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Plastic invading Nicobar Islands

According to a survey conducted by the researchers from CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands...

14 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Vice President’s Visit to Comoros and Sierra Leone

The Vice President of India recently visited Comoros and Sierra Leone - two African countries. The visit was first-ever visit by such a high-level...

14 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Indian Model of Nationalism

This article is based on “Un-civic Nationalism” that was published in The Indian Express on 12/10/2019. It distinguishes between the...

12 Oct 2019 News Editorials
Chalukyan Rulers

Recently, graves of Chalukyan rulers have been unearthed in a village near Pattadakal, Karnataka. The findings are significant since there are no...

12 Oct 2019 News Analysis
14th Anniversary of Right To Information

An important instrument of participatory democracy-Right To Information (RTI) has marked its 14th anniversary on 12th october 2019. To mark the...

12 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Elastocaloric Effect

According to a research published in the Journal Science, the elastocaloric effect, if harnessed, may be able to do away with the need of fluid...

12 Oct 2019 News Analysis
World Vision Report

Recently to mark the occasion of World Sight Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first World Vision Report. The report proposed...

12 Oct 2019 News Analysis
e-Cigarette

This article is based on Nipping it in the bud which was published in Indian Express on 11/10/2019. It talks about the various narratives of...

11 Oct 2019 News Editorials
The Big Picture - Operation Clean up

In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, unlike in 2014, the issue of corruption took a back seat; it was overshadowed by the issue of national...

11 Oct 2019 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
Green Crackers

In a bid to resolve the crisis of air pollution, the Government has launched green firecrackers. These crackers are available as sparklers,...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Central Council Of Health And Family Welfare Conference

Recently, the 13th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) was held in New Delhi. Key Highlights The purpose of...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Child’s Right to Affection of Both Parents

The Supreme Court recently in a case has ruled that ‘a child has the right to affection of both his parents’. The order is based on a...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Turkey’s Offensive in Syria

Turkey has launched a military operation called Operation Peace Spring against the Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG) in Northeast Syria just days after...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Labour Rights & Tea Estates of Assam

A report titled ‘Addressing the Human Cost of Assam Tea’ by Oxfam has flagged violation of labour rights in the tea estates of...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Gangetic Dolphin Annual Census

Recently, the annual Ganges river Dolphin census was undertaken by the World Wide Fund for Nature- India in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh...

11 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Poverty Estimation in India

For...

10 Oct 2019 Paper 3
The Minimum Wage Solution

This article is based on The minimum wage solution which was published in The Hindu on 10/10/2019. It talks about the relationship between the...

10 Oct 2019 News Editorials
Global Competitiveness Index 4.0: WEF

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the 2019 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report which features the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0...

10 Oct 2019 News Analysis
Poverty Estimation in India

According to recent reports, more than a quarter of the population living in rural areas of India is below the poverty line. Out of the total...

10 Oct 2019 Paper 3
Malware Smominru

Malware Smominru, whose incidence was first reported in 2017, continues to infect computers in a big way. It is affecting nearly 4,700 computers...

10 Oct 2019 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Plastic invading Nicobar Islands',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>According to a survey conducted by the researchers from <strong>CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology,</strong> the Andaman and Nicobar Islands consisting of a group of almost 572 Islands are under <strong>threat from plastic.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-biodiversity-warning-bells" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>plastic litter</strong></a> found on the beaches of the island was mostly of <strong>non-Indian origin</strong> that was likely to be transported by the <strong>water currents</strong> from South-East Asian countries through the <strong>Malacca Straits</strong> (which is a major shipping route) towards the Great Nicobar island.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571048734_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571048734_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="623" height="407" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>About 10 countries including India contributed to the plastic litter on the island namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, China, and Japan.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Major portion of the litter was of Malaysian origin (40%) followed by Indonesia (23.9%) and Thailand (16.3%).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The huge quantities of marine debris observed on this island might be due to <strong>improper handling</strong> of the solid &amp; plastic waste from <strong>fishing/mariculture</strong> activity, and <strong>ship traffic.</strong></li>
<li>The intentional dumping of waste by some nations needs to be strictly monitored and prohibited. It is also violative of the law mentioned in the <strong>International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>They are located at the East Coast of India in the Bay of Bengal &amp; form <strong>India&rsquo;s southeast</strong> border.</li>
<li>These group of Islands are surrounded by the <strong>Andaman Sea</strong> and have proximity to some South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.</li>
<li>The Andaman and Nicobars are separated by the <strong>Ten Degree Channel</strong> which is 150 km. wide.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571040059_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571040059_image4.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="475" height="430" /></a></p>
<h3>Great Nicobar Group of Islands</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Geography:</strong> They are located around 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal and are home to the two most primitive tribes namely- <strong>Nicobarese &amp; Shompens.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Species found:</strong> It is a habitat for diverse <strong>creatures</strong> including the giant robber crab, a megapode bird, the crab-eating macaque, and is also a nesting ground for leatherback sea turtles.</li>
<li><strong>Ecology:</strong> The island harbors a wide spectrum of ecosystems from <strong>tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges, and coastal plains.</strong> These islands also host the growth of<strong> coral reefs</strong> (the existence of which is threatened by the plastic debris &amp; marine litter).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The island includes the <strong>Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (GNBR)</strong> which has been declared as one of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/khangchendzonga-to-be-included-in-the-world-network-of-biosphere-reserves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Network of Biosphere Reserves</strong></a> by UNESCO. The reserve comprises of the Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sundalands</strong> which is one of the four <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/andaman-nicobar-islands-rich-faunal-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>biodiversity hotspots in India</strong></a> includes the <strong>Nicobar group of Islands.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/foreign-plastic-invades-great-nicobar-island/article29674608.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/plastic-invading-nicobar-islands'
		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'Vice President’s Visit to Comoros and Sierra Leone',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Vice President of India recently visited Comoros and Sierra Leone - two African countries.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The visit was <strong>first-ever visit by such a high-level Indian dignitary</strong> to Comoros, an archipelago situated off the Southeast coast of Africa and to Sierra Leone, the country of Western Africa.</li>
<li>The agenda was <strong>to deepen ties with African nations.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>India - Comoros</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India and Comoros signed 6 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on defence, health (e-Arogya Bharati) and culture (e- Vidya Bharati).</li>
<li>India announced <strong>Line-of-credit of USD 41.6 mn</strong> for setting up an 18MW power plant in Moroni (capital city) and a vocational training centre.</li>
<li>The Vice President also called for <strong>enhancing defence ties in maritime domain</strong> between India and the island nation of Comoros as part of a <strong>collaborative security architecture in the Indian Ocean.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Ties between India and Comoros<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039400_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039400_image1.jpg" width="283" height="199" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Comoros supports India&rsquo;s candidature for a permanent seat in the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-un-security-council-reforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Security Council</a> (UNSC).</strong></li>
<li>It is a member of the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/indo-pacific-wing-in-mea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Ocean Rim Association</a> (IORA) as well as the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/palau-joins-isa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Solar Alliance.</a></strong></li>
<li>Comoros avails scholarship/training programmes offered by India under the <strong>Indian Technical &amp; Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scheme.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>India - Sierra Leone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India announced the decision to establish a <strong>High Commission in Sierra Leone.</strong></li>
<li>Both the countries agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture, food processing, Information Technology, infrastructure development and capacity building.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A MoU was signed for Sierra Leone to participate in India&rsquo;s Pan-African tele-Education, tele-Medicine initiatives, <strong>e-VidyaBharati and e-Arogya Bharati.</strong></li>
<li>India will soon initiate steps to set up a <strong>Centre of Excellence in IT in Sierra Leone.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>An agreement was signed to initiate a <strong>cultural exchange program</strong> between the governments of India and Sierra Leone for the years <strong>2019-23.</strong></li>
<li>The Vice President reiterated India&rsquo;s offer to conduct a <strong>&ldquo;Jaipur Foot&rdquo; camp</strong> in Sierra Leone under the <strong>&ldquo;India for Humanity&rdquo;</strong> initiative for fitting of artificial prosthetic limbs for the disabled. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>&ldquo;India for Humanity&rdquo; is an initiative undertaken in the context of 150<sup>th</sup> birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ties Between India and Sierra Leone<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039438_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039438_image3.jpg" width="285" height="202" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India was among the first countries to contribute to the <strong>UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)</strong> with the deployment of 4000 strong Indian Military contingent.</li>
<li>India has extended concessional lines of credit to Sierra Leone worth USD 123 million in sectors such as agriculture, water, and transmission line.</li>
<li>India has also undertaken grant projects through India Brazil South Africa Forum (IBSA) funds and provided <strong>direct humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis in 2014</strong> and during floods in 2017.</li>
<li>Sierra Leone is also a beneficiary of the <strong>Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)</strong> programme.</li>
<li>Sierra Leone is one of the <strong>members of the International Solar Alliance.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme was<strong> launched by the Government of India on 15<sup>th</sup> September 1964</strong> as a programme of <strong>bilateral cooperation and technical assistance.</strong></li>
<li>Under ITEC and its sister programme <strong>SCAAP (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme),</strong> 161 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as Pacific and Small Island countries are invited to share in the Indian developmental experience acquired over six decades of India's existence as a free nation.</li>
<li>The ITEC programme provides for organizing <strong>training courses</strong> in India, deputation of Indian experts abroad, <strong>aid for disaster relief,</strong> gifting of equipment, study tours and feasibility studies/consultancy services.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1587980" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/vice-president-s-visit-to-comoros-and-sierra-leone'
		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Indian Model of Nationalism',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/un-civic-nationalism-identity-politics-society-development-hindu-rashtra-ambedkar-6064961/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;Un-civic Nationalism&rdquo;</a> that was published in The Indian Express on 12/10/2019. It distinguishes between the Indian Model of Nationalism and the European Model of Nationalism.</p>
</div>
<p>In recent years, nationalism in India has witnessed a gradual shift from multiculturalism, inclusive and fraternal model to the European idea of nationalism which has a more ethnic distinctiveness bias. This notion of nationalism sits at the polar opposite end to what was envisaged by the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.</p>
<h3>What is the European model of Nationalism?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This idea of nationalism was born during the French Revolution.</li>
<li>European nationalism is fueled primarily by a keen sense of ethnic distinctiveness and the desire to preserve it.</li>
<li>It is the basis of the formation of many nation-states in 17th century Europe.</li>
<li>It was generated by creating a feeling of "ours" by finding an external enemy within its territory to be despised as the "other."</li>
<li>It can be narrowly taken as majoritarianism.</li>
<li>All over the world today, this kind of nationalism is making a comeback.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Rising Xenophobia in western nations.</li>
<li>Rising Islamic fundamentalism in West Asia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is the Indian model of Nationalism?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Unlike Europe, nationalism in India has been the fallout of anti-colonialism.</li>
<li>Also, discarding the dominance of the rigid Hindu brahmanical system that was prevalent in India, Indian nationalism envisages establishing inter-faith tolerance and pluralism.</li>
<li>This society-centric pluralistic idea of nationalism can be depicted from Mahatma Gandhi's notion of independent India that is, &ldquo;Free India will not be a Hindu Raj; it will be an Indian Raj, based not on the majority of any religious sect or community&rdquo;.</li>
<li>Moreover, it can be depicted in:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Khilafat Movement in India, that was a key manifestation of India's brand of secularism.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Khilafat was a platform and a nationalist strategy for much more than a Muslim cause, as it brought to consciousness how the welfare of the peasantry and tolerance was essential to any future ideal of the nation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India's brand of secularism:
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Indian philosophy of secularism is related to &ldquo;Sarva Dharma Sambhava&rdquo;</strong> (which means that the destination of the paths followed by all religions is the same, though the paths themselves may be different) which means equal respect to all religions.</li>
<li>Thus, India's secularism is called &ldquo;tossed salad model&rdquo;, that emphasizes the multicultural nature of Indian society.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Also, the elaborate deliberations of the Constituent Assembly gave India the basis of its <strong>civic nationalism</strong> that prevailed for many decades.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Civic nationalism</strong> is a form of nationalism that emphasizes political allegiance based on a vision of a community of equal citizens, allowing for significant levels of ethnic and cultural diversity.</li>
<li>In the West, the US is a case where the idea of civic nationalism is pursued.</li>
<li>This is one of the greatest strengths of the United States that it doesn't consider itself as a nation based on religion, but a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values enshrined in the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why the European model of Nationalism is not suitable for India?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The European Model of Nationalism threatens the foundational values of our multi-cultural society.</li>
<li>Nationalism based on a singular social homogenising principle affecting all other diverse cultures is unacceptable and unsuitable for India&rsquo;s multicultural and pluralistic society.</li>
<li>The European model of nationalism led to the rise of Nazism in Europe, which resulted in World War II. That's why Einstein remarked &ldquo;Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind&rdquo;.</li>
<li>In the name of national integration and fighting enemies, both outside and within, this idea of nationalism undermines minority rights, procedures of democracy and tries to suppress dissent as &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<p>India is a multicultural, multi-religious, secular and socially cohesive society. Therefore, the European idea of nationalism is ill-suited and alien to India. The most pragmatic way forward for us would be to follow &ldquo;constitutional patriotism&rdquo;, which was laid out keeping in mind India&rsquo;s cultural ethos and ideas by our founding fathers, as opposed to patriotism based on &ldquo;blood and soil&rdquo;.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #00383d; background-color: #f7f7cb;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 1256px;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question:</strong></em><br /><br />Discuss the differences between Indian and the European model of Nationalism. Is Indian idea of nationalism slowly drifting towards the European model of Nationalism. Comment.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/indian-model-of-nationalism'
		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Chalukyan Rulers',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, graves of Chalukyan rulers have been unearthed in a village near Pattadakal, Karnataka.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The findings are significant since there are no clear details available of the places where Chalukyan rulers lived.</li>
<li>Neither they have left behind documents nor evidence of their graves. It is believed that they wanted their death to remain a secret and built their graves in a discreet manner.</li>
<li>Chalukyan kings were famous for <strong>building gigantic temples</strong> with <strong>intricate architecture</strong> which could be found at places such as <strong>Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Historical Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Chalukyas ruled parts of <strong>Southern and Central India</strong> between the <strong>6<sup>th</sup> century and the 12<sup>th</sup> century.</strong></li>
<li>There were <strong>three distinct but related Chalukya dynasties.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Badami Chalukyas:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>earliest Chalukyas</strong> with their capital at <strong>Badami (Vatapi)</strong> in <strong>Karnataka.</strong></li>
<li>They ruled from mid-6<sup>th</sup> century and declined after the death of their greatest king, Pulakesin II in 642 AD.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Eastern Chalukyas:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Emerged after the death of Pulakesin II in Eastern Deccan with capital at Vengi.</li>
<li>They ruled till the 11<sup>th</sup> century.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Western Chalukyas:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Descendants of the Badami Chalukyas, they emerged in the late 10<sup>th</sup> century and ruled from Kalyani.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The extent of empire:<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570874633_Chalukya.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570874633_Chalukya.jpg" style="float: right;" caption="false" width="357" height="380" /></a></strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chalukya dynasty reached its peak during the reign of <strong>Pulakesin II.</strong></li>
<li>Pulakesin II subjugated the Kadambas, the Gangas of Mysore, the Mauravas of North Konkan, the Latas of Gujarat, the Malavas and the Gurjars.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>He also succeeded in getting a submission from the Chola, Chera and Pandya kings.</li>
<li>He had also defeated King Harsha of Kannauj and the Pallava king Mahendravarman.</li>
<li>He had maintained friendly relations with Khusru II, the king of Persia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Administration and Society:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chalukyas had great army comprised of infantry, cavalry, elephant unit and a dominant navy.</li>
<li>Though the <strong>Chalukya kings were Hindus,</strong> they were tolerant of Buddhism and Jainism.</li>
<li>They contributed to great developments in <strong>Kannada and Telugu literature.</strong></li>
<li>They imprinted coins were included Nagari and Kannada legends. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>They minted coins with cryptograms of temples, lion or boar facing right and the lotus.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Architecture:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They built cave temples <strong>depicting both religious and secular themes.</strong></li>
<li>The temples also had <strong>beautiful mural paintings.</strong></li>
<li>The temples under the Chalukyas are a good example of the <strong>Vesara style of architecture.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Vesara style</strong> is a combination of <strong>Dravida and Nagara styles.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Aihole temples:</strong> Lady Khan temple (Surya Temple), Durga temple, Huchimalligudi temple etc.</li>
<li><strong>Badami temples</strong></li>
<li><strong>Pattadakkal Temples:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It is well known for<strong> rock-cut temples.</strong></li>
<li>It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.</li>
<li>There are ten temples here &ndash; 4 in Nagar style and 6 in Dravida style. Virupaksha temple and Sangameshwara Temple are in Dravida style.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/explorer-stumbles-upon-graves-of-chalukyan-kings-in-pattadakal/article29661273.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chalukyan-rulers'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => '14th Anniversary of Right To Information',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p><strong>An important instrument of participatory democracy-Right To Information (RTI)</strong> has marked its 14<sup>th</sup> anniversary on 12th october 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To mark the occasion, the <strong>&lsquo;Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India&rsquo;</strong> has been released by the NGOs, Satark Nagrik Sangathan and the Centre for Equity Studies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Achievements</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>RTI is one of the<strong> landmark acts</strong> which has led to a <strong>significant boost</strong> in accountability of the govt towards the people.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It has given ordinary citizens the confidence and the <strong>right to ask questions</strong> to the government authorities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>RTI ensured the <strong>maintenance and publication of public records.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Section 4 of the RTI Act makes it a duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It also ensured <strong>transparency as well as accountability</strong> between citizens and public authorities.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Recently, the government of Rajasthan has launched <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jan-soochna-portal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Jan Soochna Portal (JSP),</strong></a> on the lines of <a href="/to-the-points/paper4/right-to-information-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Right to Information Act (RTI).</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>RTI emphasizes <strong>citizen centric approach.</strong></li>
<li>It assured <strong>information accessibility</strong> at <strong>every level</strong> of public governance.</li>
<li>According to estimates, nearly <strong>60 lakh applications</strong> are being filed every year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Challenges</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Government officials face <strong>hardly any punishment for violating the law</strong> by denying applicants legitimate information.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It destroys the basic framework of incentives and disincentives built into the RTI Act.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State and Central Information Commissions, which are the courts of appeal under the RTI Act, <strong>failed to impose penalties in about 97% of the cases</strong> where violations took place.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The State Commissions of <strong>Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura did not impose penalties in any cases at all.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The commissions also have the <strong>power to recommend disciplinary action against officials</strong> for persistent violations of the RTI Act.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Only <strong>10 states invoked</strong> these powers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Many Information Commissions are <strong>non-functional or are functioning at reduced capacity</strong> as the <strong>posts of commissioners, including that of the chief information commissioner are vacant.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The State Information Commission(SIC) of the state of Andhra Pradesh is yet to become functional.</li>
<li>The State Information Commission of West Bengal is currently functioning with just two commissioners.</li>
<li>The Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra retired in April 2017 and the government is yet to appoint a new Chief</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The central, as well as state commissions, have an <strong>increasing workload,</strong> which is <strong>leading to huge pendency</strong> of cases. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Any <strong>new appeal to the Central Information Commission (CIC)</strong> would have to wait more than one-and-a-half years for resolution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Central Information Commission (CIC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CIC was established in <strong>2005</strong> by the Central Government under the provisions of <strong>Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.</strong></li>
<li>The Chief Information Commissioner heads the Central Information Commission.</li>
<li>It hears appeals from information-seekers who have not been satisfied by the public authority and also addresses major issues concerning the RTI Act.</li>
<li>CIC submits an annual report to the Union government on the implementation of the provisions of RTI Act.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>State Information Commission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Right to Information Act of 2005 provides for the creation of a State Information Commission at the state level.</li>
<li>The State Information Commission is a high powered independent body which inter-alia looks into the complaints made to it and decide the appeals.</li>
<li>It entertains complaints and appeals pertaining to offices, financial institutions, public sector undertakings, etc.under the concerned state government.</li>
<li>The Commission consists of a State Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten State Information Commissioners appointed by the Governor.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/penalties-levied-for-rti-violations-in-3-of-cases-in-2018-19/article29660236.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/14th-anniversary-of-right-to-information'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Elastocaloric Effect',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>According to a research published in the Journal Science, the <strong>elastocaloric effect,</strong> if harnessed, may be able to <strong>do away with the need of fluid refrigerants</strong> used in fridges and air-conditioners.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Refrigeration plays an important role in a wide range of human activity and keeping people and things cool consumes huge amounts of energy.</li>
<li>They use <strong>fluids such as hydrofluorocarbons</strong> which are<strong> susceptible to leakages</strong>, and can contribute to <strong>global warming. </strong></li>
<li>An alternative approach involves using <strong>&ldquo;caloric&rdquo; materials</strong>, which release heat when subjected to an external stimulus such as an applied magnetic or electric field or a compressive force. When the stimulus is removed, the material will absorb heat, thus cooling its surroundings.</li>
<li>Recently, owing to the strong demand for efficient and environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies, materials with giant caloric effects, including elastocaloric, have been widely investigated.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Elastocaloric Effect</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>When <strong>rubber bands are twisted and untwisted,</strong> it produces a<strong> cooling effect.</strong> This is called the<strong> &ldquo;elastocaloric&rdquo; effect. </strong></li>
<li>The elastocaloric effect can be regarded as the<strong> entropy change under isothermal condition or temperature change under adiabatic condition when a mechanical stress is used or released in a given material.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Energy is the ability to do work. Although all forms of energy are interconvertible, and all can be used to do work, it is not always possible, even in principle, to convert the entire available energy into work.</li>
<li><strong>Entropy</strong> is a measure of <strong>how much energy is not available to do work.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Basically, elastocaloric materials are<strong> solids capable of stress-induced reversible phase transformations during which latent heat is released or absorbed. </strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570867026_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570867026_image1.jpg" width="340" height="316" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<h3>Elastocaloric Effect Replacing Fuel</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the elastocaloric effect, the transfer of heat works much the same way as when fluid refrigerants are compressed and expanded.</li>
<li>When a rubber band is stretched, it absorbs heat from its environment, and when it is released, it gradually cools down.</li>
<li>In order to figure out how the twisting mechanism might be able to enable a fridge, the researchers compared the cooling power of rubber fibres, nylon and polyethylene fishing lines and nickel-titanium wires.</li>
<li><strong>Observations:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They observed <strong>high cooling</strong> from twist changes in twisted, coiled and supercoiled fibres.</li>
<li>They reported that the <strong>level of efficiency</strong> of the heat exchange in rubber bands is <strong>comparable to that of standard refrigerants.</strong></li>
<li>These findings may lead to the development of greener, higher-efficiency and low-cost cooling technology.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/this-word-means-elastocaloric-effect-6065022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elastocaloric-effect'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'World Vision Report',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently to mark the occasion of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/central-council-of-health-and-family-welfare-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Sight Day</strong></a>, the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-health-organization-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Health Organization</strong></a> (WHO) released its first <strong>World Vision Report.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The report proposed ways to address challenges such as integrating eye care into healthcare systems that can help in drastically reducing the burden of preventable eye diseases. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The report found that globally, over <strong>2.2 billion</strong> people have some form of <strong>vision impairment.</strong> Out of these 2.2 billion, 1 billion people are suffering from conditions that are preventable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to the report, the burden of eye conditions and vision impairment is not borne equally: it is often <strong>far greater</strong> in <strong>people living in rural areas,</strong> those with <strong>low incomes, women, older people, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and indigenous populations.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Low and middle-income regions of western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have rates of blindness that are <strong>eight times</strong> higher than in high-income countries.</li>
<li>The <strong>age-specific</strong> prevalence of distance vision impairment in an <strong>urban</strong> population of Delhi (20% prevalence amongst 60-69 years old) was <strong>one-third lower</strong> than that of a<strong> rural</strong> population in Northern India (28%).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The report warned that the <strong>ageing population</strong> would lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people with vision impairment and blindness. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Presbyopia</strong> (a condition in which it is difficult to see nearby objects), affects 1.8 billion people. This condition occurs with <strong>advancing age.</strong></li>
<li>The common refractive error -<strong>myopia</strong> (a condition in which it is difficult to see objects at a particular distance) affects 2.6 billion, with 312 million being under the age of <strong>19 years.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Trachoma-</strong> an eye disease that is caused due to <strong>bacterial infection</strong> in the eye. Many countries have eliminated it including <strong>India.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Vision impairment also caused <strong>productivity loss and economic burden.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The economic burden of uncorrected myopia in the regions of East Asia, South Asia, and South-East Asia were reported to be more than twice that of other regions and equivalent to more than 1% of gross domestic product.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The report also highlighted that in India the <strong>rate of cataract surgery</strong> has increased <strong>nine-fold</strong> (6,000 per million population) between 1981 and 2012. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This has been possible because of the <strong>National Programme for Control of Blindness,</strong> under which cataract surgeries were performed on 6.5 million people alone in the year 2016-2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In addition to it, a total of 1.5 million management/ treatment procedures were performed for other eye conditions. As a result of these concerted efforts, there was an overall reduction in the prevalence of blindness that was reported as 1.1% in 2001-02 to 0.45% during the years 2015-18.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB&amp;VI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was launched in the year <strong>1976</strong> as a 100% <strong>centrally sponsored scheme</strong> (now 60:40 in all states and 90:10 in NE States) by the <strong>Ministry of Health &amp; Family Welfare.</strong></li>
<li>The goal of this programme was to reduce the prevalence of blindness to <strong>0.3% by 2020.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NPCB aimed to provide for<strong> &lsquo;Eye Health for All&rsquo;</strong> and prevention of visual impairment, through the provision of comprehensive universal eye-care services and quality service delivery.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the World Report on Vision, integrated people-centered eye care has the potential to accelerate action and overcome the challenges. To make it a reality, the report recommends the following actions:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Make eye care an <strong>integral part</strong> of universal health coverage.</li>
<li>Promote high-quality <strong>implementation</strong> and health systems <strong>research,</strong> complementing existing evidence for effective eye care interventions.</li>
<li><strong>Monitor</strong> trends and <strong>evaluate</strong> progress towards implementing integrated people-centered eye care.</li>
<li><strong>Raise awareness</strong> and <strong>engage and empower</strong> people and communities about eye care needs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/telling-numbers-2-2-billion-people-worldwide-living-with-eye-conditions-preventable-in-1-billion-says-who-6065002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-vision-report'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'e-Cigarette ',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nipping-it-in-the-bud-6061665/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nipping it in the bud</strong></a> which was published in Indian Express on 11/10/2019. It talks about the various narratives of e-cigarette ban.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/promulgation-of-the-prohibition-of-electronic-cigarettes-ordinance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes</strong></a> (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance, 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The prohibition of e-cigarettes <strong>includes all forms of</strong> Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Heat Not Burn Products, e-Hookah, and other like devices.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What are e-Cigarettes ?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ban-on-e-cigarettes" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>e-Cigarettes</strong> </a>are battery powered devices that work by heating a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales and exhales.</li>
<li>The e-cigarette liquid typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings, and other chemicals.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>e-Cigarettes usually contain nicotine which makes product addictive.</li>
<li>e-Cigarettes cause health hazards for youth, young adults, and pregnant women.</li>
<li>A number of metals, including lead, chromium, and nickel, and chemicals like formaldehyde have been found in aerosols of some ENDS, with concentrations equal to or greater than traditional cigarettes. These metals also work as &lsquo;tumor promoters&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Lack of knowledge about the negative effects of nicotine and easy accessibility of these products make the youth prone to addiction.</li>
<li>These products are not registered as nicotine replacement therapy products in India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Nicotine</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nicotine-as-class-a-poison" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nicotine</strong></a> is a plant alkaloid that contains nitrogen, which is found in several types of plants, including the tobacco plant and can also be produced synthetically.</li>
<li>Nicotine is both a sedative and a stimulant.</li>
<li>Nicotine is used as a direct substance in e-cigarettes and the content ranges up to 36 mg/mL. Although regular cigarettes too have nicotine, but it ranges between 1.2 to 1.4 mg/mL.</li>
<li>Recently, Karnataka has notified nicotine as Class A poison.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Arguments Against the Ban</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cigarettes, chewing tobacco and related products continue to be legal in India, selective banning of e-cigarettes seems to be an arbitrary exercise of executive authority.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Vaping&rdquo; or use of e-cigarette is regarded as the <strong>social and cultural phenomenon</strong> that must be regulated and taxed like other &ldquo;sin goods&rdquo; to the point of disincentivising their use, instead of a blanket ban.</li>
<li>The basis of e-cigarette promotion is its safety vis-a-vis conventional cigarettes. E-cigarettes are claimed to contain nicotine minus the carcinogens in traditional cigarettes and are promoted as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco product.</li>
<li>The banning of e-cigarette also highlights the nexus between the tobacco companies and government as visible with the sudden rise in the price of shares of ITC following the e-cigarette ban.</li>
<li>As seen in the case of alcohol ban,<strong> total prohibition</strong> does not work in many countries. The total prohibition promotes underground dark economy for the sin goods.</li>
<li>Considering the economics of <strong>&ldquo;sin goods&rdquo;,</strong> e-cigarette are being seen as a huge source of revenues for public exchequers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Argument in Favour of Ban</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Smoking-related diseases rank among the greatest public health problems of the last century. There have been 21 deaths in the past three months in the US due to vaping related lung disease. Therefore, the ban cannot be considered as the arbitrary exercise of executive power. It is simply targeted at controlling the another public health menace at its very genesis.</li>
<li>The notion that vaping is a socio-cultural phenomenon can not be justified as the social evils cannot be promoted in the name of culture.</li>
<li>e-Cigarettes are direct source of nicotine and even <strong>more addictive than cocaine.</strong> Nicotine in its pure form is potentially carcinogenic and a dose of 30-50 mg of nicotine can kill an adult human. Traditional cigarettes are the cheapest source of nicotine. Therefore, pure nicotine is a myth and not a reality.</li>
<li>Globally, the cigarette business is no more lucrative and infact e-cigarette seems to be the tobacco industry&rsquo;s biggest hope. Therefore, the allegations regarding the nexus between industry-government does not hold any ground.</li>
<li>The narrative that e-Cigarettes helps in quitting has no conclusive evidence. However, the approved drugs (nicotine tablets) under medical supervision have far better success rate. Secondly, they are far more expensive compared to medically-approved methods.</li>
<li>The logic that total prohibition does not work may be true for products that have huge customer base like traditional cigarettes. e-Cigarettes have very small customer base, mostly in urban areas. The ban is likely to be effective as the consumption is at a very nascent stage.</li>
<li>The idea that ban leads to loss for public exchequers is ill framed. Since, e-cigarettes are not manufactured in India, they won&rsquo;t lead to any revenue loss. Secondly, the public health expenditure in tackling disease emerging out of its consumption will be far more than the revenues earned as seen in the case of other sin goods.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the second <strong>Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016,</strong> India has seen the steepest decline in tobacco consumption(17%) in any part of the world. Since this decline is evident in global data, we should not allow e-cigarettes to reverse the declining trend.</li>
<li>The use of tobacco can be seen as a historical mistake as its farming holds its genesis in British period and further commercialization after Independence. We now have the opportunity to correct this mistake and protect the next generation from the killer tobacco industry and its next generation evolving products. The government&rsquo;s decision to ban e-cigarette is the way forward towards an addiction free society.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0505; background-color: #e1f7f7;">
<p><em><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">Mains Question</span><br /><br /></strong></em>Critically analyse the government's decision to ban e-cigarette.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/e-cigarette'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'The Big Picture - Operation Clean up',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/70xe-VIMClU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, unlike in 2014, the issue of corruption took a back seat; it was overshadowed by the issue of national security. But over the last few months several steps were taken to clean up the system.</p>
<p>In June, <strong>the government dismissed from service 12 senior income tax officers, including one of the rank of joint commissioner, on charges of corruption and professional misconduct.</strong> A week later twelve Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers belonging to the Income Tax (I-T) department were dismissed on charges of corruption.</p>
<p>Meanwhile,<strong> the government of Uttar Pradesh cracked the whip on 600 government officials of which 200 were forced to go on voluntary retirement</strong> and 400 others got strict punitive action in the form of adverse entries in a confidential report. This was the biggest ever action against corruption by any state government.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The need for cleaning up the system came from a<strong> lot of complaints</strong> that came in despite the fact that the government in the recent past has been very particular about enforcing the rule of law and compliance to other measures to prevent activities such as money laundering, tax evasion etc.</li>
<li>Although, the government is taking steps against people who have violated the law, substantial steps have not been taken against the law enforcers themselves.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There were a lot of complaints, particularly about the income tax officers that these enforcement officials indulge in corruption. The Business and the Industry Community calls the same as <strong>&lsquo;Tax Terrorism&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>This implies that the government has done very little about cleaning up its own law enforcement system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The problem is <strong>not new.</strong> The State Sales Tax (now replaced by GST) Officers were considered as notorious as they followed very draconian and predatory approach i.e. <strong>trying to mop up the revenue but at the same time filling up their own pockets.</strong></li>
<li>Due to such approach, businessmen - big or small, continuously face coercion.</li>
<li>Therefore, a need was felt <strong>to check the ethical behaviour of the enforcement agencies.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Steps Taken by the Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Government took an<strong> immediate step of retiring those who were known to be not people of integrity by using the fundamental rule 56.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Fundamental Rule 56 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 provides for periodical review of performance of government servants with a view to ascertain whether they should be retained in service or retired from service, in the public interest.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Over time, <strong>the legislative framework has been made little more transparent,</strong> leading to the rule based decision making process in the country, thus reducing arbitrariness. Also, changes have been made in laws to enable public servants <strong>to take bona fide decisions without fear of any harassment.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For e.g. <strong>recent amendments made in the Prevention of Corruption Act</strong> include some safeguards that ensure that honest officers are not intimidated by false complaints.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By using the technology,</strong> the government has reduced the scope of the misuse of the legislative system by various stakeholders.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Use of <strong>Technology in the Goods and Services Tax (GST)</strong> has increased compliance and formalized a large number of transactions which would have otherwise remained under the radar and thus not get tracked.</li>
<li>Also, after <strong>e- tenders</strong> became norm in all government offices, the big cases of corruption has come down.</li>
<li>In a step towards faceless model of governance, Income Tax Department has put in place income tax assessments with anonymity of the payee.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India has <strong>signed several tax agreements with tax havens</strong> abroad such as Switzerland, Mauritius, Cyprus, Singapore etc.</li>
<li>There has been <strong>more and more international cooperation (for example</strong> <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/g-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>G7 summit</strong></a>) on tackling financial aspects of international crime syndicates and terrorism.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Amendments made in the Prevention of Corruption Act&nbsp;</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570795600_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570795600_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="660" height="404" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Tackling Corruption in India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Corruption is the <strong>abuse of entrusted power for private gain.</strong> It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.</li>
<li>In India, <strong>bureaucracy is susceptible to corruption.</strong></li>
<li>Corruption is widespread and can be tackled at following <strong>levels:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>At the cutting edge level.</li>
<li>At the middle level.</li>
<li>At the highest level i.e. policy making level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Corruption at the cutting edge level affects a common man the most,</strong> i.e. at the Police Station, Municipality etc.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Though things have improved but there is <strong>still a lot of scope for improvement the way one conducts business,</strong> whether it is in Police Station or in an electricity office etc.</li>
<li>The <strong>training of civil servants</strong> and those who are manning these offices is needed. Also, close supervision of the conduct is required.</li>
<li><strong>The use of technology</strong> can minimize the discretionary powers, thus, reducing the scope of corruption.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>At middle level,</strong> the <strong>role of professionals like Chartered Accountant and Lawyers, come into play.</strong> Such people need to motivate others to follow laws and to not avoid or violate the laws.</li>
<li>The government has come down heavily on the corruption that happens at the <strong>Policy making level. Right to Information is an example.</strong></li>
<li>Both <strong>coercion-led and collusive corruption</strong> is prevalent in India. The <strong>government needs to tackle both of them.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the <strong>coercion-led</strong> corruption, one is forced to pay bribe.</li>
<li>In the <strong>collusive corruption,</strong> the government representative as well as the citizen collude with each other, thus, making the act of corruption voluntary.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India needs to <strong>simplify its tax laws</strong> as it has been seen that complexity in laws leads to arbitrariness in bureaucratic system, leaving the scope for corruption.</li>
<li>Along with simplification, the government also needs to ensure that the<strong> rate of taxation remains moderate.</strong> This step is required as tax rates on higher side create scope for non-compliance.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is expected that the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-on-direct-tax-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Direct Tax Code</strong></a> would reduce the taxation rate and hence would increase the tax base.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Governance reforms,</strong> which should include Police, Judiciary, Municipalities, etc. from the grass root level to the highest level, is the need of the hour.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As done by U.K., there is a need to create <strong>a Chinese wall between those officers who undertake investigations and those who are responsible for tax collections.</strong> The investigation wing of the tax department should function on its own and not be subservient to the revenue collection goals of the government.</li>
<li><strong>More and more usage of technology</strong> is required for ensuring transparency in the governance system. The biggest advantage can be minimised interface with officials.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government <strong>needs to keep the civil servants or people in the public offices motivated about their work</strong> so that they take pride in doing their work. Doing the work properly should be the biggest satisfaction that they should derive. Also, there must be a <strong>lot of incentives for honesty.</strong></li>
<li>With the economy continuously opening up, it should be ensured that the <strong>regulator as well as the law enforcers perform their tasks sincerely.</strong> In the recent past, incidents of corruption, like the one that happened in PNB, have happened mainly due to non - vigilant regulators.</li>
<li>Through use of the Fundamental Rule 56, one can only remove people charged with corruption. It should be ensured that <strong>such people should be penalized.</strong> The country&rsquo;s judicial system needs to be made more effective and expeditious for the same.</li>
<li>There is a need for improved <strong>accountability standards</strong> at the political and administrative level to form a holistic and trustworthy ecosystem.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-operation-clean-up'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Green Crackers',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>In a bid to resolve the crisis of air pollution, the Government has launched <strong>green firecrackers.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These crackers are available as sparklers, flowerpots, maroons and atom bombs and have been <strong>developed by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),</strong> a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research <strong>(CSIR) lab.</strong></li>
<li>CSIR has signed agreements with 230 companies to manufacture green crackers and make them available for sale.</li>
<li>As per the CSIR&rsquo;s assessment, green crackers would <strong>reduce particulate matter pollution by 30%.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system</strong> has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>QR codes is a novel feature incorporated on the fire crackers to avoid manufacture and sale of counterfeit products.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Concerned about the pollution levels and the role firecrackers played in exacerbating it, the Supreme Court in October 2018 banned the sale, use and manufacture of crackers that weren&rsquo;t &lsquo;green&rsquo;.</li>
<li>This meant that the crackers couldn&rsquo;t be loud beyond a certain limit, had to be approved by the <strong>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO)</strong> and had to be free of mercury, arsenic and barium. However, compliant crackers weren&rsquo;t available in the market.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court, in May 2019, allowed the bulk manufacture of green crackers after the CSIR said its labs had been able to make trial samples and had them approved by the PESO.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>CSIR&rsquo;s project of development of green crackers adopted a two-pronged approach.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>One stream of activity was focussed on improving the traditional crackers through <strong>reduction in the level of Barium Nitrate.</strong></li>
<li>The second pathway aimed at <strong>replacing Barium Nitrate</strong> with a more benign Potassium Nitrate.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The apex court is expected to take a decision on &ldquo;improved crackers&rdquo;, which have reduced levels of barium nitrate on 22<sup>nd</sup> October 2019.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PESO is an office under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, <strong>Ministry of Commerce and Industries.</strong></li>
<li>It was established in 1898 as a <strong>nodal agency for regulating safety of substances such as explosives,</strong> compressed gases and petroleum.</li>
<li>Its head office is located in <strong>Nagpur, Maharashtra.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Council of Scientific &amp; Industrial Research (CSIR) is an autonomous body under Ministry of Science &amp; Technology, having <strong>38 national laboratories</strong> working in various areas of science and technology</li>
<li><strong>CSIR-NEERI is one among those laboratories.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/green-crackers-to-be-available-this-deepavali-says-union-health-minister/article29605157.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/green-crackers'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'Central Council Of Health And Family Welfare Conference',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, the 13<sup>th</sup> Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) was held in New Delhi.</p>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The purpose of the meeting was to <strong>build a consensus</strong> on the <strong>national health priorities.</strong></li>
<li>It focused on <strong>two priority areas</strong> for the public health sector: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Increasing health budgets</strong> by the Centre and the States/UTs.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to the <strong>National Health Policy (NHP), 2017,</strong> there has to be a collective increase in healthcare spending by the Centre &amp; States/UTs to meet the goals of healthcare spending of <strong>2.5% of GDP by 2025.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Strengthening of medical infrastructure.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This would target the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/ayushmanbharat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ayushman Bharat</a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/agreement-with-the-world-bank-to-eliminate-tb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eliminating TB</a></strong> and other communicable diseases, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-health-mission-and-janani-suraksha-yojana" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Health Mission</strong></a>, and other priority agendas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the conference, the emphasis was laid upon<strong> four pillars of healthcare,</strong> which include, <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mission mode interventions,</li>
<li>Quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare services,</li>
<li>Universal health coverage, and</li>
<li>Adequate health infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an apex <strong>advisory body</strong> set up under <strong>Article 263 of the Constitution</strong> to provide support and advice to the <strong>Department of Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</strong> on policy formulation and to consider and recommend broad lines of policy in regard to matters concerning health.</li>
<li>The first meeting of the CCHFW was held in <strong>1988.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Organizational Structure of Council:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Chairperson:</strong> Union Minister for Health &amp; Family Welfare,</li>
<li><strong>Vice-Chairperson:</strong> Minister of State for Health &amp; Family Welfare.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Article 263 of the Constitution</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Article 263 contemplates the establishment of an Inter-State Council to effect coordination between Centre and states. Thus, the President can establish such a council if at any time it appears to him that the public interest would be served by its establishment.</li>
<li>Therefore, the president has established the following councils to make recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action in the related subjects:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Central Council of Health.</li>
<li>Central Council of Local Government and Urban Development.</li>
<li>Four Regional Councils for Sales Tax for the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Zones.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To mark the occasion of <strong>World Sight Day</strong> (a global <strong>annual</strong> event observed on the <strong>second Thursday of October</strong>) report on <em><strong>&lsquo;National Diabetes &amp; Diabetic Retinopathy Survey India 2015-19&rsquo;</strong></em> and on <em><strong>&lsquo;National Blindness &amp; Visual Impairment Survey India 2015-19&rsquo;</strong></em> were released.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Major findings of the survey in India are: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>One in eight persons above 50 years is <strong>Diabetic,</strong></li>
<li>One in every 46 diabetics is <strong>Blind;</strong> and</li>
<li>One in seven suffers from some form of<strong> visual impairment</strong> due to high blood sugar levels.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Initiatives Launched:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN):</strong> This initiative aims to achieve <strong>zero</strong> preventable <strong>Maternal and Newborn Deaths.</strong> On the occasion, its website and the grievance redressal portal was also launched.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to the <strong>NITI Aayog</strong> data, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/penicillin-revival-to-fight-rheumatic-fever" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)</strong></a> has dropped by 8% in India to <strong>130 per 100,000 live births.</strong> The aim is to get it in line with the Sustainable Development Goal of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Other initiatives:</strong> The minister unveiled two info-leaflets on Suicide Prevention to mark the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-mental-health-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Mental Health Day,</strong> </a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Guidelines on Drugs and Diagnostic Service Initiative,</li>
<li>Guidelines for Biomedical Equipment Management &amp; Maintenance Programme, and</li>
<li>Guidelines for Peritoneal Dialysis under <strong>Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a <strong>need for enhanced engagement with the private sector</strong> for augmenting the efforts of the public sector, to bring in equity by increasing the number of beds and hospitals, so as to meet the global standards of health infrastructure.</li>
<li>Without the political leadership and commitment of the States &amp; UTs, healthcare cannot be effective. As highlighted in Economic Survey 2017-18 the cooperative federalism &ldquo;technology&rdquo; of the GST Council that brings together the Center and States could be promisingly deployed to meet the desired targets.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1587700" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/central-council-of-health-and-family-welfare-conference'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Child’s Right to Affection of Both Parents',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Supreme Court recently in a case has ruled that<strong> &lsquo;a child has the right to affection of both his parents&rsquo;.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The order is based on a plea by a man for custody of his child, who is with the wife.</li>
<li>The court declined to interfere with the family court&rsquo;s order granting custody of the child to the mother.</li>
<li>However, it gave the man liberty to approach the family court for enhancement of his visitation rights.</li>
</ul>
<h3>SC&rsquo;s Observations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> interest of the child should be kept foremost</strong> in custody battles between separated parents.</li>
<li>Family courts should grant visitation rights in such a manner that <strong>a child is not deprived of the love and care of either parent.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues related to the Custody of a Child</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The legal provisions which currently exist as per various personal laws are in the <strong>nature of entrusting the custody of children exclusively to one of the parents</strong> in case of separation. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, there are a number of provisions in various family law statutes which <strong>discriminate</strong> on the custodial rights of separated parents solely <strong>on the basis of their gender.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This presumption severely <strong>affects the rights of the spouse who has been denied custody rights</strong> and the <strong>rights of the child</strong> who will be deprived of care and love of both parents.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is argued that the present family laws <strong>lack</strong> a child-centric approach, which is based on the idea of <strong>shared parenting.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Supreme Court has recently agreed to examine provisions in family laws which allow exclusive custody of children to just one parent after a marital separation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Divorce and Article 142</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, the Supreme Court exercised its inherent powers <strong>under Article 142</strong> of the Constitution <strong>to annul a marriage</strong> of an estranged couple, residing separately for over two decades, <strong>saying it was a case of irretrievable breakdown of wedlock.</strong></li>
<li>Article 142 empowers the apex court to "pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it".</li>
<li>The apex court in a series of verdicts <strong>has asked the Centre to amend the law to introduce irretrievable breakdown as a ground of divorce but the law remains unamended</strong> and divorce is denied even if the couple are not living together for years and their relationship bruised beyond repair. This effectively denies them an opportunity to explore life afresh as their marriage survives in law even if not in substance.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Even the Law Commission, in its reports in 1978 and 2009, recommended the Centre to take "immediate action" to amend the laws with regard to "irretrievable breakdown" where a "wedlock becomes a deadlock".</li>
<li>As the <strong>Centre failed to act on the suggestions,</strong> the apex court has from time to time invoked Article 142 for dissolution of a marriage where the court finds that the marriage is totally unworkable, emotionally dead, beyond salvage and has broken down irretrievably, even if the facts of the case do not provide a ground in law on which the divorce could be granted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-child-has-right-to-affection-of-both-parents-supreme-court/article29630596.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/child-s-right-to-affection-of-both-parents'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'Turkey’s Offensive in Syria',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Turkey has launched a military operation called <strong>Operation Peace Spring</strong> against the <strong>Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG) in Northeast Syria</strong> just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The YPG was the <strong>USA&rsquo;s ally</strong> in the <strong>war against the Islamic state.</strong> However, withdrawal of US troops allowed Turkey to launch the attack.</li>
<li>Turkey stated that operation was aimed <strong>to eliminate &ldquo;terror corridor&rdquo;</strong> on <strong>Turkey&rsquo;s southern border</strong> as well as<strong> to create</strong> a <strong>&ldquo;safe zone&rdquo;.</strong> Turkey intends to settle millions of refugees in this safe zone who are now in Turkey.</li>
<li>World powers fear the action could open a new chapter in <strong>Syria&rsquo;s war and worsen the regional turmoil.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The present chaos could present the Islamic State with an opportunity to stage a revival and worsen the situation in the middle east.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570782252_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570782252_image1.jpg" width="427" height="479" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Syria&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Syria has considered the attack as <strong>&ldquo;Turkish Aggression&rdquo;</strong> over Syria.</li>
<li>The Syrian government wants to keep the <strong>territorial integrity of Syria intact.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Kurdish people have been demanding a separate country for themselves. While, Syria has been <strong>rejecting Kurdish demands for autonomy</strong> in the region. Syria does not support the rise of federal governments in the country.</li>
<li>Whereas, Turkey wants to create a buffer between the Syrian Kurdistan and the Turkish border to resettle millions of refugees from Syria. Also, Kurdish people are involved in militant activities in Turkey thus Turkey is reluctant to support Kurdish people present in the region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Turkey&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia as an offshoot of the Turkey Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish militant group in Turkey. Therefore as a threat to the Turkish side.</li>
<li>Turkey wants to create a buffer between the Syrian Kurdistan and the Turkish border.</li>
<li>Turkey also plans to resettle some of the 3 million Syrian refugees it hosts in the buffer zone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India issued a strong statement expressing<strong> &ldquo;deep regret&rdquo;</strong> over Turkey&rsquo;s military action in Syria and called it <strong>unilateral and offensive.</strong></li>
<li>India has called upon Turkey <strong>to exercise restraint</strong> and to respect the<strong> territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.</strong></li>
<li>The diplomatic exchanges between Turkey and India have intensified in recent weeks following India&rsquo;s decision to end the special status of Kashmir.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Turkey supported Pakistan&rsquo;s stance for reversal of the scrapping of Article 370.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Kurds</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Kurds are one of the <strong>indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains</strong> and the highlands i.e.current south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.</li>
<li>They form a distinctive community, united through race, culture and language, even though they have no standard dialect.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They also adhere to a number of different religions and creeds, although the majority are Sunni Muslims.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan".<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>But the boundaries of modern map of middle east made no provision for a Kurdish state and left Kurds with minority status in their respective countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Thus Kurds from Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran <strong>demands recognition of their tradition, language and homeland state</strong> (to be constituted with parts of south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/turkey-begins-offensive-against-kurdish-fighters-in-syria/article29628915.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/turkey-s-offensive-in-syria'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Labour Rights & Tea Estates of Assam',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>A report titled <strong>&lsquo;Addressing the Human Cost of Assam Tea&rsquo;</strong> by Oxfam has flagged violation of labour rights in the tea estates of Assam.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Along with Oxfam, Tata Institute of Social Sciences was also involved in this research.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Extremely Low Wages:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Workers are <strong>paid in a &lsquo;blend&rsquo; of cash and in-kind benefits</strong> and services. Cash payments are supplemented by the provision of food rations and free housing, healthcare and primary education, as required by the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</li>
<li>Plantation owners describe wages in terms of the total value of both cash and in-kind benefits, claiming that this meets minimum wage levels. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>India&rsquo;s <strong>Minimum Wage Act of 1948</strong> stipulates that in-kind benefits may not form part of the minimum wage calculation.</li>
<li>However, the Act is <strong>not compulsory</strong> and <strong>Assam (like West Bengal) has agreed an exception for tea companies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The cash component of Assam tea workers&rsquo; wages is<strong> well below the minimum wage level of unskilled agricultural workers in the state i.e. Rs. 254.91.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Injustice for Women:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Women do the labour-intensive, low-paid task of plucking tea, while men get the better paid, more respected factory jobs.</li>
<li>They are <strong>excluded from decision making and from pay and working conditions negotiations,</strong> partly due to being under-represented in trade unions.</li>
<li>These add up to a working life deprived of dignity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lack of Basic Facilities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Indian tea estates</strong> are legally obliged <strong>under the PLA, 1951 to provide decent housing, healthcare,</strong> education and working conditions &ndash; but are clearly <strong>failing to do so.</strong></li>
<li>Housing and toilets are dilapidated or non-existent.</li>
<li>Most workers <strong>do not have access to safe drinking water,</strong> so they have to drink the contaminated water, meaning diseases such as cholera, typhoid etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Main Reason: Inequality of Power</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Supermarkets and tea brands</strong> in India <strong>retain more than half (58.2%) of the final consumer price</strong> of black processed tea sold in the country, with just <strong>7.2% remaining for workers.</strong></li>
<li>The relentless squeeze by supermarkets and brands on the share of the end consumer price for tea makes poverty and hardship for workers in Assam more likely.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Enabling Living Wages:</strong> Closing the gap between current wages and living wages for tea workers could be supported in one of <strong>two ways:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Either by supermarkets <strong>increasing the end consumer price of tea,</strong> alongside making a commitment to pass this increase to workers rather than increasing their own margins.</li>
<li>Or alternatively, by maintaining current prices but <strong>redistributing some of the retailer and tea brand share</strong> of the end consumer price <strong>to workers.</strong></li>
<li>It is to be noted that <strong>the amount of additional money required to enable a living wage for workers is relatively small.</strong></li>
<li>Workers on tea estates in Assam currently receive just around Rs 3 per 100g of bagged black tea sold to consumers and would require only around Rs 7 to enable living wages to be paid.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>For ending hardships:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tea brands and supermarkets should work with trade unions, civil society, producers and the relevant government bodies to address the systemic challenges facing the industry and end the human suffering of the millions of workers who depend on tea for their livelihood.</li>
<li>There is a need to ensure that <strong>women workers have a voice</strong> in decision making and can work in decent conditions without discrimination.</li>
<li>It should be ensured that<strong> tea estates comply with their legal obligation under the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In the proposed labour law changes, it needs to be ensured that the PLA provisions in the <strong>Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code</strong> further the realization of workers&rsquo; rights and human rights</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government of Assam <strong>should implement a minimum wage level of INR 351 per day, as committed by it.</strong> Also, there is a need to<strong> exclude in-kind benefits from minimum wage calculations</strong> on tea plantations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The PLA of 1951 provides for the welfare of plantation labour and regulates the working conditions on plantations.</li>
<li>The Government of India is <strong>planning to subsume the PLA in the Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This new Bill inter alia aims to provide fair wages to plantation workers by limiting the in-kind component of their pay and instead providing welfare facilities through the welfare schemes of the government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Related Constitutional Provisions</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the <strong>Concurrent List</strong> where both the Central &amp; State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre.</li>
<li><strong>Article 39</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing <strong>equal pay for equal work for both men and women.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Article 43</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, <strong>work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam-tea-estates-violating-labour-laws/article29649803.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/labour-rights-tea-estates-of-assam'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Gangetic Dolphin Annual Census',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently, the <strong>annual Ganges river Dolphin census</strong> was undertaken by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/shark-awareness-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Wide Fund for Nature- India</strong></a> in collaboration with the <strong>Uttar Pradesh Forest Department</strong> along about 250 km. long riverine stretch of Upper Ganga river basin between <strong>Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary</strong> and <strong>Narora Ramsar site.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This year the<strong> tandem boat survey method</strong> replaced the previous years&rsquo; <strong>direct counting method</strong> in order to provide a more accurate count of the endangered species.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the &lsquo;tandem boat survey&rsquo; method, the officials use two inflated boats which move in tandem to count the dolphins. After collating the data, statistical tools are employed to arrive at the final count.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In 2015 census their count was 22, and since then the number has been stable in the last few years. This year, there is an expected rise in their number.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ganga River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gangetic-dolphins-found-in-mahananda-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ganges river dolphin</strong></a> is found in parts of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.</li>
<li>The Gangetic river dolphin is India's <strong>national aquatic animal</strong> and is popularly known as <strong>&lsquo;Susu&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>It is among the <strong>four freshwater dolphins</strong> in the world- the other three are: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Baiji&rsquo;</strong> now likely extinct from the <strong>Yangtze</strong> River in China,</li>
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Bhulan&rsquo;</strong> of the <strong>Indus</strong> in Pakistan, and</li>
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Boto&rsquo;</strong> of the <strong>Amazon</strong> River in Latin America.</li>
<li>These four species live only in rivers and lakes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Its presence indicates the health of the riverine ecosystem.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Threats</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Pollution:</strong> It faces a number of threats such as dumping of single-use plastics in water bodies, industrial pollution, fishing.</li>
<li><strong>Restrictive Flow of Water:</strong> The increase in the number of barrages and dams is also affecting their growth as such structures impede the flow of water.</li>
<li><strong>Poaching:</strong> Dolphins are also poached for their flesh, fat, and oil, which is used as a prey to catch fish, as an ointment and as a supposed aphrodisiac.</li>
<li><strong>Shipping &amp; Dredging:</strong> It is also called a <strong>blind dolphin</strong> because it doesn&rsquo;t have an eye lens and uses <strong>echolocation</strong> to navigate and hunt. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Like bats, they produce high-frequency sounds which helps them to detect objects when the sound waves bounce off them.</li>
<li>Due to their dependence on echolocation, the Gangetic dolphins also suffer from the noise pollution created by large ship propellers, and by dredging.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Protection Status</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iucn-red-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>IUCN</strong> </a>Status: Endangered</li>
<li>It is listed on <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/cites" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CITES</strong></a> Appendix-I.</li>
<li>It is classified under Schedule 1, <strong>Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972</strong> providing absolute protection as offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties.</li>
<li><strong>Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar&rsquo;s Bhagalpur</strong> district is India&rsquo;s only sanctuary for its national aquatic animal.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/annual-ganges-river-dolphin-census-begins/article29651342.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gangetic-dolphin-annual-census'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Poverty Estimation in India',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570797452_Poverty%20Estimation in India (Mind Map).png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570797452_Poverty Estimation in India (Mind Map).png" width="435" height="2327" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/to-the-points/paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For TTP</em></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india-mind-map'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'The Minimum Wage Solution',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-minimum-wage-solution/article29629570.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The minimum wage solution</strong></a> which was published in The Hindu on 10/10/2019. It talks about the relationship between the increase in NREGA wages and the decrease in corporate tax rate.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the government made two announcements at two ends of the spectrum to <strong>mitigate the economic crisis.</strong> One concerns a<strong> new indexation of NREGA wages meant to increase rural incomes</strong> and the second is a <strong>reduction in corporate tax rate.</strong></p>
<h3>Minimum wages in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Wage rates under <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-coordination-between-mgnrega-and-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>MGNREGA</strong></a>, 2005 are <strong>notified and revised annually</strong> based on the<strong> Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL)</strong> by the <strong>Central Government</strong> in accordance with the <strong>provisions of Section 6(1)</strong> of the scheme.</li>
<li>The revised wage rates are made <strong>applicable from 1<sup>st</sup> April of every year.</strong></li>
<li>The CPI-(AL) is published by <strong>Labour Bureau, Shimla.</strong></li>
<li>Minimum wages are <strong>legal mandate</strong> that are arrived at by <strong>calculating the minimal nutritional requirement and basic needs</strong> of an individual.</li>
<li>The <strong>current daily NREGA wages</strong> are just a <strong>quarter of the minimum daily living wage of ₹692</strong> as <strong>outlined in the 7<sup>th</sup> Pay Commission.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Important Reports and Judgments</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Fair Wages Committee</strong> of the <strong>Ministry of Labour (1949)</strong> noted in a progressive report that a <strong>&ldquo;living wage&rdquo; should also include education, healthcare and insurance</strong> besides the bare essentials.</li>
<li>In <strong>Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan (1983),</strong> the Supreme Court held that paying less than minimum wages is akin to <strong>&ldquo;forced labour&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>In <strong>Workmen v. Management of Raptakos Brett (1991),</strong> it said that <strong>more provisions must be added</strong> to arrive at a moral &ldquo;living wage&rdquo; to ensure basic dignity of life.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>New Indexation of NREGA Wages</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Prices of commodities increase each year due to inflation</strong> so it is important to increase the daily wages of workers in the villages.</li>
<li>For that, it is important to keep in mind the <strong>previous year&rsquo;s national daily average NREGA wages (₹179 in 2019)</strong> and <strong>a good index to benchmark and revise</strong> the wages.</li>
<li>Indices are <strong>(weighted) averages of the prices of a basket of goods consumed</strong> and the index <strong>must be based on the main items of consumption</strong> for rural households.</li>
<li>NREGA <strong>daily wages are to be indexed with</strong> an updated inflation index called the <strong>Consumer Price Index-Rural (CPI-R)</strong> instead of the older <strong>Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL).</strong></li>
<li>Calculation of <strong>CPI-AL involves more food items in the consumption basket</strong> while the calculation of <strong>CPI-R involves more non-food items such as healthcare and education</strong> so it reflects the rural consumption basket better than the CPI-AL.</li>
<li>The new indexation will have a <strong>notable impact on increase in income of rural households only if the base NREGA wages are high.</strong></li>
<li>It is also <strong>recommended to use annual average</strong> instead of the existing practice of using December month index only.</li>
<li>A substantial increase in NREGA wages and subsequent indexation with CPI-R would be meaningful for the workers and the economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reduction in Corporate Tax Rates</h3>
<p>Government has brought in <strong>the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019</strong> to make certain amendments in <strong>the Income-tax Act, 1961</strong> and<strong> the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Basic <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-on-direct-tax-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corporate tax rate</a></strong> has been <strong>slashed to 22% from 30% while for new manufacturing companies</strong> it has been <strong>cut down to 15% from 25%.</strong></li>
<li>In order to promote growth and investment, a new provision has been inserted in the Income-tax Act which allows any domestic company an option to pay income-tax at the rate of 22% subject to the condition that they will not avail any exemption/incentive. The <strong>effective tax rate</strong> for these companies shall be <strong>25.17% inclusive of surcharge &amp; cess.</strong></li>
<li>According to a <strong>2015 IMF report,</strong> &ldquo;If the income share of the top 20% (the rich) increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term&rdquo;, while &ldquo;an increase in the income share of the bottom 20% (the poor) is associated with higher GDP growth&rdquo;. <strong>Current corporate tax cut</strong> can<strong> widen economic inequality.</strong></li>
<li>According to <strong>estimates by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL),</strong> due to the recent tax cut, <strong>1,000 companies</strong> would have annual savings of around <strong>₹37,000 crore</strong> and<strong> last annual NREGA budget of ₹60,000 crore</strong> can be mentioned here for the comparison.</li>
<li>The <strong>estimated gains</strong> of more than <strong>1,000 companies</strong> would be <strong>equivalent to the annual earnings of around 7.2 crore NREGA labourers.</strong></li>
<li>The worst part is that the <strong>budget allocation for NREGA gets exhausted by October</strong> of each financial year, leading to delays in payment of wages.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While <strong>corporate tax cuts and lower interest rates</strong> would give corporations some <strong>liquidity,</strong> it is <strong>unlikely that rural demand will increase.</strong> On the contrary, <strong>without a substantial increase in NREGA wages,</strong> the <strong>wages would barely match inflation</strong> levels leading to wage stagnation in real terms.</li>
<li>In circumstances of <strong>unsustainable wages,</strong> the poor would be forced to become part of the <strong>migrant labour force and industries would benefit</strong> by absorbing them at throwaway daily wages leaving no alternatives.</li>
<li>It is <strong>economically prudent to substantially increase the budget for public programmes such as NREGA.</strong> This would <strong>lead to higher disposable income for the poor</strong> which in turn would have positive multiplier effects in the economy.</li>
<li>The government needs to pay <strong>more attention to the poor in economic, ethical, and legal ways.</strong></li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #ecffe8;"><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Higher disposable income for the poor can have positive multiplier effects in the economy. Discuss.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-minimum-wage-solution'
		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Global Competitiveness Index 4.0: WEF',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/wef-india-economic-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Economic Forum (WEF)</strong></a> has released the 2019 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report which features the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (GCI 4.0).<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570706132_image5.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570706132_image5.jpg" style="float: right;" width="220" height="434" caption="false" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The World Economic Forum introduced the <strong>new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 in 2018.</strong> GCI 4.0 provides a detailed map of the factors and attributes that drive productivity, growth and human development in the era of the <strong>Fourth Industrial Revolution.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>GCI 4.0</strong> covers <strong>141 economies,</strong> which account for <strong>99% of the world&rsquo;s GDP.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The GCI 4.0 of 2019 reveal that, on average, most economies continue to be <strong>far from the competitiveness &ldquo;frontier&rdquo;</strong>&mdash;the aggregate ideal across all factors of competitiveness. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A country&rsquo;s performance on the overall GCI is reported as a <strong>&lsquo;progress score&rsquo; on a 0-to-100 scale,</strong> where <strong>100 represents the &lsquo;frontier&rsquo;,</strong> an ideal state where an issue ceases to be a constraint to productivity growth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This edition of the report focuses on building shared prosperity (addressing inequality) and managing the transition to a sustainable economy (addressing environmental issues) along with competitiveness and growth.</li>
<li>The report is based on <strong>12 set of factors (pillars) that determine productivity.</strong> These are: Institutions; Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability.</li>
<li>The index has been <strong>an annual edition since 1979.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has moved down <strong>10 places to the rank of 68<sup>th</sup></strong> compared to the <strong>58<sup>th</sup> rank of 2018</strong> primarily because of <strong>faster improvements of several countries</strong> previously ranked lower.</li>
<li><strong>Positives for India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India ranks high on <strong>macroeconomic stability (90, 43<sup>rd</sup>)</strong> and <strong>market size (93.7, 3<sup>rd</sup>),</strong></li>
<li>India performs well when it comes to <strong>innovation (50.9, 35<sup>th</sup>),</strong> well ahead of most emerging economies and on par with several advanced economies.</li>
<li>Its <strong>financial sector (69.5, 40<sup>th</sup>)</strong> is relatively deep and stable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Challenges for India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India ranks beyond 100<sup>th</sup> on five pillars and features in the top 50 of just four pillars.</li>
<li>Major shortcomings in some of the basic enablers of competitiveness, <strong>like ICT adoption is limited (31.1, 120<sup>th</sup>)</strong> but has improved sharply (+8 since the 2017 edition).</li>
<li><strong>Health conditions</strong> remain poor, as reflected in low healthy life expectancy (59.4 years, 109<sup>th</sup>), which is one of the shortest outside Africa and significantly below the South Asian average.</li>
<li><strong>Weak banking system</strong> (60.4, 89<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li>India must <strong>also grow its skills base</strong> (50.5, 107<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li><strong>Product market efficiency</strong> (50.4, 101<sup>st</sup>) is undermined by a <strong>lack of trade openness</strong> (43.9, 131<sup>st</sup>).</li>
<li>The labour market is characterized by a <strong>lack of worker rights&rsquo; protections</strong>, insufficiently developed active labour market policies and critically low participation of women (ratio of female workers to male workers of 0.26, 128<sup>th</sup>)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In South Asia, <strong>Sri Lanka is the most improved country in the region at 84<sup>th</sup>,</strong> Bangladesh (105<sup>th</sup>), Nepal (108<sup>th</sup>) and Pakistan (110<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li><strong>China (28<sup>th</sup>)</strong> is the<strong> best performer</strong> among the<strong> BRICS</strong> countries.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Russian Federation</strong> ranks <strong>43<sup>rd</sup>, South Africa</strong> is <strong>60<sup>th</sup>, India</strong> is <strong>68<sup>th</sup> and Brazil</strong> is ranked <strong>71<sup>st</sup>.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Singapore</strong> has become the <strong>world's most competitive economy in 2019,</strong> pushing the <strong>US to second</strong> place.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR)</strong> is ranked <strong>3<sup>rd</sup>, the Netherlands</strong> is <strong>4<sup>th</sup> </strong>and<strong> Switzerland</strong> is ranked <strong>5<sup>th</sup></strong> in the index.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Vietnam (67<sup>th</sup>)</strong> registered the highest improvement across the globe.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-slips-10-places-on-global-competitiveness-index-singapore-on-top/articleshow/71498559.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: ET</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-competitiveness-index-4-0-wef'
		],
		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Poverty Estimation in India',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<p>According to recent reports, more than a quarter of the population living in rural areas of India is below the poverty line. Out of the total population living in the rural parts of India,<strong> 25.7%</strong> is living below the poverty line whereas in the urban areas, the situation is a bit better with <strong>13.7%</strong> of the population living below the poverty line.</p>
<h3>Poverty Estimation</h3>
<p>A common method used to estimate <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-eradicating-poverty" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>poverty</strong></a> in India is based on the <strong>income or consumption</strong> levels and if the income or consumption falls below a given minimum level, then the household is said to be <strong>Below the Poverty Line (BPL).</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poverty Line Calculation:</strong> Poverty estimation in India is now carried out by <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/niti-aayog-national-institution-for-transforming-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>NITI Aayog&rsquo;s</strong></a> task force through the calculation of poverty line based on the data captured by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/restructuring-of-indian-statistical-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Sample Survey Office</strong></a> under the <strong>Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>NITI Aayog</strong> as a policy think tank has replaced Planning Commission, which was earlier responsible for calculating the poverty line in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Consumption Versus Income Level:</strong> Poverty line estimation in India is based on the <strong>consumption expenditure</strong> and not on the income levels because of the following reasons:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Variation in Income:</strong> Income of <strong>self-employed</strong> people, daily wage laborers etc. is highly variable both temporally and spatially, while consumption pattern are comparatively much <strong>stable.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Additional Income:</strong> Even in the case of regular wage earners, there are additional <strong>side incomes</strong> in many cases, which is <strong>difficult to take into account.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Data Collection:</strong> In case of consumption based poverty line, sample based surveys use a <strong>reference period</strong> (say 30 days) in which households are asked about their consumption of last 30 days and is taken as the <strong>representative of general consumption.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Whereas tracing the general pattern of income is not possible.</li>
<li><strong>Reference Period:</strong> It is the duration/period during which the survey is conducted by NSSO workers in which they ask certain questions to households.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Key Terms</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poverty:</strong> According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Bank,</strong></a> Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity.</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Line:</strong> The conventional approach to measuring poverty is to specify a minimum expenditure (or income) required to purchase a basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs and this minimum expenditure is called the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Line Basket:</strong> The basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs is the Poverty Line Basket (PLB).</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Ratio:</strong> The proportion of the population below the poverty line is called the poverty ratio or <strong>headcount ratio (HCR).</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Need for Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Impact of Welfare Schemes:</strong> Poverty estimates are not just important for academic purposes but are also crucial to<strong> track</strong> the impact and success of various government policies, especially <strong>social welfare schemes</strong> that are intended to eliminate poverty.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>BPL Census</strong> is conducted by the <strong>Ministry of Rural Development</strong> (along with the partnership of state), in order to <strong>identify the poor households.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Elimination Plan:</strong> The Poverty estimates in the form of poverty line are used to formulate poor centric poverty elimination plans.</li>
<li><strong>Constitutional Requirement:</strong> Poverty estimation paves the way for poverty elimination, that in turn prepares the ground for a<strong> just and equitable society.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Measurement of Poverty Line</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Absolute Measurement of Poverty</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Absolute Poverty:</strong> According to <strong>United Nations World Summit for Economic Development,</strong> absolute poverty is a condition characterized by <strong>severe deprivation</strong> of <strong>basic human needs</strong>, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It depends not only on income but also on access to social services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> The poverty threshold in absolute measurement of poverty is set using the <strong>monetary value</strong> of the basket of <strong>essential products (required for basic needs)</strong> and every household whose income is less than this value will be classified as poor.</li>
<li><strong>Limited Scope:</strong> Absolute measurements of poverty, used by the World Bank and developing countries like <strong>India,</strong> rely on a poverty line which remains constant across geographies and over time.</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> Absolute measurement of poverty <strong>overlooks deprivation</strong> within countries or the <strong>higher cost of living</strong> in developed countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Relative Measurement of Poverty</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Relative Poverty:</strong> It is present when a household income is lower than the <strong>median income</strong> in a particular country and is used mainly by the <strong>developed countries.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Those who fall into the category of relative poverty are not necessarily deprived of all basic needs, but may not experience the same standard of living as the majority of society or in other words, they are <strong>relatively deprived.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> In this method certain percentage of <strong>economically bottom population</strong> is always considered below the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> This approach, though, ignores the importance of the absolute standard of living and assumes that relative income is all that matters for welfare.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Data Collection Methods</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Uniform Resource Period (URP):</strong> Up until <strong>1993-94,</strong> the poverty line was based on URP data, which involved asking people about their consumption expenditure across a <strong>30-day recall period</strong> that is the information was based on the recall of consumption expenditure in the previous 30 days.</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Reference Period (MRP):</strong> From <strong>1999-2000 onwards,</strong> the NSSO switched to an MRP method which measures consumption of <strong>five low-frequency items</strong> (clothing, footwear, durables, education and institutional health expenditure) over the previous year, and all other items over the previous 30 days. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>That is to say, for the five items, survey respondents are asked about consumption in the previous one year. For the remaining items, they are asked about consumption in the previous 30 days.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Pre-Independence Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Dadabhai Naoroji</strong> through his book,<strong> &ldquo;Poverty and Unbritish Rule in India&rdquo;</strong> made the <strong>earliest</strong> estimation of poverty line (₹16 to ₹35 per capita per year).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The poverty line proposed by him was based on the<strong> cost of a subsistence or minimum basic diet</strong> (rice or flour, dal, mutton, vegetables, ghee, vegetable oil, and salt).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>National Planning Committee&rsquo;s (1938)</strong> poverty line (ranging from ₹15 to ₹20 per capita per month) was also based on a <strong>minimum standard of living</strong> perspective in which <strong>nutritional requirements</strong> were implicit.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In 1938, the National Planning Committee was set up by <strong>Subhash Chandra Bose</strong> under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru for the purpose of drawing up an economic plan with the fundamental aim to ensure an adequate standard of living for the masses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Bombay Plan (1944)</strong> proponents had suggested a poverty line of ₹75 per capita per year. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The Bombay Plan</strong> was a set of a proposal of a small group of influential business leaders in Bombay for the development of the post-independence economy of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Post-Independence Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Planning Commission Expert Group (1962),</strong> working group constituted by the Planning Commission formulated the <strong>separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas</strong> (₹20 and ₹25 per capita per year respectively).<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703843_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703843_image2.jpg" style="float: right;" caption="false" width="400" height="317" /></a></li>
<li><strong>VM Dandekar and N Rath (1971),</strong> made the <strong>first systematic assessment of poverty</strong> in India, based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Unlike previous scholars who had considered subsistence living or basic minimum needs criteria as the measure of poverty line, <strong>VM Dandekar and N Rath</strong> were of the view that poverty line must be derived from the <strong>expenditure</strong> that was adequate to provide 2250 calories per day in both rural and urban areas.</li>
<li><strong>Expenditure based Poverty line estimation,</strong> generated a debate on minimum calorie consumption norms.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Alagh Committee (1979):</strong> Task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of YK Alagh, constructed a poverty line for rural and urban areas on the basis of <strong>nutritional requirements and related consumption expenditure.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Poverty estimates for subsequent years were to be calculated by <strong>adjusting the price level for inflation.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lakdawala Committee (1993):</strong> Task Force chaired by DT Lakdawala, based on the assumption that the basket of goods and services used to calculate <strong>Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers</strong> (CPI-IW) and <strong>Consumer Price Index- Agricultural Labourers</strong> (CPI-AL) reflect the consumption patterns of the poor, made the following <strong>suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Consumption expenditure</strong> should be calculated based on <strong>calorie consumption</strong> as earlier.</li>
<li><strong>State specific poverty lines</strong> should be constructed and these should be updated using the CPI-IW in urban areas and CPI-AL in rural areas.</li>
<li><strong>Discontinuation of scaling</strong> of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Tendulkar Committee (2009)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Expert group constituted by the Planning Commission and, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, was constituted to <strong>review</strong> methodology for poverty estimation and to address the following <strong>shortcomings of the previous methods:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Obsolete Consumption Pattern:</strong> Consumption patterns were linked to the 1973-74 poverty line baskets (PLBs) of goods and services, whereas there were significant <strong>changes in the consumption patterns</strong> of the poor since that time, which were not reflected in the poverty estimates.</li>
<li><strong>Inflation Adjustment:</strong> There were issues with the <strong>adjustment of prices for inflation,</strong> both spatially (across regions) and temporally (across time).</li>
<li><strong>Health and Education Expenditure:</strong> Earlier poverty lines assumed that health and education would be provided by the state and formulated poverty lines accordingly.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recommendations</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Shift from Calorie Consumption based Poverty Estimation:</strong> It based its calculations on the consumption of the items like cereal, pulses, milk, edible oil, non-vegetarian items, vegetables, fresh fruits, dry fruits, sugar, salt &amp; spices, other food, intoxicants, fuel, clothing, footwear, education, medical (non-institutional and institutional), entertainment, personal &amp; toilet goods.</li>
<li><strong>Uniform Poverty line Basket:</strong> Unlike Alagh committee (which relied on separate PLB for rural and urban areas), Tendulkar Committee computed new poverty lines for <strong>rural and urban areas of each state</strong> based on the uniform poverty line basket and found that all India poverty line (2004-05) was:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>₹446.68 per capita per month in rural areas</li>
<li>₹578.80 per capita per month in urban areas</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Private Expenditure:</strong> Incorporation of private expenditure on <strong>health and education</strong> while estimating poverty.</li>
<li><strong>Price Adjustment Procedure:</strong> The Committee also recommended a new method of updating poverty lines, <strong>adjusting for changes in prices and patterns of consumption</strong> (to correct spatial and temporal issues with price adjustment), using the consumption basket of people close to the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Reference Period:</strong> The Committee recommended using Mixed Reference Period based estimates, as opposed to Uniform Reference Period based estimates that were used in earlier methods for estimating poverty.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Tendulkar committee computed poverty lines for <strong>2004-05</strong> at a level that was equivalent, in<strong> Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)</strong> terms to <strong>Rs 33 per day.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Purchasing Power Parity:</strong> The PPP model refers to a method used to work out the money that would be needed to purchase the same goods and services in two countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Rangarajan Committee</h3>
<p>The committee was set up in the backdrop of national outrage over the Planning Commission&rsquo;s suggested poverty line of ₹22 a day for rural areas.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Objectives</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To review <strong>international poverty estimation methods</strong> and indicate whether based on these, a particular method for empirical poverty estimation can be developed in India.</li>
<li>To recommend how these estimates of poverty can be <strong>linked to eligibility and entitlements</strong> under the various schemes of the Government of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recommendations</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Methodology Used:</strong> The Rangarajan committee estimation is based on an independent large survey of households by <strong>Center for Monitoring Indian Economy</strong> (CMIE).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It has also used different methodology wherein a household is considered poor if it is unable to save.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Normative and Behavioural level:</strong> Poverty line should be based on:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Normative level of adequate nutrition: <strong>Ideal and desirable level of nutrition.</strong></li>
<li>Behavioral determination of <strong>non-food expenses:</strong> What people use or consume as per <strong>general behavior.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Nutritional Requirement:</strong> For normative levels of adequate nutrition &ndash; average requirements of calories, proteins and fats based on Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) norms, differentiated by age, gender and activity for all-India rural and urban regions is considered:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Calories:</strong> 2090 kcal in urban areas and 2155 Kcal in rural areas.</li>
<li><strong>Protein:</strong> For rural areas 48 gm and for urban areas 50 gm.</li>
<li><strong>Fat:</strong> For urban areas 28 gm and for rural areas 26 gm.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> Persons spending <strong>below ₹47</strong> a day in cities and<strong> ₹32 in villages</strong> be considered poor.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Based on this methodology, Rangarajan committee estimated that the number of poor were <strong>19% higher in rural areas</strong> and 41% more in urban areas than what was estimated using Tendulkar committee formula.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Modified Mixed reference period:</strong> Instead of Mixed reference Period (MRP) it recommended Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP) in which reference periods for different items were taken as:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>365-days</strong> for clothing, footwear, education, institutional medical care, and durable goods.</li>
<li><strong>7-days</strong> for edible oil, egg, fish and meat, vegetables, fruits, spices, beverages, refreshments, processed food, pan, tobacco and intoxicants</li>
<li><strong>30-days</strong> for the remaining food items, fuel and light, miscellaneous goods and services including non-institutional medical; rents and taxes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> Rangarajan committee missed the opportunity to go beyond the expenditure-based poverty rates and examine the possibility of a wider multi-dimensional view of deprivation.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703978_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703978_image1.jpg" width="600" height="274" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International Poverty Line</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The World Bank</strong> defines a person as extremely poor if she is living on less than <strong>1.90 international dollars a day,</strong> which are adjusted for inflation as well as price differences between countries.</li>
<li><strong>Asian Development Bank</strong> too has its own poverty line which is currently at <strong>$ 1.51</strong> per person per day.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Components of PLB:</strong> Determining components of Poverty Line Basket (PLB) is one of the challenges of poverty line estimation because of the <strong>price differentials</strong> (of constituents of basket) which vary from state to state and period to period.</li>
<li><strong>Demographic and Economic Dynamics:</strong> Further, <strong>consumption patterns, nutritional needs</strong> and <strong>prices</strong> of <strong>components</strong> keep on changing as per dynamics of macro economy and demography.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of consensus</strong> among the states over the acceptance of Tendulkar and Rangrajan committee report.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some states such as Odisha and West Bengal supported the Tendulkar Poverty Line while others such as Delhi, Jharkhand, Mizoram etc. supported Rangarajan report.</li>
<li>The current official measures of poverty are based on the Tendulkar poverty line, fixed at daily expenditure of ₹27.2 in rural areas and ₹33.3 in urban areas is criticised by many for being too low.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Redefining Poverty lines:</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/redefining-poverty" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Poverty lines have to be recalibrated</strong></a> depending on changes in income, consumption patterns and prices, as India is now a <strong>middle-income country,</strong> with an estimated per capita income of around $9,000 in purchasing power parity.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to economists poverty line of $3.20 translates into ₹ 75 a day, or a 68% higher than the Tendulkar poverty line.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Viable Poverty line:</strong> It makes sense to set the poverty line at a level that allows households to get two square meals a day and other <strong>basic necessities</strong> of life.</li>
<li><strong>Hybrid of Absolute and Relative Measurement of Poverty:</strong> The hybrid approach which would measure poverty from the perspective of a common <strong>global standard of living</strong> and<strong> relative poverty within countries.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The poverty line in case of hybrid model would be equivalent to the income required to achieve a certain welfare status, which includes basic nutrition and social inclusion.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Political Economic Equilibrium:</strong> Indian political, policy and administrative systems have to adjust to the new realities of the transition to a middle- income country, in which poverty does not mean living at the edge of hunger but, rather, <strong>lack of income</strong> to take advantage of the opportunities thrown up by a growing economy. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The focus of government spending should be on the <strong>provision of public goods rather than subsidies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/mind-map/gs-paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india-mind-map" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For Mind Map</em></a></p>',
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'Malware Smominru',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p><strong>Malware Smominru,</strong> whose incidence was first reported in 2017, continues to infect computers in a big way.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is affecting nearly 4,700 computers every day, with over 90,000 computers affected globally in August 2019.</li>
<li>The botnet <strong>relies on more than 20 dedicated servers, mostly located in the US,</strong> though some are hosted in Malaysia and Bulgaria.</li>
<li>In its post-infection phase, it <strong>steals victim credentials, installs a Trojan module</strong> and a <strong>cryptominer</strong> and propagates inside the network.</li>
<li>The malware seems to have the ability to come back to hit the old victims if they fail to tackle the problem completely. About one-fourth of the affected machines were infected again after Smominru was removed from them.</li>
<li>The victims range from universities to healthcare providers suggesting that hackers are not too particular about their targets.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, about 85% of infections have occurred on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 systems.</li>
<li>The objective seems to silently use infected computers for mining cryptocurrency at the victim&rsquo;s expense.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>China, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil and the US have seen the most attacks.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Malware:</strong> Short for malicious software, it refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.</li>
<li><strong>Botnet:</strong> The word Botnet is formed from the words <strong>&lsquo;robot&rsquo; and &lsquo;network&rsquo;.</strong> It is a <strong>network of infected computers that can be controlled remotely,</strong> forcing them to send spam, spread viruses, or stage Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks without the consent of the computer's&rsquo; owners.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/malware-smominru-still-active-infects-4700-pcs-a-day/article29616269.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: HBL</strong></a></p>',
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		'title' => 'Plastic invading Nicobar Islands',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>According to a survey conducted by the researchers from <strong>CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology,</strong> the Andaman and Nicobar Islands consisting of a group of almost 572 Islands are under <strong>threat from plastic.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-biodiversity-warning-bells" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>plastic litter</strong></a> found on the beaches of the island was mostly of <strong>non-Indian origin</strong> that was likely to be transported by the <strong>water currents</strong> from South-East Asian countries through the <strong>Malacca Straits</strong> (which is a major shipping route) towards the Great Nicobar island.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571048734_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571048734_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="623" height="407" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>About 10 countries including India contributed to the plastic litter on the island namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, China, and Japan.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Major portion of the litter was of Malaysian origin (40%) followed by Indonesia (23.9%) and Thailand (16.3%).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The huge quantities of marine debris observed on this island might be due to <strong>improper handling</strong> of the solid &amp; plastic waste from <strong>fishing/mariculture</strong> activity, and <strong>ship traffic.</strong></li>
<li>The intentional dumping of waste by some nations needs to be strictly monitored and prohibited. It is also violative of the law mentioned in the <strong>International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>They are located at the East Coast of India in the Bay of Bengal &amp; form <strong>India&rsquo;s southeast</strong> border.</li>
<li>These group of Islands are surrounded by the <strong>Andaman Sea</strong> and have proximity to some South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.</li>
<li>The Andaman and Nicobars are separated by the <strong>Ten Degree Channel</strong> which is 150 km. wide.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571040059_image4.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571040059_image4.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="475" height="430" /></a></p>
<h3>Great Nicobar Group of Islands</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Geography:</strong> They are located around 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal and are home to the two most primitive tribes namely- <strong>Nicobarese &amp; Shompens.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Species found:</strong> It is a habitat for diverse <strong>creatures</strong> including the giant robber crab, a megapode bird, the crab-eating macaque, and is also a nesting ground for leatherback sea turtles.</li>
<li><strong>Ecology:</strong> The island harbors a wide spectrum of ecosystems from <strong>tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges, and coastal plains.</strong> These islands also host the growth of<strong> coral reefs</strong> (the existence of which is threatened by the plastic debris &amp; marine litter).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The island includes the <strong>Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (GNBR)</strong> which has been declared as one of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/khangchendzonga-to-be-included-in-the-world-network-of-biosphere-reserves" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Network of Biosphere Reserves</strong></a> by UNESCO. The reserve comprises of the Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sundalands</strong> which is one of the four <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/andaman-nicobar-islands-rich-faunal-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>biodiversity hotspots in India</strong></a> includes the <strong>Nicobar group of Islands.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/foreign-plastic-invades-great-nicobar-island/article29674608.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/plastic-invading-nicobar-islands'
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'Vice President’s Visit to Comoros and Sierra Leone',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Vice President of India recently visited Comoros and Sierra Leone - two African countries.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The visit was <strong>first-ever visit by such a high-level Indian dignitary</strong> to Comoros, an archipelago situated off the Southeast coast of Africa and to Sierra Leone, the country of Western Africa.</li>
<li>The agenda was <strong>to deepen ties with African nations.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>India - Comoros</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India and Comoros signed 6 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on defence, health (e-Arogya Bharati) and culture (e- Vidya Bharati).</li>
<li>India announced <strong>Line-of-credit of USD 41.6 mn</strong> for setting up an 18MW power plant in Moroni (capital city) and a vocational training centre.</li>
<li>The Vice President also called for <strong>enhancing defence ties in maritime domain</strong> between India and the island nation of Comoros as part of a <strong>collaborative security architecture in the Indian Ocean.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Ties between India and Comoros<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039400_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039400_image1.jpg" width="283" height="199" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Comoros supports India&rsquo;s candidature for a permanent seat in the <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-un-security-council-reforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Security Council</a> (UNSC).</strong></li>
<li>It is a member of the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/indo-pacific-wing-in-mea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Ocean Rim Association</a> (IORA) as well as the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/palau-joins-isa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Solar Alliance.</a></strong></li>
<li>Comoros avails scholarship/training programmes offered by India under the <strong>Indian Technical &amp; Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scheme.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>India - Sierra Leone</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India announced the decision to establish a <strong>High Commission in Sierra Leone.</strong></li>
<li>Both the countries agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture, food processing, Information Technology, infrastructure development and capacity building.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A MoU was signed for Sierra Leone to participate in India&rsquo;s Pan-African tele-Education, tele-Medicine initiatives, <strong>e-VidyaBharati and e-Arogya Bharati.</strong></li>
<li>India will soon initiate steps to set up a <strong>Centre of Excellence in IT in Sierra Leone.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>An agreement was signed to initiate a <strong>cultural exchange program</strong> between the governments of India and Sierra Leone for the years <strong>2019-23.</strong></li>
<li>The Vice President reiterated India&rsquo;s offer to conduct a <strong>&ldquo;Jaipur Foot&rdquo; camp</strong> in Sierra Leone under the <strong>&ldquo;India for Humanity&rdquo;</strong> initiative for fitting of artificial prosthetic limbs for the disabled. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>&ldquo;India for Humanity&rdquo; is an initiative undertaken in the context of 150<sup>th</sup> birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ties Between India and Sierra Leone<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039438_image3.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1571039438_image3.jpg" width="285" height="202" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India was among the first countries to contribute to the <strong>UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)</strong> with the deployment of 4000 strong Indian Military contingent.</li>
<li>India has extended concessional lines of credit to Sierra Leone worth USD 123 million in sectors such as agriculture, water, and transmission line.</li>
<li>India has also undertaken grant projects through India Brazil South Africa Forum (IBSA) funds and provided <strong>direct humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis in 2014</strong> and during floods in 2017.</li>
<li>Sierra Leone is also a beneficiary of the <strong>Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)</strong> programme.</li>
<li>Sierra Leone is one of the <strong>members of the International Solar Alliance.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme was<strong> launched by the Government of India on 15<sup>th</sup> September 1964</strong> as a programme of <strong>bilateral cooperation and technical assistance.</strong></li>
<li>Under ITEC and its sister programme <strong>SCAAP (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme),</strong> 161 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as Pacific and Small Island countries are invited to share in the Indian developmental experience acquired over six decades of India's existence as a free nation.</li>
<li>The ITEC programme provides for organizing <strong>training courses</strong> in India, deputation of Indian experts abroad, <strong>aid for disaster relief,</strong> gifting of equipment, study tours and feasibility studies/consultancy services.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1587980" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/vice-president-s-visit-to-comoros-and-sierra-leone'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Indian Model of Nationalism',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/un-civic-nationalism-identity-politics-society-development-hindu-rashtra-ambedkar-6064961/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;Un-civic Nationalism&rdquo;</a> that was published in The Indian Express on 12/10/2019. It distinguishes between the Indian Model of Nationalism and the European Model of Nationalism.</p>
</div>
<p>In recent years, nationalism in India has witnessed a gradual shift from multiculturalism, inclusive and fraternal model to the European idea of nationalism which has a more ethnic distinctiveness bias. This notion of nationalism sits at the polar opposite end to what was envisaged by the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.</p>
<h3>What is the European model of Nationalism?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This idea of nationalism was born during the French Revolution.</li>
<li>European nationalism is fueled primarily by a keen sense of ethnic distinctiveness and the desire to preserve it.</li>
<li>It is the basis of the formation of many nation-states in 17th century Europe.</li>
<li>It was generated by creating a feeling of "ours" by finding an external enemy within its territory to be despised as the "other."</li>
<li>It can be narrowly taken as majoritarianism.</li>
<li>All over the world today, this kind of nationalism is making a comeback.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Rising Xenophobia in western nations.</li>
<li>Rising Islamic fundamentalism in West Asia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is the Indian model of Nationalism?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Unlike Europe, nationalism in India has been the fallout of anti-colonialism.</li>
<li>Also, discarding the dominance of the rigid Hindu brahmanical system that was prevalent in India, Indian nationalism envisages establishing inter-faith tolerance and pluralism.</li>
<li>This society-centric pluralistic idea of nationalism can be depicted from Mahatma Gandhi's notion of independent India that is, &ldquo;Free India will not be a Hindu Raj; it will be an Indian Raj, based not on the majority of any religious sect or community&rdquo;.</li>
<li>Moreover, it can be depicted in:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Khilafat Movement in India, that was a key manifestation of India's brand of secularism.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Khilafat was a platform and a nationalist strategy for much more than a Muslim cause, as it brought to consciousness how the welfare of the peasantry and tolerance was essential to any future ideal of the nation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India's brand of secularism:
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Indian philosophy of secularism is related to &ldquo;Sarva Dharma Sambhava&rdquo;</strong> (which means that the destination of the paths followed by all religions is the same, though the paths themselves may be different) which means equal respect to all religions.</li>
<li>Thus, India's secularism is called &ldquo;tossed salad model&rdquo;, that emphasizes the multicultural nature of Indian society.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Also, the elaborate deliberations of the Constituent Assembly gave India the basis of its <strong>civic nationalism</strong> that prevailed for many decades.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Civic nationalism</strong> is a form of nationalism that emphasizes political allegiance based on a vision of a community of equal citizens, allowing for significant levels of ethnic and cultural diversity.</li>
<li>In the West, the US is a case where the idea of civic nationalism is pursued.</li>
<li>This is one of the greatest strengths of the United States that it doesn't consider itself as a nation based on religion, but a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values enshrined in the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why the European model of Nationalism is not suitable for India?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The European Model of Nationalism threatens the foundational values of our multi-cultural society.</li>
<li>Nationalism based on a singular social homogenising principle affecting all other diverse cultures is unacceptable and unsuitable for India&rsquo;s multicultural and pluralistic society.</li>
<li>The European model of nationalism led to the rise of Nazism in Europe, which resulted in World War II. That's why Einstein remarked &ldquo;Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind&rdquo;.</li>
<li>In the name of national integration and fighting enemies, both outside and within, this idea of nationalism undermines minority rights, procedures of democracy and tries to suppress dissent as &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
<p>India is a multicultural, multi-religious, secular and socially cohesive society. Therefore, the European idea of nationalism is ill-suited and alien to India. The most pragmatic way forward for us would be to follow &ldquo;constitutional patriotism&rdquo;, which was laid out keeping in mind India&rsquo;s cultural ethos and ideas by our founding fathers, as opposed to patriotism based on &ldquo;blood and soil&rdquo;.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #00383d; background-color: #f7f7cb;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 1256px;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question:</strong></em><br /><br />Discuss the differences between Indian and the European model of Nationalism. Is Indian idea of nationalism slowly drifting towards the European model of Nationalism. Comment.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/indian-model-of-nationalism'
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Chalukyan Rulers',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, graves of Chalukyan rulers have been unearthed in a village near Pattadakal, Karnataka.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The findings are significant since there are no clear details available of the places where Chalukyan rulers lived.</li>
<li>Neither they have left behind documents nor evidence of their graves. It is believed that they wanted their death to remain a secret and built their graves in a discreet manner.</li>
<li>Chalukyan kings were famous for <strong>building gigantic temples</strong> with <strong>intricate architecture</strong> which could be found at places such as <strong>Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Historical Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Chalukyas ruled parts of <strong>Southern and Central India</strong> between the <strong>6<sup>th</sup> century and the 12<sup>th</sup> century.</strong></li>
<li>There were <strong>three distinct but related Chalukya dynasties.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Badami Chalukyas:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The <strong>earliest Chalukyas</strong> with their capital at <strong>Badami (Vatapi)</strong> in <strong>Karnataka.</strong></li>
<li>They ruled from mid-6<sup>th</sup> century and declined after the death of their greatest king, Pulakesin II in 642 AD.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Eastern Chalukyas:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Emerged after the death of Pulakesin II in Eastern Deccan with capital at Vengi.</li>
<li>They ruled till the 11<sup>th</sup> century.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Western Chalukyas:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Descendants of the Badami Chalukyas, they emerged in the late 10<sup>th</sup> century and ruled from Kalyani.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The extent of empire:<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570874633_Chalukya.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570874633_Chalukya.jpg" style="float: right;" caption="false" width="357" height="380" /></a></strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chalukya dynasty reached its peak during the reign of <strong>Pulakesin II.</strong></li>
<li>Pulakesin II subjugated the Kadambas, the Gangas of Mysore, the Mauravas of North Konkan, the Latas of Gujarat, the Malavas and the Gurjars.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>He also succeeded in getting a submission from the Chola, Chera and Pandya kings.</li>
<li>He had also defeated King Harsha of Kannauj and the Pallava king Mahendravarman.</li>
<li>He had maintained friendly relations with Khusru II, the king of Persia.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Administration and Society:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Chalukyas had great army comprised of infantry, cavalry, elephant unit and a dominant navy.</li>
<li>Though the <strong>Chalukya kings were Hindus,</strong> they were tolerant of Buddhism and Jainism.</li>
<li>They contributed to great developments in <strong>Kannada and Telugu literature.</strong></li>
<li>They imprinted coins were included Nagari and Kannada legends. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>They minted coins with cryptograms of temples, lion or boar facing right and the lotus.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Architecture:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They built cave temples <strong>depicting both religious and secular themes.</strong></li>
<li>The temples also had <strong>beautiful mural paintings.</strong></li>
<li>The temples under the Chalukyas are a good example of the <strong>Vesara style of architecture.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Vesara style</strong> is a combination of <strong>Dravida and Nagara styles.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Aihole temples:</strong> Lady Khan temple (Surya Temple), Durga temple, Huchimalligudi temple etc.</li>
<li><strong>Badami temples</strong></li>
<li><strong>Pattadakkal Temples:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It is well known for<strong> rock-cut temples.</strong></li>
<li>It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.</li>
<li>There are ten temples here &ndash; 4 in Nagar style and 6 in Dravida style. Virupaksha temple and Sangameshwara Temple are in Dravida style.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/explorer-stumbles-upon-graves-of-chalukyan-kings-in-pattadakal/article29661273.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/chalukyan-rulers'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => '14th Anniversary of Right To Information',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p><strong>An important instrument of participatory democracy-Right To Information (RTI)</strong> has marked its 14<sup>th</sup> anniversary on 12th october 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To mark the occasion, the <strong>&lsquo;Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India&rsquo;</strong> has been released by the NGOs, Satark Nagrik Sangathan and the Centre for Equity Studies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Achievements</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>RTI is one of the<strong> landmark acts</strong> which has led to a <strong>significant boost</strong> in accountability of the govt towards the people.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It has given ordinary citizens the confidence and the <strong>right to ask questions</strong> to the government authorities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>RTI ensured the <strong>maintenance and publication of public records.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Section 4 of the RTI Act makes it a duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It also ensured <strong>transparency as well as accountability</strong> between citizens and public authorities.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Recently, the government of Rajasthan has launched <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jan-soochna-portal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Jan Soochna Portal (JSP),</strong></a> on the lines of <a href="/to-the-points/paper4/right-to-information-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Right to Information Act (RTI).</strong></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>RTI emphasizes <strong>citizen centric approach.</strong></li>
<li>It assured <strong>information accessibility</strong> at <strong>every level</strong> of public governance.</li>
<li>According to estimates, nearly <strong>60 lakh applications</strong> are being filed every year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Challenges</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Government officials face <strong>hardly any punishment for violating the law</strong> by denying applicants legitimate information.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It destroys the basic framework of incentives and disincentives built into the RTI Act.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State and Central Information Commissions, which are the courts of appeal under the RTI Act, <strong>failed to impose penalties in about 97% of the cases</strong> where violations took place.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The State Commissions of <strong>Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura did not impose penalties in any cases at all.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The commissions also have the <strong>power to recommend disciplinary action against officials</strong> for persistent violations of the RTI Act.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Only <strong>10 states invoked</strong> these powers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Many Information Commissions are <strong>non-functional or are functioning at reduced capacity</strong> as the <strong>posts of commissioners, including that of the chief information commissioner are vacant.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The State Information Commission(SIC) of the state of Andhra Pradesh is yet to become functional.</li>
<li>The State Information Commission of West Bengal is currently functioning with just two commissioners.</li>
<li>The Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra retired in April 2017 and the government is yet to appoint a new Chief</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The central, as well as state commissions, have an <strong>increasing workload,</strong> which is <strong>leading to huge pendency</strong> of cases. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Any <strong>new appeal to the Central Information Commission (CIC)</strong> would have to wait more than one-and-a-half years for resolution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Central Information Commission (CIC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CIC was established in <strong>2005</strong> by the Central Government under the provisions of <strong>Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.</strong></li>
<li>The Chief Information Commissioner heads the Central Information Commission.</li>
<li>It hears appeals from information-seekers who have not been satisfied by the public authority and also addresses major issues concerning the RTI Act.</li>
<li>CIC submits an annual report to the Union government on the implementation of the provisions of RTI Act.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>State Information Commission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Right to Information Act of 2005 provides for the creation of a State Information Commission at the state level.</li>
<li>The State Information Commission is a high powered independent body which inter-alia looks into the complaints made to it and decide the appeals.</li>
<li>It entertains complaints and appeals pertaining to offices, financial institutions, public sector undertakings, etc.under the concerned state government.</li>
<li>The Commission consists of a State Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten State Information Commissioners appointed by the Governor.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/penalties-levied-for-rti-violations-in-3-of-cases-in-2018-19/article29660236.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/14th-anniversary-of-right-to-information'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Elastocaloric Effect',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>According to a research published in the Journal Science, the <strong>elastocaloric effect,</strong> if harnessed, may be able to <strong>do away with the need of fluid refrigerants</strong> used in fridges and air-conditioners.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Refrigeration plays an important role in a wide range of human activity and keeping people and things cool consumes huge amounts of energy.</li>
<li>They use <strong>fluids such as hydrofluorocarbons</strong> which are<strong> susceptible to leakages</strong>, and can contribute to <strong>global warming. </strong></li>
<li>An alternative approach involves using <strong>&ldquo;caloric&rdquo; materials</strong>, which release heat when subjected to an external stimulus such as an applied magnetic or electric field or a compressive force. When the stimulus is removed, the material will absorb heat, thus cooling its surroundings.</li>
<li>Recently, owing to the strong demand for efficient and environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies, materials with giant caloric effects, including elastocaloric, have been widely investigated.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Elastocaloric Effect</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>When <strong>rubber bands are twisted and untwisted,</strong> it produces a<strong> cooling effect.</strong> This is called the<strong> &ldquo;elastocaloric&rdquo; effect. </strong></li>
<li>The elastocaloric effect can be regarded as the<strong> entropy change under isothermal condition or temperature change under adiabatic condition when a mechanical stress is used or released in a given material.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Energy is the ability to do work. Although all forms of energy are interconvertible, and all can be used to do work, it is not always possible, even in principle, to convert the entire available energy into work.</li>
<li><strong>Entropy</strong> is a measure of <strong>how much energy is not available to do work.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Basically, elastocaloric materials are<strong> solids capable of stress-induced reversible phase transformations during which latent heat is released or absorbed. </strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570867026_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570867026_image1.jpg" width="340" height="316" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></strong></a></p>
<h3>Elastocaloric Effect Replacing Fuel</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the elastocaloric effect, the transfer of heat works much the same way as when fluid refrigerants are compressed and expanded.</li>
<li>When a rubber band is stretched, it absorbs heat from its environment, and when it is released, it gradually cools down.</li>
<li>In order to figure out how the twisting mechanism might be able to enable a fridge, the researchers compared the cooling power of rubber fibres, nylon and polyethylene fishing lines and nickel-titanium wires.</li>
<li><strong>Observations:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They observed <strong>high cooling</strong> from twist changes in twisted, coiled and supercoiled fibres.</li>
<li>They reported that the <strong>level of efficiency</strong> of the heat exchange in rubber bands is <strong>comparable to that of standard refrigerants.</strong></li>
<li>These findings may lead to the development of greener, higher-efficiency and low-cost cooling technology.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/this-word-means-elastocaloric-effect-6065022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/elastocaloric-effect'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'World Vision Report',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently to mark the occasion of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/central-council-of-health-and-family-welfare-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Sight Day</strong></a>, the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-health-organization-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Health Organization</strong></a> (WHO) released its first <strong>World Vision Report.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The report proposed ways to address challenges such as integrating eye care into healthcare systems that can help in drastically reducing the burden of preventable eye diseases. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The report found that globally, over <strong>2.2 billion</strong> people have some form of <strong>vision impairment.</strong> Out of these 2.2 billion, 1 billion people are suffering from conditions that are preventable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to the report, the burden of eye conditions and vision impairment is not borne equally: it is often <strong>far greater</strong> in <strong>people living in rural areas,</strong> those with <strong>low incomes, women, older people, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and indigenous populations.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Low and middle-income regions of western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have rates of blindness that are <strong>eight times</strong> higher than in high-income countries.</li>
<li>The <strong>age-specific</strong> prevalence of distance vision impairment in an <strong>urban</strong> population of Delhi (20% prevalence amongst 60-69 years old) was <strong>one-third lower</strong> than that of a<strong> rural</strong> population in Northern India (28%).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The report warned that the <strong>ageing population</strong> would lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people with vision impairment and blindness. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Presbyopia</strong> (a condition in which it is difficult to see nearby objects), affects 1.8 billion people. This condition occurs with <strong>advancing age.</strong></li>
<li>The common refractive error -<strong>myopia</strong> (a condition in which it is difficult to see objects at a particular distance) affects 2.6 billion, with 312 million being under the age of <strong>19 years.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Trachoma-</strong> an eye disease that is caused due to <strong>bacterial infection</strong> in the eye. Many countries have eliminated it including <strong>India.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Vision impairment also caused <strong>productivity loss and economic burden.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The economic burden of uncorrected myopia in the regions of East Asia, South Asia, and South-East Asia were reported to be more than twice that of other regions and equivalent to more than 1% of gross domestic product.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The report also highlighted that in India the <strong>rate of cataract surgery</strong> has increased <strong>nine-fold</strong> (6,000 per million population) between 1981 and 2012. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This has been possible because of the <strong>National Programme for Control of Blindness,</strong> under which cataract surgeries were performed on 6.5 million people alone in the year 2016-2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In addition to it, a total of 1.5 million management/ treatment procedures were performed for other eye conditions. As a result of these concerted efforts, there was an overall reduction in the prevalence of blindness that was reported as 1.1% in 2001-02 to 0.45% during the years 2015-18.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB&amp;VI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was launched in the year <strong>1976</strong> as a 100% <strong>centrally sponsored scheme</strong> (now 60:40 in all states and 90:10 in NE States) by the <strong>Ministry of Health &amp; Family Welfare.</strong></li>
<li>The goal of this programme was to reduce the prevalence of blindness to <strong>0.3% by 2020.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NPCB aimed to provide for<strong> &lsquo;Eye Health for All&rsquo;</strong> and prevention of visual impairment, through the provision of comprehensive universal eye-care services and quality service delivery.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the World Report on Vision, integrated people-centered eye care has the potential to accelerate action and overcome the challenges. To make it a reality, the report recommends the following actions:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Make eye care an <strong>integral part</strong> of universal health coverage.</li>
<li>Promote high-quality <strong>implementation</strong> and health systems <strong>research,</strong> complementing existing evidence for effective eye care interventions.</li>
<li><strong>Monitor</strong> trends and <strong>evaluate</strong> progress towards implementing integrated people-centered eye care.</li>
<li><strong>Raise awareness</strong> and <strong>engage and empower</strong> people and communities about eye care needs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/telling-numbers-2-2-billion-people-worldwide-living-with-eye-conditions-preventable-in-1-billion-says-who-6065002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-vision-report'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'e-Cigarette ',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nipping-it-in-the-bud-6061665/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nipping it in the bud</strong></a> which was published in Indian Express on 11/10/2019. It talks about the various narratives of e-cigarette ban.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/promulgation-of-the-prohibition-of-electronic-cigarettes-ordinance" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes</strong></a> (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance, 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The prohibition of e-cigarettes <strong>includes all forms of</strong> Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Heat Not Burn Products, e-Hookah, and other like devices.</li>
</ul>
<h3>What are e-Cigarettes ?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ban-on-e-cigarettes" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>e-Cigarettes</strong> </a>are battery powered devices that work by heating a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales and exhales.</li>
<li>The e-cigarette liquid typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings, and other chemicals.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>e-Cigarettes usually contain nicotine which makes product addictive.</li>
<li>e-Cigarettes cause health hazards for youth, young adults, and pregnant women.</li>
<li>A number of metals, including lead, chromium, and nickel, and chemicals like formaldehyde have been found in aerosols of some ENDS, with concentrations equal to or greater than traditional cigarettes. These metals also work as &lsquo;tumor promoters&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Lack of knowledge about the negative effects of nicotine and easy accessibility of these products make the youth prone to addiction.</li>
<li>These products are not registered as nicotine replacement therapy products in India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Nicotine</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nicotine-as-class-a-poison" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nicotine</strong></a> is a plant alkaloid that contains nitrogen, which is found in several types of plants, including the tobacco plant and can also be produced synthetically.</li>
<li>Nicotine is both a sedative and a stimulant.</li>
<li>Nicotine is used as a direct substance in e-cigarettes and the content ranges up to 36 mg/mL. Although regular cigarettes too have nicotine, but it ranges between 1.2 to 1.4 mg/mL.</li>
<li>Recently, Karnataka has notified nicotine as Class A poison.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Arguments Against the Ban</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cigarettes, chewing tobacco and related products continue to be legal in India, selective banning of e-cigarettes seems to be an arbitrary exercise of executive authority.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Vaping&rdquo; or use of e-cigarette is regarded as the <strong>social and cultural phenomenon</strong> that must be regulated and taxed like other &ldquo;sin goods&rdquo; to the point of disincentivising their use, instead of a blanket ban.</li>
<li>The basis of e-cigarette promotion is its safety vis-a-vis conventional cigarettes. E-cigarettes are claimed to contain nicotine minus the carcinogens in traditional cigarettes and are promoted as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco product.</li>
<li>The banning of e-cigarette also highlights the nexus between the tobacco companies and government as visible with the sudden rise in the price of shares of ITC following the e-cigarette ban.</li>
<li>As seen in the case of alcohol ban,<strong> total prohibition</strong> does not work in many countries. The total prohibition promotes underground dark economy for the sin goods.</li>
<li>Considering the economics of <strong>&ldquo;sin goods&rdquo;,</strong> e-cigarette are being seen as a huge source of revenues for public exchequers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Argument in Favour of Ban</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Smoking-related diseases rank among the greatest public health problems of the last century. There have been 21 deaths in the past three months in the US due to vaping related lung disease. Therefore, the ban cannot be considered as the arbitrary exercise of executive power. It is simply targeted at controlling the another public health menace at its very genesis.</li>
<li>The notion that vaping is a socio-cultural phenomenon can not be justified as the social evils cannot be promoted in the name of culture.</li>
<li>e-Cigarettes are direct source of nicotine and even <strong>more addictive than cocaine.</strong> Nicotine in its pure form is potentially carcinogenic and a dose of 30-50 mg of nicotine can kill an adult human. Traditional cigarettes are the cheapest source of nicotine. Therefore, pure nicotine is a myth and not a reality.</li>
<li>Globally, the cigarette business is no more lucrative and infact e-cigarette seems to be the tobacco industry&rsquo;s biggest hope. Therefore, the allegations regarding the nexus between industry-government does not hold any ground.</li>
<li>The narrative that e-Cigarettes helps in quitting has no conclusive evidence. However, the approved drugs (nicotine tablets) under medical supervision have far better success rate. Secondly, they are far more expensive compared to medically-approved methods.</li>
<li>The logic that total prohibition does not work may be true for products that have huge customer base like traditional cigarettes. e-Cigarettes have very small customer base, mostly in urban areas. The ban is likely to be effective as the consumption is at a very nascent stage.</li>
<li>The idea that ban leads to loss for public exchequers is ill framed. Since, e-cigarettes are not manufactured in India, they won&rsquo;t lead to any revenue loss. Secondly, the public health expenditure in tackling disease emerging out of its consumption will be far more than the revenues earned as seen in the case of other sin goods.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the second <strong>Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016,</strong> India has seen the steepest decline in tobacco consumption(17%) in any part of the world. Since this decline is evident in global data, we should not allow e-cigarettes to reverse the declining trend.</li>
<li>The use of tobacco can be seen as a historical mistake as its farming holds its genesis in British period and further commercialization after Independence. We now have the opportunity to correct this mistake and protect the next generation from the killer tobacco industry and its next generation evolving products. The government&rsquo;s decision to ban e-cigarette is the way forward towards an addiction free society.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0505; background-color: #e1f7f7;">
<p><em><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">Mains Question</span><br /><br /></strong></em>Critically analyse the government's decision to ban e-cigarette.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/e-cigarette'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'The Big Picture - Operation Clean up',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/70xe-VIMClU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, unlike in 2014, the issue of corruption took a back seat; it was overshadowed by the issue of national security. But over the last few months several steps were taken to clean up the system.</p>
<p>In June, <strong>the government dismissed from service 12 senior income tax officers, including one of the rank of joint commissioner, on charges of corruption and professional misconduct.</strong> A week later twelve Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers belonging to the Income Tax (I-T) department were dismissed on charges of corruption.</p>
<p>Meanwhile,<strong> the government of Uttar Pradesh cracked the whip on 600 government officials of which 200 were forced to go on voluntary retirement</strong> and 400 others got strict punitive action in the form of adverse entries in a confidential report. This was the biggest ever action against corruption by any state government.</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The need for cleaning up the system came from a<strong> lot of complaints</strong> that came in despite the fact that the government in the recent past has been very particular about enforcing the rule of law and compliance to other measures to prevent activities such as money laundering, tax evasion etc.</li>
<li>Although, the government is taking steps against people who have violated the law, substantial steps have not been taken against the law enforcers themselves.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There were a lot of complaints, particularly about the income tax officers that these enforcement officials indulge in corruption. The Business and the Industry Community calls the same as <strong>&lsquo;Tax Terrorism&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>This implies that the government has done very little about cleaning up its own law enforcement system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The problem is <strong>not new.</strong> The State Sales Tax (now replaced by GST) Officers were considered as notorious as they followed very draconian and predatory approach i.e. <strong>trying to mop up the revenue but at the same time filling up their own pockets.</strong></li>
<li>Due to such approach, businessmen - big or small, continuously face coercion.</li>
<li>Therefore, a need was felt <strong>to check the ethical behaviour of the enforcement agencies.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Steps Taken by the Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Government took an<strong> immediate step of retiring those who were known to be not people of integrity by using the fundamental rule 56.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Fundamental Rule 56 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 provides for periodical review of performance of government servants with a view to ascertain whether they should be retained in service or retired from service, in the public interest.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Over time, <strong>the legislative framework has been made little more transparent,</strong> leading to the rule based decision making process in the country, thus reducing arbitrariness. Also, changes have been made in laws to enable public servants <strong>to take bona fide decisions without fear of any harassment.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For e.g. <strong>recent amendments made in the Prevention of Corruption Act</strong> include some safeguards that ensure that honest officers are not intimidated by false complaints.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By using the technology,</strong> the government has reduced the scope of the misuse of the legislative system by various stakeholders.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Use of <strong>Technology in the Goods and Services Tax (GST)</strong> has increased compliance and formalized a large number of transactions which would have otherwise remained under the radar and thus not get tracked.</li>
<li>Also, after <strong>e- tenders</strong> became norm in all government offices, the big cases of corruption has come down.</li>
<li>In a step towards faceless model of governance, Income Tax Department has put in place income tax assessments with anonymity of the payee.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India has <strong>signed several tax agreements with tax havens</strong> abroad such as Switzerland, Mauritius, Cyprus, Singapore etc.</li>
<li>There has been <strong>more and more international cooperation (for example</strong> <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/g-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>G7 summit</strong></a>) on tackling financial aspects of international crime syndicates and terrorism.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Amendments made in the Prevention of Corruption Act&nbsp;</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570795600_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570795600_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="660" height="404" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Tackling Corruption in India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Corruption is the <strong>abuse of entrusted power for private gain.</strong> It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.</li>
<li>In India, <strong>bureaucracy is susceptible to corruption.</strong></li>
<li>Corruption is widespread and can be tackled at following <strong>levels:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>At the cutting edge level.</li>
<li>At the middle level.</li>
<li>At the highest level i.e. policy making level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Corruption at the cutting edge level affects a common man the most,</strong> i.e. at the Police Station, Municipality etc.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Though things have improved but there is <strong>still a lot of scope for improvement the way one conducts business,</strong> whether it is in Police Station or in an electricity office etc.</li>
<li>The <strong>training of civil servants</strong> and those who are manning these offices is needed. Also, close supervision of the conduct is required.</li>
<li><strong>The use of technology</strong> can minimize the discretionary powers, thus, reducing the scope of corruption.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>At middle level,</strong> the <strong>role of professionals like Chartered Accountant and Lawyers, come into play.</strong> Such people need to motivate others to follow laws and to not avoid or violate the laws.</li>
<li>The government has come down heavily on the corruption that happens at the <strong>Policy making level. Right to Information is an example.</strong></li>
<li>Both <strong>coercion-led and collusive corruption</strong> is prevalent in India. The <strong>government needs to tackle both of them.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the <strong>coercion-led</strong> corruption, one is forced to pay bribe.</li>
<li>In the <strong>collusive corruption,</strong> the government representative as well as the citizen collude with each other, thus, making the act of corruption voluntary.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India needs to <strong>simplify its tax laws</strong> as it has been seen that complexity in laws leads to arbitrariness in bureaucratic system, leaving the scope for corruption.</li>
<li>Along with simplification, the government also needs to ensure that the<strong> rate of taxation remains moderate.</strong> This step is required as tax rates on higher side create scope for non-compliance.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is expected that the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-on-direct-tax-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Direct Tax Code</strong></a> would reduce the taxation rate and hence would increase the tax base.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Governance reforms,</strong> which should include Police, Judiciary, Municipalities, etc. from the grass root level to the highest level, is the need of the hour.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As done by U.K., there is a need to create <strong>a Chinese wall between those officers who undertake investigations and those who are responsible for tax collections.</strong> The investigation wing of the tax department should function on its own and not be subservient to the revenue collection goals of the government.</li>
<li><strong>More and more usage of technology</strong> is required for ensuring transparency in the governance system. The biggest advantage can be minimised interface with officials.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government <strong>needs to keep the civil servants or people in the public offices motivated about their work</strong> so that they take pride in doing their work. Doing the work properly should be the biggest satisfaction that they should derive. Also, there must be a <strong>lot of incentives for honesty.</strong></li>
<li>With the economy continuously opening up, it should be ensured that the <strong>regulator as well as the law enforcers perform their tasks sincerely.</strong> In the recent past, incidents of corruption, like the one that happened in PNB, have happened mainly due to non - vigilant regulators.</li>
<li>Through use of the Fundamental Rule 56, one can only remove people charged with corruption. It should be ensured that <strong>such people should be penalized.</strong> The country&rsquo;s judicial system needs to be made more effective and expeditious for the same.</li>
<li>There is a need for improved <strong>accountability standards</strong> at the political and administrative level to form a holistic and trustworthy ecosystem.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-operation-clean-up'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Green Crackers',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>In a bid to resolve the crisis of air pollution, the Government has launched <strong>green firecrackers.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These crackers are available as sparklers, flowerpots, maroons and atom bombs and have been <strong>developed by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),</strong> a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research <strong>(CSIR) lab.</strong></li>
<li>CSIR has signed agreements with 230 companies to manufacture green crackers and make them available for sale.</li>
<li>As per the CSIR&rsquo;s assessment, green crackers would <strong>reduce particulate matter pollution by 30%.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system</strong> has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>QR codes is a novel feature incorporated on the fire crackers to avoid manufacture and sale of counterfeit products.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Concerned about the pollution levels and the role firecrackers played in exacerbating it, the Supreme Court in October 2018 banned the sale, use and manufacture of crackers that weren&rsquo;t &lsquo;green&rsquo;.</li>
<li>This meant that the crackers couldn&rsquo;t be loud beyond a certain limit, had to be approved by the <strong>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO)</strong> and had to be free of mercury, arsenic and barium. However, compliant crackers weren&rsquo;t available in the market.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court, in May 2019, allowed the bulk manufacture of green crackers after the CSIR said its labs had been able to make trial samples and had them approved by the PESO.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>CSIR&rsquo;s project of development of green crackers adopted a two-pronged approach.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>One stream of activity was focussed on improving the traditional crackers through <strong>reduction in the level of Barium Nitrate.</strong></li>
<li>The second pathway aimed at <strong>replacing Barium Nitrate</strong> with a more benign Potassium Nitrate.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The apex court is expected to take a decision on &ldquo;improved crackers&rdquo;, which have reduced levels of barium nitrate on 22<sup>nd</sup> October 2019.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PESO is an office under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, <strong>Ministry of Commerce and Industries.</strong></li>
<li>It was established in 1898 as a <strong>nodal agency for regulating safety of substances such as explosives,</strong> compressed gases and petroleum.</li>
<li>Its head office is located in <strong>Nagpur, Maharashtra.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Council of Scientific &amp; Industrial Research (CSIR) is an autonomous body under Ministry of Science &amp; Technology, having <strong>38 national laboratories</strong> working in various areas of science and technology</li>
<li><strong>CSIR-NEERI is one among those laboratories.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/green-crackers-to-be-available-this-deepavali-says-union-health-minister/article29605157.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/green-crackers'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'Central Council Of Health And Family Welfare Conference',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, the 13<sup>th</sup> Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) was held in New Delhi.</p>
<h3>Key Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The purpose of the meeting was to <strong>build a consensus</strong> on the <strong>national health priorities.</strong></li>
<li>It focused on <strong>two priority areas</strong> for the public health sector: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Increasing health budgets</strong> by the Centre and the States/UTs.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to the <strong>National Health Policy (NHP), 2017,</strong> there has to be a collective increase in healthcare spending by the Centre &amp; States/UTs to meet the goals of healthcare spending of <strong>2.5% of GDP by 2025.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Strengthening of medical infrastructure.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This would target the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/ayushmanbharat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ayushman Bharat</a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/agreement-with-the-world-bank-to-eliminate-tb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eliminating TB</a></strong> and other communicable diseases, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-health-mission-and-janani-suraksha-yojana" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Health Mission</strong></a>, and other priority agendas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the conference, the emphasis was laid upon<strong> four pillars of healthcare,</strong> which include, <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mission mode interventions,</li>
<li>Quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare services,</li>
<li>Universal health coverage, and</li>
<li>Adequate health infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an apex <strong>advisory body</strong> set up under <strong>Article 263 of the Constitution</strong> to provide support and advice to the <strong>Department of Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</strong> on policy formulation and to consider and recommend broad lines of policy in regard to matters concerning health.</li>
<li>The first meeting of the CCHFW was held in <strong>1988.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Organizational Structure of Council:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Chairperson:</strong> Union Minister for Health &amp; Family Welfare,</li>
<li><strong>Vice-Chairperson:</strong> Minister of State for Health &amp; Family Welfare.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Article 263 of the Constitution</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Article 263 contemplates the establishment of an Inter-State Council to effect coordination between Centre and states. Thus, the President can establish such a council if at any time it appears to him that the public interest would be served by its establishment.</li>
<li>Therefore, the president has established the following councils to make recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action in the related subjects:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Central Council of Health.</li>
<li>Central Council of Local Government and Urban Development.</li>
<li>Four Regional Councils for Sales Tax for the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Zones.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To mark the occasion of <strong>World Sight Day</strong> (a global <strong>annual</strong> event observed on the <strong>second Thursday of October</strong>) report on <em><strong>&lsquo;National Diabetes &amp; Diabetic Retinopathy Survey India 2015-19&rsquo;</strong></em> and on <em><strong>&lsquo;National Blindness &amp; Visual Impairment Survey India 2015-19&rsquo;</strong></em> were released.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Major findings of the survey in India are: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>One in eight persons above 50 years is <strong>Diabetic,</strong></li>
<li>One in every 46 diabetics is <strong>Blind;</strong> and</li>
<li>One in seven suffers from some form of<strong> visual impairment</strong> due to high blood sugar levels.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Initiatives Launched:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN):</strong> This initiative aims to achieve <strong>zero</strong> preventable <strong>Maternal and Newborn Deaths.</strong> On the occasion, its website and the grievance redressal portal was also launched.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>According to the <strong>NITI Aayog</strong> data, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/penicillin-revival-to-fight-rheumatic-fever" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)</strong></a> has dropped by 8% in India to <strong>130 per 100,000 live births.</strong> The aim is to get it in line with the Sustainable Development Goal of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Other initiatives:</strong> The minister unveiled two info-leaflets on Suicide Prevention to mark the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-mental-health-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Mental Health Day,</strong> </a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Guidelines on Drugs and Diagnostic Service Initiative,</li>
<li>Guidelines for Biomedical Equipment Management &amp; Maintenance Programme, and</li>
<li>Guidelines for Peritoneal Dialysis under <strong>Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a <strong>need for enhanced engagement with the private sector</strong> for augmenting the efforts of the public sector, to bring in equity by increasing the number of beds and hospitals, so as to meet the global standards of health infrastructure.</li>
<li>Without the political leadership and commitment of the States &amp; UTs, healthcare cannot be effective. As highlighted in Economic Survey 2017-18 the cooperative federalism &ldquo;technology&rdquo; of the GST Council that brings together the Center and States could be promisingly deployed to meet the desired targets.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1587700" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/central-council-of-health-and-family-welfare-conference'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Child’s Right to Affection of Both Parents',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Supreme Court recently in a case has ruled that<strong> &lsquo;a child has the right to affection of both his parents&rsquo;.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The order is based on a plea by a man for custody of his child, who is with the wife.</li>
<li>The court declined to interfere with the family court&rsquo;s order granting custody of the child to the mother.</li>
<li>However, it gave the man liberty to approach the family court for enhancement of his visitation rights.</li>
</ul>
<h3>SC&rsquo;s Observations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> interest of the child should be kept foremost</strong> in custody battles between separated parents.</li>
<li>Family courts should grant visitation rights in such a manner that <strong>a child is not deprived of the love and care of either parent.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues related to the Custody of a Child</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The legal provisions which currently exist as per various personal laws are in the <strong>nature of entrusting the custody of children exclusively to one of the parents</strong> in case of separation. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, there are a number of provisions in various family law statutes which <strong>discriminate</strong> on the custodial rights of separated parents solely <strong>on the basis of their gender.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This presumption severely <strong>affects the rights of the spouse who has been denied custody rights</strong> and the <strong>rights of the child</strong> who will be deprived of care and love of both parents.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is argued that the present family laws <strong>lack</strong> a child-centric approach, which is based on the idea of <strong>shared parenting.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Supreme Court has recently agreed to examine provisions in family laws which allow exclusive custody of children to just one parent after a marital separation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Divorce and Article 142</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, the Supreme Court exercised its inherent powers <strong>under Article 142</strong> of the Constitution <strong>to annul a marriage</strong> of an estranged couple, residing separately for over two decades, <strong>saying it was a case of irretrievable breakdown of wedlock.</strong></li>
<li>Article 142 empowers the apex court to "pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it".</li>
<li>The apex court in a series of verdicts <strong>has asked the Centre to amend the law to introduce irretrievable breakdown as a ground of divorce but the law remains unamended</strong> and divorce is denied even if the couple are not living together for years and their relationship bruised beyond repair. This effectively denies them an opportunity to explore life afresh as their marriage survives in law even if not in substance.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Even the Law Commission, in its reports in 1978 and 2009, recommended the Centre to take "immediate action" to amend the laws with regard to "irretrievable breakdown" where a "wedlock becomes a deadlock".</li>
<li>As the <strong>Centre failed to act on the suggestions,</strong> the apex court has from time to time invoked Article 142 for dissolution of a marriage where the court finds that the marriage is totally unworkable, emotionally dead, beyond salvage and has broken down irretrievably, even if the facts of the case do not provide a ground in law on which the divorce could be granted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-child-has-right-to-affection-of-both-parents-supreme-court/article29630596.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/child-s-right-to-affection-of-both-parents'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'Turkey’s Offensive in Syria',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Turkey has launched a military operation called <strong>Operation Peace Spring</strong> against the <strong>Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG) in Northeast Syria</strong> just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The YPG was the <strong>USA&rsquo;s ally</strong> in the <strong>war against the Islamic state.</strong> However, withdrawal of US troops allowed Turkey to launch the attack.</li>
<li>Turkey stated that operation was aimed <strong>to eliminate &ldquo;terror corridor&rdquo;</strong> on <strong>Turkey&rsquo;s southern border</strong> as well as<strong> to create</strong> a <strong>&ldquo;safe zone&rdquo;.</strong> Turkey intends to settle millions of refugees in this safe zone who are now in Turkey.</li>
<li>World powers fear the action could open a new chapter in <strong>Syria&rsquo;s war and worsen the regional turmoil.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The present chaos could present the Islamic State with an opportunity to stage a revival and worsen the situation in the middle east.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570782252_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570782252_image1.jpg" width="427" height="479" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>
<h3>Syria&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Syria has considered the attack as <strong>&ldquo;Turkish Aggression&rdquo;</strong> over Syria.</li>
<li>The Syrian government wants to keep the <strong>territorial integrity of Syria intact.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Kurdish people have been demanding a separate country for themselves. While, Syria has been <strong>rejecting Kurdish demands for autonomy</strong> in the region. Syria does not support the rise of federal governments in the country.</li>
<li>Whereas, Turkey wants to create a buffer between the Syrian Kurdistan and the Turkish border to resettle millions of refugees from Syria. Also, Kurdish people are involved in militant activities in Turkey thus Turkey is reluctant to support Kurdish people present in the region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Turkey&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia as an offshoot of the Turkey Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish militant group in Turkey. Therefore as a threat to the Turkish side.</li>
<li>Turkey wants to create a buffer between the Syrian Kurdistan and the Turkish border.</li>
<li>Turkey also plans to resettle some of the 3 million Syrian refugees it hosts in the buffer zone.</li>
</ul>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Stand</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India issued a strong statement expressing<strong> &ldquo;deep regret&rdquo;</strong> over Turkey&rsquo;s military action in Syria and called it <strong>unilateral and offensive.</strong></li>
<li>India has called upon Turkey <strong>to exercise restraint</strong> and to respect the<strong> territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.</strong></li>
<li>The diplomatic exchanges between Turkey and India have intensified in recent weeks following India&rsquo;s decision to end the special status of Kashmir.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Turkey supported Pakistan&rsquo;s stance for reversal of the scrapping of Article 370.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Kurds</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Kurds are one of the <strong>indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains</strong> and the highlands i.e.current south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.</li>
<li>They form a distinctive community, united through race, culture and language, even though they have no standard dialect.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They also adhere to a number of different religions and creeds, although the majority are Sunni Muslims.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan".<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>But the boundaries of modern map of middle east made no provision for a Kurdish state and left Kurds with minority status in their respective countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Thus Kurds from Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran <strong>demands recognition of their tradition, language and homeland state</strong> (to be constituted with parts of south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/turkey-begins-offensive-against-kurdish-fighters-in-syria/article29628915.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source:TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/turkey-s-offensive-in-syria'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Labour Rights & Tea Estates of Assam',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>A report titled <strong>&lsquo;Addressing the Human Cost of Assam Tea&rsquo;</strong> by Oxfam has flagged violation of labour rights in the tea estates of Assam.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Along with Oxfam, Tata Institute of Social Sciences was also involved in this research.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Extremely Low Wages:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Workers are <strong>paid in a &lsquo;blend&rsquo; of cash and in-kind benefits</strong> and services. Cash payments are supplemented by the provision of food rations and free housing, healthcare and primary education, as required by the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</li>
<li>Plantation owners describe wages in terms of the total value of both cash and in-kind benefits, claiming that this meets minimum wage levels. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>India&rsquo;s <strong>Minimum Wage Act of 1948</strong> stipulates that in-kind benefits may not form part of the minimum wage calculation.</li>
<li>However, the Act is <strong>not compulsory</strong> and <strong>Assam (like West Bengal) has agreed an exception for tea companies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The cash component of Assam tea workers&rsquo; wages is<strong> well below the minimum wage level of unskilled agricultural workers in the state i.e. Rs. 254.91.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Injustice for Women:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Women do the labour-intensive, low-paid task of plucking tea, while men get the better paid, more respected factory jobs.</li>
<li>They are <strong>excluded from decision making and from pay and working conditions negotiations,</strong> partly due to being under-represented in trade unions.</li>
<li>These add up to a working life deprived of dignity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lack of Basic Facilities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Indian tea estates</strong> are legally obliged <strong>under the PLA, 1951 to provide decent housing, healthcare,</strong> education and working conditions &ndash; but are clearly <strong>failing to do so.</strong></li>
<li>Housing and toilets are dilapidated or non-existent.</li>
<li>Most workers <strong>do not have access to safe drinking water,</strong> so they have to drink the contaminated water, meaning diseases such as cholera, typhoid etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Main Reason: Inequality of Power</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Supermarkets and tea brands</strong> in India <strong>retain more than half (58.2%) of the final consumer price</strong> of black processed tea sold in the country, with just <strong>7.2% remaining for workers.</strong></li>
<li>The relentless squeeze by supermarkets and brands on the share of the end consumer price for tea makes poverty and hardship for workers in Assam more likely.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Enabling Living Wages:</strong> Closing the gap between current wages and living wages for tea workers could be supported in one of <strong>two ways:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Either by supermarkets <strong>increasing the end consumer price of tea,</strong> alongside making a commitment to pass this increase to workers rather than increasing their own margins.</li>
<li>Or alternatively, by maintaining current prices but <strong>redistributing some of the retailer and tea brand share</strong> of the end consumer price <strong>to workers.</strong></li>
<li>It is to be noted that <strong>the amount of additional money required to enable a living wage for workers is relatively small.</strong></li>
<li>Workers on tea estates in Assam currently receive just around Rs 3 per 100g of bagged black tea sold to consumers and would require only around Rs 7 to enable living wages to be paid.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>For ending hardships:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tea brands and supermarkets should work with trade unions, civil society, producers and the relevant government bodies to address the systemic challenges facing the industry and end the human suffering of the millions of workers who depend on tea for their livelihood.</li>
<li>There is a need to ensure that <strong>women workers have a voice</strong> in decision making and can work in decent conditions without discrimination.</li>
<li>It should be ensured that<strong> tea estates comply with their legal obligation under the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In the proposed labour law changes, it needs to be ensured that the PLA provisions in the <strong>Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code</strong> further the realization of workers&rsquo; rights and human rights</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government of Assam <strong>should implement a minimum wage level of INR 351 per day, as committed by it.</strong> Also, there is a need to<strong> exclude in-kind benefits from minimum wage calculations</strong> on tea plantations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The PLA of 1951 provides for the welfare of plantation labour and regulates the working conditions on plantations.</li>
<li>The Government of India is <strong>planning to subsume the PLA in the Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This new Bill inter alia aims to provide fair wages to plantation workers by limiting the in-kind component of their pay and instead providing welfare facilities through the welfare schemes of the government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Related Constitutional Provisions</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the <strong>Concurrent List</strong> where both the Central &amp; State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre.</li>
<li><strong>Article 39</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing <strong>equal pay for equal work for both men and women.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Article 43</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, <strong>work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam-tea-estates-violating-labour-laws/article29649803.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/labour-rights-tea-estates-of-assam'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Gangetic Dolphin Annual Census',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently, the <strong>annual Ganges river Dolphin census</strong> was undertaken by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/shark-awareness-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Wide Fund for Nature- India</strong></a> in collaboration with the <strong>Uttar Pradesh Forest Department</strong> along about 250 km. long riverine stretch of Upper Ganga river basin between <strong>Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary</strong> and <strong>Narora Ramsar site.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This year the<strong> tandem boat survey method</strong> replaced the previous years&rsquo; <strong>direct counting method</strong> in order to provide a more accurate count of the endangered species.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the &lsquo;tandem boat survey&rsquo; method, the officials use two inflated boats which move in tandem to count the dolphins. After collating the data, statistical tools are employed to arrive at the final count.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In 2015 census their count was 22, and since then the number has been stable in the last few years. This year, there is an expected rise in their number.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Ganga River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gangetic-dolphins-found-in-mahananda-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ganges river dolphin</strong></a> is found in parts of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.</li>
<li>The Gangetic river dolphin is India's <strong>national aquatic animal</strong> and is popularly known as <strong>&lsquo;Susu&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>It is among the <strong>four freshwater dolphins</strong> in the world- the other three are: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Baiji&rsquo;</strong> now likely extinct from the <strong>Yangtze</strong> River in China,</li>
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Bhulan&rsquo;</strong> of the <strong>Indus</strong> in Pakistan, and</li>
<li>The <strong>&lsquo;Boto&rsquo;</strong> of the <strong>Amazon</strong> River in Latin America.</li>
<li>These four species live only in rivers and lakes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Its presence indicates the health of the riverine ecosystem.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Threats</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Pollution:</strong> It faces a number of threats such as dumping of single-use plastics in water bodies, industrial pollution, fishing.</li>
<li><strong>Restrictive Flow of Water:</strong> The increase in the number of barrages and dams is also affecting their growth as such structures impede the flow of water.</li>
<li><strong>Poaching:</strong> Dolphins are also poached for their flesh, fat, and oil, which is used as a prey to catch fish, as an ointment and as a supposed aphrodisiac.</li>
<li><strong>Shipping &amp; Dredging:</strong> It is also called a <strong>blind dolphin</strong> because it doesn&rsquo;t have an eye lens and uses <strong>echolocation</strong> to navigate and hunt. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Like bats, they produce high-frequency sounds which helps them to detect objects when the sound waves bounce off them.</li>
<li>Due to their dependence on echolocation, the Gangetic dolphins also suffer from the noise pollution created by large ship propellers, and by dredging.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Protection Status</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/iucn-red-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>IUCN</strong> </a>Status: Endangered</li>
<li>It is listed on <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/cites" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CITES</strong></a> Appendix-I.</li>
<li>It is classified under Schedule 1, <strong>Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972</strong> providing absolute protection as offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties.</li>
<li><strong>Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar&rsquo;s Bhagalpur</strong> district is India&rsquo;s only sanctuary for its national aquatic animal.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/annual-ganges-river-dolphin-census-begins/article29651342.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/gangetic-dolphin-annual-census'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Poverty Estimation in India',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570797452_Poverty%20Estimation in India (Mind Map).png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570797452_Poverty Estimation in India (Mind Map).png" width="435" height="2327" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="/to-the-points/paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For TTP</em></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india-mind-map'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'The Minimum Wage Solution',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-minimum-wage-solution/article29629570.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The minimum wage solution</strong></a> which was published in The Hindu on 10/10/2019. It talks about the relationship between the increase in NREGA wages and the decrease in corporate tax rate.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the government made two announcements at two ends of the spectrum to <strong>mitigate the economic crisis.</strong> One concerns a<strong> new indexation of NREGA wages meant to increase rural incomes</strong> and the second is a <strong>reduction in corporate tax rate.</strong></p>
<h3>Minimum wages in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Wage rates under <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-coordination-between-mgnrega-and-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>MGNREGA</strong></a>, 2005 are <strong>notified and revised annually</strong> based on the<strong> Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL)</strong> by the <strong>Central Government</strong> in accordance with the <strong>provisions of Section 6(1)</strong> of the scheme.</li>
<li>The revised wage rates are made <strong>applicable from 1<sup>st</sup> April of every year.</strong></li>
<li>The CPI-(AL) is published by <strong>Labour Bureau, Shimla.</strong></li>
<li>Minimum wages are <strong>legal mandate</strong> that are arrived at by <strong>calculating the minimal nutritional requirement and basic needs</strong> of an individual.</li>
<li>The <strong>current daily NREGA wages</strong> are just a <strong>quarter of the minimum daily living wage of ₹692</strong> as <strong>outlined in the 7<sup>th</sup> Pay Commission.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Important Reports and Judgments</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Fair Wages Committee</strong> of the <strong>Ministry of Labour (1949)</strong> noted in a progressive report that a <strong>&ldquo;living wage&rdquo; should also include education, healthcare and insurance</strong> besides the bare essentials.</li>
<li>In <strong>Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan (1983),</strong> the Supreme Court held that paying less than minimum wages is akin to <strong>&ldquo;forced labour&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>In <strong>Workmen v. Management of Raptakos Brett (1991),</strong> it said that <strong>more provisions must be added</strong> to arrive at a moral &ldquo;living wage&rdquo; to ensure basic dignity of life.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>New Indexation of NREGA Wages</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Prices of commodities increase each year due to inflation</strong> so it is important to increase the daily wages of workers in the villages.</li>
<li>For that, it is important to keep in mind the <strong>previous year&rsquo;s national daily average NREGA wages (₹179 in 2019)</strong> and <strong>a good index to benchmark and revise</strong> the wages.</li>
<li>Indices are <strong>(weighted) averages of the prices of a basket of goods consumed</strong> and the index <strong>must be based on the main items of consumption</strong> for rural households.</li>
<li>NREGA <strong>daily wages are to be indexed with</strong> an updated inflation index called the <strong>Consumer Price Index-Rural (CPI-R)</strong> instead of the older <strong>Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL).</strong></li>
<li>Calculation of <strong>CPI-AL involves more food items in the consumption basket</strong> while the calculation of <strong>CPI-R involves more non-food items such as healthcare and education</strong> so it reflects the rural consumption basket better than the CPI-AL.</li>
<li>The new indexation will have a <strong>notable impact on increase in income of rural households only if the base NREGA wages are high.</strong></li>
<li>It is also <strong>recommended to use annual average</strong> instead of the existing practice of using December month index only.</li>
<li>A substantial increase in NREGA wages and subsequent indexation with CPI-R would be meaningful for the workers and the economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reduction in Corporate Tax Rates</h3>
<p>Government has brought in <strong>the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019</strong> to make certain amendments in <strong>the Income-tax Act, 1961</strong> and<strong> the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Basic <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-on-direct-tax-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corporate tax rate</a></strong> has been <strong>slashed to 22% from 30% while for new manufacturing companies</strong> it has been <strong>cut down to 15% from 25%.</strong></li>
<li>In order to promote growth and investment, a new provision has been inserted in the Income-tax Act which allows any domestic company an option to pay income-tax at the rate of 22% subject to the condition that they will not avail any exemption/incentive. The <strong>effective tax rate</strong> for these companies shall be <strong>25.17% inclusive of surcharge &amp; cess.</strong></li>
<li>According to a <strong>2015 IMF report,</strong> &ldquo;If the income share of the top 20% (the rich) increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term&rdquo;, while &ldquo;an increase in the income share of the bottom 20% (the poor) is associated with higher GDP growth&rdquo;. <strong>Current corporate tax cut</strong> can<strong> widen economic inequality.</strong></li>
<li>According to <strong>estimates by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL),</strong> due to the recent tax cut, <strong>1,000 companies</strong> would have annual savings of around <strong>₹37,000 crore</strong> and<strong> last annual NREGA budget of ₹60,000 crore</strong> can be mentioned here for the comparison.</li>
<li>The <strong>estimated gains</strong> of more than <strong>1,000 companies</strong> would be <strong>equivalent to the annual earnings of around 7.2 crore NREGA labourers.</strong></li>
<li>The worst part is that the <strong>budget allocation for NREGA gets exhausted by October</strong> of each financial year, leading to delays in payment of wages.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>While <strong>corporate tax cuts and lower interest rates</strong> would give corporations some <strong>liquidity,</strong> it is <strong>unlikely that rural demand will increase.</strong> On the contrary, <strong>without a substantial increase in NREGA wages,</strong> the <strong>wages would barely match inflation</strong> levels leading to wage stagnation in real terms.</li>
<li>In circumstances of <strong>unsustainable wages,</strong> the poor would be forced to become part of the <strong>migrant labour force and industries would benefit</strong> by absorbing them at throwaway daily wages leaving no alternatives.</li>
<li>It is <strong>economically prudent to substantially increase the budget for public programmes such as NREGA.</strong> This would <strong>lead to higher disposable income for the poor</strong> which in turn would have positive multiplier effects in the economy.</li>
<li>The government needs to pay <strong>more attention to the poor in economic, ethical, and legal ways.</strong></li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #ecffe8;"><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />Higher disposable income for the poor can have positive multiplier effects in the economy. Discuss.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-minimum-wage-solution'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Global Competitiveness Index 4.0: WEF',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/wef-india-economic-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Economic Forum (WEF)</strong></a> has released the 2019 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report which features the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (GCI 4.0).<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570706132_image5.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570706132_image5.jpg" style="float: right;" width="220" height="434" caption="false" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The World Economic Forum introduced the <strong>new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 in 2018.</strong> GCI 4.0 provides a detailed map of the factors and attributes that drive productivity, growth and human development in the era of the <strong>Fourth Industrial Revolution.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>GCI 4.0</strong> covers <strong>141 economies,</strong> which account for <strong>99% of the world&rsquo;s GDP.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The GCI 4.0 of 2019 reveal that, on average, most economies continue to be <strong>far from the competitiveness &ldquo;frontier&rdquo;</strong>&mdash;the aggregate ideal across all factors of competitiveness. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A country&rsquo;s performance on the overall GCI is reported as a <strong>&lsquo;progress score&rsquo; on a 0-to-100 scale,</strong> where <strong>100 represents the &lsquo;frontier&rsquo;,</strong> an ideal state where an issue ceases to be a constraint to productivity growth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This edition of the report focuses on building shared prosperity (addressing inequality) and managing the transition to a sustainable economy (addressing environmental issues) along with competitiveness and growth.</li>
<li>The report is based on <strong>12 set of factors (pillars) that determine productivity.</strong> These are: Institutions; Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability.</li>
<li>The index has been <strong>an annual edition since 1979.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India has moved down <strong>10 places to the rank of 68<sup>th</sup></strong> compared to the <strong>58<sup>th</sup> rank of 2018</strong> primarily because of <strong>faster improvements of several countries</strong> previously ranked lower.</li>
<li><strong>Positives for India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India ranks high on <strong>macroeconomic stability (90, 43<sup>rd</sup>)</strong> and <strong>market size (93.7, 3<sup>rd</sup>),</strong></li>
<li>India performs well when it comes to <strong>innovation (50.9, 35<sup>th</sup>),</strong> well ahead of most emerging economies and on par with several advanced economies.</li>
<li>Its <strong>financial sector (69.5, 40<sup>th</sup>)</strong> is relatively deep and stable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Challenges for India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India ranks beyond 100<sup>th</sup> on five pillars and features in the top 50 of just four pillars.</li>
<li>Major shortcomings in some of the basic enablers of competitiveness, <strong>like ICT adoption is limited (31.1, 120<sup>th</sup>)</strong> but has improved sharply (+8 since the 2017 edition).</li>
<li><strong>Health conditions</strong> remain poor, as reflected in low healthy life expectancy (59.4 years, 109<sup>th</sup>), which is one of the shortest outside Africa and significantly below the South Asian average.</li>
<li><strong>Weak banking system</strong> (60.4, 89<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li>India must <strong>also grow its skills base</strong> (50.5, 107<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li><strong>Product market efficiency</strong> (50.4, 101<sup>st</sup>) is undermined by a <strong>lack of trade openness</strong> (43.9, 131<sup>st</sup>).</li>
<li>The labour market is characterized by a <strong>lack of worker rights&rsquo; protections</strong>, insufficiently developed active labour market policies and critically low participation of women (ratio of female workers to male workers of 0.26, 128<sup>th</sup>)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In South Asia, <strong>Sri Lanka is the most improved country in the region at 84<sup>th</sup>,</strong> Bangladesh (105<sup>th</sup>), Nepal (108<sup>th</sup>) and Pakistan (110<sup>th</sup>).</li>
<li><strong>China (28<sup>th</sup>)</strong> is the<strong> best performer</strong> among the<strong> BRICS</strong> countries.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Russian Federation</strong> ranks <strong>43<sup>rd</sup>, South Africa</strong> is <strong>60<sup>th</sup>, India</strong> is <strong>68<sup>th</sup> and Brazil</strong> is ranked <strong>71<sup>st</sup>.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Singapore</strong> has become the <strong>world's most competitive economy in 2019,</strong> pushing the <strong>US to second</strong> place.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR)</strong> is ranked <strong>3<sup>rd</sup>, the Netherlands</strong> is <strong>4<sup>th</sup> </strong>and<strong> Switzerland</strong> is ranked <strong>5<sup>th</sup></strong> in the index.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Vietnam (67<sup>th</sup>)</strong> registered the highest improvement across the globe.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-slips-10-places-on-global-competitiveness-index-singapore-on-top/articleshow/71498559.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: ET</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-competitiveness-index-4-0-wef'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Poverty Estimation in India',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<p>According to recent reports, more than a quarter of the population living in rural areas of India is below the poverty line. Out of the total population living in the rural parts of India,<strong> 25.7%</strong> is living below the poverty line whereas in the urban areas, the situation is a bit better with <strong>13.7%</strong> of the population living below the poverty line.</p>
<h3>Poverty Estimation</h3>
<p>A common method used to estimate <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/the-big-picture-eradicating-poverty" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>poverty</strong></a> in India is based on the <strong>income or consumption</strong> levels and if the income or consumption falls below a given minimum level, then the household is said to be <strong>Below the Poverty Line (BPL).</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poverty Line Calculation:</strong> Poverty estimation in India is now carried out by <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/niti-aayog-national-institution-for-transforming-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>NITI Aayog&rsquo;s</strong></a> task force through the calculation of poverty line based on the data captured by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/restructuring-of-indian-statistical-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Sample Survey Office</strong></a> under the <strong>Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>NITI Aayog</strong> as a policy think tank has replaced Planning Commission, which was earlier responsible for calculating the poverty line in India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Consumption Versus Income Level:</strong> Poverty line estimation in India is based on the <strong>consumption expenditure</strong> and not on the income levels because of the following reasons:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Variation in Income:</strong> Income of <strong>self-employed</strong> people, daily wage laborers etc. is highly variable both temporally and spatially, while consumption pattern are comparatively much <strong>stable.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Additional Income:</strong> Even in the case of regular wage earners, there are additional <strong>side incomes</strong> in many cases, which is <strong>difficult to take into account.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Data Collection:</strong> In case of consumption based poverty line, sample based surveys use a <strong>reference period</strong> (say 30 days) in which households are asked about their consumption of last 30 days and is taken as the <strong>representative of general consumption.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Whereas tracing the general pattern of income is not possible.</li>
<li><strong>Reference Period:</strong> It is the duration/period during which the survey is conducted by NSSO workers in which they ask certain questions to households.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Key Terms</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Poverty:</strong> According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>World Bank,</strong></a> Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity.</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Line:</strong> The conventional approach to measuring poverty is to specify a minimum expenditure (or income) required to purchase a basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs and this minimum expenditure is called the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Line Basket:</strong> The basket of goods and services necessary to satisfy basic human needs is the Poverty Line Basket (PLB).</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Ratio:</strong> The proportion of the population below the poverty line is called the poverty ratio or <strong>headcount ratio (HCR).</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Need for Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Impact of Welfare Schemes:</strong> Poverty estimates are not just important for academic purposes but are also crucial to<strong> track</strong> the impact and success of various government policies, especially <strong>social welfare schemes</strong> that are intended to eliminate poverty.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>BPL Census</strong> is conducted by the <strong>Ministry of Rural Development</strong> (along with the partnership of state), in order to <strong>identify the poor households.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Elimination Plan:</strong> The Poverty estimates in the form of poverty line are used to formulate poor centric poverty elimination plans.</li>
<li><strong>Constitutional Requirement:</strong> Poverty estimation paves the way for poverty elimination, that in turn prepares the ground for a<strong> just and equitable society.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Measurement of Poverty Line</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Absolute Measurement of Poverty</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Absolute Poverty:</strong> According to <strong>United Nations World Summit for Economic Development,</strong> absolute poverty is a condition characterized by <strong>severe deprivation</strong> of <strong>basic human needs</strong>, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It depends not only on income but also on access to social services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> The poverty threshold in absolute measurement of poverty is set using the <strong>monetary value</strong> of the basket of <strong>essential products (required for basic needs)</strong> and every household whose income is less than this value will be classified as poor.</li>
<li><strong>Limited Scope:</strong> Absolute measurements of poverty, used by the World Bank and developing countries like <strong>India,</strong> rely on a poverty line which remains constant across geographies and over time.</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> Absolute measurement of poverty <strong>overlooks deprivation</strong> within countries or the <strong>higher cost of living</strong> in developed countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Relative Measurement of Poverty</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Relative Poverty:</strong> It is present when a household income is lower than the <strong>median income</strong> in a particular country and is used mainly by the <strong>developed countries.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Those who fall into the category of relative poverty are not necessarily deprived of all basic needs, but may not experience the same standard of living as the majority of society or in other words, they are <strong>relatively deprived.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> In this method certain percentage of <strong>economically bottom population</strong> is always considered below the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> This approach, though, ignores the importance of the absolute standard of living and assumes that relative income is all that matters for welfare.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Data Collection Methods</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Uniform Resource Period (URP):</strong> Up until <strong>1993-94,</strong> the poverty line was based on URP data, which involved asking people about their consumption expenditure across a <strong>30-day recall period</strong> that is the information was based on the recall of consumption expenditure in the previous 30 days.</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Reference Period (MRP):</strong> From <strong>1999-2000 onwards,</strong> the NSSO switched to an MRP method which measures consumption of <strong>five low-frequency items</strong> (clothing, footwear, durables, education and institutional health expenditure) over the previous year, and all other items over the previous 30 days. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>That is to say, for the five items, survey respondents are asked about consumption in the previous one year. For the remaining items, they are asked about consumption in the previous 30 days.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Pre-Independence Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Dadabhai Naoroji</strong> through his book,<strong> &ldquo;Poverty and Unbritish Rule in India&rdquo;</strong> made the <strong>earliest</strong> estimation of poverty line (₹16 to ₹35 per capita per year).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The poverty line proposed by him was based on the<strong> cost of a subsistence or minimum basic diet</strong> (rice or flour, dal, mutton, vegetables, ghee, vegetable oil, and salt).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>National Planning Committee&rsquo;s (1938)</strong> poverty line (ranging from ₹15 to ₹20 per capita per month) was also based on a <strong>minimum standard of living</strong> perspective in which <strong>nutritional requirements</strong> were implicit.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In 1938, the National Planning Committee was set up by <strong>Subhash Chandra Bose</strong> under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru for the purpose of drawing up an economic plan with the fundamental aim to ensure an adequate standard of living for the masses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Bombay Plan (1944)</strong> proponents had suggested a poverty line of ₹75 per capita per year. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The Bombay Plan</strong> was a set of a proposal of a small group of influential business leaders in Bombay for the development of the post-independence economy of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Post-Independence Poverty Estimation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Planning Commission Expert Group (1962),</strong> working group constituted by the Planning Commission formulated the <strong>separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas</strong> (₹20 and ₹25 per capita per year respectively).<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703843_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703843_image2.jpg" style="float: right;" caption="false" width="400" height="317" /></a></li>
<li><strong>VM Dandekar and N Rath (1971),</strong> made the <strong>first systematic assessment of poverty</strong> in India, based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Unlike previous scholars who had considered subsistence living or basic minimum needs criteria as the measure of poverty line, <strong>VM Dandekar and N Rath</strong> were of the view that poverty line must be derived from the <strong>expenditure</strong> that was adequate to provide 2250 calories per day in both rural and urban areas.</li>
<li><strong>Expenditure based Poverty line estimation,</strong> generated a debate on minimum calorie consumption norms.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Alagh Committee (1979):</strong> Task force constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of YK Alagh, constructed a poverty line for rural and urban areas on the basis of <strong>nutritional requirements and related consumption expenditure.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Poverty estimates for subsequent years were to be calculated by <strong>adjusting the price level for inflation.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lakdawala Committee (1993):</strong> Task Force chaired by DT Lakdawala, based on the assumption that the basket of goods and services used to calculate <strong>Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers</strong> (CPI-IW) and <strong>Consumer Price Index- Agricultural Labourers</strong> (CPI-AL) reflect the consumption patterns of the poor, made the following <strong>suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Consumption expenditure</strong> should be calculated based on <strong>calorie consumption</strong> as earlier.</li>
<li><strong>State specific poverty lines</strong> should be constructed and these should be updated using the CPI-IW in urban areas and CPI-AL in rural areas.</li>
<li><strong>Discontinuation of scaling</strong> of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Tendulkar Committee (2009)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Expert group constituted by the Planning Commission and, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, was constituted to <strong>review</strong> methodology for poverty estimation and to address the following <strong>shortcomings of the previous methods:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Obsolete Consumption Pattern:</strong> Consumption patterns were linked to the 1973-74 poverty line baskets (PLBs) of goods and services, whereas there were significant <strong>changes in the consumption patterns</strong> of the poor since that time, which were not reflected in the poverty estimates.</li>
<li><strong>Inflation Adjustment:</strong> There were issues with the <strong>adjustment of prices for inflation,</strong> both spatially (across regions) and temporally (across time).</li>
<li><strong>Health and Education Expenditure:</strong> Earlier poverty lines assumed that health and education would be provided by the state and formulated poverty lines accordingly.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recommendations</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Shift from Calorie Consumption based Poverty Estimation:</strong> It based its calculations on the consumption of the items like cereal, pulses, milk, edible oil, non-vegetarian items, vegetables, fresh fruits, dry fruits, sugar, salt &amp; spices, other food, intoxicants, fuel, clothing, footwear, education, medical (non-institutional and institutional), entertainment, personal &amp; toilet goods.</li>
<li><strong>Uniform Poverty line Basket:</strong> Unlike Alagh committee (which relied on separate PLB for rural and urban areas), Tendulkar Committee computed new poverty lines for <strong>rural and urban areas of each state</strong> based on the uniform poverty line basket and found that all India poverty line (2004-05) was:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>₹446.68 per capita per month in rural areas</li>
<li>₹578.80 per capita per month in urban areas</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Private Expenditure:</strong> Incorporation of private expenditure on <strong>health and education</strong> while estimating poverty.</li>
<li><strong>Price Adjustment Procedure:</strong> The Committee also recommended a new method of updating poverty lines, <strong>adjusting for changes in prices and patterns of consumption</strong> (to correct spatial and temporal issues with price adjustment), using the consumption basket of people close to the poverty line.</li>
<li><strong>Mixed Reference Period:</strong> The Committee recommended using Mixed Reference Period based estimates, as opposed to Uniform Reference Period based estimates that were used in earlier methods for estimating poverty.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Tendulkar committee computed poverty lines for <strong>2004-05</strong> at a level that was equivalent, in<strong> Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)</strong> terms to <strong>Rs 33 per day.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Purchasing Power Parity:</strong> The PPP model refers to a method used to work out the money that would be needed to purchase the same goods and services in two countries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Rangarajan Committee</h3>
<p>The committee was set up in the backdrop of national outrage over the Planning Commission&rsquo;s suggested poverty line of ₹22 a day for rural areas.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Objectives</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To review <strong>international poverty estimation methods</strong> and indicate whether based on these, a particular method for empirical poverty estimation can be developed in India.</li>
<li>To recommend how these estimates of poverty can be <strong>linked to eligibility and entitlements</strong> under the various schemes of the Government of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Recommendations</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Methodology Used:</strong> The Rangarajan committee estimation is based on an independent large survey of households by <strong>Center for Monitoring Indian Economy</strong> (CMIE).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It has also used different methodology wherein a household is considered poor if it is unable to save.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Normative and Behavioural level:</strong> Poverty line should be based on:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Normative level of adequate nutrition: <strong>Ideal and desirable level of nutrition.</strong></li>
<li>Behavioral determination of <strong>non-food expenses:</strong> What people use or consume as per <strong>general behavior.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Nutritional Requirement:</strong> For normative levels of adequate nutrition &ndash; average requirements of calories, proteins and fats based on Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) norms, differentiated by age, gender and activity for all-India rural and urban regions is considered:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Calories:</strong> 2090 kcal in urban areas and 2155 Kcal in rural areas.</li>
<li><strong>Protein:</strong> For rural areas 48 gm and for urban areas 50 gm.</li>
<li><strong>Fat:</strong> For urban areas 28 gm and for rural areas 26 gm.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Poverty Threshold:</strong> Persons spending <strong>below ₹47</strong> a day in cities and<strong> ₹32 in villages</strong> be considered poor.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Based on this methodology, Rangarajan committee estimated that the number of poor were <strong>19% higher in rural areas</strong> and 41% more in urban areas than what was estimated using Tendulkar committee formula.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Modified Mixed reference period:</strong> Instead of Mixed reference Period (MRP) it recommended Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP) in which reference periods for different items were taken as:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>365-days</strong> for clothing, footwear, education, institutional medical care, and durable goods.</li>
<li><strong>7-days</strong> for edible oil, egg, fish and meat, vegetables, fruits, spices, beverages, refreshments, processed food, pan, tobacco and intoxicants</li>
<li><strong>30-days</strong> for the remaining food items, fuel and light, miscellaneous goods and services including non-institutional medical; rents and taxes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Criticism:</strong> Rangarajan committee missed the opportunity to go beyond the expenditure-based poverty rates and examine the possibility of a wider multi-dimensional view of deprivation.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703978_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1570703978_image1.jpg" width="600" height="274" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International Poverty Line</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The World Bank</strong> defines a person as extremely poor if she is living on less than <strong>1.90 international dollars a day,</strong> which are adjusted for inflation as well as price differences between countries.</li>
<li><strong>Asian Development Bank</strong> too has its own poverty line which is currently at <strong>$ 1.51</strong> per person per day.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Components of PLB:</strong> Determining components of Poverty Line Basket (PLB) is one of the challenges of poverty line estimation because of the <strong>price differentials</strong> (of constituents of basket) which vary from state to state and period to period.</li>
<li><strong>Demographic and Economic Dynamics:</strong> Further, <strong>consumption patterns, nutritional needs</strong> and <strong>prices</strong> of <strong>components</strong> keep on changing as per dynamics of macro economy and demography.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of consensus</strong> among the states over the acceptance of Tendulkar and Rangrajan committee report.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some states such as Odisha and West Bengal supported the Tendulkar Poverty Line while others such as Delhi, Jharkhand, Mizoram etc. supported Rangarajan report.</li>
<li>The current official measures of poverty are based on the Tendulkar poverty line, fixed at daily expenditure of ₹27.2 in rural areas and ₹33.3 in urban areas is criticised by many for being too low.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Redefining Poverty lines:</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/redefining-poverty" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Poverty lines have to be recalibrated</strong></a> depending on changes in income, consumption patterns and prices, as India is now a <strong>middle-income country,</strong> with an estimated per capita income of around $9,000 in purchasing power parity.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to economists poverty line of $3.20 translates into ₹ 75 a day, or a 68% higher than the Tendulkar poverty line.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Viable Poverty line:</strong> It makes sense to set the poverty line at a level that allows households to get two square meals a day and other <strong>basic necessities</strong> of life.</li>
<li><strong>Hybrid of Absolute and Relative Measurement of Poverty:</strong> The hybrid approach which would measure poverty from the perspective of a common <strong>global standard of living</strong> and<strong> relative poverty within countries.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The poverty line in case of hybrid model would be equivalent to the income required to achieve a certain welfare status, which includes basic nutrition and social inclusion.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Political Economic Equilibrium:</strong> Indian political, policy and administrative systems have to adjust to the new realities of the transition to a middle- income country, in which poverty does not mean living at the edge of hunger but, rather, <strong>lack of income</strong> to take advantage of the opportunities thrown up by a growing economy. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The focus of government spending should be on the <strong>provision of public goods rather than subsidies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="/mind-map/gs-paper3/poverty-estimation-in-india-mind-map" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For Mind Map</em></a></p>',
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	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'Malware Smominru',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p><strong>Malware Smominru,</strong> whose incidence was first reported in 2017, continues to infect computers in a big way.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is affecting nearly 4,700 computers every day, with over 90,000 computers affected globally in August 2019.</li>
<li>The botnet <strong>relies on more than 20 dedicated servers, mostly located in the US,</strong> though some are hosted in Malaysia and Bulgaria.</li>
<li>In its post-infection phase, it <strong>steals victim credentials, installs a Trojan module</strong> and a <strong>cryptominer</strong> and propagates inside the network.</li>
<li>The malware seems to have the ability to come back to hit the old victims if they fail to tackle the problem completely. About one-fourth of the affected machines were infected again after Smominru was removed from them.</li>
<li>The victims range from universities to healthcare providers suggesting that hackers are not too particular about their targets.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, about 85% of infections have occurred on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 systems.</li>
<li>The objective seems to silently use infected computers for mining cryptocurrency at the victim&rsquo;s expense.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>China, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil and the US have seen the most attacks.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Malware:</strong> Short for malicious software, it refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.</li>
<li><strong>Botnet:</strong> The word Botnet is formed from the words <strong>&lsquo;robot&rsquo; and &lsquo;network&rsquo;.</strong> It is a <strong>network of infected computers that can be controlled remotely,</strong> forcing them to send spam, spread viruses, or stage Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks without the consent of the computer's&rsquo; owners.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/malware-smominru-still-active-infects-4700-pcs-a-day/article29616269.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: HBL</strong></a></p>',
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