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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Microorganisms that become resistant to most antimicrobials are often referred to as “superbugs”. It compromises medical procedures such as organ transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, major surgeries etc. making them very risky.

Carbapenem Antibiotics – Refer to the line of last resort drug used to treat people with life-threatening infections.

Causes of Antibiotic Resistance

Microorganisms in the news who have shown signs of resistance.

Resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae – common intestinal bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections – to a last resort treatment (carbapenem antibiotics) has spread to all regions of the world. K. pneumoniae is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and infections in newborns and intensive-care unit patients.

Resistance in E. coli to one of the most widely used medicines for the treatment of urinary tract infections (fluoroquinolone antibiotics) is very widespread. There are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is now ineffective in more than half of patients.

Treatment failure to the last resort of medicine for gonorrhoea.

Colistin is the last resort treatment for life-threatening infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae which are resistant to carbapenems. Resistance to colistin has recently been detected in several countries and regions, making infections caused by such bacteria untreatable.

Besides these – Malaria, TB, HIV, etc all have shown signs of developing resistance.

International Initiatives

• ‘One Health’ approach: to designing and implementing programmes, policies, legislation and research in which multiple sectors communicate and work together to achieve better public health outcomes against the food safety, the control of zoonoses (diseases that can spread between animals and humans, such as flu, rabies), antimicrobial resistance etc.
• In 2015, the WHO released a Global Action Plan on AMR (GAP-AMR) urging member countries to develop national action plans by May 2017.
• The Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System
• Interagency Coordination Group on AMR (IACG)
• World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

Initiatives by India 

1. India recently has launched National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Six strategic priorities have been identified under the NAP-AMR
1. Enhancing awareness among masses and strict adulteration laws.
2. Strengthen knowledge and evidence through surveillance.
3. Optimize the use of anti-microbial agents.
4. Reducing infections
5. Promote investments, research, and innovations.
6. Strengthen leadership on AMR through international collaborations

2. A National Policy for containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the country was formulated in the year 2011 and has been widely disseminated. The said policy envisages enforcement and enhancement of regulatory provisions for use of antibiotics for humans as also for veterinary use.

3. The Drugs and Cosmetic Rule, 1945 were amended in 2013 to incorporate a new Schedule H1 under the said rules containing 46 drugs which include IIIrd and IVth generation antibiotics, anti TB drugs and certain habit forming drugs for having strict control over the sale of these drugs.

4. FSSAI has set certain guidelines limiting the antibiotics in food products such as fish and honey.

5. Red Line Campaign on Antibiotics 2016, was launched to create awareness regarding rational usage and limiting the practice of self-medication of antibiotics among the general public.

6. National Health Policy 2017 envisions a holistic framework against AMR.

National Income Accounting in India

National income of a country can be defined as the total market value of goods and services produced in the economy in a year.

The three-important measure of calculating National Income of a country are:

• The sum of the value of all final goods and services produced.
• The sum of all incomes accruing to factors of production, i.e., Rent, Interest, Profit and Wages.
• The sum of consumer’s expenditure, net investment, and government expenditure on goods and services.

Circular Flow of Income in a Three Sector Economy

• The modern economy is a monetary economy. Money changes hand from one sector to another.
• The Household sector supplies their services like labour, land, Capital and entrepreneurial abilities to firms and receives payments in return in terms of money.
• In the first stage of the model, the Household sector provides their services of labour, land, capital and entrepreneurial skills to the Business firms.
• In the second stage, the Business firms pay back in monetary terms to the Household sector in the form of Wages, Rent, Interest and Profits.
• In the third stage, the money received by household is spent on the goods and services produced by the firms in the form of consumption expenditure. At the same time, the Firms provides their goods and services to the Household in return for the money.
• Thus, we see, that money flows from business firms to households as payments for a factor of production (Labour, Land, Rent and Entrepreneurial skills), and then it flows from Household to firms when Household purchased goods and services produced by the firms. This money flow is called circular flow of income.

Saving and Investment in the Circular Flow

• Along with consumption, the household also saves part of their money.
• When Household saves, their expenditure on purchase of goods and services decline. The decline in the purchase will result in a decline in money received by firms. This will result in less money flow to the household as the firms will reduce hiring and production operations. Thus, saving act as a leakage from the economic system.
• But the important question to ask is, where will savings go in the economy?
• The savings in the economy does not lead to any reduction in aggregate spending and income as the savings flows back into the economic system through Financial Markets (Banks, Stock markets, insurance etc.)
• From Financial Markets, the savings flows back to the Business firms who borrow them and invest it into new forms of investments.
• Thus, the saving which is a leakage in the system also flows back into the system through investment by a firm which acts as injections.

Government Sector in the Circular Flow

• Government affects the economy in a number of ways. The main components of government intervention are in the form of taxes, spending and borrowings.
• Government purchase goods and services just as household and firms do.
• Government financed its expenditure through taxes and borrowings.
• The money flow from Household and firms to the government is in the form of taxes.
• The other form of money flow from Household and firms to government is in the form of Borrowings through financial markets.
• The Government pay back to household and firms in the form of provision of public goods like health, education, Policing, National Defence etc.

National Income and National Product

Net National Product or National Income

• In the production of GNP of a year, a country uses some fixed assets or capital goods like Machinery, Equipments and technology etc.
• The capital goods like machinery, building and equipment’s undergo regular wear and tear during the production process, which reduces their value. This fall in the value of capital assets due to regular wear and tear is called depreciation.
• When the Depreciation is deducted from the Gross National Product, then we get Net National Product.
• It simply means to include all market value of goods and services produced in a year after deducting depreciation.
• NNPMP = GNP- Depreciation.

National Income at Factor Cost

• National Income from Factor Cost is also called National Income of a country.
• National Income means the sum of all incomes earned by the citizens in the form of Rent, Wages, Interest and Profits.
• The difference between National Income at Factor Cost and National Income at Market Price (NNPMP) arises from the fact that indirect taxes and subsidies cause the market price to be different from the factor income received by the citizens.
• Example, A mobile handset of Rs10,000 purchased by you includes a GST of 12%. In this case, while the market price of RS 10,000 includes the GST. The factor of production used to produce mobile handset will only get RS 8800. Thus, the difference between market price and factor cost is the tax.
• Similarly, a subsidy results in the market price of a product to be less than the factor cost.
• Therefore, while calculating National Income, we must deduct indirect taxes and add subsidies into Net National Product at Market Price.
• NNPFC = NNPMP – Indirect Taxes + Subsidies.

Personal Income

• Personal Income includes the sum of all incomes actually received by all the individuals or households during a given year.
• The individual pays income taxes, firms pay corporate taxes, individual also contribute towards social securities in the form of Cess etc., and some individuals receive social security benefits (transfer payments) like pension, unemployment allowances from the government.
• In order to move from National Income to Personal Income of individuals and firms, we must deduct all forms of direct taxes and social security contribution by the individuals and must add transfer payment received by the individuals.
• The basic idea here is to subtract all those income from National Income that is earned by an individual but has not been received like taxes and add all those incomes which are received by the individuals but has not been earned like Old age Pensions.
• Personal Income= National Income – (Undistributed Corporate Profits+ Corporate Taxes + Social Security Contribution) + (Transfer Payments).

By
Himanshu Arora
Doctoral Scholar in Economics & Senior Research Fellow, CDS, Jawaharlal Nehru University

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Here are 3 Back2Basics collections from today’s news items

B2B #1: From News- Cabinet approves downsizing of Competition Commission of India

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

1. Competition Commission of India is a statutory body of the Government of India
2. It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India
3. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and Merger and acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India
4. It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having an adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India
5. CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members (now 4) appointed by the Central Government

B2B #2: From News- Opposed to ‘weaponisation’ of outer space: India to UN

UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC)

1. In 1952, the UN General Assembly created the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) under the Security Council
2. The Disarmament Commission was re-established at the first Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament in 1978 to succeed an earlier Disarmament Commission, which ceased to convene after 1965
3. It was created as a deliberative body, with the function of considering and making recommendations on various issues in the field of disarmament and of following up on the relevant decisions and recommendations of the special session
4. It has a mandate to prepare proposals for a treaty for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of all armed forces and all armaments, including the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction
5. It reports annually to the General Assembly
6. Since 1978, the Disarmament Commission has dealt with numerous disarmament-related questions, both nuclear and conventional

B2B #3: From News- International Press Institute terms contentious fake news guidlines ‘misguided policy’

International Press Institute

1. International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices
2. Founded in October 1950, the IPI has members in over 120 countries
3. IPI’s membership is made up of editors and media executives working for some of the world’s most respected media outlets
4. IPI is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global network of non-governmental organizations that monitors press freedom and free expression violations worldwide
5. IPI enjoys consultative status with the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe
6. Each year, IPI publishes an authoritative report on media violations around the world: The World Press Freedom Review

Recently in news, because India has been admitted to Agreement

What? Ashgabat Agreement is an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

Aim: The transit agreement provides for a transit corridor across Central Asia and the Middle East through the continuous landmass between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran before reaching the Persian Gulf and into Oman

Objective: The objective of this agreement is to enhance connectivity within Eurasian region and synchronize it with other transport corridors within that region including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)