12 June 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. Trump targets ICC with sanctions over Afghanistan war crimes case POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1. Govt. considering universal basic income, says NHRC HEALTH 1. Slum population most at risk, says ICMR C. GS 3 Related ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 1. Lion census method outdated: experts 2. First estimation exercise of Indian gaur in Nilgiris in recent years ECONOMY 1. Economic recovery path still uncertain: CEA D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. In India’s China policy, a mix of three approaches F. Prelims Facts 1. IIT-Madras top institution in govt. Ranking 2. ATM cash withdrawals halved in April 3. India removes export ban on HCQ G. Tidbits 1. India reiterates civilisational and cultural ties with Nepal 2. Retail vehicle sales fall 89% in May 3. Reserve Bank proposes to shore up bank boards 4. Time to make bold decisions, says Modi H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Trump targets ICC with sanctions over Afghanistan war crimes case
Context:
- U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court employees.
Background:
International Criminal Court:
- The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has been set-up to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
- It was established in 2002.
- It has jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself.
War crimes in Afghanistan:
- International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor wants to investigate possible crimes committed between 2003 and 2014, including alleged mass killings of civilians by the Taliban, as well as the alleged torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities and by the U.S. forces and the CIA.
- The ICC decided to investigate after prosecutors’ preliminary examination in 2017 found reasonable grounds to believe war crimes were committed in Afghanistan and that the ICC has jurisdiction.
Details:
- The U.S. President has issued an executive order authorising sanctions against individuals involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into whether U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
- The order authorises economic sanctions and travel curbs against Court employees. The order authorises the concerned authorities to block assets in the U.S. of ICC employees involved in the probe, and also block their entry into the U.S.
U.S. arguments:
Membership:
- Given the fact that the U.S. government has never been a member of the ICC, it claims that its citizens cannot be prosecuted against without the consent of the U.S. The U.S. administration claims that the probe threatens to infringe on U.S. sovereignty by pressurizing American service members and intelligence officers.
- Afghanistan, though a member of the ICC, has argued that any war crimes should be prosecuted locally.
Credibility:
- The U.S. administration has stated that though the ICC was established to provide accountability, in practice the ICC has been unaccountable, ineffective over the years.
Dubious objective:
- The U.S. administration has accused that the ICC probe is being pushed forward with the dubious objective of maligning the U.S. and accused Russia of having a role.
Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Govt. considering universal basic income, says NHRC
Context:
- Mid-term report of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Background:
- As a part of the third round of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, which is done every four-and-a-half-years, the NHRC submitted its mid-term report to the UN agency recently.
- The report reviewed the implementation of 152 recommendations of the UPR Working Group that the Indian government had accepted in September 2017.
Details:
Universal basic income:
- One of the major recommendations of the UPR Working Group was to study the possibility of a universal basic income as a way to further reduce poverty levels with a view to possibly phasing out the existing social protection system, in full consultation with all stakeholders.
- In its report, the NHRC has stated that the recommended implementation of a universal basic income was “under examination and active consideration” of the Centre.
Budgetary allocation for health:
- The report stated that there had been a consensus on the need for increasing budgetary allocation for health and nutrition by the Centre and state governments.
Child rights:
- The NHRC noted that it had found “gaps in policies as compared to obligations” under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and had made recommendations to address the same.
- The report notes the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights working on a proposal for a pilot project to eliminate child labour in five “aspirational districts with high incidence of child labour”.
- To make education more accessible to children with disabilities, the NHRC said it had recommended to the Human Resource Development Ministry to ensure “holistic inclusion” of children with disabilities in the Draft National Education Policy.
Reproductive rights:
- On the issue of reproductive rights, the NHRC noted that the Centre had requested the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Department of Financial Services, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the National Health Authority to consider the issue of sterilization, birth control treatment and procedures’ expenses not being covered under health insurance policies currently.
Women’s rights:
- The Report notes that the NHRC was in the process of setting up a committee to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
SC/ST related laws:
- The NHRC has expressed concerns over the inefficiencies in implementation of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities Act) 1989 and the Rules of 1995 and warned States of coercive action against failure to submit reports on violation of human rights of SCs, STs and minorities.
Other issues:
- NHRC claims that several issues need to be looked into including the “ratification of international human rights instruments, issues in legislations of trafficking and protection against child sexual abuse” and “gaps in the implementation of schemes for food security and timely disbursement of wages under schemes for employment”.
1. Slum population most at risk, says ICMR
Context:
- First sero-survey on COVID-19 spread by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Details:
- The sero-surveillance study was conducted in 83 districts covering 28,595 households and 26,400 individuals by the ICMR along with other agencies in May 2020.
- The sero-surveillance study has two parts. The primary task of estimating the fraction of people who have been infected in the general population has been completed and the second objective of estimating the infected population in containment zones of hotspot cities is in the process of completion.
Highlights of the study:
- The sero-survey on COVID-19 spread notes that the urban slum population was most vulnerable to the spread, followed by urban settlements.
- The ICMR has calculated that compared to rural areas, the risk of spread was 1.09 times higher in urban areas and 1.89 times higher in urban slums.
- The study reveals that 0.73% of the population surveyed showed evidence of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2. However, ICMR has asserted that the country is not in the community transmission phase.
- The infection fatality rate is very low at 0.08%.
- Lockdown/containment was found successful in keeping the disease spread low.
Way forward:
- Vulnerability mapping of densely populated areas should be done for effective containment strategy to be put in place.
- There is a need for increased testing.
C. GS 3 Related
Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Lion census method outdated: experts
Context:
- 2020 Asiatic Lion Census.
Background:
- The results of the 2020 Asiatic Lion Census estimate the number of Asiatic lions at 674, marking a 28% rise from 2015.
For information on this topic, refer to:
Concerns:
- A few wildlife experts and scientists have expressed doubts over the reported numbers based on the following arguments.
Outdated methodology:
- The administration has used a 100-year-old method to count lions. This approach, called the Direct Beat Verification or Block Count method, involves officials from the State wildlife department observing the watering holes across the animals’ territorial range to count the animals.
- Given the fact that lions can range as much as 700 sq. km, with the current method, there is the possibility of both grossly under counting or over counting.
Availability of fewer resources:
- In normal years, alongside the departmental forest officials, there would be independent experts and observers from non-governmental organisations. Normally, about 2,000 persons would be involved and the monitoring would be done over two days.
- This year, owing to travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the process involved only 1,400 personnel. This lack of adequate personnel may lead to mistakes in the estimation.
CVD deaths:
- Canine distemper virus (CDV) killed at least 36 lions in Gir, Gujarat in 2018 and the spread does not seem to have ebbed in spite of the government inoculating lions with an imported vaccine.
- There have been reports of more deaths from the virus since January 2020 but no data about these have been available.
Challenges:
Limitations of newer methods:
- Camera traps are not yet suitable for lions as they don’t have clearly discernible permanent physical features, unlike in tigers, which have unique stripes.
CVD:
- About 60% of the lions are outside the protected area, and this number with an increasing trend poses a serious challenge to the government efforts of vaccination against CVD.
- The virus is endemic in livestock and periodically infects lions so only large-scale vaccination of livestock in the region should be ensured.
Way forward:
Adopting newer methods:
- Newer methods such as camera trapping and identifying lions based on permanent marks on their body, and statistical estimates based on the animals’ predatory patterns and numbers of their prey base — all of which have been used to count tigers — are more scientifically precise.
- There is a need to consider newer methods that are practical.
2. First estimation exercise of Indian gaur in Nilgiris in recent years
Context:
- The first population estimation exercise of the Indian Gaur carried out in the Nilgiris Forest Division.
Details:
- The population estimation exercise has revealed that more than an estimated 2,000 Indian gaurs inhabit the Nilgiris Forest Division, with an average of eight individuals per square kilometre.
Concerns:
Proximity to human settlements:
- It was noticed that a majority of the gaurs preferred to inhabit tea estates and human settlements, while the animals largely avoided forested areas.
- The reasons for this could be due to the easy availability of food in and around human settlements, the lack of threat from predators, and the spread of invasive flora into reserve forests.
Change in land use pattern:
- The region is witnessing changing land-use patterns, with existing tea estates being converted into resorts and buildings.
- This translates to fences becoming more prominent around these properties and severely limiting traditional pathways used by the gaur to move between habitats.
- Habitat fragmentation remains a major factor in pushing the animals into proximity with humans.
Man-animal conflict:
- The study notes with concern that the majority of the animals in “conflict-prone” areas in the region live perilously close to human habitations due to habitat loss and fragmentation, exacerbating the probability of man-animal conflict.
- On an average, a total of 60 gaurs die each year in the Nilgiris Forest Division, many due to accidents related to living close to human habitations.
- Major towns of Coonoor, Udhagamandalam, Kotagiri and Kundah have witnessed an increasing number of problematic human-gaur interactions in the Nilgiris over the last few years. In 2019, three people were killed and seven others injured by Indian gaurs.
Misguided notions:
- The notion that more Indian gaurs are being spotted within the towns due to a steady increase in their population over the last decade could be misleading conservation efforts.
Way forward:
Relieving pressures:
- The increasing human pressures have been leading to problems. There is a need to duly acknowledge this fact and ensure appropriate policy measures for conservation of the Indian Gaurs and eliminate human casualties.
Periodic census:
- Further gaur census need to be conducted in the coming years to accurately gauge the dynamics of the Indian gaur population in the Nilgiris Division.
- There is a need to continue to conduct periodic estimations to ascertain whether the population of gaurs is increasing or if the population is stable.
1. Economic recovery path still uncertain: CEA
Context:
- Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian’s views on economic issues.
Background:
- Global ratings agencies S&P and Fitch have forecast a contraction of 5% in the Indian economy for the current fiscal year. They have also predicted a sharp recovery to record 8.5%-9.5% growth in the next fiscal year.
- Both Fitch and S&P have maintained India’s sovereign credit rating at the lowest investment grade, with Moody’s also recently downgrading India’s rating to the lowest investment grade.
For related information, refer to:
Details:
Better rating:
- The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) has insisted that India’s fundamentals merited a better rating, noting that the country’s willingness and ability to pay back its loans are gold standard, especially as most debt is in domestic currency.
- A good investment grade rating paves the way to move forward on the budget proposal for listing government bonds in international sovereign bond indices. In the long term, this could lead to the ability to raise $60 billion or more from foreign markets.
Economic recovery:
- The Chief Economic Adviser has stated that the initial estimates at the beginning of this financial year, in April estimated growth to be at 1.5-2% this year, and that was conditioned on a V-shaped recovery in the second half of the year.
- The CEA has noted that the economic growth numbers will depend on when recovery begins. There is some uncertainty on whether the economic recovery will happen in the second half of the current year or be delayed to the next financial year.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. In India’s China policy, a mix of three approaches
Introduction
Many countries are reconsidering their relationship with China — the United States (US) and the European Union, Australia and Canada, Indonesia and Japan, Brazil and Russia. Their policies have generally involved a combination of three approaches, often pursued simultaneously.
- The first is internal balancing, strengthening themselves and developing capabilities in response to China’s growing power.
- The second is engagement, working with China to reach understandings, although this requires some give and take by both sides.
- The third is external balancing, cooperating with others to gain more leverage and security vis-à-vis Beijing.
Every country’s debate about its China policy has essentially involved how much emphasis it can and should place on each approach.
India’s scepticism about China
- It dates back to the late 1950s and especially the 1962 war.
- Despite a return to full diplomatic ties in the late 1970s, normalisation began with Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 visit to China and the agreements of 1993.
- Commercial normalisation was only evident after about 2003. But the scepticism never truly disappeared.
The India-China relationship can be considered to have four main components
- One, boundary dispute.
- Two, regional security competition in India’s neighbourhood.
- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) today leverages China’s resources,
- Nepal settling its border with China in the 1960s,
- China’s sharing of nuclear technology with Pakistan in the 1970s,
- Bangladesh importing Chinese military hardware in the 1980s, and
- Chinese backing for the military junta in Myanmar in the 1990s.
- Three, economic relations. It grew after 2003 but Indian enthusiasm waned as Chinese market access proved limited and the trade deficit widened.
- The fourth aspect was global governance cooperation.
- China and India found common cause at BRICS,
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
- Beijing’s emphasis on international coalition-building was eventually surpassed by its own superpower ambitions.
India consequently began balancing even as it normalised ties with Beijing.
- China was a major driver of the India-US civil nuclear agreement, which enabled defence and technological relationships with the US and its allies (including Europe, Japan and Australia).
- China’s overt opposition to India’s waiver at the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 indicated its unease with that development.
What approaches did India subsequently adopt?
- First, efforts at internal balancing required a robust Indian economy, appropriate budgetary allocations for national security, and political will to deploy these tools.
- However, the Indian economy did not perform as dynamically as many had hoped after 2011.
- Nonetheless, India activated once-dormant airfields, raised army mountain divisions, reallocated air force assets eastwards, and began to improve border infrastructure.
- Second, Indian aid and concessional loans to the neighbours (especially Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives) increased and naval deployments in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans picked up by late 2017, although capital budgetary allocations did not keep pace.
- India’s willingness to intervene to support Bhutan against Chinese road-building in Doklam was an important statement of intent.
- While these developments have been positive, it is debatable whether they have been sufficient given the widening resource gap with China.
- The latest period of engagement, which began in 2017, revealed that neither China nor India were able or willing to make major compromises.
- India continued to reject both the BRI and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
- The boundary question remained unanswered. Even on economic relations, China made only minor concessions on agricultural and pharmaceutical imports.
- Even in the absence of real changes, the rhetoric of engagement made sense in the aftermath of the Doklam crisis only because it bought both countries time.
- Finally, external balancing involved a series of arrangements with partners that shared India’s concerns about China, with the intention of improving interoperability, facilitating intelligence and assessments, and boosting each other’s economic and defence capabilities.
- In the past few years, India has made progress in facilitating logistics support, increasing maritime awareness, upgrading military exercises, and regularising strategic dialogues with the US, Japan, Australia, Russia, France, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and others.
- June 2020’s India-Australia “virtual summit” is the latest step in a larger progression.
Conclusion
- India is not alone in having a domestic debate about managing China’s rise. A combination of approaches will remain in the policy mix of every country.
- But if one believes that India’s internal balancing has been inadequate and engagement requires some genuine compromises by Beijing, New Delhi must logically accelerate its efforts at external balancing to deal with a more powerful China.
F. Prelims Facts
1. IIT-Madras top institution in govt. Ranking
- The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), launched by the HRD Ministry in 2016, assesses parameters such as teaching and learning, student and faculty strength, use of financial resources, research papers and patents and graduation outcomes.
- Keeping in mind the social responsibility aspect of education in a developing country, there is a unique provision to judge institutions on inclusivity and outreach measures, including gender, geographical and socioeconomic diversity and the welcoming of differently-abled students.
- All parameters are normalised to keep them size- and age-independent so as to ensure that larger and older institutions do not get any undue advantage.
- These NIRF rankings come in the backdrop of the QS World University Rankings showing India’s best institutions— including the IISc and most IITs — having slipped in the global lists.
- The Human Resource Development Minister argues that the high weightage given to the perception parameter (subjective parameter) in most international rankings leads to global agencies giving Indian universities a lower ranking.
- While 90% of the parameters in NIRF are completely objective and fact-based, only 10% is based on the subjective parameter of perception by academic peers and employers.
2. ATM cash withdrawals halved in April
- Cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) have declined by 50% in value from the preceding month in April.
- Apart from restrictions on movement that hit transactions, an inclination to conserve liquidity among bank customers also led to the reduction in withdrawals.
- ATM maintenance was also impacted as movement of engineers was restricted during the lockdown, affecting transactions.
- The higher drop at white label ATMs was because a number of them were deployed in rural areas and depended on bank branches in rural centres for providing cash.
- Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) set up, owned and operated by non-bank entities are called “White Label ATMs” (WLAs).
- All other payment system indicators have also showed a sharp decline indicating the magnitude of the impact that the lockdown had on economic activity.
- Digital payments have also been affected in April. For example, transactions of prepaid payment instruments such as mobile wallets saw a significant drop.
3. India removes export ban on HCQ
- India has lifted the export ban on hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug.
- The Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Union Ministry for Chemicals and Fertilizers has approved the lifting of ban on export of Hydroxychloroquine API as well as formulations.
- Manufacturers, except export-oriented units and those in special economic zones, would still have to supply 20% of their production to the domestic market.
- India, a leading exporter of generic medicines across the world, banned the export of the drug and its formulations in March as the coronavirus outbreak disrupted supply chains.
G. Tidbits
1. India reiterates civilisational and cultural ties with Nepal
- The Nepal Parliament would be voting for a new map amid the Kalapani territorial dispute. The vote in Nepal’s Parliament for the Second Constitutional Amendment, which will give legislative support to the new map, has seen extensive discussions.
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that India deeply values its civilisational, cultural and friendly relations with Nepal. India-Nepal multi-faceted bilateral partnership has expanded and diversified in recent years with increased focus and enhanced Government of India’s assistance for humanitarian, development and connectivity projects in Nepal.
2. Retail vehicle sales fall 89% in May
- Retail sales of vehicles in the domestic market fell nearly 89% in May as the country began to open up partially after nearly two months of nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- The sector is threatened by the extremely low demand and weak consumer confidence, especially in urban areas.
- A survey by EY showed that with the nationwide lockdown being lifted in phases, a car is likely to be top priority among purchases by consumers.
- There is the possibility of a shift in preferences from shared mobility/public transport to their own vehicle owing to perception of increased health and safety in one’s own vehicle. This will provide an impetus to entry level and compact vehicle segments in the near future.
3. Reserve Bank proposes to shore up bank boards
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a stronger board for banks for improving governance and stringent norms for CEOs and whole-time directors (WTDs). The norms would be applicable to private, foreign and public sector banks.
- In a discussion paper on governance in commercial banks in India, RBI said board members should not be a member of any other bank’s board or the RBI and should not be either a Member of Parliament or State Legislature or Municipality or other local bodies. The number of Board of Directors of a bank should not be less than six and not more than 15, with a majority being independent directors.
- The board shall meet at least six times a year and at least once every 60 days.
- A director on the board of an entity other than a bank may be considered for appointment as director on a bank’s board, if the person is not an owner of an NBFC or a full-time employee and that the NBFC does not enjoy financial accommodation from the bank.
- The discussion paper suggested the appointment, re-appointment and termination of whole-time directors and chief executive officers should be with the previous approval of RBI.
- The new norms will come into effect within six months after being placed on the RBI’s website or April 1, 2021, whichever is later.
4. Time to make bold decisions, says Modi
- Speaking at the annual plenary of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) via videoconferencing, the Indian Prime Minister has reiterated his call for using the current crisis to make Indian self-reliant.
- Self-reliant India campaign simply means that India should minimise its dependence on other countries. This would involve domestically producing commodities now being imported from other countries and making India an exporter of such goods.
- Under the current circumstances, there is a need to make bold decisions and investments to set up a globally competitive domestic supply chain, and not have a conservative approach.
- There was a need to incorporate the trend of buying the goods made by small businesses, handicrafts makers and self-help groups within India rather than buying goods imported from abroad.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct with respect to Gaur (Indian bison)?
- It is currently limited only to India in the South Asian region.
- It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and listed in Schedule-1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- It has been domesticated in north east India and is referred to as Mithun.
Options:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Q2. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct with respect to the International Criminal Court?
- It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
- It has jurisdiction over all UN General Assembly members.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Q3. Which of the following are parameters considered in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)?
- Perception of the stakeholders
- Outreach and inclusivity
- Graduation outcomes
- Research outcome
- Teaching and learning resources
Options:
- 3, 4 and 5 only
- 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
- 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
- 1, 3 and 4 only
Q4. Which of the following statement correctly describes white label ATMs?
- ATMs set up, owned and operated by non-bank entities.
- ATMs which are owned and maintained by service providers whereas a sponsor bank whose brand is used on ATM takes care of cash management and network connectivity.
- ATMs which use security features like fingerprint scanner and eye scanner of the customer to access the bank details.
- ATMs limited to operation only in rural areas.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Analyze how habitat loss and fragmentation are leading to increased instances of man-animal conflicts. Suggest suitable measures to reduce the risks of man-animal conflicts. (15 marks, 250 words)
- India has shared civilisational, cultural and friendly relations with Nepal. However, the recent irritants between the two countries threaten this bilateral relationship. Analyze the factors for this deterioration in ties and the risks associated with this for India. (10 marks, 150 words)
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12 June 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here
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