Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• Urbanisation and urban dynamics

GS Paper 2

• Post-retirement appointments: a danger to judicial independence
• India’s Sri Lankan refugees need fair consideration
• Union Of 100 States – Why India must have many small states. It will make for better economy and better politics

GS Paper 3

• Flying high into Amrit Kaal
• A manifesto for tackling the silent pandemic of AMR
• Our labour market’s playing field is in the process of being levelled
• R&D: An inside job – For innovation to power economic growth, Indian industry must raise its investment in in-house R&D five-fold
• The Express View on climate report: Shore up the defences

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• The missing Deputy Speaker: What is the post, and what does the Constitution say
• Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored Scheme- “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26
• China must take a haircut on its loans to poor countries, says India’s G20 Sherpa
• Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF): Fluorescent carbon nanomaterial-based immunosensor from natural sources can help early detection of cancer
• What are Mammatus clouds?
• Cabinet approves strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots
• With an eye on China, Union Cabinet clears 7 ITBP battalions
• Explained | Taxing windfall profits of oil companies
• India to spend 75% of defence capital on procurement from local industries: Defence Minister

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

Urbanisation and urban dynamics

News: The article discusses about urbanization and urban dynamics. It also tells how these two are interrelated.

What are urbanisation and urban dynamics?

Urbanisation is not only a shift of population from the countryside to urban areas but it is a process that influences and defines a place’s cultural beauty.

For example, Paris is the world’s fashion capital.

Therefore, Paris’s transformation as a fashion capital and its process of urbanization is associated with the urbanization of foreign designers that further influenced the labour relations as well as the industrialisation processes.

Urban dynamics can be defined as the factors that comprise an urban environment that includes opportunities and threats.

It is the understanding that social, cultural and economic factors not only bring together a city, but also the inherent being of that city.

How do urbanisation and urban dynamics influence the city and how are they both inter-related?

Changes brought by urbanisation are beneficial to businesses, lead to the improvement of public services, improve technology and infrastructure, and help in the creation of new ideas.

However, urbanisation also leads to overcrowding, resource extinction, pollution and land degradation.

On the other hand, urban dynamics is related to the interaction of spatial geography with the environment and with human behaviour.

Moreover, a city is viewed as an economic landscape which tends to bring urbanization, but the same city also has urban dynamics such as class differences.

Therefore, urbanisation has always been reflected in its urban dynamics and the relationship between urbanisation and urban dynamics is very cohesive and interactive.

Hence, any change in urbanisation will also see the transformation of the urban dynamics of the city.

GS Paper 2

Post-retirement appointments: a danger to judicial independence

News– Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh within a month of retiring from the Supreme Court of India.

Since 2014, he is the third Supreme Court judge who has received a high-profile political appointment soon after retirement.

Why are judges given political appointments after retirement?

This may be a signal to judges that they will be suitably awarded if they give decisions favouring the government.

The government can influence the judiciary through political appointments. Earlier governments with majoritarian governments have also done it. They want to consolidate their power.

What is the way forward for judges taking post-retirement benefits?

The larger objective for any reasonable executive should be to ensure the independence of the other arms of the governing mechanism.

Judges should show moral responsibility and character. Judges must recognise that handouts from the government, in the form of such political appointments are not one-way. It is based on a give-and-take approach.

The Indian judiciary must distinguish between political favours and other post-retirement employment opportunities.

There needs to be a demarcation between roles where the presence of judicial authority is valuable and even necessary, such as tribunal and where it is not.

Ideally, the judicial community should take a concerted decision on this. They should agree that judges should not take up any appointments upon retirement stemming from political patronage.

A cooling period of about two years should be considered a mandatory minimum before a judge agrees to take on any post-retirement adjudicatory role.

India’s Sri Lankan refugees need fair consideration

News– The article explains the issues of Tamil refugees in India

What is the status of Tamil refugees and the policy priorities of the Indian government for them?

The Ministry of Home Affairs in its 2021-2022 Annual Report states that 3,04,269 Sri Lankan refugees entered India between July 1983 and August 2012.

In India, 58,648 refugees are residing in 108 camps in Tamil Nadu while 54 are in Odisha.

Another 34,135 refugees registered with Tamil Nadu authorities reside outside camps.

They were provided relief including shelter, subsidised ration, educational assistance, medical care and cash allowances.

The objective of the Government of India remains the repatriation of refugees to Sri Lanka. 99,469 refugees were repatriated to Sri Lanka up to March 1995 and no organised repatriation was done thereafter.

What were the steps taken by the government for reconstruction in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war?

The Government of Sri Lanka constituted the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in 2010. Its observations and recommendations on human rights, international humanitarian law, land rights, resettlement and reconciliation are noteworthy.

The Government of Sri Lanka, and its development partners initiated programmes in the Northern and Eastern provinces, with objectives of resettlement, restoration of critical infrastructure, livelihoods and social services to the local population. This led to significant improvements.

The government expenditure in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during 2009-18 is reported to be $3.8 billion with another $3.4 billion by development partners.

What are the challenges faced by reconstruction efforts in current times?

There is a lack of funds for recovery needs.

The Easter Bombings in 2019 followed by COVID-19 slowed the development process. It was further compounded by the economic and political crises in 2022.

The latest World Bank Sri Lanka Update says that poverty has more than doubled over the past few years, and poverty and vulnerability will continue to rise without appropriate support.

Who are Hill Tamils and what are their specific concerns?

Amongst the refugees, there are 30,000 Persons of Indian Origin. They are known as “Hill Tamils. They have a claim to Sri Lankan citizenship via the Indo-SriLanka Agreements of 1964, 1974 and 1987 and amendments to the Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act of Sri Lanka.

Lack of documents, as well as a desire to continue living in India, differentiates them from other refugees. They may need special consideration.

What is the issue of the repatriation of refugees?

Today, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India who wish to return voluntarily are being facilitated by the Government of Sri Lanka. Over the last year, 208 individuals have returned voluntarily, supported by the Government of India, bilateral donors and the UNHCR.

India possesses the capacity and the legal framework to find durable solutions to the refugee situation in Tamil Nadu.

Voluntary return is the most desired choice to end refugee status.

There is a significant population which may not wish to return. This is a cohort born and educated in India with no knowledge or experience of their country of origin.

A solution that provides relief from enduring refugee status is the need of the hour.

Union Of 100 States – Why India must have many small states. It will make for better economy and better politics

News: The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) Motha has come up with the demand for creating a separate state of Greater Tipraland.

About the demand for Greater Tipraland

Why there is a demand for smaller states?

Too big to function efficiently: There are too many big states by area in India. Such as Rajasthan, UP, MP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Odisha, and West Bengal.

They are so big to be administered with efficiency. For instance, If UP were a separate country, it would be the fourth-largest by population. But its per capita GDP is closer to Kenya’s.

Low economic contribution and high political participation: Smaller or medium size states or small bits of one or two large states like Maharashtra and Gujarat are performing better economically. But larger states with larger populations wield political power in the Indian federal system.

This imbalance will deepen after delimitation and soon be a source of tension in Indian federalism.

Hence, bigger states can and should be subdivided into two or three or even more states.

How efficient are the smaller states?

There are enough evidence which suggests that smaller states mostly tend to do better. For example, according to the Eleventh Plan document the then newly created states of Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh grew economically faster than their parent states – UP and MP respectively – between 2004-05 to 2008-09.

This is due to better decentralisation of resources. So, India as a continent-size country should have at least 100 states.

GS Paper 3

Flying high into Amrit Kaal

News– India’s civil aviation policy is bearing fruit. It is set to reach new heights

What is the status of the civil aviation industry in India?

India is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world after China and the US. Domestic passengers more than doubled from 60 million in 2014 to 143 million in 2020.

There has also been a significant increase in international air passengers — from 23 million to 35 million.

Indian flight operators have a fleet size of approximately 750 aircraft. The fleet size is expected to increase rapidly.

India’s civil aviation sector  has also provided employment opportunities for engineers, trained technicians and airline service staff.

What is the UDAN scheme and its achievements?

In 2017, the Government of India started a Regional Connectivity Scheme called UDAN to make flight operations to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities commercially viable.

It approved a budget for the revival of existing unserved and underserved airports and airstrips through the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Today, approximately 475 UDAN routes have been operationalised.

Since its inception, over 1.14 crore passengers have travelled in more than 2.16 Lakh UDAN flights. Rs 2,300 crore has been paid to selected airlines by the government as a part of the viability gap funding.

What are other steps taken by the government under civil aviation policy?

MRO sector– The growth in the country’s fleet size is positively correlated with the growth in MRO-related work.

The market size of the MRO sector in India stood at around $2 billion. It is catering to 15% of our domestic MRO work.

The government issued new MRO Guidelines to encourage MRO organisations and OEMs to set up workshops in India.

Many steps taken towards making India a global hub of MRO. It includes 100% FDI permitted via automatic route, a liberalised policy for borrowing and lending in foreign currency and Indian currency and reduction of GST from 18% to 5% with full Input Tax Credit.

Manpower– 1165 commercial pilot licences were issued in 2022. This is the largest number of licences over the last decade.

The need for pilots has also led to an increase in Flight Training organisations. Currently, India has 35 approved FTOs with 53 bases and an additional 10 are on the anvil.

Similarly, the number of Air Traffic Controllers has increased from a little over 2,000 in 2012 to close to 4,000 in 2022.

Drones– Last year, the government issued guidelines for Production Linked Incentives  for drones with an outlay of Rs 120 crore over three years. There has been a massive liberalisation of the drone policy under which 25 forms have been reduced to just five.

Agriculture sector– Civil aviation policy has contributed to agriculture also. The Krishi Udan Scheme is focused on transporting perishable food products of farmers from the hilly areas, north-eastern states and tribal areas.

India’s civil aviation ministry has also been instrumental in rescuing Indians and foreign nationals during emergencies.

As a part of the Vande Bharat Mission, India facilitated the travel of 1.83 crore passengers during the various COVID-19 waves. Operation Ganga rescued 22,500 Indian students from Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Tourism sector– The synergy between tourism and civil aviation in propagating India’s tourism potential is well-known. The Ministry of Tourism also funds more than 50 routes and has approved another 10 routes under the RCS-UDAN Scheme.

A manifesto for tackling the silent pandemic of AMR

News– As the current G-20 president, and as a vulnerable country, India has a key role in ensuring that AMR remains high on the global health agenda.

What shows the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance?

New drugs have become resistant to drugs.There is rising misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals.

In 2019, AMR was associated with an estimated 4.95 million human deaths. A 2018 report by OECD warned of a phenomenal increase of resistance to antibiotics by 2030.

AMR adds to the burden of communicable diseases and strains the health systems of a country. ICMR study in 2022 showed that the resistance level increases from 5% to 10% every year for broad-spectrum antimicrobials.

An Indian Network for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance study indicated a high rate of resistance to commonly used drugs such as ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and clindamycin.

According to WHO, resistance to ciprofloxacin varied from 8.4% to 92.9% for Escherichia coli and from 4.1% to 79.4% for Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The global epidemic of TB has been severely impacted by multidrug resistance. Patients have less than a 60% chance of recovery.

What are the impacts of AMR?

Microbial resistance to antibiotics has made it harder to treat infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and several food-borne diseases.

AMR also imposes a huge health cost on the patient in the form of longer hospitalisation, health complications and delayed recovery.

It puts patients undergoing major surgeries and treatments, such as chemotherapy, at a greater Risk.

What were important developments during the Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance?

It was held in Muscat. It led to the adoption of the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR.

The Muscat Manifesto recognised the need to accelerate political commitments in the implementation of One Health action for controlling the spread of AMR.

It also recognised the need to address the impact of AMR not only on humans but also on animals, and in areas of environmental health, food security and economic growth and development.

The conference focused on three health targets: reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system at least by 30-50% by 2030.

Eliminate use in animals and food production of antimicrobials that are medically important for human health

Ensure that by 2030 at least 60% of overall antibiotic consumption in humans is from the WHO “Access” group of antibiotics.

What is the One Health approach?

It requires all stakeholders to work together towards an integrated programme linking challenges of humans, terrestrial and aquatic animals, plant health, food and feed production and the environment.

What are the steps taken by the Indian government to overcome AMR?

The National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-21) emphasised the effectiveness of the government’s initiatives for hand hygiene and sanitation programmes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Kayakalp and Swachh Swasth Sarvatra.

The government has also attempted to increase community awareness about healthier and better food production practices, especially in the animal food industry.

The National Health Policy 2017 also offered specific guidelines regarding use of antibiotics, restricting the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in livestock. It also called for scrutiny of prescriptions to assess antibiotic usage in hospitals and among doctors.

What is the way forward to overcome AMR?

The various G-20 health summits spread through 2023 offer an opportunity for India to ensure that all aspects of AMR are addressed and countries commit to progress.

Some key areas for action are:

Surveillance of priority pathogens and sharing of data, including through WHO’s GLASS platform.

Regulatory and policy action to stop use of antibiotics that are important for human health in animals.

No use of antibiotics for growth promotion in animals.

More government investment in research and innovation for new antibiotics.

Explore use of vaccines to prevent certain infections due to AMR organisms in humans and animals.

Special focus on combating TB and drug-resistant TB.

Further, There is also an urgent need to reduce the usage of antimicrobials in the agri-food system. Countries such as the Netherlands and Thailand have decreased their usage by almost 50%.

Our labour market’s playing field is in the process of being levelled

News: The article discusses how the Indian companies evolved with the time and the way they have provided job opportunities to the Indian labour market.

How did the companies evolve in India?

Under the license raj: MNCs in those times relied on their regulatory connectivity and their capital, technology and product investments bred higher productivity and wages.

Companies at that time focused more on performance, potential and hard work than a surname.

After the reforms of 1991: These reforms ended licencse raj and brought changes in the business climate for Indian entrepreneurs. The changes were reflected in staffing, financing and governing of businesses.

Companies like Tata, Reliance and Mahindra attracted global and local investors. These Indian entrepreneurs distinguished between their shareholder, board member and executive role in companies.

They also executed mindful strategies that offered employees vision, purpose, meritocracy and growth.

Later, these changes were also seen in a wide range of companies like IT (Infosys, TCS, HCL, etc), finance (HDFC, ICICI, Axis) and consumer goods (Marico, Dabur, Britannia, etc).

The combination of growth and governance led to a massive expansion in the price-to-earnings multiples of their stocks.

It also lead to five changes – a) multinationals shifted from the European model (country head as CEO) to the American model (country head as ambassador with global vertical reporting), b) institutionally funded startups (Flipkart, Ola, Ather, Nyka, etc.) attracted experienced managers with attractive equity, c)  rising prosperity made self-expression a priority, and a career became an individual, not a family decision, d) society, economy and citizens realized that it is not necessary to be Western to be modern and people became more confident and secure about their future and identity and e) new business and startup ideas started coming up.

What does the future hold for the Indian companies?

There have been rapid changes in the Indian companies and with the time it would be difficult to categorize what is an Indian company because today everything has been globalized and interdependent.

For example, an Indian car has imported products, HDFC is an Indian bank despite being majority-owned by foreigners, etc.

Furthermore, the diminishing labour market advantage for the Indian companies will become irrelevant with the coming time because it is the best talent that will be employed.

R&D: An inside job – For innovation to power economic growth, Indian industry must raise its investment in in-house R&D five-fold

News: India lags in Research and development (R&D) investment both on the government side and industrial side.

About the R&D investment around the globe

The world invests a little over 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in R&D. Of the $2 trillion spent on global R&D, the top five (of over 180) countries (the US, China, Japan, Germany and South Korea) alone account for three-quarters.

On the industries side, the top five industries (pharmaceuticals, automobiles, technology hardware, software and electronics) account for almost 73% of all industrial R&D. Within industrial R&D top 20 companies account for 22% of global industrial R&D.

About R&D investment in India

India is now the world’s fifth largest economy. But in total R&D investment, India ranked 16th, below Israel.

Note: Israel is a country with a GDP of one-sixth India’s, and a population under one-hundredth of India’s.

On the industrial R&D investment scale, with $7 billion in investments India is ranked 22nd between Poland and Singapore. In short, Indian firms invest 0.3% of GDP in in-house R&D, compared to a world average of 1.5%.

The European Commission report stated that India has only 24 firms among the top 2,500 investors in R&D worldwide. On the other hand, 822, 678, 233 and 114 firms are from the US, China, Japan and Germany, respectively.

What are the reasons for low industrial R&D investment in India?

India’s limited presence in top sectors: Based on the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research (CTIER) list, India has no firms in five (technology hardware, electronic equipment, aerospace, general industrials, construction materials) of the 10 top industrial sectors.

Note: India’s most profitable firms are in financial services, petrochemicals, metal processing and software.

Missing giant investor: India is missing one giant investor in in-house R&D. For instance, India’s top-ranked R&D investment firm is Tata Motors with an annual R&D spend of $3.5 billion globally. But at the global level, it stands only at the 58th position.

Lacks government investment: Each of the top seven global firms invests more than all of India’s R&D investment, this includes every firm, university and government laboratory put together.

How does India’s industrial R&D investment compare to that of China?

Low service sector investment: Indian software firms are service firms to the world’s product firms. But most of the top 10 Chinese software firms are also service firms. India’s top 10 software firms invest only 1% in R&D compared to 8% in China.

Data for 2014 industrial R&D investment showed that India had 26 firms to China’s 301. But in 2021, China has 678 firms to India’s 24.

What needs to be done to improve R&D investment?

Change governance structure: India needs to drive change in industrial structure, use trade policy to force competition between Indian firms, and drastically reform India’s public research system.

Utilise talent: India has an abundance of talent. This is visible from the 100 top investors in R&D as two-thirds of them have R&D centres in India. Hence, India should train and expose fresh engineers.

Overall, India should raise the profile of investment in in-house R&D in each of the firms. 

The Express View on climate report: Shore up the defences

News: World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) report on the impact of sea-level rise on global peace stirred debate in the UN Security Council. The report adds to the growing corpus of studies that underline the climate vulnerabilities of people living in low-lying areas.

What are the key highlights of the WMO report on sea level rise?

More than one in 10 people worldwide, including those in megacities like Mumbai, New York, London, Dhaka, Shanghai and Buenos Aires, could face severe turmoil even if global warming is miraculously limited to 1.5 degrees (Paris climate pact’s goal).

What should be done to prevent and mitigate the impacts of WMO report on sea level rise?

The task for policymakers is to prepare for massive social and economic dislocation. This will require building resilience at several levels. This can be done by a) investing in R&D, infrastructure and warning systems to mitigate the loss of lives and property, b) Protecting coasts by engineering, technological and ecological interventions like creating physical barriers, permeable pavements, sopping waters and reviving mangroves, c) Armoured shorelines can also upset the delicate ecological balance of coastal habitats.

Globally technology and fund transfer commitments at UN summits have to be in proportion to the gravity of the challenge.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

The missing Deputy Speaker: What is the post, and what does the Constitution say

Source: The post is based on the article “The missing Deputy Speaker: What is the post, and what does the Constitution say” published in Indian Express on 15th February 2023

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and five states — Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand — over the failure to elect a Deputy Speaker.

What are the Constitutional Provisions regarding Deputy Speaker?

Article 93 says that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall as soon as may be, choose two members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker so often as the offices become vacant. However, it does not provide a specific time frame.

Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state.

Note: Constitutional experts point out that both Articles 93 and 178 use the word “shall”, indicating that the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is mandatory under the Constitution.

About the Election of Deputy Speaker

Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha says the election of Deputy Speaker “shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix”. The Deputy Speaker is elected once a motion proposing his name is carried in the House.

Once elected, the Deputy Speaker usually continues in office for the entire duration of the House.

What is the position of Deputy Speaker?

Under Article 95, the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant and acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House. In both cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the House. Consequently, if either of them wishes to resign, they must submit their resignation to the House which implies that the Speaker gives resignation to the Deputy Speaker.

What is the position of the Union government on the current vacancy in the post of Deputy Speaker?

The Central Government has maintained there is no “immediate requirement” for a Deputy Speaker as “bills are being passed and discussions are being held” as normal in the House. 

A Minister argued that there is a panel of nine members — senior, experienced and selected from different parties — who can act as chairpersons to assist the Speaker to run the House.

Can the courts intervene in cases of a delay in electing the Deputy Speaker?

Article 122(1) says: The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.

However, experts said that the courts do have jurisdiction to at least inquire into why there has been no election to the post of Deputy Speaker since the Constitution does envisage an election “as soon as may be”.

Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored Scheme- “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26

Source: The post is based on the article “Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored Scheme- “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26” published in PIB on 15th February 2023

What is the News?

The Union Cabinet has approved the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- Vibrant Villages Programme(VVP) for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26.

What is the Vibrant Villages Programme(VVP)?

Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Aim: To comprehensively develop ​​villages of blocks on the northern border thus improving the quality of life of people living in these villages.  

– This will help in encourage people to stay in their native locations in border areas and reversing the outmigration from these villages adding to improved security of the border.

Coverage: The scheme will be ​​implemented in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Ladakh.

Key Features: Under the scheme, funds will be provided for the development of essential infrastructure and the creation of livelihood opportunities in Districts and Border blocks of these 4 states and 1 UT.

– Vibrant Village Action Plans will be created by the district administration with the help of Gram Panchayats.

– The scheme will identify and develop the economic drivers based on local natural human and other resources of the border villages.

– It will develop these villages based on the “Hub and Spoke Model” through the promotion of social entrepreneurship, empowerment of youth and women through skill development, and leveraging the tourism potential through the promotion of local culture among others.

Expected Outcomes of the scheme: The key expected outcomes of the scheme are: connectivity with all-weather roads, drinking water, 24×7 electricity – solar and wind energy to be given focused attention, mobile and internet connectivity, tourist centres, multi-purpose centres and health and wellness centres.

China must take a haircut on its loans to poor countries, says India’s G20 Sherpa

Source: The post is based on the article “China must take a haircut on its loans to poor countries, says India’s G20 Sherpa” published in The Hindu on 16th February 2023.

What is the News?

India’s G20 Sherpa has said that China must agree to take a haircut on its loans to poor countries and assist their economic recovery.

How much do low-income countries owe to China?

China is lending to most of the countries under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The world’s low-income countries owe 37% of their debts to China in 2022, compared to just 24% in bilateral debts to the rest of the world.

Those with the highest external debt to China are Pakistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.

Why has the US criticized China’s lending policy?

The US sees China’s lending practices as debt-trap diplomacy.

Debt-trap diplomacy is when a richer country lends to poorer countries – that are resource-rich or strategically placed – overwhelming them with debts that are not sustainable. This leads the poorer countries to give up their strategic assets or give in to political leverage.

However, China has rejected this criticism and calls it “propaganda/narrative of the vested interested countries” to tarnish its image.

Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF): Fluorescent carbon nanomaterial-based immunosensor from natural sources can help early detection of cancer

Source: The post is based on the article “Fluorescent carbon nanomaterial-based immunosensor from natural sources can help early detection of cancer” published in PIB on 15th February 2023

What is the News?

Scientists fabricated an immunosensor based on the fluorescence phenomenon of biogenic carbon quantum dots, a new class of carbon nanomaterial. This can help detect Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) concentrations.

Note: Elevated levels of VEGF in the blood are considered cancerous.

What is the Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)?

Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) is a signalling protein that promotes the growth of angiogenesis or new blood vessels.

Functions of VEGF: One of the main functions of VEGF is to form new blood vessels as a baby grows and develops in the womb. 

– This protein also stimulates the growth of new blood vessels after injury and the growth of muscle after exercise has been performed. 

– In cases where blood vessels are obstructed, VEGF also promotes the creation of new blood vessels to bypass the blocked vessels.

Problems with VEGF: VEGF is upregulated in many tumours and hence gives indications of the probability of cancers.

What is Endothelium?

The endothelium is a monolayer of endothelial cells and constitutes the inner cellular lining of the blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) and the lymphatic system.

The endothelium is a major player in the control of blood fluidity, platelet aggregation and vascular tone.

It is a major factor in the regulation of immunology, inflammation and angiogenesis, and an important metabolizing and endocrine organ.

What are Mammatus clouds?

Source: The post is based on the article “What are Mammatus clouds?” published in UK Met Office on 15th February 2023

What is the News?

NASA has released pictures of Mammatus clouds that appear like bubbles from the bottom hovering over Nebraska, a state in the Midwestern region of the United States.

What are Mammatus Clouds?

Mammatus clouds are some of the most unusual and distinctive cloud formations with a series of bulges or pouches emerging from the base of a cloud. 

The shape of mammatus formations can vary widely; from the classic protruding shape to a more elongated tube hanging from the cloud above.

How do mammatus clouds form?

Mammatus clouds are usually formed in association with large cumulonimbus clouds.

Typically, turbulence within the cumulonimbus cloud will cause mammatus to form, especially on the underside of the projecting anvil as it rapidly descends to lower levels. 

This reverses the usual cloud-forming process of upward growth, making for an uneven cloud base.

What weather is associated with mammatus clouds?

Mammatus clouds generally form in the most unstable cumulonimbus, meaning that there is also a chance of hail, heavy rain and lightning in the vicinity, and if the air is cold enough during winter they can produce snow.

Cabinet approves strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots

Source: The post is based on the article “Cabinet approves strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots” published in PIB on 15th February 2023

What is the News?

The Union Cabinet has approved strengthening the cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. 

What is the plan approved by the Government to strengthen cooperative movement in India?

The Union Government has formulated a plan to establish: 1) viable Primary Agricultural Credit Societies(PACS) in each uncovered Panchayat, 2) viable dairy cooperatives in each uncovered Panchayat/village, 3) viable fishery cooperatives in each coastal Panchayat/village as well as Panchayat/village having large water bodies and 4) strengthen the existing PACS/dairy/fishery cooperatives through convergence of various schemes.

The schemes that have been identified for convergence are: 

National Programme for Dairy Development(NPDD) and Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY) and Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development(FIDF) under the Department of Fisheries.

Target: Initially, the target is to establish 2 lakh PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery cooperatives in the next five years. 

The action plan for implementation of the project shall be prepared by NABARD, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Fishery Development Board (NFDB).

Committee: A high-level Inter-Ministerial Committee(IMC) headed by the Minister of Cooperation has been constituted to oversee the rollout of the plan.

What is the significance of the plan to strengthen cooperative movement?

This plan would provide farmer members all over the country with requisite forward and backward linkages to market their produce, enhance their income, obtain credit facilities and other services at the village level itself. 

Those primary cooperative societies which cannot be revived will be identified for winding up, and new primary cooperative societies would be established in their area of operation.

Further, establishing new PACS/dairy/fishery cooperative societies would generate employment opportunities in rural areas which would have a multiplier effect on the rural economy.

With an eye on China, Union Cabinet clears 7 ITBP battalions

Source: The post is based on the article “With an eye on China, Union Cabinet clears 7 ITBP battalions” published in The Hindu on 16th February 2023

What is the News?

Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) has approved the raising of seven new battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP) force.

What is the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force(ITBPF)?

Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) is a Central Armed Police Force functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The ITBPF was raised in 1962 and is a border-guarding police force specializing in high-altitude operations. 

Deployed in: At present, the ITBP guards 3,488 km long India-China borders ranging from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.

Act: ITBP was initially raised under the CRPF Act. However, in 1992, parliament enacted the ITBPF Act and the rules there under were framed in 1994.

Motto of the ITBP: “Shaurya-Dridhata-Karma Nishtha” (Valour – Determination – Devotion to Duty).

Explained | Taxing windfall profits of oil companies

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained | Taxing windfall profits of oil companies” published in The Hindu on 16th February 2023

What is the News?

The Union government has hiked the windfall profit tax levied on domestically-produced crude oil as well as on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel(ATF). 

What are Windfall Profits?

‘Windfall profits’ refer to an unanticipated spike in earnings of an entity resulting from an exogenous event (which could be one-off and/or prolonged) and not resulting from a business decision. 

The B.K. Chaturvedi committee’s report on the Financial Position of Oil Companies (2008) stated that taxing these windfall gains has been seen as a prerogative of governments, in part to meet social needs and in part to pursue redistributive justice. 

The central idea here is for sovereigns to capitalize on the lofty profits made by the entities and use it for specific domestic pursuits, for example, spur collections (of taxes) to guard against the consequences of a larger geopolitical event or redistribute them for it to be used for domestic social service schemes, among other reasons.

What led to the windfall gains for oil companies?

Russia’s actions in Ukraine were central to the volatility observed in the oil market in the previous calendar year. 

For perspective, Russia was among the major players in the global oil market and among the largest producers alongside Saudi Arabia and the U.S. As a response to Russia’s actions, several Western countries moved to stop or curtail their energy imports from Russia.

This led to sharp increases in fossil fuel prices as countries went to look for other suppliers for their energy needs, culminating in major profits for oil companies.

India to spend 75% of defence capital on procurement from local industries: Defence Minister

Source: The post is based on the article “India to spend 75% of defence capital on procurement from local industries: Defence Minister” published in Indian Express on 16th February 2023

What is the News?

The Government of India will spend 75% of its defence capital in 2023-24 on procurement from the domestic industry. 

How much has been allocated to Defence in Budget 2023-24?

The Finance Minister has enhanced the allocation to India’s defence budget for Fiscal 2023-24 by 13% to INR 5.94 lakh crore up from INR 5.25 lakh crore in fiscal 2022-23.

Of this, INR 1.62 lakh crore has been allocated towards capital expenditure, including the purchase of new weapons, aircraft, warships, and other military equipment. 

This constitutes an increase of 7% over the current fiscal’s INR 1.52 lakh crore but is almost unchanged in absolute terms given an average inflation rate of around 6% over the current fiscal year.

Defence Capital outlay on procurement from the Domestic Industry:

The Defence Ministry will spend 75% of its defence capital in 2023-24 on procurement from the domestic industry up from 68% in 2022-23.

What are the steps taken by the government of India to encourage indigenous defence manufacturing?

The government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous defence manufacturing. These initiatives include: 

– Notification of four ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timelines indicated against them; 

– Simplification of Industrial licensing process with longer validity period; 

– Liberalization of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy allowing 74% FDI under automatic route; 

– Launch of Mission DefSpace, Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme;

– Launch of an indigenization portal namely SRIJAN to facilitate indigenisation by Indian Industry including MSMEs; 

– Earmarking of 25% of R&D Budget for Industry-led R&D;

– Establishment of two Defence Industrial Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu among others.