Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-06-2021

• [message]
• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Science and Technology - CIBER-2 - A NASA-funded rocket will carry CIBER-2 instrument to count the number of stars that exist in the Universe. The mission’s CIBER-2 instrument has been improved upon, to see if any stars had been undercounted in the previous counting attempts! In order to estimate the number of stars in the Universe, scientists estimated that on average each galaxy consists of about 100 million stars (10 crore), but this figure is not may be an underestimate. This calculation assumes that all stars are inside galaxies - might not be true - and this is what the CIBER-2 instrument will try to find out. It will launch aboard a suborbital sounding rocket carrying scientific instruments on brief trips into space before it falls back to Earth for recovery. Once the instrument is above Earth’s atmosphere, it will survey a patch of sky that will include dozens of clusters of galaxies. The instrument will not actually count individual stars but will instead detect the extragalactic background light, which is all of the light that has been emitted throughout the history of the Universe. From all of this extragalactic background light, the CIBER-2 will focus on a portion of the cosmic infrared background, which is emitted by some of the most common stars. This approach is aiming to look at how bright this light is to give scientists an estimate of how many of these stars are out there. Earlier, the ESA infrared space observatory Herschel also counted the number of galaxies in infrared and measured their luminosity.
2. Science and Technology - ASPAGNII trademark - The Department of Biotechnology's National Institute of Immunology (DBT-NII) received the "ASPAGNII trademark" for India’s first indigenous tumour antigen SPAG9. The SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998, and is currently being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer, and will be used in breast cancer. Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer. With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them. In this personalised intervention, those patients expressing SPAG9 protein can be treated with the DC-based vaccine approach. In DC-based vaccine, patient’s cells called monocytes are collected from their blood and modified into dendritic cells. The DCs are primed with ASPAGNII and are injected back to the patient to help the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body to kill the cancer cells. DC-based immunotherapy is safe, affordable and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
3. Social Issues - ILO's 'World Employment and Social Outlook 2021' - The UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) published its flagship report ‘World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) 2021.’ The theme was ‘The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work.’ This report explores how the contemporary platform economy is transforming the way work is organized, analyzing the impact of digital labour platforms on enterprises, workers and society as a whole. The report by the ILO focuses on bringing out a clear picture of global employment and social trends, and helps measure the underperformance of the labour market using the unemployment rate.
4. Polity and Constitution - Model Panchayat Citizens Charter - Union Minister of Panchayati Raj released "A Model Panchayat Citizens Charter", prepared in collaboration with National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR). It is a framework for delivery of the services across the 29 sectors, aligning actions with localised Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of this Citizen Charter is to provide services to the people in a time bound manner, redressing their grievances and improving lives. It is expected that the Panchayats will utilise this framework to draw up a Citizens Charter and adopt it through a resolution of the Gram Sabha by 15th August, 2021. Panchayats are responsible for delivery of basic services as enshrined under article 243G of the Constitution of India, specifically in the areas of Health & Sanitation, Education, Nutrition, Drinking Water.
5. Science and Technology - Variant Delta (B.1.617.2) was most infective - The Variant Delta (B.1.617.2), the most pervasive variant of the coronavirus in India, constituted nearly three in four breakthrough infections in Delhi, according to a research. Breakthrough infections are instances of people testing positive for the virus after getting vaccinated. The study also reports a new mutation in Delta called T478K that the scientists believe has a role to play in allowing the coronavirus to better infiltrate human cells. A genomic study in Bengaluru also revealed that the B.1.617.2 strain was among the majority of Covid-19 patients. Meanwhile, the final step of the United Kingdom’s planned four-step roadmap out of lockdown was thrown in doubt with the rise of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 first identified in India. The govt. said that the Delta variant, B.1.617.2, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the original strain. Earlier, Public Health England (PHE) stated that the Delta variant was the dominant variant of concern in Britain, overtaking the Alpha variant, B.1.1.7, first identified in Kent, UK.
6. Defence and Military - Project P 75 (I) - The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of MoD, under the Chairmanship of DM Rajnath Singh, on June 04, 2021, approved the issuance of a Request For Proposal (RFP) for construction of six Conventional Submarines under Project P 75 (I) under the Strategic Partnership (SP) Model. This project envisages indigenous construction of six conventional submarines equipped with the state-of-the-art Air Independent Propulsion system at an estimated cost of Rs.43,000 crore. This is the first case processed under the Strategic Partnership model. The SP model of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) aims to promote the role of Indian industry in manufacturing and build a domestic defence industrial ecosystem. This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects. With this approval, India would be enabled to achieve its 30-year submarine construction programme envisioned by the government to acquire national competence in their building and for Indian industry to independently design and construct them.
7. Indian Economy - PLI Scheme for white goods - The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) notified the guidelines for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights) manufacturers in India. Objective of the scheme is to be instrumental in achieving growth rates much higher than existing ones, for AC and LED industries, develop complete component eco-systems in India and create global champions manufacturing. The PLI Scheme will be implemented within the overall financial limits of Rs.6,238 crores over a period of 5 years during FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29. An entity availing benefits under any other PLI Scheme of Govt. India will not be eligible under this scheme for the same products but may take benefits under other applicable schemes of Govt. of India or State governments. The scheme will be implemented as a pan India scheme and is not specific to any location, area or segment of population. A number of global and domestic companies, including a number of MSMEs are likely to benefit from the Scheme.
8. World Politics - Various updates - (a) The Delta variant (B1.617.2) of COVID-19 virus first identified in India is the dominant Variant of Concern (VOC) in the UK, as per British health officials. The Public Health England informed that Delta variant infections rose to 12,431, and the variant had had a "significant" impact over the last month. (b) More than 77 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of June 6, 2021, according to the National Health Commission data. As of June 6, China reported a total of 91,267 confirmed COVID-19 cases. (c) US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that US was determined to "get to the bottom" of COVID-19's origins as "that's the only way we're going to be able to prevent the next pandemic". China still hasn't "given the transparency needed" or access to international inspectors, he added. (d) Former US President Donald Trump said that the 2020 US presidential elections will "go down as the crime of the century". He said that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke the law, spending millions of dollars, to get out the vote in highly Democrat areas." Addressing Facebook's decision to ban him until 2023, he said he's not interested in waiting for two years. (e) After the finance ministers of G7 nations agreed to back a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, Facebook said it could mean that Facebook pays more tax and in different places. Google and Amazon also welcomed the G7's decision.
9. Science and Technology - Various updates - (a) Hacker group Anonymous has warned Tesla's billionaire CEO Elon Musk over his tweets on cryptocurrencies. "Reading from the comments on your Twitter posts, it seems that the games you have played with the crypto markets have destroyed lives," the group said. It added, "Your tweets this week show a clear disregard for the average working person." (b) The Director General of COAI Dr SP Kochhar has said that any concerns about radiation and adverse impact of 5G on health are misplaced. Kochhar welcomed the Delhi High Court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by actress Juhi Chawla over 5G implementation. (c) Several students who received free Bitcoin worth $100 for participating in the MIT Bitcoin Project in 2014 and held on to it may get a 13,000% return. The students had to fill out questionnaires, go over educational handouts to receive Bitcoin. If all 3,100 students had held on, their Bitcoin would've been worth over $60 million in May 2021. (d) El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is planning to send legislation that would make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. "In the short term this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside formal economy," Bukele said at the Bitcoin 2021 conference. (e) Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin said Elon Musk-owned Tesla and SpaceX will have to consider Ethereum if they stay in the crypto ecosystem.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - (a) India's daily COVID-19 cases dropped to 1 lakh, and deaths fell below the 2,500-mark. With 1,00,636 new COVID-19 cases and 2,427 deaths in the last 24 hours, India's second wave is sloping downwards fast. (b) As NCPCR data, there are over 30,000 children who need care and protection as they either lost both or one of the parents due to Covid pandemic. 3632 children have become orphan and 26176 lost one parent and 274 children have been abandoned during the pandemic. (c) Supreme Court starts hearing suo motu case involving contagion of Covid-19 in children protection homes across the country and also the issue of rehabilitation of orphaned children. (d) Several lawmakers and governors have urged the Biden administration to ensure India receives Covid vaccines and medical aid, saying the crisis in the country is "devastating" and that the US has a responsibility to help its close allies fight the pandemic. (e) NUMBERS - INDIA - Total cases: 28,909,604; New cases: 100,636; Total deaths: 349,229; New deaths: 2427; Total recovered: 27,150,727; Active cases: 1,409,648.

• [message]
• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

What RBI says versus What economy says

• The story: India's central bank - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) - presents its monetary policy every two months. Past two years have been very challenging for it, as the growth-inflation mix has to be maintained just appropriately.
• Year 2021: The situation in 2021 is different from that in 2020, as there has been a fundamental shift in the growth-inflation mix. There always is a trade-offs, but the fact is that growth impulses have steadily declined. Even the MPC has lowered its gross domestic product projection for the year from 10.5% earlier to 9.5%. In parallel, inflationary pressures and expectations have risen, so the RBI's monetary policy has reached its limits. Even then, the MPC for the sixth straight time, opted to keep the policy (repo) rate unchanged at 4% and retain its accommodative stance.

• RBI's steady message to markets: After its October 2020 meet, when it gave a time-based forward guidance, the MPC is now stuck in a quagmire. Its policy of consistently favouring growth over inflation, regardless of gathering inflation clouds, has left it with no wiggle room at all.

1. If the RBI changes track, the markets would be spooked, as it has sent the steady message it will remain accommodative for as long as growth is low.
2. The RBI can, but has not, warn the markets that monetary policy is not a one-way street, when the underlying macro-mix has changed.
3. In June 2020, the RBI MPC started its aggressive easing cycle (with a 40 basis points cut in the repo rate). That was the peak of the first Covid wave. Economic activity was at a standstill due to the nationwide lockdown from March 2020. The world economy was stuck too, as the virus laid Western economies low.
4. The outlook on inflation was expected to be “benign" (May 2020 MPC meet). The government had announced some small measures (non-funds based) to support the economy. RBI was forced to take the lead.

• Second wave, June 2021: The second wave of the pandemic saw localized lockdowns everywhere. In 2020, the lifting of the lockdown was expected to see a sharp increase in consumption (thanks to pent-up demand), in 2021 there is no such certainty due to the prevailing fear factor in the absence of proper vaccination programme. The ambitious vaccination drive fizzled out quite fast, in the near-absence of its most essential ingredient - the vaccines!
• Inflation monster inching up: In all of this, inflation kept inching up surely. RBI’s Annual Report 2020-21 informs that inflation averaged 6.2% in 2020-21 (above the upper end of the target band of 2-6%). In June 2021, core inflation (excluding food and fuel) is both high and sticky. Global commodity prices have risen by an average of 80% since the low of April 2020, even as the long-term impact of unconventional fiscal and monetary easing spills over into higher consumer prices. In April 21, the US recorded its highest inflation in 13 years. But the MPC’s inflation projection is just 5.1%, a highly optimistic one. Inflation may be driven by demand-side factors (excess demand) or supply side factors (cost-push and supply disruptions), but once inflation and its expectations are entrenched in the minds, monetary policy can only do one thing - raise interest rates.
• The law of diminishing returns: Monetary policy has not led to any major credit growth from banking sector. Manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest in 10 months in May 2021, and consumer sentiment went down. This is after the RBI has kept the system flush with liquidity. It has also fought with the bond market to keep interest rates on government borrowings low, so that govt. can borrow easily, and corporates don't need to pay higher interest rates.
• Summary: The government of India (fiscal authority) pushed the RBI to help credit grow, and push growth, via monetary measures. That has not happened. In parallel, inflation has grown. But RBI is silent on any strong action. Its signals to markets are subdued or absent. Coming months would be very interesting.

Indian stock markets rising

• The story: India's equity market is in a bull run as of now. Some market participants expect the Sensex to touch 1,00,000 by 2025. They also feel that the pandemic's economic impact will be 'transient', with no permanent economic damage. They see the coordination between central banks and governments across the world as a positive (which actually is a negative)!
• Markets at a high: India seems to be in a multi-year bull market today, with the fundamental premise that a new profit cycle has started. The large shift in government policy since September 2019, when corporate tax rates were slashed, started this. Now, companies can compound profits at over 20% per year. (this will happen when crores of jobs have been lost, in parallel)
• Risk factors: There are two risk factors - (i) the system inflation coming from the US, where the Federal Reserve will wait and let inflation overshoot or go up before they react, and (ii) India's domestic policies and potential reversals.

1. Domestic cyclicals in the market will beat those facing outside because India is likely to beat the world in terms of growth. Cyclical sectors like industrials, financials and consumer discretionary may do well.
2. India's small- and mid-cap stocks did well since December 2020, and now the large-caps may make a comeback. They have underperformed since the start of the year 2021.

• Consumption stocks: Rural India has positives of its own, with another bumper agriculture year arriving. Rural definitely took a bigger hit during the Covid second wave, but may bounce back as strongly as urban India. Auto, auto parts, travel, leisure, and home upgrades may see good performance once the second wave settles.
• India's banking sector: Banks of India seem to be beyond their worst phase. Some loan losses are inevitable because of constrained economic activity but a lot of those may prove to be transient. Conservative banks will regard lack of collection as a temporary loss, make a provision for it and then see if recovery happens down the line.
• Real estate stocks: Residential real estate space is doing well, but pricing may not go up because there is still inventory left. Commercial real estate is a mixed bag as work-from-home as hit hard. But office rents aren't getting cancelled. Once the pandemic dust settles and 2022 starts, there will be a new vision.
• Summary: India's stock markets, hence, are doing well as corproates are reporting excellent profits. Many sectors like cement, chemicals, textiles, software are doing well for their own reasons, leading to a stock market rise. Various high-frequency indicators also show that markets may keep rising steadily, despite the GDP data being very sobering.

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

World Environment Day 2021 (WED 2021)

• The story: The World Environment Day is observed on the 5th of June annually to encourage awareness and environmental protection. Also, the International Day for Biological Diversity is held on May 22. In today's troubled times, when man's footprint is trampling nature brutally, these 'days' provide an opportunity for some introspection.

• Points to note: The United Nations General Assembly established the World Environment Day in 1972, which was the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the human environment.

1. Theme for 2021 - 'Ecosystem Restoration'. It will kick off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) - a global mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmlands, from the top of mountains to the depth of the sea. The theme for this year’s in India is ‘promotion of biofuels for a better environment’.
2. Host nation - Pakistan will be the global host for 2021.
3. Initiatives by India - E-100 pilot project has been launched in Pune for the production and distribution of ethanol across the country. The government is releasing the E-20 notification that will allow oil companies to sell 20% ethanol blended petrol from 1st April, 2023, and BIS specifications for ethanol blends E12 and E15.

• Ecosystem restoration: The regular exploitation of all facets of ecosystems by mankind, has led to a renewed push to restoring what has been damaged.

1. Ecosystems - It is a community of plants and animals interacting with each other in a given area, and also with their non-living environments. The non-living environments include weather, earth, sun, soil, climate and atmosphere. An ecosystem relates to the way that all these different organisms live in close proximity to each other and how they interact with each other.
2. Ecosystem restoration - It means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. It involves reviving old water bodies, building natural forests, providing space to wildlife and reducing water pollution to restore aquatic life. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield greater benefits such as more fertile soil, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.
3. Need - Ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks, like forests and wetlands, at a time when humanity can least afford it. Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown for three consecutive years and the planet is one place for potentially catastrophic climate change.

• India's initiatives: Multiple initiatives are being pushed.

1. National Afforestation Programme (NAP) - It focuses on the rehabilitation of degraded forests and afforestation around forests.
2. National Mission for a Green India (GIM) - It is under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and aimed at improving and increasing tree cover as a climate adaptation and mitigation strategy.
3. National Biodiversity Action Plan - It has been launched to implement strategies for the reduction in rates of degradation, fragmentation and loss of natural habitats.
4. Rural Livelihood Schemes - Recognition of natural resources intrinsically linked to rural livelihoods is also reflected in flagship schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Potential for restoration through MGNREGA lies in its plantation and rejuvenation of water bodies subcomponents, through which provisions for livelihoods in afforestation, tree plantation, horticulture, and construction of new ponds have been made. Similarly, schemes under NRLM, bifurcated into farm and non-farm livelihoods, focus on interventions to enhance natural capital and present opportunities for ecosystem restoration.

• NMBHWB: The National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-Being (NMBHWB) is an ambitious initiative that aims to bring biodiversity and conservation to the forefront of Indian science, policy, and society’s attention. The Mission has been visualized to be as inclusive as possible, with components that involve scientific institutions, government agencies, and non-government organizations at the national, state, and local levels. The people who will power the Mission will include scientists, farmers, industrialists, students, policy makers, and citizens from all walks of life. In October 2018, an outline of the Mission and its objectives were presented to the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), and the Mission was approved in principle.

1. The National Biodiversity Mission proposes a two-component programme to bring biodiversity science to the forefront of scientific and public engagement.
2. The first component, titled the ‘Cataloguing and Mapping Life of India’ programme will focus on building an inventory of India’s biodiversity, and will use digital tools to map this biodiversity with people, cultures, and management regimes. This component aims to build databases that can assess and monitor changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services, and link biodiversity knowledge with societal benefits. The component will also engage citizens in collecting biodiversity data to build awareness of the rich natural heritage of India and the need for conservation.
3. The second component is divided into six programmes, which will focus on biodiversity with regard to ecosystem services; climate change and disaster risk reduction; agriculture; health; bio-economy; and capacity building and outreach.  
4. Catalysed and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-Being will be hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with the National Biodiversity Authority being the nodal agency

• Summary: The constant struggle between economic growth and natural system preservation continues.

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

Covid conspiracy theories

• The story: Early on in 2020, some people did suggest that the Covid-19 virus was not natural, but rather one imposed on manking. But as the world got busy battling the virus, it forgot about it. Now, as it comes under some control, the US President Joe Biden has ordered intelligence officials to submit an investigation report about the origins of the virus. Conspiracy theories have found a new lease of life!
• How it went: Former President Donald Trump also had expressed such apprehensions. But due to elections, Trump was not taken very seriously. Some researchers kept trying to find the truth anyhow, including Nobel Prize-winning virologists as well as military experts. Similar voices were being raised by countries like Australia, the UK, France, etc.
• The lab in Wuhan: The P-4 lab in Wuhan, where the virus is said to have originated, has been run by scientists from the Chinese Air Force. A major general leads this organization even now. China started recruiting scientists in its army in 2015, a year marking an important juncture in Sino-US relations. It was the time when Chinese officials told their American counterparts that China should be treated as an equal power.
• Details: In some Australian news articles, it was claimed that a report of the Chinese defence ministry during the same period clearly states that the Third World War will be fought and won with biological weapons. The China's trying to cover up the Covid-19 outbreak points to that direction.  American intelligence agencies claimed that in November 2019, three scientists of the Wuhan Institute of Virology were infected by it and admitted to the hospital. China must have informed WHO about this to alert the rest of the world in time. But this was done only at the end of December. China’s supreme leader Xi Jinping restricted all internal movements but international flights continued and sea routes were not sealed. The virus simply spread all over the world.
• RT-PCR from Jan 2020: Another question being asked is how did the RT-PCR test start in the hospitals of China in January 2020? Were they already prepared? The speed with which China overcame this epidemic is astonishing, while the world is still battling in 2021. It is the only big country in the world where the annual budget is not in losses.
• The big picture: China has long been behaving like a major economic and military superpower. Once US President George Bush had projected it as the biggest rival at the beginning of this century. After 9/11 for the next two decades, the US was fully engaged in the fight against terrorism and the rest of the issues were kept aside. Perhaps that's how the Wuhan scientists continued getting help from many countries of the West, including America.
• Summary: With every calamity, a large number of conspiracy theories follow. Truth requires proper investigation. China's cooperation remains a must.
  

President Biden's tariff war against India

• The story: The US tariff war against India has been reinvigorated by President Joe Biden threatening to increase import duties on a range of imports, from prawns and Basmati rice to furniture and jewellery, in retaliation against India imposing Digital Services Tax (DS) on tech giants.

• Action: The US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced on June 2 the plan for the 25 per cent increase in the tariffs on 26 items from India, but said that the hikes will be on hold till December 2021.

1. India had imposed a two per cent tax starting in April 2020, on earnings here by foreign technology and e-commerce companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. It was opposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump, and Biden has picked up the baton.
2. The Trade Representative's Office had said that India's DST was unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts US commerce. Its estimate was the increased taxes on the selected imports from India will equal the taxes India assesses on the US companies under the DST.
3. The other items threatened with increased duties include bamboo, window shutters, cigarette papers, pearl, copper foil and bedroom furniture.

• More countries covered: Inaugurating the new phase of trade wars, the Biden administration also threatened to increase tariffs on imports from five other countries -- the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, Spain and Turkey over their DST. The logic given was that while the US remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and G20 processes, it was necessary to get everyone on board for it.
• G-7 agreed: In the first phase of the negotiations, the Finance Ministers of the G7, the major western industrial powers, agreed to a minimum 15 per cent corporate tax rate to prevent companies using legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes on incomes in countries where they operate. The deal will next go to the G20 meeting in July. India is a member of the G20. The latest Biden salvo opens a new front in the trade war between the two countries that started in 2018 when Trump imposed 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium imports from India.
• Summary: In 2019, Donald Trump withdrew the special treatment for some Indian exports, mostly low-tech items and handicrafts, under the General System of Preferences (GSP) that exempted them from import duties. India retaliated with higher tariffs on 28 US products that included walnuts and almonds. Biden has not so far taken steps to reinstate the GSP facility for India.

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

NITI says second COVID-19 wave will not impact India's agri sector

• The story: Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand claimed that the second COVID-19 wave of 2021 will not impact the Indian agriculture sector in anyway as rural areas saw spread of infections in May when the agriculture activities remained at bare minimum.

• Details: NITI Aayog feels that India's policies on subsidy, price and technology have remained too much in favour of rice, wheat and sugarcane, and there is need to make the procurement and minimum support price policy favourable to pulses.

1. Regarding the second wave, Mr Chand said that May being the peak summer month when no crop is sown, and no crop harvested except some vegetables and some off-season crops. Agriculture activity peaks in the month of March or till middle of April, and comes down significantly and then peaks with the arrival of monsoon.
2. Even with less availability of labour in the month of May till mid-June, the impact on agriculture is low. (NITI's claims)
3. Labour force is moving to rural areas due to increased COVID-19 cases in urban areas and these labourers are willing to work in the agriculture sector for livelihood. NITI claimed that the markets for agriculture were working normally everywhere.
4. Income from the agriculture sector, a major source of earning for rural people, was intact.

• MGNREGA: NITI Aayog feels that the government should keep its emphasis on MGNREGA. It is clear that remittances from urban areas to rural has begun falling sharply.
• Pulses production: India's dependence on imports is a problem, and NITI feels that by increasing pulses area under irrigation, a lot of difference in production and stability in prices can be brought about. Till date, the subsidy policy, our price policy, technology policy, have remained in favour of rice, wheat and sugarcane. The same is now needed for pulses. These are not like edible oil that can be imported in big quantity, as pulses are available in international markets in small quantities.
• Edible oils: India has seen a steady rise in prices of edible oils. NITI feels that the main reason for the increase in edible oils prices is the rise in international rates and India's output isn't very low. Of course, the duty rate on import should be reduced. (Whenever the price of a commodity rises, then the government reduces import duty on that commodity and when price falls then it increases import duty) As per the government data, the retail prices of edible oils have risen by more than 60 per cent in over a year and are adding to the woes of consumers, who are already reeling under the economic distress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. India meets 60 per cent of edible oil demand through imports.
• Economic situation: India's farm sector grew at 3.6 per cent in FY 2020-21, and may grow at 3% this year. The economy contracted by less-than-expected 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2021 after growth rate picked up in the fourth quarter, just before the world's worst outbreak of coronavirus infections hit India.

Economic momentum now needs Centre's push

• The story: India’s economy contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21 and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects it to expand 9.5% in 2021-22. This is one percentage point less from the 10.5% projection made earlier, but will still exceed that of 2019-20 if this growth materializes.

• Depends on pandemic: The case for optimism is based on how quickly Covid curbs can be made less restrictive this year, commercial activity better adapted, and the infection curve drops. Like in 2020, the first quarter of 2021-22 has been lost to the pandemic. The subsequent quarters will depend to a large extent on whether India faces a third, or perhaps a fourth, wave.

1. India's health risks have proven worse than thought at budget time, policy response has been generally not upto the mark, and the confidence in risk estimates shaken enough to warrant an uncertainty upgrade.
2. Lives, livelihoods and other dismal trade-offs must suddenly adapt to a Delta-wave scenario of exposure to a worse variant.
3. Of the many ways in which 2021 differs from 2020, the cost of complacency seems higher and the prospect of a demand revival looks more forlorn. Such uncertain times call for the certainty of state stimulus in aid of an economic recovery.

• Need for a fiscal stimulus: Activity in our manufacturing sector slumped but escaped a contraction in May 2021. The central bank’s consumer confidence survey saw a dip, with even year-ahead sentiment slipping into its gloom zone.

1. Car sales, e-way bill generation and goods and services tax collections have slowed.
2. Unemployment and other conditions have clearly worsened.
3. Vaccination is the way forward, but many months have been lost in flip-flops.
4. This is not just because it will take long for at least half our population to get vaccine jabs, a level globally seen to mark an exit from danger, but also due to the pandemic’s unpredictability.

• Vaccines before economy: An economy haunted by covid can operate only in fits-and-starts. The official response has been supply-side easing, done in huge chunks, but cheaper credit made widely available cannot really do what a large fiscal push can.

1. In 2020, government spending was raised and modulated very late.
2. In 2021, the already presented annual budget needs to be adapted hugely.
3. A big healthcare ramp-up must get an enlarged outlay, even as rescue missions are mounted for the needy and state projects are activated to generate jobs and move cash around.

• Summary: Clearly, it’s the Centre that has to do the fiscal heavy lifting to support the slowed economy. As the second wave subsides, this is the right time.

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

India's new tenancy law

• The story: India's new Model Tenancy Act was approval by the Union Cabinet. Once states and union territories implement it, the rental housing market will get a regulator at par with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for the sale-purchase market.

• Details: The Act aims to ensure that landlords and tenants across the country play by a standard set of equitable rules.

1. Greater security for landlords - In India, owners of residential properties are reluctant to rent them because the rental yield is low just 1 2 per cent. Landlords also fear that tenants may not vacate their houses. Govt. claims that once the Model Tenancy Act is in place, it will give landlords the security to rent out their houses. Landlords have to pay a high monthly maintenance charge in many new apartment complexes. The Act will enable landlords to transform a nonperforming asset into a performing asset.
2. Punitive - Its punitive provisions will make it harder for tenants to refuse to vacate. Landlords can now claim double compensation from their tenant if the latter refuses to hand over the property at the end of the agreed rental period. If they don´t vacate even after two months, the compensation can rise to four times.
3. Process clear - The Model Act defines the procedure for evicting a tenant clearly. “Currently, no standard mechanism exists for landlords to evict unruly or defaulting tenants.

• Rent Court: The setting up of a Rent Court will also speed up the eviction process. But landlords in many cities may not like the cap on security deposits to two months' rent. The deposit is not just a safeguard against risks like nonpayment of rent or damage to the property, but also more.

• More options for tenants: This Act is expected to benefit tenants by increasing housing supply, and they will then have more choices.

1. This could temper the pace of increase in rental rates. People living in unorganised colonies will be able to live in better areas
2. In case of disputes, the landlord is forbidden from cutting off essential supplies (like water and electricity)
3. The Act also makes it incumbent on landlords to carry out essential repairs. Tenants will also benefit from the capping of the security deposit to two months of rent.
4. This will benefit students, and young professionals who tend to have limited resources at the start of their careers

• Registration: Landlords and tenants will have to register their rental agreements with the Authority and get a unique ID number. The Authority will ensure that standard terms and conditions are adhered to in the agreement. The agreement will be published on its website. By checking these documents, people will be able to tell whether a property is already occupied. Renting will become a more formal and organised activity. The Authority will have the power to act as a dispute resolution mechanism between the landlord and the tenant. “It will be able to step in and give a clear and quick decision in certain types of disputes.
• Court for rental disputes: If someone is not satisfied with the Rent Authority´s verdict, he will have the option to approach the Rent Court. If the Rent Court passes an order that either party is not happy with, it can approach the Rent Tribunal within 30 days of passing of the order. The Rent Tribunal must dispose of the order within 60 days unless there is just cause for taking more time.
• Problems: The Act will not apply retrospectively. People who have entered into longer lease agreements will not get its benefit until their current ones expire. The Act only covers lease agreements, and not leave and licence agreements. "Leave and licence" is the predominant form of agreement that people enter into in metros like Mumbai.
  

Facebook's new content moderation changes

• The story: The world's biggest social media firm Facebook has announced major changes in its content moderation policies, with potentially a strong impact on everything it does.
• Details: The global changes announced imply that posts from politicians on the platform will no longer be exempt from the company’s policies that prevent regular users from engaging in harmful speech. These changes will be applicable in India as well. So clearly, Facebook is headed for a major showdown.
• Trump's case: While responding to The Oversight Board's recommendations in the case of former US president Donald Trump, whose accounts have been suspended for two years by Facebook, the company said it will no longer treat content posted by politicians as 'inherently' being of public interest or being newsworthy. So such posts too will be moderated like other users, though the company will provide a 'newsworthiness exemption' in 'rare' cases and will update users on these instances.
• Sharp departure: This clearly is a totally new approach, from an earlier one which exempted politicians from some of its moderation rules. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said he does not think social networks should be fact checking what politicians post. FB would simply fully implement the Oversight Board's recommendation of suspending the accounts of high government officials such as heads of state if their posts repeatedly posed a risk of harm.
• Issues: Some experts said if Facebook is admittedly doing content moderation against hate speech, how can it claim immunity from non-moderation for other offensive content such as terrorism, drugs and pornography, which is offensive as per its own policy. The changes in its policy may raise suspicion about the dual conduct of Facebook and also its entitlement of legal exemption as an intermediary in India. There is no official list of politicians anywhere, so who will define it? There are crores of political party members in India. Will those members be counted as a special class by Facebook?
• Summary: It's clear that Facebook has made a strategic decision, and what remains to be seen is if they have the courage to pull it through.

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

Countless stars, We're coming to count you!

• The story: A NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) funded CIBER-2 sounding rocket’s launch window will open at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, USA. The goal is to count all the stars in the Universe!
• Goal: The aim of CIBER-2 mission is to look for evidence of extra stars that may have been missed in stellar head counts. The ESA (European Space Agency) infrared space observatory Herschel also counted the number of galaxies in infrared and measured their luminosity previously.
• Technical points: Sounding rockets take their name from the nautical term "to sound," which means to take measurements. Since 1959, NASA-sponsored space and earth science research has used sounding rockets to test instruments used on satellites and spacecraft and to provide information about the Sun, stars, galaxies and Earth's atmosphere and radiation.
• CIBER-2 (Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment-2): The mission is the latest in a series of sounding rocket launches that began in 2009. The count from the first CIBER mission paved the way to reorganize the research and give the counting of stars another run. The CIBER-2 instrument will launch aboard a sounding rocket, a small suborbital rocket that will carry scientific instruments on brief trips into space before it falls back to Earth for recovery. Once above Earth’s atmosphere, CIBER-2 will survey a patch of sky about 4 square degrees - for reference, the full Moon takes up about half a degree – that includes dozens of galaxy clusters.
• The process: It will not actually count individual stars but it will instead detect the extragalactic background light, which is all of the light that has been emitted throughout the history of the Universe. From all of this extragalactic background light, the CIBER-2 will focus on a portion of this called cosmic infrared background, which is emitted by some of the most common stars. This approach is aiming to look at how bright this light is to give scientists an estimate of how many of these stars are out there.
• A rough estimate: To even get a rough estimate of the total number of stars in the universe, scientists calculated the average number of stars in a galaxy – some estimates put it at about 100 million, though it could be 10 or more times higher. Multiplying it by the number of galaxies, taken to be about 2 trillion (also very tentative), there are one hundred quintillion stars (or 1 with 21 zeros after it). But this calculation assumes that all stars are inside galaxies, which might not be true and this is what the CIBER-2 instrument will try to find out. The European Space Agency (ESA) says there could be 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone.

• Knowledge centre:

1. Hubble Space Telescope - On April 24, 1990, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Earth with the Hubble Space Telescope nestled securely in its payload bay. Hubble was released into space, and it has since then reshaped mankind's perception of the cosmos and uncovered a universe of unexpected wonders. Hubble revealed properties of space and time that for most of human history were invisible. Orbiting the Earth since 1990, the HST answered some of the most compelling astronomical questions. Its vision spans the ultraviolet through visible and into the near infrared. It investigates everything from black holes to planets around other stars. The farthest that Hubble has seen so far is about 10-15 billion light-years away. The farthest area looked at is called the Hubble Deep Field.
2. James Webb Deep Space Telescope - The JWST (or Webb) is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity. The longer wavelengths enable Webb to look much closer to the beginning of time and to hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies, as well as to look inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today. Mission goals include: (i) Search for the first galaxies or luminous objects formed after the Big Bang; (ii) Determine how galaxies evolved from their formation until now; (iii) Observe the formation of stars from the first stages to the formation of planetary systems; (iv) Measure the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems, including our own Solar System, and investigate the potential for life in those systems.

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

The powerful versus the rest

• The story: India experienced a pandemic starting March 2020, and that was a unique chance to explore a simple question - is Plutocracy woven deep into India’s political architecture? As we know, India’s political class gathers its votes in the name of the poor and welfare promises. But a closer inspection reveals that many of its delivery platforms are aligned with the powerful, wealthy and the privileged.
• Details and examples: A relevant example (of plutocracy) is the government’s vaccine delivery model, which was mandatorily done via a digital app in a nation that truly does not offer cheap bandwidth and proper digital access to crores of rural citizens. Add to that the shrinking vaccine supplies. It is clear that those who made the policy, had the private sector in mind. It was good that finally te Supreme Court came into picture, and quizzed the government on its vaccine policy, for its inequity and unevenness. Finally, the PM himself appeared on TV, on 7th June, and announced a changed policy.

• Taxation: India's tax structure is a window to the government’s overall policy thinking.

1. High petrol and diesel prices are among the larger contributors to the government’s tax revenues during 2020-21. This was when India’s corporate sector was reporting its highest profits but paying lower taxes, as a result of corporate income tax rates slashed since Sept 2019.
2. The problem with oil taxes is that it taxes everybody, rich and the poor, because it feeds into all commodities and finished products transported by burning diesel. Low corporate taxes, on the other hand, benefit only a few.

• Bad bank for PSBs: Another big example (of plutocracy) may soon well be the new ‘bad bank’ getting created in the public sector, the National Assets Reconstruction Co Ltd, to solve the problem of bad loans in the commercial banking sector. The plan is that a handful of public sector banks (PSBs) will sell their dud loans, which they have no hope of recovering, to this bad bank at a discount (a haircut).

1. If the original loan was Rs.100, the bank will agree to ‘sell’ the loan to NARCL at Rs.50, getting Rs.15 in cash and the balance in security receipts with the bad loans as underlying assets.
2. Now, the fair value of bad assets is not yet a settled debate. But PSBs selling their assets to another public-sector company shields both parties from future investigations of ‘suspect’ transactions. The government is now creating new financial institutions in the public sector at a time when it wants more privatization.
3. What happens finally? The PSBs, having wiped their books clean, can lend afresh to the original borrowers who no longer appear as defaulters on the banks’ books.
4. The NARCL will either restructure the assets and find new buyers, or liquidate the assets. In case of liquidation, many companies have very little or no assets worth recovering. But the NARCL arrangement could leave everybody happy, except tax-payers: defaulting companies quietly buried and outstanding loans forgotten, with lending banks and company promoters off the hook.
5. In the worst-case scenario, NARCL’s maximum write-off will be 15% of the total loan value; but the government will have to pay out 35% for the security receipts, if these indeed do carry a government guarantee.

• Ideal way out: The best way out is that the govt. (i.e. the NARCL) finds a new buyer. But who will buy these assets? India saw in past 3 years that in many cases, the original defaulters came back to reclaim their companies.

1. The insolvency court (IBC - NCLT) recently shocked creditors to defaulting home-lender, DHFL Ltd, by asking them to consider the proposal of promoter Kapil Wadhawan. This request came after lenders had gone through the legally-mandated bidding process and were preparing to hand over the company to Piramal Group. Manoj Gaur, chairman of defaulting company Jaypee Infratech, made a similar last-minute request, promising to repay its entire outstanding to banks, including building and delivering the residential properties he had promised home-buyers, to stave off the insolvency process.
2. The motive behind these last-moment proposals raises questions. Apart from delaying the entire insolvency process, especially of companies at the cusp of resolution, the defaulting promoters’ sudden discovery of money to repay outstanding loans is shocking!
3. Round-tripping - In some cases, foreign funds have emerged as buyers of companies in the resolution process. This might push some promoters to use the foreign-fund route to regain their companies from the insolvency process at cheap rates. Round-tripping is a fact of life.
4. Indian regulators have often tried to know who are the ultimate people behind various FPIs but such convoluted holdings have never been truly exposed. The government does make some noise, but silently withdraws.

• Summary: India's governance structures are such that the weak, poor and destitute have no voice in the system. Sadly, in the case of pandemic and vaccines, that may have prove deadly to many of them.

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

Tamil Nadu wants all national entrance test scrapped

• The story: Tamil Nadu's CM M K Stalin has requested PM Modi to cancel all national level entrance exams like National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and allow the state to fill professional seats including the MBBS based on class 12 marks alone.

• Recent decision: The Tamil Nadu government cancelled its own class 12 board examinations and said that a committee would be set up to decide on awarding marks to students. The decision was taken considering high number of infection cases in several parts of Tamil Nadu.

1. The state government informed that a committee, headed by the School Education Department Principal Secretary, would be set up to decide on giving marks to students and based on its recommendation, marks would be awarded. Such marks alone shall be the basis for admission to college courses.
2. The government said that students below the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated and allowing all of them to sit for the exam could increase the possibility of further virus transmission.

• Pandemic makes it impossible: CM Stalin said that considering the pandemic situation, conducting national level entrance examinations for any professional course would be immensely detrimental to the health and well-being of students. He wanted TN state to be allowed to fill all professional seats including MBBS seats, on the basis of class XII marks alone.
• What others sid: Following the Centre, several states have cancelled the Class 12 board exams. Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Haryana are among the states which have cancelled state board exams. On June, the Centre decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the continuing pandemic across the country.

May 2021 GST collections drops, 65% up year-on-year

• The story: India’s goods and services tax (GST) revenue in May amounted to Rs 1,02,709 crore as several states imposed curbs due to the second wave of the pandemic, down from April’s record Rs 1.41 lakh crore. It was 65% higher than Rs 62,009 crore in May 2020. May 2021 revenue exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore for the eighth month in a row.
• Details: As per finance ministry, the figure for May 2021 included GST collections from domestic transactions until June 4. It expects collections to improve once the entire tax for the month comes in as some deadlines have been extended.

• Specifics: Taxpayers with turnover above Rs 5 crore were allowed to file returns by June 4, instead of May 20. Smaller taxpayers, with turnover below Rs 5 crore, had until the first week of July to file returns without late fees and interest. Experts said the moderation in revenue was on expected lines as e-way bills had seen a sequential decline in April and May from March.

1. E-way bills are required for the transport of goods more than Rs 50,000 in value and a key indicator of business activity. With the extension and widening of restrictions by various states in May 2021, e-way bills declined further, dampening GST collections in June 2021.
2. E-way bill generation fell to 58.7 million in April and then to 38.2 million in May, the lowest in almost a year from a record 71.2 million in March.

• Pandemic not so harsh: Data signals clearly that the effect of the curbs hasn’t been as harsh as estimated. Collections above Rs 1 lakh crore pertaining to the transactions in April 2021 indicate that the economic impact of the lockdowns was lower than expected.
• Break-up: Of the gross GST revenue collected in May 2021, central GST (CGST) was Rs 17,592 crore, state GST (SGST) was Rs 22,653, integrated GST was Rs 53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore on import of goods) and that from cess was Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods). During the month, Rs 15,014 crore of CGST and Rs 11,653 crore of SGST were paid out from IGST as part of the regular settlement. Revenue from import of goods was 56% higher, while that from domestic transactions, including import of services, was 69% up from the year earlier.

World Ocean Day 2021

• The story: The world will observe "World Ocean Day" on June 8, 2021 under the theme- ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’.
• About: The day is observed annually on June 8, and provides governments across the world an opportunity to inform people about impact of economic activities and human actions on ocean.
• Why important: Oceans play a major role in everyday life of people and are considered as lungs of our planet. It is an important part of biosphere as it provides us with water which is an integral element of our daily lives. However, oceans are bearing the brunt of man-made destruction over the years. Industrial waste and unwanted litter into ocean are degrading & destabilizing earth’s dynamics with its natural resources. It might lead to an eventual and unfortunate end.
• History: The World Ocean Day was first suggested in 1992 during Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro with the aim of celebrate this vast water body, its benefits in our lives and to raise awareness to make it a part of sustainable development. Following this, UN general assembly passed the resolution on December 5, 2008 to designate this day. (The International Marine Organization was formed in 1973 to address issues of pollution from ships by oil, noxious liquid substances which are carried in bulk, garbage, sewage, garbage and to check air pollution from ships.)

 Delhi’s ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ Campaign

• The story: Delhi government launched a vaccination campaign ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ to vaccinate people of Delhi against Covid-19. Under the campaign, people aged 45 and above will be given vaccine at the polling booths.

• Details: The CM Arvind Kejriwal highlighted that jabs (vaccine shots) will be provided to people above 45 years at places where they had exercised vote during election. According to him, door-to-door vaccination will also be done soon.

1. Under the campaign, booth-level officers will visit door to door to provide vaccination slots to people above 45 years.
2. In Delhi, in age group of 45 plus there are 57 lakh people, of which 27 lakhs were given the first dose of coronavirus vaccine. 30 lakhs are yet to administered. The decision was taken after observing people in 45 plus age group not coming to vaccination centres and vaccines not being utilised.

• [message]
  

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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

CLICK HERE TO OPEN AND READ!

• [message]
• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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

---