26 Dec 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

Category: MEDIEVAL HISTORY

1. Earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India found in A.P

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Anti-CAA stir brings Adivasis into focus

Context:

A study tracing the growing burden of cancer in India states that most of the increase in cancer incidences are attributable to its epidemiological transition and improvement in the use of cancer diagnostics.

Details:

• A recent study published in the Journal of Global Oncology has warned that India’s cancer burden will continue to increase as a result of the ongoing ageing of India and improving access to cancer diagnostics in rural India.
• The study has stated that while cancer-­like diseases were documented since antiquity, but the recording of cancer in India began in the 19th century when the Western practices of biopsy and pathological examination were introduced to India during the colonial British regime.
• Cancer is primarily a disease of older people, hence, as life expectancy went up, cancer incidences too went up.
• Maximum increases will occur in the most populous and least developed States, where the facilities for cancer diagnostics and treatment are inadequate.
• The findings of the study offer lessons for planning cancer care in States and as well as in other countries experiencing epidemiological transition.
• In India, the fastest epidemiological transition happened in Kerala, whereas Uttar Pradesh remained in the slowest group.
• Epidemiological transition is a phase of demographic development, witnessed by a sudden and stark increase in population growth rates brought by improved food security and innovations in public health and medicine, followed by a re-levelling of population growth due to subsequent declines in fertility rates.

Kerala vs U.P:

• A direct comparison of the demographic and social variables, available health care facilities and leading causes of mortality in these two States shows how the low incidences of infectious diseases in Kerala have given rise to more cancer compared to U.P., which is still battling high mortality from communicable diseases.
• The types of cancers in India are also undergoing a transition, similar to a report from Japan five decades ago.
• There has been a decline of cancers caused by infections, such as cervical, stomach, and penile cancer, and an increase in cancers associated with energy intake, physical activity imbalance and ageing, such as breast, colorectal and prostate cancers.
• The study says cancer transitions can influence the requirements for site-­specialized cancer surgeons.
• For example, Kerala will need more breast oncologists and U.P. will need more gynaecological oncologists.
• According to the study, the association of tobacco chewing with cancer was published over a century ago. But the habit is now estimated to cause a fifth of all cancers in India.
• Out-of-pocket expenditure is three times higher for private inpatient cancer care in India. Approximately 40% of cancer costs are met through borrowing and contributions from friends and relatives.

No evidence of cancer in Indus Valley sites

• Evidence of cancer in early humans was found in a review of 154 paleopathological studies dating back to 1.8 million years in historic Egyptian and German sites.
• However, the study states that no comprehensive historical review could be gathered by scanning through voluminous data on medical literature from prehistoric times.
• According to the study, no paleo­-oncology reports of cancer have been recorded at the Indus Valley civilization or Deccan Chalcolithic sites except for the mention of some benign osteomas.
• Fewer samples and poor preservation were some of the limitations of these studies.
• The study says, there are references to cancer-­like symptoms in many ancient texts including the ‘Atharva Veda’ and two ancient medical systems, Ayurveda and Siddha, which have been in use for more than 2,500 years.
• These texts mention the use of surgery and herbal medications for these diseases.
• The ancient medical classics of India have devoted little attention to cancer-­like illnesses, suggesting a low prevalence of cancer in those times perhaps.

Context:

• A national strategy for suicide prevention is under discussion at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Psychiatrist Lakshmi Vijayakumar has said that the government should remove the confusion surrounding Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, according to which attempted suicide continues to be treated as a criminal offence.

Details:

• Vijayakumar, who is also a member of WHO’s Network on Suicide Research and Prevention, has said that after the Mental Healthcare Act (MCHA), 2017, the Section has become “redundant” but continues to remain in the law books.
• While Section 309 of the IPC says that a suicide attempt is punishable with simple imprisonment, which may extend up to one year, Section 115 of the MCHA, 2017 states: “…any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code (Section 309 of IPC).”
• This provision of the IPC makes attempted suicide a medico-­legal case and the golden hour of providing effective treatment to the person is wasted.
• India continues to have the dubious distinction of recording the highest number of all suicides (34%) in the world.

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Atal Bhujal Yojana to strengthen the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management and bringing about behavioural changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management in seven States.

Background:

• Over-exploitation of groundwater resources in India has been of great concern due to its impact on water availability and as well as on the environment.
• A recent report of NITI Aayog on groundwater level says 21 Indian cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad – will run out of groundwater by 2020.
• It also says that 40 percent of India’s population will have no access to drinking water by 2030.
• So in order to promote conservation of groundwater resources and their sustainable usage, the government has been working on various strategies.

Details:

• The scheme will be implemented in about 8,350 gram panchayats in 78 districts of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Of the total outlay of ₹6,000 crore to be provided from 2020-­21 to 2024-­25, 50% will be in the form of World Bank loan to be repaid by the Central government.
• The remaining part will be made available via Central assistance from regular budgetary support.
• The entire World Bank’s loan component and the Central assistance will be passed on to the States as grants.
• The Prime Minister said the scheme, or the guidelines related to the Jal Jeevan Mission, were big steps in proving the resolve to deliver water to every household in the country by 2024.
• He said the country had to prepare itself for dealing with every situation of water crisis, for which the government had been working at five levels.
• Modi said a comprehensive and holistic approach had been adopted with the setting up of the Jal Shakti Ministry, which this monsoon made extensive efforts for water conservation.
• The Jal Jeevan Mission would work towards delivering piped water supply to every house and Atal Bhujal scheme would pay special attention to those areas where the groundwater was very low.
• To incentivise gram panchayats, the Prime Minister said those with better performance would be given more allocation under the scheme.
• He said both the Central and State governments would spend ₹3.5 lakh crore on water-related schemes in the next five years.

Context:

• A number of government employees have been sharing political posts on social media platforms in the backdrop of contentious issues such as – revocation of Article 370, Ayodhya verdict, Citizenship Amendment Act, etc.
• This trend goes against the service rules and hence, the Central and the State governments are looking to initiate disciplinary action and set a framework for the future.

Details:

• The Assam government has warned its employees of disciplinary action for “indulging and participating in political activities” on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram.
• The warning follows the strike by some four lakh Assam government employees on December 22nd in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
• The office of the Director of Elementary Education, Assam, issued a letter to all district elementary education officers on December 24th seeking action against government employees, including contractual workers, who violate the provisions of Assam Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1964, for taking to social media to express dissent.

Context:

In order to promote the uptake of the Internet in rural areas, the government has promised free Wi-Fi to about 48,000 villages, which are connected through the government’s flagship Bharatnet project, for three months from January to March 2020.

Details:

• Under the Bharatnet initiative, the government has already connected 1.3 lakh gram panchayats.
• The target is to take this to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats. With the Bharatnet initiative, the Centre aims to connect all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats through optical fibre.
• Till now, about 48,000 villages have been connected to Wi-Fi using Bharatnet.
• The government is aiming to convert at least 15% of the total villages to digital villages in the next 3­4 years.
• Digital Village, which was conceptualised by the Common Service Centre (CSC) SPV under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, is a village where citizens can avail various e­-services of the Central and the State governments, as well as of private players.
• These include banking, insurance, tele-­medicine, pension and e-­governance services.
• Such villages are also equipped with LED bulb assembly unit, sanitary napkin unit, and rural Wi-Fi infrastructure.
• The scheme has been unveiled at five locations as a pilot project. Considering the success of the pilot, the government is looking to set up 700 Digital Villages across the country, one in every district.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

1. Massive locust invasion in Gujarat

Context:

Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the creation of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will be the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee.

Background:

• The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of the service chiefs.
• The CCS also approved the report of a high-level committee, headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, which finalised the responsibilities and the enabling framework for the CDS.
• As per the recommendations, a Department of Military Affairs headed by the CDS will be created under the defence ministry.
• The CDS will be the first among equals among service chiefs. However, in the list of protocol, the CDS will be higher than the service chiefs.
• The main task of the CDS will be to ensure ‘jointmanship’ among the three services. This will include powers to work on setting up a few theatre commands as well as allocating military assets among the services to synergise their operations.
• At present, the three services coordinate their work under the framework of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), which will be subsumed into the new structure after the appointment of the CDS.
• The CDS will also act as a single-point military adviser to the prime minister and defence minister on key defence and strategic issues.

Details:

• Strategic experts have said that the government’s approval for the creation of the post of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is a welcome move to bring in synergy among the three Services at the higher level and optimise resource utilisation.
• However, it needs a change in the mindset of all stakeholders, and the CDS has to take the three Service Chiefs along to achieve the mandate, they observed.
• The CDS will be a four-star General with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief. The CDS will head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to be created within the Defence Ministry and function as its Secretary and the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
• It has taken 18 years and a long political trajectory from Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Narendra Modi for the creation of the post.
• Experts have termed the creation of a new department, DMA, with the CDS at the helm and the dual roles as Secretary to the Government of India and Permanent Chairman, COSC, as “very innovative”.
• Basically, the CDS will be ‘wearing two hats’, he will also be functioning as a Secretary in the MoD that already has four Secretaries.
• Evolving a stable hierarchy and equivalence for the CDS with the civilian bureaucracy will call for some deft give-and-take by all the principal stakeholders.
• The government’s intent seems to be the long-term restructuring as the responsibilities include the establishment of theatre commands.
• Another positive step was the three-year time frame to the first CDS to bring about jointness in several areas including operations, logistics, transport and training.
• If the CDS is able to do that, it will be a positive step and will lead to further integration. The Services will have to slightly change from a service-oriented mindset to a more joint approach.
• Experts feel the post has the requisite mandate and authority. The CDS should consolidate the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and the charter and has to “carry the three Services along as the first among equals” and ensure that the DMA is keyed into the apex decision making level.

Context:

Government think-tank NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand made a case for only two slabs under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime as against the current multiple slabs, and said rates should be revised annually, if required.

Details:

• The GST, which replaced almost all the indirect taxes, came into force in July 2017 and the tax rates have been revised several times since then.
• Currently, there are four GST rate slabs — 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Several items fall in the exempt or nil duty category.
• Besides, cess is also levied on five goods. Mr. Chand said that when a large taxation reform such as GST is brought in, there are always ‘teething problems’ but soon they stabilise. He said most of the countries took a long time for GST stabilisation.
• The NITI Aayog Member is also strictly against frequent changes in GST rates as it leads to problems.
• The GST Council, presided over by the Union Finance Minister and comprising State Finance Ministers, decides the rates for particular goods and services.
• Besides frequent demand for reduction in the rates on various goods and services, there has also been a clamour for a slash in the number of tax slabs.
• The tendency of every sector is to ask for lower GST. But Mr. Chand feels that there should not be fiddle with rates or rate changes frequently and instead of having multiple rates, there should be only two rates.
• Chand said the focus should be on a steady increase in revenue collection from the new indirect tax regime rather than tinkering with rates.
• He prescribed that if at all rates needed to be changed, it should be done annually.
• While every sector was demanding a lower rate, they should also understand that governments need revenue to spend on development works.

Context:

With the passing of the Recycling of Ships Act, India aims to garner at least 60% of the global ship recycling business and emerge as a key destination for recycling warships and other ships.

Background:

• India is just a blip on the global shipbuilding radar. Just 0.05% of the world’s ships by weight were made in India in 2018, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
• But when it comes to taking these ships apart at the end of their life, India is a world leader, or at least used to be, till the competition from neighbouring Bangladesh became too hot to handle.
• Between 2016 and 2018, India’s share of the gross tonnage of ships recycled worldwide slid from 31% to 26%, as per UNCTAD data, while Bangladesh’s rose from 28% to 47%.
• But India hopes its new Recycling of Ships Act and its recent accession to the Hong Kong International Convention (HKC) for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, will put the country back on top. The provisions of HKC have been included in the new law.

Hong Kong International Convention (HKC) for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009:

• The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong Convention in 2009, which is aimed at ensuring that ships being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment.
• In November 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved India’s accession to the Hong Kong Convention, which will help provide a boost to the ship-wrecking industry in India.

Details:

• The Shipping Ministry exuded confidence that contribution from ship recycling activities to the country’s GDP would reach $2.2 billion, almost double compared to the current level.
• According to the government, Gujarat’s Alang, the world’s biggest shipyard, was ready to cater to the projected increase in the number of ships for recycling.
• Currently, India recycles around 300 of the 1,000 ships which are demolished per annum globally. However, the likes of Japan, the United States and Europe were not sending their ships for recycling to India in the absence of ratification of the Hong Kong Convention.
• That scenario is set to change with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019. The Act ratifies the Hong Kong Convention and would facilitate an environment-friendly process of recycling ships and adequate safety for yard workers.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY & GOVERNANCE

1. Dangerous doublespeak

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

Q2. The World Investment Report is published by –

Q3. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

Q4. Which of the following statements are correct?

Q5. Which of the following statements is/are correct?