Current Affairs 13th June 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Current Affairs 13th June 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Inflation

Context: India’s retail inflation eased in May to a 20-month low of 4.25%, from 4.7% in April.

More on the news:

• Consumer food price index (CFPI) eased to 2.91 per cent in May from 3.84 per cent in April.
• Rural inflation in May stood at 4.17 per cent while urban inflation stood at 4.27 per cent.
• It is the third successive month that inflation has remained below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance limit of 6%.

About Inflation

• Inflation is the change in the average price of products and services at regular intervals.
  • It represents the purchasing power of a unit of a country’s currency concerning the difference in the price of various products and services.
  • An increase in prices of different commodities and services would mean a decrease in the currency’s purchasing power and vice versa.
• Indication: Inflationary pressures indicate that a country’s economy is in jeopardy, but negative inflation, often known as deflation, is a far more serious issue.
  • In order to encourage spending among businesses and consumers, and therefore build a baseline of economic growth, a level of inflation that is neither too hot nor too cold is required.
• Calculation: In India, price indices are used to determine changes in commodity and service rates, and so inflation or deflation is computed.
  • The overall inflation rate, commonly known as the headline rate, is calculated by taking into account increases in the price of food, fuel, and other goods.
  • In India, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are used to measure inflation (CPI).

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• CPI measures the general change in the pricing of consumer goods and services over a period of time.
  • The CPI is a measure of price change at the retail level that is based on 260 commodities, including some services.
  • The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation collects prices of sample goods and services on a regular basis (typically every month) and records any changes.

Wholesale Pricing Index (WPI)

• It is the price of a typical basket of wholesale items.
• It considers a basket of 697 items and displays the total costs.
  • Manufactured Products (65% of total weight), Primary Articles (food, etc.) (20.1%), and Fuel and Power (5% of total weight) make up the WPI basket (14.9 percent).
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry calculates the WPI.
• WPI measures wholesale prices and was used by the Reserve Bank of India to make monetary policy until 2014.

Current Affairs 12th June 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

JATAN Software

Context: Indian government plans to complete 3D digitisation of all museums under its administrative control by the year end using JATAN software.

About JATAN Software

• JATAN is a digital collection management system for Indian museums.
• It is a client server application with features such as image cropping, watermarking, unique numbering, and management of digital objects with multimedia representations.
• It can create 3D virtual galleries and provide public access through web, mobile or touch screen kiosks.
• It has been designed and developed by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, Centre for Development of Smart Computing, Pune.

Significance of 3D Digitisation

• Better Conservation of Artefacts: It offers improved conservation and preservation of artefacts, ensuring their long-term protection.
• It enhances accessibility and exploration for museum visitors, providing new ways to engage with the collection.
• It can be used in augmented reality, virtual reality, and interactive learning experiences, creating immersive educational opportunities.
• It enables the potential for 3D printing, allowing for replication and detailed study of artefacts.

3D scanning

• The digitisation process involves 3D scanning which means analysing a real-world object or environment to collect three-dimensional data of its shape and possibly its appearance.
• The collected data is then used to construct digital 3D models.

UNESCO

Context: The US has expressed its plans to rejoin UN cultural and scientific agency UNESCO.

More on the news:

• US will have to pay more than $600 million in back dues, which were held back owing to US’ dispute regarding the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.
• The main reason for US’ return was motivated by concern of China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking.

What is UNESCO?

• A specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), UNESCO aims at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.
• It was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
• UNESCO aims to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values.
• Apart from 193 member states and 12 associate members, UNESCO also includes partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.
• UNESCO’s objectives:
  • Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning
  • Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development
  • Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges
  • Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace
  • Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication
  • Focuses on global priority areas – “Africa” and “Gender Equality”.
• Area of work: UNESCO completes its mandate through five major programme areas: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information.
• Governance: The General Conference, composed of member states and associate members, governs UNESCO. It meets biannually to set the agency’s programmes and the budget.
• Important initiatives of UNESCO:
  • Man and Biosphere Programme
  • World Heritage Site
  • International Geoscience and Global Geoparks Programme (IGGP)
  • Creative Cities Network
  • Intangible Cultural Heritage
  • Memory of the World Programme
  • World Water Assessment Programme
• Major reports:
  • Global Education Monitoring Report
  • UNESCO Science report
  • World Heritage Glaciers

UNESCO and India:

• India is a founding member of UNESCO and has been continuously being elected to the Executive Board of UNESCO since 1946.
• Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO (INCCU) is a national institution that works in coordination with UNESCO.
• The Minister of Education shall be the President of the Commission

Global Slavery Index 2023

Context: The Global Slavery Index 2023 has been released by Walk Free, a human rights organisation and is based on data provided by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery.

More on the news:

• According to the index, more than 50 million people were living in “modern slavery”.
• Out of that, 28 million suffer from forced labour and 22 million from forced marriages. About 12 million are children.

What is modern slavery?

• It is an umbrella term that includes a variety of abuses such as forced labour, forced marriage, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, debt bondage, slavery-like practices, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children.
• Target 8.7 of the UN SDG resolves to end modern slavery.

Findings of 2023 edition of the index:

• Prevalence of modern slavery: The top 5 offenders in this regard are: North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
  • The practice has become more prevalent over the last five years, as a result of climate change, armed conflict, weak governance and COVID-19.
• Lowest: Lowest prevalence is observed in: Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden.
• Maximum number: Maximum number of people living in modern slavery can be found in India, China, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia.
• More than half of all people living in modern slavery are accounted by G20 nations as trade operations and global supply chains allow for human rights abuses.

Dimensions:

• Rankings are provided across 3 dimensions: Size of the problem (prevalence), Government response and Vulnerability (political instability, inequality).

Criticism of the report:

• A universal, reliable calculation of modern slavery is not feasible as modern slavery has no internationally agreed definition. The definition used in index is being changed from year to year.
• Factors determining modern slavery are based on ‘risk’ score, which uses same parameters that determine if a country is “developed” or “developing”. This will mean that Europe will fare better than Africa automatically.
• The report stigmatizes poorer countries and absolves richer countries of their responsibility for issues like trafficking in persons.

Drip Irrigation

Context: Allegations of corruption have cropped up in implementation of Per Drop More Crop — Micro Irrigation (PDMC-MI) scheme in Jharkhand.

Per Drop More Crop — Micro Irrigation” (PDMC-MI) scheme:

• PDMC-MI is a component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, focusing on water conservation at the farm level through sprinklers and drip irrigation.
• The benefit of the scheme is provided to the beneficiary through DBT. Small farmers can get 55% of cost from government and for other farmers it is 45%.
• Funding: Centre and the State share the funding in the ratio 60:40 for all states, except Northeastern and Himalayan states where the ratio is 90:10.

What is Drip Irrigation?

• Drip irrigation is a water-saving irrigation practice that involves placing dripwater outlet near the root of the plant, thus improving plant productivity and quality.
• Benefits
  • High efficiency: Drip irrigation technique is 90% efficient at allowing plants to use the water applied.  This reduces runoff and evaporation significantly.
  • Reduces weed growth: Since water is applied to root and not between plant rows, there will be significant reduction in weed growth. This improves farm output.
  • Decreases leaching: Excess water causes nutrients to leech into the ground. Drip irrigation reduces leaching of water and nutrients below the root zone.
  • Saves labour cost: The labour cost involved in removing weeds from the farm can be cut down as weed growth is reduced.
• Drawbacks:
  • High initial cost: The initial cost of setting up drip irrigation system is on the higher side, making it unaffordable for small and marginal farmers.
  • Maintenance cost: The equipment and components of the system must be regularly maintained to increase their optimal functioning.
  • Plastic leaching: Plastic components in the system may leach overtime into the soil due to continuous interaction with environment.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

Context: President Droupadi Murmu interacted with the members of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from various parts of the country at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Who are the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups PVTGs?

• PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups in India.
• They have some basic characteristics -they are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively physically isolated, social institutes cast in a simple mould, absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a slower rate of change etc.
• Government of India follows the following criteria for identification of PVTGs:
  • Pre-agricultural level of technology.
  • Low level of literacy.
  • Economic backwardness.
  • A declining or stagnant population.

The need for identification of PVTGs

• Due to their increased vulnerability, PVTGs require a larger allocation of funds as more developed and assertive tribal groups tend to take a significant portion of these tribal development funds.

PVTGs in India

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups.
• In 1975, the Government of India declared 52 such groups, while in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75 PVTGs.
• In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• The categorization of PVTGs is done by the Ministry of Home Affairs and not by the Ministry of Tribal affairs.
• Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha.

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