02 Dec 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

December 2nd, 2019 CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. India, Sweden to sign MoU for polar science cooperation
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. RS MPs want more time to speak
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Who is a farmer? Government has no clear definition
2. Private telecom players hike rates, prepaid users to be hit
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
HEALTH
1. Battling anti-microbial resistance
ECONOMY
1. Making Air India’s disinvestment work
2. Time to act
3. The fountainhead of India’s economic vitality
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Macron’s wake-up call to EU
F. Tidbits
1. GST revenue crosses ₹1 lakh crore mark again
2. Operation ‘Clean Art’ to crack down on illegal trade in mongoose hair
G. Prelims Facts
1. Six European nations join Iran barter system
2. India set to get its first missile tracking ship
3. Solution to Naga issue likely soon, says CM
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category:INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India, Sweden to sign MoU for polar science cooperation

Context:

Proposed visit to India of the Swedish royal couple and senior Ministers.

Details:

• India and Sweden are likely to sign their first maritime cooperation agreement, Cooperation in Polar Science.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is being prepared, encompassing cooperation in both Arctic and Antarctic regions. India and Sweden have arrived at a tentative agreement.

Significance:

• In the past few years, India has signed a series of maritime information exchanges as well as military logistics support agreements, extending the reach of its armed forces.
• The pact with Russia, in advanced stages of discussion, will give India access to Russian bases in the Arctic for logistics and operational turnaround. However, the agreement with Sweden is scientific in nature.

Polar Science:

• The world’s Polar Regions and their contiguous oceans are attracting more interest than ever before. Once regarded as barren, inhospitable places, the north and south Polar Regions have been transformed into high profile sites of scientific research.
• Polar science has the potential to benefit humanity, help sustainable use of resources, and protect the planet and generate economic and social impact.  Research in the Polar Regions is important and relevant to present-day needs. The Polar Regions may be at the ends of the Earth but what happens there affects us all. Understanding how the Earth works, and in particular how it is responding to ever-increasing human pressure, is one of the greatest challenges of science.
• Be it in understanding the role of the polar realm in modulating the global climate or for studying the ecosystem adaptability and survival under extreme conditions, there has been an increasing interest in the science of the polar realm, over the past two decades.
• Major research areas in polar science include Geology, atmospheric sciences, Meteorology, Snow study, Geomagnetism, Environmental Sciences, Wildlife biology, Oceanography, Ozone depletion, Climate change, etc.

India’s effort in Polar Science:

• Realizing the importance of polar science as a pedestal for scientific research and to cater to the requirements of the Indian scientists in both the Polar Regions, two stations “Maitri” and “Himadri” have been established to serve as living-cum-research bases in the Antarctic and the Arctic respectively. Another permanent Indian research base “Bharati” in Antarctica was commissioned.
• India commenced Arctic research by establishing its Arctic research station in 2008.
• India’s Arctic programme aims to contribute to the development, consolidation and dissemination of the current understanding of climate change, its impacts and adaptations in the Norwegian Arctic, Svalbard.
• The focus areas of scientific studies in the Arctic and the Antarctic have been largely confined to earth, atmospheric and biological sciences.
• Considering the significance of the polar ice cap and the sea ice in the Polar Regions in modulating, if not driving the global climate, it is proposed to initiate a major national mission of cryospheric studies of both the Polar Regions.

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR):

• The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, (NCPOR) formerly known as the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) is an Indian research and development institution, situated in Vasco, Goa.
• It is India’s premier R&D institution responsible for the country’s research activities in the polar and Southern Ocean realms.
• It is an autonomous Institution of the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), Government of India which is responsible for administering the Indian Antarctic Programme and maintains the Indian government’s Antarctic research station, Maitri.
• At present, NCPOR is an agency working under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India since 2006, by the notification of the President of India.

Category:POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. RS MPs want more time to speak

Context:

Landmark 250th Parliamentary session of the Rajya Sabha.

Details:

• During its landmark 250th session, the Rajya Sabha hosted a debate on the “Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian polity and way forward” in which 28 members and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke.
• A fourth of the members who participated in the debate called for uniform representation for all States for reflecting true federalism since the Upper House is the Council of States. They also demanded that each member be given a minimum time of five minutes to convey views meaningfully.

Current Practice:

• Currently, members are given time according to the strength of their party in the House. Which means that Independent or nominated members get less time like MPs from smaller parties.
• Currently, the northeastern States, barring Assam which has seven seats, have only one seat each. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of members at 31.

Suggestions:

Equal time to speak:

• Members want uniform allocation of time to all without referring to the strength of the party in the house. The current practice of allotting time according to the strength of their party in the House was leading to inadequacy of time for some members.
• The inadequacy of time was raised by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh among others. He argued that the nominated members be allowed more time so that the House can benefit from their special expertise.

More representation for smaller States:

• Some members argued that population should not be the basis for representation in the Upper House and would serve as the wrong benchmark.
• It was suggested that even smaller States should have six members at the very least.
• Members cited the example of the U.S. Senate which has two members from each State giving equal space to every State irrespective of their size.
• Many members argued that if a State is represented by a single member, then he/she should be allocated more time to speak.

Way forward:

• The Rajya Sabha Secretariat is pulling out the rule books and going through the precedents to tackle the demand from members that they be allocated more time in debates.
• The secretariat is also looking into a demand for an increase in representation from smaller States.
• Fixing a minimum time limit for each member is doable, but for equal representation for all States, legal opinion has to be taken and will be a long-drawn exercise which can be done only if there is a political will.

C. GS 3 Related

Category:ECONOMY

1. Who is a farmer? Government has no clear definition

Context:

Agriculture Minister’s reply to a question in parliament regarding farmers in India.

Details:

• The Agriculture Minister was replying to a question raised by one of the members of the parliament as to what is the government’s definition of a farmer, and how many farmers are there in India by that definition.
• Agriculture Minister failed to answer that question directly in Parliament. In a written response, the Minister only noted that the Centre provided income support to all farmer families who owned cultivable land through PM-KISAN.

Concerns:

• The government’s ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of the schemes meant to help them, including its flagship PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi).
• Farmer leaders and researchers point out that the definition of a farmer has practical implications. Most schemes meant for farmers’ welfare, including the procurement of wheat and paddy at minimum support prices, are effectively available only for landowners. Thus leaving out a large number of other people associated with agricultural activity. According to Census 2011, there are 11.8 crore cultivators and 14.4 crore agricultural workers.
• Members of the parliament pointed out that the number of landholdings did not necessarily equate with the number of farming households and hence was not the right way to estimate the number of farmers in India.
• Linking the identity of a farmer to land ownership has devastating consequences for women farmers. Some studies estimate that 60%-70% of farmers are actually women, but their names are rarely on ownership documents. This prevents women farmers from accessing benefits provided to farmers from the government.

National Policy for Farmers:

• There is a clear and comprehensive definition available in the National Policy for Farmers drafted by the National Commission of Farmers headed by M.S. Swaminathan and officially approved by the Centre in 2007.
• The policy states that for the purpose of this Policy, the term ‘Farmer’ will refer to a person actively engaged in the economic and/or livelihood activity of growing crops and producing other primary agricultural commodities and will include all agricultural operational holders, cultivators, agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, tenants, poultry and livestock rearers, fishers, beekeepers, gardeners, pastoralists, non-corporate planters and planting labourers, as well as persons engaged in various farming-related occupations such as sericulture, vermiculture and agro-forestry.
• The term will also include tribal families/persons engaged in shifting cultivation and in the collection, use and sale of minor and non-timber forest produce.

Way forward:

• There is a need to convert the M.S. Swaminathan Commission’s definition into a legal and actionable tool for identification. There is a need for political will.
• The Revenue Department which is supposed to annually record who is actually cultivating each piece of land can use technological aids like GPS, GIS and Aadhaar. This would help enumerate the number of farmers in India.

2. Private telecom players hike rates, prepaid users to be hit

To read about this topic kindly refer to the following articles:

1. Final straw for already distressed telecom sector
2. Why is the telecom sector under stress?
3. Crossed wires

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category:HEALTH

1. Battling anti-microbial resistance

Context:

Antibiotic Awareness Week.

Background:

• In July 2019, in its fight against the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics in disease-causing germs, the Indian government banned the manufacture, sale, and use of colistin in the poultry industry.
• Colistin is considered last-resort medicine to treat a person with a life-threatening infection. The government’s move is among the numerous steps that will contribute to global efforts to preserve and prolong the efficacy of antibiotics and prevent the world from moving towards a dark, post-antibiotic future.

Concerns:

• Antibiotics have saved millions of lives to date. Unfortunately, they are now becoming ineffective as many infectious diseases have ceased to respond to antibiotics. In their quest for survival and propagation, common bugs develop a variety of mechanisms to develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• The indiscriminate use of antibiotics is the greatest driver in the selection and propagation of resistant bugs. It has the potential to make fatal even minor infections. Complex surgeries such as organ transplantation and cardiac bypass might become difficult to undertake because of untreatable infectious complications that may result post-surgery.
• The resistance to antibiotics in germs is a man-made disaster. Irresponsible use of antibiotics is rampant in human health, animal health, fisheries, and agriculture. While in humans antibiotics are primarily used for treating patients, they are used as growth promoters in animals, often because they offer economic shortcuts that can replace hygienic practices. Globally, the use of antibiotics in animals is expected to increase by 67% by 2030 from 2010 levels.
• The pipeline for the discovery, development, and dissemination of new antibiotics has virtually dried out. No new class of antibiotics has been discovered in the past three decades. The availability of a new antibiotic takes 10-12 years and an investment of $1 billion. Once it comes into the market, its indiscriminate use swiftly results in resistance, rendering it useless.
• AMR has been recognized worldwide as an important public health challenge with a serious impact on economy and development.
• The O’Neill report on AMR warned that inaction in containing AMR is likely to result in annual mortality reaching 10 million people and a 3.5% fall in global GDP by 2050.
• The magnitude of the problem in India remains unknown hence lacking proper data for policy formulation.

Efforts being made:

• The Sustainable Development Goals have articulated the importance of containing AMR. Similar articulations have been made by the UN General Assembly, G7, G20, EU, ASEAN, and other such economic and political platforms.
• Inter-country development agencies (WHO, FAO, and World Organisation for Animal Health) developed a Global Action Plan on AMR.
• India developed its National Action Plan on AMR (NAP) in 2017. It is based on the One Health approach, which means that human health, animal health, and the environment sectors have equal responsibilities and strategic actions in combating AMR.

Way forward:

• India must accelerate the implementation of its National Action Plan on anti-microbial resistance.
• The health of humans and animals falls in the domain of State authorities, and this adds complexity to the nationwide response. There is a need for higher coordination between the state authorities and the centre.
• The magnitude of the problem in India remains unknown. Surveillance networks have been established in human health and animal health. The FAO has assisted India in forging the Indian Network for Fishery and Animals Antimicrobial Resistance for the generation of reliable data on the magnitude of the problem and monitoring trends in response to control activities. It is critical to expand and sustain such surveillance networks.
• There is an urgent need to augment capacity for regulatory mechanisms, infection control practices, and diagnostics support, availability and use of guidelines for therapy, biosecurity in animal rearing practices and understanding the role of the environment and the engagement of communities. The world must launch a global movement to contain AMR.

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Category:ECONOMY

1. Making Air India’s disinvestment work

Context:

Proposal for Air India’s disinvestment.

Background:

• Air India has, in the last four decades, witnessed a calamitous fall.
• The decline of Air India was gradual when it operated in a near-monopoly environment but the pace of descent intensified when it faced competition with the entry of private players in the sector.
• In the late 1990s, the government recognized the gradual decline in the airline’s service standards and referred it to the newly set up Disinvestment Commission of India, which recommended a dilution of government ownership to 40%.
• The effort of the then government did not, however, succeed due to motivated bureaucratic maneuvering robbing the chance for Air India to become a professionally managed and successful airline.
• The period commencing 2004 hastened the airline’s descent due to a series of reckless decisions, like the acquisition of aircraft in numbers far more than what it could afford or gainfully deploy; and the merger with Indian Airlines, which was itself not doing well.
• Competitively, the airline was also placed on a weaker wicket due to a liberal doling out of seats by the then administration to foreign airlines, allowing them to dominate the Indian skies.
• Air India’s precarious financial situation was first made public in June 2009. But the government, instead of tackling the core problem of the lack of a strategic and operational direction within the airline instead decided to focus on a financial package. The bailout package of over ₹30,000 crores, which is being infused over an eight-year span ending 2021, has not helped Air India evolve into a robust carrier.
• In 2017, Niti Aayog recommended disinvestment but the government, decided to not only retain 24% equity, but it also wanted the acquirer to absorb a major chunk of the non-aircraft related debt. The offer found no takers.

Details:

• The government has, once again, put Air India on the block for disinvestment.
• The disinvestment process is largely driven by the Centre’s anxiety to get rid of the airline so that it can spare itself of the responsibility of further infusion of funds.

Concerns:

• There have been many voices which have been averse to the sale of Air India.
• The glorious past, the yeomen service it has provided to the nation by evacuating Indians stranded anywhere in the world has been cited as reasons to retain it as a national carrier.
• Major stakeholders are being kept in the dark about the proposed disinvestment. This has led to some opposition with, unions, not necessarily all employees that they represent, also being opposed to disinvestment.
• The longer the delay in the process, the more it is going to hurt Air India. With only one in nine passengers currently patronizing Air India, it will be only one in 12 in the next three years as capacity augmentation is undertaken at a frantic pace by private airlines that cannot simply be matched by funds-starved Air India. There is the possibility of it becoming irrelevant and marginalized in the Indian aviation market.
• Successive Chairpersons have ‘claimed a turnaround’ in Air India’s fortunes, which is now being cited as a reason by unions and politicians for opposing the disinvestment course. The stark truth of the airline’s performance without government props needs to be effectively explained with facts and figures.
• The government is often blamed for the fact that while not taking all stakeholders on board, it is also not paying attention to the legitimate grievances. For example, it hasn’t as yet firmed up as to how it will address the medical-related concerns of serving and retired employees even though disinvestment has been in the works for three years now.
• The government’s reluctance to exit completely, giving freedom to the potential acquirer to transform it into a successful player has been a big factor for not being able to find prospective buyers for Air India.

Way forward:

• The stakes of the recent disinvestment proposal are high because failure will mean doom through further marginalization.
• It is critical that an environment is created wherein all major stakeholders are convinced that disinvestment is the best way forward.
• The reality is that the airline’s survival depends on several factors, most notably the induction of professional management with effective leadership, a sound financial package that does not come with political interference in its day-to-day operations, and unions allowing changes in work conditions and pay packages.
• The government must be able to evoke interest in Air India that still commands a sizeable market share and has an extensive global network that no other Indian carrier can match if it adheres to the simple logic that a proposal for sale has to suit the acquirer as much as the seller and offers suitable terms of sale.
• The government needs to totally exit the carrier, allowing the acquirer full freedom to transform the embattled airline.

2. Time to act

Context:

Latest estimates on economic output and growth for India.

Concerns:

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.5% for the second quarter of 2019-2020, makes it the slowest pace of expansion in six-and-a-half years.
• If the government’s final consumption expenditure, which jumped by 15.6% is neglected then the real GDP growth would have been a meager 3.1%.
• Of serious concern should be the stagnation in investment, reflected in the mere 1% growth in gross fixed capital formation.
• While the National Statistical Office’s data on private final consumption expenditure suggests a slight pick-up to a 5.1% expansion, from the preceding quarter’s 3.1%, it is still only about half the year-earlier period’s 8% rate.
• Also, the sustainability of the uptick in consumption spending remains a moot point given that several other pointers, including tepid retail sales during the Deepavali festival season, offer little room for cheer.
• While the government’s decision in September to cut the corporate tax rate was clearly aimed at spurring the private sector, the indications till now are far from encouraging. Clearly, with consumption spending, the mainstay of demand, yet to regain traction, companies are likely opting to retain any gains from a lower tax outgo as cash rather than raise capacity or make new investments. Hence not fulfilling the main aim behind the tax cut.
• An analysis of the Gross Value Added (GVA) reveals that six of the eight sectors posted decelerations. Even though agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 2.1% in the second quarter, nudging up from 2% in the April-June period, the pace was underwhelming when seen both in the context of the 5.1% pace posted a year earlier and the above-average monsoon rains in 2019.
• Significantly, manufacturing shrank by 1%, in marked contrast to the year-earlier period’s 6.9% growth, again pointing to the widespread demand drought.
• A separate release from the government, showing output at the eight infrastructure industries that constitute the core sector contracted by 5.8% in October belies the arguments that the momentum would revive in the third quarter.
• While six of the eight segments reported year-on-year declines, of particular worry, is the 4% contraction in electricity output, hinting as it does at a lack of demand for power at the nation’s factories.
• The latest estimates on economic output and growth, reaffirm the fact that the ongoing six-quarter slump has still not reached its lowest and the Indian economy might observe even lesser growth in the subsequent periods.

Way forward:

There is an urgent need to acknowledge the seriousness of the structural elements behind the slowdown by initiating meaningful policy reforms, even while taking steps to spur consumption through innovative fiscal measures.

3. The fountainhead of India’s economic vitality

Context:

Concerns of an economic slowdown in India.

Details:

• Of late there has been criticism that the nation is facing an economic slowdown.
• Though growth has moderated recently, this may happen in an open $3 trillion dollar market economy driven largely by private enterprise and buffeted by geopolitical circumstances and creative destruction.
• India’s economic performance has been befitting that of a rising superpower.
  • Despite Growth having moderated recently, India is still the fastest-growing large economy in the world with the long-term trend GDP growth rate steady at about 7%.
  • Inflation, fiscal deficit, and current account deficit have been within manageable limits.
  • Primary employment has grown from 433 million to 457 million in the past five years.
  • India’s foreign exchange reserves are at record levels.
  • The country has vaulted from 142 to 63 in the world in the Ease of Doing Business rankings.
  • Corporate tax rates have been slashed and are now among the lowest in the world.
  • India leads the world in new industries such as renewable energy, fintech, and affordable healthcare.
  • The stock market is at a record high, doubling in the past five years, creating more than ₹50 trillion in investor wealth. Venture capital and private equity have been increasing.
  • Foreign Direct Investment is increasing along at $40-50 billion per year.
  • India’s start-up ecosystem is now the third-largest in the world. India has been churning out unicorn companies: there are 20 unicorns right now, and another 30 are expected in the next few years.
  • Banks have been forced to come clean on their bad loans. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has helped ease the burden of NPAs. Capital is flowing to innovation-driven businesses and well-governed companies with real cash flows.
  • Some of the reforms like the GST and its impact is still working through the economic system, and some disruptions are inevitable; these reforms have already profoundly reshaped economic behaviour.
  • Reforms introduced across every aspect of the economy can be grouped into five major areas: (1) establishing a transparent, rules-based economy free from crony capitalism; (2) restoring and maintaining macro-economic stability; (3) building a robust social safety net; (4) improving infrastructure to world-class levels; and (5) strengthening the financial system.
  • India has seen an astonishing reduction in extreme poverty with the total number of such people declining rapidly.
  • India is on its way to becoming a $5 trillion economy and is well-positioned to become a $10 trillion economy though the slowdown might extend the timeframe. India will soon be the world’s third-largest economy.
  • With GDP at $5 trillion, GDP per capita will be over $3,600 and at $10 trillion, GDP per capita will reach $6,200 (population growth at 1.2% as per United Nations estimates). At these levels, India will be among other upper-middle-income countries.

Category:INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Macron’s wake-up call to EU

Context:

French President Emmanuel Macron’s interview in which he declared that “Europe is on the edge of a precipice”, unable to cope with the political challenges of the U.S. pursuing ‘America first’; a resentful Russia on its border; and a China determined to emerge as the new global power.

Details:

• Macron’s interview gave a wake-up call to the EU and reminded it that the bloc can no longer be an economic giant and a political dwarf.

Background:

• The EU’s precursor, the European Economic Community (EEC), was established in 1957, following the Treaty of Rome. Consisting of a homogeneous group of six countries (Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), it quickly formed a customs union.
• Five of these six nations were also founding members of NATO, which had been set up in 1949.
• The next stage was the Treaty of Maastricht, signed in 1992 to reflect the realities of a post-Cold War Europe and a unified Germany. It helped create the Euro and, later, also pushed the eastward expansion of the EU.
• The Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 marked another political evolution, giving the EU a stronger legal character by introducing a permanent President of the European Council and strengthening the position of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
• These were steps towards nascent European sovereignty but ended up exposing weaknesses in the project. Today, the EU’s 28 member states are a heterogeneous lot, unlike the original six; and a key member, the U.K., is already sitting in the departure lounge. The idea of Europe with a “variable geometry”, proposed during the hasty expansion during the 1990s to accommodate differences is now a clear sign of political disunity.
• NATO has 27 European member states (plus Canada and the U.S.) and most, but not all, are EU members.
• NATO’s major expansion took place post-Cold War when the Baltic states and a number of East European countries joined. The Eurozone consists of 19 (out of the 28) EU members while the Schengen common visa area covers 26 European countries.
• The 31-member European Economic Area is composed of the EU-28 and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Council of Europe in Strasbourg was set up in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law and currently has 47 member countries, including the 28 EU nations.
• There is the 57-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, established originally to promote confidence and security-building measures, which now also has the mandate of free elections, open media, and human rights.

Concerns:

US’s ‘America first’ policy:

• The U.S., which guaranteed West Europe security during the Cold War, can no longer be relied upon to play the same role because its priorities are changing. President Donald Trump’s recent unilateral decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria was taken without consultation or coordination with NATO allies. Further, it gave another NATO member, Turkey, the license to undertake military operations in Syria, creating tensions with NATO allies operating in the area.
• NATO was never a grouping of equals. The U.S. always contributed the larger share and underwrote European security, making NATO completely dependent on the U.S. for airlift and space-based assets.
• These variations were accepted as long as the U.S. and Europe enjoyed political convergence but now given the transactional approach of the US leadership, this is not viable. In any case, there are historical shifts underway, with the U.S. less engaged in West Asia on account of becoming self-sufficient in hydrocarbons, and focusing more on the Indo-Pacific. Consequently, the U.S.’s commitment to NATO is undergoing a change and the Europeans need to recognize it. Similar sentiments have been expressed by Germany also.
• Even after taking a unified stand to preserve the Iran nuclear deal following the U.S.’s unilateral exit more than 18 months ago, the EU failed to deliver on its assurances to provide concrete relief to Tehran against U.S. sanctions.

Ties with Russia:

• Macron’s suggestion for a rapprochement with Russia to prevent it from getting closer to China makes Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic countries nervous fearing more assertiveness from the Russians.

China’s growing influence:

• China has already driven a wedge in the EU with 14 EU countries, including Italy, now part of the Belt & Road Initiative. In 2012, China began its dialogue with East European countries in the 16+1 format; out of the 16, 11 are EU states and 13 are NATO members.
• This has made it impossible for the EU to take a common approach on issues like 5G and Huawei while allowing China to selectively increase investments in critical areas in European countries to which France and Germany are now waking up.

Lack of unity within the group:

• In the multiplicity of the organizations in Western Europe, the EU lost its political moorings. Originally, it was a grouping of West European democracies committed to closer economic ties, with NATO as the security provider.
• Today, the EU’s 28 member states are a heterogeneous lot, unlike the original six. A clear sign of political disunity exists today.
• Right-wing populist leaders in other European countries have also become more vocal and visible in recent years and many of them would like to retrieve sovereignty back from Brussels.

Conclusion:

In today’s uncertain times, the EU stands for a rules-based order but the EU can only emerge as a strategic actor once it is able to assert sovereignty over its political, diplomatic and security decisions.

F. Tidbits

1. GST revenue crosses ₹1 lakh crore mark again

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in November 2019 came in at ₹ 1,03,492 crore, crossing the ₹1 lakh crore mark once again, having dipped below it for three successive months.
• Average collections in 2019-20 stand at ₹1,00,646 crore
• According to the government, the GST from domestic transactions saw a growth of 12%, the highest during the year. The GST collections from imports continued to contract, by 13%, compared with a contraction of 20% in the previous month.
• The IGST revenue forms the largest share of the gross GST revenue collected while the cess forms the smallest share.

2. Operation ‘Clean Art’ to crack down on illegal trade in mongoose hair

• Operation Clean Art was the first pan India operation to crack down on the smuggling of mongoose hair in the country.
• Operation Clean Art was conceived by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) with the singular aim of ensuring that the mongoose hair brush trade is closed down across the country.
• WCCB has described the making of brushes with mongoose hair an “organised crime”, as most of these animals are poached by “hunting communities” across the country.
• About 49 arrests were made and 27 cases were registered under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
• There are six species of mongoose found in India.
• The mongoose is listed in Schedule II Part 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act and any smuggling or possession of its body part is a non-bailable offence.

G. Prelims Facts

1. Six European nations join Iran barter system

• The Paris-based Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) functions as a clearinghouse allowing Iran to continue to sell oil and import other products or services in exchange.
• INSTEX welcomed six new European countries to the INSTEX barter mechanism, which is designed to circumvent U.S. sanctions against trade with Iran by avoiding the use of the dollar.
• In 2018, the U.S. withdrew from the international agreement governing Iran’s nuclear programme and reinstated heavy sanctions against Tehran.
• France, Germany and the U.K. are the founding shareholders of the INSTEX. The new members to join as stakeholders include Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
• The system has not yet enabled any transactions.

2. India set to get its first missile tracking ship

• India’s first missile tracking ship, which is being built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, is nearing completion. The project was launched in 2014.
• The ship is fitted with primary X band and secondary S-band active electrically scanned array radar. It will have multiple missile tracking antennae.

3. Solution to Naga issue likely soon, says CM

• Nagaland attained statehood with the enactment of the state of Nagaland Act in 1962 by the Parliament. The state of Nagaland was formally inaugurated on 1 December 1963 and Kohima was declared as the state capital. Nagaland became the 16th state of India.
• To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote the cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year in the first week of December. The first festival was held in 2000. It is also called the ‘Festival of Festivals’. The Hornbill festival is arranged at the Naga Heritage Village of Kisama.
• The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic fever.
2. It is endemic to South India.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

Q2. which of the following statements are wrong?

1. In India, the power to grant pardon is entrusted to the President and the Governors of various states under Article 72 and Article 161 of the Constitution.
2. There is a six-month time limit given by the Constitution of India for Mercy Plea.
3. Supreme Court in Kehar Singh v Union of India, 1988 has held that the grant of pardon by the President is an act of grace and, therefore, cannot be claimed as a matter of right.
4. President can pardon the death sentence but the Governor has no power to pardon the death sentence.

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. The European Economic Area (EEA) is an international agreement that enables the extension of the European Union single market to non-EU member parties.
2. European Economic Area (EEA), consists of the Member States of the European Union (EU) and three countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) namely Iceland, Switzerland and Norway.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. Arrange the following national parks starting with the most eastwardly located 
moving westward.

1. Gulf of Mannar
2. Anshi
3. Balphakram
4. Betla

Options:

a. 1,4,2,3
b. 3,4,1,2
c. 3,1,4,2
d. 2,1,4,3

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. The proposed disinvestment of Air India is a welcome move. Comment. Discuss the major reasons for the government’s failure to disinvest in its previous attempts and state a suitable way forward. (15 marks, 250 words)
2. Europe is having to cope with the political challenges of the U.S. pursuing ‘America first’; a resentful Russia on its border; and a China determined to emerge as the new global power. Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)

December 2nd, 2019 CNA:- Download PDF Here

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