Daily Prelims Notes 10 June 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

10 June 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Calcutta HC seeks SEC response to Opposition concerns on rural polls
2. Over-heating of Economy
3. EU’s Trade Policy Review (TPR)
4. Government considering fewer GDP estimates to avoid confusing markets
5. Govt identifies 1.24 lakh unrepresented panchayats to set up M-PACS
6. RBI surveys show rise in confidence, easing of inflation perception among consumers
7. Competition panel to adjudicate cases of anti­profiteering
8. UNESCO to develop an ethical framework on neurotech devices
9. Philippines: Thousands evacuated around Mayon Volcano
10. Arikkomban should be trained to become a kumki
11. Study finds how community-based conservation efforts influence mammal populations in Meghalaya

1. Calcutta HC seeks SEC response to Opposition concerns on rural polls

Subject: Polity

Context: Opposition parties in the state file writ petitions opposing limited window for filing of nominations and demanding deployment of Central forces

Concept:

State Election Commission:

• The Constitution of India vests in the State Election Commission, consisting of a State Election Commissioner, the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of all elections to the Panchayats and the Municipalities (Articles 243K, 243ZA).
• The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor.
• As per article 243(C3) the Governor, when so requested by the State Election Commission, make available to the State Election Commission such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions conferred on the SEC.

Do ECI and SECs have similar powers?

• The provisions of Article 243K of the Constitution, which provides for setting up of SECs, are almost identical to those of Article 324 related to the EC. In other words, the SECs enjoy the same status as the EC.
• In Kishan Singh Tomar vs Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad case, the Supreme Court directed that state governments should abide by orders of the SECs during the conduct of the panchayat and municipal elections, just like they follow the instructions of the EC during Assembly and Parliament polls.

Judicial Intervention

• Courts cannot interfere in the conduct of polls to local bodies and self-government institutions once the electoral process has been set in motion.
• Article 243-O of the Constitution bars interference in poll matters set in motion by the SECs; Article 329 bars interference in such matters set in motion by the EC.
• Only after the polls are over can the SECs’ decisions or conduct be questioned through an election petition.
• These powers enjoyed by the SECs are the same as those by the EC.

2. Over-heating of Economy

Subject: Economy

Section: National INCOME 

Context: India can grow for a prolonged period without running into overheating problems says CEA

An overheated economy is when the economy grows too fast. An overheated economy reaches the limits of how much output it can produce to meet the demand while using all the resources available.

Characteristic of overheating:

• The economy is producing beyond its potential output or beyond full employment.
  • Potential output is the output an economy can sustainably produce given the available amount of resources such as workers, technology, and equipment.
  • The optimum employment level is called the natural rate of unemployment (NRU). Any lower unemployment cannot be achieved without.
• High inflation is a main sign that an economy is beginning to overheat.
• It is generally caused by an increase in demand for goods due to low interest rates.
• It can be addressed by raising interest rate.

Why Indian economy should not overheat:

• Sound macroeconomic policies of the government, structural reforms such as GST, IBC etc, thrust on infrastructure and digitalisation has ensured that the Indian economy can grow for a longer period.
• Fiscal prudence for fostering macroeconomic stability, better credit rating translates into lower cost of borrowing by the government, thus contributing to a fiscal stimulus for the economy.

3. EU’s Trade Policy Review (TPR)

Subject: Economy

Section: External Sector  

What is Trade Policy Review:

TPRs are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Some points:

• Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored.
• The frequency of each country’s review varying according to its share of world trade.
• For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat.
• The EU’s 15th TPR was carried out by the WTO on June 5 and June 7 2023 and covered a three-year period following its previous review in January 2020.

Two issues that India wants addressed:

• Concern that environmental measures such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)  will have negative implications for existing trade volumes and future trade potential
• EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EU-DR), wherein exporters to the EU must ensure that the identified products have been grown on the land which has not been deforested after December 31, 2020, may also affect exports of a number of items from India such as meat, leather hide, wood furniture, paper and coffee, according to experts.

4. Government considering fewer GDP estimates to avoid confusing markets

Subject: Economy

Section: National Income

Key Points:

• Government is weighing a proposal to cut official annual gross domestic product estimates to four releases from six to avoid multiple revisions
• Multiple estimates make them confusing for market participants.
• Impact of the change:
  • The time for finalizing national income estimates should reduce to two years from nearly three years at present.
  • Will allow the Statistics Ministry to incorporate more data in its estimates, enabling better policymaking, particularity for budget on February 1 and avoiding major deviations in revisions

GDP: The GDP measures the monetary value of all “final” goods and services—that is, those that are bought by the final user—produced in a country in a given period of time (say a quarter or a year).

Sub-components of GDP:

Knowledge about them helps us understand how sustainable India’s economic recovery is. Broadly speaking, GDP has four engines of growth in any economy. 

• Private Final Consumption Expenditure- PFCE.: Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) or the money spent by people on goods and services for personal consumption; this is the biggest contributor of GDP, accounting for almost 55%-60%
• Gross Fixed Capital Formation or GFCF: Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) or the money spent by governments towards its daily needs; this accounts for 10% of GDP.
• Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE): Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) or the money spent by private firms and governments towards building productive capacities (investments);this is accounts for 30%-32% of GDP
• Net Exports- (Export-Import) i.e. NX Net of exports and imports; this is typically negative impulse to GDP because imports are more than exports, implying money going out of the country

India’s context: – share of components in total GDP:

Private Final Consumption Expenditure (56%)>Gross Fixed Capital Formation (32%) > Government Final Consumption Expenditure (11%)>Net export. NX is the smallest engine of GDP growth and is often negative.

Alternatives-

Often, overall GDP does not tell us the full picture. To get a better understanding of how an average Indian is affected the GDP datasheet also looks at per capita income (or p.c. GDP) and per capita expenditure or per capita PFCE.

• Per capita income is a measure of the amount of money earned per person in a nation or geographic region. Per capita income can be used to determine the average per-person income for an area and to evaluate the standard of living and quality of life of the population. Per capita income for a nation is calculated by dividing the country’s national income by its population.
• Per capita expenditures refers to the market value( price at which they are sold in the market) of all goods purchased by households divided by population of the country. Durable goods like tv, computer, washing machine, AC. Purchase of properties or capital goods is not included but rent paid for rented houses is included and money paid for services is also included.

GDP and GVA:

For any financial year, the two main variables of national income are GDP and GVA (or Gross Value Added):

The GDP calculates India’s national income by adding up all the expenditures in the economy while,

The GVA calculates the national income from the supply side by looking at the value-added in each sector of the economy. GVA sub-components:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Mining and quarrying
• Manufacturing
• Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services
• Construction
• Trade, hotel, transport, communication and services related to Broadcasting
• Financial, real estate and professional services
• Public administration, defence and other services.

While both the variables measure national income, they are linked as follows:

GDP = (GVA) + (Taxes earned by the government) — (Subsidies provided by the government).

• As such, if the government earned more from taxes than what it spent on subsidies, GDP will be higher than GVA.
• If, on the other hand, the government provided subsidies in excess of its tax revenues, the absolute level of GVA would be higher than the absolute level of GDP.

5. Govt identifies 1.24 lakh unrepresented panchayats to set up M-PACS

Subject :Economy

Section: Agriculture

Context:

• Of over 1 lakh such entities across the country are not functioning as fertilizer retailers, the Centre has decided to identify them and encourage them to retail the crop nutrients on the basis of their feasibilities.
• On the basis of mapping, those PACS which are not functioning as fertilizer retailers will be identified and also will be encouraged to function as retailers on the basis of feasibility in a phased manner, it said. Besides, PACS will be brought under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendras (PMKSK), it said.

PMKSK

• Launching the PM-Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) in October 2022, the Prime Minister had inaugurated 600 such outlets, which act as one-stop shops to provide inputs and services to farmers. He had announced that about 3.25 lakh fertilizer retail shops will be converted into PMKSKs across the country.
• The Co-operation Ministry also announced that PACS have been enabled to rent out drones for spraying fertilizers and pesticides as well as for property surveys.
• Further, the ministry said in the supply and marketing chain of bio and organic fertilizers, PACS will also be included as wholesalers/retailers by the companies.
• PACS will be connected with the marketing of organic fertilizers, especially Fermented Organic Manure (FoM)/Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM)/Phosphate Enriched Organic Manure (PROM).

What are Primary Agricultural Credit Societies?

• PACS are the ground-level cooperative credit institutions that provide short-term and medium-term agricultural loans to the farmers for the various agricultural and farming activities.
• It works at the grassroots gram Panchayat and village level.

Features

• The Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are the association of persons, unlike in the case of the Joint Stock Companies, where there is just accumulation of capital.
• Primary Agricultural Credit Societies confers equal rights to all its members without considering their holding of share and their social standing.
• Since these are cooperative bodies, individual farmers are members of the PACS, and office-bearers are elected from within them.
• The membership fee is low enough that even the poorest agriculturist can join.
• A village can have multiple PACS.

PACS are generally providing the following facilities to the members:

• Input facilities in form of cash or kind component to members
• Agriculture implements on hiring basis
• Storage facility.

6. RBI surveys show rise in confidence, easing of inflation perception among consumers

Subject : Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

Details:

• The latest round of consumer surveys conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for May has shown an improvement in consumer confidence and easing of inflation expectations.
• The ‘current situation index’ (CSI) improved by 1.5 points from the previous survey round to 88.5 on the back of improved assessment for all the survey parameters, barring essential spending.
• The ‘future expectations index’(FEI)also improved marginally—by 0.80 points to 116.3 in the latest survey round
• Headline CPI inflation has come down to 4.7 per cent in April, the lowest reading since November 2021. Monetary policy tightening and supply side measures contributed to this process. The easing of inflation was observed across food, fuel andcore (CPI excluding food and fuel) categories. Food inflation fell to 4.2percent in April, while core inflation moderated to 5.1 per cent.
• On inflation, the RBI survey said households’ median inflation perception for the current period eased by 10 basis points (bps)to8.8percent. Inflation expectations for both three-month and one-year-ahead periods moderated by 10 bps each from theMarch2023level to 10.1 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively.
• Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS): o The CCS asks people across 19 cities about their current perceptions and one-year ahead expectations on the general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own income and spending.
• o Based on the responses, the RBI comes up with two indices: the Current Situation Index (CSI) and the Future Expectations Index (FEI).
• An index below the 100 mark implies people are pessimistic and a value higher than 100 conveys optimism. ▪ The CSI has been recovering since falling to a historic low in July 2021. However, consumer confidence still remains in the negative territory.
• The FEI is in the positive territory but stays below the pre-pandemic levels.
• Inflation Expectations Survey (IES) o It tracks people’s expectations of inflation. ▪ It shows that the households’ inflation perception for the current period has moderated along with their three months and one-year ahead median inflation expectations.

7. Competition panel to adjudicate cases of anti­profiteering

Subject: Polity

Section: National Body

Context: After over six months of handing over the erstwhile National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) mandate to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the fair trade regulator is set to resume adjudication of anti-profiteering cases

Concept : 

• NAA is the anti-profiteering watchdog of GST. Its term ends in November, and no extension has been planned, per the report.
• NAA came into existence in 2017 and has received two extensions since then.
• NAA is a statutory body comes under the Finance Ministry and was established under Section 171 of CGST Act.
• It started working with effect from December 1, 2017.
• It was intended as a transitional arrangement with a specific time limit in view of the sudden changes in tax levels due to the introduction of GST, which was followed by periodic rationalisation.
• The law empowers NAA to determine whether reduction in rate of input tax credit (ITC) has been passed on to the consumers or not, by lowering prices. If not, then the Authority may ask for reduction of prices, levy penalty and in extreme cases can even order cancellation of registration.
• NAA consists of a chairman and four technical members. The authority needs a quorum of Chairman and three technical members.
• The orders of the NAA can be appealed against only in the high court.

Implementation:

• NAA’s investigation arm will continue to function in some form under CCI. The move will reduce the multiplicity of regulators as CCI can handle cases independently.
• The implementation of anti-profiteering provisions in GST law has faced several challenges.
• NAA’s role is to make sure that the benefit of tax rate reduction reaches the consumer
• This has been the role of NAA primarily because the GST council has been rejigging the rates in the last five years. NAA has little to do when rates go up.
• Authorities are still receiving several complaints about the early years of GST, saying that the benefit of the input tax credit has not been fully passed on to consumers.
• Sectors like eateries, cinemas, real estate, fast-moving consumer goods, etc., have faced NAA’s scrutiny the most.
• In many cases, the regulator ordered the business to return the allegedly overcharged amounts to the consumer.

8. UNESCO to develop an ethical framework on neurotech devices

Subject :Science and Technology

Section:  Biotechnology

Context:

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is all set to host an international conference to develop an ethical framework for the usage of neurotech devices that feed brain-wave data to computers through dry electrodes and implants.

Details:

• The first-of-its-kind conference hosted by the UN body will be held on July 13, 2023, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
• The dialogue will invite senior officials, policymakers, academics, civil society organisations and the private sector to address concerns regarding individual freedom of thought and privacy.
• UNESCO strives to develop a framework similar to the established global ethical frameworks on the human genome (1997), human genetic data (2003) and artificial intelligence (2021).
• Aim of the conference:
  • To lay the foundation for a global ethical framework.
  • It will be guided by a report by UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee on the “Ethical Issues of Neurotechnology”.
• Objective of the conference:
  • To discuss solutions to neurological problems with the help of neurotechnology while simultaneously assessing the threats it poses to human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Neurotechnology:

• Neurotechnology encompasses any method or electronic device which interfaces with the nervous system to monitor or modulate neural activity.
• Common design goals for neuro technologies include using neural activity readings to control external devices such as neuro prosthetics, altering neural activity via neuromodulation to repair or normalize function affected by neurological disorders, or augmenting cognitive abilities.
• In addition to their therapeutic or commercial uses, neuro technologies also constitute powerful research tools to advance fundamental neuroscience knowledge.
• Some examples of neuro technologies include deep brain stimulation, photo stimulation based on optogenetics and photo pharmacology, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and brain–computer interfaces, such as cochlear implants and retinal implants.
• Major issues associated with neurotechnology:
  • Neurotechnology could help solve many health issues, but it could also access and manipulate people’s brains, and produce information about our identities, and our emotions.
  • It could threaten our rights to human dignity, freedom of thought and privacy,
• Deep brain stimulation (DBS):
  • Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is approved to treat a number of conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  • DBS is also being studied as a potential treatment for major depression, traumatic brain injury, stroke recovery, addiction, chronic pain, cluster headache, dementia, Tourette syndrome, Huntington’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
• Possible side effects of DBS
  • Complications of DBS fall into three categories: Surgery complications, hardware (device and wires) complications and stimulation-related complications.

9. Philippines: Thousands evacuated around Mayon Volcano

Context:

• Volcanic earthquakes and hundreds of rockfall events were detected near the Mayon Volcano, Philippines.

Details:

• The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that the volcano was “in a relatively high level of unrest” and that a “hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days.”
• Mount Mayon, Pinatubo, Taal, Hibok-Hibok, Bulusan, and Kanlaon are some of the active volcanoes in the Philippines.

Mount Mayon:

• Mount Mayon is an active stratovolcano situated in the eastern province of Albay, some 330 kilometres south of the Filipino capital of Manila.
• The Mayon Volcano stands at a height of 2,462-metre (8,077-foot) and is of conical form.
• It is considered to be the Philippine’s most active volcano– last erupting in January 2018. There have also been no less than 50 eruptions in the last 500 years.
• The Philippines is part of the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean, where volcanic activity and earthquakes remain common.
• In 1991, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, around 100 kilometres northwest of Manila, left more than 800 people dead.

10. Arikkomban should be trained to become a kumki

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• Arikkomban, originally called Arisikomban (the elephant that prefers rice), also known as Kallakomban (the elephant that steals food), has been in the news for creating panic in Kerala’s Idukki district.

Kumki:

• Kumki or Koomkie (also known as Thāppāna in Malayalam) is a term used in India for trained captive Asian elephants used in operations to trap wild elephants, sometimes to rescue or to provide medical treatment to an injured or trapped wild elephant.
• Kumkis are used for capturing, calming and herding wild elephants or to lead wild elephants away in conflict situations.
• In such cases the training process aims at preserving some of the wild dominant character in them, so that they can control wild elephants by force if necessary.
• When wild elephants enter human settlements and kumkis are used to drive them away, sometimes direct physical contact might not be needed since the territorial behaviour is aided by scent and other communication between animals.

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the southern state of Kerala in India is spread over the southeast corner of the Western Ghats, and covers a total area of 128 km2 (49 sq mi).
• It is part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.
• Geography:
  • This is the drainage basin for the Neyyar River and its tributaries – Mullayar and Kallar.
  • The towering peak of Agasthyamalai at an elevation of 1868 meters is a very prominent landmark.
• Climate:
  • The average rainfall from the Southwest monsoon between May and July and the Northeast monsoon between October and November is about 2800 mm.
• Flora and fauna:
  • Fauna includes tiger, leopard, sloth bear, elephant, sambar, barking deer, bonnet macaque, Nilgiri langur and Nilgiri tahr.
• Neyyar Elephant Rehabilitation Centre complex within the area cares for several elephants, from elephant calves to an 87-year-old elephant, and offers elephant rides and elephant feeding.
• There is also a deer rehabilitation centre.

11. Study finds how community-based conservation efforts influence mammal populations in Meghalaya

Subject :Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

• Community Reserves (CRs), or protected areas managed by indigenous communities, are a useful instrument to balance conservation priorities and livelihood requirements of the communities, finds a study, which examines the importance of CRs for the conservation of mammal species in Meghalaya.

Details:

• There are currently around 205 such community reserves in northeast India and despite being smaller in size, compared to protected areas, they offer a refuge for many species in the landscape.
• The study notes that in India, over a third of the indigenous communities reside in the northeast.
  • These communities have traditionally been hunting meat for subsistence. However, in recent years, their hunting practices have intensified to keep up with the demands of the wildlife trade.

Findings from the studies:

• The study looked at five CRs in the Ri Bhoi district of Megahalaya, namely Jirang CR (JCR), Nongsangu CR (NCR), Lum Jusong CR (LJCR), Pdah Kyndeng CR (PKCR) and Raid Nongbri CR (RNCR).
• Camera traps, reconnaissance surveys, and semi-structured questionnaire surveys were used to examine the diversity and abundance of mammals.
• According to the paper, although hunting has decreased over time in this area, a lack of education and awareness about wildlife laws in the country may be contributing the idea that hunting in community forests is not illegal.
• Habitat loss was attributed to practices such as illegal logging and shifting cultivation, along with forest fires.
• These changes to the natural landscape have affected the abundance of mammal species in the area.
• The populations of barking deer, sambar, and Chinese pangolin has been decreased while that of macaques, wild boar, elephant, and leopard cat are relatively stable.

Conservation and community reserve:

• In India, protected lands that act as buffer zones, connectors, and migration corridors between established national parks, animal sanctuaries, and reserved and protected forests are considered conservation and community reserves.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2003, which updated the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, created these types of protected zones for the first time.

Conservation reserves:

• For the preservation of the land, sea, and habitat of fauna and plants, it is a state-owned region close to National Parks and sanctuaries.
• A Conservation Reserve Management Committee is in charge of managing it.
• Any property controlled by the government may be designated as a conservation reserve by the state government after discussing it with nearby communities.
• The first conservation reserve in the nation is located near Tiruppadaimarathur, Tamil Nadu.
• The village’s residents took steps to create a conservation reserve in order to protect the birds that nest there.
• Residents of conservation reserves are not subject to any restrictions on their privileges.
• India currently has 100 conservation reserves, which together encompass 4927.28 km2, or 0.15 per cent, of its total land area.

Community Reserves

• Any community or private land may be designated by the State Government as a Community Reserve provided the inhabitants of that community or the person concerned consent to provide such areas for the preservation of the local flora and fauna as well as their customs, cultures, and practises.
• The creation of such a place attempts to preserve biodiversity while simultaneously enhancing the socioeconomic circumstances of the local population.
• The Reserve is managed by a community reserve management committee.
• The State Government may designate the area as community land by notification if a community or a single person has offered to volunteer to conserve wildlife and its habitat.
• Within the Community Reserve, no changes to the way land are used are permitted unless they are authorised by a resolution that has been approved by both the State Government and the Management Committee.
• In India, there are 219 active community reserves, totalling 1446.28 km2, or 0.043 per cent of the nation’s landmass.