Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-05-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-05-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World Politics - Successor of 14th Dalai Lama to be approved by China - The Chinese government announced that any successor of the 14th Dalai Lama has to be approved by it. This decision rules out recognition to any heir who will be nominated by Dalai Lama or his followers. The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and other grand Living Buddhas has been subjected to approval by the central government since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), claimed an official white paper issued by the Chinese government. The document has also asserted that Tibet was an inseparable part of China since ancient times. Both these claims apparently are false, as Tibet was a separate country. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a Chinese crackdown on an uprising by the local population in Tibet. India granted him political asylum and the Tibetan government-in-exile has been based in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh since then. The Dalai Lama is 85 years old now and the issue of his successor has gained prominence in the last couple of years due to his advanced age.
2. Governance and Institutions - Mucormycosis rising in India - While the Union government has asked the States to declare mucormycosis an epidemic under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, cases were reportedly rising across India. The “unholy trinity” of Covid-19, diabetes and steroids was fuelling the present outbreak of mucormycosis. India has for long been the world’s worst hotspot for this black fungal infection, which is otherwise an uncommon disease. India had the highest reported cases of mucormycosis in the world even before Covid. Global prevalence of mucormycosis varies between 0.005 and 1.7 per million population, but its prevalence in India is nearly 80 times higher (0.14 per 1,000 or 1400 per million!). Considering India is considered the diabetes capital of the world, it is not surprising that it leads in mucormycosis cases as well. Some experts say that the current situation could be called an escalation and not an epidemic. Why? Because for over 30 lakh Covid-19 cases in India, there were about 5,000 to 7,000 cases of mucormycosis. This is not as high as renal failure or even heart failure.
3. Healthcare and Medicine - White fungus - As the central government asks states to notify black fungus or mucormycosis an epidemic, an infection called white fungus has been found to affect some people. It is more dangerous than black fungus. This infection can be caused due to low immunity, or if people come in contact with things that contain these moulds. Diabetes patients, cancer patients, and those who are taking steroids for a long period of time are more at risk of getting infected. White Fungus is affecting those coronavirus patients who are on oxygen support. It is directly affecting the lungs of these patients. It is the main reason of Leucorrhoea in women - flow of a whitish, yellowish, or greenish discharge from the vagina. Patients show Covid-like symptoms but test negative; the infection can be diagnosed through CT-Scan or X-ray. White fungus can affect the lungs, nails, skin, stomach, kidney, brain, private parts and mouth of the infected person. White Fungus infection can be prevented by sanitising the surroundings. The oxygen or ventilator must be sanitised properly.
4. Indian Economy - Money withdrawal from online wallets through ATM permitted - Now money kept in various online wallets like Amazon pay, Ola money, Mobikwik, Phone pe, Delhi Metro Card etc. can be withdrawn using an ATM or Point of Sale Terminal. RBI has permitted cash withdrawal of Rs. 2,000 per transaction with maximum limit of Rs. 10,000 per month. All non-bank Payment prepaid instruments can provide this service. Till now, RBI has permitted 37 Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) in country. Maximum two lakh rupees can be kept in various wallets after completion of full KYC. All PPIs have to ensure interoperability by 31st March 2022. The PPIs help facilitate the purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittances and fund transfers against the value stored on such instruments. These instruments are generally pre-loaded cards. Examples: Paytm and GPay (semi-closed system PPIs), gift cards (closed system PPIs) and debit or credit cards (open system PPIs).
5. Environment and Ecology - Bheema Bamboo - The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has designed an ‘oxygen park’ within its premises at Coimbatore with Beema or Bheema Bamboo. This is a superior clone, selected from Bambusa balcooa, a higher biomass yielding bamboo species. This thorn-less species is considered to be one of the fastest-growing plants, which grows one-and-a-half feet per day under tropical conditions. This clone is developed by the conventional breeding method (Tissue Culture), and is hence free from pest and disease. It is not a product of genetically modified organisms. In this case, new culms (hollow stem of a grass or cereal plant especially that bears flower) only grow around the mother shoot and hence it is non-invasive. As it is sterile, this bamboo does not produce any seed and does not die also for several hundred years and keeps growing without death. As a result, this species can be able to establish permanent green cover. Since the plants are produced through tissue culture, the culms grow almost solid and adapt to different soil and climatic conditions. After every harvest cycle, it re-grows and doesn’t require replanting for decades.
6. Constitution and Law - Personal guarantors cannot escape responsibility - The Supreme Court of India upheld a government move to allow lenders to initiate insolvency proceedings against personal guarantors, who are usually promoters of big business houses, along with the stressed corporate entities for whom they gave guarantee. It held that the November 15, 2019, government notification allowing creditors, usually financial institutions and banks, to move against personal guarantors under the Indian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code (IBC) was “legal and valid”. The court said there was an “intrinsic connection” between personal guarantors and their corporate debtors. It was this “intimate” connection that made the government recognise personal guarantors as a “separate species” under the IBC. It was again this intimacy that made the government decide that corporate debtors and their personal guarantors should be dealt with by a common forum — National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) — through the same adjudicatory process. Section 60(2) of the Code had required the bankruptcy proceedings of corporate debtors and their personal guarantors to be held before a common forum — the NCLT.
7. Indian Economy - RBI's massive surplus transfer to Government (for 9 months) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a surplus transfer of Rs.99,122 crore for the 9-month period from July 2020 to March 2021. The higher-than-expected dividend or surplus transfer to the government comes as the government is expecting a sharp fall in tax collections due to the severe second wave of COVID-19 which has forced lockdowns in several States. This surplus likely reflects the central bank’s higher income from their open market operations as well as receipts from FX sales. The government had budgeted to receive a surplus of about Rs.50,000 crore from the RBI, in the budget 2021/22, while in the previous full accounting year, the RBI transferred Rs.57,128 crore as surplus. Barring 2018/19, this is the highest ever transfer by the RBI in an accounting period. In FY19, Rs.1.76 lakh crore was transferred to the government which included a one-time transfer of extra reserves. The government is likely to find it challenging to meet its privatisation and disinvestment target of $24 billion while goods and services tax (GST) revenues are also likely to fall. The RBI decided to maintain a Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.50% in line with recommendations of the Bimal Jalan Committee report. RBI will move to an April to March accounting year from 2021/22, from a July to June year at present. Meanwhile, there are demands to use the RBI's forex reserves as a grant to states to buy urgently needed Covid supplies.
8. Healthcare and Medicine - DIPCOVAN - The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed an antibody detection-based kit 'DIPCOVAN', the DIPAS-VDx COVID-19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for sero-surveillance. The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent. The kit has been developed in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, a development and manufacturing diagnostics company based at New Delhi. DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens. It offers a significantly faster turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.
9. World Politics - Israel-Hamas ceasefire -  After 11 days of violent airstrikes on and rocket attacks from Gaza, both Israel and Hamas agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire on 20th May. The truce held the next day, with Palestinians taking out celebratory gatherings across the occupied territories and Israel removing the emergency restrictions in areas hit by rockets. Both sides warned that the ceasefire would hold based on the ground circumstances. Unlike in 2014, when the last major fighting between Israel and Hamas occurred, the Israeli troops avoided launching a ground invasion this time due to fear of losing many Israeli soldiers. Instead, Israel focussed from May 10, on maximum damage to Hamas’s militant infrastructure through airstrikes. Airstrikes always leave disproportionate civilian casualties, and that invites international pressure. Israel tried to inform that it’s a victim of terror, but the fact also is that Israel is the only sovereign power which continues the occupation of Palestinian territories in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, international laws and norms. Hamas says it accepted truce after Israel promised "to lift their hands off Sheikh Jarrah (where Palestinians face eviction from their houses) and Al-Aqsa Mosque". The Israeli side has denied any such promise. The Supreme Court of Israel is to give a final ruling on the eviction of Palestinians in the neighbourhood. If Israel goes ahead with the eviction process, there could be more protests and violence. Israeli leaders say there won’t be lasting peace as long as Hamas has rockets. Hamas says there will be rockets as long as the occupation continues.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update -  India reported 2,57,299 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and witnessed over 4,000 COVID-19 deaths for the second consecutive day as 4,194 more casualties were reported. With this, the total number of cases has reached 2,62,89,290, while the death toll has surged to 2,95,525. Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked PM Modi to ensure the assured supply of essential​ medicines for the treatment of mucormycosis (black fungus) and cost-free care to those affected. She pointed out that the illness was not covered under Ayushman Bharat and most other health insurance plans and sought immediate action on the issue. The Sputnik vaccine will be produced in India in 3-phases. First, supply from Russia - fully made - which has already started. Second, RDIF will send to India in bulk. It will be ready for use but it will have to be filled in various bottles in India. The present plan is that over 850 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine will finally be produced in India. The govt. claimed that total vaccinations administered so far was 19,33,72,819. The IMF has proposed a $50 billion global vaccination plan that would cover at least 40 per cent of the global population by the end of 2021 and at least 60 per cent by the first half of 2022. IMF's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said this in her address to the G20 Health Summit. NUMBERS - INDIA - Total cases: 26,285,069; New cases: 254,395; Total deaths: 295,508; New deaths: 4,143; Total recovered: 23,059,017; Active cases: 2,930,544.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

RBI transfers huge sum as "surplus transfer" to government 

• The story: The Reserve Bank of India's board approved a significantly higher than expected surplus transfer to the government, as part of a regular annual process. It clearly was in higher, in light of the damage from a crippling second wave of the novel coronavirus.

• Details: The RBI will do a surplus transfer of Rs.99122 crores ($13.58 billion) for the 9-month period from July 2020 to March 2021. Also, RBI will move to an April to March accounting year from 2021/22, from a July to June year.

1. The lockdowns across states has hit revenue collection badly, and RBI's higher-than-expected dividend or surplus transfer to the government comes as a temporary relief to the government.
2. The surplus likely reflects the central bank's higher income from their open market operations as well as receipts from FX sales, with its transfer to the government providing some cushion to the shortfall in revenues.
3. The RBI decided to maintain the contingency risk buffer at 5.5%, which is at the lowest end of the 5.5-6% range prescribed by the Bimal Jalan Committee that had reviewed the RBI’s economic capital framework.

• Government expectation: The government had budgeted a surplus of about Rs. 50000 crore from the RBI, in the budget 2021/22, while in the previous full accounting year, the RBI had transferred Rs.57128 crore, as surplus. Barring 2018/19, this is the highest ever transfer by the RBI in a year. In FY19, Rs.1.76 trillion was transferred to the government (which included a one-time transfer of extra reserves). The government is likely to find it challenging to meet its privatisation and disinvestment target of $24 billion while goods and services tax revenues are also likely to fall.

• Cut spending: The government is under pressure as it may be forced to cut expenditure, but it badly needs to spend to push investment and perk up growth from record low levels that it hit in 2020. The dividend from RBI will be welcome but the government will need more and hope divestment can deliver.

1. The considerably higher surplus transfer would provide a buffer to absorb losses from indirect tax revenues anticipated in May and June 2021.
2. The high commodity prices at a time when demand and pricing power are subdued, would dent the margins of corporates in many sectors, compressing the growth in direct tax collections. The govt. had substantially reduced corporate income tax rates in September 2019.

• Knowledge centre:

1. Jalan Committee report on RBI's ECF - In 2019, the RBI accepted the recommendation of Jalan Committee. Major recommendations were on risk provisioning and surplus distribution. (i) RBI’s economic capital - The Committee wanted continuation of the various reserves, risk provisions and risk buffers maintained by RBI. It wanted a clearer distinction between the two components of economic capital (realized equity and revaluation balances). Revaluation balances could be reckoned only as risk buffers against market risks as they represented unrealized valuation gains and hence were not distributable. (ii) Risk provisioning for market risk - The Committee wants adoption of Expected Shortfall (ES) methodology under stressed conditions (in place of the Stressed-Value at Risk) for measuring the RBI’s market risk. (iii) Size of Realized Equity - The Committee recognized that the RBI’s provisioning for monetary, financial and external stability risks is the country’s savings for a ‘rainy day’. This risk provisioning made primarily from retained earnings is cumulatively referred to as the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) and can be maintained within a range of 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent of the RBI’s balance sheet, comprising 5.5 to 4.5 per cent for monetary and financial stability risks and 1.0 per cent for credit and operational risks. (iv) Surplus Distribution Policy - The Committee wants a surplus distribution policy which targets the level of realized equity to be maintained by the RBI, within the overall level of its economic capital vis-à-vis the earlier policy which targeted total economic capital level alone. Only if realized equity is above its requirement, will the entire net income be transferable to the Government. If it is below the lower bound of requirement, risk provisioning will be made to the extent necessary and only the residual net income (if any) transferred to the Government.

Manufacturing jobs in India went from 5.1 cr to just 2.73 cr

• The story: An analysis by the Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA) showed that manufacturing employment in 2020-21 was nearly half of what it was five years ago. So despite 'Make in India' programme, manufacturing jobs were 50% lower now!

• Details: The employment scenario in India has surely turned bleaker in 2021 due to the pandemic, but manufacturing, which has received a lot of policy attention, has lost out to other sectors and the most to agriculture as the job creator over the past few years.

1. The jobs decline was sharper in 2020-21 owing to the pandemic – on a year-on-year basis, the sector employed 32% fewer people in 2020-21 over 2019-20. Real estate & construction also also saw big fall in its share in employment in 2020-21 (see chart) and a secular decline over the five-years to 2020-21.
2. While there has been a secular decline in manufacturing employment across all sub-sectors, except chemical industries, all sub-sectors registered a longer-term decline.
3. From employing 51 million people in 2016-17, employment in manufacturing, which accounts for 17% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), declined by 46% to reach 27.3 million in 2020-21, reflecting the severity of the employment crisis caused by the pandemic.

• Other sectors: The real estate and construction sector, which employed 69 million people in 2016-17, employed just 53.7 million in 2020-21, down by a quarter. This sector was hit hard by inventory pile-up, delivery delays and developer delinquencies. The sector had witnessed a sharp increase in employment growth in the 2004-2011 period, thanks to a boom.

• Which sectors top: A total of 7 sectors accounted for 99% of total jobs in India - agriculture, mines, manufacturing, real estate and construction, financial services, non-financial services, and public administrative services. Agriculture now employs more people than five years ago. The agriculture sector that employed 145.6 million people in 2016-17, employed 151.8 million in 2020-21, allowing its share in employment to grow from 36% to 40% during the period. Employment in agriculture has been on the rise over the last two years indicating a marginal shift away from manufacturing, non-financial services, mining and real estate sectors to the traditional resort for livelihood.

• Summary: Like the one in 2020, the 2021 lockdowns had an immediate, telling effect on the employment scenario. India's country’s unemployment rate, soared to a near one-year-high of 14.45% in the week ended May 16, 2021. Clearly, the government needs to proactively work on creating new jobs in India.

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• 2. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper

Single-use plastics

 

 

• The story: A report gave details of the single-use plastic industry. The report was published by Minderoo, a nonprofit organization based in Australia along with academics at the University of Oxford and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
• Points to note: Half of the world’s single-use plastic is made by just 20 big companies, including two US companies followed by a Chinese-owned petrochemicals giant, and another one based in Bangkok. This production is financed by financial services companies including banks. Governments are also big stakeholders in this industry. About 40% of the largest single-use plastic makers are partly owned by governments, including China and Saudi Arabia.
• Growth: Single-use plastic has been a good business, and is projected to continue. In the next five years alone, production capacity is forecast to grow by 30%. There’s a huge disparity between richer and poorer nations. An average American uses and throws away 50 kilograms of single-use plastic every year whereas an average Indian uses less than one-twelfth of an American.
• Less recycling: Only about 8% of plastic gets recycled in the US. It is far cheaper to make things out of newly produced plastic than from recycled plastic. The State and municipal governments have had success in banning certain items like plastic grocery bags, foam cups and drinking straws. But the efforts focused on curtailing the production of single-use plastic have been limited so far. Advocacy efforts to persuade consumers to use less plastic have failed to gain traction.
• Global initiatives: The European Union issued a directive calling for consumer brands to use at least 30% recycled content in plastic bottles by 2025. In 2019, the Union government in a bid to free India of single-use plastics by 2022, had laid out a multi-ministerial plan to discourage the use of single-use plastics across the country. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, extended the responsibility to collect waste generated from the products to their producers and brand owners.

• Single-Use Plastics: These are disposable plastics, used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles and most food packaging. Plastic is so cheap and convenient that it has replaced all other materials from the packaging industry but it takes hundreds of years to disintegrate. It then becomes a big problem. Out of 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste generated every year in India, 43% is single use plastic.

1. Single-use plastic products also prevent the spread of infection. Instruments such as syringes, applicators, drug tests, bandages and wraps are often made to be disposable. Such products have been enlisted in the fight against food waste, keeping food and water fresher for longer and reducing the potential for contamination.
2. But petroleum-based plastic is not biodegradable and usually goes into a landfill where it is buried or it gets into the water and finds its way into the ocean. In the process of breaking down, it releases toxic chemicals (additives that were used to shape and harden the plastic) which make their way into our food and water supply.

• Summary: Economically affordable and ecologically viable alternatives which will not burden the resources are needed and their prices will also come down with time and increase in demand. Clearly, there's the need to promote alternatives like cotton, khadi bags and biodegradable plastics. More R&D (Research & Development) and finances for it, are needed to look for sustainably viable options. Citizens' behavioural change too is needed.

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• 3. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

China's Tibet highway construction completed

• The story: China (PRC) has completed construction of a highway which will enable greater access to remote areas along its disputed border with Arunachal Pradesh in India.
• Points to note: The construction began in 2014 and is part of a wider infrastructure push in border areas in Tibet. The highway passes through the Grand Canyon of the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet). The Brahmaputra is the longest river in Tibet and its valley is the world's deepest with a 7,000-metre drop from the highest mountain peak to the lowest basin. It connects Pad Township in the city of Nyingchi and Medog County. Nyingchi and Medog County both are located in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China. Medog is the last county in Tibet, which is located close to the Arunachal Pradesh border. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Highway will shorten the road length connecting the city proper of Nyingchi and Medog County and will reduce the travel time by eight hours.
• Other constructions: First, the railway line. In 2020, China had begun work on a strategically significant railway line that will link Sichuan province with Nyingchi in Tibet, which lies close to Arunachal Pradesh border. It is the second major rail link to Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet railway that opened in 2006. Then come new villages. In January 2021, there were reports of Chinese construction of three villages in Arunachal Pradesh 5 kilometres from the Bum La pass. In 2020, satellite images emerged showing a new village called Pangda built 2-3 km into what Bhutan sees as its land. In 2017, the TAR government launched a plan to build moderately well-off villages in border areas. Under this plan 628 first line and second line villages — referring to those right on the border and others in remote areas slightly further within — would be developed in the prefectures of Ngari, Shigatse, Shannan and Nyingchi, along China’s borders with India, Bhutan and Nepal.
• India's concern: The new highway is expected to play a key role in the surveying of and planning for the mega Yarlung Zangbo hydro-power project that China is planning to build at the canyon in the same Medog county, triggering unease among downstream countries like India. A highway connecting the border will largely improve the efficiency and convenience of military personnel and material transportation and logistical supplies in the border area.
• India's reaction: India will spend 10% funds of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) only to improve the infrastructure along the China border. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed the Daporijo bridge over Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh. It links roads leading upto the LAC between India and China. Foundation of a tunnel at Nechiphu in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh has been laid down which will shorten travel time for troops till the LAC through Tawang, which China claims to be its territory. A tunnel is also being constructed under the Se La pass in Arunachal Pradesh which connects Tawang to the rest of Arunachal and Guwahati. The government of Arunachal Pradesh has advocated selection of 10 census towns along the India-China border as pilot projects for infrastructure development in order to stop people living along its international borders, specifically with China, from migrating to faraway urban centres in the State. In 2019, the Indian Air Force inaugurated resurfaced runway at India’s easternmost Village-Vijaynagar (Changlang district) in Arunachal Pradesh. In 2019, the Indian Army conducted exercise ‘HimVijay’ in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with its newly created Integrated Battle Groups (IBG). The Bogibeel bridge, which is India’s longest road-rail bridge connecting Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh was inaugurated in 2018. It will facilitate quicker movement of troops and equipment to areas near the India-China border.
• Summary: India has to be cautious about new development in China near its border to protect its interests efficiently. 

Foreign affairs updates

 

•  SK President Moon Jae-in at the White House: The South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the White House, only the second world leader (after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga) to meet with Biden in-person since he took office. North Korea featured on the agenda, as did vaccine access as South Korea faces a supply shortage. The trip will be Moon’s last White House visit before his term-limited presidency ends next year. The Biden White House may announce a new era of the 68-year-old alliance and begin treating South Korea as an equal partner rather than just another country in dealing with North Korea.
• Iran's Rouhani says deal close: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the US has agreed to lift sanctions on its oil, shipping, and banking sectors. The remaining points being discussed at indirect talks in Vienna were “minor issues.” But some official said the United States would not “completely” lift sanctions and that instead they would be temporarily suspended “over a long period of time and in various steps.” Efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear program gathered urgency as a monitoring agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency expired.
• G-20 health summit: Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the G-20 global health summit, hosted by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Rome. The meeting will lead to the endorsement of a set of principles around preventing future pandemics as well as a commitment to fund the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 ACT-Accelerator, an initiative to expand access to tests, vaccines, and therapeutics.
• Europe freezes China deal: The European Parliament voted in favour of freezing the ratification of a new (Jan 2021) investment agreement with China. The move was a further tit-for-tat after Beijing sanctioned 10 EU parliamentarians in retaliation for Western sanctions over the treatment of its Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
• Global minimum taxes: In OECD talks, the Biden administration has agreed to a 15 percent global minimum tax on large multinationals, which was a reduction of its previous demand of a 21 percent minimum. The move would apply to profits generated in each country regardless whether it has a physical presence in the country. The measure is fiercely opposed by low corporate tax countries such as Ireland, which currently has a 12.5 percent rate.
• Chad’s democracy: The African Union (AU) called for a democratic transition in Chad within the next 18 months in response to a military takeover following the death of President Idriss Déby in April 2021. The junta has already put a civilian transitional leadership in place and said in April it would hold elections within 18 months. The African Union said it “categorically rejects any form of extension of the transition period.”
• No bathroom breaks please: A driver of a Japanese bullet train is facing disciplinary action after he left the controls unattended to take a bathroom break while the train and its 160 passengers were traveling at more than 145 kmph. The driver left the cockpit for three minutes in total, as an unqualified train conductor remained behind. The driver may have gotten away with the infraction had the company not noticed an extremely rare occurrence for Japan’s Shinkansen trains: It was running one minute behind schedule.

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• 4. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

Higher subsidy on DAP fertilizers

 

 

• The story: The government hiked the subsidy on DAP fertiliser by 137%, in a policy change. It was faced with a possible revival of farmer protests — this time over fertiliser prices — and the 137% increase in the subsidy on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), from Rs 511.55 to Rs 1,211.55 per 50-kg bag may help.

• DAP fertilizer: DAP is the second most commonly used fertiliser in India, with its sales of 119.13 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2020-21 next only to the 350.42 lt of urea. Farmers apply this before or at the time of sowing, as it is high in phosphorus (P) that stimulates root establishment and development – without which plants cannot grow to their normal size or will take too long to mature.

1. DAP contains 46% P and 18% nitrogen (N). While there are also other phosphatic fertilisers – single super phosphate (SSP), for instance, has 16% P and 11% sulphur (S) – DAP is the farmer’s preferred choice.
2. This is similar to urea and muriate of potash (MOP), which again have very high N and potassium (K) content of 46% and 60%, respectively.

• Subsidy process: The maximum retail price (MRP) of urea is currently fixed at Rs 5,378 per tonne or Rs 242 for a 45-kg bag. Since urea-making companies have to sell at this controlled rate, the subsidy is variable. It is the difference between the cost of manufacturing or import and the fixed MRP. The MRPs of all other fertilisers are decontrolled and decided by the companies themselves. The government only gives a fixed per-tonne subsidy. So the subsidy is fixed, while the MRPs are variable.

• Non-urea fertilisers: So is subsidy same for all such non-urea fertilzers? The answer is no. These fertilisers get a nutrient-based subsidy or NBS, whose rates vary across nutrients.

1. For 2020-21, the Centre fixed the NBS rates at Rs 18.789/kg for N, Rs 14.888/kg for P, Rs 10.116/kg for K and Rs 2.374/kg for S.
2. Depending on the nutrient content in different fertilisers, the per-tonne subsidy varies. Since one tonne of DAP contains 460 kg of P and 180 kg of N, the subsidy is Rs 10,231 (6,848.48 plus 3,382.02). Likewise, the subsidy on MOP (60% K) was Rs 6,070 per tonne, while Rs 2,643/tonne for SSP and Rs 8,380/tonne for the popular ‘10:26:26’ NPK fertiliser.

• Why noise over DAP: The DAP subsidy was Rs 10,231 per tonne or Rs 511.50 on a bag of 50 kg. Most companies were selling this fertiliser to farmers at around Rs 24,000 per tonne or Rs 1,200/bag. They could do it when international prices — of both the final product and the imported raw materials such as rock phosphate, sulphur, phosphoric acid and ammonia — were at reasonable levels. Landed prices of DAP in India were below $400 per tonne or Rs 29,000 till October 2020. Adding 5% customs duty and another Rs 3,500 towards port handling, bagging, warehousing, interest, trade margins and other costs took it to about Rs 34,000 per tonne. After claiming the subsidy of Rs 10,231 per tonne, companies could sell at the said MRP of Rs 24,000/tonne.

1. Then came the global price shock, as prices surged, as part of the bull run in commodities.
2. Since October 2020, the average import (cost and freight, Indian ports) prices of DAP have risen from $395 to $570/tonne, while shooting up from $275 to $365 for urea, $230 to $280 for MOP, $280 to $550 for ammonia and $85 to $210 for sulphur. That made it unviable for companies to sell at the old rates.

• End result: This steeply raised MRPs. The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) announced a hike in its MRP of DAP from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,900/bag and also for 10:26:26 (Rs 1,175 to Rs 1,775/bag), 12:32:16 (Rs 1,185 to Rs 1,800/bag) and 20:20:0:13 NPKS (Rs 925 to Rs 1,350/bag). These hikes were effective from April 1. Since non-urea fertilisers are decontrolled, nothing stopped them from do so. But with West Bengal Assembly elections, the industry was told to keep these on hold. IFFCO, for one, declared that the higher MRPs will be only for the newly produced or imported fertilisers. The old stocks would continue to be sold at the earlier rates.
• The day of reckoning: As the old stocks started running out, the companies began selling the new material at the higher rates. April being a lean month, the extent of price increase did not matter to anyone, including farmers, until home purchases for ensuing kharif planting season started picking up from mid-May. The focus naturally fell on DAP; having to pay an extra Rs 700/bag — on top of Rs 21-22 per litre increase for diesel since April 2020 – was obviously too much.
• Solution by govt.: The Department of Fertilisers had, on April 9, notified the NBS rates (nutrient-based subsidy) for 2021-22. Despite international prices soaring, these were kept unchanged from last year’s levels. It left companies wit little choice but to go ahead with the MRP hikes. But since it became politically difficult, the Cabinet more than doubled the subsidy on DAP from the existing Rs 10,231 to Rs 24,231 per tonne. The Department of Fertilisers notified a higher per-kg NBS rate for P (Rs 45.323, as against the earlier Rs 14.888), even while not increasing these for the other three nutrients (N, K and S). This will enable companies to sell DAP to sell at the earlier MRP. They may not be able to do so for other non-urea fertilisers, be it MOP, SSP or complexes containing N, K and S. In the case of MOP, the retail prices were raised from an average of Rs 850 to Rs 1,000/bag in February itself. With the subsidy remaining at Rs 303.5/bag, there’s unlikely to be any rollback.
• Summary: The DAP prices not going up is good news, as farmers are ready for sowing operations with the arrival of the southwest monsoon rains. Politically, the govt. did not want a major revival of farmer protests.

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• 5. POLITY AND CONSTITUTION (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

Supreme Court sides with UP govt, stays Allahabad HC order on Covid 

• The story: The Supreme Court (SC) said that high courts should not pass directions that are not implementable, and then it stayed the Allahabad High Court order relating to management of the COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh state. The HC had said that the entire healthcare system in villages and small cities of the state was "Ram bharose" (at God's mercy).

• What was the HC order: On May 17, 2021, the High Court while hearing a PIL over the coronavirus spread and the condition of quarantine centres in UP, had passed directions (while taking into account the death of one Santosh Kumar (64), who was admitted to an isolation ward at a Meerut hospital).

1. The Allahabad High Court directed the UP govt. that every village in UP should be provided with at least two ambulances having intensive care unit facilities. The panicked government submitted that there were 97,000 villages in the state and it would not be "humanly possible" to provide such ambulances in one month.
2. A vacation bench at SC of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai said the directions of the High Court passed on May 17 shall not be treated as directives but an advice to the UP government. The bench said there are some observations in the order which may be well meaning but passed by the court in anxiety to provide relief to the general public. It said such directions cannot be implemented and it shall be treated as advice.
3. The bench said that looking at the matter in depth, “We are of the opinion that the High Court should consider looking into the possibility of implementation while passing any directions, and if any such direction is not implementable, then the High Court should refrain from passing it”.
4. The SC bench referred to another direction that five medical colleges of the state should be upgraded to PG Medical Institutes within four months, and noted that the state government has said that it is not "practically feasible" in such a short period of time.

• Which doctrine: The SC bench said the High Court should adopt the "doctrine of impossibility" (a situation when it is impossible for a party to perform), which has been upheld by this court. The SC stayed the order but did not stay the proceedings before the High Court. It said the High Court while considering a matter on management of COVID-19 situation which has a national or trans-national ramification should refrain from dealing with it as the top court is seized of the issue.
• Tushar Mehta doesn't like the HC 'intereference': Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UP government, said that different benches of the High Court (single judge bench and double judge benches) are passing different orders on COVID management. He wanted only the Chief Justice of the SC to hear all matters related to COVID management. The bench responded to say it is not going to pass any general directions or a sweeping order as it does not want to demoralise the High Courts or the state government.
• Death without dignity: On May 17, the Allahabad High Court while hearing a PIL over the spread of coronavirus and the condition of quarantine centres in UP passed a slew of directions while taking into account the death of one Santosh Kumar (64), who was admitted to an isolation ward at a Meerut hospital. The doctors there had failed to identify him and disposed off the body as unidentified, according to a probe report. Santosh had fainted at a hospital bathroom on April 22 and efforts were made to revive him but he died. The hospital staff could not identify the dead and failed to locate his file. Thus, it was taken as a case of an unidentified body. That prompted the High Court use the term "Ram bharose".
• Large corporates: On the issue of coronavirus vaccination, the HC suggested that big business houses who take benefits under taxation laws by donating to various religious organisations may be asked to divert their funds for vaccines. Every nursing home/ hospital, which has more than 20 beds, should have at least 40 per cent of their beds as intensive care units, the court said. Every nursing home and hospital, which has more than 30 beds, should compulsorily have an oxygen production plant, the court added.
• Summary: The citizens often approach the state High Courts seeking justice. These too are empowered constitutional courts, with a range of powers to protect fundamental rights. The Supreme Court did well in not putting any blanket ban on HC's powers in tackling emerging Covid contingencies.

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• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

Cyberattacks and critical infrastructure protection 

• The story: It emerged in May 2021 that a major cyber attack had crippled one of the largest pipelines in the United States (US), Colonial Pipeline, which carries about 45% of all fuel consumed on the country’s East Coast. The attack disrupted fuel supplies and caused a surge in gas prices in some parts of the country. This was a case of ransomware attack, where hackers usually threaten to block the system or publish the targeted company or victim’s confidential data, unless a ransom is paid. This attack drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who made serious observations on it.
• A trend: The attack on Colonial Pipeline fits the broader trend witnessed in recent years of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure which require to be operational at all times such as traffic systems, banks, power grids, oil pipelines and nuclear reactors. Given the increasing number of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, it is essential for countries like India to develop a robust cyber security architecture.

• Defining 'Critical Infrastructure': It is the body of systems, networks and assets that are so essential that their continued operation is required to ensure the security of a given nation, its economy, and the public’s health and/or safety.

1. Need for security framework - In recent years, attacks targeting critical infrastructure and businesses have surged. These include the 2017 WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware attacks, the 2015 attack on Ukrainian power grids and 2010 Stuxnet attack on Iranian nuclear reactor. In 2020, a China-linked hacker group RedEcho targeted India’s power sector, ports and parts of the railway infrastructure.
2. Cyber wars - States are deploying cybersecurity attacks in order to have geo-political gains. To escape responsibility for such debilitating attacks, many States use hacking syndicates as proxies. This has made critical infrastructure protection a cybersecurity priority for India.

• Challenges: Firs is the reluctance in sharing information. There is a general inhibition in the private (and public) sector to share information about the vulnerability of their systems. By revealing their vulnerabilities and, therefore, their proprietary information, businesses fear exposing themselves and losing a competitive edge over rivals. So Indian regulators have warned that only reactive measures to cyberattacks overlooks the possibility of concerted cyber warfare by adversarial States against India.

1. Capability asymmetry - India lacks indigenization in hardware as well as software cybersecurity tools. This makes India’s cyberspace vulnerable to cyberattacks motivated by state and non-state actors.
2. Absence of a strategy - The absence of a credible cyber deterrence strategy means that states and non-state actors alike remain incentivized to undertake low-scale cyber operations for a variety of purposes — espionage, cybercrime, and even the disruption of critical information infrastructure.

• Opportunities: There is a need to clearly articulate a doctrine that holistically captures its approach to cyber conflict, either for conducting offensive cyber operations or the extent and scope of countermeasures against cyber attacks. India should see the National Cyber Security Strategy as a key opportunity to articulate how international law applies to cyberspace.

1. Specifying redlines - The National Cyber Security Strategy should include positioning on not just non-binding norms but also legal obligations on ‘red lines’ with respect to cyberspace-targets, such as health-care systems, electricity grids, water supply, and financial systems.
2. Promoting Swadeshi - There is a need to create opportunities for developing software to safeguard cybersecurity and digital communications. The Government of India may consider including cybersecurity architecture in its Make In India program. There is also the need to create suitable hardware on a unique Indian pattern that can serve localized needs.
3. Public-Private Partnership - Given the mutual distrust and vulnerability of the public and private sector, any solution involves sharing responsibility through a public-private partnership for critical infrastructure protection.

• Summary: Given the future of technology under Industrial Revolution 4.0, only an integrated, whole-of-the-ecosystem approach for securing critical infrastructure will be successful for India. Cyber-threats are real, and wishing them away won't work. Digital India is an empowering tool, but it also exposes entire systems to attackers.

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• 7. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

Variable DA hike for 1.5 crore workers 

• The story: India's MLE (ministry of labour and employment) effected a hike in the variable dearness allowance (VDA) for workers in the railway administration, mines, oil fields, ports and other sectors in the central government. The move is expected to benefit about 1.5 crore workers.

• Details: The hike will be effective retrospectively from April 1, 2021, and range from Rs 105 per day to Rs 210 per day, depending on a worker’s occupation and geographical location, and will also have a resultant impact on minimum wages for workers. The VDA is similar to the dearness allowance for government employees.

1. The government’s revised wages notification will be applicable to establishments such as the railway administration, mines, oil fields, major ports or all corporations established by the Central government.
2. Contractual & casual workers are also entitled to hike in VDA. The cumulative hike is expected to be in the range of Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 per month.

• Skill level: While unskilled mine workers will draw Rs 431 per day, those working underground will be eligible to receive VDA at the rate of Rs 539 per day. In contrast, highly skilled mine workers working on ground will now draw Rs 752 a day and highly skilled mine workers working underground will be eligible to get Rs 840 per day as VDA. Revision of VDA has also been done for agriculture workers across skill categories, building and construction workers. ‘Sweeping and cleaning’ workers, ‘watch and ward’ workers and workers working for loading and unloading works are also eligible for the pay revisions.
• Summary: The Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar said the hike in VDA will support these workers particularly in the backdrop of the economic pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The VDA is revised on the basis of average Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), and the ministry took the average CPI-IW for the months of July to December 2020 to revise the VDA. The enforcement of the Minimum Wages Act in the central sphere, the government said, is ensured through the offices of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central).

Immediate subsistence assistance to transgenders

 

 

• The story: In view of Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) is giving transgender persons a one-time financial assistance of Rs. 1,500.

• Points to note: This "Immediate subsistence assistance" to trans persons would be given through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), for which beneficiaries can register with the National Institute of Social Defence.

1. National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) - The NISD is an autonomous body registered under Societies Act XXI of 1860 with the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT), Delhi. It is a central advisory body for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and is the nodal training and research institute in the field of social defence.
2. It currently focuses on human resource development in the areas of drug abuse prevention, welfare of senior citizens, beggary prevention, transgender and other social defence issues.

• Major initiatives:

1. Judgements of the Supreme Court - In the "National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India, 2014" case, the SC declared transgender people to be a 'third gender'.
2. Reading down the Provisions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (2018) - The SC decriminalised same-sex relationships.
3. Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 - A transgender person is one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes transmen and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra.
4. Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020, National Portal for Transgender Persons and the Scheme of ‘Shelter Home for Transgender Persons’.

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• 8. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2)

Dipcovan Covid kit 

• The story: The Dipcovan or DIPAS-VDx COVID 19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA is an antibody detection-based kit that be used for sero-surveillance for detecting the presence of Covid antibodies amongst the population.
• Where developed: The Dipcovan has been developed by the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), New Delhi in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd. It was approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April 2021. It will be commercially launched soon. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.
• How different: The Dipcovan kit offers significantly faster turn-around-time because it needs only 75 minutes to conduct antibody test without any cross-reactivity with other diseases. It is capable to detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with high sensitivity of 97 % and specificity of 99%.
• Different tests for Covid-19: There are three main different types of tests for Covid-19.  The RT PCR test (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) is a molecular test that detects the presence of viral RNA. For RT PCR tests, nasal or throat swab samples are used. It is the most accurate of tests. Antigen tests show result by detecting the viral antigen in the body. Antigens are foreign matters that elicit an immune response in the body. It is a rapid test but it requires confirmation using a molecular test. Antibody tests or serology test screens the body for antibodies produced by the body against the pathogen. This test makes use of blood samples. It can also show whether the test subject was previously infected.

International Tea Day

 

 

• The story: Every year, on May 21, the United Nations observes the International Tea Day. The resolution to celebrate International Tea Day was adopted in 2019 by the United Nations food and Agriculture Organization.
• Background: The day is being celebrated since 2005 in major tea producing countries of the world viz., Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania. It aims to draw the attention of citizens, governments about the impact of global tea trade.
• Goal: The goal of the day is to promote sustainable production of tea and increase awareness in fighting poverty and hunger.
• Intergovernmental Group on Tea: The Intergovernmental Group of Tea operating under Food and Agriculture Organization proposed the concept of International Tea Day in 2015.

• Sustainable Development Goals: The tea production helps to achieve the following goals

1.     Goal 1: Reduce Poverty
2.     Goal 2: Fight Hunger
3.     Goal 5: Empowerment of Women
4.     Goal 15: Sustainable use of Terrestrial Ecosystems

• Importance: Tea Production is sensitive to climate changes. Tea can be produced only in agro-ecological conditions. There are very limited countries that produce tea. So the tea producing countries must integrate the climate challenges along with their tea production. This is the main objective of celebrating International Tea Day. India is the second largest tea producing country after China. Also, India is the largest consumer of tea in the world. India consumes around 30% of global tea output. The International Tea Day is celebrated on the motto, “Harnessing Benefits for all From Field to Cup”. This is not the theme of the day. This is the motto under which the day is celebrated every year.

UN Global Road Safety Week (UNGRSW) 2021

 

• The story: In 2021, the United Nations is celebrating its sixth United Nations Global Road Safety Week between 17th May, 2021 and 23rd May, 2021. This year, in 2021, the Global Road Safety Week is celebrated under the following theme:
• More details: It is a biennial global road safety campaign hosted by the World Health Organisation. The first Global Road Safety Week was celebrated in 2007. The week is celebrated to create awareness of road safety and reduce road deaths.
• Global Plan on Road Safety launched: As a part of 2021 Global Road Safety Week, the Decade Plan of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 was launched by the United Nations. It is a global plan on road safety. The plan is in line with the Stockholm Declaration. The plan calls for improving laws, designing rods and vehicles and law enforcement on behavioural risks such as alcohol, speeding and driving.
• Global Goals: The 2021 Global Road safety celebrations say that in order to make cities safe and healthy, a speed limit of 30 kilometre per hour should be facilitated. This will help attain a number of Sustainable Development Goals. How? For instance, the minority communities and the disadvantaged people are more exposed to the high-speed traffic and accidents. India ranks first in terms of number of road accidents. It accounts to only 1% of vehicles in the world. However, 11% of road accidents happens in India. The major reasons for high number of accidents in the country are road environment, human error, post accidental care-related issues and vehicular conditions.

Tribal schools' digital transformation - India-Microsoft MoU 

• The story: On May 17, 2021, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joint initiative for Digital Transformation of Tribal Schools. This includes introduction of Ashram Schools and Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in tribal areas.
• The plan: Microsoft will make an Artificial Intelligence curriculum available for the tribal students in Hindi and English. In the first phase of the programme, 250 EMRS are to be established. Out of these 250 schools, 50 schools will be given intensive training. And five hundred master trainers will be trained in the first phase. The teachers are to be trained in a phased manner to use Artificial Intelligence application and productive technologies such as Office 365. This will introduce the teachers to the world of collaboration and help them understand how teaching shall be increased with virtual field trips. The teachers will also be provided with E-Certificates and E-badges from the Microsoft Education centres at the end of the programme.
• Student benefit: The programme will make sure the students get an opportunity to change their village, environment and overall community. It will help to create talent pool. This will act as an asset to the country. It aims to create a continuous process creating repository of knowledge. The programme will work in such a way that the knowledge earned is passed on from one generation to the other. The students will be mentored on Artificial Intelligence applications and UN Sustainable Development Goals. They will be exposed to gamified environments such as Minecraft. This is done to increase their thinking skills.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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