30 Oct 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

30 October 2023 CNA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. What has caused the recent thaw in U.S.Venezuela ties?
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. The Indian Railways’ revenue problem
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INDIAN POLITY
1. Give up impropriety, demonstrate impartiality/a>
INDIAN ECONOMY
1. An unfolding economic tragedy
F. Prelims Facts
1. Govt. preparing to release Vision India 2047 document
G. Tidbits
1. Developed countries to overshoot carbon emissions goal, says study
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

E. Editorials

Category: INDIAN POLITY

1. Give up impropriety, demonstrate impartiality

Syllabus: Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges and Issues Arising out of these.

Prelims-  Role of Speaker, Article 93, Kihoto Hollohan case, Tenth Schedule, Money Bill

Mains-  Increasing impartiality of the role of Speaker

Context-

  • The Chief Justice of India stressed the importance of following court orders, when highlighting the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker’s inaction on pending disqualification petitions.

The Role of the Speaker

  • The Speaker is expected to act impartially as the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha at the Centre and the Legislative Assembly in the States.
  • The office of the Speaker originated in medieval Britain as a spokesman for the House of Commons in dealings with the King.
  • The Speaker is responsible for upholding the rights and privileges of the House, its committees, and its members.
  • Article 93 states that as soon as possible, the House of the People shall elect two members to serve as its Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. 

Analysis of Functions of the Speaker

    • The Speakers perform two important functions: certifying a Bill to be a Money Bill and deciding on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule for defection.
  • Dealing with misconduct: 
      • The Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly rules provide for suspension of members for misconduct in the House, but it has been observed that the Speakers often misuse these provisions against opposition members.
  • Decline in Referral of Bills to Committees:
      • The Speaker is also responsible for referring Bills introduced to the Parliamentary Standing Committees, but significant Bills that require detailed scrutiny are often not referred to such committees.
      • The decline in the percentage of Bills referred to committees since 2014 affects robust parliamentary functioning. 
      • For example, over 60% of bills were referred to committees in the Lok Sabha between 2004 and 2014, while less than 25% have been referred during the period of 2014-2023.
  • Disqualification: 
    • The authority to decide on disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule is vested in the Speaker, but past instances have shown that Speakers tend to favor the ruling party. 
    • This has raised questions about the constitutionality of this arrangement.
    • In the landmark case of Kihoto Hollohan (1992), minority judges opined that granting the authority to determine defections to the Speaker undermines democratic principles.
    • The Supreme Court, in its judgment for Keisham Meghachandra Singh versus The Honorable Speaker Manipur (2020), advocated for constitutional reforms that would establish an autonomous tribunal, presided over by judges, to assume responsibility and bring impartiality for such decisions.
    • The current observations on the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly is due to his failure to take action on disqualification petitions. The speaker has neglected to make decisions on these petitions for over a year, leading to the present situation.
  • Money Bills: 
  • There have also been challenges in court in recent years against certification of certain Bills as a Money Bill by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Way Forward: 

  • In Britain, the Speaker resigns from their political party and seeks re-election as an independent candidate to maintain impartiality.
  • Adopting British practices would help instill confidence in the office of the Speaker.
  • It is essential for Speakers to demonstrate impartiality in their functioning and follow sound democratic practices.

 

Nut Graf: The role of speakers play a crucial role in upholding democracy, but their impartiality and conduct have been questioned in recent years. The Chief Justice of India’s recent observations on the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly highlight the need for reforms to ensure that Speakers act independently and fairly.

Category: INDIAN ECONOMY

1. An unfolding economic tragedy

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Prelims-  NSO, GDP growth, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Types of GDP calculation, PLI scheme

Mains-  Relation between GDP growth and Inclusive growth, Divergence between growth and development

Context

  • The National Statistics Office (NSO) announced that India’s GDP has increased at an annual rate of 7.8% in the April-June quarter.
  • However, focusing on GDP growth alone might be misguided, as it doesn’t reveal inequalities and neglects issues such as job scarcity, poor education and healthcare, inadequate infrastructure in cities and environmental degradation.
  • High GDP does not translate into purchasing power for all citizens as it is unevenly distributed. 
  • India’s GDP growth might have slowed down significantly over the past two decades, with weak demand being a significant factor.

India’s Growth Trajectory till COVID-19

  • India’s GDP grew at an annual rate of 9% in the mid-2000s due to high world trade growth. 
  • The economy grew because of  excess investments in the real estate and financial sector, but it couldn’t last forever.
  • After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, growth slowed to 6% as world trade also started declining
  • The data revision in January 2015 showed an increase in GDP growth for a few years.
  • However, the slowdown resumed after demonetization and the GST rollout.
  • Following the IL&FS bankruptcy in August 2018, GDP growth dropped to 3.9% in the year before the pandemic.
  • The slowdown in GDP growth from 9% in the mid-2000s to 3%-4% before the pandemic reflected weak demand.
  • This weak demand was evident in the significant drop in private corporate fixed investment from 17% of GDP in 2007-8 to 11% in 2019-20.
  • Private companies reduced investments due to reduced purchasing power and limited foreign demand for Indian goods.

Post-COVID Economic Situation

  • The Indian economy has exhibited a bouncy growth pattern, with fluctuations including a sharp fall, modest recovery, severe slowdown, and a dead cat bounce in late 2022.
  • Considering the latest four quarters over the four quarters before COVID, the annual growth rate (of the income and expenditure average) is 4.2%.
  • Private corporate investment dropped further to 10% of GDP in 2021-22, indicating persistent demand weakness.
  • The government started a year-long free grain program for nearly three-fifths of the population in December 2022, which is expected to continue through 2024. 
  • Households have reduced their savings rates to 5.1% of GDP, down from 11.9% in 2019-20, to maintain consumption.
  • Concerns of overvalued rupee and sluggish world trade, have led to decline in Indian exports

Conclusion:

  • Government policy has focused on boosting supply instead of demand through good jobs, human capital investment, and infrastructure improvement in cities.
  • This approach with measures such as the September 2019 corporate tax cut, PLI schemes, and infrastructure projects are failing to stimulate corporate investment.
  • The increased reliance on indirect taxes has further reduced purchasing power and weakened demand.

Nut Graf: India’s GDP growth, while high in recent quarters, doesn’t reveal inequalities or neglect issues such as job scarcity, poor education and healthcare, inadequate infrastructure in cities and environmental degradation. Weak demand, evident in the significant drop in private corporate fixed investment, has been a major factor in the slowdown in GDP growth over the past two decades.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Govt. preparing to release Vision India 2047 document

Syllabus: GS 2- Governance

Prelims: Vision India@2047

Introduction

  • The Indian government is in the final stages of shaping a national vision plan to elevate India to a developed nation by 2047.
  • This plan aims to prevent India from falling into the middle-income trap that many countries encounter during similar stages of development.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the plan, titled ‘Vision India@2047,’ within the next three months.

Ambitious Goals

  • The plan outlines a set of reforms and desired outcomes to be achieved by 2030.
  • The overarching objective is to transform India into a $30 trillion economy by 2047, with a per capita income ranging from $18,000 to $20,000.
  • The plan focuses on structural governance changes that are critical to attaining these ambitious economic targets.

Two Years in the Making

  • The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has been working on the plan for nearly two years.

Middle-Income Trap Concerns

  • The plan acknowledges the risks associated with the middle-income trap.
  • Many countries reach a per capita income of $5,000-$6,000 and then struggle to make further economic progress.
  • The vision for India aims to avoid this pitfall and propel the nation to the next level of development.

Addressing Regional Disparities

  • The plan seeks to address regional disparities in economic development within India.
  • While some regions have seen rapid growth, others have lagged behind, and the vision emphasises balanced progress for the entire country.

Promoting Indian Dominance

  • India’s increasing share of global GDP, growing from 1.1% in 1991 to 3.5% in 2023, is acknowledged.
  • However, it highlights that India lacks global dominance in sectors like banking, contracting, legal, consultancy, and accountancy.
  • The vision aims to foster Indian firms as leaders in various domains and identify sectors and companies with the potential to become global champions.

Empowering India’s Youth

  • Developing the skill sets required by India’s young population to meet global demands is a priority.
  • The plan recognizes the demand for Indian nurses worldwide and aims to overcome obstacles to their international recognition.
  • Ensuring that India’s young talents find global opportunities is central to the vision.

G. Tidbits

1. Developed countries to overshoot carbon emissions goal, says study

Introduction

  • Developed nations, responsible for a significant portion of global carbon emissions, are on course to exceed their emission targets by a substantial margin by 2030, reveals a study by the Delhi-based Council for Energy Environment and Water (CEEW).
  • This concerning trend comes to light just ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for November and December in Dubai.

Emission Trajectory Distress

  • The study’s findings indicate that, based on current trajectories, developed countries are projected to emit 38% more carbon in 2030 than they have committed to under their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
  • This overshoot of emissions is primarily driven by the United States, Russia, and the European Union, which account for 83% of the discrepancy.

Emission Reduction Commitments Shortfall

  • The analysis underscores that the NDCs of developed nations fall short of the global average reduction requirement of cutting emissions to 43% below 2019 levels to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • In contrast, developed countries’ collective NDCs only amount to a 36% reduction, highlighting a considerable gap.

Historical Emission Reduction Obligations

  • Developed countries have long been expected to lead global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have had legally binding targets.
  • Their commitments included reducing emissions by 5% from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, and by 18% from 2013 to 2020.
  • The discrepancy between the commitments and the current emissions trajectory is a cause for concern.

Net Zero Emission Goals

  • Many developed nations have pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
  • Meeting this goal requires a consistent reduction in emissions every decade until 2050, with intermediate targets provided until 2030.
  • To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, developed nations must reduce emissions to 43% below their 2019 levels by 2030.

Struggle to Meet Targets

  • The CEEW study highlights that, except for Belarus and Norway, none of the developed countries appear to be on track to meet their 2030 targets.
  • Japan and Kazakhstan are among the closest but are still expected to fall short by just a single percentage point.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements, with reference to NITI Aayog:
  1. NITI Aayog is a statutory body established by an act of Parliament.
  2. It replaced the Planning Commission of India in 2015.
  3. The Prime Minister of India serves as the Chairperson of NITI Aayog.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: Statement 1 is incorrect. NITI Aayog is not a statutory body. It was established by an executive resolution of the Government of India, not by an act of Parliament.

Q2. With reference to the Paris Agreement (2015), which of the 
following statements is/are incorrect?
  1. The Paris Agreement targets limiting global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
  2. It is a binding agreement that brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation: Both Statements are correct

Q3. Consider the following statements with reference to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha:
  1. The Speaker is the custodian of the rights and privileges of the members of the Lok Sabha.
  2. The Speaker does not take oath of office.
  3. The Speaker’s decision about disqualification of the member of the Lok Sabha under the Tenth Schedule is final.

How many of the statements given above are incorrect?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation: Statement 3 is incorrect. In Kihoto Holohan case, the Supreme Court declared that it is subject to judicial review, and this provision is unconstitutional

Q4. With reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
  1. The ICC is an international tribunal that deals with serious crimes like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
  2. India is a member of the ICC.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:Statement 2 is incorrect. India is not a member of the ICC.

Q5. The ‘middle-income trap’, recently in the news, is best defined as:
  1. A situation where a low-income country becomes a high-income economy.
  2.  A situation where a middle-income country is unable to transition to a high-income economy.
  3. A situation where a high-income country experiences an economic recession.
  4. A condition where low-income countries experience economic stagnation.
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: It refers to a situation whereby a middle-income country is failing to transition to a high-income economy due to rising costs and declining competitiveness.

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