UPSC Daily Current Affairs- September 15, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

India will be facing the immediate challenge –The ageing of the population. Challenge to ensure a decent quality of life for the old age people in the near future, planning and providing for it must begin today.

What is ageing of the population?

• Meaning: Population ageing is a shift in the distribution of a country’s population towards older ages.
• Reason behind it: Decline in the fertility rate and Rise In the life expectancy. An increase in longevity increases the average age of the population by increasing the numbers of surviving older people.
• Impact of the ageing population:, labor supply shortage, change in patterns of saving and investment, deteriorate fiscal balance, lack of adequate welfare system etc.
• Challenges they impose: Social security, elderly Healthcare, Dependence on the family etc.

What is the status in India?

• According to the National Commission on Population, The share of the elderly (persons aged 60 years and above) close to 9% in 2011.
• It is growing fast and may reach 18% by 2036.

Problems faced by elderly

• Depression: According to survey by Abdul Latif Jameel foundation in Tamilnadu, 30-50% of people above age of 60 has a symptoms of depression.The proportion with depression symptoms is much higher for women than men, and rises sharply with age. In most cases, depression remains undiagnosed and untreated.
• Loneliness: Loneliness one the major factor leading to depression. A large majority of elderly persons living alone are women, mainly widows.
• Hardship of age: Monetary assistance can certainly help to cope with many health issues.
• Poverty and poor health: Old age pensions are vital. Cash helps to lead a dignified life.

Current government schemes for elderly

• Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Scheme: This is one of the most popular senior citizen pension schemes in India.
  • Designed for senior citizens above 60 years of age, the policy term of this Prime Minister Senior Citizen Scheme extends to ten years.
  • The pensioner can choose the frequency of the payment – monthly/quarterly/half- yearly/annually.
  • You can earn interest of 8% per annum over this scheme.
  • The minimum and maximum capping of pension are Rs. 3,000 per month and 10,000 per month, respectively.
• National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE)
  • Introduced in 2010, this scheme concentrates on preventive as well as promotive, care for the maintenance of overall health.
  • This program was launched to address the health issues faced by seniors.
  • The district-level objectives include providing dedicated health facilities in district hospitals, community health centres (CHC), primary health centres (PHC), and sub-centres (SC) levels through State Health Society.
  • These facilities maybe free or highly subsidized.
• Varishta Mediclaim Policy
  • This policy aids seniors by covering the cost of medicines, blood, ambulance charges, and other diagnosis related charges.
  • Designed for senior citizens between the age of 60 and 80 years, this helps meet the health-related expenses of senior citizens.
  • Income tax benefits are allowed for payment of premium.
  • Although the policy period is for one year, you can extend the renewal up to the age of 90 years.
• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana
  • This scheme provides physical aids and assisted-living devices to the elderly above 60 years of age that belong to the BPL (below the poverty line) category.
  • If senior citizens wish to avail this, then they must have a BPL card.
  • This is a Central Sector Scheme and is entirely funded by the Central Government.
• Varishta Pension Bima Yojana
  • This pension scheme, launched by the Ministry of Finance, is for senior citizens above 60 years.
  • The LIC of India has the authority to operate this scheme.
  • Any Medical check-ups is not necessary to avail this policy.
  • It offers assured pension with a guaranteed interest rate of 8% per annum for up to 10 years
  • You can opt for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly pension – depends on how you’d like to receive it.
• Vayoshreshtha Samman –
  • This scheme focuses on those seniors who have made significant contributions in their disciplines and recognized their efforts.
  • It was upgraded to the National Award in 2013, and since then, awards have been granted below thirteen categories.

Conclusion

• Social security pensions, of course, are just the first step towards a dignified life for the elderly. They also need other support and facilities such as health care, disability aids and assistance with daily tasks, recreation opportunities and a good social life. 
• They can be the active contributor to the economy having the years of experience and mentorship to the demographic dividend.

Context

Recently, there have been protests by farmers and various organizations due to the price of natural rubber (NR) crashing to a sixteen-month low in the Indian market.

What has Caused the Sharp Fall in Prices?

• Poor Demand and Other Factors: Due to weak Chinese demand and the European energy crisis, along with high inflation.
  • While the unremitting zero COVID strategy in China, which consumes about 42% of the global volume, has cost the industry dearly.
• Import from Other countries: There is an ample supply of block rubber from Ivory Coast and compounded rubber from the Far East in the domestic tyre industry.
  • The Auto-Tyre manufacturing sector accounted for 73.1% of the total quantity of natural rubber consumption.

How does the Falling Price affect the Farmer?

• Crop Shifting: The impact of the price fall is felt more in the rural areas, where most people are solely dependent on rubber cultivation, therefore, they might switch to other crops.
  • It can even lead to the fragmentation of rubber holdings.
• Effect on Small and Medium Enterprises: As most of the production occurs in small and medium enterprises, the falling price could lead to their uncertain future and force them to stop production temporarily.
• Panic in Kerala: The state accounts for almost 75% of total production, as local economy depends on rubber production, therefore the falling price could lead to major panic in villages of Kerala.

What do we Know about Natural Rubber?

• Commercial Plantation Crop: Rubber is made from the latex of a tree called Hevea Brasiliensis. Rubber is largely perceived as a strategic industrial raw material and accorded special status globally for defence, national security and industrial development.
• Conditions for Growth: It is an equatorial crop, but under special conditions, it is also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
  • Temperature: Above 25°C with a moist and humid climate.
  • Rainfall: More than 200 cm.
  • Soil Type: Rich well-drained alluvial soil.
  • Cheap and adequate supply of skilled labour is needed for this plantation crop.
• Major Producers Globally: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and India.
• Major Consumers: China, India, USA, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

What is the Status of Rubber Production in India?

• Production
  • The British established the first rubber plantation in India in 1902 on the banks of the river Periyar in Kerala.
  • India is currently the fifth largest producer of Natural Rubber in the world with one of the highest productivity.
  • The production of the material improved by 8.4%, to 7,75,000 tonnes, during 2021-22 compared to 2020-21.
    • It also remains the second biggest consumer of the material globally.
    • About 40% of India’s total natural rubber consumption is currently met through imports.
• Top Rubber Producing States: Kerala > Tamil Nadu > Karnataka.
• Government Initiatives
  • Rubber Plantation Development Scheme and the Rubber Group Planting Scheme are examples of government-led initiatives for rubber.
  • 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed in plantations of rubber.
  • The Department of Commerce brought out the National Rubber Policy in March 2019.
    • The policy includes several provisions to support the Natural Rubber (NR) production sector and the entire rubber industry value chain.
      • It is based on the short-term and long-term strategies identified by the Task Force constituted in the rubber sector for mitigating problems faced by rubber growers in the country.
      • Developmental and research activities for supporting the NR sector for the welfare of growers are carried out through Rubber Board by implementing the scheme Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector in the Medium-Term Framework (MTF).

GS-II

Context

The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of PM has approved the addition of four tribes to the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST), including those from Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.

Which tribes are we talking about?

• Hatti tribe in the Trans-Giri area of Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh
• Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran hill tribes of Tamil Nadu and
• Binjhia tribe in Chhattisgarh, which was listed as ST in Jharkhand and Odisha but not in Chhattisgarh

Who are the Scheduled Tribes?

• The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ first appeared in the Constitution of India.
• Article 366 (25) defined scheduled tribes as “such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution”.
• Article 342 prescribes procedure to be followed in the matter of specification of scheduled tribes.
• Among the tribal groups, several have adapted to modern life but there are tribal groups who are more vulnerable.
• The Dhebar Commission (1973) created a separate category “Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs)” which was renamed in 2006 as “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)”.

How are STs notified?

• The first specification of Scheduled Tribes in relation to a particular State/ Union Territory is by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the State governments concerned.
• These orders can be modified subsequently only through an Act of Parliament.

Status of STs in India

• The Census 2011 has revealed that there are said to be 705 ethnic groups notified as Scheduled Tribes (STs).
• Over 10 crore Indians are notified as STs, of which 1.04 crore live in urban areas.
• The STs constitute 8.6% of the population and 11.3% of the rural population.

Context

Union Home Minister has appealed to guardians to speak to children in their mother tongue to enable them to learn Hindi without much effort, on the Hindi Divas.

What did HM say on Hindi?

• He said it was time that inferiority complex around Indian languages, instilled by the British, was overthrown from people’s conscience with the help of regional languages and Hindi.
• He also said that Hindi was not a competitor but a “friend” of all the other regional languages in the country and they were mutually dependent on each other for their growth.
• He said there was a concerted disinformation campaign to pit Hindi against other languages such as Marathi and Tamil, and underlined the need to strengthen local languages with Hindi.

Debate over Hindi

• Between September 12 and 14, 1949, that the Constituent Assembly debated the status of India’s languages.
• Among the issues that were discussed were the use of the term ‘national language’ instead of ‘official’ language.
• Hindi author Seth Govind Das, who represented the Central Provinces and Berar, argued for ‘one language and one script’ and suggested that Hindi should replace English at the earliest.

What is the status of Hindi?

• Finally, the Constituent Assembly adopted what was known as “Munshi-Ayyangar Formula.”
• According to this, Hindi in the Devnagari script would be the official language of the Union.

Official, not national

• English would continue to be used for all official purposes for the next 15 years, to enable a smooth transition for non-Hindi speaking states.
• The deadline was 26 January 1965.
• Under Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
• The international form of Indian numerals will be used for official purposes.

Why has language become a sensitive issue?

• Self-identification: A strong identification with one’s regional language and an underlying fear of homogenisation is at the heart of the national language question in India. An individual conceptualises and communicates his thoughts in a language, enabling him to be an active part of society.
• Language defines primary group: People identify with one another based on language, thus giving them a primary group. A nation is the largest primary group that once can address.
• Learning abilities at stake: The dangers of imposing a language are manifold. It can affect the learning ability of non-native speakers thereby affecting their self-confidence.
• Threats to endangered languages: It can also endanger other languages and dialects and reduce diversity.
• Threats to diversity: National integration cannot come at the cost of people’s linguistic identities. Language is integral to culture and therefore privileging Hindi over all other languages spoken in India takes away from its diversity.
• Promises made by Constituent Assembly: Then PM Pt. Nehru had promised that Hindi would only serve as a linking language and it would not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking states as long as they were against it.

Benefits of having a national language

• Wide range of speakers: Hindi is still the most widely spoken language in the country with an estimated 258 million people declaring that Hindi is their native language and millions more comfortable with Hindi.
• Language as a unifying language: A complete usage of Hindi language whilst respecting the various native languages would also ensure better coordination and cooperation among all the states and act as a strong unifying factor and eliminate all regional differences.
• Reputation at international fora: When countries like Germany, Japan, France, Italy etc. use their respective language as a medium of communication even during International forums not only has the reputation of those countries have greatly enhanced but also those languages have gained a huge reputation worldwide.

Issues with Hindi

• Inherent opposition to Hindi: The Constituent Assembly was bitterly divided on the question, with members from States that did not speak Hindi initially opposing the declaration of Hindi as a national language.
• Fear of imposition: Opponents were against English being done away with, fearing that it may lead to Hindi domination in regions that did not speak the language.
• Symbol of identity politics: The approach towards linguistic policy seems to be driven more by the politics of identity than values of aspiration or accommodation.
• Favour for majoritarianism: The primary argument in favour of Hindi has been reduced to assertions of slim majoritarianism.
• Few speakers, still dominant: Even then, there are concerns about the claim based on mere numerical strength, as only 25 per cent of Indians seem to recognise Hindi as their mother tongue (Census 2011).
• Demographic barriers: Today nearly 35% of people are migrating daily for work. In such a situation, we have to conceptualise a new form of language identity for our states.
• Economic barriers: Any idea of one link language, whether Hindi or English, will be economically disastrous for India. It will slow down migration and reduce the ease of capital flow.
• Multiple dialects: Only five states in India have Hindi as their’ native language’. However, in those states, too, the dialects of Hindi are associated with locals and their communities.

Why Hindi cannot be the national language?

• Multiple dialects: Hindi has largely been influenced by Persian — and then English, among other languages. Also, when the languages were enumerated, Hindi subsumed Bhojpuri, which is spoken by a little over five crore people.
• Inefficacy of Sanskrit: There were demands to make Sanskrit the official language, while some argued in favour of ‘Hindustani’.
• Issue over Script: There were differences of opinion over the script too. When opinion veered towards accepting Hindi, proponents of the language wanted the ‘Devanagari’ script to be adopted both for words and numerals.

Why this issue needs a rational consideration?

• Linguistic chauvinism: Various policies on language have been framed both by the central and state governments that have been termed as forms of linguistic chauvinism.  Ex. Obsession for Marathi in Mumbai
• Secular fabric under threat: The states’ fear of the central government’s ideology of monopolising faith, education, and language will adversely affect the Indian political system, which is based on pluralism and accommodation.
• Monolingualism can prove disastrous: If there is a mechanical and monolithic idea of unity followed by any entity, such an entity generally generates great hostility beyond its immediate borders.  In neighbouring Bangladesh – then East Pakistan – the language movement against the imposition of Urdu on Bengali speakers was a key driver of Pakistan splitting into two nations.

Context

INS Satpura and P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft have arrived in Darwin in Australia to participate in a multinational naval exercise, Kakadu, being hosted by the Royal Australian Navy.

What do we Know about Exercise Kakadu?

• About
  • Exercise Kakadu is a joint-enabled, biennial exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force.
  • Kakadu is the Navy’s premier maritime exercise, developing interoperability between nations in the maritime and air domains, and providing training opportunities for maritime security and surveillance.
  • It started in 1993.
• Exercise Kakadu -22
  • It's a two-week-long exercise, both in harbour and sea, involving ships and maritime aircraft from 14 navies.
  • Participation: Around 19 vessels, 34 aircraft and more than 3000 personnel from 25 countries are expected.
  • Theme: Partnership, Leadership, Friendship.
• Significance: As Navy’s most significant international engagement activity, Exercise Kakadu is vital for building relationships between participating countries.
  • The exercise provides an opportunity for regional partners to undertake multinational maritime activities ranging from constabulary operations to high-end maritime warfare in a combined environment.

What are other military exercises with Australia?

• Multilateral exercise
  • Malabar
  • Exercise Pitch Black 22
• Bilateral exercise: Ausindex

Context

The Election Commission of India has delisted 86 non-existent Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPP) and declared additional 253 as ‘Inactive RUPPs’.

What do we need to know about the Delisting by ECI?

• Declared Inactive
  • 253 RUPPs have not responded to the letter/notice delivered to them and have not contested a single election either to the General Assembly of a State or the Parliament Election of 2014 & 2019.
  • As per Section 29A of the Representation of People Act 1951, every political party has to communicate any change in its name, head office, office bearers, address, PAN to the Commission without delay.
• Delisted
  • 86 RUPPs have been found to be non-existent either after a physical verification carried out by the Chief Electoral Officers of concerned States/UTs or based on a report of undelivered letters/notices from Postal Authority sent to the registered address of concerned RUPP.
  • Additionally, they would not be entitled to have benefits under the Symbols Order, 1968.

What are the Key Points related to the Political Parties?

• Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPP)
  • About
    • Either newly registered parties or those which have not secured enough percentage of votes in the assembly or general elections to become a state party, or those which have never contested elections since being registered are considered unrecognised parties.
    • Such parties don’t enjoy all the benefits extended to the recognised parties.
  • Symbol Allocation
    • Common symbols are provided to RUPP under Symbols Order, 1968.
    • Privilege of a common symbol is given to RUPP based upon an undertaking for putting up at least 5% of total candidates with regard to said legislative assembly election of a State.
    • Possibility of such parties occupying the available pre-election political space by taking benefits of admissible entitlements without contesting elections cannot be ruled out.
      • This also tends to crowd out the political parties actually contesting elections and also creating confusing situations for the voters.
• Recognised Political Party
  • A recognised political party shall either be a National party or a State party if it meets certain laid down conditions.
  • To become a recognised political party either at the state or national level, a party has to secure a certain minimum percentage of polled valid votes or a certain number of seats in the state legislative assembly or the Lok Sabha during the last election.
  • The recognition granted by the Commission to the parties determines their right to certain privileges like allocation of the party symbols, provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations and access to electoral rolls.

What Powers does Symbol’s Order 1968 provide to ECI?

• Under Paragraph 15 of the Order, EC can decide disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol.
  • The EC is the only authority to decide issues on a dispute or a merger under the order.
  • The Supreme Court (SC) upheld its validity in Sadiq Ali and another vs. ECI in 1971.
• This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
• For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.
• In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
• Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
• The splinter group of the party - other than the group that got the party symbol - had to register itself as a separate party.
  • They could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.

GS-III

Windfall Tax

Context

Recently, the Ministry of Finance has justified the imposition of Windfall Tax on domestic crude oil producers in July 2022, saying that it was not an ad hoc (made or done suddenly) move but was done after full consultation with the industry.

• Besides India, a wave of countries including the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany have either already imposed a windfall profit tax on super normal profits of energy companies or are contemplating doing so.

What is a Windfall Tax?

• About
  • Windfall taxes are designed to tax the profits a company derives from an external, sometimes unprecedented event— for instance, the energy price-rise as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
  • These are profits that cannot be attributed to something the firm actively did, like an investment strategy or an expansion of business.
  • A windfall is defined as an “unearned, unanticipated gain in income through no additional effort or expense”.
  • Governments typically levy a one-off tax retrospectively over and above the normal rates of tax on such profits, called windfall tax.
  • One area where such taxes have routinely been discussed is oil markets, where price fluctuation leads to volatile or erratic profits for the industry.
• Rationale: There have been varying rationales for governments worldwide to introduce windfall taxes, from redistribution of unexpected gains when high prices benefit producers at the expense of consumers, to funding social welfare schemes, and as a supplementary revenue stream for the government.

Why are Countries Levying Windfall Taxes Now?

• Prices of oil, gas, and coal have seen sharp increases since late last year and in the first two quarters of the current year, although they have reduced recently.
• The increase stems from a combination of factors, including a mismatch between energy demand and supply during the economic recovery from Covid-19, further amplified by the Russian war in Ukraine.
• Pandemic recovery and supply issues resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict shore up energy demands, in turn driving up global prices.
• The rising prices meant huge and record profits for energy companies while resulting in hefty gas and electricity bills for household bills in major and smaller economies.
• The levies came as refiners made major gains by boosting fuel exports to countries that were in a deficit like Europe, which has now boycotted oil imports from Russia.
• The U.N.(United Nations) chief urged all governments to tax these excessive profits “and use the funds to support the most vulnerable people through these difficult times.”
• The calls to introduce windfall taxes also found support in organisations like the IMF, which released an advice note as to how such a tax should be levied.

What are the Issues with Imposing Windfall Tax?

• Uncertainty in the Market
  • Companies are confident in investing in a sector if there is certainty and stability in a tax regime.
  • Since windfall taxes are imposed retrospectively and are often influenced by unexpected events, they can brew uncertainty in the market about future taxes.
• Populist in Nature: It is believed that such taxes are populist and politically opportune in the short term.
• Reduces Future Investment: Introducing a temporary windfall profit tax reduces future investment because prospective investors will internalize the likelihood of potential taxes when making investment decisions.
• Not Defined Precisely
  • It is not defined what exactly constitutes true windfall profits and how it can be determined what level of profit is normal or excessive.
    • If rapid increases in prices lead to higher profits, in one sense it can be called true windfalls as they are unforeseeable but it can be argued that it is the profit the companies earned as a reward for the industries risk-taking to provide the final product to the end user.
  • It is not defined who should be taxed- only the big companies responsible for the bulk of high-priced sales or smaller companies as well— raising the question of whether producers with revenues or profits below a certain threshold should be exempt.

Context

The government will announce the National Logistics Policy (NLP) this week, aiming to bring down logistics costs and address challenges plaguing importers and exporters.

About Logistics

• Logistics refers to the overall process of managing how resources are acquired, stored, and transported to their final destination.
• It involves identifying prospective distributors and suppliers and determining their effectiveness and accessibility.

Why need a logistics policy?

• Organizing and consolidating the sector: India’s logistics sector is largely unorganized and fragmented.
• Reducing logistics cost: This is why the country’s logistics costs are as high as 14-15% of the GDP, against 7-8% in developed nations such as the Singapore and the US, who leverage it to boost exports. The NLP aims to bring down India’s logistics cost to 8% in the next five years.
• Preventing waste of perishable items: As per some estimates in India, about 16% of agri-production is wasted at different stages of the supply chain.
• Warehousing development: Moreover, due to factors such as limited capacity and availability of warehouses, the cost of transaction increases.
• Multi-modal integration: The new policy is going about simplification, technology and will have a multimodal approach that will combine rail, water, and air — all modes of transport.

What role will technology play?

• Advanced analytics: The NLP will aim to harness technologies such as AI and blockchain. It aims to create a data analytics centre for driving greater transparency and continuous monitoring of key logistics metrics.
• Single window portal: Under NLP, a portal will be created, where service providers such as warehousing providers, shipping experts, transporters, customs brokers, and various governmental agencies will be unified.

Will it boost cooperation between ministries?

• Unifying multiple departments: Currently, the logistics value chain is managed by several ministries—road transport and highways, shipping, railways, and civil aviation.
• Single-point clearances: Agencies like the Central Drug Standard Control Organization and the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India provide clearances.
• Nationwide integration: The NLP could enhance their integration at the central level.

What about reducing the carbon footprint?

• Energy-efficient transportation: The draft logistics policy lays emphasis on the shift to more energy-efficient means of transportation, as well as the use of greener fuels which could reduce the supply chain’s carbon footprint.
• Vehicular emission reduction: Moreover, the draft policy, released earlier, emphasized creating regulations for controlling vehicular noise, emissions, and wastage.
• Green warehousing principles: The new logistics policy also aims to incorporate green principles in the functioning of warehouses which contribute to nearly 10% of the logistics costs.

Will it change India’s commodity transport?

• Transport of crucial commodities: The proposed policy aims to focus on the transport of crucial commodities such as coal, steel, iron ore, food grains, steel, cement, fruits and vegetables.
• Creating nationwide clusters: The current logistical network for transporting them is mainly confined to regional clusters.
• Integrating national supply-chains: The NLP could help establish a link between the place of origin, and destination place and integrate the supply on a national level.
• Optimum logistics identification: The draft also proposes identification of the right mode of transport for each of these commodities to minimise losses during transport.