27 Nov 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: CONSTITUTION

1. Murmu, Modi laud women’s role in drafting Constitution

Syllabus: Indian Constitution.

Mains: Role of Women in drafting the constitution.

Prelims: Constitution day.

Context: Constitution day was celebrated on 26th November.

Details:

• The Constitution Day celebration was organized by the Supreme Court of India.
• President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the celebration. They lauded the role of women in the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution.
• November 26 is observed as Constitution Day. It was the day on which the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in the year 1949. 
• The day has been celebrated as Constitution day since 2015. Earlier it was observed as Law Day.
• President Droupadi Murmu urged the executive, judiciary, and legislature to evolve an effective dispute-resolution mechanism and mitigate the common man’s plight.
• During the event, the Chief Justice of India highlighted the significance of technology in justice administration. He further stressed the need to have more representation from marginalized communities in the legal profession. 

For more information on the Constitution of India, read here: Constitution of India – Features, Amendments & Preamble

Role of Women in drafting the Constitution:

• The Constituent Assembly had fifteen women members.
• Dakshayini Velayudhan belonged to a marginalized community and made important interventions for protecting the rights of the oppressed classes.
• Other Women members included Durgabai Deshmukh, Hansa Mehta, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, etc.

Nut Graf: Constitution Day was celebrated at the Supreme Court. The President and Prime Minister highlighted the role of Women in drafting the constitution of India.

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Preventing suicides: what is the new strategy?

Syllabus: Issues related to health.

Mains: Deaths associated with suicides.

Prelims: National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

Context: Release of National Strategy for suicide prevention.

Details:

• The nation’s first-ever National Strategy for Suicide Prevention was released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• It is structured similar to World Health Organization’s guidelines for Suicide Prevention in the South East Asian region. The strategy aims to adhere to the social and cultural requirements of India giving adequate recognition to field-level infrastructure.
• The vision of the strategy is to “create a society, where people value their lives and are supported when they are in need”. 
• Its objective is to reduce suicide mortality in India by 10% by the year 2030.
• The framework has a multi-stakeholder approach for the prevention of suicides in India. The intent is to synthesize stakeholder efforts with the motto of ‘energize to synergize’.
• The framework will guide every stakeholder to set targets, implement, monitor, and take corrective actions to prevent suicides.

For more information on Mental Health, read here: Mental Health Care – India’s Ticking Bomb? – BYJU’S

Need for Suicide Prevention Plan:

• As per the WHO data (2018), there were approximately 8 lakh deaths due to suicide across the world due to suicides.
• Nearly one-third of suicides occur among young people.
• The second leading cause of death among people aged between 15-29 years is suicide. It is also the second leading cause of death among females of age 15-19 years.
• Suicide is the number one cause of death among the 15-29 years population in India. The figures exceed those caused by road accidents and maternal mortality. 
• The contribution of India’s share due to suicide in the world has increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women. Among men, it has increased from 18.7% to 24.3%.
• Nearly 1 lakh lives are lost annually in India owing to suicide.
• The suicide rates have risen from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000 population in the previous three years.
• It was highlighted that unprecedented event like COVID-19 impact mental health and require special interventions.
• The most common causes of suicide are family problems and illnesses, accounting for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths in India respectively. Other reasons are bankruptcy/indebtedness, love affairs, marital conflicts,  substance use, and dependence. 

Highlights of the strategy:

• It involves a multiple stakeholders approach to prevent suicide. The Centre, the State and regional governance institutions, and the voluntary sector would have significant roles. 
• Ministries of Agriculture, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting,  Labour, Social Justice and Empowerment, Education, Women and Child Development, Information Technology, Youth Affairs, and Sports will be involved in implementing the strategy. 
• The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) would have a significant role in offering to implement support.
• The strategy would establish an effective surveillance mechanism for suicide prevention in the next three years. 
• Moreover, it will also set up psychiatric OPD in the next 5 years in all districts through the district mental health plan.
• The mental well-being curriculum would be integrated into all educational institutes within the next 8 years. 
• Another major component of the strategy is stigma reduction. It is observed that stigma is a major hurdle in the process of seeking counseling and treatment.
• The framework also includes sensitive India-specific issues like easy accessibility of pesticides. It leverages the media to spread awareness, de-stigmatize mental health, and promote responsible media reporting of suicide. 
• Another key part of the strategy is strengthening data collection associated with suicides. 
• It would also develop community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention.

Future Course of Action:

• According to experts, the priority areas should include reinforcing leadership, establishing institutional capacity, enhancing health services to provide suicide prevention, strengthening surveillance, and ensuring provisions for evidence generation.
• The political will should match the actual ground-level implementation.

Related Links: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Oct 12th, 2022 CNA. Download PDF

Nut Graf: Considering suicide to be a public health emergency, the government has proposed a National Strategy for Suicide prevention. It is a multi-stakeholder approach that aims to reduce the number of suicidal deaths in the country.

Category: INDIAN ECONOMY

1. Why is the Darjeeling Tea industry in crisis?

Syllabus: Industry- Tea.

Mains: Darjeeling Tea industry crisis.

Context: Darjeeling tea industry is facing acute stress.

Background Details: 

• The Tea Board of India had sought a special financial package of ₹1,000 crore from the Union government as Indian Tea has not been able to appropriately establish itself across the world. Moreover, Darjeeling Tea is under acute pressure.
• Darjeeling Tea:
  • It is referred to as the ‘Champagne of Teas’.
  • It was the first product in India to get the GI (Geographical Identification) tag in 2004 for its unique aroma and flavour. 
  • There are nearly 87 gardens in Darjeeling, employing approximately 55,000 workers to produce about 7 million kg of tea. 

For more information on the Tea Board of India, read here: Tea Board of India – Organising Committee and Responsibilities

Challenges/Issues with the Tea industry in India:

• According to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Commerce, the influx of substandard tea from countries like Nepal jeopardizes the tea industry in India.
  • As per the Revised Treaty of Trade between the Governments of India and Nepal in October 2009, both countries exempted the import of mutually agreed primary products from basic customs duty and quantitative restrictions. 
  • The Tea Association of India’s data points out that the total tea imported from Nepal in the year 2020-21 was 10.74 million kg; whereas the total tea imports from India was 27.75 million kg. 
  • It was highlighted that Nepal produces tea at a lower price owing to factors like fewer input costs, specifically labour, and fewer quality checks. However, the quality is inferior in comparison to Darjeeling Tea.
• Due to 107- day agitation and shutdown in the Darjeeling hills in 2017 tea production was halted. The production hit a low of 3.21 million kg. This resulted in increasing the pace of imported tea varieties from Nepal. 
• Various Tea planters and industry experts have admitted that the industry has not yet completely recovered from the 2017 crisis.
• Apart from the reduction in production, increased input costs is another cause of concern. Tea production in Darjeeling which earlier stood at 10-12 million kg has declined to 6.87 million kg (2021). 
• Other factors are climate change, declining yields, and high absenteeism among workers. 
• Moreover, due to the hilly terrain of Darjeeling, there is no land left for the expansion of tea gardens. 
• The tea bushes in Darjeeling are older than in other parts of the country. The process of uprooting and planting them is both time and cost-intensive.
• It should be noted that the average tea garden in Darjeeling is around 150 hectares in contrast to  400 to 500 hectares of foothills. The average yield per hectare of Darjeeling Tea is around 350 kg currently as against 542 kg in 2000. 
• According to the planters, the prices of the auction of Darjeeling Tea have stagnated. 
• The Indian Tea Association points out that prices of Darjeeling Tea in the last 6 years have increased at a cumulative annual growth rate(CAGR) of only 1.7%, even though the cost of input has increased by 10% to  12% CAGR.
• The notification of the Tea Board of India (2021) restricted the import and distribution of cheap quality tea. It further asked those packaging the tea to indicate the source of origin. This resulted in ‘Packeteers’ decreasing their purchase of Darjeeling tea.
• Other factors like the decline in demand from European markets due to the Russia-Ukraine war have compounded the problem.

Way Ahead:

• The Standing Committee of Parliament suggested that the Government should review and revisit the Indo-Nepal Treaty.
• It also recommended that Small Tea Growers (STGs) should also be recognized as GI-registered producers on a par with the 87 tea estates for ensuring better price premiums. 
  • It should be remembered that around 52% of tea in the country is produced by STGs. 
• Industry experts suggested that the domestic consumption of tea in India should be raised as the per capita tea consumption in India is only 850 grams.

Related Link: Tea rop

Nut Graf: The Darjeeling Tea industry is under acute crisis due to various reasons. The need of the hour is adequate assistance from the government both in terms of finance as well as guidelines to boost its business.

Q1.  Which of the following statements are correct? (Level- Moderate)

Q2. Which of the following statements are incorrect? (Level- Difficult)

Q3. The Gutti Koya tribe is mainly found in the states of – (Level- Moderate)

Q4.  Which of the following statements are correct? (Level- Moderate)

Q5. In the Indian history, The Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around(Level-Moderate)

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. India needs a proactive approach to counter China’s growing dominance over the rare earth metals. Elaborate. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS-3; Science and Technology)
2. Discuss some of the problems faced by Darjeeling tea growers. How can the government resolve these issues? (250 words; 15 marks) (GS-3; Agriculture)

Read the previous CNA here.