UPSC Daily Current Affairs- September 30, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context 

The UNESCO has released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

About the Report

• The report is titled- Handmade for the 21st Century: Safeguarding Traditional Indian Textile.
• It lists the histories and legends behind the textiles, describes the complicated and secret processes behind their making, mentions the causes for their dwindling popularity, and provides strategies for their preservation.
• The publication, which aims to bridge this gap, brings together years of research on the 50 selected textiles.

Key heritage textiles mentioned in the list

• Toda embroidery and Sungadi from Tamil Nadu
• Himroo from Hyderabad
• Bandha tie and dye from Sambalpur in Odisha
• Khes from Panipat, Haryana
• Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh
• Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh
• Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi, UP
• Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka
• Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur, TN
• Kunbi weaves from Goa
• Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat
• Himroo from Maharashtra and
• Garad-Koirial from West Bengal

Back2Basics: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

• The UNESCO is a specialised agency of the UN aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.
• It has 193 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.
• UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations’s International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
• It pursues this objective through five major program areas: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information.

GS - II

Context 

Recently, the Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister inaugurated the 13th Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Global Skills Summit 2022.

• Theme: Education to Employability - Making It Happen.

What are the key Highlights of the 13th Global Skills Summit?

• It focuses on easing the education to employability transition for the youth of our country.
• The Summit would look from the New Education Policy (NEP) lens and focus on how India can become the “Skill Capital of the World” keeping the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) as an underpinning theme.

What is the Status of Skill Development in India?

About:

• The 2015 Report on National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship estimated that only 4.7% of the total workforce in India had undergone formal skill training compared with 52% in the US, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea.
• A skill gap study conducted by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) over 2010-2014 indicated an additional net incremental requirement of 10.97 crores of skilled manpower in 24 key sectors by 2022.
• In addition, the 29.82 crore farm and nonfarm sector workforce needed to be skilled, reskilled, and upskilled.

Issues:

• Overburdened Responsibility: 
  • Phase III of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, launched to impart skills development to over 8 lakh persons in 2020-21.
  • However, it suffers from excessive reliance on the District Skills Development Committees, chaired by District Collectors, who would not be able to prioritise this role, given their other assignments.
• Discontinuity in Policy Process: 
  • The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), was created in 2013 for resolving the inter-ministerial and inter-departmental issues and eliminating duplicates of efforts of the Centre.
  • However, it has been now subsumed as part of the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT).
  • This reflects not only a discontinuity in the policy process, but also some obfuscation among policymakers.
• Enormous Number of New Entrants:
  • According to a 2019 study by the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), 7 crore additional people in the working age of 15-59 years are expected to enter the labor force by 2023.
  • Given the sheer magnitude of youth to be skilled, it is paramount that the policy efforts are adequate in all respects.
• Employers’ Unwillingness:
  • India’s joblessness issue is not only a skills problem; it is representative of the lack of appetite of industrialists and SMEs for recruiting.
  • Due to limited access to credit because of Banks’ NPAs, the investment rate has declined and thus has a negative impact on job creation.

Why is there a Need for Skill Development of Workforce?

• Supply and Demand Issues: 
  • On the supply side, India is failing to create enough job opportunities; and on the demand side, professionals entering the job market are lacking in skill sets. This is resulting in a scenario of rising unemployment rates along with low employability.
• Rising Unemployment: 
  • As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in India has been around 7% or 8% in 2022, up from about 5% five years ago.
  • Further, the workforce shrank as millions of people dejected over weak job prospects pulled out, a situation that was exacerbated by Covid-19 lockdowns.
  • The labor force participation rate, meaning people who are working or looking for work, has dropped to just 40% of the 900 million Indians of legal age, from 46% six years ago.
• Lack of Skills in Workforce: 
  • While keeping pace with the employment generation is one issue, the employability and productivity of those entering the labour market is another issue.
  • As per the India Skills report 2015, only 37.22% of surveyed people were found employable - 34.26% among males and 37.88% among females.
  • According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data 2019-20, 86.1% of those between 15 and 59 years had not received any vocational training. The remaining 13.9% had received training through diverse formal and informal channels.
• Demand for Skilled Workforce:
  • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had projected Incremental Human Resource Requirements till 2022 at 201 million, making the total requirement of the skilled workforce by 2023 at 300 million.
  • A major share of these jobs was to be added in the manufacturing sector, with the National Manufacturing Policy (2011) targeting 100 million new jobs in manufacturing by 2022.

What are the Various Initiatives taken for Skill Development?

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana:
  • The flagship Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme was launched in 2015 to provide short-term training, skilling through ITIs and under the apprenticeship scheme.
  • Since 2015, the government has trained over 10 million youth under this scheme.
• SANKALP and STRIVE: 
  • The SANKALP programme which focuses on the district-level skilling ecosystem and the STRIVE project which aims to improve the performance of ITIs are other significant skilling interventions.
  • Initiatives from Several Ministries: 
    • Nearly 40 skill development programmes are implemented by 20 central ministries/departments. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship contributes about 55% of the skilling achieved.
    • Initiatives by all ministries have resulted in nearly four crore people being trained through various traditional skills programmes since 2015.
  • Mandatory CSR Expenditure in Skilling: 
    • Since the implementation of mandatory CSR spending under the Companies Act, 2013, corporations in India have invested over ₹100,000 crores in diverse social projects.
    • Of these, about ₹6,877 crores were spent on skilling and livelihood enhancement projects. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka, and Gujarat were the top five recipient States.
  • TEJAS Initiative for Skilling: 
    • Recently, TEJAS (Training for Emirates Jobs and Skills), a Skill India International Project to train overseas Indias was launched at the Dubai Expo, 2020.
    • The project aims at skilling, certification and overseas employment of Indians and creating pathways to enable the Indian workforce to get equipped for skill and market requirements in the UAE.

Way Forward

• Skill development is the most essential aspect of the development of our country. India has a huge ‘demographic dividend’ which means that it has a very high scope of providing skilled manpower to the labour market. 
• This needs a coordinated effort from all stakeholders including Government agencies Industries, Educational and training institutes and Students, trainees and job seekers.

Context

Recently, The Central government announced an extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) for another three months until December 2022.

What is PM-GKAY?

About:

• PMGKAY is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor fight the battle against Covid-19.
• The scheme aimed at providing each person who is covered under the National Food Security Act 2013 with an additional 5 kg grains (wheat or rice) for free, in addition to the 5 kg of subsidised foodgrain already provided through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• It was initially announced for a three-month period (April, May and June 2020), covering 80 crore ration cardholders. Later it was extended till September 2022.
• Its nodal Ministry is the Ministry of Finance.
• The benefit of the free ration can be availed through portability by any migrant labour or beneficiary under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan from nearly 5 lakh ration shops across the country.
• Cost: The overall expenditure of PMGKAY will be about Rs. 3.91 lakh crore for all the phases.
• Challenges: The beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act are based on the last census (2011). The number of food-insecure people has increased since then and they remain uncovered.

Issues:

• Expensive: It’s very expensive for the government to sustain and increases the need for an abundant supply of cheap grains. In 2022, India has had to restrict exports of wheat and rice after erratic weather hurt harvest, adding to pressure on food prices, and rattling global agricultural markets.
• Increase Fiscal Deficit: It could pose a risk to the government’s target to further narrow the fiscal deficit to 6.4% of gross domestic product.
• Inflation: The decision on the program could also affect inflation. The prices of rice and wheat, which make up about 10% of India’s retail inflation, are seeing an uptick due to lower production amid a heatwave and patchy monsoon.

What are the Related Initiatives Introduced by the Government?

• National Food Security Mission
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
• Integrated Schemes on Oilseeds, Pulses, Palm oil and Maize (ISOPOM)
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
• National Food Security Act (NFSA)

GS -III

Context

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), which the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), Atlanta, U.S., acknowledges to be the most common congenital disorder, is responsible for 28% of all congenital birth defects, and accounts for 6%-10 % of all the infant deaths in India. 29 September is celebrated as world heart day.

What is Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)?

• Congenital heart disease is a general term for a range of birth defects that affect the normal way the heart works. The term “congenital” means the condition is present from birth.

What is paediatric cardiac care?

• Paediatric cardiologists diagnose, treat, and manage heart problems in children, including. “Congenital heart disease” (heart differences children are born with), such as holes between chambers of the heart, valve problems, and abnormal blood vessels

What is the Present situation of Congenital Heart Disease In India?

• It is estimated that over 1,00,000 children keep getting added to the existing pool of children awaiting surgery.
• According to the Paediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI), the prevalence of congenital cardiac anomalies is one in every 100 live births; or an estimated 2,00,000 children are born with CHD every year. Only 15,000 of them receive treatment.
• At least 30% of infants who have complex defects require surgical intervention to survive their first birthday but only 2,500operations can be performed each year. A case in point is the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where infants are waitlisted till 2026 for cardiac surgery.

What are the Reasons behind this worrisome situation?

• Lack of money: There has been more neglect and little improvement in child health care because creating a comprehensive paediatric cardiology care service is usually considered economically unviable — it is resource intensive and requires infrastructure investment that politicians and policy makers choose to evade.
• Infrastructure: There are 22 hospitals and less than 50 centres in India with infant and neonatal cardiac services.
• Uneven distribution: Geographically, these centres are not well distributed either. 2018 cardiology department report of AIIMS, highlighted how South India accounted for 70% of these centres; most centres are located in regions with a lower burden of CHD. For instance, Kerala has eight centres offering neonatal cardiac surgeries for an estimated 4.5 lakh annual childbirths. Populous Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with an estimated annual childbirth of 48 and 27 lakh births per annum, respectively (Census of India, 2012), do not have a centre capable of performing neonatal cardiac surgery.
• Non-priority: A 2018 article by the Department of Cardiothoracic Cardiology, AIIMS, states, “paediatric cardiology is not a priority area in the face of competing demands for the resources

What are the problems in treating congenital Heart Disease?

• Doctor population ratio: For 600 districts with a 1.4 billion population, there are only 250 paediatric cardiologists available. The doctor to patient ratio is an abysmal one for half-a-crore population. According to the Annals of Paediatric Cardiology journal, the United States had 2,966 paediatric cardiologists in 2019, ratio of one per 29,196population.
• Poverty: Poverty is another barrier before treatment. Transporting sick neonates from States with little or no cardiac care facilities to faraway centres for accurate diagnosis and treatment burdens parents financially.
• Medical devices: In addition, there is the non-availability of crucial equipment that is essential for diagnosis of heart diseases in the unborn. Accentuating the problem is the general lack of awareness about early symptoms of CHD among parents.

What should be approach for the treatment of Congenital Heart Disease?

• Timely treatment: Paediatricians say timely medical intervention can save 75% of these children and give them normal lives.
• National policy: The lack of a national policy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in children keeps a huge number outside the ambit of treatment.
• Echocardiography: The Child Heart Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working in Siliguri (WestBengal), Jalandhar (Punjab) and Delhi, with underprivileged children with CHD, has been flagging the need for fatal echocardiography.
• Hridayam: There are programmes worth emulating such as Kerala’s ‘Hridayam (for little hearts)’,aimed at early detection, management and support to children with CHD or the Tamilnadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme offering free specialised surgeries.
• Ayushman Bharat: The National Health Protection Scheme (Ayushman Bharat), is expected to financially assist 10 crore poor families but has still to takeoff. So far, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have apparently got going.

Conclusion

• India’s performance in neo natal care is very regrettable. India can drastically reduce its infant mortality by investing in paediatric cardiac care. Sooner we realize this better will be the future of India.

Context 

Recently, the Centre has set a new target of a 40% reduction in particulate matter concentration in cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) by 2026, updating the earlier goal of 20 to 30% reduction by 2024.

What is the National Clean Air Programme?

About:

• It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019.
• It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target.
• It seeks to cut the concentration of coarse (particulate matter of diameter 10 micrometer or less, or PM10) and fine particles (particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micrometer or less, or PM2.5) by at least 20% in the next five years, with 2017 as the base year for comparison.
• It covers 132 non-attainment cities which were identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• Non-attainment cities are those that have fallen short of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for over five years.NAAQs are the standards for ambient air quality with reference to various identified pollutant notified by the CPCB under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
  •  List of pollutants under NAAQS: PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, NH3, Ozone, Lead, Benzene, Benzo-Pyrene, Arsenic and Nickel.

Objective:

• To augment and evolve effective and proficient ambient air quality monitoring networks across the country.
• To have efficient data dissemination and public outreach mechanisms for timely measures for prevention and mitigation of air pollution.
• To have a feasible management plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

What are Initiatives taken by India for Controlling Air Pollution?

• System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) Portal
• Air Quality Index: AQI has been developed for eight pollutants viz. PM2.5, PM10, Ammonia, Lead, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
• Graded Response Action Plan (for Delhi)
• For Reducing Vehicular Pollution:
  • BS-VI Vehicles,
  • Push for Electric Vehicles (EVs),
  • Odd-Even Policy as an emergency measure (for Delhi)
• New Commission for Air Quality Management
• Subsidy to farmers for buying Turbo Happy Seeder (THS) Machine for reducing stubble burning.
• National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAQMP):
  • Under NAQMP, four air pollutants viz. SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 have been identified for regular monitoring at all locations.

Context

The Centre has announced increases of 0.1-0.3 percentage points in interest rates payable on five small savings instruments (SSIs) marking the first increase in small savings rates since January 2019.

What are Small Savings Instruments (SSIs)?

• Small Savings Schemes or instruments are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with an aim to encourage citizens to save regularly irrespective of their age.
• They are popular as they provide returns higher than bank fixed deposits, sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.

How is it managed?

• Since 2016, the Finance Ministry has been reviewing the interest rates on small savings schemes on a quarterly basis.
• All deposits received under various schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund.
• The money in the fund is used by the Centre to finance its fiscal deficit.

What are the different saving schemes?

The schemes can be grouped under three heads –

• Post office deposits
• Savings certificates and
• Social security schemes

Post Office Deposits

• Under this we have the savings deposit, recurring deposit and time deposits with 1, 2, 3 and 5 year maturities and the monthly income account.
• The savings account currently pays an interest of 4% per annum and can be opened individually or jointly with an initial investment of Rs 500.
• The recurring deposit that pays 5.8% a year compounded quarterly matures after 60 months from the date of opening.
• It allows investors to save on a monthly basis with a minimum deposit of Rs 100 per month.
• Investments under the 5-year time deposit up to Rs 1.5 lakh further qualifies for benefit under section 80C of Income Tax Act.

Savings Certificates

• Under this, we have the National Savings Certificate and the Kisan Vikas Patra.
• The National Savings Certificate pays interest at a rate of 6.8% per annum upon maturity after 5 years. The interest that is earned is reinvested into the scheme every year automatically.
• The NSC also qualifies for tax saving under Section 80C of the income tax act.
• The Kisan Vikas Patra, which is open to everyone, doubles your one-time investment at the end of 124 months signifying a return of 6.9% compounded annually.
• The minimum investment amount is Rs 1000 while there is no upper limit.

Social security schemes

In the third head of social security schemes, there is Public Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.

• Public Provident Fund
  • The Public Provident Fund is a popular saving option for long term goals like retirement.
  • It pays 7.1% a year and qualifies for tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
  • Upon maturity of the account after 15 years, it can be extended indefinitely in blocks of 5 years.
  • The accumulated amount and interest earned are exempt from tax at the time of withdrawal.
• Sukanya Samriddhi Account
  • The Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched in 2015 under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign exclusively for a girl child.
  • The account can be opened in the name of a girl child below the age of 10 years.
  • The scheme guarantees a return of 7.6% per annum and is eligible for tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
  • The tenure of the deposit is 21 years from the date of opening of the account and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be invested in a year.
• Senior Citizen Savings Account
  • And finally, the 5-year Senior Citizen Savings Account can be opened by anyone who is over 60 years to age.
  • It carries an interest of 7.4% per annum payable quarterly and qualifies for Section 80C tax benefit.
  • These time-tested and safe modes of investments don’t offer quick returns, but are safer when compared to market-linked schemes.

How are G-Secs and SSIs related?

• RBI had observed that the rise in yields on government securities (G-Secs) had turned ‘the spread between the existing interest rates’ and formula-based rates ‘negative for most small saving schemes’.
• Returns on SSIs are linked to market yields on G-Secs with a lag and are fixed on a quarterly basis.
• The decision to raise rates on just five SSIs, will mean that returns for some of the schemes, such as the PPF, will be negative in the coming quarter in relation to the formula.

Context

India climbed six notches to 40th position in the Global Innovation Index 2022 on account of improvement in several parameters. India was at 46th position in 2021 and at 81st rank in 2015.

Global Innovation Index

• The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation.
• It is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with other organizations and institutions.
• It is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
• The index was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. It was created by Prof. Soumitra Dutta.

Components of GII

• The GII is computed by taking a simple average of the scores in two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index, which are composed of five and two pillars respectively.

Global scenario

• Switzerland, the US, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are the world’s most-innovative economies.
• China is on the threshold of the top 10.
• Other emerging economies are also showing consistently strong performance, including India and Turkey, both of which enter the top 40 for the first time.

Context

Prime Minister has inaugurated the new upgraded Vande Bharat Express.

Vande Bharat 2.0

• The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train designed, developed, and built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
• Presently there are only two Vande Bharat trains that are running — Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Katra.
• The name may be the same, but this train, the third in the Vande Bharat series, is being dubbed ‘Vande Bharat 2.0’, because of certain upgrades.
• PM had inaugurated the Vande Bharat when it was first launched in Delhi in 2019.
• The new trainset costs around Rs 115 crore — Rs 15 crore more than the last version.

Key Features

• The current Vande Bharat trains have seating only in two classes — chair car and executive chair car. But Railways is planning to upgrade it.
• The trains have fully sealed gangways for a dust-free environment, modular bio-vacuum toilets, rotating seats in Executive Class, personalized reading lights, automatic entry/exit doors with sliding footsteps, diffused LED lighting, mini pantry, and sensor-based interconnecting doors in each coach.
• They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine. This feature is called a distributed traction power system.

What are the major upgrades?

• Ride comfort
  • For starters, this train reaches a top speed of 160 km per hour in 129 seconds, around 16 seconds faster than its predecessor.
  • This is because this train weighs around 392 tonnes, 38 tonnes lighter than the last one, and needs to run almost a km less to attain its top speed.
  • It also has a better riding index (lower the better) of 3.26 at 180 km per hour, from the earlier 3.87.
  • At a standard speed of 115 km per, its riding index is 3.26, better than 3.62 attained at the same speed by the earlier version.
  • Riding index is a global benchmark for rolling stock calculated during trials by measuring vertical/lateral acceleration. In layman’s terms, how comfortable and steady the passenger is while the train is in motion is roughly the idea behind a riding index.
• Safety features
  • In terms of safety features, the new train comes fitted with the automatic anti-collision system Kavach, which the previous trains did not have.
  • Coaches have disaster lights and their battery backup is for three hours, increased from the last one’s one-hour battery backup.
  • The exterior has eight flatform-side cameras, up from four.
  • There is also passenger-guard communication facility in coaches, which comes with automatic voice recording feature.

Benefits of Vande Bharat Trains

• Cuts Travel Time Drastically
• Energy Efficient
• Reduce Turnaround Time
• Faster Acceleration and Deceleration among others.

Way forward

• India has embarked on a mission to roll out 400 Vande Bharats.
• By August 2023, the country is to introduce 72 more such trains, taking the total to 75.
• The idea is that this third trainset will carry on with its commercial run and at the same time the Railway production units will keep producing more every month to reach the target.
• In the works is the plan to introduce Vande Bharat with sleeper berths for overnight journeys.
• Options to make these trainsets with an aluminum body is also being explored, for a lighter product.