18 Oct 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. How synergistic barriers are affecting progress on SDGs

Syllabus: Government policies and interventions aimed at development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Development processes and the development industry – the role of NGOs, Self Help Groups, various groups and associations, institutional and other stakeholders.

Mains: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their importance in addressing various global challenges such as poverty, hunger, climate change, and sustainable development.

Prelims: About Sustainable Development Goals

Context

The article discusses the challenges faced in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on the investment gap, synergies, and trade-offs within the SDGs.

Introduction

• At the recent SDG Summit in New York, world leaders expressed concern over the lack of progress on various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and committed to an SDG stimulus of $500 billion annually.
• The 17 SDGs make up 169 targets, and the world is currently on track to meet only 15% of these targets, indicating a substantial gap.

The Investment Gap

• A 2023 report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that developing countries face an investment gap of over $4 trillion to achieve the SDGs.
• Almost $2 trillion of this amount is needed for the transition to clean energy.

Synergies and Trade-offs

• The SDGs are inherently interconnected, and their pursuit involves both synergies (positive interactions) and trade-offs (competing goals).
• Academic literature has identified five types of (dis)synergies that can be estimated in the value chain of an SDG intervention, which include resource allocations, enabling environments, co-benefits, cost-effectiveness, and saturation limits.
• The lack of synergistic action in SDG implementation is highlighted in a UN Expert Group Report titled ‘Synergy Solutions for a World in Crisis: Tackling Climate and SDG Action Together.’

Policy Challenges

• While robust policymaking processes often acknowledge synergistic outcomes, policy implementation may face challenges in leveraging these synergies.
• The example of India’s renewable energy push is cited, where the focus on energy security and air pollution lacked the necessary linkage to health benefits.
• The ambitious targets for renewables also created barriers for small-scale applications due to misalignment between targets and specific needs, such as those of health centres.

Addressing Barriers and Opportunities

• Recognizing interlinks between the SDGs is crucial, but it must be accompanied by an analysis and understanding of institutional barriers to realising synergies.
• Strengthening the environment for synergistic action and transparently assessing opportunities and limits to synergies are essential.
• Investments in high-carbon outcomes may result in higher trade-offs in achieving energy and climate goals.
• Investing in clean energy options can have a significant synergistic impact on air pollution and human health, making such interventions more attractive.

Nut Graf: Understanding and addressing synergies and barriers to SDG implementation are critical to successful outcomes. The example of India’s renewable energy push highlights the importance of comprehensive policy alignment and coordination to maximise synergistic benefits.

C. GS 3 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Centralized procurement as a powerful health idea

Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

GS- II

Category- Social Issues

Prelims-  Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE), National Health Accounts Estimates

Mains-  Affordable Health Care, Affordable access to medicines

Introduction: 

• According to the National Health Accounts Estimates for India, Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in Total Health Expenditure stands at 47.1% in 2019-20. 
• Studies have shown that medicines form the biggest chunk of out-of-pocket expenditure.

 

Decentralized vs Centralized Procurement

• Decentralized procurement leads to problems with price negotiation and quality control.
  • Individual franchisees may not be able to negotiate as favorable prices as a centralized team due to economies of scale.
  • Different franchisees may have different standards for acceptable quality and taste, leading to inconsistent products across locations.
• Centralized procurement can help address these issues by leveraging larger volumes for better pricing and ensuring consistent quality.
• This raises questions about how hospitals could improve their drug procurement processes, suggesting potential benefits from adopting a similar centralized approach.

Success Stories

• A recent study titled “A National Cancer Grid pooled procurement initiative, India” demonstrated the effectiveness of group negotiation and uniform contracts in reducing drug costs.
• The study showed that hospitals associated with the National Cancer Grid saved ₹13.2 billion by pooling their procurement efforts for 40 drugs, resulting in savings ranging from 23% to 99%.
• The authors of the study concluded that group negotiation in pooled procurement can be applied to other health systems beyond cancer treatment.

Current Status in India

• The Central government has not realized the benefits of pooled procurement for schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), and the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESI).
• Corporate hospital chains are aware of the benefits of pooled procurement and have been conducting direct negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to avail significant discounts.
• Patients at these hospitals still pay the maximum retail price for the drugs, but the hospitals benefit from the lower costs due to their bulk purchasing power.
• The current system allows corporate hospitals to profit from the difference between the maximum retail price charged to patients and the lower price they pay due to their bulk purchasing power.
• It is unclear why more hospitals do not form buyer’s clubs to benefit from better bargaining power and pass on the cost savings to patients.

Potential Solutions

• The government is already benefiting from pooled procurement and price discovery, as seen in the case of male contraceptives.
• In the male contraceptive procurement process, the government invites tenders from private manufacturers and then offers to buy from all those who are willing to match the lowest price.
• To prevent suppliers from colluding to keep prices high, the government uses HLL Lifecare Ltd., a public sector unit with the highest manufacturing capacity in India, to provide a benchmark price.
• The government can adopt a similar approach for most drugs it procures, using pharma PSUs to provide benchmark prices and ensure leveraging.
• By following this model, the government can avoid being forced to buy from private manufacturers and instead use competition from PSUs to negotiate better prices.
• Formation of Buyer’s clubs among hospitals can also ensure better quality by having supplies tested independently, rather than relying on the drug regulator.

Advantages of Centralized Procurement

• Centralized or pooled procurement is a simple yet powerful idea that can:
  • Reduce costs.
  • Ensure better deployment of funds in other areas related to healthcare.
  • Ensure availability of life-saving drugs in India.
  • Third party assessments for use of quality drugs. 
• This is also the standard operating procedure in many developed nations.

Conclusion

• Implementing centralized procurement on a large scale in India is a sound strategy, given its theoretical foundation and practical successes both in India and around the world. 

Nut Graf: Centralized procurement of drugs can help reduce costs, ensure better deployment of funds, and ensure availability of life-saving drugs in India. The government can adopt a centralized procurement model for most drugs it procures, using pharma PSUs to provide benchmark prices. Hospitals can also form buyer’s clubs to benefit from better bargaining power and pass on the cost savings to patients.

Category: ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

1. When tigers and jackals get the same protection

Syllabus:  Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

GS- III

Category- Environment & Ecology

Prelims- The Wildlife Protection Act

Mains- Critical analysis of  The Wildlife Protection Act  

Introduction 

• Many ecologists have criticized that a large number of species have been included in the new schedules of the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022, without a clear and consistent process.

Wildlife Protection Act – Schedules

• The schedules include:
  • Schedule I: These species need rigorous protection and therefore, the harshest penalties for violation of the law are under this Schedule. Species under this Schedule are prohibited to be hunted throughout India, except under threat to human life.
  • Schedule II: Contains endangered species requiring special protection and conservation efforts.
  • Schedule III and IV: This list is for species that are not endangered. This includes protected species but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules.
  • Schedule V: This schedule contains animals that are considered as vermin and can be hunted with permission, including certain birds and animals that are not endangered or protected.
  • Schedule VI: Focuses on plant species, including rare or threatened plants, and imposes restrictions on their collection, cultivation, or trade.

The Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) – Concerns

1. Lack of Clear Process in Listing Species

• The Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA) fails to clearly connect endangerment and conservation. The listing of species has the following effects:
• Prioritization of species becomes difficult due to the large number of listed species (hundreds of mammals, over 1,000 birds etc).
• The same level of protection is offered to tigers and jackals, to the great Indian bustard and common barn owls, to the king cobra and rat snakes.
• Unintended consequences, such as promoting the planting of non-native trees instead of native trees, as seen in the Tree Preservation Acts of Kerala and Karnataka Acts. Owners can cut down planted non native species any time they want. 
• For example, inclusion of the spotted deer (chital) in Schedule 1. But the species is invasive in the Andaman Islands and cannot be legally culled or removed due to the WLPA.

2. Impact on People’s Lives and Livelihoods

• The WLPA ignores the impact of wildlife on people, particularly in rural areas where humans and animals coexist.
  • Examples include crocodiles in the Andamans and elephants throughout India, which pose significant physical, mental, and economic threats to people.
• Despite these risks, people are expected to coexist with wildlife without adequate support or protection.
• The WLPA elevates wild pigs and nilgai to Schedule 1 species, limiting the culling options for states. These species have affected the livelihoods of marginal cultivators.
• The WLPA imposes strict restrictions on using animals, even in cases where traditional practices have been in place for centuries.
• Regulations were implemented due to population decline, but regulated use should be reconsidered for abundant species to support local communities.
• However, this view is rejected by regulators without considering scientific evidence or societal impact.

3. Effects on Research and Conservation Efforts

• The WLPA creates obstacles for researchers, making it difficult and time-consuming to obtain permits hindering conservation efforts.
• Environmental NGOs may struggle to receive permits for research and conservation projects, including studies on common species like barn owls.
  

Way Forward

• Conservation, people’s problems, and research require attention. 
• Measures must be taken to protect people’s lives and livelihoods to ensure long term conservation based on sustainability.
• Management strategies for species and habitats must be customized based on ecology, species biology, and context, which sometimes requires independent research or monitoring.
• Citizens and ecologists should have the right to study nature and collect data ethically, without causing unnecessary harm to populations.

Nut Graf: Ecologists have criticized the new Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022 for including a large number of species in the schedules without a clear and consistent process, ignoring the impact of wildlife on people’s lives and livelihoods, and creating obstacles for researchers, hindering conservation efforts. Concrete measures must be taken to protect people’s lives and livelihoods, ensure long-term conservation based on sustainability, and customize management strategies for species and context

F. Prelims Facts