Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-06-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World Politics - China's first human case of H10N3 Bird Flu - The world’s first known human case of H10N3 Bird Flu was reported in China. A 41 years old man in the Eastern Jiangsu Province of China was found infected with the bird flu strain. He was hospitalized after developing a fever and other symptoms and was diagnosed with the virus on May 28, 2021. H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low. Many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry. There have been no significant numbers of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017.
2. Energy - International Nitrogen Initiative - The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main focus of the eighth triennial conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI). The International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) was set up in 2003 under the sponsorship of Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP). The key aims of the INI are to  (a) optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production, and (b) minimize nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and energy production. The program is currently a sustained partner of Future Earth. INI is coordinated by a Steering Committee, led by a chair and six regional centre directors representing, Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, South Asia and East Asia. Steering Committee members serve a ~four year term.
3. Governance and Institutions - Section 304B of IPC - Dowry Deaths - The Supreme Court (SC) widened the scope of section 304B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) by indicating that there is no straitjacket formula to determine the cruelty against women. According to Section 304B, to make out a case of dowry death, a woman should have died of burns or other bodily injuries or “otherwise than under normal circumstances” within seven years of her marriage. She should have suffered cruelty or harassment from her husband or in-laws “soon before her death” in connection with demand for dowry. Section 304B of IPC must be interpreted keeping in mind the legislative intent to curb the social evil of bride burning and dowry demand. The court should use their discretion to determine if the period between the cruelty or harassment and the death of the victim would come within the term “soon before”. For such determination, an important factor is the establishment of a "proximate and live link" between the cruelty and the consequential death of the victim. Over the years, courts had interpreted the phrase 'soon before' in Section 304B as 'immediately before'. This interpretation would make it necessary for a woman to have been harassed moments before she died. Even the spectrum of cruelty is quite varied, as it can range from physical, verbal or even emotional. No straitjacket formulae can therefore be laid down to define what exact the phrase ‘soon before’ entails.
4. Science and Technology - Disinfection system Vajra Kavach - This is a disinfection process that enables Corona Warriors to reuse their masks and PPEs. The technology has been developed under the NIDHI-PRAYAS program initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Vajra Kavach’s UV (Ultra Violet) disinfection system removes any possible traces of the disease-causing SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19) virus from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), N95 masks, coats, gloves and gowns. It enables reuse of PPEs and other materials used by healthcare workers. It is also making personal protective equipment more available, affordable, and accessible. NIDHI-PRAYAS is National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovation PRomoting and Accelerating Young and aspiring Innovators & startups. The Department of Science & Technology has launched a NIDHI program under which programmes for setting up of incubators, seed fund, accelerators and ‘Proof of concept’ grants for innovators and entrepreneurs have been launched. Under NIDHI, PRAYAS programme has been initiated in which established Technology Business Incubators (TBI) are supported with PRAYAS grant to support innovators and entrepreneurs with grants for ‘Proof of Concept (PoC)’ and developing prototypes. PoC is evidence that a business idea works.
5. Indian Economy - The Satat Scheme - Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas presided over a virtual ceremony in which a number of initiatives were launched to provide major fillip to the SATAT initiative. This included signing of a Cooperation Agreement by Oil and Gas majors including Indian Oil, HPCL, BPCL, GAIL and IGL, for the promotion and development of the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme. The SATAT scheme aims to set up Compressed Bio-Gas production plants and make CBG available in the market for use as a green fuel. 'SATAT’, launched on 1.10.2018, envisages to target production of 15 MMT of CBG from 5000 plants by 2023. Besides the potential to boost availability of more affordable transport fuels, better use of agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste, the 5000 CBG plants will provide an investment of 1.75 lakh crore, an additional revenue source to farmers, and 75,000 direct job opportunities and lakhs of indirect jobs. The minister also laid the foundation stones of 5 upcoming CBG Plants. He also inaugurated the first injection of CBG into the CGD pipeline network at Govardhannathji Energies into Gujarat Gas CGD network at Nadiad Kheda Distt., Gujarat.
6. Healthcare and Medicine - PMGKP and insurance scheme for health workers - The Union Government extended the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19’ for one year w.e.f 24.04.2021. This will continue to provide the safety net to the dependents of health workers, who are deputed to take care of COVID-19 patients. The scheme is being implemented through an Insurance policy from New India Assurance Company (NIACL). The scheme was initially launched w.e.f. 30.03.2020 initially for a period of 90 days. The insurance policy has been extended twice so far. It aims to provide comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs. 50 lakh to all healthcare providers, including community health workers and private health workers drafted by the government for the care of Covid-19 patients and  for those who may have come in direct contact of COVID-19 patients and were at risk of being impacted by it.
7. Environment and Ecology - Litoria Mira frog - A species of frog lives in the rainforests of New Guinea that appears to be made from chocolate. The cocoa-coloured frogs have turned out to be a new species. Called Litoria mira, inspired by the Latin adjective mirum meaning surprised or strange, it shows the scientists' surprise in finding the undescribed member of the predominately Australian Litoria genus of tree frogs. The Litoria mira has a well-known relative — the common green tree frog of Australia called Litoria cerulean. Except for the colour of their skins, the two seem alike. Litoria mira can be distinguished from all other Litoria by its unique combination of moderately large size, webbing on hand, relatively short and robust limbs, and small violet patch of skin on the edge of its eyes.   
8. Indian Economy - Government e-Marketplace (GeM) - Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal called upon the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) - a public procurement portal - to expand its scope and include more participants in GeM portal for public procurement of both Products & Services. GeM is an online market place that was launched in 2016. The goal was to ensure that public procurement of goods and services in India (done by government bodies) worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried out through the online platform. It has been developed by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) with technical support of National E-Governance Division (NEGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
9. Science and Technology - Various updates - (a) The Union Health Ministry said that the CoWIN platform doesn't collect any information about the COVID-19 infection history of any person. "CoWIN has been built as a platform to manage vaccination in the country," it said. CoWIN enforces only those rules (relating to gaps between two shots) as announced by the Centre from time to time. (b) WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal as its Grievance Officer for India in compliance with the country's new IT rules. The new rules require significant social media intermediaries to appoint a Grievance Officer, a Chief Compliance Officer and a Nodal Contact Person. WhatsApp also shared details to contact Lal via post or through email on its website. (c) German software group SAP announced it was adopting flexible working for its over 1 lakh employees worldwide. Employees will be able to work from home, at the office or remotely, and set flexible schedules. (d) Scammers were said to be using fake 'unsubscribe' emails to confirm valid email accounts to be used in phishing and spam campaigns. According to Bleeping Computer, scammers use subject lines like "We_need your confirmation asap", "Request, please confirm your unsubscription". Upon clicking "unsubscribe", the user's email is sent to multiple addresses verifying that their email account is valid.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - (a) India's daily COVID-19 death toll fell below 3,000 after 35 days; it reported 1,27,510 new COVID-19 cases and 2,795 more deaths in 24 hours. (b) Odisha CM Patnaik writes to other CMs for centralised procurement of vaccines. This is special as he rarely intervenes in national issues, and is seen as a silent ally of the present BJP regime. (c) Kerala government submitted its response to the Kerala High Court on the Covid-19 vaccination policy and said, "The Central government is encouraging black marketing. Why are different rates being fixed? Rates must be fixed based on the cost of production." (d) India's apex drug regulator DCGI has waived the requirement of testing every batch of foreign-made Covid-19 vaccines by the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli and post-launch bridging trials for such firms, a move that will bolster availability of vaccines. (e) NUMBERS - INDIA - Total cases: 28,306,883; New cases: 133,228; Total deaths: 335,114; New deaths: 3,205; Total recovered: 26,170,992; Active cases: 1,800,777.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

Personal income tax surpasses its Corporate cousin

 

 

• The story: The central government accounts for 2020-21 show that for the first time in 12 years, income tax collections were higher than the corporation tax. The two ran largely parallel to each other over the years, and crossed paths now.
• Details: The income tax collected during the year 2020-21 was Rs.4.69 trillion, a good Rs.12,000 crore more than the corporation tax collections of Rs.4.57 trillion. Income tax consists of taxes on incomes, and is paid by individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs). Corporation tax is the tax paid by companies, both Indian and foreign ones operating in India, on the profit they make.

• Why this now: Apparently, many companies suffered due to the pandemic and made smaller profits so paid lower taxes. That may not be case actually. The profit after tax (PAT) of listed companies (who published their earnings for 2020-21) rose to 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest since 2014-15, when it was at 3.1%. This is before all companies have reported their earnings. The same profits for listed corporates were at 1.1% of the GDP in 2019-20.

1. Profit after tax (PAT) as a percentage of the total income of listed companies, or the net margin, jumped to 9.1%, the highest since 2007-08 when it was at 10.2%. Other than listed companies, the unlisted firms also pay corporation tax.
2. It is surprising that the corporation tax collections in 2020-21 were lower than the income tax collected. The corporation tax collections in 2020-21 were around 17.9% lower than in 2019-20, at Rs.5.57 trillion. Income tax collections fell by just 2.3% between 2019-20 and 2020-21. It was Rs.4.80 trillion in 2019-20.

• Major tax rate cut: Actually, in September 2019, the Central government cut the base corporation tax rate to 22% from the earlier 30% (and 15% from the earlier 25% for new manufacturing companies). That was a major relief, and given “to promote growth and investment" and “to attract fresh investments in manufacturing and provide boost the Make-in-India initiative". That did not happen, as can be seen in the investment-to-GDP ratio in 2020-21 falling to a two-decade low of 27.1%. It was at 28.8% in 2019-20. The ratio has been falling since peaking in 2007-08 at 35.8%. So we have a peculiar situation where listed corporations have made their highest profits ever, and the corporation tax collections have declined.
• Scope of drop: The corporation tax collections in 2020-21 were similar to that in 2015-16 when they were at Rs.4.53 trillion. So India is now back to where it was in 2015-16! It is actually the income tax rather than corporation tax that should have been cut in September 2019. More money in people’s hands would have meant higher spending, helping the economy's trajectory. But the government cut the corporation tax instead.
• Cut the staff cost: Listed corporates boosted their profit in 2020 by cutting staff costs, and by renegotiating terms with their suppliers and contractors. These suppliers and contractors also did the same with their own smaller suppliers and contractors and employees. The entire MSME sector thus faced a snowballing effect, and reduced pricing power all the way. When the smaller firms lost out, they paid lower taxes too.
• Summary: So finally, India's largest corporates benefitted hugely, at the cost of small and medium enterprises. The current ruling regime is one that had once spoken of abolishing Income tax from India, and today's situation is such that income tax has exceeded corporate tax!

India faces the higher inflation scenario 

• The story: Coronavirus's second wave derailed India’s economic recovery. Even before domestic demand could recover fully, the threat of inflation is now visible.
• The immediate factors: A steady rise in global commodity prices, due to a recovery in global demand and expansion in central bank balance sheets, and pandemic-induced disruptions have raised inflationary risks. This has cut the purchasing power of consumers, hitting them the most who lost incomes and livelihoods during the lockdowns.
• India's WPI numbers: The wholesale price inflation (WPI) numbers for April 2021 suggest a sharp rise in "factory gate prices". The WPI inflation rose to a 11-year high of 10.5% over the year-ago period. This was driven by high commodity and fuel prices on a low base. But even sequentially, WPI inflation has gone up. The core WPI inflation (excluding volatile components like food and fuel) continued to rise steadily over the past few months. Rise in prices of metals and manufactured products are driving this surge, and could spill over to retail prices in the coming months.
• India's CPI numbers: Headline retail inflation was relatively benign in recent months but core inflation was persistently high over the past few months. Even the headline numbers can start rising as commodity prices get passed on to consumers, and pandemic-induced supply disruptions in rural markets drive up prices of food items. Arrivals in mandis (wholesale markets) have been disrupted in April because of lockdowns.
• Global commodity prices: These rebounded sharply from the lows seen in early 2020 and have led to a surge in prices across major economies, including India. Copper is driving the current rally in commodities, and other industrial metals. Copper's demand has risen due to investment announcements in the renewable energy (RE) sector and rise in global economic activity. Supply disruptions in Peru and Chile have also contributed to the rise.
• Manufacturing sector up: The rebound in the global manufacturing sector has pushed up the prices of steel, iron ore, and coal. Production cuts by the oil cartel OPEC have pushed up crude oil prices to much higher levels this year compared to 2020. Energy prices have gone up by a third in the first quarter of 2021. China tried to cool all this, by raising production and hitting at hoarding of raw materials, but prices are high and won't ease soon.
• As growth recovers: Even the US and UK are seeing a sharp bounce-back in activity, while India was forced to impose lockdowns to counter the second wave. The rebound in the Western economies pushed up global trade and the global demand for raw materials and commodities. Now the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the global economy to grow at 6% in 2021, against a contraction of 3.3% in 2020. Metal prices are expected to rise nearly 30% in 2021 before dropping back in 2022 while oil prices are expected to average $56/bbl this year before inching to $60/bbl in 2022 (World Bank’s latest commodities outlook report).
• Central bankers at work: The expansion in the balance sheets of major central banks has fuelled inflationary expectations, with bond markets fearing the most. Central bankers have experimented with unconventional monetary policies since 2008, and are now far more comfortable with inflation, than they were then. Both the US Fed and the European Central Bank have said that monetary policy will remain accommodative till the labour market heals.
• Summary: The West is playing with fire that it is comfortable with, but India has the problem of a 'sticky fire', as higher inflation doesn't reduce soon once it takes hold in double-digits domain in India. The RBI cannot look away.

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

Whales are bouncing back big time in Australian

 

 

• The story: As one of nature’s great migrations, between May and November, some 40,000 humpback whales commute along Australia’s eastern coast. It is a highway from their feeding grounds in Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef, where their calves are born. What one can see today, was nearly invisible some time ago, as the humpbacks were threatened and dying down.
• Slaughtered by the whites: The Europeans started slaughtering whales for their oil and bone soon after arriving in Australia, and did not stop for nearly two centuries. By the time hunting humpbacks was banned in the 1960s, there were scarcely 200 left in eastern Australia. Another population, off the continent’s west coast, reduced to just about 800.
• Rabbits and whales: But humpbacks are “the rabbits of the ocean”, and have bred prolifically since butchering them was banned. The number swimming near Australia rose by more than 10% a year. That growth rate, for a large mammal, is “almost biologically implausible” as per researchers. The creatures may now be as numerous as they were before commercial whaling.
• Threatened no more: The federal government thinks it is time to remove humpback whales from Australia’s list of threatened animals. Threatened creatures get extra funding and attention, and there is only so much of that. The government says that even if they are “delisted” whales will still be guarded by an environmental law that protects migratory species.
• Not so fast: Environmentalist worry that this may be too hasty, as lots of threats are “about to bear down on these beautifully recovered populations”. Humpbacks get caught in nets and struck by boats. Oceans are growing noisier and more polluted. Scientists also worry about climate change, which threatens the krill the whales feed on. They say the government should promise to monitor their populations, in case a crash comes.
• Summary: Compared with other Australian creatures, the whale has been lucky. Australia is destroying large areas of forest and bushland, threatening creatures such as the koala. Three billion animals were killed by enormous bushfires in 2019. The humpback has surely been very lucky.

Turning the military green and carbon-neutral

• The story: Militaries around the world use maximum force to win their wars. And to power that force, they need the best fuels. Can they ever go green?
• Britain takes the lead: British military planners want to make the Royal Air Force (RAF) carbon neutral by 2050, with half of the fuels sustainable and a future where troops travel to the battlefield in battery-powered armoured vehicles and aircraft carriers capture carbon from the flight deck. The British government wants to slash emissions by nearly 80 percent by 2035, and the military cannot stay aloof.
• Americans impressed: As the Biden administration releases the first budget, officials at the U.S. Defense Department are looking to the United Kingdom as a model, where the Defence Ministry is envisioning deploying military planes, ships, and vehicles powered by sunlight and sustainable fuels in the near future. Many in the US are scared about a green military being less ready to take on China.
• Green versus winning: Military generals say that all this should be about enhancing military capability or, at the very least, not diminishing it. If you come second in a war and you are the greenest military on the planet, you still come second in a war.
• Ambitious British: The British side is experimenting with emerging technologies such as biofuels, and wants to turn its fleet of fighters, bombers, tankers, and transport aircraft to biofuels that could get the service to go net carbon neutral 10 years ahead of schedule, by 2040. Some experts think the British planners are taking a giant leap of faith with new technologies that aren't truly proven. High-level biofuel blends may have less energy content and many storage issues, problematic for big consumers such as the Defense Department.
• Help us Pentagon: President Biden is leaning on the Pentagon to drive down emissions as part of a U.S. effort to reduce pollution by 50 to 52 percent by 2030. The Pentagon is hoping to mandate all noncombat vehicles to go electric by 2030. As the world’s single biggest oil consumer, the Defense Department could send a powerful demand signal to companies around the world about the viability of green technology over the next several years.

1. Biden’s latest budget request calls for $617 million in new investment to mitigate the Pentagon’s climate impacts, with more than 40 percent of the money focused on making U.S. bases more resilient to severe weather disruptions.
2. The agency plans nearly $200 million of new spending to prototype weapons technologies that are less reliant on fossil fuels and another $153 million to improve energy efficiency for planes, ships, and vehicles already in operation, according to budget documents.

• Summary: The Defense Department has not succeeded earlier in matching dollars with climate priorities. The earlier "Great Green Fleet initiative" to run the Navy on a half-and-half mixture of diesel and biofuels stalled after a maiden voyage to Europe in 2016. And while the U.S. Air Force has worked to produce biofuels in limited quantities, it still mostly relies on traditional fuels.

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

Foreign affairs updates

 

 

• US asks citizens to avoid Japan: Japan has struggled with containing the Covid virus. Now, America warned its citizens not to travel to Japan, after an increase in the number of covid-19 cases there. A survey suggested that 80% of Japanese believe the Olympic games, which are due to begin in Tokyo in July, should be postponed again or cancelled.
• Former president in court: After years of dodge and deferment, Jacob Zuma, a former president of South Africa, appeared in court. He faces 18 charges relating to an arms deal signed by the government in the late 1990s, including an allegation that he accepted a bribe from Thales, a French defence firm. Both he and the firm deny the charges. Zuma's relations with Indian-origin Guptas business empire was widely seen as one of the reasons for his fall.
• Peru massacre: In Peru 16 people were massacred in a village in a region known for cocaine production. The authorities blamed Marxist Shining Path militants, who killed tens of thousands of people in the 1980s and 1990s. The killings came two weeks ahead of a tense presidential run-off, which pits Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of a former president convicted of corruption, against Pedro Castillo, a left-wing activist.
• Germany and Britain and India: Germany banned most visitors from Britain because of the spreading "Indian variant" of covid-19 in that country. French officials said people entering from Britain would have to quarantine, but stopped short of an outright ban. Research in Britain, meanwhile, found that two doses of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine provide good protection against the "Indian variant".
• No sanctions on Nord Steam: President Joe Biden confirmed that he would not impose sanctions on the corporation that built the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, that will transport gas from Russia to Germany. Critics contend the project’s main purpose is to increase European reliance on Russian energy, but Biden said that sanctions would be counter-productive, given that the pipeline is almost complete. The decision is a win for the German government, and a blow to Ukraine, which will lose income from transit fees for Russian gas.

Strange diseases need investigation - Checking up on ‘Havana Syndrome’

 

 

• The story: Some years ago, reports emerged of American diplomats in Cuba reporting strange physical problems like dizziness etc. The U.S. State Department is now launching a pilot program to medically screen some diplomats and their family before they travel overseas. This is to being investigation into unexplained health incidents experienced by American government officials abroad. The US is still unsure how to respond to the first reports of suspected microwave attacks in Havana, five years ago.
• Havana Syndrome: This phenomenon has confused officials, and defied explanation for years. The U.S. personnel overseas and in Washington reported a range of symptoms including dizziness, vertigo, and persistent headaches, while some have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. The new program is aimed at creating a baseline of health information for volunteers at the State Department. This is done on a first-come, first-serve basis before they go to overseas diplomatic posts.
• Is Russia involved: The State Department is calling these diseases “unexplained health incidents,” abbreviated as UHIs. Some believe the symptoms are the result of a form of covert attacks on U.S. officials by Russia, while others say nothing is for sure. The State Department anticipates more officials will be impacted by similar symptoms in the future.

1. Those State Department employees who volunteer have to undergo a series of medical tests, including vision and hearing examinations and blood tests, before being sent abroad, to begin studying potential effects of these unexplained health incidents.
2. The objective of the pilot Baseline Screening Program is to develop a standardized approach for assessment of reported UHIs.

• Checking post incident: So if an individual experience a UHI while he is posted, the baseline testing can be repeated as part of the overall evaluation of the incident and post-incident data can be compared to pre-incident data. That is how the source can be established.
• Summary: This new form of warfare, if at all, brings to light the dangers of uncontrolled use of technology in state warfare.

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

Second wave's impact - Government has a different view

 

 

• The story: India's 2020-21 GDP figures were released on May 31st. The chief economic adviser K Subramanian soon explained his side of the story, and presented an analysis.
• What CEA said: The CEA is sure that the impact of the second wave, causing significant devastation of lives and livelihood, will not be large. He pointed to several indicators and the global experience to argue his case.
• What RBI says: The RBI too seems to agree, and expects a muted impact of the second wave. It feels that it will be confined to the April-June quarter with a possibility of a spill over to July.
• Experts disagree: Economists in the private sector as well as international agencies are less upbeat, with state-run SBI slashing its growth projection from 11% before the second wave hit India to 7.9% now — a three percentage point cut (or 28% lower than original projection). Similarly, the OECD has lowered its estimate from 12.6% to 9.9%.

1. India may remain the fastest-growing G20 economy in 2021, but also the furthest away from its pre-crisis GDP trend.
2. Pent-up demand for consumer durables and exports of manufacturing goods and services will act favourably, but other components will be far less supportive.

• Government projection: Unlike many private sector economists, who have cut down their estimates to single-digit level, the government is yet to come up with a fresh estimate and will only do so later when it gets a full picture. The government accuses private agencies and think tanks of a “herd mentality”, being guided by the initial few projections, on their part, but the finance ministry has often under-estimated the impact. And the CEA K Subramanian has been proven wrong many times.
• Summary: In this debate on economy, politics is clearly trumping the truth.

No exams for standard 12th students - a big decision

 

 

• The story: The Union government on 01st June, 2021, decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 examinations due to the clear threat of coronavirus infections. This ended uncertainty for more than 14 lakh students who were to appear for the school-leaving tests.
• Vaccine problem: The decision was taken amid appeals by students, who feared the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam could infect them because those under 18 aren’t currently eligible for vaccination. The government claimed it had taken a decision that was student friendly, one that safeguards the health as well as the future of our youth. Many students diagreed, and felt that their efforts had been laid to waste.
• ISCE: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) also scrapped its Class 12 exams or ISE exams, in view of the pandemic situation. Some alternative assessment criteria was being worked out. The CBSE Class 10 board exams were cancelled in April, 2021, already.
• CBSE assessment: The government decided that CBSE will take steps to compile the results of Class 12 students as per a “well-defined objective criteria” in a timebound manner. Students will be provided an option to appear in exams later if they want. In 2020 also, the CBSE Class 12 examinations were interrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown.

1. Students who appeared for exams in more than three subjects were awarded the average of their three highest scores in papers whose exams weren’t conducted. Students who appeared for exams in only two subjects were awarded the average of their top two scores in papers whose exams weren’t conducted.
2. In 2021, the exams were scheduled for May 4 but were postponed as infections and deaths surged during the second wave of Covid. Even when cases ebbed in late May, health experts warned that holding physical examinations could become a superspreader event and result in spiraling infections.

• Petition in the SC: Students and parents also appealed to the government and approached the Supreme Court, saying examinees were not yet vaccinated and could get infected and spread the disease. The CBSE should now come up with a student friendly alternative criteria. No students should be put in a disadvantaged position.
• The road ahead: School-based assessment is the only option now. Teachers may play a key role here. Based on a short subject assessment, practical/ project marks, online proctored testing are the possibilities. A small weightage of internal assessments in 11, 12 and possibly class 10 boards.

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

Centre-State clash on bureaucrats

• State to Centre deputation: A secretary in the Government of Kerala shared the story that in 1995, the Chief Secretary decided to send to the Government of India a list of officers to be made available for central deputation whether or not they wanted to go. Many in the list were very upset, but the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) returned the list to the Chief Secretary, saying that the Government of India only wants officers who are willing to go on central deputation. The gentleman went the next year and finally retired as Cabinet Secretary in 2011. (he had earlier been on central deputation from 1985 to 1990)
• Getting him back as CS: During the unusually long tenure of this person in the Government of India, the state government wanted him back as Chief Secretary. He wasn't interested as state elections was round the corner, and also the position of Cabinet Secretary was opening up that year. The PM then told the CM directly that he could not be spared because the Centre required the services.

• Learning and rule: To all senior officers, it was clear that the appointment and deputation of IAS officers requires agreement between the central government and the state government and that the willingness of the officer concerned is taken into consideration before he /she is moved from the state to the Centre.

1. The Rule 6.1 of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, specifies as follows: “A cadre officer may, with the concurrence of the state governments concerned and the central government, be deputed for service under the central government or another state government or under a company, association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the central government or by another state government. Provided that in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the central government and the state government or state governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the central government.”
2. The key word is “deputation”. An IAS officer is deputed from the state to the Centre, not the other way round. The deputation of an IAS officer always involved a decision of both the central and state governments, even though the view of the former would prevail in case of disagreement. I am not aware of any change in this rule.

• West Bengal case: Hence it is intriguing when the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, whose tenure had been extended by a period of three months after retirement with the approval of no less than the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet four days earlier, was suddenly posted to Delhi on the day he would have normally retired. As the Bengal CM’s subsequent letter shows, there was no consultation with the state government. The officer was obviously not willing to go on central deputation as he chose to retire, declining the extension given to him, rather than appear before the DOPT for a posting.

1. There was no disagreement between the Centre and the state as the views of the state government had never been sought. If there had been disagreement between the two, the Centre’s stand would have prevailed under the rule, but in this case, there was no consultation at all. No one was told why he was so urgently required in Delhi for a period of three months after his retirement.
2. This officer is known as a professional, non-controversial officer, whose work was appreciated by both the Left government and the succeeding TMC government. But he has not been empanelled as Secretary to the Government of India. Possibly he has not been empanelled at lower levels also.
3. Those who have not served with the Centre at lower levels are not usually considered for empanelment in the Government of India from the level of Joint Secretary upwards. He would have been empanelled by the state, which follows a different process through their Civil Services Board and their Cabinet, but such empanelment is valid only for cadre posts under the state government.

• Course of action: So just in case Mr. Bandyopadhyay had come to Delhi on March 31, 2021, as required of him in the DOPT order, at what level would he have been posted? If he is posted at a lower level without his willingness, that is tantamount to a penalty imposed upon him without inquiry. Would this not be a violation of Article 311 of the Constitution? Or was he empanelled during the four days between May 24 and 28? There is no such indication.
• Summary: It seems that this was another off-the-cuff, impulsive action, driven by political fights rather than the needs of the country. It can harm the morale of bureaucracy significantly, apart from harming the spirit of cooperative federalism.

 Time for sedition law to go

• The story: There have been several cases of Indian citizens booked under the "sedition law", for seemingly minor digressions (if at all). These cases bring tremendous misery to the individuals concerned, but the law has stayed as it is.
• Supreme Court upset: A bench of the SC is set to examine the constitutionality of the sedition provision. Another bench is planning to define its limits, tired by frequent and absurd sedition cases courts have to hear. This is good news for anyone who values India’s democracy and liberal traditions.
• Hitting the press: In recent years, the press of India has found itself at the receiving end of police action prompted by the ire of thin-skinned politicians of all ideological stripes. News outlets and journalists are routinely charged with sedition for airing views critical of governments. That is due to the way the law is worded, making it easy to accuse someone of working against the state’s ‘interests’. The law’s maximum punishment is life imprisonment and that shows how little respect the right to dissent carries.

• What is sedition: The IPC Section 124A defines sedition as words or actions that bring or attempt to bring “hatred, contempt or disaffection” towards the government.

1. SC’s Kedar Nath Singh judgment of 1962, keenly aware that a bare reading of this provision silences legitimate free speech, attempted to narrow sedition’s application to instances betraying an “intention” and “tendency” to cause public disorder or endanger the security of the state.
2. But words like hatred, contempt, disaffection, intention and tendency that define the scope of sedition lend themselves to broad and subjective interpretations.
3. In the hands of a police officer following political instructions to nail dissenters, these words come in handy to label anyone a seditionist.
4. The conviction rates are very low, but authorities don’t mind that, clearly proving that harassment is the main goal.

• The wheels can turn anyday: Politicians should rethink the sedition provisions, as the law can bite back on anyone. Yesterday’s dissenter can be today’s government minister and today’s powerful political hotshot can be tomorrow’s opposition. Political power is not permanent. Let this draconian law be abolished once and for all.
• Summary: Other laws like UAPA and NSA were enacted since the Kedar Nath judgment to deal with threats to security of the state and public order. Even they are being applied mercilessly, as the press has reported. But the sedition law needs to go first. 

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

Do Bats know the speed of sound - Helium answers

 

 

• The story: As we know, Bats rely on echolocation to navigate the night skies and to chase down and capture even erratically moving prey. There must be a lot of mental work needed to translate the time it takes for their echoed calls to return into a distance to their target.
• Speed of sound: Researchers say that bats may have an innate feel for the speed of sound. It has always been assumed that bats use the speed of sound in order to assess distance. Their brains measure time, and then if they know the speed of sound, they can assess the distance to a target using it.

• The Helium experiment: Scientists took pups that never exposed to regular air, and reared them in an environment that was rich in helium in order to see whether they will learn a new speed of sound.

1. Because helium is lighter than air, sound travels faster in a helium-enriched medium, which means their echolocation sounds would come back faster—making objects seem closer than they really are.
2. If bats learn to estimate distances based on the speed of sound they experience growing up, pups raised in the presence of helium, when they’re later placed in a chamber of dense, regular air, should act like targets are farther away—which means their echolocation “pings” should be longer and spaced farther apart than they were in the heliox mix and longer and farther apart than the echolocation calls of pups that were raised in regular air and are therefore used to its density.
3. By the same logic, the “air pups” should mistake targets in heliox as closer than they are and use echolocation pings that are shorter and more tightly spaced.

• Result of the experiment: The scientists saw none of these. They displayed the same sensory error, no matter where they were born and raised. In the heliox mix, all the pups acted as if their target was closer than it was — which means they all came to the table with an innate “reference value” for the speed of sound, pegged to a world filled with regular air. And the same was true of adult bats, which also couldn’t adjust their echolocation behavior to accommodate different concentrations of helium. They were unable to relearn a new reference to the speed of sound. So, this is fixed and not flexible.
• Summary: This lack of flexibility might seem like a liability—especially because the speed at which sound travels can sometimes vary by a few percent, depending on air temperature and humidity. But a fixed notion of the speed of sound is probably a plus. Bats are born in summer, and have to very quickly start flying and foraging independently. It’s important that they acquire their sensory (echolocation sensory system) abilities very rapidly. It might be beneficial to have an innate reference rather than something you have to learn and might take time.

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

Vaccination drive is leaving behind women of India

 

 

• The story: Strangely, a gender gap is opening up in India’s vaccination programme. In all but three states, substantially more men than women have been vaccinated.
• Details: India began its vaccination programme with healthcare and frontline workers on 16 January, 2021, and subsequently expanded it to people over the age of 60 from 1 March and finally to people between the ages of 18 and 44 from 1 May. As of 30 May, India had given over 165 million people or under 19% of its adult population at least one dose of a vaccine.
• What went wrong: On account of the high proportion of women healthcare workers and frontline workers, more women were getting vaccinated than men in the early days of the vaccination campaign. Since 31 January, a shrinking share of women is being vaccinated relative to total vaccinations. By 30 May, just 871 women had been vaccinated for every 1000 men. This is in contrast to countries such as the US, where a greater share of women have been vaccinated than men, despite being a minority in the American population.

1. The reasons for India’s gender gap are as yet unclear. Some officials reported greater difficulty in contacting women and greater vaccine hesitancy among women.
2. A probable reason may be that men hang around in groups outside more so they see things like signs for camps. They may also more comfortable going out unaccompanied.

• Vaccine sex ratio: Women form a smaller proportion than men in the adult population of India on account of a male-biased sex ratio at birth. Even accounting for this skew in the sex ratio of the adult population, the gap between the share of adult men who have been vaccinated and the share of women who have been vaccinated has systematically widened and is at its widest yet.
• State-wide variation: Both vaccination rates and sex ratios vary substantially among states. But just three Indian states have vaccinated a higher share of adult women than men - Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The largest population-adjusted gender gaps in vaccination are in Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi and Odisha, the data show. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal have vaccinated over one million more men than women. This gender gap in vaccinations also exists for the north-eastern states and union territories for which 2021 population estimates are not available.
• Vaccine hesitancy: Hard data on vaccine hesitancy among women in India is relatively limited. Although fewer than 15% of respondents in a small national C-Voter opinion poll said that they had received one dose of vaccine by May 19, an additional 67% said that they had not yet been vaccinated but intended to get vaccinated. Among those expressing hesitancy, there was little difference between men and women.
• Tech and the Indian woman: The technology-driven rollout of the vaccine gave an automatic advantage to the most privileged - the upper class, urban, young men. In Bihar, the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey showed that just 51% of women had a phone that they could use themselves. Just over a third of households in the state had any form of access to the internet. Also, the Indian government currently does not permit pregnant women to be vaccinated except in special circumstances.
• Summary: The Supreme Court wasn't wrong in questioning the government's entire vaccination strategy, and pinpointing these issues point black.

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

Canada's "Mixing & Matching of vaccine brands" 

• The story: Canada has now recommended “mixing and matching” of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. This is a first.
• The NACI guidelines: The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) issued guidelines for provinces and territories on mixing and matching second doses of Covid-19 vaccines. It has advised Canadians to combine either “AstraZeneca-Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots” interchangeably for specific situations. The NACI recommended it on the basis of early research from UK & Spain. Research highlights, mixing shots of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines was safe and effective in preventing the disease. It recommended that first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine can be followed by shots of Moderna or Pfizer.
• Why mixing-matching: Canadians who had a first dose of Moderna or Pfizer, they can now take any one of two shots as a second dose. This is so, because both the vaccines were prepared with similar mRNA technology.
• NACI: The NACI is an external advisory body which is responsible for providing Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) with independent medical, scientific, and public health advice related to immunization. It comprises of experts from fields like paediatrics, pharmacy, infectious diseases, immunology, epidemiology, nursing, Pharmacoeconomics, social science etc.

US ends 'Migrant Protection Protocols'

 

 

• The story: The US has ended Migrant Protection Protocols which are known also as “Remain in Mexico” policy.
• The policy: This policy forced several Central American asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for US court cases. Now, the Joe Biden administration has paused this programme called known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) in January 2021. Since January 2021, about 11,000 migrants have enrolled in it and have been allowed to enter US to seek asylum claims. But Republicans have criticised reversal of this policy. Because, it encouraged huge migrant arrivals at US-Mexico border.
• Joe Biden's approach: Ever since he took office, he has reversed many restrictive immigration policies by President Donald Trump as they were against US asylum laws. The international border separating Mexico and United States extends from Pacific Ocean in west to Gulf of Mexico in east. It traverses different terrains, from urban areas to deserts. This border is considered as most frequently crossed border across the world with about 350 million documented crossings each year. Trump made it a lightning rod for his politics!
• The Wall : In 2016, former President Donald Trump proposed to build a border wall to control immigration across the border. The border wall would have cost $8 to $12 billion. Trump signed Executive Order 13767, in 2017, that directed U.S. government to start wall construction along U.S.–Mexico border using federal funding but construction started in 2019. But president Biden terminated national emergency and stopped construction of wall in January 2021.

WHO clears Sinovac for global use 

• The story: The WHO has been accused of being soft on the Chinese, first by not announcing a global pandemic in 2020 early on, and then by not pursuing the origin of the Covid virus rigorously. Now, it has given approval for global use of covid-19 Vaccine by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Of China.
• Points to note: The WHO recommended its use for people above 18 years, and two-doses will be scheduled for it, with a gap of two to four weeks between shots. The Sinopharm Group Co. had secured WHO’s approval for emergency use in May 2021. Additional inoculation options will be given for Covax programme led by WHO to ensure every country has access to vaccines. Other vaccines cleared for emergency use by WHO are vaccines from Pfizer Inc. & BioNTech SE, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca Plc, and Moderna Inc.
• Concerns: The Chinese shot was battling concerns about its efficacy because of divergent data. Chinese Shot, called as CoronaVac, has the lowest efficacy rate as per the clinical trial report. It showed an efficacy rate of 50.7% in preventing symptomatic covid cases in Brazil.
• Effectiveness: Data shows that it is 94% effective against symptomatic infection, 96% against hospitalization while 98% effective against death. Data also highlights, Infection rate is decreasing in some countries that rolled out Sinovac locally such as in Chile. The CoronaVac or Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine is an inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine. It was developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. Phase III clinical trial for this vaccine was carried in Chile, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, and Turkey. It does not need to be frozen.

LAC witnesses a new China defence system

 

• The story: To strengthen its position along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China has created an integrated or combined air defence system comprising air force and army for its western theatre command. This wing is involved in operations along LAC.
• Combined Air Defence System: This was tried during an exercise conducted in May at an unknown location under western theatre command. In the exercise, army elements were jointly training with air force while air force was commanding and controlling it. About 10 PLA army units under western theatre command have been integrated in reporting chain to share inputs on early warning and exercise participation.
• 2020 skirmish: India and China clashed in the Galwan Valley on LAC in June 2020. It led to death of 20 Indian soldiers and several Chinese troops. It was the first fatalities on LAC since 1975.
• Ground situation: According to satellite images of May 2021, China has withdrawn its forces from around Pangong Lake and has relocated a large section of troops and equipment to Rutog County, where new military barracks were built since 2019. But it has not honoured the disengagement plan India had entered into, with it.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

• We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned. 

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

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