18 Mar 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 18 March 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Quick, decisive steps required to curb ‘second peak’, says PM
2. Serious issue if 3 cr. ration cards were cancelled, says SC
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. New DFI must curb reliance on foreign funds, says K.V. Kamath
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. Re-evaluating inflation targeting
2. Looking beyond privatisation
DEFENCE
1. Aligning a missile deal with destination Manila
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
1. ‘India known as first, reliable responder’
2. ‘No decision on national NRIC till now’
3. ‘Frame rules for amicus curiae’
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Serious issue if 3 cr. ration cards were cancelled, says SC

Context:

The Supreme Court said it was a very serious matter if the Centre had really cancelled around three crore ration cards.

Background:

• A petition was filed alleging that the cancellation of ration cards solely because they could not be biometrically linked with Aadhaar led to starvation deaths across the country.
• It was pointed out that the ration cards of tribal people and the poor were cancelled.

Details:

• According to the Union of India, the insistence on Aadhaar and biometric authentication had led to the cancellation of nearly four crore ration cards in the country.
• The Union of India casually gives an explanation that these cancelled cards were bogus.
• However, the petition points out that the real reason was technological system based on iris identification, thumb prints, non-possession of Aadhaar, non-functioning of the Internet in rural and remote areas, etc., led to largescale cancellation of ration cards, without notice to the family concerned.
• While the states were in a denial mode, blaming the deaths on diarrhoea and malaria, the petition blamed lack of food and starvation for deaths.

Issue:

• Even as the government highlighted the redressal mechanism within the Food Security Act as the right place to go, none of the States have appointed independent nodal officers or district grievance redressal officer under the Act.
• All the States have granted additional designations to existing officers. In many cases, the officers given additional designations are from the Food Supply Department leading to a conflict of interest.
• The Hunger Watch Report of the Right to Food Campaign in 2020 characterised the hunger situation in India as “grave”.
• India ranks 94 out of 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is in the ‘Serious Hunger Category’.

Way Forward:

• Right to food, which the ration card symbolised, cannot be curbed or cancelled because of lack of Aadhaar.
• The Supreme Court in the Swaraj Abhiyan cases on the implementation of the Food Security Act, had given a slew of directions which included social audits, framing of rules and setting up vigilance committees. These directions must be diligently adhered to.

2. Looking beyond privatisation

Context:

• The Union government has announced its intent to privatise Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in the recent Budget session.

Details:

• The article argues against the proposed move to privatise Public Sector Banks based on the following arguments.

Wrong notion:

• The failure of innumerable private banks around the world, challenge the notion that only private banks are efficient. The large volumes of NPAs observed in private corporate entities also challenge the notion of private enterprises being the epitome of efficiency.

Positive role played by public banks:

• The nationalisation of 14 private banks in 1969, followed by six more in 1980, transformed the banking sector and ensured the following benefits.
  • Neglected areas like agriculture, poverty alleviation plans, rural development, health, education, exports, infrastructure, women’s empowerment, small scale and medium industry, and small and micro industries, have witnessed increased credit disbursal rates from the public sector banks.
  • The nationalization of banks helped in promoting more equitable regional growth. The increased number of bank branches in rural areas has reduced the poor people’s dependence on moneylenders and thus helped move out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
  • Bank nationalization helped create jobs. They also improved the working conditions of employees in the banking sector, as the state ensured higher wages, security of services, and other fringe benefits.
  • As an institution, PSBs have been vehicles of the Indian economy’s growth and development. They have also contributed significantly to infrastructural development.

Threat posed by privatization of banks:

• Placing the huge network of bank branches and the infrastructure and assets in the hands of private enterprises or corporates may turn out to be detrimental given the risks of monopoly and cartelisation of the crucial financial sector and this could lead to denial of economical banking services to the common man.

Unfair criticism of Public sector banks:

• It is unfair to blame PSBs alone for the alarming rise of NPAs.
• Wilful default by large corporate borrowers and subsequent recovery haircuts and write-offs, have put a big dent on the balance sheets of PSBs.
• The lack of strong recovery laws and lack of criminal action against wilful defaulters is a major lacuna in the system.

Recommendations:

• Stringent measures are required to recover large corporate stressed assets.
  • There is an urgent need to bring in a suitable statutory framework to consider wilful defaults on bank loans a “criminal offence”.
  • There should be a system to examine top executives of PSBs across the country which will help in improving accountability among the top executives of the bank.

Conclusion:

• Privatisation of PSBs is not a definitive panacea for the problems of the banking sector in India.

Category: DEFENCE

1. Aligning a missile deal with destination Manila

Context:

• India and the Philippines signing the “Implementing Arrangement” for “procurement of defense material and equipment procurement”. This agreement lays the groundwork for sales of defence systems through the government-to-government route.
• Philippines is looking to buy the BrahMos cruise missile from India.

Background:

BrahMos:

• The BrahMos cruise missile is manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between India and Russia.
• It is the first supersonic cruise missile to enter service. It is capable of attaining a speed of Mach 2.8 (almost three times the speed of sound), it has a range of at least 290 km (The new version can reach up to 400km).
• The high speed would make it difficult for air defence systems utilising surface-to-air missiles to intercept the BrahMos while making it easier for the BrahMos to target and neutralise even advanced fighter jets.
• Efforts to increase the speed and range of the missile in its next iterations are under way, with a goal of achieving hypersonic speeds (at or above Mach 5) and a maximum range of 1,500 km.

Significance of the deal:

• The deal for BrahMos missile will be of great significance for multiple reasons.

Export as a goal:

• The BrahMos is a highly desirable product for other countries to procure as well. Countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa have so far shown an interest in acquiring the BrahMos systems.
• Exporting of the system would boost the credibility of India as a defence exporter and help it meet the target of $5 billion in defence exports by 2025.

Geo-political impact:

• The export of the BrahMos would help elevate India’s stature as a regional superpower.
• The export to the Philippines would caution China and act as a deterrent to Beijing’s aggressive posturing in the Indo-pacific region.
• Other nations threatened by Chinese belligerence may come forward to induct the BrahMos into their arsenal, thereby boosting India’s economic, soft, and hard power profile in the region and providing the Indo-Pacific with a strong and dependable anchor with which they can protect their sovereignty and territory.

Challenges:

• Two major roadblocks still remain in the proposed deal.

Threat of CAATSA sanctions:

• Given that the NPO Mashinostroyenia is one of the listed Russian entities under the S.’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) the export of the BrahMos missile systems may attract sanctions. Hesitant of being sanctioned, countries may shy away from purchasing the BrahMos.

Financing the systems:

• A regiment of the BrahMos, including a mobile command post, four missile-launcher vehicles, several missile carriers, and 90 missiles, reportedly costs around $275.77 million (Rs. 2,000 crore). The cost of the systems has been a major hurdle in moving forward to reach a deal with the Philippines.
  • India has offered a $100 million line of credit to the Philippines.
• Ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries which are interested in the BrahMos would find it difficult to purchase it.

Conclusion:

• With India determined to develop itself as a hub of defence manufacturing, how it handles the sale of the BrahMos would be an important factor in its potential emergence as a net provider of regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

2. ‘No decision on national NRIC till now’

What’s in News?

The Union government informed the Rajya Sabha that it had not taken any decision to prepare the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at the national level till now.

National Register of Indian Citizens:

• NRIC is a list of all the legal citizens of the country, with necessary documents.
• Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for compulsory registration of every citizen of India and maintenance of NRIC.
• The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 spells out the rules for operationalizing the idea of registering all citizens and issuing national identity cards to them.

Note:

• Earlier, following the Supreme Court’s order, the Government conducted the National register of Citizens updating exercise in Assam.

Read more on National Register of Citizens.

3. ‘Frame rules for amicus curiae’

What’s in News?

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made a strong appeal to the Supreme Court to frame guidelines for lawyers appointed as the court’s amici curiae in various cases, especially sensitive ones.

• It was pointed out that the court-appointed amici curiae tended to even interfere in the running of organisations such as the CBI.
• He submitted that it is time the court frame guidelines to demarcate the role of an amicus curiae.

Amicus Curiae:

• An amicus curiae literally translates to “friend of the court”.
• An amicus curiae is someone who is not a party to a case who assists a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.
• The decision on whether to consider an amicus brief lies within the discretion of the court.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Coalition for Disaster
 Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic 
Consortia (INSACOG):

Q3. Consider the following statements:

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Mission POSHAN 2.0:

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 18 March 2021:- Download PDF Here