Daily Current Affairs 23 October 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Base year shifted to 2016

• The government launched the new series for retail inflation for industrial workers shifting the base year to 2016 from 2001.
• The CPI-IW is mainly used for determining the dearness allowance (DA) paid to central/state government employees and workers in the industrial sectors besides fixation and revision of minimum wages in scheduled employments.
• The new series also incorporates the changes in the consumption pattern of the working-class families since the earlier the base year of 2001. Under the new series, the weightage for the food group has gone down to 39.17 percent from 46.2 percent in the 2001 series, while the weight of miscellaneous items, like education and health, has risen to 30.31 percent from 23.26 percent.
• In the new 2016 series, 88 centers have been covered as against 78 centers in the 2001 series. The sample size for the conduct of Working-Class Family Income and Expenditure Survey, based on which weighting diagrams have been derived, was increased to 48,384 families from 41,040 in the 2001 series
• The number of selected markets for collection of retail price data has also been increased to 317 under the 2016 series compared to 289 covered in the 2001 series. The number of items directly retained in the index basket has increased to 463 items over 392 items in the old series.
• It’s been said that the dearness allowance is linked to an outdated index, but hereon, the aim is to keep revising the series every five years.
• As per the recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Index Review Committee (IRC), and National Statistical Commission (NSC), the base year of price index numbers should be revised at frequent intervals, generally not exceeding 10 years to reflect the changes that take place in the consumption pattern of consumers.

 There are SIX major Retail Inflation Indices published by the Government:

• CPI-Rural,  CPI- Urban, CPI Combined published monthly for all India as well as States/UTs by NSO under Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
• CPI-Industrial Workers (IW), CPI Agricultural Labourers (AL) and CPI Rural Labourers published monthly for all India as well as States/UTs by Labour Bureau under Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Out of these 6 indices, CPI-Combined and CPI-IW are quite important
• RBI for its monetary policy purpose uses/targets CPI combined inflation index
• MGNREGA workers wages are revised annually linked with CPI-AL. A committee set up by Govt has recommended linking it with CPI-Rural but till now no information on it.
• Dearness Allowance (DA) paid to Central/State Govt. employees and workers in the Industrial sector and revision of minimum wages in scheduled employments (State Government fixes minimum wages in a different category of employments called scheduled employment as per the existing act, but it may change in new Act) is linked with CPI-IW
• CPI-IW base year has been revised to 2016 from the previous 2001 and because of that weight of food items has decreased to 39.17% from earlier 46.2%. Weight of education and health has increased to 30.31 per cent from 23.26 per cent. No need to go into further details of the weights of different items.
• Industrial Workers may be consuming a lot of items but every month it's not possible for the government to collect the price details of all these items from all the markets in India. So Govt. selects a basket of those items which are consumed more by these industrial workers for example in the 2016 series of CPI-IW there are 463 items and govt. will be collecting the price data from 317 retail markets in India. The basket of 463 items is assigned weight as per the expenditure/consumption pattern of these workers on these items. Higher the consumption of any item higher will be the weight.
• It is recommended that the base year should be revised frequently to reflect the changes that take place in the consumption pattern of consumers. Govt. plans to revise it after every five years. And the base year should be normal because in any abnormal year, the consumption patterns will not properly get reflected and it may be skewed. 
• Why Govt. did not use 2017 or 2018 for revision of base year of CPI-IW. The answer maybe there were disruptions because of GST. (GST got implemented on 1st July 2017)
• Why not 2019. The answer is maybe the exact data of just the previous year not available 
• But someone may say that Demonetisation was implemented in 2016, then why govt chose 2016 for the base year for CPI-IW. The answer could be (not sure) Demonetisation was implemented at the end of the year (8th Nov 2016) and if Govt. used the data only of 10/11 months to derive the weights then there is no issue or maybe it did some extrapolation (projection) for the 50 days period post demonetisation. You don't need to go into all this. But yes, it should be a normal year.

Source: Indian Express

2) Finance Ministry to divest Wildlife Institute of India (WII)

• Finance Ministry is planning to divest the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) of its status as an autonomous body of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• This has triggered anxiety among scientists at the organisation.
  

What are the concerns expressed over this move?

• The major responsibility of this Institute is to provide advice to MoEF based on scientific information on policy and management of the country’s Wildlife Resources. This role can only be performed and remains relevant as long as the institute remains a part of the MoEF.
• Further, the government will cut funding to the institute by 25% every year, and it could become a ‘Deemed University’ engaged in teaching and research.

When and why did the Finance Commission decide so?

• The move follows a review by its Expenditure Department of 194 autonomous bodies across 18 Ministries. Of them, 109 bodies must be merged into 26, and government must “disengage” from 23, one which is the WII.

What are Autonomous Bodies (ABs)?

• Autonomous Bodies are set up whenever it is felt that certain functions need to be discharged outside the governmental set up with some amount of independence and flexibility without day-to-day interference of the Governmental machinery.
• These are set up by the Ministries/Departments concerned with the subject matter and are funded through grants-in-aid, either fully or partially, depending on the extent which such institutes generate internal resources of their own.

Why the government is taking such measures?

• Despite a laid out administrative structure in Autonomous Bodies (ABs), several governance issues need review.
• Nature of these Bodies:
• They are mostly registered as societies under the Societies Registration Act and in certain cases, they have been set up as statutory institutions under the provisions contained in various Acts.

Issues with autonomous bodies:

• Accountability: These bodies are funded by taxpayer’s money. However, there have been complaints that they don’t follow the policies of the government and are accountable the way the government departments are.
• Recruitment issues: The mode of recruitment and recruitment rules differs for each of these bodies.
• Non-Adherence to Envisaged Goal.
• No uniform audit procedure: Some ABs are audited by CAG whereas many are done by chartered accountants.

Suggested reforms:

• A legal framework should be devised which defines the boundaries of its working, its autonomy, and the various policies that it must follow.
• To bring about uniformity in the policies, a task force needs to be set up under a pan-Indian agency such as SSC or UPSC.
• Rationalisation of their numbers: ABs that have outlived the cause for which they were established may need to be closed or merged with a similar organisation or their memorandum altered as per the new charter.
• Collaborated Approach: To ensure the participation of ministry officials, committee meetings of similar ABs should be held together so that the appropriate authorities could provide meaningful suggestions.
• Uniform Independent Auditing: Audits of ABs should be undertaken by an independent agency.

Source: The Hindu

3) India assumes the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of International Labour Organization

• After 35 years, India has assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of International Labour Organization,  marking a new chapter in the 100 years of a productive relationship between India and ILO. Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary (Labour and Employment) has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International labour organisation (ILO) for the period October 2020- June 2021. The Chairperson of the Governing Body of ILO is a position of international repute.
• The Governing Body (GB) is the apex executive body of the ILO which decides policies, programmes, agenda, budget and elects the Director-General. At present, ILO has 187 members. Shri Apurva Chandra will be presiding over the upcoming meeting of the Governing Body to be held in November 2020. At Geneva, he would have the opportunity to interact with the senior officials and social partners of the member states. It will also provide a platform to appraise participants of the transformational initiatives taken by Government in removing the rigidities of labour market besides making its intention clear about the universalization of social security to all workers whether in the organised or unorganised sector.

Source: PIB

4) Final User Trial of NAG Missile

• Final user trial of 3rd generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) NAG was carried on 22 Oct 2020 at 0645 hrs from Pokhran range. The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at the designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour. 
• ATGM NAG has been developed by DRDO to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions. The missile has “Fire & Forget” “Top Attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all MBTs equipped with composite and reactive armour.
• The NAG missile carrier NAMICA is a BMP II-based system with amphibious capability. With this final user trial, NAG will enter into the production phase. The missile will be produced by Defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), whereas Ordnance Factory Medak will produce the NAMICA.

Source: PIB

5) Monoclonal Antibodies for Covid-19

• Recently, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune announced an agreement with Merck, a science and technology company, to develop SARS-CoV-2 neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which will be used to address the Covid-19 pandemic.
• IAVI is a non-profit scientific research organisation dedicated to addressing urgent global health challenges. It is headquartered in New York, USA.
• SII is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer.

Monoclonal Antibodies:

• Antibodies are proteins produced naturally by the immune system that target a specific foreign object (antigen). They are called monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) when they are produced by clones derived from a single parent cell.
• They are man-made proteins that act like a human antibody in the immune system. They are made by cloning a unique white blood cell.
• mAbs have monovalent affinity, it binds only to the same epitope i.e. the part of an antigen that is recognized by the antibody.
• They are designed to perform many roles like they can be used to carry drugs, toxins, or radioactive substances directly to affected cells.
• mAbs are used to treat many diseases, including some types of cancer.

mAbs and Covid-19:

• Neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 was co-invented by IAVI and Scripps Research.
• They are widely considered to be promising candidates for Covid-19 treatment and prevention.
• Encouraging results for Covid-19 antibody treatment have emerged from preclinical research and from initial clinical trials.
• mAbs also have the potential to play an important complementary role to Covid-19 vaccines.
• It can be used both for treatment and potentially for prevention, especially for those individuals who, due to age or medical conditions, may not benefit from vaccination.

Antibody

• Antibody, also called immunoglobulin is a protective protein produced by the immune system in response to the presence of a foreign substance, called an antigen.
• A wide range of substances are regarded by the body as antigens, including disease-causing organisms and toxic materials.
• Antibodies recognize and attack onto antigens to remove them from the body.

Source: The Hindu

6) INS Kavaratti

• Recently, INS Kavaratti has been formally inducted into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Visakhapatnam.
• It is named after the capital of the Lakshadweep group of islands.
• It is the last of the four indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built under Project 28 (Kamorta class), by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
• The ship is regarded as one of the most potent ASW stealth corvettes to have been constructed in India as it joins three other ships of the same class INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt and INS Kiltan, at the ENC.
• Its induction is a game-changer in the eastern seaboard, especially with the Chinese submarines trying to increase their presence in the Indian Ocean.
• It has enhanced stealth features resulting in reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved by the superstructure along with optimally sloped surfaces.
• INS Kavaratti and INS Kiltan are the first two major warships in the country to have the unique feature of the superstructure made of carbon fibre composite material.
• It has high indigenous content with the state-of-the-art equipment and systems to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
• Some of the major equipment/ systems developed indigenously include Combat Management System, Torpedo Tube Launchers and Infra-Red Signature Suppression System, etc.
• The high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production accentuates the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative.
• The ship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile Arnala Class missile corvette of the same name, INS Kavaratti-P 80, a ship that played an important role in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Source: PIB

7) Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report

• Recently, Credit Suisse has released the Global Wealth Report 2020.
• Credit Suisse is a financial services company based in Switzerland.
• The Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of information on household wealth worldwide.

Global Scenario:

• In 2019, total global wealth rose by USD 36.3 trillion and wealth per adult reached USD 77,309, which is 8.5% more when compared to 2018.
• As a consequence, the world has been better placed to absorb any losses from Covid-19 during 2020.
• However, total household wealth dropped by USD 17.5 trillion between January and March 2020, a 4.4% decrease compared to the value at the end of 2019.
• The Asia Pacific is the highest contributor to household wealth.
• Female workers have suffered disproportionately, partly because of their high representation in businesses and industries such as restaurants, hotels, personal service and retail that have been badly affected by the pandemic.

Indian Scenario:

• Household wealth in India is dominated by property and other real assets, although financial assets have grown over time, now forming 22% of gross assets.
• Stocks, bonds, bank deposits are some examples of financial assets.
• The average wealth of Indian adults rose marginally to USD 17,420 at end-June 2020, as against USD 17,300 as of December 2019, showing some growth despite the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.
• Wealth inequality remains quite high in India.
• There is considerable poverty reflected in the fact that 73% of the adult population had wealth below USD 10,000 at the end of 2019.
• At the other extreme, a small fraction of the population (2.3% of adults) had a net worth over USD 1,00,000.
• With 4,593 ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the country as of end-2019, India came in fourth after the USA, China and Germany.
• Between January and April 2020, unemployment rates approximately tripled in India to 24%.

Challenges Related to Wealth Inequality in India

• Distinguishing Poor and Non-poor: In developing countries such as India, despite having hundreds of pro-poor schemes, the biggest question is whether such benefit is reaching the poor.
• The real challenge is in distinguishing the poor from non-poor, particularly when such data are questionable.
• Low Government Spending: The government spending on health, education and social protection in the country is low and more often than not, subsidises the private sector.
• Impact on Women: The burden of inequality continues to be borne by India’s women, they continue to be tasked with bearing the burden of care work, thus withholding their entry into the labour force.
• Impact on Vulnerable: While traditionally vulnerable communities, such as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, are catching up with the rest of society in primary education, they are falling further behind when it comes to advanced (12 years or more) education.
• Most now have access to mobiles but few have computers. And too many people are still just one illness away from poverty, as per the UNDP’s 2019 Human Development Report (HDR).
• Climate change will only exacerbate inequality.

Source: Indian Express

8) G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting

• Recently, Saudi Arabia hosted the first-ever Ministerial Meeting of the G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) virtually.
• Currently, Saudi Arabia holds the presidency of G-20 and is the first Arab nation to do so.

G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group:

• It was set up in June 2010 at the Toronto Summit of G-20. The year 2020 marks its 10th anniversary.
• Objective: To prepare "comprehensive recommendations for consideration by leaders on how the G20 could continue to make practical and valuable contributions to international efforts to combat corruption".
• ACWG has led the G-20 anti-corruption efforts coordinating the collective and national actions taken by its members.
• It actively works with the World Bank Group, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), etc.
• The World Bank and the UNODC are also involved in the ACWG through the active participation and contribution of Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) to its work, which plays an advisory role on asset recovery, anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing, transparency and beneficial ownership, etc.

G-20 on Corruption:

• In recent years the G-20 has played a critical role in global and national anti-corruption efforts.
• It recognises the negative impact of corruption which, ‘threatens the integrity of markets, undermines fair competition, distorts resource allocation, destroys public trust, and undermines the rule of law’.
• It is committed to ensuring that member countries lead by example and add value to existing international instruments and commitments.
• The G-20 agreed on the Anti-Corruption Action Plan, 2019-2021 in Buenos Aires in 2018. In the framework of this action plan, G-20 members look forward to developing targeted actions where the G-20 can best add value in promoting international efforts in the fight against corruption.

Initiatives in India

• Central Vigilance Commission:
• Though created in 1964, it became an independent statutory body in 2003.
• Its mandate is to oversee the vigilance administration and to advise and assist the executive in matters relating to corruption.
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988:
• The Act aims at checking corruption in big places and striking hard against corporate bribery. It seeks to establish a vicarious liability so that the actual bribe giver is also exposed.
• It was amended in 2018 to introduce a number of new provisions including criminalizing the act of giving bribes also in addition to taking the bribe and at the same time putting in place an effective deterrence for such actions by individuals as well as corporate entities.
• Lokpal and Lokayuktas:
• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the establishment of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States.
• These institutions are operational in the country to bring in more transparency, more citizen-centricity and accountability in governance.
• Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018:
• It empowers authorities for non-conviction based attachments and confiscation of proceeds of crime and properties as well as assets of a fugitive economic offender.
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002:
• Money laundering is the process of making large amounts of money generated by criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come from a legitimate source.
• The law was enacted to prevent and control money laundering, provide for confiscation and seizure of property obtained from laundered money and to deal with any other issue connected with money-laundering in India.
• Other Related Legislation and Moves:
• Right to Information Act, 2005.
• Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014.
• Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2016.
• Ratification of United Nations Convention Against Corruption in 2011.
• Introduction of e-governance.

G-20

• It is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), with representatives of the IMF and the World Bank.
• The G20 membership comprises a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product (GDP) 80% of global investment and over 75% of global trade.
• Headquarter:
• The G20 operates as a forum and not as an organisation. Therefore, it does not have any permanent secretariat.
• Origins:
• 1997-1999 Asian Financial Crisis: This was a ministerial-level forum which emerged after G7 invited both developed and developing economies. The finance ministers and central bank governors began meeting in 1999.
• Amid the 2008 Financial Crisis, the world saw the need for a new consensus-building at the highest political level and it was decided that the G20 leaders would begin meeting once annually.
• Members:
• The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA, and the EU.
• One nation holds the chair every year, known as the 'G20 Presidency'.

Source: PIB

9) Cyber Crime and Cyber Security in India

• National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant recently made the following observations on Cyber Crimes in India:
• Cybercrimes in India caused a Rs 1.25 trillion loss in 2019.
• Cyber threats will continue to increase as the country starts developing smart cities and rolling out 5G network, among other initiatives.
• There are only a few Indian companies who are making some of the cybersecurity products and there is a big vacuum in the sector.
• So, a dedicated industry forum for cybersecurity should be set up to develop trusted indigenous solutions to check cyber attacks.

Steps were taken by the Government to spread awareness about cybercrimes:

• Online cybercrime reporting portal has been launched to enable complainants to report complaints pertaining to Child Pornography/Child Sexual Abuse Material, rape/gang rape imageries or sexually explicit content.
• A scheme for establishment of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been established to handle issues related to cybercrime in the country in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
• Establishment of National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in the country.
• All organizations providing digital services have been mandated to report cybersecurity incidents to CERT-In expeditiously.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) has been launched for providing detection of malicious programmes and free tools to remove such programmes.
• Formulation of the Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber-terrorism.

What needs to be done ahead?

• Regularly issue alerts/advisories,l.
• Capacity building/training of law enforcement personnel/ prosecutors/ judicial officers.
• Improving cyber forensics facilities etc.
• Speed up the investigation.
• Finally, ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Constitution of India. States/UTs are primarily responsible for prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes through their law enforcement machinery.

Source: The Hindu