CNA 31 May 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related GOVERNANCE 1. After-effects of anti-corruption laws C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. India’s changing goal posts over coal D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials EDUCATION 1. Needed, education data that engages the poor parent HEALTH 1. Of lungs, trees and sin stocks F. Prelims Facts 1. Modi releases PM CARES benefits for ‘COVID orphans’ G. Tidbits 1. 10 Pacific island nations reject China security pact H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
1. After-effects of anti-corruption laws
Syllabus: Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency and Accountability
Mains: Concerns associated with strict anti-corruption laws
Context:
- “Bribe-switching”, a paper by American researchers analyses the unintended consequences of the strict implementation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
- The FCPA was enacted to prohibit firms and people in the United States from bribing public officials in foreign countries. It imposed heavy fines and other penalties on American firms engaging in corrupt practices.
Background:
- Corruption is a major obstacle to the development of a nation.
- Corruption undermines the institutional foundation on which economic growth depends. Corruption lowers the quality of public services and infrastructure, distorts government spending decisions, decreases tax and customs revenues, and damages confidence in the rule of law.
- This has led to the perception of strict anti-corruption laws being a solution to many of society’s problems. There is a perception that strict anti-corruption laws when enforced properly by government officials would lead to a fall in corruption and an improvement in the economy.
- In India, there have been calls for further empowering Lokpals and Lokayuktas.
Concerns with strict anti-bribery laws:
- Despite the good intention of anti-corruption laws, there have been many unintended consequences due to the implementation of such laws. The article takes the example of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to explain the concerns with such strict anti-bribery laws.
Growth of illegal black markets:
- There was no real decrease in the level of corruption among foreign officials after the enactment of the FCPA, instead, FCPA is believed to have led to the growth of illegal black markets.
- The research notes an increase in the size of the black economy by as much as 0.25 percentage points in some countries.
- The researchers propose what they call the “bribe-switching hypothesis” to explain this phenomenon wherein public officials resorted to obtaining bribes from the illegal market instead given that the cost of extracting bribes in the legal market increased due to laws like the FCPA.
- For example, a public official might allow the illegal sale of liquor in the black market to flourish in exchange for bribes when he/she cannot obtain bribes from established liquor firms.
- The illegal market offers the public officials bribe revenue at a lower risk of getting caught red-handed.
Increase in illegal activities:
- Illegal activities such as homicide rates, tree loss, and trade misinvoicing have risen in the black economies of some countries.
Impact on developmental projects:
- After the enactment of the FCPA, certain formal investment projects that would have earlier received approvals from officials after the payment of a bribe may no longer receive official approval.
Nut Graf
Though well intended, strict anti-corruption laws have some unintended consequences which need to be taken care of especially amid calls for such strict laws in India.
C. GS 3 Related
1. India’s changing goal posts over coal
Syllabus: Infrastructure: Energy
Mains: Challenges to India’s plan for a transition away from coal-based power
Background:
- The carbon-intensive nature of coal and India’s excessive reliance on coal power have raised concerns about the Indian power sector’s contribution to global warming and climate change which have been described as reasons for the increasing frequency and intensity of natural calamities.
- The power sector in India accounts for 49% of total carbon dioxide emissions, compared with the global average of 41%.
| Type of power | Installed capacity (as % of total capacity) |
| Coal-based | 51.5% |
| Natural gas-based | 6.3% |
| Renewal energy | 27% |
- India’s transition away from coal as a fuel has been gaining traction over the last few years with natural gas and renewable energy being held as alternatives for coal power.
- Coal emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas on a kilogram-to-kilogram comparison. Also, unlike coal, natural gas does not leave behind any solid residue upon combustion.
Challenges to transition away from coal:
- Despite plans to phase out coal-based power plants, India continues to remain dependent on coal-based power. According to the IEA’s Coal Report 2021, India’s coal consumption will increase at an average annual rate of 3.9% to 1.18 billion tonnes in 2024.
Increasing cost of natural gas:
- Natural gas has been dubbed as the transition fuel in India’s plans to move away from coal.
- The Russia-Ukraine war has resulted in an increase in the cost of natural gas. This has made it a financially unviable fuel to replace coal. Of the 25,000 MW of gas-based power plants, about 14,000 MW remains stranded, or idle, because they are financially unviable.
- Coal is still inexpensive compared with other sources of energy.
Challenges associated with renewable energy:
- The intermittent nature of renewable energy sources such as wind energy and solar energy is a major challenge associated with it.
- Storage technologies are still not mature enough to help renewable energy sources become reliable generators of power.
- Coal unlike renewable energy sources can give power on demand.
Coal availability crisis:
- The increased demand for power and the inability of domestic suppliers to meet the increased demand for coal has given rise to a coal availability crisis in India. This raises concerns about the power outage crisis in India.
- The domestic supply of coal is expected to be 154.7 MT, compared with the projected requirement of 197.3 MT.
- The Power Ministry has urged States to step up coal imports. The Union government is also trying to establish government-to-government channels for coal procurement.
Nut Graf
The transition away from carbon-intensive coal remains an urgent need for India. While constraints in this transition need to be addressed, in the immediate context India should focus on inculcating clean coal technology.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. Needed, education data that engages the poor parent
Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education and Human Resources.
Prelims: ASER and NAS survey
Background:
- Data from different education surveys like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) and the National Achievement Survey (NAS) have often come out with some contradicting observations.
- The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is led by the non-governmental organisation, Pratham, while the National Achievement Survey (NAS) is led by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
- While one report highlights the marked fall in learning outcomes, the other has highlighted improvement. For example, according to ASER 2019 data, Rajasthan was among the bottom five States in learning levels, while in NAS 2017, Rajasthan was among the top performers.
Concerns:
Limited utility of data:
- Currently, the surveys gather data on enrolments, retention, learning, infrastructure, and teacher training to understand the state of our public school system. This data is of limited utility to galvanize the masses. Much of the data generated by these well-known surveys has limited utility for the parents who send their children to government schools.
Lack of involvement of the people in policymaking:
- The district and school development plans introduced in national-level programmes such as the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have largely remained administrative practices. They do not incorporate the views of the parents and the masses.
Recommendations:
Better quality of data:
- There is the need to plan for a better quality of data which could be of utility to all stakeholders including parents who are one of the key constituencies of school data. There is also the need to intensify efforts to disseminate data among them.
- Actionable data for governance is the need of the hour.
Local vision of education:
- While a national-level policy on education is welcome, it alone won’t be sufficient. There is the need to evolve a vision at the State, district and local levels. This should be used to galvanize the local administrative and political system.
- There is the need to localize education policies keeping in line with the unique requirements.
Promoting people participation:
- Community-based consultative bodies such as the school management committees and parent-teacher committees should be empowered and their participation in policy-making facilitated.
Balancing objectives:
- The vision of school education must balance the immediate, tangible, popularly understandable objectives such as reading, writing as well as livelihood relevant skills and knowledge. Additionally, it should also incorporate aspects such as promoting peer connections, negotiating social diversity, and curiosity for new knowledge and experiences.
Nut Graf
Ensuring the availability of relevant and high-quality data which is connected with a locally developed and politically owned vision of school education can ensure the success of school education in India.
1. Of lungs, trees and sin stocks
Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health
Prelims: Tobacco production and consumption in India trends
Context:
- ‘World No Tobacco Day’ is being celebrated on May 31st.
- The ‘World No Tobacco Day’ is aimed to bring attention to the ill effects of tobacco.
- The theme for this year’s ‘World No Tobacco Day’ is ‘Poisoning our planet’ aimed to highlight the ill effects of tobacco on the environment.
Background:
Tobacco usage in India:
- As per the second Global Adult Tobacco Survey around 28.6% of all adults in India used tobacco in 2016-2017. As per this survey, 42.4% of men and 14.2% of women used tobacco in India in both the smokeless form, i.e., chewing tobacco, and smoked form, i.e., cigarettes and ‘bidis’.
- India stands second in tobacco consumption after China.
- India is also the world’s second-largest producer of tobacco.
Ill effects of tobacco:
Harm to health:
- In 2021, smoking killed about 8 million people.
- The direct health expenditure on treating tobacco-related diseases alone accounts for 5.3% of total health spending in India in a year as per the data available with WHO.
Harm to the environment:
- Cigarette production is resource-intensive. It leads to the cutting of trees resulting in the emission of around 84 million tonnes of CO2. It also involves the usage of around 22 billion litres of water.
- Cigarette butts, packaging, plastic pouches of smokeless tobacco and electronics and batteries associated with e-cigarettes contribute to environmental pollution.
Recommendations:
- There is a need for creating awareness about the ill effects of tobacco through more awareness campaigns.
- The campaigns should involve all stakeholders and, in this respect, should also highlight the impact it would have on tobacco growers and seek to find alternative livelihoods for such people.
- In the shorter timeframe, there is the need to transition towards more sustainable production practices.
- There should be an attempt to transition customers away from tobacco to smoke-free products.
Nut Graf
There is the need to adopt a gradual and progressive approach towards reducing tobacco usage in India, given not only its adverse impacts on health but also on the environment.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Modi releases PM CARES benefits for ‘COVID orphans’
Syllabus: GS Paper 2- Governance- Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States
Prelims: PM Cares for children scheme
Context:
- The Indian Prime Minister released the benefits under the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
PM CARES for children scheme:
- PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched in 2021 to support children who have lost both their parents or legal guardian or adoptive parents or surviving parent to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Children who lost both their parents or a primary caregiver between March 11, 2020, and February 28, 2022, are eligible for the scheme.
- The Scheme seeks to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children by providing Health Insurance, Education and Financial Support till they attain the age of 23 years.
- The scheme offers a lumpsum amount of ₹10 lakh when children turn 23 years old as well as a monthly stipend from the age of 18 to 23.
- School-going children will receive free education, textbooks and uniforms in the nearest government schools. Those in private schools may avail themselves of fee reimbursement. Students can also take loans for professional courses and higher education.
- The scheme also proposes health insurance to the children to meet any unforeseen medical expenses.
G. Tidbits
1. 10 Pacific island nations reject China security pact
- Ten Pacific Island nations have rebuffed China’s push for a wide-ranging regional security pact. This marks a diplomatic setback for China which has been trying to assert its presence in the South Pacific, directly challenging the influence of the United States and its allies in the strategically vital region.
- China had offered to train Pacific Island police, collaborate in the areas of cybersecurity and marine mapping along with the expansion of political ties. China had also offered millions of dollars in financial aid apart from proposals for a free trade agreement. However, Pacific leaders have serious misgivings about the offer and fear interference of China in their internal affairs and Chinese economic control.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Technologies such as ‘Kisan Sabha’ & ‘Gur Bhatti’ for Rural Development have been developed by – (Easy)
- Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
- NITI Aayog
- CSIR
- Indian Institute of Science
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Recently CSIR-NIScPR has undertaken a major initiative for the dissemination of CSIR technologies for creating livelihood opportunities in rural areas in the wake of the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, a farmer-industry-scientist meet was organized to disseminate the Kisan Sabha App and Gur Bhatti Technology to the farmers.
Q2. Which of the following statements are correct? (Moderate)
- National Supercomputing Mission is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Science and Technology along with C-DAC and IISc.
- Param Ananta, a state of the art Supercomputer at IIT Gandhinagar, has been recently dedicated to the nation under the mission.
- India has the third-highest number of supercomputers in the world.
Options:
- 1 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- As of November 2020, under ranking by the number of supercomputer systems, India is ranked 63rd in the world.
Q3. Which of the following statements are correct? (Moderate)
- China has been pushing for a security pact and free trade agreement with the Pacific Islands Forum.
- It has already signed one such agreement with the Solomon Islands.
- China is offering to radically ramp up its activities in the South Pacific to directly challenge the influence of the United States and its allies in the strategically vital region.
Options:
- 1 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Ten Pacific Island nations have rebuffed China’s push for a wide-ranging regional security pact. This marks a diplomatic setback for China which has been trying to assert its presence in the South Pacific, directly challenging the influence of the United States and its allies in the strategically vital region.
- China had offered to train Pacific Island police, and collaborate in the areas of cybersecurity and marine mapping along with the expansion of political ties. China had also offered millions of dollars in financial aid apart from proposals for a free trade agreement. However, Pacific leaders have serious misgivings about the offer and fear interference of China in their internal affairs and Chinese economic control.
- China has a security agreement with the Solomon Islands and a diplomatic relations agreement with Somoa.
Q4. Which of the following statements are incorrect? (Moderate)
- The National AI Portal is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, National e-Governance Division and NASSCOM.
- The portal focuses on creating and nurturing a unified AI ecosystem in the country to drive excellence and leadership in knowledge creation to develop an AI-ready robust workforce for the future and use AI to foster economic growth.
- It was launched in 2014.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- 3 only
- None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- National AI Portal was launched in 2020.
Q5. With reference to the carbon nanotubes, consider the following statements: (UPSC 2020) (Difficult)
- They can be used as carriers of drugs and antigens in the human body.
- They can be made into artificial blood capillaries for an injured part of human body.
- They can be used in biochemical sensors.
- Carbon nanotubes are biodegradable
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2, 3 and 4 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
- 1, 2, 3, and 4
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of single-layered carbon atoms (graphene). They find a lot of applications in the field of medical technology.
- Carbon nanotubes are biodegradable.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Despite all the hype around renewable sources of energy, they are still a long way away from being a credible alternative to coal. Comment. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS III- Energy)
- Tobacco consumption is at the root of multiple issues – health, economic and even environment. Elaborate. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS II – Governance)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 31 May 2022:- Download PDF Here
Comments