25 Nov 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 25 Nov 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
HEALTH
1. More hospital births, but limited gains in childhood nutrition: NFHS
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. The need for a proper Pre- Legislative Consultation Policy
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. ‘Bangladesh pact example of mutual respect’
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. Pointers that India is witnessing a K- shaped recovery
AGRICULTURE
1. A food crisis of the government’s own making
IT AND COMMUNICATIONS
1. A unified regulatory framework
F. Prelims Facts
1. Centre’s free foodgrain scheme on till March
G. Tidbits
1. ‘India first responder in Indian Ocean Region’
2. NITI Aayog for full-stack digital banks
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. The need for a proper Pre- Legislative Consultation Policy

Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy:

• The Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy was adopted in 2014. It was formulated based on the broad recommendations of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002).
• The policy mandates a host of rules for the pre-legislative process.
  • Whenever the Government intends to make any new law (bills, rules, regulations, etc.), it must place a draft version of the proposed bill in the public domain for at least 30 days.
  • Along with the draft, a note explaining the law in simple language and justifying the proposal, its financial implication, impact on the environment and fundamental rights, a study on the social and financial costs of the bill, etc. should also be provided.
  • The respective departments should upload the summary of all the feedback that they receive on the circulated draft.

Significance:

• The Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy provides a forum for citizens and relevant stakeholders to interact with the policymakers.
• Public consultations enhance transparency, increase accountability and could result in the building of an informed Government where citizens are treated as partners and not as subjects.
• Thus the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy helps create an institutionalised space for public participation in lawmaking processes.

Concerns:

• Despite explicit rules laid out under the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy, a large number of bills introduced in Parliament have been presented without any prior consultation. Also, of the few bills that have been placed in the public domain for comment, the majority of them did not adhere to the 30-day deadline.
• The absence of a statutory or constitutional right to pre-legislative consultation seems to be the major reason behind the lax implementation of the policy.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. ‘Bangladesh pact example of mutual respect’

Context:

• Indian Army chief’s speech during the seminar on ‘India-Bangladesh: 50 years of friendship’ organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.
  • 2021 marks the diamond jubilee of the 1971 war and also 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Details:

• Indian Army chief pointed out how the resolution of the land and maritime boundary issues between India and Bangladesh by mutual agreement marks a high point of the bilateral relationship but also makes for a good example in international relations on resolving border disputes through mutual negotiations and with a constructive outlook.
  • Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) 2014 verdict on the dispute regarding the delimitation of the maritime boundary between India and Bangladesh had awarded Bangladesh a substantial proportion of the disputed territory. This decision was accepted by India.
  • The 2015 Land Boundary Agreement resulted in the exchange of enclaves between India and Bangladesh. In addition, the choice of citizenship in either country was offered by states to enclave residents. This played a leading role in resolving the decades-old issue between the two neighbours.
• The Army Chief without naming China also pointed out how some countries are trying to alter the status quo by force, bypassing traditional norms and protocols and with complete disregard to the territorial integrity of others.
  • The comments come in the backdrop of continuing negotiations between India and China for disengagement and de-escalation towards ending the ongoing stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
• The Army Chief called for three ‘Ms’ — Mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual commitment to the rules-based order.

Read more on India – Bangladesh Relations.

Category: AGRICULTURE

1. A food crisis of the government’s own making

Context

Sri Lanka’s ban on imports of chemical fertilizers.

Organic Agriculture: Viable vs Sustainable 

• In the first half of this year, the island nation of Sri Lanka banned the import of chemical fertilizers to give a spurt to organic agriculture in the nation.
• There is no doubt that organic farming and products are beneficial for the environment and human beings alike.
• The concern regardings its viability for the mass production of food grains is a big question for the economies around the world.
• Scientific evidence-based consensus for a reduced yield in the case of organic agriculture, to the tune of almost 35%,  is alarming given the condition of food security.

Self-inflicted damage:

• While the push towards the organic culture is the need of the hour, the cost-benefit analysis should be done based on the scientific assessment of socio-economic impacts.
• The mid-season implementation of this policy, no plan for substitutes, even the incapacity to correctly assess the reduction in crop yield shows the unthoughtful and hasty decision being imposed on the poor farmers.
• There are high chances that an already debt-ridden nation will further deteriorate its conditions if it goes for 100% organic agriculture, which is unviable and unsustainable if we can say so.

Looming food crisis:

• The pandemic has affected the purchasing power of poor farmers and consumers alike.
• Shortage of food items and the rising cost of agriculture inputs will create a crisis even bigger than COVID itself.

Way forward:

A balance needs to be achieved between our aim of ecological sustainability and the right to food. Therefore, any decision of this magnitude needs to be well-calibrated before a top-down approach is applied.

Category: IT AND COMMUNICATIONS

1. A unified regulatory framework

Context

The overlap between telcos and the internet companies and the asymmetric regulatory stance

The telcos and Internet companies: An integrated sphere of cooperation and competition 

• The success of telcos and internet giants go hand in hand due to technological convergence.
• There is an ever-evolving and increasing share of both competition and cooperation between the two 21st century revolutions.
• A lot of complementarity and substitutions in terms of products and services drive these partnerships.

The new arenas:

• With the evolution of disruptive technologies such as 5G, OTT, and AI etc. we have chartered into new territories where coherence and parity in regulatory frameworks are necessary.
• The decreased volume of SMS, growth of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services offered by OTT service providers is also a threat to telcos
• For example, RJio has entered into an arrangement with Google for JioPhone Next to create an ecosystem of handsets, connectivity and applications.
• Such walled gardens often have a “platform captain” (i.e. Apple, RJio) that coordinates,  frames rules, key products, intellectual property and capital.

Net neutrality: Regulation and beyond

• Regulation for net neutrality was meant to stem the significant market power of telcos providing an essential service.
• It prohibits discriminatory treatment of Internet companies with respect to pricing and traffic management to eliminate any incentive for vertical integration.
• However, over the past decade, we saw many Internet companies also provide an essential service and enjoy significant market power e.g. web search market dominated by Google.

Way forward:

We have to think beyond net neutrality and take into the equation the idea of search neutrality. We observe the presence of vertical integration between the search engine company and downstream companies. Hence, these principles need to be applied to Internet companies just like the telcos for fair play. There is a need for a measure of regulatory parity between the two and a semblance of this convergence is visible in the European Union, which can be emulated.

2. NITI Aayog for full-stack digital banks

• NITI Aayog has proposed setting up full-stack ‘digital banks’ in India.
• These banks would not have physical branches but would rely principally on the Internet and other proximate channels to offer their services.
• Such a modus operandi will allow such banks to cut down their operating costs while also helping to deepen the financial inclusivity in the country given the enhanced reach that such a system offers.

Q1. Consider the following pairs:

Q2. With reference to Lithium, which of the following statements is/are correct? 

Q3. Consider the following statements:

Q4. India’s Strategic crude oil storages are located in which of the following places?

Q5. With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements: (UPSC -2017)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 25 Nov 2021:- Download PDF Here