17 Mar 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Bill on Central status to 3 Sanskrit deemed universities passed
2. Lok Sabha passes Appropriation Bill
3. Getting the hang of death penalty
HEALTH
1. Coronavirus: West Bengal invokes Epidemic Diseases Act
2. Experts say India still in second transmission stage
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. In U-turn, govt. moots 20-year window to clear telco dues
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. From virtual conferencing to real leadership
HEALTH
1. Fight for the finite
F. Prelims Facts
1. No proposal to ban short selling: exchanges
G. Tidbits
1. To track virus, Israel to tap cellphone data
2. Rajasthan moves SC against CAA
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Bill on Central status to 3 Sanskrit deemed universities passed

Context:

A Bill to grant the status of Central universities to three deemed Sanskrit universities has been passed by the Rajya Sabha.

• The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2020, was passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2019.
  • Its title was amended in the Rajya Sabha to change the year.
  • The amended bill will now be sent back to the Lok Sabha.
• It gives Central status to the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Delhi and the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati.
• Several Opposition MPs raised concern that the other five classical Indian languages are being neglected.

What are ‘Classical’ languages in India, and how are they classified?

• Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
• According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:
  1. High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
  2. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
  3. The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
  4. The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. In U-turn, govt. moots 20-year window to clear telco dues

Context:

The Centre has urged the courts to give the telecom majors, including Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, a 20-year window for the payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues worth several lakhs of crores of rupees.

Background:

The issue has been covered in the 25^th October 2019 Comprehensive News Analysis. Click here to read.

Details:

• In an application mentioned for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court, the government said it has, after “detailed and long-drawn deliberations”, devised a “formula” to soften the blow of the October 24, 2019 judgment directing the companies to pay the AGR in three months.
• The application said, “All the licensees impacted by the judgment be allowed to pay the unpaid or remaining amount of past DoT assessed/calculated dues in annual instalments over 20 years (or less if they so opt)”.
• The application said the formula was crafted taking into consideration the “larger interest, economic consequences on the nation and with a view to ensure that the Supreme Court order is complied with in letter and spirit.”

Significance:

• The application said vital issues related to the financial health and viability of the telecom sector and the need for maintaining competition and level playing field in the interest of consumers were considered.
• It said the closure of one or more Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) would adversely impact the digital connectivity of the country driving e-governance projects in commerce, banking and health.
• It was also considered that it would dent the spread of digitisation in rural India.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. From virtual conferencing to real leadership

Context:

• Videoconference of the heads of member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to discuss a common strategy to tackle COVID-19.

Background:

SAARC’s origin:

• The idea of SAARC was initiated by General Zia Ur Rehman of Bangladesh.
• The first summit of the seven leaders of the region from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka was held in Dhaka in 1985. Afghanistan joined SAARC in 2007.
• SAARC’s secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

SAARC’s failure:

• In the nearly 35 years of its existence, SAARC has not lived up to its potential.
  • South Asia is the world’s least integrated region with only less than 5% of inter-regional trade between the SAARC countries.
  • The South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), signed in 2006 is often highlighted as a prominent outcome of SAARC, but that too is yet to be implemented.
  • SAARC has had no summit-level meeting since 2014. The last SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016, was postponed after the terrorist attacks in Uri.
• India had shifted focus to other regional groupings that do not include Pakistan and bilateral agreements to ensure cooperation among the neighbours, resulting in SAARC becoming marginal in India’s diplomatic efforts.

Reasons for SAARC’s failure:

• The India-Pakistan tensions have undermined SAARC.
  • Bilateral issues cannot be discussed in SAARC since the organization relies on the principle of unanimity for all major decisions. This has allowed Pakistan to often undermine even the most laudable initiatives by India. The SAARC satellite offer was rejected by Pakistan.
  • For India, Pakistan’s use of terror as an instrument of foreign policy has made normal business impossible under SAARC and India has continuously demanded an end to Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism.
• The asymmetry between India and other member countries in terms of geography, economy, military strength and influence in the global arena make the smaller countries apprehensive. The smaller neighbouring countries, therefore, have been reluctant to implement various agreements under SAARC. While SAARC was intended to enhance regional cooperation in South Asia, from its very inception, member countries treated it with suspicion and mistrust.
• SAARC does not have any arrangement for resolving disputes or mediating conflicts. All contentions and bilateral issues between member states are not discussed in the SAARC owing to Article 10 of the SAARC charter which states that “Bilateral and contentious issues shall be excluded from the deliberations.” This article has rendered the SAARC insignificant. Disputes among the member countries often hamper consensus building, thus slowing down the decision-making process.
• The infrastructure deficit in the member countries, leading to a lack of connectivity among member states is another weakness of the SAARC. This has limited the trade possibilities between its members. The poor trade performance of SAARC stands in marked contrast with that of the neighbouring regional alliance – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Details:

• SAARC has acquired a new lease of life since the recent videoconference of the heads of member countries, wherein they have agreed to work together to combat the threat posed by the COVID-19 health pandemic.
• The initiative represents India’s desire to reach out to all the countries and also reassure the public in the SAARC region.

India’s role:

• The initial steps announced by India include the following:
  • The proposal to set up the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for SAARC countries, with India making an initial offering of $10 million.
  • The formation of a Rapid Response Team comprising of doctors, specialists, testing equipment and attendant infrastructure would be put at the disposal of the SAARC.
• The success of this SAARC initiative will largely depend on India, which is the dominant power of the region.
• The recent initiative by India must become an assertive expression of its new willingness to stabilize the region through cooperative mechanisms, without being distracted by other differences.

India’s stakes:

• Pandemics do not recognize political borders, and in times of trouble, reaching out to neighbouring countries is the most obvious course of action.
• If India can demonstrate that it has the capacity, the political will to institutionalize and lead a mutually beneficial cooperative regime in the region, it could help marginalize Pakistan’s attempts to scuttle SAARC’s initiatives. This is often referred to as hegemonic stability by international relations theorists.
  • Hegemonic stability theory which is rooted in research from the fields of political science, economics, and history, indicates that the international system is more likely to remain stable when a single nation-state is the dominant world power or a hegemon.
• This moment thus provides a rare opportunity for India to establish its influence over the region and help secure an abiding partnership in the immediate neighbourhood.
• The tragedy of COVID-19 may provide an opportunity for India to demonstrate its compassionate face to secure a region at peace with itself.

COVID-19 concerns in South Asia:

• Afghanistan and Pakistan have specific challenges as they share long borders with Iran, which has emerged, after China and Italy, as a major hub of the virus.
• Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka worry about the impact on tourism, which is a mainstay of their economies.
• Though South Asia, with around 300 positive cases, presently accounts for a small fraction of the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, there are fears of an escalation in the numbers given the density of population in the region. While SAARC member-states occupy just 3% of the world’s landmass, they account for 21% of its population.
• Other concerns are about under-reporting, as fewer people are being tested in much of South Asia, and whether public health services can cope.

For more information on this topic refer:

CNA dated March 16, 2020

F. Prelims Facts

1. No proposal to ban short selling: exchanges

What’s in News?

The stock exchanges clarified that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is not considering any proposal regarding a ban on short-selling to curb the on-going volatility and equity sell-off.

Short selling:

• Short selling occurs when an investor borrows a security and sells it on the open market, planning to buy it back later for less money.
• Short-sellers bet on, and profit from, a drop in a security’s price.
• Short selling has a high risk/reward ratio: It can offer big profits, but losses can mount quickly and infinitely.

G. Tidbits

1. To track virus, Israel to tap cellphone data

What’s in News?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has authorised the country’s internal security agency to tap into a vast and previously undisclosed trove of cellphone data to retrace the movements of people who have contracted the COVID-19 and identify others who should be quarantined because their paths crossed.

• The unprecedented move to use data secretly gathered to combat terrorism for public health efforts has been authorised.
  • But it must still be approved by Parliament’s Secret Services Subcommittee before its existence lapses, upon the swearing-in of a new legislature.
• The existence of the data trove and the legislative framework under which it is amassed and used have previously not been reported.
• It is the existence of the cellphone metadata trove and its use to track patients and carriers that privacy advocates say poses the greatest test of Israeli democracy at a fragile moment.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which among the following is the latest addition to the list of Classical languages in
India?

1. Odiya
2. Malayalam
3. Marathi
4. Telugu

See

Q2. The Parliament of India can exercise control over the functions of the Council of 
Ministers through which of the following?

1. Adjournment motion
2. Question hour
3. Supplementary questions

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

See

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. Short selling occurs when an investor borrows a security and sells it on the open market, planning to buy it back later for less money.
2. Short-sellers bet on, and profit from a drop in a security’s price.
3. Short selling has a low risk/reward ratio.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

See

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to “guillotine”:

1. When guillotine is applied, all the outstanding demands for grants, whether discussed or not, are put to vote at once.
2. It is a parliamentary tool that can be applied by the speaker of the house only.

Which of the given statement/s is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

See

 

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In the nearly 35 years of its existence, SAARC has not lived up to its potential. Comment. What are the reasons for this? Suggest suitable measures to revive this critical regional grouping. (15 marks, 250 words)

2. In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, discuss the general challenges to the south Asian region and India in particular. (10 marks, 150 words)

Read the previous CNA here.