Daily Current Affairs 30 May 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Missile Park 'Agneeprastha' to be set up at INS Kalinga

Foundation Stone for a Missile Park "AGNEEPRASTHA" was laid at INS Kalinga
‘AGNEEPRASTHA’ aims to capture glimpses of Missile History of INS Kalinga from 1981 to date. The Missile Park has been set up with a replica of missiles and Ground Support Equipment (GSE) that showcase the evolution of missiles handled by the unit. The exhibits have been created from scrap / obsolete inventory which have been reconditioned in-house. The main attraction is P-70 'Ametist', an underwater launched anti-ship missile from the arsenal of the old 'Chakra' (Charlie-1 submarine) which was in service with IN during 1988-91.
‘AGNEEPRASTHA’ will also provide a one-stop arena for motivation and stimulation of inquisitive minds regarding the missiles and related technologies, from school children to Naval personnel and their families. It is also intended to encourage a feeling of ownership and pride in the role of the Unit, and highlight the necessity of contribution of all personnel irrespective of rank/trade towards the overarching objective of ordnance availability, reliability and delivery on target, each and every time.
The Missile Park ‘AGNEEPRASTHA’ once completed will be dedicated to all the Officers, Sailors, and Support Staff of INS Kalinga, who have served in this premier op-support Base of the ENC since its establishment in 1981. The Park also commemorates the award of the prestigious Unit Citation to INS Kalinga for the year 2018-19.

Source: PIB

2) Govt of India approves Rs 445 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Chhattisgarh during 2020-21

Chhattisgarh State presented its Annual Action Plan for 2020-21 for consideration and approval of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Significantly, Jal Jeevan Mission launched under the Ministry of Jal Shakti is aimed to provide adequate potable drinking water of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household of the country by 2024. A budget of whopping Rs 3.60 lakh Crore has been allocated for this scheme.
Under this life-changing Mission, Chhattisgarh State has planned to have 100% Functional Tap Water Connection (FHTC) by 2023-24. Out of 45 lakh households in the State, it’s planned to provide tap connections to 20 lakh households. While planning for universal coverage of households, priority is being given to water-scarce areas, quality-affected areas, SC/ ST dominated habitations/ villages, aspirational districts, Sansad Adarsh Gramin Yojana villages. Govt of India has approved Rs 445 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State in 2020-21.
The state is laying emphasis on water quality monitoring and surveillance. Chhattisgarh has been battling with the issue of rapid groundwater depletion and chemical contamination of Arsenic, Fluoride, Iron, etc. in water for many years; thus, taking cognizance of the situation the state was advised to ensure the provision of potable water in these habitations. Under Jal Jeevan Mission, the emphasis is being given on water quality surveillance through active participation of frontline functionaries as well as involving the community. School and college students are being encouraged to use the Field Test Kits to test the quality of water being provided in rural areas.
In every Gram Panchayat, GP or their sub-committee i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committees have been constituted for planning at the village level. Village Action Plans have been carried out for villages, based on which the action plan has been finalized. The state is ensuring convergence of funds from various sources like MGNREGS, 15th Finance Commission Grants to rural local bodies, SBM, etc. for taking up works related to the strengthening of water resources, aquifer recharge, greywater management, etc.
It’s the endeavor of the Government to provide tap connections in rural households on a priority basis during the prevailing CoVid-19 situation, so that rural people don’t have to go through the hardship of fetching water from public stand-posts and standing in a long queue. The government intends that the poor and marginalized sections of the society get water through tap connections inside their house premises and avoid going to standposts and ensuring social distancing, thereby keeping the rural communities safe from being infected.
With summers in full swing, monsoons approaching, and country grappling with COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more imperative to provide a livelihood to the migrant workers who have returned to their native villages. These migrant laborers are basically skilled and semi-skilled ones, whose services could be effectively utilized in villages by providing jobs related to water supply especially plumbing, fitting, water conservation works, etc. in every village to ensure sufficient groundwater availability leading to water security, water availability for agriculture and most importantly will help in the provision of drinking water to every rural household.

Source: PIB

3) Tribal Affairs Ministry announces the inclusion of 23 additional Minor Forest produce items in Minimum Support Price List

Ministry of Tribal Affairs has announced Inclusion of 23 additional Minor Forest Produce (MFP) items and stipulation of their Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme titled "Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and development of value chain of MFP". This decision enhancing the coverage from 50 to 73 items comes because of the exceptional and very difficult circumstances currently prevailing in the country on account of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the potential of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme to offer the much-needed support to the tribal MFP gatherers.
This recommendation of additional items on 26 May 2020 is over and above the previous notification issued on May 1, 2020, in which the MSP revisions for the existing 50 MFPs were announced. The increase across various items of Minor Forest Produce ranged from 16% to 66%. (in some cases such as Giloe, the increase has been up to 190%). The increase is also expected to provide an immediate and much-needed momentum to the procurement of Minor Tribal Produce across all States.
14 of the newly added items, otherwise agricultural produce, are not commercially grown in the North-Eastern part of India but are found to grow in the wild in forests. Hence, the Ministry has favorably considered to include these specific items as MFP items for the North-East.

The details of the newly included items along with their MSP are stipulated as under

Van Tulsi seeds (Ocimumgratissimum)
Van Jeera (Vernonia anthelmintica)
Betel nut raw (Areca catechu) Raw
Betel nut Dry(Areca catechu) Dry
Mushroom Dry (Agaricusbisporus) Dry
Black rice (Oryza sativa L)
Johar Rice (Oryza sativa)
King Chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq)
Mustard (Brassica nigra)
Raw Cashew (Anacardiumoccidentale) (Raw)
Cashew Nut (Anacardiumoccidentale)
Tamarind Seed (Tamarindusindica)
Bamboo Brooms (Thysanolaena maxima)
Gingerdry(Zingiber Officinale)
Perilla dry(Perilla frutescens)
Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
Nutgall (Rhuschinensis)
Zanthoxylum Dried (Zanthoxylumarmatum)
Jack Fruit Seed (Artocarpusheterophyllus Seeds)
Dry Anola (Phyllnthusemblica) (Dry)
KachriBaheda (Terminalia bellerica)
KachriHarra (Terminalia chebula)
Seedlac (Kerria lacca)

The Ministry has provided flexibility to States to fix MSP upto 10% higher or lower than MSP declared by the Government. This notification is aimed to address several issues of exploitation by local traders, ensuring fair returns on their produce.
The Central Government had introduced a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a select list of MFP through “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP” Scheme in 2011 to provide a social safety net to these underprivileged forest dwellers and to aid in their empowerment.
TRIFED, as the apex national organization involved in the improvement of the livelihood and empowerment of these tribal people, is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme. The Scheme has been a resounding success in offering basic support to the tribal gatherers and has helped in improving their lives. 1,126 Vandhan Kendras have been set up as Tribal start-ups onboarding over 3.6 Lakhs beneficiaries. Many of these units have commenced production and started sales of their value-added products.

Source: PIB

4) Supreme Court On Migrant Workers

In what could come as a relief to migrant workers, the Supreme Court has ordered the Central Govt. and the state governments not to charge either train fare or bus fee from migrant workers who are keen on returning to their home states.

Interim Directions by Supreme Court

It has asked both the State Governments, one in which they are currently working and the other where they are headed to (home state) to pool travel expenses.
Workers waiting for their transport should be provided shelter, food, and water by the State responsible.

If they are traveling by train, Railways would be in charge of providing migrant workers drinking water and meals.
In the case of bus travel, the state from where they started has to provide them food and water.

States should simplify and speed up the process of registration of migrant workers.

After registration, they should be allowed to board buses or trains at the earliest.
The court ordered States to set up help kiosks at places where migrant workers were stranded.

The receiving State, after the workers reached their native place, shall provide transport, health screening, and other facilities free of cost.

SC Observation

The Supreme Court also found that there have been several lapses in the process of registration, transportation, and providing food, water to the migrants.
It was seen that even after registration, the migrant workers had to wait for long periods for them to board the bus/train.

Recommendations

States should oversee the registration of migrant workers and ensure they are made to board the train or bus at an early date.
The government must give adequate publicity to the steps it proposes to take.
Those who are found walking on the roads shall be taken to shelters immediately and provided food.
It ordered the Railways to provide trains when a state asked for it to transport migrants.

Source: The Hindu

5) From a standoff to a stalemate

Background

Foreign trade is an important contributor to economic growth. Exports play a significant role. It helps in the expansion of business and employment opportunities.
But India’s exports have suffered a slump. Its merchandise exports have collapsed by over 60% as per the official trade data released for April.
Only two of India’s 30 biggest export products clocked positive growth — iron ore and pharmaceuticals.

Reasons for the decline in Exports

The sharp dip in global oil prices means lower exports of petroleum products.
India’s main export items comprise petroleum products, gems and jewelry, engineering products, pharmaceuticals, and textiles and clothing.
COVID-19 resulted in a lack of economic activity.
The trade collapsed as nations were under lockdowns.
This not only dented demand and investment but also severely disrupted global supply chains and shipping routes.

Government’s Economic Stimulus Package

The Govt. promised to bring improvements in the ease of doing business.
It offered a few sops for micro, small and medium enterprises (many of which are also export-oriented units).
The Reserve Bank of India unveiled a few measures, including a special ₹15,000 crore liquidity facility for the Exim Bank of India and a six-month extension for importers to complete outward remittances.
For exporters, the maximum permissible credit period from banks was extended from 12 months to 15 months, for disbursements made up to July 31, 2020.

Concerns

In an employment-intensive sector such as textiles/garments, exports fell 16% between January and March, fell 91% in April.
The outcome for May is unlikely to be any better and the World Trade Organization expects trade flows to slip by between 13% and 32% over 2020.
The projections are assumed to fall as new barriers to trade in medical and food supplies have been imposed by over 90 countries.
An increasing tendency to look inward for essential supplies (as India is doing too with its emphasis on self-reliance) will reduce the exports from India.

Companies moving out of China

As a direct fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, many multinationals with manufacturing plants in China are looking to shift operations out. India should take this as an opportunity to attract them.

First, we need to identify the sectors where we anticipate a shift in investment. We then need to identify the industry size (from macro to medium) and handle their needs accordingly.
A nodal body of the FDI for timely clearances should be formed and it should work in coordination with facilitation agencies like Invest India for better results.
Ease of doing business needs to get new wings. It should focus on investors choosing India as their priority. Officers in-charge should ensure proper follow-up and provide full assistance to investors. It is all about going the extra mile.
There is also a need to identify and list the requirements of investors who are shifting their base from China.
State Governments should establish self-contained “industrial cities” that earmark space for manufacturing, commercial, educational, residential, and social infrastructure. Common effluent treatment plants must be provided and clearances must be “single window” and fast-tracked.

Conclusion

Therefore, we need to be loud and clear in showcasing our strengths. We should keep track of the policies that our competitors adopt and should come out with better proposals from time to time.

Source: The Hindu

6) Africa Day

Africa Day is observed every year on May 25 to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now known as the African Union).
India has been closely associated with it on account of its shared colonial past and rich contemporary ties.
The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses has hosted an Africa Day Round Table annually for the last four years to commemorate this event.

The economic condition in Africa

The World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse is a biannual analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region.

Each issue includes a special focus on a particular development challenge that is shaping Africa’s economic future.

In its April report, it assessed that the COVID-19 outbreak has sparked off the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region’s first recession in 25 years.

Growth is expected to plummet to between -2.1 and -5.1 percent in 2020, from a modest 2.4 percent in 2019.

With high rates of HIV, malaria, diabetes, hypertension, and malnourishment prevalent, a large number of Africans were already faced with a health and economic crisis.

The steep decline in commodity prices has spelled disaster for the economies of Nigeria, Zambia, and Angola.

Precarious fiscal positions have ruled out any major governmental stimulus. Public debt has mounted.
It is clear that without outside support, Africa will find it very difficult to meet the challenge.

Economic Opportunities in Africa

Africa’s rich natural resources, long-term economic potential, youthful demography, and influence as a bloc of 54 countries in multi-lateral organizations are apparent.
In recent years, several extra-regional economies have strengthened their engagement with African states, to rise opportunities, including in energy, mining, infrastructure, and connectivity.
China

China’s engagement of Africa, as elsewhere, is huge but increasingly regarded as predatory and exploitative. Its annual trade with Africa in 2019 stood at $208 billion, in addition to investments and loans worth $200 billion.
Traditionally, China’s participation in infrastructure projects has been astonishing. Having famously built the 1,860 km Tanzania-Zambia railway line in 1975, and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti and Mombasa-Nairobi lines more recently, China is now eyeing to develop the vast East Africa Master Railway Plan.
At the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (COCAC) in 2018, China set aside $60 billion in developmental assistance, followed by a whopping $1 billion Belt and Road (BRI) Infrastructure Fund for Africa.
China has followed up with robust health sector diplomacy in the wake of the pandemic.

China’s image was tarnished.

This was due to the supply of defective PPE gear and discriminatory behavior against Africans in Guangzhou, leading to an embarrassing diplomatic row.
Japan hosted the 7th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) in August 2019.
Russia hosted the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit in 2019.
Brazil, home to the largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa, has also sought to develop closer ties.
Cuba has sent medical teams to help Africa.

India’s relationship with Africa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has redefined India’s relations with Africa. India-Africa trade reached $62 billion in 2018 compared to $39 billion during 2009-10.
After South Asia, Africa is the second-largest recipient of Indian overseas assistance with Lines of Credit (LOC) worth nearly $10 billion (42 percent of the total) spread over 100 projects in 41 countries.
Ties were boosted at the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in 2015.
Approximately 6,000 Indian soldiers are deployed in UN peace-keeping missions in five conflict zones in Africa.
Bilateral cooperation includes solar energy development, information technology, cybersecurity, maritime security, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, and military training.

Amidst COVID-19 Crisis

India has already dispatched medical assistance to 25 African countries and PM Modi has had a telephonic talk with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa who is the current chairperson of the African Union, and separately with others such as the Presidents of Uganda and Ethiopia.
The Minister of External Affairs has also reached out to counterparts in Africa to reiterate India’s support in the fight against the coronavirus.

What should India do?

India could consider structuring a series of virtual summits in zonal groups with African leaders across the continent over the next few months that could both provide a platform for a cooperative response to the pandemic and also serve as a precursor to the actual summit in the future.
The Aarogya Setu App and the E-Gram Swaraj App for rural areas for mapping COVID-19 are technological achievements that could be shared with Africa.
Since the movement of African students to India for higher education has been disrupted, India may expand thee-VidyaBharti (tele education) project to establish an India-Africa Virtual University.
With the locust scourge devastating the Horn of Africa and the pandemic worsening the food crisis, India could ramp up its collaboration in this sector.
It is also time for the Quad Plus, in which the US, India, Japan, and Australia have recently engaged other countries such as the ROK (South Korea), Vietnam, New Zealand, Israel, and Brazil, to exchange views and propose cooperation with select African countries abutting the Indian Ocean.

Source: The Hindu

7) United Nations Award to Indian Army Officer Major Suman Gawani

Major Suman Gawani, an Indian Army officer who served as a women peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in 2019 is being awarded the prestigious “United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award” on 29 May 2020. She will receive the award from the UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres during an online ceremony being organized at the UN Headquarters, New York on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. Major Suman will be receiving this award along with a Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo.
Major Suman served as a Military observer in UNMISS from November 2018 to December 2019. While at the mission, she was the principal focal point of contact for gender issues for Military Observers in the mission. The officer encouraged participation in joint military patrols to maintain gender balance, irrespective of the hardships under extreme field conditions. She visited various mission team sites across South Sudan to integrate a gender perspective into the planning and military activity in the mission. The officer was selected to attend specialized training on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) at Nairobi and participated in various UN forums to demonstrate how a gender perspective can help in protecting civilians, especially from conflict-related sexual violence. Apart from supporting the UNMISS Force initiatives, she also trained the South Sudan government forces on CRSV related aspects. The officer also commanded the UN Peacekeepers Day Parade organized at UNMISS, where she commanded twelve contingents of UNPOL, Military, and Civilians.

Source: PIB

8) 22nd Meeting of FSDC

Recently, the 22nd meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by the Finance Minister was held through a video conference.
The meeting reviewed issues relating to market volatility, domestic resource mobilization, and capital flows in the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the nation-wide lockdown imposed to contain it.

Key Points

Covid-19 as a Threat to Global Economy:

The Council has noted that the Covid-19 pandemic poses a serious threat to the stability of the global financial system, as the ultimate impact of the crisis and the timing of recovery remains uncertain.
The pandemic has thrown the global economy into its worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s, and India is no exception.
Projected Domestic Economic Growth:
Domestic economic growth is expected to contract for the first time in forty years in FY21 (April 2020 to March 2021).
Crisil, Goldman Sachs and Fitch Ratings have projected the Indian economy to contract 5% during the current financial year.

Announced Measures and its Impact:

The Council quoted the various short term fiscal measures taken by the government and monetary measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to address the liquidity and capital requirements of the financial institutions to manage the economic scenario due to the global pandemic.
It also reviewed the liquidity and solvency position of the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies, and micro-finance institutions.
Moratoriums on loan payments due to pandemic induced lockdowns have put pressure on inflows of these companies while banks have turned resistant to lend them in the wake of possible defaults. NBFCs have also sought a moratorium on their dues to banks.

Role of Government and Regulators:

It highlighted the need for the government and regulators to remain vigilant on financial conditions that could expose systemic vulnerabilities in the medium and long-term.
The Council stressed that the government and regulators would continue to provide liquidity and capital support to domestic financial institutions.
It is expected to provide comfort to the markets, which are disturbed by the extreme volatility due to pandemic.

Way Forward

The financial system resilience, fiscal support, regulatory flexibility, and liquidity provision announced to date have ensured that the financial system is supportive of economic recovery but more protracted slowdown may present new risks to the financial system.
There is a possibility that the current crisis may transform from a “liquidity phase" into a “solvency phase". Thus, governments need to consider a range of policy tools, including efficient bankruptcy and restructuring systems, government guarantees for private investments, programs for sector-specific government equity injections, and establishing asset management companies.
Thus, FSDC is expected to take further appropriate measures to bolster the liquidity and capital base of domestic financial institutions which would stabilize financial sectors for the long term.

Financial Stability and Development Council

Establishment:

The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is a non-statutory apex council under the Ministry of Finance constituted by the Executive Order in 2010.
The Raghuram Rajan Committee (2008) on financial sector reforms first proposed the creation of FSDC.

Composition:

It is chaired by the Finance Minister and its members include the heads of all Financial Sector Regulators (RBI, SEBI, PFRDA & IRDA), Finance Secretary, Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Secretary of Department of Financial Services (DFS), and Chief Economic Adviser.
In 2018, the government reconstituted FSDC to include the Minister of State responsible for the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Secretary of Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and the Revenue Secretary.
FSDC sub-committee is headed by the Governor of RBI.
The Council can invite experts to its meeting if required.

Functions:

The objective of FSDC is to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability, enhancing inter-regulatory coordination, and promoting financial sector development.
It also intends to monitor the macro-prudential supervision of the economy. It will assess the functioning of large financial conglomerates.

Source: Indian Express

9) The rise in Foreign Direct Investment

According to data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India increased by 18% to $73.46 billion in the 2019-20 financial year.

DPIIT is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Key Points

Total FDI has doubled from the year 2013-14 when it was only $36 billion.
The total investment by Foreign Institutional Investors was $247 million.
The sectors that attracted the most foreign inflows during 2019-20 included services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, and automobiles.
Singapore emerged as the largest equity FDI source, contributing to inflows of $14.67.
The inflows have been attributed to the government’s Make in India program.

Foreign Direct Investment

FDI is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
Generally, FDI takes place when an investor establishes foreign business operations or acquires foreign business assets, including establishing ownership or controlling interest in a foreign company.
It is different from Foreign Portfolio Investment where the foreign entity merely buys equity shares of a company. FPI does not provide the investor with control over the business.
Routes through which India gets FDI:

Automatic Route: In this, the foreign entity does not require the prior approval of the government or the RBI.
Government route: In this, the foreign entity has to take the approval of the government.

The Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP) facilitates the single window clearance of applications that are through the approval route.
This portal is administered by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Source: Indian Express

10) USA Bill to Put Sanction on China

Recently, the United States House of Representatives approved legislation calling for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for the oppression of Uighur Muslims.

Key Points

The bill calls for sanctions against those responsible for the repression of Uighurs and other Muslim groups in China’s Xinjiang province.

According to the United Nations estimates, more than one million Uighurs Muslims and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps in Xinjiang in a crackdown.

The bill also calls on USA companies or individuals operating in the Xinjiang region to take steps to ensure their products do not include parts using forced labor of Uighurs.
Bypassing the bill, the United States Congress has taken a firm step to counter China’s human rights abuses against the Uighurs.

It has sent a clear message that the Chinese government cannot act with impunity.

However, China denies the mistreatment in the camps and says the camps provide vocational training. China also refuses to allow independent inspections.
The bill has now been sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to veto or sign into law.
This approval of legislation should be observed in the context of recent developments in the US-China relationship which have become increasingly tense. Few noteworthy developments are:

Covid-19 Blame: The USA President has blamed China again and again for worsening the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trade War: A growing trade war between the USA and China.
Issue of Panchen Lama: Over the release of Tibetan Buddhism’s 11th Panchen Lama, who was taken into captivity at the age of six.
Hong Kong’s Autonomy: China has approved a proposal for bringing new national security legislation in Hong Kong, despite apprehensions raised by the USA.
South China Sea: China’s growing assertiveness over the South China Sea.

Way Forward

With the USA signing out of major global deals and taking a backstage in the global scenario, China certainly has taken advantage of this and has become more assertive in the recent past. It’s up to the global community now to fix the responsibility and accountability of major powers according to international laws and humanitarian values.

Uighurs Muslims

The Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim minority Turkic ethnic group, whose origins can be traced to Central and East Asia.
The Uighurs are considered to be one of the 55 officially recognized ethnic minority communities in China.

However, China recognizes the community only as a regional minority and rejects that they are an indigenous group.

Currently, the largest population of the Uighur ethnic community lives in the Xinjiang region of China.

A significant population of Uighurs also lives in the neighboring Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.

Source: The Hindu

11) Lok Sabha nominates 15 MPs as associate members of Delimitation Commission

Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of states, for which the Delimitation Commission is set up, are drawn in as associate members to help the panel in its task.

Background:

The government had on March 6 constituted the Delimitation Commission, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to redraw Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland.
The commission will delimit the constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, and of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002.

What is Delimitation?

Delimitation literally means the process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a state that has a legislative body.

Who carries out the exercise?

Delimitation is undertaken by a highly powerful commission. They are formally known as Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission.
These bodies are so powerful that their orders have the force of law and they cannot be challenged before any court.
Such commissions have been constituted at least four times in India — in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952; in 1963 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962; in 1973 under Delimitation Act, 1972 and last in 2002 under Delimitation Act, 2002.
The commissions’ orders are enforced as per the date specified by the President of India. Copies of these orders are laid before the Lok Sabha or the concerned Legislative Assembly. No modifications are permitted.

Composition of the Commission:

According to the Delimitation Commission Act, 2002, the Delimitation Commission appointed by the Centre has to have three members: a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court as the chairperson, and the Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioner nominated by the CEC and the State Election Commissioner as ex-officio members.

Why Delimitation?

To provide equal representation to equal segments of a population.
A fair division of geographical areas so that one political party doesn’t have an advantage over others in an election.
To follow the principle of “One Vote One Value”.

How delimitation is carried out?

Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
Under Article 170, States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission.

Source: PIB

12) What are Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)?

The export of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of paracetamol from the country is all set to resume with the Centre moving it out of the ‘restricted for export’ list.

About 40% of the paracetamol API manufactured in the country is consumed in the domestic market, while the rest is meant for exports.

What is an API?

Every medicine is made up of two main ingredients — the chemically active APIs and chemically inactive, excipients, which is a substance that delivers the effect of APIs to one’s system.
API is a chemical compound that is the most important raw material to produce a finished medicine.
In medicine, API produces the intended effects to cure the disease. For instance, Paracetamol is the API for Crocin and it is the API paracetamol that gives relief from body ache and fever.
Fixed-dose combination drugs use multiple APIs, while single-dose drugs like Crocin use just one API.

How an API is manufactured?

API is not made by only one reaction from the raw materials but rather it becomes an API via several chemical compounds. The chemical compound which is in the process of becoming an API from raw material is called an intermediate.
There are some APIs that pass “through over ten kinds of intermediates in a process when it changes from being a raw material into an API”. The long manufacturing process is continued until it is purified and reaches a very high degree of purity.

What’s the concern for India now? How COVID 19 induced pandemic has affected?

Despite being a leading supplier of high-quality medicines to several countries, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is highly dependent on China for APIs.
In 2018-19 fiscal, the government had informed the Lok Sabha that the country’s drug-makers had imported bulk drugs and intermediates worth $ 2.4 billion from China.
But with frequent lockdowns due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, supplies of raw materials from China to produce drugs for treating HIV, cancer, epilepsy, malaria, and also commonly-used antibiotics and vitamin pills, are likely to be hit.

How India lost its API market to China?

During the early 90s, India was self-reliant in manufacturing APIs.
However, with the rise of China as a producer of API, it captured the Indian market with cheaper products and it eventually led to high economies of scale for China.
China created a low-cost API manufacturing industry. The industry was backed by the low cost of capital followed by aggressive government funding models, tax incentives. Their cost of operation is one-fourth of India’s cost. Even the cost of finance in China is 6-7 percent against India’s 13-14 percent.
So, due to low-profit margins and non-lucrative industry, Indian pharma companies over the years stopped manufacturing APIs.

Source: The Hindu