THE HEALTH ISSUES

DRINKING COFFEE DOES NOT RAISE RISK DURING PREGNANCY: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: A new genetics-based study from the University of Queensland, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, has found that drinking coffee during pregnancy didn’t increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or premature birth.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The researchers referred to WHO guidelines that pregnant women should drink less than 300 mg of caffeine (two to three cups) per day. “But that’s based on observational studies where it’s difficult to separate coffee drinking from other risk factors like smoking, alcohol or poor diet. We wanted to find out if coffee alone really does increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and the research shows this isn’t the case.
• The researchers used a method called Mendelian Randomisation, which used eight genetic variants that predicted pregnant women’s coffee-drinking behaviour and examined whether these variants were associated with birth outcomes.

VALUE ADDITION: WHAT IS MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION? Mendelian randomization is a method of using measured variation in genes of known function to examine the causal effect of a modifiable exposure on disease in observational studies.

 

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

EXPLAINED: WHY THE UAE HAS ‘SUSPENDED’ RE-EXPORT OF INDIAN WHEAT-MILLING

THE CONTEXT: The United Arab Emirates’ decision, to “suspend” re-export of wheat and flour from grain originating in India is basically an assurance that whatever it imports will be used only for domestic consumption.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the sources, “India doesn’t want its wheat exported to Dubai or Abu Dhabi to go out to other countries, whether as grain or flour. It would want that wheat to be consumed locally, including the migrant Indian workers in UAE.
• This will, in turn, allow India to provide an exception to its wheat export ban and ship out some quantities to the Gulf federation. India, on May 14, banned export of all wheat, except against outstanding contracts backed by already-issued letters of credit and to countries on case-to-case food security considerations.
• India exported 4.71 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat valued at $136.53 million to the UAE in 2021-22. That constituted about 6.5 per cent of its total 72.35 lt shipments of the cereal worth $2,120.27 million last fiscal.
• While the quantities exported may not be that big for India, they aren’t small for UAE. The US Department of Agriculture has estimated UAE’s annual wheat consumption, which is entirely imported, at 15 lt. The wheat-milling capacity is higher, at 16.7 lt, which is driven both by local consumption and re-export of flour sold to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Ethiopia, Taiwan and Philippines. Such exports amount to about 1 lt annually.
• More than 50 per cent of UAE’s wheat imports are from Russia, followed by Canada, Ukraine and Australia. From 2020-21, India also emerged as a key supplier, exporting 1.88 lt to the Gulf federation. Exports rose further in 2021-22, before the export ban decision that came on top of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has disrupted shipments from the Black Sea ports.
• The trade sources pointed out that the global wheat supply situation should ease somewhat, with the harvesting and market arrivals of Russian and Ukrainian wheat from July. The USDA has projected Ukraine’s wheat exports to nearly halve to 10 million tonnes (mt) in 2022-23, from 19 mt in 2021-22. However, it expects a substantial jump in Russia’s exports, from 33 mt in 2021-22 to a record 40 mt in the new marketing year.

Value Addition: Wheat production in India ·      India is the second-largest wheat producer in the world. ·      Indian wheat accounted for about 14.14% of the world’s total production in 2020. ·      India produces nearly 107.59 million tonnes of wheat per year and most of it is consumed domestically. ·      Major wheat-growing states: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat. ·      In 2019-20, wheat exports were worth 61.84 million USD, which increased to 549.67 million USD in 2020-21. ·      Key export destinations: Bangladesh, Nepal, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Malaysia.

 

EXPLAINED: WHAT IS THE FATF’S GREY LIST, AND COULD PAKISTAN BE TAKEN OFF IT AT LAST?

THE CONTEXT: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international watchdog monitoring money laundering, terror financing, and other threats to global financial networks, is expected to decide whether to take Pakistan off the ‘grey’ list at the end of its ongoing plenary session in Berlin.

THE EXPLANATION:

Pakistan has been on the FATF grey list continuously since June 2018, working to comply with the requirements of the watchdog to combat money laundering and terror financing.

What is the FATF?

• The FATF is an inter-governmental body that sets international standards seeking to prevent international financial crimes that aid terrorism. It is a policymaking body that works to generate political will in national jurisdictions for legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas. (Headquartered at Paris).
• The FATF was established in 1989 by a G-7 Summit in Paris, initially to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering. After the 9/11 attacks, the FATF in October 2001 expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, and in April 2012, it added efforts to counter the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• The FATF currently comprises 37 member jurisdictions and two regional organisations (European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council), representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. The FATF has developed the FATF Recommendations, or FATF Standards, which ensure a co-ordinated global response to prevent organised crime, corruption and terrorism. Over 200 jurisdictions around the world have committed to the FATF Recommendations through the global network of nine FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) and FATF memberships.
• India has been a member of the FATF since 2010. It is also a member of its regional partners, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) and the Eurasian Group (EAG). Pakistan has argued unsuccessfully that India is biased and motivated against it.

What is the grey list, and why is Pakistan on it?

• Grey listing means FATF has placed a country under increased monitoring to check its progress on measures against money laundering and terrorism financing. The “grey list” is also known as the “increased monitoring list”.
• As of March 2022, there are 23 countries on the FATF’s increased monitoring list — officially referred to as “jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies” — that include, apart from Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Myanmar, Philippines, South Sudan, Uganda, and Yemen.

How does grey-listing impact a country?

• Pakistan’s grey-listing by the FATF from 2008 to 2019 may have resulted in a cumulative GDP loss of USD 38 billion as per a working paper by Tabadlab, an Islamad-based advisory firm.
• This is because, although being added to the grey list does not imply any economic sanctions (unlike the black list), it signals to the global financial and banking system about increased risks in transactions with the country in question, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.
• Also, given that major financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank are affiliated with FATF as observers, a grey-listed country “faces complications in accessing international lending instruments,” the Tabadlab paper said. One instance is of a USD 6 billion IMF loan contract from July 2019 that emphasised the need for Pakistan to comply with the FATF’s action.
• Pakistan’s economy is in poor shape, and it is staring at low reserves of foreign exchanges, despite loan assistance from Saudi Arabia and China.

What is the road ahead for Pakistan?

• After the plenary session of June 2021, FATF had said Pakistan needed to “investigate and prosecute” senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, and its ‘operational commander’ Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. The FATF gave Pakistan until October 2021 to meet the remaining conditions of compliance.
• Pakistan’s progress was appreciated in March this year by the global body, which noted that it had “completed 26 of the 27 action items in its 2018 action plan”. The FATF encouraged Pakistan to address the one remaining item by continuing terror financing investigations and prosecutions of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups.
• Quoting unnamed diplomatic sources, the Pakistani daily Dawn reported that China, Malaysia, and some other allies of Pakistan were “quietly working” to get the country off the grey list. Dawn also reported Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green on (June 15), and one reason for investors’ regained confidence was hopes of Pakistan exiting the grey list.

 

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

CABINET APPROVES MEGA 5G AUCTION

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet has approved the auction of airwaves capable of offering fifth generation, or 5G, telecom services, including ultra-high-speed Internet, and gave its nod for setting up of captive 5G networks by big tech firms.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 5G auctions at reserve prices are recommended by the sector regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
• TRAI had earlier recommended a 39% reduction in the reserve or floor price for the sale of 5G spectrum for mobile services.
• While the 5G spectrum in nine frequency bands will be auctioned to telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the Notice Inviting Applications — a bid-related document issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT) — said big tech firms for the time being will be allowed to take the 5G spectrum for their captive non-public network, on lease from the telecom companies.
• The notice inviting offer said direct allocation to the big tech companies will follow a demand study and sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation on aspects such as pricing and modalities of such allocation.
• Big tech companies like Google have been seeking direct allocation of spectrum for applications such as machine-to-machine communications, IoT and AI, while telecom companies have been opposing direct allocation of 5G spectrum to them saying it will distort the level playing field and rob the government of revenues.

 

EXPLAINED: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEXT MONTH’S SPECTRUM AUCTIONS

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to auction 72,097.85 MHz of airwaves. The government has invited applications from potential bidders for spectrum auctions planned next month (JULY 2022), taking the first step towards rolling out 5G services in the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

Which spectrum bands will be auctioned?

• A total of 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put on auction from July 26. The auction will be held for spectrum in the frequencies of 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands.
• “It is expected that the Mid and High band spectrum will be utilised by telecom service providers to roll out 5G technology-based services capable of providing speed and capacities which would be about 10 times higher than what is possible through the current 4G services”.

How will the auction be conducted?

The e-auction will be conducted on a simultaneous multiple rounds ascending model. Bidders will have to submit an earnest money deposit ahead of the auction, on the basis of which each bidder will be allocated eligibility points. During the auction, the company will be able to place its bids using these eligibility points.

How much will the spectrum cost?

• At reserve price, the entirety of the spectrum is valued at over Rs 5 lakh crore. Last year, the government announced a telecom sector relief package, and some facets of the scheme have been included in the terms of this auction. A mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders has been done away with for the first time.
• Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual instalments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year. The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance instalments.
• The government will also not collect any spectrum usage charge on airwaves auctioned in this round, and the requirement for bank guarantees and financial guarantees has been done away with.

What are some of the technical highlights of the auction?

• After years of keeping the decision in abeyance, the government has finally decided to increase the number of microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands of 13, 15, 18 and 21 GHz bands.
• In the official statement, the government said that it has decided to provisionally allot two carriers of 250 MHz each in the E-Band spectrum, and also decided to double the number of traditional microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands.
• Currently, across these bands, there are 2,090 microwave backhaul carriers available. This has been done because high bandwidth telephony services like 5G require additional backhaul capacity for smooth functioning.

What are private captive networks?

• The government has also cleared the path for tech companies to acquire spectrum directly from it to test and build industry 4.0 applications such as machine-to-machine communications, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, etc. Companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have expressed interest earlier in building these non-public 5G networks to develop such solutions.
• These networks will not be accessible to the general public. DoT said it will undertake demand studies and thereafter seek TRAI recommendations for direct assignment of spectrum to such enterprises.

 

THE NEWS IN NUMBERS

ECONOMIC GAINS RISE-WORLD COMPETITIVENESS INDEX

According to a global study showed that India’s ranked 35^th in the World Competitiveness Index, an annual index compiled by the Institute for Management Development based on gains in economic performance. India has witnessed the sharpest rise among the Asian economies, with a jump of six positions from 43rd rank in 2021. Denmark has moved to the top of the 63-nation list from the third position last year, while Switzerland slipped from the top ranking to the second position and Singapore reached the third spot from the fifth.

POURING DOWN-IMD REPORT

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) 27 years after which Cherrapunji experienced a record high rainfall of 811.6 mm in 24 hours in 14^th June 2022, One of the wettest places in the world, Cherrapunji has recorded more than 750 mm of precipitation on a June day on 10 occasions since the IMD started keeping records. The department further informed that intense rainfall is likely to continue in the northeast and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim in the next five days.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 16TH JUNE 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Agnipath Scheme:

1. It is a new scheme launched for recruiting soldiers for the tenure of four years in the Army and Navy only.

2. Only 50 per cent of recruits will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission.

3. The aspirants between the ages of 17.5 years and 21 years will be eligible to apply.
4. 30 per cent of their salary will be set aside under a Seva Nidhi programme.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 3 and 4 only

d) 1 and 4 only

ANSWER FOR 15^TH JUNE 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

• It is founded in 1997 by Bangkok Declaration.
• Its permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.