10 Sep 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A.GS1 Related
B.GS2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Over 10,000 cases of sexual assault pending in Delhi courts
2. Need not pick incriminatory dying declaration, rules Supreme Court
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. China extends support for Pakistan territorial integrity
HEALTH
1. Tamil Nadu ranks lowest in coverage of iodised salt
C.GS3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Registration of steel and iron imports, a must
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. India to raise target for restoring degraded land: PM Modi
2. No imminent ‘ban’ on single-use plastic: Javadekar
D. GS4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Forging the steel frame
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Trump's peace negotiation with Taliban
F. Tidbits
1. 74-year-old giving birth is ‘mindless misuse of IVF technologies’, say doctors
2. Meeting finds no option for single use plastic bottles
3. Panel formed to apportion J&K assets and liabilities
G. Prelims Facts
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Over 10,000 cases of sexual assault pending in Delhi courts

Context:

In a recent judgement, the Supreme Court has said that in a case of divergent and multiple dying declarations, the court need not invariably pick the one that incriminates the accused person. Instead, it is for the court to find out which of the dying victim’s statement is true.

Details:

• A Bench of Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph observed “When there are divergent dying declarations, it is not the law that the court must invariably prefer the statement which is incriminatory and must reject the statement which does not implicate the accused. The real point is to ascertain which contains the truth.”
• The bench summarized the principles to be followed in cases were dying declaration is the sole evidence available. It said:
  • Conviction of a person can be made solely on the basis of a dying declaration which inspires confidence of the court.
  • If there is nothing suspicious about the declaration, no corroboration may be necessary; No doubt, the court must be satisfied that there is no tutoring or prompting;
  • The court must also analyse and come to the conclusion that imagination of the deceased was not at play in making the declaration. In this regard, the court must look to the entirety of the language of the dying declaration.
  • Considering material before it, both in the form of oral and documentary evidence, the court must be satisfied that the version is compatible with the reality and the truth as can be gleaned from the facts established.

Context:

China has reiterated its unwavering support to Pakistan over the dispute with India over Jammu and Kashmir while Pakistan has vowed to support China on its core interest including Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Details:

• The support was expressed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during delegation-level talks between Pakistan and China in Islamabad. The Pakistan delegation was led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
• Wang pledged support for Pakistan’s “sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity,”  in a veiled message of reassurance to Pakistan, which apprehends further changes in the status quo after India revoked special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Wang Yi highlighted that the Pakistan-China relationship is based on mutual respect, trust and strong bonds of friendship.
• He appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to achieve goals of national development and extended China’s utmost support in this regard.
• Yi emphasized that CPEC is a demonstration project of high-quality BRI projects and is being implemented jointly by Pakistan and China.
• Both countries have complete consensus on the future direction of CPEC to advance high-quality development in Pakistan.
  • India believes that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major threat to its national security.
  • Not only will China’s military power appear simultaneously in its east, north and west flanks, but Pakistan will also be able to completely cut off India from Iran.
  • The Arabian Sea and Central Asia provide access to oil and gas energy sources, increasingly under China’s control. It is a high stakes game but India’s strategy to deal with Pakistan is not limited to a destructive one.
  • The BRI goes through the disputed areas of Gilgit and Baltistan in PoK and therefore ignores Indian core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• China and Pakistan appear to have addressed their core concerns over Xinjiang and Kashmir.
  • Analysts see this as an apparent message of support in Xinjiang, where Beijing has exercised zero tolerance to Uyghur Muslims, who are demanding a separate statehood.
  • Radical Uyghur separatists are suspected to have links with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Context:

According to a first-of-its-kind national survey to measure the coverage of iodised salt, Tamil Nadu has the lowest consumption of iodised salt despite being the third biggest producer of salt in the country.

Details:

• The study also examined the urinary iodine concentration in samples from pregnant, lactating and non-pregnant, non-lactating women of reproductive age (15-49 years) to estimate the iodine status among them.
• The survey was conducted by Nutrition International in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Indian Coalition for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD).
• The survey tested the iodine content in samples of cooking salt from households to estimate the coverage of iodised salt.
• The study shows that 76.3% of Indian households consumed adequately iodised salt, which is salt with at least 15 parts per million of iodine.
• The five worst performers were Tamil Nadu (61.9%), Andhra Pradesh (63.9%), Rajasthan (65.5%), Odisha (65.8%) and Jharkhand (68.8%).
• Rajasthan, which is the second-largest producer of salt, also figured among the five worst covered States. Gujarat produces 71% of salt in the country, followed by Rajasthan at 17% and Tamil Nadu at 11%.
• The rest of the country accounts for a mere 1% of salt produced.
• The survey also revealed that 13 out of 36 States have already achieved Universal Salt Iodisation or have 90% of households with access to adequately iodised salt.

Fortification of Salt:

• India made fortification of salt with iodine mandatory for direct human consumption in 1992.
• This was relaxed in 2000 and then reimposed in 2005.
• In 2011, the Supreme Court, too, mandated universal iodisation for the control of iodine deficiencies.

Iodine:

• Iodine is a vital micro-nutrient for optimal mental and physical development of human beings.
• Deficiency of iodine can result in a range of disabilities and disorders such as goitre, hypothyroidism, cretinism, abortion, still births, mental retardation and psychomotor defects.
• Children born in iodine deficient areas may have up to 13.5 IQ points less than those born in iodine sufficient areas.

Way forward:

• The key recommendation of the study is to sustain the momentum so that iodine coverage does not fall below current levels.
• It also recommends that the States and the Centre work together to address the current gaps and look into issues that vary from one State to another, leading to adequately iodised salt not being produced.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Registration of steel and iron imports, a must

Context:

Prime Minister Narendera Modi has raised the amount of degraded land India has agreed to rehabilitate by 2030 by 10%.

Details:

• India has now raised its ambition of the total area that would be restored from its land degradation status, from 21 million hectares to 26 million hectares between now and 2030.
• The announcement was made during the high-level ministerial segment at the ongoing United Nation Conference of Parties summit on land degradation.
• Modi in his address said that this target would be achieved with an emphasis on “degraded agricultural, forest and other wastelands by adopting a landscape restoration approach.”
• This would also address water scarcity, enhance water recharge in forests, slow down water run-off and retain soil moisture.
• This January, India became part of the “Bonn Challenge”, a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• At the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India also joined the voluntary Bonn Challenge and pledged to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and an additional 8 million hectares by 2030.
• India’s pledge was one of the largest in Asia.

Concerns:

 

India faces a severe problem of land degradation, or soil becoming unfit for cultivation. About 29% or about 96.4 million hectares are considered degraded.

Context:

According to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, there is no imminent ban on the use of single-use plastic (SUP) in India.

What is Single-Use Plastic?

• While there’s no official definition of ‘single-use plastic’, it refers largely to plastic bags, cups, water bottles and straws that are believed to contribute a significant share to India’s plastic waste problem.
• The United Nations classifies single-use plastics as products that are commonly used for plastic packaging and include items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These includes grocery bags, food packaging products, bottles, straws, containers, cups and cutlery.

Concerns:

• Several States have laws against the use of ‘single-use plastics but they aren’t enforced, largely due to the costs of collecting and ensuring that these waste plastics are recycled at proper facilities.
• A resolution moved by India at the United Nations Environment Assembly to eliminate SUP by 2025 was defeated with the final text of the agreement only committing to the “significantly reduced use” of SUP by 2030.

Details:

• India has a long-standing committment to eliminate the use of single-use plastic by 2022.
• There has been speculation that India is looking at a ban on the use of single-use plastic from October 2 this year to coincide with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Government officials have reiterated that there will be a concerted attempt by the government to redouble the efforts to limit the use and consumption of SUP.
• This had pushed several States — notably Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh — to enforce previous commitments to ban plastic bags and similar disposables.

Targeted campaigns and social engineering tools can make people aware of the concerns and alternatives to plastics. While there exists no single solution to the palpable problem of plastics, a clear definition, data on generation and solutions with long sightedness backed by technical feasibility and scientific reasoning, rather than short-term wrapping is what the need of the hour is.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Introduction

• The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration was simply called the Academy of Administration when it was set up in 1959 in Mussoorie.
• It signalled a resolve to systematically train members of the higher civil services in order to equip them to be the change agents of a resurgent India.
• The two All-India Services, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service, instituted earlier under a specific provision of the Constitution, as also other Services attracted some of the finest minds from the university system.
• The IAS motto, ‘Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam (proficiency in action is yoga)’, and the Academy song, ‘Hao Dharomete Dheer, Hao Karomete Bir (Be firm in your faith, courageous in action)’, symbolised the nation’s expectation from them.
• The Academy introduced in 1960 a common Foundation Course (FC) in order to “instill a shared understanding of government and build camaraderie among the civil services”.
• It is the professional training institution for the IAS, and continues to conduct an FC for various All-India and Central Services.

How is the Academy coping with the changing times?

• The content and methodology of training have changed to meet the demands of time, the pattern introduced in 1969 — of district training being sandwiched between institutional exposures at the Academy — has remained broadly unaltered.
• On successful completion, IAS trainees are now awarded an M.A. degree in Public Management by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
• Besides, the Academy also conducts mid-career training programmes for officers, in keeping with their varying job requirements from policy implementation towards policy formulation.
• The Academy now houses five national research centres on rural studies, disaster management, gender, public systems management, and leadership development and competency assessment.
• Pursuant to the Kargil Review Committee recommendations, a joint civil-military programme on national security was introduced in 2001.

Some limitations

• First, the correlation between the training imparted in Mussoorie and the quality of public services in the heat and dust of Indian polity should be unquestionable
• Second, there has been no serious attempt to record the experiences of the trainees/officers at the field/secretariat levels and publish them in scholarly journals, enabling others to benefit from such exposures.
  • The Academy journal, The Administrator, does not seem to have any discernible impact on the academic discourse on the various facets of our governance.
• Third, what have been the outputs of the five national centres?
  • How does such research reform the training curriculum?
  • Has the Academy realised its potential to emerge as the main think tank for civil service reforms?

What should the Civil servants do?

• Civil servants are aware that the public sometimes resent the bureaucracy, often for valid reasons.
• Politicians criticise the bureaucracy as blocking the course of development. These days, Ministers are not always willing to accept responsibility for their own decisions.
  • The reputation of officers is being unduly tarnished all the time.
• The civil servants should maintain their integrity and efficiency while serving in a system that deals with power play and corruption.
• The Academy help build a national consensus on contentious issues of dealing with Politicians and public.

Conclusion

• In defending and expanding the constitutional values and in adhering to the spirit of various progressive legislation, the IAS and other Services have played a significant role in nation-building.
• Despite our ‘uncertain glory’, if one looks at the trajectory of independent India and compares it with that of our immediate neighbours, our higher bureaucracy appears to be a defining difference.
• The Academy in Mussoorie deserves the credit, but changing times has brought new areas that require better understanding to solve problems. It is this that needs focus and reforms.

Context

• US. President Donald Trump said he cancelled peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders after the insurgent group said it was behind an attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier and 11 other people.
• Donald Trump also tweeted that he was cancelling meetings with Taliban and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Camp David.

Background

• Taliban fighters now control more territory than at any time since 2001, launched fresh assaults on the northern cities of Kunduz and Pul-e Khumri and carried out two major suicide bombings in the capital Kabul.
• One of the blasts, a suicide attack in Kabul took the life of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Elis from Puerto Rico, bringing the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan in 2019 till September to 16.

Draft Peace Deal

Earlier U.S. and Taliban negotiators struck a Draft Peace Deal which could lead to a drawdown in U.S. troops from America’s longest war.

• Under the draft accord, thousands of S. troops would be withdrawn over the coming months in exchange for guarantees Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on the United States and its allies.

Taliban’s resurgence

• The Taliban has rejected calls for a ceasefire and instead stepped up operations across the country.
• Taliban has been continually engaging in a series of wanton attacks against civilians throughout the course of the talks that the U.S. had with the group in Qatar. One estimate suggests that it has engaged in 173 terror attacks resulting in 1,339 fatalities in 2019 alone.
• For Afghans, the Taliban’s recent escalation of attacks has underscored fears it may be impossible to reach a stable settlement following any complete U.S. withdrawal.
  • Many have worried about a fracture along ethnic and regional lines, with Persian-speaking Tajiks and Hazaras from the north and west against southern and eastern Pashtuns, the group that have supplied most of Afghanistan’s rulers and where the Taliban draw most support.
• The Taliban has perversely used the attacks as a bargaining chip of sorts, to undermine the Afghanistan government and to seek concessions on its own terms.
• But a wave of Taliban violence has cast a long shadow over the deal.

Current Call of US

• The peace process to move forward should have all parties committed to an eventual political settlement which, in turn, would result in reduced violence.
• But with increased violence perpetuated by the Taliban during the peace process talks, US has called off the talks at least temporarily

India’s View

With the talks called off, India can heave a sigh of relief. India was always skeptical of the outcome of the US-Taliban talks without the participation of the elected Afghanistan government

• India has long opposed the idea of a US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the belief this would bring the Taliban to power in Kabul.
• India believes any Taliban regime will be beholden to Pakistan’s military and allow their country to once again become a jihadi back-office for Rawalpindi.
• At the very least, it would mean hundreds of Pakistani-backed militants currently fighting in Afghanistan would be available for fighting in India and Central Asia
• Many in the security establishment believe that the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country will push Afghanistan back to medieval times. The prospects of a civil war loom large.
• If Afghanistan did slip into a full-fledged civil war then it would be easier for Pakistan to push Afghan jihadis into Kashmir.

Conclusion

• A draft peace agreement still exists, and Mr Trump will probably make at least one more effort to get it signed before the US election campaign officially kicks off.
• But India must accept that the next US president, whoever it may be, will probably also seek withdrawal.
• Afghanistan claims less than 20 US lives a year, but the lack of US public support, and the need to handle the challenge of China, will drive any US leader down the same path.
• India’s Afghan priority should be preparing for the day after, even though that day has been postponed once again.

F. Tidbits

• A 74-year-old woman recently became the oldest-ever to give birth after she delivered twins at a hospital in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur.
• A group of reproductive health providers has strongly condemned what they call an “act of mindless misuse of IVF technologies”.
• Doctors stated that this is a deplorable omission of ethics, morality, and the misuse of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART).
• Other concerns are that:
  • Beyond the age of 15-30 years, there is increased risk of producing eggs and embryos with chromosomal and other abnormalities.
  • IVF at advanced ages come with the risks of pregnancy loss, etc.
  • Advanced age adds to several medical complications and interferes with the quality [of life] and natural lifespan.
• Members of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), Indian Fertility Society (IFS) and Academy of Clinical Embryologists (ACE) in a joint statement noted that according to the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2017, “Assisted Reproductive Technology services shall not be available to a woman below the age of 18 years and above the age of 45 years”.
• The loophole is the fact that this is still a guideline and not a law yet.
• There is an urgent need to revisit the Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill, 2017, which has not received Parliament’s approval so far.

• A meeting to seek suitable alternative” for single use plastic bottles for drinking water called by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Ministry concluded that as of now there is no viable alternative.
• The concerns are that :
  • The alternative needs to be affordable for the end consumers. The cost of a bottle worth Rs. 20 should not be pushed up to Rs. 50.
  • The consumer’s trust is equally important. Currently a sealed plastic bottle with ISI mark gives them confidence.
  • The government will also have to surmount technical problems if it has to do away with plastic bottles.
  • As per the current Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) a water bottle should be at least 85% transparent. If the switch over is to paper bottles we will have to change these standards.
  • The paper bottles or tetra packs use traces of plastic to make it sturdy enough to hold liquid.
  • Drinking water industry is worth Rs.30,000 crore and together with the beverages industry it employs nearly seven crore people and no knee-jerk action should be taken.
• The bottle manufacturers argued during the meeting that at least 80-90% of the P.E.T (polyethylene terephthalate) are recycled. Pet bottle is not a single use plastic.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a three-member committee headed by retired IAS officer and former Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra to apportion the assets and the liabilities of Jammu and Kashmir between the two Union Territories of Ladakh and J&K that will come into being on October 31, 2019.
• As per Section 85 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Central government by an order establishes one or more Advisory Committees for the apportionment of the assets, rights and liabilities of the companies and corporations constituted for the existing State of J&K between UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh.

G. Prelims Facts

H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

Q1. Consider the following statements:

1. Goiter is a swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland.
2. The most common cause of goiter is an excess of iodine in the diet.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q2. Consider the following statements:

1. It stems from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21
2. It is the only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. In India fortification of salt with iodine is mandatory, for direct human consumption.
2. The Supreme Court has mandated universal iodization.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

 Q4. Consider the following statements:

1. When the natural gas is liquefied, its volume reduces by 600 times from its gaseous state.
2. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is converted back to natural gas through a process known as Regasification.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

1. Though the idea of imposing a ban on Single Use Plastic sounds good, the question on the economics, availability and applicability of alternatives remains unanswered. India needs to chalk out a robust roadmap to achieve freedom from Single Use Plastic. Elucidate (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2. India faces a severe problem of land degradation. Discuss the measures taken by the government to address the problem, also suggest the way forward. (15 Marks, 250 Words)

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