CNA 15 Dec 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. India’s Slowing Exports D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. India- China Relations ENVIRONMENT 1. Climate Resilience F. Prelims Facts 1. Gene Therapy 2. Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal G. Tidbits 1. Patriots Missiles 2. Beypore Uru H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
C. GS 3 Related
Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
Mains: Recent trends in Exports across the Globe
Context: India’s exports declined about 16.7% in October compared with the year-earlier period.
Introduction:
- Merchandise exports declined 16.7% on year in October 2022, the first drop in 20 months and the worst slide since May 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to contain the Covid outbreak.
- As per the official data, exports dropped below the $30-billion mark for the first time since March 2021 to hit $29.8 billion. Imports, however, rose 5.7%, to $56.7 billion.
- Consequently, the trade deficit increased to $26.9 billion in October from $25.7 billion in September.
- The increase in imports is most likely because of softening commodity prices worldwide.
- The World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently warned of a darkened 2023 and projected that global trade growth will drop to only 1% next year from 3.5% in 2022.
Performance of export sector:
- Export of engineering goods in India has slid 21% mainly due to the slowdown to high inflation in developed regions, falling demand in China, the slowdown in the EU and the U.S. and the Russia-Ukraine war.
- A decline of $2 billion worth of exports in steel and allied products is attributed to export duty on these products to help increase local availability.
- Increased leave of absence during the month of Diwali has also impacted the output.
- Vietnam, an export-dominated country, recorded a 4.5% growth in exports from a year earlier to $29.18 billion amid ‘sustained foreign demand’.
- Similarly, exports by the Philippines grew 20% in October.
Domestic Demand Scenario:
- The monthly Finance Ministry review for October states that the global slowdown is driven by a ‘confluence of stubbornly high inflation, rising borrowing costs and geopolitical tensions’, but cites local demand as being ‘resilient’.
- It also expects a ‘re-invigorated’ investment cycle which will spur growth and job creation in future.
- Inflation due to local factors, including higher food prices, is set to dampen due to easing international commodity prices and the arrival of the Kharif crop.
- Increasing private sector capital expenditure is also one of the positive signals for the economy.
- Private capex typically depends on credit, or loans, from the banking system which has seen healthy growth in the recent past touching a high of 18% in November 2022.
- India’s foreign exchange reserves stood at about $561 billion which is about 9-10 months’ worth of import cover.
- This decrease in import cover is seen as unhealthy as compared to the 14-to-15-month cover India had during the pandemic.
Nut Graf: India’s slowing exports have become a cause for concern as we have around 9-10 months’ worth of import cover. However, the government is optimistic that domestic demand will counter the effects of declining exports and the forex reserves have been rising in recent weeks signalling hope for the future.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Syllabus: GS-2, India and its Neighbourhood – Relations
Mains: Various issues in India-China Relations
Context: Indian and Chinese troops faced off at the Yangtse area near Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern sector of the Indo-China border.
Introduction:
- According to the statement by the Indian Army, on December 09, 2022, Indian and Chinese troops faced off near Tawang which led to minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides.
- As per the Indian Army, the crisis at the face-off site was defused with commanders holding a flag meeting to restore peace and tranquillity.
- Both sides are reported to have over 50,000 soldiers each deployed along the Himalayan frontier in Ladakh.
Image Source: Hindustan Times
Background:
- China and India share a disputed 3,440km long de facto border called the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
- The border is poorly demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes and snowcaps means the line can shift.
- The soldiers on either side have come face to face at many points.
- A crisis in the Indo-China border began in April 2020, with PLA transgressions in Ladakh, in the western sector of the boundary.
- Another face-off in January 2021 left troops on both sides injured. It took place along the border between China and India in Sikkim.
- In September 2022, both countries agreed to disengage from a disputed area along a remote western Himalayan border area, with both sides beginning troop withdrawals.
- The crisis has now appeared to have widened to the eastern sector of the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
Image Source: Indian Express
Read more on the Evolution of India-China Relations in the link.
Implications of raising tension:
- This growing tension involves the risk of escalation which can be devastating given both sides are established nuclear powers.
- There would also be economic fallout as China is one of India’s biggest trading partners.
- The military stand-off is mirrored by growing political tension, which has strained ties between both countries.
- The recent disputes have also had broader regional implications, as they have highlighted increasing Indian and American convergence followed by a strengthening of China’s alliance with Pakistan.
- The most recent incident came days after China expressed objection to Exercise Yudh Abhyas, an India-US joint military exercise at Auli in the Uttarakhand hills, claiming it was a violation of 1993 and 1996 border agreements.
- The continuing military tensions at different points along the 3,000 km-LAC come as New Delhi kicked off a series of events as part of its presidency of the G20.
Read more on the 2020 Galwan Valley Clash.
Way Forward:
- Addressing this military and political challenge will require transparency by taking the opposition and public along.
- A resumption of high-level political dialogue will allow India to convey its concerns at the highest level.
- Both countries should seek diplomatic opportunities to promote restraint and remove obstacles to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Nut Graf: The recent attempted transgression by the Chinese military in the eastern section of the India-China boundary has served as a reminder of the delicate state of affairs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Both sides should engage diplomatically and avoid an escalation of the situation which can be detrimental to the region’s security.
Syllabus: GS-3, International Environment Agencies & Agreements
Mains: Significance of Climate-Friendly Urbanisation
Context: India unveiled its long-term climate action plan at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.
Introduction:
- India unveiled the document titled ‘Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LT-LCDS)’ at COP27.
- It has multi-sectoral measures to reach a net-zero emissions status and climate-resilient urbanisation.
- It forms a significant feature of the Government of India’s strategy under the Paris Agreement.
Climate-resilient urbanisation:
- The action plan involves a three-pronged and long-term plan for urban areas focusing on adaptation and resource efficiency in urban planning, climate-responsive and climate-resilient buildings, and municipal service delivery.
- There are several flagship missions by Union and State governments, which target specific objectives towards creating a smart, sustainable and resilient urban India.
- A data-driven approach may be useful to facilitate the implementation of the LT-LCDS and other missions, and enable their integration.
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- For instance, the Urban Sustainability Assessment Framework (USAF), a tool of UN-Habitat for municipal commissioners and urban practitioners, supports the sustainable and resilient urban planning and management of Indian cities.
- It enables cities to regularly capture inter-sectoral data and corresponding analysis on urban metrics to monitor the performance of a city.
- Cities can enhance vertical integration by pulling together the missions’ objectives at the central level, State policies and projects, and local implementation through city-specific strategic actions linked to capital investment planning.
- For instance, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh favours non-motorised transport (NMT) with a 43% NMT modal share but provides access to public bike docking stops to only 24% of its population; only half of its streets have footpaths.
- By designing ‘shared streets’ for personal vehicles, public transport, NMT and pedestrians, and linking them with future economic activity zones and underserved areas, the city has immense potential to reduce its carbon footprint.
- These streets can also be conduits for native plant species and groundwater recharge by integrating water-sensitive urban design features with the potential of reducing GHG emissions.
- India’s long-term strategy must accommodate the most vulnerable of its people in its low-emissions pathways to achieve sustainable economic growth and poverty eradication.
Nut Graf: Demonstrating urban planning strategies for climate resilience through specific actions supported by relevant data and linking them to various finance streams accessible to the urban local bodies is important. Nature-based solutions provide a range of solutions for climate change adaptation over hard grey infrastructure.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Gene Therapy
Syllabus: GS03-Science and Technology
Prelims: CRISPR-cas9 system
Context: Scientists in the United Kingdom are testing a new form of cancer therapy.
Key Details:
- A 13-year-old girl Alyssia in the UK who has T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia received experimental gene therapy that relied on a new technique called ‘base editing.’ She now has no detectable cancer cells.
- In T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, or T-ALL, the T-cells, which are a class of white blood cells, equipped to hunt and neutralise threats to the body, turn against the body and end up destroying healthy cells that normally help with immunity.
- The disease is rapid and progressive and is usually treated by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
- The objective of the therapy in the case of T-cell leukaemia was to fix her immune system in a way that it stops making cancerous T-cells.
What is ‘base editing?’
- A person’s genetic code is several permutations of four bases: Adenine (A), Guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T).
- Sequences of these bases spell out genes that are instructions to produce the wide array of proteins necessary for the body’s functions.
- In Alyssia’s case, her T-cells had become cancerous because of a mis-arrangement in the sequence of bases.
- Correcting this mis-arrangement could mean a healthier immune system. The most popular approach to allow genes to be altered and errors fixed has been the CRISPR-cas9 system.
- The CRISPR-cas9 system is believed to be the fast, most versatile system to effect such gene editing.
- The CRISPR-cas 9 system consists of an enzyme that acts like molecular scissors. It can be made to cut a piece of DNA at a precise location and a guide RNA can be used to insert a changed genetic code at the sites of the incision.
- David Liu of the Broad Institute, Massachusetts has improvised on the CRISPR-cas9 system to be able to directly change certain bases: thus, a C can be changed into a G and T into an A.
- Base editing is reportedly more effective at treating blood disorders which are caused by single point mutations, or when a change in a single base pair can cause terminal disease.
Read more on Gene Editing.
2. Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal
Syllabus: GS02-Polity
Prelims: Water Dispute Tribunals in India
Context: The Supreme Court in December 2022 gave the Union government three months to constitute an Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal to resolve the dispute of Pennaiyar river.
Key Details:
- The Supreme Court gave the Centre three months to constitute an Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal to resolve the dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over constructions in Pennaiyar river.
- Tamil Nadu had filed an original suit in 2018 against Karnataka’s work on check dams and diversions’ structures in the river.
- Tamil Nadu had argued that the flowing water of an Inter-State river was a national asset, and no single State can claim exclusive ownership of it and the utilisation of Pennaiyar river waters by Karnataka is a detriment to the people of Tamil Nadu.
Pennaiyar River:
- The South Pennar River is also known as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada and Thenpennai or Pennaiyar in Tamil.
- Bangalore, Hosur, Tiruvannamalai, and Cuddalore are the important cities on the banks of South Pennar river.
- This is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu, with a length of 497 km, after the Kaveri.
- The river is severely polluted by industrial waste as it flows through major industrial areas in the eastern suburbs of Bangalore, the industrial parks of Hosur and Chengam.
- The river originates in the Nandi Hills in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
- The river is dry for the most part of the year. Water flows during the monsoon season when it is fed by the south-west monsoon in the catchment area and the northeast monsoon in Tamil Nadu.
G. Tidbits
- The U.S. is finalising plans to send Patriot missile batteries that can shoot down incoming missiles to Ukraine.
- Patriot (MIM-104) is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft.
- It is produced by Raytheon in Massachusetts and Lockheed Martin Missiles.
- The U.S. Army describes the Patriot, which consists of multiple parts including a radar, a control station and up to eight launchers as its “most advanced air defence system.”
- Patriot is in service with the US and allied countries including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Spain, and Taiwan.
2. Beypore Uru
- Kerala has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).
- It is a wooden dhow (ship/sailing boat/sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.
- The Urus are purely made of premium wood, without using any modern techniques.
- The wood used is sawed the traditional way. It takes one to four years to build each Uru and the entire process is done manually.
- Beypore Urus are a symbol of Kerala’s trade relations and friendship with the Gulf countries.
- Beypore has been a legendary maritime hub for traders from across the world since the 1st century C.E. and the iconic Uru ships have been in high demand for around 2,000 years.
Image Source: Kozhikode Directory
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. In which case did the Supreme Court issue guidelines for the betterment of acid attack survivors? (Level-Difficult)
- Jeeja Ghosh & Anr v Union of India & Ors
- Vishakha and others v State of Rajasthan
- Laxmi v. Union of India
- Olga Tellis v Bombay Municipal Corporation
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
- The Supreme Court in the Laxmi v. Union of India case issued guidelines for the betterment of acid attack survivors.
- Multiple orders were passed to prevent acid attacks and provide welfare to survivors.
Q2. With respect to the adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys, which of the following statements is/are correct? (Level-Medium)
- The Inter-State Water Disputes Act empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute and the decision of the tribunal would be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
- Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to such a tribunal under this Act.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
- Statement 01 is correct, Currently, in India, water dispute resolution is governed by the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956. The Act empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute and the decision of the tribunal would be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
- Statement 02 is correct, Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall have or exercise jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to a Tribunal under this Act.
Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to Beypore Uru (boat): (Level-Difficult)
- It is a wooden dhow handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Tamil Nadu.
- It was recently awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
- Beypore Uru is a wooden dhow (ship/sailing boat/sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.
- Kerala has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Beypore Uru recently.
Q4. Consider the following pairs: (Level-Difficult)
Tribe State/UT
- Bhutia – Sikkim
- Dhodia – Gujarat
- Gond – Odisha
- Malasar – Tamil Nadu
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
- Only one pair
- Only two pairs
- Only three pairs
- All four pairs
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
- Pair 01 is correctly matched, The Bhutia are a community of Sikkimese people living in the state of Sikkim. The Bhutia also constitute a majority of the population of Bhutan, where they live mainly in the western and central regions of the country and form minorities in Nepal and India.
- Pair 02 is correctly matched, The Dhodia are the highest-ranking tribe and the third-largest tribal group in Gujarat. They speak Dhodia, a Bhil language.
- Pair 03 is correctly matched, The Gond are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
- Pair 04 is correctly matched, The Malasar tribal community lives in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They live in the Parambikulam reserve forest of the Palakkad district in Kerala and the adjoining forest of Tamil Nadu and they inhabit the foothills of the Anamalai hills in southern India.
Q5. Which one of the following statements about Sangam literature in ancient South India is correct? (CSE-PYQ-2022) (Level-Difficult)
- Sangam poems are devoid of any reference to material culture.
- The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.
- Sangam poems have no reference to warrior ethic
- Sangam literature refers to magical forces as irrational
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
- The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets. This can be seen in the mention of the Arasar (kings), Vaishiyar (traders), Vellalar (farmers) and Brahmanas.
- However, the four-fold varna classification had little application to ancient Tamil society.
Read more on Sangam Literature.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- The slowdown in merchandise exports is a reflection of tough global trade conditions. In light of the statement, discuss why India’s exports are falling. (150 words, 10 marks) [GS-3, Economy]
- The face-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang looks like a well-planned strategy by China to change the status quo on the LAC. What lessons can be drawn from the transgression by the government? (150 words, 10 marks) [GS-2, IR]
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 15 Dec 2022:- Download PDF Here
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