DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS – 01 JULY
EDITORIAL
Control, not delete
Context:
- Indian government has banned 59 Chinese apps mostly linked to China.
- These include the popular video-sharing social networking app TikTok, a mobile browser called UC Browser, and a file-sharing app called SHAREit.
- They all had large user base.
Reasons behind Ban:
- Privacy threats posed by the apps.
- Emergent nature of threats.
- Stealing and transferring data to outside India in an unauthorised manner.
- Threat to Integrity and sovereignty of India
Government Intention:
- Reviewing the rules of engagement with China
- Won’t lead to revenue loss for government but will convey the message to China.
Symbolic action:
- No action on the Chinese products used in strategic sectors like communication, military hardware.
- Will not have economic affect on the China.
- If the concern was privacy, then many others apps are also engaging in such behaviour.
- It will help government to show to the people that it is taking strict action against China.
Other Possible steps:
- Mentioning country of origin in the E-commerce firm’s products.
- Mentioning local content in the E-commerce’s products.
- Curbing the contracts in some infrastructure projects.
Challenges:
- Deep Pockets of Chinese investors
- Pervasive manufacturing of China, which can’t be banned.
- High presence of China in technology space.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/control-not-delete/article31958692.ece
Reviving SAARC to deal with China
China is chipping away India’s interest in South Asia.
China in south Asia:
- Nepal is getting closer to China.
- China has offered tax exemption to 97% products of Bangladesh.
- Massive investment in Sri Lanka.
- All weather ties with Pakistan.
Oblivion of SAARC:
- In the last few years, due to increasing animosity with Pakistan, India’s political interest in SAARC dipped significantly.
- India started investing in other regional instruments, such as BIMSTEC, as an alternative to SAARC.
- The lack of political will and trust deficit
- Indian Majoritarian politics, which revolve around Anti Pakistan, Islamophobia sentiments.
- Recent AtmaNirbhar Abhiyan, which aim for substitution of Import.
BIMSTEC not a solution to SAARC:
- Covers Bay of Bengal region and not the south Asia.
- Doesn’t possess similar history and common identity.
- All countries doesn’t share border with India .
Methods of Reviving SAARC:
1. Revive the process of South Asian economic integration.
- Intra-regional trade in SAARC countries are teetering at barely 5% of total South Asian trade, compared to 25% of intra-regional trade in the ASEAN region.
- India should take the lead and work with its neighbours to slash the tariff and non-tariff barriers.
2. There’s a need to resuscitate the negotiations on a SAARC investment treaty, pending since 2007.
- According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, intra-ASEAN investments constitute around 19% of the total investments in the region.
3. Conducting regular SAARC conferences.
4. Not letting bilateral dispute become a hurdle to the multilaterislm.
5. Seeking collective solutions to problems affecting the whole region like recently, government has conducted a virtual SAARC summit to deal with Pandemic.
POLITY
Free food grain scheme till Nov.
Government announcement:
- The free grain distribution scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) will be extended by five months till the end of November, with an additional estimated outlay of Rs. 90,000 crores.
- 80 crores people have benefited from the free distribution of grains.
- Population twice that of the European Union, 12 times the population of the U.K., and two and half times the population of the United States was provided free grains.
About Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana:
- The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana aims at ensuring sufficient food the poor and needy during the corona virus crisis.
- The food needs to be provided to all the beneficiaries under public distribution system (TPDS) for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority household (PHH) ration cardholders.
- The eligible beneficiaries will receive 5kg of food grains and 1 kg Gram per month for a period of three months between April and June 2020.
Benefits:
- Prevent spread of hunger during job loss.
- Central government is working on a ‘one nation, one ration card’ initiative to make the scheme more systematic.
Statistics:
- According to Union Food and Public Distribution Ministry, 116.02 lakh tonnes of food grains have been lifted under the scheme.
- Around 21 States have appealed to the Centre to extend the scheme for another three months till September.
- Food Corporation of India has “sufficient stock of food grains”.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/free-foodgrain-scheme-till-nov/article31958802.ece
ECONOMY
Core industry output contracts for third month
- Shrank 23% in May 2020.
- The contraction narrowed from the 37% decline in April.
- Fertiliser sector grew by 7.5%
- Steel sector recorded 48.5% fall.
- Energy sector also witnessed fall.
About Core Industries:
- The data on production of eight core industries of India is published monthly by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- The current base year for the index of the series is 2011-12=100.
- The eight core industries included are- Coal, Crude oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum refinery products, Fertilizer, Cement, Steel, and Electricity generation.
- These eight industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of the items included in the Index of Industrial Production.
Current account sees a small surplus as trade deficit shrinks
Data :
- Current account surplus of $0.6 billion, or 0.1% of GDP, for the January-March quarter.
- For the fiscal year 2019-20, the current account deficit narrowed to 0.9% of the GDP, compared with 2.1% in FY2018-19.
Current account:
- The current and capital accounts represent two halves of a nation's balance of payments.
- The current account represents a country's net income over a period of time.
- The capital account records the net change of assets and liabilities during a particular year.
- The current account deals with the receipt and payment in cash as well as non-capital items.
- The current account consists of visible trade (export and import of goods), invisible trade (export and import of services), unilateral transfers, and investment income (income from factors such as land or foreign shares).
SOCIETY
46 million girls went missing in India
Finding of World Population 2020 Report:
- One in three girls missing globally due to sex selection, both pre- and post-natal, is from India — 46 million out of the total 142 million.
- Number of missing women has more than doubled over the past 50 years, who were at 61 million in 1970.
- India has the highest rate of excess female deaths at 13.5 per 1,000 female births or one in nine deaths of females below the age of 5 due to postnatal sex selection.
- Advent of technology and increased access to ultrasound imaging encouraged female foeticide.
- Annually, there were 1.2 million missing female births, at a global level.
Impacts:
- Long term shifts in the proportion of male and female
- Marriage Squeeze
- Human trafficking for marriages and child marriages.
State of World Population 2020 report:
- It is published annually by United Nation Population fund.
- UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
- The organization was created in 1969, the same year the United Nations General Assembly declared, “parents have the exclusive right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”
- UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.
‘Products should display country of origin’
Context:
- A petition in Supreme court is asking for a law to make e-commerce sites and websites to display the country of origin of products advertised and sold on their platforms for customers to make an “informed decision”.
Petitioner argument:
- Indian consumers are still kept in dark by not disclosing the country of origin.
- They are proving fatal in the efforts of each and every citizen of India in boycotting the Chinese product.
- They are blocking the way in promoting the local manufacturers/ brands.
- They are playing with the patriotic feelings of the Indians.
- rules of origin in trade law were crucial.
World Bank okays funds for Namami Gange
Context:
The World Bank has approved a five-year loan to the Namami Gange project worth Rs. 3,000 crores ($400 million) to develop and improve infrastructure projects to abate pollution in the river basin.
Progress so far:
- Already received Rs. 4,535 crores ($600 million) from the World Bank until December 2021.
- So far, 313 projects worth Rs. 25,000 crores have been sanctioned under the mission.
- In the second phase, the loan would fund Rs. 1,134 crores ($150 million) for three new ‘Hybrid Annuity Projects’ in Agra, Meerut and Saharanpur for the tributaries of the Ganga.
- A sum of Rs. 1,209 crores ($160 million) is provided for the ongoing DBOT (Design, Build, Operate and Transfer) projects in Buxar, Munger, Begusarai.
Namami Gange:
- It was launched in 2015 by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with an objective to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner.
- It is also known as Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission Project and is a Central government Project (100% centrally funded).
- It will cover 8 states & 12 rivers.
Main components include:
- Expanding waste/sewage treatment,
- River Front Development,
- River surface cleaning,
- Biodiversity,
- Afforestation,
- Public awareness,
- Industrial effluent monitoring and Ganga Gram.
Interventions taken under Namami Ganga include:
- Sustainable Municipal Sewage Management
- Managing Sewage from Rural Areas.
- Managing Industrial discharge and pollution abatement
- Enforcing River Regulatory Zones on Ganga Banks, Restoration and Conservation of
wetlands, Efficient Irrigation methods.
- Ensuring Ecological rejuvenation by conservation of aquatic life and biodiversity
- Promotion of Tourism and Shipping in a rational and sustainable manner
- Knowledge Management on Ganga through Ganga Knowledge Centre
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
China passes national security law for Hong Kong
Context:
- China has approved a contentious law that would allow authorities to crack down on subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong.
- The legislation is aimed at curbing subversive, secessionist and terrorist activities, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s affairs.
Key things about legislation:
1. Maximum Life Sentence:
- The four categories of criminal offence outlined in the law are: secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign and external forces to endanger national security.
- Lead perpetrators and serious offenders can receive a maximum life sentence, or long-term imprisonment of 10 years and above for offences in all categories.
2. Chinese jurisdiction over 'very serious' crimes
- China may take over the entire prosecution from arrest to trial for: complicated foreign interference cases, "very serious" cases and cases where national security faces "serious and realistic threats".
3. Secret trials, no jury
- certain national security cases could be held behind closed doors without juries in Hong Kong if they contained state secrets, although the verdict and eventual judgements would be made public.
4. New National Security Agency:
- The controversial law empowers China to set up a national security agency in the city, staffed by officials who are not bound by local law when carrying out duties.
- Hong Kong's Justice Department is also required by the law to set up its own prosecution department for national security crimes, whose head will be appointed by Carrie Lam.
5. Oversight of Foreign NGO and News Organisations:
- Government bodies will take "necessary measures to strengthen management of foreign and external NGOs and news organisations" in Hong Kong, according to the law.
Prelims Facts:
Globbaandersonii:
- Commonly known as ‘dancing ladies’ or ‘swan flowers.
- A rare and critically endangered plant species.
- The species is restricted mainly to Teesta River Valley region, which includes the Sikkim Himalayas and Darjeeling hill ranges.
- The plant usually grows in a dense colony as a lithophytes (pla
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