The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 16 February 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 15 February 2023

• With a view to bolstering the social and security framework along the China border, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved raising of seven new battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and allocated ₹4,800 crore under the Vibrant Villages Programme to stop migration and boost tourism in villages along the border.
• The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the proposal for raising the new ITBP battalions during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• This would entail recruitment of 9,400 personnel for deployment in Arunachal Pradesh, where 47 new border outposts and 12 staging camps are under construction. The outposts were sanctioned in January 2020. In all, there are 176 ITBP outposts along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control.

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• Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) has been announced in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech 2022.
• VVP is aiming at enhancing infrastructure in villages along India’s border with China, in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Activities under the VVP include building infrastructure such as housing, tourist centres, road connectivity, providing decentralised renewable energy, direct-to-home access for Doordarshan and educational channels, and support for livelihood generation.
• The programme envisages coverage of border villages on Northern border having sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure, which often get left out from the development gains.

• While the world is emerging from the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the very harmful but invisible pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is unfortunately here to stay.
• Global public health response has been threatened due to rising misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals.
• Microbial resistance to antibiotics has made it harder to treat infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), blood-poisoning (septicaemia) and several food-borne diseases.
• AMR also imposes a huge health cost on the patient in the form of longer hospitalisation, health complications and delayed recovery. It puts patients undergoing major surgeries and treatments, such as chemotherapy, at a greater risk.
• Many times, patients recover from advanced medical procedures but succumb to untreatable infections.
• In 2019, AMR was associated with an estimated 4.95 million human deaths. A 2018 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned of a phenomenal increase, by 2030, of resistance to back-up antibiotics (second and third-line).
• India’s commitment to the cause was evident at the Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (November 24-25, 2022) held in Muscat, where over 30 countries adopted the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR.
• The conference focused on three health targets: reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system at least by 30-50% by 2030; eliminate use in animals and food production of antimicrobials that are medically important for human health; and ensure that by 2030 at least 60% of overall antibiotic consumption in humans is from the WHO “Access” group of antibiotics.
• WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS)
• Take the example of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat urinary tract infections. According to WHO, resistance to ciprofloxacin varied from 8.4% to 92.9% for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and from 4.1% to 79.4% for Klebsiella pneumoniae (a bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections such as pneumonia and intensive care unit- related infections).
• The National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-21) emphasised the effectiveness of the government’s initiatives for hand hygiene and sanitation programmes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Kayakalp and Swachh Swasth Sarvatra.

• These appointments are all signalling on the part of the government, letting the members of the higher judiciary know that they will be suitably rewarded if they issue favourable decisions.
• While a Governor’s position may seem largely ceremonial, it is in fact a squarely political appointment.
• To be fair, this is not the first government that has ventured so far as to corrupt the judges in this fashion. Congress-led governments, notably under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, have done it too.
• Justice Y.V. Chandrachud had said that the greatest danger to the judiciary lies within. Members of the judiciary cannot compromise independence by trading it for a plum post-retirement sinecure.

• China must agree to take a haircut on its loans to poor countries and assist their economic recovery, India’s G-20 Sherpa has said, in a rare, direct reference to Chinese debt of developing nations.
• “China needs to come out openly and say what their debt is and how to settle it,”
• Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said the debt-ridden island nation hoped to receive the IMF’s $2.9 billion package by March to set the country’s economy on a path of recovery after last year’s painful financial crash.
• Although the Export-Import Bank of China has offered a two-year moratorium to Sri Lanka, Beijing is yet to provide specific financing assurances to the IMF to help Sri Lanka unlock the $2.9 billion “bailout package” that Colombo is desperately counting on to rebuild its economy.

• Thwaites Glacier is 120 km wide, fast-moving glacier located in Antarctica.
• Because of its size (1.9 lakh square km), it contains enough water to raise the world sea level by more than half a metre.
• Its melting already contributes 4% to global sea-level rise each year. It is estimated that it would collapse into the sea in 200-900 years.
• Thwaites is often called the Doomsday Glacier.

• ‘Windfall profits’ refer to an unanticipated spike in earnings of an entity resulting from an exogenous event (which could be one-off and/or prolonged) and not resulting from a business decision.
• The B.K. Chaturvedi committee’s report on the Financial Position of Oil Companies (2008) had stated that taxing of these windfall gains has been seen as a prerogative of governments, in part to meet fiscal needs and in part to pursue redistributive justice.

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a report flagged the “inhuman and deplorable” condition of all 46 government-run mental healthcare institutions across the country.
• The report notes that the facilities are “illegally” keeping patients long after their recovery, in what is an “infringement of the human rights of mentally ill patients”.
• These observations were made after visits to all operational government facilities, to assess the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHA).
• Under Section 19 of the Act, the government was made responsible for creating opportunities to access less restrictive options for community living — such as halfway homes, sheltered accommodations, rehab homes, and supported accommodation.
• The Act also discourages using physical restraints (such as chaining), unmodified electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), and pushes for the right to hygiene, sanitation, food, recreation, privacy, and infrastructure.
• Additionally, under Section 5, people are empowered to make “advance directives”. They can nominate a representative for themselves, thereby potentially helping to eliminate absolute forms of guardianship in favour of supported decision-making.
• Under the MHA, all States are required to establish a State Mental Health Authority and Mental Health Review Boards (MHRBs) — bodies that can further draft standards for mental healthcare institutes, oversee their functioning and ensure they comply with the Act.

Q) Apatani Tribe, which was recently seen in the news resides in which state?

1. Telangana
2. Arunachal Pradesh
3. Kerala
4. None of these

अपतानी जनजाति, जो हाल ही में खबरों में थी, किस राज्य में रहती है?

1. तेलंगाना
2. अरुणाचल प्रदेश
3. केरल
4. इनमें से कोई नहीं

Explanation :

The Apatanis, one of the major ethnic groups of the eastern Himalayas, practise a distinctive form of agriculture where rice and fish are grown together and need encouragement.

• The Apatani are a tribal group of people living in the Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh.
• They speak a local language called Tani and worship the sun and the moon.
• They have major festivals like Dree, Myoko, Yapung and Murung.
• Dree is celebrated with prayers for a bumper harvest and prosperity of all humankind and Myoka celebrates friendship similar to modern friendship day.
• They have been practising integrated rice-fish farming in their mountain terraces of Arunachal Pradesh.

Q) With reference to the Labour Bureau, consider the following statements:

1. It publishes Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers.
2. It works under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

श्रम ब्यूरो के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. यह औद्योगिक श्रमिकों के लिए उपभोक्ता मूल्य सूचकांक प्रकाशित करता है।
2. यह श्रम और रोजगार मंत्रालय के तहत काम करता है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment recently informed Lok Sabha that the Labour Bureau has undertaken an All India Domestic Workers Survey.

• Labour Bureau is an attached office under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, which was set up on 1st October 1946.
• It is entrusted with the work of compilation, collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics on different aspects of labour.
• It releases Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers, Agricultural/Rural Labourers, Retail Price Index of Selected Essential Commodities in Urban Areas etc.
• Quick Employment Survey and Employment-Unemployment survey are also being conducted by Labour Bureau.

Q) With reference to the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India, consider the following statements:

1. It is established under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, of 1984.
2. It works under the Ministry of commerce.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

ट्राइबल कोऑपरेटिव मार्केटिंग डेवलपमेंट फेडरेशन ऑफ इंडिया के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. यह 1984 के बहु-राज्य सहकारी समिति अधिनियम के तहत स्थापित किया गया है।
2. यह वाणिज्य मंत्रालय के अधीन कार्य करता है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :

Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the Aadi Mahotsav festival of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) on February 16 in New Delhi’s Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

• TRIFED came into existence in 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, of 1984.
• It is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Objectives of the Organisation: Socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of tribal products.
• The organisation assists tribal people in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis.
• Under the TRIBES India brand, the sourced handcrafted products from the tribal people are sold.

Q) With reference to Aero India 2023, consider the following statements:

1. It is held once in every 2 years.
2. The theme of 2023 aero India is “The runway to a billion opportunities”.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

एयरो इंडिया 2023 के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. यह हर 2 साल में एक बार आयोजित किया जाता है।
2. 2023 एयरो इंडिया की थीम “द रनवे टू ए बिलियन अपॉर्चुनिटीज” है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Answer – C

Explanation :

Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru.

• The Aero India show is held every 2 years.
• This year it is being organised by the Bengaluru-based defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The theme of 2023: ‘‘The runway to a billion opportunities”.
• Besides the major entrepreneurs and investors in the defence and aerospace industries, the event will witness the participation of prominent defence think tanks and defence-related bodies from across the world.

Mains Practice Question:

Q) Discuss the role of the Vice-President of India as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. (250 words)

राज्य सभा के सभापति के रूप में भारत के उपराष्ट्रपति की भूमिका की विवेचना कीजिए। (250 शब्द)

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