Comprehensive Current affairs 5 October 2020

 All weather tunnel road at Rohtang inaugurated.

P M Modi today inaugurated the strategically important all-weather Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh.

Atal Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in the world was built by the Border Roads Organisation. The tunnel reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by four to five hours. The 9.02-km tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year, the valley was earlier cut off for about six months every year due to heavy snowfall.

The AtalBihari Vajpayee government had taken the decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass on June 3, 2000, and the foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

In December 2019, the Government decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel in honour of the former Prime Minister and scholar AtalBihari Vajpayee who had passed away the previous year.

 Social Stock Exchange

The Securities and Exchange Board’s (SEBI) working group has submitted its report with recommendations regarding the structure, mechanisms, and regulatory framework for the proposed Social Stock Exchange (SSE).

Issues with the idea of Social Stock Exchange:

• SSE Exists in one form or another in UK, Singapore, South Africa, Canada and Brazil, but it is yet to take off in Any Country.

• It has been an instrument focussed on social enterprises with rather poor results.

• The proposed SSE in our country could have been an interesting innovation if it was first.

• Replicating an Experiment from elsewhere in an extremely complex environment of endemic poverty, high inequality and regional variation does not seem a reasoned decision.

• It is therefore Important to Analyse why it has been Pushed as a Key Policy.

Why Civil Society is Sceptical:

• The 2020-21 Union Budget says that not-for-profit organisations will need to apply every five years for income tax registration to ascertain their charitable status.

• They will also need to renew their 80(G) certificate that provides tax relief to their donors.

• The not-for-profit sector would not be able to survive without the tax-exempt charitable status.

• These restrictions will open the gates to corruption and bullying by the tax and government bureaucracy.

• The SEBI working group was constituted of business leaders, government and SEBI officials with a token representative from Civil Society.

• Composition of the committee reflects the real intent of the SSE, which is to create instruments for market to enter the social sector.

 • However, the way the exchange is envisioned makes it clear that the interests of the private sector are guiding the idea of SSE.

Will the Entry of Private Sector Benefit Social Sector:

• The Proponents of the SSE argue that it would help set standards and a performance matrix for the Social Sector.

• SSE is also expected to help bench-marking of sector actors (credibility checks), organise information and data, help in Impact Assessments, and do Capacity Building for the Sector.

Solving Complex Social Problems:

• Poverty or Injustice are Essentially Systemic and political questions that need multi-pronged dynamic Engagement.

• Developing set Standards of impact Assessment and Performance matrix has the risk of privileging only one approach to the Developmental Challenges at hand.

• The SSE would create more Intermediaries and benefit Larger Organisations.

• More than 99 per cent of the three million NGOs in the Country are in the small category and will be Untouched by the SSE.

India's Tribal affairs ministry launches Tribes e- marketplace.

Indian Minister of Tribal Affairs launched India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace- Tribes India E-Marketplace. Keeping in line with the vision of the Prime Minister of making India Aatmanirbhar and self-reliant, this initiative of TRIFED will showcase the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from across the country.

•It will help them market their products directly. On this occasion, Mr Munda also flagged off several other TRIFED initiatives that are aimed to support the tribal brethren.

•These include the inauguration of Tribes India’s 123rd and 124th outlets in Rishikesh and Kolkata, inclusion of new tribal product ranges from the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and partnership of TRIFED and Tribes India with Amazon in their Seller Flex programme. The Minister also launched Pakur Honey which is 100 per cent natural honey, gathered by SanthalTribals from Pakur in Jharkhand.

•TRIFED aims to onboard 5 lakh tribal producers for sourcing of various handicraft, handloom,natural food products across the country.

India aims achieving nuclear disarmament gradually.

Foreign Secretary of India has said that India reiterates its long-standing and unwavering commitment to universal, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament leading to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

Secretary said this while addressing the high-Level Plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

He said, India believes that nuclear disarmament can be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework. India remains convinced of the need for meaningful dialogue among all States possessing nuclear weapons, for building trust and confidence.

The Foreign Secretary said, India espouses the policy of No First Use against nuclear weapon states and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states. India is a key partner in global efforts towards disarmament and strengthening the non-proliferation order.

Armenia agrees for mediation with Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani forces on Friday struck Stepanakert, the main city in Azerbaijan’s breakaway NagornyKarabakh region, wounding “many” people, an Armenian official said as fighting raged for a sixth day.

•The two neighbours have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the region and new fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades.

 •In a joint appeal, Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving the longstanding dispute.

•Mr. Macron has warned NATO member Turkey — which backs Azerbaijan — against the alleged deployment of militants from Syria to the Karabakhconflict.The separatist government in Stepanakert said Azerbaijani forces destroyed a bridge linking Armenia to Karabakh.

NCLAT issues guidelines on resolution plan.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has said that once a resolution plan for a debt-ridden company is approved by the lenders, the successful bidder cannot be permitted to withdraw its offer.

•A three-member NCLAT bench said the sanctity of the resolution process has to be maintained and such withdrawal by a successful bidder ‘frustrates’ the entire exercise of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

•Moreover, there is also no express provision in the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code to allow any successful resolution applicant to ‘stage a U-turn’, it added.

•“Provision for submission of a Performance Bank Guarantee by a resolution applicant while submitting its resolution plan, as required under the amended provisions of IBBI [Insolvency Resolution Process of Corporate Persons] Regulations, 2016 is a step in this direction, but may not be deterrent enough to prevent a Successful Resolution Applicant from taking a U-turn,” the NCLAT said.

Campaign to supply piped water to schools.

India's Jal Shakti Ministery launched 100-days campaign to provide potable piped water supply in Schools and Anganwadi Centres.

This mission was envisaged by the Prime Minister NarendraModi on 29th of last month, while releasing the ‘Margdarshika’ for Gram Panchayats and PaaniSamitis for implementation of

JalJeevan Mission. Prime Minister had appealed to the States to make best use of this campaign to ensure provision of potable piped water supply in these public institutions.

Under the JalJeevan Mission States and Union Territories are to ensure that during the campaign, Gram Sabhas are convened at the earliest to pass a resolution for providing safe water in all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions in the village in the next 100 days. These facilities will be operated and maintained by the Gram Panchayat and its sub-committee.

The Ministry said, this is a befitting tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. JalJeevan Mission aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. Under the mission, special focus is on women and children.

India-Bangladesh naval exercise gets underway at bay of Bengal

The 2nd edition of Indian and Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar is scheduled to commence in Northern Bay of Bengal today.

Exercise is aimed at developing interoperability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations. The Ministry of Defence in a statement said, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations.

This exercise will be followed by the 3rd edition of Indian and Bangladesh Navy Coordinated Patrol in Northern Bay of Bengal from 4th to 5th October , wherein both the units will undertake joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line.

This edition of Exercise Bongosagar assumes greater significance since it is being conducted during MujibBarsho, the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman.

Sports ministry flags off CRPF DivyangYodha Cycle rally.

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister KirenRijiju today flagged in CRPF DivyangYodha Cycle rally that began its journey from Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat and culminated at Rajpath today on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

 •The cycle rally covered about one thousand kilometre to reach Delhi in the last 16 days. The rally team consisted of six women of CRPF Mahila Battalions.

PUSA Decomposers

The scientists have recently developed a bio-decomposer technique called ‘PUSA Decomposers’ for converting crop stubble into Compost.

Highlights:

• Delhi and many other North Indian States are covered with smoke during winters due to stubble

burning in the neighbouring States by the farmers.

• The decomposers are in the form of capsules made by extracting fungi strains that help the paddy straw to decompose at a much faster rate than usual.

• The fungi helps to produce the essential enzymes for the degradation process.

• Decomposer Mixture involves making a liquid formulation using decomposer capsules and fermenting it over 8-10 days and then spraying the mixture on fields with crop stubble to ensure speedy bio-decomposition of the Stubble.

• The farmers can prepare 25 litre of liquid mixture with 4 capsules, jaggery and chickpea flour. The mixture is sufficient to cover 1 hectare of land.

• It takes around 20 days for the degradation process to be completed.

• Under usual circumstances, shredded and watered paddy straw, which is mixed with soil, takes at least 45 days to decompose.

• It does not give enough time for farmers to prepare fields for the wheat crop on time.

Significance:

• It improves the Fertility and productivity of the soil as the stubble works as manure and compost for the crops and lesser fertiliser consumption is required in the future.

 • The soil loses its Richness due to Stubble burning and it also destroys the useful bacteria and fungi in the soil, apart from causing harm to the environment.

• It is an efficient and effective, cheaper, doable and practical technique to stop stubble burning.

• It is an eco-friendly and Environmentally useful Technology and will contribute to achieve Swachh Bharat Mission.

How Remunerative is Farming in India.

The government’s push to reform India’s agriculture sector has divided opinions and Triggered a debate about the state of Indian Agriculture.

Highlights:

• In the context of this debate, two long-standing characteristics of Indian agriculture are Noteworthy:

Indian Agriculture is Highly Unremunerative:

• It has been heavily Regulated by the Government and Protected from the free play of Market Forces

Why are the New Legislation Introduced?

• According to the government, the new Bills passed by Parliament attempt to make it easier for farmers to sell to and produce for the private sector.

• The hope is that liberalizing the sector and allowing greater play for market forces will make Indian agriculture more efficient and more remunerative for the farmers.

• In this context, it is important to understand some of the basics of Indian agriculture.

Basics of Indian Agriculture:

1.      Workforce Engaged:

 ✓ At the time of Independence, about 70% of India’s workforce (a little less than 100 million) was employed in the agriculture sector.

✓ Even at that time, agriculture and allied activities accounted for around 54% of India’s national income.

✓ Over the years, agriculture’s contribution to national output declined sharply. As of

2019-20, it was less than 17% (in gross value added terms).

✓ And yet, the proportion of Indians engaged in agriculture has fallen from 70% to just 55% (Chart1).

✓ As the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (2017) observes, “the dependence of the rural workforce on agriculture for employment has not declined in proportion to the falling contribution of agriculture to GDP”.

2. Land Holdings:

✓ While the number of people dependent on agriculture has been burgeoning over the years, the average size of landholdings has become reduced sharply — even to the extent of being unviable for efficient production.

✓ Data shows that 86% of all landholdings in India are small (between 1 and 2 hectares) and marginal (less than 1 hectare — roughly half a football field).

✓ The average size among marginal holdings is just 0.37 ha which hardly provides Enough Income to stay above the Poverty line.

3. Debts:

✓ The combined result of several such inefficiencies is that most Indian farmers are Heavily Indebted (Chart 2).

 ✓ The data shows that 40% of the 24 lakh households that operate on landholdings smaller than 0.01 ha are indebted. The average amount is Rs 31,000.

✓ A good reason why such a high proportion of farmers is so indebted is that Indian agriculture — for the most part — is unremunerative.

✓ Chart 3 provides the monthly income estimates for an agriculture household in four very different states as well as the all-India number.

✓ Some of the most populous states like Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have very low levels of income and Very high Proportions of Indebtedness.

4. Buying & selling:

✓ Another way of understanding the plight of the farmers relative to the rest of the economy is to look at the Terms of Trade between farmers and non- farmers.

✓ Terms of Trade is the ratio between the prices paid by the farmers for their inputs and the prices received by the farmers for their output.

✓ As such, 100 is the benchmark. If the ToT is less than 100, it means farmers are worse off. As Chart 4 shows, ToT rapidly improved between 2004-05 and 2010-11 to breach the 100-mark but since then it has worsened for Farmers.

5. MSP:

✓ A key variable in the debate is the role of minimum support prices. Many protesters fear governments will roll back the system of MSPs.

✓ MSPs provide “guaranteed prices” and an “assured market” to farmers, and save them from price fluctuations. This is crucial because most farmers are not adequately informed.

✓ But although MSPs are announced for around 23 crops, actual procurement happens for very few crops such as wheat and rice.

 ✓ Moreover, the percentage of procurement varies sharply across states (Chart 5). As a result, actual Market prices — what the farmers get — are often Below MSPs.