UPSC Daily Current Affairs- September 14, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

A recently-released Malayalam film Pathonpatham Noottandu (‘Nineteenth Century’) is based on the life of Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker, a social reformer from the Ezhava community in Kerala who lived in the 19th century.

Who was Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker?

• Born into a well-off family of merchants in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, Panicker was one of the most influential figures in the reformation movement in the state.
• He challenged the domination of upper castes or ‘Savarnas’ and brought about changes in the lives of both men and women.
• The social reform movement in Kerala in the 19th century led to the large-scale subversion of the existing caste hierarchy and social order in the state.
• Panicker was murdered by a group of upper-caste men in 1874 at the age of 49. This makes him the ‘first martyr’ of the Kerala renaissance.

What was Panicker’s role in initiating social reforms?

• Panicker is credited with building two temples dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, in which members of all castes and religions were allowed entry.
• One was built in his own village Arattupuzha in 1852, and one in Thanneermukkom in 1854, another village in the Alappuzha district.
• Some of his most significant contributions were in protesting for the rights of women belonging to Kerala’s backward communities.
• In 1858, he led the Achippudava Samaram strike at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha.
• This strike aimed to earn women belonging to oppressed groups the right to wear a lower garment that extended beyond the knees.
• In 1859, this was extended into the Ethappu Samaram, the struggle for the right to wear an upper body cloth by women belonging to backward castes.
• In 1860, he led the Mukkuthi Samaram at Pandalam in the Pathanamthitta district, for the rights of lower-caste women to wear ‘mukkuthi’ or nose-ring, and other gold ornaments.
• These struggles played an important role in challenging the social order and in raising the dignity of women belonging to the lower strata of society in public life.

Other work

• Apart from issues related to women, Panicker also led the first-ever strike by agricultural labourers in Kerala, the Karshaka Thozhilali Samaram, which was successful.
• He also established the first Kathakali Yogam for the Ezhava community in 1861, which led to a Kathakali performance by Ezhavas and other backward communities, another first for them.

Context

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and other leaders are in Moscow to unveil the statue of Lok Shahir (balladeer) Annabhau Sathe at the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature.

Why in news?

• Sathe’s work was immensely inspired by the Russian revolution and the Communist ideology.
• He was a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), and featured among the selected authors from India whose work was translated in Russian.

Who was Anna bhau Sathe?

• Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe, who later came to be known as Annabhau Sathe, was born in a Dalit family on August 1, 1920 in Maharashtra’s Wategaon village in Satara district.
• In 1930, his family left the village and came to Mumbai. Here, he worked as a porter, a hawker and even a cotton mill helper.
• In 1934, Mumbai witnessed a workers’ strike under the leadership of Lal Bawta Mill Workers Union in which he participated.
• During his days at the Matunga Labour Camp, he got to know R B More, an associate of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in the famous ‘Chavdar Lake’ satyagraha at Mahad, and joined the labour study circle.
• Being a Dalit, he was denied schooling in his village. It was during these study circles that he learned to read and write.

How did Anna start writing songs, ballads and books?

• Sathe wrote his first poem on the menace of mosquitoes in the labour camp.
• He formed Dalit Yuvak Sangh, a cultural group and started writing poems on workers’ protests, agitations.
• The group used to perform in front of the mill gates.
• Progressive Writers Association was formed at the national level at the same time with the likes of Premchand, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Rahul Sankrutyayan, Mulkraj Anand as its members.
• The group would translate the Russian work of Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev into Marathi, which Sathe got hooked on.
• It not only had an ideological impact on him, but inspired him to write street plays, stories, novels etc. In 1939, he wrote his first ballad ‘Spanish Povada’.

How popular was his work?

• Sathe and his group travelled across Mumbai campaigning for workers’ rights.
• Out of the 49 years that he lived, Sathe, who began writing only after the age of 20, churned out 32 novels, 13 collections of short stories, four plays, a travelogue and 11 povadas (ballads).
• Several of his works like ‘Aklechi Goshta,’ ‘Stalingradacha Povada,’ ‘Mazi Maina Gavavar Rahili,’ ‘Jag Badal Ghaluni Ghav’ were popular across the state.
• Almost six of his novels were turned into films and many translated into other languages, including Russian.
• His ‘Bangalchi Hak’ (Bengal’s Call) on the Bengal famine was translated into Bengali and later presented at London’s Royal Theatre.
• His literature depicted the caste and class reality of Indian society of that time.

Left leanings

• Sathe’s work was influenced by Marxism, but at the same time he brought out the harsh realities of the caste system.
• In 1943, he formed the Lal Bawta Kala Pathak.
• The group toured across Maharashtra presenting programmes on caste atrocities, class conflict, and workers’ rights.
• He dedicated his most famous novel Fakira to Dr. Ambedkar.

What was his Russian connection?

• He was once called the Maxim Gorky of Maharashtra.
• He was immensely inspired by Gorky’s ‘The Mother’ and the Russian revolution, which was reflected in his writings.
• He travelled to Russia in 1961 along with a group of other Indians.

Is there a reason behind the statue being unveiled now?

• Sathe belonged to the Matang community among Dalits.
• With the Left failing to claim his artistic legacy, Sathe is now restricted as a symbol of a particular community.
• The right wing is angling to claim the credit for making Sathe a global icon.
• Installing Sathe’s oil painting at the Indian consulate at Moscow also shows that the central government is using this occasion to increase cultural dialogue between two countries.

GS-II

Context

Recently, India & Japan hold the 2+2 ministerial meeting in Tokyo to enhance security and defence cooperation.

What are the Key Highlights of this Meeting?

• Enhanced Defence Cooperation: Both countries are examining all options necessary for national defence including counterstrike capabilities, and will increase their defence budget substantially to strengthen their capabilities.
  • As there is a need to tackle increased security threats mostly from neighbouring China.
• Enhancing Maritime Cooperation: There were extensive discussions on ways to enhance maritime cooperation including maritime domain awareness that includes India’s inclusive vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
• Global cooperation: Both countries acknowledged that global cooperation is required more than ever to address security challenges.
  • Further, here is consensus on both sides that a strong India-Japan relationship is very important for a free, open, rule-based and inclusive Indo-Pacific based upon sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.

How has India’s Relations with Japan been?

• Defence Exercises
  • India and Japan's defence forces organize a series of bilateral exercises namely, JIMEX (naval), SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force), and Dharma Guardian (Army).
  • The participation of Japan for the first time in the multilateral exercise MILAN and operationalisation of the Reciprocal Provision of Supply and Services Agreement in March, 2022 are milestones in the progress of defence cooperation.
  • Both countries also participate in the Malabar exercise (Naval Exercise) with the USA and Australia.
• Multilateral Groupings
  • Both India and Japan are members of Quad, G20 and G-4.
  • They are also member countries of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
• Health-Care
  • In view of the similarities and synergies between the goals and objectives of India's AYUSHMAN Bharat Programme and Japan’s AHWIN, both sides had been consulting with each other to identify projects to build the narrative of AHWIN for AYUSHMAN Bharat.
• Investment and ODA
  • India has been the largest recipient of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan for the past decades.
    • Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA.
  • India’s Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project is funded by a soft loan provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency.
  • Japan and India had committed to build a High-Speed Railways in India.
  • India Japan Nuclear Deal 2016 will help India build the six nuclear reactors in southern India, increasing nuclear energy capacity ten-fold by 2032.
• Economic Relations
  • Japan’s bilateral trade with India totaled US$ 20.57 billion during FY 2021-22.
    • Japan’s exports to India were 2.35% of India’s total imports and India’s exports to Japan were 1.46% of India’s total exports. This underlines that there remains a big potential.
  • India was the 18th largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was the 12th largest trading partner for India in 2020.
• Developments during 14^th India-Japan Annual Summit, 2022
  • Sustainable Development Initiative for the North Eastern Region of India: It has been launched with an eye on India’s infrastructure development in the Northeast, and includes both ongoing projects and possible future cooperation in connectivity, healthcare, new and renewable energy, as well as an initiative for strengthening bamboo value chain.
• India-Japan Digital Partnership:
  • On cyber security, the leaders discussed the “India-Japan Digital Partnership” with a view to enhancing the digital economy through the promotion of joint projects in the area of IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and other emerging technologies.
  • Japan is looking forward to attracting more highly skilled Indian IT professionals to contribute to the Japanese ICT sector.
• Clean Energy Partnership
  • It was launched for cooperation in areas such as electric vehicles, storage systems including batteries, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, development of solar energy, hydrogen, ammonia, etc.
  • The objective is to encourage manufacturing in India, creation of resilient and trustworthy supply chains in these areas as well as foster collaboration in R&D (Research and Development).

Context

Recently, China opposed the war games between India and the US near the disputed Sino-India border, saying it’s an interference in the bilateral boundary issue.

• While the drill is yet to be officially confirmed, it is anticipated that the two countries will participate in the 18^th edition of the “Yudh Abhyas” at Auli in Uttarakhand in October 2022, some 100km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Why Does China Oppose the Military Drill near LAC?

• China says both countries have agreed that no military drill will be held near the LAC, the de facto border between the two countries.
• China cited two agreements signed by India and China in 1993 and 1996, saying the exercise violates both.
  • 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.
  • 1996 Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.
• A key element of both the 1993 and 1996 agreements is that the two sides would keep their forces in the areas along the LAC to a minimum level. However, the agreements do not define what comprises the minimum level.
  • The 1993 and 1996 agreements also mandate that pending a final solution to the boundary question, the two sides shall strictly respect the LAC.
• Use of firearms on the LAC is strictly regulated as per the agreements of 1993, 1996 and 2005.

What is the Point of Contention between two countries?

• The major disagreements are in the western sector.
• After the 1962 War, the Chinese claimed they had withdrawn to 20 km behind the LAC in November 1959.
• In the eastern sector the border coincides in the main with the so-called McMahon Line, and in the western and middle sectors it coincides in the main with the traditional customary line which has consistently been pointed out by China.
• During the Doklam crisis in 2017, China urged India to abide by the “1959 LAC”.
• India rejected the concept of LAC in both 1959 and 1962.
• India’s objection was that the Chinese line “was a disconnected series of points on a map that could be joined up in many ways; the line should omit gains from aggression in 1962 and therefore should be based on the actual position on September 8, 1962 before the Chinese attack, and the vagueness of the Chinese definition left it open for China to continue its creeping attempt to change facts on the ground by military force.

What are the Recent Issues and Developments between India and China?

• Issues
  • May 2020: Chinese and Indian forces clashed at Nathu La, Sikkim (India).
  • June 2020: Indian and Chinese armies were engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
  • June 2020: India banned 59 apps originating from China.
  • November 2020: India blocked 43 new mobile apps, mostly Chinese.
    • The ban has been enforced under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• Developments
  • February 2021: India and China decided to finally reach an agreement on disengagement at Pangong Lake.
  • September 2022: Recently, Indian and Chinese armies have begun to disengage from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area of Eastern Ladakh, marking a step forward to end the standoff ongoing since May 2020.

Context

Forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is leading India to multi alignment.

Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO)

• SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization.
• It is the world’s largest regional organization,
• 40% of the world population
• More than 30% of global GDP.
• Members: 8-China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

SCO SUMIIT, 2022

• Host- Uzbekistan,
• Uzbekistan will host a full house: 15 leaders including eight member states from four Central Asian States, China, India, Pakistan and Russia,
• The observer states: Belarus, Mongolia and Iran (which will become member this year) —
• Afghanistan is not invited
• Leaders of guest countries -Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan

What is non- alignment?

• It’s a policy, a brainchild of Nehru. Non-alignment movement emerged after second world war.
• Non-alignment means not having an alliance with any of superpower, either USSR or USA.  Decolonized nations of Asia and Africa was largely a part of this group.

India’s policy of non-alignment

• At bandung conference in 1955 non-alignment movement started with India as one of the founding member.
• With policy of non-alignment India refused to gravitate towards USA or USSR.
• India was the leader of non-alignment.

What is India’s current policy of multi- alignment?

• Since the start of his tenure from 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi have not attended any conference of non-alignment.
• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in his book, The Indian way have criticized the non-alignment.
• In the words of Former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale India is no longer the non-align nation.

How it is a Multi alignment policy?

• India to truly multi aligned or all aligned by being a part of every major grouping.
• India is a part of BRICS and Prime Minister Modi is attending the SCO SUMMIT in Samarkand.
• On parallel to rival groups India is also the part of Quad and Indo pacific economic framework.
• India is buying the discounted Russian oil and reusing to buckle under pressure from west and USA.
• S-400 purchase is happening and India have dodged the bullet of sanctions from USA.
• India is choosing the bilateral Free trade agreement like with Australia and UAE and withdrew from groupings like RCEP and Most recently IPEF. This policy are is said to be in the economic interest of India.

Advantages of Multi alignment

• India no longer wants to repeat the mistake of missing out of P5 Security council (“Permanent membership in the Security Council was granted to five states based on their importance in the aftermath of World War II).
• If any group work against your interest it is better to be part of group rather than remain outside and do nothing
• With retreating USA and its collapsing hegemony world is moving towards multiple polar world order.

Disadvantages

• Major disadvantage of non-alignment is you no longer have influence over adverse policy of friendly country.
• For example: Russia sells S-400 to India but it also sold the same weapon to china.
• USA and India are strategically getting closer day by day but USA recently approved the sale of $450 million F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

Conclusion

• Multi alignment will serve India its best national interest.
• So far India has managed the rival parties at world stage to secure its foreign policy objectives but with Russian aggression and Chinese assertion and divided world will pose a significant challenge to India’s multi alignment policy.

Context

The latest National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) released September 13, 2022 by the Union health ministry added 34 new medicines and dropped 26 old ones from the previous list.

About NLEM

• As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), Essential Medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare hence prepared and released the first National List of Essential Medicines of India in 1996 consisting of 279 medicines.
• The list is made with consideration to disease prevalence, efficacy, safety and comparative cost-effectiveness of the medicines.
• Such medicines are intended to be available in adequate amounts, in appropriate dosage forms and strengths with assured quality.
• They should be available in such a way that an individual or community can afford.

NLEM in India

• Drugs listed under NLEM — also known as scheduled drugs — will be cheaper because the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) caps medicine prices and changes only based on wholesale price index-based inflation.
• The list includes anti-infectives medicines to treat diabetes such as insulin — HIV, tuberculosis, cancer, contraceptives, hormonal medicines and anaesthetics.
• They account for 17-18 per cent of the estimated Rs 1.6-trillion domestic pharmaceutical market.
• Companies selling non-scheduled drugs can hike prices by up to 10 per cent every year.
• Typically, once NLEM is released, the department of pharmaceuticals under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers adds them in the Drug Price Control Order, after which NPPA fixes the price.

Significance of EML

• Drawing an essential medicines list (EML) is expected to result in better quality of medical care, better management of medicines and cost-effective use of health care resources.
• This is especially important for a resource-limited country like India.
• The list of essential medicines is intended to have a positive impact on the availability and rational use of medicines.

GS-III

Context

The Union Finance Minister has heaped praises on Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.

Why in news?

• FM was reacting to a case made by Fifteenth Finance Commission chief N.K. Singh to set up a Fiscal Council with the Centre and States.
• This is another such recommended body to act as a bridge between the GST Council and the Finance Commission.

What is the GST Council?

• The GST regime came into force after the 101^st Constitutional Amendment was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016.
• The GST Council – a joint forum of the Centre and the states — was set up by the President as per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.
• The members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre.
• Each state can nominate a minister in-charge of finance or taxation or any other minister as a member.

Why was the Council set up?

• The Council, according to Article 279, is meant to “make recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws”.
• It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.
• For instance, an interim report by a panel of ministers has suggested imposing 28 per cent GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing.
• A decision on this will be taken at the Council meeting.

Recent reforms

• The ongoing meeting is the first since a decision of the Supreme Court in May this year, which stated recommendations of the GST Council are not binding.
• The court said Article 246A of the Constitution gives both Parliament and state legislatures “simultaneous” power to legislate on GST .
• Recommendations of the Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States.
• This was hailed by some states, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who believe states can be more flexible in accepting the recommendations as suited to them.

Context

Increasing the efficiency of processing patent applications and wider academia-industry collaboration are crucial steps for patent system.

What is patent system?
A patent system is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention.

Why are patents important?

• A patent is important because it can help safeguard our invention. 
• It can protect any product, design or process that meets certain specifications according to its originality, practicality, suitability, and utility. In most cases, a patent can protect an invention for up to 20 years.

How to get patent?

• To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
• The patent owner may give permission to, or license, other parties to use the invention on mutually agreed terms.
• The owner may also sell the right to the invention to someone else, who will then become the new owner of the patent.
• Once a patent expires, the protection ends, and an invention enters the public domain; that is, anyone can commercially exploit the invention without infringing the patent.

Terms of Patent

• Patents may be granted for inventions in any field of technology, from an everyday kitchen utensil to a nanotechnology chip.
• An invention can be a product – such as a chemical compound, or a process, for example – or a process for producing a specific chemical compound.
• Patent protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application.
• Patents are territorial rights. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region.

How patents can support inventors and improve lives

• Recognize and reward: Patents recognize and reward inventors for their commercially-successful inventions. As such they serve as an incentive for inventors to invent. With a patent, an inventor or small business knows there is a good chance that they will get a return on the time, effort and money they invested in developing a technology. In sum, it means they can earn a living from their work.
• Economic opportunity: When a new technology comes onto the market, society as a whole stands to benefit – both directly, because it may enable us to do something that was previously not possible, and indirectly in terms of the economic opportunities (business development and employment) that can flow from it.
• Research and development (R&D): The revenues generated from commercially successful patent-protected technologies make it possible to finance further technological research and development (R&D), thereby improving the chances of even better technology becoming available in the future.
• Opportunities for business growth: A patent effectively turns an inventor’s know-how into a commercially tradeable asset, opening up opportunities for business growth and job creation through licensing and joint ventures, for example.
• Commercialization of a technology: Holding a patent also makes a small business more attractive to investors who play a key role in enabling the commercialization of a technology.
• Spark new ideas: The technical information and business intelligence generated by the patenting process can spark new ideas and promote new inventions from which we can all benefit and which may, in turn, qualify for patent protection.
• No freebies: A patent can help stop unscrupulous third parties from free riding on the efforts of the inventor.

What is KAPILA Initiative?

• Full form: KAPILA is an acronym for Kalam Program for IP (Intellectual Property) Literacy and Awareness.
• Guidelines for patent Filing: Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of the application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights.
• Encouragement to students: The program will facilitate the colleges and institutions to encourage more and more students to file patents.