15 Dec 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: HEALTH

1. India needs to rethink its nutritional agenda

Context:

The National Family Health Survey-5 Phase-1 statistics covering 22 states and union territories has been released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW)

Details:

• The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
• The survey provides state and national information for India on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services
• The NFHS-5 phase-1 data, though covering only 22 states and UTs and doesn’t include the major states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh to name a few paints a very gloomy picture about the nutritional status in the country.

Malnutrition

• Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related non-communicable diseases

• The NFHS-5 states that 16 states/UTs have seen a rise in the prevalence of acute malnutrition in comparison to NFHS-4 statistics, Karnataka and Kerala are the only two big states that have seen an improvement.
• The adult malnutrition is calculated using the metric of Body Mass Index, the benchmark BMI has been taken as 18.5 kg/m^2 and there has been a rise in adult malnutrition pointing at obesity, poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle.

Undernutrition

• Undernutrition is defined as the outcome of insufficient food intake and repeated infectious diseases.
• It includes being underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), dangerously thin for one’s height (wasted) and deficient in vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition)
  • Underweight
    • The recent NFHS survey points out that Under-5 age underweight has increased in 16 states/UTs.
    • This is a worrying indication as being underweight increases the risk of low bone mineral density and also compromises immunity.
  • Stunning
    • Stunting is when a child has a low height for their age. The World Health Organisation calls stunting as “a marker of inequalities in human development”.
    • A very crucial indicator, reveals a lot about the nutritional intake is alarming in 13 of the 22 states/UTs surveyed.
    • Amongst the remaining 9 states, 5 states have seen a very marginal improvement, witnessing improvement of less than 1 percentage point.in the five-year period.
    • A worrying piece of statistics is that there was a decline of 10 percentage points in stunting between the NFHS-3 and NFHS-4, from 48% to 38%, averaging 1 percentage point per annum.
  • Anaemia
    • Anaemia is a condition in which one lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues. Having anemia can make one feel tired and weak.
    • Anaemia has also been seen to be prevalent among the children and women, this has seen to have increased in most of the states and only 4 states/UTs have seen a decline and none of the four includes major or big states.

Why periods of healthy economic growth rates have not transcended into better nutritional outcomes?

• India in the past two decades have had healthy economic growth rates, however, this hasn’t been inclusive in nature.
• The benefits accruing from the expansion of the economy has not been reaped by all sections of society.
• This period has witnessed rising inequality, greater informalisation of the labour force and reducing employment elasticities of growth
  • The employment elasticity refers to the percentage change in employment associated with a 1% increase in GDP. Therefore, the higher the employment elasticity, the more labour-intensive growth.

Social sector programmes

• The welfare nature of the Indian state has meant that there has been a number of programmes aiming to provide a protection net to the vulnerable people.
• Schemes like MGNREGA, Public Distribution System (PDS), Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Mid-day meal scheme has contributed to making a dent in the absolute poverty levels and also improving nutritional indicators.
• However, these schemes are very important for a healthy and prosperous India, thus these schemes require increased coverage backed with increased financial outlay, but unfortunately, these programmes are being hamstrung by underfunding, delay in the release of funds.
• Recent data of fund utilization of the POSHAN Abhiyaan showed that only close to one-third of the earmarked funds were utilized post-2017-18.

Recent state of economy

• The economy has a slowdown in the last couple of years, the agrarian distress has been prevalent, unemployment has reached higher levels, this has coincided with numerous starvation deaths in the country.
• Volunteers of Right to Food campaign have listed over 100 starvation death post-2015.
• These problems could be now exacerbated by the pandemic and the lockdown that followed.
• ‘Hunger Watch’, a recent survey revealed that there is a decline in food consumption and food insecurity, particularly among the poor and vulnerable households.
• The survey revealed that close to 66% of the respondents spread across 11 states that the nutritional quantity and quality of their diets worsened in the September-October period than when compared to the pre-lockdown era.

What should be the approach?

• There is a need for a holistic approach encompassing supplementary nutrition ( including eggs, fruits etc), dietary changes are necessary to bring about a more accelerated improvement in nutritional outcomes.
• ICDS and mid-day meal scheme must be propped up with an increase in financial support, delivery and monitoring mechanism.
• The nutritional status of children to improve must begin with the health and nutritional status of mothers, thus there is a need for universal maternity entitlements and childcare services to ensure a healthy mother and a healthy infant.

Agriculture holds the key.

• Agriculture is important to nutritional outcomes in two ways:
  1. Foods produced
     • Diversification in the food basket to improve nutritional outcomes will have a linkage to what is being produced, thus encouraging farmers to diversify from paddy and wheat is important.
     • Increased emphasis on poultry farming will bring about improved access to other sources of proteins.
  2. Agrarian livelihoods
     • Agrarian economy is the backbone of rural India, close to 69% of the Indian population reside in rural India as per the 2011 census, thus remunerative agriculture will go a long way in improving nutritional outcomes in India.

Way Forward

• Improving nutritional standards will also involve health services accessibility, equitable gender relations.
• Creating more employment along with increased access to basic services of health, education, food, social security.
• There is also a need to come up with region-specific plans, the states and the panchayats can play a pivotal role in identifying the lacunae in meeting the nutritional targets and come up with a region-centric plan to tackle malnutrition.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Tax policy in trying times

Context:

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to rejig the tax laws.

Details:

• The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that ensued played out in such a way that there were distinct winners and losers.
• There were a certain set of people who benefitted and made the most of the situation while the rest of them suffered, the migrant crisis highlighted how the vulnerable struggled to make ends meet during the lockdown.
• India follows a Progressive taxation system, wherein the tax rate increases with the taxpayer’s income. The tax liability for a taxpayer increases with the income in terms of the proportion of income and in absolute amount.
• In light of the pandemic, there have been calls to ensure that the taxation system is amended to be more effective.

Who all benefitted in the times of pandemic?

• India’s GDP in the first two quarters of the year 2020, stretching from April to September contracted, though this is gloomy times for the economy, certain sections of the population gained.
  1. High Networth Individuals (HNI)
     • An astonishing fact is that a grand total of 85 new individuals from India were added to the grandiose list of High Networth Individuals.
     • This happened at a peculiar juncture of time in the Indian economy, i.e when the economy is slipping into a recession.
  2. Stock exchange.
     • The stock exchange in India serves as a market where financial instruments like stocks, bonds and commodities are traded.
     • There was an anomaly where certain stocks soared in value in comparison to others, especially when the economy was paralyzed by the lockdown.
  3. Corporate houses, internet service providers, scientists engaged in medical research etc.
  4. Manufacturers of essential medical equipment during the pandemic, like the mask, glove, personal protection equipment kits manufacturers.
• The above-mentioned actors found to be the big gainers of the lockdown, while this segment constitutes only a small portion of the population.
• The informal sector took the worst hit, with many losing jobs, with migrants having to walk thousands of kilometres to reach their home.

Government’s response to the crisis.

• The Fiscal stimulus refers to increasing government consumption or transfers or lowering taxes is often seen as a solution at the times of plunging GDP and increasing unemployment.
• Major economies like for example Japan which provided a fiscal stimulus of close to 21% of its GDP and Brazil provided a fiscal stimulus of around 10% of GDP, India’s fiscal stimulus of 2% GDP paled in comparison.

Role of Multi-National Corporations (MNC).

• Several leading MNCs have established themselves in India over the years owing to Globalization and a vibrant economy with high growth potential.
• Corporate profits have risen sharply as well, this rise has come at the cost of wages and small and medium enterprises.
• Expansion in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have enabled MNCs to reach different frontiers.
• The tax administrations globally have not been able to tax these MNCs commensurate of their economic windfall.
• In the Indian scenario, the non-resident e-commerce operators were brought within the ambit of equalization levy through the Finance Act 2000. Online sale of goods and services will be taxed at 2%.

Taxation predicament

• Under the traditional rule, the source state has the right to tax business profits of a foreign company only if the company carries on business activities in the source state through a ‘Permanent Establishment’, which requires physical or representative presence.
• With the coming of the digital era, companies operating in the digital sphere do not necessarily need to be physically present in the source state.
• Countries are now considering if there is a need to re-conceptualize the traditional resident based definition to provide for a virtual or digital economic presence.
• Digital taxation has to be built around the UN Model Convention, to ensure that MNCs do not skirt the taxation laws and accumulate wealth via tax avoidance.
• Canada has revealed its plans to levy taxes on foreign technology companies to augment the Government’s income.
• India needs to evolve its taxation system in synch with OECD principles, to make curb large scale tax avoidance by MNCs.

Indirect taxes

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) mandates any reduction in tax rates has to be passed onto the consumers.
• Companies benefitting from a cut in tax rates must ensure that it is passed on to the customer, the Anti-Profiteering Rules have been made use of to ensure there is a pass-on.
• The Anti-Profiteering Authority must be on a strict vigil to ensure the MNCs follow the Anti-Profiteering rules.

Rewriting the tax law

• Taxation is not just a vehicle for raising state revenue. It can also be critically important for economic and political development.
• Advanced countries collect a substantially higher proportion of their taxes as direct taxes than do emerging markets, this proportion has also risen over time. today direct taxes account on average for about 70 per cent of total taxes in Europe
• India has the lowest share of direct taxes in total taxes its direct tax share is similar to other countries at a comparable stage of development.
• However, unlike in other countries its reliance on direct taxes seems to be declining, a trend that will be intensified if the Goods and Services Tax
• The direct tax requires mechanisms like faceless assessments and faceless appeals, along with an improved dispute resolution mechanism with emphasis on mediation and conciliation.
• The Vodafone case where India resorted to retrospective legislation was considered a departure from fairness principle by the International Court of Arbitration.
• The Akhilesh Ranjan Task Force which was set up to reform the Income Tax Act has submitted its report, details of which haven’t been made public yet.

Way ahead

• The IT Act of 1961 needs a facelift, it needs to resonate with the changing times and be able to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
• The step towards tax reforms will have to begin with rejigging the archaic laws and mechanisms to ensure that the taxation system is truly progressive in nature.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Green over brown.

Background:

• The INDCs will largely determine whether the world achieves an ambitious 2015 agreement and is put on a path toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
• India has submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• India’s INDCs are:
  1. To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.
  2. To achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, with the help of the transfer of technology and low-cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund.
  3. To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

Context:

The United Nations, United Kingdom and France co-hosted the Climate Ambition Summit 2020 which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Details:

• The summit convened by the United Nations marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
• Indian Prime Minister at the Summit has announced that India is set to surpass the climate targets.
• The future initiatives with regards to adopting green strategies require more of a decentralized approach with multiple stakeholders consultation.
• The present achievements are stepping stones and have to be pursued further.

India’s INDCs are:

• To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.
• To achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030, with the help of the transfer of technology and low-cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund.
• To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

India’s performance so far.

• India’s efforts have been recognized, the UNEP’s Emission Gap report has listed India among the nine G-20 countries to be on track to achieve the commitments made under Paris agreement.
• India’s good performance is based on the estimated present reduction of emissions intensity by 21% over 2005 levels, however, the actual goal is between 33% to 355 by 2030.
• The other two bulwarks of India’s climate targets is forest cover and renewable energy.
• The India State of Forest Report 2019 released recently showed an increase of 5,188 square kilometres of forest and tree cover across the country compared to the ISFR 2017.
• India’s renewable energy capacity addition has been on an upward trend in the last couple of years.
• Installed solar capacity had increased to 36 gigawatts in 2020.
• India’s renewable energy capacity is currently listed in the fourth position globally and is expected to reach as high as 175 GW by 2022.

G-20 bloc

• G-20 bloc collectively constitutes 78% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• One of the positives associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been the reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions majorly due to a reduction in industrial activity, this has allowed the countries to re-model their growth strategies.
• The concept of green growth dovetailed with the efforts to revive the economies worldwide. An estimate of $12 trillion has been the extent of fiscal stimulus worldwide, this can be used to pursue green growth in future.

Challenges ahead of India

1. Forest cover as a carbon sink.
   • One among India’s goals were to bring about afforestation to achieve additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes.
   • Afforestation of this scale was expected to bring in multiple benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, providing livelihoods to local forest communities, control micro-climate.
   • However, there have been doubts over the accuracy of data submitted by states with respect to afforestation measures undertaken by them.
   • The carbon sink approach will not deliver the desired results if it is not based on accurate data.
2. Solar power capacity
   • The aim to achieve 100 GW of solar capacity within the renewable goals from the current 36 GW appears to be a steep goal.
   • State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index (SARAL) The index evaluates states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development. This hasn’t given a very optimistic picture of states’ efforts to increase rooftop solar capacity
3. Vehicular emissions
   • The transport driven emissions have rebounded as well with the unlocking of the economy.
   • While there are calls for e-mobility, cities have not been seen adopting planning measures that provide for cycling and pedestrianisation.

Way ahead

• India has taken positive steps towards meeting the targets and even exceeding them, this should be sustained going forward.
• Government’s policy support is crucial, there need to be incentives at the state and individual level to pursue green strategies.
• Awareness generation about the need to shift to low carbon pathway also needs attention, the shift to low carbon pathway, adoption of renewable energy needs to be more than a policy, it has to be a movement to achieve success on a pan-India level

F. Tidbits

1. U.S. agencies hit by massive cyberattack

What’s in News?

The U.S. government issued an emergency directive to federal agencies in the wake of a major cyberattack.

Details:

• At least two departments including the Treasury have been targeted by hackers with ties to Russia.
• The hacks also hit major cybersecurity firm FireEye, which said its own defences had been breached by sophisticated attackers who stole tools used to test customers’ computer systems.
• The hacks are believed to be part of a wider campaign.
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ordered federal agencies to immediately stop using SolarWinds Orion IT products following reports that hackers had used a recent update to gain access to internal communications.

G. Prelims Facts

1. Stealth frigate Himgiri is ready

What’s in News?

Himgiri, stealth frigate has been launched into the water.

• It is the first of the three stealth frigates being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
• It is being built under Project 17A for the Navy.

P17 A Ships:

• P17A ships will be the most advanced state-of-the-art guided missile frigates once inducted.
• P17A ships have been indigenously designed by Directorate of Naval Design (Surface Ship Design Group) – DND (SSG), and are being built at indigenous yards namely Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and GRSE.
• Fincantieri of Italy is the know-how provider for technology upgrade and capability enhancement in this project.

Note:

• In Goa, the fifth and last of the offshore patrol vessels (OPV) in the series Saksham being built at Goa Shipyard was launched into water.
• It is expected to be delivered to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) by October 2021.
• ‘Saksham’ is a part of the indigenous project launched by the Prime Minister in November 2016.
• OPVs will be used for protection of the Exclusive Economic Zone of territorial water of the Nation.

2. Gujarat to get 30,000 MW renewable energy park

What’s in News?

Prime Minister of India will lay the foundation stone for what is billed as the world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

• The park will generate 30,000 MW power through solar panels and windmills on 72,600 hectares along the India-Pakistan border.
• The park will have dedicated zones for wind and solar energy storage as well as an exclusive zone for wind park activities.
• It is being set up by the Gujarat government with the participation of private players such as the Adani Group (country’s largest renewable power generator), and Suzlon (a dominant player in wind energy).

Note:

Desalination plant at Mandvi, Kutch:

• To meet the growing demand for water, Gujarat has turned to harnessing its vast coastline, taking steps to transform seawater to potable drinking water with the upcoming desalination plant at Mandvi, Kutch.
• The plant, will have a capacity of 10 crore litres a day (100 MLD).
• It would strengthen water security in Gujarat by complementing the Narmada Grid, the Sauni network and the treated waste-water infrastructure.
• This is one of the five desalination plants the government plans to set up along the coastal regions of Kutch and Saurashtra.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Presidential elections in India:

Q2. “Mucormycosis” recently seen in news is a:

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya 
Yojana (PM-JAY):

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Malabar Tree Toad: