02 Nov 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 02 Nov 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. The C-295 and India’s aircraft industry
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ENVIRONMENT
1. The weakest link in the air pollution fight
ECONOMY
1. The truth about ‘the India story’
F. Prelims Facts
1. Invasive tree spreading in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
G. Tidbits
1. Mulling remote vote facility for NRIs, govt. tells SC
2. Saffron fields turn stage for tourist shots
3. At SCO meet, Jaishankar targets BRI
4. Modi calls for road map to develop Mangarh Dham as a global tribal destination
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. The C-295 and India’s aircraft industry

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Prelims: About C-295 Aircraft 

Mains: Significance and the trends in the domestic aircraft manufacturing sector of India.

Context

The Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone for a manufacturing facility of the C-295 aircraft in Vadodara, Gujarat which would be set up by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space.

Background

• In September 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) agreed to a ₹21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space for the acquisition of 56 C-295MW aircraft along with associated equipment.
• Out of these 56 aircraft, 16 will be delivered to India in fly-away condition from Spain between September 2023 and August 2025 and the remaining 40 will be manufactured in the newly established facility and will be delivered between September 2026 and 2031 at the rate of eight aircraft per every year.
• Further, manufacturing of more than 13,400 detail parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all the seven major component assemblies will be undertaken in India, along with tools, jigs and testers.

C-295MW Aircraft Image Source: airbus.com                       C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft with a 5 to 10 tonne capacity. C-295MW transporter aircraft is a new-generation tactical airlifter in the light and medium segments and can be used for undertaking logistic operations to locations that are not accessible by heavier aircraft. It was initially designed and manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA. C-295MW aircraft can also be used to perform a wide range of missions such as parachute and cargo dropping, maritime patrol, electronic signals intelligence, medical evacuation, etc. Read more about – C-295MW Aircraft

Significance of the move

• Through this move, the new-generation C-295MW aircraft will be replacing the ageing Avro aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) which were procured in the 1960s. 
  • The C-295 aircraft are also mooted as potential replacements for the AN-32 aircraft which are regarded as the workhorse of the IAF.
• The manufacturing facility in Vadodara will facilitate technology transfer as, before the start of manufacturing, over 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain for the project.
• The move will provide key momentum to the domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem and result in the development of a strong private industrial aerospace ecosystem across the country. 
• This move is also expected to generate over 15,000 skilled direct and indirect jobs across the aerospace ecosystem, with over 125 suppliers qualified on global quality standards across India.

Trends in the domestic aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in India

• In the last 20 years, Indian companies (both public as well as private) have been increasing their presence in the global supply chains of major defence and aerospace equipment by manufacturing and supplying a wide range of components.
  • Example: The Boeing company’s sourcing from India stood at $1 billion annually out of which over 60% is in manufacturing, through a network of over 300 suppliers out of which 25% are MSMEs.
  • Further, Tata is involved in a joint venture with Boeing to manufacture aero-structures for its AH-64 Apache helicopter which include fuselages, secondary structures, vertical fin structures and vertical spar boxes fuselages. 
    • Tata also manufactures Crown and Tail-cones for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
  • Likewise, Lockheed Martin has signed joint ventures with TASL in Hyderabad which has manufactured over 180 empennages for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and delivered 157 S-92 helicopter cabins. 
• The other joint ventures signed by Indian companies also include the manufacturing of complex fighter wings with more than 70% of detail parts produced indigenously. 
• The joint ventures signed to date have been estimated to have breached the $600 million worth of exports and accounted for about $200 million in Indian industry revenue.
• The recent simplification of the export regulations on India by the U.S. has also provided further impetus to the sector.

Trends in India’s civil aviation sector

• According to experts, India has a much more significant footprint in civil aviation manufacturing than defence as India is a major market itself. Both Airbus and Boeing do significant sourcing from India for their civil programmes.
• As per Airbus, at present every commercial aircraft manufactured by the company is partly designed and made in India. Airbus also buys manufactured parts and engineering services which are worth over $650 million every year from Indian suppliers.
• Further, hundreds and thousands of pilots and engineers are being trained in the training centres established by these industry giants.

Way forward

• India is said to be home to the world’s fastest-growing aviation sector and is expected to become one of the top three countries in the world in terms of air traffic in the near future.
• Experts believe that India would require about 2000 more passenger and cargo aircraft in the next 10-15 years and India has the opportunity to become a regional hub for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations.
• However, the private defence sector is still in its incipient stage and it is to be noted that a conducive and stable regulatory and policy environment will play the key to achieve the expected numbers and targets.

Nut graf: At a time when India is moving ahead with the vision of “Make in India” and “Make for the Globe”, the setting up of the manufacturing facility for C-295 aircraft is seen as a significant step forward for India in the global aircraft manufacturing domain as this is the first time that a private company will be manufacturing a full aircraft in India.

Category: ECONOMY

1. The truth about ‘the India story’

Syllabus: GS3, Indian economy.

Mains: India’s economic performance

Context: India’s declining growth rate.

India’s economic performance in the past few years:

• Indian economy is somewhere ‘in between’, implying that it is neither doing too well nor performing badly.
• Though the exchange rate of the Indian rupee is very poor and inflation is at 7.41%, these are due to global phenomena and nearly all currencies are losing out against the U.S. dollar.
• India is performing poorly in terms of employment generation. The unemployment rate is as high as 7.8%. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) data, collated and presented by the World Bank, youth unemployment in India (for the age group 15 – 24 years) is at 28.3%. This places India in the group of troubled West Asian countries like Iran (27.2%), Egypt (24.3%), and Syria (26.2%), and in a much worse situation in comparison to many Asian countries like Indonesia (16%), Malaysia (15.6%), and Bangladesh (14.7%).
• The GDP growth of India in 2021-22 was 8.7%, which was among the highest in the world. But it should be noted that this growth is relative to the growth during the pandemic. In 2020-21, it was minus 6.6%, placing India in the bottom half of the global growth chart. 
• The International Monetary Fund has cut India’s growth forecast to 6.1% for the year 2022-23. Two concerns associated with this are: 
  • Most of the growth is happening at the top end. With a high unemployment rate, it is very likely that large segments of the population are actually experiencing negative growth. 
  • Another concern is India’s own sliding performance in comparison to its previous performance.

India’s economic growth story:

• Post-independence, India experienced slow growth for nearly four decades. Its growth rose significantly in the 1990s due to the economic reforms of 1991-93. 
• In 2003, it rose further, and India joined the ranks of the Asian super performers. From 2005 to 2008, it achieved top positions in most of the charts and grew at, 9.3%, 9.2%, and 10.2% for three consecutive years. However, the official Indian estimates about the growth for these years have been revised downwards. The latest Economic Survey has cut these growth rates to 7.9%, 8.0%, and 8.0% respectively. 
• Despite this downward revision, India stood out in global rankings from 2003 to 2011 (except for the great recession of 2008-09). 
• The economic slowdown in India began much before the COVID-19 pandemic. It started in 2016 and for four consecutive years, the year-on-year growth rate was lower than the previous year. The following table shows the growth rate of India from 2016 to 2021.

• This downward spiralling of growth rates for four consecutive years has happened for the first time since 1947.

For more information on economic reforms, read here: Economic Reforms of 1991

Investment rate of India:

• One of the major reasons behind India’s poor performance over the last six years is the low investment rate.
  • The investment rate is the fraction of the national income that is spent on infrastructure development like roads, bridges, factories, and also human capital. 
• For many years India had a low investment rate translating into slow growth. The investment rate gradually rose and crossed the 30% mark in the year 2004-05.  It reached 39.1% in the year 2007-08. This was the first time India was growing faster than the super performers. 
• The investment rate remained just below 40% for 6 years and then began to drop gradually. It had fallen to 32.2% by the year 2019-20.
• There are several drivers for the investment rate in the country like monetary and fiscal policies. It also depends on social and political factors. The level of trust in the economy also determines the investment rate.

Way Ahead:

• The policy focus should shift from a few rich corporations to farmers, small businesses, and ordinary labourers that constitute a large section of the population. 
• Moreover, there should be fiscal policy interventions that transfer income to the poor segments of society. This can be a significant step as inequality has disproportionately risen in India in the past few years.
• It is also important to build trust among the general public and focus more on inclusive growth. 

Nut Graf: India has seen a mixed economic growth story in the past. It should learn from its previous experience and reverse the declining trend that it is experiencing since 2016. India has a huge economic prospect owing to its strong fundamentals and abundant talent.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Invasive tree spreading in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Syllabus: GS-3; Environment and Biodiversity

Prelims: About Senna spectabilis and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Context

An invasive species named Senna spectabilis is said to have taken over 800 to 1,200 hectares of the buffer zones of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

Details

• In recent years, bright yellow flowers of Senna spectabilis have become more prominent in the Tiger Reserve. 
• As per conservationists, the invasive plant will have adverse effects on local biodiversity as it crowds out native species and limits food availability for wildlife.
• Senna spectabilis and Lantana camara are among five major invasive weeds that have taken over the Nilgiri forests and are affecting the local biodiversity.
  • Eucalyptus and pine are also considered exotic and invasive but do not spread as fast as the other species and are considered easier to manage.
• According to the Forest Department officials, policy-level discussions are taking place on the prospects of Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) using the wood from Senna spectabilis for paper-making and efforts are underway by the Forest Department to devise a 10-year-plan to systematically remove Lantana camara.

Learn more about – Alien or Invasive species

Senna spectabilis

Image Source: india.wcs.org

• Senna spectabilis is an exotic tree species belonging to the Fabaceae family.
• Senna spectabilis is native to South and Central America and other parts of tropical America.
• Senna spectabilis is used as an ornamental tree and is also used for firewood.
• The species is known for its bright yellow flowers that bloom during the summer months and hence it is also regarded as “golden wonder tree”.
• Senna spectabilis has been commonly used in traditional medicine and it is known to have antibacterial, antibiofilm, antifungal and antioxidant properties.
• However, Senna spectabilis is considered an invasive species in places like India, Australia, Uganda, and Cuba as it is very hardy, survives under extreme conditions, and eradicating it from a landscape is a challenging task which can take years.
• It is considered an environmental weed by the Global Compendium of Weeds as it grows extremely fast, flowers and sets seed profusely, and re-sprouts immediately when cut.

2. Saffron fields turn stage for tourist shots

• The Tourism Department of Jammu and Kashmir has invited students and local farmers to join the saffron festival organised in Pampore’s Ladoo area to highlight the process of saffron cultivation. 
• Saffron is a powerful spice that is rich in antioxidants and over 30,000 families living in about 226 villages in J&K are associated with the spice business. 
• Students from Pampore in south Kashmir wore traditional attire and recreated the look of 16th-century Kashmiri poet and queen Habba Khatoon to attract tourists for social media reels and unique experiences.
• The karewas in the Pampore region are known for being one of the costliest spices in the country.

3. At SCO meet, Jaishankar targets BRI

• By saying that “Connectivity projects must respect sovereignty issues” the External Affairs Minister of India targeted the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China, at a virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The External Affairs Minister also proposed more trade through Iran’s Chabahar port and the International North South Transport (INST) Corridor that India is a part of and also said that India aims to improve bilateral trade with Central Asian countries. 
  • India had refused to join the BRI and has been promoting the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar and the link through the INSTC as an alternative to both the BRI and to transit trade through Pakistan.
• The Minster further said that the total trade between India and SCO Members is only $141 billion and has the potential to increase manifold. He added that fair market access will be mutually beneficial and the only way forward.
• The Minister also held that India will foster greater cooperation with SCO member states to combat the food crisis, especially with millets. 
• It is to be noted that all the SCO countries also criticised the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions not endorsed by the UN Security Council and said the sanctions adversely affect the global economy.

4. Modi calls for road map to develop Mangarh Dham as a global tribal destination

• The Prime Minister of India urged for preparing a road map to develop Mangarh Dham as a tribal destination with a prominent identity at the global level.
• Mangarh Dham is located near the Rajasthan-Gujarat boundary and is known for the massacre of tribal people by the British Indian Army in 1913.
• Over 1,500 Bhil tribals and forest dwellers were killed in Mangarh on November 17, 1913, when the British Indian Army openly fired on the protesters who were demanding the abolition of the bonded labour system and relaxation of agricultural taxes imposed by the rulers of princely states. 
• The tribes in the southern Rajasthan region were led by Govind Guru who was a tribal leader and social reformer.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Mangarh massacre of 1913: 
(Level – Difficult)

1. Nearly 1,500 Bhil tribals and forest dwellers were killed, when the British Indian Army opened fire on the protesters who were demanding the abolition of bonded labour system and relaxation from high agricultural taxes.
2. Govind Guru was a prominent leader of the protest.

Which of the above statements is/are correct? 

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both the statements
4. Neither of the two statements

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct, Nearly 1,500 Bhil tribals and forest dwellers were killed, when the British Indian Army opened fire on the protesters who were demanding the abolition of the bonded labour system and relaxation from high agricultural taxes.
• Statement 2 is correct, The tribes in the southern Rajasthan region were led by Govind Guru who was a tribal leader and social reformer.

Q2. Consider the following statements about the Senna spectabilis tree. (Level 
– Difficult)

1. It is an exotic species found in India and native to Central and South America.
2. It is most known for ornamental purposes and is also used as shade trees and is cultivated for fuel wood in some regions.
3. It has become an invasive species in many parts of South India.

Which of the above statements is/are correct? 

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

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct, Senna spectabilis is an exotic tree species found in India which is native to Central and South America.
• Statement 2 is correct, Senna spectabilis is most known for ornamental purposes and is also used as shade trees and is cultivated for fuel wood in some regions.
• Statement 3 is correct, In recent years the bright yellow flowers of Senna spectabilis have become more prominent in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and the invasive plant is having adverse effects on local biodiversity.

Q3. India has signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement with which of the 
following countries? (Level – Medium)

1. Japan
2. U.S.
3. Australia 
4. Israel

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• On April 2nd 2022, India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). 
• This landmark bilateral trade pact is the second trade agreement India has signed recently after signing a similar deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February 2022.

Q4. Which of the following countries do not border the Black Sea? (Level – Medium)

1. Bulgaria
2. Romania
3. Greece
4. Georgia

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

Image Source: World Atlas

Q5. Consider the following statements: (Level – Medium) PYQ (2019)

1. Agricultural soils release nitrogen oxides into the environment.
2. Cattle release ammonia into the environment.
3. Poultry industry releases reactive nitrogen compounds into the environment.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct, Agricultural soils represent a very large, and growing, global source of nitrous oxide.
• Statement 2 is correct, Cattle release ammonia into the environment. Cattle account for 80% of ammonia production.
• Statement 3 is correct, Poultry industry releases reactive nitrogen compounds into the environment.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In order to truly live up to our democratic values, India must give remote voting facilities to migrants as well. Critically analyze. (250 words; 15 marks) [GS-2, Polity]
2. Discuss the initiatives taken by the Government of India to boost saffron production in the country. (250 words; 15 marks) [GS-3, Agriculture]

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 02 Nov 2022:- Download PDF Here