06 Dec 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 06 Dec 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Judicial infrastructure, a neglected case
C. GS 3 Related
DEFENCE AND INTERNAL SECURITY
1. The arms race towards hypersonic weapons
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. The need to reopen anganwadis
ECONOMY
1. Cooperation awaits its ‘finding Raiffeisen’ moment
HEALTH
1. The Omicron response is not making sense
F. Prelims Facts
1. Indonesia volcano eruption kills 14, damages 11 villages
2. Odisha bears brunt of Jawad rain
G. Tidbits
1. The changing AI landscape
2. Hyderabad-based rocket men aim for the stars
3. ‘We are trying to rejuvenate Mithi, Dahisar, other rivers in Mumbai’
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: ECONOMY

1. Cooperation awaits its ‘finding Raiffeisen’ moment

Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Prelims: Cooperatives Movement in India; Constitutional Provisions.

Mains:  Historical background of the Cooperatives Movement in India; Challenges and Recommendations to strengthen Cooperatives.

Context:

This article enlists the evolution of cooperatives and also recommends solutions to strengthen cooperatives in India.

History of Cooperatives in India:-

1. Early Experimentation:

• Lord Wenlock, the Governor of the Madras Presidency, was the first to attempt to reproduce European cooperatives in India.
• Madras was suited for this experimentation since its Nidhis had similar institutions.
• Wenlock commissioned Nicholson to report on the prospect of cooperative adoption in 1892, and his 1895 report was summed up in two words: ‘Find Raiffeisen.’

2. Who was ‘Raiffeisen’?

• Friedrich Raiffeisen, who pioneered cooperatives in Europe, was the subject of reference made by Nicholson.
• Raiffeisen founded cooperatives on principles of self-help, self-governance, and self-responsibility.
• These principles, known as Raiffeisenbanks, were renowned for their dependability and tenacity in the face of financial crises.
• The ‘future of rural credit resides with individuals who are of the people, live among the people, and yet are above the people by their knowledge, foresight, and activity,’ said Nicholson.

3. Pioneers of Cooperatives in India

• John Matthai is the first Indian to graduate from the London School of Economics with a PhD in economics. He was an expert in cooperation. Later, he was appointed India’s Finance Minister.
• The Cooperative Societies Bill, introduced by Sir Denzil Ibbetson in 1903, aimed to establish “small and simple credit societies for small and simple individuals with simple requirements and wanting modest funds only.”
• Cooperative institutions, such as the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF)/Amul, became a tool for planning and governmental action after independence. Verghese Kurien became a Raiffeisen at AMUL.
• In 1954, the All India Rural Credit Survey Committee said, “Cooperation has failed, but cooperation must succeed.”

Challenges to Cooperatives in India:-

1. Maintaining a cooperative bank’s cooperativeness as it grows is a difficulty. Cooperatives have also become a means of avoiding lending and anti-money laundering requirements through regulatory arbitrage.
2. Government control has only grown, infringing on a fundamental cooperation concept of political neutrality. This demonstrates the political class’s collective failure.
3. The top-down quality was a problem for the committees that looked at cooperative banking.
4. In the lack of restraints, recent proposals such as an umbrella organisation for urban cooperatives and a new Ministry of Cooperation at the Centre threaten to expand this approach.

Recommendations to strengthen Cooperatives

1. First, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) should have less authority. The RCS has evolved into a tool of surveillance and dominance. Some states even allow for the takeover of cooperative boards on an all-or-nothing basis.
2. Second, the rural-urban divide in cooperative regulatory treatment is false and outmoded. It maintains age-old divisions depending on the nature of business and the number of the population.
3. Third, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for urban banks and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for rural banks should hand over regulation and supervision of cooperative banks to a new entity. It would ensure a new look at the regulation of these institutions, which are not subject to severe laws.
4. Fourth, there are lessons to be learned from the Netherlands, where cooperative banks have thrived thanks to a fragmented market. At many levels, commercial bank-cooperative sector links might generate improved synergy.

Category: HEALTH

1. The Omicron response is not making sense

Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Prelims: Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

Mains: Global and National Policy Responses against new Variant Omicron; Recommendations for Indian Scenario.

Context:

This article discusses the response of many countries against Omicron variant

Background:

• The World Health Organization has identified a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern (VOC) and given it the name Omicron.
• Many nations’ responses were startlingly similar to the original pandemic reaction.
• Flights to the nations that had reported the new variant had been banned unilaterally.

Concerns with Global Response

1. Less Vaccination: At this time, little over half of the world’s population has gotten at least one vaccination. There is also a scarcity of appropriate testing and genomic sequencing capabilities.
2. Inadequate Treatment: In addition, the lack of availability of some new medications is a stronger indicator of inadequate treatment. All of these should have given the response some complexity and granularity.
3. Scientific Reactions on Social Media: Some so-called “experts” on social media and prime time television cross the line into what might be described as “public health malpractice.” Concerns have been raised about scientific breakthroughs that are giving extreme reactions which are not evidence-based.
4. Inappropriate measures: The South Africans have been sanctioned with a travel ban, which has compromised vital COVID-19 lab supplies.Compare this to the Netherlands, which discovered Omicron before South Africa and failed to disclose it.
5. Political Challenges: With the introduction of novel varieties, a few high-income nations have turned inwards and begun focusing on booster administration. Political challenges are also reflected in the flying limitations and booster injections.
6. Vaccine inequality: In terms of global solidarity in the pandemic response, which includes vaccine inequities, the affluent nations have generally failed the rest of the world.
7. Limitations of Vaccinations: Most notably, the existing COVID-19 vaccinations have a limited impact in preventing infections. As the worldwide pool of vaccinated persons grows, the absolute number of illnesses in this subgroup is projected to grow in lockstep, especially because mask use is far from ubiquitous and is declining.

Concerns in Indian scenario

• The demand of a few Indian state chief ministers to ban all international flights is ineffective. This raises fundamental issues regarding their COVID-19 pandemic advisors.
• Science, not just political wisdom, will continue to be required to drive the pandemic response.
• This is a spurious claim that Omicron illnesses are more prevalent among vaccinated people.
• The impact of misinformation is well-known among Indians, where unsubstantiated claims that ‘children would be affected in the third wave of COVID-19’ could not be dispelled for long and continue to influence children.

Recommendations

• All vaccinations and variations are prone to re-infection or breakthrough infections. As a result, a booster dose is not the answer.
• Increasing coverage with the initial two vaccination doses and focusing on improving adherence to COVID-19 acceptable behaviours is the way to go.
• The next logical step is for countries to become more aware of the need to address vaccine disparities.
• The measures that followed should have been evidence-based, developed from prior months’ experience, and consistent with the knowledge and understanding.

Conclusion:

• It’s important to note that the influence of the Omicron variation, regardless of its new traits, will be determined by the context and conditions.
• In a well-vaccinated community, a highly transmissible variation is unlikely to change circumstances, but it may represent a significant threat to people with poor vaccination rates.
• The onus is on countries in the global south, such as India, South Africa, and many others, to take the lead and allow science and logic define the trajectory of the pandemic response.

2. Odisha bears brunt of Jawad rain

• Cyclone Jawad recently made landfall on the east coast of India.
• As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclone Jawad has weakened into a depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal near the Odisha coast. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards, along Odisha coast towards West Bengal coast and weaken into a well marked low-pressure area. Under its influence, some parts of eastern and north eastern region are likely to receive rains today and tomorrow.

2. Hyderabad-based rocket men aim for the stars

• In a significant development, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace has successfully test-fired Dhawan-1, India’s first privately developed, fully cryogenic rocket engine. Notably, the engine was developed using 3D printing with a superalloy.
  • The company has previously successfully designed and developed the solid propulsion rocket engine.
• This development augurs well for the space sector in India, given the advent of the private sector and the associated benefits that this brings to the space sector in India.
  • Private sector is capable of driving innovations at a low cost.

3. ‘We are trying to rejuvenate Mithi, Dahisar, other rivers in Mumbai’

Race to Zero:

• Race to Zero is a UN campaign for zero carbon recovery.
• Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.
• It mobilizes a coalition of leading net zero initiatives, representing cities, regions, businesses, investors, and Higher Education Institutions. These ‘real economy’ actors join 120 countries in the largest ever alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest. Collectively these actors now cover nearly 25% global CO2 emissions and over 50% GDP.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Vice- President of India:

Q2. With respect to Mithi River, which of the following statements is/are correct?

Q3. Mount Semeru recently seen in news is in which country?

Q4. Consider the following statements:

Q5. With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news while 
forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC-2017)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 06 Dec 2021:- Download PDF Here