Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3 ( Agriculture)

Context:

Agricultural exports touched $41.8 billion (bn) in fy21—a growth of 18% over fy20 bringing cheer in government circles.

Juxtaposed against a target of $60 bn the modi government had set out to achieve by 2022, it falls much short.

From a strategic point of view, the key issue is whether this rate can be sustained?

Agriculture exports data:

1. Rice ranks first in agri-exports, with 17.7 million tonnes (mt) valued at $8.8 bn.
2. It is followed by marine products ($6 bn), spices ($4 bn), bovine (buffalo) meat ($3.2 bn), sugar ($2.8 bn), etc (see graphics).
3. Of these, rice and sugar raise concerns about competitiveness and environmental sustainability, as these are water guzzlers and heavily subsidisedthrough cheap/free power for irrigation as well as fertilisers.
4. On top, sugar exports have been further subsidisedto clear excessive domestic stocks.
5. This has led many sugar-exporting countries like australia, brazil, thailand, etc, to register a case against india at wto.

Syllabus- General Studies 3(science and technology)

Bilateral, Regional and Global groupings and agreements involving India and affecting

India’s interests.

Context

Recently in India around 40 cases of the Delta coronavirus variant carrying a mutation that appears to make it more transmissible have been found, and states are advised to increase testing.

What is Delta Plus?

• The variant, called “Delta Plus” in India, was first reported in a Public Health England bulletin on June 11.
• It is a sub-lineage of the Delta variantfirst detected in India and has acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.
• Some scientists worry that the mutation, coupled with other existing features of the Delta variant, could make it more transmissible.
• “The mutation K417N has been of interest as it is present in the Beta variant (B.1.351 lineage), which was reported to have immune evasion property,” India’s health ministry said in a statement.
• The K417N was known to reduce the effectiveness of a cocktail of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

Spread of the variant

• As of June 16, at least 197 cases had been found from 11 countries — Britain (36), Canada (1), India (8), Japan (15), Nepal (3), Poland (9), Portugal (22), Russia (1), Switzerland (18), Turkey (1), the United States (83).
• Britain said its first 5 cases were sequenced on April 26 and they were contacts of individuals who had travelled from, or transited through, Nepal and Turkey.
• No deaths were reported among the UK and Indian cases.

Concerns

• Studies are ongoing in India and globally to test the effectiveness of vaccines against this mutation.
• WHO is tracking this variant as part of the Delta variant.
• WHO says that this variant does not seem to be common, and currently accounts for only a small fraction of the Delta sequences.
• But India’s health ministry warned that regions where it has been found “may need to enhance their public health response by focusing on surveillance, enhanced testing, quick contact-tracing and priority vaccination.”

There are worries Delta Plus would inflict another wave of infections on India after it emerged from the world’s worst surge in cases only recently.

Question- Write a short note on delta plus variant of Covid.

Article- https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-delta-plus-a-variant-of-coronavirus-with-k417n-mutation-7372317/

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2 (International Studies)

Context:

China’s hard-power advantage over india — economic power plus military power — is well known. There is less knowledge about its soft power advantage.

Soft power:

The term ‘soft power’ was coined in 1990 by professor joseph nye to explain how modern states can use positive attraction and persuasion to achieve global influence.

• Persuasion and attraction: soft power is getting others to do what you want by persuasion. Soft-power theorists suggest that the ability to persuade rests on the power of attraction.
• Soft power consists of foreign policy, cultural and political influence.
  • Foreign policy influence comes from the legitimacy and morality of one’s dealings with other countries.
  • Cultural influence is based on others’ respect for one’s culture.
  • Political influenceis how much others are inspired by one’s political values.
• The uk leads the world in ‘soft power’, according to a portland communications ranking,which assesses nations on six measures of reputation and influence — government, culture, education, global engagement, enterprise, and digital.

Comparison of soft power: india vs china

Soft power is difficult to measure. The lowy institute in australia has produced various measures.

• Foreign policy influence,overall, india ranks sixth and china ranks first among 25 asian powers. It also includes the us as it has a huge diplomatic, military, and economic presence in asia.
  • Diplomatic networks:  india nearly matches china in the number of regional embassies it has but is considerably behind in the number of embassies worldwide (176 to 126).
  • Multilateral power:india matches china in terms of regional memberships, but, crucially, its contributions to the un capital budget are miniscule compared to chinese contributions (11.7 per cent to 0.8 per cent of the total).
  • Foreign policy leadership, ambition, and effectiveness: china ranks first or fourth on four measures while india ranks between fourth and sixth in asia.
• Cultural influence: india ranks in fourth place and china in second place in asia.
  • In cultural projection, india scores better on google searches abroad of its newspapers and its television/radio broadcasts.
  • It also exports more of its “cultural services”(defined as “services aimed at satisfying cultural interests or needs”).
  • In the number of unesco world heritage sites, india has 37 while china has 53.
  • Visa free travel: chinese citizens can travel visa-free to 74 countries while indians can only do so to 60.
  • Information flows: in 2016–17, india hosted a mere 24,000 asian students in tertiary education institutions whereas china hosted 2, 25,000.
  • Tourist arrivals: in 2017 india clocked 5 million arrivals from asia whereas china clocked 41 million and ranked first among 25 asian countries.
  • On total tourist arrivals from all over the world, india received 17 million, while china received 63 million.
• Political influence:the governance effectiveness index shows india scoring in the top 43 per cent countries worldwide and ranked 12th and china scoring in the top 32 per cent and ranked 10th.
  • It depends upon political stability and absence of violence/terrorism.
  • India ranked 21st, with 79 percent of countries worldwide doing better, and china ranked 15th with 63 per cent doing better.

Overall china surpasses india in soft power projection, though the difference in some cases is not large.

Challenges for india in soft power domain:

• Low influence in regional conversations: when india is in the conversation, confidence in its regional ambitions, economic, military, and diplomatic capabilities and cultural and political fit with southeast asia are thought to be low.
  • It is clearly documented in the state of southeast asia survey reports issued annually by the institute of southeast asian studies in singapore.
• China involved in all international conversations:china is involved in all conversations about international affairs, regional geopolitics, global and asian economy and technology, and even contemporary culture (art, music, literature, fashion). India can’t have soft power if it is not even in the conversation.

Except for south asia, this is the case all over the world. China evokes awe; india evokes silence, a polite shake of the head, or exasperation. Classical india may stand head-to-head with classical china in the regard it garners, but contemporary india has been left a distance behind. We have to recognize this fact for some meaningful progress.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-does-china-consistently-beat-india-on-soft-power-7371094/

Question-

Syllabus- General Studies 2(Governance)

Issues relating to quality of life: livelihood, poverty, hunger, disease and social inclusiveness.

Context

India’s vaccine policy appears to be one of experimentation. Despite several modifications, the final policy as articulated by the Prime Minister on June 7 continues to lack clarity in its intent, design, funding and outcomes. In seeking to pursue conflicting objectives, the policy architecture is complex, difficult to implement, and could be a nightmare for accountants.

What is the current policy?

After much loss of time, the final policy has the following elements:

• the stated objective is universal access to free vaccinations in all government and accredited facilities;
• The design for achieving the objective is creating a dual market under which the Central government will procure 75% of the total quantity manufactured, leaving the residue for commercial sale.
• The funding will be a mix of public finance and out-of-pocket expenditure.
• The outcome is to ensure that all 95 crore adults are fully vaccinated by the end of this year.
• The policy has two caveats related to pricing and volume of sales.
  • While Covishield and Covaxinare supplied to the Central government at ₹150 per dose, the price for a consumer in the private market is capped at ₹780 for Covishield, ₹1,145 for Sputnik V and ₹1,410 for Covaxin.
  • To avoid cornering of vaccines by corporates and enable medium and small hospitals to participate in vaccination, the Central government will specify hospital-wise and State-wise quotas for private sales.

Based on the quota allocated, the said hospitals will procure the vaccine directly from the manufacturer or use the option of the National Health Authority portal, if accredited.

Comparison with policy followed under Universal Immunisation Programme

• The Central government indicates the quantity required, the delivery schedules and the rates as per global tender, and supplies quality, ready-to-use vaccines to the States to be provided free.
• The manufacturer is left to dispose of excess quantity, if any, in accordance with market forces and without interference from the government.
• Under this system, the government has negotiated incredibly low prices due to the volume of its orders.
• In view of its wide reach, the private sector’s participation, catering to the better-off sections which have the ability to pay, has averaged 5%-15% depending on the vaccine.

Current status of procurement

It is estimated that the Central government has procured and placed advance purchases for 79 crore doses for ₹12,405 crore (including ₹1,485 crore from PM CARES).

• The State governments in May procured 2.6 crore doses incurring ₹810 crore, while the private sector (nine corporate chains and 300 hospitals) procured 1.2 crore doses.
• Selling at ₹1,000 per dose of Covishield and an average of ₹1,400 for Covaxin, the household expenditure on vaccines comes to about ₹1,332 crore.

The total number of people who got vaccinated by June 21 with a single dose was 23.2 crore and with two doses was 5.05 crore.

• Of the total 190 crore vaccines required for covering the eligible population with two doses and 83 crore already secured for supply till year-end, the gap is 107 crore.

Confusion points of policy–

• First level of policy confusion-In the absence of spelling out the population segments that the government proposes to cover, it is unclear whether the 75% procurement cap refers to the stocks manufactured or by implication the eligible population. Clarity on this is important.

If it is 75% of the population to be covered, the policy assumes that 24 crore people have the ability to pay such high prices for a vaccine.

• Second policy confusion is determining from where the 24 crore-paying population is to come from for buying the vaccine at the rates laid down by the government.

The inequity this policy will generate between the rich and poor, urban and rural is embedded and will be hard to justify, besides clouding the actual requirement of vaccines for the government to administer.

Concerns:

• The ‘two steps forward, one step backwards’ policy fix has given rise to another set of issues.
• Piecemeal orders increase investment risk for a company.
  • Besides, delivering and processing small orders by multiple small entities (private hospitals) located in remote areas would further add to costs impacting the price at the point of delivery.
• The small and medium private hospitals that have the reach in Tier 2 towns and rural areas do not have deep pockets to buy such costly vaccines.
  • Given vaccine hesitancy, heightened by a constrained ability to pay, the mutating virus and constant shifts in vaccine dosage and periodicity due to emerging evidence, the additional burden of organising quality assurance all add to the risk.

• Differential pricing and dual markets provide wrong incentives and result in:
  • Unhealthy competition,
  • Illegal charging for vaccines in government facilities,
  • Siphoning, diversion and leakage of the free vaccines to the private markets.
• Wherein large swathes of the country it is the government doctors that double up as owners of private enterprises.

Solution

• There is a need to simplify the policy with the government as the sole procurer.
• Implementation must be in accordance with district-level micro plans incorporating the public and private sector, to cover target groups as specified in accordance with epidemiological data.
• The objective has to be to restore normalcy, kick-start the economy, start schools and ensure people’s well-being.

Question- India’s covid vaccine policy needs to address both the challenges of affordability and accessibility across all sections of the society. Comment.

Article-https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/indias-vaccine-policy-needs-clarity/article34894911.ece

Syllabus– General studies paper 2 (international relations)

Context-

Russian president vladimir putin has recently asserted that the indian prime minister, narendra modi, and the chinese president, xi jinping, are “responsible” enough to solve issues between their countries, while underlining the need to debar any “extra-regional power” to interfere in the process.

Implications on india- russia ties-

• By this remark, russia expects india to give up all efforts to reverse beijing’s encroachment strategies.
• The remarks can only be seen as reinforcing china’s claim that the quadrilateral or quad isaimed at containing china’s influence in the indo-pacific region.
• Russia’s continued criticism of the indo-pacific and the quad suggests thedivergent perspectives of india and russia on how to deal with china’s rise to global prominence.
• While india needs russia’s partnership for its defence needs, india cannot endorse the russian perspective on the indo-pacific and the quad
• The russian attitude toward china’s growing power and influence will be the touchstone of russia’s relations with india.
• Russia has rejected the indo-pacific construct in favour of the asia-pacific on the ground that the first is primarily an american initiative designed to contain both china and russia.
• With the rise of populist nationalism amidst the decline of globalisation, the resolution of the sino-indian boundary dispute appears a difficult task.

Background of indias balancing strategies-

• Following the disintegration of the union of soviet socialist republics (ussr), india soon realised russia was much weaker than the erstwhile ussr and incapable of helping india balance potential threats from beijing.
• On the other hand, russia began to cast moscow as the leader of a supposed trilateral grouping of russia-india-chinaagainst a u.s.-led unipolar world.
• Russia became an early proponent of the ‘strategic triangle’to bring together the three major powers.
• India’s fear of the unipolar momenttoo made it easier for india to become part of this initiative.
• But china’s dismissive attitude toward indian capabilities, coupled with an emergingchina-pakistan nexus, prevented the success of this trilateral.
• India, instead,invested its diplomatic energies in rapprochement with the united states.
• Thus, india decided to get integrated in the economic order it once denounced.
• Economic liberalisation also allowed india to buy sophisticated weapons froma wider global market that included suppliers such as israel and france.
• As the logic of intensive engagement with the west was effectively established,strategic partnership with the u.s. was a logical corollary.
• India has been searching forother major powers to balance against china as it does not have the sufficient means for hard balancing.
• India has deepened its ties with japan and australia in a way that is close to soft balancing.
• among all of india’s balancing efforts, the stupendous growth in ties with the u.s. has been the greatest source of concern for china which views the india-u.s. rapprochement as

Way forward for india – russia ties-

• While other powers such as france, australia, japan and russia will have an impact on the emerging maritime structures of the indo-pacific region, it is the triangular dynamic between india, china and the u.s. that is going to be the most consequential.
• Russia is yet to realise that it will gain immensely from the multilateralism that the indo-pacific seeks to promote.
• Being china’s junior partner only undermines moscow’s great-power ambitions.
• Given russia’s preoccupation with ‘status’ rivalry with the u.s., russia’s view of india-china relations seems understandable.
• But there is a danger in permitting it to harden into a permanent attitude as an increasingly pro-beijing russia might adopt more aggressive blocking of india’s policy agendas.
• That is why india is particularlyinterested in a normalisation of relations between washington and moscow.
• The normalisation of relations between the u.s. and russia will help india steer ties among the great powers.

India – china ties-

• Non-alignment, painful memories ofcolonial subjugation, opposition to great-power hegemony, and strong beliefs in sovereignty and strategic autonomy has been the key influencers in shaping india’s and china’s engagement with each other as well as the western world.
• but this has begun to change as beijing is asserting its hegemony over asia.
• In such circumstances, multilateral forums such as the russia-india-china (ric) grouping and brics (brazil, russia, india, china and south africa)have little practical value for indian diplomacy.
• Without china’s reciprocity, options before india are limited.
• The response cannot be just symbolic or rhetorical. The absence of any material evidence of reciprocity is bound to doom an attempt at sino-indian rapprochement.

Conclusion-

China is undoubtedly the most powerful actor in its neighbourhood but it cannot simply have its way in shaping asia’s new geopolitics.

Question-

Syllabus- General Studies 3(Science and Technology)

Context

An experimental monoclonal antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV2, has been found to be a life-saving treatment for some of the most severely affected Covid-19 patients; results of a clinical trial in the UK have shown.

Monoclonal Antibodies

• To fight a viral infection, our bodies create proteins known as antibodies.
• Monoclonal antibodies are artificial antibodies that mimic the activity of our immune systems. They are produced through a process that involves extracting specific antibodies from human blood and then cloning them.
• These monoclonal antibodies are designed to target a virus or a specific part of one — for instance, REGEN-COV2 is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies developed to target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
• The monoclonal antibodies bind to specific parts of the spike protein, blocking its ability to infect healthy cells.
• Besides Covid-19, monoclonal antibodies have been used in the treatment of cancers as well as Ebola and HIV.

Importance in Covid Treatment

• Research during the pandemic has increased optimism in monoclonal antibodies’ ability to help reduce the risk of hospitalisation.

Syllabus: General studies Paper 2 ( Polity )

Context:

• The sudden and dramatic developments in the lok janshakti party (ljp) have caused quite a storm in the political circles. The ec does not take suo motu cognisance of such cases and comes into the picture only when one party approaches it with its claim.

Introduction:

• The commission starts proceedings which arequasi-judicial in nature, under section 15 of the election symbols (reservation and allotment) order, 1968, by giving a notice to the other faction to give its version.
• Both parties are asked toproduce evidence in support of their claim, accompanied by affidavits.
• Section 15 of the symbols order, states:“when the commission is satisfied on information in its possession, that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party, each of whom claims to be that party, the commission may, after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case … decide that one such rival section or group, or none of such rival sections or groups
• The ec examines the claims and counterclaims of the two factions to determine which one has the majority. This includes mps, mlas, and mlcs on the one hand, and the office-bearers of the party, on the other.
• Determining the genuineness of signaturesis time-consuming and often a frustrating job. As the lawyers get involved, the whole process can normally take four to five months.
• The ec looks at the strength of each group, in the party’s organisation and in the legislatures, applying the test of majority. Whenever the ec could not determine the strength of rival gro

Syllabus- General Studies 2 (governance)

Issues relating to quality of life: livelihood, poverty, hunger, disease and social inclusiveness.

Context

• A number of doctors and other medical personnel have lost their lives in the battle against Covid.
• Nurses and attendants, on full-time duty, donning mainly masks and gloves as the only protective gear have been exposed to great risk.

In such a situation the relevance of disruptive technology and its applications comes into focus, potentially helping to reduce the chances of hospital staff contracting the infection.

Use of technology during pandemic- examples

• There are reports in the global media of established innovative field hospitals using robots to care for COVID-19 affected patients.
• There are hospitals, in China, that use 5G-powered temperature measurement devices at the entrance to flag patients who have fever/fever-like symptoms. Other robots measure heart rates and blood oxygen levels through smart bracelets and rings that patients wear; they even sanitise wards.
• Last year, in India, the Sawai Man Singh government hospital in Jaipur held trials with a humanoid robot to deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patientsadmitted there.

How newer technologies can help?

Syllabus- General Studies 1 (Geography)

Aspects of the Physical Geography of India – Structure and Relief, Climate, Soils and

Vegetation, Geomorphic set up (Mountain Ranges and Rivers and other Water Bodies).

Context

The monsoon hit the Kerala coast two days behind schedule, but has already covered two-thirds of the country.

Fast Progression

• On June 15, the northern limit of the monsoon (NLM) continued to pass through Diu, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhopal, Nagaon, Hamirpur, Barabanki, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Ambala, and Amritsar, according to the India Meteorological Department’s daily weather report.
• Across some areas of south peninsular and central India, the monsoon has arrived 7 to 10 days ahead of its scheduled date. So far, the monsoon has missed Northwest India — Gujarat, Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.
• As of June 15, the entire country except West Bengal and the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Kerala, and Gujarat had received cumulative rainfall (since the official beginning of the southwest monsoon season on June 1) in excess (20%-59%) or large excess (60% or more) of normal.

Reasons for fast paced spread

• Cyclone Yaas, formed in the Bay of Bengal during the third week of May, helped

Syllabus: General studies paper 2 ( international relations)

Context:

Nine years after two italian marines shot dead two fishermen off kerala under the belief that they were pirates; the criminal proceedings against them are set to be formally closed.

Background:

• In 2012, indian police had detained two italian marines posted on oil tanker enrica lexie who had shot at two indian fishermen on an indian vessel, apparently mistaking them for pirates operating near the kerala coast.
• The fishing vessel was within the country’s contiguous zone and it was quite clear that the offence warranted arrest and prosecution under domestic law.
• The supreme court had ordered the centre to set up a special court to try the case. Prior to the supreme court verdict, the kerala high court too had found that the marines enjoyed no immunity.
• In 2014, the marines had successfully gained a stay order on the investigation by the national investigation agency.
• According to unclos, disputes can be resolved through four process, one of which was for ad-hoc arbitrationas outlined in annex vii of the convention.
• Accordingly, a specially-designated tribunal was constituted with five members on november 6, 2015.
• A year later, the supreme court froze its own proceedings when italy approached the permanent court of arbitration (pca) in the hague.