Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for January 30, 2024. If you missed the January 29, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

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FRONT PAGE

Finance Ministry: GDP to grow at 7%-plus, touch $5 tn in 3 years

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Indian economy is likely to grow at over 7 per cent in the coming years and is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world in the next three years, with a GDP of $5 trillion, driven by domestic demand along with supply-side measures such as investment in infrastructure and measures to boost manufacturing, the Ministry of Finance said in a report titled ‘The Indian economy — A review’ prepared by Office of Chief Economic Adviser.

• What is the ‘The Indian Economy: A Review’ presented by the government all about?

• Why there won’t be an Economic Survey this year ahead of the interim budget?

• For Your Information-“It now appears very likely that the Indian economy will achieve a growth rate at or above 7% for FY24, and some predict it will achieve another year of 7% real growth in FY25 as well. If the prognosis for FY25 turns out to be right, that will mark the fourth year post-pandemic that the Indian economy will have grown at or over 7 per cent. That would be an impressive achievement, testifying to the resilience and potential of the Indian economy. It augurs well for the future,” Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said in the preface of ‘The Indian Economy — A review’.

He, however, clarified that this is not the Economic Survey of India prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs and that it will come before the full budget after the general elections. Usually, the Economic Survey for the ongoing financial year is presented in Parliament a day before the presentation of the Budget for the next financial year on February 1.

Only the elevated risk of geopolitical conflicts is an area of concern, the review said. Noting that the global economy is struggling to maintain its recovery post-Covid because successive shocks have buffeted it, the review said some of these shocks, such as supply chain disruptions, have returned in 2024. “If they persist, they will impact trade flows, transportation costs, economic output and inflation worldwide,” it said.

Nageswaran listed three trends for the coming years — the end of the era of hyper-globalisation in global manufacturing, the advent of Artificial Intelligence, and the energy transition challenge. While flagging the three future trends — end of hyper globalisation in global manufacturing, energy transition challenge, and advent of Artificial Intelligence — the Finance Ministry has said the Indian economy is better placed to take on these challenges because of the policies adopted over the last decade.

• What is Hyperglobalization?

• How Hyper-globalisation is measured?

• What is the Economic Survey?

• Who prepares the Economic Survey?

• The comments or policy solutions contained in the Economic Survey are binding on the government-True or False?

• What were the Key Points of the Economic Survey 2022-23?

• What are the main takeaways of the Economic Survey in the areas of GDP growth, Inflation and Unemployment?

• How economic survey is different from Union Budget?

• Do You Know-The Survey provides a detailed report of the national economy for the year along with forecasts. It touches upon everything from agriculture to unemployment to infrastructure. It is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????How this was the year that bid au revoir to hyper globalisation

Govt brings non-urea fertilisers under price control, fixes profit margins

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- THE NARENDRA Modi government has brought di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP) and all other such fertilisers that receive nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) support under “reasonable pricing” controls.

• Why government has brought di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP) and other such fertilisers under “reasonable pricing” controls?

• What is nutrient-based subsidy (NBS)?

• How prices of NBS fertilisers determined?

• What is Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates?

• For Your Information-NBS fertilisers — unlike urea, whose maximum retail price (MRP) is fixed by the government — are technically decontrolled. Under the NBS scheme, introduced in April 2010, their MRPs are supposed to be market-determined and set by the individual companies selling them. The government merely pays a fixed per-tonne subsidy on each of these fertilisers, linked to their nutrient content or specific percentage of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) and sulphur (S). But the Department of Fertilisers (DoF) has now, in an office memorandum dated January 18, issued detailed guidelines for the evaluation of “reasonableness” of the MRPs for all non-urea fertilisers covered under NBS.

The guidelines, to be effective retrospectively from April 1, 2023, have prescribed maximum profit margins that will be allowed for fertiliser companies – 8% for importers, 10% for manufacturers and 12% for integrated manufacturers (those producing finished fertilisers as well as intermediates such as phosphoric acid and ammonia).

Companies earning “unreasonable profit”, i.e. over and above the stipulated percentages, in a particular financial year (April-March) will have to refund the same to the DoF by October 10 of the following fiscal. If they don’t return the money within the said time limit, “an interest @12% per annum on pro-rata basis would be charged on the refund amount from the next day of end of financial year (i.e. in case of FY 2023-24, the interest would be charged from April 1, 2024),” the memorandum has said. The unreasonable profits would also get adjusted against subsequent fertiliser subsidy payments by the government.

Simply put, the new guidelines impose indirect MRP controls on non-urea fertilisers by capping the profits that companies can earn from their sales. These will be based on their “total cost of sales”, which would cover cost of production/ import, administrative overheads, selling and distribution overheads, and net interest and financing charges. Deduction for dealer’s margin will be allowed to the extent of 2% of the MRP for DAP and MOP, and 4% for all other NBS fertilisers.

The guidelines have mandated fertiliser companies to “self-assess” unreasonable profits, based on the cost auditor’s report along with audited cost data approved by their board of directors. This report and data has to be furnished to the DoF by October 10 of the following fiscal year. The DoF will then scrutinise the “reasonability of MRPs”, as submitted by the companies, “by 28th February for each completed previous financial year (i.e. for FY 2023-24 by 28th February 2025)”. Following that, it will finalise a report on unreasonable profits earned, if any, to be recovered from the companies.

• Fertilizer Consumption in India-Know in detail

• What is Fertilizer?

• What is Urea?

• Why excessive use of urea and now di-ammonium phosphate or DAP?

• What harm can excessive use of urea and now di-ammonium phosphate, or DAP, do to a farmer?

• Do You Know-The ideal NPK use ratio for the country is 4:2:1, whereas it was 6.5:2.8:1 in 2020-21 and 7.7:3.1:1 in 2021-22. In the recent 2022 kharif season, the ratio got further distorted to 12.8:5.1:1.

• Primary (Macro) Nutrients and Secondary (Micro) Nutrients in Fertiliser-Know the difference

• Know more about Fertiliser Sector in India and Related Policies

• Fertilizer comes under Union List, State List or Concurrent List?

• know the basics of Fertiliser Subsidy

• Subsidy Mechanism in the form of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)-know more in detail

• What is the fertiliser requirement of a typical farmer?

• How much subsidy does a farmer really get per acre?

• What is Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP)?

• NPK in Fertilisers-Have you heard of ‘NPK’? What is NPK and Its Ideal Ratio in Fertilizers?

• What is Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) in fertilizer?

• Does urea comes under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS)?

• For Your Information- Under NBS, the government fixed a per-kg subsidy for each fertiliser nutrient: Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potash (K) and sulphur (S). This was as against the earlier product-specific subsidy regime. Linking subsidy to nutrient content was intended to promote balanced fertilisation by discouraging farmers from applying too much urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP). These are fertilisers with high content of a single nutrient: Urea (46% N), DAP (46% P plus 18% N) and MOP (60% K). NBS was expected to induce product innovation, besides more use of complex fertilisers (having lower concentrations of N, P, K and S in different proportions) and SSP (containing only 16% P but also 11% S).

However, the data reveals worsening of nutrient imbalance, with urea consumption rising by over a third since 2009-10. This has been largely courtesy of its maximum retail price (MRP) going up by a mere 16.5% – from Rs 4,830 to Rs 5,628 per tonne – post the introduction of NBS. The Narendra Modi government has, in the last one year, also brought back price controls on DAP, with companies not allowed to charge more than Rs 27,000 per tonne. It has led to the sales of both fertilisers soaring in 2022-23, at the expense of NPKS complexes and SSP.

• What is the way ahead?

• What is Nano Urea?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????UREA FIXATION

Previous year UPSC Prelims question covering same theme:

????Why does the Government of India promote the use of ‘Neem-coated Urea’ in agriculture? (GS1, 2016) A. Release of Neem oil in the soil increases nitrogen fixation by the soil microorganisms. B. Neem coating slows down the rate of distribution of urea in the soil C. Nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas, is not at all released into the atmosphere by crop fields. D. It is a combination of a weedicide and a fertilizer for particular crops.

THE CITY

Install rooftop solar panels and get zero electricity bills: CM announces new policy

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Installing rooftop solar panels may help you get ‘zero’ electricity bills, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday while announcing the Delhi Solar Policy 2024. Those who opt for the scheme will also earn around Rs 700-900 a month, he added.

• Delhi Solar Policy 2016-know its key highlights

• Delhi Solar Policy 2024 and Delhi Solar Policy 2016-Know the differences

• For Your Information-Under the policy, the government will pay Rs 3 per unit if the solar plant is up to 3 kilowatts and Rs 2 per unit for plants between 3 and 5 kilowatts for five years. One key difference between the 2016 solar policy scheme and the new one is the generation-based incentive (GBI). In the 2016 scheme, one had to produce at least 1,000 units to get paid.

“There is no conditionality of minimum generation to receive the incentive… The amount under GBI will be adjusted against the monthly electricity bill of the consumer. Any excess amount will be deposited into the consumer’s bank account by the discom every month. Earlier, this amount was transferred only twice a year,” Kejriwal said. Those who opt for the scheme will also be given a capital subsidy of Rs 2,000 per kW of installation up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per consumer. This will be in addition to the subsidy given by the Centre, which is around Rs 16,000-18,000 per kW.

With its new solar policy, the government is trying to rectify the challenges posed by its 2016 policy. User interest and power generation in the previous policy remained low, with consumers installing a capacity of only around 250 megawatts. According to officials, several reasons such as cost, target to receive incentives, quality, and maintenance had posed problems.

One of the biggest challenges in the older policy was that the subsidy was offered upfront and the benchmark of the generation-based incentive was too high, officials said. Further, in the previous policy, incentives were only given for generating at least 1,100 units per annum. “What has changed (in the new policy) is that the user has an incentive to make sure that the solar panel is producing electricity after installation. Earlier, people would install the panels but because the benchmark for production was around 100 units per month, maintenance was ignored. Now, with people being given incentive for even one unit, there is a reason for them to make sure the panels are clean and functioning,” a senior official said.

The second problem was the quality of solar panels. “In the previous policy, we saw several fly-by-night operations, where the panels worked only for 1-2 years. Lack of maintenance also meant the owner did not take much care. In this policy, we are first inducting only verified and technically qualified vendors. We are also working on a minimum generation guarantee,” the official added. Further, officials said the capital cost for installations is high. Another official said the government could look at an EMI option for installation.

• Delhi Solar Policy 2024-Why significant?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Delhi Solar Policy 2024: AAP claims its new initiative can bring your power bills to zero – Here’s the math

EXPLAINED

Quota row in UGC draft norms

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Union government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) were on Sunday seen issuing clarifications that faculty positions in universities reserved for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS candidates will not be opened to the general category. This was in response to a controversy surrounding new draft guidelines on the implementation of reservation in higher education, made public by the UGC last month for feedback.

• What are the UGC’s new draft guidelines on implementation of reservation?

• What prompted the higher education regulator to issue a statement that practically negates a whole chapter of the guidelines?

• Why did UGC issue the guidelines?

• Do You Know-The University Grants Commission already has guidelines for implementing reservations, issued in 2006. About a year ago, the higher education regulator assigned a four-member committee the task of working on a new draft that would incorporate all updated government instructions.

The committee was led by HS Rana, the Director of the Institute of Public Administration in Bangalore. Professor DK Verma, the Director and Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Dr BR Ambedkar University of Social Sciences in Madhya Pradesh; former government officer OP Shukla; and UGC Joint Secretary GS Chauhan were the other members.

“Since the 2006 guidelines, there have been changes, including new DoPT circulars based on court orders. It was observed that there was considerable confusion regarding the existing rules on implementing reservations. The objective was to develop a fresh set of guidelines that would clarify the latest government position,” said one of the committee members, on the condition of anonymity.

This exercise by the UGC was similar to what the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) undertakes from time to time to ensure that the government’s updated instructions are followed regarding the implementation of reservations. The draft guidelines formulated by the UGC committee were made public on December 27, with public feedback sought by January 28. The document lists all pertinent court cases and subsequent government orders that have tweaked or clarified the process of implementation reservation in higher education. It is organised into chapters covering the determination of quotas in faculty posts, the preparation of reservation rosters, de-reservation, verification of caste claims, and reservation in student admissions. It was the chapter on de-reservation that sparked controversy on Sunday, after it went viral on social media.

• What does the de-reservation chapter state?

• Why did this chapter cause an outcry?

• For You Information-In current academic practice, reserved faculty positions are not converted to recruit general candidates. Although the DoPT permits de reservation in exceptional circumstances exclusively for Group A posts under the central government, this provision has not been implemented in higher education institutions. According to a former UGC officer who did not wish to be identified, unfilled quota positions in universities are re-advertised and special recruitment drives are carried out till suitable candidates are identified.

In fact, even in replies to questions asked in Parliament, the Education Ministry’s official position is that “there is a ban on de reservation of reserved vacancies for SC, ST, and OBC in direct recruitment.” The draft UGC guidelines were basically seen to be paving the way for de reservation in faculty positions, and this caused the outcry.

• So why did the UGC committee include the de reservation provision in the draft guidelines?

• What was the government’s reaction?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Govt clarifies de-reservation policy after uproar over UGC draft guidelines

Why some nations have paused UNRWA funding

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

• General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- UN officials on Sunday (January 28) urged countries to reconsider their decision to suspend the funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), assuring that it would take strict action against any staff member found to be involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

• What is UNRWA?

• For Your Information-UNRWA stands for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East. It was founded in 1949 to provide aid to about 700,000 Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The UN agency operates in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan — countries where the refugees took shelter after their expulsion. According to UNRWA’s website, it runs education, health, relief and social services, microfinance and emergency assistance programmes inside and outside refugee camps based in the aforementioned areas.

Currently, around 5.9 million Palestine refugees — most of them are descendants of original refugees — access the agency’s services. The Associated Press reported that in Gaza, where some 85% of the enclave’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes after the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, over 1 million are sheltering in UNRWA schools and other facilities. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions by donor states like the US. It also gets a limited subsidy from the UN, which is used only for administrative costs, the agency’s website said.

• What has Israel accused UNRWA of?

• How has UNRWA responded?

• What happens now?

• How does the United Nations see Hamas?

• “Displacement has been a major theme of Palestinian history”-Analyse

• What is United Nations Relief and Works Agency?

• How United Nations Relief and Works Agency helping Palestinian refugees?

• What is the international law of Refugees?

• What is the 1951 international refugee law?

• Is Palestine subject to international law of Refugees?

• For Your Information-About 3.1 million Palestine refugees depend on health services provided by the UNRWA. At the same time, the agency’s schools educate 526,000 students every year, of which half are female. The agency was created in December 1949 by the UN to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. The UNRWA definition of “refugee” covers Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 War.

• What is the extent of India’s assistance to Palestine refugees?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????US pauses funding to UN agency for Palestinians after claims staffers were involved in Hamas attack

What is IRI, that ‘killed US soldiers in Jordan’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Three US military servicemen were killed in a drone attack on their outpost in Jordan on Sunday night (January 28), marking the first time that US soldiers have died in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

• Why were US troops stationed in Jordan?

• Map Work-Jordan

• What is the Islamic Resistance of Iraq?

• Do You Know-According to a recent report in the Financial Times, “In Iraq and Syria, US forces have come under repeated assault by a newly created group of Iran-backed militias known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq.” Another FT report said the group is part of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ – the multiple groups that Iran backs as part of its anti-Western and anti-USA stance. “Analysts believe the “Islamic Resistance of Iraq” is a front for Iranian-backed factions within an umbrella of militias known as Hashd al-Shaabi. These have become powerful military and political forces, boast tens of thousands of fighters and are also integrated into the state.”

The think tank Washington Institute noted in an October 2023 analysis that the IRI refers to “An umbrella term used to describe the operations of all Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including strikes into Syria during the October 2023 conflict between Israel and Hamas.” On October 17, the group said it carried out a drone attack on Harir Air Base in Iraqi Kurdistan. There was a possibility of its link to a Shiite group, the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba.

Earlier on October 7, the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas launched attacks on Israel. The Israeli military responded with a military offensive on the Gaza Strip that continues today and has resulted in the deaths of around 25,000 people and counting. Iran-backed rebel groups in the region, such as the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Houthis, have launched counter-attacks in response in solidarity with Palestine.

An AP report said that since October 7, “such militias have struck American military installations in Iraq more than 60 times and in Syria more than 90 times, with a mix of drones, rockets, mortars and ballistic missiles.” At least since November, the movement of ships via the Red Sea has been targeted by the Houthis. Citing threats to global commerce, the US and the UK launched strikes on Houthis in Yemen earlier this month. The AP also reported that IRI has previously claimed responsibility for launching explosive drone attacks targeting three areas in Syria, one inside of “occupied Palestine,” and for dozens of attacks at “bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria”.

• What are the concerns here?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Three US service members killed, 34 wounded in Jordan drone attack linked to Iran

How to grow seafood outside the sea — and why a Govt lab in Kochi has taken up this project

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Kochi-headquartered ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has entered into a collaborative research agreement with a private-sector start-up offering cultivated meat technology solutions to grow fish meat in the laboratory. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the institute, which works under the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, with New Delhi-based Neat Meatt Biotech is the first initiative of its kind in the country.

• What is lab-grown fish?

• What roles are CMFRI and Neat Meatt playing in this collaboration?

• What is the need to grow fish meat in the lab?

• Which countries are growing fish meat in the lab?

• What other kinds of meat are being produced in labs?

• For Your Information-Lab-grown fish is merely a type of lab-grown — or cultivated/ cultured — meat. Seafood without the sea is ‘grown’ in the same way as other cultivated meats are grown — without the need to raise and kill an animal. Cultivated fish meat is produced by isolating specific cells from fish and growing them in a laboratory setting using media that is free of animal components. The final product is expected to replicate the flavour, texture, and nutritional qualities of ‘real’ fish meat.

Experiments are ongoing in many countries on developing commercially viable lab grown fish meat, which is expected to address the ever growing demand for seafood, and reduce excessive pressure on wild resources. Overfishing — the removal of fish faster than the resource can replenish itself — has resulted in dramatic reductions in populations of certain species, which has impacted entire marine ecosystems in many areas.

In theory, lab grown fish meat has significant potential for ensuring food security and environmental benefits. Besides taking some load off traditional fishing, lab grown fish meat will be antibiotics- and environmental contamination-free, and will have no contact with microplastics or heavy metals in the polluted oceans.

Large-scale commercial manufacture of lab-grown fish meat is probably still some years away, but a number of countries have made great strides in this pioneering technology. Israel is the frontrunner, followed by Singapore, the United States and China. Earlier this month, Israel-based Forsea Foods successfully produced lab-grown freshwater eel meat, and hopes to be able to make this meat available in markets in the next couple of years. Last year, Israel’s Steakholder Foods said that in association with Singapore-based Umami Meats, it had 3D printed the first ever ready-to-cook fish fillet using animal cells grown in a laboratory. “This project aims to accelerate development in this field, ensuring India is not left behind in this emerging industry”, Dr Gopalakrishnan said of the CMFRI-Neat Meatt public private partnership.

“It marks a crucial step in bridging the gap between India and other nations like Singapore, Israel, and the USA, who are already advancing cultured seafood research… This collaboration leverages CMFRI’s marine research expertise with Neat Meatt’s technological know-how in this field, paving the way for a sustainable and secure future for seafood production in India,” he said. Dr Sharma of Neat Meatt expressed confidence that the proof of concept of the project could be established within a couple of months.

The Dutch pharmacologist Mark Post was the first to present a proof of concept for cultured meat in 2013. Several dozens of companies around the world are now reported to be working on developing lab-grown meat from cells, including chicken, pork, lamb, fish and beef.

According to the Good Food Institute, a global nonprofit think tank that also has an India chapter, the industry has “grown to more than 150 companies on 6 continents as of late 2022, backed by $2.6 billion in investments… (and) dozens more companies have formed to create technology solutions along the value chain”. In June 2023, the US Department of Agriculture cleared the sale of lab grown chicken meat in the country. Two California-based companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, were granted permission to supply lab-grown chicken meat to restaurants and supermarkets.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Lab-grown fish fingers anyone? Get ready for cell-cultured seafood

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