27 Aug 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: INDIAN ECONOMY

1. Why was a 40% duty imposed on onion exports?

Syllabus: Public Distribution System, Issues of Buffer Stocks and Food Security

Prelims: India’s Onion Exports, Export Duty, Cropping Seasons

Mains: Public Distribution System, Food Security, Doubling farm incomes, India’s Trade Policy

Introduction: 

• The government has imposed a 40% duty on the export of onions until the end of the year. Additionally, measures to offload the onion stocks in various wholesale markets have been taken to reduce retail prices.

Reasons for Onion shortage in India?

• The steps aim to stabilize domestic prices of onions and mitigate the demand-supply mismatch in the local markets.
• Onion crops are grown in India across three seasons: kharif, late kharif, and rabi. 
• Onions grow best under mild weather conditions. Adverse weather conditions (higher temperatures and unseasonal rainfall) in the months of February and March, have affected the output from the Rabi season. 
• These conditions have led to early maturity with smaller bulb size and reduced shelf life (down from the usual 6 months to around 1 month)
• The rabi crop contributes the most to production in a calendar year (close to 70% according to CRISIL)
• Maharashtra is the largest onion-producing state, followed by Madhya Pradesh. These regions have been affected by these adverse weather conditions. 
• For the current year, production of onion is estimated at 31.1 MT, down from 31.7 MT in 2021-22.
• Area under production is also expected to be lower by 7% 
• India exports approximately 2.5 million tonnes of fresh onions annually and is the third largest exporter after The Netherlands and Mexico. Any further increase in the exports is bound to affect the domestic prices.

Also read Crash in Onion Prices.

Way Forward?

• The government has enhanced the buffer stock to five lakh metric tonnes. 
• Onions from the buffer will be sold to retail consumers at a subsidized rate of ₹25/kg.
• Ensuring remunerative prices for farmers while also keeping a continuous affordable supply of onions (to limit inflationary pressures) is the need of the hour.

Nut Graf: Due to adverse weather conditions, the production of onions in India is estimated to be lower this year. The government has imposed a 40% duty on onion exports and enhanced the buffer stock to five lakh metric tonnes to stabilize domestic prices and mitigate the demand-supply mismatch.

Category: SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Missed childhood TB cases impede achieving 2025 goal

Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

Prelims: National Strategic Plan 2017-2025, Tuberculosis, WHO’s End TB strategy

Mains: National Strategic Plan 2017-2025, Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: 

• There is a significant gap in the detection and notification of tuberculosis (TB) cases among children in India. TB is a leading cause of death among children and early diagnosis and treatment are essential for improving their survival rates.

What does the data say? 

• According to the National Strategic Plan 2020-2025 report, children continue to be underrepresented in the national TB surveillance system, with limited capacity for case detection and lack of sensitive diagnostics being major challenges.
• In 2022, while the total notified cases were over 2.4 million, pediatric TB cases notified were only 1,35,734, which is 5.6%. In contrast, according to the 2022 pediatric TB management guidelines for India, children contribute to more than 13% of the TB case load. This shows that there is a difference of around 4-5% between the notified cases and incidence of the disease. 
• This implies that over 2,00,000 children with TB were missed in 2022 alone, with the cumulative number of missed cases being much higher considering the consistent gap in detection over the years.

Challenges in diagnosing TB in children? 

• Diagnosing TB in children is challenging due to difficulties in obtaining quality samples of sputum (for testing), low bacterial load in them, and the need for highly sensitive molecular tests. 
• Moreover, the use of smear microscopy instead of molecular tests (more sensitive to detect cases in children) poses a significant challenge in TB diagnosis and drug-resistance screening. 
• Only a small portion of children and extrapulmonary TB patients are successfully screened for drug resistance.
• There is a reduction in BCG vaccination coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic which may have contributed to the increase in TB cases among children. 
• While the coverage has improved slightly in recent years, it still remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.

What are the National Strategic Plan 2017-2025 targets? 

• The National Strategic Plan 2017-2025 aims to reduce TB incidence to 44 new cases or 65 total cases per lakh population by 2025.
• The estimated TB incidence for 2021 was 210 per lakh population, making it a challenging task to achieve the target.
• The program also aims to reduce TB mortality to 3 deaths per lakh population by 2025, while the estimated mortality for 2020 was 37 per lakh population.
• The plan aims to eliminate catastrophic costs for affected families, but 7-32% of drug-sensitive TB patients and 68% of drug-resistant TB patients still experience such costs. If the financial burden due to TB is above 20% of the household income, then it is considered a catastrophic cost.
• The Indian government’s goals align with the World Health Organization’s End TB strategy, which aims for an 80% reduction in new cases, 90% reduction in mortality, and zero catastrophic cost by 2030.

Conclusion

• Focus should shift towards improved diagnostics, enhanced case detection, and increased BCG vaccination coverage to address the significant gap in TB detection and control among children in India.

Nut Graf: India has a significant gap in the detection and notification of tuberculosis (TB) cases among children. This is due to a number of factors, including the difficulty of obtaining quality samples for testing, the low bacterial load in children, and the need for highly sensitive molecular tests. The National Strategic Plan 2017-2025 aims to reduce TB incidence and mortality among children, but it will be challenging to achieve these targets without improved diagnostics, enhanced case detection, and increased BCG vaccination coverage.