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  • Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)

    The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for issuing a notification that asked for no coercive action against telecom companies even though they had not paid the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues by the stipulated deadline.

    What is AGR?

    • Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the usage and licensing fee that telecom operators are charged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
    • It is divided into spectrum usage charges and licensing fees.

    What does SC order on AGR mean?

    • The order by the top court means that the telecom companies will have to immediately clear the pending AGR dues, which amount to nearly Rs 1.47 lakh crore.
    • Vodafone Idea, which has to pay up nearly Rs 53,000 crore, faces the prospect of shutting down business.
    • Bharti Airtel, which faces a payout of more than Rs 21,000 crore, could also be in trouble for not paying the AGR dues on time.
    • Other than the telcos, non-telecom companies could also be facing huge payouts individually, which amount to total of Rs 3 lakh crore.

    What exactly did the government notification say?

    • The Licensing Finance Policy Wing of the DoT last month directed all government departments to not take any action against telecom operators if they failed to clear AGR-related dues as per the Supreme Court’s order.
    • The order came as a huge relief for operators — mainly Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — that would have otherwise faced possible contempt action for not paying dues by the deadline that ran out on that same day.

    No more relief to telecoms

    • Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea together owe the telecom department Rs 88,624 crore.
    • Prior to the DoT order restraining coercive action, the companies had told the government that they would wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing.
    • Reliance Jio paid up its dues of Rs 195 crore on January 23.
    • As things have turned out, however, the companies have got no relief from the Supreme Court.

    What is the background of SC’s AGR order?

    • On October 24, 2019, the court had agreed with DoT’s definition of AGR, and said the companies must pay all dues along with interest and penalty.
    • Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea had tried to persuade DoT to relax the deadline and, after failing, moved the court seeking a review of its judgment.
    • The court dismissed the review petition in mid-January, and also did not extend the deadline for paying AGR dues.
    • It had, however, agreed to hear the companies’ modification plea.

    Where does the government stand in this situation?

    • The payout by telecom and non-telecom companies is likely to lead to windfall gains for the central government, which could help it close some of the fiscal deficit gap for the current financial.
    • At the same time, however, the government will be under pressure to ensure that the telecom market does not turn into a duopoly if Vodafone Idea does indeed decide to shut shop.
    • It will also have to manage the payouts to be done by non-telecom companies as most of them, such as Oil India, Power Grid, Gail, and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation are public sector units.

    What does this situation mean for customers and lenders?

    • If Vodafone Idea does exit, an Airtel-Jio duopoly will be created, which could lead to bigger bills, considering it was the cutthroat competition in the sector that made mobile telephony and Internet almost universally affordable.
    • The AGR issue has triggered panic in the banking industry, given that the telecom sector is highly leveraged.
    • Vodafone Idea alone has a debt of Rs 2.2 lakh crore that it has used to expand infrastructure and fund spectrum payments over the years.
    • The mutual fund industry has an exposure of around Rs 4,000 crore to Vodafone Idea.

    Assist this newscard with:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-adjusted-gross-revenue-agr-in-telecom-sector/

  • System Risk Indicator (SyRI)

    • In a first anywhere in the world, a court in the Netherlands recently stopped a digital identification scheme for reasons of exclusion.
    • This has a context for similar artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide, especially at a time when identity, citizenship and privacy are pertinent questions in India.

    SyRI

    • Last week, a Dutch district court ruled against an identification mechanism called SyRI (System Risk Indicator), because of data privacy and human rights concerns.
    • It held SyRI was too invasive and violative of the privacy guarantees given by European Human Rights Law as well as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
    • The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs developed SyRI in 2014 to weed out those who are most likely to commit fraud and receive government benefits.
    • Legislation passed by Dutch Parliament allowed government agencies to share 17 categories of data about welfare recipients such as taxes, land registries, employment records, and vehicle registrations with a private company.
    • The company used an algorithm to analyse data for four cities and calculate risk scores.

    What were the arguments in court?

    • After taking into account community concerns, civil society groups and NGOs launched a legal attack on this case of algorithmic governance.
    • Legal criticism mounted, alleging that the algorithm would begin associating poverty and immigrant statuses with fraud risk.
    • The Dutch government defended the programme in court, saying it prevented abuse and acted as only a starting point for further investigation instead of a final determination.
    • The government also refused to disclose all information about how the system makes its decisions, stating that it would allow gaming of the system.
    • The court found that opaque algorithmic decision-making puts citizens at a disadvantage to challenge the resulting risk scores.
    • The Netherlands continuously ranks high on democracy indices.

    How relevant is this for India?

    • Similar to the Supreme Court’s Aadhaar judgment setting limits on the ID’s usage, the Hague Court attempted to balance social interest with personal privacy.
    • However, the Aadhaar judgment was not regarding algorithmic decision-making; it was about data collection.
    • The ruling is also an example of how a data protection regulation can be used against government surveillance.
    • India’s pending data protection regulation, being analysed by a Joint Select Committee in Parliament, would give broad exemptions to government data processing in its current form.
    • India’s proposed regulation is similar to the US in the loopholes that could be potentially exploited.

  • India’s Scientific Expedition to the Southern Ocean

     

    A South African oceanographic research vessel SA Agulhas set off from Port Louise in Mauritius, on a two-month Indian Scientific Expedition to the Southern Ocean 2020. Recently the vessel was at Prydz Bay, in the coastal waters of “Bharati”, India’s third station in Antarctica.

    India’s polar mission

    • This is the 11th expedition of an Indian mission to the Southern Ocean, or Antarctic Ocean.
    • The first mission took place between January and March 2004.

    About the Southern Ocean expedition

    • The researchers from IITM Pune are collecting air and water samples from around 60 stations along the cruise track.
    • These will give valuable information on the state of the ocean and atmosphere in this remote environment and will help to understand its impacts on the climate.
    • A key objective of the mission is to quantify changes that are occurring and the impact of these changes on large-scale weather phenomenon, like the Indian monsoon, through tele-connection.

    Why study Southern Ocean?

    • We know that carbon dioxide is getting emitted into the atmosphere, and through atmospheric circulation goes to the Antarctic and Polar Regions.
    • Since the temperature is very low there, these gases are getting absorbed and converted into dissolved inorganic carbon or organic carbon, and through water masses and circulation it is coming back to tropical regions.
    • All oceans around the world are connected through the Southern Ocean, which acts as a transport agent for things like heat across all these oceans.
    • The conveyor belt that circulates heat around the world is connected through the Southern Ocean and can have a large impact on how climate is going to change due to anthropogenic forces.

    Core projects of the expedition

    • Study hydrodynamics and biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean; involves sampling seawater at different depths. This will help understand the formation of Antarctic bottom water.
    • Observations of trace gases in the atmosphere, such as halogens and dimethyl sulphur from the ocean to the atmosphere. This will help improve parameterizations that are used in global models.
    • Study of organisms called coccolithophores that have existed in the oceans for several million years; their concentrations in sediments will create a picture of past climate
    • Investigate atmospheric aerosols and their optical and radiative properties. Continuous measurements will quantify the impact on Earth’s climate.
    • Study the Southern Ocean’s impact on Indian monsoons. Look for signs in a sediment core taken from the bottom of the ocean
    • Dynamics of the food web in the Southern Ocean; important for safeguarding catch and planning sustainable fishing

  • Discovery Program investigations by NASA

    NASA announced it has selected four Discovery Program investigations to develop concept studies for possible new missions.

    What are the new missions?

    • Two proposals are for trips to Venus, and one each is for Jupiter’s moon Io and Neptune’s moon Triton.
    • After the concept studies are completed in nine months, some missions ultimately may not be chosen to move forward.

    DAVINCI+

    • DAVINCI+ stands for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus.
    • This will analyse Venus’s atmosphere to understand how it was formed and evolved, and if it ever had an ocean.
    • This will advance understanding of the formation of terrestrial planets.

    IVO

    • Io Volcano Observer is a proposal to explore Jupiter’s moon Io, which is extremely volcanically active.
    • This will try to find out how tidal forces shape planetary bodies.
    • The findings could further knowledge about the formation and evolution of rocky, terrestrial bodies and icy ocean worlds in the Solar System.

    TRIDENT

    This aims to explore Neptune’s icy moon, Triton, so that scientists can understand the development of habitable worlds in the Solar System.

    VERITAS

    Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy will aim to map Venus’s surface to find out why Venus developed so differently from Earth.

  • Species in news: Indian Pangolin

     

    The Madhya Pradesh forest department has radio-tagged an Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) for the first time.

    Pangolins

    IUCN status: Endangered

    • India is home to two species of pangolin.
    • While the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is found in northeastern India, the Indian Pangolin is distributed in other parts of the country as well as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
    • Both these species are protected and are listed under the Schedule I Part I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
    • Commonly known as ‘scaly anteaters’, the toothless animals are unique, a result of millions of years of evolution.
    • Pangolins evolved scales as a means of protection. When threatened by big carnivores like lions or tigers they usually curl into a ball.
    • The scales defend them against dental attacks from the predators.

    Why this radio-tagging?

    • The radio-tagging aims to know its ecology and develop an effective conservation plan for it.
    • The radio-tagging is part of a joint project by the department and non-profit, the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) that also involves the species’ monitoring apart from other activities.

    Why protect Pangolins?

    • Pangolins are currently the most trafficked wildlife species in the world.
    • These Scales has now become the main cause of the pangolin’s disappearance.
    • The scales are in high demand in China, where they are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
    • Pangolin meat is also in high demand in China and Southeast Asia.
    • Consequently, pangolins have seen a rapid reduction in population globally. The projected population declines range from 50 per cent to 80 per cent across the genus.

  • The ‘Pale Blue Dot’

     

    The Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the NASA published a new version of the image of Pale Blue Dot.

    Pale Blue Dot

    • The ‘Pale Blue Dot’ is one of the most iconic images in the history of astronomy.
    • It shows Earth as a single bright blue pixel in empty space within a strand of sun rays, some of which are scattering from and enlightening the planet.
    • The original image was taken by the Voyager 1 mission spacecraft on February 14, 1990 when it was just beyond Saturn.
    • At the behest of astronomer Carl Sagan, the cameras were turned towards Earth one final time to capture the image.
    • After this, the cameras and other instruments on the craft were turned off to ensure its longevity.

    About Voyager 1

    • Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977.
    • Having operated for more than 42 years, the spacecraft still communicates with the Deep Space Network to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth.
    • At a distance of 148.67 AU (22.2 billion km) from Earth as of January 19, 2020 it is the most distant man-made object from Earth.
    • The probe’s objectives included flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

    The Family Portrait of the Solar System

    • The Pale blue dot image was a part of series of 60 images designed to produce what the mission called the ‘Family Portrait of the Solar System’.
    • This sequence of camera-pointing commands returned images of six of the solar system’s planets, as well as the Sun.

  • [pib] Nagpur Orange

     

    The first consignment of Nagpur oranges was flagged off to Dubai from Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

    Nagpur Orange

    • Nagpur orange is rustic and pockmarked exterior which is sweet and has juicy pulp.
    • It gives the city of Nagpur its pseudonym Orange City.
    • It oranges blossom during the Monsoon season and are ready to be harvested from the month of December.
    • The Geographical Indication was accorded to the Nagpur Orange by the registrar of GIs in India and is effective as of April 2014.

    The best breed

    • Nagpur mandarin in one of the best mandarins in the world. Production of this fruit crop in the central and western part of India is increasing every year.
    • Mrig crop (monsoon blossom), which matures in February – March, has great potential for export since arrivals of mandarin fruit in international market are less during this period.
    • In the whole region only one variety of Nagpur Mandarin is grown.

  • [Burning Issue] Highlights of the Union Budget 2020

     

    Estimates

    Prominent themes of the Budget 2020

     

     

    Agriculture

    • A budget allocation of ₹2.83 lakh crore for the sector comprising agriculture and allied activities.
    • Doubling farmers incomes by 2022.
    • Agri-credit availability set at ₹15 lakh crore for 2020-21.
    • Comprehensive measures for 100 water stressed districts.
    • Provide 20 lakh farmers to set up standalone solar pumps. Help another 15 lakh farmers to solarise their power grid.
    • Village storage scheme proposed to be run by women SHGs.
    • Indian Railways to have refrigerated coaches capability in ‘kisan trains’ to carry perishables and milk.
    • Krishi UDAN on international and national routes.

    Health and Sanitation

    • An allocation of ₹69,000 crore for the health sector.
    • ₹12,300 crore for Swachh Bharat this year.
    • Proposal to set up hospitals in Tier-II and Tier-III cities with the private sector using PPP.
    • Expand Jan Aushadhi scheme to provide for all hospitals under Ayushman Bharat by 2025.

    Education

    • ₹99,300 crore for education sector in 2021 and about ₹3,000 crore for skill development.
    • Urban local bodies to provide internship to young engineers for a year.
    • Degree-level full fledged online education programmes by institutions ranked in top 100 in NIRF rankings, especially to benefit underprivileged students.
    • A national police university and a national forensic science university is proposed to be setup.
    • IND SAT exam for students of Asia and Africa to promote “study in India” programme.

    Infrastructure

    • Budget proposes to provide ₹1.7 lakh crore for transport infrastructure in 2021
    • National Logistics Policy to be released soon.
    • Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway to be started.
    • Aim to achieve electrification of 27,000 km of lines.
    • Plan to have a large solar power capacity for Indian Railways.
    • The government also proposes a Bengaluru suburban rail project at a cost of ₹18,600 crore.
    • Govt to monetise 12 lots of national highways by 2024.
    • 100 more airports will be developed by 2024 to support UDAN.

    Culture and Tourism

    • Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation has been proposed under the Ministry of Culture. This will be given a status of deemed university.
    • 5 sites will be developed as iconic sites with on-site museums
    1. Rakhigarhi (Haryana)
    2. Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh)
    3. Shivsagar (Assam)
    4. Dholavira (Gujarat)
    5. Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)
    • Maritime museum to be set up at Lothal- the Harappan age maritime site near Ahmedabad, by Ministry of Shipping.

    Tax

    • A new tax regime has been announced. Those who want to be in the old regime with exemptions, can continue to pay at the old rates.
    Income Tax
    Between ₹5 lakh and ₹7.5 lakh Reduced to 10% from the current 20%
    Between ₹7.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh Reduced to 15% from the current 20%
    Between ₹10 lakh to ₹12.5 lakh Reduced to 20% from the current 30%
    Between ₹12.5 lakh to ₹15 lakh Reduced to 25% from the current 30%
    Above ₹15 lakh Continue at 30%, but without exemptions
    • Over 70 deductions have been removed.
    • Companies will no longer be required to pay Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT).
    • Aadhaar-based verification for GST compliance to be introduced.

    Also read:

    Government Budgeting

  • 15th February 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 368]

  • Bangladesh fares better

    Content

    In the last decade, on a range of social development indicators, Bangladesh has fared better than India. So it is highly unlikely that Bangladeshis would want to leave their cherished homeland for India.

    Comparison with Bangladesh on the development indicators

    • Growth rate: This year Bangladesh’s economic growth rate has surpassed India.
    • Social development indicators: In the last decade, on a range of social development indicators, from infant mortality to immunisation, Bangladesh has fared better.
    • India lagging behind the neighbours in quality of life: Undoubtedly, since economic liberalisation, Indians have grown much richer than Bangladeshis, but in terms of quality of life our neighbour largely outshines us.
      • India trails across several (not all) composite indices from the latest Global Hunger Index to the Gender Development Index.
      • Even on the 2019 World Happiness Index, Bangladeshis score better.
      • While, technically, on the Human Development Index, Bangladesh scores marginally less, this is largely because the index merges income and non-income parameters.

    How India’s neighbour forged ahead in social development?

    • Dissolving the inequality and bridging the social and gender distances: In the case of Bangladesh, the most prominent factor has been-
      • Removing inequality: The country’s ability to dissolve inequalities through sustained investment in public services and-
      • Bridging the social distance: The bridging of social and gender distances.
    • Development in Healthcare: Till the Eighties, Indians lived longer than most South Asians.
      • But now, despite being poorer, an average Bangladeshi female child at birth can expect to live for four years more.
      • Fewer Bangladeshi children also die before their fifth birthday.
      • Community clinics: The formula for this success has been relatively simple. Since 2009, the government has constructed well-stocked “community clinics” in every third village.
      • Home delivery of medicines: For four decades, committed cadres of government health workers have delivered medicines and family planning to women in the comfort of their homes.
    • Achievement in Education: On the education front, even though India has a demographic dividend, Bangladesh has achieved a marginal advantage in youth literacy.
      • Further, across income quintiles, Bangladeshi girls have higher educational attainments than boys.
      • Free textbooks: The government provides free textbooks in the government, non-government (NGO) and madrassa-run schools promptly at the start of the academic year, without the chronic delays which plague India.
      • The greater proportion of expenditure on educations: Economist Jean Drèze has aptly described India as amongst the world champions in social underspending. In contrast, Bangladesh despite being a poorer neighbour since the Nineties has spent a greater proportion of government expenditure on education and healthcare.
      • The fruits of these sustained investments have reaped rich dividends.
    • Nutrition: On the nutrition front too, Bangladesh fares better.
      • Thirty-three per cent of Bangladeshi children are underweight compared to India’s 36 per cent as per the demographic health surveys.
      • Similarly, a greater proportion of Indian children are also stunted.
      • Further, the inequality between wealth quintiles is starker in India.
      • A few years ago, the Bangladeshi government, with the help of NGOs, hired a unique cadre of “Pushti Apas” (nutrition sisters) who went door-to-door in their social endeavours.
      • Unlike the Indian Poshan Abhiyan’s focus on vegetarian foods, they did not shy away from teaching mothers to feed growing infants a balanced diet with mashed fish, meat and eggs.
    • Sanitation: Even at the turn of the millennium, at least 80 per cent of Bangladeshi homes had toilets, even if rudimentary.
      • By 2016, 96 per cent of households and 80 per cent of schools in had proper sanitation.
      • Apart from the typical Islamic emphasis on hygiene, local governments not only provide cement rings for free to poor families but they also regularly spread messages through community group discussions, mosques, mass media and schools.
      • Local entrepreneurs have also ensured that with the innovation of plastic pans, the cheapest toilets cost less than Chinese mobile phones.
    • Women empowerment: Bangladeshi women are also increasingly assertive.
      • The 2006 World Bank Survey on Gender Norms found a growing trend of “educational hypogamy”.
      • In sharp contrast to India’s decline, Bangladeshi women also have higher labour force participation.

    Contrast

    • In comparison, India is grappling with the worst unemployment levels in 45 years and sinking economic growth rates. Government ministers should pull up their own socks, instead. Berating our neighbours with the false bogey of illegal immigrants, in light of the Citizenship Amendment Act, is nothing but an unjustifiable distraction. Instead, it would be far wiser for the Indian government to humbly learn the recipe of South Asian success to improve the lives of citizens from the impressive “Shonar Bangla”.

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