The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 29 December 2022

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 28 December 2022

The Hindu Editorial Today

• The Health Ministry of Uzbekistan on Tuesday said 18 children, with acute respiratory disease, have died from taking excessive doses of a cough syrup, Doc-1 Max, manufactured by Marion Biotech, an Indian firm.
• The children consumed “excessive amounts” of the cough syrup, which contained ethylene glycol, a substance that ought not to be present in cough syrup.
• This comes days after a parliamentary panel in The Gambia found “unacceptable levels” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in cough syrups made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharma.

Diethylene glycol drug:

• Diethylene glycol is an anti-freezing agent that causes acute renal failure in the human body followed by paralysis, breathing difficulties and ultimately death.

• Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ who had broken up with the United Marxist- Leninist (UML) in 2020 and joined the Nepali Congress (NC)-led coalition, once again switched to the UML. On Christmas day, he was appointed Prime Minister for the third time. To demonstrate his majority within 30 days, Prachanda will have to satisfy the demands of the UML and six other political parties with widely diverging agendas.
• Nepal’s transition from a monarchy to a republic began in 2008. In 15 years, Nepal has had three NC Prime Ministers (G.P. Koirala, Sushil Koirala and Mr. Deuba twice), two Maoist Prime Ministers (Prachanda twice and Baburam Bhattarai), three UML Prime Ministers (Madhav Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal and Mr. Oli twice), and a Chief Justice as caretaker Prime Minister in 2013. In such a fluid environment, political horse trading has been rampant.

• India was among the first nations to address its population problem as early as 1951, raising awareness about the ills of overpopulation. While there has been a significant rise in India’s population, there has also been a sharp decline in India’s total fertility rate (TFR). In 1950, the TFR was at around 5.9%, and is now 2% (fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, or NFHS).
• India’s TFR, 2%, is even lower than the replacement level, signifying a remarkable step in the population control parameters. It is clear that India does not need a law for forced population control. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar too has countered the need for such a law by saying, “forced population control can have very dangerous consequences, it can create a gender imbalance”.
• The population of China is aging faster than in any other modern country, owing to the policies of forced population control.

• India’s goods exports rebounded from a nearly 17% dip in October to a mild 0.6% uptick in November. While the value of exports recovered to $32 billion from $29.8 billion in October, it is still significantly below the $39 billion averaged between April and September.
• Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and China saw their share rise even when global trade growth itself slowed in the years before COVID-19. India too, should aspire to emerge stronger from the brewing storm.

• On the withholding of funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal laid bare a key implementation issue — wage delays.
• A report by the non-profit organisation LibTech India found that ₹2,744 crore was still due to workers for work done since December 26, 2021.
• The delay in the payment, which is contrary to what is stated in Section 3 of the NREG Act, has resulted in a drop in the number of households working under the scheme in the State — from 77 lakh during the pandemic years to 16 lakh in the current financial year. The current number falls short of the 49.25 lakh households which availed the scheme in the last pre-COVID-19 year as well.
• The Union Government in its response suggested that funds have been blocked only in West Bengal for “non-compliance with the directives of the Central government” and this pertains to prior fund misuse

• The most recent instance of this was when the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday shot down the caste census conducted by the Uttar Pradesh government to enumerate the Other Backward Class (OBC) population across the State, holding that an exercise of “counting of heads” cannot be enough.
• The triple-test requires a State government to set up a dedicated commission for a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness specifically with respect to local bodies; specify proportion of reservations required for political representation based on the dedicated commission’s recommendation; and ensure total reservations for Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/ OBC groups do not exceed 50% of the number of total seats.
• The Supreme Court has emphasised since 2010 that the OBC quota in elections should be backed by empirical data, unlike reservation for OBCs, (along with SCs and STs) in education and employment.
• Local body elections in at least three states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh had been stalled in the absence of updated empirical data on OBC groups.
• The five-year term of around 2,486 local bodies in Maharashtra had expired and elections were required to be conducted under the provisions of the Constitution as well as the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act.

Reservation of Seats in Local Body Elections

• The 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 provides for the reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in every panchayat/municipality (i.e., at all three levels) in the proportion of their population to the total population in the panchayat area/municipal area.

Reservation of offices of chairperson:

• Further, the state legislature shall provide for the reservation of offices of chairperson in the panchayat/municipality at any other level for the SCs and STs.

Reservations for women:

• The act provides for the reservation of not less than one-third of the total number of seats for women (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging the SCs and STs).
• Further, not less than one-third of the total number of offices of chairpersons in the panchayats/municipality at each level shall be reserved for women.
• Reservations for Backward Classes:
• The act also authorises the legislature of a state to make any provision for reservation of seats in any panchayat/municipality or offices of chairperson in the panchayat/municipalities at any level in favour of backward classes.

• Fatalities due to road accidents resumed their upward trajectory, after a rare decline in 2020 due to restrictions on movement during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Road accident deaths increased by 1.9% in 2021 from the 2019 figure, show the Road Transport Ministry’s annual report released on Wednesday.
• A total of 4,12,432 road accidents were reported in the country last year, claiming 1,53,972 lives and causing injuries to 3,84,448 people, say the Road Accidents in India-2021 report. These translate into an average of 1,130 accidents and 422 deaths every day or 47 accidents and 18 deaths every hour.
• Young adults in the 18-45 age group accounted for 67.6% of victims during 2021. People in the working age group of 18-60 made up 84.5% of total road accident fatalities. Those under 18 totalled 5% of all road accident deaths, and those above 60 accounted for 7.6%.
• Road accident severity — the number of persons killed per 100 accidents — increased from 33.7 in 2019 to 37.3 in 2021.
• The most number of fatalities was in the “hit from behind” category of accidents, which accounted for 18.6% of the total road accident deaths. A close second was death due to “head-on collision”, which contributed to 17.7% of the total deaths. The other major types of collision which caused deaths were “hit and run” (16.8%), and “hit from side” (11.9%).
• Of deaths from violation of traffic rules, speeding was a major killer, accounting for 69.6% of the fatalities, followed by driving on the wrong side of the road (5.2%). Use of mobile phones contributed to 1.9% of the total road fatalities and jumping traffic signal lights contributed to 0.5%.
• Among road users, the most impacted were two-wheeler users, who accounted for 40.7% of the deaths, followed by pedestrians (16.9%), those travelling in cars or taxis (16.4%), users of trucks and lorries (8.9%), and others (7.6%).
• Out of 1,42,163 fatal accidents reported in 2021, 50,953 (35.8%) were on National Highways, 34,946 (24.6%) were on State Highways and 56,264 (39.6%) were on other roads.
• Uttar Pradesh accounted for the largest share of fatalities at 13.8%, followed by Tamil Nadu (10%), Maharashtra (8.8%), Madhya Pradesh (7.8%), and Rajasthan (6.5%). Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have seen a rise in their share of fatalities from the 2019 figure.

Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety (2015):

• The declaration was signed at the second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety held in Brazil. India is a signatory to the Declaration.
• The countries plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 i.e. to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.

Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030:

• The UN General Assembly adopted resolution “Improving global road safety ” with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
• The Global Plan aligns with the Stockholm Declaration, by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to road safety.

The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) :

• It is a registered charity dedicated to saving lives through safer roads.

• Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday kicked off a two-day training programme for teachers of Eklavya Model Residential Schools for tribal students, which is meant to serve as “a stepping stone in creating awareness about the potential of computer science in students of EMRS”, the Ministry said in a statement.
• The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), which administers all EMRSs, said the training workshop for teachers was a capacity-building exercise for them to implement the Amazon Future Engineering Programme — a corporate social responsibility initiative of Amazon India — in collaboration with the non-profit Learning Links Foundation.

EMRS Scheme in 2018-19:

• The new guidelines gave the Union government more power to sanction schools and manage them.
• A National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) was set up and entrusted with the management of the State Education Society for Tribal Students (SESTS), which would run the EMRS on the ground.
• The new guidelines set a target of setting up an EMRS in every tribal sub-district and introduced a population criteria for setting them up.
• The new guidelines also reduced the minimum land requirement from 20 acres to 15 acres.

Population Criteria:

• One EMRS in every sub-district that has at least a 20,000-odd Scheduled Tribe population, which must be 50% of the total population in that area.

• According to The Lancet, about 7 million annual deaths can be expected by 2030 from low and middle-income countries due to smoking.
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its latest report about cancer management, prevention and diagnosis, recommended that the government institute a ban on the sale of single sticks of cigarettes. It also recommended that the government increase taxes on all tobacco products and utilise the acquired revenue for cancer prevention and awareness.
• The report cites the National Health Policy’s (2017) endeavour for a relative reduction in current tobacco use by 30% by 2025
• Single sticks are more economical to acquire than a full pack of cigarettes. This may particularly appeal to adolescents and youth who may have limited money in hand. Single sticks are also preferred by people who may want to take them up for experimentation and have not started smoking on a regular basis.
• A ban on single-stick sales would compel a potential consumer to buy the entire pack which may not be particularly economical, thus curbing potential experimentation and the scope for regular intake. Moreover, a potential ban would also mean that the consumer would have to carry around the packet.

Q) Which of the following statements is correct regarding National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), that was recently in news?

1. Monitor implementation of Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme
2. Monitor services delivered at anganwadi centres
3. Capture attendance via a mobile application
4. Regulate content on mobile and other platforms

निम्नलिखित में से कौन सा कथन नेशनल मोबाइल मॉनिटरिंग सिस्टम (NMMS) के बारे में सही है, जो हाल ही में खबरों में था?

1. प्रधानमंत्री पोषण शक्ति निर्माण (पीएम पोषण) योजना के कार्यान्वयन की निगरानी करना
2. आंगनवाड़ी केंद्रों पर प्रदान की जाने वाली सेवाओं की निगरानी करना
3. एक मोबाइल एप्लिकेशन के माध्यम से उपस्थिति दर्ज करें
4. मोबाइल और अन्य प्लेटफॉर्म पर सामग्री को विनियमित करें

• Digitally capturing the attendance of workers employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGREGS) has been made universal by the Centre from January 1, 2023.
• The Union government, arguing for transparency and accountability in May 2021, had started a pilot project to capture attendance via a mobile application, the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS).

Q) Consider the following statements.

1. Maldives is an archipelagic state situated in Indian Ocean.
2. Lakshadweep island group is separated from Maldives by the Ten Degree Channel.
3. Maldives was a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Which of the above statement sis/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 1, 2
3. 1, 3
4. 1, 2 and 3

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें।

1. मालदीव हिंद महासागर में स्थित एक द्वीपसमूह राज्य है।
2. लक्षद्वीप द्वीपसमूह दस डिग्री चैनल द्वारा मालदीव से अलग होता है।
3. मालदीव दक्षिण एशियाई क्षेत्रीय सहयोग संगठन (सार्क) का संस्थापक सदस्य था।

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

1. केवल 1
2. 1, 2
3. 1, 3
4. 1, 2 और 3

• Maldives is an archipelagic state located in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean.
• Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• The Ten Degree Channel is a channel that separates the Little Andaman and Car Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal. Lakshadweep island group is separated from Maldives by the Eight Degree Channel.

Q) Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?

1. Hope Mission: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
2. Tianwen-1 Mission: China National Space Administration
3. MAVEN Mission: European Space Agency

Select the correct answer using the code below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

निम्नलिखित युग्मों में से कौन-सा/से सही सुमेलित है/हैं?

1. होप मिशन: जापान एयरोस्पेस एक्सप्लोरेशन एजेंसी
2. तियानवेन-1 मिशन: चाइना नेशनल स्पेस एडमिनिस्ट्रेशन
3. मावेन मिशन: यूरोपीय अंतरिक्ष एजेंसी

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर सही उत्तर चुनिए:

1. केवल 1 और 2
2. केवल 2
3. केवल 1 और 3
4. 1, 2 और 3

Explanation: Missions on Mars:

• UAE: Hope
• China: Tianwen-1
• ESA: Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
• Nasa: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, MAVEN, Curiosity rover
• India: Mangalyan

Q) The Great Barrier Reef is a coral reef system. Where is it found?

1. Off the Philippines
2. Off Papua New Guinea
3. Off Queensland, Australia
4. None of the above

ग्रेट बैरियर रीफ एक कोरल रीफ सिस्टम है। यह कहाँ पाया जाता है?

1. फिलीपींस से बाहर
2. पापुआ न्यू गिनी से बाहर
3. ऑफ क्वींसलैंड, ऑस्ट्रेलिया
4. उपर्युक्त में से कोई नहीं

Explanation:

• The Great Barrier Reef is located in the tropical waters of Far North Queensland. The marine park stretches over 3000km (1800 miles) almost parallel to the Queensland coast, from near the coastal town of Bundaberg, up past the tip of Cape York.

Mains Practice Question:

Q) Discuss the significance of electoral literacy for a stronger democracy. (150 words)

एक मजबूत लोकतंत्र के लिए चुनावी साक्षरता के महत्व पर चर्चा करें। (150 शब्द)

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