13 Jun 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY & GOVERNANCE

1. Will a hike in MSP help farmers?

Syllabus: Government policies and interventions.

Mains: Minimum Support Price and associated concerns.

Prelims: Minimum Support Price.

Context: The central government has increased the MSP for Kharif crops increasing prices between 5-10%.

Introduction:

• The Centre announced the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of Kharif crops, increasing the prices by 5-10% from the last season.
• The aim of the move is to:
  • Ensure remunerative prices to growers for their produce
  • Encourage crop diversification
• The announcement has received mixed reactions. For instance,
  • Some agriculture experts believe that an increase in MSP will give a slight respite to the growers.
  • However, they also argue that the absence of any dependable or assured market mechanism of procurement-purchase for crops at MSP in most parts of the country defeats the purpose of encouraging crop diversification.
  • A section of farmers’ representatives are unhappy and term the hike as a ‘meagre’ increase.

Also read: MSP, Minimum Support Price

Details:

• The government announced the MSP for 17 ‘kharif crops’ for the marketing season of 2023-24 on 7th June 2023.
• The government states that the increase in MSP is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.

Concerns of Farmers:

• Several farmers’ outfits have called the increase insufficient because the increased input costs coupled with unfair MSP will push large sections of farmers (particularly small and marginal) into indebtedness.
• Moreover, the government’s promise that MSP will be calculated as per the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission still remains unfulfilled.
  • It was recommended that MSP should be C2+50% (C2 or comprehensive cost of production).
• The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) have dismissed the hike, saying it does not provide a remunerative price.
• Agriculture experts highlight that as per the past track records, only a few crops (wheat, paddy, and cotton) are being procured at MSP, while others are being procured at much below MSP.
• The major hurdles in crop diversification are the non-implementation of MSP and below-MSP-procurement of a large number of crops.

Foodgrain stock in India:

• According to the third advance estimate for 2022-23, total foodgrain production in India is estimated to be 330.5 million tonnes. It is higher by 14.9 million tonnes compared to 2021-22.
• Government sources claim that it is the highest increase in the last five years.
• The total stocks of rice and wheat held by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies is 555.34 lakh tonnes (on 1 May 2023). It comprises 265.06 lakh tonnes of rice and 290.28 lakh tonnes of wheat.

Way Ahead:

• A rise in the income of the farmers should be a long-term solution to farmers’ distress.
• The government should establish an effective system to provide assured purchases and returns to farmers for all major crops at the MSP.
• An alternate option of extending subsidies on input costs should be explored.

Nut Graf: The government has announced an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Kharif crops. It has received mixed reactions with many farmer outfits dismissing the hike stating that it does not ensure remunerative prices. The government should effectively implement MSP for other crops to achieve crop diversification in the country.

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY & GOVERNANCE

1. Wrestlers’ protest and the shrinking space for dissent

Syllabus: GS-2, Pressure groups and their role in polity.

Mains: Wrestlers protest and associated concerns.

Introduction:

• Protests allow the public (individuals, classes, and communities) to voice their grievances and demand their rights.
• They have served as catalysts for social and policy change.
• Medal-winning wrestlers in India have for almost four months protested and demanded the arrest of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief. The chief is accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers and a minor.

Also read: Right to Protest under the Indian Constitution

Details:

• It was only after Supreme Court intervention that two FIRs were filed against the WFI Chief.
• No agreement has been reached despite wrestlers’ negotiations with the Home Minister and the Sports Minister.
• The wrestlers have received support from civil society organizations representing women, students, and youth. However, it is very small compared to other protests in the past.

Associated Concerns:

• It is highlighted that protests have failed to garner support from the masses (especially, middle classes and women’s groups that were at the forefront of the Nirbhaya protests in 2012).
• The author argues that protests under the current regime are often branded as ‘anti-national’.
• Despite being an issue of gender justice, women’s groups are largely missing from the protest.
• Wrestling has not received the same level of attention and support as other sports in India. It is also suggested that protesting wrestlers mostly come from modest economic backgrounds.
• The author also highlights the importance of active participation of the middle class as seen in the Anna Hazare Andolan (2011) and the Nirbhaya Protest (December 2012) which is majorly missing in the current wrestlers’ protest.
• There is inadequate public pressure on the government resulting in no political censure of the WFI Chief and MP despite serious allegations recorded in FIRs.
• It is thus emblematic of society’s normalization of patriarchy and sexual harassment.

Also read: Wrestlers’ Protest [What the Law Says]

Nut Graf: The wrestlers’ protest against the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) chief has not received the desired support from the masses and has thus failed to create pressure on the government. This is a serious concern as it will have serious repercussions like society’s normalization of patriarchy and sexual harassment. The government should take action on a timely basis before it sets an unprecedented example for the future.

Category: SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Same-sex marriage: Morality vs equality

Syllabus: GS-2, Mechanisms, laws, institutions, and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections

Mains: Same-sex marriages.

Context: Supreme Court commenced hearings on same-sex marriages.

Introduction:

• The Supreme Court of India commenced hearings on the same-sex marriage issue. During that time, Michael Sandel, one of the world’s leading philosophers also visited India.
• Sandel’s critique of contemporary liberalism highlights the difficulty in any attempt to sort out the issue of same-sex marriage within a liberal framework of individual rights.

For details on same-sex marriages, read here: Same-sex Marriages in India

Details:

• If the court is to adjudicate the right to marry, there would be a need to break its neutrality on moral questions like the desirability of marriage, the institution of marriage, etc. 
  • Notably, constitutional morality is used by the SC in many cases to maintain neutrality on moral issues.
• Considering neutrality, the court stopped at just ensuring legal protection in live-in relationships.
• If the court recognizes same-sex marriage on the basis of equality, it will have to recognize marriage as a social honour and pronounce its moral worth.
• The citizens who see and value marriage as a heterosexual institution would be required to recognize same-sex marriages as “a duty we owe to strangers.”
• However, other important concerns are raised regarding whether the court (or centralized state) is capable of deciding on or resolving moral issues in society.

Other Details:

• In the Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health (2003) case in Massachusetts, Supreme Judicial Court legalized same-sex marriage not just on grounds of equality and freedom of choice but by pronouncing the virtues of marriage.
• However, in India marriage is seen in traditional terms.
• Several scholars have noted that Indian society has not shared the same sense of disgust or hatred with which homosexuals were treated in other parts of the world.
• Moreover, there were no serious rumblings when homosexuality was decriminalized in India.
• It is recommended that questions on same-sex marriages should be left for citizens’ assemblies or citizens’ initiatives like in Ireland or Finland.

Also read: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Apr 17th, 2023

Nut Graf: As the Supreme Court is commencing hearings on same-sex marriages in India, there are concerns about the morality, neutrality, and equality aspects. It is suggested that the best possible solution is to leave the matter to citizens’ assemblies/groups as marriage is a traditional concept in Indian society.

Q1. Which of the pairs of defense exercises and countries involved is correctly 
matched? (Level- Difficult)

Q2. Which of the statements are true regarding the Indo-Nepal relationship? 
(Level- Moderate)

Q3. “One Future Alliance” is related to which of the following? (Level-Easy)

Q4. Identify the correct statement(s) regarding Svalbard: (Level-Difficult)

Q5. Among the following organisms, which one does not belong to the class 
of the other three?​ (Level- Easy)

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. The governments need to work with animal welfare organizations to provide proper healthcare and housing to stray dogs. Comment. (10 marks, 150 words) [GS-2, Governance]
2. Why do you think the protests by the wrestlers against sexual harassment have not evoked the same response from civil society as in the previous instances? (15 marks, 250 words) [GS-2, Polity and Governance]

Read the previous CNA here.