TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS1 Related SOCIAL ISSUES 1. Seven northeastern States lag behind in toilets for schoolgirls B. GS2 Related WELFARE SCHEMES 1. Odisha govt. transfers funds to sharecroppers under new scheme C. GS3 Related SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. Unique variety of pumpkin developed ENVIRONMENT 1. Birdwatchers flock to Chilika lake 2. Microplastic fibres found in groundwater system: study 3. Jumbos to patrol Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve ECONOMY 1. Declining pepper price puts growers in South India in stress D. GS4 Related E. Editorials ECONOMY 1. Removing the roots of farmers’ distress – On agrarian distress HEALTH 1. Model for malaria control POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1. Dancing around the Supreme Court – on ban imposed by the Maharashtra government on dance performances in bars F. Tidbits 1. Train 18 named Vande Bharat Express 2. App launched with R-Day highlights G. Prelims Facts 1. Malaysia stripped of right to host sports event H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains practice Questions
A. GS1 Related
1. Seven northeastern States lag behind in toilets for schoolgirls
Context: According to the ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) 2018 seven northeastern states lag behind in toilets for schoolgirls. The report points out only one-third of the school had usable washrooms in 2018.
Highlights:
- The report revealed an average of 34.96% schools in the eight northeastern States had usable toilets for girls in 2018 compared to 36.66% in 2016.
- Sikkim performed better than the national average of 66.4% last year With 75.7% schools – a marginal increase from 75% in 2016 – having usable toilets for girls.
- Nagaland was the next best State with 47%, an increase from 40.9% in 2016, followed by Mizoram with the highest percentile increase from 25.3% to 34.9% in these two years.
- The performance of the other five states was poor, the steepest drop for Assam being 38.3% from 54.2% in 2016.
- Manipur had 9.1% schools having fewer usable toilets for girls, followed by Meghalaya (8.6%), Arunachal Pradesh (7.6%) and Tripura (7.3%).
- In Jammu and Kashmir, 48.2% schools had toilets for girls last year, up from 46.7% in 2014.
- The report also said that 2018 completed eight years of compulsory schooling for the first cohort of students to benefit from Right to Education Act 2010.
ASER:
- Annual Status of Education Report (commonly known as the ASER report), is a household-based survey conducted by NGO PRATHAM that collects information on children’s schooling status and basic learning outcomes in almost every rural district in the country.
- Estimates of children’s schooling and learning status are generated at district, state and national levels.
- ASER is the only annual source of data on children’s learning outcomes available in India today.
- ASER Centre implements large- and small-scale research studies addressing a variety of domains both in education and in other social sectors such as health, nutrition, water and sanitation.
- Conducted with support from institutions such as UNICEF, the World Bank, the MacArthur Foundation, and others, these studies seek to generate evidence that is actionable by both policy makers and practitioners.
B. GS2 Related
1. Odisha govt. transfers funds to sharecroppers under new scheme
1. Birdwatchers flock to Chilika lake
Context: Ornithologists, bird lovers and photographers from all over the country assembled at the scenic Mangalajodi, on the banks of Chilika Lake in Odisha.
Highlights:
- Chilika has received record number of birds this year as a result of removal of illegal gheries [prawn-rearing enclosures] from the lake by the forest department.
- The National Chilika Bird Festival Award was awarded to Mangalajodi Ecotourism Group for their active involvement in bird protection.
- Chilika, which lies in the Central Asian Flyway for birds, is a major stopover for migratory birds from the Arctic and the Sub-Arctic regions in the course of their onward and return migration along the east coast.
Chilika Lake:
- Chilika Lake is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
- It extends from Bhusandpur in Puri district in the North to Rambha-Malud in Ganjan district in the South, separated from the Bay of Bengal by a 60 km long narrow strip of marshy islands and sand-flats.
- Because of its rich bio-diversity and socio-economic importance, Chilika was designated as a Ramsar site in 1981 to afford better protection.
- One of the major attraction at Chilika is Irrawady dolphins which are often spotted off Satpada Island.
2. Microplastic fibres found in groundwater system: study
Context: The presence of microplastics have been detected by scientists in groundwater in the U.S.
Background:
- The world’s surface waters are already contaminated with microplastics but their presence in groundwater systems is recently being explored.
- Fractured limestone aquifers are a groundwater source that accounts for 25% of the global drinking water supply.
- According to a study, microplastic fibres were identified, along with a variety of medicines and household contaminants, in two aquifer systems in the U.S.
Harmful effects of Plastics:
- Plastic in the environment breaks down into microscopic particles that can end up in the guts and gills of marine life, exposing the animals to chemicals in the plastic
- As the plastics break down, they act like sponges that soak up contaminants and microbes and can ultimately work their way into our food supply.
- The presence of microplastics in groundwater is even more harmful as groundwater flows through the cracks and voids in limestone, sometimes carrying sewage and runoff from roads, landfills and agricultural areas into the aquifers below.
3. Jumbos to patrol Odisha’s Satkosia Tiger Reserve
Context: Patrolling in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve is set to be strengthened as two trained elephants would be deployed there.
Background:
- As per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, a few trained elephants have to be deployed in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve.
- The two elephants are being brought from the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
- This step has been undertaken for resuming the ambitious tiger reintroduction programme in Satkosia.
- The tiger reintroduction programme in STR had run into rough weather following the death of India’s first inter-State translocated tiger last year.
- Trained elephants will help ground-level forest guards patrol deep in the forest where jeeps cannot go.
Satkosia Tiger Reserve:
- Satkosia Tiger Reserve was established in 1976 as a wildlife sanctuary. The area was declared as Satkosia Tiger Reserve in 2007.
- This tiger reserve spreads over 4 districts like Angul, Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh along the Mahanadi River in Odisha.
- Satkosia is the meeting point of two bio-geographic regions of India; the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, contributing immense biodiversity.
1. Declining pepper price puts growers in South India in stress
Context: A steep fall in the price of pepper in the harvest season and low production owing to climate vagaries have caused much concern for the pepper growers in Kerala and Karnataka, which form a major pepper growing region in the country.
Reasons for the decline in price:
- Pepper imports from Vietnam at cheaper rate through Sri Lanka continues to flood the market.
- These imports are being facilitated by the low-duty structure under the ASEAN (Association of South-East Nations) trade agreement, SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) and ISFTA (Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement).
- A minimum import price (MIP) of Rs.500 per kg on pepper was declared by the Commerce Ministry last year to protect domestic pepper farmers but it had little impact.
- The pepper imported from Sri Lanka by Nepal and Bhutan through the Kolkata sea port also flows into the Indian market by road.
- In addition, illegal entry of pepper adds to the burden of pepper producers in the country.
- Smuggled pepper from Vietnam and Sri Lanka is available in consuming centres across the country at a cheaper price.
- Torrential rain a few months ago in pepper-growing areas of Kerala and Karnataka caused a sharp decline in crop production.
- High moisture content owing to the rains has triggered fungal diseases like quick wilt and soft wilt.
Way forward
Removal of Black pepper from the SAFTA and ISFTA import lists is a must in order to safeguard the interest of domestic growers.
D. GS4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. Removing the roots of farmers’ distress – On agrarian distress
Issue:
Recently, there has been active discussion on the strategies addressing farm distress.
- Agrarian distress, mainly in terms of low agricultural prices and, consequently, poor farm incomes.
- Low productivity in agriculture and related supply-side factors are the major concerns.
- An issue that is connected is the declining average size of farm holdings and the viability of this size for raising farm incomes.
Possible solutions:
- Prices and incomes
- Prices play a key role in affecting the incomes of farmers. Even during the Green Revolution, along with technology and associated packages, price factor was considered important.
- In the last two years, inflation in agriculture was much lower than overall inflation.
- The implicit price deflator for Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture was 1.1% while it was 3.2% for total GVA in 2017-18.
- The advance estimates for 2018-19 show that the implicit deflator for GVA in agriculture is 0%, and 4.8% for total GVA.
- Agriculture GVA growth was at 3.8% for both nominal prices and constant prices in 2018-19, giving the price deflator of 0%.
- The consumer price index (CPI) also shows that the rise in prices for agriculture was much lower than general inflation in recent years.
- Market prices for several agricultural commodities have been lower than those of minimum support prices (MSP).
- All these trends show the terms of trade to be moving against agriculture in the last two years.
Why is there a decline in market prices?
- When output increases well beyond the market demand at a price remunerative to producers, market prices decline.
- And in the absence of an effective price support policy, farmers are faced with a loss in income, depending on how much the price decline is. The ‘farm distress’ in recent years has been partly on account of this situation, as the loss of income is beyond the ability, particularly of small farmers, to absorb.
- In a strange way, an increasing production has resulted in this adverse consequence. (When the supply exceeds demand, there will be a fall in market prices).
What are possible solutions?
A few schemes have been suggested to address the problem of managing declining output prices when output increases significantly.
- Price deficiency compensation: is one such mechanism which amounts to paying the difference between market price and the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
- Open procurement system: is at the other extreme, which has been in vogue quite effectively in the case of rice and wheat. Under this system, procurement is open ended at the MSP. Whatever foodgrains are offered by the farmers ,within the stipulated procurement period and which conforms to the quality specifications prescribed by Government of India, are purchased at MSP (and bonus/incentive ,if any) by the Government agencies.
- Limited procurement for price stabilisation: A ‘price deficiency’ scheme may compensate farmers when prices decrease below a certain specified level. However, market prices may continue to fall as supply exceeds ‘normal demand’.
- Under this scheme, the government will procure the ‘excess’, leaving the normal production level to clear the market at a remunerative price. Thus, procurement will continue until the market price rises to touch the MSP.
- This is a middle way that could be effective in some crops.
- The suggested ‘limited procurement system’ will not work if the MSP is fixed at a level to which the market price will never rise. The government can sell the procured grain in later years or use them in welfare programmes.
Need for sustainable solutions:
- Agricultural markets have witnessed only limited reforms. They are characterised by inefficient physical operations, excessive crowding of intermediaries, and fragmented market chains. Due to this, farmers are deprived of a fair share of the price paid by final consumers. States have also not shown any urgency in reforming agricultural markets. For better price for farmers, agriculture has to go beyond farming and develop a value chain comprising farming, wholesaling, warehousing, logistics, processing and retailing.
- Some States have introduced farm support schemes such as the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (Telangana) and the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme (Odisha). Basically, these schemes are income support schemes which will be in operation year after year.
- Raising the MSP, price deficiency payments or income support schemes can only be a partial solution to the problem of providing remunerative returns to farmers.
- A sustainable solution is market reforms to enable better price discovery combined with long-term trade policies favourable to exports.
- The creation of a competitive, stable and unified national market is needed for farmers to get better prices.
- Low productivity
- The next issue is the low productivity of Indian agriculture. Basics such as seeds, fertilizers, credit, land and water management and technology are important and should not be forgotten.
- Investment in infrastructure and research and development are needed.
- Basically, it is not investment alone but efficiency in water management in both canal and groundwater that is important.
- Water is the leading input in agriculture. More than 60% of irrigation water is consumed by two crops: rice and sugar cane. India uses upto three times the water used to produce one tonne of grain in countries such as Brazil, China and the U.S. This implies that water-use efficiency can be improved significantly with better use of technologies that include drip irrigation.
- Yields of several crops are lower in India when compared to several other countries. Technology can help to reduce ‘yield gaps’ and thus improve productivity.
- Government policies have been biased towards cereals particularly rice and wheat. There is a need to make a shift from rice and wheat-centric policies to millets, pulses, fruits, vegetables, livestock and fish.
- Land size:
- Another major issue relates to the shrinking size of farms which is also responsible for low incomes and farmers’ distress.
- The average size of farm holdings declined from 2.3 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16.
- The share of small and marginal farmers increased from 70% in 1980-81 to 86% in 2015-16.
- The monthly income of small and marginal farmers from all sources is only around Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 5,000 as compared to Rs. 41,000 for large farmers.
- Thus, the viability of marginal and small farmers is a major challenge for Indian agriculture.
- Many small farmers cannot leave agriculture because of a lack of opportunities in the non-farm sector. They can get only partial income from the non-farm sector. In this context, a consolidation of land holdings becomes important to raise farmer incomes.
- In the context of rural poverty, B.S. Minhas had argued even in the 1970s that compulsory consolidation of land holdings alongside land development activities could enhance the incomes/livelihoods of the poor in rural areas. Unfortunately, there is little discussion now on land fragmentation and consolidation of farm holdings.
- We need to have policies for land consolidation along with land development activities in order to tackle the challenge of the low average size of holdings.
- Farmers can voluntarily come together and pool land to gain the benefits of size. Through consolidation, farmers can reap the economies of scale both in input procurement and output marketing.
Conclusion:
To conclude, farmers’ distress is due to low prices and low productivity. Limited procurement, measures to improve low productivity, and consolidation of land holdings to gain the benefits of size, can help in reducing agrarian distress. There has to be a long-term policy to tackle the situation.
Context:
The World Health Organisation’s World Malaria Report of 2018 turned the spotlight on India’s recent progress against malaria. India is the only country among the 11 highest-burden countries that saw substantial progress in reducing disease burden: it saw a 24% decrease in 2017 compared to 2016. This shows that India has assumed a leadership role in advancing global efforts to end malaria. The country’s success provides hope to the other highest-burden countries to tackle malaria head-on.
Details:
- India’s progress in fighting malaria is an outcome of concerted efforts to ensure that its malaria programme is country-owned and country-led, even as it is in alignment with globally accepted strategies.
- The turning point in India’s fight against malaria came at the East Asia Summit in 2015, when it pledged to eliminate the disease by 2030.
- Following this public declaration, India launched the five-year National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination.
- This marked a shift in focus from malaria “control” to “elimination”.
- The plan provides a roadmap to achieve the target of ending malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022.
- The plan requires more than ₹10,000 crore.
Lessons from Odisha:
- Among the States, Odisha has emerged as an inspiration in the fight against malaria.
- In recent years it has dramatically scaled-up efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria through its Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) initiative, which has produced impressive results in a short span of time.
- DAMaN aims to deliver services to the most inaccessible and hardest hit people of the State.
- The initiative has in-built innovative strategies to combat asymptomatic malaria.
- DAMaN has been accorded priority in the State’s health agenda. There is financial commitment for a five-year period to sustain and build on the impact created by the initiative.
- In 2017, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) helped distribute approximately 11 million bed nets, which was enough to protect all the residents in areas that were at highest risk. This included residential hostels in schools.
- As a result of its sustained efforts, Odisha recorded a 80% decline in malaria cases and deaths in 2017.
Way forward:
The new country-driven ‘high burden to high impact’ plan to reduce disease burden in the 11 countries reflects the global sentiment that business as usual is no longer an option when it comes to fighting the disease.
- Adequate investment combined with coordinated action between governments, civil society and philanthropic donors is imperative to achieve this goal.
- Since health is a State subject, State governments across the country shoulder a special responsibility in tackling the disease.
- India needs to tighten malaria surveillance, invest more in campaign.
Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
Context:
The Supreme Court recently struck down several statutory provisions and rules governing Maharashtra’s dance bars. This decision forms part of a frequentative game that has evolved over 14 years between the Maharashtra government and the courts.
Background:
- In 2005, the Maharashtra government imposed a ban on dance performances in bars, with the exception of hotels rated three stars and above. The public rationale offered was that these performances were obscene, morally corrupt, and promoted prostitution.
- Dance performance licenses were cancelled with immediate effect. Subsequently, the affected parties filed petitions in the Bombay High Court.
- The High Court held against the government resulting in an appeal to the Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court’s decision in July 2013, quoting two reasons:
- The government could not discriminate between luxury hotels and other establishments seeking licenses for dance performances.
- The ban had proven to be counterproductive, resulting in the unemployment of over 75,000 women, many of whom were forced by circumstances to engage in prostitution.
- Rather than implementing the Supreme Court’s decision, the government imposed an outright ban on all dance performances, whether in street bars or upmarket hotels, a strategy to side-line the judgement.
- Although the government’s response addressed the court’s first concern, it failed to address the second. This led to fresh proceedings in the Supreme Court.
- While the Supreme Court saw through the government’s attempt to bypass its decision, it left room for the government to prohibit obscene dances with a view to protecting the dignity of the dancers.
- Yet again, the government responded in a matter of months. Rather than seeking to impose a ban on dance performances altogether, it only did so to the extent that these performances were obscene or overtly sexual. A number of other conditions were imposed:
- Applicants were required to “possess a good character” with no criminal antecedents.
- The establishment could not be within one kilometre of an educational or religious institution.
- A CCTV camera would need to be fitted at the entrance.
- Customers could not be permitted to throw coins or currency notes on the dancers, but could add tips to the bill.
- The permit room (where alcohol was served) and the dance room would need to be separated by a partition.
- The stage could not be smaller than a prescribed size.
- Some of these conditions were challenged in the Supreme Court on the basis that they were far too oppressive.
- On January 17 2019, the court upheld a few of these conditions, but struck down others.
- For example, it noted that the CCTV requirement violated the right to privacy of the dancers and the patrons, the “good character” requirement was vague, the partition between the permit room and the dance room was unjustified, and the one kilometre distance requirement was impractical.
Details:
- Amongst the dozens of applications filed since the new rules were put in place, not a single one had been approved by the government.
- The court therefore saw the government’s most recent response as a ban on dance bars pass off as an attempt to regulate them.
- These developments yield insights on the institutional interaction between governments and the courts.
- Through each iteration of this case, the Maharashtra government has responded more swiftly to judicial decisions than the Supreme Court has to the government’s attempts to sidestep them.
- The final judicial decision in the first round took just short of eight years, while the government’s response took about 11 months.
- In the second round, the court took a year and three months to make its decision; the government responded in six months.
- In the third round, the court has taken just short of three years. The government’s response time is to be seen.
Reasons for disparity:
A number of structural reasons may account for this disparity.
- Despite heavy caseloads, courts must provide an opportunity for a fair hearing, deliberate, and set out reasons for their decisions. Courts will also typically not consider cases unilaterally, but are dependent on parties to bring proceedings in search of a remedy.
- Separately, the ban on dance bars has also received a concerning level of cross-party political support in Maharashtra, despite the regime changes since 2005. This has meant that legislation has often been enacted unopposed, without any meaningful discussion on the floor of the House.
- The amendments of 2014 sailed through the Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad within minutes on the following day after being approved by the Maharashtra Cabinet.
- The practical implication of the government being quicker than the courts is that even when government responses are imperfect, the court produces significant delays.
- The Supreme Court often deploys the writ of continuing mandamus (issuing a series of interim orders over a period of time to monitor compliance with its decisions) in public interest litigation cases that test the limits of its jurisdiction. It has chosen not to adopt that enforcement strategy in this case.
Way forward:
- The dance bar case yields insights on the institutional interaction between governments and the courts.
- This case outlines the vulnerability of what is otherwise seen as an all-powerful Supreme Court, especially when it depends on the government to comply with its decisions in some positive way.
- While the court cannot direct the enactment of legislation, it can monitor compliance with an order to issue licenses to qualified applicants.
- Even when the courts strike down legislation or rules, the level of compliance with their decisions often lies in the hands of the executive.
- These developments should also lead courts to introspect about the existing remedial landscape in cases where legislation is challenged.
F. Tidbits
1. Train 18 named Vande Bharat Express
The indigenously manufactured superfast Train 18 has been renamed by Indian Railways as ‘Vande Bharat Express’, which will ply from the national capital to Varanasi.
2. App launched with R-Day highlights
Context: The Defence Ministry launched the ‘RDP INDIA 2019’ app on the 70th Republic Day.
About the app:
- The highlights of the republic day can be watched on this mobile application.
- The app also had the provision for live streaming of the parade and contains information about it, including the order of the march, details of the tableaux presented by different States and Ministries, cultural performances by children, fly past and names of recipients of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2019.
- It is said that this new initiative is in sync with the Digital India campaign of the government.
- The app would help people who desire to know the theme and ideas depicted in the tableaux.
G. Prelims Fact
1. Malaysia stripped of right to host sports event
Context: Malaysia has been stripped of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships for threatening to refuse to allow Israeli athletes to take part.
H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam
Question 1. Consider the following codes:
Mountain Ranges Continent
- Andes South America
- Alps Europe
- Atlas Africa
- Appalachian North America
Which of the above codes is/are correctly matched?
- Only 1
- Only 2 and 4
- 1, 2 and 3
- All of the above
See
Question 2. Consider the following statements about Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and
Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme recently launched in Odisha:
- More than 50 lakh families, including sharecroppers and landless families will be covered under the scheme.
- Farmers will get the cash assistance during the six crop seasons over a period of three years.
- Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 will be interest-free under the scheme.
Which of the following is/are correct?
- Only 1
- Only 3
- Only 1 and 3
- All of the above
See
Question 3. Consider the following statements about Annual Status of Education Report:
- Annual Status of Education Report (commonly known as the ASER report), is a household-based survey conducted by NGO PRATHAM.
- ASER is the only annual source of data on children’s learning outcomes available in India today.
- ASER Centre implements large- and small-scale research studies addressing a variety of domains both in education and in other social sectors such as health, nutrition, water and sanitation.
- Estimates of children’s schooling and learning status are generated at district, state and national levels.
Which of the above is/are correct?
- Only 1
- Only 3
- Only 1, 2 and 3
- All of the above
See
Question 4. Consider the following about Microplastics:
- Plastic in the environment breaks down into microscopic particles that can end up in the guts and gills of marine life, exposing the animals to chemicals in the plastic.
- They act like sponges that soak up contaminants and microbes and can ultimately work their way into our food supply.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- Only 1
- Only 2
- Both 1 and 2
- None of the above
See
Question 5. Consider the following code:
Tiger Reserve River
- Satkosia Mahanadi
- Ranthambore Chambal
- Manas Manas
- Simplipal Baitarni
Which of the above codes is/are correctly matched?
- Only 1
- Only 2 and 4
- Only 1, 2 and 3
- All of the above
See
I. Practice Questions for UPSC Mains Exam
- The presence of microplastics in water bodies is a growing concern. Discuss the environmental impacts of microplastics. (250 words)
- Discuss various issues and challenges of Farmer Producers Organisation (FPO). (250 words)
See previous CNA
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