HEALTH ISSUES

1. EXPERIMENTAL ALZHEIMER’S DRUG FROM ROCHE FAILS IN TRIALS

THE CONTEXT: According to a study by the pharmaceutical company, the Roche’s Alzheimer’s drug candidate could not be shown to slow dementia progression in two drug trials.

THE EXPLANATION:

The study

• According to the twin studies, known as Graduate 1 and 2, had not reached their main goal of showing that the drug gantenerumab could preserve abilities such as remembering, solving problems, orientation and personal care in patients suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
• The Swiss drugmaker conducted two identically designed studies, each with about 1,000 participants, who were examined and queried by physicians over more than two years. Within each study, volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either the injectable antibody drug gantenerumab or a placebo.
• The drug was associated with a relative reduction in clinical decline of 8 per cent in Graduate 1 and 6 per cent in Graduate 2 compared with the placebo, but those results were not statistically reliable.
• Gantenerumab is a fully human IgG1 antibody designed to bind with subnanomolar affinity to a conformational epitope on Aβ fibrils. It encompasses both N-terminal and central amino acids of Aβ. The therapeutic rationale for this antibody is that it acts centrally to disassemble and degrade amyloid plaques by recruiting microglia and activating phagocytosis.

VALUE ADDITION:

Alzheimer’s Disease:

• Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that causes the brain to shrink (atrophy) and brain cells to die.
• The disease is the most common cause of dementia – a continuous decline in thinking, behavioural and social skills that affect a person’s ability to function independently.

Caused by: Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of proteins in and around brain cells.

• One of the proteins involved is called amyloid, deposits of which form plaques around brain cells.
• The other protein is called tau, deposits of which form tangles within brain cells.

Vulnerability: Alzheimer disease most commonly affects older adults, but it can also affect people in their 30s or 40s.

Cases:

• According to WHO estimates for 2017, dementia affects approximately 50 million people worldwide, a number that is projected to grow to 82 million by 2030.
• In India, it is estimated that 5.3 million people (1 in 27) above the age of 60 have dementia in 2020. This is projected to rise to 7.6 million by 2030.

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND REPORT

THE CONTEXT: The United Nations recently revealed that the world population has reached 8 billion mark. India is the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The UN also noted that China, which added 73 million people, the projection is its contribution to the next billion in the global population is to be in the negative. This means the most populous country would now contribute in negative to the world population.
• the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 report has also specified tat eight countries will be the biggest contributors in the next billion mark population rise. This includes India, Pakistan, Egypt, Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Philippines, and Tanzania.
• According to a report half of the population still lives in just seven countries: China, India, the US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil. While the world’s population will continue to grow to around 10.4 billion in the 2080s, the overall rate of growth is slowing down.
• The UN warned that India may soon surpass China to become the most populated country in the world. However, the UN also stated that the population growth in India is stablising than understood previously.
• “The good news is that India’s population growth appears to be stabilising. The Total Fertility Rate — more or less the average number of children born per woman — has declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level”.
• Population growth has become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Good record

• A total of 31 States and Union Territories (constituting 69.7% of the country’s population) have achieved fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1, it said.
• The main reasons for the decline in fertility include increase in adoption of modern family planning methods (from 47.8% in 2015-16 to 56.5% in 2019-21) and a reduction in unmet need for family planning by four percentage points over the same period. “This indicates significant improvements in access to family planning related information and services. In summary, it shows that India’s national population policies and health systems are working”.
• India is a youthful nation with the largest cohort of young people anywhere in the world, with major potential to achieve its demographic dividend. While many parts of the world are ageing, India’s youthful population can be a global resource to solve global problems.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3. EAST TIMOR TO BECOME 11TH MEMBER OF ASEAN

THE CONTEXT: The AEAN members agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the 11th member of the bloc.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is ASEAN?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional bloc founded on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. Its member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. East Timor was added as a new member of this regional grouping.

About East Timor

• Timor Leste or East Timor is a half-island nation in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands. It is situated at the southern extreme of the Malay Archipelago. It occupies the eastern half of the Island of Timor. It is bounded by the Timor Sea to the southeast, the Wetar Strait to the north, the Ombai Strait to the northwest and the western Timor (part of Indonesian territory) to southwest.
• East Timor that was previously part of Indonesian territory. Indonesia occupied the island nation in 1976. Hundreds of thousands have died on the island while resisting the annexation of Indonesia. Due to the global pressure, the Indonesian government authorized a referendum in 1999 to determine future of East Timor. In the UN-supervised referendum, the country voted to secede from Indonesia. It was recognized by the United Nations in 2002. This makes it the youngest democracy in Asia.

East Timor and ASEAN
East Timor started applying for ASEAN membership in 2011. The ASEAN decided to admit the island nation as its 11th member more than a decade after Timor-Leste requested membership. This decision was made at Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, where the 40th and 41st ASEAN and related summits officially began recently. East Timor was granted observer status at ASEAN meetings, including summit plenaries, until it is formally inducted into the regional bloc.

4. EAST ASIA SUMMIT

THE CONTEXT: Vice President recently addressed the East Asia Summit on the last day of his visit to Cambodia, as the three-day Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit concluded.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the East Asia Summit?

• Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised this grouping, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These members were the 10 ASEAN countries,Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
• ASEAN’s 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.
• The EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of States/Governments of these countries, where they are able to discuss common concerns and interests
• Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighbouring regions. Six priority areas of cooperation were identified – environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN Connectivity.
• In the past, the issues of claims over the South China Sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea, terrorism, the actions of North Korea and the conflict situation in Myanmar have been discussed by the countries.

What are the EAS’s links with India?

• This (2022) year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
• In a joint statement, ASEAN-India acknowledged the deep civilisational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between Southeast Asia and India which have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations.
• Vice President announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund to enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy and smart agriculture.
• According to a 2021 statement by the Prime Minister’s website, “ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical and civilizational ties. ASEAN is central to our Act East Policy and our wider vision of the Indo-Pacific.”

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

5. GLOBAL SHIELD AGAINST CLIMATE RISKS INITIATIVE

THE CONTEXT: The Global Shield Against Climate Risks initiative was launched on November 14, 2022 by the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) countries and G7 countries. While V20 countries represent 58 countries that are vulnerable to climate change, the G7 represent seven of the world’s most industrialized countries.

THE EXPLANATION:

About the initiative

• The Global Shield Against Climate Risks initiative was launched at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
• It is a social protection and insurance-based finance mechanism for loss and damage outside the UNFCCC process.
• It will provide pre-arranged financial aid that can be rapidly deployed to respond to disasters like the devastating flood that occurred in Pakistan in August 2022.
• It will help expand the financial protection instruments for governments, communities, businesses and households.
• These instruments will minimise the impacts of disasters by helping vulnerable economies become more resilient, ensure sustainable development and protect lives and jobs.

How will the initiative be implemented?

• The initiative will be implemented in a way that it aligns with the vulnerable country’s financial and economic strategies so that the financing gaps are removed. This initiative will support countries in ensuring livelihood protection, social protection systems, livestock and crop insurance, property insurance, business interruption insurance, risk-sharing networks and credit guarantees. The support will be provided at the level of government, humanitarian agencies and non-profits so that the finances are present whenever necessary.
• Pakistan, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Senegal, Philippines and Ghana will be the first to receive assistance under this initiative. The initial contributions for this initiative are provided Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Canada. The US, which is also part of this initiative, is providing funding for the African Risk Capacity – an insurance and disaster risk solutions company. Other countries like the UK and the international organizations like the UNDP and the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction are also backing this initiative.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS

6. POSOCO RENAMED AS “GRID CONTROLLER OF INDIA LIMITED”

THE CONTEXT: India’s national grid operator Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) was renamed as Grid Controller of India Limited.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India)

• The Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India) is a wholly owned central government enterprise that comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Power.
• Previously, it was a fully owned subsidiary of the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Powergrid) – the central public sector undertaking (PSU) owned by the Union Power Ministry.
• It was set up in March 2009 to take care of the power management functions of the PGCIL.
• It was later made a separate company, with PGCIL being involved only in setting up transition link.
• Grid-India, as a separate company, was given the load despatch functions. It oversees the operations of the national load despatch centre (NLDC) and 5 regional load despatch centres (RLDCs). The NLDC is the apex body that ensures the integrated operation of national power system.
• Grid-India currently works as the nodal agency for major reforms in the power sector like the implementation and operation of Green Energy Open Access Portal, Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Mechanism, transmission pricing, short-term open access in transmission, deviation settlement mechanism, Power System Development Fund (PSDF) and others.

Why was the name changed?

• The name was changed to reflect the important role played by the grid operators in ensuring integrity, reliability, resilience and sustainable operation of the Indian electricity grid. It also points to the unique position held by the Grid-India in connecting people to energy they use. The name reflects the functions performed by the grid managers in India at the national and state levels.
• It also explains the role played by the Grid-India in the country’s transition towards renewable energy. It also reflects the vision of the PSU to become a “global institution of excellence for reliable and resilient power systems, fostering efficient electricity markets, promoting economy and sustainability”.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. Consider the following statements about Atal Tunnel:
1. It is located near Baralacha La pass in Himachal Pradesh.
2. It provides all weather connectivity from Manali to Lahaul and Spiti valley.
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: B
Atal Tunnel:

• It is located near Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh.
• It provides all weather connectivity from Manali to Lahaul and Spiti valley.

1. The paradox of sacrifice READ MORE
2. A Positive Engagement READ MORE

1. A tigress entered Almora from Corbett and was shot; Where is the accountability? READ MORE
2. Health as the focus of air pollution policy READ MORE
3. Joint effort. ‘Water credits’ can fund climate needs READ MORE

1. Focus is on education, conserving culture & customs READ MORE
2. Is climate change affecting global health? READ MORE  

1. Chasing utopia — the quest for a Uniform Civil Code READ MORE
2. Earning the ticket: Dropping underperforming MLAs is good practice. But it’s possible only in parties with strong leadership READ MORE
3. Electoral reforms must in all quarters READ MORE
4. JUDICIAL REFORM: A DAUNTING DECELERATION READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Xi urges better ties in rare summit with Australia READ MORE
2. Nine Russian banks open Vostro accounts for rupee trade READ MORE
3. India’s population growth appears to be stabilising: UN READ MORE
4. In worst slide since 2020, October exports drop 16.7% to $29.78 bn READ MORE
5. Kashi Tamil Sangamam begins Thursday: What is the ancient connect between Kashi and the Tamil land? READ MORE
6. India abstains on UNGA resolution calling for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine READ MORE
7. Data protection Bill revised: Penalty up to Rs 200 crore if firms don’t have safeguards READ MORE
8. State of the Climate in Asia 2021 READ MORE
9. Explained | Google’s 1,000 language AI model READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Focus is on education, conserving culture & customs READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Chasing utopia — the quest for a Uniform Civil Code READ MORE
2. Earning the ticket: Dropping underperforming MLAs is good practice. But it’s possible only in parties with strong leadership READ MORE
3. Electoral reforms must in all quarters READ MORE
4. JUDICIAL REFORM: A DAUNTING DECELERATION READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Is climate change affecting global health? READ MORE  

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. G20: India’s development model can lead the way READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The shape of the Indian economic pie must change READ MORE
2. RBI should pause rate hikes, boost growth READ MORE
3. Can India Seize the Demographic Advantage? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. A tigress entered Almora from Corbett and was shot; Where is the accountability? READ MORE
2. Health as the focus of air pollution policy READ MORE
3. Joint effort. ‘Water credits’ can fund climate needs READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. The paradox of sacrifice READ MORE
2. A Positive Engagement READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘The EWS quota is unfair because it twists the idea of social justice by bequeathing further privilege to communities who are historically situated to benefit from the caste system’. How far do you agree with this view? Analyse your views.
2. ‘The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today’. In the light of this statement, discuss whether India should start genetically modified cropping?
3. ‘The US is welcome to cement its partnership with India in various sectors, but it is well advised not to dictate terms to the latter with regard to Russia’. Comment on the statement in the light of recent developments in International politics.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt.
• With S&P Global’s latest Business Outlook survey pointing to an intensification of wage pressures and producer pass-through of costs, authorities can ill-afford to drop their guard in the fight against inflation.
• A discussion on the viability of an otherwise unenforceable UCC has been made possible only because it finds an inscrutable mention in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The majority needs to benefit much faster than a tiny minority on top, which will require reforms of institutions and economic ideology and the Government listening to the needs of common citizens.
• India’s long-term strategy for low carbon development is consistent with its net-zero targets and outlines a road map for key industries.
• As the second highest user of freshwater in the country, industry can use its CSR funds imaginatively so that conservation gains are maximized.
• Water credits represent a fixed quantum of water that is conserved or generated and can be transacted between water deficit and water surplus entities within a sub-basin.
• To make the electoral system free and fair in the world’s largest democracy, the use of money and muscle power must be curbed in the Indian context.
• Without an efficient justice delivery system and a subsisting rule of law, a country’s development would be a utopian thought only.
• Judicial Infrastructure of our country has not improved & paced up to achieve the desired level since the British period.
• The demand for justice and change in the justice delivery system cannot be suppressed or ignored in the manner it is perverting in India. It needs to be enhanced with technology for curtailing the cost and the barrier of language in the Indian judicial system.
• The demand for justice and change in the justice delivery system cannot be suppressed or ignored in the manner it is perverting in India. It needs to be enhanced with technology for curtailing the cost and the barrier of language in the Indian judicial system.
• Paramount change in the existing law and adequate judicial infrastructure is required to accelerate the judicial system, to deliver qualitative, speedy justice to the citizens of India by saving millions of lives from being frustrated with the judicial system and the process of access to justice.
• In the new India, access to justice is the privilege of the powerful and rich people. Poor people are still suffering from the quantum of injustice which begins with a traffic constable up to the Supreme Court.

50-WORD TALK

• India’s COP27 commitment to raise its installed nuclear power capacity by threefold by 2032 as part of its long-term low-carbon development strategy is encouraging. India’s nuclear sector has enormous potential to expand but overcautious government plans have crawled. Nuclear is expensive, which’s where rich countries should step in and help.

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 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 mains point 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.

[WpProQuiz 368]

THE CONTEXT: Recently the Government of India has passed three farm bills that are being widely criticised by many farmer organisations. The farm bills are criticised for being pro market reforms that has the potential of harming farmer’s interest in the long run.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Since 1991, economic liberalisation and reforms by successive governments across the political spectrum – except during the lost decade of 2004-14 – have enabled a return to these core economic principles.
• That these timeless principles – advocated in as disparate Indian literature as the Arthashastra and the Thirukural – work is seen in the enormous prosperity well-regulated markets have delivered since 1991. Even the Chinese economic miracle is testimony to the role of markets in enabling economic prosperity for citizens.

WHAT IS FARM BILL 2020?

• In September 2020, the Indian government passed three agricultural bills, which are – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bil, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Bill, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
• The new farmers’ bill allows the farmers to sell their products directly to private buyers breaking the monopoly of man is regulated by the government. The people get empowered to get into a legal deal with the companies and produce agro-products for them. The farmers’ bill India also allows stocking of food articles by the agri-businesses removing the ability of the government to impose arbitrarily.

The three farm acts:

1.Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020

• This act allows farmers to engage in trade of their agricultural produce outside the physical markets notified under various state Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee laws (APMC acts). Also known as the ‘APMC Bypass Bill’, it will override all the state-level APMC acts.
• Promotes barrier-free intra-state and inter-state trade of farmer’s produce.
• Proposes an electronic trading platform for direct and online trading of produce. Entities that can establish such platforms include companies, partnership firms, or societies.
• Allows farmers the freedom to trade anywhere outside state-notified APMC markets, and this includes allowing trade at farm gates, warehouses, cold storages, and so on.
• Prohibits state governments or APMCs from levying fees, cess, or any other charge on farmers produce.
• The three farm acts are likely to have a significant impact on farmers and agriculture in the country.

2. Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020

• The act seeks to provide farmers with a framework to engage in contract farming, where farmers can enter into a direct agreement with a buyer (before sowing season) to sell the produce to them at pre-determined prices.
• Entities that may strike agreements with farmers to buy agricultural produce are defined as “sponsors’’ and can include individuals, companies, partnership firms, limited liability groups, and societies.
• The act provides for setting up farming agreements between farmers and sponsors. Any third parties involved in the transaction (like aggregators) will have to be explicitly mentioned in the agreement. Registration authorities can be established by state governments to provide for electronic registry of farming agreements.
• Agreements can cover mutually agreed terms between farmers and sponsors, and the terms can cover supply, quality, standards, price, as well as farm services. These include supply of seeds, feed, fodder, agro-chemicals, machinery and technology, non-chemical agro-inputs, and other farming inputs.
• Agreements must have a minimum duration of one cropping season, or one production cycle of livestock. The maximum duration can be five years. For production cycles beyond five years, the period of agreement can be mutually decided by the farmer and sponsor.
• Purchase price of the farming produce—including the methods of determining price—may be added in the agreement. In case the price is subject to variations, the agreement must include a guaranteed price to be paid as well as clear references for any additional amounts the farmer may receive, like bonus or premium.
• There is no mention of minimum support price (MSP) that buyers need to offer to farmers.
• Delivery of farmers’ produce may be undertaken by either parties within the agreed time frame. Sponsors are liable to inspect the quality of products as per the agreement, otherwise they will be deemed to have inspected the produce and have to accept the delivery within the agreed time frame.
• In case of seed production, sponsors are required to pay at least two-thirds of the agreed amount at the time of delivery, and the remaining amount to be paid after due certification within 30 days of date of delivery. Regarding all other cases, the entire amount must be paid at the time of delivery and a receipt slip must be issued with the details of the sale.
• Produce generated under farming agreements are exempt from any state acts aimed at regulating the sale and purchase of farming produce, therefore leaving no room for states to impose MSPs on such produce. Such agreements also exempt the sponsor from any stock-limit obligations applicable under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Stock-limits are a method of preventing hoarding of agricultural produce.
• Provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism: the conciliation board—comprising representatives of parties to the agreement, the sub-divisional magistrate, and appellate authority.

3. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

• An amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, this act seeks to restrict the powers of the government with respect to production, supply, and distribution of certain key commodities.
• The act removes cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities.
• Government can impose stock holding limits and regulate the prices for the above commodities—under the Essential Commodities, 1955—only under exceptional circumstances. These include war, famine, extraordinary price rise, and natural calamity of grave nature.
• Stock limits on farming produce to be based on price rise in the market.  They may be imposed only if there is: (i) a 100 percent increase in retail price of horticultural produce, and (ii) a 50 percent increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural food items. The increase is to be calculated over the price prevailing during the preceding twelve months, or the average retail price over the last five years, whichever is lower.
• The act aims at removing fears of private investors of regulatory influence in their business operations.
• Gives freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute, and supply produce, leading to harnessing private sector/foreign direct investment in agricultural infrastructure.

ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING THE FARM LAWS

The purpose of the new farm laws is to end the historic exploitation of farmers at the APMC markets and free them from the clutches of the middlemen.Farmers who sell their produce to mandi merchants, or ‘arhatiyas’, at agricultural produce market committee (APMC) markets still receive informal white slips with the transaction amount scribbled on them, making the record non-transparent.The purpose of the new farm laws is to end the historic exploitation of farmers at the APMC markets and free them from the clutches of the middlemen.

1. Economic history of exploitation at mandis

• Fifty-five years since the APMCs were introduced, the country’s farmers are still receiving a low share of the consumer’s rupee as indicated by an Reserve Bank of India study covering mandis in 16 states, 16 food crops and 9,400 farmers, traders, retailers.
• The farmers’ shares were 28 per cent for potato, 33 per cent for onion, 49 per cent for rice, an crop with minimum support price (MSP) guarantee.
• The provision of MSP alone will not ensure farmers to draw a greater share of the consumer’s rupee because supply is greater than demand.
• The demand is also influenced by schemes such as national food security mission, where food grains are offered free or at low prices. When rice and wheat are offered virtually free of cost, why will the consumer buy ragi, jowar, bajra at a higher price?
• Injecting competition by widening farm markets will benefit farmers which the three farm laws aim at.

2. Inefficiencies in APMCs

• The APMCs still don’t issue formal receipts which are supposed to mention the price, quantity or quality of the produce.
• Further, due to interlocked markets, farmers are forced to sell to those middlemen who they have borrowed money from, starting off a vicious circle of exploitation in times of distress sales.
• Buyers make a large income from informal lending. Such illegal paired with unfair deductions, undercover sales, cartels and collusions at APMCs have continued denying remunerative prices to the farmers.

3. Widened markets benefit farmers

• Due to green revolution technologies, supply has increased but is limited to APMCs for handling. This causes the prices to be capped at a lower value. Permission to buy or sell outside APMCs will benefit farmers by creating new supply or value chains.
• The nominal protection coefficient (domestic price divided by international price) for agriculture is 0.87. This implies that farmers can get at least 13 per cent higher prices in international markets by exporting.

4. Infringement of rights

• Farmers’ right to sell their produce to whomever, wherever, whenever and in whichever quantity cannot be infringed upon. The elasticity of price transmission between  that at APMCs and farmgate price (market value minus selling cost) is impressive. Thus, buyers outside APMC will have to compete with APMC prices and vice versa to attract farmers’ produce.

5. No interference with state

• Entry 26 of the state list enables states to regulate trade in agricultural commodities within their boundary. But this is subject to entry 33 in the concurrent list, which allows both the Centre and the states to frame these regulations.
• Such market reforms can double farmer incomes. Also, with Article 249, the Centre can enact law in national interest of saving farmers from exploitation by middleman.

6. Multiple markets and competition

• Allowing buyers outside APMC mandis promotes competition and halts exploitation. At present, while consumers are paying higher price, farmers are still receiving lower returns due to inefficiencies and imperfections. Thus, setting the markets right is crucial through the new laws.
• Unified market platform (UMP) in Karnataka resulted in increase of prices by 38 per cent. This implies that current market prices are depressed by 38 per cent due to lack of adequate competition. Opening up the markets can push the APMCs to offer competitive prices.
• Competition in procurement and distribution cost can also reduce from 30 per cent to 15 per cent.

7. Bihar’s impressive performance

• Economic reforms in Bihar in 2005 that removed the APMC act resulted in impressive agricultural and overall performance.
• Before 2005, Bihar’s economy grew at a rate of 5.3 per cent while India’s economy grew at 6.8 per cent. After the reforms, Bihar’s economy grew at 11.7 per cent with 4.7 per cent agriculture boost, while India’s economy grew at 8.3 per cent with agricultural growth at 3.6 per cent.
• Between the pre and post-reform period, average wholesale price of paddy increased by 126 per cent, maize by 81 per cent and wheat by 66 per cent.
• Considering the impact of reforms on crop output, in the pre-reforms (2000 to 2007) and post-reforms (2008 to 2015) period, the growth rates of output of field crops (1.53 per cent, 4.29 per cent) were higher than that of horticulture crops (-3.51 per cent, 2.85 per cent), with an impressive growth rate of overall output of agriculture and allied sectors (2.57 per cent, 4.66 per cent).

8. Contract farming

• Contract farming enabled farmers to offer produce at a predetermined price. When the market price is above contractual price, farmers have the liberty to sell at the higher price.
• Small farmers have benefitted more than large farmers in contract farming as income derived per acre was the highest for small farmers.

9. Agriculture markets starved of 3Cs

• Agricultural markets are starved of capital, competition and commitment. Capital injection postpones operation of the law of diminishing marginal returns.
• The gross private capital formation in agriculture is 75 per cent. Investment in marketing infrastructure, processing, logistics benefits society, where private sector has potential. For these, political will is crucial and hence, the Union government should not repeal the three laws.
• New provisions of Essential Commodities Act enable scale economies in agricultural marketing attract private sector investment.

10. National overseeing authority

• Farmers cannot be left to the free will of competitive markets due to skewed asset distribution. A national body, national agricultural marketing board similar to TRAI and SEBI, needs to be created to enhance the bargaining power of farmers and protect them, along with purchasers, sellers and consumers from possibilities of exploitation.

WHY ARE THE FARMERS PROTESTING AGAINST THE FARM BILLS?

• More than half of all government procurement of wheat and paddy in the last five years has taken place in Punjab and Haryana, according to Agriculture Ministry data. More than 85% of wheat and paddy grown in Punjab, and 75% in Haryana, is bought by the government at MSP rates. Farmers in these States fear that without MSPs, market prices will fall.
• These States are also most invested in the APMC system, with a strong mandi network, a well-oiled system of arthiyas or commission agents facilitating procurement, and link roads connecting most villages to the notified markets and allowing farmers to easily bring their produce for procurement. The Punjab government charges a 6% mandi tax (along with a 2.5% fee for handling central procurement) and earns an annual revenue of about ₹3,500 crore from these charges.
• The very right of the Centre to enact legislation on agricultural marketing. Article 246 of the Constitution places “agriculture” in entry 14 and “markets and fairs” in entry 28 of the State List. But entry 42 of the Union List empowers the Centre to regulate “inter-State trade and commerce”. While trade and commerce “within the State” is under entry 26 of the State List, it is subject to the provisions of entry 33 of the Concurrent List – under which the Centre can make laws that would prevail over those enacted by the states.
• Entry 33 of the Concurrent List covers trade and commerce in “foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils”, fodder, cotton and jute. The Centre, in other words, can very pass any law that removes all impediments to both inter- and intra-state trade in farm produce, while also overriding the existing state APMC Acts.

ISSUE REGARDING THE BILL

• Yes, there were many flaws in the decades old APMC Act, but critics believe that the need was to plug the loopholes instead of introducing a new system altogether. A similar system has already been introduced in America and some European countries where it has failed miserably, we can only hope this does not happen in India and government will not repeat those mistakes.
• From the attitude of government, the stand of government is very clear that it is not going to change anything because already it has been termed as Masterstroke. Right now, it is just an Act both are results are possible; farmers income becomes double as said by the government, or their conditions worsen as feared by farmers. History is the best judge. While the intent of Government is laudable, we will be able to see the results of these new Acts after few years only. Right now, everything is just a speculation.
• The  bill have triggered strong protests all over the country. Let’s have a look at the issues that are triggering so many protests across the nation.
• These new farmers’ bills might end MSP or minimum support prices and this bothers the farmers.
• Another concern is the lack of bargaining capability with big companies. The people involved in farming might get the freedom to deal with the biggest of the companies but due to the lack of knowledge, he/ she might not be able to negotiate the best possible terms.
• Outside the mandis or government-regulated markets, there is hardly any regulation, and grievance re-dressal system is also not present there.
• The new farmers’ bill may weaken the APMC system which is considered to be very helpful for small farmers.
• As per the suggestions of agricultural economists, the focus should be given on strengthening APMCs rather than transferring everything to private entities.
• Many are fearing that the people involved in agriculture might be turned into slaves due to contractual farming.
• Due to the removal of restrictions on food storage, big companies may store agro products in huge quantities and create artificial hikes in price.

WAY FORWARD

Three fundamental reforms are necessary to make India’s growth more just and more inclusive.

• The first is, policymakers must listen to the less powerful people in markets. Therefore, institutions that represent small people — associations and unions of farmers, informal workers and small enterprises — must be strengthened, not repressed. When reforms are supposedly in their interests, they have a right to be heard.
• The second is the formation of cooperatives of producers and workers. By aggregating the small into larger-scale enterprises owned by themselves, not only do the producers have more power in negotiations with their buyers, suppliers, and with government, they are also able to retain a larger part of the value they generate and increase their own incomes and wealth. Government regulations must encourage the formation of strong cooperatives, and improve their ease of doing business.
• The third is, market reformers must clean up their ideological lenses and see the reality of where power lies in markets. As Barbara Harriss-White, a scholar of India’s agricultural markets once observed, “deregulated imperfect markets may become more, not less, imperfect than regulated imperfect markets.”

CONCLUSION:

• Farmers are debt ridden, starved of funding and of assured price mechanism. The three legislations if taken together accentuate the crisis even further. In the absence of a guaranteed support price mechanism, the legislations even fail to mention a very strong support for the MSP as a benchmark price as a fundamental condition for open agriculture trade and winding up of mandis.For years farmers have demanded statutory support price for their produce from the government.
• There is a need to restore the shaken confidence of the agrarian sector. In order for that to happen the government of India needs to give an iron clad guarantee on holding the price line 100% over and above the inflation-linked cost of production to the primary producer and not allowing any players to offer a price below that line to them. Only such a guarantee will ensure the confidence of the farmers in the system.
• We need to understand that if the country has to come out of her grave economic crisis, the answer does not lie in the economies of the urban or of the extractive economies of the capital. The answer decisively lies in the revival of the rural with dignity and respect. The country, it must be understood, cannot survive if the rural falls and chances of such an event happening today can only be averted with a considered policy response initiated with empathy and care.