29 Sep 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Architect of India’s Green Revolution departs

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues related to agriculture, food security, and sustainable farming practices.

Mains: Green Revolution- Its characteristics, benefits and disadvantages.

Prelims: Green Revolution and M S Swaminathan

Context

M.S. Swaminathan, the pioneering agricultural scientist behind India’s Green Revolution, passed away at 98. His life, contributions, and legacy are commemorated below.

Introduction

• M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned agricultural scientist, passed away in Chennai at the age of 98.
• He played a pivotal role in India’s Green Revolution, a program that transformed agriculture.

Read more about Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan.

Career Highlights

• Joined the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) and Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
• Became Director of IARI in 1966, where he gained fame.
• Received the Padma Shri in 1967 and the Ramon Magsaysay award in 1971.
• Appointed Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1972.
• Served as Principal Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
• Played a role in the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines.
• For his contributions, he was awarded the first World Food Prize Laureate in 1987
• Established the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in India in 1988.
• Dr. Swaminathan served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 2007 until 2013.
• He received the inaugural World Agriculture Prize, established by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, in the year 2018.

Contributions

• Background:
  • Consecutive severe droughts during the mid-1960s necessitated the political leadership and the scientific community to seek solutions to break free from the cycle of food scarcity.
  • At that time, India heavily relied on importing food grains from the United States, particularly PL480 wheat.
  • In 1966, another harsh drought year, India imported a staggering 10 million tonnes of PL480 wheat.
  • Dr. Swaminathan collaborated closely with two Agriculture Ministers, C. Subramaniam (1964-67) and Jagjivan Ram (1967-70 & 1974-77), in driving the success of the Green Revolution. This initiative marked a significant leap in wheat and rice production and productivity, achieved through the adoption of chemical-biological technology.
• Green Revolution:
  • The Green Revolution brought about a dramatic transformation in India’s agriculture sector by providing high-yielding variety seeds, improved irrigation, and fertilisers to farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh primarily. Initially implemented for rice, it was later expanded to include wheat production.
  • In 1947, at the time of India’s independence, the annual wheat production stood at approximately 6 million tonnes. However, by 1962, it had increased to about 10 million tonnes per year. Between 1964 and 1968, there was a remarkable surge in wheat production, reaching around 17 million tonnes annually. This substantial increase in production marked a revolutionary breakthrough.
  • Numerous researchers and scientists played crucial roles in this endeavour. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the foundational strategic concept behind the Green Revolution in India, which involved introducing new genetic strains or ‘plant types’ responsive to increased fertiliser and water application, can be attributed to Swaminathan.

Read more on the father of the Green Revolution in India, M S Swaminathan.

• Evergreen Revolution:

• • Faced criticism for some negative consequences of the Green Revolution, including ecological damage and issues for small farmers.
  • Swaminathan identified these concerns as far back as January 1968. 
  • He voiced the potential risks associated with the swift replacement of diverse locally adapted crop varieties with just a few high-yielding strains over extensive regions. 
  • He also cautioned against the intensive farming practices that neglected soil fertility conservation, warning that they could eventually result in the emergence of desert-like landscapes. 
  • Furthermore, he raised alarms about the indiscriminate application of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, along with the unscientific extraction of groundwater. These prophetic warnings have undeniably materialised in the present day.
  • Swaminathan responded with the concept of the “evergreen revolution” to ensure sustainable agriculture.
• Swaminathan also led the National Commission on Farmers, known as the Swaminathan Commission.
  • Recommended that minimum support price should be at least 50% more than production costs.

Nut Graf: M.S. Swaminathan’s demise marks the end of an era in Indian agriculture. His leadership in the Green Revolution and dedication to sustainable farming left an enduring impact on the nation.

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Reform can address India’s kidney transplant deficit

Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Mains: Organ Donation, Regulation of Kidney Transplant

Prelims: Chronic Kidney Disease, The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994

Context

• India faces an alarming shortage of organs for transplantation, particularly kidneys.

Data

• In 2022, over 200,000 patients required a transplant, but only around 7,500 transplants were performed (approximately 3.4%).
• The transplant rate in developed countries like the US is around 20%, highlighting the disparity between India and these countries.
• The high prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in India, affecting approximately 17% of the population, contributes to the demand for kidney transplants.
• CKD often progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), making a kidney transplant the most effective treatment option.
• Transplants are preferred over alternative treatments due to their advantages in quality of life, patient convenience, life expectancy, and cost-effectiveness.

Read more about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

State of the Kidney Transplant Ecosystem

• Patients have few options for obtaining a kidney:
  1. Deceased donor transplant: Limited by lack of donations, specific requirements for nature of death, and infrastructure challenges.
  2. Living related donor transplant: Restricted by compatibility requirements (blood type and tissue type) between donor and recipient, with many relatives and friends being incompatible.
• Strict regulations in India, rather than a lack of medical facilities, contribute significantly to the gap in transplant rates.
• The current regulations need urgent reform to allow for two innovative kidney exchange methods: kidney ‘swaps’ and kidney ‘chains’.

Kidney Swaps and Kidney Chains

• Kidney swaps involve the exchange of kidneys between two strangers, while kidney chains involve a series of donations where each recipient’s relative donates a kidney to another recipient.
• Legal roadblocks are preventing these methods from being used effectively in India.
• For kidney swaps, the law currently allows only near-relatives to be donor-recipient pairs, but recent court judgments in Kerala, Punjab, and Haryana have allowed non-near-relative pairs after verification.
• There should be a national coordinating authority for swaps, like there is for direct transplants from cadavers, to create larger and more diverse pools of potential donors and recipients.
• Kidney chains are not happening in India because it is illegal to donate a kidney out of altruism in all states except Kerala.
• Harsh laws regulating swaps and chains have led to a proliferation of black markets for kidneys, which put desperate participants at risk.

Reforms are happening at a slow pace

• Reforms in kidney exchange laws have been slow in India.
• The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994 recognized transplant possibilities from brain-stem death patients. 
• The 2011 amendment legalized swap transplants and established a national organ transplant program, but the network remained underdeveloped.
• Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules 2014 gave the following provisions: 
  • The Authorization Committee deciding on the issue of transplant requires a minimum of four members, including the chairman, secretary (health), or appointee, and director of health services or appointee.
  • When the donor and recipient are not related, the Authorization Committee ensures that there is no financial exchange between them.
  • In cases of swap donation, the Authorization Committee of the hospital, district, or state where the transplant is planned must approve it, and the donation is only allowed from close relatives of the swap recipients.
  • If the recipient needs a life-saving transplant urgently, the donor or recipient can ask the hospital in charge to speed up the Authorization Committee’s assessment.
  • The Authorization Committee must make a final decision within 24 hours of the meeting and display it on the hospital’s notice board and website within 24 hours.
  • An apex national networking organization will be established at the center, along with regional and state-level networking organizations.
  • State units will be connected to hospitals, organ/tissue labs, and tissue banks within their region and to regional and national networking organizations.
  • A National Registry on Donors and Recipients of Human Organs and Tissues will be created, accessible through a dedicated website with national, regional, and state-specific information.
• Recent government reforms (February 2023) relax age and domicile requirements for seeking organs, but they do little to address the underlying issue of insufficient kidney supply.

Also read National Organ and Tissue Transplant Programme (NOTP).

Way Forward

• Allowing and encouraging altruistic donation, non-near relative donation for swaps, and improving kidney exchange infrastructure would be beneficial.
• Other countries like Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US have already set precedents for allowing altruistic donations and establishing national registries for kidney chains and swaps.
• India can adapt and learn from these successful regulations to improve the lives of its citizens.

Nut Graf: India faces a critical shortage of kidneys for transplantation, with only 3.4% of patients receiving transplants in 2022. Reforms are needed to allow for kidney swaps and chains, which could expand the donor pool and increase transplant rates.