UPSC Daily Current Affairs- January 31, 2022 | Current Affairs: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - CLAT PDF Download

GS-I

Context

The US East Coast is bracing itself for a “bomb cyclone” (Nor’easter) that is on course to to barrel in from the mid-Atlantic.

About Bomb Cyclone

• “Bombogenesis is the technical term. ‘Bomb cyclone’ is a shortened version of it, better for social media.” 
• It is a mid-latitude cyclone that intensifies rapidly. 
• It has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.

When is it formed?
Generally, a bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure in the middle of the storm drops at least 24 millibars over 24 hours, quickly increasing in intensity. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

How is it different from hurricanes?

• It essentially amounts to a rapidly developing storm system, distinct from a tropical hurricane because it occurs over midlatitudes where fronts of warm and cold air meet and collide, rather than relying on the balmy ocean waters of late summer as a catalyst. 
• Bomb cyclones have cold air and fronts: Cold air rapidly weakens hurricanes, while it is an essential ingredient for bomb cyclones. 
• Bomb cyclones form during winter: Hurricanes form from late spring to early fall, while bomb cyclones form from late fall to early spring. 
• Bomb cyclones form at higher latitudes: Hurricanes form in tropical waters, while bomb cyclones form over the northwestern Atlantic, northwestern Pacific and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea.

GS-II

Context

After decades of low government expenditure on health, the Covid pandemic created a societal consensus on the need to strengthen our health system.

Steps to strengthen our health system

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission recommended greater investment in rural and urban primary care, a nationwide disease surveillance system extending from the block-level to national institutes, a larger health workforce and the augmentation of critical care capacity of hospitals. 
• The Union budget of 2021 reflected these priorities in a proposed Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) to be made operational over six years, with a budget of Rs 64,180 crore. 
• Broader vision of health: The Finance Minister also projected a broader vision of health beyond healthcare by merging allocations to water, sanitation, nutrition and air pollution control with the health budget. 
• Under the Ayushman Bharat umbrella the Digital Health Mission was launched in September 2021. 
• The Health Infrastructure Mission, launched in October 2021, was a renamed and augmented version of the PMASBY. These missions join the two other components of Ayushman Bharat launched in 2018. 
• The Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) component is nested in the National Health Mission (NHM) while the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is steered by the National Health Authority (NHA).

Way forward

• While much of the following needs to be done by the states, the Centre should incentivise and support such efforts by the states. 
• Link synergically: Primary healthcare services under the CPHC and linkage with water, sanitation, nutrition and pollution control programmes will strengthen the capacity of the health system for health promotion and disease prevention. 
• The budget of 2022 must not only fund these missions adequately but indicate how they will link synergically while functioning under different administrative agencies. 
• Allocate more funds: The NHM received only a 9.6 per cent increase in the 2021 budget. 
• PMJAY did not see an increase in allocation last year, because its utilisation for non-Covid care declined sharply in the previous year. 
• More importantly, limiting cost coverage to hospitalised care reduces the PMJAY’s capacity to significantly lower out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health, which is driven mostly by outpatient care and expenditure on medicines. 
• Focus on Digital Heath Mission: The Digital Health Mission can enhance efficiency of the health systems in a variety of ways. 
• These include better data collection and analysis, improved medical and health records, efficient supply chain management, tele-health services, support for health workforce training, implementation of health insurance programmes, real time monitoring and sharper evaluation of health programme performance along with effective multi-sectoral coordination. 
• Improve the skill and number of healthcare workers: We need to increase the numbers and improve the skills of all categories of healthcare providers. 
• While training specialist doctors could take time, the training of frontline workers like Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) can be done in a shorter time. 
• Upgrade district hospitals: District hospitals need to be upgraded, with greater investment in infrastructure, equipment and staffing. 
• In underserved regions, such district hospitals should be upgraded to become training centres for students of medical, nursing and allied health professional courses.

Conclusion

• The expanded ambit of health, as defined in last year’s budget, must continue for aligning other sectors to public health objectives. 
• The Union budget of 2022 can add further momentum to our health system transformation.

Context

Recently, the European Union launched action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for targeting Lithuania over its stance on Taiwan.

About the Issue

• In November 2021, a Taiwanese Representative Office was opened in Lithuania, notable because it is for the first time that Taiwan was allowed to use its own name to open an office within the EU. 
• Following this, China has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania, calling it a violation of the “One China Policy”. 
  • China has also unofficially boycotted products from Lithuania, whether it is sourced directly or indirectly from the country. China alleges that Lithuania is acting in concert with the American efforts of containment by using the Taiwan card, and to spread discord between China and Europe. 
  • ‘One China Policy’ means that countries seeking diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC, Mainland China) must break official relations with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and vice versa.

Action at WTO

• By going to the WTO, the EU lent support to accusations by Lithuanian business leaders and officials that the row has resulted in China blocking imports from Lithuania and other economic restrictions. 
  • China’s crackdown on Lithuanian imports affects other European nations as well. 
  • The country has also imposed trade restrictions on goods from countries like France, Germany and Sweden, which include parts from Lithuanian supply chains. 
  • The EU is currently China’s largest trading partner, and about 80-90% of Lithuania’s exports are based on manufacturing contracts with the rest of the EU. 
• A 60-day window was launched for the two sides to come to a solution before moving the dispute to a panel.

Reasons for taking on China by Lithuania

• Domestic Reasons
  • Lithuania’s current wave of assertive moves against China to a certain extent have been attributed to the change of government in 2020. 
  • The new Government of Lithuania espouses a “values-based” foreign policy based on democracy and freedom, and had explicitly offered support to the cause of Taiwan in 2020 itself. 
• Geopolitical Reasons
  • It is also due to growing geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe over EU and NATO’s fallout with Lithuania’s adversarial neighbours, Russia and Belarus. 
    • Lithuania, being the first constituent of the Soviet Union to break out as an independent state, has its own historical context and ideological rationale for standing up to China.
  • The growing Sino-Russian partnership against the West has also made Lithuania wary of China.
• Others
  • Lithuania has been one of the biggest critics of China within the EU on the Xinjiang and Hong Kong issues. 
  • Lithuania supported Taiwan’s pitch to become an observer at the World Health Organization in 2020 against China’s opposition in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
  • Moreover, Lithuania’s rationale that economic relations can be sustainable only with democratic regimes, has heightened tensions between Lithuania and China. 
    • In May 2021, Lithuania quit China’s 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern Europe, by calling it “divisive”, now it is 16+1. 
    • Lithuania is the first country in that group to have done so and stated economic non-reciprocity of China and threats to European unity as reasons for its exit. 
  • Citing security reasons, Lithuania has advised its population to avoid buying smartphones made in China, and has kept China away from acquiring controlling stakes in its Klaipėda seaport, as well as from its 5G infrastructure bids.

Geopolitical Fallout

• Taiwan has made efforts to compensate the Lithuanian economy from China’s coercion. 
  • About 20,000 bottles of Lithuanian rum that had been bound for China were bought by Taiwan offering a symbolic gesture of support. 
  • Taiwan has come up with a USD 200 million investment plan to help cover Lithuania’s economic losses. 
  • This move is also supposedly designed to make Lithuania a gateway to Taiwan for accessing the EU market, especially given the current semiconductor supply shortages. 
  • Taiwan is also planning to introduce a USD1 billion credit program aimed at benefiting Lithuanian businesses. 
• The US has expressed concerns about China’s attempts to coerce Lithuania over Taiwan, along with EU countries like Germany who have expressed solidarity with Lithuania. Way Forward.

Context

A recent speech by the PM Modi has marked three decades since New Delhi established formal diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv on January 29, 1992, when P.V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister.

India-Israel Relation

• Recognition of Israel
  • Both nations became independent almost at the same time, in the late 1940s, following a long struggle against British Colonialism. 
  • Though India had recognized Israel on September 17, 1950, full-fledged diplomatic relations between the countries were established on January 29, 1992. 
  • Their diplomatic relationship was previously based on popular consensus and only much later became official.
• India’s reluctance for extending ties 
  • The popular perception of Israel was negative as it was a state formed on religion and analogous to Pakistan. 
  • This was because during that time India was a young state that needed to take into account Arab states’ numerical impact at the United Nations. 
  • Furthermore, it could not afford to antagonize its Muslim population by establishing ties with a Jewish state. 
  • Sympathizing the Palestinian cause is a by-product of these motives.
• India’s shift towards Israel 
  • Though India voted against a UN resolution for the creation of Israel, once Israel is created, India officially recognized Israel (in 1950). 
  • But full diplomatic ties were established only in 1992.

Reasons for India prioritizing Israel

• India’s exclusion from OIC: The formation of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 1969 which neglected the sentiments of Indian Muslims by blocking of India’s membership to this group by Pakistan is one of the primary triggers for the change instance. 
• Backing of Kashmir: India has received no backing from the Arab countries on Kashmir Issue. There have been no serious attempts by the Arab world to put pressure on Pakistan to reign in the cross-border insurgency in Kashmir. 
• Support in crucial wars: Israel supported India during the Indo-Pak wars even before full diplomatic ties were established. 
• India’s US allegiance: With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of the US as a superpower, India started aligning itself with the US, and this further added to our improved relations with Israel. 
• Deviation from NAM: After decades of Non-Alignment and Pro-Arab policy, in 1992 India changed its stance and established full diplomatic ties with Israel. 
• Support at global forums: Israel has always been a vocal supporter of India’s permanent seat in UNSC. 
• Technology: India’s world-class institutes of higher education could benefit from the strong culture of research and high-end innovation that thrives in Israel.

Israeli interests in India

• India presents a massive market for Israel’s manufactured goods and technology. 
• India has for long enjoyed great goodwill among Israel’s citizens as the only country in the world where Jews have not faced anti-Semitism. 
• There are many instances of Jews under Hitler’s persecution finding shelter in India including some that were said to have been facilitated by Nehru. 
• The minuscule Jew community was able to rise to eminence in various fields. Israel cherishes its admirers in India for its ability to thrive in spite of very adverse situations in its short history as an independent nation.

Collaborations between India and Israel

• Military collaboration
  • Against terrorism: India and Israel have increased collaboration in military ventures since both nations face the threats of rising radical terrorism and separatism. 
  • Arms trade: India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest defense supplier to India after Russia. 
  • Security: Working groups in areas of border management, internal security and public safety, police modernization and capacity building for combating crime, crime prevention and cybercrime were established. 
  • Defence R&D: IAI is developing the Barak 8 missile for the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force which is capable of protecting sea vessels and ground facilities from aircraft and cruise missiles.
• Political collaboration
  • Since the up-gradation of relations in 1992, defense and agriculture have become the two main pillars of the bilateral engagement. 
  • The political ties have become especially cordial under the Modi Government. 
  • In 2017, Prime Minister Modi became the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel.
• Agriculture collaboration
  • India has chosen Israel as a strategic partner (G2G) in the field of agriculture. 
  • This partnership evolved into the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP), under the Indo Israel Action Plan, based on a MOU signed by Indian and Israeli ministers of Agriculture in 2006. 
  • The partnership aim to introduce crop diversity, increasing productivity & increasing water use efficiency.
  • India has a lot to learn from dryland agriculture of Israel. The Economic Survey 2016-17 batted for Indo-Israel cooperation in drip-irrigation technologies.
• Economic collaboration
  • India is Israel’s third-largest trading partner in Asia after China and Hong Kong.
  • In recent years, bilateral trade has diversified to include several sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture, IT and telecom and homeland security.
  • Major exports from India to Israel include precious stones and metals, chemical products, textiles and textile articles etc.
  • Major imports from Israel include chemicals and mineral products, base metals and machinery and transport equipment. Potash is a major item of Israel’s exports to India.

Various deterrents in ties

• Bilateral Trade and investment still below potential: From just $200 million in 1992, bilateral trade (excluding defense) peaked at about $5 billion in 2012 but since then it has dropped to about $4 billion. Also, bilateral trade has not diversified much—diamonds and chemicals still make up for the large chunk of the pie.
• Connectivity between two countries still poor with just one direct flight from Mumbai 3 times a week and no direct flights from Delhi.
• Historical retrenchment: India’s consistent support for a sovereign, independent, viable and united Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side and at peace with Israel and Pro-Arab stance has been a sticky point.
• Limited People to People ties and cultural differences: Israelis and Indian approach business differently and often find it difficult to get on the same page.
• India’s support to Palestinian Cause: Though formal ties were established in 1992, the ideological divide resurfaces time and again due to India’s affinity for Palestine.

Context

India is laying out the red carpet for Oman’s top defence official Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi, who will be in India for a four-day official visit.

India-Oman Relations

• The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner of India in the Gulf. 
• Both nations are linked by geography, history and culture and enjoy warm and cordial relations. 
• An Indian consulate was opened in Muscat in February 1955 which was upgraded to a consulate general in 1960 and later into a full-fledged embassy in 1971. 
• The first ambassador of India arrived in Muscat in 1973.

History of the ties

• Oman, for many years, was ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, who was a friend of India. Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, died in January ‘2020 at the age of 79. 
• He was a man who was, as a student, taught by Shankar Dayal Sharma who went on to become the President of India. 
• Sultan Qaboos’s father, an alumnus of Ajmer’s Mayo College, sent his son to study in Pune for some time, where he was former President Shankar Dayal Sharma’s student.

Economic ties

• Expatriate community: Oman has over five hundred thousand Indian nationals living there making them the largest expatriate community in Oman. They annually remit $780 million to India. 
• Bilateral trade: In 2010, bilateral trade between India and Oman stood at $4.5 billion. India was Oman’s second largest destination for its non-oil exports and its fourth largest source for Indian imports. 
• Energy: India has been considering the construction of a 1,100-km-long underwater natural gas pipeline from Oman called the South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE).

Defence cooperation
Oman is the first Gulf nation to have formalised defence relations with India. 

• Naval cooperation: The Indian Navy has berthing rights in Oman, and has been utilising Oman’s ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. 
• Tri-services base: In February 2018, India announced that it had secured access to the facilities at Duqm for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. Duqm had previously served as a port for the INS Mumbai. 
• Arms trade: The standard issue rifle of the Royal Army of Oman is India’s INSAS rifle. 
• Bilateral exercises: Naseem al-Bahr (Arabic for Sea Breeze) is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Oman. The exercise was first held in 1993.

Significance of Oman for India

• Oman is India’s closest defence partner in the Gulf region and an important anchor for India’s defence and strategic interests. 
• It is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks, enabling close cooperation and trust at the professional level. 
• It also provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy missions.
  

Duqm port and its strategic imperative

• In a strategic move to expand its footprint in the Indian Ocean region, India has secured access to the key Port of Duqm in Oman for military use and logistical support. 
• This is part of India’s maritime strategy to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region. 
• The Port of Duqm is strategically located, in close proximity to the Chabahar port in Iran. 
• With the Assumption Island being developed in Seychelles and Agalega in Mauritius, Duqm fits into India’s proactive maritime security roadmap. In recent years, India had deployed an attack submarine to this port in the western Arabian Sea.

Deterrent in ties: Chinese influence in Oman

• China started cultivating ties with the Arab countries following the former Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. 
• Beijing has cultivated close ties with Oman and the latter was, in fact, the first country to deliver oil to China. 
• As of today, 92.99 per cent of Oman’s oil exports go to China, making China Oman’s largest oil importer. 
• Oman and China signed an agreement to establish an Oman-China Industrial Park at Duqm in 2016. 
• China has identified Oman as a key country in the region and has been enhancing defence ties with it steadily.

Conclusion

• India and Oman enjoy the unquestioned trust and mutual respect, going well beyond military or trade. 
• However, amidst this bonhomie, slow and steady ingress of China into the equation needs to be watched out for. 
• China has been known to slowly influence state systems and make them financially dependent before exerting its total supremacy.

GS-III

Context

A new genus of a parasitic flowering plant has recently been discovered from the Nicobar group of islands.

About Septemeranthus

• The genus Septemeranthus grows on the plant species Horsfieldia glabra (Blume) Warb. 
• The parasitic flowering plants have a modified root structure spread on the stem of the tree and are anchored inside the bark of the host tree.
•  It has a distinct vegetative morphology, inflorescence architecture and floral characters. 
• The leaves of the plant are heart-shaped with a very long tip and the ovary, fruit and seeds are ‘urceolate’ (earthen pot-shaped). 
• Birds consume viscous seeds of this new genus and seeds have potential of pseudo viviparous germination that deposit on the leaves and branches of their same plant which is already attached to host plants.

Key features

• They need a host tree or shrub in order to thrive and exhibit a worldwide distribution in tropical as well as temperate habitats. 
• They are important in forest ecology, pathology and medicine. 
• They play an important role as they provide food for frugivorous birds.

Context

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has notified the Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II for providing assistance to Common Technology Development and Services Infrastructure.

About Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II

• The objective of Phase II of the Scheme is to expand and enlarge the impact created by the Phase I pilot scheme, thereby providing greater impetus through creation of a strong and globally competitive capital goods sector that contributes at least 25% to the manufacturing sector. 
• The scheme on ‘Enhancement of competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector’ was notified in November, 2014 to encourage technology development and infrastructure creation.

Financial Outlay
The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs. 1207 crores with Budgetary support of Rs.975 crore and Industry Contribution of Rs. 232 crore.

About its Components

• Identification of Technologies through Technology Innovation Portals. 
• Setting up of four New Advanced Centers of Excellence and augmentation of Existing Centers of Excellence. 
• Promotion of skilling in the Capital Goods Sector–creation of Qualification packages for skill levels 6 and above. 
• Setting up of four Common Engineering Facility Centers (CEFCs) and augmentation of existing CEFCs. 
• Augmentation of Existing Testing and Certification Centers. 
• Setting up of ten Industry Accelerators for Technology Development.

Indian Capital Goods Sector

• Capital Goods
  • Capital goods are physical assets that a company uses in the production process to manufacture products and services that consumers will later use. 
  • Capital goods include buildings, machinery, equipment, vehicles, and tools. 
  • Capital goods are not finished goods, instead, they are used to make finished goods. 
  • The Capital Goods sector has a multiplier effect and has bearing on the growth of the user industries as it provides critical input, i.e., machinery and equipment to the remaining sectors covered under the manufacturing activity. 
• Scenario
  • The capital goods industry contributes 12% to the total manufacturing activity which translates to about 1.8% of GDP.
  • It provides approximately 1.4 mn direct and 7 mn indirect jobs. 
• Related Policies
  • No industrial license is required for the sector. 
  • FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) up to 100% permitted on automatic route (through RBI).
  • Quantum of payment for technology transfer, design & drawing, royalty etc. to the foreign collaborator has no limit. 
  • The maximum basic customs duty rate is generally 7.5-10%.
  • India has entered many FTAs (Free Trade Agreements), in which the duty rates are even lower. Lower duty rates are also available under the Project Imports facility. 
  • Exports are promoted by allowing duty-free imports of raw materials, consumables, components and subassemblies through various schemes of DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Context

In a recent report, State Bank of India, which is the largest public sector bank in the country, has stated that the stage is set for a reverse repo normalisation.

About Monetary Policy Normalisation
The RBI keeps tweaking the total amount of money in the economy to ensure smooth functioning by two types of policies:

• Loose Monetary Policy: As such, when the RBI wants to boost economic activity it adopts a so-called “loose monetary policy”.
  There are two parts to such a policy: 
  • RBI injects more money (liquidity) into the economy: It does so by buying government bonds from the market. As the RBI buys these bonds, it pays back money to the bondholders, thus injecting more money into the economy. 
  • RBI also lowers the interest rate: It charges banks when it lends money to them; this rate is called the repo rate. Lower interest rates and more liquidity, together, are expected to boost both consumption and production in the economy.
• Tight Monetary Policy
  • It involves the RBI raising interest rates and sucking liquidity out of the economy by selling bonds (and taking money out of the system). 
  • When any central bank finds that a loose monetary policy has started becoming counterproductive in reducing inflation, the central bank “normalises the policy” by tightening the monetary policy stance.

What is Reverse Repo?

• The reverse repo is the interest rate that the RBI pays to the commercial banks when they park their excess “liquidity” (money) with the RBI. 
• The reverse repo, thus, is the exact opposite of the repo rate. 
• Under normal a circumstance, that is when the economy is growing at a healthy pace, the repo rate becomes the benchmark interest rate in the economy. 
• That’s because it is the lowest rate of interest at which funds can be borrowed. 
• As such, the repo rate forms the floor interest rate for all other interest rates in the economy — be it the rate you pay for a car loan or a home loan or the interest you earn on your fixed deposit etc.

How does Reverse Repo fit into policy normalization?

• Imagine a scenario where the RBI pumps more and more liquidity into the market but there are no takers of fresh loans. 
• This is because the banks are unwilling to lend or because there is no genuine demand for new loans in the economy. 
• In such a scenario, the action shifts from repo rate to reverse repo rate because banks are no longer interested in borrowing money from the RBI. 
• Rather they are more interested in parking their excess liquidity with the RBI. And that is how the reverse repo becomes the actual benchmark interest rate in the economy.

What does reverse repo normalization mean?

• Simply put, it means the reverse repo rates will go up.
• Over the past few months, in the face of rising inflation, several central banks across the world have either increased interest rates or signalled that they would do so soon.
• In India, too, it is expected that the RBI will raise the repo rate.
• But before that, it is expected that the RBI will raise the reverse repo rate and reduce the gap between the two rates.
• In the immediate aftermath of Covid, RBI had increased this gap.

Implications of such policy

• Doing this will incentivise commercial banks to park excess funds with RBI, thus sucking some liquidity out of the system.
• The next step would be raising the repo rate.
• This process of normalisation, which is aimed at curbing inflation, will not only reduce excess liquidity but also result in higher interest rates across the board in the Indian economy.
• This will help reducing the demand for money among consumers (since it would make more sense to just keep the money in the bank) and making it costlier for businesses to borrow fresh loans.