CNA 13 Dec 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related SOCIAL ISSUES 1. Weighing in on the efficacy of female leadership in government B. GS 2 Related POLITY 1. Why is there friction between the government and the judiciary? C. GS 3 Related D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials SOCIAL JUSTICE 1. Curbing individualism in public health INDIAN ECONOMY 1. Big Tech and the need in India for ex-ante regulation F. Prelims Facts 1. Factors of production G. Tidbits 1. Indian and Chinese soldiers clash near Arunachal border 2. RS passes ‘futuristic’ Energy Conservation Bill to further regulate carbon emissions 3. Retail inflation falls below 6% mark for first time in 2022 H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
1. Weighing in on the efficacy of female leadership in government
Syllabus: Role of women and women’s organisations
Mains: The need for increased participation of women in governance, its challenges and the way forward
Context
- According to data presented by the government in the Lok Sabha:
- The representation of women in the Parliament and most of the States legislatures are less than 15%.
- Further, about 19 State Assemblies have less than 10% women lawmakers.
- In the above context, this article highlights the importance of the increased representation of women in policymaking.
The topic has been comprehensively covered in the following article:
B. GS 2 Related
1. Why is there friction between the government and the judiciary?
Syllabus: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
Prelims: About collegium system and National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
Mains: The conflict between the government and the judiciary with respect to judicial appointments
Context: There has been a major confrontation between the Union government and the Supreme Court over the existing procedure of judicial appointments.
The tussle between the Government and the Supreme Court
- The Union Law Minister criticised the Supreme Court Collegium by saying that the court was “preoccupied” with making judicial appointments instead of focusing on its main function which is to deliver justice.
- The Minister also raised concern over the lack of accountability of the Collegium system and criticised the Supreme Court’s move of striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act in 2015 which had provided the government an equal say in judicial appointments.
- Further, the Vice-President of India also made reference to the 2015 judgement of the Supreme Court and questioned how the judiciary struck down a unanimously-passed constitutional provision that reflected the will of the people.
- The Court also began its counter-offensive with a Supreme Court Bench raising concerns over the delay in judicial appointments as the government is delaying Collegium recommendations for years together for undisclosed reasons.
- The Supreme Court Bench also said that the court is not stopping the government from introducing/enacting a new law on judicial appointments and the Collegium system and its Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) would be the final word till a new law is enacted.
- The Court also has held that even the new law which would be enacted in the future would be duly scrutinised by the Court.
- Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has opined that the Government and the Collegium must work with a sense of “constitutional statesmanship” instead of highlighting each other’s faults.
Collegium system, its Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) and the current procedure
- The procedure for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court (SC) and the High Courts (HC), with respect to the recommendations by the Collegium, has been mentioned in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) which was drafted in 1998.
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- According to MoP, the initiation of proposals for the appointment of SC judges is vested with the CJI and that of HC judges is vested with the Chief Justices of the respective HCs
- The MoP mandated the Chief Justices of HCs to start the proposals six months before the potential vacancies.
- Parliament in 2014 through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act set up the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) which was entrusted with the task of appointing judges to the SC and HCs.
- However, in October 2015, the SC struck down the NJAC Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act which according to the court provided politicians and civil society a final say in judicial appointments.
- During its judgement, the court also noted that the Collegium system needed reforms and sought the government to come up with a revised MoP in consultation with the CJI and the Collegium.
- However, the MoP is still not finalised as there have been continued disagreements over the issue between the SC and the Government.
Know more about – Collegium System and National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
Government’s concerns
- The Union Government has held that the Collegium has been responsible for the delay in judicial appointments both at the SC and HC levels and that the NJAC was a good law that was thwarted by the court.
- According to the Government, the HCs are not making recommendations six months prior to the vacancy as mentioned in the MoP which has led to a large number of vacancies.
- As of November 2022, there were over 332 judicial vacancies in various HCs out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,108 judges and the HCs are yet to make recommendations for over 186 vacancies (56%).
- Further, many HCs have failed to make recommendations under the Bar and Service quotas for vacancies in the past one to five years.
- The Government has also accused the SC of rejecting about 25% of names proposed by the HCs for judgeships.
- Out of the total 165 appointments made during 2022, about 221 of the proposals made by the HCs were accepted and the remaining 56 recommendations were rejected by the SC Collegium.
- The Government has said that the delay in the appointment process has impacted the timely filing of vacancies in the HCs.
Supreme Court’s response
- The SC has held that the Collegium system along with the MoP, is the existing law/statute and it would continue to exist until a new law is enacted by the government.
- The SC has accused the Government of keeping the recommendations of the Collegium pending for no valid reason and has also criticised the Government’s move of sending back the proposed names to the Collegium repeatedly.
- The SC has further accused the Government of not appointing such judges who are seen to be against the policies and ideologies of the Government.
To read more about this issue, refer to the following article:
UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis dated 8 Dec 2022
Nut graf: The judiciary led by the Collegium and the government must collaborate to come up with some out-of-the-box and innovative solutions to address the perennial issue of judicial vacancies rather than involving in a blame game amongst themselves.
C. GS 3 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. Curbing individualism in public health
Syllabus: Issues related to the development and management of health services.
Mains: Individualism in public health.
Details:
- There is a failure to consider and interpret public health issues from a population perspective. This results in ineffective and unsustainable solutions.
- For instance, individualist solutions like micronutrient supplementation and food fortification have been proposed as solutions to the issue of Undernutrition, instead of more sustainable approaches like strengthening the Public Distribution System(PDS), supplementary nutrition programmes, and health services.
- Similarly, for chronic disease control, the major focus is on early diagnosis and treatment instead of modification of health behaviours through community action.
- This strong tendency of prioritizing individual-oriented interventions over societal-oriented population-based approaches is referred to as individualism in public health.
Recent Examples of Public Health Programmes:
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY):
- It is the largest health insurance scheme that covers hospitalization expenses for a family.
- The object of the scheme is to ensure free curative care services for all kinds of hospitalization services and reduce the financial burden of the beneficiary.
- It is an individualistic response to the hospitalization expenditure of the population. This is evident from the 75th round of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data, which highlights that on average only 3% of the total population in India had an episode of hospitalization in a year.
- This figure ranges from 1% in Assam, 4% in Goa to 10% in Kerala.
- The proportion is usually between 3% to 5% in the majority of Indian States.
- It implies that the Government needs to cater healthcare facilities to only 3%-5% of the population covering their hospitalization needs.
- In the evaluation of publicly-funded insurance schemes, it was found that a small proportion of the population benefitted from the scheme annually.
- Though the government provides assurance to any individual that can be at the risk for hospitalization(individualist approach) but from the population perspective, the maximum proportion of the population in need of hospitalization will be in the range of 5% of the total population.
For more information on PMJAY, read here: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana | Ayushman Bharat PMJAY
- COVID-19 Vaccination:
- Unlike other vaccination, it was clear that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot prevent people from getting the disease but would only reduce hospitalization and deaths.
- It should be noted that only 20% of the total COVID-19-positive cases required medical attention, with nearly 5% requiring hospitalization and around 1%-2% needing ventilator support or intensive care (ICU).
- This was again a promise and assurance to every individual against hospitalization.
- A population-based approach would have focused on primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities during the time of crisis.
Determinants of Individualism:
There are three major reasons for the dominance of individualism in public health that often works in combination. They are:
- The dominance of biomedical knowledge and philosophy with a misconception that what is done at an individual level, when done at a larger level of the population becomes public health.
- Another associated aspect is the ‘visibility’ of the impacts of health among the general public. It should be remembered that health effects are more visible and convincing at the individual level, whereas improvements at the population level require population-level analysis.
- The population-level analysis is an important skill that demands expertise and orientation about society among public health practitioners.
- The public, and public health experts who take individual experiences at face value, will end up misinterpreting the population’s characteristics based on individual experiences. This is referred to as the atomistic fallacy in public health.
- The role of the market and the impact of consumerism in public health practice. The market forces would cast a wide net and cover 100% of beneficiaries for a programme. Whereas in reality, the actual beneficiary would be only 5 to 10%.
Way Ahead:
- Curative care provisioning should not be planned at an individual level as epidemiologically, every individual will not require curative care every time.
- For population-level planning, there is a need to consider the population as a single unit.
- All forms of individualistic approaches in public health should be resisted to safeguard its original principles of practice namely population, prevention, and social justice.
Related Links: Health Care Sector in India – An Overview on Latest Developments
Nut Graf: The dominance of individualism is rising in public health programmes of the country. There is a need for robust population-level analysis and planning for robust public health care.
1. Big Tech and the need in India for ex-ante regulation
Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning and development.
Mains: Big Tech companies and Competition law.
Context: The Competition Commission of India’s move to impose a penalty on Google.
Details:
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI), India’s anti-trust body, imposed a penalty of about ₹1,337.76 crores on Google on October 2022 for abusing its dominant position in the android mobile device ecosystem.
- The CCI was established under the Indian Competition Act 2002 with an aim to protect and promote competition in markets and curb practices that hinder competition. However, the act is limited to account for the network effect of Big Tech companies.
- The European Union, the United States, and Australia realizing the market-distorting abilities of these companies transformed their competition law. For example, the EU’s Digital Market Act.
- In India, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, and its proposed amendments would partially address these issues. However, India should have used this as an opportunity to overhaul its law.
For more information on CCI, read here: Competition Commission of India (CCI) – Statutory Body | UPSC | BYJU’S
Issue of Market Dominance:
- Preventing Competition: The case of Google highlights this issue.
- According to CCI, google intended to make users abide by its revenue-earning service, i.e., an online search to influence the sale of their online advertising services. Thus it created serious entry barriers for competitors along with a status quo bias.
- Though the competition laws address this concern, their response is pretty slow in complex technical sectors. This results in significantly benefitting the dominant player Google.
- Thus there is a need for ex-ante legislation to prevent market failures and mitigate possible anti-competitive conduct.
- Predatory Pricing: This refers to lowering prices to an extent that forces out other firms.
- Amazon and Flipkart were accused of deep discounting and creating in-house brands that challenged the local sellers.
- The CCI responded by raiding their offices. It further forced Amazon to curb its ties with Cloudtail.
- It should be noted that pricing plays a crucial role in defining the position of any digital platform in the marketplace. It is therefore important to formulate an ex-ante framework that guarantees a level playing field for local sellers.
- The Government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform is a step in the right direction, especially for small players.
- Bundling of service and elimination of competition without consumers’ consent: A critical facet of self-preferencing beyond the search algorithms is the bundling of services, particularly with pre-installed apps, where the manufacturers eliminate competition without the consent of the consumer.
- For instance, Apple is being probed in the U.S. and Europe for pre-installed apps after Russia forced Apple to provide third-party apps during installation.
- Indian law should also remain vigilant in this aspect.
Issue of Consumer Protection:
- There is still an issue regarding the regulation of sensitive data like financial records, medical history, etc stored on these platforms. Big tech companies have asserted ownership of the right to use or transfer this data without restriction.
- There is also an issue of the storage of women’s and children’s data that requires to be dealt with more caution in a digital environment.
- Moreover, market distortion can also result in poor service quality, data monopoly, and also hamper innovation.
Way Ahead:
- Harmony should be established between the Competition law and the new Consumer Protection Act 2020 and e-commerce rules.
- Furthermore, the new law should incorporate a mechanism to ensure fair compensation for consumers who are impacted by the anti-competitive practices of the Big Techs.
- The imposition of penalties and restrictions on companies should also consider proportionate compensation for consumer losses.
- It is essential to provide a level-playing field and ensure a fair opportunity for start-ups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.
- There is an immediate need to contextualize the law in accordance with the digital marketplace and devise new provisions with adequate ex-ante legislation as the Competition Act of 2000 largely focused on the physical marketplace.
Related Link: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Oct 21st, 2022 CNA. Download PDF
Nut Graf: The case of Google has once again brought to the fore the need to rethink the market power of Big Tech companies. In this age of digital transformation, India requires a new ex-ante-based framework that promotes competition by ensuring a level-playing field for all stakeholders.
F. Prelims Facts
Syllabus: GS-3; Economy; Important terminologies
Prelims: Factors of production
Factors of production
Image Source: www.stlouisfed.org
- Factors of production refer to those resources which are considered to be the basic building blocks of production in an economy.
- The resources which are considered factors of production are those resources that are absolutely necessary for the production of any good or service.
- Land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship are widely considered the key factors of production.
- The mixing of land, labour, and capital is seen at various stages of the production process of any good in the modern economy.
- In recent times, entrepreneurship is also seen as the fourth factor of production that brings together all the other three factors.
- Individuals who control these factors of production usually enjoy the greatest wealth in society.
- The ownership of these factors of production has been a matter of debate among various economic thinkers.
- Marxist economists believe that these factors of production must be collectively owned by the state as the private ownership of these factors can lead to the exploitation and mismanagement of resources.
- Free market school economists argue for the private ownership of the factors of production because of the incentives it offers to resource owners.
G. Tidbits
1. Indian and Chinese soldiers clash near Arunachal border
- According to the Indian Army, the Indian and Chinese soldiers suffered minor injuries in a face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9th, 2022.
- The Commanders on both sides held a Flag Meeting after the incident to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity in the region.
- According to the Army’s statement, there are areas of differing perception along the LAC in the Tawang sector wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines.
- This is the first such incident after the violent clashes in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in June 2020.
- The LAC is divided into the western (Ladakh), middle (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), Sikkim, and eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) sectors.
- While the majority of the transgressions by the Chinese force in the recent few years have been in the western sector, there has been an increasing trend of transgressions in the eastern and middle sectors.
- The Indian Army has upgraded its firepower and infrastructure along the LAC in the Tawang sector and efforts are underway in the rest of Arunachal Pradesh (RALP). This includes construction of roads, tunnels, bridges, aviation facilities, and the upgradation of communication links and surveillance.
2. RS passes ‘futuristic’ Energy Conservation Bill to further regulate carbon emissions
- The Rajya Sabha in the ongoing Winter session has passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill which aims to mandate the use of non-fossil sources including green hydrogen, green ammonia, biomass and ethanol for energy and feedstock and setting up Carbon Markets in India.
- The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill in August 2022.
- The Bill is expected to enhance the scope of Energy Conservation Building Code, make changes to the existing penalty provisions, increase members in the Governing Council of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and empower the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to make regulations for the smooth discharge of its functions.
- The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy has regarded the Bill as “futuristic” and said that the Bill will provide an impetus to India’s efforts to shift to greener sources of energy.
- The Minister further added that the Bill aims to bring large residential buildings, with a minimum connected load of 100 kW or contract demand of 120 kVA, within the purview of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
3. Retail inflation falls below 6% mark for first time in 2022
Image Source: The Hindu
- The easing prices of vegetable and edible oil have led to a decrease in India’s retail inflation to 5.88% in November 2022 as compared to 6.77% in October.
- This is said to be the first time since January 2022 that consumer prices have risen slower than the 6% tolerance threshold set for the Reserve Bank of India.
- The food price inflation faced by consumers reduced to 4.67% from over 7% in October. However, rural consumers continue to face a greater burden with a 5.2% price rise in food items as compared to 3.7% for urban consumers.
- Vegetables and edible oils recorded 8.1% and 0.6% deflation respectively as compared to November 2021 levels, but the inflation continued to accelerate with respect to cereals, milk and spices.
- Further, the Inflation in the major components of core inflation such as transportation and communication, housing, household goods and services also witnessed an increase or remain stable which indicates a continued passthrough of input prices and recovering demand.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. How many of the following initiatives/ schemes of the government exclusively targets tribal development? (Level - Medium)
- Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools
- SANKALP Scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana
Options:
- One only
- Two only
- Three only
- All four
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna (PMAAGY) aims to mitigate gaps and provide basic infrastructure in villages with significant tribal population in convergence with funds available under different schemes in Central Scheduled Tribe Component.
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) were started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) children in remote areas in order to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
- Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojna is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan.
- Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) is a programme of the Ministry of Skill Development with loan assistance from the World Bank.
- It aims to improve short term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions, bringing in better market connectivity and inclusion of marginalised sections of the society.
Q2. Consider the following statements: (Level - Medium)
- Zero hour is an Indian innovation in the Parliamentary procedures.
- Zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts till the agenda of the day.
- Question Hour is not scheduled on the day the finance minister presents the Budget.
How many of the given statements is/are INCORRECT?
- One statement only
- Two statements only
- Three statements only
- None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, Zero Hour is the time when Members of Parliament (MPs) can raise Issues of Urgent Public Importance. Zero Hour is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962.
- Statement 2 is correct, The Zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day is taken up.
- Statement 3 is correct, Question Hour in both Houses is held on all days of the session. But there are two days when an exception is made which include:
- There is no Question Hour on the day the President addresses MPs from both Houses in the Central Hall.
- Question Hour is not scheduled on the day the Finance Minister presents the Budget.
Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to the New India Literacy Programme:(Level - Difficult)
- It aims to support the States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among non-literates in the age group of 18 and above.
- It is a Central Sector Scheme.
- Schools will be the unit for implementation of the scheme.
How many of the given statements is/are INCORRECT?
- One statement only
- Two statements only
- Three statements only
- None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is not correct, New India Literacy Programme (NILP) aims to support the States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among non-literates in the age group of 15 and above, across the country covering 5 crore non-literates during the implementation period from 2022-23 to 2026-27
- Statement 2 is not correct, New India Literacy Programme (NILP) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
- The scheme has been approved with a financial outlay of Rs.1037.90 crores which includes Central share of Rs.700 crores and State share of Rs.337.90 crores.
- Statement 3 is correct, Under NILP, school to be unit for implementation of the scheme.
Q4. ‘Development working group’ is often seen in news in the context of:(Level-Medium)
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- G20
- World Economic Forum
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- The G20 Development Working Group (DWG) was set up in 2010.
- The G20 DWG has become an essential forum to discuss and promote action on a broad range of issues directly affecting developing countries, especially low-income countries.
- In 2016, the G20 entrusted the DWG with coordinating and monitoring policy actions across all G20 countries related to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Q5. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criterion for: (PYQ-2017)
- Measuring oxygen levels in blood
- Computing oxygen levels in forest ecosystems
- Pollution assay in aquatic ecosystems
- Assessing oxygen levels in high altitude regions
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- The amount of oxygen needed by biological organisms such as bacteria in a given water sample for a breakdown of organic matter by oxidation process is called the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).
- BOD is often used in wastewater treatment plants and is used as an index of the degree of organic pollution in water.
- Therefore, BOD is a standard criterion for Pollution assay in aquatic ecosystems.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- How is public health different from public sector healthcare? What are the lacunae in India’s public health setup? (250 words; 15 marks) (GS-2; Health)
- What are the new age challenges posed by Big Tech in today’s times? Is the Indian law adequately framed to handle such challenges? (250 words; 15 marks) (GS-3; Science & Technology)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 13 Dec 2022:- Download PDF Here
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