The Hindu Editorial Newspaper Analysis Free PDF Download

Table of Contents

Saving lives

 It needs political will for India to bring down its shamefully high newborn mortality rate
 New ranking of neonatal mortality rates -Number of babies dying in their •First month
for every thousand live births — gives India cause for both hope and shame.
 Shame, because the report, produced by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef ),
ranks India behind poorer countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Rwanda.
 Hope, because the ranking shows that •Financial resources are not the biggest constraint in
improving this health indicator; political will is.
 Sri Lanka and Ukraine,which like India are categorised as lower-middle income economies,
had a neonatal mortality of around 5/ 1000 in 2016.
 U.S., a high-income economy, did only slightly better with a rate of 3.7/1000.
 Meanwhile, Rwanda, which falls in the lowest income group of less than $1,005 per capita, ha
s brought down its mortality rates from 41/1000 in the 1990s to 16.5
 India saw the 31st highest newborn-mortality rate, at 25.4 deaths per 1000 in 2016
 This means India lost 640,000 babies in 2016, more than any other country
 Most powerful solutions are not necessarily the most expensive.
 The 10 critical products that hospitals must stock to save newborns include
 A piece of cloth to keep a baby warm and
 Close to the mother to encourage breastfeeding.
 The list also includes antibiotics and disinfectants etc
 The biggest cause of death is premature birth,
 While the second is complications like asphyxia(दम घुटना) during delivery.
 Preventing would mean- delivers in a hospital attended by trained doctors or midwives
 India has programmes such as the Janani Suraksha Yojana for this
 Factors outside the healthcare system, like female literacy rates, that make a big difference to
healthcare-seeking behaviour.
 But changes in education levels will come slowly.
 Despite these challenges, progress is within reach- States like Kerala and Tamil
 It‟s time for the rest of India to follow suit.

Planning for electric mobility

 Transitioning to an electric vehicle-based regime will be difficult, but well worth it.
 October 2017, medical journals, attributed to air pollution an estimated 6.5 million premature
deaths globally, with 1.1 million being from India.
 2014, WHO urban air quality database had found four Indian cities to be among
the world‟s 10 most polluted.
 The database also placed 10 Indian cities in the 20 worst list
 Multiple reasons for India’s deteriorating air quality.
 In urban India, emissions from motor vehicles are among the prime reasons.
 Acknowledging challenge of rising vehicular pollution in Indian cities, Piyush Goyal, then
Union Minister for Power, said that from 2030,
 India would completely shift to using electric vehicles (EVs).
 NITI Aayog, which has estimated that the nation can save up to •4 lakh crore by rapidly
adopting Evs
 While transitioning from an internal combustion engine (ICE)-based regime to an EV-based
one is expected to be a painful process, the long-term benefits .
 NITI Aayog lays stress on the need for a robust action plan to move towards electric
mobility by 2030, India needs to address •five fundamental issues immediately.
 The •first is about who will take the lead.
 EVs, unlike ICE vehicles, involve several actors at national, State and city levels, respectively.
 In the •first, it needs multiple ministries such as Road Transport and Highways, Housing
and Urban A•airs, Heavy Industries, Power, New and Renewable Energy, External A•ffairs
as well as national institutes such as NITI Aayog.
 Since the initial EV revolution would predominantly be an urban one, State and city-level
players need to be involved
 So as to address several technical and infrastructural needs.
 Coordination between all three is crucial in driving the EV agenda.
Second is •Figuring out the best mode forward.
 China has focussed on the use of electric buses as a catalyst for EV penetration
 2016 alone, about 80,000 electric buses
 Netherlands, has captured the EV market using a simple yet well-crafted strategy of
creating charging infrastructure and encouraging investment in charging technology
by providing incentives to EV buyers
 India is today the largest manufacturer and exporter of two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws.
 Could these vehicles pave the way for an EV revolution?
Third is the battery conundrum.
 Assumption that anyone who controls the battery will control electric mobility rings
true in the current scenario.
 India does not produce lithium-ion (Liion) batteries currently, and companies making battery
packs are dependent almost exclusively on imports from China
 Setting up a cell manufacturing unit in India would be expensive
 EV use in India should be linked to “Make in India” goal and domestic battery production
 Investment is required for research and development in battery-making
 Exploring alternative technologies.
Fourth is about charging infrastructure.
 Three major EV users, China, Japan and the European Union, have their own charging
technologies which are often conflicting and not interchangeable
 Absence of a standard global infrastructure is a major deterrent for EV penetration in India
 As creating infrastructure can be cost-intensive.
 For this, the government needs to select or develop appropriate charging technology
 •Final point(5th ) is about jobs and the economic impact.
 India is the world’s fourth largest fith auto market, where over 25 million motor
vehicles are produced.
 The sector is estimated to provide direct and indirect employment to about three
crore people and accounts for 7.1% of the nation’s GDP.
 The industry is estimated to grow to $300 billion in annual revenue by 2026,
 Creating 65 million additional jobs, and contributing over 12% to the GDP.
 EVs have the potential to disrupt the mobility ecosystem, and, if implemented well, could
have a positive impact on the economy as well as the urban environment.
 India, however, needs a road map, with timelines, processes, well-researched impact studies,
bold initiatives and
 Robust investments in technological research to turn its EV dream into reality.

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

 Page-1-Canada, India red-faced over invite to Khalistan activist
 Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‟s office and the Modi government faced a major embarrassment on Thursday after it emerged that a convicted terrorist and Khalistan activist from Canada had been part of the delegation‟s events in Mumbai and was personally invited to a reception by the Canadian High Commission
 Page-1,10- CRPF to guard Indian embassy in Baghdad
 In a •first, the government is planning to send Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
commandos to provide security to the Indian embassy in Baghdad.
 A Ministry of Home Affairs official said the deployment was being made on
the request of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
 Iraqi government is locked in an armed conflict with the terrorist out•t Islamic State.
 Page-1- Followed legal means to recover dues, says PNB
 1,415 employees have been transferred since February 19
 Punjab National Bank, faced with a •11,500 crore Letter of Undertaking fraud,
on Thursday said it had followed legal avenues to recover dues from jeweller businessman
Nirav Modi, one of the main accused.
 Statement came in response to Mr. Modi‟s charge that the PNB had
closed all options to recover dues by going public
 PNB had •led a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 29 alleging that
Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi‟s companies
 „Dead wood‟ IPS officer removed from service
 Anand Kumar Tewari, an IPS
 The 1994 batch police o•cer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre was removed as he was a
“dead wood” due to his “unsatisfactory” service records, the Home Ministry official said
 Tewari is the sixth IPS officer in two years to be removed.
 Performance of the IGP-rank officer was reviewed by a Home Ministry-appointed
committee and it found him to be unfi•t to continue and hence ordered him
to go on compulsory retirement.
 Performance review
 According to rules, performance review of an all-India service officer is conducted twice – first
after the completion of 15 years of qualifying service, and then after 25 years
 SC against disclosure of IAS prelims marks
 India is ignoring facts, says Maldives
 Courts cannot annul(अन्त करना) marriage of adults: SC
 Saudi to spend big on entertainment
 $64 billion reform plan includes lifting ban on cinemas, opening amusement parks