The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 16 September 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 14 September 2023

• India’s foreign trade hit a fresh trough in August, with goods exports shrinking for the seventh successive month, services exports estimated to have dropped for the first time in well over a year, and the goods trade deficit hitting a 10-month high.
• The extent of decline in outbound shipments eased to 6.86% in August from double-digit contractions in recent months, to hit a three-month high worth $34.5 billion.

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• Services exports, after growing at a sharp 26.7% rate in 2022-23, were reckoned to have shrunk 0.4% in August to $26.39 billion, stoking fears about a widening current account deficit in this quarter.
• The merchandise import bill for August dropped 5.23% year-on-year to $58.64 billion, but was 10.85% higher than July’s $52.9 billion import tally, lifting the goods trade deficit for August to $24.16 billion, just 2.8% below August 2022 numbers and almost 17% over July’s $20.67 billion gap.

• Bharat (as is described in Article 1 of the Constitution); therefore, Bharat can be used.
• Parliament has the absolute power to change the name of the country at any time by amending the Constitution. Article 368 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to amend any provision of the Constitution which includes the name of the country, as mentioned in Article 1.
• Article 52 says that there shall be a President of India.
• Article 1 says, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.
• As a matter of fact, the word ‘Bharat’ is not used in any of the articles of the Constitution except in the Hindi version, which was published under the authority of the President under Article 394A.

• The adoption of science-based technologies for crop improvement such as genetic engineering for developing genetically modified (GM) crops as a supplement to conventional breeding methods has become an absolute necessity to address the burgeoning and complex challenge of achieving global food and nutritional security under the fast-changing climate.
• According to the global Food Security and Nutrition Report, 2019, it is difficult to achieve the ‘Zero Hunger’ target by 2030.
• GM crops have benefited more than 1.95 billion people in five countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States) or 26% of the current world population of 7.6 billion.
• Bt cotton was commercialised as the first GM crop in India more than 20 years ago, and has been viewed globally as a great success story in terms of economic advantage to farmers and to the nation.
• India faces a major deficit in edible oils, with 60% of its demand being met by imports. Mustard is one of the most important edible oil crops in India; however, its per hectare yield is very low when compared to the global average.
• Thus, increasing the productivity of mustard in the country is vital for the economic well-being of farmers and self-sufficiency in edible oil production.
• More improved GM food crops are needed to boost the profitability of Indian farmers.
• About Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):
• It is a statutory committee constituted under the “Rules for the Manufacture, Use/Import/Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro Organisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells (Rules, 1989)” framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

• GEAC functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• It was earlier called Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, which was changed to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee in the year 2010.
• Functions:
• As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
• The committee is also responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment, including experimental field trials.
• It keeps a check on the use, import, and export of genetically modified (GM) organisms and crops.

• Sessions of Parliament:
• The summoning of Parliament is specified in Article 85 of the Constitution.
• The power to convene a session of Parliament rests with the Government. The decision is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs which is formalised by the President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session.
• India does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar. By convention (i.e. not provided by the Constitution), Parliament meets for three sessions in a year.
• Summoning is the process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet. The President summons each House of the Parliament from time to time.
• The gap between two sessions of the Parliament cannot exceed 6 months, which means the Parliament meets at least two times in one year.

• Clearing a long-pending deal, the Defence Acquisition Council which met on Friday approved procurement of 12 Su-30MKI jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• These will be licence-manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and cost under ₹11,000 crore. The IAF has been pushing for additional Sukhois as well 21 MiG-29s.
• India had contracted 272 Su-30s from Russia in batches, majority of which were assembled in India by HAL and around 11 jets were lost over the years.
• For the Army, to enhance protection, mobility, attack capability, and increased survivability of mechanised forces, DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System as well High Mobility Vehicle Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of Artillery Guns and Radars.
• About Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):
• What is it? The DAC is the highest decision-making bodyof the defence Ministry on procurement.
• Objective: To ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the armed forces.
• Formation: It was formed after the Group of Minister’s recommendations on ‘Reforming the National Security System’, in 2001, post-Kargil War (1999).
• Composition:
• The defence minister is the chairman of DAC.
• Its members include the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

• On Independence Day, 2019, the water-starved Mahoba district in south-eastern Uttar Pradesh reported only 1,612 households with tap connections. Four years later, 1,29,209 households — or about 98% of all rural homes in the district — have water connections, according to the public dashboard of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the Centre’s ₹3.6 lakh crore scheme that aims to provide piped water to every village home by 2024.
• Even in villages officially certified as having 100% coverage of functional household tap connections (FHTC), many households do not actually have taps. Some do have taps, but are not getting any water through them; even in the best case scenario, such households get no more than two hours of water.
• According to the scheme’s definitions, an FHTC household is one where at least 55 litres of potable water per person a day is made available to every household.

What is the Jal Jeevan Mission?

• About:
• Launched in 2019, it envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
• JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
• It comes under Jal Shakti Ministry.
• Aims:
• The mission ensures functionality of existing water supply systems and water connections, water quality monitoring and testing as well as sustainable agriculture.
• It also ensures conjunctive use of conserved water; drinking water source augmentation, drinking water supply system, grey water treatment and its reuse.

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