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  • Inflation in India

    Context

    Recently, the RBI raised the repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 bps with a view to tame inflation.

    How effective would be the rate hike in taming the inflation?

    • High inflation is always an implicit tax on the poor and those who keep their savings in banks.
    • Will the increases in the repo rate and CRR control inflation, especially food inflation?
    • The RBI has been behind the curve by at least by 4-to 5 months, and its optimism in controlling inflation in the earlier meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee was somewhat misplaced.
    • The reason for this is that food prices globally are scaling new peaks as per the FAO’s food price index.
    • The disruptions caused by the pandemic and now the Russia-Ukraine war are contributing to this escalation in food prices.
    • India cannot remain insulated from this phenomenon.

    Opportunities and challenges for India

    • Record wheat export: For the first time in the history of Indian agriculture, cereal exports have already crossed a record high of 31 million metric tonnes (MMT) at $13 billion (FY22), and the same cereal wonder may be repeated this fiscal (FY23).
    • Among cereals, wheat exports have witnessed an unprecedented growth of more than 273 per cent, jumping nearly fourfold from $0.56 billion (or 2 MMT) in FY21 to $2.1 billion (or 7.8 MMT) in FY22.
    • Rice exports have crossed 20 MMT in FY22 in a global market of 50 MMT.
    • Some of the concerns on the wheat front are genuine, and we need to realise that climate change is already knocking on our doors.
    • With every one degree Celsius rise in temperatures, wheat yields are likely to suffer by about 5 MMT, as per earlier IPCC reports.
    • This calls for massive investments in agri-R&D to find heat-resistant varieties of wheat and also create models for “climate-smart” agriculture. We are way behind the curve on this.

    Need for rationalising food subsidy

    • India distribute free food to 800 million Indians, with a food subsidy bill that is likely to cross Rs 2.8 lakh crore this fiscal out of the Centre’s net tax revenue of about Rs 20 lakh crore in FY23.
    • Reducing coverage: What needs to be done targeting only those below the poverty line for free or subsidised food and charging a reasonable price, say 90 per cent of MSP, from those who are above the poverty line.
    • Giving an option to beneficiaries to receive cash in their Jan Dhan accounts (equivalent to MSP plus 20 per cent) in lieu of grains can be considered.
    • This is permitted under NFSA and by doing so, he can save on the burgeoning food subsidy bill.

    Conclusion

    Indian farmers need access to global markets to augment their incomes, and the government must facilitate Indian farmers to develop more efficient export value chains by minimising marketing costs and investing in efficient logistics for exports.

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  • India’s U-turn on Wheat Exports

    The Union commerce ministry was preparing to send delegations abroad to boost the country’s wheat exports, when the government abruptly banned its exports on 14 May.

    Why did India ban the export of wheat?

    • Record retail inflation has punctured India’s export hopes.
    • While wheat prices are up nearly 20%, prices of essential food items such as flour have risen nearly 15% last year.
    • Prices of other food items that use wheat, like bread and biscuits, have surged, too.
    • Heatwaves in the latter part of March, especially in northwest India, impacted the production of foodgrains.

    Is India staring at a food shortage?

    • India’s grain stocks are well above the buffer levels and the decision to regulate wheat exports was taken largely to check prices and curb hoarding.
    • The public distribution system in the country would be run smoothly.
    • However, the government has replaced wheat with rice in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme for 2022-23.
    • The effort clearly is a response to the reduced availability of wheat.

    What has been the global reaction to the ban?

    • Agriculture ministers from G7 condemned India’s decision to withhold wheat exports amid a global grain shortage.
    • India is the world’s second-largest wheat producer and was expected to fill the gap created because of the Ukraine war.
    • However, wheat exports will be allowed in cases where an irrevocable letter of credit has already been issued.

    How will the ban affect India’s neighbors?

    • The export control will help India guide wheat trade in a certain direction.
    • Even with the ban, there is a window open for neighbouring countries.
    • The export will be allowed to other countries “based on the request of their governments”.
    • This window is crucial for Sri Lanka because the country is facing an economic crisis.
    • Also, Bangladesh and Nepal have traditionally relied on Indian wheat.

    What is the impact on farmers and traders?

    • The ban has deprived Indian wheat traders the opportunity to gain from the global grain shortage.
    • It may have an unfavorable impact on wheat farmers too.
    • Market prices of wheat had soared past the minimum support price (MSP) in recent months.

    Issues with the ban

    • This ban has impacted the credibility of India as a reliable supplier of anything in global markets.
    • It conveys that we don’t have any credible export policy as it can turn its back at the drop of a hat.
    • More interestingly, it also reflects a deep-rooted consumer bias in India’s trade policies.
    • It is this consumer bias that indirectly becomes anti-farmer. This ban deprives farmers from profit-making.
    • It only shows the hollowness of agri-trade policies and dreams of doubling agri-exports.
    • The export ban also reflects poorly on India’s image in playing its shared global responsibility amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

    Way forward

    • It may be recognised that inflation is a global phenomenon today caused by excessive liquidity injected by central banks and loose fiscal policies around the world.
    • India’s wheat export ban will not help tame inflation at home.
    • The Government could have announced a bonus of Rs 200-250/quintal on top of MSP to augment its wheat procurement.
    • The govt could have calibrated exports by putting some minimum export price (MEP).

    Back2Basics:

    How the Central and State governments procure Wheat?

     

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  • Back in news: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    The Union government is reassessing the concept of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) leading to a delay in the appointment to the post.

    The post of CDS has also been lying vacant since the demise of Late. Gen. Bipin Rawat.

    Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    • The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services, and offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Executive.
    • On long-term it provides for defence planning and management, including manpower, equipment and strategy, and above all, “joint manship” in operations.
    • In most democracies, the CDS is seen as being above inter-Service rivalries and the immediate operational preoccupations of the individual military chiefs.
    • The role of the CDS becomes critical in times of conflict.

    Duties and Functions of the CDS

    The Ministry of Defence has outlined various functions and duties for the post of CDS:

    • To head the Department of Military Affairs in Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.
    • To act as the Principal Military Advisor to Raksha Mantri on all Tri-Service matters.
    • To function as the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
    • To administer the Tri-Service organizations/agencies/commands.
    • To be a member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri.
    • To function as the Military Advisor to the Nuclear Command Authority.
    • To bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services.
    • To implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans, as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan.
    • To bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services with the aim to augment combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.

    Why need CDS?

    • Tri-services coordination: The creation of the CDS will eventually lead to the formation of tri-service theatre commands intended to create vertical integration of the three forces.
    • Single-point military advisory: The CDS will be a single-point military adviser to the government and synergise long term planning, procurements, training and logistics of the three Services.
    • Efforts saving: This is expected to save money by avoiding duplication between the Services, at a time of shrinking capital expenditure within the defence budget.
    • Military diplomacy: This is today supporting conventional diplomacy. That can’t be done by different Services.

     

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  • RNA granules to treat neurodegenerative disorders

    Researchers at IISc Bangalore have identified a protein in yeast cells that dissolves RNA-protein complexes, also known as RNA granules.

    What is mRNA?

    • Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
    • The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.
    • During protein synthesis, an organelle called a ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate each three-base triplet, or codon, into its corresponding amino acid.

    What are RNA granules?

    • Inside the cytoplasm of any cell there are structures made of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins known as RNA granules.
    • Unlike other structures in the cell (such as mitochondria), the RNA granules are not covered and confined by a membrane.
    • This makes them highly dynamic in nature, thereby allowing them to constantly exchange components with the surrounding.
    • RNA granules are present in the cytoplasm at low numbers under normal conditions but increase in number and size under stressful conditions including diseases.

    Why are they unique?

    • A defining feature which does not change from one organism to another (conserved) of the RNA granule protein components is the presence of stretches containing repeats of certain amino acids.
    • Such stretches are referred to as low complexity regions.
    • Repeats of arginine (R), glycine (G) and glycine (G) — known as RGG — are an example of low complexity sequence.

    Functions of RNA granules

    • Messenger RNAs are converted to proteins (building blocks of the cell) by the process of translation.
    • RNA granules determine messenger RNA (mRNA) fate by deciding when and how much protein would be produced from mRNA.
    • Protein synthesis is a multi-step and energy-expensive process.
    • Therefore, a common strategy used by cells when it encounters unfavorable conditions is to shut down protein production and conserve energy to deal with a stressful situation.
    • RNA granules help in the process of shutting down protein production.
    • Some RNA granule types (such as Processing bodies or P-bodies) not only regulate protein production but also accomplish degradation and elimination of the mRNAs, which in turn helps in reducing protein production.

    What is the recent study?

    • Researchers concluded that low complexity sequences which normally promote granule formation, in this case promote the disintegration of RNA granules in yeast cells.
    • They observed that the identified protein Sbp1 is specific for dissolving P-bodies and not stress granules which are related RNA granule type also present in the cytoplasm.

    Significance of the study

    • This study has highlighted the potential of amino acid repeats (RGG) as a therapeutic intervention.
    • The study may help analyze the effect of repeat sequences in genetically engineered mice that accumulate insoluble pathological aggregates in brain cells.
    • This could possibly help in treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

     

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  • Devasahayam Pillai: first Indian layman to be declared a Saint by Vatican

    Pope Francis canonised Devasahayam Pillai as a Catholic Saint during an event in St Peter’s Basilica.

    Who was Devasahayam Pillai?

    • Devasahayam was born on April 23, 1712 in Nattalam village in Kanyakumari district, and went on to serve in the court of Marthanda Varma of Travancore.
    • After meeting a Dutch naval commander at the court, Devasahayam was baptised in 1745, and assumed the name ‘Lazarus’, meaning ‘God is my help’.

    His works

    • While preaching, he particularly insisted on the equality of all people, despite caste differences.
    • His conversion did not go well with the heads of his native religion.
    • False charges of treason and espionage were brought against him and he was divested of his post in the royal administration.
    • On January 14, 1752, Devasahayam was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest.
    • Since then, he is widely considered a martyr, and his mortal remains were interred inside what is now Saint Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Kottar, Nagercoil.

    Other canonized saints in India

    • Of the eleven, Gonsalo Garcia, born in India to Portuguese parents in Mumbai in 1557, is considered to have been the first India-born saint.
    • In 2008, Kerala-born Sister Alphonsa was declared as the first woman Catholic saint from India.
    • Mother Teresa had a fast track to sainthood when she was canonized in 2016.

     

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  • Imp: Score 100% in Polity Questions & Must Read Acts in News

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    Indian polity plays a very crucial role in the Prelims exam. If you want to ensure the cutoff marks then you can not expect a single mistake in Indian polity questions. To ensure that you follow these few pointers. We have also included some examples to ensure that you understand the points

    Read the Each keyword very carefully: Polity is a game of words, even a single change will change the answer. 

    Consider the following statements:

    1. According to the Constitution of India a person who is eligible to vote
      can be made a minister in a State for six months even if he/she is not a member of the Legislature of that State
    2. According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, a person
      convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment for five years is permanently disqualified from contesting an election
      even after his release from prison
      Which of the statements given above is are correct?
      (a) 1 only
      (b) 2 only
      (c) Both 1 and 2
      (d) Neither 1 nor 2

      In above question, At first S1 seems correct but when we look carefully it says any eligible voter but the criteria is above 25 years. Similarly S2 says Permanently, but it is temporary

    Read all the options very carefully: Even if you know that the first option is the correct answer, look for other options as well. There are chances that according to the question it is not the most appropriate one.

    The Preamble to the Constitution of India, is
    (a) part of the Constitution but has no legal effect
    (b) not a part of the Constitution and has no legal effect either
    (c) a part of the Constitution and has the same legal effect as any other part
    (d) a part of the Constitution but has no legal effect independently of other parts.

    In the above question A looks correct but when we read all options then D looks more appropriate.

    Go through the PYQs properly: Understanding PYQs will not help in Polity but in the entire paper. For example take a question from 2017

    Which one of the following is not a feature to Indian federalism?

    (a) There is an independent judiciary in India. 

    (b) Powers have been clearly divided between the Centre and the States.

     (c) The federating units have been given unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha. 

    (d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units

    Above question indicates that Independent Judiciary is a feature, Now look at 2021 question

    Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential
    feature that indicates that it is federal in character?
    (a) The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.
    (b) The Union Legislature has elected representatives from
    constituent units.
    (c) The Union Cabinet can have elected representatives
    from regional parties.
    (d) The Fundamental Rights are enforceable by Courts of
    Law

    Understand NCERTs carefully: Nowadays UPSC has a tendency to ask questions from NCERTs, especially from 11th ncert. 

    Avoid using elimination rules: UPSC expects you to remember Indian Polity therefore the scope is very narrow to use Tikdam rules.

    Revision: Most of the questions in Polity are from very spefic chapers or source. They are 11th ncerts, Historical Background, Preamble, Fundamental Rights, DPSPs, Parliament, State Legislature, President, Governor, Supreme Court and High Courts. Make sure that you have the best command on the above topics.

    Important Acts in News

    1. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2021)
    • The Act provides for the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into the Union Territory of J&K and Union Territory of Ladakh. 
    • The Act provides that Article 239A of the Constitution, which is applicable to the union territory of Puducherry, shall also apply to the union territory of J&K.  Article 239A provides for the constitution of a union territory of Puducherry with: (i) a legislature, which may be elected, or partly nominated and partly elected, or (ii) a Council of Ministers. 
    • In addition to Article 239A, any other provision of the Constitution which refers to elected members of a legislative assembly of a state and is also applicable to the union territory of Puducherry, will apply to the union territory of J&K.
    •  The Act specifies that the members of the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service serving in the state of J&K would continue to serve in the two union territories, based on allocation decided by the central government.
    1. The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021
    • The Bill seeks to introduce a uniform regulatory framework for inland vessel navigation across the country.
    • The central government will prescribe the: (i) classification, (ii) standards of design, construction, and crew accommodation, and (iii) type and periodicity of surveys, for these vessels.  Construction or modification of such vessels will require prior approval of a designated authority, as prescribed by the central government.
    • To operate in inland waters, all such vessels must have a certificate of survey, and a certificate of registration. The certificate of survey will be granted by state governments, in a form as prescribed by the central government.
    • The central government will prescribe the minimum number of people that vessels must have, for various roles.
    • Vessels will discharge or dispose of sewage, as per the standards specified by the central government.  The central government will notify the list of pollutants which will be prohibited for discharge or disposal.  State governments will grant vessels a certificate of prevention of pollution.
    • The Bill provides for a development fund.
    • The Bill empowers state governments to delegate certain functions related to non-mechanically propelled inland vessels to their local governments. 
    1. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021
    •  The Act empowers the central government to reserve any mine (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) to be leased through an auction for a particular end-use.The Bill provides that no mine will be reserved for particular end-use.
    • The Bill empowers the central government to specify a time period for completion of the auction process in consultation with the state government.  If the state government is unable to complete the auction process within this period, the auctions may be conducted by the central government.
    • The Act provides that the period of mining leases granted to government companies will be prescribed by the central government.
    1. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021
    • The Code provides a time-bound process for resolving the insolvency of corporate debtors (within 330 days) called the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
    • The Bill introduces an alternate insolvency resolution process for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), called the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PIRP).  Unlike CIRP, PIRP may be initiated only by debtors.
    • Application for initiating PIRP may be filed in the event of a default of at least one lakh rupees.
    • During PIRP, the debtor will be provided with a moratorium under which certain actions against the debtor will be prohibited.  These include filing or continuation of suits, execution of court orders, or recovery of property.

    CIRP: Under CIRP, a committee of creditors is constituted to decide on the insolvency resolution.  The committee may consider a resolution plan which typically provides for the payoff of debt by merger, acquisition, or restructuring of the company.  If a resolution plan is not approved by the committee of creditors within the specified time, the company is liquidated.  During CIRP, the affairs of the company are managed by the resolution professional (RP), who is appointed to conduct CIRP.

    1. The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021
    • The Bill amends the Constitution to allow states and union territories to prepare their own list of socially and educationally backward classes. 

    List of socially and educationally backward classes:

              The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was established under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.

                 The 2021 Bill amends this to provide that the President may notify the list of socially and educationally backward classes only for purposes of the central government.  This central list will be prepared and maintained by the central government.  Further, the Bill enables states and union territories to prepare their own list of socially and educationally backward classes. 

    1. The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021
    • The bill provides that the electoral registration officer may require a person to furnish their Aadhaar number for establishing their identity. 
    • Persons will not be denied inclusion in the electoral roll or have their names deleted from the roll, if they are unable to furnish Aadhaar number due to sufficient cause as prescribed. 
    • The Bill provides four qualifying dates in a calendar year, which will be January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Earlier it was only 1 i.e. January 1.
    1. The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021
    •  It replaces the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.  The Bill seeks to amend the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.  The 2003 Act provides for the constitution of a Central Vigilance Commission to conduct inquiries into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.  
    • Under the 2003 Act, the Director of Enforcement is appointed by the central government, on the recommendation of a Committee.This Committee is chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner, and includes the Secretaries from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Personnel, and the Revenue Department. 
    • The Bill adds that the tenure of the Director may be extended by up to one year at a time, till the completion of five years from the initial appointment.  Such extensions may be granted in public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee.
    1. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020
    • Under the Act, certain persons are prohibited to accept any foreign contribution.  These include: election candidates, editor or publisher of a newspaper, judges, government servants, members of any legislature, and political parties, among others
    • The Amendment prohibits the transfer of foreign contribution to any other person.
    • The Act states that a person may accept foreign contribution if they have: (i) obtained a certificate of registration from central government, or (ii) not registered, but obtained prior permission from the government to accept foreign contribution
    • Under the Act, a person who receives foreign contribution must use it only for the purpose for which the contribution is received.Further, they must not use more than 20% of the contribution for meeting administrative expenses.
    1. The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
    • The Bill will apply to the major ports of Chennai, Cochin, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar, and Vishakhapatnam.
    • The Bill provides for the creation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port.  These Boards will replace the existing Port Trusts. 
    • Under the 1963 Act, the Board has to seek prior sanction of the central government to raise any loan.
    • The Bill provides that the Board may use its funds for providing social benefits(Corporate Social Responsibility)
    • The Bill provides for the constitution of an Adjudicatory Board by the central government.

  • [Sansad TV] Mudda Aapka: India’s Pharma Exports Boom

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    Context

    • India is a significant player in the global medicines industry.
    • Indian pharma exports witnessed a growth of 103% since 2013-14, from Rs. 90, 415 Crores in 2013-14 to Rs. 183,422 Crores in 2021-22.

    Feats achieved by India’s Pharma Sector

    • Surplus trade: The Pharma trade balance continues to be in India’s favour. 
    • Worldwide production: India ranks 3rd worldwide for Pharmaceutical production by volume and 14th by value. The current market size is around USD 50 billion. 
    • High competitiveness: Indian pharma companies enabled by their price competitiveness and good quality have made a global mark with 60% of the world’s vaccines and 20% of generic medicines coming from India.   
    • Major destinations: India’s top 5 pharma export destinations are the USA, UK, South Africa, Russia and Nigeria.
    • Regulatory compliance: Around 55 % of our pharma exports from India cater to highly regulated markets. For instance, the largest number of FDA approved plants outside the US is in India.

    India’s Pharma Sector: A Backgrounder

    • India enjoys an important position in the global pharmaceuticals sector.
    • The country has a large pool of scientists and engineers with the potential to steer the industry ahead to greater heights.
    • Presently, over 80% of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to combat AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical firms.

    Its evolution

    Over the last few decades, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has experienced rapid expansion, which may be divided into four stages:

    1. Foreign domination: The time before 1970 is considered as the first stage of the pharma industry. At that time, the Indian market was dominated by foreign companies.
    2. Rise of domestic companies: The second stage covers 1970 to 1990 when several domestic companies began operations.
    3. LPG reforms: 1990 to 2010 is the third stage, where liberalization led Indian components to launch operations in foreign countries.
    4. Patent assisted boom: The introduction of the patent bill was one of the first advancements in the pharma industry. It allowed the Indian pharmaceutical sector to become less reliant on intellectual property laws in the US.
    5. Rise of OTC drugs: Over-the-counter drugs (bought without prescriptions) constitute the next biggest segment with 21% of the market segment.

    Market Size

    • According to the Indian Economic Survey 2021, the domestic market is expected to grow 3x in the next decade.
    • India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is at US$ 42 billion in 2021 and likely to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and further expand to reach ~US$ 120-130 billion by 2030.
    • India’s biotechnology industry comprises biopharmaceuticals, bio-services, bio-agriculture, bio-industry, and bioinformatics.

    Who regulates Indian Pharma Sector?

    • The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 was the central legislation that regulates India’s drug and cosmetic import, manufacture, distribution and sale.
    • The Act clearly defines the spurious drugs, adulterated drugs and mis-branded drugs.
    • This also established the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
    • The Act establishes the regulatory control over the manufacture and sale of drugs.
    • State Health department has to regulate the manufacturing, sales and distribution of drugs.
    • Drug Inspectors will control the implementation at ground level.

    What made India the world’s pharmacy?

    • Low manufacturing costs: Compared to other nations, the cost of manufacturing pharmaceutical goods in India is much lower and more effective.
    • Skilled workforce: India now has a highly-skilled workforce as a result of technological advancements.
    • R&D: India’s pharma industrial sector is also robust. Most pharma labs has turned incubators.
    • Marketing benefits: With economic liberalization, India’s marketing and distribution system are likewise on the higher side. The sector is additionally strengthened by its diversified ecosystem.
    • Focus on generics: The companies broke into the worldwide market by exploring generic alternatives to costly proprietary medications.

    Various govt. policies

    • FDI relaxation: The government has allowed 100% FDI in Greenfield pharmaceutical projects and 74% FDI in brownfield pharmaceutical projects.   
    • PM Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana: The government had launched this scheme to supply low-cost pharma drugs to the economically weaker sections.
    • Bulk Drug Parks: In March 2020, the centre approved the establishment of mega ‘Bulk Drug Parks’ to provide common facilities like solvent recovery, effluent treatment, distillation, etc.
    • PLI scheme: The Cabinet also approved the ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme’ for encouraging domestic manufacturing of drug intermediaries.
    • SPI Scheme: In March 2022, under the Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI) Scheme, a total financial outlay of Rs. 500 crore (US$ 665.5 million) for the period FY 21-22 to FY 25-26 were announced.

    Various challenges

    • FDA mandate in US: The US accounts for more than a quarter of Indian pharmaceutical exports. Every medicine sold in the United States is subject to FDA monitoring and site visits by Indian businesses.
    • Hostile competition: There is stiff competition from firms in countries like China, Israel and Japan. Hostile and negative lobbying by the big players who frequently accuse Indian firms of violating patent laws.
    • Over-dependence on China: The industry is highly dependent on China for pharmaceutical raw materials. Indian drug-makers import around 70% of their total Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) / bulk drug requirements from China.
    • Hollowing out: India today is preferred low-cost producer and exporter of simpler off-patent formulations, the road taken is ‘hollowing out’ manufacturing in raw material: API.
    • Plagiarism: Fake versions of high value and/or high volume brands of the pharma companies are adversely affecting their business performance. It can also create a health hazard.
    • Domestic drug price control: The GoI’s Drug Price Control Order put excessive pressure on product pricing, affecting pharmaceutical companies’ profitability. Small businesses face a danger from the new MRP-based excise duty structure.
    • Low spending on R&D: India’s current public expenditure on R&D consistently remains low, at less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP).  
    • Burden of new diseases: New diseases, curbing costs, medical infrastructure, and foreign regulations are some of the challenges being faced by the pharma industry.
    • Regulatory lacunae: Many states have an inadequate number of drug inspectors – sometimes even as high as 53% vacancies like in Karnataka. The CDSCO itself suffers from insufficient personnel with 22% vacancies.

    Major contribution of Pharma Sector: Medical Diplomacy

    • Medical diplomacy is the state’s use of essential medicines’ trade and medical personnel’s dispatch to affected countries to improve its international relations.
    • India’s vaccine diplomacy during the pandemic also reaped huge praises all across the world.
    • India has been supplying essential drugs like hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol to different categories of countries ranging from USA, Russia, France and UK to African and Latin American countries like Zambia, Uganda, Niger, Kenya, Colombia and Uruguay.
    • In the neighbourhood, the drugs are being supplied to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
    • While some of these countries received the drugs on a commercial basis, others received it as grants from India.

    Way forward

    • Harnessing global value-chain: Besides the volume share, India now needs to capture value share as well.  
    • R&D boost: India will need to make exponential investments in R&D, manufacturing and digital transformations to become a global pharmaceutical innovation hub.
    • Incentivization: The government needs to urgently explore mechanisms to incentivize investment in R&D and evaluate various funding mechanisms that can help co-research.
    • Focus on API: This is also an opportunity to bring a much larger proportion of manufacturing of APIs back into India, so that the country is not dependent on imports of critical inputs.
    • Rational drug pricing: India needs to rationalize drug price control. Pharma companies must not be loaded with the cost public health.

  • Public opinion cannot influence jurisprudence

    Context

    On May 5, 2022, the current affairs site politico.com obtained the draft opinion of Justice Samuel Alito, apparently speaking for the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overruling Roe v Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992). These two previously decided cases enable women in the US to access abortions, albeit with some restrictions.

    Background of the US Supreme Court

    • SCOTUS was established on March 4, 1789.
    • The almost 225-year-old court, founded to interpret the American constitution that was adopted in 1789, has a long history of being an ideologically divided court, hearing deeply contentious political issues.
    • Within both the polity and law in the US, no issue is as emotive and divisive as matters related to abortion.
    • At present there is the 6-3 divide in the SCOTUS, with the conservatives constituting the majority.
    • Paying attention to the public opinion: Conservative judges also frame the regulation of abortion as a state legislative rights issue, giving enormous weight to the apparent public opinion within those states.

    Paying attention to the public opinion

    • In the draft opinion that was leaked, after being circulated to the other eight judges of SCOTUS, Justice Alito writes “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” adding, “it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.
    • Here is how the issue is initially framed: Legislatures in states must be able to adopt laws on abortion as they see fit.
    • The justification offered is in the context of the legitimacy of such laws being made by the will of the people, through their representatives.
    •  Justice Alito clearly sees this an issue for the legislature to decide based on the will of the voters.

    Why public opinion is not a legitimate parameter for adjudicating issues of rights

    • Against the separation of power: Across jurisdictions, in the constitutional scheme of separation of powers, the executive, legislature and judiciary are expected to play different roles.
    • The executive to govern using the rule of law, the legislature to make law and the judiciary to ensure that those laws are in consonance with constitutional values.
    • The introduction of public opinion and deference to the legislature as a valid basis for adjudication by constitutional courts leads to extraordinary conclusions.
    • The virtue of constitutional courts is that they are expected to be insulated from public opinion.
    • In that regard, they are freed from the vagaries of the will of the voters and enjoy the quiet introspection and justification through legal reasoning that the law creates space for.

    Conclusion

    The notion that constitutional courts should take  the will of voters into account is at odds with the understanding of courts elsewhere, like in India.

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  • With delimitation over, a look at the slate for J&K

    Context

    Fresh delimitation was necessary for Jammu and Kashmir since the State had been divided into two Union Territories and elections could only be held under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

    Issues with the report of the Delimitation Commission

    • The central question of why Jammu has gained six Assembly seats and the Valley only one has been brushed under general remarks on methodology with no explanation of how that methodology was applied.
    • Nor does it explain why Jammu’s Muslim-majority seats now comprise less than a quarter of the province’s total seats, though Muslims comprise over a third of the province’s population.
    • The commission’s recommendations further complicate the issue.
    • They propose that the President nominate Pandit migrants to two Assembly seats — why is there no reference to Pandits who remain in the Valley?
    • Indeed, the only overarching guideline which the report does describe in some detail is the commission’s desire to match the boundaries of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies.
    • Most of these questions were addressed to the commission during its consultation phase.
    •  By choosing not to do so they lost a valuable opportunity to display transparency and dispel suspicion of bias.

    Way forward

    • The only hope for a peace process in Jammu and Kashmir is if there is a clean election, statehood is speedily restored, and the new Assembly determines whether or in which form special status is required. 
    • The better option is to hold elections for existing constituencies and let the new assembly approve or query the delimitation report.
    • In fact, the commission itself proposed that the report be placed before the legislative assembly, a recommendation that makes sense only if new delimitation comes into force after and not before elections.
    • Urgent as elections are, attention to fundamental freedoms is even more important.

    Conclusion

    The peace process in Jammu and Kashmir needs to address the concerns of the people related to the restoration of statehood, and clean elections.

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  • [Burning Issue] Problem of Undertrials in India


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    Context

    • In India, about 75 percent of the total number of prisoners are undertrial.  More than 3.5 lakh undertrial prisoners are lodged in jails across the country and awaiting trial.
    • Recently, PM also raised the issue of undertrial prisoners in jails in a conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts.

    Undertrials in India: A backgrounder

    Who are the undertrials?

    • An undertrial is a person who is being held in custody by a court of law and is awaiting trial for a crime.
    • The 78th Report of Law Commission also includes a person who is in judicial custody on remand during investigation in the definition of an ‘undertrial’.

    Constitutional protection for Prisoners/Undertrials

    • ‘Prisons/persons detained therein’ is a State subject under Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
    • Article 39A of the Constitution directs the State to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity and shall, in particular, provide free legal etc.
    • Article 21 says, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.

    Vital stats

    • Over three-fourths of all those in jail, the undertrials amount for the highest proportion of 75% in at least a decade.
    • These facts emerge from data given by NCRB and analysed by India Justice Report, 2020.
    • High rate in Sensitive Areas: Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir reported the highest share of undertrial inmates of the total prison inmates, followed by Bihar, Punjab and Odisha and Maharashtra.  
    • Majority belong to marginalized groups: Two in three prisoners under trial belong to SC, ST or OBC caste groups, data show. Two in five undertrial inmates were educated below grade X and more than a quarter were illiterate.
    • Longer spend in Jails: Nearly 2% of the undertrials in 2020 had spent over 5 years in confinement, up from 1.5% in 2019. Overall, 29% of all the undertrials had spent over a year in prison.
    • Young population behind bars: Among the undertrial inmates, 49% are between 18 and 30 years of age, but among convicts, only 29% fall in this age group. Further, 50% of the convicts are aged between 30 and 50 years.

    Plight of under-trials: Various challenges faced

    (1) Abuses faced in jail

    • Prison violence: Prisons are often dangerous places for those they hold. Group violence is also endemic and riots are common.
    • Physical mishandling: Physical mishandling by jail officials is no rare phenomena in India.
    • Extra-judicial torture: No conduct of the prison authority is criminalised and it grants them immunity and presumes their good faith in acts of extreme neglect that could and do result in the death of inmates.

    (2) Criminalizing impacts

    • Impact of inmates: Circumstantial and young offenders often turn into full-fledged criminals when subjected to prison conditions.
    • Criminalization by labelling: It is an often given quote, ‘prisons are Universities of crime where people go in as under-graduates and come out with PhDs. in crime.’ Ex. Drug abuse in Jails

    (3) Health problems

    • Prevalent un-hygiene: Most of the prisons face problems of overcrowding and shortage of adequate space to lodge prisoners in safe and healthy conditions.
    • Medical history gets ignored: People are cramped in with each other in unhealthy conditions, infectious and communicable diseases spread easily. Ex. Spread of TB

    (4) Human rights violation

    • Taboo over mental illness: Though miniscule, mentally ill prisoners constitute another percentage of population, which is largely ignored and forgotten by both the outside world and those inside.
    • Delayed family planning: Undertrials also faces physical separation with their spouses resulting into delayed family planning.

    (5) Suffering of the families  

    • Livelihood crisis: In the absence of the main bread winner, the family is many a time forced into destitution with children going astray.
    • Social stigma and boycott: This combined with the social stigmatization that they face, leads to circumstances propelling family towards delinquency and exploitation by others.
    • Exploitation: The dominant class often take advantage of this situation to exploit the remaining family members to the fullest possible extent. This can take the form of rape or forced prostitution.

    Social aspects of the issue

    • Hostility from the law: Criminal Law of India is a replica of colonial times. It is hostile to the poor and the weaker sections of society.
    • Caste prejudices and over-policing: This exists for certain communities due to important social factors behind the significant presence of marginalized caste groups in jails.
    • Rich vs. poor divide: This has resulted in rich people escaping law and the jail is more often full of the unprivileged class of society.
    • Justice delayed: Undertrial prisoners often get neglected in jail for many years, in many cases it exceeded the maximum sentence for the crime which they had committed.

    Specific problems faced by under-trial prisoners:

    • No Right to Speedy Trial : It is recognised by the Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon vs. Home Secretary, Bihar. This is violated due to protracted delays due to:
    • Systemic delays.
    • Grossly inadequate number of judges and prosecutors.
    • Absence or belated service of summons on witnesses.
    • Presiding judges proceeding on leave.
    • Remands being extended mechanically due to lack of time and patience with the presiding judge.
    • Inadequacy of police personnel and vehicles which prevents the production of all prisoners on their due dates.
    • Right to bail is denied even in genuine cases: Even in cases where the prisoner was charged with bailable offence, they are found to rot in prisons due to exorbitantly high bail amount.  
    • Non-compliance by the officials: Undertrials become prisoners of the whims and fancies of individuals’ official’s attitude.
    • Politicization of trial:  Prisoners right to effective Legal Aid is also violated due to politicisation of as many lawyers are hired on political consideration.

    Way forward

    • Separation prisons: Undertrial prisoners should be lodged in separate institutions away from convicted prisoners.
    • Non-branding as criminals: There should be proper and scientific classification even among undertrial prisoners to ensure that contamination of first time and petty offenders into full-fledged and hard-core criminals.
    • Separate courts for certain offences: Institutions meant for lodging undertrial prisoners should be as close to the courts as possible.
    • Limited extension of remands: This has to stop which are also given merely for the sake of the convenience of the authorities.  
    • Investigation reforms: Police functions should be separated into investigation and law and order duties and sufficient strength be provided to complete investigations on time and avoid delays.
    • Decriminalization of certain offences: There should be a progressive and massive decriminalization so that many of the wrongs, which are given the status of crimes. Ex. Sedition Law
    • Going digital: Computerise the handling of criminal cases and with the help of the National Informatics Centre, develop programmes that would help in managing pendency and delay of different types of cases.
    • Associated judicial reforms: There should be an immediate increase in the number of judges and magistrates in some reasonable proportion to the general population.  

    Conclusion

    • Justice Krishna Iyer in the Constitutional Bench judgment in Sunil Batra (I) v. Delhi Administration (1978), held the humane thread of jail jurisprudence.
    • This principle now seems long due in India’s case.

  • Actions that corrode the steel frame of India

    Context

    A letter war between two sets of retired public officials (civil servants, judges and army officers), concerning the prevailing political and social situation in the country, has been widely reported in the media.

    Role of civil service

    • It is the police and magistracy, judicial courts and other regulatory agencies — not politicians — which have been authorised and empowered by law to take preventive action against potential troublemakers, enforce the laws relating to criminal, economic and other offences, and maintain public order.
    • In mature democracies, self-respecting public officials normally discharge their constitutional and legal responsibilities with honesty, integrity and their own conscience, firmly resisting the dictates of the vested interests.

    Deterioration in the standard of civil service

    • The deterioration in standards was very visible during the National Emergency declared in 1975.
    • The civil services, like other institutions including the judiciary, just caved in; the trend might have accelerated over the years.
    • Now, no one even talks of civil service neutrality.
    • Earlier, during communal or caste riots, the Administration focused on quelling the disturbances and restoring peace in the affected locality, without ever favouring one group over the other.
    • Now, there are allegations of local officers taking sides in a conflict.
    • A civil servant’s pliant and submissive behaviour means an end to civil service neutrality and the norms and values that this trait demands, does not seem to bother either the political or bureaucratic leadership.
    • Despite the protection and safeguards in Article 311 of the Constitution, politicians could have a civil servant placed in an inconvenient position or even punish him.

    Norms and values associated with a civil servant

    • Norms: The norms that define neutrality are: independence of thought and action; honest and objective advice; candour and ,‘speaking truth to power’.
    • Values: Associated with these norms are the personal values that a civil servant cherishes or ought to cherish, namely, self-respect, integrity, professional pride and dignity.
    • All these together contribute to the enhancement of the quality of administration that benefits society and the people.

    Conclusion

    Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment,” wrote B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and added, “It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.”

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  • What is Onset of Monsoon?

    The monsoon is slated to make its earliest arrival in 13 years over Kerala, informs the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    What does the “Onset of Monsoon” mean?

    • The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month, June to September southwest monsoon season over India.
    • It brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall.
    • It marks a significant transition in the large-scale atmospheric and ocean circulations in the Indo-Pacific region.
    • The IMD announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
    • The onset is a significant day in India’s economic calendar.

    How does IMD predict the monsoon?

    • Broadly, the IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed:
    1. Rainfall: The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep record at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
    2. Wind field: The depth of westerlies should be upto 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE. The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.
    3. Heat: The INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2) in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.
    • The onset is not officially declared until the prescribed conditions (above) are met.

    Factors considered by IMD

    • The IMD uses a specialised model that forecasts the arrival dates within a four-day window.
    • It uses six predictors:
    1. Minimum temperatures over northwest India
    2. Pre-monsoon rainfall peak over south Peninsula
    3. Outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) over the South China Sea
    4. Lower tropospheric zonal wind over the southeast Indian Ocean
    5. Upper tropospheric zonal wind over the east equatorial Indian Ocean, and
    6. OLR over the southwest Pacific region

    Where is the early arrival noticed?

    • The monsoon’s arrival over India is marked by rain over south Andaman Sea, which then advances north-westwards across the Bay of Bengal.
    • In general, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands start receiving monsoon rainfall between May 15 and May 20 every year.
    • And it usually starts raining along the Kerala coast in the last week of May.

    Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?

    • No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon.
    • The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
    • A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall, or its regional distribution across the country.

    Back2Basics: Long Period Average (LPA)

    • The IMD predicts a “normal”, “below normal”, or “above normal” monsoon in relation to a benchmark “long period average” (LPA).
    • The LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (like month or season) average over a long period like 30 years, 50 years, etc.
    • LPA refers to the average rainfall recorded from June to September for the entire country, the amount of rain that falls every year varies from region to region and from month to month.
    • The IMD’s prediction of a normal monsoon is based on the LPA of the 1971-2020 period, during which India received 87 cm of rain for the entire country on average.
    • It has in the past calculated the LPA at 88 cm for the 1961-2010 period, and at 89 cm for the period 1951-2000.

    Why LPA is needed?

    • The IMD records rainfall data at more than 2,400 locations and 3,500 rain-gauge stations.
    • Because annual rainfall can vary greatly not just from region to region and from month to month, but also from year to year within a particular region or month.
    • An LPA is needed to smooth out trends so that a reasonably accurate prediction can be made.
    • A 50-year LPA covers for large variations in either direction caused by freak years of unusually high or low rainfall, as well as for the periodic drought years.
    • It also takes into account the increasingly common extreme weather events caused by climate change.

    Range of normal rainfall

    The IMD maintains five rainfall distribution categories on an all-India scale. These are:

    1. Normal or near normal, when the percentage departure of actual rainfall is +/-10% of LPA, that is, between 96-104% of LPA;
    2. Below normal, when departure of actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA, that is 90-96% of LPA;
    3. Above normal, when actual rainfall is 104-110% of LPA;
    4. Deficient, when departure of actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA; and
    5. Excess, when the departure of actual rainfall is more than 110% of LPA.

    Also read

    Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

     

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  • From neutral to NATO: Why Finland joining the alliance matters

    Earlier reluctant, Finland is now hurtling to join NATO making a monumental shift for a nation with a long history of wartime neutrality and staying out of military alliances.

    What is NATO?

    • NATO is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949.
    • It sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.
    • Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • NATO has spread a web of partners, namely Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Finland.

    Why was it founded?

    Ans. Communist sweep in Europe post-WWII and rise of Soviet dominance

    • After World War II in 1945, Western Europe was economically exhausted and militarily weak, and newly powerful communist parties had arisen in France and Italy.
    • By contrast, the Soviet Union had emerged from the war with its armies dominating all the states of central and Eastern Europe.
    • By 1948 communists under Moscow’s sponsorship had consolidated their control of the governments of those countries and suppressed all non-communist political activity.
    • What became known as the Iron Curtain, a term popularized by Winston Churchill, had descended over central and Eastern Europe.

    Ideology of NATO

    • NATO ensures that the security of its European member countries is inseparably linked to that of its North American member countries.
    • It commits the Allies to democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law, as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
    • It also provides a unique forum for dialogue and cooperation across the Atlantic.

    What is Article 5?

    • Article 5 was a key part of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, or Washington Treaty, and was meant to offer a collective defence against a potential invasion of Western Europe.
    • It states: (NATO members) will assist the party or parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
    • However, since then, it has only been invoked once, soon after the 9/11 attack in the United States.

    Why Finland wishes to join now?

    • The country, so far, has stayed away from joining such alliances as it always wanted to maintain cordial relations with its neighbour Russia.
    • For a long time, the idea of not joining NATO or getting too close to the West was a matter of survival for the Finns.
    • However, the change in perception and overwhelming support to join NATO came about following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
    • NATO membership would strengthen the country’s security and defence system.

    Was this a long time coming?

    • For Finns, events in Ukraine bring a haunting sense of familiarity.
    • The Soviets had invaded Finland in late 1939 and despite the Finnish army putting up fierce resistance for more than three months, they ended up losing 10 per cent of their territory.
    • The country adopted to stay non-aligned during the cold war years.
    • However, insecurities started growing since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 as Finland brought back conscription and military spending went up.

    What about Sweden?

    • Sweden is likely to apply for membership after Finland’s final call.
    • If Finland joins, Sweden will be the only Nordic non-member of NATO.
    • Now, unlike Finland, whose policy stance was a matter of survival, Sweden has been opposed to joining the organisation for ideological reasons.

    What would a membership mean and will it benefit NATO as well?

    • NATO has shown eagerness about Finland and Sweden’s memberships.
    • Usually, becoming an official NATO member can take up to a year as it requires the approval of all existing member states.
    • Finland’s geographical location plays in its favour as once it becomes a member, the length of borders Russia shares with NATO would double.
    • This would also strengthen the alliance’s position in the Baltic Sea.

    How have Russia and other countries reacted?

    • Russia’s foreign ministry has said that they will be forced to take military steps if the membership materialises.
    • Russia has warned that this may prompt Moscow to deploy nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania.

     

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  • Iron in Tamil Nadu 4,200 years ago: A new dating and its significance

    Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago, the Tamil Nadu government announced this week on the basis of an archaeological report.

    What is the news?

    • Before this, the earliest evidence of iron use was from 1900-2000 BCE for the country, and from 1500 BCE for Tamil Nadu.
    • The latest evidence dates the findings from Tamil Nadu to 2172 BCE! Much older.
    • The results of dating, used accelerator mass spectroscopy.

    Where were these objects found?

    • The excavations are from Mayiladumparai near Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, about 100 km south of Bengaluru.
    • Mayiladumparai is an important site with cultural material dating back between the Microlithic (30,000 BCE) and Early Historic (600 BCE) ages.
    • The site is situated in the midst of several archaeological sites such as Togarapalli, Gangavaram, Sandur, Vedarthattakkal, Guttur, Gidlur, Sappamutlu and Kappalavadi.

    Outcome: Varying span of Iron Age

    • The dates when humans entered the Iron Age vary from one region of the world to another.
    • In India, too, the date has been revised with successive findings over the decades.

    When the Iron Age is considered in India?

    • In 1979, use of iron was traced to 1300 BCE at Ahar in Rajasthan. This is what we have been reading in NCERTs.
    • Later, samples at Bukkasagara in Karnataka, indicating iron production, were dated back to 1530 BCE.
    • The date was subsequently pushed back to 1700-1800 BCE with excavations finding evidence of iron smelting at Raipura in the Mid-Ganga valley.
    • It was then to 1900-2000 BCE based on investigations in sites at Malhar near Varanasi and Brahmagiri in North Karnataka.
    • A series of dating results on finds from various parts in India have shown evidence of iron-ore technology before 1800 BCE.
    • Before the latest discovery, the earliest evidence of iron use for Tamil Nadu was from Thelunganur and Mangadu near Mettur, dating back to 1500 BCE.

    Historical significance

    • Iron is not known to have been used in the Indus Valley, from where the use of copper in India is said to have originated (1500 BCE).
    • But non-availability of copper for technological and mass exploitation forced other regions to remain in the Stone Age.
    • When iron technology was invented, it led to the production of agricultural tools and weapons, leading to production required for a civilisation ahead of economic and cultural progress.
    • While useful tools were made out of copper, these were brittle and not as strong as iron tools would be.
    • With the latest evidence tracing our Iron Age to 2000 BCE from 1500 BC, we can assume that our cultural seeds were laid in 2000 BCE.
    • And the benefit of socio-economic changes and massive production triggered by the iron technology gave its first fruit around 600 BCE — the Tamil Brahmi scripts.

    Culture and politics

    • The Tamil Brahmi scripts were once believed to have originated around 300 BCE, until a landmark finding in 2019 pushed the date back to 600 BCE.
    • This dating narrowed the gap between the Indus Valley civilisation and Tamilagam/South India’s Sangam Age.
    • This, and the latest findings, are politically significant.
    • The dating of the scripts, based on excavations from sites including Keeladi near Madurai, became controversial when the ASI did not go for advanced carbon dating tests.

     

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  • [pib] NITI Aayog launches National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP)

    NITI Aayog has launched the NDAP for open public use.

    Note: This portal has much useful data. We can use these to substantiate our answers in mains exam.

    What is NDAP?

    • The platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interoperable, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform.
    • It hosts foundational datasets from various government agencies, presents them coherently, and provides tools for analytics and visualization.
    • NDAP follows a use-case-based approach to ensure that the datasets hosted on the platform are tailored to the needs of data users from government, academia, journalism, civil society, and the private sector.
    • All datasets are standardized to a common schema, which makes it easy to merge datasets and do cross-sectoral analysis.

    Types of datasets available

    1. Internal & External Affairs
    2. Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry
    3. Socio-Economic development
    4. Power & Natural Resources
    5. Industries
    6. Finance
    7. Health
    8. Human Resources Development
    9. Science and Technology
    10. Consumer Affairs
    11. Transport
    12. Housing
    13. Culture and Tourism
    14. Communications

    Why need such data?

    • The rise of data and digital technologies are rapidly transforming economies and societies, with enormous implications for governments’ daily operations.
    • NDAP is a critical milestone – which aims to aid India’s progress by promoting data-driven disclosure, decision making and ensuring the availability of data connecting till the last mile.

     

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  • What is INSACOG?

    The PM has announced that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) would be extended to India’s neighbouring countries.

    What is INSACOG?

    • INSACOG was established in December 2020 as a joint initiative of the Union Health Ministry of Health and Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
    • It aims to expand the whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease, across India with the aim of understanding how the virus spreads and evolves.
    • It functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology with the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

    Composition of INSACOG

    • INSACOG started out with the participation of 10 national research laboratories of the central government, and gradually expanded to a network of 38 labs.
    • It now includes private labs operating on a hub-and-spoke model.
    • These works to monitor genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2 by a sentinel sequencing effort which is facilitated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
    • It now involves the Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) under the central government’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

    Working of the INSACOG

    • The data from the genome sequencing laboratories is analysed as per the field data trends to study the linkages, if any, between the genomic variants and epidemiological trends.
    • INSACOG helps to understand super spreader events and outbreaks, and strengthen public health interventions across the country to help break chains of transmission.
    • Linking this data with IDSP data and the patient’s symptoms helps to better understand viral infection dynamics, and trends of morbidity and mortality.
    • The data can be linked with host genomics, immunology, clinical outcomes, and risk factors for a more comprehensive outlook.
    • Sequencing assumes added significance as the incidence of reinfections and vaccine breakthroughs increases.

     

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  • Sedition law

    Context

    On May 11, the Supreme Court directed the Union government and the states to refrain from using the law of sedition and keep all previous cases under 124A in abeyance till the matter is reconsidered in a comprehensive way.

    Data on Section 124A and UAPA about pendency and conviction rates

    • The data on draconian laws like 124A or UAPA exposes their untenability.
    • According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, a total of 156 cases of sedition were pending in 2017.
    • In that year, only 27 cases could be disposed of at the police level by withdrawing the case or submitting a chargesheet.
    • In courts, out of the 58 cases on trial, only one conviction could be obtained and the pendency rate for the cases of sedition was close to 90 per cent.
    • The number of cases increased in 2020, the year for which the latest NCRB data is available, but with the same results.
    • Of the total 230 cases registered, only 23 were chargesheeted.
    • Pendency in court reached close to 95 per cent for the sedition cases in 2020.
    • The abysmally low rate of conviction and disposal of these cases make it clear that these charges are slapped with very flimsy or no evidence to intimidate or harass those who question the government’s fiat.
    • The picture is no different for the UAPA.
    • Cases under it have increased by about 75 per cent between 2017-2020.
    • A total of 4,827 UAPA cases were pending in 2020 —of them, only 398 could be chargesheeted in that year.
    • The pendency rate in court remained 95 per cent, indicating harassment and violation of the right to life and liberty for a great number of people who are suffering because of the diabolical prison conditions in India.

    Recommendations and measures

    • A consultation paper on sedition circulated by the Law Commission of India on August 30, 2018, found many issues that need addressing around the working of Section 124A.
    • Most recently, on May 11, the Supreme Court directed the Union government and the states to refrain from using the law of sedition.

    Conclusion

    Dissent, criticism and differences of opinion are vital for the functioning of any democracy. The witch-hunting of those who question the government of the day reminds us of medieval times and totalitarian rulers. It is time we usher in an era of free speech. For that, the sedition law must go.

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  • Monetary policy alone won’t bring down inflation

    Context

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week raised both policy rates and cut back liquidity in a surprise inter-meeting decision. The forcefulness and urgency of the policy shift have been seen as a signal of the RBI’s renewed commitment to fighting inflation via aggressive monetary tightening in the coming months.

    How do higher inflation rates slow inflation?

    • It is true that a large swathe of the global economy is in the throes of runaway inflation and that in many of these economies tightening monetary and fiscal policies is the right response.
    • Initial conditions: But initial conditions matter as do the specific drivers of inflation.
    •  There are typically three ways in which higher inflation rate slows inflation.

    1] Lowering inflationary expectations

    • Suppose one believes that because a central bank has not tightened enough, future inflation will be higher.
    • In that case, the obvious response is to bring forward future consumption and investment to the present, thereby adding to demand and fueling current inflation further.
    • So, in principle, the central bank by credibly committing to bringing down inflation through aggressive current actions can bring down expectations of future inflation. 
    • It won’t work in India: This is a very potent conduit of monetary transmission in developed markets, where there is a wide variety of inflation-hedging instruments, as well as in some emerging markets — Brazil, for instance —where inflation-indexation is widespread.
    • However, there is little empirical evidence that this channel works in India, even weakly.

    2] Exchange rate channel

    • Higher interest rates attract foreign capital that appreciates the currency, lowering import prices and, in turn, inflation.
    • Again, this is a powerful mechanism in Latin America and Central Europe, where bond flows — that are sensitive to interest rate differential —dominate capital movements and the import content of the consumer basket is large.
    • Will it work in India? This is not the case in India and, in any event, for this to work it would require extreme rate hikes in the country, given the anticipated aggressive tightening by the US Fed.

    3] Curbing credit growth

    • Raising both the cost of borrowing as well as its availability (for example, by increasing the cash reserve ratio) reduces credit growth, lowering demand, GDP growth and, eventually, inflation.
    • It works well in India: This is the credit transmission by which higher interest rates dampen inflation and it works well in India.
    • How much of today’s price increase is credit-driven? Even a cursory glance at bank balance sheets would suggest that credit growth is just treading water.
    • Having recovered from being negative in mid-2021, real credit growth is running just around 2 per cent.

    Comparison with inflation-monetary policy dynamics of 2010-11

    • Back then, real GDP growth was clocking over 10 per cent per quarter, nominal credit growth 20-25 per cent, and real credit growth over 10 per cent.
    • Inflation was unambiguously driven by an overheated economy and fueled by runaway credit.
    • In the event, the RBI assessed the drivers of inflation to be originating from the supply side — higher food and commodity prices — and moved at a glacial pace, such that even after 12 rate hikes inflation remained in double digits for much of that period.
    • Faced with a potential US Fed tightening in 2013, India found itself in a near-crisis situation.
    • Today things are different. Much of the inflation is driven by global food and commodity prices.
    • Despite the languishing private demand, core inflation remains high.
    •  But this has been the case for much of the last two years, strongly suggesting that the domestic supply chain disruptions in manufacturing and services, especially at the informal level, haven’t been repaired fully.
    • The reason why firms locate in the informal sector in the first place is because of lower transaction costs, so when parts of the supply chain shift to the higher-cost formal sector, it shows up as inflation during the transition before increased scale of production and efficiency bring down the cost over time.
    • None of these factors is affected much by higher lending rates. 
    • So the burden of taming inflation by tightening monetary policy will fall largely on lower credit.
    • There is clearly a case to remove the extraordinary monetary support provided during the pandemic.

    Conclusion

    The RBI had misread the drivers of inflation badly in 2010-11. Hopefully, it won’t repeat that mistake this time.

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  • 13th May 2022 | Nikaalo Prelims- Current Affairs Test 9: March 2022

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