31 Mar 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Why PM CARES, asks Cong.
C. GS 3 Related
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Cauvery and its tributaries look cleaner as pandemic puts a halt to pollution
ECONOMY
1. The cost of the lockdown is pegged at about $120 billion
2. NRIs can now invest in specified govt. bonds
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. A threat to food security
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Short end of the stick
F. Prelims Facts
1. MCA to waive firms’ late filing charges
2. A novel air purifier to disinfect hospitals in COVID-19 fight
G. Tidbits
1. Rabi harvest to be affected for want of farm workers
2. SEBI relaxes debt default norms, raters can go easy
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. Why PM CARES, asks Cong.

Context:

The Union Government has set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), a public charitable trust in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

PM CARES Fund:

• PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust set up by the government in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Prime Minister is the chairman of the trust and its members include the Defence Minister, the Home Minister and the Finance Minister.
• This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead.
• The Indian Railways has pledged Rs 151 crore from employees’ salaries towards the PM-CARES Fund.

PM’s National Relief Fund:

• Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established entirely with public contributions and does not get any budgetary support.
• PMNRF accepts voluntary contributions from Individuals, Organizations, Trusts, Companies and Institutions, etc.
• All contributions towards PMNRF are exempt from Income Tax under Section 80(G).
• The resources of the PMNRF are utilized to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc.
• The fund, assists partially, to defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgery, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment of needy people and acid attack, etc.

Issues:

• Setting up of the PM CARES Fund to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by the Prime Minister has been questioned, when the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is already in existence.
  • PM-CARES is different from the PM’s Relief Fund that has been used by the Union government for years even till the recent Kerala floods and other crises.
  • However, in view of the coronavirus crisis, the government has set up the new fund named PM-CARES.
• Some critics have pointed out that money was lying unspent in the PMNRF.
  • The PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) has an unspent balance of ₹3,800 crore (as of December 16, 2019).

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Cauvery and its tributaries look cleaner as pandemic puts a halt to pollution

Context:

The strict enforcement of the 21-day lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has turned out to be a boon for Cauvery and other rivers in the old Mysuru region as the prohibition of industrial and religious activities has helped reduce the pollution level in river waters.

Issues:

• While some industries were discharging untreated effluents/chemicals into Cauvery, pilgrims were dumping tonnes of waste materials, including clothes every day.
• Untreated sewage from residential areas; pollutants from industries; religious waste materials from pilgrims and construction debris had been polluting the rivers.
• Waters of these rivers contained hazardous elements such as lead, fluoride, faecal coliform and some suspended solids in highly dangerous quantities.
• According to an estimate, at least 3,000 people visit these places and temples in Srirangapatna every day and dump tonnes of plantain leaves, garlands, clay pots, coconuts, photos of deities, clothes, polythene covers, leftover food and other puja material in Cauvery.

Details:

• The lockdown has significantly brought down the pollution level in rivers.
• According to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the quality of water in Cauvery and tributaries like Kabini, Hemavati, Shimsha and Lakshmanathirtha is back to what it used to be decades ago.

Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources (MINARS) and the Global Environmental Monitoring Scheme (GEMS):

• The inland water quality monitoring network is operated under a three-tier programme i.e. GEMS, Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources System and Yamuna Action Plan.
• The Central Pollution Control Board started national water quality monitoring in 1978 under Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS), Water Programme.
• Parallel to GEMS, a National Programme of Monitoring of Indian National Aquatic Resources (MINARS), was started in 1984.
• Under the Water Quality Monitoring Network, water samples are being analysed for 28 parameters consisting of physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters for ambient water samples apart from the field observations. Besides this, 9 trace metals are analysed in selected samples.
• Bio-monitoring is carried out in specific locations.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: ECONOMY

1. A threat to food security

Context:

The article talks about the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security.

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic is putting an enormous strain on public health systems around the world. The large scale lockdowns and travel restrictions will entail economic and social hardships.

Details:

Food security for all:

• Despite some reports of panic buying and shortage in supermarkets, as of now, COVID-19 has not entailed much strain on food security.
• Though there is enough supply of food in the world to feed everyone, the world must prepare to face the enormous risk that food may not be made available where it is needed.
• The present crisis posed by the pandemic could become all the more worse if there is a disruption of food supply chains leading to shortage of food for millions. This would contribute to the increasing number of fatalities.
• A globally coordinated and coherent response is needed to prevent this public health crisis from triggering a food crisis in which people cannot find or afford food.

Concerns:

• There are concerns that the pandemic and the measures in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus may lead to the disruption of food supply chains.

Backward linkage factors:

• The closure of industries might lead to the shortage of fertilizers, veterinary medicines and other input, which could affect agricultural production.
• Restrictions of movement may impede farmers from farming.
• The non availability of labour might also affect the farmers in developing countries which are still reliant on labour for farming activities like sowing, harvesting and weeding operations.
• The disruptions in the supply chains could affect the availability of quality seeds for the farmers.

Forward linkage factors:

• The closures and lockdowns have created logistical bottlenecks that affect the long value chains of the modern global economy.
• Restrictions of movement and closure of industries may impede food processing industries, which handle a large share of the agricultural products.
• The closures of restaurants and grocery shops and supermarkets operating at less than optimal levels may diminish demand for fresh produce and fisheries products.
• This reduced demand will affect both producers and suppliers given the fact that perishables like fruits, vegetables and animal products do not have long shelf lives. The lack of sufficient and quality warehousing facility will only exacerbate the crisis.
  • The Rabi season’s wheat procurement has been delayed in states like Punjab and Haryana due to Covid-19. Labour shortage and lack of adequate transportation are set to hit the process. The lack of quality storage facilities has raised the fears of spoilage of the produce.

Long term impact on food security:

• The reduced demand and reduced prices and subsequently the reduced income would be especially severe on smallholder farmers.
• The retreat of these smallholder farmers from farming would have long-term consequences for the world’s increasingly urbanized population and its food security.

Threat of wrong policy decisions:

• Uncertainty about food availability can induce policymakers to implement trade restrictive measures in order to safeguard national food security.
• During the 2007-2008 global food price crisis, export restrictions were put in place by exporting countries to increase food availability domestically.
  • This led to serious disruptions in the world food market, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.
  • The measures proved extremely damaging, especially for low-income food-deficit countries and to the efforts of humanitarian organizations to procure supplies for the needy and vulnerable.
  • The restrictions only exacerbated the situation.
• There is the need to guard against such hasty policy decisions.

Exacerbate the suffering of the poor:

• The poorest countries face severe nutritional challenges.
  • There are 113 million people experiencing acute hunger in the world.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population is undernourished.
• Any disruptions to food supply chains will intensify both human suffering and the challenge of reducing hunger around the world.
• Any food crisis as a result of poor policymaking will lead to a humanitarian disaster.

Way forward:

• The global community must take immediate actions to minimize disruptions to food supply chains.

Global approach:

• Policymakers must avoid tightening food supply conditions.
• Though every country faces its own challenges, collaboration between governments and the other sectors and stakeholders is very important.
• The global problem requires a global response to be dealt with. Global markets are critical for smoothening supply and demand shocks across countries and regions.

Credible information:

• To maintain the proper functioning of the food markets, there is a need to ensure that information on prices, production, consumption and stocks of food is available to all stakeholders in real time.
• This approach will reduce uncertainty and allow producers, consumers, traders and processors to make informed decisions and to contain unwarranted panic behaviour in global food markets.

Government’s role:

• Given the vulnerability of the poor, the government must take responsibility to ensure food security to the poor and needy during this period.
• The government must also support the farmers, especially the small and marginal farmers to ensure sufficient resources are available for them to carry on their farming.
• The government should collaborate with relevant stakeholders and sectors to ensure that disruptions of food supply chains are minimized as much as possible.

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Short end of the stick

Context:

• Hardship faced by the migrant labourers in the light of the lockdown.

Background:

• The lockdown measures have been in place to slow down the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The measures taken to address the public health challenge have also led to a humanitarian crisis for many among the poorer segments of India’s urban population.
• The most affected section due to the lockdown has been the inter-State migrant worker community.
• Thousands of these migrant labourers have been leaving cities, even on foot, for their towns in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and elsewhere.

Details:

Vulnerability of the migrant workers:

Livelihood opportunities:

• The migrant workers are largely dependent upon casual and daily wage labour and unorganized retail.
• The lockdown would severely affect their livelihood opportunities.
• Citing the uncertainty of employment, and therefore of money and resources, these migrant labourers sought the comfort of the social net in their towns and wanted to return back.

Lifestyle:

• Most of the migrant workers live in cramped spaces where it would be difficult to maintain physical distancing.
• The lack of hygiene and sanitation facilities makes this section highly vulnerable to such epidemics.

Primary breadwinners:

• An analysis of the migration trend shows that a major portion of the rural-urban migration constitutes the migration of men to cities in search of better employment opportunities.
• They are generally the primary breadwinners, and the survival of their families back home is entirely dependent on these migrant labourers. The anxiety of being affected by the virus drove many to return to their families.

Criticism of government policy:

Short notice:

• The Central government announced the lockdown with just a four-hour notice, making it even harder for the migrant labourers to figure out ways to face the challenge of a lockdown.

Lack of understanding:

• The lockdown has a disproportionate impact on the socioeconomic conditions of the poor and unorganized sector.
• The lack of social security among the poor makes it difficult for them to practise social distancing. They are mostly dependent upon daily and even hourly wage earnings. The lockdown would lead to an income security challenge to them.

Lack of planning:

• There have been suggestions that given the prior warnings of COVID-19, the situation could have been handled much better. There have been concerns that the decision was arbitrary, unplanned and ill-prepared.
• The lockdown was not accompanied by practical and necessary relief measures.

Lack of support from government:

• The movement of the labourers towards their hometowns was not aided by the government.
• There have been some sections which have argued that if the government was willing to evacuate Indians from other countries, why similar intent is not being shown to make sure that the poor migrant labourers reach their hometown.

Counter arguments:

• The need for a very short notice before lockdown was considered essential given the fact that a larger time lag would lead to large scale movement of people and make it difficult to contain the spread of the epidemic.
• The decision for a lockdown at the earliest was considered necessary given the examples of other countries like Italy and Spain where a delay in lockdown had substantially increased the number of cases. The intention was to announce the lockdown and then taken necessary actions for easing the pressure on the citizenry.
• The first priority during such a crisis has to be tackling the health challenge, which can be followed by other measures. The economic package by the government in the form of the Garib Kalyan Yojana was directed at easing the pressure on the vulnerable.
• Given the daunting scale of tracking that would be required if the migration was allowed, the government chose not to allow migration of the labourers to their hometowns. The possible spread of the virus in the rural hinterlands would be beyond the carrying capacity of the Indian health system.

Steps being taken:

• The Union Home Ministry has directed State and Union Territory governments to enforce the lockdown strictly and prevent migrants from leaving cities.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued orders to stop the home-bound and quarantine them for 14 days.
• It has issued notices to States to open highway relief camps with essentials for the stranded poor, while observing physical distancing norms.

For more on this, click on the below link:

CNA dated March 30, 2020

Way forward:

For the stranded migrants:

• The proposed quarantine camps must be well equipped with sufficient supplies of essential items for all.
• Governments must use schools and college hostels for the migrants to stay and also utilize the Public Distribution System to provide food.
• Governments must show resolve, commitment, and compassion to deal with the migrant crisis.
• Civil society must come forward and support the most vulnerable.

For the migrant’s en route to their hometowns:

• For the migrants already en route to their places, there should be proper screening en route and they should be informed of the practical health protocols to be practiced during the first 14 days.
• These migrants need to be put under observation, further screening, isolation, testing, and quarantine where required.
• The affected families also have to be given minimum guarantees of food, health, and some income by the government during the lockdown.

G. Tidbits

1. Rabi harvest to be affected for want of farm workers

What’s in News?

The lakhs of migrant workers streaming to their home villages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have left many farmers across the country bereft of agricultural labour just before the crucial harvesting season of the rabi or winter crop.

• Wheat, mustard, rabi paddy, maize, chickpeas and soyabean are amongst the major crops harvested during this season.

Issues:

• If the harvesting is postponed beyond 7 or 8 days, the grain would shatter.
• Farmers also worry about government procurement and their ability to sell their crops, given that many mandis or agricultural markets are closed, despite fresh Home Ministry orders to exempt all such farming activities from the shutdown.
• Many of the mechanical combine harvesters owned by Punjab and Haryana farmers are also stuck in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which harvest their wheat earlier than the northern States.

Relief on crop loans:

• The Centre has offered some relief on crop loans up to ₹3 lakh which are due for repayment between March and May 2020, by deciding to extend 2% interest subvention to banks and 3% prompt repayment incentive to all farmers up to May 31, 2020.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) is situated in:

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Tamil Nadu
3. Telangana
4. Madhya Pradesh

See

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Prime Minister's National 
Relief Fund (PMNRF):

1. The fund assists partially, to defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgery, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment of needy people.
2. All contributions towards PMNRF are exempt from Income Tax under Section 80(G).
3. PMNRF does not receive any budgetary support.

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

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 3 only
4. None of the above

See

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to “Sodium hypochlorite”:

1. It is commonly used as a bleaching agent or disinfectant.
2. Sodium hypochlorite is corrosive.
3. It is industrially synthesized by the Hooker process.

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

See

Q4. Which of the following are the tributaries of River Cauvery?

1. Kabini
2. Hemavati
3. Koyna
4. Musi
5. Shimsha

Choose the correct option:

1. 1, 2 and 5 only
2. 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
3. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
4. 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

See