Week - 2 July

The Prayas ePathshala
www.theprayasindia.com/e-pathshala/
July (Week 2)
Index
Contents
Prelims ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
NATIONAL................................................................................................................................................ 2
Swachh Survekshan 2021 .......................................................................................................................... 2
Dhanvantri Rath ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Raman spectroscopy .................................................................................................................................. 3
Bad Bank .................................................................................................................................................... 4
Samadhan-se-vikas .................................................................................................................................... 6
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund ................................................................................................................. 7
Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts ................................................................................................................. 8
INTERNATIONAL ............................................................................................................................... 10
Covid‘s Kawasaki symptoms................................................................................................................... 10
Migration reduces transmission of pathogens between species: UN Report ........................................... 11
Mains ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
GS II ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
Rolling back the induced livelihood shock .............................................................................................. 12
Before the next health crisis ..................................................................................................................... 14
The social contract needs to be rewritten ................................................................................................. 15
COVID-19 has no religion ....................................................................................................................... 17
In the name of ‗cooperative federalism‘ .................................................................................................. 18
GS III ......................................................................................................................................................... 20
Indian Railways opened doors for private players ................................................................................... 20
The rural unemployment problem caused by migrant workers needs urgent solutions .......................... 21
Countries can learn from Africa in handling future pandemics: UN report ............................................ 22
Roots of water scarcity............................................................................................................................. 24
Current Affairs Quiz ........................................................................................................................................ 26
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Prelims
NATIONAL
Swachh Survekshan 2021

(Source: Press Information Bureau\ )
Context: A new category of awards titled „Prerak Dauur Samman‟ announced as part of Swachh
Survekshan 2021.
Details:
 The Prerak Dauur Samman has a total of five additional subcategories – Divya (Platinum), Anupam
(Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring) – with top three cities being recognized in
each.
 In a departure from the present criteria of evaluating cities on ‗population category‘, this new category
will categorize cities on the basis of six select indicator-wise performance criteria which are as follows:
o Segregation of waste into Wet, Dry and Hazard categories
o Processing capacity against wet waste generated
o Processing and recycling of wet and dry waste
o Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste processing
o Percentage of waste going to landfills
o Sanitation status of cities
Background:
 To encourage cities to improve urban sanitation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been
conducting the Swachh Survekshan since 2016.
 The competition has been able to imbibe a spirit of healthy competition among the citizens with respect
to improving the cleanliness of their cities.
 In the 2020 Swachh Survekshan, an unprecedented 1.87 crore citizens participated. The results for 2020
are yet to be released by the Ministry.
 While Mysuru had won the award for the Cleanest City of India in the first edition of the survey, Indore
has retained the top position for three consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019).
Dhanvantri Rath
(Source: Press Information Bureau )
Context: A mobile van providing non-COVID essential healthcare services to the doorsteps of the people in
the city of Ahmedabad has been set by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
About the Dhanvantri Rath:

 The mobile van has been named the ‗Dhanvantri Rath‘.
 These vans have an Ayush Doctor, paramedic and nursing staff along with local Medical Officer from
Urban Health Centre of AMC.

 These vans have been visiting various areas and providing OPD services for non-COVID essential
services and field medical consultations to people all over Ahmedabad City at their doorsteps.
 The mobile medical vans carry all essential medicines including ayurvedic & homeopathic medicines,
vitamin supplements, basic testing equipment along with pulse-oxymeter.
 In addition to healthcare services reaching the people who cannot access hospital OPD services for
various reasons, Dhanvantri Rath has helped identify those who need further clinical treatment or an IPD
admission, and ensured that they reach the hospital in a timely manner.
 In view of the coming monsoons, the scope of health services of mobile medical vans has been extended
to include malaria & dengue tests.
Raman spectroscopy
(Source: The Hindu )
Context: Analysis of 1,400 spectra from each sample, showed that 65 Raman spectral features were
adequate to identify the viral positive signal.
Details:
 If Israel developed a spectroscopy-based one-minute breath-analyser to detect coronavirus, a team led by
Amit Dutt from the Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Centre has turned to Raman Spectroscopy to detect
RNA viruses present in saliva samples.
 It is a proof-of-concept study to analyse non-infectious RNA viruses using conventional Raman
Spectroscopy without using any additional reagent to enhance the signal.
 It has been reported that novel coronavirus is found in sufficient numbers in human saliva. For the study,
the researchers spiked saliva samples with non-infectious RNA viruses and analysed it with Raman
Spectroscopy.
 They analysed the raw Raman Spectroscopy data and compared the signals with both viral positive and
negative samples. Statistical analysis of all the 1,400 spectra obtained for each sample, showed a set of
65 Raman spectral features was adequate to identify the viral positive signal.
 To minimise variability and automate the analysis of the Raman spectra for RNA viruses, they
developed an automated tool — RNA Virus Detector — using a graphical user interface. The tool can be
used for detecting RNA virus from an individual or a group of samples in an unambiguous and
reproducible manner, and is freely downloadable.
 Since the tool can only identify RNA viruses and not identify the specific one, it can be used only for
screening.
 The advantage is that the tool can be taken to the field and people who test positive for RNA virus can
be quarantined while another sample may be sent for validation using RT-PCR.
Spectroscopy and light

 Light interacts with matter in different ways, transmitting through some materials, while reflecting or
scattering off others.
 Both the material and the colour (wavelength) of the light affect this interaction. We call the study of this
light ‗spectroscopy'. Which parts of the visible spectrum enter our eyes determines which colours we
perceive.
 A substance might appear blue, for example, if it absorbs the red parts of the spectrum of light falling
upon it, only reflecting (or scattering) the blue parts into our eyes.

Raman spectroscopy looks at the scattered light

 If you were to shine blue light—from just one part of the spectrum—onto the material, you might expect
to just see blue light reflected from it, or no light at all if it is
completely absorbed (i.e. a black material).
 However, by using a Raman spectrometer, you can see that often a
very tiny fraction of the scattered light has a different colour.
 It has changed frequency because, during the scattering process, its
energy changed by interacting with molecular vibrations. This is the
Raman scattering process, named after its discoverer, the famous
Indian physicist C.V. Raman.
 He was awarded the 1930 physics Nobel Prize for this great
discovery.
 By studying the vibration of the atoms we can discover the chemical
composition and other useful information about the material.
 The Raman effect is very weak; only about 1 part in 10 million of the scattered light has a shifted colour.
This is too weak to see with the naked eye, so we analyse the light with a highly sensitive spectrometer.
Raman spectrometers
These systems consist of:
 one or more single coloured light sources (lasers)
 lenses (both to focus the light onto the sample and to collect the scattered light)
 filters (to purify the reflected and scattered light so that only the Raman light is collected)
 a means of splitting the light into its constituent colours (normally a diffraction grating or prism)
 a very sensitive detector (to detect the weak light)
 a device such as a computer to control the whole system, display the spectrum and enable this
information to be analysed
Raman scattering offers significant advantages for the investigation of materials over other analytical
techniques, such as x-raying them or seeing how they absorb light (e.g. infrared absorption or ultraviolet
absorption).
Bad Bank
(Source: The Indian Express )
Context: The idea of setting up a bad bank often comes up for debate, especially when stress in
the banking sector is projected to rise in the near term.
Details:
 Several economists and agencies project a recession in the Indian economy this year, due to the adverse
effects of Covid-19 on economic activity.
 This will hit the banking and financial sector in particular, as slump in earnings of companies and
individuals could lead to a jump in non-performing assets, reversing the early trends of NPA reduction
post enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and write-off of bad loans by banks.
 Various analysts suggest that in a couple of years, the proportion of stressed assets in the banking system
could jump to as high as 18 per cent from around 11 per cent at present.
 To tackle this upcoming challenge, the banking industry has proposed the setting up of a government-
backed bad bank.
What is the recent proposal of a bad bank?

 A bad bank buys the bad loans and other illiquid holdings of other banks and financial institutions,
which clears their balance sheet.

 The banking sector, led by the Indian Banks Association (IBA), had in May submitted a proposal for
setting up a bad bank to the finance ministry and the RBI, proposing equity contribution from the
government and the banks.
 This was based on an idea proposed by a panel on faster resolution of stressed assets in public
sector banks headed by former PNB Chairman Sunil Mehta.
 This panel had proposed an asset management company (AMC), ‗Sashakt India Asset Management‘, for
resolving large bad loans two years ago.
What kind of NPA spike is expected down the line?

 The impact of Covid-19 and the associated policy response is likely to result in an additional Rs
1,67,000 crore of debt from the top 500 debt-heavy private sector borrowers turning delinquent between
FY21 and FY22, according to a report by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).
 This is over and above the Rs 2,54,000 crore anticipated prior to the onset of the pandemic, taking the
cumulative quantum to Rs 421,000 crore, the report said.
 Given that 11.57 per cent of the outstanding debt is already stressed, the proportion of stressed debt is
likely to increase to 18.21 per cent of the outstanding quantum.
 The rating agency said in a scenario wherein funding markets continue to exhibit heightened risk
aversion, corporate stress could increase further by Rs 1.68 lakh crore, resulting in Rs 5.89 lakh crore of
the corporate debt becoming stressed in FY21-FY22. Consequently, 20.84 per cent of the outstanding
debt could be under stress in the agency‘s stress case scenario.
What is the government’s view?

 While the finance ministry has not formally submitted its view on the proposal, senior officials have
indicated that it is not keen to infuse equity capital into a bad bank.
 The government‘s view is that bad loan resolution should happen in a market-led way, as there are many
asset reconstruction companies already operating in the private space.
 The government has significantly capitalised state-owned banks in recent years and pursued
consolidation in the PSU banking space. In the last three financial years, the government has infused
equity of Rs 2.65 lakh crore into state-owned banks.
 These steps, along with insolvency resolution under the IBC, are seen as adequate to the tackle the
challenge of bad loans.
 The proposal of a bad bank was also discussed at a meeting of the Financial Stability and
Development Council (FSDC) chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 28, but it has
subsequently not found favour.
What is the RBI view?

 The central bank has so far never come out favourably about the creation of a bad bank with other
commercial banks as main promoters. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had opposed the idea of
setting up a bad bank with a majority stake by banks, arguing it would solve nothing.
 Rajan argued that a government-funded bad bank would just shift loans ―from one government pocket
(the public sector banks) to another (the bad bank) and did not see how it would improve matters‖.
 Indeed, if the bad bank were in the public sector, the reluctance to act would merely be shifted to
the bad bank. Why not instead infuse the capital that would be given to the bad bank directly into the
public sector banks? Alternatively, if the bad bank were to be in the private sector, the reluctance of
public sector banks to sell loans to the bad bank at a significant haircut would still prevail. Once again, it
would solve nothing.
What are the alternatives to a bad bank?

 Many industry experts and government officials involved in economic policy-making argue that the
enactment of IBC has reduced the need for having a bad bank, as a transparent and open process is
available for all lenders to attempt insolvency resolution.

 As per latest available RBI data, as a percentage ofclaims, banks recovered on average 42.5% of the
amount filed through the IBC in 2018-19, against 14.5% through the SARFAESI, 5.3% through Lok
Adalats and 3.5% through Debt Recovery Tribunals.
 The view is that an IBC-led resolution, or sale of bad loans to ARCs already existing, is a better
approach to tackle the NPA problem rather than a government-funded bad bank.
 In a speech on February 21, 2017, on ways to resolve banks‘ stressed assets, Former RBI Deputy
Governor Viral Acharya proposed two models. The first model is a private Asset Management Company
(PAMC) which would be suitable for sectors where the stress is such that assets are likely to have
economic value in the short run, with moderate levels of debt forgiveness.
 The second model is a National Asset Management Company (NAMC) for sectors where the problem is
not just of excess capacity, but possibly also of economically unviable assets in the short- to medium-
term, such as in the power sector.
 The NAMC would raise debt for its financing needs, keep a minority equity stake for the government,
and bring in asset managers such as ARCs and private equity to manage and turn around the assets, he
suggested, while arguing that these structure should not be termed as bad banks.
Samadhan-se-vikas
Context: Several real estate giants in Haryana have not deposited hundreds of crores of rupees worth
mandatory External Development Charges (EDC) and Infrastructural Development Charges (IDC) for the
residential and commercial colonies they have built across Haryana. In a bid to recover this massive sum —
which the government further uses for infrastructure development — Haryana had been issuing notices to
such defaulters. Over 350 such real estate developers are already on notice. The government has now
introduced a one-time settlement scheme for recovery of EDC.
How much do real estate developers owe the state government towards EDC/ IDC?
 Official documents show an outstanding EDC/IDC worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore.
 The documents also reveal that in certain cases, the bank guarantee for several developers is nil, while
their outstanding EDC is in crores.
 The outstanding amount continues to get accumulated over the years.
 Colony licenses, for which these developers owe money to the government, were issued by the Town
and Country Planning Department between 2007 till December 31, 2018.
What are EDC and IDC?

 The developer is supposed to pay External Development Charges (EDC) to civic authorities for
maintenance of civic amenities within the periphery of the developed project including construction of
roads, water and electricity supply, landscaping, maintenance of drainage and sewage systems, waste
management etc.
 The EDC is decided by the civic authorities. In many cases, the developer collects it from home buyers,
but does not pay it to civic authorities.
 Infrastructure Development Charges (IDC) is collected by the state government for development of
major infrastructure projects across the state.
 These funds are utilised for socio-economic growth including construction of highways, bridges, and
transportation network etc.
 A large number of the colony licenses on which the developers have defaulted are for commercial and
residential colonies developed in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Panchkula, while a few are in
Rohtak, Karnal, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh and Yamunanagar.

What does the rules say?

 As per terms and conditions of the LC-IV and the bilateral agreement executed at the time of issuance of
license in terms of Rule 11 of Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Rules, 1976, a
licensee has to pay the EDC as per schedule of payment.
 If the licensee neither deposits the EDC and/nor IDC as per the terms and conditions of the agreement
nor avails the EDC Reschedulement Policy, a showcause notice in the form of a public notice is issued
by the Town and Country Planning Department warning such defaulters of further action of
revocation/encashment of BG (bank guarantee) on account of non-payment of EDC/IDC.
What is the new one-time settlement policy?

 The new scheme is called ‗Samadhan se Vikas‘. It is modeled on the central scheme of ‗Vivad se
Vishwas-2020‘.
 The scheme will be applicable to the full outstanding EDC including interest as well as penal interest.
 In case a coloniser deposits 100 per cent of the outstanding principal amount against EDC as well as 25
per cent of the accumulated interest and penal interest within six months from the date of notification of
this scheme, the balance 75 per cent of the accumulated interest and penal interest shall be waived off.
 In case a coloniser deposits at least 50 per cent of the outstanding principal amount against EDC as well
as 50 per cent of the accumulated interest and penal interest, within six months from the date of
notification of this scheme, the balance 50 per cent of the accumulated interest and penal interest shall be
waived off.
o The remaining 50 per cent of outstanding principal amount shall be recoverable in four six-
monthly installments along with interest at the rate of 8 percent per annum on the delayed period
and an additional 2 percent interest per annum on the default period.
o The first six months period for deposit of first installment shall start from the date of deposit of
50 per cent principal plus 50 per cent interest and penal interest component.
 In case the coloniser does not clear alle EDC dues within the said two-year period, the waiver of balance
50 per cent of the accumulated interest and penal interest will stand annulled and the original EDC
schedule shall come into play.
 However, in case any amount of the 50 per cent outstanding principal amount alongwith interest is not
deposited within the prescribed two-year period, the coloniser will lose all benefits under this policy and
the original EDC schedule applicable before the applicability of present policy shall stand restored and
all payments received shall be considered to have been paid against the original EDC schedule.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Context: Cabinet approves Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the „Agriculture
Infrastructure Fund‟.
About the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund:

 The scheme shall provide a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects
for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention
and financial support.
 Under the scheme, Rs. One Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to:
o Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)
o Marketing Cooperative Societies
o Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs)
o Self Help Group (SHG)
o Farmers

o Joint Liability Groups (JLG)

o Multipurpose Cooperative Societies
o Agri-entrepreneurs
o Startups
o Aggregation Infrastructure Providers
o Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public Private Partnership Project
 Loans will be disbursed in four years starting with the sanction of Rs. 10,000 crore in the current year
and Rs. 30,000 crore each in the next three financial years.
 All loans under this financing facility will have an interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of
Rs. 2 crore.
 This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years.
 Further, credit guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility
under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to
Rs. 2 crore.
 The Project by way of facilitating formal credit to farm and farm processing-based activities is expected
to create numerous job opportunities in rural areas.
 The Fund will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS)
platform.
o It will enable all the qualified entities to apply for a loan under the Fund.
o The online platform will also provide benefits such as transparency of interest rates offered by
multiple banks, scheme details including interest subvention and credit guarantee offered,
minimum documentation, faster approval process as also integration with other scheme benefits.
 The duration of the Scheme shall be from FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years).
Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts

Context: First five re-printed volumes of Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts released.
Details:
 The Ministry of Culture has taken up the project of reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur
under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
 The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under the NMM was presented to the
President of India and the Mongolian Ambassador on the occasion of Guru Purnima.
 It is expected that all the 108 volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur will be published by March 2022.
What is Mongolian Kanjur?

 Mongolian Kanjur, the Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes, is considered to be the most important
religious text in Mongolia.
 In the Mongolian language ‗Kanjur‘ means ‗Concise Orders‘- the words of Lord Buddha in particular.
 It is held in high esteem by Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the
lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual.
 The Kanjur is kept in almost every monastery in Mongolia.
 The Mongolian Kanjur has been translated from Tibetan. The language of the Kanjur is Classical
Mongolian.
 During the socialist era in Mongolia (1924 to the early 1990s), xylographs were consigned to flames and
monasteries were bereft of their sacred scriptures.
 During 1956-58, Professor Raghu Vira obtained a microfilm copy of the rare Kanjur manuscripts and
brought them to India.

 And, the Mongolian Kanjur in 108 volumes was published in India in the 1970s by Prof. Lokesh
Chandra, former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).
 Now, the present edition is being published by the National Mission for Manuscripts, Ministry of
Culture, Government of India, in which every volume will have a list of contents indicating the original
title of the sutra in Mongolian.
Historical connection between India and Mongolia

 Historical interaction between India and Mongolia goes back centuries.
 Buddhism was carried to Mongolia by Indian cultural and religious ambassadors during the early
Christian era.
 As a result, today, Buddhists form the single largest religious denomination in Mongolia.
 India established formal diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955.
About the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM):

 NMM was launched in February 2003 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Tourism and
Culture.
 It has the mandate of documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in
manuscripts.
 One of the objectives of the mission is to publish rare and unpublished manuscripts so that the
knowledge enshrined in them is spread to researchers, scholars and the general public at large.
 India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world.
These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations
and illustrations.
Objectives of NMM:
 Locate manuscripts through national-level surveys.
 Document each and every manuscript and manuscript repository for a National Electronic Database that
currently contains information on four million manuscripts, making this the largest database on Indian
manuscripts in the world.
 Conserve manuscripts incorporating both modern and indigenous methods of conservation and training a
new generation of manuscript conservators.
 To train the next generation of scholars in various aspects of Manuscript Studies like languages, scripts
and critical editing and cataloguing of texts and conservation of manuscripts.
 To promote access to manuscripts by digitizing the rarest and most endangered manuscripts.
 To promote access to manuscripts through the publication of critical editions of unpublished manuscripts
and catalogues.
 To facilitate the public‘s engagement with manuscripts through lectures, seminars, publications and
other outreach programmes.
Manuscripts:
 A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material
dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
 Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts. Manuscripts are found in hundreds of different
languages and scripts. Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts.
 For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other
scripts.
 Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firmans, revenue records
which provide direct information on events or processes in history. Manuscripts have knowledge
content.

INTERNATIONAL
Covid’s Kawasaki symptoms

Context: Around the world, including in India since recently, children with Covid-19 infection have often
shown some symptoms similar to those associated with a rare illness called Kawasaki disease — such as
rashes and inflammation — while other symptoms of Kawasaki disease have been absent. In fact, such
symptoms have also shown in children who tested negative for Covid-19.
What is Kawasaki disease?

 It affects children. Its symptoms include red eyes, rashes, and a swollen tongue with reddened lips —
often termed strawberry tongue — and an inflamed blood vessel system all over the body. There is
constant high fever for at least five days. The disease also affects coronary functions in the heart.
 The disease derives its name from a Japanese paediatrician, Tomisaku Kawasaki, who reported the first
case in 1961 — a four-year-old boy — and later found similar cases in other children. The doctor, 95,
died on June 5 this year in Tokyo.
 What causes Kawasaki disease is not yet known. What we do know is that it is an immunological
reaction to an infection or a virus. A child‘s immunity system responds to a particular infection and
develops these symptoms.
What is the link with Covid-19?

 Children with Covid-19 are mostly asymptomatic or develop mild symptoms. It has been in rare cases
that children with Covid-19 have shown symptoms similar to those of Kawasaki disease, 2-3 weeks after
getting infected with coronavirus.
 In India, too, the cases (including some children who tested negative for Covid-19) that have been
coming up have shown some of the symptoms associated with Kawasaki disease, but with some
differences.
What have these symptoms been?

 A 14-year-old girl, admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in June, came with high fever and
rashes. She tested Covid-19 positive. One June 26, she was admitted to the ICU and was critical, but has
since recovered and was discharged.
 She has rashes and high fever like Kawasaki, but other symptoms like red eyes, red tongue are not
present. Her heart is swollen but coronary functions are not affected like in Kawasaki.
 In June, Dr. Singhal treated two other similar cases in children with Kawasaki-like symptoms in
Mumbai, but they tested Covid-19 negative.
 In Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital, paediatric cardiologist Dr Biswa R Panda has come across four cases in
the last three months with Kawasaki-like symptoms, of whom two required ventilator support. But all
four were negative for Covid-19.
 That does not rule out Covid-19 — it is possible that by the time we did RT-PCR test for the throat
sample, it came negative and antibodies had been developed. The four children had rashes, inflammation
in entire blood vessel system, but again ―did not entirely fit in Kawasaki disease definition‖, Panda
noted.
 Kawasaki typically affects children aged under five. In Covid-19 cases, even adolescents are presenting
these symptoms.

 While Kawasaki involves coronary changes, this has not been the case with all Covid-19-positive
children with Kawasaki-like symptoms. The strawberry tongue may or may not be present in those with
Covid-19.
 Steroids remain a key treatment to reduce inflammation. India is not yet maintaining any registry on
Kawasaki-like disease or multisystem inflammatory syndrome to know how many children have it along
with Covid-19.
Migration reduces transmission of pathogens between species: UN Report

(Source: Down to Earth )
Context: Migration undertaken by migratory species can reduce the spread of zoonotic diseases, said a
report jointly released by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI).
Details:
 Migratory species like the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), green sea turtle (Chelonia
mydas), western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) and the flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) are associated with the
spread of zoonoses (illnesses caused by germs spread between animals and humans).
 The reduction of length or suppression of the migration of such species was associated with an increased
load in pathogens, the report pointed out.
 Their migration has shown to reduce transmission in some species- said the report titled Preventing the
Next Pandemic: Zoonotic disease and how to break the chain of transmission.
 The migration behaviours of several species, however, changed due to man-made factors like climate
change and habitat loss.
 The conservation status of many migratory species declined worldwide, with habitat loss being a
primary factor.
 Many factors related to the increased occurrence of zoonotic diseases are the same as those that threaten
the survival of migratory species,‖ the report said.
 The loss of ecological connectivity — vital for migratory species — is of particular concern as well.
 Maintaining healthy, well-connected ecosystems is important for migratory species and also should help
reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases,‖ the report suggested.
 There is an increase in viruses emerging from animals, the report said, citing outbreaks in the past five
years, including the Zika virus, Ebola virus and the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), that causes the
COVID-19 disease.
 This is attributed to anthropogenic pressures that we exert on environmental systems, including
population growth, rapid urbanisation and climate change.
 Overexploitation of wildlife, resulting from the destruction of their habitats, was also associated with the
increased risk of spill over of pathogens, the report said.
 Habitat destruction is primarily driven by activities like mining, infrastructure development, including
new roads and railways and transformation of natural areas to commercial and retail use.
 Such destruction also increases human-wildlife contact and conflict, apart from negatively impacting
migration patterns, the report added.
 This, in turn, increases the risk of pathogens spilling over to humans.

Mains
GS II
Rolling back the induced livelihood shock

Context: For most regions across the country, the long lockdown has just got over. As the “unlocking”
begins, it is becoming increasingly apparent how the Indian state had chosen its sides and revealed its elitist
bias during one of the most stringently enforced lockdowns worldwide. Several news reports and surveys on
the plight of India‟s less-privileged workforce during the lockdown have highlighted the massive scale of
falling incomes and loss of means of livelihood. Many have been pushed into various depths of poverty
depending on how vulnerable their occupations were. Following are some suggestions for potential policy
measures to prevent the shocks from further snowballing into chronic poverty.
Pre-shock conundrum
 India‘s poverty line has been a matter of contention for long for its unrealistically low thresholds leading
to conservative poverty numbers.
 Irregular updating of official poverty lines and unavailability of data on consumption expenditure from
National Sample Surveys in recent years have added to the ambiguity around poverty estimation in
India.
 According to the household consumption expenditure reported in the Periodic Labour Force Survey
(PLFS), 2017-18 (which replaces the employment-unemployment surveys of the National Sample
Survey Office) and applying State-specific poverty lines (used by the erstwhile Planning Commission in
2011 based on the Tendulkar Committee recommendations, adjusted with current price indices), about
42% or around 56 crore people were ‗officially‘ poor before the lockdown was announced.
 Highlighting how closely packed people are towards the lower half of the consumption expenditure
distribution, another 20 crore people were within a narrow band 20% above the poverty line.
 In most parts of the country, this amounts to a few hundred rupees over the poverty line threshold. A
modest dip in earnings — and hence a fall in consumption spending — would push a majority of them
into the vortex of poverty and hunger. Sucking up large or entire chunks of the modest incomes, the
lockdown gave a shove.
A poverty deepening
 Our estimates from the PLFS data extrapolated for the year 2020 suggest that about an additional 40
crore people were pushed below the poverty line due to the lockdown. Around 12 crore of this
lockdown-induced newly poor are in urban areas and another 28 crore people in rural areas.
 Those who were already poor are going to suffer a further worsening in their quality of life, a
phenomenon known as poverty deepening. Before the lockdown, around 16% of the population had per
capita consumption expenditure of about a third of the poverty line, managing their daily expenses with
₹30 per day or less.
 After the lockdown this could swell to more than 62 crore (47%) people pushed to such extreme poverty.
A shock of such a scale to an overwhelming majority of Indians is unprecedented in the nation‘s living
memory.
Inadequate state responses

 At such a juncture, formal responses of the state have been mostly inadequate and poorly conceived. The
second economic stimulus package announced by the Finance Minister exposes the class nature of the
current political dispensation more than ever.
 A token increase of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) wage by ₹20 (₹182 to ₹202)
seems like a joke in the light of the overall magnitude of the crisis.
 Undoubtedly, a revamped, expanded NREGA needs to be made the fulcrum of the rural recharge. The
demand for work is anticipated to increase by 25% with reverse migration-fuelled increase in rural
labour supply.
 The revamped scheme would require providing 90 million workers guaranteed employment of 20 days
of work/month for at least the next six months. This means an additional financial stimulus of ₹1.6-lakh
crore.
 Universalisation of the Public Distribution System has been widely talked about but needs better equity
focus in implementation. Recent experience of expanding food coupons to non-ration card holders in
Delhi suggests that such measures are likely to exclude marginalised communities including Dalits and
Muslims at the lowest strata of the work hierarchy.
 At the local level, this would mean identification of the most vulnerable and including them into the
programme before expanding it to the relatively better-off. The exclusion errors of IT-based attempts to
coverage have huge social costs in the form of accentuated hunger.
Stabilising urban economy

 Massive reverse migration flows out of the urban informal sector will force grinding halts and hiccups
for the economy limping back towards normalcy in the post-lockdown scenarios.
 Given the magnitude of the destabilisation, an urban employment guarantee programme becomes a dire
necessity to stabilise the urban economy. A ‗direct‘ employment programme implemented through
municipal corporations could be introduced to guarantee 20 days of work.
 This can be used to develop key social infrastructure in urban areas including slum development,
drinking water supply, toilet construction, parks and common areas, urban afforestation and social
forestry.
 Such facelift public works programmes can make a major difference in both the condition of public
utilities and absorbing the spurt in demand for work in district towns and smaller cities in the traditional
outmigration hotspots across the country.
 The wages could be fixed with 30% premium over prevalent MNREGA benchmark average wage in the
State.
 An ‗indirect‘ branch of this programme can be used to encourage a revival of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in the most prominent clusters. This could include employer-contractor facilitated
programmes to provide wage subsidy of an equivalent amount as in the direct programme to employers
of urban SMEs, other business establishments and construction sector projects.
 The neo-liberal growth that we have experienced since the 1990s has been largely through breaking the
back of the labouring class. The economy grew by paying less and less to workers and allowing surplus
to accumulate in the hands of the owners of the means of production, with the expectation that this
would be reinvested.
 The state worked systematically to let this model flourish. A series of policies made the labouring class
increasingly vulnerable, weakening their collective bargaining power, pushing them away from their
native towns out of desperation, forcing them to accept any wage that is offered to them, making them
live in conditions which take away their sense of dignity, and curtailing any social security benefit that
could help them survive in times of difficulties.
 If we do not alter the course of economic progress and reorient development programmes, the
implications could be severe with increasing hunger-related deaths and destitution, leading to social
unrest and crime.

Before the next health crisis

Context: Stalking the efforts of the government and the private sector to revive the economy in the time of
COVID-19 are two dangers to people‟s health — air pollution and greenhouse gases — and a weak public
health system. The respite from the air pollution that blankets Indian cities is transitory. India must heed
scientists‟ warnings tying health disasters to air pollution as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
causing global warming.
A noxious cocktail
 Strikingly, the avoided number of early deaths from dirty air quality in recent months in China is
estimated to have exceeded the number of those who have died from COVID-19. In Europe, 11,000 air-
pollution related deaths were estimated to have been averted since the start of lockdowns.
 There is an association between pollution levels in cities (despite the improvements during the
pandemic) and COVID-19 infections and death rates, a link observed in New York City and the northern
provinces of Italy.
 Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, in the top tier of pollution concentration, have also seen
high deaths and infections per thousand people.
 Of course, other factors too decide morbidity and mortality. COVID-19‘s toll has differed considerably
across States — Kerala and Tamil Nadu, for example, have a lower COVID-19 mortality rate. These
States stand out with good healthcare systems.
 Globally some 9 million premature deaths a year are associated with air pollutants, such as fine
particulate matter, known as PM 2.5. Regrettably, 14 of the world‘s 20 most polluted cities are in India.
 The air in Ghaziabad, Delhi, and Noida is particularly hazardous. Last year, a public health emergency
was declared as post-Diwali New Delhi‘s air quality index approached 500, the ―severe plus emergency‖
category.
 Adding to this noxious cocktail are GHGs like carbon dioxide, causing global warming and damaging
health. Despite the plunge during the lockdown, atmospheric carbon emissions are a record high because
of past accumulation.
 Ranked as the world‘s fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, India must respond to alerts on
communicable diseases linked to GHGs. Global warming intensifies heat waves and worsens respiratory
illnesses.
 Locust swarms in Jaipur and Gurugram have been linked to climate change. Evidence is also emerging
on a link between global warming and the emergence of diseases.
 Mosquito-borne diseases in India have been connected to global warming through both increased rainfall
and heat waves. Europe reported its first local transmissions of dengue in 2010.
Need for a new plan

 So, India must not scramble to return to bad old ways of boosting short-term growth at any cost but
capitalise on the tantalising glimpse of a healthier and cleaner world. Spending on reducing air pollution
and GHGs provides estimated health benefits of 1.4 to 2.5 times more than the cost of the actions.
 Delhi, set to overtake Tokyo as the most populous city by 2030, needs to deal with transport, responsible
for two-fifth of the PM 2.5 in the skies. Reforms should encourage public transportation in place of the
10 million vehicles, expand electric vehicles, and provide inter-connectivity between the metro and
buses.
 In managing health risks, emission reduction should be coupled with a stronger public health system.
Right now, government spending on health is just 1.6% of GDP, low for a lower middle-income country.
 Most countries, including India, fail the test of readiness for health disasters, according to the 2019
Global Health Security Index.

 The cleaner air the country is still breathing during the pandemic should be a powerful motivation.
Scientific warnings do not indicate the time and place of calamities but do call for confronting air
pollution and global warming and strengthening health systems before the next health emergency that is
surely going to happen.
The social contract needs to be rewritten

Context: The novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of many and its catastrophic impact goes
far beyond the disease itself. Governments across the world have dealt with the problem in different ways.
We do not intend to criticise the lockdown or any governmental actions or inactions in this piece. Posterity
will judge how good or how bad any government performed in 2020 on this count.
Finding cause
 The world does not seem to have answers to many of the problems thrown up by the epidemic,
especially those faced by the poorest of the poor.
 No doubt, some small countries have claimed victory in containing the impact of the disease, but their
claim appears to be hollow and even myopic; the fact is that these countries are affluent, and have sealed
their boundaries.
 So, is the pandemic‘s impact the result of the failure of individual governments? Or is it due to the
failure of the bipolar ruler-and-ruled dynamic of governance structures across the world?
 There is a view that mankind‘s ancestors, in the course of evolution, formed the concept of social groups
and resultant rules they would abide by. This is the most rudimentary form of what is known as the
‗social contract theory‘.
 When monarchies and empires prevailed, it was easy to understand a social contract — to obey an
identifiable sovereign, who in turn was deemed to be god‘s representative on earth.
 But democratically elected governments have found it more difficult to derive the same legitimacy. With
the growth of fundamental freedoms, such as those of speech and expression, unquestioning obedience
to governmental authority began to fade.
 Unquestioned obedience is the holy grail of every autocrat. Some governments yearn for it. Modern
society and modern governments also use the social contract theory to claim legitimacy for their actions,
but rely more on the theory as expounded by Hobbes and Rousseau. While Hobbes believed that man, in
Nature, was ―solitary, nasty and brutish‖, for Rousseau, man, in Nature was ―born free‖.
 However, both agreed that the social contract comprises two distinct agreements; first, people agreed to
establish society by collectively and reciprocally renouncing the rights they had against one another in
unbridled nature and second, they agreed to confer upon one (or more) among them, the authority and
power to enforce the initial contract.
 Thus, the social contract comprises people agreeing to live as one under common laws and in enforcing
those common laws justly. Modern day governments take this further. Their fundamental credo is that
society is best-served if a government or other type of institution takes on executive or sovereign power,
with the consent of the people.
Consolidating power
 We have seen governments go still further and use the power democratically invested in them to decide
what is in the best interest of the people. Thus, there is a bending of individual free will towards the
collective will. Ironically most such leaders constantly invoke ―the will of the people‖ when
consolidating executive power.
 So, the social contract is being used by modern governments to justify greater aggrandisement of power
in the hands of the sovereign, under the garb of ―public good‖.

 In fact, if the world events that occurred in 2018-19 were to be examined later by future historians, they
would be excused for having an image that people across the world had voluntarily surrendered their
individual rights to their governments, who exercised these powers with discipline and benevolence.
The case of two Indias

 The novel coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the falsity of this image. For example, access to
information about this pandemic has not been equal. The access to resources to avoid the disease has not
been equal. And, of course, access to treatment has not been equal.
 There are two Indias. The first is an India that observes social distancing, buys its groceries and
provisions by observing all precautions and largely obeys governmental directives about COVID-19
prevention.
 The second is an India that crowds railway terminals to travel long distances, sometimes for days, to get
back to native towns, and when that fails, decides to resort to the drastic step of even walking those
hundreds of kilometres, defying all governmental directives. It is for the second India that the impact of
COVID-19 has hit hardest and the impact has nearly nothing to do with the disease.
 ―Social distancing‖ was a stirring phrase and call that those of us who are privileged responded to with
gusto. We wore our face masks and went about our actions, taking the changed world in our stride.
 But there were the others: lakhs of Indians less privileged and living cheek by jowl in hovels and slums,
for whom the mandated distance of separation of ―6 feet‖ was and still is an impossibility; an abstract
concept.
 It is often said that ―we are all in this together‖. But hardly so. We are not sharing the brunt of the
pandemic with the poorest of India, the voiceless millions. Professor H.L.A. Hart once said, ―freedom
(the absence of coercion) can be valueless to those victims of unrestricted competition too poor to make
use of it; so it will be pedantic to point out to them that though starving they are free‖.\
 The pandemic-caused crisis has shone a light on how governmental methods to deal with a crisis largely
come to the aid of only those with a voice. All societies have some measure of inequality.
 However, in deeply unequal societies (where the Gini Coefficient exceeds 0.4, for instance) different
strata of society will have very different needs to deal with a crisis of this nature. We have seen societies
with lower Gini Coefficients deal with the crisis far better, because a uniform approach works perfectly
when society is perfectly equal.
For those in governance

 In moments of crisis, people look to the state for guidance and taking them to safety. This has led to
some sections of society seeking a strong response from a strong leader.
 Unfortunately, when the source of power in an unequal society is centralised, the response to the crisis
will result in unequal relief to different strata of society. The more unequal the society, the more
decentralised the response should be.
 The social contract which imbues a centralised sovereign with overreaching powers has clearly failed on
this occasion, and will continue to fail every time a similar challenge is posed. The centralised sovereign
will work well against a mighty external aggressor, but not against a microscopic pathogen.
 What is required is not just a decentralised approach but also a state which is sensitive and responds not
only to the needs of those who cry out for help but also meets the requirements of those who are
voiceless.
 Thomas Hobbes described the mighty state as a ―Leviathan‖ which would rule by the will of the
majority. He argued that once a ruler is chosen, citizens lose all rights except those the ruler may find it
expedient to grant. While no elected government would publicly espouse such a position, it is the
unwritten premise underlying every rule and diktat which is issued.
 As seen above, a Leviathan has its uses, as for example, in times of war or in a fight against terrorism.
The novel coronavirus cannot be defeated by a Leviathan. COVID-19 can only be defeated by an
empowered populace.

 The social contract requires to be rewritten. It does not require anything drastic such as a revolution or
anarchy. Rather, it only needs fundamental introspection and rethinking by the governing classes
including bureaucrats.
COVID-19 has no religion

Context: India has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. Since the first reported case
in Kerala on January 30, the virus has spread to every State in the country. While cities such as Mumbai
and Chennai are continuing to bear the brunt of the cases, COVID-19 cases are also rapidly rising in Tier-
II and Tier-III districts. Given this, no single person, event or community can be blamed for the spread of
the virus.
Details:
 Though leaders such as the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra appealed to the
people not to communalise the virus or blame any religion for it, in the initial days of its spread there
was a sustained campaign against Muslims, especially on social media, following the Tablighi Jamaat
event in Delhi in March.
 The Jamaat congregation emerged as India‘s first largest hotspot. This is not to suggest that the Tablighi
Jamaat and its organisers were not at fault.
 But failures at multiple levels, including at the level of the government and the police, were ignored and
only the Markaz‘s decision to hold the gathering, also a major failure, became the focus.
Rising communal polarisation

 The intensity of that communal campaign, though deeply disturbing, was not entirely surprising,
especially given the rise of the Hindu Right and its electoral dominance. It is a fact that many Muslim
leaders and organisations unequivocally condemned the Jamaat episode.
 Many from the community, including well-known industrialists, donated money to the government to
tackle the unprecedented health crisis caused by the pandemic.
 Sadly, while the good deeds of Muslims are seen as exceptions or are ignored, a mistake or fault of any
Muslim invariably leads to a backlash against the entire community. Why is this the case?
 This is partly because of the rising communal polarisation in India since the late 1980s. Furthermore, the
propaganda machinery of organisations of the Hindu Right has become more efficient and sophisticated
in recent years.
 Prejudices against the community are so deeply ingrained that no amount of reasoning can help
differentiate fact from myth. Just as Jews were the targets in Europe in the 1930s, Muslims are the
favourite targets of bigots in India today.
 We saw how the Delhi riots of 2020 and the preceding anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)
protests were handled by the state. We heard the statement, ―Those indulging in arson can be identified
by their clothes‖.
 From the lynching of Muslims by ‗cow-protection‘ vigilantes to the anti-CAA protests, a climate has
been created which has caused a massive trust deficit between some sections of Muslims and the Indian
state, particularly the police.
 This was seen, for instance, when some Tablighi Jamaat members wrongly refused to cooperate with the
state after the congregation.
 Consequently, a completely well-intentioned request by the state that they should identify themselves so
that they can be quarantined was understood as a hidden agenda.
 While the government came out with an advisory stating that the pandemic should not be linked to any
religion, it would have been more useful if this advisory was more specific in its citation of Muslims and
the Markaz. Muslims have been victims of the virus as much as people of other religions.

A backward community
 Muslims comprise not only India‘s largest religious minority but also one of the poorest in the modern
world.
 They remain educationally backward. The Indian state, both in its secular and nationalist avatar, has
played its part in perpetuating this backwardness.
 The community has produced some fine talent in different walks of life, whether in sports, music, art,
cinema, or governance, from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to M.F. Husain, Bismillah Khan and Sania Mirza.
 Those who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat event are also part of the community, but they are not the
only representatives of Islam.
 Today, as cases continue to rise in India, it is crucial to be objective and reasonable before we single out
Muslims for the challenges we face.
In the name of ‘cooperative federalism’

Context: India is in the midst of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)‟s decade of governance. The previous
time one party dominated for nearly 10 years was four decades ago, when the Congress had brute majorities
between 1980 and 1989. In that period, the tussle for the rights of States was focused on Article 356. Using
pliant Governors, regional party governments were politically destabilised. There was lip service paid to the
report of the Justice R.S. Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations, but its spirit was twisted.
Details:
 History is repeating itself but much more cripplingly. The principal tool of combating State governments
is no longer Article 356.
 Once more a well-meaning report, the report of the 14th Finance Commission, is being cited, but it is
also being sabotaged step by step. And all this is being done while supposedly upholding ―cooperative
federalism‖.
 This began well before COVID-19, but the pandemic and its economic disruption have brought things to
an edge.
Delayed payments
 The 14th Finance Commission report was accepted in 2015 with the promise that it would devolve more
finances to the States. As part of the process, States would have new responsibilities, especially in the
social sector.
 Two years later, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime was also justified as a
grand bargain that would eventually leave all States better off.
 In reality, tax devolution to States has been consistently below 14th Finance Commission projections.
One reason for this has been the economic slowdown, caused primarily by the Central government, and
lower-than-expected GST collections.
 The shortfall in GST collection for 2018-2019 was 22% when compared to projections. Payments have
been delayed as well. For example, Centre owed States about ₹35,000 crore as GST compensation for
December 2019 and January 2020, which was only paid in June 2020 after a delay of more than five
months.
 The Centre has imposed a series of cesses, which are not part of the divisible pool and not shared with
the States. There are now rumours of a COVID-19 cess as well.
 According to a study by the Centre for Policy Research, there is a ₹6.84 lakh crore gap between what the
14th Finance Commission promised to States and what they have received. And while this has happened,
the nature of public spending in India has undergone a massive shift. In 2014-2015, States undertook
programmes and projects spending 46% more than the Central Government; today the figure is 64%.

Despite this, the Centre‘s fiscal deficit exceeds the consolidated State deficit by 14%! India is paying for
a profligate Centre.
 The COVID-19 situation has deepened the crisis. According to a State Bank of India report, the
collective loss to GSDP due to the pandemic is ₹30.3 lakh crore or 13.5% of GSDP. States are being
required to spend more to help common citizens and save livelihoods.
 The Centre is providing almost negligible support. In West Bengal, as of June 30, the State government
had spent ₹1,200 crore in fighting COVID-19. The Centre has given ₹400 crore under the National
Health Mission and to the State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund, but absolutely nothing specifically
for the pandemic.
 Cyclone Amphan, the worst cyclone in Bengali memory, devastated 2.8 million houses and 1.7 million
hectares of farm land. The loss was estimated at ₹1.02 lakh crore. The Mamata Banerjee government in
Kolkata immediately released ₹6,250 crore; the Centre has offered just ₹1,000 crore.
 Following the pandemic, the Ministry of Finance has asked all Union Ministries to cut expenditure. The
immediate impact is being felt by States, and grants-in-aid are drying up. Crucial rural development
programmes have come to a standstill.
 The Union Rural Development Ministry is supposed to transfer Rs. 4,900 crore to West Bengal in 2020-
21 for projects to be undertaken by panchayati raj institutions. A quarter of the financial year has passed
but not a single paisa has come.
 Around 70% of this money is meant for gram panchayats and 30% for panchayat samitis and zilla
parishads. This formula came after a recommendation from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which the
Prime Minister accepted. The funds are meant for building roads, culverts and bridges, local drinking
water projects and similar schemes that create jobs and help village economies. All this has come to a
halt.
 Overall if one considers dues for Centrally-supported schemes (₹36,000 crore); the cut in devolution of
funds (₹11,000 crore); outstanding GST receipts (₹3,000 crore); and dues for food subsidies and other
heads (₹3,000 crore), the Centre owes West Bengal ₹53,000 crore. I can‘t speak for all States but for
West Bengal this is a huge burden, especially in a calamity-hit year such as 2020.
FRBM provisions
 As they put more money into people‘s hands, governments across the world are struggling to meet fiscal
deficit targets this year.
 In India, even States that have maintained fiscal discipline in recent times have had to cope with needs of
suffering citizens and spend more under essential, social sector heads.
 The fiscal deficit for States, collectively, is inevitably going to breach the projection of 2.04%.
 As per provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the Gross State
Domestic Product (GSDP) can actually accommodate a fiscal deficit of 3%. The States have respected
the limit for years and the projection for 2020-21 reflected this.
 Now, post-pandemic, this limit will be crossed. The FRBM has an ―escape clause‖ that allows for a one-
time relaxation of the fiscal deficit threshold upto 0.5% in a time of exigency. The escape clause has
been utilised by the Centre but it has proven woefully insufficient in addressing the current crisis.
 Fiscal policymakers and technocrats agree that the rigidity of the FRBM has to be revisited. It should
allow for greater flexibility and consultation as to when and how the ―escape clause‖ can be applied.
 This goes beyond the current COVID-19 situation, but has come to light because of it — and because the
Centre has gone in for subjective interpretation, imposing conditions that are outside the scope of the
FRBM.
 In theory, the Centre has raised the fiscal deficit limit for States, under the FRBM, from 3% to 5%. But
only 0.5% of this rise is unconditional. The remaining 1.5% is dependent on fulfilling certain unrealistic
and impractical measures — including privatisation of power distribution,and enhancing revenues of
urban local bodies.
 States are being set up for failure. This is the true picture of the BJP‘s ―cooperative federalism‖.

GS III
Indian Railways opened doors for private players

Context: Indian Railways has launched the process of opening up train operations to private entities on 109
origin destination(OD) pairs of routes using 151 modern trains. It has invited Request for Qualifications
proposals, for scrutiny of vendor capabilities, from those who can bring modern trains for operations on
existing rail infrastructure. The present move takes another step towards competing passenger train
operations, bringing new-generation trains and attracting investments of an estimated ₹30,000 crore.
What is the background to the decision?

 Several committees have gone into the expansion and the modernisation of Indian Railways.
 In 2015, the expert panel chaired by Bibek Debroy constituted by the Ministry of Railways a year
earlier, recommended that the way forward for the railways was ―liberalisation and not privatisation‖ in
order to allow entry of new operators ―to encourage growth and improve services.‖
 It also made it clear that a regulatory mechanism was a prerequisite to promote healthy competition and
protect the interests of all stakeholders.
 The present invitation for private operators to submit qualification bids for 151 trains would be, in the
assessment of the Railway Board, only for a fraction of the total train operations — 5% of the 2,800
Mail and Express services operated by Indian Railways.
 The overall objective, however, is to introduce a new train travel experience for passengers who are used
to travelling by aircraft and air-conditioned buses.
 From a passenger perspective, there is a need for more train services, particularly between big cities. The
Railway Board says five crore intending passengers could not be accommodated during 2019-20 for
want of capacity, and there was 13.3% travel demand in excess of supply during summer and festival
seasons. Without an expansion, and with growth of road travel, the share of the Railways would steadily
decline in coming years.
Why is the move significant for Indian Railways?

 For the Railways, one of the largest organisations in the country operating not just trains for passengers
and freight, but also social institutions such as hospitals and schools, it represents a radical change.
 According to data maintained by the World Bank, in 2018 India had 68,443 route kilometres of railways.
 It is among the four largest rail networks in the world, along with the United States, China, and Russia,
although every kilometre of track in India covers geographical area much less than Germany, Russia,
China or Canada, indicating scope for expansion.
 An analysis of passenger and freight operations in the Railways, taken note of by the Economic Survey
and the erstwhile Planning Commission, showed that a steady shift to other modes of travel for both
categories was affecting economic growth: by as much as 4.5% of GDP-equivalent.
 It was estimated that a one rupee push in the railway sector would have a forward linkage effect of
increasing output in other sectors by ₹2.50.
 The Debroy committee found this significant to take the ‗Make in India‘ objective forward. The panel
also noted that passengers were willing to pay more, if they had guaranteed and better quality of travel

and ease of access. The move to augment capacity virtually overnight through private capital in train
operations pursues this line of reasoning.
Are private train operations sustainable?

 Train services operated by Indian Railways cover several classes of passengers, meeting the social
service obligation to connect remote locations, and adopting the philosophy of cross-subsidy for
passengers in low-cost trains through higher freight tariffs. In more recent years, it has focused on
revenue generation through dynamic demand-based pricing.
 Private operators are not expected to shoulder the burden of universal service norms, and will focus on
revenue.
 Even the first IRCTC-run trains have a higher cost of travel between Lucknow and Delhi than a Shatabdi
train on the same route that almost matches it for speed.
 So private operators would have to raise the level of their offering even higher, to justify higher fares,
and attract a segment of the population that is ready to pay for this difference.
 The government would have to explain that it has monetised its expensive fixed assets such as track,
signalling and stations adequately for the taxpayer, who has paid for them.
 The key piece in the scheme is the independent regulator, recommended by expert committees. Before
the pandemic struck, the Government of India said in the Lok Sabha in March that it had notified the
resolution to set up a Rail Development Authority as a ―recommendatory/advisory‖ body, advising
government on, among other things, promoting competition, efficiency and economy, and protecting
consumer interests.
 Private rail operations can thus be seen as a government-led pilot plan, not a full programme for
unbundling of the monolithic Indian Railways, although the more attractive parts are being opened for
private exploitation.
The rural unemployment problem caused by migrant workers needs urgent solutions
(Source: The Hindu Businessline )
Context: With Covid precipitating a mass exodus of workers from cities to the hinterland, the rural
employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA has been facing an unprecedented challenge, trying to
accommodate the swelling ranks of rural unemployed in the limited number of rural public works.
Details:
 As the number of rural households registered under MGNREGA shot up by 70 per cent year-on-year in
June, it turned away one in five households unable to assign any work.
 This is despite the scheme having already expended over 75 per cent of its available funds and allocated
44 per cent of its budgeted work for the whole year in the first three months of this fiscal.
 This demand-supply mismatch will likely worsen in the coming months, with the South-West monsoon
interrupting public works.
 This is unlikely to remain a seasonal issue either, with many returning migrants indicating they may stay
put in their hometowns.
 Agricultural activity in India has always been characterised by small farmers eking out a subsistence
living with meagre incomes.
 Should resettling migrants from urban areas lead to an overcrowding of job seekers in agriculture, this
can precipitate a collapse in rural wages and consumption.
 There‘s therefore an urgent need to address the rural unemployment problem, before it snowballs into a
wider socio-economic crisis.

 A few courses of action suggest themselves. For one, despite the NDA regime‘s obvious discomfort with
the scheme, the MGNREGA has proved to be a reliable vehicle to deliver a timely rural safety net. The
budgetary allocations to this scheme therefore need to be urgently augmented.
 If the worry is about leakages, safeguards such as using Aadhaar-linked Jan Dhan accounts for cash
transfers and geo-tagging MGNREGA-funded public works should suffice.
 Two, it needs to be kept in mind that MGNREGA can only provide subsistence-level income to rural
workers. For them to do better, concerted efforts will need to be made to skill them suitably for more
sustainable employment opportunities in services or manufacturing.
 Instances of returning migrant workers taking up lucrative employment as bank mitras to serve under-
banked areas is a good example of what re-skilling can achieve.
 Three, the Centre must also review and rejuvenate its rural infrastructure building initiatives such as the
PM Gram Sadak Yojana and Awas Yojana Grameen, which were key sources of skilled non-farm jobs a
couple of years ago but have flagged lately.
 The Centre has flagged off a parallel effort to MGNREGA under the banner of PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar
Abhiyan to help migrant workers in 116 districts find job opportunities in rural road building, laying of
gas and water pipelines, waste management, fibre optic cable-laying and the like.
 But widening the scope of public works under MGNREGA itself would seem to be a better way to
address the crisis, rather than trying to find new budgetary resources to reinvent the wheel.
Countries can learn from Africa in handling future pandemics: UN report

Context: The world can learn from Africa‟s experience in handling zoonotic diseases — illnesses caused by
germs that spread between animals and humans — in its fight against the novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) and future pandemics, said a recent joint scientific assessment report.
Details:
 In 2019, the continent reported 500 outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Of this, Senegal accounted for nearly
57 per cent. The country reported over 280 outbreaks of Equine influenza or ‗horse flu‘, that occurred as
a result of strong winds and dust.
 Stray donkeys were the main animals affected according to the World Organisation for Animal Health
(OIE). Last year, the continent managed to resolve most of the zoonotic outbreaks, revealed the OIE
database.
 The continent also experienced and responded to the most recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, where its second-deadliest disease outbreak in the country‘s eastern area was
declared to be over June 25.
 The Ebola virus infected 3,463 people and claimed 2,287 lives, according to the country‘s government.
Children accounted for 28 per cent of all cases, compared to about 20 per cent in previous epidemics,
said the UNICEF.
 Ending this outbreak is a sign of hope for the region and the world: With solidarity, science, courage and
commitment, even the most challenging epidemics can be controlled.
 Sectoral policy frameworks for dealing with the diseases in environment, agriculture and health is, so
far, often inadequate, said the report, released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) July 6, 2020.
 A One Health approach, however, that unites public health, veterinary and environmental expertise was
suggested by the report as the optimal method for preventing and responding to zoonotic disease
outbreaks.
 A number of African countries successfully managed deadly zoonotic outbreaks and have the potential
to leverage this experience to tackle future outbreaks through this approach.

 Building robust public and animal health systems, taking early action to combat disease outbreaks and
raising political awareness on the need for greater investments in preventing and controlling emerging
diseases needs to be prioritised, the report said.
 Most efforts to control infectious diseases were reactive rather than proactive, something that must
change, the report added.
 The continent‘s disease control capacity and preparedness programs should be increased and scarce
resources should be transferred to where they are needed most.
 These require strengthening regional human (WHO regional office for Africa) and animal health
(African Union – Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources) bodies, suggested Bernard Bett, a Senior
Scientist, Animal and Human Health, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in a blog.
Pandemics may be frequent

 Around 60 per cent of the 1,400 microbes known to infect humans originated in animals, according to
the report. Around 75 per cent of zoonoses ‗jump species‘, according to the assessment.
 Zoonotic diseases that are looked over kill at least two million people every year, mostly in developing
countries. This is over four times the current reported death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic: Over
half a million have died from the disease, as of July 7.
 COVID-19 is said to have most likely originated in bats as a zoonotic disease..
 Such outbreaks will become more common if countries neglect taking dramatic steps, said the report.
 COVID-19 may be the worst, but it is not the first.
 The frequency of pathogenic microorganisms jumping from other animals to people is increasing due to
unsustainable human activities, the report said.
 Pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak were predictable, with how people source and grow food,
trade and consume animals and alter environment being well-known, according to the report.
 Unsustainable development has brought humans and animals increasingly closer and has made it easier
for diseases to jump between species, the ILRI pointed out in the report.
 An expanding human footprint on the planet increases risks of seeing bigger epidemics and eventually, a
pandemic of the scale of COVID-19, the ILRI warned.
Drivers of pandemics
 The increase in demand for animal protein, rise in unsustainable farming, increased exploitation of
wildlife and the climate crisis are among the seven key trends responsible for increasing emergence of
zoonotic diseases, said the report.
 Climate change can affect occurrences of diseases like the bird-flu and the Ebola virus disease.
 Intensive settings of food animal farming give rise to antimicrobial resistance and can trigger a crisis like
the current COVID-19 pandemic.
 COVID-19 is among diseases like Ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome, West Nile fever and Rift
Valley fever, whose spread from animal hosts to humans was intensified by anthropogenic pressures.
 People look back to the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 and think such disease outbreaks happen only
once in a century.
 But that‘s no longer true. If we don‘t restore the balance between the natural world and the human one,
these outbreaks will become increasingly prevalent.
 While wildlife is the most common source of emerging diseases that affect humans, domestic animals
may be the original sources, transmission pathways or amplifiers of zoonotic diseases.
 There are linkages of diseases with issues such as air and water quality, food security and nutrition and
mental and physical health.
 These should inform policies that address challenges posed by current and future emerging infectious
diseases, including zoonoses, the report suggested.
Preventing future pandemics

 Ten policy response options to reduce the risk of future zoonotic pandemics and to ―build back better‖
from the current crisis were provided by the report. These include:
o Expanding scientific enquiry into zoonoses
o Regulating and monitoring traditional food markets
o Incentivising the legal wildlife trade and animal husbandry to adopt zoonotic control measures
o Radically transforming food systems
Rising economic burden

 Emerging zoonotic diseases threaten human and animal health, economic development and the
environment, the report said.
 The greatest burden of zoonotic disease is borne by the poor, but emerging infectious diseases impact
everyone, with monetary losses of emerging infectious disease greater in high-income countries.
 Millions of small-scale farmers dependent on livestock are pushed into severe poverty by such
outbreaks.
 Livestock is an important asset and a major source of livelihood for farmers in low- and middle-income
countries affected most by the zoonotic diseases.
 In the past two decades, zoonotic diseases have caused economic losses of more than $100 billion.
 This does not include the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to reach $9 trillion over
the next few years, said the report based on estimates by the International Monetary Fund.
Roots of water scarcity

Context: Nature-based solutions like planting of trees and restoration of forests are often touted as the
panacea for water conservation. This is because forested watersheds — lands covered by forests which
drain all the water flowing through them into waterbodies like rivers or lakes — provide a whopping 75 per
cent of the world‟s accessible freshwater resources. But many organisations implementing this crucial
nature-based solution have been unable to differentiate between restoration of forests and planting trees.
Note: For instance, in India, afforestation was one of the interventions of the Union government‘s Jal Shakti
Abhiyan, launched in July 2019, to make the country‘s most water-stressed districts water secure. Under this
programme, district administra tions were encouraged to under- take planting of trees in a big way. The
enthusiastic local authorities reported a staggering number of afforestation activities which turned out to be
fudged data, as admitted by district officials as well as a senior official in the Jal Shakti ministry. Even if
these numbers were real, simply planting trees will not conserve water. In fact, trees can suck up water and
release it through evapotranspiration — water lost by trees to the atmosphere through tiny openings on the
underside of their leaves known as stomata.
Incorrect assumption
 Studies conducted in various parts of the globe, especially in semi-arid and arid regions have shown that
blind afforestation does not increase water supply.
 When sparsely vegetated land is converted into forest, there is a reduction in blue water (available for
human use) and increase in green water (part of water available for plant use). Trees can consume more
water than other shorter vegetation. According to the mass balance principle, if more water is used by
trees, less water will flow into rivers and lakes or recharge the groundwater that people can directly use.
 There are three aspects to be considered while planting trees for water conservation.
 First is that of scale. In general, forest expansion of 2 sq km or more can increase the possibility of
rainfall. Trees transport water to the air, and water vapour moves to another location, which can be far
from the afforested area. On a global scale, afforestation can bring benefits to the water cycle.

 The second aspect is what kind of tree species must be planted for water conservation. Invariably, fast-
growing broad leaved species such as eucalyptus and poplar consume more water as compared to
needle-leaved species, such as casuarina and pines.
 The third aspect is that of site characteristics. Areas with varying geology, soil and patterns of
precipitation have different responses to large-scale plantati ons. For instance, a study carried out for 30
years till 2011 in China shows that different regions experienced varying changes in precipitation and
soil moisture with increasing number of trees.
 In north and southeast China, enhanced precipitation resulting from increased tree cover was able to
cancel out water loss due to evapotranspiration leading to no changes in the regions‘ soil moisture levels.
 In southwest China, during the same period, the researchers observed a significant decrease in soil
moisture, while there was also a weakening of the summer monsoon season.
 In northeast China — the only region where a decrease in forest cover was observed — soil moisture
went down drastically because of an anomalous anti-cyclone (high pressure area that disrupts the
formation of rain bringing low pressure areas) formation during summer.
 A study published in PLOS One in August 2016 found that soil moisture in the topmost layer of soil
decreased after afforestation and this decrease was different for different species of trees and varied with
regions.
 In India, the problem began a long time ago. Misplaced tree plantations began when some trees like the
eucalyptus were used for draining swamps in the Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu, especially near Ooty. This
was done in the middle of the 19th century by the British.
 The British saw these areas as health risks as these were mosquito habitats which could cause malaria.
Moreover, most of the tribes who lived in the area also practiced slash-and-burn cultivation, which
changed the character of vegetation, from primary to secondary.
 In later years, the British harvested teak trees for timber from secondary forests. The British faced
significant problems as sometimes the old evergreen trees would grow back in these secondary forests as
well. They shifted to large-scale tree plantations which introduced monocultures to India for the first
time.
 Post-Independence, governments have pursued the same strategy, sometimes even more vigorously.
Eco-restoration of degraded natural terrestrial ecosystems would be better as compared to blind
afforestation.
Model of succession
 Natural ecosystems, especially evergreen systems found along the catchments of rivers in the Western
Ghats, are much better at conserving water as they have complex root systems, which can hold large
amounts of soil together and that can, in turn, hold large quantities of water in place. They also slow
down the flow of water streams through them which helps the soil absorb and hold more water.
 Plantations, on the other hand, lead to soil erosion and greater water flow. Moreover, secondary forests
can also be restored back to primary forests scientifically.
 This can be done using the model of succession. You cannot plant sensitive species of an ecosystem in
the open areas as they will be scorched in sunlight. There are certain transitional species that need to be
planted first. Then, the ecosystem needs should be allowed to grow around them, with sensitive species
being introduced at a later stage.
 There are myriad problems with tree plantation exercises being carried out in India, even by forest
departments. Forest departments generally use tree species which can give good results, which in this
case means survival. So they have very few choices of tree species that are fire-resistant and consume
less water.
 This criterion for the choice of tree species to be planted needs to change if we have to restore secondary
forests and plantations back to primary forests.
 Areas where trees are randomly planted are also prone to landslides, forest fires and weed infestation.
This is what happened in the case of bushfires in Australia and forest fires in California. Fire hazard will
be far less in the restoration model. The plantation policy of the country needs to be redesigned.

Current Affairs Quiz
1) Consider the following statements:
1. He believed in the fundamental oneness of God and said, ―For our own motherland a junction of the two
great systems, Hinduism and Islam, is the only hope.
2. His mission was to bridge the gulf between paramartha (service) and vyavahara (behaviour), and
between spirituality and day-to-day life.
3. Envisaging a new culture for the whole world, he called for a blend of the materialism of the West and the
spiritualism of the East into a new harmony to produce happiness for mankind.
Identify the personality who correctly matches the above description:
a. Guru Nanak
b. Aurobindo Gosh
c. Swami Vivekananda
d. None of the above
Correct Answer : c
Narendranath Datta (1862-1902), who later came to be known as Swami Vivekananda spread
Ramakrishna‘s message and tried to reconcile it to the needs of contemporary Indian society.
He emerged as the preacher of neo-Hinduism.
Certain spiritual experiences of Ramakrishna, the teachings of the Upanishads and the Gita and the
examples of the Buddha and Jesus are the basis of Vivekananda‘s message to the world about human values.
He subscribed to the Vedanta which he considered a fully rational system with a superior approach.
His mission was to bridge the gulf between paramartha (service) and vyavahara (behaviour), and between
spirituality and day-to-day life.
Vivekananda believed in the fundamental oneness of God.
He said, ―For our own motherland a junction of the two great systems, Hinduism and Islam, is the only
hope.‖
At the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893, Swami Vivekananda made a great impression on
people by his learned interpretations.
Envisaging a new culture for the whole world, he called for a blend of the materialism of the West and the
spiritualism of the East into a new harmony to produce happiness for mankind.
2) Indian Railways had recently operated its longest freight train. What is the name of the train?
a. Kaalamban
b. Shesh Naag
c. Viswa Bharat
d. Lifeline Express
Correct Answer : b
In the history of Indian Railways, the national transporter has for the first time run a 2.8 km long
―SheshNaag‖ train.
It is the longest train ever to run on the Indian Railways network.
According to details shared by the Railway Ministry, the South East Central Railway zone of Indian
Railways recently operated the SheshNaag Train service, a 2.8 km long train amalgamating four empty
BOXN rakes.

The SheshNaag Train was powered by four sets of electric locomotives.
3) “Mount Rushmore”, often seen in the news recently, is located in?
a. Japan
b. Russia
c. North Korea
d. United States of America
Correct Answer : d
The US President Mr. Donald Trump had recently delivered his Independence Day Speech for the year 2020
at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Mount Rushmore
It is a memorial situated in South Dakota.
It features 60-foot face carvings of four US Presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
4) Consider the following statements with respect to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
1. Membership in the Bank is open to members and associate members of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Asia and the Far East.
2. ADB‘s Country Partnership Strategy (2018–2022) aims to accelerate India‘s inclusive economic
transformation.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : c
Recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for
Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
NGFS was launched at the Paris One Planet Summit in 2017.
NGFS is a group of central banks and supervisors willing to share best practices and contribute to the
development of environment and climate risk management in the financial sector.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.
Membership in the Bank is open to members and associate members of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Asia and the Far East.
ADB‘s Country Partnership Strategy, 2018–2022 for India aims to accelerate the country‘s inclusive
economic transformation.
The strategy focuses on building industrial competitiveness to create more jobs, extending infrastructure and
services to low-income states, and addressing environmental and climate change concerns.
5) Consider the following statements with respect to Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
1. It aims to make a 3D map of the Moon‘s surface from lunar polar orbit.
2.It is a European Space Agency mission, in preparation for future manned missions to the moon.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : a
Recently, NASA research says the Moon is more metallic than thought before.
NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft had found evidence that the Moon‘s subsurface
might have greater quantities of metals such as iron and titanium.
LRO‘s primary goal was to make a 3D map of the Moon‟s surface from lunar polar orbit. It continues to
orbit the Moon.
LRO gathered information on day-night temperature maps, conducted high-resolution imaging.
The spacecraft paid particular emphasis to the Moon‘s polar regions where scientists suspected there might
be water in the permanently shadowed areas.
6) Consider the following statements with respect to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
of India (IRDAI)
1. It was set up as an autonomous body under the IRDA Act, 1999.

2. The main function of IRDAI is to regulate the substantial acquisition of shares and take over of
companies.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : a
IRDAI to examine the feasibility of insurers offering surety bonds for road contracts.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had requested the regulator to examine possible offerings of
surety bonds by the general insurance companies, to ease the economic impact on liquidity and cash-flows
in the Indian banking sector.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) set up as an autonomous body under the IRDA
Act, 1999
Its mission is to protect the interests of policyholders, to regulate, promote, and ensure orderly growth of the
insurance industry.
It is a function of SEBI to regulate the substantial acquisition of shares and take over of companies.
7) Consider the following statements with respect to Disinvestment
1. Strategic Disinvestment refers to the sale of a substantial portion of the Government shareholding in a
Central Public Sector Enterprises of less than 50%.
2. Corporatization refers to reorganizing the structure of a government-owned entity into one that resembles
a private entity while government retaining the ownership.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : b
The DIPAM Secretary said that, Government is set to focus on Strategic Stake Sales to meet disinvestment
target.

When the government decides to transfer the ownership and control of a public sector entity to some other
entity, either private or public, the process is called Strategic Disinvestment.
It would imply the sale of a substantial portion of the Government shareholding of a CPSE of up to 50%, or
such higher percentage along with transfer of management control.
Corporatization occurs when a government attempts to reorganize the structure of a government-owned
entity into one that resembles a private entity.
In Corporatization, the goal of the government is to retain ownership while allowing the entity to operate
efficiently and competitively.
8) “MSME Emergency Response Programme” that aims to support the increased flow of finance into the
hands of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, was recently signed between India and?
a. World Bank
b. New Development Bank
c. Asian Development Bank
d. International Monetary Fund
Correct Answer : a
The World Bank and the Government of India have recently signed the 750 million dollar agreement for
the MSME Emergency Response Programme to support the increased flow of finance into the hands of
micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
The World Bank‘s MSME Emergency Response Programme will address the immediate liquidity and credit
needs of some 1.5 million viable MSMEs to help them withstand the impact of the current shock and protect
millions of jobs.
9) “World Drug Report” was released recently by which of the following organizations?
a. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
b. Intergovernmental Agency on World Trafficking
c. Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development
d. United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
Correct Answer : a
According to the latest World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
the fourth highest seizure of opium in 2018 was reported from India, after Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In terms of heroin seizure (1.3 tonnes), India was at the 12th position in the world.
Heroin is manufactured from the morphine extracted from the seed pod of opium poppy plants.
Outside Asia, the largest total quantity of heroin and morphine was seized in Europe (22% of the global total
in 2018).
10) Consider the following statements with respect to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
(NPPA)
1. It ensures accessibility and availability of only the National List of Essential Medicines to people at
affordable prices.
2. It is an attached office to the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : d

Recently, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), allowed pharmaceutical companies to

increase the price of essential blood thinner Heparin by as much as 50%.
Heparin is among the essential medicines that are needed for combating the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
NPPA is an independent regulator for the pricing of drugs, to ensure the availability and accessibility of
medicines at affordable prices.
It is as an attached office to the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
It regularly publishes lists of medicines and their maximum ceiling prices under the Drug Price Control
Orders (DPCO).
It monitors the availability of drugs, identifies shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps.
11) Consider the following statements with respect to Mars Orbiter Mission
1. The mission aims a specific search for Methane in the Martian atmosphere.
2. It is the Israel's first mission to the Red Planet and first entry into interplanetary spaceflight.
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : a
Recently, ISRO's Mangalyaan Captures Image Of Phobos, biggest Moon of Mars.
The Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard Mars Orbiter Mission has captured the image of Phobos.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan is the India‘s first mission to the Red Planet and
first entry into interplanetary spaceflight.
The mission is to explore and observe Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and the Martian
atmosphere.
Further, a specific search for methane in the Martian atmosphere.
This will provide information about the possibility or the past existence of life on the planet.
12) Countering America‘s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that aims at taking punitive
measures against which of the following countries?
1. Iran
2. Cuba
3. China
4. Russia
5. North Korea
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

a. 1 and 4 only
b. 2 and 5 only
c. 1, 4 and 5 only
d. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Correct Answer : c
The Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of United States of America
(USA), aims at taking punitive measures against Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
The Act primarily deals with sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry, defence and security sector, and
financial institutions, in the backdrop of its military intervention in Ukraine and its alleged meddling in the
2016 US presidential elections.

The Act empowers the US President to impose at least five of 12 listed sanctions enumerated in Section 235
on persons engaged in a ―significant transaction‖ with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors.
13) Consider the following statements with respect to Kawasaki Disease
1. It is a rare illness which typically affects children aged under five.

2. The symptoms of the disease includes red eyes, rashes, and a swollen tongue and an inflamed blood
vessel system all over the body.
3. The disease is caused by a plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

a. 2 only
b. 1 and 2 only
c. 1 and 3 only
d. 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer : b
Around the world, children with Covid-19 infection have often shown some symptoms similar to those
associated with a rare illness called Kawasaki disease
It typically affects children aged under five with symptoms like red eyes, rashes, and a swollen tongue with
reddened lips often termed strawberry tongue and an inflamed blood vessel system all over the body.
There is constant high fever for at least five days, it also affects coronary functions in the heart.
The causes of the Kawasaki Disease are not yet known.
The strawberry tongue may or may not be present in those with Covid-19.
In Covid-19 cases, even adolescents are presenting these symptoms.
Steroids remain a key treatment to reduce inflammation.
14) Herd Immunity often seen in news is?
a. Occurs when a large portion of a community becomes immune to a disease

b. Vaccine helps to establish herd immunity
c. Both (a) and (b)
d. None of the above
Correct Answer : c
When most of a population is immune to an infectious disease, this provides indirect protection or Herd
Immunity (also called herd protection) to those who are not immune to the disease.
Herd Immunity can happen in two ways:
Many people contract the disease and in time build up an immune response to it (natural immunity).
Many people are vaccinated against the disease to achieve immunity.
The vaccine also helps to establish herd immunity.
15) Consider the following statements with respect to Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
1. It is a pan India Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

2. The fund will provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for post-harvest management
Infrastructure and community farming assets.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : b
The Union Cabinet has recently given its approval to a new pan India Central Sector Scheme-Agriculture
Infrastructure Fund.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
The scheme shall provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects
for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention
and financial support.
The Project by way of facilitating formal credit to farm and farm processing-based activities is expected to
create numerous job opportunities in rural areas.
16) Assertion (A): No star has been found with high lithium content so far.
Reason (R): Stars, as per known mechanisms of evolution, actually destroy lithium as they evolve
into red giants.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

a. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b. Both A and R are true and R is not the correct explanation of A
c. A is true but R is false
d. A is false but R is true
Correct Answer : d
Stars, as per known mechanisms of evolution, actually destroy lithium as they evolve into red giants.
Planets were known to have more lithium than their stars — as is the case with the Earth-Sun pair.
However, leading to a contradiction, some stars were found that were lithium-rich.
This puzzle has been solved by Indian researchers through a study which has been published in the
journal Nature Astronomy.
Lithium’s
Lithium, a light element commonly used today in communication device technology.
It was first produced in the Big Bang, around 13.7 billion years ago when the universe came into being,
along with other elements.
While the abundance of other elements grew millions of times, the present abundance of lithium in the
universe is only four times the original [Big Bang] value.
It is actually destroyed in the stars.
The Sun, for instance, has about a factor of 100 lower amount of lithium than the Earth.
About 40 years ago, a few large stars were spotted that were lithium-rich.
This was followed by further discoveries of lithium-rich stars, and that posed a puzzle — if stars do not
produce lithium, how do some stars develop to become lithium rich?
The team has shown that when stars grow beyond their Red Giant stage into what is known as the Red
Clump stage, they produce lithium in what is known as a Helium Flash and this is what enriches them
with lithium.
They set a lower limit for helium abundance which will classify the star as ―lithium-rich‖.
This value is about 250 times lower than the previous limit.
17) Consider the following statements with respect to Bubonic Plague
1. It is an infectious disease caused by a zoonotic virus.

2. It is transmitted by fleas and infected respiratory droplets.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : b
Recently, China reports case of suspected Bubonic Plague.
Plague is caused by the Bacteria Yersinia Pestis, a zoonotic bacteria usually found in small mammals and
their fleas.
It is transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact with infected
tissues, and inhalation of infected respiratory droplets.
Antibiotic treatment is effective against plague bacteria, early diagnosis and early treatment can save lives.
18) Consider the following statements with respect to Bad Bank
1. It is set up to buy the bad loans and other illiquid holdings of only banks.
2. The original institution cannot clear its balance sheet even after transferring such assets to the bad bank.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : d
The banking sector, led by the Indian Banks Association, had recently submitted a proposal for setting up
a Bad Bank to the finance ministry and the RBI.
These are typically set up in times of crisis when long-standing financial institutions are trying to recuperate
their reputations and wallets.
A bad bank is a bank set up to buy the bad loans and other illiquid holdings of another financial institution.
The entity holding significant Non-Performing Assets will sell these holdings to the bad bank at market
price.
By transferring such assets to the bad bank, the original institution may clear its balance sheet, although it
will still be forced to take write-downs.
A bad bank structure may also assume the risky assets of a group of financial institutions, instead of a single
bank.
19) Consider the following statements with respect to National Mission for Manuscripts
1. The Mission was established in 2003 by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
2. It was mandated to document, conserve and disseminate the knowledge preserved in the manuscripts.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : c
The Ministry of Culture has taken up the project of reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under
the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).

The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under the NMM was presented to the President
of India recently.
It is expected that all the 108 volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur will be published by March, 2022.
National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
NMM was launched in February 2003 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Tourism and
Culture, with the mandate of documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in the
manuscripts.
One of the objectives of the mission is to publish rare and unpublished manuscripts so that the knowledge
enshrined in them is spread to researchers, scholars and general public at large.
20) Mongolian Kanjur, sometimes seen in the news recently, is associated with?
a. Jainism
b. Buddhism
c. Zoroastrianism
d. Mongolian shamanism
Correct Answer : b
21) With respect to Manuscripts, consider the following statements:
1. A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material
dating back at least seventy-five years.
2. Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firmans, revenue records.
3. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

a. 1 and 2 only
b. 1 and 3 only
c. 2 and 3 only
d. 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer : d
A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material
dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts.
Manuscripts are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts.
Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts.
For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other scripts.
Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firmans, revenue records which
provide direct information on events or processes in history.
Manuscripts have knowledge content.
22) Indian Prime Minister has recently inaugurated the 750 MW Rewa Solar Project, Asia's largest solar
power project, at which of the following states?
a. Rajasthan
b. Tamil Nadu
c. Uttar Pradesh
d. Madhya Pradesh
Answer : d

23) With respect to Malabar exercise, consider the following statements
1. Malabar began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and Japan in 1992.
2. Currently, it was expanded into a quadrilateral format with the inclusion of U.S.A and Australia.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : d
The inclusion of Australia in the Malabar exercises would mark a major shift for India‘s Indo-Pacific plans.
The decision, if taken, could bring all Quad countries together as part of the annual war games.
Malabar began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the U.S. in 1992.
It was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
24) Consider the following statements with respect to Measles
1. It is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a Virus.

2. India and Maldives have eliminated the Measles ahead of 2023 target.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : a
Recently, Maldives and Sri Lanka have become the first two countries in the South-East Asia region to
eliminate both Measles and Rubella ahead of the 2023 target.
Member countries of WHO South-East Asia region had set 2023 as the target for elimination of measles and
rubella.
Bhutan, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste are other countries in the region who have eliminated measles.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by virus.
Rubella is also a contagious disease caused by a virus.
25) Consider the following about Ethiopia
1. Ethiopia is a landlocked country located on the Horn of Africa.

2. It shares its border with Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia.

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer : c

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