that of trial courts, followed by an appeal in the High Court and then the Supreme Court.
- When it comes to violation of fundamental rights, an individual can approach the High Court under Article 226 or the Supreme Court directly under Article 32.
Supreme Courtâs recent observations
- The observation came during the hearing of a petition seeking the release of a journalist, who was arrested while reporting on an alleged gangrape and murder.
- The court asked why the petitioners could not go to the High Court first.
- In another case invoking Article 32, a Nagpur-based man was arrested for alleged defamatory content against Maharashtra CM, the same Bench directed him to approach the High Court first.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2-
The Azim Premji University has published the report titled âMyths of Online Educationâ, on the efficacy and accessibility of e-learning.
We have studied the Impacts of COVID-19 on Education. https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-education-in-times-of-covid-19/
This report provides decent data about the woes of online education and is easy to remember.
About the study
- The study was undertaken in five States across 26 districts and covered 1,522 schools. More than 80,000 students study in these government schools.
- It examined the experience of children and teachers with online education.
Highlights of the study
- More than 60% of the respondents who are enrolled in government schools could not access online education.
- Children with disabilities in fact found it more difficult to participate in online sessions.
- 90% of the teachers who work with children with disabilities found their students unable to participate online.
- Almost 70% of the parents surveyed were of the opinion that online classes were not effective and did not help in their childâs learnings.
- 90% of parents of government school students surveyed were willing to send their children back to school.
- The survey also revealed that around 75% of the teachers spent, on an average, less than an hour a day on online classes for any grade.
Online classes are less effective
- Teachers as well as students their expressed frustration with online classes.
- More than 80% surveyed said they were unable to maintain emotional connect with students during online classes, while 90% of teachers felt that no meaningful assessment of childrenâs learning was possible.
- Another hurdle that teachers found during the online classes was the one-way communication, which made it difficult for them to gauge whether students understood what was being taught.
- Teachers also reported that they were ill-prepared for online learning platforms.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 72 and Article 161
Mains level: Paper 2- Judicial scrutiny of decisions by functionaries
The inaction by the Governor of Tamil Nadu on advice to free the convict has raised the possibility of judicial intervention due to undue delay.
Inaction by Governor on advice
- The Governor of Tamil Nadu has continued to withhold his decision on an application seeking pardon by one of the seven prisoners convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
- In September 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) had observed, while hearing a connected writ petition, that the Governor should take a decision
- The inaction by the Governor now has given rise to constitutional fault lines within the Executive arm of the government.
Past judgements on pardoning power
- In Maru Ram v. Union of India (1981) Â Supreme Court held that the pardoning power âunder Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution can be exercised by the Central and the State Governments, not by the President or Governor on their own.â
- The majority judgment had said that the âadvice of the appropriate Government binds the Head of the Stateâ.
- Therefore, a Governor is neither expected, nor is empowered, to test the constitutionality of the order or resolution presented to her.
Issue of delay in decision of mercy petition
- Recently, the Supreme Court, had examined the inordinate delay by the President and the Governor â in taking decisions on mercy petitions.
- The Supreme Court, in the case of Shatrugan Chouhan v. Union of India, laid down the principle of âpresumption of dehumanising effect of such delayâ.
- The Supreme Court confirmed that the due process guaranteed under Article 21 was available to each and every prisoner âtill his last breathâ.
Judicial scrutiny of the actions of Speakers
- It was hitherto believed that the powers of the Speaker, holding a constitutional office and exercising powers granted under the Constitution, were beyond the scope of a âwrit of mandamusâ.
- In the recent case of Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Honâble Speaker (2020), the Supreme Court was asked to examine the Speakerâs inaction with regard to disqualification proceedings.
- However, the apex court, referering to Rajendra Singh Rana v. Swami Prasad Maurya (2007), had confirmed its view that the âfailure on the part of the Speaker to decide the application seeking a disqualification cannot be said to be merely in the realm of procedureâ
- Consequently, breaking years of convention, the SC set the time period of four weeks to decide the disqualification petition.
- By doing so, the Supreme Court has indicated that it would not be precluded from issuing directions in aid of a constitutional authority âarriving at a prompt decisionâ.
Consider the question “The undue delays and inactions by the constitutional functionaries threaten to widen the constitutional faultlines among the Executives. Comment.”
Conclusion
Instead of relying on the judicial intervention in the event of delays, it would be better to have a set time limit for arriving at decision by the constitutional judiciary.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Nutrition safety
The article highlights the issue of nutrition and suggest the ways to achieve nutrition security in the country to drive sustainable growth for India.
Nutrition in India
- A recent United Nations report-Â The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020 highlighted that there are 189.2 million undernourished people in India.
- Even though this number has declined by 60 million over the past decade, the progress is far too slow.
- While we recorded a drop in undernourishment, obesity amongst Indian adults grew from 25.2 million in 2012 to 34.3 million in 2016.
- India is likely to miss the 2025 global nutrition targets according to the Global Nutrition Report 2020, unless more is done, soon.
Impact of POSHAN Abhiyan
- With the launch of POSHAN Abhiyan in 2018, the government mainstreamed nutrition, with this multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral approach.
- It converges all existing programs to improve the nutritional status of pregnant women, mothers and children.
- It brings together several programs such as National Rural Health Mission, Mid-Day meals, Integrated Child Development Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and others to improve nutrition intake in India.
- The success lies in following an outcome based approach to ensure all the benefits under these interventions are delivered to mothers and children within the first 1000 days, setting the base for healthier lives.
Micronutrients through food fortification
- Food fortification is another effective way to deliver micronutrients to Indian masses, through existing food delivery systems such as mid-day meals and the public distribution system.
- Regulators have already been promoting fortification in food products like salt, edible oil, milk, rice and wheat flour to improve nutritional content.
- Going forward, we will see more and more food products and crops getting covered.
Need for innovation
- It is crucial for the food and beverage industry to make nutrition an integral part of their strategy.
- Healthier ingredients, fortification, reformulation to reduce saturated and trans-fat content and optimize sugar and sodium content, immunity boosting product is already commonplace across urban markets.
- This will soon permeate to rural markets.
- Factors such as product taste, convenience, shelf life, and price â all of which determine consumption â are also important elements that ensure higher intake of nutritious products by consumers everywhere.
- This calls for more innovation. Innovation in product, pricing, technology, digitalization, and research and development by food companies.
Rising nutrition awareness
- Solving the problem of malnourishment has to start with awareness.
- In rural areas, general nutritional awareness has historically been lower.
- In urban areas even though people are generally more aware a large percentage still consumes excess sugar and salt, leads sedentary lifestyles coupled with lack of exercise, resulting in lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure
- Consumers everywhere need to be better educated about nutritional benefits of common food items and the importance of including them in regular diet.
- This can be done effectively through government led awareness campaigns and healthy public food distribution initiatives, industry acting responsibly.
Conclusion
Good nutrition is the best investment we can make in human capital. It has the power to drive sustainable economic growth for India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ASEAN and RCEP
Mains level: Paper 2-Implications of not signing RCEP for India
India’s challenges from RCEP didn’t end by staying out of it. Remaining out of the RCEP has several implications for India. This article discusses such challenges.
What RCEP mean for the region
- The RCEP was finally signed by its 15 members on the sidelines of the Asean Summit last week without India.
- This would make it a trade deal that includes the ten Asean economies, and all of Aseanâs bilateral FTA partners, except India.
- It would create new market access for China and Japan-the two largest economies of the group.
- China, Japan and Korea were negotiating a trilateral trade pact, which now might become inconsequential following RCEP.
- In this respect, RCEP would actually produce much greater market access outside of the Asean, among non-Asean members China, Japan and Korea.
- Aseanâs specific market access gains would be over and above those that are already available through various Asean+1 FTAs.
- Additional market access gains would be more with respect to China, in terms of the additional tariff coverage and concessions that RCEP would provide.
Implications for China
- Apart from the additional preferential access it obtains, it is also able to pull off strategic dividends.
- As the RCEP proceeds, it would establish Chinaâs decisive say in writing the rules of trade in the region through the RCEP.
- And this is precisely what the US would be wary of.
Implications for the U.S.
- President Obama had pitched the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as an obvious and essential alternative for counterbalancing Chinese strategic domination of the regional trade game.
- The US was taken out of the TPP by President Trump.
- The remaining members managed to salvage the deal, largely due to the spirited leadership provided by Japan and Australia.
- While the TPP survives as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
- But CPTPP is incapable of being a strategic counterweight to China, and the RCEP.
- Nothing other than a CPTPP that includes the US would be able to counterbalance China in economic size and strategic clout.
Way forward
- The Quadâa security partnership between the US, Japan, India and Australiaâis looking to expand beyond defence and assume broader strategic proportions.
- Geopolitics is contributing significantly to the construction of economic alliances, including the reorganisation of regional supply chains.
- Due to these factros, search for an Indo-Pacific trade and economic compact is likely to hasten following the conclusion of RCEP.
- Following RCEP, and the almost non-existent possibility of returning to its fold, India too, might find itself working actively on moving towards an Indo-Pacific trade deal.
- The RCEP, which has a sizeable number of key Indo-Pacific economies like Japan, Australia, Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia, would need to stick to these countries to stick to the trade agreement after its ratification.
Conclusion
RCEP might actually force the U.S to look at returning to CPTPP much more proactively than it might have imagined. It would also, expectedly, look at India to join the bloc. That would be another challenge to navigate. Indiaâs challenges from the RCEP might have increased in spite of staying out of it.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Policy framework for adaptation of technology
The changing realm of technology requires a change in the policy framework. The article discusses the issue of the impact of technology and the required changes in the policy framework.
Adoption of information-based technologies
- The expansion of computing power has driven the pace of information gathering and analysis.
- The new currency drives processes and decision-making across a wide array of products and services, making them more efficient and value accretive for consumers.
- These information-based technologies have been widely adopted across a broad range of industries and products that traditionally have not been perceived as electronic or software based.
- Â A modern automobile has 40% of its component value from electronic-based products.
- This is a paradigm shift as the amount of âvalue addâ from intangible technology services as opposed to physical objects, even in traditional goods, is being transformed by information.
- Information and electronics are becoming all-pervasive, ensuring that we set boundaries to control quality or the uptime of the equipment.
- Information availability drives efficiency and creates value for customers by providing greater control over the product
- There is increasing digitisation and electronification of industrial activities, products and services, influencing the evolving skill sets in industry.
Need for holistic views in policies
- To address the needs of various stakeholders, governments have tended to build specialised departments and designed policies that govern those areas.
- Over time, as each of these departments grew, they have tended to operate in silos.
- The recent developments in technology have, however, blurred standard boundaries that dictate policy framework in most governments.
- As technology is driving an increasing share of the value add coming from digitisation and data analytics, there needs to be a way of encouraging capital formation by way of intangibles in traditionally tangible industries.
- There is a need to have a holistic view of policies for economic development as technology is becoming a significant enabler in most industries.
- A change in policy framework regarding economic development that enables various ministries to work together is essential.
Way forward
- A nourishing ecosystem for industry, including the hard infrastructure and softer areas such as education, skilling, technical institutions, laboratories, testing centres, etc., has to be cultivated.
- The creation of clusters of companies in adjacent but complementary areas could constitute such an ecosystem that encourages multi and cross-disciplinary learning and spur innovation and economic development.
- Moreover, this type of ecosphere could also attract investment and capital formation.
- There is also the larger issue of a shift of value between manufacturing and services as technology changes.
- The policy, by and large, promotes and gives incentives for manufacturing, whereas the share of intangibles are not adequately covered in industrial policies.
- It is important to include these to encourage innovation and technological development.
- It is important that there is close cooperation and alignment between the Centre and State to ensure effective implementation on the ground.
Conclusion
Some of these thoughts could help us navigate through an ecosystem that is changing with technology.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Recusal of Judges
Mains level: Judicial conduct and associated issues
A Justice of the Supreme Court has recused himself from hearing a petition that sought action against the Andhra Pradesh CM for levelling political allegations against an AP High Court judge.
Can you list down some basic principles of judicial conduct?
Independence, Impartiality, Integrity, Propriety, Competence and diligence and Equality are some of them as listed under the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.
What is the Recusal of Judges?
- Recusal is the removal of oneself as a judge or policymaker in a particular matter, especially because of a conflict of interest.
- Recusal usually takes place when a judge has a conflict of interest or has a prior association with the parties in the case.
- For example, if the case pertains to a company in which the judge holds stakes, the apprehension would seem reasonable.
- Similarly, if the judge has, in the past, appeared for one of the parties involved in a case, the call for recusal may seem right.
- A recusal inevitably leads to delay. The case goes back to the Chief Justice, who has to constitute a fresh Bench.
Rules on Recusals
- There are no written rules on the recusal of judges from hearing cases listed before them in constitutional courts. It is left to the discretion of a judge.
- The reasons for recusal are not disclosed in an order of the court. Some judges orally convey to the lawyers involved in the case their reasons for recusal, many do not. Some explain the reasons in their order.
- The decision rests on the conscience of the judge. At times, parties involved raise apprehensions about a possible conflict of interest.
Issues with recusal
- Recusal is also regarded as the abdication of duty. Maintaining institutional civilities are distinct from the fiercely independent role of the judge as an adjudicator.
- In his separate opinion in the NJAC judgment in 2015, Justice Kurian Joseph highlighted the need for judges to give reasons for recusal as a measure to build transparency.
- It is the constitutional duty, as reflected in oneâs oath, to be transparent and accountable, and hence, a judge is required to indicate reasons for his recusal from a particular case, he ruled.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RCEP
Mains level: Economic implications for India
Even as India opted to stay out after walking out of discussions last year, the new trading bloc has made it clear that the door will remain open for India to return to the negotiating table.
Must read:
China-led RCEP takes off without India
Try answering this also:
Q.Signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement would have given more substance to Indiaâs Act East policy. Analyse.
Why did India walk out?
- India decided to exit RCEP negotiations over âsignificant outstanding issuesâ.
- Its decision was to safeguard the interests of industries like agriculture and dairy and to give an advantage to the countryâs services sector.
- The current structure of RCEP still does not address these issues and concerns.
How far is Chinaâs presence a factor?
(1) Escalated tensions
- Escalated tension with China is considered to be a major reason for Indiaâs decision.
- Major issues that were unresolved during RCEP negotiations were related to the exposure that India would have to China.
(2) Surge in imports
- This included Indiaâs fears that there was âinadequateâ protection against surges in imports.
- It felt there could also be a possible circumvention of rules of originâ the criteria used to determine the national source of a product.
- In the absence of this, other partner countries could dump their products by routing them through other countries that enjoyed lower tariffs.
(3) Inability for countermeasures
- India was unable to ensure countermeasures like an auto-trigger mechanism to raise tariffs on products when their imports crossed a certain threshold.
- It also wanted RCEP to exclude most-favoured-nation (MFN) obligations from the investment, especially to countries with which it has border disputes.
(4) No assurance of market access to India
- RCEP also lacked clear assurance over market access issues in countries such as China and non-tariff barriers on Indian companies.
- The agreement would have forced India to extend benefits given to other countries for sensitive sectors like defence to all RCEP members.
(5) Trade balances paradox
- Indiaâs stance on the deal also comes as a result of learnings from unfavourable trade balances that it has with several RCEP members, with some of which it even has Free Trade Agreements.
- India has trade deficits with 11 of the 15 RCEP countries, and some experts feel that India has been unable to leverage its existing FTAs with several RCEP members to increase exports.
What can the decision cost India?
- There are concerns that Indiaâs decision would impact its bilateral trade ties with RCEP member nations, as they may be more inclined to focus on bolstering economic ties within the bloc.
- The move could potentially leave India with less scope to tap the large market that RCEP presents âthe size of the deal is mammoth, as the countries involved account for over 2 billion of the worldâs population.
- Given attempts by countries like Japan to get India back into the deal, there are also worries that Indiaâs decision could impact the Australia-India-Japan network in the Indo-Pacific.
What are Indiaâs options now?
- India, as an original negotiating participant of RCEP, has the option of joining the agreement without having to wait 18 months as stipulated for new members in the terms of the pact.
- RCEP signatory states said they plan to commence negotiations with India once it submits a request of its intention to join and it may participate in meetings as an observer prior to its accession.
- A possible alternative for India is to review its existing bilateral FTAs with some of these RCEP members as well as newer agreements with potential for Indian exports.
- There is also a growing view that it would serve Indiaâs interest to invest strongly in negotiating bilateral agreements with the US and the EU, both currently a work in progress.
Conclusion
- A country can never get into FTAs merely to provide its market to the partner countries.
- When we accommodate our partner countries, our objective is also to increase the presence of our products in the markets of partners, and India hasnât been able to achieve the latter objective.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: mRNA
Mains level: Vaccination challenges for coronavirus
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which recently announced their success use the same technology, based on messenger RNA, or mRNA.
Try this PYQ first:
Q.âRNA interference (RNAi)â technology has gained popularity in the last few years. Why?
- It is used in developing gene silencing therapies.
- It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer.
- It can be used to develop hormone replacement therapies.
- It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1 and 4 only
What is mRNA?
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
- The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.
- During protein synthesis, an organelle called a ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate each three-base triplet, or codon, into its corresponding amino acid.
What is the mRNA vaccine?
- Such vaccines make use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell the bodyâs cells what proteins to build.
- The mRNA, in this case, is coded to tell the cells to recreate the spike protein of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.
- It is the spike protein â which appears as spikes on the surface of the coronavirus â that initiates the process of infection; it allows the virus to penetrate cells, after which it goes on to replicate.
- A coronavirus vaccine based on mRNA, once injected into the body, will instruct the bodyâs cells to create copies of the spike protein.
- In turn, this is expected to prompt the immune cells to create antibodies to fight it.
- These antibodies will remain in the blood and fight the real virus if and when it infects the human body.
Back2Basics: Ribo Nucleic Acid (RNA)
- RNA is an important biological macromolecule that is present in all biological cells.
- It is principally involved in the synthesis of proteins, carrying the messenger instructions from DNA, which itself contains the genetic instructions required for the development and maintenance of life.
- In some viruses, RNA, rather than DNA, carries genetic information.
- The type of RNA dictates the function that this molecule will have within the cell.
- Aside from the coding region of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that will be translated into proteins, other cellular RNA elements are involved in different processes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramsar sites in India
Mains level: Wetland conservation in India
The Lonar Lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra, have been added to the list of recognised Ramsar sites.
Make a note of all freshwater and saltwater lakes in India.
Lonar Lake
- Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, saline (pH of 10.5), Soda Lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra.
- It was created by an asteroid collision with earth impact during the Pleistocene Epoch.
- It is one of the four known, hyper-velocity, impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth.
- It sits inside the Deccan Plateauâa massive plain of volcanic basalt rock created by eruptions some 65 million years ago.
Sur Sarovar
- It is a scenic lake just outside Agra on the Agra – Delhi highway (NH 2) and a declared bird sanctuary.
- The riverine belt of River Yamuna surrounds the area of Sur-Sarovar.
- It is today home to more than 165 species of migratory and resident birds.
- It is the same place that inspired the famed poet Soordas to compose the âBhakti Kavyaâ one of the finest pieces of devotional poetry.
Two amongst many
- India now has 41 wetlands, the highest in South Asia, with two more added to the list of recognised sites of international importance under the treaty of Ramsar Convention.
- Recently, Kabartal in Biharâs Begusarai district was recognised as a wetland of international importance, the first such wetland in the State, under the Ramsar Convention.
- The Asan Conservation Reserve in Dehradun, the first wetland from Uttarakhand to be recognised by Ramsar convention, was added to the list in October this year.
Back2Basics: Wetlands
- A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
- The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other landforms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.
- Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
What is the Ramsar Convention?
- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is a treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of such sites.
- The convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accords for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.
- Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for the conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life.
- Over 170 countries are party to the Ramsar Convention and over 2,000 designated sites covering over 20 crore hectares have been recognised under it.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PLI Scheme
Mains level: Paper 3- Analysing the importance of PLI Scheme
Manufacturing holds key to the economic prosperity of the country. The article examines the significance of Production Linked Incentive Scheme to boost manufacturing in India.
Need for increasing manufacturing capabilities
- The world of manufacturing is now more interconnected than ever before with all major industriesâautomobile, electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, etcâoperating as a global value-chain.
- In order to integrate India as a pivotal part of this modern economy, there is a strong need to step up our manufacturing capabilities in sectors of high growth, including the cutting edge technology sectors.
- A strong and dynamic manufacturing sector will fuel Indiaâs economic growth by allowing companies producing in India to penetrate effectively into the global supply chains across various sectors.
- Apart from enhancing exports, it will also reduce our import dependencies and spur domestic consumption.
- âAtmanirbhar Bharatâ has brought manufacturing to the centre stage and emphasised its significance in driving Indiaâs growth.
Factors favouring India
- India offers an attractive domestic market, with a large population in the educated and earning segment.
- It also has a strong institutional framework which allows for a smooth functioning of the industry.
- A concerted effort towards attracting substantial investments for the creation of large manufacturing facilities, combined efficiency and economies of scale, can help Indian companies globally competitive and integrate with the global markets.
How Production Linked Scheme (PLI) will help achieve these objectives
- The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme is designed to incentivise incremental production for a limited number of eligible anchor entities in each of the selected sectors.
- These selected entities will invest in technology, plant & machinery, as well as in R&D.
- The scheme will also have beneficial spillover effects by the creation of a widespread supplier base for the anchor units established under the scheme.
- Along with the anchor unit, these supplier units will also help to generate massive primary and secondary employment opportunities.
- The sectors for PLI have been shortlisted on the basis of their potential for economic growth, extent of benefit to the rural economy, revenue and employment generation.
- A key benefit of the PLI Scheme is that it can be implemented in a very targeted manner to attract investments in areas of strength and to strategically enter certain segments of global value chains (GVCs).
- This will help bring scale and size in key sectors and create and nurture global champions.
- The scheme incentivises upcoming technologies that represent the biggest economic opportunities of the 21st century.
- The scheme intends to generate large-scale employment by incentivising the development of traditional, labour intensive sectors like Food Processing and Textiles.
- The current basket of Indian manufacturing constitutes of large volume of low-value products.
- The scheme aims to correct this by encouraging large manufacturers to bring technology and to build capabilities for high-value output thereby providing higher returns to the upstream producers.
- It will also enable an increase in exports.
- The scheme envisages globally-integrated manufacturing in sectors such as automobile and auto components, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, white goods and steel.
- These are crucial sectors in terms of their strategic importance, contribution to the GDP and employment-generation potential.
Conclusion
Given the scale of incentives, which is around Rs 1,96,000 crore, the manufacturing sector of the country is set to transform in the next few years. Its contribution to the GDP will significantly improve, leading to unprecedented investment and job creation.
Source:-
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/pli-scheme-will-help-india-nurture-manufacturing-giants/2128992/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Paper 2- India-China relations and increasing convergence
Track 1.5 dialogue
- Â The third round of India-Canada Track 1.5 Dialogue, comprising senior diplomats, officials and independent experts, will be held on a virtual platform.
- This promising interaction represents a major, deliberate endeavour to boost the bilateral relationship.
Convergence on China issue
- Common challenges of the COVID-19 era accelerated the momentum of bilateral engagement.
- Canadaâs travails with China, starting with the arrest of Huaweiâs chief financial officer in Canada in December 2018.
- Later, the âhostage diplomacyâ practised by Beijing which arrested two Canadian nationals, has caused huge stress in Canada-China relations, turning Canadian public opinion against China.
- This opened the door to a closer relationship with India.
- In this backdrop, developments concerning the Indo-Pacific â strengthening of the Quad and the growing interest of France, Netherlands and Germany to be active players in the region â are of immense relevance to Ottawa.
- The forthcoming dialogue can deepen the India-Canada convergence on this issue.
Principal area’s of bilateral cooperation
- Canada-India merchandise trade exceeded C$10 billion in 2019.
- Canadaâs cumulative investment, including foreign direct investment and by Canadian pension funds, is a substantive C$55 billion.
- Addressing virtually the âInvest Indiaâ conference in Canada on Prime Minister pointed out that mature Canadian investors have been present in India for many years and assured them that no barriers would come in their way.
- Indian students are increasingly being educated in Canada, and a quarter million of them spent an estimated $5 billion in tuition fees and other expenses last year, a solid contribution to the Canadian economy.
- Of 330,000 new immigrants accepted by Canada last year, 85,000 i.e. nearly 25%, were from India.
- The Indian diaspora in Canada is now 1.6 million-strong, representing over 4% of the countryâs total population.
- The principal areas of bilateral cooperation are best defined by five Es: Economy, Energy, Education, Entertainment and Empowerment of women.
- In particular, the digital domain holds immense potential, given Canadaâs proven assets in technology â especially its large investment in Artificial Intelligence, innovation and capital resources, and Indiaâs IT achievements, expanding digital payment architecture and policy modernisation.
Conclusion
Divided by geographical distance but united through clear common interests and shared values, India and Canada will begin their steady journey of progress, this time with a laser-like focus on common goals as well.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Dealing with the air pollution through regulations
Despite efforts from several levels, air pollution is getting worse day by day. The article suggests the strategy to deal with the issue of air pollution.
Solvable problem
- Pollution is very much a solvable problem but it cannot be solved on an emergency basis.
- It has to be dealt with firmly and gradually.
- Why gradually? Because there are many sources of pollution and it would be prohibitively costly to stop them or even significantly reduce them all at once.
Replacing existing technologies with existing technology
- The biggest sources air polltion nationally are cooking fires, coal-fired power plants, various industries, crop residue burning, and construction and road dust. Vehicles are further down on the list.
- Dealing with all these sources will require a gradual replacement of existing technologies with new technologies.
- Cooking fires must be replaced with LPG, induction stoves, and other electric cooking appliances.
- Old coal power plants must be closed and replaced with wind and solar power and batteries while newer plants must install new pollution control equipment.
- No new coal-fired power plants should be built â with renewables being cheaper, coal is obsolete for power generation.
- Other industries that use coal will have to gradually switch over to cleaner fuel sources such as gas or hydrogen while becoming more energy-efficient at the same time.
- Farmers will have to switch crops or adopt alternative methods of residue management.
- Diesel and petrol vehicles must gradually be replaced by electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles running on power generated from renewables.
Legal measures and issues
- Governments can make clean investments more profitable and dirty investments less profitable by taxing polluting activities and subsidising clean investments.
- The judiciary is more powerful but has far less scientific and technical competence.
- It tends to act only during crises and focus on past mistakes rather than planning to prevent new ones.
Reforms in regulatory agency
- Our existing laws do not allow the central and state pollution boards to levy pollution fee or cess based on pollution emissions.
- Since closing down an industry is a drastic step, it almost never happens.
- We need a regulatory agency that can levy pollution fee or cess, is that the regulatory decision need not be an all-or-nothing decision.
- Pollution fees can start small, and the EPA can announce that they will rise by a certain percentage every year.
- The regulatory agency should be given some independence,like
- 1) a head appointed for a five-year term removable only by impeachment.
- 2) a guaranteed budget funded by a small percentage tax on all industries.
- 3) autonomy to hire staff and to set pollution fees after justification through scientific studies.
- Three advantages of the regulator with such powers would be-
- 1) Politicians in power can pass on the blame for decisions on pollution fees to the EPA.
- 2) Pollution fees raise revenue for the government.
- 3) If the law establishing an independent EPA is written to require that changes to pollution fees and regulations must be published in advance, and cannot involve abrupt changes, then surprises are avoided.
- Industry opposition will be muted, especially if industry gets a piece of the revenue to invest in new technologies.
Conclusion
Our pollution problem has taken decades to grow into the monster that it is. It canât be killed in a day. We need the scientific and technical capacity that only a securely funded independent EPA can bring to shrink pollution down to nothing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RCEP
Mains level: RCEP and its economy
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega trade bloc comprising 15 countries led by China has come into existence.
Try answering this:
Q.Signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement would have given more substance to Indiaâs Act East policy. Analyse.
About RCEP
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement (FTA) between â
- The 10 members of ASEAN
- Additional members of ASEAN +3 = China, Japan, South Korea
- Members with which ASEAN countries have FTA = Australia, New Zealand
- The group is expected to represent at least 30% of the global GDP and will emerge as the largest free trade agreement in the world.
- It includes more than 3 billion people, has a combined GDP of about $17 trillion, and accounts for about 40 per cent of world trade.
Indiaâs reluctance
- Indiaâs ties with China in recent months have been disturbed by the military tension in eastern Ladakh along the LAC.
- In the meantime, India has also held a maritime exercise with Japan, Australia, and the United States for the âQuadâ that was interpreted as an anti-China move.
- However, these moves did not influence Japanese and Australian plans regarding RCEP.
 Leverage for China
- Despite the pandemic, the RCEP is certainly leverage for China and shows the idea of decoupling from China is not a substantive issue in a regional sense.
- The agreement means a lot for China, as it will give it access to Japanese and South Korean markets in a big way, as the three countries have not yet agreed on their FTA.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Assam-Mizoram Boundary Dispute
Mains level: Interstate boundary disputes in India
The recent violence and tension on the Assam-Mizoram border underline the differences the two States have had since 1972 when Mizoram was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory.
Try answering this:
Q.Assam has had boundary problems with almost all of its north-eastern neighbours. Discuss.
*Also note the states bordering Assam.
What is the Dispute?
- Mizoram was carved out of Assam as a Union Territory in 1972. In 1987, it became a full-fledged state.
- The two states have sparred over where the border lies in the past, leading to the occasional violence.
- The disagreement stems from differing views on which border demarcation to follow.
- Mizoramâs perception of the border is based on an 1875 notification that flows from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873.
- The Act demarcated the Lushai Hills from the plains and valleys in the North East, restricting free travel between the two zones. The hills were deemed to be âexcluded areasâ.
- Assam, for its part, goes by a 1933 notification by the state government that demarcated the Lushai Hills, as Mizoram was then known, from the province of Manipur.
The Assamese problem
- Assam has had boundary problems with all its north-eastern neighbours, except Manipur and Tripura that had existed as separate entities.
- The primary reason is that the other States, a part of Assam during the British rule, have contested the boundaries since they became States, beginning with Nagaland in 1963.
- Assam has accepted several recommendations of border commissions set up by the Supreme Court, but other States have been sticking to âhistorical boundariesâ that go back to the period before 1826.
- However, the border residents have to bear the brunt of the unrest unless an acceptable solution is arrived at.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sex Ratio
Mains level: Sex ratio in India
A 2018 report on âvital statistics of India based on the Civil Registration Systemâ shows crucial data of sex ratios of major states in India.
Sex Ratio
- Sex ratio at birth is the number of females born per thousand males.
- Sex ratios are among the most basic of demographic parameters and provide an indication of both the relative survival of females and males and the future breeding potential of a population.
Try this PYQ
Q.Consider the following specific stages of demographic transition associated with economic development:
- Low birth rate with a low death rate
- High birth rate with a high death rate
- High birth rate with a low death rate
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 3, 2 and 1 only
(c) 2, 3 and 1 only
(d) 3, 2 and 1 only
Statewise data
- Arunachal Pradesh recorded 1,084 females born per thousand males, followed by Nagaland (965) Mizoram (964), Kerala (963) and Karnataka (957).
- The worst was reported in Manipur (757), Lakshadweep (839) and Daman & Diu (877), Punjab (896) and Gujarat (896).
- Delhi recorded a sex ratio of 929, Haryana 914 and Jammu and Kashmir 952.
- The number of registered births increased to 2.33 crore in 2018 from 2.21 crore registered births the previous year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Indian diaspora in Gulf region
The United Arab Emirates will extend its âgoldenâ visa system â which grants 10-year residency in the West Asian nation â to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others.
Do you know?
 India is the worldâs top recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending a whopping $79 billion back home in 2018 a/c to the World Bank.
Golden Visa Programme
- The âGolden Cardâ programme is open to investors and âexceptional talentsâ such as doctors, engineers, scientists, students and artists.
- The visa categories include:
- General investors who will be granted a 10 years visa
- Real estate investors, who can get a visa for 5 years Visa
- Entrepreneurs and talented professionals such as doctors, researchers and innovators: 10 years Visa
- Outstanding students â will also be permitted residency visas for 5 years
- All categories of visas can be renewed upon expiry.
Benefits for India
- The Indian expatriate community is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE, constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the countryâs population of around nine million.
- Though most of the Indians living in the UAE are employed, about 10 per cent of the Indian population constitutes dependent family members, according to the Indian Embassy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Map reading: Tristan Da Cunha
Mains level: Not Much
The isolated UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha, the worldâs most remote human settlement, has been declared the largest fully protected marine reserves in the Atlantic Ocean at 687,000 square kilometres.
Note the location of Tristan da Cunha Islands in the Atlantic.
Tristan da Cunha
- Tristan da Cunha, which is inhabited by less than 300 humans is a small chain of islands over 6,000 miles from London in the South Atlantic and the water around the islands are considered to be the richest in the world.
- The mountainous archipelago is home to tens of millions of seabirds and several unique land birds that are comparable to the Galapagos island finches.
- The island group is also home to the World Heritage Site of Gough and Inaccessible Islands, which is one of the most important seabird islands in the world.
Significance of protection
- After joining the UKâs Blue Belt Programme, it will become the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet.
- This will close over 90 per cent of their waters to harmful activities such as bottom-trawling fishing, sand extraction and deep-sea mining.
- The almost 700,000 square kilometres of the Marine Protection Zone (MPZ) is almost three times the size of the UK and will safeguard the future of sevengill sharks, Yellow-nosed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins.
- MPZs involve the management of certain natural areas for biodiversity conservation or species protection and are created by delineating zones with permitted and non-permitted areas within that zone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Meteor terminology
Mains level: Not Much
The Leonid meteor showers are currently making their yearly appearance and will reach their peak in India on November 17 and 18. Â In August this year, there was another meteor called Perseids Shower.
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?
(a) Bright half of material on the comet
(b) Long tail of dust
(c) Two asteroids orbiting each other
(d) Two planets orbiting each other
What is Leonid Meteor Shower?
- Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to be coming from.
- The Leonids originate from the constellation Leo the Lionâ the groups of stars which form a lionâs mane.
- They emerge from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which requires 33 years to revolve once around the Sun.
- These meteors are bright and among the fastest movingâ travelling at speeds of 71 km per second.
- During this yearâs showers, peaks of around 10 to 15 meteors are expected to be seen every hour.
- The Leonid showers include fireballsâ bright and large meteors than can last longer than average meteors, and âearthgazersââ meteors which appear close to the horizon with colourful and long tails.
What is a meteor shower?
- On its journey around the Sun, the Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris.
- The debris is essentially the remnants of comets â great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed.
- As the Earth wades through this cloud of comet waste, the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a fireworks display in the sky â known as a meteor shower.
- Several meteor showers can be seen around the year. According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.
Back2Basics:
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