THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. THE RUSSIA AND UKRAINE CONFLICT

THE CONTEXT: The amid tension on the Russia-Ukraine border represents a major security crisis for the
region, with the potential to snowball into a broader conflict. According to Ukraine Government, Russia has
amassed around 90,000 troops at the border, and US intelligence reports that a Russian invasion of Ukraine
early 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

Russia’s and the West’s interests in Ukraine:

• Ukraine and Russia share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links. As part of the
  Soviet Union, Ukraine was the second-most powerful Soviet republic after Russia, and was crucial
  strategically, economically and culturally. Ever since Ukraine split from the Soviet Union, both Russia
  and the West have vied for greater influence in the country in order to keep the balance of power in
  the region in their favour.
• For the United States and the European Union, Ukraine is a crucial buffer between Russia and the
  West. As tensions with Russia rise, the US and the EU are increasingly determined to keep Ukraine
  away from Russian control.
• Efforts to induct Ukraine into NATO have been ongoing for many years and seems to have picked up
  pace recently. Russia has declared such a move a “red line”, with Moscow worried about the
  consequences of the US-led military alliances expanding right up to its doorstep.

What was Euromaidan and its aftermath?

• November 2013 saw the start of mass protests across Ukraine, but particularly in Kyiv’s Maidan, or
  central square. Protesters were angry at Ukraine’s then pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych’s
  decision to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union instead of the EU.
• The protests, known as the Euromaidan movement, saw massive clashes between the protesters
  and security forces that reached its peak in February 2014, and led to the ouster of Yanukovych.

Current Scenario:

• Russia seeks assurances from the US that Ukraine will not be inducted into NATO. However, US has
  made it clear that he is not prepared to give any such assurance. This has left the countries in a
  stand-off, with tens of thousands of Russian troops ready to invade Ukraine.
• Russia is keeping the tensions high at the Ukraine border in order to get sanctions relief and other
  concessions from the West. Any kind of military action by the US or EU against Russia would
  precipitate a major crisis for the whole world and has so far not been mooted by any of the parties
  involved.

Value Addition:

MINSK I:

Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists agreed on a 12-point ceasefire deal in the capital of Belarus in
September 2014.
Its provisions included:

• prisoner exchanges,
• deliveries of humanitarian aid and
• the withdrawal of heavy weapons
• the agreement quickly broke down, with violations by both sides.

MINSK II:

• Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
  (OSCE) and the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions signed a 13-point agreement in
  February 2015 in Minsk.
• The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine gathered there at the same time and issued a
  declaration of support for the deal.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. RARE PRISTINE CORAL REEF FOUND OFF TAHITI COAST

THE CONTEXT: The Scientists have explored a rare stretch of pristine corals shaped like roses off the coast of
Tahiti. The reef is thought to be one of the largest found at such depths and seems untouched by climate
change or human activities.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Globally, coral reefs have been depleted from overfishing
  and pollution. Climate change is also harming delicate
  corals, including those in areas neighboring the newly
  discovered reef, with severe bleaching caused by warmer
  waters.
• According to a 2020 report by the Global Coral Reef
  Monitoring Project, between 2009 and 2018, 14 of the
  world’s corals were killed.
• The newfound reef stretching 2 miles 3 kilometers was studied late 2021 during a dive expedition
  supported by UNESCO. Unlike most of the world’s mapped corals, which are found in relatively
  shallow waters. This one was deeper, between 115 feet 35 meters to 230 feet 70 meters.

Importance of Corals:

What is coral bleaching?

When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the
symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

3. INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES BRAHMOS MISSILE

THE CONTEXT: The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos with increased indigenous content and improved
performance was successfully flight-tested from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of
Odisha.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to DRDO, the missile was equipped with the advanced indigenous technologies and
  followed a modified optimal trajectory for enhanced efficiency and improved performance. The
  missile with the modified control system has been fine tuned to achieve an enhanced capability’.
• The flight test was monitored by all the sensors of the range instrumentation, including telemetry,
  radar and the electro-optical tracking systems deployed across the eastern coast and the down
  range ships.

About the Missile:

• BrahMos Missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile. It can be launched from land,
  aircraft, submarine or ships. It is one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles worldwide. The missile
  is a joint venture between the Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and
  Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Both the organisation has together formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on Russian P-800 Oniks
  cruise missile. The name BrahMos has been taken from the names of two rivers, River Brahmaputra
  of India and River Moskva of Russia.

Characteristics of BrahMos

• BrahMos is the fastest anti-ship cruise missile of the world, currently in operation. Its land-launched
  and ship-launched versions are already there in service. In 2012, air-launched variant of BrahMos
  appeared and entered the service in 2019.
• Presently, a hypersonic version of the Missile called BrahMos-II, is under development. It has the
  speed of Mach 7–8. Missile is likely to be ready for testing by 2024.

4. THE GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR HEART FAILURE: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: A team of scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB),
Hyderabad, have identified the genetic mutations that cause dilated cardiomyopathy, a common
cardiovascular disease that often results in heart failure.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Cardiomyopathy changes the integral structure of the heart muscle, and as a result, the heart is
  unable to pump blood efficiently. This increases the risk of heart failure leading to sudden cardiac
  death. There are many types of cardiomyopathies. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common
  form.
• A gene called β-MYH7 is one of the major genes implicated in cardiac diseases globally. However,
  not many genetic studies have been carried out on Indian cardiomyopathy patients.
• In the study, the CCMB researchers chose to fill the gap by sequencing the β-MYH7 gene from 137
  dilated cardiomyopathy patients along with 167 ethnically matched healthy controls to identify the
  mutation(s), if any, that are associated with dilated cardiomyopathy in Indian patients.
• The study revealed 27 variations, of which seven were novel and were detected exclusively in Indian
  dilated cardiomyopathy patients. These included four which were what are called missense
  mutations. They were predicted to be pathogenic by bioinformatics tools.
• Subsequent studies using homology models of β-MYH7 demonstrated how these mutations
  uniquely disrupt a critical network of non-bonding interactions at the molecular level and may
  contribute to the development of disease phenotype.
• Protein molecules are made up of amino acids and each of them has a specific set of amino acids.
  Various interactions between the amino acid residues drive the 3D structure of the protein, which
  determines its function. One amino acid change at a critical site can change a protein structure
  dramatically and lead to disease pathogenicity.
• According to the scientist, “this study can help in developing gene-editing methods that may rescue
  cardiac contractility of failing hearts among Indians with the novel mutations”. The mortality rate
  due to cardiovascular diseases is very high in India, compared to western countries.

What is Cardiomyopathy?

It (kahr-dee-o-my-OP-uh-thee) is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for your heart to
pump blood to the rest of your body. Cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure. The main types of
cardiomyopathy include dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 20 TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Brahmos missile:

1. It is a ballistic missile.
2. It can be launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 19 TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: C)
Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The eastern swamp deer is one of the three subspecies of swamp deer,
  commonly known as the barasingha.
• Statement 2 is correct: The eastern swamp deer is endemic to Kaziranga.

1. About Good Governance READ MORE
2. Has the pandemic fundamentally changed our ethics? READ MORE

1. Counting trees properly: How to read biennial forest surveys? The best way is decadal data produced by same methods READ MORE
2. India’s new National Water Policy: A paradigm shift READ MORE
3. Green go-ahead: Encouraging hasty eco clearance an unwise step READ MORE
4. New Draft NCR Regional Plan Dilutes Protection for Green Cover in the Aravalli READ MORE

1. Clubhouse and the Fantasy of Sexual Violence Against Muslim Women READ MORE
2. Explainer: Why is marital rape not a crime in India – and can the courts make it one? READ MORE

1. Explained: IAS officers and central posting READ MORE
2. Drop the IAS cadre rules amendments: States are right in perceiving the planned amendments to Rule 6(1) to be an infringement of their rights READ MORE
3. Court and compensation: On ex gratia to kin of COVID-19 victims READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota in NEET admissions READ MORE
2. Rare pristine coral reef found off Tahiti coast READ MORE
3. The study by Hyderabad scientists identifies genetic risk factors for heart failure READ MORE
4. India successfully test-fires Brahmos missile READ MORE
5. RBI: Digital payments up 39.6% in Sept 2021 READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. Counting trees properly: How to read biennial forest surveys? The best way is decadal data produced by same methods READ MORE
2. Clubhouse and the Fantasy of Sexual Violence Against Muslim Women READ MORE
3. Explainer: Why is marital rape not a crime in India – and can the courts make it one? READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Explained: IAS officers and central posting READ MORE
2. Drop the IAS cadre rules amendments: States are right in perceiving the planned amendments to Rule 6(1) to be an infringement of their rights READ MORE
3. Court and compensation: On ex gratia to kin of COVID-19 victims READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Indian Ocean new Chinese sphere of influence READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The formal economy – and not just the informal sector – is in distress READ MORE
2. The centrality of data equity in tech policy and reform READ MORE
3. Govt equity in VodaIdea a poor solution READ MORE
4. Why it seems impossible to actually regulate cryptocurrency READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. India’s new National Water Policy: A paradigm shift READ MORE
2. Green go-ahead: Encouraging hasty eco clearance an unwise step READ MORE
3. New Draft NCR Regional Plan Dilutes Protection for Green Cover in the Aravalli READ MORE

SECURITY

1. India’s N-project going strong: Capable of meeting challenges faced by national security READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. About Good Governance READ MORE
2. Has the pandemic fundamentally changed our ethics? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘In a federal setup, the differences and disputes between the Centre and the States should be resolved in the spirit of cooperative federalism and keeping the larger national interest in mind’. Comment on the statement in the light of recent conflicts between center and states.
2. ‘While examinations are a necessary and convenient method of distributing educational opportunities, marks may not always be the best gauge of individual merit’. Discuss the statement in the light of recent quota related debate.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
• States are right in perceiving the planned amendments to Rule 6(1) to be an infringement of their rights.
• States are right in perceiving the proposed amendments as a serious infringement of their rights to deploy IAS officers as they deem best, especially when the cutting edge of policy implementation is mostly at the State level.
• In a federal setup, it is inevitable that differences and disputes would arise between the Centre and the States. But all such quarrels should be resolved in the spirit of cooperative federalism and keeping the larger national interest in mind.
• Data equity focuses on ways in which data is collected, assembled, stored, scrutinised, evaluated, processed, and distributed.
• Only as the inner lives of citizens are transformed will the vision of an aatmanirbhar Bharat and the integrity of governmental and public institutions be safeguarded.
• The government cannot ignore that the treatment of telecom revenues has caused several debilitating disputes of the past.
• Virtual currencies need oversight. But with anonymous transactions spanning country borders and a volatile market, the challenges are significant.
• An open competitive exam only ensures formal equality and does not end widespread ingrained inequalities in the availability of, and access to, educational facilities to certain classes of people, including the OBC.
• The rhetoric surrounding merit obscures the way in which family, schooling, fortune and a gift of talents that the society currently values aids in one’s advancement. Thus, the exclusionary standard of merit serves to denigrate the dignity of those who face barriers in their advancement which are not of their own making.
• While examinations are a necessary and convenient method of distributing educational opportunities, marks may not always be the best gauge of individual merit. If a high-scoring candidate does not use their talent to perform good actions, it would be difficult to call them meritorious merely because they scored high marks

50-WORD TALK

• Giving full authorisation to Covishield and Covaxin but not allowing their sale in the retail market will make the former meaningless. India’s third wave graph is volatile and needs more people to get boosters, and faster. Insisting the process remain restricted seems like health bureaucrats are more interested in control.
• The disruption of global airline operations due to the introduction of 5G services in the US reflects poorly on American planning and foresight. Global travel has suffered enough due to Covid. The last thing it needed was battered airlines having to change altimeters and flyers having to face new uncertainty.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the main points of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

THE CONTEXT: The Economic Survey rightly flagged the issue of a growing food subsidy bill, which, in the words of the government, “is becoming unmanageably large”.The reason is food subsidy, coupled with the drawal of food grains by States from the central pool under various schemes, has been on a perpetual growth trajectory. This article discusses the issues related to increasing food subsidies, the need to recast the system, and possible solutions.

PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Basic information: 

PDS evolved as a system of management of scarcity through the distribution of foodgrains at affordable prices.

• The public distribution system (PDS) is an Indian food Security System established under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
• PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments:
• The Central Government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
• The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible families, Issue of Ration Cards, and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs), etc., rest with the State Governments.

Evolution of the system:

• Before 1960-PDS was introduced during the time of World War II. It was before the year 1960 that the distribution through PDS was dependent on imports of food grains.
• 1960s-The Public Distribution System was then expanded in the 1960s to handle food shortages and take care of distribution.
• The Food Corporation of India and the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices were also set up by the government of India to improve domestic procurement and storage of food grains.
• 1970s – It was during the 1970s when PDS evolved as a universal scheme for the distribution of food.
• 1992- The Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) was launched in 1992 with a view to strengthen and streamline the PDS as well as to improve its reach in the far-flung, hilly, remote, and inaccessible areas.
• 1997- the Government of India launched the Targeted Public distribution system (TPDS) with a focus on the poor.
• Beneficiaries under TPDS Divided into 2 categories – Households Below Poverty Line and Households Above Poverty Line.
• 2000- Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)launched in December 2000 was a step in the direction of making TPDS aim at reducing hunger among the poorest segments of the BPL population.

Functions:

• The center procures food grains from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) and sells them to states at central issue prices. It is responsible for transporting the grains to godowns in each state.
• States bear the responsibility of transporting food grains from these godowns to each fair price shop (ration shop), where the beneficiary buys the food grains at the lower central issue price.
• Many states further subsidize the price of food grains before selling them to beneficiaries.

FOOD SECURITY AND PDS SYSTEM

• With a network of more than 400,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS), the public distribution system (PDS) in India is perhaps the largest distribution machinery of its type in the world.
• PDS is said to distribute each year commodities worth more than Rs15,000 crore to about 16 crore families.
• This huge network can play a more meaningful role if only the system is able to translate into micro-level macro-level self-sufficiency by ensuring the availability of food grains for poor households.
• Food Security of beneficiaries is ensured by distributing food grains at subsidized prices through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). It protects them from price volatility due to inflation.
• Over the years, while the spending on food subsidies has increased, the ratio of people below the poverty line has decreased.

THE ISSUE

• During 2016-17 to 2019-20, the subsidy amount clubbed with loans taken by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) towards food subsidy, was in the range of ₹1.65-lakh crore to ₹2.2-lakh crore. In the future, the annual subsidy bill of the Centre is expected to be about ₹2.5-lakh crore.
• As the National Food Security Act (NFSA), which came into force in July 2013, enhanced entitlements (covering two-thirds of the country’s population), this naturally pushed up the States’ drawal.

(Based on an improved version of the targeted public distribution system (PDS), the law requires the authorities to provide to each beneficiary 5 kg of rice or wheat per month.)

• For this financial year (2020-21) which is an extraordinary year on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the revised estimate of the subsidy has been put at about ₹4.23-lakh crore, excluding the extra-budgetary resource allocation of ₹84,636 crores.

OTHER CHALLENGES RELATED TO THE FOOD SUBSIDY

• While MSP is declared for 23 crops, the biggest financial burden comes from wheat and rice.
• Overall procurement of rice and wheat has gone up to 52 million tonnes and 39 million tonnes, respectively. The requirement of PDS and welfare schemes is about 60 million tonnes.
• This leaves a surplus of about 30 million tonnes, in addition to the carry-over stock of about 42 million tonnes (current)—far above the buffer and strategic reserve norms.
• The cost of holding this stock works out to Rs 29,000 crore per year.

WILL INCREASING CIP REVAMP THE SYSTEM?

Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at highly subsidized rates of ₹3 per kg for rice, ₹2 per kg for wheat, and ₹1 per kg for coarse grains through the Public Distribution System (PDS) as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

• The Economic Survey has hinted at an increase in the Central Issue Price (CIP), which has remained at ₹2 per kg for wheat and ₹3 per kg for rice for years, though the NFSA, even in 2013, envisaged a price revision after three years.
• One should ponder over the advisability of keeping so low the retail prices of food grains at fair price shops, even after the passage of nearly 50 years and achieving substantial poverty reduction in the country. As per the Rangarajan group’s estimate in 2014, the share of people living below the poverty line (BPL) in the 2011 population was 29.5% (about 36 crores).
• The Centre, by stating through the Survey that it is difficult to reduce “the economic cost of food management in view of rising commitment” towards food security, does not want the NFSA norms to be disturbed.

Political compulsions are perceived to be coming in the way of the Centre and the States increasing the prices.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Decreasing the quantum of coverage:

• It is time the Centre had a relook at the overall food subsidy system including the pricing mechanism. It should revisit NFSA norms and coverage.
• An official committee in January 2015 called for decreasing the quantum of coverage under the law, from the present 67% to around 40%.

“Give-up” option:

• For all ration cardholders drawing food grains, a “give-up” option, as done in the case of cooking gas cylinders, can be made available.
• Even though States have been allowed to frame criteria for the identification of PHH cardholders, the Centre can nudge them into pruning the number of such beneficiaries.

Slab system:

• As for the prices, the existing arrangement of flat rates should be replaced with a slab system. Barring the needy, other beneficiaries can be made to pay a little more for a higher quantum of food grains.
• The rates at which these beneficiaries have to be charged can be arrived at by the Centre and the States through consultations. These measures, if properly implemented, can have a salutary effect on retail prices in the open market.

CONCLUSION

• There are no two opinions about reforms implemented in the PDS through various steps, including end-to-end computerization of operations, digitization of data of ration cardholders, seeding of Aadhaar, and automation of fair price shops.
• Yet, diversion of food grains and other chronic problems do exist. It is nobody’s case that the PDS should be dismantled or the in-kind provision of food subsidy be discontinued.
• After all, the Centre itself did not see any great virtue in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode at the time of giving additional food grains free of cost to the States during April-November last year (as part of relief measures during the pandemic).
• A revamped, need-based PDS is required not just for cutting down the subsidy bill but also for reducing the scope for leakages. Political will should not be found wanting.