Monthly-Current-Affairs-May-2020

Easy to PICK537 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation  Naval Dockyard (Mumbai) has manufactured a UV sanitisation bay to meet this emerging requirement. The UV bay will be utilised for decontamination of tools, clothes and other miscellaneous items, to control spread of the coronavirus.  The challenging task required ingenuity to convert a large common room into a UV bay by fabrication of aluminum sheets electrical arrangements for UV-C lighting.  The facility utilises UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation towards sterilising items.  Studies by reputed research agencies have proven the effect of UV-C on respiratory pathogens like SARS, Influenza etc.  It has been observed that microbial pathogens become significantly less viable when exposed to UV-C of intensity 1 J/cm2 for 1 min or more, indicating effective sterilisation.  A similar facility has also been set up at Naval Station (Karanja), where in addition to UV-C steriliser, an industrial oven has also been placed, which heats smaller sized belongings to 60°C, a temperature known to kill most microbes.  The facility is placed at the entry/ exit points where it will help in mitigating COVID-19 transmission.

Easy to PICK538 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Credit scores A credit score determines how creditworthy a person is and helps banks and financial institutions decide on loans. In India, the scores are issued by credit reporting agencies such as CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, Etc. These agencies are regulated by the RBI and collect data from banks on their loans and come up with credit scores through use of algorithms. The data is updated frequently. Credit scores in India range from 300-900. A credit report may be obtained for free once a year from every credit reporting agency. NASA’s Kilopower Project NASA has invented a small nuclear reactor Kilopower, It can generate a reliable power supply by using uranium-235 reactor core. This power system could provide up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power enough to run two average households continuously for at least 10 years. This reactor will be used for electronic propulsion systems and for providing safe and plentiful energy for future robotic and human missions for Mars and beyond.

Easy to PICK539 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 5G technology 5G technology Union telecom ministry had announced 5G technology will be rolled out from 2020. 5G promises ultra-reliable, very fast speeds and high bandwidth mobile connectivity and supports massive interconnected devices spread across wide areas like Internet of things (IoT). This would entail accelerating the BharatNet programme for deploying connectivity infrastructures. Automated ocean pollution observation system Union government has planned to setup an automated ocean pollution observation system. These systems will be installed in coastal areas of West Bengal, Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai. It will help keep a tab on ocean pollution levels apart and provides insights on how the marine system is changing. It is an initiative under National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Easy to PICK540 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 UN Environment Management Group (EMG) The EMG is a UN system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. Its members include the secretariats of the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other specialized agencies, programmes and organs of the UN. Representatives of intergovernmental bodies, civil society and international non-governmental organizations can be invited to contribute. The EMG works through technical meetings, Issue Management Groups and task forces. Cyber Surakshit Bharat Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), announced the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. It aims to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments. Cyber Surakshit Bharat is the first public-private partnership of its kind and will leverage the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity. Cyber Surakshit Bharat aims to conduct a series of training programs for departments in State and Union governments,Public Sector Banks, and technical arms of the Air Force, Army and Navy.

Easy to PICK541 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Missile Park 'Agneeprastha' to be set up at INS Kalinga Missile Park 'Agneeprastha' to be set up and delivering advanced missiles to at INS Kalinga ships of the Eastern Fleet.  INS Kalinga was commissioned on 21  Foundation Stone for a Missile Park November 1985. \"AGNEEPRASTHA\" was laid at INS  INS Kalinga is located on the Kalinga . Visakhapatnam - Bheemunipatnam beach road about 40 kilometers north east of the  The Park also commemorates the award of Visakhapatnam Naval Base. the prestigious Unit Citation to INS Kalinga for the year 2018-19.  ‘AGNEEPRASTHA’ aims to capture glimpses of Missile History of INS Kalinga since 1981 till 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. INS KALINGA  INS Kalinga is an Indian Navy establishment reporting to the Eastern Naval Command.  It is responsible for preparing, storing

Easy to PICK542 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 7.75% RBI Bonds What RBI discontinuing 7.75% saving bonds Was it in high demand? means to investors  Investment advisors say that while it was mostly used by HNIs to invest, the Introduction demand for RBI bonds went up  After the cut in deposit rates by the banks significantly over the last couple of months and a cut in small savings rate by the as investors turned risk averse. government over the last couple of  Even as the post-tax returns were low as months, the Reserve Bank of India on compared to PSU-debt, experts say Wednesday said the Government of India investors rushed for it as they saw it as has discontinued 7.75 per cent savings the safest investment instrument (taxable) bonds, 2018 for subscription available. with effect from the close of banking business on Thursday. How did it fare against other options?  The move will deprive investors of another  As the 7.75 per cent RBI bonds were saving instrument that yielded relatively taxable instruments, the interest income on higher post tax returns for investors. it would be taxable at the marginal tax rate. What are 7.75 per cent RBI bonds?  For those having income of over Rs 5  The 7.75 bonds 2018 were issued crore and having interest income from with effect from January 10, 2018 and these bonds, the return would be 4.44 per were available for subscription to cent. resident citizens/HUF to invest in  For those falling in the tax bracket of 30 a taxable bond. per cent, the return from these bonds  While one bond was of Rs 1,000 each, the would stand at 5.4 per cent, while for bonds had no maximum limit for those falling in the lowest tax bracket of investment. 10 per cent, the post-tax return would be  The bonds had a 7-year lock-in 6.975 per cent. period from the date of issue, but, it  In April 2020, the government announced permitted premature encasement to a cut in the small savings rate. individuals who were 60 years and  While the rates for PPF were cut from 7.9 above. per cent earlier to 7.1 per cent, that  Interest on these bonds will be taxable on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana was under the Income-tax Act, 1961. brought down to 7.6 per cent from 8.4% earlier. What has happened now?  In comparison, SBI is currently  The government has withdrawn these offering 5.3 per cent for a term deposit bonds with effect from Friday and of 3-5 years and 5.4 per cent on term therefore it will not be available for despots of 5-10 years. investors to invest.  The post-tax return for those falling in 30  This means it is only ceasing fresh per cent tax bracket would stand at 3.71 per issuance and not redeeming those cent and 3.78 per cent respectively. already invested. Those whose cheque’s Experts say that PSU debt papers offer got submitted and cleared till yesterday post tax return of around 7 per cent. will get 7.75 per cent.

Easy to PICK543 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Why the cut in rates?  The interest rates have been on a decline since the global growth rate projections have been brought down following the spread of coronavirus Pandemic.  The Reserve Bank of India first announced a 75 basis point cut in repo rate on March 27, 2020 to 4.4 per cent and then again announced a cut in repo rate by 40 basis points to 4 per cent on May 22.  A cut in repo rates not only reduces the rate at which commercial banks borrow from RBI but also leads to a cut in deposit and lending rates for banks.  The RBIs move to cut in repo rate has been to push credit growth and demand in the economy in a bid to augur growth in the economy.

Easy to PICK544 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 ANITA: Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna the phase velocity of light in a dense Recently, NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive dielectric (such as salt, ice or the lunar Transient Antenna (ANITA) has detected the unusual upward movement of neutrinos in regolith) produces a shower of secondary Antarctica. charged particles. Background Instead of the high-energy neutrinos streaming in  from space, they seem to have come from the Earth's interior, before hitting the detectors of  When neutrinos smash into ANITA. Usually, the high-energy particles move top to bottom (i.e. from space to the earth). an atom, they produce a However, ANITA has detected an anomaly i.e. particles have been detected travelling bottom to shower of detectable top. secondary particles.These Earlier, researchers had also located a deep- space source for high-energy neutrinos through detectable secondary the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory at a U.S. scientific research station at the South Pole particles allow us to probe in Antarctica (PT). The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is located at the Bodi West where they came from in Hills region in Theni District of Tamil Nadu. Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna the universe. About  However, neutrinos pose Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) is a radio telescope instrument to no threat to human beings detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over the and pass through most solid continent of Antarctica. It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a objects. Additionally, they helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters. At such a height, the rarely do interact with antennas can listen to the cosmos and detect high- energy particles, known as neutrinos, which matter. It is named after constantly bombard the planet. Gurgen Askaryan, a  It is the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind. Soviet-Armenian  ANITA detects neutrinos pinging in from physicist who postulated space and colliding with matter in the Antarctic ice sheet through the Askaryan it in 1962. effect Neutrinos  The Askaryan effect is the phenomenon  Neutrinos are electrically neutral, whereby a particle traveling faster than undisturbed by even the strongest magnetic field, and rarely interact with matter. The direction from which they arrive points directly back to their original source.  Neutrinos are produced during natural radioactive decays and all sorts of nuclear reactions in nuclear power reactors, particle accelerators or nuclear bombs.  However, the most common sources of neutrinos are celestial phenomena i.e. the birth and death of stars, collisions, and explosions happening in space. Conclusion The ANITA experiment has definitely detected something unusual and unexpected about neutrinos but there are many competing theories about it. There are a number of potential candidate

Easy to PICK545 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 particles that could account for the results from ANITA. Further, there are so many unknown properties about neutrinos that astrophysicists and scientists are still trying to unravel. It contemplates that there is new physics out there to be found which will help to study the origin of the universe and big bang theory in the future.

Easy to PICK546 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Fabrication of Controlled Nanostructures Background analytes (substances whose chemical constituents are being identified and Recently, the researchers at the Institute of Nano measured). Science and Technology (INST) Mohali have found a route to fabricate precisely controlled Significance nanostructures of desired geometry and location on 2D materials, through a rapid one-step low  This research will open a new avenue for power laser writing process. INST, Mohali is an autonomous institute under the development of commercialized SERS the Department of Science and Technology (DST). substrates (a silicon wafer coated with a metal like gold or silver) with a localized detection capability of analytes.  SERS detection has been emerging as a About powerful tool for the detection of a INST developed a hybrid Surface-Enhanced variety of analytes due to its very high Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) platform of sensitivity and fingerprinting Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2, an inorganic recognition capabilities. compound) nanostructure decorated with gold  This will also shed new light in the SERS NanoParticles (AuNPs). sensing of biological and chemical  molecules. o SERS is a commonly used sensing  The technology can be used in technique in which inelastic light combination with an antibody for the scattering by molecules is greatly spectroscopic detection of enhanced when the molecules are various biomarkers (an objective measure adsorbed onto corrugated metal that captures what is happening in a cell or surfaces such as silver or gold an organism at a given moment). nanoparticles (NPs). Raman Effect  It is a phenomenon o It enhances the Raman scattering in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist Sir Chandrasekhara light from molecules, thus leading Venkata Raman on 28th February 1928. In his honour, 28th February is to effective analysis of the celebrated as National Science Day in India. molecules.  In 1930, he got a Nobel Prize for this remarkable discovery and this was the first  Direct laser writing (3D printing for Nobel Prize for India in the field of Science. microscopic world) was used to engineer  Raman effect is the inelastic scattering of a photon by molecules which are excited the artificial edges on the surface of to higher vibrational or rotational energy levels. It is also called Raman scattering. MoS2 which created localized hotspots o In simpler words, it is a change in the wavelength of light that with precision and control. occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. o A focused laser beam of meagre power of a conventional Raman spectrometer was used which enables the superior deposition of AuNPs along the artificial edges. o Nanostructuring was done on the 2D MoS2 sheet. platform  The hybrid SERS offers controlled formation of localized hotspots for ultrasensitive and reproducible detection of

Easy to PICK547 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 o When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. o Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light and its presence is a result of the Raman Effect.  The Raman effect forms the basis for Raman spectroscopy which is used by chemists and physicists to gain information about materials. Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation.

Easy to PICK548 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Banks Board Bureau The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has selected SN building capacities, etc. Rajeswari as the Chairman and Managing Director **The Banks Board Bureau is a public authority (CMD) of the Delhi-based Oriental Insurance as defined in the Right to Information Act, Company (OIC). 2005.  The Ministry of Finance will now start the process of appointing Rajeswari as the CMD of OIC.  This will be followed by the Finance Ministry's nod and a further approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and the Prime Minister’s Office. Background: The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has its genesis in the recommendations of ‘The Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India, May 2014 (Chairman - P. J. Nayak) Formation: The government, in 2016, approved the constitution of the BBB as a body of eminent professionals and officials to make recommendations for appointment of whole- time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.  o It is an autonomous recommendatory body. o The Ministry of Finance takes the final decision on the appointments in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office. Functions:  Apart from recommending personnel for the PSBs, the Bureau has also been assigned with the task of recommending personnel for appointment as directors in government-owned insurance companies.  It engages with the board of directors of all the public sector banks to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development.  It is tasked with improving corporate governance at public sector banks,

Easy to PICK549 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 First investment for NIIF Recently a Dubai based marine firm DP World has partnered with NIIF to create an investment platform for ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is set-up to function as a major platform in India for attracting foreign investments to fund stalled infra projects. The NIIF is being operationalized by establishing three Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under the SEBI Regulations.  The proposed corpus of NIIF is Rs. 40,000 Crores (around USD 6 Billion).  GOI’s contribution to the AIFs under the NIIF scheme shall be 49% of the total commitment.  NIIF has mandate to solicit equity participation from strategic anchor partners, like overseas sovereign/quasi- sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors. Road kills App Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) a wildlife NGO has developed a mobile app called Road Kills. This app will help citizens to report wildlife deaths by uploading geo-tagged photographs to a public forum. The information generated from the application can help identify crucial sections of roads or railway lines where animal deaths are high to pinpoint regions that require urgent mitigation measures. The data can also help determine what species are more at risk on specific road or rail stretches.

Easy to PICK550 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 CRISPR-Cas9 - Gene Editing Background What is CRISPR-Cas9? The clustered, regularly interspaced, short A Chinese researcher recently claimed that he had palindromic repeats, or CRISPR/CRISPR- associated protein 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR-Cas9) altered the genes of a human embryo that system has revolutionised genetic manipulations and made gene editing simpler, faster and easily eventually resulted in the birth of twin girls. The accessible to most laboratories. genes were claimed to be “edited” to ensure that CRISPR technology is basically a gene-editing technology that can be used for the purpose of they do not get infected with HIV, the virus that altering genetic expression or changing the genome of an organism. causes AIDS. If proven, it would be the first  The technology can be used for targeting instance of human offspring having been produced specific stretches of an entire genetic code or editing the DNA at particular locations. with specific desired attributes, using newly- developed tools of gene “editing”.  CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function.  Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. However, its promise also raises ethical concerns. What are Genes and what is gene- editing? How it works? Genes contain the bio-information that defines CRISPR-Cas9 technology behaves like a cut-and- any individual. Physical attributes like height, skin paste mechanism on DNA strands that contain or hair colour, more subtle features and even genetic information. behavioural traits can be attributed to information encoded in the genetic material.  The specific location of the genetic codes An ability to alter this information gives scientists that need to be changed, or “edited”, is the power to control some of these features. Gene identified on the DNA strand, and then, “editing” — sometimes expressed in related, but using the Cas9 protein, which acts like a not always equivalent, terms like genetic pair of scissors, that location is cut off from modification, genetic manipulation or genetic the strand. A DNA strand, when broken, engineering — is not new. has a natural tendency to repair itself.  Scientists intervene during this auto-repair process, supplying the desired sequence of genetic codes that binds itself with the broken DNA strand. Concerns: Tampering with the genetic code in human beings is more contentious. Leading scientists in the field have for long been calling for a “global pause” on clinical applications of the

Easy to PICK551 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 technology in human beings, until internationally accepted protocols are developed. Issues: Study by Stanford University, U.S., found that the CRISPR-Cas9 system introduces unexpected off- target (outside of the intended editing sites) effects in mice. The fear that the CRISPR system is being prematurely rushed for clinical use lingers. Three recent reports have exacerbated this fear even further.  Studies highlighted that CRISPR-Cas9- edited cells might trigger cancer.  May increase the risk of mutations elsewhere in the genome in those cells.  Although, CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been successfully used to cure several diseases however, it remains many things are not clear like how we should determine which disease or traits are appropriate for gene editing.  Ethical concerns: In addition, there are concerns with manipulating human embryos for own interest. Conclusion: This CRISPR technology is indeed a path-breaking technology, to alter genes in order to tackle a number of conventional and unconventional problems, especially in the health sector. However, experiments and tests to validate its use must be subjected to appropriate scrutiny by the regulators, and their use must be controlled to prevent commercial misuse.

Easy to PICK552 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 INDIGEN PROJECT What is Gene Sequencing? aiming to open 12 sequencing centers and A genome is the DNA or sequence of genes in a ensure 235,000 whole genome sequencing cell. Most of the DNA is in the nucleus and intricately coiled into a structure called (WGS) a year which can be used as the chromosome. diagnostics tool. Every human cell contains a pair of chromosomes, each of which has three billion  The non-profit consortium GenomeAsia base pairs or one of four molecules that pair in precise ways. The order of base pairs and 100K decided to generate genomic data varying lengths of these sequences constitute the “genes”. for Asian populations. Supporters of the Sequencing a genome means deciphering the initiative include genomics exact order of base pairs in an individual. It has been known that the portion of the genes companies Macrogen in Korea and responsible for making proteins called the exome occupies about 1% of the actual MedGenome in India, as well as gene. The genome has to be mapped in its entirety to know which genes of a person’s DNA Illumina. are “mutated”.  The Qatar Genome Program aims to establish the Qatari Reference Genome Map by sequencing 3,000 whole genomes, which accounts for around 1% of the Qatari population.  In 2010, the BGI genomics institute in Shenzhen, China hosted a higher sequencing program which aims at sequencing one million human genomes Gene Sequencing projects across world: and will include subgroups of 50,000  The UK was the first to launch a program people, each with specific conditions such called Genomics England which aims to as cancer or metabolic disease. sequence up to 100,000 whole genomes India’s Indigen project and other from patients with rare diseases, their projects: families, and cancer patients.  The CSIR project is part of a programme called “IndiGen”.  Australia is working on the 4-year  Though CSIR first sequenced an Indian 100,000 Genomes Project, sequencing genome in 2009, only now it has been able to scale up whole-genome sequencing and patients with rare diseases and cancer to offer them to the public. create a massive database for R&D.  The driving motive of the project is to understand the extent of genetic  Estonian Genome Project variation in Indians, and learn why some genes linked to certain diseases based on Foundation collected data from 52,000 publications in international literature does not always translate into disease. adult donors by February 2014 and in  Under “IndiGen”, the CSIR drafted March, 2019 has offered a further 100,000 about 1,000 youth from a pool of about 5,000 and included representatives from people free genetic testing. every State and diverse ethnicities.  In the USA, the Precision Medicine  Every person whose genomes are sequenced would be given a report. Initiative (PMI), with its 1-million-  The participants would be informed if volunteer health study, is gathering a large database of health data including genetics and lifestyle factors. The Mayo Clinic (American non-profit academic medical center) will analyze and store one million blood and DNA samples.  In 2016, France announced the “France Médecine Génomique 2025” program,

Easy to PICK553 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 they carry gene variants that make them diabetes and ophthalmology. less responsive to certain classes of  About 70% of the company’s revenue is medicines.  The project involved the Hyderabad- earned from project-based based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), the CSIR-Institute of research mainly for US-based Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB). pharmaceutical clients, while the rest is  The project ties in with a much larger programme Genome India project, from consumer diagnostic tests in Asia. Genome India project:  Its labs combine state-of-the-art testing  It is funded by the Department of equipments and powerful computers to Biotechnology (DBT) to sequence at least 10,000 Indian genomes. perform DNA sequencing that is used for  22 partner organisations including a wide variety of purposes such public health institutions will be roped in that have obtained regulatory ethical as biomarker discovery, drug research and clearances. new market discovery.  Investigators in hospitals will lead the data collection through a simple blood Prospects of gene Sequencing: test from participants and the information will be added to bio  Determining unique genetic traits, banks. susceptibility and resilience to diseases.  The project will aim to make predictive diagnostic markers available for some  For new advancements in medical science priority diseases such as cancer and other rare and genetic disorders. like predictive diagnosis and precision  The department has also initiated medicine, genomic information is the an outreach programme to provide genetic diagnosis and counselling to backbone. families affected by common genetic disorders in certain districts.  The technique has allowed drug makers to Medgenome project: come up with medicines that work on a  Sequoia-backed MedGenome, a start- select group of individuals based on up is planning to fund its own research in the area of DNA sequencing and similar genetic makeup, as against precision medicine, with an aim to licence the findings to biotechnology firms and generic drugs used with little success so drug makers. far.  Launched in 2013, San Francisco- and Bengaluru-based MedGenome Labs  With the help of DNA sequencing, Pvt. Ltd has a network of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) laboratories in India, healthcare practitioners are using the new Singapore and the US. technique called cancer  Its research is in four main areas: cancer immunotherapy, inherited diseases, immunotherapy to treat cancer where the patient’s genes are altered to help his or her immune system fight cancer cells.  The common early onset disorders with “complex” inheritance like asthma, type- 1 diabetes mellitus, and the epilepsies and behavioural phenotypes of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be understood. Issues with gene sequencing:  Synthetic human genome could be created which will be against the law of nature.  Morality of eugenics, which is the theory and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population.  Danger of genetic misuse.  Biosafety and biosecurity concerns

Easy to PICK554 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 related to implications of technology.  Selection of genes for specific traits might change the dynamics of genes and alter the ecological balance.  Agencies that fund large genomic initiatives have tended to treat the data these projects produce as a community resource to be made publicly available before thorough analysis by the consortia that generate them which violates privacy.  The inability to anticipate the types of benefits and risks associated with future research using donated biological materials raises major ethical worries.  By its very nature, a fully or partially sequenced individual genome can reveal information about genetically based or -contributed characteristics that is unknown to the participant.  Where targeted populations comprise organized cultural entities like different tribes consultation demonstrates respect for the moral authority of those communities. Community consultation or engagement, however, should not be mistaken for community consent nor does every medical-sequencing project or every population warrant advance consultation.

Easy to PICK555 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Rotavac Bharat Biotech’s diarrhea vaccine ROTAVAC gets WHO pre-qualification. The WHO pre- qualification paves the way for health and humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF to procure it for public health vaccination programs across the world. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea and kills more than 200,000 children every year. ROTAVC is also included in the Universal Immunization Program

Easy to PICK556 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Sea Turtles in India There are five species of seas turtles in Indian waters — Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Green and Olive Ridley. IUCN Status of these turtles are  Hawksbill- Critically endangered  Green turtle- Endangered  Leatherback- Vulnerable  Loggerhead- Vulnerable  Olive Ridley- Vulnerable Mostly these turtles are found in the eastern coast of the Country. Often turtle are confused with tortoises. The major difference between the tortoise and sea turtles is that tortoises dwell on land, while turtles live in the water for some or nearly all of the time. Mission Innovation The initiative was launched in the Cop21 UNFCCC in 2015. India is member nation of the global initiative The objectives of initiative are,  To accelerate public and private clean energy innovation  To address climate change,  Make clean energy affordable to consumers, and  Create green jobs and commercial opportunities It will help in achieving India’s INDC of increasing the share of clean and renewable energy in the energy basket

Easy to PICK557 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 National Institutional Ranking Framework The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the MHRD and launched in 2015. This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country. The methodology involves various parameters for ranking universities and institutions such as  Teaching, Learning and Resources.  Research and Professional Practices.  Graduation Outcomes.  Outreach and Inclusivity.  Perception. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) has recommended the introduction of HPV vaccine in the UIP. NTAGI is an advisory body that recommends vaccines for India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a group of more than 150 viruses. It is usually harmless and goes away by itself. However, some types cause papilloma or warts in parts of the body. HPV spreads by skin-to-skin contact and is the most common sexually transmitted infection. HPV is commonly associated with cervical cancer. India has one of the world’s highest burdens of HPV-related cancer and around 67,000 women die from this disease each year. HPV vaccines offered by private firms face clinical trial issues in India on concerns of side-effects; Supreme Court is yet to decide.

Easy to PICK558 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Objectionable Content The Ministry of Electronics and IT has highlighted that around 1300 social media URLs were blocked or removed in the last year. These were based on the recommendation of a government committee to deal with “objectionable content”. The Information Technology (IT) Act 2000 and Indian Penal Code provides for dealing with “objectionable content” posted online. Blocking is a sovereign power that is given to the government by virtue of Section 69A of the IT Act. There are concerns with the parameters on deciding a particular content as 'inappropriate' or 'objectionable'.

Easy to PICK559 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Pulse Polio Immunisation (PPI) - IMMUNISATION PROGRAMME As part of the National Immunisation Day observed on 28 January, PPI programme for 2018 was launched. More than 17 crore children of less than 5 years across the country will be given polio drops. The polio virus causes paralysis, known as an acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). This is characterised by sudden muscle weakness, and fever in one or more limbs. India reported its last polio case in 2011 and is also declared polio-free by WHO in 2014. However, the immunisation drive continues as polio virus is still circulating in other parts of the world. The injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) has also been introduced recently into the Universal Immunisation Programme. IPV is an injectable form of polio vaccine administered alone or in combination with other vaccines including the OPV (oral polio vaccine). Universal Immunization Programme Universal Immunization Programme was launched in 1985. Now mission INDRADHNUSH The program now consists of vaccination for 12 diseases: 1. tuberculosis 2. diphtheria 3. pertussis (whooping cough) 4. tetanus 5. poliomyelitis 6. measles 7. Hepatitis B 8. diarrhoea 9. Japanese Encephalitis 10. Rubella 11. Pneumonia( Heamophilus Influenza Type B) 12. Pneumococcal diseases (Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Meningitis) The Indradhanush mission, launched in 2014, is to fast track the universal immunization programme. The mission aims at increasing the immunisation coverage to 90% by 2018.

Easy to PICK560 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Prompt Corrective action (PCA) Union Finance Ministry as a part of reforming process about to initiate a performance review for public sector banks. These reforms will be under the RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA). The PCA is invoked when certain risk thresholds are breached, there are three risk thresholds which are based on  Asset quality.  Profitability.  Capital and the like. The third threshold is the maximum tolerance limit, which has set NPA at over 12% and negative return on assets for four consecutive years. Under PCA there are two type of sanctions restrictions on dividend, branch expansion and directors compensation are of mandatory type and curbs on lending and deposit are discretionary type.

Easy to PICK561 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 EDITORIAL PLUS

Easy to PICK562 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Plasma therapy is no silver bullet By, Dr. Balram Bhargava is Director General, reactions and lung injury. To recommend a Indian Council for Medical Research therapy without studying it thoroughly with robust scientific methods may cause more harm than Introduction good. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed Till date, there have been only three published unprecedented challenges to governments, health case series for convalescent plasma in COVID-19 professionals and the general public at large, with a cumulative of 19 patients. Given the around the world. very small number of patients involved in these Every response, administrative, social, economic studies and a publication bias in medicine, we or medical is being subjected to intense public cannot conclude the therapy will work on all scrutiny, as it rightly should be in the spirit of patients all the time or even believe that the mature democracy. convalescent plasma was the only reason for their Scientific research in medicine is the only improvement. means to overcome novel and complex diseases such as COVID-19 and that too thrives on the Randomised Control trial method same spirit of debate and criticism. To say with certainty whether a drug is truly effective or not, the gold standard in medicine is Convalescent plasma therapy to conduct a randomised controlled trial, where half the patients get the experimental drug and Convalescent plasma therapy, is being the other half do not. Only if patients in the first currently studied by the Indian Council of half show substantial improvement over those Medical Research, through open in the second half, it indicates the drug is label, randomised controlled trial to evaluate it beneficial. for both safety and efficacy. Already, four patients have been enrolled in Issues in testing Convalescent Plasma Ahmedabad and the study will be rolled out in 20 therapy hospitals by the end of this week and at more centres over the next month. Further, convalescent plasma therapy The therapy involves infusing patients suffering requires intensive resources, healthy COVID-19 from COVID-19 with plasma from recovered survivors to donate, a blood bank with proper patients. In theory, the antibodies of the machinery and trained personnel to remove recovered person may help that patient’s immune plasma, equipment to store it and testing system fight the virus. facilities to make sure it has an adequate amount While showing great promise, it is a line of of antibodies. treatment that is yet to be validated for efficacy Too much focus on one approach can take away and safety and cannot be deployed widely without the focus from other important therapeutic caution. The current evidence to conclude modalities like use of oxygen therapy, anything about the true benefits of this therapy antivirals, and antibiotics for complicated is very thin. hospital courses. Need for more research Way Ahead The most important principle in medical ethics is “do no harm”. To overcome the pandemic comprehensively, we The transfusion of convalescent plasma is also not should focus on strengthening health systems at without risks, which range from mild reactions all levels, including referral systems, supply like fever, itching, to life-threatening allergic

Easy to PICK563 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 chain, logistics and inventory management. We need to work on protecting our healthcare workers, improving prevention methods, promoting cough etiquettes, effective quarantining and accurate testing. Science should be driven by reason and evidence with hope as a catalyst but not by either fear or populism. Pushing one or the other therapy without evidence or caution can only set back our larger fight against COVID-19.

Easy to PICK564 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Needed: a pandemic patent pool By, Justice Prathiba M. Singh is Judge of the Delhi Issues with the exclusive patenting rights High Court and was a member of the IP think tank during COVID-19 that drafted India’s Intellectual Property Rights policy Friction already exists among various stakeholders. One country made attempts to Introduction obtain exclusive rights to a vaccine being developed.  Every April 26, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day. On the other hand, there are also collaborations taking place. However, the spirit of collaborative  This year, it was not a day for celebration, solutions is only on the anvil. but one for reflection and dedication. It The exclusivity that is recognised by patent rights provided us an opportunity to reflect upon will be detrimental to society. the role of intellectual property (IP) in the This will not benefit patients and the world as a ongoing health crisis and dedicate IP to whole. If patent owners create impediments on finding a solution. the strength of patent rights, the world will start despising patents and that is not a situation IP Reason for patenting a drug owners ought to be in. The purpose of creating and recognising patent Under the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of rights is for the common public good, i.e., Intellectual Property Rights) regime, there are innovation should be made public in exchange for several tools such as compulsory licensing that are a limited monopoly. available to ensure access to medicines. Thus, patents need to be disclosed to the public in Pandemics need disruptive solutions. order to enable further research. Governments and international organisations need to arrive at a consensus in A long road ahead advance to ensure that the system is ready. Procrastination would be disastrous. Creating Vaccines or medicines are the only permanent hindrances through exclusivity claims, in the solutions for a normal human life. wake of a pandemic, will result in dividing It will take at least 6-10 months for any countries, corporations and international vaccine/drug to be available. organisations. Even when approval for marketing of a vaccine/drug is granted, it will be impossible for Society needs to respect innovation. To protect it to be made instantly available across the the sanctity and integrity of patent systems, and in world. This is because even after approval for order to ensure that an anti-IP sentiment is not commercial production is granted, say, in one generated globally, answers need to be found country, in order for the product to be available to within the existing regime. the rest of the world, approvals will be required in each and every country. Then countries will Creating a patent pool have to gear up for instant manufacturing and marketing of the drug. One method by which aggregation and dissemination of innovative products can be For this to happen, continuous dialogue has to take ensured is by creating a patent pool. place among innovators, manufacturers and Patent pools are usually effective in aggregating, supply chains. This requires massive efforts by administering and licensing patents related to private players, governments and international organisations.

Easy to PICK565 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 specific areas of technology. a part of the TRIPS agreement. This declaration Such pools are usually managed by a central recognises the need for taking measures agency and the patents which become part of the to ‘protect public health’ and ‘promote access pool are readily made available for licensing. to medicines’. Some pools even publish the royalty rates payable for such licences. Anyone who wishes to obtain Public-private partnerships (PPP) need to be a licence will be able to approach the pool, agree scaled up. Creation of the ‘PPP-pandemic patent to the terms, and begin to manufacture and sell pool’ at a global level, to pool all innovations, is the products. Such pools are prevalent in, for the way forward. Let us not wait any longer. instance, standard essential patents related to telecom and digital innovations. A more fruitful endeavour would be to create a global pool of COVID-19-related innovations, or innovations related to rare pandemics, in respect of vaccines and medicines. This could be managed by a trustworthy international organisation. All countries ought to have the right to implement these innovations without further permission from the patent-holders and without resorting to provisions such as compulsory licensing, state acquisition, etc. Even if royalties are at a minimal level, the revenues would still be in billions of dollars owing to the large swathes of the population affected by the pandemic, who will need to be administered these products. Creation of a pool and immediate licensing will ensure that there are hundreds of manufacturers across the world. As a result, vaccines and medicines will be quickly available. Some part of the royalties could then be disbursed to patent owners on a periodic basis and some part could be retained to fund further research to deal with such pandemics in future. Way ahead Such a pool needs the cooperation of not just countries and international organisations but also the hundreds of researchers, innovators, companies and universities involved. Pooling of patent resources is also in line with the Doha Declaration on Public Health which is

Easy to PICK566 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 It’s about food, nutrition and livelihood security By, M.S. Swaminathan, eminent agricultural 1.Availability of food in market (This is a great scientist, is Founder of the M.S. Swaminathan accomplishment by Indian farmers who converted Research Foundation, Chennai. Nitya Rao is a “ship to mouth” situation to a “right to food”) Professor, Gender and Development at the 2. Access to food. (It is a function of purchasing University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K. power) 3. Absorption of food in the body or its utilisation Introduction (Dependent importantly on sanitation, drinking water and other non-food factors, including public The current national lockdown to tackle the health services.) COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the problems of food, nutrition and livelihood Access to food (Widen the food basket) security confronting a large number of rural people, in particular, migrants to cities. Through National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the PDS, government has assured some While some measures have been announced, such additional food to every individual during this as provision of additional rice or wheat, crisis. some pulses and oil free of cost, as well as ?1,000 cash for the purchase of other essential This should be further strengthened and the food commodities through the Public Distribution basket widened by including millets, pulses and System (PDS), we need to understand the different oil. dimensions of food security in a holistic manner in order to address this problem in its totality. Steps should also be taken to avoid hidden hunger caused by the deficiency Problems faced by farmers of micronutrients in the diet. Farmers are confronted at the moment with labour It is important to pay attention to the life cycle shortages. approach advocated in the NFSA, particularly the first thousand days in a child’s life, when the Many of the inputs, including seeds, cognitive abilities of the child are shaped. are expensive or unavailable. Marketing arrangements including supply chains Food Security and Job Security are not fully functional. Food security and access to nutritious, good Pricing is not remunerative, and public quality food is also contingent on job security. procurement is also not adequate. Today, a lot of people employed both on farms and in the non-farm sector are without jobs. Absence of demand, the lack of storage or value If job security is threatened, then so is food and addition facilities, especially for perishable nutrition security. commodities. Value addition to primary products is one way of We do not yet know exactly what the impact of the ensuring job security to people. current pandemic will be on the kharif sowing and food availability in the future. One example of such value addition is the Rice Biopark in Myanmar, wherein the straw, bran, Issues to be addressed to tackle food and the entire biomass are utilised (Rice biopark security are is also the solution for stubble burning in India). The Amul model provides a good example from

Easy to PICK567 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 the dairy sector of improved incomes to milk about the sustainability of the production cycle. At producers through value addition. the same time, this can have long-term consequences on nutrition and health security. Attention needs to be given to the horticulture If we can ensure food availability, food access and sector on a priority basis. Women farmers are at food absorption, then we have a fairly robust the forefront of horticulture and special attention system of food and nutrition security. needs to be given to both their technological and economic empowerment during this crisis. It is very critical to highlight the linkages between agriculture, nutrition and health. Work under MGNREGA India avoided what could have been a big famine in the 1960s through the help of technology and A second pathway to livelihood security for small public policy. and marginal farmers and landless households, and women within them, is strengthening the Through a combination of farmers’ cooperation, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment technological upgrading and favourable public Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). policies in procurement, pricing and distribution, we can deal with the fallouts of the The definition of a worker in MGNREGA has so pandemic far been applied only to unskilled, manual work, and not to skilled jobs in agriculture and allied activities. Given the lack of jobs and incomes ,it is imperative to expand the definition of work in MGNREGA to cover skilled work related to farmers and their farming activities. This is particularly important for women farmers and workers, who should not just be given tasks of carrying stones or digging mud. Women also engage in a range of essential care tasks, including caring for children, the elderly and sick people. These tasks, need to be recognised as work and supported with appropriate education, including on nutrition. Focus on non-food factors Third dimension of food security is absorption of food in the body or its utilisation, which is dependent importantly on sanitation, drinking water and other non-food factors, including public health services. These services are functional depends on the capacities of the local panchayats and their coordination with other local bodies. Way ahead Farmers making losses, and agriculture moving from being job-led to jobless, raise questions

Easy to PICK568 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 When will a COVID-19 vaccine be ready? Oxford University starts its human What is a candidate vaccine? clinical trials of its vaccine A candidate vaccine virus (CVV) is an influenza Oxford University initiated a phase-1 human (flu) virus that has been prepared by CDC or clinical trial of its vaccine — ChAdOx1 nCoV- another public health partner that can be used by 19 — against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV- vaccine manufacturers to produce a flu vaccine. 2. A single dose of the candidate vaccine will be administered to 1,112 healthy volunteers to study How was the vaccine being tested the safety, ability to produce immune response constructed? and efficacy of the vaccine. The vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, uses Oxford University is optimistic of a positive the common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes outcome of the candidate vaccine and has planned infections in chimpanzees. to get millions of doses of the vaccine before the The adenovirus has been genetically altered end of the year even as results of the final phase of so that it does not grow once injected. the trial (phase-3) are awaited. The construct carries the genetic material of the novel coronavirus that makes the spike protein. The vaccine candidate was developed by the The spike protein is found on the surface of the University’s Jenner Institute which began trials in virus and plays a crucial role in binding to specific humans on April 23 jointly with the University’s human receptors found on cell surfaces and Oxford Vaccine Group. entering the cells. The general stages of the development By introducing the genetic material of the spike cycle of a vaccine are: protein, the candidate vaccine will help the body recognise it and make antibodies against the  Exploratory stage spike protein.  Pre-clinical stage  Clinical development The antibodies produced will help mount  Regulatory review and approval an immune response and prevent the virus from  Manufacturing entering the human cells and causing an infection.  Quality control Clinical development is a three-phase process. Has it been tested on animals? During Phase I, small groups of people receive the trial vaccine. (Volunteers) The adenovirus construct has been used by Oxford University researchers to test safety for In Phase II, the clinical study is expanded and both the 2002 Severe Acute Respiratory vaccine is given to people who have Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory characteristics (such as age and physical health) Syndrome (MERS). Once the safety of the MERS similar to those for whom the new vaccine is vaccine was proven in a trial carried out in the intended. U.K., a trial began in December last year in Saudi Arabia, where MERS outbreaks occur frequently. In Phase III, the vaccine is given to thousands of The safety of the candidate vaccine was people and tested for efficacy and safety. earlier tested on six rhesus macaque monkeys. A single dose protected all the six animals for nearly a month even when exposed to high levels of the virus.

Easy to PICK569 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 What is the process of the clinical trial? infection risk, it is necessary that participants receiving both vaccines are exposed to the Volunteers, both male and female between 18-55 virus and some get infected. Only then will it years, are being recruited for the trial. A single become possible to understand if the vaccinated dose of the candidate vaccine will be administered group remained protected or not compared with to volunteers. The participants will be randomly the control arm. For this purpose, keeping the assigned to receive either the candidate vaccine participants in the dark about the vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) or a ‘control’, received makes the trial robust. the MenACWY vaccine, for comparison. Oxford University is using the MenACWY What is the timeline for the trial? vaccine — that protects against four strains of meningococcal bacteria — rather than a saline The phase-1 trial is expected to be completed in control. end-May if transmission remains high in the community. The participants will not know if he or she The phase-2 trial may be completed by August- received a candidate vaccine or not. September. For the control group, why is a vaccine When will Pune’s Serum Institute start for meningococcal bacteria being used manufacturing the vaccine? and not saline? (Placebo Effect) The company will start manufacturing the vaccine The MenACWY vaccine is a licensed the moment the phase-3 trial or the combined vaccine given routinely to teenagers in the U.K. phase-2/phase-3 trial begins. If the last two stages since 2015. The MenACWY vaccine is being used of the trial are combined then it would start as an “active control” vaccine to help understand manufacturing the vaccine by end-June and be participants’ response to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. ready with millions of doses by the end of the year. The company is confident of manufacturing 60-70 million vaccine doses by the end of the year. The reason for using this vaccine, rather than a How much will it cost? saline control, is because researchers expect to see some minor side effects from the ChAdOx1 Oxford University said it is partnering nCoV-19 vaccine such as a sore arm, headache and fever. with AstraZeneca to manufacture and distribute Saline does not cause any of these side effects. If the vaccine as quickly as possible. It said the participants were to receive only this vaccine or a vaccine will be made available on a “not for saline control, and went on to develop side effects, they would be aware that they had received the profit basis for the duration of the coronavirus new vaccine. pandemic”. Placebo effect is critical for the study, says Oxford University, that participants remain blinded to whether or not they have received the vaccine, “as, if they knew, this could affect their health behaviour in the community following vaccination, and may lead to a bias in the results of the study”. While all participants will be told how to reduce

Easy to PICK570 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Debt and Mutual Funds-Franklin Templeton and Mutual Fund crisis in India Debt and Mutual Funds A couple of fund houses have already seen huge Introduction erosion in the net asset values of a few debt schemes post the Franklin Templeton episode due After the abrupt winding of 6 debt funds by to mark-downs of their holdings. Franklin Templeton Investments, the Reserve Market observers say debt schemes are under Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced a pressure due to a combination of factors. special liquidity window of ?50,000 crore ( Special Liquidity Fund Scheme) for mutual How much debt assets do mutual funds funds. manage? Under the scheme, the RBI will conduct repo The AUM of debt schemes of the mutual fund (repurchase agreement) operations of 90-day industry is about ?15-lakh crore, which is more tenor at a fixed repo rate of 4.40% for banks. than half of the total AUM of Indian fund According to the RBI, banks can avail funds under houses. this facility exclusively for meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual fund houses by extending The worst affected sub-category of debt funds loans and undertaking outright purchase of and/or is Credit Risk funds that account for only 5% of repos against the collateral of investment grade the overall debt assets. corporate bonds, commercial papers (CPs), debentures and certificates of deposit Investors, however, are sceptical about the overall (CDs) held by the fund houses. The scheme will credit quality of the assets; hence debt schemes are be open till May 11 or up to utilisation of the likely to see a spike in redemptions. allocated amount, whichever is earlier. Mutual funds are allowed to borrow up to 20% of Need for SLF scheme their assets to meet liquidity needs for redemption or dividend pay-out. Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund’s decision to wind up six debt funds that had a combined assets Fund managers say that while such under management (AUM) of almost ?26,000 borrowings are common in March — there crore. are huge redemptions due to advance tax payment and other quarter-end obligations — a Their value had eroded because of redemption spillover of such borrowings to April is a cause for pressures and mark-to-market losses due to lack concern. of liquidity on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. That led to fears that the debt funds of Quality of debt securities held by mutual many other fund houses could face redemption funds pressure accentuated by the panic sparked by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund’s sudden move. Fund managers are of the view that more than half of the assets in debt schemes have a rating of AA Are mutual funds’ debt schemes under or above. They say that while about 20% to 30% pressure? of total debt AUM would be AAA rated or in cash, another 30% to 50% would be in AA+ or While the mutual fund industry clarified that what AA rating. had happened at Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund was an isolated case, wider liquidity and other The ongoing nationwide lockdown has impacted concerns persist. cash flows of most corporates, and investors are

Easy to PICK571 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 expecting defaults especially from the mid and small-sized corporate segment. What are the regulators doing? The regulators are aware of the potential risk and are monitoring the situation closely. Market participants have already written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to take action against Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund including appointing a high-powered committee to take over the management of the fund house while examining its investment decisions. Quality of Franklin Templeton bonds The Association of National Exchanges Members of India (ANMI), an umbrella body representing about 900 brokers, has written to the Ministry of Finance and SEBI that as much as 64.73% of the total AUM of Franklin India Low Duration Fund was in securities rated A or below, while in Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, such securities accounted for almost 59% of total assets. The brokers’ association says Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund invested in long duration securities even though SEBI norms state that ultra short duration funds can only have bonds with a tenure between three and six months.

Easy to PICK572 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 India’s disease surveillance system needs a reboot By, Maya John teaches in Jesus and Mary emergency intensive care unit, labour rooms, College, University of Delhi, and is working on the history of epidemics and epidemiology tuberculosis (TB) wards, etc. Introduction Ironically, cardiology and neurology Data shows that 75.3% of deaths have been departments that cater to elderly sick patients are concentrated in the age group of 60 years and above, and in 83% of deaths, the deceased were turning away many in the bid to streamline battling pre-existing identified health “critical” cases. conditions. In such circumstances we can expect an There is more reason to fear a combination of aggravation in the poor health conditions COVID-19 with existing illnesses and medical already affecting large sections of people who complications. The disease is lethal for those with have limited access to health-care services. compromised immunity brought on by age, Let us scrutinise this issue more closely. Many of existing respiratory infections, or essentially, the adverse medical conditions prevalent among malnutrition. the vast majority of our country are not even identified due to the lax disease surveillance In technical medical terms, this is a situation of system. comorbidity, which in ways makes it difficult to differentiate between dying of COVID-19, or, A significant number of the infected (poor and dying with COVID-19. marginalised people) do not have access to health-care facilities and so fail to report their Issue of disease watch condition to certified medical practitioners. In comparison to many western countries Even when an infected person has access to such combating the disease, India appears to have the advantage of a relatively young population. facilities, their clinical case does not always This is, of course, negated by the poor health conditions of the vast majority of Indians. It is then culminate in the required testing (blood/serum, imperative that we do not ignore already prevalent diseases and illnesses. throat swab, sputum, stool, urine). There is also a There are many among the poor who are battling widespread practice among pathological various diseases but now have little access to major public hospitals in the wake of the laboratories to categorise diseases on the basis of lockdown. the pre-existing classificatory system, which Routine functioning, particularly of out-patient department services in public hospitals, has results in failure to identify the definitive cause been severely affected, and largely, emergency cases are being entertained. (aetiology) for an illness by differentiating and Patients now complain of even greater high- separating pathogens (disease-causing handedness of hospital staff in the still functioning microorganisms) on the basis of variations in groups, subgroups, strains, etc. Silent epidemics There is, consequently, pervasive non- identification of a definitive cause behind a number of illnesses. Many ailments are simply clubbed together and referred to by generic names such as ‘Respiratory Tract Infection’ (RTI), ‘Urinary Tract Infection’, ‘Acute Febrile Illness (AFI)’, ‘Acute

Easy to PICK573 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Undifferentiated Fever’, ‘Fever of Unknown India die every day of the disease. Origin’ (FUO). This indicates that TB has a R0 value (basic reproduction number) and fatality rate that is Certain of these undifferentiated illnesses are way higher than those attributed to COVID-19 so known to affect lakhs of people every year far. However, it is important to note that TB and worldwide. They claim many lives, especially of many other contagious diseases are ignored as the poor who are victims of low immunity and “ordinary”, and elicit very low attention. In have limited access to health care. contrast, some diseases are quickly identified as Sources claim that RTI kills over 900 epidemics of greater public concern. people in India every day. Diseases are being selectively discovered and Likewise, Acute Lower Respiratory Tract have the propensity to be identified as an epidemic Infection (ALRTI), which affects mostly when they have a signalling effect for the children below the age of five years, has been scientific community. In a majority of instances, it known to infect approximately 3.40 crore people is only when there is a threat of transmission to the every year worldwide. well-to-do sections of society or wealthier regions that the disease actually has such a signalling In recent years it has led to roughly 66,000 to effect. It is not a coincidence that a relatively 199,000 deaths. downplayed disease such as TB is largely a poor man’s disease. 99% of these deaths are reported from developing countries, and India has a larger share Clearly, we are confronted by a skewed in it. The large number of hospitalisations, relationship between our ways of knowing (social enormous deaths and suffering caused by epistemology) and epidemiology. It is precisely in contagious undifferentiated diseases indicate the this context that COVID-19 has gained singular prevalence of persistent but undeclared silent prominence over several other lethal diseases. epidemics. Importantly, pre-existing diseases have the Even if the definitive cause of an illness is potential to combine with COVID-19, and with identified, it does not necessarily gain the focused devastating consequences. It becomes imperative attention of scientific research. to identify the comparative fatality rates of many of the silent epidemics, which in their own right Knowledge of the pathogen, and, consequently, require urgent attention. the required disease control soon lag behind. This overall process is due to the selective, biased approach of mainstream scientific research that is driven by the profits of private pharmaceutical companies, and is the fallout of the lack of priority that governments assign to general health care and diseases of the poor. Even when the identity of a contagious disease and its treatment are well known it does not mean that the disease’s prevalence will generate the necessary reaction. TB is a suitable example. According to public health experts, one person in every 10 seconds contracts TB, and up to 1,400 people in

Easy to PICK574 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 A grain stockist with a role still relevant By, Sudha Narayanan is Associate Professor, the FCI was facing a serious storage problem. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, FCI lacked a “pro-active liquidation Mumbai policy” for excess stocks. Introduction As of April 13, 2020, the FCI had already moved 3 million tonnes (post-lockdown), to States, For several years now, the Food Corporation of including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and India (FCI) has drawn attention for all the wrong Karnataka and those in the Northeast, where reasons. demand outstrips within State procurement and/or Set up under the Food Corporations Act 1964, in stocks. its first decade, the FCI was at the forefront of India’s quest of self-sufficiency in rice and The FCI has also enabled purchases by States wheat following the Green Revolution, and non-governmental organisations directly managing procurement and stocking grain that from FCI depots, doing away with e- supported a vast Public Distribution System auctions typically conducted for the Open (PDS). Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). Over time, however, many began to see it as a With rabi procurement under way in many States, behemoth that had long outlived its purpose. Its it seems that the country will secure ample food operations were regarded as expensive and supplies to cope with the current crisis. inefficient, a perception that has come to be accepted as fact. Even in the 1970s and 1980s, With passenger rail and road traffic suspended, poor storage conditions meant a lot of grain grain can move quickly without bottlenecks. was lost to pests, mainly rats; diversion of grain The FCI is overwhelmingly reliant on rail, was widespread. which has several advantages over road transport. In 2019-2020 (until February) only By the late 1990s, the FCI was often referred to as 24% of the grain moved was by road. The FCI the “Food Corruption of India”, not entirely has, however, long recognised that road facetiously. movement is often better suited for emergencies and for remote areas. Why it is better placed Containerised movement too, which is not the Notwithstanding its dubious reputation, the FCI dominant way of transporting grain, is more cost- has consistently maintained the PDS, a lifeline effective and efficient. Now, more than ever, it is for vulnerable millions across the country. imperative to move grain quickly and with the least cost and effort, to areas where the need is Today, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, greatest. it holds the key to warding off a looming crisis of hunger and starvation, especially in regions Positioning strategy where lakhs of migrant workers have returned with little in hand by way of money or food. Second, given that the coming months will see predictable demand of staples from Before the lockdown, many experts had observed food insecure hotspots where migrant workers that with 77 million tonnes of grains in its have just returned or where work is scarce, godowns and on the eve of a new round of one strategy that has been adopted widely procurement — of a bumper harvest of wheat — in international food aid by the United States,

Easy to PICK575 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 for example, is “pre-positioning” shipments, Supply Chain Management where grain is stored closer to demand hotspots. It would be useful for the State government and Fifth, today farmers across the country growing the FCI to maintain stocks at block for markets are seeking to reach out to consumers headquarters or panchayats in food insecure or directly, many out of sheer despair. In many remote areas, in small hermetic silos or places, farmer producer organisations containers; this would allow State governments (FPOs) have been at forefront of rebuilding these to respond rapidly. broken supply chains. Release of excess stocks The FCI along with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Third, the central government to look beyond the Ltd. (NAFED), is well placed to rope in PDS and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan expertise to manage the logistics to Yojana and release stocks over and above support these efforts. existing allocations, but at its own expenses rather than by transferring the fiscal burden to NAFED has already taken the initiative to States. procure and transport horticultural crops. Several State governments too have put in systems This would provide flexibility to local to procure horticultural crops. The FCI should governments to access grains for contextually similarly consider expanding its role to support appropriate interventions at short notice, FPOs and farmer groups, to move a wider range including feeding programmes, free of commodities including agricultural inputs such distribution to vulnerable and marginalised as seeds and fertilizers, packing materials and so sections, those who are excluded from the PDS, on. etc.; it also allows freedom to panchayats, for example, to sell grain locally at pre-specified Major concerns regarding FCI prices until supply is restored. There are two major concerns that many In many States, there is a vibrant network of self- articulate regarding the FCI’s role. help groups formed under the National Rural The first is a long-term concern regarding Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) which can be the costs of food subsidy. An analysis of FCI tasked with last mile distribution of food aid other costs spanning 2001-16 suggests, however, that on than the PDS. average about 60% of the costs of acquisition, procurement, distribution and carrying stocks are in fact transfers to farmers. Consultative committees presumably exist already Not all of what is counted as subsidy therefore in each State to coordinate with the FCI on such represents a waste of resources, even if the arrangements. distributional consequences and inefficiencies leave a lot to be desired. First in, first out principle (FIFO) At the same time, the government needs to address Fourth, typically, the FCI’s guidelines follow the FCI’s mounting debts — an estimated ?2.55 a first in, first out principle lakh crore in March 2020 in the form of National (FIFO) that mandates that grain that has been Small Saving Funds Loan alone — and revisit its procured earlier needs to be distributed first to current preference for not liquidating these in ensure that older stocks are liquidated, both order to contain the Union government’s fiscal across years and even within a particular year. deficit. It is time for the FCI to suspend this strategy, if it has not already, that enables movement that costs A second concern is that extended food least time, money and effort.

Easy to PICK576 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 distribution of subsidised grain is akin to dumping and depresses food prices locally, in turn affecting farmers. These are legitimate concerns but perhaps only beyond the looming emergency this summer. Way Ahead The questions will once again surface on the relevance of the FCI. Even in 2015, the Shanta Kumar report recommended repurposing the organisation as an “agency for innovations in Food Management System” and advocated shedding its dominant role in the procurement and distribution of grain. There is no doubt that the FCI needs to overhaul its operations and modernise its storage. At the same time, the relevance of an organisation such as the FCI or of public stockholding, common to most Asian countries, has never been more strongly established than now, even as we contemplate its new role in a post-pandemic world.

Easy to PICK577 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 COVID-19 and India’s fiscal conundrum By, Ramkishen S. Rajan is Yong Pung How Several observers have emphasised the need for Professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public India to roll out a revival package of at least 5% Policy, National University of Singapore, and of the GDP (?10 trillion) to support the health and Sasidaran Gopalan is Senior Research Fellow at economic well-being of the most vulnerable (slum the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang dwellers and migrant workers) as well as micro, Technological University. Views are personal small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Introduction Relief packages in Asia As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage Most advanced economies can manage such economies across the world, policymakers are financing by issuing bonds given their global desperately seeking effective ways to mitigate its demand. On the other hand, over 50 struggling economic effects. low-income countries with limited resources to tackle the crisis have turned to the IMF for help. The immediate future appears dire for large The G7 countries have in principle agreed to offer emerging markets including India, which recently debt relief to low-income countries by suspending saw its growth forecast for 2020 slashed by their debt service payments. the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to 1.9% from the previously estimated 5.8%. In The ones caught in between are mostly the April, the World Bank estimated that India middle-income emerging markets in Asia and would grow 1.5% to 2.8% in 2020-2021, elsewhere, like India. To date, the Asian the lowest since the start of the 1991 economic Development Bank and the World Bank have reforms committed to offering relief packages worth $1.5 billion and $1 billion, respectively, to India, Fiscal stimulus efforts while there are reports India has sought further multilateral assistance from the Asian The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has Infrastructure Investment Bank. responded proactively and aggressively to ease liquidity concerns although the credit easing However, with a government debt of around 72% policy does not seem to have been of GDP, which is comparatively higher than all transmitted yet to many firms. other emerging markets in the region, India’s fiscal room to opt for a massive stimulus appears It has also granted regulatory forbearance relating much more limited. to asset classification to support economic activity, though some socialisation of losses might Any aggressive stimulus spending will not only be inevitable over time. result in a surge in India’s gross public debt but will also negatively impact its credit ratings. In contrast, the Indian government’s fiscal Even if the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget stimulus efforts have paled in comparison to the Management constraints are relaxed, rest of the world’s initiatives. India’s fiscal given India’s limited demand for domestic stimulus to date, estimated at ?1.7 trillion, bonds, there is a need to seek capital flows to is less than 1% of the country’s GDP, which is finance its additional stimulus by encouraging paltry compared to the magnitude of stimulus foreign investment in government securities. injections undertaken by many East Asian Some richer countries in the Asian region like countries such as Japan (20%), Malaysia Singapore have managed to tap into their deep (16.2%) and Singapore (12.2%).

Easy to PICK578 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 reserve kitty benefiting from the significant role played by their sovereign wealth funds. While India does not have that luxury, it has been suggested that some of the country’s $476 billion of foreign exchange (FX) reserves be used towards this purpose. This is an extremely risky option in light of India’s sizeable current account deficits and heavy dependence on short-term capital inflows. Given the likely pressure on its balance of payments moving forward, utilising FX reserves does not seem to be viable at the moment. A radical financing option would be to monetise the deficits by allowing the RBI to print money to buy the government bonds as long as inflation remains under check, though this might set a dangerous precedent (something the RBI stopped doing in 1997) moving forward. India has worked hard to move away from such money- financed fiscal stimulus polices that led to weak budget constraints and macroeconomic instability. Adequate fiscal space Unless there is proper governance of any massive fiscal spending, even a very well- intentioned policy may end up doing more harm than good. Even countries like China have been guarded in their fiscal responses so far. In China, this was partly to avoid a rise in its shadow banking activities, which turned out to be one of the perverse side-effects of its massive stimulus post the global financial crisis. Countries with higher initial public debt levels like India need to be particularly concerned as they also happen to possess the least state capacity to make tough decisions to return to a trajectory of fiscal credibility. Way ahead There is clearly a need to start re-prioritising expenditures away from low-priority, unproductive areas towards greater spending on health and social safety nets for low-income households.

Easy to PICK579 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Boost wages to stimulate India’s growth - Pump Priming By, Jayan Jose Thomas teaches Economics at the as a share of the combined workforce in U.P., Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Views are Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh fell to personal 49.1% in 2018 from 64.1% in 2005. This meant that, between 2005 and 2018, 19.3 million Introduction persons left agricultural work in these four Impoverishment among English workers during States alone and sought job opportunities the early years of the Industrial Revolution had elsewhere. prompted Leicester framework knitters to frame this resolution in 1817: “… if liberal Wages were A majority of the workers who leave villages find given to the Mechanics in general throughout the themselves in the bottom rung of the urban Country, the Home Consumption of our economy, earning a precarious living as drivers, Manufactures would be immediately more than factory workers, security guards and domestic doubled, and consequently every hand would soon helpers. find full employment” (cited in E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class, 1963). Their livelihoods are directly or indirectly We need to plan for an economic growth driven by linked to economic activities that cater to the rising — and not stagnant — wages, and a demand from the relatively affluent in India development model that is dispersed far and wide and abroad across the country, and not centred in a few big cities. Widening the demand base Data According to the official consumption- Out of India’s total workforce of 471.5 expenditure surveys (for 2011-12), the richest million, only 12.3% are regular 5% accounted for as much as 64.4% of the workers receiving some form of social value of overall consumption of durable security.(figures for 2018). goods (such as of furniture or refrigerators) in urban India. The share of the poorest 50% was A vast majority of migrant workers belong to only 13.4%. the category of informal casual workers. According to the 2011 Census, there were 54.3 The COVID-19 pandemic is set to cause long-term million persons (workers as well as non-workers) disruptions to the existing structure of demand in the country who migrated from one State to dominated by the consumption of a privileged the other. few. The ‘heartland’ States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Businesses in India and elsewhere are concerned Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh accounted for that even after the lifting of the lockdown, they 48.9% of these inter-State migrants, much will have to operate at a fraction of their installed higher than their combined share in India’s capacities due to the sagging demand conditions. population (of 36.8%).-->Workers migrate from villages to urban centres as the growth of rural Lockdown displaces lakhs of migrants incomes has not kept pace with the rising numbers and aspirations of the young in the The crisis in the economy can be overcome only countryside. by widening the sources of demand, by raising the consumption of and investment for the Those engaged in agriculture and allied activities poor. Setting up of industries linked to food

Easy to PICK580 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 processing or affordable housing in rural areas. agricultural research, public transport. The multiplier effects of such investment will be huge. Food processing can help boost farmer incomes, reduce food spoilage, create rural employment and, above all, improve the availability of nutritious food to the needy. Broadening the demand base requires policies that differ fundamentally from conventional economic ideas. The mainstream argument has been that firms should try to reduce costs by squeezing wages. But cutting wages will shrink markets further and deepen the crisis during a depression. Instead, firms should assist in raising workers’ wages and incomes, and thereby, in enlarging the size of the markets. Even with higher wages, profit rates will not dip because the larger demand allows firms to utilise their capacities better. Increase government spending (Pump Priming) It is critical that governments increase spending on the economy, in areas such as infrastructure and innovation. Government spending can boost the “animal spirits” of the private investors, as had been suggested by John Maynard Keynes amidst the great depression of the 1930s. The ideas of Keynes and his followers had helped to fuel an unprecedented economic boom in the U.S. and European countries for almost three decades after the end of the Second World War in 1945. A striking feature of this ‘golden age of capitalism’ was that the real wages kept rising. What is needed is a massive expansion in government spending, which will uplift workers’ skills as well as their incomes and purchasing power. This will include investments in healthcare, education, roads, rural infrastructure,

Easy to PICK581 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Pathways to a more resilient economy By, Arun Maira is Former Member, Planning The obsession with GDP as the supreme goal of Commission and the author of ‘Redesigning the progress has been . Aeroplane While Flying: Reforming Institutions’ Nobel laureates in economics (Joseph Stiglitz, Introduction Amartya Sen, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and others) are calling upon to rethink the When complex systems come to catastrophes, i.e. fundamentals of economics, especially the critical points of instability, they re-emerge in purpose of GDP. distinctly new forms, according to the science of complex systems. The COVID-19 global A five-point ‘de-growth’ manifesto by 170 Dutch pandemic is a catastrophe, both for human lives academics has gone viral amidst the heightened and for economies. Economists cannot predict in Internet buzz during the lockdown. Goals for what form the economy will emerge from it. human progress must be reset. Living systems evolve and acquire new capabilities over time. ii) Boundaries between countries are good Boundary-lessness is a mantra for hyper- Lines fo Essay (Mains) globalisers. Countries are at different stages of economic 1.Fritjof Capra and Pier Luigi Luisi point out development, and have different compositions of in The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision resources, they must follow different paths to that among all living species, humans have a progress. special ability. Only humans consciously develop new concepts, new scientific ideas, and According to systems’ theory, sub-systems new language in their search for new visions. within complex systems must have boundaries Institutions of governance are human inventions around them, albeit appropriately permeable for directing human endeavours and for providing ones, so that the sub-systems can maintain their stability. own integrity and evolve. 2.Thomas S. Kuhn explained in The Structure This is the explanation from systems science for of Scientific Revolutions why new ideas are the breakdown of the World Trade invariably resisted by prevalent power structures Organization, in which all countries were in societies. The scientific establishment expected to open their borders, which caused harm determines which ideas are worthy of admission. to countries at different stages of development. The King’s advisers do not want outsiders to dilute Now COVID-19 has given another reason to their influence in the court. The Establishment maintain sufficient boundaries. resists change. iii) Government is good Therefore, fundamental reforms of ideas and Ronald Reagan’s dictum, “Government is not institutions in human societies are always the solution... Government is the problem”, has difficult, until a crisis. been up-ended by COVID-19. Challenging principles iv) The “market” is not the best solution Here are seven radical ideas emerging as pathways Money is a convenient currency for managing to build a more resilient economy and a more just markets and for conducting transactions. society. Whenever goods and services are left to markets, i) “De-Growth”

Easy to PICK582 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 the dice is loaded against those who do not have modern societies and economies. money to obtain what they need. From school onwards, children are taught to Moreover, by a process of “cumulative compete. Companies must improve their causation”, those who have money and power can competitive abilities. Nations too. acquire even more in markets. Blind faith in competition misses the reality that human capabilities have advanced more What is cumulative causation? than other species’ have, by evolving institutions for collective action. The economic principle that multiple changes are set in motion by a single event. The causation Further progress, to achieve the Sustainable might be \"forward\" if the effects are positive, as in Development Goals for example, will require the case of the location of a new business collaboration among scientists in different generating more jobs, more investment disciplines, and among diverse stakeholders, opportunities, and a greater tax base for a and collaboration among sovereign countries. community. The causation would be \"backward\" Improvement in abilities to share and if a business closed, thereby creating the reverse govern common resources have become essential effects of the opening of a new business. The chain for human survival in the 21st century. reaction associated with cumulative causation is said to be created by the multiplier effect. vii) Intellectual property belongs to the public The earth’s resources must be conserved. The “marketization” of economies has Just as those who owned more land used to have contributed to the increasing inequalities in more power before, now those who own wealth over the last 50 years, which Thomas knowledge have more power and wealth than Piketty and others have documented. the rest. v) “Citizen” welfare, not “consumer” welfare Intellectual property monopolies are producing It must be the objective of progress. In enormous wealth for their owners, though many economies, human beings are consumers and were developed on the back of huge public producers. In societies, they are citizens. investments. Citizens have a broader set of needs than consumers. Citizens’ needs cannot be fulfilled It is imperative to evolve new institutions for merely by enabling them to consume more public ownership of technologies and for the goods and services. regulation of their use. They value justice, dignity, and societal harmony too. Purpose of enterprises There will be resistance to shifts in social, Economists’ evaluations of the benefits of free economic, and political power towards those who trade, and competition policy too, which are based have less from those who have more within the on consumer welfare alone, fail to account for present paradigm. negative impacts on what citizens value. The financial crisis of 2008 was a crisis of vi) Competition must be restrained liquidity in the system. Recovery was achieved Collaboration is essential for progress. Faith by putting more fuel into the system. The system in “Darwinian competition”, with the survival of then moved on; in basically the same shape it was only the fittest, underlies many pathologies of before. COVID-19 has revealed structural weaknesses in the global economy. Putting fuel in the tank

Easy to PICK583 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 will not be sufficient. While global attention understandably is focused on relief and recovery, this is the time to design for resilience. The economic system cannot be redesigned by domain experts devising solutions within their silos. Such as, trade experts recommending new trade policies, intellectual property experts recommending reforms of intellectual property rights, and industry experts recommending industry policies. All the pieces must fit together. Innovations are required at many levels to create a more resilient and just world. Innovation is essential in the overall design of the economy. Changes will also be necessary in our life patterns, our work and consumption habits, and in our personal priorities. Redesigning of economy must begin with questions about purpose.(Way Ahead) What is the purpose of economic growth? What is the purpose of businesses and other institutions? What is the purpose of our lives? What needs, and whose needs, do institutions, and each of us, fulfil by our existence?

Easy to PICK584 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Getting over pandemic stage fright Dr. T. Jacob John is Retired Professor of community transmission would have alerted the Virology, Christian Medical College (CMC), medical profession and avoided a loss of lives. Vellore. Dr. M.S. Seshadri is Retired Professor of Medicine, CMC, and now Medical Director, Epidemiologically important Thirumalai Mission Hospital, Ranipet, Tamil Nadu What is community transmission? One infected person in the community, unaware Introduction that he is infected, infects others in the community. This year, on World Health Day, April 7, a (If A was infected by a known contact B, in patient asymptomatic for COVID-19 was epidemiology we say B infected A. When contact admitted with chest pain in a hospital in is unknown we say ‘someone in the community’ Maharashtra. Diagnosed with coronary artery infected A; hence the term “community disease, he was treated surgically. transmission”. ) Five days later he developed COVID-19 pneumonia and eventually succumbed. Did he When did community transmission begin in come infected or did he get infected in the India? hospital? Either way, evidence is clear for community transmission. On March 18, Tamil Nadu reported the second infection in the State, an example of community Is India in the 3rd stage of COVID-19 transmission. A 20-year-old man travelled by train transmission ? (Community transmission) from Delhi and had no contact with any known infected person. In Chennai, he developed  At the All India Institute of Medical symptoms and tested positive on March 18. So Sciences, many doctors, nurses and community transmission had started in India other staff became infected with SARS- by, or before, mid-March 2020. CoV-2 and had to be quarantined. Country of Origin  Recent reports indicate that one in 15 SARS- CoV-2 infected individuals in the Every pandemic emerges from a country of origin national capital is a health-care worker. — the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic originated in Mexico and COVID-19, in China.  A 62-year-old physician in Indore, For every other country, the initial infection would Madhya Pradesh, to whom many slum- be “imported” from another country. dwellers came for care, died of COVID- 19, despite treatment. The Chief Medical What is Importation of infection ? Officer (CMO) told the media that his contact history was unknown. Stage 1 Importation means that the traveller got infected  On April 14, a popular 76-year-old “family in a foreign country but developed symptoms and doctor” died of COVID-19 in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. On March 25, he closed the hospital, complying with the lockdown. He died; his wife and children tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The doctor’s contact history could not be traced. In all these situations, a correct understanding of the nature of the epidemic and acknowledging

Easy to PICK585 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 got diagnosed in the host country. If secondary transmission occurs from the imported infection, it is qualified as contact of imported case. Stage 2 If the importation-contact further infects someone in the host country, such infection by in-country transmission is called “local”, “indigenous” or “autochthonous” infection. It indicates the start of in-country epidemic, in other words, when the imported infection becomes indigenous. Stage 3 As the epidemic advances, community transmission is natural and inevitable. If the intention is to intercept chains of transmission, then there should be acknowledgement of indigenous (community) transmission. Necessary step A country denies community transmission at its own peril. Once community transmission of COVID-19 came to light on March 18, warning all medical professionals, coupled with strong recommendations for strict implementation of appropriate protective gear by all health professionals in all levels of health care, was the correct public health procedure. Admitting community transmission does not lower the honour of mother India in the eyes of foreigners; on the contrary it boosts the sagging morale of health-care professionals, prevents avoidable loss of manpower in the face of the epidemic, and preserves the integrity of the entire health-care system. `

Easy to PICK586 – “UPSC Monthly Magazine\" May - 2020 Everyone wants a good stimulus By, Srivatsa Krishna is an IAS officer. Views are India’s starting point is going to be at around 7.5% personal of GDP fiscal deficit (net of savings due to both, cuts and deferred expenditure. Introduction On top of this is all the ‘merit expenditure’ on While pleading for less or no health and direct income support to the poor. government, corporate India wants to always privatise profits and socialise losses. So, when a 3. It may be worthwhile to bear in mind that Jet Airways crumbles, or a Yes Bank implodes from 1947 to 1997, the Central government (for reasons other than business risk), everyone always routinely monetised its deficit, without goes running to the government seeking bailouts. leading to high rates of inflation, much less Now, it is natural that with a legitimate contraction hyperinflation. in economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and deep uncertainty), which is an The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget endogenous shock, everyone wants a good Management (FRBM) limits are hardly a grand stimulus. success and routinely all governments have The Reserve Bank of India can print notes, no broken the barrier. Other countries with questions asked, but this is not without serious huge debt-to-GDP ratios like Japan (>200%) consequences and the trade-offs need to be and U.S. (125%) get away with barely a rap on understood the knuckles but India is pulled up for minor slippages on a 70% debt-GDP ratio. Supply-side shutdown 1. One cannot ‘stimulate’ an economy during 4. Third, some prominent commentators have a supply-side lockdown and that there are argued extremely fallaciously, that bailouts ‘announcement effects’ — both good and bad — should be based on need and not affordability. that go with the stimulus. It is like trying to jump-start a dead engine when 5. Thus, another mantra being espoused is you also have a flat tyre! So, any ‘good stimulus’ that bank managers should be incentivised to can only come into effect post lockdown and lend and the government should indemnify extensive consultations are on with everyone for (compensate) loans given during this period. that. This could well lead to bogus companies springing up overnight to grab the stimulus in collusion with 2. Second, everyone, when talking about the banks. stimulus, conveniently forgets that government revenues too will be seriously hit. This will be It remains to be seen what fiscal support tools the anywhere from 2-3% of GDP (given that government will use that can ensure that credit disinvestment target itself is 1% of GDP and the flows to various sectors. The government owes realisation is likely to be close to zero in the about ?1 lakh crore on tax refunds and also had current financial year). promised to make up for any difference to the States, if the GST did not grow by 14% per annum. So, the effective fiscal deficit is going to be somewhere around 7.5 % (if you take into account Way ahead- Giving grant to States all the off-balance sheet borrowings). So, while This is the time for it to transfer this to the States everyone is talking of how the U.S. government as a grant, for one year, to offset the revenue loss has set aside $2 trillion for bailouts or 9% of its to States GDP, no one is ready to face the trade-off that Lifting the lockdown will be the first step towards