24 Jul 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

C. GS 3 Related

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Bedaquiline & Drug-resistant TB

Syllabus: General awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology and biotechnology; Issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Mains: Issues related to health, Importance of research and development in addressing public health challenges.

Prelims: About intellectual property rights, Bedaquiline & Drug-resistant TB

Context:

Johnson & Johnson’s patent on bedaquiline, a vital drug for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment, expired, allowing generic manufacturers to supply it.

Bedaquiline’s Role in Treating Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB)

• Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Patent Expiry: On July 18, the patent for bedaquiline, a key drug in DR-TB treatment, expired, opening opportunities for generic manufacturers.
• J&J’s Attempts to Maintain Monopoly: J&J filed secondary patents in 66 low- and middle-income countries until 2027, including high TB burden nations, hindering generic competition.
• The Deal with Global Drug Facility (GDF): A unique agreement between J&J and GDF could improve access to the drug, potentially reducing prices significantly.

The Global Threat of Tuberculosis

• TB’s Deadly Impact: Before COVID-19, tuberculosis was the world’s deadliest infectious disease, with millions developing drug-resistant or drug-sensitive TB each year.
• Public Health Emergency in India: India faces a significant TB burden, with the highest number of patients globally.
• DR-TB and Antimicrobial Resistance: DR-TB contributes to antimicrobial resistance and poses ongoing public health challenges.

Bedaquiline’s Origin and Ownership

• Bedaquiline Development: Janssen Pharmaceutical (a J&J subsidiary) developed bedaquiline with support from public and philanthropic organisations in clinical trials.
• WHO Recommendation: WHO recommends bedaquiline as a core drug for DR-TB treatment, based on collective research efforts.
• J&J’s Claims and Patenting Strategies: Despite collaborative contributions, J&J seeks sole ownership of the drug through aggressive patenting.

Availability in India and Patent Challenge

• Price Reduction Expectations: Like other drugs with generic competition, bedaquiline’s prices are expected to decrease significantly in India.
• Landmark Patent Rejection: Due to a legal challenge by patient groups and TB survivors, J&J’s secondary patent was rejected, allowing Indian manufacturers to supply affordable generic versions.

Nut Graf: The expiration of bedaquiline’s patent has the potential to improve DR-TB treatment access through generic versions. J&J’s secondary patents in some countries raise concerns about maintaining a monopoly over the drug. India’s rejection of J&J’s secondary patent allows affordable generic supply in the country.

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Dilemmas of India’s great power ambitions

Syllabus: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

Mains:  India’s role in global politics and challenges with it

Background:

• Some consider India should seek to be a big power and assert its growing status worldwide.
• Others contend that before attempting to change the globe, India should concentrate on lifting millions of its citizens out of poverty, enhancing its administration, and promoting internal harmony.

1991 Economic Crisis: 

• India was a poor, weak country in 1991, with a $5.8 billion foreign exchange reserve and a nominal GDP of $270.11 billion. 
• The India-Pakistan conflict loomed despite efforts to allay nuclear war concerns, and the level of violence in Kashmir was at an all-time high. 
• The fall of India’s dependable ally, the Soviet Union, on the one hand, and tense ties with the United States on the other, added to the pressure on the ruling class of the nation. 

Reforms after 1991 Crisis:

• The reforms implemented in the wake of the economic crisis of 1991 not only increased GDP growth but also significantly reduced poverty.
• India, which is currently the fifth-biggest economy in the world, has over a hundred nuclear weapons and one of the largest militaries. Its nominal GDP may soon reach $4 trillion. 
• India currently counts the United States among its closest allies, and it maintains close ties with many other major world powers. 

India’s Strategic Position in Global Politics

• The ambitious investments undertaken over the previous several decades are now bearing fruit, with a favourable external environment for the country’s progress.
• India’s place in global politics has received increasing attention as a result of the great power dynamics surrounding the Ukraine crisis. The United States and the wealthy West want India to support them. 
• To prevent India from turning its back on Moscow, an endangered Russian Federation is using every effort. There are credible arguments that India could act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine to settle the conflict. 
• India employs the language of global crisis mediation and being a bridge between the north and south, east and west, implying that it is a major ‘pole’ in world affairs. 

Concerns with India’s Great Power Story

• Major governance and infrastructure problems, such as the difficulty of doing business, plague India. 
• India’s political leaders would continue to be preoccupied with internal issues rather than paying attention to world issues.
• The reduction of poverty and the enhancement of the wellbeing of the millions of Indians who live below the poverty line are among the political class’s top priorities.
• A struggling economy also reduces the elite’s enthusiasm for engagement abroad. 
• Even more so, a struggling domestic economy makes it difficult for officials to set aside enough money for foreign policy goals. 
• The combined result of these internal issues is likely to be a political elite that is more preoccupied with pressing home issues than the opulence of big power status.

Conclusion

• India’s domestic weaknesses will continue to limit its ability to change the global order in a manner consistent with its size and ambition, but failing to do so would be a strategic mistake.
• India’s capacity to influence world politics must also be a reflection of its domestic situation, and its participation in international affairs must also be motivated by the needs of its citizens.

Nut Graf: Even if regional inabilities will continue to limit India’s potential to affect world order, ignoring or underestimating the global consequences of a growing India’s power is dangerous.

Category: POLITY

1. On ED’s power to arrest and seek custody

Syllabus: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

Mains: Power of Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest and seek judicial custody

Background

• The Tamil Nadu Minister suffered a serious setback when the Madras High Court affirmed the legality of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest and his subsequent remand in judicial prison in a money-laundering case. 
• According to a decision by the High Court, the ED is authorised to interrogate suspects in cases filed under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) of 2002 while they are being held at a facility.
• Even after 15 days have passed since the Minister’s arrest, he can still be brought into custody. 

High Court Ruling on the Issue

• The primary issue in the case was whether the ED has the authority to request custody of someone who has been detained. 
• According to the statute established by the Supreme Court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary against Union of India (2022), it was contended that ED employees are not police officers. 
• However, in accordance with Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the sessions judge remanded the Minister to judicial custody. 

Different Provisions of CrPc and PMLA

• According to Section 65 of the PMLA, the rules of the CrPC must not conflict with those of the PMLA in order for them to be applicable.
• That the word “police” must be interpreted as the Investigating Agency or the Enforcement Directorate and that Section 167 CrPC shall be applied mutatis mutandis (making necessary adjustments without changing the essence).
• Additionally, it was noted that the Court excluded ED officials from the definition of police officers solely because statements made to the former in a criminal case would be admissible in evidence before the trial court under the PMLA, whereas statements made to the latter would not. 
• The judge said, “However, this observation could not be taken so far as to deny the ED the opportunity to subject the accused to custodial interrogation for obtaining vital information regarding the alleged crime.”

SC Judgements on PMLA

• Vijay Madanlal Choudhary versus Union of India 2022: 
  • The Supreme Court upheld a number of PMLA clauses that deal with the arrest, attachment, search, and seizure powers granted to the ED. 
  • The court held that all of the PMLA’s provisions had a legitimate connection to the goals that the Act aims to accomplish in order to successfully prevent money laundering.
  • The court also stated that the 2002 Act’s goals and objectives included steps to prevent money laundering in addition to punishing those who violate it. 
• P. Chidambaram versus Directorate of Enforcement 2019:
  • The Supreme Court granted custody to the ED after rejecting a request for anticipatory bail related to a money-laundering allegation. 
  • The court argued that granting pre-arrest bail would thwart the need for a “systematic and analysed” inquiry into a money-laundering case.
  • The court also cautioned that it must only use its inherent powers under Section 482 of the CrPC to intervene in an investigation into a cognisable offence if it is convinced that the investigating officer’s power is being abused or there is an abuse of power and non-compliance with the provisions of the CrPC.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court granted custody to the ED after rejecting a request for anticipatory bail related to a money laundering charge. The courts also ruled that as long as the investigation does not break any laws, it is not the role of the court to supervise the process. The investigation’s direction must be left up to the investigating agency’s choice.On matters of “justice, fair play, good conscience, and the fundamental principles of criminal jurisprudence,” the accused and the complainant reached an agreement.

Nut Graf: The Madras High Court decided that the central agency has the right to request the custody of the Tamil Nadu Minister in the money laundering case involving the alleged cash-for-jobs scheme, resolving disagreements surrounding the Enforcement Directorate’s authority to do so.