Daily Current Affairs 18 May 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) India opposes rejoining RCEP over China concerns

Fresh Proposal for India to rejoin RCEP negotiations.

Background:

• India had quite the ASEAN-led trade Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes the 10 ASEAN nations, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea in November 2019, citing lack of protection for the country’s agricultural sector among others.
• The RCEP’s Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) Chairperson made an offer to India to reconsider its objections and made a fresh proposal of India rejoining negotiations of RCEP. The TNC had offered protective measures like giving market access only for a limited number of products if India would rejoin the talks.
• Australia and Japan have been at the forefront of efforts to convince India to rejoin the RCEP as a possible counterweight to China in the grouping that would represent a third of global trade.
• India has decided against agreeing to the fresh proposal from RCEP.

Details:

India’s concerns:

• A senior Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official has stated that the global post-COVID-19 concerns over China had strengthened India’s opposition to the RCEP.
• The COVID-19 experience has shown the limitations of being overly dependent on imports from China or any one country.
• India’s experience of the past trade pacts was that they had badly affected domestic manufacturing capabilities and would thus hamper the government’s renewed commitment to the ‘Make in India’ policy.

RCEP’s stand:

• The RCEP will provide a more stable and predictable economic environment to support the much-needed recovery of trade and investment in the region, which has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• India’s willingness to rejoin the RCEP negotiations would send a positive signal to the world. It would portray India as an attractive place to invest and highlight its potential of being a global manufacturing hub as envisaged by the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy.

Source: The Hindu

2) Aiming to achieve herd immunity naturally is ‘dangerous’

• The World Health Organization has condemned the “dangerous” concept of herd immunity for managing the coronavirus pandemic.

Details:

• The concept of herd immunity is generally used for calculating how many people will need to be vaccinated in a population to protect those who are not vaccinated.

Challenges:

• Achieving herd immunity through natural infections has many challenges. 
• While antibodies (IgG and IgM) against novel coronavirus generally develop in one–three weeks after infection, some people do not seem to develop an immune response, as reflected by detectable antibodies. 
• How long neutralizing antibodies against the virus would last is currently not known. 
• Infected people may have some level of protection against the virus, but the level and duration of protection are still not known.
• The possibility of re-infection is a concern given the evidence of short-lived protective immunity and re-exposure to genetically distinct forms of the same viral strain.

Source: The Hindu

3) Govt. throws open defense production and coal sectors

The fourth tranche of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic stimulus package.

Details:

Defense sector:

Indigenization efforts:

• In a move aimed at indigenizing defense production and enhancing self-reliance in defense production, there are provisions for banning the import of some weapons and platforms. The list of such weapons and platforms would be widened every year as domestic capacities grew.
• While the state of the art weapons required by the Services would be met through imports, some that were produced in the country and meet the standards will be procured locally only. The negative list would be worked out in consultation with the Department of Military Affairs headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff.
• Indigenization of imported spare parts would be given priority.
• There is a provision for a separate budget for domestic capital procurement. This would help reduce the defense import bill and encourage domestic production.

Increasing foreign investment:

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in defense manufacturing under automatic route will be raised from 49% to 74%.

Corporatization of ordnance factory:

• Ordnance Factory Boards (OFB) would be corporatized and listed on the stock market to improve autonomy, efficiency, and accountability.  However, they would not be privatized.
• The Kolkata-headquartered OFB, with 41 factories spread across the country, functions as a department under the Department of Defence Production.

Mineral sector:

• The Union Finance Minister has announced measures to liberalize the mineral sector.

Coal:

• The government monopoly on coal would be removed with the introduction of commercial mining on a revenue-sharing basis.
• Any private player would be allowed to bid for a coal block and sell it in the open market as against the earlier system where only captive consumers with end-use ownership could bid for coal blocks. 
• The private sector would be allowed to bid for 50 coal blocks. Private players would also be allowed to undertake exploration activities.
•  The government also plans to auction Coal Bed Methane (CBM) blocks.

Other minerals:

• Composite exploration cum mining cum production regime for minerals will be announced under which 500 mining blocks would be auctioned.

Space sector:

• Measures to encourage private involvement in space projects have been announced.
• The government has promised to create a level playing field for private players in the space sector, allowing them to use ISRO facilities and participate in future projects on space travel and planetary exploration.
• The government has assured of a predictable policy and regulatory environment.
• The government will ease geospatial data policy to make remote-sensing data more widely available to tech entrepreneurs, with safeguards put in place.

Aviation sector:

• Six more airports are up for auction on private-public partnership mode, while additional private investment will be invited at 12 airports.
• Measures to ease airspace restrictions have been announced which would make flying more efficient.
• Currently, only 60% of the airspace is freely available.
• The MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) sector of aviation has received attention in the recent announcements. There has been the rationalizing of the MRO tax structure to make India an MRO hub.

Power sector:

• Power departments/utilities and distribution companies in U.T.s would be privatized based on a new tariff policy to be announced.
• The government plans to introduce a tariff policy with reforms focused on consumer rights, promotion of industry, and sustainability of the sector.

Atomic sector:

• The research reactor in PPP mode would be set up for the production of medical isotopes.

Significance:

• Many sectors need policy simplification to decongest these sectors to realize their growth and employment generation potential. The recently announced measures would bring in the much needed structural reforms in the sector.
• With the current set of reforms, these sectors would become more attractive for investments.

Defense sector:

• The stress laid on domestic manufacturing of defense equipment is very encouraging as India today is among the largest importers in the world of defense equipment. The list of non-importable items and corporatization of OFB are some landmark steps and will boost the confidence of domestic manufacturers.
• The increase in the FDI limit for the defense sector to 74% would attract foreign funds into this sector, along with technology infusion.

Mineral sector:

• The structural reform measures in the coal and mining sector are expected to give a boost to private investments in the sector enhancing supplies and reduce India’s reliance on imports thus helping save precious foreign exchange.
• The reforms could help double the mineral sectors’ contribution to the GDP.
• The elimination of the distinction between captive mines and non-captive will ensure a level playing field for players in the integrated metals space.

Power sector:

• The Centre’s decision to privatize power distribution companies in union territories would help improve government finances and bring much more efficiency to the sector.
• Private ownership should bring in greater efficiency and better governance and help address some of the deep-seated problems of the power sector. 
• The new tariff policy for the power sector can be expected to remove cross-subsidies that are adding to manufacturing costs and thus help make Indian goods more competitive in the global market.

Aviation sector:

• The move to invite PPP in more airports will provide AAI with the resources to develop smaller airports across the country and popularise the government’s UDAN Scheme.
• Rationalizing the MRO tax structure would help create a level-playing field for Indian entities and help attract foreign investment.
• The plans to make India a global MRO hub will ensure savings of precious foreign exchange and enable Indian airlines to get their aircraft serviced locally.
• The impetus given to the MRO sector would help create new jobs and a strong global value chain within India.

Concerns:

• There are concerns that the current set of announcements was more of industrial reforms than an economic stimulus. 
• The sectors covered are of strategic importance and would involve a long period. They would not be able to help revive the economy as it comes out of the lockdown.
• The only direct budgetary cost in the new announcement is the 8,100 crore rupees to be provided as a hiked 30% viability gap funding to boost private investment in social sector infrastructure.
• Some sections have alleged that the government has used the crisis time to utilize the ordinance route or other ways to fast-track industrial reforms, which would have faced resistance otherwise.
• Labour unions have expressed concerns about the reform measures over concerns of privatization of important sectors.

Source: The Hindu

4) Northern Theatre command

India’s Chief of Defence Staff’s views on the integration of the three services into theatre commands.

Background:

Theatre commands:

• The first of the integrated commands under consideration is the integrated Air Defence (AD) command headed by the IAF followed by a maritime command and then the land-based theatre commands.
• The next step in the integration of the services is having common communications and having common training establishments and equipment wherever possible. 
• Basically, integration, maintenance, and logistics elements go down and bring in a lot of savings for the forces.

Details:

Utilizing navy assets:

• Though the theatre commands (land) will mainly be between the Army and the IAF, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has suggested that the proposed Northern theatre command along the border with China should also have a small Navy element in it as some of the naval systems would be useful there. 
• The Navy’s fighter jets and other naval assets can be used on the land borders.
• In the past, the capabilities of the Navy’s P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft were used for observing the Chinese movements during the Doklam stand-off in 2017.
• The naval fighter aircraft can be deployed in the Western sector in the desert areas when not required at sea to effectively utilize existing resources.

Source: The Hindu

5) Finance Minister announces Government Reforms and Enablers across Seven Sectors under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan

Announcing the 5th and last Tranche of measures towards Government Reforms and Enablers, Smt. Sitharaman detailed seven measures for providing employment, support to businesses, Ease of Doing Business, and State Governments as well sectors such as Education and Health.

Rs 40,000 crore increase in allocation for MGNREGS to provide employment boost

• The Government will now allocate an additional Rs 40,000 crore under MGNREGS. It will help generate nearly 300 crore person-days in total addressing the need for more work including returning migrant workers in Monsoon season as well. The creation of a larger number of durable and livelihood assets including water conservation assets will boost the rural economy through higher production.

Health Reforms & Initiatives

• Public Expenditure on Health will be increased by investing in grass-root health institutions and ramping up Health and Wellness Centres in rural and urban areas. Setting up of Infectious Diseases Hospital Blocks in all districts and strengthening of lab network and surveillance by Integrated Public Health Labs in all districts & block level Labs & Public Health Unit to manage pandemics. Further, the National Institutional Platform for One health by ICMR will encourage research. And the implementation of National Digital Health Blueprint under the National Digital Health Mission.

Technology Driven Education with Equity post-COVID

• PM eVIDYA, a program for multi-mode access to digital/online education to be launched immediately. Manodarpan, an initiative for psycho-social support for students, teachers, and families for mental health and emotional well-being to be launched immediately as well. New National Curriculum and Pedagogical framework for school, early childhood, and teachers will also be launched. National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission for ensuring that every child attains Learning levels and outcomes in grade 5 by 2025 will be launched by December 2020

Further enhancement of Ease of Doing Business through IBC related measures

• The minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings has been raised to Rs. 1 crore (from Rs. 1 lakh, which largely insulates MSMEs). Special insolvency resolution framework for MSMEs under Section 240A of the Code will be notified soon.
• Suspension of fresh initiation of insolvency proceedings up to one year, depending upon the pandemic situation. Empowering Central Government to exclude COVID 19 related debt from the definition of “default” under the Code to trigger insolvency proceedings.

Decriminalization of Companies Act defaults

• Decriminalization of Companies Act violations involving minor technical and procedural defaults such as shortcomings in CSR reporting, inadequacies in Board report, filing defaults, delay in holding of AGM. The Amendments will de-clog the criminal courts and NCLT. 7 compoundable offenses altogether dropped and 5 to be dealt with under the alternative framework.

Ease of Doing Business for Corporates

Key reforms include:

• Direct listing of securities by Indian public companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions.
• Private companies that list NCDs on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed companies.
• Including the provisions of Part IXA (Producer Companies) of Companies Act, 1956 in Companies Act, 2013.
• Power to create additional/ specialized benches for NCLAT
• Lower penalties for all defaults for Small Companies, One-person Companies, Producer Companies & Start-Ups.

Public Sector Enterprise Policy for a New, Self-reliant India

The government will announce a new policy whereby -

• List of strategic sectors requiring the presence of PSEs in the public interest will be notified
• In strategic sectors, at least one enterprise will remain in the public sector but the private sector will also be allowed
• In other sectors, PSEs will be privatized (timing to be based on feasibility, etc.)
• To minimize wasteful administrative costs, the number of enterprises in strategic sectors will ordinarily be only one to four; others will be privatized/ merged/ brought under holding companies

Support to State Governments

• Centre has decided to increase the borrowing limits of States from 3% to 5% for 2020-21 only. This will give States extra resources of Rs. 4.28 lakh crore. Part of the borrowing will be linked to specific reforms (including recommendations of the Finance Commission). Reform linkage will be in four areas: universalization of ‘One Nation One Ration card’, Ease of Doing Business, Power distribution, and Urban Local Body revenues. A specific scheme will be notified by the Department of Expenditure on the following pattern:

Unconditional increase of 0.50%

1% in 4 tranches of 0.25%, with each tranche linked to clearly specified, measurable and feasible reform actions

Further 0.50% if milestones are achieved in at least three out of four reform areas

Source: PIB

6) ARCI scientists develop next-generation biodegradable metal implants

• Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram both autonomous institutes under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans.
• Biodegradable materials (Fe, Mg, Zn, and polymer), which can participate in the healing process and then degrade gradually by maintaining the mechanical integrity without leaving any implant residues in the human body are better alternatives to currently used metallic implants which remain permanently in the human body and can cause long-term side effects like systemic toxicity, chronic inflammation, and thrombosis.
• The ARCI team employed both conventional melting and powder metallurgy techniques in the manufacturing of the new Fe-Mn based biodegradable alloys and a stent having dimensions as Diameter: 2 mm, Length: 12 mm and Wall thickness: 175 µm.
• Iron-Manganese based alloy Fe-Mn (having Mn composition of more than 29% by weight) is a promising biodegradable metallic implant that exhibits a single austenitic phase (a non-magnetic form of iron) with MRI compatibility.
• The Fe-Mn alloy produced at ARCI exhibited 99% density with impressive mechanical properties and behaved as a nonmagnetic material even under a strong magnetic field of 20 Tesla. These properties are comparable to presently used permanent Titanium (Ti) and stainless-steel metallic implants. The alloy also showed a degradation rate in the range of 0.14-0.026 mm per year in the simulated body fluid, which means that the Fe-Mn alloy exhibits mechanical integrity for 3-6 months and completely disappears from the body in 12-24 months.
• During the degradation process, calcium phosphate deposits on the implant due to local alkalization and saturation of calcium and phosphate, allow cells to adhere onto the surface to form tissues.
• The team is making further efforts to achieve control in corrosion rates through alloying addition and surface engineering and to employ advanced manufacturing processes like additive manufacturing to realize complicated shapes.
• Based on the impressive results, the ARCI team is certain that the newly developed Fe-Mn based alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopedic implant applications. Invivo and in-vitro studies are being planned at Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences by the team.

(a) As cast Fe-Mn-Si alloys billet, (b) Extruded and heat-treated rods, (c) Stent made by laser micro-machining, (d) Stress-Strain curve of the alloy, (e) and (f) SEM images of tube and stent

Source: PIB

7) National Migrant Information System (NMIS)

• The government of India has allowed the movement of migrant workers by buses and ‘Shramik’ special trains to enable them to travel to their native places.
• In order to capture the information regarding the movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across States, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed an online Dashboard - National Migrant Information System (NMIS).
• The online portal would maintain a central repository on migrant workers and help in speedy inter-State communication/co-ordination to facilitate their smooth movement to native places. It has additional advantages like contact tracing, which may be useful in overall COVID-19 response work.
• The key data pertaining to the persons migrating has been standardized for uploading such as name, age, mobile no., originating and destination district, date of travel, etc., which States are already collecting.
• States will be able to visualize how many people are going out from where and how many are reaching destination States. The mobile numbers of people can be used for contact tracing and movement monitoring during COVID-19.

Source: PIB

8)  Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR)

• As the labor shortage is imminent owing to an exodus of migrant laborers amid the ongoing lockdown, farmers in Punjab seem all set to go for direct seeding of rice (DSR) this Kharif season, moving away from the traditional practice — of sowing nursery and then transplanting it.
• This technology, which had been recommended in Punjab as an alternative method of rice (paddy) planting, will save irrigation water, labor, and energy (power) in contrast to the conventional method of raising rice nursery and then transplanting rice seedlings in a puddled field
• The DSR technique is less time consuming and labor-intensive than conventional practice. The DSR technique called ‘tar­wattar DSR’ has been developed and successfully tested on a good scale at farmers’ fields. It helps in saving irrigation water, there’s lesser weed problem, besides there is reduced incidence of nutrient deficiency, especially iron, owing to lesser leaching of nutrients and deeper root development
• The technology has wider adaptability as it is suitable for medium to heavy textured soils including sandy loam, loam, clay loam, and silt loam, which account for 87% area of the State.
• The DSR offers an avenue for groundwater recharge as well as it prevents the development of hardpan just beneath the plow layer. It matures 7­10 days earlier than puddle transplanted rice, hence it gives more time for the management of paddy straw, for the timely sowing of next wheat crop. Results from research trials and farmers’ field survey have also indicated that wheat grain yield, after DSR, is 1.0­1.2 quintal per acre higher than puddle transplanted rice

Source: The Hindu

9) Amphan impact

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin: “The severe cyclonic storm ‘AMPHAN’ over southeast Bay of Bengal and neighborhood slightly moved and lay centered over central parts of South Bay of Bengal and neighborhood about 980 km south of Paradip (Odisha), 1,130 km south­southwest of Digha (West Bengal) and 1,250 km south­southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh).”
• It is very likely to move nearly northwards slowly during the next 24 hours and then re­curve north northeastwards and move fast across the northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal — Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) during the afternoon or evening of May 20.
• The IMD has issued an ‘orange alert’ for May 19 and 20 when heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to take place in coastal districts.

Source: The Hindu

10) Release of 11th Panchen Lama

Recently, the United States has urged China to release Tibetan Buddhism’s 11th Panchen Lama, who was taken into captivity at the age of six by Chinese authorities.

Key Points

• In 1995, a young Tibetan boy Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual authority in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.
• Days after his recognition Nyima was detained by Chinese authorities and became the world’s youngest political prisoner.
• Thereafter, China appointed its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who has been described by exiles as a "stooge of the atheist Chinese Communist Party government".
• The incident threatened the unique identity of Tibetan Buddhism and created religious freedom issues in Tibet.
• The Dalai Lama has in the past strongly criticized China for meddling in the system of reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas.

Background

• Tibet is governed as an autonomous region of China. Beijing claims a centuries-old sovereignty over the region, but many Tibetans argue that Tibet was colonized.
• China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on the region in 1950.
• Some areas became the Tibetan Autonomous Region and others were incorporated into neighboring Chinese provinces.
• In 1959, after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government in exile in India.
• China views the Dalai Lama as a separatist threat, although he has repeatedly stated that his goal is for Tibetan autonomy rather than independence.

Tibetan Buddhism

• Origin:
• Buddhism became a major religion of Tibet towards the end of the 8th century CE.
• The Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, invited two Buddhist masters namely, Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava from India to Tibet. These two masters had helped to translate important Buddhist texts into Tibetan.
• Shantarakshita was the abbot of Nalanda in India. He built the first monastery in Tibet.
• Padmasambhava was a mahasiddha (master of miraculous powers).
• Geographical Reach:
• Tibetan Buddhism is not only found in Tibet but also across the Himalayan region from Ladakh to Sikkim, as well as parts of Nepal.
• It is the state religion of the kingdom of Bhutan.
• It also spread to Mongolia and parts of Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva).
• Tara (Tibetan Sgrol-ma) is a Buddhist savior-goddess, widely popular in Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia.
• Special Features of Tibetan Buddhism:
• Tibetan Buddhism combines the essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism with Tantric and Shamanic, and material from an ancient Tibetan religion called Bon.
• Relationship between life and death: A proper understanding of the subject of death and dying is held to be indispensable towards having a fuller, happier life.
• Lama: Lama is a teacher.
• Deities: These deities are not gods, but aspects of enlightened qualities eg; wisdom and compassion. The patron deity of Tibet is Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion.
• Rituals: Temple ceremonies are often noisy, with brass instruments, cymbals and gongs, and musical and impressive chanting by formally dressed monks.

Source: Indian Express