14 Apr 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 14th April 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Gyanvapi Masjid: HC moved against lower court’s order
HEALTH
1. Centre fast-tracks approval for more vaccine candidates
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. ‘Global cooperation benefits India, world’
C. GS 3 Related
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. WHO urges halt on sale of live wild mammals in markets
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. A small step
HEALTH
1. Another beginning
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. BIMSTEC needs to reinvent itself
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. In climate change noise, India’s role as conductor
F. Prelims Facts
1. Last two rhinos translocated under IRV 2020
G. Tidbits
1. Nagaland’s version of NRC triggers concern
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: HEALTH

1. Centre fast-tracks approval for more vaccine candidates

Context:

In a major shift in vaccine approval policy, the government has decided to fast track approvals for COVID-19 vaccines that have been developed outside India and have been granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) by other drug regulatory agencies.

Details:

• The decision was taken based on the recommendation made by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) to expand the basket of vaccines for domestic use and hasten the pace and coverage.
• The vaccines that would be eligible for the fast-track approval will include those that have been granted an EUA by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) of Japan, or those that have been prequalified by the WHO for emergency use.
• Under the fast-track approval process, bridging studies will take place in parallel to mass vaccination.

Read more on Emergency Use Authorisation covered in 13^th April 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. ‘Global cooperation benefits India, world’

Context:

India’s External Affairs Minister’s comments at Raisina Dialogue.

Raisina Dialogue:

• This is an annual geopolitical event, hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
• It is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration with the larger world.
• Every year, leaders in politics, business, media, and civil society converge in New Delhi to discuss the state of the world and explore opportunities for cooperation on a wide range of contemporary matters.
• The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion.

Details:

• India’s External Affairs Minister said that the cooperation to counter global challenges such as the current pandemic is advantageous to both India and the rest of the world, highlighting India’s recent initiatives to provide vaccines to a large number of developing countries to help them fight COVID-19.
• He argued that as a result of international partnership and research, India was able to increase the manufacturing of vaccines developed elsewhere while also developing indigenous vaccines in the country.

Note:

• India has been the first responder on a number of crisis situations in the neighbourhood and beyond and the response to the pandemic is part of that same chain of initiatives.
• In terms of humanitarian assistance, whether it was an earthquake in Nepal, or a civil war in Yemen, or a cyclone in Mozambique, or a typhoon in Fiji, or a mudslide in Sri Lanka, or whether it is taking the Paris agenda forward through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance, or how to respond collectively towards disaster resilience, India has been proactive in taking measures.

Category: HEALTH

1. Another beginning

Context:

The Drug Controller General of India has formally approved another vaccine candidate “Sputnik V” under emergency use authorisation.

Issue:

• The recent approval comes as India grapples with a vaccine shortage.
• India is in a crisis. When it had the opportunity to conduct clinical trials in the right way, in the case of Covaxin and even Covishield, India rushed through its regulatory process.
  • This contributed to the hesitancy surrounding these vaccines.
• It is still a mystery why India did not plan for enough stocks like the U.K. and the U.S. did.
• In addition, the paucity of hospital beds, ventilators, black marketing of drugs are now being replayed in worrying proportions.

Way Forward:

• India must take a cue from countries like the U.K. and the U.S that no country can be entirely ‘atmanirbhar’ in vaccinating its population.
• While there are several vaccine candidates at various stages of approval that India can choose from, it must not repeat the same mistake of assuming that choice translates into immediate availability.
• All of the Indian companies that have tied up with foreign vaccine companies are private players.
  • While they may promise vaccines in the millions, it will always be the case that priority will be accorded to the highest global bidders.
• India must compete to ensure that vaccine is available to a large fraction of its adult population in quick time.
• The pandemic wave seems to have ebbed in the U.S., to some extent, because at least 30% of its adults have got one dose. For India, this job of scaling up was always going to be uphill.
• With more vaccines come inevitably more complications associated with adverse events and rare side effects. This is where India’s pharmacovigilance programme must step up.
• India must constantly monitor the effects of medical drugs after they have been licensed for use, especially in order to identify and evaluate previously unreported adverse reactions.
• The easing up on conditions for facilitating more vaccines must be seen as a new beginning.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. BIMSTEC needs to reinvent itself

Context:

The foreign ministers of BIMSTEC (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) met virtually on April 1, 2021.

• The last ministerial meeting was held in August 2018.
• Their major task was to pave the way for the next summit (the grouping’s fifth) due to be held in Sri Lanka.

BIMSTEC:

• BIMSTEC was established as a grouping of four nations — India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through the Bangkok Declaration of 1997 to promote rapid economic development.
• BIMSTEC was expanded later to include three more countries — Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
• It moved at a leisurely pace during its first 20 years with only three summits held and a record of modest achievements.

Unfolding rejuvenation:

• The grouping suddenly received special attention as India chose to treat it as a more practical instrument for regional cooperation over a faltering SAARC.
• The BIMSTEC Leaders’ Retreat, followed by their Outreach Summit with the BRICS leaders in Goa in October 2016, drew considerable international limelight to the low-profile regional grouping. This also opened up the path for its rejuvenation.
• The fourth leaders’ summit, held in Kathmandu in 2018, devised an ambitious plan for institutional reform and renewal that would encompass economic and security cooperation.
  • It took the important decision to craft a charter to provide BIMSTEC with a more formal and stronger foundation.
  • The shared goal now is to head towards “a Peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region”.
• India’s External Affairs Minister observed that India saw a mix of “energy, mindset and possibility” in BIMSTEC.

Recent decisions:

• The foreign ministers cleared the draft for the BIMSTEC charter, recommending its early adoption.
• They endorsed the rationalisation of sectors and sub-sectors of activity, with each member-state serving as a lead for the assigned areas of special interest.
• The ministers also conveyed their support for the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity.
  • This will be adopted at the next summit.
• Preparations have been completed for the signing of three agreements relating to:
  • Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters
  • Cooperation between diplomatic academies
  • Establishment of a technology transfer facility in Colombo.

Issue:

• On certain fronts, BIMSTEC remains a work in progress.
• A January 2018 study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry had suggested that BIMSTEC urgently needed a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement to be a real game-changer. Ideally, it should:
  • Cover trade in goods, services and investment.
  • Promote regulatory harmonisation.
  • Adopt policies that develop regional value chains.
  • Eliminate non-tariff barriers.
• An effort to enthuse and engage the vibrant business communities of these seven countries, and expand their dialogue, interactions and transactions is lacking.
• Over 20 rounds of negotiations to operationalise the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement, signed in 2004, are yet to bear fruit.
• Uncertainties over SAARC hovers, complicating matters.
  • Both Kathmandu and Colombo want the SAARC summit revived, even as they cooperate within BIMSTEC, with diluted zeal.
• China’s decisive intrusion in the South-Southeast Asian space has cast dark shadows.
• The military coup in Myanmar, brutal crackdown of protesters and continuation of popular resistance resulting in a protracted impasse have produced a new set of challenges.

Achievements:

• Much has been achieved in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and security, including counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and coastal security cooperation.
• India has led through constant focus and follow-up — to the extent that some member-states have complained about the over-securitisation of BIMSTEC.
• While national business chambers are yet to be optimally engaged with the BIMSTEC project, the academic and strategic community has shown ample enthusiasm through the BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks and other fora.

Way Forward:

• The trick to ensuring balance is not to go slow on security but to accelerate the pace of forging solid arrangements for economic cooperation.
• The goal now should be to overcome the obstacles leading to BIMSTEC’s success.
• The trajectory of India-Nepal, India-Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh-Myanmar ties in recent years is an impediment to the grouping. A strong BIMSTEC needs cordial and tension-free bilateral relations among all its member-states.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. In climate change noise, India’s role as conductor

Issue:

• Climate action and climate leadership are being increasingly measured against a planetary imperative of emissions reducing to net-zero by 2050.
• In this backdrop, developing countries like India are faced with a dilemma.
  • They need the carbon space to develop but they are also among the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

This topic has been covered in 7^th April 2021  and 8^th April 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Raisina Dialogue:

Q2. Consider the following statements: 

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:

Q4. Which of the following magazines were started by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar?

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 14th April 2021:- Download PDF Here