10 Jun 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

10 June 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Migrants should not be prosecuted
2. Centre to take stock of Krishna and Godavari water utilisation
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Cross-party backing in Nepal for new map
2. India, China agree to ease stand-off
C. GS 3 Related
SECURITY
1. BEML’s internal data, staff email IDs hacked, leaked on dark web
ECONOMY
1. Govt. to review if private banks taking part in MSME revival
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. Being vocal on the right local
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Flattening the climate curve
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Pincer provocations?
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
1. Don’t ignore bonded labour, SC tells Bihar
2. Can coffee growers deploy MGNREGA workers?
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Centre to take stock of Krishna and Godavari water utilisation

Context:

The Union Government is going to take stock of water utilisation from the Krishna and Godavari rivers following Telangana and Andhra Pradesh filing complaints against each other.

Details:

• At a video-conference, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, Union Ministry of Jal Sakthi, asked the Chairpersons of the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards to procure the details of the irrigation projects in Maharashtra and Karnataka, too, and submit them to the Centre.
• The main objective of the exercise appears to be to assess whether surplus water will be available for the new projects in the light of the disputes.
• Information about the projects that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had on the two rivers was also sought.

Issue:

• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share stretches of the Krishna and the Godavari and own their tributaries.
• They have embarked on several new projects without getting clearance from the river boards, the Central Water Commission and the apex council comprising the Union Water Resources Minister and the Chief Ministers, as mandated by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
• While the Godavari discharges over 3,000 tmc ft into the sea, the Krishna has almost dried up, with Maharashtra and Karnataka taking up large projects.
• Telangana has also taken up several projects on the Krishna and the Godavari.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Cross-party backing in Nepal for new map

Context:

• The Lower House of Nepal’s Parliament has expressed cross-party support for the new map which shows the disputed Kalapani region as part of Nepalese sovereign territory.
• During the discussion on the Second Constitution Amendment Bill, which will grant legal status to the updated map, Nepal’s Foreign Minister said India has undermined Nepal’s sovereignty by building the Lipulekh link road in the area.

This issue has been covered in 23^rd May 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis. Click here to read.

2. India, China agree to ease stand-off

Context:

Indian and Chinese troops began a partial disengagement from some of the stand-off points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in the first sign of moving towards resolution of the month-long stand-off between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army.

Details:

• The two countries are engaged in dialogue at military and diplomatic levels to ease the standoff.
• However, major worries remain at the Pangong Tso (lake).
• No mention was made of the situation at Naku La in Sikkim, where the stand-off continues, as the focus for these talks was the Ladakh situation.
• Unlike the previously localized stand-offs, the current stand-offs have occurred at multiple points along the LAC, from Ladakh to Naku La in Sikkim.
• There have been intrusions even at places where there have been no instance of a difference in perception of the LAC like the stand-off at Galwan Valley.

This issue has been covered in 24^th May 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis. Click here to read.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Govt. to review if private banks taking part in MSME revival

Context:

While public sector banks (PSBs) have started sanctioning loans under the credit guarantee scheme for micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), the government now wants to know if private lenders are also participating in the scheme.

Details:

• The decision to review the performance of private sector lenders in the credit guarantee scheme comes amid tightening of credit norms by these banks in view of the disruptions caused by the pandemic, denting borrowers’ ability to service loans.
• This is because the private sector banks have a significant exposure to MSME credit.
• The total loan outstanding to the MSMEs is at ₹17.75 lakh crore.
  • Of this, India’s largest private lender, the HDFC Bank’s share is about 13%.
  • The balance is shared between other private lenders, PSBs and NBFCs.
• The State Bank of India — the country’s largest lender — has a share of about 23% in MSME loans.
• The issue was discussed during a meeting convened to review the status of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) and extended partial credit guarantee scheme, according to a communication by the Finance Ministry to the PSBs.

Way forward:

• While the RBI had cut the repo rate by 115 bps since March 2020, banks’ response to the cut has not been proportionate.
• For the ₹3-lakh crore credit guarantee scheme to be successful, the private sector banks should also play an important role.
• The Finance Minister also indicated that banks need to drop their lending rates to revive economic activity.

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme:

• In May 2020, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, gave approval to enable additional funding of up to Rs. three lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers by way of “Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.”
• Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee coverage is to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs. three lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers, in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.
• The Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL Facility during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme to 31.10.2020, or till an amount of Rs 3,00,000 crore is sanctioned under the GECL, whichever is earlier.
• The Scheme aims at mitigating the economic distress being faced by MSMEs by providing them additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line.
• The entire funding provided under GECL shall be provided with a 100% credit guarantee by NCGTC to MLIs under ECLGS.
• Tenor of loan under the scheme shall be four years with moratorium period of one year on the principal amount.

Objective of the Scheme:

The main objective of the Scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to increase access to, and enable availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Flattening the climate curve

Context:

• Climate change.

Background:

• The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other Green House Gases (GHGs) and the average global temperatures (both interrelated) have shown an upward trend with the advent of the industrial age.

Carbon dioxide concentration:

• The CO2 curve began its upward march about 18,000 years ago when it was a little under 200 parts per million (ppm) and earth was much colder. By the time it reached 270 ppm about 11,500 years ago, the warmer conditions accompanying this curve made it possible for the emergence of agriculture.
• Over the past million years, CO2 levels never exceeded 280-300 ppm. The concentrations went back to 200 ppm before rising again in a cyclical fashion.
• The CO2 levels remained steady at close to 280 ppm for 10,000 years until, beginning in the mid-19th century, they began to rise with usage of coal and oil to fuel the industrial revolution, and burning of forests to expand agriculture and settlements.
• From being a mere 0.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in 1850, annual emissions have increased to 36 billion tonnes by 2018. Thus, the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have reached 407 ppm in 2018, a level last experienced by earth some three million years ago.

Global average temperature:

• From 1850 onwards, for over a century, the global temperature showed a slight warming trend. However, from 1975 onwards, the temperature graph has shown a distinct, upward trend.
• By 2015, the global average temperature has increased by a full degree Celsius relative to a hundred years previously. Under the current trends of emissions, the globe will heat up by 4˚C by the end of the century.

Concerns:

Climate change challenges:

• The global warming has led to reducing sea ice cover and melting of glaciers. This has led to challenges such as rising sea levels and water security. The higher temperatures will also have an effect on agricultural production thus adversely affecting human food security.
• Climate change involves not just a change in temperature but every other component of weather, including rainfall, humidity and wind speed. Globally, there have been several extreme weather events such as hurricanes, heat waves or droughts. While no single event can be directly attributed to climate change, the collective trends are consistent with climate change predictions.
  • The 2003 European heat wave killed over 70,000 people.
  • The years 2015-19 have globally been the warmest years on record. The higher temperatures have also contributed to the Amazon fire of 2019, the bush fires of 2019-20 in Australia causing unprecedented devastation.
  • If global CO2 emissions continue to increase at the present rate, average summer temperatures would rise by 4˚C in most states of India. Extremely hot days (days above 35˚C), which were only five days in 2010, would increase to 15 days by 2050 and to 42 days by 2100 on average across all districts.

Climate finance:

• The most common excuse from most countries is that the world cannot afford to curb GHG emissions for fear of wrecking the economy.
• At the UN Climate Conference in 2009, the richest nations had pledged to provide $100 billion in aid each year by 2020 to the poorer countries for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
  • Climate Justice envisages that the wealthy nations, which have caused most of the GHGs resulting in global warming, need to pay other countries to cope with climate change.
• In 2017 only $71 billion had been provided, with most of the money going towards mitigation and less than 20% towards climate adaptation. Even these amounts are doubtful because much of the so-called aid provided did not come out of dedicated climate funds but, rather, development funds or simply loans which had to be repaid.
• It also seems unlikely that the rich countries will deliver $100 billion in tangible climate finance during 2020 in the light of the crisis due to the pandemic.

The tipping point:

• By 2015, the global average temperature has increased by a full degree Celsius relative to a hundred years previously.
• The current estimates note that the world is far away from fulfilling their commitments under the Paris Agreement, that would keep average global temperature rise below 2˚C compared to pre-industrial levels.
• A temperature rise beyond 2˚C could set off a vicious cycle as the carbon sequestered into vegetation will be thrown back into the atmosphere.
  • Notably, about one-half of all CO2 emissions have been absorbed by the atmosphere, equally by growing vegetation on land and by absorption in the oceans.

Way forward:

Financial resources:

• There is a need for adequate financing to tackle the looming climate crisis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that a sustained annual investment of $2.4 trillion in more efficient energy systems is needed until 2035 in order to keep warming below the more ambitious 1.5˚C relative to pre-industrial levels. This would amount to about 2.5% of the global GDP.

Using the opportunity:

• COVID-19 has given humanity a brief respite from the climate change curve. Carbon emissions from fossil fuels have surely reduced in the backdrop of the lockdown measures.
• There is a need for a paradigm shift in the structure and functioning of societies once the pandemic subsides. This should be used as an opportunity to flatten the climate change trajectory to avoid dangerous climate change.
• Technologists, economists and social scientists must plan for a sustainable planet based on the principles of equity and climate justice within and across nations. Leaders should act on the looming climate crisis with the same alacrity they have shown towards COVID-19.

Additional information:

• Technological interventions being suggested for tackling the climate change scenario.
  • Removing large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it safely. (Geo-sequestering)
  • Regulating solar radiation by geo-engineering technologies. (Using aerosols in the atmosphere or placing giant reflectors in space.)
• Some of the main drawbacks of the above technologies are that they are extremely slow and expensive and may bring unexpected results.

Category: INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Pincer provocations?

Context:

• Threats to India’s security in the Kashmir-Ladakh region.

Background:

• In the past few weeks, China and Pakistan are making coordinated efforts to challenge India’s presence in the Kashmir-Ladakh region.
  • Pakistan has intensified its efforts to infiltrate terrorists into the Kashmir Valley.
  • China has undertaken provocative measures on the Ladakh front to assert control over disputed areas around the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Details:

Overlapping interests:

• China and Pakistan would like India to be preoccupied with taking defensive measures in Kashmir and Ladakh, so as to have little time and energy left to attempt to alter the status quo in PoK or in Aksai Chin.

Pakistan:

• In Pakistan’s case, the intensification in its terrorist activities is related in part to the dilution of Article 370 that it perceives as undercutting its claims on Kashmir.

China:

• China seems to have perceived that the division of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir, that delinks Ladakh from the Kashmir problem, allows India a freer hand in contesting China’s claims in the region. Increasing road-building activity on India’s part close to the LAC augments this perception.
• In addition to bordering on China’s most restive provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet, Ladakh is contiguous to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Gilgit and Baltistan, where the Chinese have invested hugely under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. When completed, the CPEC will connect Xinjiang with Gwadar port in Balochistan.
  • External Affairs Minister’s remark on having physical jurisdiction over POK has alarmed China, which sees any such Indian move as threatening the CPEC project.

Differing objectives:

• There are major differences in Pakistani and Chinese objectives regarding India that are related to their divergent perceptions of their disputes, and their different force equations with India.

China:

• For China, Ladakh is primarily a territorial dispute with strategic ramifications.
• China also believes it is superior to the Indian militarily and, therefore, can afford to push India around within limits as it has been attempting to do in the recent confrontation.

Pakistan:

• For Pakistan, its territorial claim on Kashmir is based on an ideological conviction that Kashmir being a Muslim-majority state is destined to become a part of Pakistan.
• Pakistan, realizing that it is the weaker power in conventional terms, has resorted to using unconventional means, primarily terrorist infiltration.

Conclusion:

• Given that China’s primary concern is the CPEC, it does not challenge the status quo in Kashmir. Pakistan, on the other hand, is committed to changing the status quo in Kashmir.
• Therefore, while it is possible to negotiate the territorial dispute with China on a give-and-take basis, this is not possible in the case of Pakistan.
• India should, therefore, distinguish the different objectives on the part of China and Pakistan and tailor its responses accordingly without conflating the two threats to its security. This would allow India to choose its policy options rationally.

2. Can coffee growers deploy MGNREGA workers?

What’s in News?

Professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP has suggested coffee growers avail the services of MGNREGA workers to solve the issue of labour shortage and rein in the consequent high production cost.

• In a draft report prepared by the firm on the strategic road map for the Indian coffee sector, the firm suggested the use of MGNREGA labour up to the yielding stage.
• Currently, only trenching activities inside coffee plantations are covered under MGNREGA.
• The coffee sector’s labour woes reached a boiling point after a large population of immigrant labourers returned to their home towns.
• The draft recommended that the Coffee Board formulate cost norms similar to the convergence guidelines for rubber.
• It also suggested that small farmers, who hold up to 10 hectares of land, should be given access to MGNREGA labour pool.

Q1. Consider the following statements:

Q2. Which of the following pairs of Tiger Reserves and their locations is/are 
correctly matched?

Q3. Which of these are East flowing rivers that originate in the Western Ghats? 

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to the Emergency Credit Line 
Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS):

10 June 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here