04 Mar 2018: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

• The Raisina Dialogue is India’s premier foreign policy conference.
• Organized along the lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore, and co-hosted by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the Observer Research Foundation, it takes its name from the Raisina Hills, where India’s seat of power resides.
• The Dialogue, since its inception, has attracted academics, scholars, researchers, students, journalists and even politicians who are either interested—or are working—in the field of international relations, geopolitics, security, nuclear issues and Indian foreign policy.

Themes and strategies

• The first edition of the Dialogue took place in March 2016.
• The overarching theme of that inaugural edition was ‘Asia: Regional and Global Connectivity’.
• The next year’s theme was “The New Normal: Multilateralism with Multi-Polarity”.

Why does the Dialogue matter?

• The Dialogue provides a platform for the government to state its position on various questions and issues of international relations. The event gives many experts, and other countries, a glimpse into the Indian government’s near-term priorities in international relations.
• The Dialogue also provides a golden chance for young scholars and researchers to interact with a galaxy of stars from the international relations universe.
• Also, it gives a platform for researchers to network and perhaps even collaborate.
• And finally, the event creates an ecosystem for the growth and development of think tanks and other policy groups.
• Raisina Dialogue 2018 was an opportunity for the world to see India’s growing aspirations to play a more proactive role in international relations.

Context

• Advanced patented medicines used to treat Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) are available to only about 1,000 patients out of the tens of thousands who need it, because the innovator-manufacturers are not ready to licence Indian drug-makers who can sell them at affordable prices.

Stats

• An estimated 1,300 Indians die due to TB everyday.
• India is home to the largest number of TB patients, with 2.8 million suffering from the airborne disease.
• Out of this, around 1,30,000 are the worst-affected as they have become resistant to known medicines.

What are these Drugs used for?

• Bedaquiline and Delaminid, the new-generation drugs, are recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for DR-TB patients.

Issue Area

• Bedaquiline is available to has fewer than 1,000 patients while Only 81 patients have access to Delaminid.
• So effective drugs are needed to prevent spread of infection to families, co-workers and friends of patients.

Recommendation of Indian Council of Medical Research

• A panel chaired by Dr. Soumya Swaminathan then Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research and currently the Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended, among other steps, that the Health Ministry consider issuing a compulsory licence (CL) for the two TB drugs.
• VL option should be the one to be really explored. We should keep CLs for when we run out of options

What is Compulsory License?

• A CL can be issued by the government, as provided for by the World Trade Organization’s trade-related intellectual property regime, in case of ‘extreme urgency’ and ‘national emergency,’ without waiting for voluntary licensing.
• The country’s first compulsory licence has been granted by the Indian Patent Office to Hyderabad-based drug-maker Natco.

What is Voluntary License?

• A VL would allow Indian companies to pay a royalty to the innovators and manufacture generic, affordable versions.
• Voluntary licensing to a local partner under mutually agreed terms will not only help drug makers expand the market but also avoid compulsory licensing action.

C. GS3 Related

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

F. Prelims Fact

• SLD is a “Track One” inter-governmental security forum held annually by an independent think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) which is attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries and military chiefs of 28 Asia-Pacific states.
• The forum gets its name from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore where it has been held since 2002.
• The summit serves to cultivate a sense of community among the most important policymakers in the defence and security community in the region.
• Government delegations have made the best out of the meeting by holding bilateral meetings with other delegations on the sidelines of the conference.
• While primarily an inter-governmental meeting, the summit is also attended by legislators, academic experts, distinguished journalists and business delegates.

G. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

H. UPSC Mains Practice Questions