CNA 3 Oct 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related GOVERNANCE 1. Red Tapism in India C. GS 3 Related SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. Satellite broadband services in India D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials SOCIAL JUSTICE 1. Choose ‘safe surrender’ over infant abandonment INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. The U.K. is staring into an economic abyss F. Prelims Facts 1. Jal Jeevan Mission 2. Nord Stream G. Tidbits 1. Mission Mangalyaan H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Syllabus: Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency & Accountability
Mains: Non tariff trade barriers
Context: The U.K. India Business Council (UKIBC) asks India to undo ‘frustrating’ red tape and take a ‘broader’ view on lending norms.
Introduction:
- Based on inputs from British firms operating in the country, the U.K. India Business Council in its recent submissions to the Government of India included various suggestions for improvement in procedural, taxation and other areas of trade and business.
- With India and the U.K. working to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) soon, the Council has said making it easier to do business is as important as the trade pact to bolster trade and investment flows.
Legal and regulatory impediments:
- UKIBC has conveyed that various legal and regulatory impediments in India continue to be a source of “frustration” for investors looking to set up or expand operations in India.
- Delays and red tapism in land acquisition and Customs clearances remain problematic for investors.
- Duplication of regulation wherein two sets of regulations are administered by two different arms of Government on the same issue was cited have become a key issue.
- The Council has urged India to take a “broader view” of restrictive priority sector lending norms for foreign banks operating in India as they bring different expertise to the table.
- Council also sought equitable tax treatment.
- There is a significant disparity between the effective corporate tax rates for foreign firms using a “branch model”, taxed at 43.68%, compared to domestic peers who are taxed at 25.17%.
- This serves as a major disincentive for international businesses using this model, such as banks.
- Due to lack of enforcement of IP rights there has been rising instances of counterfeit product sales through e-commerce platforms as a deterrent for intellectual property (IP) owners.
- The U.K. firms have also sought improvements in land acquisition processes, particularly from the public sector.
Impact on trade and businesses:
- Duplication of regulation leads to delays and costs, and are most common in areas on the Constitution’s concurrent list of legislations, such as labour, environment, food and personal care.
- They disincentive foreign investment.
- Poor enforcement of IP rights is problematic and can stifle innovation.
- Compliance with burdensome regulations increases the costs and complexity of exporting to India.
- Customs procedures are also a challenge for the Indian importer and their end customers, who are also required to complete certain procedures which can lead to buyers pulling out of deals.
- The unintended consequence of Local content requirements under the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign limit the supply of goods and services and damage competition, which deters innovation.
Way Forward:
- UKIBC recommended reducing bureaucracy, simplifying legal and regulatory complexities and taxation, developing world class IP and infrastructure environments, and enshrining investor protection.
- Removing non-tariff barriers, such as the ‘No objection Certificate’ requirement (which give the consignee of the goods in India control over shipments), make it easier for companies to trade and invest, thus providing their high-quality products at affordable prices to wider networks of consumers.
- The Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK should include provisions that support core features of a thriving international digital environment – cross-border data transfers, personal information protection, mechanisms to promote interoperability among privacy law frameworks, transparent access to government information, and consumer protection and choice online.
- A reduction in the corporate tax rate to that of domestic companies will provide a level playing field and further encourage enhanced investment by foreign entities that are keen to invest as well as expand in India.
Read about India-UK relations
Nut Graf: Removing or simplifying unnecessary regulations, certifications, tests and other requirements creates a great scope for more UK businesses in India to enter the market and for those already established to expand. This would bring more UK investment in India and improve overall trade relations.
C. GS 3 Related
Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Satellite broadband services in India
Syllabus: Developments & their Applications & Effects in Everyday Life
Mains: Policies to overcome Digital Divide in India
Context: Companies like Jio, Oneweb, Hughes and Tata-backed Nelco are preparing to provide satellite broadband connectivity in India.
Introduction:
- Satellite communication has been gaining prominence globally and is seeing a lot of interest, investments, and innovations.
- The two biggest developments in the global satellite communication space are the emergence of LEO (low-earth orbit constellations) that promises to provide truly global coverage and lower latency service, and HTS (High Throughput Satellites Service) which offers unprecedented capacity and flexibility.
- Although India’s satellite broadband market is still in its infancy, the growing demand for connectivity and Internet, the Digital India drive — calls to connect all unserved terrains.
- Nevertheless, according to several reports, despite India’s impending 5G service rollout, infrastructure issues including insufficient tower fiberization raise concerns about 5G’s success.
Satcom players in India:
- Several players offering satellite broadband services are preparing to start operations in India.
- Jio has received approval from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to provide satellite broadband services in India.
- Jio Platforms Ltd and Luxembourg’s SES, formed a joint venture called Jio Space Technology Ltd to provide satellite-based broadband services in India.
- The licences are for a period of 20 years and include voice and data services via satellite.
- In January 2022, satellite communication companies, OneWeb and Hughes Network Systems, announced a six-year agreement, to bring low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services in India.
- OneWeb will then bring these solutions to enterprises, governments, telcos, airline companies and maritime customers.
- However, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis forced OneWeb to cancel the planned launch of 36 satellites on Russia’s Soyuz rockets after Russia cancelled its agreement with the company.
- OneWeb has partnered with ISRO’s NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and SpaceX to resume its satellite launches in early 2023.
- A Joint venture by Hughes Communications India, (HCI) and Bharti Airtel have received all statutory approvals to provide satcom.
- HCI also launched India’s first HTS broadband service to deliver high-speed broadband, including to the most remote areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.
- HTS provides more throughput than conventional communication satellites.
- Higher-throughput refers to higher data processing and transfer capacity than conventional satellites, while using the same amount of orbital spectrum.
- Tata-owned satcom company Nelco, and Canada’s Telesat have also successfully conducted the first in-orbit demonstration of high-speed broadband connectivity in India recently.
Significance of Telesat services:
- Satellite broadband services can connect the most remote parts of the country which are otherwise difficult to connect through fibres with high reliability and flexibility.
- For example, Hughes India has partnered with Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) and Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL), as part of BharatNet, to provide high-speed satellite connectivity to 5,000 remote gram panchayats located in northeastern States and the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.
- Telesat services will deliver significant benefits for applications like 4G/5G backhaul, mobile hotspots, telemedicine, village connectivity and more.
- Additionally, Telesat will speed up the rollout of 4G and 5G networks and establish new performance benchmarks for business, telecom, mobility, and government broadband access on land, air, and sea.
Challenges:
- Due to the long distances that satellite signals must travel and all of the potential barriers in their path, satellite data transfer offers relatively poor Internet speeds and constrained satellite bandwidth.
- Connection times can also be impacted by your surroundings, the length of your message, and the status and availability of the satellite network.
- Satellite Internet latency can be a significant problem which can affect real-time applications like video chats.
- Minor changes in weather can have a massive impact on both the speed and latency of satellite data.
- Complex satellite networks with costly equipment makes the service expensive.
Nut Graf: India is quickly catching up with global trends and with greater prospects in the global satellite communication market, the Department of Space should release the pending new Spacecom policy with clear guidelines to end uncertainty over the launch of commercial services in India. Rollout of satellite broadband communication services can close the digital divide in India.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
1. Choose ‘safe surrender’ over infant abandonment
Syllabus: Issues related to the Vulnerable section of the population.
Mains: Child issues- abandonment.
Context: Rising cases of child abandonment.
Background Details:
- There are multiple incidents of abandonment of newborn children often found in places like dustbins, garbage piles, roadside bushes, or religious places.
- As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s data (2021), more than 709 criminal cases of ‘exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years’ were registered under Section 317 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC).
- It should be noted case is not registered for the surrender of children to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which is constituted under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (or the JJ Act).
Facts:
- As per the Central Adoption Resource Authority(CARA) portal, approximately 2,991 in-country adoptions and around 414 inter-country adoptions took place in the year 2021-22.
- Likewise, the 118th report on the Review of Guardianship and Adoption Laws (presented in the Rajya Sabha in 2022), reported that 2,430 children were legally available for adoption against nearly 26,734 adoptive parents-in-waiting (as on December 2021).
Difference between Abandonment and Surrender:
- An abandoned child refers to a child that is deserted by his biological/adoptive parents or guardians. Whereas a surrendered child is relinquished due to emotional, physical, or social factors that are beyond the control of parents or children.
- According to the Juvenile Justice Act, no first information report(FIR) should be registered against the biological parents of the child during the inquiry process for the abandonment and surrender of the child. This is to ensure that parents/guardians of the child are efficiently traced without initiating any criminal action against them.
- If the conditions to retain the child are unfavorable for the parents/guardian, then the child should be surrendered before CWC. CWC guarantees the protection of children till they attain majority or are adopted by willing and fit parents.
- The abandonment might risk the life of a child.
- Moreover, the disclosure of the identity of the surrendered child is prohibited and the related reports of that child are confidential. Thus making the situation conducive for the parents to surrender their children. It should also be noted that surrendering the child does not entail any criminal action against the parents.
- The most common reasons for the abandonment of a child are:
- Breakdown of relationship.
- Unwanted pregnancy
- Lower socio-economic status
- Both parents being drug addicts or alcoholics
Under the above conditions, the child is eligible to surrender.
Judicial interpretation:
- The apex Court of the country gave a liberal interpretation to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.
- As per the recent (2021) amendment to Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act, the words “married woman” were replaced with “any woman” and “husband” was replaced by “partner”.
- Moreover, the Supreme Court(SC), in X vs The Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department and Another case (2022), noted that the parliamentary intent was not to restrict the beneficial provisions only to a matrimonial alliance, thus giving an interim order to allow an unmarried woman petitioner to abort her 24 weeks pregnancy (subject to the recommendation of Medical Board).
For more on MTP Amendment, read here: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. June 27th, 2022 CNA. Download PDF
Remedial Measures:
- The major ground for the abandonment of children is inadequate awareness of the provisions of the surrender of undesired children. Thus awareness can provide a key to the issue:
- As it is observed that unwanted pregnancies are well known to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), daais, and Anganwadi workers, they can play a crucial role in building a strong network in villages and spreading education and awareness about the issue, and reducing the menace of abandonment.
- A parent can also approach childline services, public servants, police, non-governmental organizations (NGO), child welfare officers, social workers, maternity homes, etc to surrender a child. These authorities/officers should produce the child before the CWC within 24 hours.
- It should also be adequately publicized that non-reporting of abandonment within the prescribed time limit might become a criminal offence.
Related Links: Child Protection In India [UPSC Notes for GS I]
Nut Graf: Wide publicity about the provisions of the surrender of the child is the need of the hour. It is the responsibility of all the stakeholders that no child is deserted and denied their basic rights. Moreover, parents/guardians/functionaries should report cases of abandonment without facing any legal risk.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The U.K. is staring into an economic abyss
Syllabus: Effect of policies of developed countries on India’s interest.
Mains: UK economy and its impact on the global economy.
Context: Unveiling of the mini budget in Britain
Recent Announcements:
- The mini-budget of Britain was announced by the British Chancellor of Exchequer.
- The recent measures favour high earners disproportionately, abolishing the top rate of income tax and reversing the proposed increase of corporation tax.
- There was a failure to explain funding in the support of winter fuel bills to households and small businesses.
Consequences of the Recent economic measures in the UK:
- The consequence of the speech of the British Chancellor of Exchequer:
- The pound plunged in the global financial market.
- The cost of borrowing soared.
- There is a tentative fear of financial crisis.
- It also indicated a lack of confidence in the long-term prospects of the economy of Britain. Unprecedented damage to the U.K. Treasury bond was also caused, which has the potential to weaken the global economy.
- International Monetary Fund also issued a warning against the mini-budget of the United Kingdom. This is despite the fact that IMF does not criticize G7 countries for their domestic economic provisions.
- IMF is officially the lender of last resort and is responsible for maintaining global economic stability.
- The IMF also has a duty to protect the global financial markets.
- IMF rebuked Britain highlighting that the tax cuts would increase inequality.
- The fund also cautioned against a fiscal policy that appeared to be at crossroads with the monetary policy. IMF also warned against the increased inflationary risk.
- The Bank of England also intervened warning against the material risk to the financial stability of the country. The bank took a slew of measures:
- It decreased its debt and pledged to buy back the long-term Treasury bonds/gilts in order to stabilize the bond market.
- In the matter of pension funds, a liquidity crisis also emerged due to the rising cost of borrowing. This inflationary pressure was further exacerbated by over-leveraged fund instruments that underwrote their future liabilities.
- However, the Bank has not resolved the problem completely instead has just stabilized pension funds to buy some additional time.
- Moreover, the pound has lost its value, and going ahead if the gilts become a bad investment option, then several countries across the world (including India) might reconsider their holdings.
For more information on International Monetary Fund, read here: International Monetary Fund (IMF) – History, Functions | UPSC Notes
Implications on household debts:
- The cost of domestic borrowing has risen sharply, affecting household as well as corporate debt.
- After the declaration of the mini-budget, there was the discontinuation of several mortgages. Furthermore, those having a variable rate or renewed fixed-rate loans, speculate extreme increases in their monthly payments.
- Interest rates are also expected to rise.
Related Link: Are we headed for a recession in 2022? Check Answer at BYJU’S
Nut Graf: The economy of Britain is facing a potential risk. The recent measures announced by the British government have further exacerbated the economic crisis, especially for small businesses and households. The instability of the British economy can further impact the economies of other countries.
F. Prelims Facts
Syllabus: GS02- Governance
Prelims: Important government schemes
Context: Recently, a survey was commissioned by the Union Ministry of Water Resources to assess the functioning of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Key Findings:
Tap Water Connections:
- As per the survey, around 62% of rural households in India have fully functional tap water connections within their premises.It was 52% in June 2022.
- A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household getting at least 55 litres per capita per day of potable water all through the year.
- Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Puducherry reported more than 80% of households with fully functional connections.
- Fewer than 50% of the households in Rajasthan, Kerala, Manipur, Tripura, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim had such connections.
- Close to three-fourths of households received water all seven days a week and 8% just once a week.
Image Source: The Hindu
Water Quality:
- The water quality test in selected households revealed that 95% of households have water quality within acceptable limits of pH values.
- Over 90% of village-level institutions were getting potable water.
- 57% of the sampled households reported purifying water before drinking.
- Though 93% of the samples were reportedly free of bacteriological contamination, most of the anganwadi centres and schools had higher than the permissible range of residual chlorine and indicated inappropriate local dosing.
About the mission:
- The Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship program of the Government of India, it was launched on August 15, 2019, by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
Read more on Jal Jeevan Mission
2. Nord Stream
Syllabus: GS02-International Relations
Prelims: Baltic sea
Context: Four leaks were reported at different points in the Nord Stream pipelines, designed to carry gas from Russia to Europe via the Baltic sea.
Key Details:
- Four leaks have been reported in the Nord Stream pipelines since September 26 2022.
- Two of the leaks were in Swedish waters while the other two were reported from Danish waters.
- Both Danish and Swedish seismologists picked up undersea explosions near the locations of the first two leaks before they occurred.
What are the Nord Stream pipelines?
- Nord Stream 1 is a 1,224 km underwater gas pipeline running from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.
- The majority owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, it is the primary network through which gas reaches Germany. Most of the gas goes directly to Germany, while the rest travels west and southwards through onshore links to other countries and into storage caverns.
- Nord Stream 1 has been operational since 2011, and is the largest single supply route for Russian gas to Europe.
- The construction of the $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never began commercial operations.
- Even though both pipelines were not running commercially, they had millions of cubic metres of gas stored in them.
Image Source: The Indian Express
G. Tidbits
- India’s Mars orbiter craft Mangalyaan has reportedly ‘retired’ after 8 years in the interplanetary mission as its fuel ran out and its battery drained beyond safe limit.
- The ₹450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission was launched onboard PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first attempt.
- Mission helped study Martian landscapes including surface geology, morphology, atmospheric processes, surface temperature, and atmospheric escape process.
- It was designed to work for 06 years only.
Read more on Mangalyaan Mission
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following Pairs: (Level-Difficult)
Temple Hills
- Badrinath Temple Garhwal hill
- Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple Simhachalam Hills
- Vaishno Devi Temple Trikuta Hills
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Pair 01 is correctly matched, Badrinath or Badrinarayana Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu that is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India.
- Badrinath is located at an elevation of around 3,100 m. Located in the Garhwal Himalayas, on the banks of the Alaknanda river, this town lies between Nar and Narayana mountain ranges.
- Pair 02 is correctly matched, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple is a Hindu temple situated on the Simhachalam Hill Range, which is 300 metres above the sea level in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped there as Varaha Narasimha.
- Pair 03 is correctly matched, The Vaishno Devi Temple is a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Vaishno Devi. It is located in Katra, Reasi on the slopes of Trikuta Hills within the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
Read more on Famous Temples in India
Q2. Consider the following statements: (Level-Difficult)
- PNS Ghazi was a Tench-class diesel-electric submarine that was deployed during 1971 India-Pakistan war.
- The primary goal of PNS Ghazi was to find and sink INS Vikrant
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is correct, PNS Ghazi was a Tench-class diesel-electric submarine, the first fast-attack submarine in the Pakistan Navy. It was deployed during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 and 1971.
- Statement 02 is correct, PNS Ghazi was assigned with a two-fold objective. The primary goal was to find and sink INS Vikrant and the second one was to lay mines on India’s Eastern seaboard with or without accomplishing the primary objective.
Q3. With respect to India August Movement, which of the following statements is/are correct? (Level-Medium)
- It was launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi, during World War II.
- It was during this movement, Gandhi gave the slogan to the people – ‘Do or die’.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 01 is correct, Quit India movement, also known as the India August Movement or August Kranti was launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on August 08, 1942.
- Statement 02 is correct, The movement gave the slogans ‘Quit India’ or ‘Bharat Chodo’. Gandhi gave the slogan to the people – ‘Do or die’.
Q4. Which one of the following diseases is caused by cadmium pollution? (Level-Medium)
- Achondroplasia
- Infant Methemoglobinemia
- Itai Itai
- Minamata
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Itai-itai disease is caused by cadmium exposure, produced as a result of human activities related to industrialisation, and this condition was first recognised in Japan in the 1960s. Itai-itai disease is characterised by osteomalaecia with severe bone pain and is associated with renal tubular dysfunction.
Q5. Which one of the following statements best reflects the idea behind the “Fractional Orbital Bombardment System” often talked about in the media? (Level-Difficult)(CSE PYQ-2022)
- A hypersonic missile is launched into space to counter the asteroid approaching the Earth and explode it in space.
- A spacecraft lands on another planet after making several orbital motions.
- A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.
- A spacecraft moves along a comet with the same speed and places a probe on its surface.
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) is a warhead delivery system that uses a low earth orbit towards its target destination. Just before reaching the target, it de-orbits through a retrograde engine burn.
- It was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The system is used to launch nuclear warheads from space.
- In August 2021, China tested a weapon that combined a FOBS with a hypersonic glide vehicle.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Discuss the common reasons for child abandonment and suggest measures to help prevent such an abandonment. (10 Marks; 150 Words) (GS-1; Social Issues)
- A combination of politics, inflation and higher interest rates is posing a greater threat to the UK’s financial system. Examine. (10 Marks; 150 Words) (GS-2; International Relations)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 3 Oct 2022:- Download PDF Here
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