UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - October 11

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

In news:

• The Supreme Court will on Wednesday pronounce its verdict on whether or not an exception to rape, sanctioned by the Indian Penal Code that allows a man to have sexual intercourse with his wife aged above 15 is valid.

Ambiguity:

• Section 375 (rape) of the IPC, allows a husband to have sexual relationship with his 15-year-old wife.
• Definition of ‘child’ in recent laws such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, which includes any person below the age of 18.
• The court has repeatedly questioned the continued existence of this exception to rape when the other parliamentary laws have uniformly said that the age of consent of a girl is 18.

Government’s response: doing away with this exception clause in the IPC would open a Pandora’s box on marital rape, which does not exist in India.

NGO, Independent Thought’s contention: the exception clause was “violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution to the extent that it permits intrusive sexual intercourse with a girl child aged between 15 and 18 years, only on the ground that she has been married.

Basic Information:

Section 375 in The Indian Penal Code

375. Rape.—A man is said to commit “rape” who, except in the case hereinafter excepted, has sexual intercourse with a woman under circumstances falling under any of the six following de­scriptions:—

     (First) — against her will.

     (Secondly) —Without her consent.

    (Thirdly) — With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested in fear of death or of hurt.

   (Fourthly) —With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband, and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be law­fully married.

   (Fifthly) — With her consent, when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupe­fying or unwholesome substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.

  (Sixthly) — With or without her consent, when she is under sixteen years of age. Explanation.—Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.

    (Exception) —Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.] STATE AMENDMENT

    (Manipur) —(a) in clause sixthly, for the word “sixteen” substitute the word “fourteen”; 

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012: The Act is gender-neutral and defines a child as any person below the age of eighteen years.

It provides:

• Precise definitions for different types of Child abuse crimes
• Stringent punishments
• Mandatory reporting
• Child-friendly procedures
• Under Section 45 of the Act, the power to make rules rests with the Central Government
• Qualifications and experience of interpreters
• Arrangements for care and protection
• Criteria for award of compensation by the Special Court

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) have been made the designated authority to monitor the implementation of the Act

In news:

Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that government law officers were allowed to take up private suits depending on the nature of the case. But they are disallowed from suits in which the state is party.

Government response to the Supreme Court Constitution Bench:

• Passive euthanasia, the act of withdrawing life support to a terminally-ill patient, is already the law of the land.
• Aruna Shanbaug case: The government pointed out that the Supreme Court itself, in 2011, had issued comprehensive guidelines allowing passive euthanasia in the tragic case of the bed-ridden former Mumbai nurse Aruna Shanbaug.
• The government said it was finalising a draft law on passive euthanasia called ‘The Management of Patients With Terminal Illness – Withdrawal of Medical Life Support Bill’, which was drawn up in line with the recommendations of the Law Commission of India that life support can be withdrawn for patients in persistent vegetative state (PVS) or suffering an irreversible medical condition.
• Centre’s objection: The Centre, however, objected to legalising the concept of ‘Living Will’ — an advance written directive to physicians for end-of-life medical care.
  Reason: this may lead to the abuse and neglect of the elderly, especially if they were financially well-off. The government pointed out that the living will was a concept which contradicts a person’s instinctive urge to survive.

Social and philosophical aspects

Forcing a person to take medical treatment against their will is also a social issue

• On one hand, country is short of medical facilities etc, and on other hand, we force those who are in a hopeless situation to take treatment
• This also raises a “philosophical question” on whether a person can refuse treatment
• An individual who refuses to undergo treatment may become a burden on the resources of the state

Way forward

• As laid down in the Shanbaug case, the way ahead was to allow medical boards to decide whether to allow passive euthanasia or not

Basic Information:

Passive euthanasia:

• Passive euthanasia is the acts of hastening the death of a terminally-ill patient by altering some form of support and letting nature take its course.
• Passive euthanasia can involve turning off respirators, halting medications, discontinuing food and water so the patient dies because of dehydration or starvation.
• Passive euthanasia can include giving the patient large doses of morphine to control pain in spite of the likelihood that the painkiller can cause fatal respiratory problems.

Active euthanasia: Active euthanasia involves helping the patient to die on the basis of a request by either the patient of those close to him or her, usually direct family members.

Living Will:

• A Living Will is a document that allows a person to explain in writing which medical treatment he or she does or does not want during a terminal illness.
• A terminal illness is a fatal illness that leads ultimately to death.
• A Living Will takes effect only when the patient is incapacitated and can no longer express his or her wishes. The will states which medical treatments may be used and which may not be used to die naturally and without the patient’s life being artificially prolonged by various medical procedures.

In news:

• IMR: Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) is counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births
• Data released by the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) bulletin:
  • According to the SRS’ data, states from the east and northeastern part of the country have registered a significant drop in IMR
  • The all-India IMR has also decreased from 37 in 2015 to 34 in 2016
  • The SRS bulletin, published by the office of Registrar General of India

State wise performance:

• Bihar, which has the highest density of population in the country, has recorded a drop of four points in IMR from 42 in 2015 to 38 in 2016
• In Assam, the IMR has dropped from 47 to 43 and in Jharkhand, it has dropped from 32 to 29
• In Odisha, the IMR have dropped from 46 to 44
• West Bengal, which has been showing a steady decline over the past few years, has recorded a drop of one point from 26 in 2015 to 25 in 2016

Key Points:

• China’s Minzu University is offering the country’s first master’s degree in Yoga.
• Significance: It appears to be a clear signal that soft power is being deployed to reactivate China-India ties in the aftermath of the tense Doklam standoff.
• The programme is being sponsored by the China-India Yoga College at the University, and India’s Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana.
• The three-year course includes two years in China and a final year in India.
• Classes will cover lessons on yoga asanas, yoga physiology, yoga anatomy, yoga therapy as well as meridian theory.
• The curriculum includes courses in Hindi and Sanskrit.

C. GS3 Related

International Monitory Fund (IMF) predictions:

• In the latest World Economic Outlook released on October 10, IMF has projected India to grow at 6.7% in 2017 and 7.4% in 2018.
• Reasons: The report cited “lingering impact” of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax for the expected slow down during the current and the next year.

World economy is picking up steam:

• The IMF has revised upwards “global growth projections to 3.6% for this year and 3.7% for next.
• Pickups in investment, trade, and industrial production, coupled with strengthening business and consumer confidence, are supporting the recovery

Context:

• Indian banks’ sour loans hit a record 5 trillion rupees ($145.56 billion) at the end of June.
• Key Fact: Asia’s third-largest economy is no nearer to bringing its bad debt problems under control.

In news:

• A review of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data obtained through right-to-information requests shows banks’ total stressed loans – including non-performing and restructured or rolled over loans – rose 4.5 percent in the six months to end-June. In the previous six months they had risen 5.8 percent.
• The bulk of India’s sour loans are in the state banks and stem from lending to large conglomerates, especially in steel and infrastructure.
• Key Fact: Stressed loans as a percentage of total loans reached 12.6 percent at end-June, according to the RBI data, the highest level in at least 15 years.
• According to RBI data, new loans grew at just about 5 percent in the year to March, the lowest growth rate in more than six decades. Several banks have already cut back their loan books to conserve capital.
• Negative impact:
• The stubborn bad debt problem has eaten up bank profits and choked off new lending, especially to smaller firms.
• Banks are having to take higher provisions to account for more defaulters being pushed into bankruptcy. And margins are likely to be squeezed further by proposed new rules to encourage commercial banks to pass on central bank interest rate cuts.

Bank Recapitalization:

• Fitch Ratings estimates Indian banks will need $65 billion of additional capital by March 2019 to meet Basel III global banking rules.
• Moody’s expects the top 11 state lenders alone will need nearly $15 billion. The government has just $3 billion left in its budget for bank recapitalization.

Context:

• Report by India Ratings limited on the stressed assets scenario in the Indian industry.
• Main theme: Stressed corporates could derail the overall investment recovery for another two-to-three years in the wake of moderate consumption demand, global overcapacity and working capital disruptions due to the goods and services tax.
• The main concern expressed by the report is decline in capital expenditure in the Indian industry.

Key Findings:

• There are 75 stressed corporates who constitute 20 per cent of the total capital expenditure spending over FY12-17.
• These corporates are from key investment-linked sectors, such as metals and mining, infrastructure, and power.
• The majority of stressed corporates would require another 4-5 years to deleverage (the process of reducing the level of one’s debt by rapidly selling one’s assets) to a sustainable level of 4-5 times from their current leverage of 9-10 times

Reasons:

• Key Areas of Stresses: There are pockets of stress within sectors, especially infrastructure, metals and power (particularly thermal) owing to high leverage and weak cash flow.
• These sectors witnessed a significant decline in capacity utilisation.
• Corporates are likely to show an unwillingness to invest in long-term projects due to muted demand and significant leverage, despite a low interest rate environment.

Way forward: The core sectors need to focus on selling stressed assets and equity infusion in order to make efforts in incurring capital expenditure.

Basic Information:

• Capital Expenditure: Money spent by a business or organization on acquiring or maintaining fixed assets, such as land, buildings, and equipment.
• EBITDA: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a measure of a company’s operating performance. Essentially, it’s a way to evaluate a company’s performance without having to factor in financing decisions, accounting decisions or tax environments.

4. Is ‘deep sea fishing’ the silver bullet?

5. Petroleum ministry to seek Cabinet approval for domestic gas trading hub

6. A new industrial policy for Bharat

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/HEALTH ISSUES

1. WHO releases new guidelines to manage obesity in children

Nothing here for Today!!!

Question 1. Shaphee Lanphee, a traditional textile fabric, is a GI product from which of 
the following states?

See

Question 2. The states in India which require Inner Line permit are:

See

Question 3. The Indra Exercise is a join military exercise between India and

Question 4. India’s first micro forest will be built in which state?

Question 5. Which fish has been officially declared as one of the rarest species of fish in the 
world by the Marine Living Resources Department of Andhra University?

GS Paper II

1. What is Conference of Governors? What is its importance?

GS Paper IV

1. Critically analyze the various ethical issues associated with euthanasia?

Also, check previous Daily News Analysis

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