Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 08-07-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 08-07-2021

• [message]
• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Governance and Institutions - Ministry of Cooperation - The Indian government, in July 2021, created a new Ministry of Cooperation for strengthening cooperative movement. It will help realise the vision of ‘sahkar se samriddhi’ (through cooperation to prosperity). It will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement and will work to streamline processes for ‘ease of doing business’ for cooperatives and enable development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS). Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 made following changes - (a) New Part IXB regarding the cooperatives working in India added (Part IXA deals with Municipals); (b) In Art. 19(1)(c) the word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations”, enabling all citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens, (c) A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”. Note that AMUL and Lijjat Papad are examples of successful cooperatives in India.
2. Energy - Flex fuel vehicles (FFV) - Government is about to issue guidelines for flex fuel vehicles by October. An FFV is a modified version of vehicles that runs both on gasoline and blended petrol with different levels of Ethanol blends. These are currently being used successfully in Brazil giving people the option to switch fuel. Such FFVs provide opportunity for increased use of biofuels for running vehicles. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had issued a Draft notification for mass emission standards for E 12 (Blend of 12% ethanol in gasoline) and E-15 fuels, thereby facilitating their use as Automotive fuels. Advantages are - (a) reduced dependence on petrol/diesel & thus reduced dependence on oil imports, (b) environment-friendly because of less pollution, (c) aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, (d) help in addressing the problems of surplus food grains (can be used in making Ethanol), (e) provides employment opportunities for setting up bio-ethanol plants across India.
3. Polity and Constitution - Union Cabinet expansion July 2021 - As many as 36 new faces were inducted and 12 sitting ministers were shown the door taking the tally in the Council of Ministers to 78 (including the PM), just a notch short of the statutory limit of 81. The changes mark the largest-scale purge in recent times with the Prime Minister divesting six of 23 sitting Cabinet ministers — over one fourth — and one Minister of State (Independent Charge) of their ministerial responsibilities. Ahead of the much-anticipated reshuffle, at least twelve ministers resigned from the council of ministers including big names like IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad (Twitter spat), Health Minister Harsh Vardhan (Covid disaster), Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (NEP) and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar (Labour Codes). Interestingly, the word “cabinet” is mentioned only in the Article 352 of the Indian Constitution, which wasn't there originally, but was brought in by the 44th Constitution (amendment) Act, 1978.
4. Agriculture - Bhalia wheat - In a boost to wheat exports, the first shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported today to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat. The GI certified wheat has high protein content and is sweet in taste. The crop is grown mostly across Bhal region of Gujarat which includes Ahmadabad, Anand, Kheda, Bhavanagar, Surendranagar, Bharuch districts. The unique characteristic of the wheat variety is that it's grown in the rainfed condition without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat. The Bhalia variety of wheat received GI certification in July, 2011. The registered proprietor of GI certification is Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat.
5. Science and Technology - Retracted paper by National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) - A research paper by scientists at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) announcing a breakthrough in the field of chemical biology, and published in the prestigious Nature Chemical Biology (NCB), has been retracted as its key findings were manipulated. The NCBS in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research, and a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. On October 5, 2020, the paper “Discovery of iron-sensing bacterial riboswitches” was published online in the NCB. The publication was announced in an NCBS press release on October 6, 2020. The finding was significant as it announced the discovery of a new class of RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules that could detect iron. Thus far, it was thought, iron could be detected only by specialised protein. RNA molecules, it has emerged, could detect nickel, cobalt, manganese but being able to detect iron, a key element that is vital for governing many biochemical processes, opened the possibility of designing RNA-based sensors.
6. Science and Technology - Oran cancer genomic database dbGENVOC - The DBT-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani, has created world’s first database of genomic variants of oral cancer. The NIBMG has now made this database publicly-accessible. dbGENVOC is a browsable online database of GENomic Variants of Oral Cancer and is a free resource. It contains 24 million somatic and germline variants derived from whole exome sequences of 100 Indian oral cancer patients and whole genome sequences of 5 oral cancer patients from India, somatic variation data from 220 patient samples drawn from the USA and analyzed by TCGA-HNSCC project and manually curated variation data of 118 patients from recently published peer-reviewed publications. Oral cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among men in India, largely fuelled by tobacco-chewing. Tobacco-chewing causes changes in the genetic material of cells in the oral cavity. These changes (mutations) precipitate oral cancer.
7. People and Personalities - Six-time Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh passes away - Former Himachal Pradesh CM and senior Congress leader Virbhadra Singh died in a Shimla hospital after a prolonged illness, at 87. The six-time Chief Minister was tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11 for the second time in two months and had post-COVID-19 issues like pneumonia. Singh became the CM of Himachal Pradesh for the first time in April 1983 and held the post until March 1990, and was again appointed to the role between December 1993 and March 1998; and once more from March 2003. With reappointments within those years, this record amounted to him holding the office on five occasions. In 2015 the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a case against Singh and his family for owning assets to the tune of Rs. 6.1 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income when he was the union minister between 2009 and 2011.
8. World Politics - Modi named among 37 'predators of press freedom' - Indian PM Narendra Modi was named on a list of 37 "predators of press freedom" by French media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. The list includes Pakistan's PM Imran Khan, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Some of these "predators of press freedom" have been operating for more than two decades, as per the report. India is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index. RSF is the world’s biggest NGO specialising in the defence of media freedom, which is regarded as a basic human right to be informed and to inform others. Modi joins the likes of Pakistan’s Imran Khan, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, Myanmar’s military head Min Aung Hlaing and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, along with 32 others who “trample on press freedom by creating a censorship apparatus, jailing journalists arbitrarily or inciting violence against them when they don’t have blood on their hands because they have directly or indirectly pushed for journalists to be murdered.”
9. World Economy - Chinese big tech is slipping fast - Major technology firms in China have seen a combined $823 billion wiped from their market value since a February peak amid Chinese government's crackdown. Tencent, Alibaba are among the 10 firms that suffered losses in market value. China's decision to remove DiDi from app stores, erased over $15 billion of its market value. Authorities have issued a sweeping warning to the nation’s biggest companies, vowing to tighten oversight of data security and overseas listings just days after Didi Global Inc.’s contentious decision to go public in the U.S. That has put further selling pressure on China’s biggest technology names including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., JD.Com Inc., Baidu Inc. and Meituan. China’s warning followed the opening of a security review by the nation’s internet regulator into Didi and a demand for app stores to remove it. The move stunned investors and industry executives.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - India reported a rising number of 45,892 new COVID-19 cases and 817 deaths in 24 hours. This comes after the country reported 43,733 COVID-19 cases and 930 deaths on Wednesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 3,07,09,557, while the death toll surged to 4,05,028. Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said four million people worldwide have now lost their lives due to COVID-19, adding that this "painful milestone" is a reminder of the long way we still have to go to defeat the pandemic. He also said, "COVID-19 vaccines offer a ray of hope but most of the world is still in the shadows."

• [message]
• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

Lessons from the 1991 reforms - for India of 2021

• The story: Thirty years have passed sine India embarked upon the path of economic liberalisation in 1991. A lot has been achieved, and some core issues were left untouched. The goods and services markets were opened first, and the factor markets are being touched now.
• India till 1991: The private sector was not allowed to invest in a number of sectors thought to be critical for development. Key sectors were reserved for the public sector despite its lacklustre performance. Where the private sector was allowed, it could invest only after getting an industrial licence. That was especially hard to get for “large” industrial houses. Over 860 items were reserved exclusively for small-scale producers, including many that had very high export potential.

1. Imports were strictly controlled compared to other countries, as it was felt that conserving scarce foreign exchange was crucial. Consumer goods simply could not be imported, so domestic producers faced no import competition.
2. Producers could import capital goods and intermediates needed for production, with an import licence given only if the government was satisfied that the import was essential and domestic substitutes were not available. The import of technology was controlled and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was discouraged. It was not a system geared to encourage enterprise or innovation.
3. Efforts were made in the 1980s to liberalise the system but these were incremental changes. By 1990, it was clear that drastic change was needed.

• What did India achieve from reforms: These were aimed at unleashing the energies of the private sector to accelerate economic growth. This was to be done in a manner that ensured an adequate flow of benefits to the poor. The reforms certainly succeeded in this objective. The full benefits took time to materialise because a gradualist approach was adopted, but results were indeed dramatic! The GDP growth averaged 7% in the 25 years from 1992 to 2017. The preceding ten years had an average of 5% and the preceding 20 years, 4%. This brought a sharp poverty decline with it.
• The limitations: Some reforms that started in 1991, especially in the financial sector, are yet to be completed. In the health and education sectors, what have been done is much below the potential and need. Environmental concerns have not been adequately built into the development strategy. India is still at the lower end of the middle-income group of countries. Many more reforms are needed to get to the top of the group.
• Sector wise: The need for labour market reforms was recognised, but attention was given first to get the industrial, trade and financial sector reforms, and take up labour market reforms later. There was a fall in employment in agriculture after 1991, but it was accompanied by sufficient growth in total employment in non-agriculture sectors. Total employment actually increased. The disappointing thing was that employment in manufacturing did not increase as rapidly as one would have liked. India was not able to replicate the East Asian experience of rapid growth in the export of labour-intensive manufactures. Most of the increase in employment, including in manufacturing, was not regular contractual employment but informal non-contractual employment.
• Tariff policy: India progressively lowered import tariffs from an estimated 57.5% in 1992 to 8.9% in 2008, but this trend has been reversed over the past few years. That is in line with rising protectionism globally. But increasing import tariffs will hamper India's stated ambition to become part of global supply chains. Indian industry surely has legitimate complaints about poor infrastructure, poor logistics and time-consuming trade procedures, which reduce its competitiveness but the solution lies in addressing these problems directly. Raising import duties, which will only raise costs in the economy, is not the right solution. The government should engage with Indian industry and other experts. Moving to an average duty rate of about 7%, gradually narrowing the range of variation across products and eliminating duty reversals would be the right approach.
• The future: Geopolitics is forcing major countries to reduce dependence on China, but India cannot expect to replace China in totality. It can reasonably expect to become a major player in non-China-dominated supply chains. So, a membership in RCEP would help, as it will reassure partners that trade policy will not be arbitrarily changed. The solution to unfair Chinese competition lies in a faster method of imposing anti-dumping duties on China, not raising import duties across the board. Working on agreements with important groups bilaterally than multilaterally seems to be a better option for assuring market access.

Privatisation in India

• The story: After a lull since 2010, privatisation is being pursued with vigour in India. In the backdrop of an economic contraction, it is prudent to revisit the aggressive privatisation of public enterprises.
• How advisable: India is going through its worst economic crisis, and witnessed the highest-ever contraction in the economy took place in 2020. Unemployment has risen, and incomes for growing numbers are falling. Banks’ non-performing assets (NPAs) may be increasing, and fiscal deficit is also rising. It would now be prudent to think through the pros and cons of the aggressive privatisation of public enterprises.
• Three types of PSEs: There are three categories of public sector enterprises, all different.

1. PSEs that are actually sick - Their technology, plants and machinery are obsolete.Their managerial and human resources have been lost. Such enterprises are beyond redemption. They should be closed, and assets sold. But this has been difficult with successive governments, as labour in these enterprises have had a political constituency which has prevented their closure. The Government should take efforts to close these in a time-bound manner. After selling machinery as scrap, there would be valuable land left. Prudent disposal of these plots of lands in small amounts would yield large incomes in the coming years.
2. PSEs that are sick but can be revived - Wherever possible, in such PSEs, private management through privatisation or induction of a strategic partner is the best way to restore value of these enterprises. Examples: Air India and the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels. Air India should ideally be made debt free, and a new management should have freedom permitted under the law in personnel management to get investor interest. As valuation rises, the Government could reduce its stake further and get more money. If well handled, significant revenues would flow to the Government.
3. PSEs that are making money - With profitable public enterprises, the government can continue to reduce its shareholding but not suddenly. It can offload its shares and even reduce its stake to less than 51% while remaining the promoter and being in control. In parallel, managements may be given longer and stabler tenures, greater flexibility and more confidence to take well-considered commercial risks. They can also be asked to invest patient capital in strategic areas where risk is high and where risk averse private investment may not be easily forthcoming. The best country to learn from is China, that did exactly this. It nurtured the good state-owned enterprises as well as their private ones.

• Summary: Large Indian firms that can buy out sick PSEs are few in number, due to limited financial and managerial resources. These successful large corporates need to be encouraged to invest and grow, a strategy much better than using the scarce resources for taking over government enterprises with no real value addition to the economy in the near term.

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

Western USA witnessing historic drought

• The story: The western United States is experiencing its worst drought this century, threatening to kill crops, spark wildfires and harm public health as hot and dry conditions are expected to continue this month. More than 93% of the land in seven Western states is in drought conditions, and nearly 59% of the area is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought—the two worst conditions. This is according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
• Prior: Both figures are the highest this century for the area that covers all of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and most of Utah. Before this year, the record for the amount of Western land in extreme or exceptional drought was 43%, set in September 2003. The conditions have led to fire and fishing restrictions across the West and have prompted wildfire alerts. The National Interagency Fire Center is warning that the intensifying drought across the West is creating significant wildfire risk over the next three months from California to the Northwest and across the northern Plains.
• On the ground: Agriculture Department reports show that several crops, including wheat, sunflowers and barley, are threatened by the extensive drought, which is concentrated in the West but is also affecting areas as far east as the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa. The Drought Monitor said drought-stricken ranchers are selling their cattle because of a lack of feed and poor forage conditions.
• More restrictions: At least eight national forests in the West have imposed fire restrictions. Fishing restrictions have been imposed on many rivers because of low flows and warm waters. Although drought conditions have been exacerbated by recent record temperatures in the West, Kluck said the current drought has been developing since the spring of 2020.

 UN CFS says 'Make agri-food systems equitable for youth'

• The story: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affected labour markets around the world, hurting employment prospects for the youth more than those belonging to other age groups. Globally, employment among the youth fell 8.7 per cent in 2020 compared with 3.7 per cent for adults. This is as per a new  report released by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
• Details: The report emphasised on the role of youth as agents of change in food systems. Making agriculture-food systems more appealing to the youth can secure the future of global food security and nutrition, a recent United Nations report has said.

1. Food systems can provide opportunities to engage and employ youth globally. Redistribution of resources, knowledge and opportunities for the same can help develop labour policies, which could not only contribute to creating jobs for the youth but may also directly support transitions to sustainable food systems, according to the report released by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
2. The CFS is an international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work to ensure food security and nutrition for all. The committee reports to the UN General Assembly.

• On youth: Young people aged between 15 and 24 years accounted for 16 per cent of the world’s population in 2019. Young people were concentrated in Asia, Central and Southern Asia with 361 million youth and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 307 million youth, followed by sub-Saharan Africa (211 million youth). The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 440 million youth from the African continent would enter the labour market between 2015 and 2030.
• African situation: In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, agriculture and food systems employ most people. These regions also experience challenges related to food security, equitable development and climate change.
• Summary: Young people are playing an active role in the transition towards sustainable food systems and they are demanding a shift from industrial agriculture — to place the right to food, traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of healthy food systems to achieve food and nutrition security.

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

North Korea uses the bomb to protect itself from USA

• The story: While top generals of the US military inform the Congress that "North Korea continues to enhance its ballistic missile capability and possesses the technical capacity to present a real danger to the U.S. homeland as well as our allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific", the real story may be a bit different.
• What's going on: It is surely true that the North is continuing to enhance its military capabilities. Before agreeing to meet with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his nation within striking distance being able to target the continental United States. Although more testing is needed to perfect a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, Pyongyang could hit American dependencies, such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as Okinawa, Japan, which contains a Marine Expeditionary Force and many U.S. bases. (Other obvious targets of the North’s nuclear weapons are major U.S. allies, especially Seoul and Tokyo.)

1. North Korea’s quest for nukes has helped make it an economic disaster, turning it into a global pariah and diverting resources from economic investment. That’s one reason the country, as Kim admitted in public recently, is facing another critical food crisis. However, it now is an unofficial member of the world’s exclusive nuclear club.
2. Nevertheless, the mere possession of nuclear weapons does not mean it threatens America with them. North Korea makes no pretense of having global concerns, other than using diplomatic relations for profit when possible. In the abstract, the Kim dynasty has no interest in the United States or even the Western Hemisphere. Pyongyang’s priority is regional, especially avoiding domination by another power.

• Historical story of Korea: China exerted substantial influence (Russia less so) over the ancient Korean kingdom, long known as a shrimp among whales. Japan was a colonial oppressor during the first half of the 20th century. Most important today is North Korea’s relations with South Korea, as the two states remain engaged in a de facto civil war, short-circuited by outside intervention in 1953. One reason China’s importunities against North Korea’s nuclear program fall flat is because such weapons help Pyongyang preserve its independence from Beijing. But the United States intruded in Northeast Asia. America intervened in the Korean War, maintains forces in and around the Korean Peninsula, is prepared to intervene in a future conflict, and regularly threatens to wage preventive war. Washington’s willingness to routinely oust governments on Uncle Sam’s list makes the US dangerous. Washington can’t even be trusted to live up to a denuclearization accord, as Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi discovered a decade ago. The Iranians learned that one president’s word does not bind their successor.
• Deterrence: The North desires a deterrent. At the party congress earlier in 2021, Kim explained that “Korea was divided by the U.S., the world’s first user of nukes and war chieftain, and the DPRK has been in direct confrontation with its aggressor forces for decades, and the peculiarities of the Korean revolution and the geopolitical features of our state required pressing ahead uninterruptedly with the already-started building of nuclear force for the welfare of the people, the destiny of the revolution and the existence and independent development of the state.”
• South: Before the North developed nuclear weapons its primary deterrent against the United States was conventional and deployed against the South. Although the allies would win any war, the cost still would be high, especially to Seoul, just 30 or so miles from the Demilitarized Zone and vulnerable to artillery and missile attack.
• Estimates of weaponry: A recent Rand Corp./Asan Institute report projected a much larger arsenal within the decade: “To simplify doing so, we estimate … that, by 2027, North Korea could have 200 nuclear weapons and several dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and hundreds of theater missiles for delivering the nuclear weapons. [South Korea] and the United States are not prepared, and do not plan to be prepared, to deal with the coercive and warfighting leverage that these weapons would give North Korea.” Such a capability would move the North into the midrange of nuclear powers. Even then, there would be no direct threat to the United States. Pyongyang would still lack capability to initiate a first strike, and the North’s leader, whether Kim or someone else, wouldn’t plan national suicide by starting a war with Washington. However, the U.S. alliance with South Korea would be unsustainable.
• Future: So long as Kim (or his successor) believed that a war were winnable or a satisfactory settlement were possible, he likely would retain his nukes. However, if his forces were broken and in retreat, his calculations would change. With no saving deus ex machina, like China’s 1950 intervention, in prospect, there would be little reason to leave the nukes unused.
• Summary: North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal highlights the downside of America’s security guarantee for the South. Absent unlikely denuclearization via diplomacy, continuing to protect South Korea will increasingly expose the U.S. homeland to possible nuclear attack. Nothing at stake in the peninsula warrants taking that risk.

Antonio Guterres: Second term UN Secretary General

• The styory: The United Nations General Assembly appointed Antonio Guterres as the ninth UN Secretary General (UNSG) for a second term beginning 1st January, 2022 and ending on 31st 2026. India had given support for the re-election of Guterres as UN Chief.
• Points to note: Antonio Guterres took oath of office on 1st January, 2017 and his first term ends on 31st December 2021. He served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a decade from June 2005 to December 2015, and was the former Prime minister of Portugal.

1. Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Each Secretary-General has the option of a second term if they can garner enough support from Member states. Guterres was elected after a reformed selection process that included a public informal dialogue session in the General Assembly, involving civil society representatives, aimed at ensuring transparency and inclusivity.
2. UN Charter - The Charter of the United Nations is the founding document of the United Nations. It was signed on 26th June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24th October 1945. The UN can take action on a wide variety of issues due to its unique international character and the powers vested in its Charter, which is considered an international treaty.

• The UNGA: The General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Composed of all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. It also plays a significant role in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international law.
• The UN Security Council: Established by the UN charter in 1945, the Security Council has the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. The Security Council has 15 members, and five permanent ones - the United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom. The non-permanent members of the Security Council are elected for a term of two years. Recently, India has been elected. Each member of the Security Council has one vote. Decisions of the Security Council on matters are made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members. A "No" vote from one of the five permanent members blocks the passage of the resolution. Any member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council may participate, without vote, in the discussion of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the latter considers that the interests of that member are specially affected.
• Challenges: The UNGA has no control over veto power exercised by UNSC and it cannot take any decisive action against permanent members of UNSC. The 15-member Security Council is by far the most powerful arm of the United Nations. However, the veto power is used by five permanent countries to serve the strategic interest of themselves and their allies. The UN charter is vague in defining the duties of the secretary general, the United Nations’ top official. The World Health Organization (WHO) was criticised by the US on account of mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently suspended its financial contribution to WHO. (The WHO is a specialised agency of the UN)
• United Nations: The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945, currently made up of 193 Member States. India is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in all of its specialised agencies and organizations. Its activities include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development and upholding international law.

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

July '21 Union Cabinet reshuffle

• The story: After a long time, a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle of the Modi government took place. Some big names were dropped, and many new names found an opening. Those who were dropped included Ravi Shankar Prasad (IT minister), Harsh Vardhan (Health minister), Prakash Javdekar (Environment minister), Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Education minister) and Santosh Gangwar (Labour minister).
• The 91st Constitutional Amendment, 2003: This amendment added Article 75(1A) that reads "“(1A) The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People." In this July '21 expansion, PM Modi has taken the strength to 78, just shy of the maximum of 81.
• New opportunities: The country battered by Covid will now look towards Mansukh Mandavia as the new Health Minister (who soon announced a Covid package also), and also towards bureaucrat-turned-politician Ashwini Vaishnaw (the new Railway Minister and IT minister). The government has had a face-off with Twitter.

1. The man who helped BJP come back to power (in the middle of a Covid pandemic) in MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia, was made the Civil Aviation Minister
2. Home Minister Amit Shah was given the charge of the newly-created Ministry of Cooperation (to push the Cooperative movement in India)
3. Piyush Goyal will now be the Minister of Textiles
4. Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan was given the portfolios of Education Ministry (he'll handle the New Education Policy rollout); he'll also handle the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
5. Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal Pradesh) was given the portfolio of Law and Justice
6. Hardeep Singh Puri will be the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister

• The new names: Among the new ministers who were inducted into the Union Cabinet are BJP’s Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Bhatt, Bhupender Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje, Sunita Duggal, Meenakshi Lekhi, Bharati Pawar, Shantanu Thakur and Kapil Patil; JD(U)’s RCP Singh, LJP’s Pashupati Paras, and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel. Clearly, the Modi government has an eye on the upcoming UP elections 2022, as well as the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The representation of various caste groups has been taken into account.

1. Promoted - The seven ministers of state who were promoted are Anurag Thakur, G Kishan Reddy, Paroshottam Rupala, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya and Raj Kumar Singh.
2. Lost out - Others who were removed from the Cabinet were Babul Supriyo (West Bengal), Sadananda Gowda, Debasree Chaudhuri, Rattan Lal Kataria, Sanjay Dhotre, Thawarchand Gehlot, Pratap Chandra Sarangi (MoS) and Ashwini Chaubey (MoS).

• The big stories: IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was caught on the wrong foot as the huge row with social media giants like Twitter over the new digital rules drew attention from the international community and gave the government a lot of negative publicity. He also struggled to implement PM Modi's ambitious Bharatnet programme, meant to bring internet to every village, before the June 2021 deadline. The responsibility of resolving the tech jumble has now fallen on Ashwini Vaishnaw, a technocrat with degrees from IIT Kanpur and Wharton School, Pennsylvania University, who with his experience in Public Private Partnership, is expected to fast-track the Bharatnet programme.

1. Mr Mansukh Mandaviya (an MP from Gujarat) had earned praise as the shipping minister, as during the peak of the second wave, he oversaw the import of crucial cryogenic tankers for oxygen imports and was applauded internally for silent crisis management.
2. Mr Nitish Pramanik, a young MP from Bengal, is a vocal critic of CM Mamata Banerjee, and his induction as Amit Shah's junior in the home ministry will have a clear political ramification.

• Summary: For a government that prides itself on "minimum government, maximum governance", this clearly was a change of track.

Digital India - Intermediaries and humans core to Digital India

• The story: Even in ‘Digital India’, humans are significant in brokering trust between governments and citizens, as was learnt in the pandemic. The design of e-governance programmes must accommodate intermediaries, who deliver last mile governance.
• Who are these intermediaries: They are offline entities, both political and apolitical, individuals and collectives, with different motivations. Apolitical social workers and community leaders do their work as service. Political individuals see their work as constituency service to secure vote bases. Community-based organisations and NGOs see their work as allied to their core work.
• Role of intermediaries: They help citizens overcome barriers to awareness (of availability of digital services and rights from the state) and ability. The barriers are high for the marginalised and poor citizens, the women and the elderly, and caste and gender minorities. Intermediaries support individuals by placing complaints, directing them to the right authorities, and following up.
• Utility: During the various stages of the pandemic, public came to rely on various individuals to address daily needs, even as more services went online. The eGovernments Foundation (eGov) and Aapti Institute came together to explore how digitally excluded communities engage with governance. It was learnt that even in ‘Digital India’, humans are significant in brokering trust between governments and citizens. The design of most e-governance programmes does not recognise this, though. A simple example is that intermediaries struggled with indicating that they were placing a complaint for someone else, and with communicating the impact (for example, the number of houses affected by the problem). A good exception was Andhra Pradesh, thatrolled out a ward secretariat programme with over 16,000 ward secretaries and volunteers. They worked for delivering government services at citizens’ doorstep.
• Right policy: Using intermediaries can augment the state capacity to serve citizens, as they are a reality of everyday life for the average Indian. There are various kinds, and hence a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not work, but it's crucial to think about leveraging the strengths of intermediaries.
• Summary: Increasing digitisation of governance across healthcare, financial inclusion, justice and social services is inevitable. In this transition, greater engagement with intermediaries to raise citizens’ awareness, and building intermediaries’ skills is crucial. This is how data-driven governance across domains will be made succeessful, else e-Governance will not reach the farthest corners of this huge country of 138 crores.

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

Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated

• The story: In a shocking incident, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his residence, plunging the unstable Caribbean nation into fresh political turmoil. A group of assailants entered the residence and shot the president and wounded the first lady (now hospitalized). This was informed by the Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
• Who were they: The PM said the attackers spoke Spanish but remained unidentified. Haiti is a French-speaking country, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, roiled by violent protests, economic contraction brought by the pandemic and security concerns. Interestingly, Haiti was the first nation ever to successfully gain independence through a slave revolt (in 1803).
• President Moïse: He was narrowly elected in 2016, and refused to leave office in February, arguing that his term lasted another year. Opposition leaders accused Mr. Moïse of turning into an autocrat. The 53-year-old president, a former banana plantation manager, also launched an effort to rewrite Haiti’s Constitution to give the presidency more power. The changes would allow the president to run for a second term, greater control over the armed forces and legal immunity from actions taken while in office. He postponed a referendum due in late June '21 on a new constitution amid rising criticism, including from the U.S. The referendum was postponed until September, when new presidential elections are scheduled.
• Story of Haiti: The name Haiti comes from the indigenous Taíno language, for the entire island of Hispaniola, and means "land of high mountains. The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western three-eighths, has been inhabited since about 5000 BC by groups of Native Americans.

1. Navigator Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti on 6 December 1492, leaving soon thereafter, but infecting the entire local population with smallpox disese (endemic to Europe but not found in the island) leading to mass deaths. The Spanish controlled the island, exploited the locals, and later focused on main South America to exploit its riches. The French decisively moved in by 1697 and a whole slave culture was created. But inspired by the French Revolution of 1789 and principles of the rights of man, the French settlers and free people of color pressed for greater political freedom and more civil rights.
2. The slaves continued their fight for independence, led by generals Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and managed to decisively defeat the French troops at the Battle of Vertières on 18 November 1803, establishing the first nation ever to successfully gain independence through a slave revolt. Fearful of the impact the slave rebellion could have in the slave states, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize the new republic.  
3. After a very long period of regime changes, the United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when President Woodrow Wilson ordered taking control of Haiti's political and financial interests. The invasion and occupation followed years of socioeconomic instability within Haiti, and ended on August 1, 1934, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt reaffirmed an August 1933 disengagement agreement. Two major rebellions occurred during this period resulting in several thousand Haitians killed and numerous human rights violations – including torture and summary executions – by United States Marines and the gendarmerie.
4. Jean-Bertrand Aristide later became Haiti's first democratically elected president in the 1990–91 Haitian general election, with 67% of the vote, until a September 1991 military coup, which collapsed in 1994 under U.S. pressure, and Aristide was president again from 1994 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2004. He was ousted again in the 2004 coup d'état after right-wing ex-army paramilitaries invaded from across the Dominican border. He returned to Haiti in 2011 after seven years in exile. Jovenel Moïse was a Haitian entrepreneur who served as the president from 2017 until his assassination in 2021.
5. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic, where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. It has been historically unstable due to various coup d'états, regime changes, military juntas and conflicts.
6. The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, a multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections, and the PM acts as head of government and is appointed by the President, chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly.
7. Haiti has been increasingly unstable in the past few years. Its economy shrank amid rising lawlessness and gang violence in communities. The country has had six prime ministers over the past four years.

• [message]
• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3)

Ants and the acacias - a symbiotic relationship

• The story: Acacias are a widespread group, and one member Vachellia collinsii is famous for its symbiotic relationship with ants. The ants attack herbivorous insects which eat the tree’s leaves, remove encroaching vegetation, and also protect it from disease by distributing antibiotics synthesised by bacteria living on their legs. The tree rewards ants with food in the form of protein-rich Beltian bodies and sugar-rich nectaries, and with secure housing inside hollow thorns that have evolved specifically for the purpose.
• The deal: This seems like a good arrangement, but is always open to negotiation. The members of ant species 'Pseudomyrmex spinicola' do everything expected of them and help the plants to thrive. But another species - Crematogaster crinosa - are less desirable tenants as they are lazy defenders against herbivores, fail to clear encroaching vegetation and are not known to spread antibiotics.
• Different wages: Since the two ant species behave differently, researchers tried finding if the trees rewarded them differently. Indeed they did, but in a strange way.

1. The quality and quantity of accommodation provided was the same in all circumstances. Even when ants were absent, acacias grew similar numbers of hollow thorns. But the food rewards on offer varied a lot.
2. In particular, trees with ants sported 75% more nectaries than those without. But the plants also treated the two types of tenant differently.
3. Though the distribution of Beltian bodies remained unchanged, acacias supporting colonies of P. spinicola only produced nectaries along the bases of their leaves. Those supporting C. crinosa did this too, but also sported such structures at the tips of their leaves, encouraging otherwise recalcitrant workers of that species to traverse the leaves to reach an extra reward.
4. That brings these ants into contact with pests they might not otherwise have encountered, driving those pests away.

• Summary: From an anthropomorphic point of view it does not seem fair on the hard-working workers of P. spinicola, which need no such bribe to achieve the same goal!

Coding of computer programmes changing due to A.I.

• The story: The Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3 (or GPT-3) is a language model developed by OpenAI, a part-commercial, part not-for-profit artificial-intelligence (AI) laboratory in San Francisco, USA. It was trained on an unprecedented mass of text to teach it the probability that a given word will follow preceding words. When fed a short text “prompt”, it cranks out coherent prose written in a similar style.
• Slowly in the mainstream: Access is limited, as it might otherwise be used to mass produce fake news or flood social media with “trolling and griefing” messages. But OpenAI also knows that GPT-3 is commercially valuable. The laboratory started letting vetted firms buy its output for approved uses. These include producing answers to typed questions about products, and powering the speech of fictional characters in virtual worlds. But perhaps most important, GPT-3 can also be used to write computer code.
• Using it to write software: Several firms are now using GPT-3 and its predecessor GPT-2 to add AI to the software that their programmers use to write code. Since much of what these programmers type out has already been written elsewhere by someone, by feeding oodles of pre-existing code into such packages, they can be trained to predict the lines a programmer needs next. As a programmer types, potential “code completions” of one or a few lines pop up on the screen.

1. This AI-completion feature was further developed by a firm Tabnine, of Tel Aviv, Israel. It used GPT-2 to feed so much code to its programming software, also named Tabnine, that this software gained a sort of “world knowledge”. Tabnine software may detect that a user has begun to type code to handle, say, purchase orders. It then suggests code to display product names and prices, as well as code to create fields to be filled with quantities, payment and delivery data. It works even though Tabnine has never been specifically instructed to do that.
2. Some coding sequences are rare. In these cases, Tabnine lengthens its pop-up list of suggested completions to increase the likelihood of offering a useful one. By clicking on one that is appropriate, the programmer teaches Tabnine to perform better. Tabnine’s professional version seems “almost intelligent” in its ability to understand a programmer’s intent.

• Microsoft: On June 17th 2021, Microsoft, an American software giant, released a new version of an AI-completion feature which it embeds in coding software called Visual Studio. The original version, released in 2018 and named IntelliCode, was trained on a few thousand online repositories in which code for programming projects is stored. Microsoft trained its upgraded system on more than half a million such repositories.
• Purpose: The goal is to save time. Overall efficiency gains are not too high, though. But selecting from multiple choices is less taxing than devising solutions from scratch. Nor are those who write code the only beneficiaries. Developers spend nearly as much time searching for bugs in what they have written as they do writing it in the first place. A machine-learning model being built may speed up the debugging process.

1. To train it, researchers are collecting code labelled as buggy by GitHub, a Microsoft subsidiary that hosts the biggest collection of non-proprietary “open source” code in the world. It holds at least a billion snippets of code identified as harbouring a bug.
2. Another bug-spotting model is in development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The goal there is to train the model to recognise not just inadvertent bugs, but also maliciously inserted vulnerabilities.

• Summary: The clear destination of all this is the creation of software programmers which can, like the human variety, take an idea and turn it into code. Microsoft is also using GPT-3 to power what it calls “no code/low code” programming. Might AIs eventually write whatever code they fancy running? No such runaway feedback loop is around the corner. But mankind may see a Matrix emerging soon, if adequate precautions aren't taken!

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

China declared Malaria-Free

• The story: The World Health Organization (WHO) has finally declared China as “malaria-free”, the result of a seven decade-long, multi-pronged health strategy that was able to entirely eliminate indigenous cases for four straight years.
• Points to note: How does a country get this certificate?

1. Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition by WHO of a country’s malaria-free status. The WHO grants it when a country has demonstrated with rigorous, credible evidence that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the past three consecutive years. A country must also demonstrate the capacity to prevent the re-establishment of transmission. The final decision on awarding a malaria-free certification rests with the WHO Director-General, based on a recommendation by the independent Malaria Elimination Certification Panel (MECP).
2. Western Pacific Region: China is the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to be awarded a malaria-free certification in more than 3 decades. In this region the countries that have achieved this status include Australia (1981), Singapore (1982) and Brunei Darussalam (1987).

• Global status: Globally, 40 countries and territories have been granted a malaria-free certification from WHO – including, most recently, El Salvador (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018) and Uzbekistan (2018).
• Disease burden: According to the World Malaria Report, 2020, the number of malaria cases worldwide in 2019 was around 229 million, with 4,09,000 lives lost to the mosquito-borne disease. Majority cases were reported in Africa, while India and Southeast Asia recorded a significant drop. Cases in India fell from approximately 20 million to 6 million, and India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
• China's strategy: The efforts began in the early 1950s, a time when China was reporting millions of cases annually, starting with a multi-pronged approach of providing anti-malarial medicines while targeting mosquito breeding grounds and using insecticide spraying.

1. The 523 Project - It led to the discovery of artemisinin in the 1970s, the core compound of artemisinin-based combination therapies, the most effective antimalarial drugs available today.
2. Insecticide-treated Nets: In the 1980s, China began using insecticide-treated nets widely, distributing 2.4 million nets by 1988.
3. 1-3-7 srategy - It refers to (i) A one-day deadline to report a malaria diagnosis, (ii) Confirming a case and determining the spread by the third day, and (iii) Measures taken to stop the spread by the seventh day, along with continued surveillance in high-risk areas.

• Malaria: It is a life threatening mosquito borne blood disease caused by plasmodium parasites, predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America as well as Asia. The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. After entering the human body, parasites initially multiply within the liver cells and then attack the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) resulting in their rupture.
• Indian initiatives: In India, malaria elimination efforts were initiated in 2015 and were intensified after the launch of the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) in 2016 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. NFME is in line with WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria, 2016-2030, which guides the WHO Global Malaria Programme (GMP), responsible for coordinating WHO's global efforts to control and eliminate malaria. The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22) was launched in July 2017 which laid down strategies for the following five years.

'Living together separately' - Religions in India

• The story: A comprehensive Pew Research Center study found most Indians respecting religious diversity, but preferring to live in separate spheres, and hating interfaith marriages. This was a survey on 30,000 individuals titled ‘Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation’.
• Learnings: More Indians see diversity as a benefit (53%) than view it as a liability (24%) for their country; the rest do not take a clear position. Nearly 84% of Indians believe that respecting all religions is very important to being truly Indian, and 80% believe respecting other religions is a very important part of their identity. Two in every three Indians put a high priority on stopping interfaith and inter-caste marriages.

1. While people in some countries may aspire to create a ‘melting pot’ of different religious identities, many Indians prefer a country more like a patchwork fabric or thali, with clear lines between groups
2. For all the new laws aimed at stopping inter-community marriages, the survey found very little change caused by conversion to the size of various religious groups among the respondents
3. Large sections among the minority communities say they would be willing to live near a Hindu. Most Hindus, too, say they would be willing to live near a Muslim, a Christian or a Jain. But 36% Hindus would not be willing to live near a Muslim.
4. Triple talaq - A majority of Muslims say they are against triple talaq, with women more opposed to it than men. Muslims with college degrees are more supportive of triple talaq than are Muslims with less education (46% vs 37%). Muslims who say religion is very important in their lives are more likely to support triple talaq than those who say religion is less important (39% vs 26%).
5. For most Hindus and Muslims, avoiding beef and pork respectively is central to their idea of who is truly Hindu or Muslim.
6. A majority of both groups also says a person cannot be Hindu or Muslim, respectively, if they celebrate each other’s festivals. The shares of Muslims who say namaz and visiting mosques are essential to being Muslim (67% and 61% respectively) are higher than the shares of Hindus who say a person cannot be Hindu if they don’t say their prayers or don’t visit temples (48% each).

• Survey and backdrop: The survey was conducted between November 17, 2019 and March 23, 2020 among 29,999 adults (22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims), interviewed face-to-face in 26 states and three UTs. Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep (remoteness), Kashmir (shutdown), and Manipur and Sikkim (Covid-19) were excluded. Six groups were targeted for oversampling: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and those living in the Northeast. Sampling was conducted through a design that sought to increase diversity in religious representation.

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

INS Tabar conducts military exercise with Italian Navy

• The story: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar recently participated in military exercises with frontline frigate of Italian Navy.
• Points to note: The INS Tabar joined Italian Navy and entered Port of Naples on July 3 as part of ongoing deployment in Mediterranean. While returning, Tabar also undertook a Maritime Partnership Exercise with ITS Antonio Marceglia in Tyrrhenian Sea on July 4 & 5. This covered several naval operations such as air defence procedures, communication drills, replenishment at sea, and cross deck helo operations by day and night. It was mutually beneficial for enhancing interoperability and consolidating combined operations against maritime threats.
• INS Tabar: It is the third of Talwar-class frigate in Indian Navy, commissioned on April 19, 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia. It is a vessel in Talwar class and is armed with supersonic BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles. It is also equipped with Barak 1 missiles. The vessel is assigned to Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai, and is a well-equipped warship which can easily handle air, surface, and sub-surface missions. It can also defend herself operating either independently on maritime missions or by supporting larger naval task force. Its surface-to-air weapons systems include one single-rail MS-196 launcher. Launcher has the capability to launch long range Shtil-1 surface-to-air missile. It also carry eight Igla-1E portable air defence missiles for short-range threats.

Budget FY22 of West Bengal

• The story: The new West Bengal government presented its budget for Financial Year 2022, tabled by CM Mamata Banerjee in state assembly on July 7, 2021.
• Points to note: The Budget laid emphasis on social-sector expenditure and Covid reliefs. Its size for next financial year has been kept at Rs 2,78,727 crore, increased by 28.5% as compared to last year’s budget. Outlays for schemes such as Krishak Bandhu, students’ credit card and Lakhi Bandhu scheme (basic income for women) have been increased. Allocations for food & civil supplies and Covid relief have also been increased. Capital expenditure for FY22 is expected to above Rs 65,291 crore. Budget has extended motor vehicle tax and additional tax exemption up to December 31, 2021 in view of covid-19. 10% decrease in circle rate for registration of land and property deeds was announced up to October 30.
• Revenue receipts & expenditure: Revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 1,86,661 crore while revenue expenditure is budgeted at Rs 2,13,436 crore. Fiscal deficit for FY22 is expected to be 4% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) while revenue deficit at 1.77%. The Covid pandemic has depressed revenues for most states.
• Details: Money received by government is called receipt, and includes money earned by the government, money received by government in the form of borrowings or repayment of loans by states. Expenditure is divided in two heads: plan & non-plan expenditure. Plan expenditure are done in the name of planning. For example, expenditure on electricity generation, irrigation, rural developments, construction projects etc. Non-plan Expenditure are expenditures other than plan expenditure such as pensions, interest payments, statutory transfers to States & Union Territories etc. In recent years, it has been changed to revenue expenditure and capital expenditure.

Razorpay- Mastercard launch MandateHQ payment interface

• The story: Payments solution provider Razorpay has partnered with Mastercard to launch ‘MandateHQ’, a payment interface that will help card-issuing banks to enable recurring payments for customers. Razorpay aims to integrate MandateHQ with more than 50 banks in 12 months.
• Details: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had issued a framework to process e-mandates on recurring online transactions. It made Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) mandatory for all recurring transactions below Rs.5,000 made using debit cards, credit cards, Unified Payment Interface (UPI), and other Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs).  As per RBI notification, all stakeholders are required to ensure full compliance with this framework by September 30, 2021.
• Applicable to: This RBI directive is applicable to all recurring payments which were debited automatically from customers’ credit card, debit card or prepaid card for mobile bills, utility bills and other recurring bills. It will also be applicable to subscription payments like OTT streaming services.
• MandateHQ: It is an API-based plug-n-play solution, launched to reduce go-live time for any card issuing bank that seeks to enable recurring payments for its customers. It is a unified platform to help banks with end-to-end mandate lifecycle management such as creating, viewing, updating, cancelling & pausing mandates. It will also help businesses, particularly subscription-based businesses, to get access to a wider customer base who use debit cards.

Delhi: Crime against women rose by 63.3%, so far in 2021

• The story: Data shared by Delhi Police shows that, Crime against women in Capital has increased by 63.3% in first six months of 2021 against the crime rate in 2020.
• Learnings: As per data, rape cases have increase from 580 in June 2020 to 833 in 2021, accounting for an increase of 43%. Molestation cases have surged from 733 to 1022, accounting for 39% surge for same period. Kidnapping of women have increased from 1,026 to 1,580. Abduction cases increased from 46 to 159, and dowry deaths has also increased from 47 to 56.
• Data on Heinous crimes: The figure decreased marginally from 2,436 to 2,315 till June 12, 2021. In first six months of 2021, Delhi recorded seven cases of dacoity, 196 murder, 942 robbery, 295 attempt to murder, 942 robbery, 35 riot cases, and seven kidnapping for ransom. In 2020, Delhi witnessed four cases of dacoity, 226 murder, 701 robbery, 236 attempt to murder, 681 riot cases and eight kidnapping for ransom. Report highlight, number of riot cases has come down significantly over the year.
• Data on non-heinous crimes: Number of non-heinous crimes has surged by 8.5%. 1,20,980 cases of non-heinous crime have been reported in 2021 as against 1,11,419 in 2020. Total of 493 cases of hurt were reported, 1173 cases of burglary, 15667 cases of motor vehicle theft and 938 cases of house theft were reported in 2021 as  compared to 421 hurt cases, 839 cases of burglary, 13130 cases of vehicle theft  and 875 cases of house theft in 2020.

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!

---