[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 14 March 2023

GS Paper 2

Source: The Hindu, Indian Express

Direction: This is in continuation of yesterday’s article regarding legalising same-sex marriage.

Context: The Centre recently told the Supreme Court, that the exclusion of transgenders, gay people, and female sex workers as blood donors by including them in the “at risk” category for HIV, Hepatitis B, or C infections is based on due consideration of scientific evidence.

Background:

• The Central government’s response came after Thangjam Singh, a member of the transgender community, moved the Supreme Court seeking to strike down the prohibition on gay and transgender people from donating blood under clauses 12 and 51 of the ‘Guidelines for Blood Donor Selection & Blood Donor Referral, 2017’ issued by the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC) and the National Aids Control Organisation on October 11, 2017.

Petitioners’ argument:

• Thangjam said that such exclusion based on one’s gender identity and sexual orientation is “completely arbitrary, unreasonable, and discriminatory and also unscientific.”
• The plea adds that since the blood is tested for infectious diseases like AIDS/ HIV, Hepatitis C, and B; permanently excluding persons based on their sexual preference violates their right to equality.

What is the government’s argument for the exclusion?

• In its affidavit, the government said that the exclusion of transgender and gays from blood donation is premised on scientific evidence. The affidavit cites research from a slew of local and international “reputed scientific journals” such as the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health and the International Journal of STD & AIDS.
• The Centre also referred to the Annual Report of the Department of Health and Family Welfare (2020-2021) pointing to a three to six times higher HIV prevalence among adults who are Hijras, Transgenders, MSM (Men who have sex with men), and female sex workers.

Related News:

Children of lesbian, gay parents do not necessarily become lesbians, gays: SC informs government

Context: Growing up with lesbian or gay parents will not necessarily make a child lesbian or gay, Supreme Court confronted the government’s concern about the “psychological” impact same-sex marriages may have on children.

• The case involved an “interplay” between constitutional rights of life, liberty, dignity, and equal treatment of members of the LGBTQ+ community on one side and specific statutory enactments that consider only a married union between a biological man and woman on the other side.

Insta Links:

• LGBTQIA
• Section 377

GS Paper 2

 Syllabus: Important aspects of governance and accountability, e-governance (applications)

Source: TH

Context: India’s G-20 presidency has provided an opportunity for the country to ensure that its digital strategies and data governance are inclusive, transparent, secure and conducive to sustainable development.

Background:

• In recent years, India has made great strides in its digital strategies/data governance → by embracing technology (say, UPI) and digitalisation → driving economic growth → improving the lives of citizens.
• However, the issues of ownership and governance of data generated and collected and data sovereignty have become increasingly important.
  • Data sovereignty is the idea that data is subject to the laws and governance structures of the nation where they are collected.
• Given this, it is unreasonable to deny people control over their data and India’s DEPA – a consent management tool, has generated both excitement and concern among stakeholders.

Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA):

• It was launched by the NITI Aayog in 2020 on the premise that individuals themselves are the best judges of the ‘right’ uses of their personal data.
• It is designed as an evolvable/agile framework for good data governance that empowers people to seamlessly and securely access their data and share it with third-party institutions.

3 key building blocks of DEPA:

• Enabling regulations,
• Cutting-edge technology standards, and
• New types of public and private organisations with incentives closely aligned to those of individuals.

Advantages of DEPA:

• Potential to improve data protection and privacy for citizens
• Allowing individuals to easily manage and control their data consent
• Build trust in digital technologies and data governance.

Risks associated with DEPA:

• Personal data could be misused or misappropriated if the consent management tool is not properly implemented.
• An implementation may be inconsistent across different sectors and jurisdictions → undermine effectiveness, and create confusion among citizens.

Way ahead:

• The DEPA must be implemented in a transparent, consistent and secure manner → requires close collaboration between all the stakeholders.
• Clear, transparent and accountable data governance policies and regulations.
  • India Data Management Office (IDMO) proposed by MeitY will frame/manage review/revise the National Data Governance Framework Policy (NDGFP).
• Investment in the necessary digital infrastructure and skills.
  • India Stack is a unified software platform that provides digital public goods, and application interfaces and facilitates digital inclusion.
• Advances in financial inclusion (UPI) can be replicated successfully in other areas (health, agriculture).
• International cooperation and collaboration in addressing risks posed by the rapid growth of data and digital technologies.

Conclusion: It is important for India to navigate a middle way between restrictive data sovereignty and limitless data flow for the development of ethical and responsible data governance practices.

Insta Links:

Public Consultation on Draft National Data Governance Framework Policy

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Issues relating to Poverty and Hunger

Source: DTE

Context: According to a special report by the IPES-Food, at least 21 countries were nearing catastrophic levels of both debt distress and rising hunger in 2022.

International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food): Since 2015, this diverse and independent panel of experts has uniquely shaped the debate on global food systems reform, through policy-oriented research and direct engagement with policy processes.

Highlights of the report – ‘Breaking the cycle of unsustainable food systems, hunger and debt’:

• Global public debt was at its highest levels in almost 60 years and countries were having to choose between repaying debts and feeding people.
  • 21 countries (including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, and Sri Lanka) were nearing catastrophic levels of both debt distress and rising hunger.
  • This is even when record-high food prices have receded currently, a year after Russia’s war on Ukraine.
• About 60% of low-income countries and 30% of middle-income countries were considered at high risk of debt distress.
• The world’s poorest countries saw the costs of servicing their debt increase by 35% in 2022.
• They paid 47% of external debt payments to private lenders, 12% to China, 14% to other governments and the remaining to multilateral institutions like the IMF.

On India:

• Several countries are now stuck in what has been described as a ‘fertilizer trap’: India (with $26 billion budgeted in 2022), Kenya, and the Philippines are among a host of governments ramping up fertilizer subsidies in the face of the crisis, alongside rising fuel import costs.

Reasons behind this crisis:

• Import dependencies (Africa’s food import dependency has tripled → food price spikes), extractive financial flows, boom-bust commodity cycles and unsustainable/climate-vulnerable food systems.
• Higher costs for imports and debt repayments.
• This required them to earn dollars via crop exports (to pay down their debts) rather than meeting local food needs.

How will this impact countries?

• A debt crisis could plunge millions more into hunger, and poverty
• Reversing decades of progress and sparking further instability and conflict

Way ahead:

• The report called for urgent action to provide debt relief and development finance on a scale to meet the needs of
  • COVID-19 recovery,
  • Climate-resilient food systems and
  • Sustainable development goals (SDGs).
• It also urged policymakers to repair historical injustices that have left countries funnelling profits and exports to the global North.
• For this, windfall taxes on food profiteers and steps to achieve tax justice, and climate justice are needed as soon as possible.

Insta Links:

World facing a worst global hunger crisis

GS Paper 2

Syllabus:  Important International institutions.

Source: Indian Express

Context: Bhutan will become the seventh nation to graduate from the United Nations (UN) list of Least Developed Countries (LDC).

What is a Least Developed Country (LDC)?

According to the UN, an LDC is defined as “a country that exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with low levels of income, human capital and economic diversification, high levels of economic vulnerability, and a population that is disproportionately reliant on agriculture, natural resources, and primary commodities.”

The UN identifies three criteria for a country to be classified as an LDC:

• It must have a gross national income (GNI) per capita below the threshold of USD 1,230 over a three-year average.
• It must perform poorly on a composite human assets index based on indicators including nutrition, health and education.
• The country must demonstrate economic vulnerability such as being prone to natural disasters and possessing structural economic constraints.

How does a country get off the LDC list?

• A nation must have a GNI per capita of at least USD 1,242 for two consecutive triennial reviews in order to meet the income requirement.
• By using measures like education, health, and nutrition, a nation must show that it has improved its human capital in order to achieve the human assets requirement.
• A nation also must show that it has improved its ability to withstand external economic shocks like natural catastrophes or shifts in commodity prices in order to pass the economic vulnerability test.

Advantages of being an LDC

• Being an LDC confers certain economic benefits to the listed country.
• LDCs also enjoy duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) access to the markets of developed countries.
• LDCs are also eligible for loans with special terms for development, which include loans with a lower interest rate and a longer repayment time than those given to other nations.

Insta Links:

China’s status as a ‘developing country’ at the World Trade Organization (WTO)

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources

Source: IE

 Context: India’s petroleum product exports to the EU have increased considerably over the past months as the region reduces imports of refined products from Russia, due to the war in Ukraine.

Background:

• India is a major refiner with an annual refining capacity of about 250 million tonnes.
• While it is also one of the top consumers of crude oil, India’s refining capacity is higher than its domestic demand.

What does the data show?

• India’s petroleum product exports to the EU rose 20.4% year on year in April-January to 6 million tonnes, with the region climbing to the top 20 regions importing refined products from India.
• According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) data, Indian refiners (particularly private) are rushing to partly fill the supply gap for the region.

Why does the rise matter? From the global oil markets perspective, suppliers like India are helping maintain a demand-supply balance, while preventing extreme price shocks.

Benefits for India:

• Indian refiners, particularly export-oriented private sector players (Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy), stand to gain (purchase Russian oil at a discount).
• India now finds itself playing an increasingly prominent role in the global crude oil and refined products supply map.

What is the West’s view on rising Indian exports to the EU?

• While the West was irked at India’s rising purchases of Russian oil, countries like the US are comfortable with the rising supply of Indian refined products to the EU.
• They see it as critical for the success of the price caps on Russian oil and refined products (imposed by G7 countries) without causing a global supply shock.

Insta Links:

• Exports cross the $400 billion annual target as goods shipments jump

Mains Links:

Account for the failure of the manufacturing sector in achieving the goal of labour-intensive exports rather than capital-intensive exports. Suggest measures for more labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive exports. (UPSC 2017)

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Disaster Management

Source: PIB

Context: The 3rd Session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) has concluded in New Delhi.

About the Session:

• The session deliberated on 10-point agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction given by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Sendai Framework apart from other issues.
• Organized by: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)+ National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)+ National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)+ National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)
• Theme: “Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate

PM’s 10-Point Agenda:

• Importance of Local Resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction E.g.
  • Prime Minister’s 10-Point Agenda: Building local capacities and initiatives
  • Kutch (Gujarat): Bhunga houses of Kutch survived the earthquake to a large extent
  • Kerala: Traditional houses known as “Nalukettu,” are built with sloping roofs to prevent waterlogging during floods.
  • Local Disaster volunteers:g. Apada Mitra, Yuvak Mandal and Sakhi Mandal
• Need for Development Sectors to Imbibe Principles of Disaster Risk Management
• Importance of Risk Coverage for All
• Women’s Leadership and Greater Involvement in Disaster Risk Management
• Investment in Global Risk Mapping
• Leveraging Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction
• Developing a Network of Universities to Work on Disaster-Related Issues
• Utilizing Social Media and Mobile Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction
• Learning from Disasters through Post-Disaster Studies
• Need for Greater Cohesion in International Response to Disasters E.g. in wake of the recent Earthquake in Syria and Turkey, United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) activated its emergency GIS mapping service

What is Disaster Risk Reduction?

Disaster risk reduction is aimed at preventing new and reducing existing disaster risks and managing residual risk, all of which contribute to strengthening resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development.

Initiatives for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)

• Global:
  • Sendai Framework (2015): Successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)
  • Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2022
  • Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) ( Under the World Meteorological Organization): It provides access to early warnings in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
  • Sectoral Guide on Climate Information & Early Warning Systems (by Green Climate Fund): It identifies investment opportunities in him impact sector for DRR
• India’s Initiatives:
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Society (CDRIS): To increase the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks
  • National Disaster Management Plan 2016 (NDMP): To coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response.
  • India aims to achieve zero mortality in all disasters in collaboration with state governments and response agencies
  • The Disaster Management Act, 2005, seeks to mainstream disaster risk reduction into development planning

Insta Links

• Risk-reduction strategies using traditional knowledge
• Disaster Management Basics

Mains Links

Discuss the need for Disaster risk reduction in India. What are the challenges involved and explain the global efforts in this direction? (250 words)