The Hindu Editorial Newspaper Analysis Free PDF Download

Table of Contents

Forest Fire

First, the basic sciences

India needs to invest more widely and deeply in scientific enterprise
 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, India invests about 0.8% of its GDP on research and development, and supports 156 researchers per million of population.
Figures for China are 2%, and 1,113, respectively.
Germany standing at 2.9% and 4,363 researchers
U.S. at 2.8% and 4,231.
In 2000, China- invested only about 0.9% of its GDP on research and development,
But this was steadily ramped up and in 2010 stood at 1.71%.
India invested 0.74% in 2000, and increased this to 0.82% in 2010.
While China took it up to 2.1% in 2016, in India it came down to 0.63% in 2015.
These figures ignore the reality of what science has become in the last two decades
Raman effect, discovered by C.V. Raman, the only Indian Nobel Laureate in Physics
Many pressing problems in science demand larger investments, including resources, funding and human capital.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has quietly and efficiently carried out large projects, but such projects have not been exactly welcomed in basic sciences.
 India needs to invest more widely and deeply in scientific enterprise & basic sciences

An urgent prescription

India needs to shore up public sector capacity for making medicines
India is rightly acclaimed to be the pharmacy of the world, with its huge private sector capacity for producing branded and unbranded generic drugs.
Much of this growth took place after India opted for process patenting over product patenting in 1970.
This changed to a product patent regime in 2005, providing sufficient time for growth of the generic drug industry in the private sector.
However, this period has also seen the decline and near disappearance of public sector capacity for manufacture of drugs and vaccines.
That is a cause for worry
Beyond profit motive- Public sector capacity- Supply at affordable cost.
Compulsory licensing (CL) is a mechanism permitted by theTrade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement to enable countries to issue licences to domestic drug manufacturers to produce and affordable generic versions of life-saving drugs needed for meeting serious public health challenges that are of extreme urgency.
India has used the CL route previously to permit two Indian companies, Natco and Cipla, to produce a potent anti-cancer drug
This enabled a 32-fold reduction in the cost of the drug
Public sector capacity for manufacturing life saving drugs under a CL is the much needed
 Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which are needed for drug manufacture (formulation), are now mostly imported from China- Makes India highly vulnerable
Use of PSUs will offer an opportunity to produce drug volumes for use in primary and secondary care facilities as well as help in „benchmarking‟ drug costs
Effective implementation of the Ayushman Bharat initiative calls for investment in expanding public sector capacity for producing essential drugs and APIs
This also embodies(प्रतीक) the spirit of Make in India

The French connections

France Strategic Partnership launched in 1998 seems finally to have come of age.
 Two decades, both sides have gradually enhanced cooperation in diverse fields covering civil nuclear, defence, space, counter-terrorism, education, research & development in science technology, culture, urban development, climate change, trade and economics and people-to-people contacts
Cooperation in space and the Indian Ocean Region
Defence cooperation with France began in the 1950s
 Joint naval exercises, later christened Varuna, date back to 1983.
Cooperation in the space sector has continued since the 1960s when France helped India set up the Sriharikota launch site
After the nuclear tests in May 1998 when India declared itself a nuclear weapon state, France was the first major power to open dialogue and displayed a far greater understanding of India‟s security compulsions compared to other countries.
It was the first P-5 country to support India‟s claim for a permanent seat in an expanded and reformed UN Security Council.
Building a partnership
With the establishment of a Strategic Dialogue,cooperation in defence,civil nuclear, space, intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism has grown
Nuclear field, an agreement was signed about a decade ago for building nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 9.6 GW
Climate change and renewable energy resources, particularly solar, soon emerged as a new Area
has expressed concern about China‟s growing presence in the Indian Ocean Region.
French overseas territories in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans provide it with the second largest exclusive economic zone globally
Mr. Macron has cleverly pitched that India should look at France as its entry point for Europe- now with Brexit approaching
Educational links
Currently about 2,500 Indians go to France annually to pursue higher education, compared to more than 250,000 from China.
A target has been set to raise it to 10,000 by 2020.
Knowledge Summit, where 14 MoUs between educational and scientific institutions were signed, is a welcome move
Tourism is another area that has received attention

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-1- Aadhaar link deadline extended indefinitely
In relief for citizens, the Supreme Court indefinitely extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile phones and tatkal passports and for opening bank accounts from March 31, 2018, till the Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, pronounces its final verdict on the validity of theAadhaar scheme
Relief not applicable to benefits under Section 7 of Act
Page-1- SC shuts the door on foreign law firms
But overseas lawyers can fly in, fly out for a temporary period to give advice
Keeping India‟s legal market exclusively for Indians, the Supreme Court onTuesday ruled that foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or non-litigation side.
This means overseas lawyers or firms cannot open offices in the country, appear in courts or before any authority or render other legal services, such as giving opinions or drafting documents.
Page-1-PresidentTrump fires RexTillerson
Mike Pompeo, now Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), will replace RexTillerson as U.S. Secretary of State, President DonaldTrump announced on Tuesday.
Mr.Trump said he disagreed with Mr.Tillerson on several issues, such as the Iran nuclear deal
Page-1-Rare meteorite may hold clue to life’s origin
Evidence of water-bearing minerals found in meteorite recovered from Rajasthan
A study of two meteorites, which fell in Assam and Rajasthan over a span of 13 hours in 2017, by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has concluded that they may contain “significant clues to the origins of life.”
Post-scam, RBI stops issue of LoUs
loss of over ₹1•2600 crore.
BRO starts clearing snow from Rohtang Pass
Himachal Pradesh this winter has made the Borders Road Organisation start snow clearing operation early in places like Rohtang
TB elimination goal advanced by five years
„India can be free of the disease by 2025
ICMR wins 2017 Kochon Prize forTB research