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#1. [op-ed snap] Stand up against torture

Importance level: HIGH

Prelims worthy: Convention Against Torture (CAT). UPSC has been asking 1-2 conventions every year in prelims and mains. Example they asked a question on ‘United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’ in 2016

Mains worthy: How lack of ratification of this convention is undermining India’s prestige in the world. How ratification of this convention will further the cause of human rights in India

Short Summary: India has been making promises of ratifying CAT but doesn’t seem intent on keeping them

The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 was a big step taken to include various forms of torture in consideration such as food deprivation, sleep deprivation, sound bombardment, electric shocks etc. which are used by Indian police force. But bill was allowed to lapse

By showing that it has no intention of combating the issues related to its own forces and of implementing its promises made to the UN, India has undermined its own prestige

Read full op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/op-ed-snap-stand-up-against-torture/

#2 Boost for exports as Government announces more incentives

Importance level: HIGH

Prelims worthy: MEIS, SEIS, Foreign trade policy 2015-20

Mains worthy: Ease of doing business, steps taken by Government to arrest slowdown in exports

Short summary: Government announced additional incentives to help boost exports in its mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020

The mid-term review aims to promote exports by simplification of processes and enhance support to high employment sectors

Various other steps have been taken to make processes relating to trade simpler like: Self certification scheme for duty free imports, single point electronic contact to traders with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade for trade and consignment related queries and creating a logistics division in the department of commerce

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/trade-sector-updates/#post-93986

#3 The unfortunate consequences of GST anti-profiteering rules

Importance level: Medium

Prelims worthy: anti-profiteering rules

Mains worthy: ill-effects of anti-profiteering rules and reasons behind ill-effect

Short summary: India may adopt a product-specific approach similar to that of Australia to ensure that the full benefit of price reductions due to the goods and services tax (GST) is passed onto consumers

Australia, Malaysia, Canada and New Zealand are some countries where anti-profiteering or similar provisions have been put in place but were not successful

This happened because movement in prices is also a function of the demand-supply scenario and such provision can work only when things like raw material costs do not swing sharply

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/goods-and-services-tax/#post-93982

#4. UAE and Saudi form new group separate from GCC

Importance level: Medium

Prelims worthy: GCC and its members

Mains worthy: Geopolitics of Middle east and its impact on India

Short summary: UAE announced it has formed a new economic and political partnership group with Saudi Arabia, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Known as Joint cooperation committee, it is assigned to cooperate and coordinate between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in all military, political, economic, trade and cultural fields, as well as others, in the interest of the two countries

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/foreign-policy-watch-india-middle-east/#post-93978

#5. [op-ed snap] From Plate to Plough: Agri-futures, like China

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: What is Agri-future?

Mains worthy: Need of agri-future in India, issues in India’s Agri-future infrastructure,lessons which India should take from China

Short Summary: In November, prices of most major kharif crops crashed below their respective minimum support prices (MSPs), triggering farm distress

Agrifutures are futures contracts in which the underlying assets come from the raising of crops and/or animals. That is, the underlying asset of an agricultural futures contract may be a direct product of the earth, such as corn or beef, or a derivative, such as high fructose corn syrup

The agri-futures market was introduced in the early 1990s in China and by 2016, it was at the top of global chart. India needs to take lessons from China in order to improve agricultural economy

Read full op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/agricultural-marketing-reforms/#post-93925

#6. [op-ed snap] Bail-in doubts — on financial resolution legislation

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Not much

Mains worthy: Key features of the ordinance, issues with the ordinance. How does the ordinance affects freedom of speech and expression

Short Summary: Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, introduced in Parliament this August, has caused great anxiety about the safety of funds parked by millions of households in bank deposits

There are fears that it will enable banks to be ‘bailed in’ by depositors’ funds rather than being ‘bailed out’ by taxpayers (or potential buyers)

A bail-in is rescuing a financial institution on the brink of failure by making its creditors and depositors take a loss on their holdings. A bail-in is the opposite of a bail-out, which involves the rescue of a financial institution by external parties, typically governments using taxpayers money

Read full op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/2017/12/05/#post-93914

#7. Rajasthan ordinance that sought to shield public servants from probe lapses

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Not much

Mains worthy: Key features of the ordinance, issues with the ordinance.How does the ordinance affects freedom of speech and expression

Short summary: The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 which sought to shield judges, magistrates and public servants from investigation lapsed as it was not passed by assembly

The government in Rajasthan had promulgated an ordinance providing for prior sanction for investigation against public servants, judges and magistrates for acts done “in discharge of official duties”

As per rules, if the Assembly fails to pass the Bill, the Ordinance automatically lapses after six weeks from the date of being tabled as a Bill

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/2017/12/05/#post-93916

Further reads: Provisions related to promulgation of ordinance, powers of president and government in this regard, exceptions etc.

#8 India is biggest importer of U.S. oil refinery by-product ‘petcoke’

US exporting dirty fuel to already pollution choked India

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: What is petcoke?

Mains worthy:  Impact of Petcoke use in India and views of experts,government and SC on petcoke

Short summary: US oil refineries that are unable to sell a dirty fuel waste product (petcoke) at home are exporting vast quantities of it to India instead

Petroleum coke, the leftover from refining Canadian tar sands and other heavy crude, is cheaper and burns hotter than coal. It also contains more planet-warming carbon and far more heart and lung-damaging sulfur

The petcoke burned in countless factories and plants is contributing to dangerously filthy air in India

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/foreign-policy-watch-india-us/#post-93706

https://www.civilsdaily.com/india-is-biggest-importer-of-u-s-oil-refinery-by-product-petcoke/#post-93853

#9. Government to enable skilled persons bag jobs abroad

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Not much

Mains worthy: Steps being taken by Government for skilling people. Skill development has become a hot topic for UPSC.In both 2015 and 2016 mains they asked question related to skill development

Short summary: India plans to make it easier for masons, carpenters and plumbers, among other skilled persons, to get jobs overseas

Information Asymmetry exists across the globe for different skills and the basic minimum certification required for each skill in different countries

Government had announced the launch of 50 India International Skill Centres to impart training to youth under the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The idea was to increase the employability and acceptability of Indian youth on global platforms

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/skilling-india/#post-93839

#10. New direct taxes code aims for lower rates, wider base

[op-ed snap] Towards a new direct tax system

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Not much

Mains worthy: Why we need reforms in our direct tax laws.What should be the feature of new tax system

Short summary: Aim of the new direct taxes code is to get more people to pay direct taxes and to take the direct tax-to-GDP ratio to as close to 18% as possible.

The current direct tax-to-GDP ratio is 5.6%. Including direct taxes and indirect taxes, this is currently 10.8% of GDP (excluding state taxes). This is likely to increase because of the unified goods and services tax introduced this year.

Indian state has to depend a lot on indirect taxes, which are fundamentally regressive. Proportion of direct taxes in the total pool has to increase further to make the tax system more progressive.

Read full news and op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/tax-reforms/#post-93834

Further reads: Direct and indirect taxes in India, authorities related to them and reasons behind low tax compliance

#11. [op-ed snap] An opportunity for India

Importance level: Medium

Prelims worthy: Not much

Mains worthy: The importance of Clinical Trials,Why India is lagging behind in clinical trials and steps taken by the government regarding the trials

Short summary: It is time India creates a favourable environment for clinical trials as it has a huge talent pool and growing demand for innovation in drugs and medical devices to address the rising disease burden

According to the Journal of Clinical Research and Bioethics, India represents 17.5% of the world’s population but conducts only 1.4% of global clinical research.  This is because the regulatory system in India for clinical research has become increasingly a deterrent for biopharmaceutical and device companies which sponsor clinical trials

The Government has proposed waiving off clinical trials for those drugs that have already proved their efficacy in developed markets. More such steps need to be taken

Read full op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/innovation-ecosystem-in-india/#post-93819

#12. [pib] Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities Introduced

Importance level: Medium

Prelims worthy: Star rating protocol for garbage free cities

Mains worthy: Urbanisation challenges

Short summary: A star rating protocol for garbage free cities has been introduced

It will focus on the issue of cleanliness of community and public toilets. There is a concerted drive to seek user feedback for CT/PTs through the Google toilet locator and Swachhata app

Local bodies will be uploading all community / public toilets in cities on Google maps under the Business listing category, integrating with Swachhata app

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/managing-indias-growing-waste/#post-93717

#13. [pib] SAUBHAGYA Scheme launched in Manipur

Importance worthy: High

Prelims worthy: Saubhagya scheme, First State where the scheme is launched

Mains worthy: Significance of Saubhagya scheme,challenges in its implementation

Short summary: The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) was launched in Manipur

Saubhagya is a scheme launched to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the Country by Government of India. People would get 24×7 power supply by March, 2019

For achieving this target, the Government has already given obligation to private companies to provide 24×7 power supply to every household

Read about all important government schemes here in this listicle:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1arK69byj5rzHFaN3Wlo-9uA9B_cIrrKuf5_PpcJQxbI/edit?usp=sharing

#14. Instant triple talaq: Draft Law

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Sarkaria commission

Mains worthy: Rights of Women vs minority rights; State’s role in people’s religion

Short summary: Centre has drawn up a draft law to stop the practice of instant triple talaq or talaq-e-bidat

The draft law applies to instant triple talaq in “oral, written, electronic or any other form”. Instant triple talaq or talaq-e-bidat will be a “cognizable and non-bailable” offence

In view of the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission, the Centre has forwarded the draft law to states and asked them to send their views soon

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/uniform-civil-code/#post-93708

Further reads: Provisions in constitution and various statutes to safeguard women, Uniform civil code, various marriage acts

#15. Way to remove poll commissioners vague

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Appointment and removal of Election Commissioners

Mains worthy: Electoral reforms,issue of vagueness in the procedure for of removal Election Commissioners and its implication on independence of E.C.

Short summary: A PIL petition pointing out the vagueness in the procedure for removal of Election Commissioners, saying it affects the Election Commission’s autonomy was filed in Supreme court

Though the proviso to Article 324 (5) of the Constitution safeguards the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) from arbitrary removal, the same provision is silent about the procedure for removal of the two Election Commissioners. It only provides that they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC

The CEC and the Election Commissioners enjoy the same decision-making powers which are suggestive of the fact that their powers are at par with each other and thus Election Commissioners should be with the same protection against arbitrary removal as the Chief Election Commissioner

Read the full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/electoral-reforms-in-india/#post-93690

Further reads: Appointment of Election commissioners, functioning of election commission

#16. Cabinet nod to nutrition mission

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: National Nutrition Mission, A question regarding this mission was also asked in UPSC Prelims 2017

Mains worthy: Steps taken by Government to counter hunger & Malnutrition in India

Short summary: The Union Cabinet approved the launch of National Nutrition Mission with a target to reduce malnutrition and low birth weight by 2% each year

The core idea behind the mission is to converge all the existing programmes on a single platform

The mission targets to bring down stunting in children and anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls by 3% every year

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/hunger-and-nutrition-issues/#post-93682

#17. All you need to know about the Transgender Persons Bill, 2016

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: Transgender rights bill, Private members bill, IPC

Mains worthy: Significance and issues in the current Transgender persons bill,2016

Short summary: Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha in August 2016, is set to be reintroduced in the winter session of Parliament

India’s transgender community is up in arms, since they believe the legislation meant to safeguard their interests only serves to undermine their right to life and livelihood

The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha and had many progressive clauses and many of them have been removed or toned down in the new bill

Read the full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-transgender-persons-bill-2016/#post-93600

Further reads: Private members bill, provisions related to vulnerable sections of society

#18. New Delhi caught by surprise as Maldives seals FTA with China

Importance level: High

Prelims worthy: FTA

Mains worthy: Effects of FTA between China and Maldives on India-Maldives relations

Short summary: Maldives rammed through its Free Trade Agreement with China in the Maldivian parliament in a session attended by only 30 out of 85 members

The haste with which the government decided to pass the pact is being perceived as Maldives trying to cosy up to China

This is Maldives’s first FTA with any country, and China’s second FTA with any country in South Asia after Pakistan. Maldivian government has extended invitations to establish free trade agreements with countries including Japan, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and countries of the European Union but it doesn’t name India in this list

Read full news here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/foreign-policy-watch-india-maldives/#post-93625

#19. [op-ed snap] Responsibility without power

Importance worthy: High

Prelims worthy: Article 239AA

Mains worthy: UPSC has asked question on this topic in 2016 mains.Limitations of article 239AA

Short summary: The problem of jurisdictional conflicts between Delhi’s elected government and the lieutenant governor (LG) is attributable to Article 239AA of the Indian Constitution

Two important questions that emanate are:

• Whether the elected government is the final authority in respect of matters assigned to it by the Constitution?
• Whether the LG has primacy when a difference of opinion arises between him and his council of ministers on matters of governance?

Westing of all powers in the LG in respect of matters which come within the jurisdiction of the assembly is not in conformity with the scheme of Article 239 AA.

Read full op-ed here:

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/delhi-statehood/#post-93602

Further reads: Special provisions in Constitution for some states and UTs

Q.1)  The Chabahar Port which has been inaugurated recently could bring India and its partners a new spring. In this regard, discuss the strategic, economic and political significance of Chabahar port. Also discuss in what context will India gain from this project?

Source: https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/foreign-policy-watch-india-iran/#post-93837

Introduction 

Chabahar port is located in the Gulf of Oman has been is jointly developed by India and Iran. It holds significance in strategic, economic and political ways.

Body.

Strategically, Chabahar port can be a competitor to Gwadar port and Dubai port. It will decongest the Bandar Abbas port and reduce Iran’s dependence on UAE port. It would counter Chinese presence in the Arabian sea through the support to Pakistan in developing Gwadar port. It can be used to station security vessels for merchant ships off the African coast apart from giving the country a foothold in the western Arabian Sea, which is important as many of its energy imports pass through the route. 

Politically, the port development represents India’s independent foreign policy towards Iran and India’s capability to overcome the barriers to develop ties with Afghanistan. It will help India plays its role in Afghanistan to bring peace in the region.

Economically, it will strengthen India’s economic ties with Afghanistan and central Asia which is a resource rich region and has been largely neglected due to its landlocked geography. India has made several investments in infrastructure and industries such as gas discovery by ONGC, urea plant etc. in Iran. The port will further boost trade and investment and will reduce import cost of oil to India.

Conclusion

Thus Chabahar port will provide India a greater role in the region and will further help in exploring its extended neighborhood policy.

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Q.2) Despite representing 17.5% of the world’s population India lags far behind when it comes to conducting global clinical research. Discuss the reasons for low percentage of clinical trials in India? What steps have been taken by the government to promote clinical trials?

Source: https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/innovation-ecosystem-in-india/#post-93819

Introduction;

According to the Journal of Clinical Research and Bioethics , India represents 17.5% of the world’s population but conducts only 1.4% of global clinical research. This is unfortunate, considering we have all the requisite factors, such as English-speaking health-care professionals, a large number of experts, etc.

Why are we lagging behind?

1. Because the regulatory system in India for clinical research has become increasingly a deterrent for biopharmaceutical- and device-companies which sponsor clinical trials
2. The existing legal framework lacks credibility, in terms of predictability and transparency, in the criteria and protocols governing clinical research.
3. Safety issues: Between 2005-2012, about 2800 people have died during clinical trials in the country. It has raised the safety issues involved in the trials and responsibility of pharmaceutical companies.
4. Lack of monitoring of phase 4 clinical trials– Doctors are lured into increasing number of patients using the under trial drug or treatment in phase 4 clinical trials.
5. Misunderstanding regarding Clinical Trials: Clinical trials also seem to be misunderstood in the media and have sometimes been portrayed as experimental procedures. Admittedly, there have also been instances of lapses in confidentiality or non-adherence to protocols or shortcomings in getting informed consent from participants and these are to be totally condemned. But everyone conducting clinical trials must not be looked at with suspicion

Efforts done by the Government

1. Policies: Recognising the importance of local clinical trials in developing better and safer drugs, the Government of India is now working on new policies
2. The policies can ensure swift approvals to begin clinical trials without making compromises on patient safety
3. Steps taken: In recent years Government has taken steps such as
   (1) recognising ethics committees,
   (2) centralising some system whereby adverse side-effects can be appropriately investigated by the Drugs Controller General of India and
   (3) formally recognising centres which are capable of conducting clinical trials in accord with regulations

Conclusion part

The way forward

1. To reap the benefits of clinical trials, our objective should be to bring about more clinical research in the country while maintaining high standards to ensure patient safety and accuracy of data
2. To further speed up the availability of new and effective drugs, the Government has proposed waiving off clinical trials for those drugs that have already proved their efficacy in developed markets
3. Hopefully, increasing political will to create a favourable environment for research by foreign investors
4. And to give domestic research and development the essential push, we will be able to build a stronger research ecosystem

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Q.3) The bugle for simultaneous elections to Parliament and all State Assemblies has time and again sounded in India under the banner of “one nation one election”. Critically discuss the reasons in support of and against the idea of simultaneous elections in a democratic country like India.

Source:  https://www.civilsdaily.com/type/oped-snap/?utm_source=websidebar&utm_medium=cpc#post-93914

Simultaneous elections in Indian context refers to holding elections to Parliament and State Assemblies(SA) simultaneously. This was practiced was discontinued some years after independence resulting in SA holding election during different time period.PM Modi and Ex-President Pranab Mukherjee recommended.

Pros of Simultaneous elections

1. Allow government to focus on development as frequent elections leads to Governance Problem: Whenever elections are announced the normal work comes to a standstill to a considerable extent due to MCC. This means that the government cannot announce any new schemes, make any new appointments, and the district administration machinery gets totally focused on elections. Holding simultaneous elections will solve this problem as MCC will not be implemented at separate time for Lok sabha and Vidhan sabha.

2.Reduce expenditure on polls: Holding elections simultaneously is a costly affair since in last few decades. Holding elections together reduces expenditure made by political parties on election campaigns because of frequent elections.

3.Allows leaders not to be always engaged in campaigning: Holding elections at one time will allow the political leaders to focus more on governance rather than on election campaigning.

4.Increase in voting percentage: This would lead to improvement in voting percentage as migrant workers would have to move back to home town only once for polling their vote.

5.Reduce money spent on manpower deployment: When elections are held separately, crucial manpower has to be deployed for prolonged periods on election duty. This idea will save the large amount of money spent on manpower deployment.

Overall, conducting the election once will bring down the overall cost of conducting election in terms of distributing voter slips, bringing the staff, calling the Central personnel, delay in schemes deemed as popular, etc.

Cons of holding elections together

1. Frequent elections are beneficial in number of ways as politicians, who tend to forget voters after the elections for five years have to return to them. This enhances accountability, elections give a boost to the economy at the grassroots level, creating work opportunities for lakhs of people. Holding elections at one time will close these opportunities.
2. If elections are held simultaneously, this would lead to mixing of national and local issues to distort priorities. In voters’ minds, local issues might overtake wider state and national issues or vice versa.
3. Simultaneous conduct of elections would require large-scale purchase of Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. The machines would also need to be replaced every 15 years which would again entail expenditure. Further, storing these machines would increase the warehousing cost.
4. There are some Practical problems in implementing the scheme for example Imagine a scenario when the Lok Sabha gets dissolved too early (in 13 days, as actually happened in 1998), and for the sake of simultaneity all state assemblies with full or thin majority are also dissolved. And then, in the resultant Lok Sabha elections, the same party comes to power. This would be unfair to states.
5. The idea of simultaneous elections clearly goes against the constitutional structure of the Indian Parliamentary system. For eg Dissolution of state legislature before completion of 5-year term will break the cycle again thereby rendering the whole exercise futile.
6. Administrative hassles in managing all elections at the same time can leads to incidents of poll rigging and this will put heavy burden on the government in the fiscal year during which elections are conducted.

Conclusion:

The idea is not bad overall but there are serious challenges overall in the implementation of one nation one election. There are some basic changes which need to be made in the Constitution apart from building a consensus on this issue.

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Q.4) The Cabinet has approved setting up of 15th Finance Commission recently. Discuss the mandate of the Finance Commission in India. What challenges lie ahead for the 15th FC in this tricky time of GST?

https://www.civilsdaily.com/op-ed-snap-new-india-formula/#post-94061

Finance commission is a constitutional body set up by President to provide for fiscal federalism in the country.

Finance Commission under Article 280 has following mandate:
1. Provides for percentage of tax devolution to states from Union’s collection
2. Suggest formula to divide this tax between states
3. To determine factors governing Grants-in-aids to the states and magnitude of same
4. To suggest to Presidents measures to supplement state’s financial resources for ensuring development

15th Finance Commission has given a mandate to provide performance based incentives based on
– initiatives for Ease of Doing business
– deepening of GST net
– attaining replacement rate in population growth

The commission faces challenge due to recent changes in taxation system.

1. 1. Balancing Fiscal federalism vs GST burden  
      – The Union has expressed concerns over current receipts and 42% devolution to states. This would leave less funds with Centre for development initiatives.
      – The Union is required to compensate states for the loss of revenue due to implementation of GST. This also increases the need for funds.

– On the other hand, reducing the tax devolution is counter-federal. This would be against the cooperative federalism. State could lose fiscal autonomy.

• Urbanization

As per the 2011 Census, a little less than a third of India has urbanized. Six years later, based largely on anecdotal information, it is clear that this trend has accelerated. The change is welcome; unfortunately, public policy has failed to keep pace. Consequently, what you see around us is urbanization through trial and error. Finance Commission should recognize that India is transforming and should make its recommendations accordingly.

Conclusion

The commission has a huge responsibility to ensure balance. None of the governments could be left with too less resources. At the end, people’s interest and good governance have to kept at the forefront. It is then clear that the 15th Finance Commission provides an enormous opportunity in setting out a blueprint for India’s future that rests on the foundation of a strong federal polity.

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Q.5) The creation of incentives to produce vaccines for poverty-associated infections is key to improving public health. Discuss in context of India’s Tuberculosis (TB) problem.

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/tuberculosis-elimination-strategy/#post-94072

Introduction

Every Year 1 Lakh Children die because of diarrhoea. India is the country with the highest burden of TB. The World Health Organisation (WHO) TB statistics for India for 2016 give an estimated incidence figure of 2.79 million cases of TB for India.

Even after so much prevalence of poverty associated infections, the vaccine infrastructure in India is lacking which can be seen from the fact that the BCG vaccine that is currently in use for TB treatment in India (developed in the early 20th century) is ineffective for young people and adults.

-There is dearth of overall R&D on diseases concentrated in India

Why there is lack of investment in vaccine Development in countries like India.

1. Poverty: One reason for the lack of private investment is that the potential consumers (patients and governments) are poor
2. Research spill over: The benefits of the research on these diseases spill over to many countries, so none of the small countries has an incentive to unilaterally support the research
3. Governments have a poor record of respecting patents
4. Patent issues: WHO’s the Agreement on TRIPS has provisions for ‘compulsory licensing’ that allow governments to license the production of essential drugs to local manufacturers who must then pay royalties to the innovator
5. The problem, therefore, is that the medical innovation industry doesn’t consider poor countries as their market

 

Way forward

1. The government must take steps to encourage research, both basic and applied. Since profit motive is not its objectives it will ignore the financial rationale behind the development of any vaccine.
2. The government should have focused more on creating a vaccine.
3. It could make budgetary accommodation, or use its position in global diplomacy to encourage other nations and donors to do so.
4. A new vaccine, cheaper and effective diagnostic tests, and treatment for the drug-resistant strains of TB are needed
5. Government should respect patents in normal scenarios. Rejection of patents should be a exception and not rule.

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Q.6) The recent incidents of conduct of high-profile corporate hospitals in Delhi reveal the poor status of health care in India. Discuss the major issues when it comes to providing Universal Health Coverage in India. Suggest some steps that can be taken to improve access and quality of health care to meet the goal of UHC.

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/health-sector/#post-94083

Introduction:

Three recent incidents involving the health-care sector in Delhi have sparked widespread outrage over the alleged mercenary motives and callous conduct of high-profile corporate hospitals

Two cases involved children with dengue who died soon after leaving these hospitals in a serious condition after their families were presented huge hospitalisation and treatment bills. The third case involved a live premature baby being “declared dead” and handed over to the parents wrapped in plastic

Major issues

1. Three major issues are involved when we assess health care: access, quality and cost
2. Access to readily reachable, trustworthy and affordable health care is a major challenge before poorly served rural areas and overcrowded urban areas
3. The inadequacy of organised primary health services here is compounded by a weakness at the intermediate level of care in many district hospitals and nursing homes
4. Government institutions of advanced care suffer from low budgets and a lack of managerial talent

Steps to improving access

1. The pathway to improving access lies in expanding the network of public sector facilities at all levels
2. This calls for

• higher levels of public financing,
• investment in training and incentivised placements of more health personnel and
• improved management through the creation of a public health management cadre

3. These measures have been envisaged in the National Health Policy, 2017and need urgent and earnest implementation

Steps to improving quality of care

1. There must be an emphasis on the benefit and safety of tests and treatment
2. It must be ensured that satisfaction levels of patients, families, care providers in the nature of institutional processes as well as human interactions are met
3. This requires ensuring conformity to accepted scientific and ethical standards
4. The Clinical Establishments Act is a good beginning, in moving health-care facilities towards registration, ensuring compliance with essential standards of equipment and performance, adopting standard management guidelines, grievance redress mechanisms, and respecting encoded patient rights

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Q.7) India has been fighting from long to gain a permanent seat in United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Discuss the reasons for India’s interest in gaining permanent status in UNSC? What strategy should be adopted by India to gain UNSC’s permanent status?

https://www.civilsdaily.com/op-ed-snap-let-us-be-realistic-about-the-unsc/#post-94140

Answer:

The most important Organ of United nations is UN Security Council, as it decides on major International disputes and agenda of the Secretariat.India is fighting for a permanent seat in UNSC for decades

Because Being a permanent member gives:

 

1. Recognition: Once you are a permanent member you will come into top few recognized countries. Every will listen to you whatever and whenever you speaks.
2. Veto Power: This is main power you get for becoming permanent member. With this you can cancel any decision taken by UN which might not good for you. (United Nations Security Council veto power)
3. Security: Permanent members of UN don’t have to worry more about their security as they have army of many countries backing them. 

Other benefits

1. Can check the State-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan to considerable extent.
2. Can check the monopoly of the West and China.
3. Can get the VETO powers.
4. Can hear the voice of the third world nations and the developing nations.

 

What should be India’s Strategy?

1. The principal P-5 member opposing us is China.
2. We should not be misled by their ambiguous statements on the subject
3. It has to be underscored that there is no way that India alone, by itself, can be elected as permanent member
4. It will have to be a package deal in which the demands of all the geographical groups, including the Latin America and Caribbean group which, like Africa, does not have a single permanent member

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Q.8) India’s “revealed comparative advantage”, in some of the labour-intensive sectors has declined over the past decade. What are the reasons for this trend? What steps should be taken by India to increase its competitiveness in labour intensive sectors?

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/trade-sector-updates/#post-94144

1. India’s “revealed comparative advantage”, an indicator of competitiveness, in some of the labour-intensive sectors has actually declined over the past decade
2. The latest Economic Survey (2016-17) also highlighted how India is losing out in labour-intensive sectors like apparel and footwear, and why it is important to focus on these sectors

Reasons for this trend

1. China vacating; space filled by others and not India: Economic survey says that the space vacated by China is fast being taken over by Bangladesh and Vietnam in case of apparels and Vietnam and Indonesia in case of leather and footwear, while Indian companies struggle in face of a set of common challenges related to logistics, labour regulations, tax & tariff policy and disadvantages emanating from the international trading environment compared to competitor countries.
2. Logistics: The survey stated that costs and time involved in getting goods from factory to destinations are greater in India than those for other countries.
3. Labour costs: India’s source of comparative advantage in this sector, also seem not to work in its favour due to problems like regulations on minimum overtime pay, onerous mandatory contributions that become de facto taxes for low-paid workers in small firms that result in a 45 per cent lower disposable salary, lack of flexibility in part-time work and high minimum wages in some cases.
4. Tax and tariff issues: According to the survey, in both apparel and footwear sectors, tax and tariff policies create distortions that impede India gaining export competitiveness. India imposes a 10 percent tariff on man-made fibres vis- a-vis 6 percent on cotton fibres. On the other hand, domestic taxes also favour cotton-based production rather than production based on man-made fibres, and leather footwear rather than non-leather footwear.
5. Shift in demand: The global demand for apparel is moving from cotton fibre products to manmade fibre and similarly footwear of non-leather, it added. India’s competitors enjoy better market access by way of zero or at least lower tariffs in the two major importing markets, namely, the US and European Union (EU), the survey stated.
6. Cattle issues: Another problem faced by the leather sector highlighted by the Survey is that despite having a large cattle population, India’s share of cattle leather exports is low and declining due to limited availability of cattle for slaughter in India

What India can do to increase competitiveness?

India will have to work on multiple levels to increase its competitiveness

 

• It will need to improve logistics to increase efficiency, both in terms of the time and costs involved

 

• The trade policy review shows that the government is addressing this issue.                 

2. The government will need to move forward with reforms in the factor market

• India has a large number of small enterprises, which are not in a position to attain economies of scale and compete in international markets
• Economic Survey highlighted, Indian firms in the apparel and leather sectors are smaller than those in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh
• The reason for this is regressive labour laws
• Similarly, more flexibility in land acquisition will also help the manufacturing sector

3. India needs to be prepared to protect its interests without compromising on its open trade policy

• There is a threat of rising protectionism
• India has always supported rule-based multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO
• Seeing low progress on these, India should also look for opportunities to reduce trade barriers at the regional and bilateral levels

4. Keep the currency competitive

• India doesn’t need an undervalued currency, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not allow the rupee to appreciate sharply
• The 36-currency exports-based real effective exchange rate is still showing significant overvaluation
• Now that India has adequate forex reserves, policymakers should reassess the kind of funds it needs
• This will not only assist in keeping the rupee competitive and stable but will also help in conducting the monetary policy.

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Q.9) The recent FTA between Maldives and China reflects another China’s diplomatic success in the South Asia. In what ways will it have an effect on Delhi- Male ties? Critically discuss.

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/foreign-policy-watch-india-maldives/#post-94147

Introduction:

China has been developing close cooperation with many of India’s neighbours which can be seen from the fact that they have developed ports in Pakistan, Srilanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh. India has termed China’s growing encirclement of India through port development as String of pearls policy.  Furthering policy of string of pearls to encircle India, China has recently signed FTA with small Island country Maldives. This has been considered by experts as yet another diplomatic success of China in South Asia.

The recent FTA between Maldives and China have the following effects on Delhi-Male ties.
ECONOMIC effect

1. The FTA points towards economic realisation of BRI. Specially if one considers china’s ongoing negotiations with Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh on FTA
2. Investments worth a billion can outbid india’s investment plans in the region.
3. Indian companies will have to face serious competition with Chinese companies in Maldives.

POLITICAL

1.  Enhancement of FTA which will help China to connect Maldives by BRI projects which is India’s opposed because India is not part of BRI
2. India’s fiasco marked that china’s economic trap over nations for geo strategic interest would go unabated

SECURITY

1. Possible military zoning of the island
2.  Maldives lies awfully close to Lakshadweep islands and if acquired by china Militarily like Djibouti it will have security threats in place for India

Way forward:
a) India must strengthen the soft diplomacy with Male.
b) Shouldn’t involve in the Male Domestic Politics and strengthen relations with any type of Government safeguarding India’s strategic, economic and Political interests.

Conclusion

China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean presents a challenge to India. It is creating worries as India is trying to define its place in the U.S.-led “Indo-Pacific” realignment.

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Q.10) The India’s start up programme has boomed over the past three years as a result of incentives provided by the government. Discuss the schemes for promoting start up sector in India. How will state intervention and policy along with the efforts of the Centre government affect this sector?

https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/start-up-ecosystem-in-india/#post-93816

Introduction:

1. India’s start up programme has boomed up significantly over the past 3 years which can be seen from the fact that, Over the past three years, India has become the third largest start-up ecosystem
2. According to data compiled by Inc42, over $9.4 billion in funding has flowed into Indian start-ups in 2017, up 1.3 times over last year (as of September)
3. There are more than a hundred funds registered with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India alone.

Various schemes of the Government

Schemes and initiatives of the government has played an important role in success of start-up sector in India.

1. The Centre has announced a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore to fund start-ups, of which 75 have actually received some money so far
2. India’s policy on foreign direct investment was specifically amended to include start-ups,
3. Start-ups are now allowed to accept up to 100% of their funding requirement from foreign venture capital investors
4. There are many schemes run by various arms of the government, all of which provide tax breaks, incentives, grant money and other forms of assistance to wannabe technopreneurs
5. At last count, there were more than 44 such schemes
6. Technical Assistance: The Department of Electronics and Information Technology offers technical assistance for filing patents
7. And up to Rs. 15 lakh per invention, or up to 50% of the costs incurred in filing a patent
8. The department has multiplier grants scheme which provide up to Rs. 2 crore for start-ups in the IT services, analytics, artificial intelligence, and Internet of things space
9. Funds for Borrowings: The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small enterprises underwrites borrowings of up to Rs. 1 crore per unit
10. Encouraging initiative: The Centre’s Atal Innovation Mission funds up to Rs. 10 crore for each Atal Incubation Centre set up under the scheme
11. The Atal Mission also provides funding to schools to set up ‘Atal Tinkering Laboratories’ to spur the spirit of innovation and enterprise amongst the young

State intervention and policy along with efforts of the central Government will positively affect the sector. We can see the example of Israel in this regard.  Israel is the most celebrated success story of state intervention and policy creating and shaping an innovations powerhouse.

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Q.11) Your family wants you to get married. The girl is your family friend since long time. Everything is almost settled between the two families. When you go to meet the girl, you came to know that you both have a different political ideology. Your political thinking doesn’t match. You are a politically active person. When you tell this thing to your family, your family asks you to ignore this as there are no other issues apart from this. They convince you that she is a suitable match for you.

You are confused what to do. What will you do in such a situation? Will you go ahead with the marriage or not? How can they keep their ideology and personal choices separate in case they get married?

Answer:

Everyone may not have same ideology and interest in this world. People may have different political ideologies and thinking and still they may be good partners. It is about respecting a person’s individual choice.

In the above case, when all the things are settled between the families and even between the persons who are going to get married, the difference in political ideology arises. The person knows the girl from a long time. Even his family likes the girl. Political ideology may not be the sole criteria when it comes to judging compatibility between two people. If he likes the girl, he should go ahead with the marriage. He should understand that Everybody may not have same opinions. Difference of opinion is likely to happen. People may have their have our own influences, history of experiences, psychological makeup, and subjective lens through which they view the world, some differences are bound to exist or arise. If they get married, they can still lead a happy life if certain things are taken care of. He should talk to the girl and discuss it with her that what does she want. Having discussion with her is important as her opinion also matters.

If two of them get married, they can keep their ideology and personal choices separate in ways like:

1. Trying to avoid certain topics that could lead to irreconcilable differences like discussing on conflicting political debates.
2. The two of them should give equal space to the opinion of each other. It is possible that they may have different opinion but then they should learn to respect that.
3. Without having a prejudice in mind, that the other one’s ideology is always wrong, they should listen to it carefully and then take a stand. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything they say but you accept their opinions as valid.
4. They may choose not to discuss sensitive issues such as politics for the sake of avoiding the potential fallout, thus possibly preserving the relationship. This strategy may also serve to maintain privacy and one’s sense of autonomy, essential ingredients for a healthy partnership.

It can be said that the antidotes to contempt within any relationship are fondness and admiration, both of which can be maintained and strengthened by expressing appreciation and respect. Difference of opinion on political issues does not make much difference if both partners are mature to handle them. Political differences in a relationship can work if both respect each other’s differences and are able to appreciate one another’s perspectives.

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Q.12) You are posted as a DM in a small district. Your district suffers from socially backward problems like child marriage, female infanticide, dowry, etc. One day, a girl of about 18 years who is well educated, comes to you and informs you about her neighbors who are getting their daughter married at an age of 15 years. She tells you that she tried to convince her parents but was unsuccessful. You immediately reach the spot of marriage. You see that all the preparations have been made. When you talk to the family, you come to know that the family is not well educated and thinks that girls should be married early as they it’s the common practice in the whole village and they cannot go against it. Given below are some options. Discuss them with their merits and demerits. Also suggest which course of action would you take and why?

(i) Convince the family and ask them not to send their daughter to her inlaws place despite marriage being performed.

(ii) Talk to the girl and know her stand as that is most important.

(iii) Take strict action against the family under the law against child marriage.

(iv) Initiating a drive in the area in order to prevent such incidents in future.

Answer:

Child marriage is one of the evil practices that still exists in some parts of the country when we are living in 21st century. It is an outcome of broad social norms and societal pressures. Financial poverty further adds to the pressures along with low level of education.

In the above case, the girl who comes to the officer is well educated and tells him that despite her convincing the parents of the girl who are getting her married at an early age of 15 years. After talking to the family, he comes to know that the family is not well educated and its opinions are surrounded by the general perceptions of others in the community.

The various options along with their merits and demerits are discussed as:

(i) Convince the family and ask them not to send their daughter to her inlaws place despite marriage being performed.

This will save the girl from engaged in household chores at an early age of 15 years. Her parents can be convinced that though the marriage has been performed, they should not send their daughter to her in laws place since she is too small to bear family responsibilities. This way a middle solution cab ne found to the problem.

(ii) Talk to the girl and know her stand as that is most important.

The DM should talk to the girl if she has been forced to marry or the marriage is performed against her wish. Knowing her opinion on the matter is important. He should tell her about the ill effects of this evil practice and convince her that she should tell her parents not to send her to inlaws place.

(iii) Take strict action against the family under the law against child marriage.

This will send a strong signal in the area to the people as it is a common practice to marry their girls at an early age. This will set a good precedent in the area and they will be fearful of law when they think of doing so. But taking action might be a late step now as the marriage has already been performed. DM should have taken pre hand measures to create awareness among the people so that such incident would not have happened.

(iv) Initiating a drive in the area in order to prevent such incidents in future.

This will educate the people about ill effects of child marriage. Drives and campaigns can be run to tell people about importance of education for girls and tell them that girl;s are not burden. This will decrease the cases of child marriage. But such a change might not happen overnight and may take time.

The officer should take steps to create awareness in the village regarding ill effects of child marriage. Steps should be taken to increase access to accessible, high quality and safe schooling for girl students. For change to happen, the values and norms which support the practice of child marriage need to shift. Supporting young people to be agents of change can be an effective measure of bringing change in the attitude of the people in the area.

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