CNA 17 March 2021:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1. Changes to NCT Act revive power tussle 2. Rajya Sabha passes MTP Bill INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. U.K. turns to Indo-Pacific in post-Brexit foreign policy C. GS 3 Related ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 1. Delhi remains most polluted capital: report D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. A robust economic relationship HEALTH 1. We need to urgently invest in public health SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. Responsible AI — the need for ethical guard rails F. Prelims Facts 1. Come out with ‘rule curve’ for Mullaperiyar: SC 2. Energy meet calls for faster shift to renewables 3. Cabinet gives nod to Bill for setting up DFI 4. Cerebral Vein Thrombosis G. Tidbits 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. Changes to NCT Act revive power tussle
Context:
Amendments have been proposed to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, three decades after it was enacted.
Details:
- The amendments have brought contradictions between the Central and Delhi governments to the fore once again.
- While some are of the opinion that the new Bill will seek to render the office of the Chief Minister a vestigial organ in the name of simplifying administration, others argued that the amendments will iron out needless issues arising out of politics in a city where the Lieutenant-Governor had always been the government.
This topic has been covered in the 16th March 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.
2. Rajya Sabha passes MTP Bill
Context:
The Rajya Sabha passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill was passed in March 2020 in the Lok Sabha. The original Bill was framed in 1971.
- Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, voluntarily terminating a pregnancy is a criminal offence.
- The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 allows for aborting the pregnancy by medical doctors (with specified specialisation) on certain grounds.
Details:
- The Act regulates the conditions under which a pregnancy may be aborted.
- The bill increases the time period within which an abortion may be carried out.
- Women would need a nod from a medical board in the case of pregnancies beyond 24 weeks.
- Currently, abortion requires the opinion of one doctor if it is done within 12 weeks of conception, and two doctors if it is done between 12 and 20 weeks.
- The Bill allows abortion to be done on the advice of one doctor up to 20 weeks, and two doctors in the case of certain categories of women, between 20 and 24 weeks.
- For a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities, the opinion of the State-level medical board is essential.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy:
- Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) is a legalized method of termination of pregnancy, intentionally, before its full term.
- It is also known as induced abortion or intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. U.K. turns to Indo-Pacific in post-Brexit foreign policy
Context:
- As per a document laying out post-Brexit foreign and defence policy priorities, Britain wants to expand its influence among countries in the Indo-Pacific region to try to moderate China’s global dominance.
- It is Britain’s biggest foreign and defence policy review since the end of the Cold War.
- The document focuses on reinvigorated, rules-based international order based on cooperation and free trade.
Details:
- The document sets out a planned increase of Britain’s nuclear warhead stockpile by more than 40% to weigh against evolving global security threats.
- It underlines the importance of strong ties with the U.S.
- It names Russia as the top regional threat.
- While stating the benefits of bilateral trade and investment with China, it stated that the country presents the biggest state-based threat to the U.K.’s economic security.
- Calling the Indo-Pacific increasingly the geopolitical centre of the world, the government highlighted a planned British aircraft carrier deployment to the region.
C. GS 3 Related
Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Delhi remains most polluted capital: report
Context:
According to a report from IQ Air, Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world.
Details:
- IQ Air is a Swiss air quality technology company specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.
- In the 2020 report, 106 countries were evaluated.
- The pollution levels are weighted averages, meaning that the population of a country influences the pollution values reported.
Key findings:
- Of the 106 monitored countries, only 24 met the World Health Organization annual guidelines for PM 2.5
- Bangladesh and Pakistan were the countries in 2020 with worse average PM2.5 levels than India.
- When ranked by cities, Hotan in China was the most polluted followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
India:
- Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration level in 2020 saw a 15% improvement from that recorded in 2019 when the city was ranked the world’s most polluted capital for the second straight year.
- This was based on data from the Central Pollution Control Board.
- Average pollution levels were 51.9 μg/m³ in 2020 compared with 58.1 μg/m³ in 2019, making India the third most polluted country in 2020, unlike in 2019, when it was ranked fifth.
- Of the 15 most polluted cities in the world, 13 were in India.
- In spite of being a pandemic year, 2020 was particularly severe for agricultural burning. Farm fires in Punjab increased by 46.5% over 2019. Read more on stubble burning in the link.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. A robust economic relationship
The article talks about the future of the India-USA economic relationship under the new administration in the US.
- Under the new U.S. administration, the economic relationship with India can be expected to be important as India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the U.S.
- Both the countries will see gains in terms of GDP, employment, and productivity, with a closer economic partnership, given the complementary natures of their economies.
Industry Perspective:
- From the industry perspective, a robust collaborative agenda would rest on a comprehensive set of actions that can take bilateral trade in goods and services to the desired goal of $500 billion.
- In the five years to 2019, bilateral trade grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.7% per year to $146 billion.
- If the same rate of growth is assumed, the $500 billion target will be achieved by 2036.
- This is doable if the right policy actions are taken.
Areas for collaboration:
The Confederation of Indian Industry has outlined key areas for collaboration.
Healthcare:
- A collaborative response to the pandemic would contribute to the global containment of the virus.
- As India becomes the hub of global vaccine distribution, building confidence in the Indian IPR regime, reviving the U.S.-India Health Dialogue, and mutually recognising standards and approvals will help drive healthcare exchanges.
Trade Agreement:
- The macro trade architecture can be strengthened with a broad trade agreement.
- The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum meetings can be revived.
- Convergence on issues such as market access must be discussed.
- There is potential for flexibility from both sides for restoring the Generalised System of Preferences which would help lower duties for certain Indian products.
- The two countries should consider initiating discussions on a free trade agreement.
Mobility of Professional Labours:
- Recent regulations in the U.S. have impacted labour mobility which can be addressed through immigration reforms for employment-based visa backlogs and smooth and timely processes.
- The MoU on labour cooperation signed in 2011 could be updated in line with India’s recent labour regulatory changes.
- This may also be a good time to reconsider a totalisation agreement pertaining to social security, given that both have already entered into such agreements with many of the same partner countries.
Defence Industry Ties:
- Defence industry ties can be stepped up in coordination with industry, as both sides benefit from U.S. technology and Indian manufacturing in this sector.
- A defence dialogue including the private sectors of both sides could help in co-production and co-development in the defence and aerospace sectors.
Small Scale Industries:
- Smaller U.S. companies can find significant new opportunities for investments in India and sourcing from India.
- A U.S.-India SME CEOs Forum can be set up to catalyse such partnerships.
Climate Change:
- Clean energy and climate change are also areas where India has made rapid strides.
- This is now among the high priorities of the U.S. administration.
- The U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership should be geared towards joint investments in industrial decarbonisation, carbon dioxide removal and green hydrogen.
- The programmes of Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research, Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment and Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy must be relaunched.
Partnership in Digital Economy:
- A digital economy partnership is critical.
- India has proved its mettle in this space with new opportunities opening up in robotics, space, AI and electric vehicles.
- It is also important to disseminate information on India’s IPR regime improvements and work towards taking India off the U.S. Trade Representative IPR priority watchlist.
Conclusion:
- From an industry perspective, U.S.-India collaborations in certain areas will bring many gains.
- Other opportunities in the bilateral economic relationship include education, innovation and R&D, and agricultural trade and technology.
- In this backdrop, it is necessary to institute relevant dialogue mechanisms at the earliest.
1. We need to urgently invest in public health
The efforts of healthcare personnel, from ASHA workers to highly specialised intensive care physicians, have saved countless lives and made India proud. The editorial throws light upon how the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of healthcare and public health in times of a health crisis.
- That healthcare is science-based was convincingly demonstrated.
- Lab diagnosis, clinical assessments, management discriminating between useful and useless therapeutic modalities all gave society a glimpse of how modern medicine works.
- A good grounding in theory, long years in basics and specialisation, and apprenticing to gain experience in ethical, evidence-based medical practice are essential for the making of caring medical and nursing professionals.
Healthcare and public health:
- While the health-care capability in India ranks among the world’s best, it is not the case when it comes to public health. There is a need to distinguish between the two.
- Healthcare refers to the transaction between one caregiver and one sick person at a time.
- For public health, the client is the community at large and the goal is disease prevention and control.
- Disease control is the deliberate, intervention-based and quantified reduction of disease burden. It has to be data-driven.
- Reliable data must be collected from all sources including every healthcare provider, for monitoring disease burden by diagnosis and outcomes; for this exercise, the total population is the denominator.
- For instance, data collection for HIV control is sample-based, under the unique Indian design of sentinel surveillance, established in 1986 and still continuing.
- Counting of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and laboratory tests for polioviruses were crucial for polio elimination in India.
Issues:
- The health management system in India does not have a way of prospectively collecting data on all diseases and deaths by diagnosis.
- That is precisely the task of public health.
- There is no comprehensive and quantified profile of any disease in the entire population, including those under vertical programmes — tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, AIDS.
- The sero-surveys on random samples was an attempt to derive the totality of infections. It reported widely disparate figures and failed to give us a reasonably reliable picture.
- In the absence of public health infrastructure, India’s AIDS Task Force designed and successfully applied ‘social vaccine’ during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and this was continued by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
- Sadly, there was no crosstalk between the COVID-19 programme and NACO; hence principles of social vaccine, so effectively deployed in AIDS prevention, were not adopted for COVID-19 prevention.
Way Forward:
- Social vaccine is the way forward. Social vaccination is another function of public health.
- Where India fell short is timely and comprehensive public education with authoritative and authentic information communicated effectively to the public for self-motivated behaviour modification.
- For COVID-19, there are non-pharmacological preventive interventions such as face masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing.
- Pharmacological prevention is by vaccination.
- Now, during the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, authentic health education regarding vaccination is conspicuously lacking, leading to considerable vaccine hesitancy among even healthcare staff.
- Post-vaccination surveillance, vital for assessing vaccine efficacy and safety, must be conducted. There exists this lacuna in public health.
- COVID-19 has strong social determinants of infection transmission. In countries where public health is given equal status with healthcare, public health addresses both social and environmental determinants and controls these diseases.
- India’s style of mounting ad hoc responses only when there is a pandemic is no longer tenable. Currently, our healthcare institutions are cluttered with too many infectious diseases that are amenable to control if only we had public health.
- Investment in public health will result in health, wealth and prosperity.
Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Responsible AI — the need for ethical guard rails
The article talks about the need for adequate safeguards while applying artificial intelligence (AI), failing which, social and economic schisms could be widened, leading to discriminatory outcomes.
AI’s growth:
- The use of Artificial Intelligence has seen exponential growth.
- And the more AI is used, the more data is generated, and the smarter it gets.
- In just the last decade, AI has evolved with unprecedented velocity.
- Automation, big data and algorithms will continue to sweep into new corners of our lives.
- AI has immense potential. Just as electricity enabled us to radically alter virtually every aspect of existence, AI can leapfrog us toward eradicating hunger, poverty and disease — opening up new and unimaginable pathways for climate change mitigation, education and scientific discovery.
AI’s potential:
- AI has helped increase crop yields, raised business productivity, improved access to credit and made cancer detection faster and more precise.
- It could contribute more than $15 trillion to the world economy by 2030 adding 14% to global GDP.
- Google has identified over 2,600 use cases of “AI for good” worldwide.
- A study reviewing the impact of AI on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) finds that AI may act as an enabler on 79% of all SDG targets. On the flip side, it states that AI can actively hinder 35% of SDG targets.
Concerns:
- AI requires massive computational capacity, which means more power-hungry data centres and a big carbon footprint.
- Robotics and AI companies are building intelligent machines that perform tasks typically carried out by low-income workers, but the day is not far when many desk jobs will also be edged out by AI.
- Without clear policies on reskilling workers, the promise of new opportunities will in fact create serious new inequalities.
- Investment is likely to shift to countries where AI-related work is already established, widening gaps among and within countries.
- Without adequate safeguards, AI would exacerbate existing problems.
- There have been AI facial recognition and surveillance technology discriminating against people of colour and minorities.
- Also, an AI-enhanced recruitment engine, based on existing workforce profiles, taught itself that male candidates were preferable to female.
- AI also presents serious data privacy concerns. The algorithm’s never-ending quest for data has led to our digital footprints being harvested and sold without our knowledge or informed consent.
Need for safeguards:
- Without ethical guard rails, AI will widen social and economic schisms, amplifying any innate biases at an irreversible scale and rate and lead to discriminatory outcomes.
- It is neither enough nor is it fair to expect AI tech companies to solve all these challenges through self-regulation. They are not alone in developing and deploying AI; governments also do so.
Conclusion:
- Many countries, including India, are cognisant of the opportunities and the risks, and are striving to strike the right balance between AI promotion and AI governance — both for the greater public good. NITI Aayog’s Responsible AI for All strategy is a case in point.
- It recognises that our digital future cannot be optimised for good without multi-stakeholder governance structures that ensure the dividends are fair, inclusive, and just.
- Only a whole of society approach to AI governance will help in developing broad-based ethical principles, cultures and codes of conduct for AI to flourish and bring about the extraordinary breakthroughs it promises.
- Given the global reach of AI, such a “whole of society” approach must rest on a “whole of world” approach.
- The UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap on Digital Cooperation is a good starting point.
- Also, UNESCO has developed a global, comprehensive standard-setting draft Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence to the Member States for deliberation and adoption.
- Agreeing on common guiding principles is an important first step. But the challenging part is in the application of the principles. It is where principles meet reality that the ethical issues and conundrums arise in practice.
- For this, we must be prepared for deep, difficult, multi-stakeholder ethical reflection, analyses and resolve. Only then will AI provide humanity with its full promise.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Come out with ‘rule curve’ for Mullaperiyar: SC
What’s in News?
The Supreme Court said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary will be personally responsible and appropriate action will be taken on failure to give information on the rule curve for the Mullaperiyar dam to the Supreme Court-appointed Supervisory Committee.
- The court directed the Supervisory Committee to issue directions or take steps to address the three core safety issues and submit a compliance report.
- The monitoring and performance of the instrumentation of the dam
- Finalising the rule curve
- Fixing the gate operating schedule
Rule Curve:
- The rule curve in a dam decides the fluctuating storage levels in a reservoir.
- The gate opening schedule of a dam is based on the rule curve.
- It is part of the “core safety” mechanism in a dam.
Mullaperiyar Dam:
- The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala.
- The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu state.
- The dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states is because of the control and safety of the dam and the validity and fairness of the lease agreement.
- The dispute began in 1998 when Tamil Nadu wanted to raise the height of the water level and Kerala opposed it.
2. Energy meet calls for faster shift to renewables
What’s in News?
World Energy Transitions Outlook report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
- The report says that the COVID-19 crisis offers an unexpected opportunity for countries to decouple their economies from fossil fuels and accelerate the shift to renewable energy sources.
- It proposes energy transition solutions for the narrow pathway available to contain the rise of temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius.
- IRENA observed the emergence of a new energy system based on renewable technologies and complemented by green hydrogen and modern bioenergy.
- It estimated that by 2050, 90% of total electricity needs would be supplied by renewables, followed by 6% from natural gas and the remaining from nuclear.
3. Cabinet gives nod to Bill for setting up DFI
What’s in News?
The Union Cabinet approved a Bill to set up a Development Finance Institution.
- The development finance institutions or development finance companies are organizations owned by the government or charitable institutions to provide funds for low-capital projects or where their borrowers are unable to get it from commercial lenders.
- As of December 2019, there were over 6,000 brownfield and greenfield projects requiring funding.
- The Budget 2021-22 had provided for an initial amount of ₹20,000 crore for the institution.
Read more on Development Finance Institutions.
What’s in News?
Scientists have reported that the blood clots observed in some of those vaccinated are a special form of very rare cerebral vein thrombosis.
- This corresponds to a deficiency in platelets and bleeding following vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
- The recommendations from the institute were the reason Germany put on hold ongoing vaccinations until a full review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
G. Tidbits
Nothing here for today!!!
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Mullaperiyar Dam dispute is between which of the following states?
- Kerala
- Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Tamil Nadu
Choose the correct option:
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
- 1 and 4 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala.
- The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu state.
- The dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu states is because of the control and safety of the dam and the validity and fairness of the lease agreement. The dispute began in 1998 when Tamil Nadu wanted to raise the height of the water level and Kerala opposed it.
Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Development Finance Institutions:
- Industrial Finance Corporation of India was the first DFI in India.
- The Budget 2021-22 has provided for an initial amount of ₹20,000 crore for the DFIs.
- DFIs do not accept deposits.
Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- 1 and 3 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- IFCI – 1st DFI in India. Industrial Finance Corporation of India was established in 1948.
- The Budget 2021-22 has provided for an initial amount of ₹20,000 crore for the DFIs.
- DFIs do not accept deposits.
- The development finance institutions or development finance companies are organizations owned by the government or charitable institutions to provide funds for low-capital projects or where their borrowers are unable to get it from commercial lenders.
Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to River Chenab:
- Chenab river is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi.
- The world’s highest railway bridge is being constructed on the Chenab.
- Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project is a run-of-the-river power project on River Chenab.
Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?
- 1, 2 and 3
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
All the statements are correct.
Q4. The World Energy Transitions Outlook is brought out by:
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- International Renewable Energy Agency
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
The World Energy Transitions Outlook is brought out by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- How are Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) different from commercial banks? Discuss the need for India to have DFIs to fund infrastructure. (15 Marks, 250 Words) [GS-3, Economy]
- Discuss the future and potential of US-India industry collaborations under the new administration in the US. (15 Marks, 250 Words) [GS-2, International Relations]
- Just as Artificial Intelligence has the potential to improve billions of lives, it can also replicate and exacerbate existing problems, and create new ones. Critically examine. (15 Marks, 250 Words) [GS-3, Science and Technology]
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 17 March 2021:- Download PDF Here
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