Daily News Simplified - DNS

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Notes
SL. THE HINDU
TOPICS
NO. PAGE NO.
1 MSMEs, traders witness loss of 35 lakh jobs: Survey 13

2 Will GST help in doubling of farm income? 14

3 Kerala slips in ‘baby-friendly’ status 05

4 Navy to helm centre on maritime security 11

5 Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for Tb patients makes slow progress 05

News in Brief

a) India recorded 95 tiger deaths in 2018, 41 outside reserves 07

6 b) ISRO’s GSAT-7A to add muscle to Air Force 07
c) The Indian bustard: on its last legs 18
Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title 1. MSMEs, traders witness loss of 35 lakh jobs: Survey - (The Hindu, Page 13)
Syllabus Prelims: Indian Economy
Mains: GS Paper III – Indian Economy and various Issues
Theme MSME Sector
Highlights  According to a survey by the All India Manufacturers’ Organisation (AIMO), the TMSME
segment (Traders, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) has seen job losses of 35 lakh in the last
four-and-half years.
 The survey covered over 34,000 TMSME representatives across India between October 1 and 30,
2018.
 The loss in the jobs has been attributed to demonetization and GST. The demonetization led to
liquidity crunch in the economy and hence the cash-dependent unorganized sector got more
affected than the organized sector.
 Further, the implementation of GST has led to increase in compliance cost of the unorganized
sector leading to decline in their profits and low rate of job creation.

Government Schemes to promote MSMEs

 Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for Technology Up gradation.
 This scheme aims at facilitating Technology Up gradation of Micro and Small Enterprises by
providing 15% capital subsidy on institutional finance availed by them for induction of well-
established and improved technology in approved sub-sectors/products.

Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGT SME)
This scheme provides for Collateral free loan up to a limit of Rs 1 crore for individual MSMEs.

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Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title 2. Will GST help in doubling of farm income? (The Hindu, Page 14)
Syllabus Mains: GS Paper 3 – Indian Economy and various Issues
Theme Impact of GST on Agriculture
Highlights Positive impacts of GST on Agriculture
 One of the major issues faced by the agricultural sector is the transportation of agriculture products
across state borders.
 The GST solves this problem by laying down a framework for seamless and hassle free transportation
of agricultural goods without the restrictions of multiple taxation.
 It would lead to creation of an integrated domestic market and enable the farmers to get remunerative
prices on their agriculture commodities.
 Further, the improved supply chain mechanism due to GST would cut down the transportation time of
the perishable agriculture commodities and hence enable the farmers to earn more profits.
 The Storage and warehousing of agricultural produce has been exempted from GST. This has reduced
the tax burden on the farming sector and enabled the farmers to sell the agriculture produce at the best
available price anywhere in India.

Negative Impact of GST on Agriculture

 The GST has been imposed on certain commodities such as grains and cereals, meat, fish and poultry,
milk and dairy products, fruits and vegetables etc. This would have a significant impact on the BPL
population.
 The second issue is the rise in cost of warehousing or cold storage construction. Earlier, most services
pertaining to the construction of agri-storage infrastructure were exempt from service tax. With GST,
the exemption list has been minimized. The construction of warehouses as well as cold storages for
agricultural produce is now liable to 18 per cent GST.
 Another roadblock lies ahead for companies engaged in the creation of modern agriculture storage
infrastructure like silos and cold storages. Earlier, imports of project equipment used to create
facilities to store agriculture commodities attracted only a basic customs duty of 5 per cent. These
imports now attract 18 per cent IGST coupled with the existing 5 per cent basic custom duty. This
will result in a spike in the cost of imported machinery, deterring the creation of modern agri-
infrastructure.
Personal
Notes
Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title 3. Kerala slips in ‘baby-friendly’ status– (The Hindu, Page 5)

Syllabus Prelims: Social Development
Mains: GS Paper II – Social Justice under Issues relating to management of Health
Theme Breastfeeding
Highlights Context
 The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India, an independent body of Organisations has reported
downward trend in the exclusive breastfeeding for six months in Kerala, due to which it has slipped
from the top slot on the list of 'baby-friendly' states.
 This report is based on the health indicators in the National Family Health Survey III.

Importance of Breastfeeding
 The WHO recommends that the breastfeeding for the first 6 months is crucial since it enables the
infants to meet their nutritional requirements. The mothers should initiate breastfeeding within one
hour of birth.
 Breast milk contains antibodies that protect the infants from common childhood diseases such as
diarrhea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide.
 An HIV infected mother can pass the infection to her infant during pregnancy, delivery and through
breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding and antiretroviral drugs have the potential to significantly
improve the infants chances of survival while remaining HIV uninfected.

National Family Health Survey

 The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a
representative sample of households throughout India.
 Three rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93.
 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India, designated the
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for
providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.
Personal Notes
Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title 4. Navy to helm centre on maritime security– (The Hindu, Page 11)
Syllabus Prelims: Current Events of National Importance
Mains: GS Paper II : Regional Agreements involving India and affecting India’s interests
Theme Maritime Security
Highlights  The Navy is set to inaugurate the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean Region
(IOR).This centre would be used for exchanging information on “white shipping” or commercial
shipping to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.
 It has been established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in
Gurugram.
 All countries that have already signed white shipping information exchange agreements with India
are IFC partners.
 The establishment of the IFC would ensure that the entire Indian ocean region is benefited by
mutual collaboration and exchange of information and understanding the concerns and threats
which are prevalent in the region.
 Further, India has signed the ascension agreement to the Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-
RMN) which facilitates information exchange on the movement of commercial traffic on the high
seas. The multilateral framework consists of 30 countries and is led by Italy.

International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

 International Maritime Organization is the United Nations specialized agency with
responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and
atmospheric pollution by ships.
 Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and
effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.
Personal Notes
Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title 5. Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for Tb patients makes slow progress - (The Hindu, Page 5)
Syllabus Prelims: Social Issues
Mains: GS PAPER II- Social Issues under Management of Health
Theme Nikshay Poshan Yojana
Highlights  DBT scheme for nutritional support to Tb patients has recorded very slow progress in last 8
months since its launch in April.
 Only 26% of the beneficiary pool have received cash transfer till now.
 Officials of RNTCP) have asked the state Tb officers to use Public Financial Management
System (PFMS) portal in case of any technical glitches on NIKSHAY portal to make DBT
payments.

Why slow progress?

 Many rural poor either do not have a bank account or are migrant labors whose bank
accounts are difficult to be traced.
 Lack of information. Out of 13 lakh beneficiary, bank account details of only 9 lakh
beneficiary have been identified so far.

Nikshay Poshan Yojana

 Its objective is to provide financial assistance to Tb patients to help them get nutritional
support.
 Its beneficiary includes all notified TB patients. The patient must be registered on the
NIKSHAY portal.
 Financial incentive of Rs 500/- per month per person for each notified patient during which
the patient is on anti TB treatment.
 It is a centrally sponsored scheme under National Health Mission.
 It is applicable to all states and UTs in India.
 In case the beneficiary does not have a bank account in his name, the amount would be
transferred to the patient’s blood relative/spouse/parents/brother/sister, etc. This can be done
by obtaining an undertaking by the beneficiary.
 If the family members of the beneficiary also do not have a bank account in their name, they
can open a zero balance account under PMJDY and Indian Postal Bank.
 It would be the responsibility of DM to ensure opening of the bank account expeditiously.

NIKSHAY portal
 It is a web based solution for monitoring TB patients under RNTCP effectively.
 It is developed by National Informatics Centre.
 It utilizes SMS technology through which it communicates with TB patients.

Personal Notes

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Dated: 17.Dec.2018 DNS Notes

Title News in Brief

Highlights India recorded 95 tiger deaths in 2018, 41 outside reserves
 NTCA has conducted a survey of Tiger deaths in India.94 deaths have been recorded in 2018
out of which 41 have died outside reserves. Maximum number of deaths have occurred in
Maharashtra that accounts for 70% of deaths outside reserves
 This because many of the tigers are living outside the protected area. This increases the
probability of man- animal conflict resulting into deaths.

ISRO’s GSAT-7A to add muscle to Air Force

 GSAT-7A is a communication satellite designed especially for military operations
 It would work in Ku band that would help real time communication between aircraft to aircraft
 30% of the band would also be used by Army
 It would enhance by multiple folds, the coverage of ground communications.

The Indian bustard: on its last legs

 Great Indian Bustard is listed in Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act. The IUCN status is
Critically Endangered. India is effectively only home to Great Indian Bustard.
 Reason for decline:
1.Hunting
2.Power lines and Barbed wire fences
3.Arid grasslands that are the habitat of these species have been declared as “wasteland”
4. Recent emphasis for renewable projects such as that of Solar and Wind have entered
their habitat further restricting their flying zones.

Steps taken by India

 A bustard conservation breeding center in Rajasthan is under plan to conserve last few
surviving individuals.
 3. Karera Wildlife Sanctuary in Shivpuri District of MP has shown promising results in
improving their dwindling number.
Personal Notes